MOSES has taken on the issue to address the food desert that exists in Detroit. We developed a partnership table of clergy, community leaders, unions & private sector to advance the development of Supermarkets in our local Detroit communities.

Civil Rights and Immigration
Fighting for the right of Michigan's Immigrants

MOSES has established a new taskforce to work on key civil rights issues in our state: racial profiling, insurance discrimination and immigration reform.

The CRI Taskforce worked with Majority House Leader, Steve Tobocman, to ensure that legal residents in the state of Michigan could continue to receive a valid driver's license.  The taskforce jumped into action when anti-immigrant politicians enacted a policy that would strip the driver's license from almost all immigrants in Michigan.

Governor Jennifer Granholm signed the legislation giving immigrants the opportunity to obtain a driver's license after MOSES and allies advocated in Lansing. This victory would not have been possible without the leadership of Representative Steve Tobocman.

Since its inception in 1995, dozens of congregations have undertaken an effort to create "safe zones" in numerous neighborhoods.  Congregation members go door to door to interview residents about crime "hot spots" in their neighborhood in an effort to eliminate drugs, gangs, abandoned buildings and prostitution.  Congregations have conducted dozens of community meetings to hold law enforcement accountable to following up on complaints.  Through this process over 100 drug houses have been raided and millions in cash, weapons and drugs have been confiscated.

Congregations are encouraged to learn about Safe Zones.

The city of Detroit has well over 40,000 abandoned and vacant properties. Abandoned properties and vacant land are detriments to communities. Vacant properties reduce property values in surrounding areas, depress property tax revenues, and create significant public safety hazards.

MOSES declared the need for land banks in 2001. MOSES relentless advocating resulted in the passage of Michigan land bank legislation in December of 2003. MOSES continued to fight for land banks, and the establishment of the Wayne County land bank authority in 2006 paved the way for the Detroit land bank authority approval by the city council today, July 29, 2008!

The MOSES Health Care Task Force, as part of the Gamaliel National Network, is working on federal health care reform legislation. Our task force members have traveled to Washington D.C. and met with legislators to advocate for reform consistent with our faith-based principles. The task force is concerned re: potential hospital closures and the impact on the communities they serve. To that end, we are drafting a white paper to make a case for public policy and community involvement to ensure essential medical services remain when a hospital closes. State health care reform legislation is on the horizon and you can be sure MOSES will load up busses, visit legislators, testify at hearings and do what it takes to make a case for reforms that benefit our community.