WELCOME TO

EMPOWERMENT ZONE COALITION

Working To Prevent Substance Abuse And Promote Healthy Living.

Our vision for Metro Detroit is to create a safe, healthy, and drug free community.

The Empowerment Zone Coalition, Inc. is a very unique 501(c) (3) community-based non-profit collaboration that focuses on Health Education, Wellness and Behavioral Health. EZC is a broad based coalition with agency collaborations that improves collective advocacy and service delivery to the community with strong focus on the adults, youth and families.

Our Mission

The mission of the Empowerment Zone Coalition is to raise public awareness and to mobilize communities to improve quality of life for Detroit residents through education, health promotion, wellness, and the prevention of substance use and mental health disorders in the city of Detroit with strong emphasis on the Eastside. EZC develops new initiatives based on identified needs of the community.

  • Public Education Campaigns

  • Local Coalition Development
  • Public Forums and Town Hall Meetings
  • Trainings and Workshops
  • Advocacy
  • Summits
  • Community Outreach
  • Community Organizing
  • Multimedia

Awareness

Raise public awareness about substance abuse and mental health.

Mobilize

We are passionate about the east-side Detroit community and develop initiatives to address their needs.

Education

teach adults/teens how to cope with life’s challenges in a healthy way to reduce dependance on mild altering substances.

Support Our Organization by Donating

Please donate we need your support. For every dollar raised,

$.76 goes directly into programs and services.




EZC Initiatives

Since its inception in May 1996, the coalition has been “Rebuilding the Village” through community empowerment. Coalition members and additional volunteers are dedicated to increasing protective factors through faith-based substance abuse prevention and community involvement.

EZC built and maintains a coalition of 100 organizations and individuals which represents different sectors of the community. EZC has been very successful in mobilizing all sectors of the community to promote collaborations and partnerships. EZC developed and implemented a community action plan that drives the work of the coalition. The coalition is widely recognized by the target population for creating innovative initiatives to prevent drug abuse and drug related issues.

EZC successfully designed and administered the Youth Substance Abuse Concern Survey. The purpose of the survey is to determine the extent and magnitude of the drug problem within the target area. The survey explores knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD). Youth Focus groups also were conducted to obtain the youth perceptions of drugs in their community. The results were published and disseminate to prevention providers to assist them in strengthen their substance prevention programming. 2,400 youth participated in the survey.

EZC developed the Collective Call to Action Workshop Series designed to educate the community on substance abuse and drug-related issues in an effort to counteract the misconceptions and work towards changing the negative social norms in the community. The workshops were designed to arm people with adequate information to become actively involved in changing the social conditions in their community. EZC also trained substance abuse providers and coalitions in coalition building and the Strategic Prevention Framework.

Each year, EZC planned and implemented the largest substance abuse summit in the City of Detroit in an effort to raise public awareness regarding drug related issues and to celebrate the success of the coalition. The event was designed as a forum for the community to come together to discuss issues and brainstorm solutions concerning alcohol, tobacco and other drug-related problems. We organized nine summits which galvanized the community residents, public officials, prevention and treatment providers around the issue.