When Cass Community Social Services (CCSS) purchased a rundown apartment building on Detroit’s west side, the building residents were living amid piles of vermin-infested trash. There was no heat, no running water. Electrical services were erratic at best. Vandals roamed the hallways at will. On the day that CCSS finally took possession of the property, Rev. Faith Fowler, ’81, CCSS’ executive director, moved the residents into a nearby hotel while working to transition them into safe, affordable housing.

"That night," she recalls, "I went to bed knowing that, for the first time in a long while, these individuals could take a hot shower and sleep in a warm bed."

The apartment building, once renovated, will house homeless men, women, and children.

CCSS began as an outreach program of Cass Community United Methodist Church, for which Fowler currently serves as senior pastor. Operating in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, CCSS provides shelters and medical services for the homeless and persons with substance abuse problems, as well as programs for seniors, at-risk youth, the mentally ill, and adults with developmental disabilities. Today the organization has 100 employees and an operating budget of $6-million.

"We’re looking to fill the gaps in the system," Fowler says. Her organization takes in those who have nowhere else to go. As just one example, CCSS operates the only shelter for homeless men with AIDS in southeast Michigan.

Fowler’s goal is to help her clients get the counseling they need and develop some marketable skills, and then to assist with their reentry into independent living. To that end, she has launched several ventures that provide skills training and, at the same time, generate revenue to support the organization’s programs. Among these is a novel program that collects discarded tires and recycles them into "mud mats" that are sold across Michigan.

CCSS utilizes over 5,000 volunteers annually—among them are faculty, staff, and students from Albion College, which has recently signed a covenant agreement with CCSS to encourage regular involvement in service-learning.

Interestingly, Fowler has built on a legacy that began with former Cass Community United Methodist Church pastors including Lewis Redmond, ’50, who served there from 1953 to 1979. And there are other alumni connections: Susan Bath Thomasson, ’82, is a former chair of the CCSS board, and Tom Talbert, ’82, currently sits on the board.

Those who know her best describe Faith Fowler as "relentless." Driven by her convictions, she is utterly tireless in serving those who are in desperate need. Just as important, however, is her unflagging enthusiasm and her remarkable ability to convince others to join her in this work. Hers quickly becomes a shared passion. That’s a powerful combination.

Sarah Briggs, Editor
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During a day of service at Cass Community Social Services in July, Albion faculty and staff volunteers painted and set up shelving in a room to house a document-shredding business that CCSS has recently begun.

Gerstacker Institute director Mike Frandsen learns how to make a mud mat, one of CCSS' fundraisers. The mats are made from discarded tires and are being sold all over Michigan.