When I first came across the phrase “social entrepreneurship,” I had a very limited understanding of what it meant, what drives people to pursue it and how it impacts a community. In all honesty, I liked the phrase and thought it sounded like an interesting idea, without actually knowing what it was comprised of. However, in the weeks leading up to coming to Detroit and now finally working here, I have grown to understand the true meaning of a social enterprise and the work that they do. To me, these sorts of companies are responsible for finding innovative and sustainable solutions to today’s most pressing problems. Whilst they understandably care about the financial aspects of their business, their profit margin is not the only number taken into account when analyzing the success of their business. Rather, they focus on the community themselves rather than just the numbers, ensuring that the services they provide are fully used by people who need it.
This aspect of social entrepreneurship is something that I have seen firsthand at Street Democracy, where I am working. Street Democracy’s aim is to represent the poor and vulnerable, and use that representation to identify and research the systems that perpetuate poverty and punish the poor. Currently their focus is on implementing ways to fix the systemic causes of poverty through the court system, working with ex-convicts, lawyers, judges and policymakers to find a more effective and sustainable solution to America’s prison problem. Street Democracy has taken the initiative to try and solve a glaring problem where people find themselves incarcerated for the smallest of misdemeanors, or simply because of the poverty they are in. One of Street Democracy’s primary strengths is their involvement in the community. Although just a small office, people represented by the 36th District Court are constantly in and out of the office discussing their cases. Their model of working to reform the justice system, whilst also representing disenfranchised, low-income workers who would not normally get this level of expertise is improving the 36th District community and making it more inclusive. Their way of working as a social entrepreneurship that is determined to be a sustainable business whilst also positively impacting the neighborhood is the primary way I see social enterprises working in Detroit. That being said, I am keen during my next 6 weeks here to explore more of these social enterprises in Detroit and see their method of working, thus expanding my knowledge of what really is a social enterprise.
This aspect of social entrepreneurship is something that I have seen firsthand at Street Democracy, where I am working. Street Democracy’s aim is to represent the poor and vulnerable, and use that representation to identify and research the systems that perpetuate poverty and punish the poor. Currently their focus is on implementing ways to fix the systemic causes of poverty through the court system, working with ex-convicts, lawyers, judges and policymakers to find a more effective and sustainable solution to America’s prison problem. Street Democracy has taken the initiative to try and solve a glaring problem where people find themselves incarcerated for the smallest of misdemeanors, or simply because of the poverty they are in. One of Street Democracy’s primary strengths is their involvement in the community. Although just a small office, people represented by the 36th District Court are constantly in and out of the office discussing their cases. Their model of working to reform the justice system, whilst also representing disenfranchised, low-income workers who would not normally get this level of expertise is improving the 36th District community and making it more inclusive. Their way of working as a social entrepreneurship that is determined to be a sustainable business whilst also positively impacting the neighborhood is the primary way I see social enterprises working in Detroit. That being said, I am keen during my next 6 weeks here to explore more of these social enterprises in Detroit and see their method of working, thus expanding my knowledge of what really is a social enterprise.
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