Detroit Heals Detroit

What Detroit Heals Detroit does

Detroit Heals Detroit is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 83-1099822) founded in 2018 in Detroit, Michigan, that delivers healing-justice programming for Black and BIPOC youth ages 12-24. Its core offerings include the Detroit Youth-Led Healing Hub (a physical Eastside Detroit facility providing tutoring, a free computer lab, healing circles, behavioral support, washer/dryer, community pantry and garden, entrepreneur makerspace, and free food), Healing Circles (peer-led trauma-healing sessions), the Black Joy Summer Camp, Destination: Liberation (a 12-week travel-immersion program for formerly incarcerated youth ages 18-23 with a $2,000 completion stipend), Movement Trauma Free Therapy Sessions with licensed BIPOC therapists, and the copyrighted 'Forbidden Tears' publication. The organization is governed by a board composed primarily of Detroit youth under 25, with executive leadership including Co-Chair/Founder Brianna Donald and Executive Director Cam Hollenquest, and operates a co-executive director structure.

The organization's underlying intellectual property centers on a healing-centered engagement framework that integrates culturally-rooted trauma-informed care with restorative practices. This framework is productized into a curriculum line sold directly through its website store: the Healing Justice Curriculum ($999, 30 lessons over 10-12 weeks, with lesson plans, PowerPoints, worksheets, and facilitator guides), the Youth/Adult Powersharing Assessment Workshop ($99), the Healing Justice in the Classroom Presentation ($100), the Summer Camp Games Curriculum ($50), and a school-wide licensed Researchee Special ($500). The proprietary technology differentiator is domain specialization in healing justice and culturally-responsive SEL pedagogy, not software or AI tooling.

Detroit Heals Detroit operates a hybrid nonprofit revenue model: individual donations (tiers of $10, $60, $100, and $500 via PayPal), foundation grants (notably The Navigation Fund and Andrus Family Fund for Destination: Liberation), program service fees from curriculum sales and training/consulting engagements with schools and organizations, and event revenue (galas, film festivals, community clean-ups). The go-to-market is community-led at the grassroots level (youth member applications, volunteer recruitment, word-of-mouth) combined with direct sales of curriculum to schools and organizations, and event-driven engagement. Key partners include Grow Detroit's Young Talent (a citywide summer jobs program serving over 8,000 youth), Wanderlust Revolution, and Kenship. Operating geography is restricted to Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Name

Detroit Heals Detroit

Legal name

Detroit Heals Detroit

Website

https://detroithealsdetroit.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Detroit Heals Detroit is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2018 in Detroit, Michigan, that delivers healing-justice programming — including the Healing Hub, healing circles, summer camp, and curriculum products — for Black and BIPOC youth ages 12-24.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Healing & Social Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Trauma-Informed Care & Crisis Response (School-Based) (EDAKAMAF)

Keywords

• Healing justice services
• Youth trauma support
• Culturally responsive curriculum
• Community youth organizing
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the organization. Donation tiers of $10, $60, $100, and $500 available through PayPal.
2. Program Service Fees: Revenue from training workshops, curriculum sales, and consulting services. Youth/Adult Powersharing Assessment Workshop at $99, Healing Justice Curriculum at $999, and other curriculum products.
3. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including The Navigation Fund and Andrus Family Fund for specific programs like Destination: Liberation.
4. Event Revenue: Gala events and other fundraising activities with proceeds supporting organizational mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Detroit Heals Detroit is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates the Healing Hub, a physical Eastside Detroit space providing healing circles, tutoring, free therapy, food, laundry, and wraparound services to Detroit youth aged 12-24. It runs core programs (Black Joy Summer Camp, Healing Circles, Destination: Liberation travel immersion, Movement Trauma Free Therapy, Forbidden Tears publication) and sells packaged healing-justice curriculum products to schools and community organizations.

Product overview

Detroit Heals Detroit operates as a youth-led nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected healing justice programs and curriculum products. Core programs include the Detroit Youth-Led Healing Hub (a physical healing space), Healing Circles (peer-led trauma healing sessions), Black Joy Summer Camp (six-week summer experience), Destination: Liberation (travel immersion for formerly incarcerated youth), Movement Trauma Free Therapy Sessions, and the Forbidden Tears publication. The organization also sells curriculum products including the Healing Justice Curriculum (30 lessons, 10-12 weeks), Youth/Adult Powersharing Assessment Workshop, Summer Camp Games Curriculum, and Healing Justice in the Classroom Presentation. These offerings work together to foster healing justice for Detroit youth aged 12-24, enabling them to transform their pain into power through culturally-rooted, trauma-informed engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Detroit Youth-Led Healing Hub A safe haven where Detroit youth help each other lift up resiliency and lead community healing, transforming pain into power. Provides culturally-rooted trauma-informed care, wraparound services, and restorative practices for youth ages 12-21.
• Healing Circles Peer-led healing sessions for Detroit high school students to help each other heal from trauma together through written narratives, critical writing skills, and alternative adventure retreats.
• Youth/Adult Powersharing Assessment Workshop Organizational self-assessment tool with metrics and tips organized across three levels to support power-sharing between young people and adults. Includes a scorecard for documenting current assessment and an action template for goal prioritization.
• Healing Justice Curriculum A 30-lesson, 10-12 week curriculum centered on equity and the cultivation of belonging for students through a culturally responsive lens. Includes pacing guide, unit maps, lesson objectives, PowerPoints, worksheets, icebreakers, teacher/facilitator guides, and pre/post surveys.
• Healing Justice Curriculum - Researchee Special School-wide licensing rights to all Healing Justice Curriculum content plus free virtual school-wide training, contingent on agreement to share survey data and school behavior/academic outcomes for research.
• Healing Justice in the Classroom Presentation - For Practitioners A 165-slide PowerPoint presentation explaining how educators can do healing justice work alongside students.
• Summer Camp Games Curriculum Over 100 games and activities to engage campers of all ages, with detailed instructions and videos for each game.
• Black Joy Summer Camp A healing-centered, culturally-rooted six-week summer experience for youth 13 to 18 years old celebrating Black joy, creativity, and resilience through artistic experiences, wellness workshops, community building, and leadership development.
• Destination: Liberation A 12-week Travel Immersion Initiative for formerly incarcerated Detroit youth ages 18-23 using travel and youth organizing as forms of resistance. Participants receive a $2,000 stipend upon completion and travel to liberatory sites throughout the United States.
• The Healing Hub A physical Eastside Detroit space offering tutoring support, free computer lab and library, behavioral support, healing circles, community space, washer/dryer services, community pantry/fridge, community closet, community garden, entrepreneur makerspace, community dinners, free food giveaway, and a rest and resistance room.
• Movement Trauma Free Therapy Sessions Free therapy sessions with licensed BIPOC therapists offering pro-bono work to support BIPOC activists and organizers. Includes a 10-session group therapy programming and individual support options.
• Forbidden Tears A publication written by Detroit students sharing their compelling stories of trauma in the form of essays, poems, and written narratives. Serves as the foundation of the organization and the inception of a youth movement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Youth complete program and become published authors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wanderlust RevolutioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2019Detroit-based nonprofit partnering on Destination: Liberation initiative to bring radical healing to formerly incarcerated Detroit youth through travel and youth organizing as forms of resistance. Wanderlust Revolution decolonizes travel culture and utilizes travel as a form of liberation.
• KenshipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity collaboration for mutual aid framework clean-up events prioritizing community care and resource sharing.
• Grow Detroit's Young Talent (GDYT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitywide summer jobs program that trains and employs young adults ages 14-24 for up to 120 hours. Partner for Summer Camp counselor positions through their job readiness training and career exploration sessions. Over 8,000 local youth participated last year.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Roca: Massachusetts-based nonprofit focused on violence interruption, reentry support, and trauma-informed intervention for high-risk young adults. Comparable mission of disrupting cycles of violence and incarceration for system-impacted youth of color.
• Alternatives for Girls: A Detroit-based nonprofit serving at-risk girls and young women (ages 12–24) with shelter, education, and trauma-informed support. Direct geographic peer working on the same Detroit cohort with overlapping trauma-responsive and education-based programming.
• The Brotherhood/Sister Sol: A NYC-based youth development and educational organization serving Black and Latinx youth through culturally-rooted programming, including a published writer's program analogous to DHD's Forbidden Tears publication. Both organizations center youth-led governance and use culturally-responsive education as their core methodology.
• YouthBuild USA: National nonprofit network providing education, job training, and leadership development for opportunity youth, including those impacted by the justice system. Comparable in serving system-impacted youth through wraparound programming and leadership development.
• Urban Neighborhood Initiatives: Detroit-based community organization working on youth development, community safety, and neighborhood revitalization in Southwest Detroit. Comparable as a place-based, youth-centered Detroit nonprofit with multiple programmatic revenue streams.
• Covenant House Michigan: Detroit-based youth services organization providing shelter, supportive housing, and wraparound services for youth experiencing homelessness and trafficking. Direct peer in Detroit youth services delivery and human services model.
• Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation: Detroit-based youth services organization providing wraparound programming including workforce development, education, and community transformation. Peer in geography, mission, and Detroit youth services ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Conscious Discipline: A trauma-informed SEL curriculum provider serving schools and educators with a structured, evidence-based approach to social-emotional learning. Comparable as a curriculum product sold to schools with a focus on trauma and regulation, similar to DHD's Healing Justice Curriculum.

Broad incumbents

• Committee for Children: A large, established SEL curriculum provider (Second Step) selling research-backed social-emotional learning programs to schools and districts globally. The most directly comparable commercial competitor in the trauma-informed/SEL curriculum category where DHD sells products.
• CASEL: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is the leading national organization defining SEL standards, frameworks, and district adoption. A peer category-defining incumbent that DHD's curriculum products must align with for school buyer adoption.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/detroithealsdetroit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/detroit-heals-detroit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Detroit Heals Detroit