Twenty-five people experiencing homelessness will gain a fellowship and 13,000 more will receive a coat that transforms into a sleeping bag from Detroit nonprofit Empowerment Plan after an investment from Apple.
Empowerment Plan was formed in 2012 as a way to break the cycle of homelessness through offering full time employment to Detroiters without stable housing to make multi-use coats for those in need.
Since then, about 200 fellows have worked with Empowerment Plan and about 95,000 coats have been provided to people in all 50 states and 22 countries outside the U.S., said Erika George, chief development officer for Empowerment Plan.
Apple, which opened a store in downtown Detroit on Sept. 19, has been an Empowerment Plan partner since 2022. A spokesperson for Apple said the organization did not have an exact dollar amount for the partnership to share.
Homelessness and Empowerment
About 1,725 people in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park experience homelessness on a given night, according to data from a one-night count in 2024. This is a 16% increase from 2023 to 2024.
In Michigan, about 10,000 people were homeless in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night was 771,480, the highest ever recorded.
Empowerment Plan started as Veronika Scott’s class project while studying at Detroit’s College of Creative Studies, George said. Scott, who experienced unstable housing as a child, first designed the coat and rethought the concept when a homeless woman told her she didn’t want a coat, but instead a job.
George, who joined Empowerment Plan in 2013, said she and Scott started by employing a few women at a homeless shelter to make the coats and did not expect the organization to grow into a nonprofit that’s touched every state and a number of places all over the world.
Scott, George said, “has art background. I joined her right out of college. It’s good we didn’t have much experience because we took risks we otherwise might not have taken, and we listen to voices of people we serve.”
Fellowships
Currently, about 35 people experiencing homelessness are employed through a fellowship with Empowerment Plan. A person spends an average of about two years in the fellowship before using it as a stepping stone to a different job, George said.
According to Empowerment Plan’s website, 100% of participants have stable housing a year after graduating the program.
People who are a part of the fellowship spend 60% of their work hours making EMPWR coats, which can also be sleeping bags and shoulder bags, in the nonprofit’s Detroit building. Fellows spend 40% of their time connecting with resources such as tutoring to obtain a GED, driver’s education, domestic violence support, case management and more.
George said Empowerment Plan became a transitional workplace about 10 years ago when one of its graduates said someone else should have her job. The graduate currently works on the manufacturing line at Ford and owns a home, George said.
Challenging year
George said the demand for coats is higher than ever with nearly 2,000 people on the waitlist in need of a sponsor for the EMPWR coat.
“It’s been a really challenging year for our organization,” George said. “We’re fortunate we don’t receive federal funding, but many of our partners do. We’ve seen increased demand (for coats), and individuals we are hiring are coming in with way more barriers.”
George said the fundraising has not risen to meet the demand and delays in finalizing the state budget haven’t helped. She said Empowerment Plan is grateful for Apple’s investment, which will help provide on-the-job training, employment and wraparound services to fellows.
“Donations mean everything and matter more than ever because of the state of our country,” she said.
George said Empowerment Plan accepts donationsat its website, and is in the middle of a campaign to get the number of coats given to over 100,000 at Give.classy.org/journey100k.
Alisha Johnson Wilder, Apple’s senior director of environment, policy, and social initiatives, said the company is proud to support the vital work of Empowerment Plan.
“At Apple, we’re committed to supporting organizations that create opportunities andmake a difference in people’s lives,” Wilder said in the release.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Apple invests in Empowerment Plan, a Detroit nonprofit fighting homelessness
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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