The Amplify team's goal is to connect people living in Michigan with the resources and information they need to thrive. Our reporting, how-to guides, and community events will help you become your own best advocate on basic needs like housing, public safety, health and more.
Recent Stories
Charles Falsetti
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Visit Detroit
With hundreds of thousands of people expected to pour into downtown, here’s the lowdown on who’s in charge of policing — and how.
Photos by Adam Yahya Rayes. Illustration by Jodi Westrick
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Michigan Public
All candidate images come from their respective campaigns. Collage by Adam Yahya Rayes
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Michigan Public
Helpful Guides
Get resources on a range of topics from housing needs, due process rights, and more.
See someone in crisis? You don't have to call the police. Here are alternatives.
Following the police killing of a young man with schizophrenia several months ago, Michigan Radio collected resources to find support for people in mental health crisis.
What you should know about car insurance after no-fault overhaul
Michigan Radio has put together this guide to help you understand the biggest changes brought by the state's 2019 no-fault law.
Detroit's going to restart water shutoffs. Here's how you can avoid one.
About a quarter of Detroit's residential water customers were behind on their bills as of late last year. But Detroit Water and Sewerage Department officials say they won't shut off anyone who enrolls in an assistance program or gets on a payment plan.
How to escrow your rent in Michigan
This guide looks at escrow in Michigan, its risks, and what resources may be available in your area. Escrow is one of the tools tenants have to deal with housing problems when landlords are unresponsive.
Detroit renters with building problems do have options. Here's how to protect yourselves.
Michigan Radio consulted residents, lawyers, academics, and activists to round up what renters can do to protect themselves when building problems go unaddressed.
Thousands of Michigan children are eligible for free school meals. Here’s how you can make sure your kid gets theirs.
COVID-era universal school lunches — where all kids were given free meals regardless of income, feeding an additional 10 million students nationwide — has ended.
How you can protect yourself online, post-Roe
Abortion is still legal in Michigan. But many privacy advocates are urging caution about online activity that could be used to prosecute people seeking or assisting with abortion services.
A guide to understanding due process rights in Wayne County jails
A Michigan Radio analysis found that as of January 2022, at least 120 people were being held in pre-trial detention at a Wayne County jail for more than 18 months. We’ve created this guide to help you understand due process rights, and ways you can support a loved one in pre-trial detention.
More from the Amplify Team
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The owner has made repairs after flood damage and some improvements to services. Residents say there’s more work to be done.
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Michigan sentenced over 360 minors to life without parole — more than any state except Pennsylvania. Half of them have now been released and 90% have been resentenced, in most cases to a finite length of time.
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Many union members say the tiered wage system -- which puts some workers on lower pay scales -- goes against the core union principle of solidarity.
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Mental health advocate Kevin Fischer describes two very different encounters between his son, Dominique, and the police.
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We asked experts to analyze the police response to Porter Burks, which began with a calm introduction and ended with 38 shots fired.
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Detroit is home to Michigan’s biggest apartment complex exclusively for military veterans. It promised to bring an end to veteran homelessness in Detroit — and it was billed as a shining example of wraparound care for veterans.But residents complain the complex has gone downhill.
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Brandi Marsh is frequently the sole caregiver for her five year old quadriplegic daughter, due to the 2019 auto no fault law. "Her life is in my hands," she says, fearing her exhaustion will cause her to make a life-threatening mistake.
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Renters can get sticker shock when they go to renew their lease and see a sharp hike in price. But that's perfectly legal in Michigan.
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Here’s a timeline of events from the mid- to late-1980s, when rent control was a hot topic in Michigan.
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Tenant associations are springing up across the city. Their members say they’re pushing back against landlords who profit off buildings they don’t take care of — while raising rents and evicting residents.
Amplify Events
The Amplify Team often holds events related to the stories they report in the communities that are affected by those stories. See photos from some of these events below:
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— Jail's True Cost 1
Community Engagement Reporter Jamie Simmons speaks at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 2
Attendees look at art by prisoners at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 3
Handouts and informative flyers at the Jail's True Cost event (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Jail's True Cost 4
Attendees had the opportunity to hear from prisoners in this interactive display at Jail's True Cost (2022).
Jodi Westrick / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 1
Data reporter Nisa Khan at the Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 2
Kids are welcome at most Enterprise events. Here, reporter Lindsey Smith teaches a young attendee to use a recorder.
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum
Community Engagement Reporter Jamie Simmons speaks at the Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 3
A panel of local experts speaks about the housing crisis in Detroit and give resources for residents.
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
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— Housing Forum 5
Attendees at the Enterprise Housing Forum (2022).
Lindsey Smith / Michigan Radio
Meet Our Team
