Cass Community Social Services Strategic Master Plan
HKS student interns: Nikola Gjurchinoski, Assoc. AIA, Vanessa Vedelago, Ryan Mason, Assoc. AIA, and Jacqueline Colaianni, Assoc. AIA
HKS has been very energized since our first encounter with CCSS, and we believe our master planning effort is just the first step in a lengthy partnership.
Cass Community Social Services (CCSS) is a Detroit-based, non-profit social services agency that provides food, housing, health services, and jobs to people living in areas of concentrated poverty. The organization is unbiased in the people it serves; homeless, developmentally disabled individuals, military veterans, victims of domestic abuse, those suffering from addiction, men living with HIV, CCSS serves anyone in need. Most well known for their Tiny Homes Detroit program, CCSS is led by the enigmatic Reverend Faith Fowler. HKS first became involved with CCSS through the firm’s Month of Service volunteer initiative in 2016. Through this volunteer relationship, HKS learned that CCSS owned a real estate portfolio with buildings spread across 11 different parcels in three different neighborhoods – but a comprehensive plan for improving and developing these properties had never taken place. HKS wanted to expand their volunteer efforts and use their skill set to give something back to this organization that has given so much to the people of Detroit. In June 2018, HKS began the master plan process; a three-month study of visioning and alignment workshops held with key CCSS leaders, on-site interviews with program managers, visual surveys of properties and intensive rounds of research and analysis.
