The Carpenter Road Supermarket displays a fresh produce sign, but the building is abandoned and crumbling to the ground. Weeds are growing through the cracks of the cement parking lot that once had freshly painted yellow lines. Today, the ominous sky is about to water them.

The streets that lead off of Carpenter Rd. into residential areas are eerily similar, the houses remain, but most are vacant and boarded up.

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On a Saturday morning inside the COFY Center, the EPA hosted its fourth and final education course. They called it citizen’s science. They provided breakfast and a $20 stipend.

Tables of water filters, testing kits and pipes outlined the room. Donald Moses, the COFY Center’s Co-Director, read through a detailed PowerPoint outlining the water cycle. He occasionally shared the podium with other speakers, like EPA employees, an employee of Community Outreach and Resident Education Program (CORE), Shucon Hall, and Dr. Trish Koman from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Koman biblically described the difference between a hazard and a risk to the handful of, mostly-older, adults in attendance.

“There could be something hazardous, like, the wolf, but it only becomes a risk if it can get to little Shaun the sheep,” said Koman. “What do good shepherds do to prevent the wolf from getting to their sheep?”

One speaker asked, “Who’s had their water tested for lead?” and three people raised their hand.

It’s been 758 days since researchers at Virginia Tech announced that the water in Flint had almost three times more lead (in parts per billion) than needed to be considered hazardous. It’s been thousands of days since residents began complaining about cloudy, brown water coming out of their faucets.

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Leatha Deloney showed up to learn ways to keep her family healthy; she has diabetes and lupus, and her granddaughter almost went into septic shock last year.

“It really scared me at the time because I didn’t know what was happening with her,” said Deloney. “All I know is that her eyes went in the back of her head and she started shaking and then a little foam came out of her mouth.”

Her granddaughter seems to be better since moving out of Flint, but Deloney is worried because she still lives here.

Many who live in Flint dismiss these seminars as unhelpful. They’re familiar with water symposiums and organized town hall protests by now. There’s a skepticism and a disconnect between the people in the houses and informational seminars hosted by governmental agencies.

While the EPA’s intentions are to better acquaint the people with the infrastructure of water piping and processes, there were contradictory scenes and responses in neighborhoods.

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Peggy Brisbane-Noblit is a long time resident of flint. She lives in Carriage town, the historic district, and her house, which is paid off, was only assessed at $12,000. She is sitting on her porch puffing a cigarette and drinking a glass of wine with her friend, Judy Karpinsky.

“Who is going to buy a house in Flint?” said Karpinsky.

Cases of water are piled on the stairs of Brisbane-Noblit’s home, and inside she has a bag of unused filters. Aside from concerns that they even work, she says they’re standardized, so they don’t fit her fixtures.

“We’re girls, we like the pretty stuff. You’re not thinking- one day I’m going to wake up and my whole city is poisoned,” said Brisbane-Noblit.

On the other side of Carpenter Road, the Water is Life conference was held in the New Standard Academy Charter School’s McCree Theater. The crowd gathered to talk about activism, and all of the speakers emphasized water as a human right- from the Flint water crisis, to the Dakota access pipeline to oil spills.

Gyasi Ross, an author and public speaker took the stage in the theater.

“If you recognize somebody as being fully human, you’re not going to allow lead to be in their water, because I value you,” said Ross.

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At the EPA’s education course, Shucon Hall, a CORE employee and Flint resident, said she goes door-to-door to make sure people know how to use their filters, but that doesn’t mean little things, like washing your vegetables, aren’t a process.

“Everything has changed. You have to make sure you’re not consuming any of the water without it being filtered, it’s a lot,” said Hall.

Back on Brisbane-Noblit’s porch, she says her pipes will be replaced in August. They reflect while lighting another cigarette.

“Where it’s very visual and political, of course it’s going to get done there,” said Karpinsky.

But is there a desire to fix the streets behind the COFY center and around Carpenter Road?

For areas with no political gain, “pretty miniscule,” said Karpinsky.

The post Activism and Community Outreach, but the Neighborhoods Are a Different Story appeared first on Finding Flint.

The post The Citizens of Flint Remain Persistent (Video) appeared first on Finding Flint.

As you walk inside the Mad Hatter, to your right, brass shoeshine footrests dangle below a row of seats. The cavernous walls go straight back and offer a wide selection of assorted colors of fedoras, flat caps, pork pies, and Panamas. But the business has also moved beyond the vintage era with a broad offering of baseball caps and contemporary menswear. Employee Charles Collins toils away shining shoes while owner Ok Hui climbs a rolling staircase with armfuls of shirts and hats.

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When asked about the water in Flint, Collins looks up from the boot in his hand and is full of opinions. By his open and inviting manner, it’s obvious he’s spent years honing the art of conversing with the stranger in front of him.

“You gotta live here to know. They’ll tell you anything on TV. Look outside of here. There isn’t one city truck, or tore up street, or plumber out there working. I haven’t seen one,” said Collins. “The only construction is downtown. Everywhere else – forget about it,” Collins said.

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In three days in Flint, over a weekend, no trucks or employees appeared to be working on underground pipes. But a settlement has since been announced, and by 2020, the State of Michigan has agreed to pay $87 million to replace lead or steel service lines leading to at least 18,000 Flint homes.

Buildings Flint on or near Saginaw Street north of the Mad Hatter. Photos: Ed Makowski

A new Michigan State campus recently opened in downtown Flint, sharing the city with University of Michigan – Flint, and Kettering University (formerly known as the General Motors Institute). Of the new university presence, Collins was equally dismissive, “You can build universities, and education is great, but who’s going to come here if you can’t use the water? My boss and me – we don’t use the water,” Collins said.

Ok Hui said that the new college hasn’t had much impact on her business. “Flint is a college town, but I don’t really see many college kids in my store,” said Hui. “Most of my customers are older men,” Hui said.

Decades ago, Flint was a bustling hub of production. But throughout the 1980’s, General Motors plants, and the businesses that supported the employees, gradually shut down. In the wake of auto plant closings, a Six Flags theme park called Autoworld opened in downtown Flint on July 4, 1984, providing an ironic homage to the city’s ailing industry. By December, Autoworld was only open on weekends and its visitor assembly line closed for good within six months of opening. Today, the downtown area of Flint still seems to be waiting for Flint to “happen” again.

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After working in retail for more than 20 years, Ok Hui purchased the Mad Hatter from previous owner Bob Kittel. Kittel still owns the building, and Hui rents the business from him, adding that every day she’s at the store from open to close. Hui was born in South Korea and when asked what brought her to Michigan, Hui offers the most direct answer. “My kid’s father is American,” she says, with a no-nonsense laugh.

When asked about the water in Flint, Hui shook her head side to side. “I don’t drink the water, I’m scared to drink the water. So many people get that rash,” said Hui.

A study of 122 patients with skin problems, published in August 2016 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that more than 80 percent of the patients’ issues were possibly related to water exposure in Flint. This was following the city’s switch to water from the Flint River, which was more corrosive than water purchased from Detroit, and came from Lake Huron.

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“My sister moved back here from Maryland two years ago and said the water is bad, that she had rashes all over,” said Hui. “I told her she had sensitive skin and don’t blame the water. I didn’t want to hear bad things about the Flint water. But the problems came out about the water and suddenly I said – Oh! That’s why!” Hui said.

Hui said her sister had since moved back east. “Her skin cleared up when she moved back to Maryland,” Hui said.

But Hui said that being comfortable with what she drinks comes at a cost. “So many bottles of water. So much trash,” said Hui.

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When asked if Collins plans to stay in Flint, he had one thing in mind. “I’m here because of my daughter. She’s 16, she’s a junior. She’s real smart, on the honor roll, and when she graduates, wherever she goes off to college – I’m gone.”

Dwayne Lee contributed to this story.

The post Mad Hatter Still Donning Despite Flint Lead Water Woes appeared first on Finding Flint.

The post The Flint Water Crisis: Resident and Community Outreach (Video) appeared first on Finding Flint.

Even though the water crisis has affected this couple’s future plans of moving out of Flint for the next two years, it’s not a topic of discussion amongst friends. They’re not alone. Across Flint in March 2017, people like Clyde Morris’s father can’t drink the water or safely bathe in it without risking a rash and struggle to find housing and food.

The driving force for change to the water crisis in Flint is through the people.

“People don’t trust the government. If you don’t trust what’s there then how are you going to step up in their place,” said Terence Muhammad, Advocacy Manager for the Hip Hop Caucus.

“The water was like the icing on the cake,” Lewis said. “Flint had been messed up for so long with the schools closing, businesses being torn down and our neighborhoods being down to one or two houses. We have adapted to being one of the most dangerous cities to live in, so the water crisis was just another thing that we had to adapt to. Flint should’ve been in the national spotlight a long time ago before this water thing came about,” said Noreen Lewis.

However, there are some signs of progress. From 2010-2012, Flint was one of America’s most dangerous cities to live in based on FBI crime statistics of violent crimes per capita. However, according to the Detroit Police Department, the total number of reported violent crimes has dropped by almost 3,500 cases. Recently in 2016, there were 597 offense accounts of violent crimes and 568 accounts reported this year. Despite its decline in violent crime per capita, there is still room for improvement.

It’s not only family members who are reaching out to help the people of Flint, many of whom are elderly people, in the wake of the government’s neglect.

Coalitions like Flint Rising, an advocacy fund, are working with community organizations to ensure that the impacted citizens of Flint are building the organizing infrastructure and leadership necessary for justice for Flint families.

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“My mother was advised by her doctor not to stay in Flint because of her chronic spinal pain. She doesn’t currently live in Flint but still has to pay her water bill,” said Susan Whalen, Flint Rising Volunteer.

The water crisis has also affected the poor and destitute citizens of Flint.

“I was approved to find Section 8 housing through BECKA Management by April 8th but I haven’t been able to find housing for the second year now. I get a housing voucher, but it always runs out so I re-apply. I am living in an abandoned house and I use about a case of water every two weeks. No one’s is really helping me find housing. I have to do this on my own,” said James Frye, 57-year-old Flint resident.

Many citizens are simply dismissing the topic from entering everyday conversations with friends and family.

“We got friends that we visit often and the water crisis isn’t even a conversation that we have had. Everybody is just dealing with it day by day,” said Clyde Morris, Mount Morris resident.

Like many Michigan residents outside of Flint, Clyde Morris and Noreen Lewis aren’t directly affected by the water crisis but want to be involved in community events that’ll force government officials to bring a solution.

“The people will come together once they see that the government is really doing something. What can we do without them making a move first,” said Morris.

Some of the citizens of Michigan aren’t motivated to lead a change due to years of political corruption without community representation.

“A lot of times we go to the powers that be to bring change but it never came from the powers that be. Our civil rights never came from the powers that be, it came from the masses and the people,” said Muhammad.

Amidst all the crisis, the couple is worried that the media’s perception of Flint is not accurate or truly a representation of what Flint is like.

“The inner city is the heart of Flint. The media isn’t going to the inner city at all. They are choosing the poorest and most ignorant to push their own motives,” said Clyde.

Legislative change is vital in regaining the trust of Flint citizens.

“To comfortably leave my 76-year-old father in Flint, a new mayor must be elected,” said Clyde.

Coalitions like Flint Rising have identified three needs that Flint residents have that should be addressed by the Michigan Legislature; replacing the damaged service lines using Flint workers, complete reimbursement for water bill payments dating back to April 2014 and health and education services for all children, adults and seniors in the community.

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“Flint Rising was created by the residents of Flint without any funding. I joined Flint Rising because people need help right now. Water credits only covered a portion of water bills and citizens still had to pay sewage rates, which were raised at the same time,” said Whalen.

Despite the changes that need to be made executively and locally, Clyde and Noreen are glad that progress has been made in Flint.

“You can get free water almost anywhere in the city. You can get filters and cartridges if you run out,” said Clyde.

Even though bottled water and filters are available for citizens, others feel like they may be a distraction from addressing the longevity of the effects from the water crisis.

“Filters are a bandage; they won’t solve the problem. The state is trying to sweep this under the rug and not really help the community,” said Whalen.

The issue of contaminated water isn’t a new issue and goes beyond Flint.

“People in Georgia, Mississippi and even New Jersey are dealing with water issues. The issue alone is a violation of human rights. The fact that I even buy bottled water in the store back home, I’m dealing with the same issue,” said Muhammad

The water crisis has forced Flint residents and family members to deal with the financial and emotional toll of living with unclean water for at least two more years.

“It’s exhausting to uncap every single bottle of water to cook and wash dishes. We’re tired of dealing with that every day,” said Whalen.

Despite the turmoil, the citizens of Flint are staying strong and persistent.

“Life goes on. People still have to work and send their kids to school, we are all just trying to survive,” said Noreen.

The post The Driving Force for Change appeared first on Finding Flint.

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Underneath the bicycle next to the sugar and crème is a stack of papers asking people how likely they are to recommend the restaurant to a friend or colleague and why. The restaurant manager says they listen to every single bit of feedback so they can apply whatever changes they need to make to improve the quality of their service.

“We definitely want every single person to walk out of here excited and sharing that with other people, and that ensures business,” said Flint Crepe Company Manager Brad Burk. “If you can excite people about your business – get them talking about it – people are going to come back.”

Water is an integral part of keeping people coming back to restaurants, whether it’s using it to cook or simply serving it to customers. But what happens to restaurants when water sources become contaminated with lead, as is the case with the water crisis in Flint, Michigan? It turns out that some of the restaurants in Flint weren’t all that affected. However, others were, and one iconic establishment is about to close its doors.

Even if the water is safe to drink due to filters, restaurants face another vexing problem: people’s perceptions that it isn’t.

All the restaurants the reporter looked at were tested with zero traces of lead. Genesee County Health Department Health Officer Mark Valacak said that restaurants don’t have the same kinds of problems as residences because their water supply is constantly used and doesn’t sit in the pipes as long, meaning it’s less likely to become contaminated. Commercial buildings, where many restaurants are located, have larger feed lines made of plastic or cast iron while residences use smaller feed lines made of lead.

Any drop in business was due not to the water quality, but to customers being distrustful of the water. After ensuring the quality of the water and clearly communicating to customers that it’s safe to drink, the drop turned around and the businesses remained successful.

“Flint in general is doing very well,” said 501 Bar and Grill General Manager Joe Kukla. “All the businesses around here are picking up, and it looks like it’s going to be a pretty promising summer.”

But for one restaurant, clear communication isn’t enough. It’s lucky if it can remain open for another year.

Below are the stories of three different restaurants around downtown Flint and how they coped with the water crisis.

Flint Crepe Company – 555 Saginaw St.

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Directly interfacing with customers and applying feedback has been a part of Flint Crepe Company’s business since day one, back when they didn’t even have a brick-and-mortar location. Founders Robb Klaty and Tim Goodrich first tested the waters operating a mobile crepe cart in 2008, wheeling around town from the farmer’s market to the courthouse. After being pleasantly surprised with the response, they opened a storefront on November 11, 2011.

About 16,000 customers are served each year. Burk said that the numbers have been increasing every year since they started. The restaurant may see up to a 10 percent growth this year over 2016 – a bit more than years past.

Being a café serving coffee – which is 99 percent water – it seems like Flint Crepe Company would be hit hard by the water situation. They weren’t. That’s thanks not only to the restaurant’s willingness to take feedback but to the restaurant’s reverse osmosis filter, which they had from the beginning of the restaurant’s opening. It’s an $8,000 system, but they managed to get it for $2,000 from a closed-down Starbucks. They paid for it from the initial investment made by Klaty and his wife Tamra and can pay for new filters every year.

Part of the reason Burk invested in a water filter for the restaurant is because he had severe respiratory and allergy problems growing up. He took antibiotics, medical steroids, nebulizer treatments and more for years just for basic activities. When he became a teenager, one of the strategies his family employed to keep his health up is getting water filters.

He also installed water filters in his house for his wife and newborn. Neither he nor his family have been tested for lead poisoning.

He understands that many people in Flint aren’t as fortunate as he is.

“Deep down, you wish you could rely upon the government or local authorities to have the proper checks and balances – the proper regulations – but inevitably stuff happens and that’s why I take it on myself to have the necessary precautions not just for water but for food or whatever else it is,” Burk said. That self-reliance extends to the restaurant as well as his home.

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For Burk, the main thing the water situation affected was the publicity surrounding the business and its water. Burk remembered seeing lots of news reporters roaming Flint. While walking home one day, he counted four reporters interviewing people on the street.

They always have people coming in wondering if they use Flint water. Burk recalled that during the first month the crisis began, people came in just to see what the water tasted like. They just came in, drank it, and then left without buying anything.

“I just thought it was hilarious,” Burk said. “You should bottle that up and sell it.”

The increase in publicity made the restaurant feel busier overall. Burk has no data to show that the publicity led to more growth than what was expected, but for a couple of months the business felt busier to him. Nowadays, that interest has died down for a bit with people questioning the water every so often. While it is tiring to constantly explain to people that it’s safe, he believes that the publicity helped overall and he sees more investors moving money downtown to help entrepreneurs.

The restaurant plans on making renovations and expansions in the near future as they continue to hit max capacity, including more griddles, another espresso machine, and an expansion for their patio.

When done talking, Burk offered the reporter a coffee.

501 Bar and Grill – 500 Saginaw St.

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With its exposed brick wall, artsy paintings, and selection of local, craft beers, 501 Bar and Grill wouldn’t be out of place in Milwaukee. The restaurant offers a variety of options for food such as the recently introduced Asian dishes. The waiters offered the reporter glass of water when he came in.

The restaurant opened in 2009 as part of the downtown revitalization project. Luis Fernandez and a couple of other people got the money from several investors and opened the restaurant as 501 Bar and Grill and Wise Guys Pizza. Kukla said that Wise Guys Pizza was discontinued by the previous general manager, who thought it wasn’t worth his time. The restaurant plans on bringing it back in a big way this summer.

The business averages about $1.2 million in sales a year. They serve 200 to 300 people a day with some days going as high as 500 people (so about 72,000 to 108,000 a year).

Kukla said that the restaurant saw a drop in business in the first quarter of last year as the water crisis moved from a local issue to a national one. It wasn’t significant but it was still noticeable. They took a consensus of their customers and found that they didn’t trust their water.

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Kukla doesn’t trust the water in his own home in downtown; he still doesn’t drink the water from the tap without a filter, though he does bathe in it. “I can tell you that around Flint there still is a level of distrust,” he said.

They invested in a $3,000 reverse osmosis system in January of last year and placed filters on their faucets. They also had secondary solutions such as selling more beer, especially during festivals where they get most of their sales. Their water was tested about a month and a half ago with zero traces of lead found.

Since installing the filters, their business rebounded, especially as publicity surrounding the water crisis died down. The restaurant is still very busy and successful today.

The waiter wrote “Water is Life – Thank you!” on a customer’s bill.

Flint “Original” Coney Island – 401 W. Court St.

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While most of the restaurants in Flint are doing just fine, you get a much different story if you walk about a mile or two from downtown.

Flint “Original” Coney Island proudly displays on the front window an excerpt from a USA Today story where Bruce Kraig, co-author of Man Bites Dog: Hot Dog Culture in America, shares 10 of his favorite hot dog places with Flint “Original” Coney Island being one of them.

The restaurant’s current owner, Atanas “Tom” Zelevarovski, 65, said that his grandfather opened the restaurant in 1919. His grandfather saw Coney Island in New York and decided to bring a little slice of it to Flint. Zelevarovski eventually took over after moving to Flint from Macedonia in 1977.

Zelevarovski doesn’t keep records of how many people he serves, but he said that business has gone down by 60 percent since the beginning of the water crisis. He’s coping by selling bottled water and offering discounts, but now after owning the restaurant for 20 years he said that he’d be lucky if he can keep it open for another year.

The place has a reverse osmosis system and the water has been tested with zero traces of lead, as evidenced by the certificate from the state of Michigan which many other restaurants have. But despite that, many people still don’t trust the water. People tell Zelevarovski that the certificate doesn’t mean anything.

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Zelevarovski refuses to pay the water bill at the restaurant, saying that he “doesn’t want to pay for poison.” He wanted to put in a well out back, but the city told him that he could only use well water for the bathroom. He tried to sell the restaurant, but nobody wanted to buy it.

Zelevarovski told The Detroit News that Flint “used to be an auto city; now it’s poison city,” in January of last year. He still believes that. He compared the water situation to that of Russia, which has a high water pollution rate and a water and wastewater utilities asset deterioration rate of 75-85 percent depending on the region according to export.gov. He said that the water back in Macedonia was just fine as it came from the mountains.

Zelevarovski also owns Scotty’s Coney Island in Burton, Michigan just outside of Flint, which he said has no problems.

If Flint “Original” Coney Island closes down, he said that he would simply retire and collect his social security as he can make a living off of it. As for the other workers, he has hope that they can move on to work for other restaurants since they’re young.

“My time for doing anything else is over,” he said.

In the meantime, he’ll try his best to keep the doors open as long as he can.

The post An Appetite for Water: How Flint Restaurants Cope With the Water Crisis appeared first on Finding Flint.

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At the only karaoke bar on Davison Road sits 64-year-old Flint resident John Bednarski wearing a Milwaukee staple Harley-Davidson hat.

Bednarski listens to the overpoweringly loud country music playing inside the dimly-lit bar with bright neon signs while sitting at the bar; however, he’s not drinking alcohol.

“I only drink pop and water,” said Bednarski as he sipped on his free bottled water from the bar.

Bednarski started drinking from bottled water a year before the Flint water crisis in 2014 after being diagnosed with throat cancer. Suffering from a dry throat, Bednarski continues to use bottled water for cooking, drinking and making coffee but bathes and cleans with the lead-contaminated water.

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Living alone in a home built in 1972, Bednarski knew he had to have his water tested for lead. His home was tested three times by Virginia Tech and each time the levels came back showing no warning signs.

“The first time I had it tested I paid no attention to it. The second and third time I saw no concern so I continued to use it,” said Bednarski.

After speaking with Bednarski for a few minutes, he expressed his strong feelings on how wasteful people are with their bottled water.

“No one is reporting the waste of bottled water,” said Bednarski as his voice rose speaking about the issue. “Stacks sit outside in the sun and I asked how can that be safe with the plastic bottles but get no answer.”

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Not wanting to waste a single drop of the precious bottled water, Bednarski described how he’ll continue to use the bottled water after it gets warm by making coffee, feeding it to his plants or giving it to his cat.

It’s been three years since the city of Flint found a cheaper way to get their water by switching from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the Flint River. In 2014, the amount of lead that was seeping into the water became national news as it began to make residents ill.

Seventeen journalism students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee drove the six-hour ride from Milwaukee to Flint in search of answers to the Flint water crisis. They wanted to speak with the people of Flint, going door-to-door, to see how they felt about not having clean water for three years.

While Bednarski is one of the lucky residents in Flint to not have any rashes or other conditions due to lead poisoning, he does receive help from the government with getting clean water and filters like many other Flint residents.

Going through around four cases of water a week when he had cancer, Bednarski would pick up cases for both him and his neighbor. He explained that there is little regulation when it comes to picking up water bottles from the water pickups which might correspond with the amount of waste.

Bednarski was able to pick up 20 to 30 cases of water for both him and his neighbor at one time. All he needed to do was give the zip code and address of both his home and his neighbor’s. He continued by saying no one was ever checking I.D.s, just that the zip code and addresses matched that of Flint.

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“How the hell can they check it?” said Bednarski on the loose rules applied when picking up bottled water.

According to an article written by Dr. Ana Aparicio, Flint’s Latino community is silently suffering and being turned away for not being able to provide identification. When notified about the possibility that immigrants are being asked for I.D.s when he wasn’t, Bednarski became angry.

“They’re going to need to ask them too, that’s not right,” said Bednarski. “Why even ask if you’re not going to look? They’re targeting minorities.”

Chair of the Genesee County Hispanic/Latino Collaborative, Juani Olizares said that this problem is decreasing as time goes on.

“They were asking for identification last year but now they should be able to get water without showing any identification,” said Olizares.

Still focused on the issue of water bottle waste in Flint, Bednarski talks about how one can go through the neighborhoods and find lots of bottled water sitting outside on front porches. He is aware of the fact that people who are donating these water bottles want to know where the water is going but don’t realize it’s just sitting outside.

“I saw a church had guys unloading water on trucks and there were just tiers and tiers of it in the sun,” said Bednarski.

A member of his local crime watch unit for seven years, Bednarski is seeing crime rates go up around his neighborhood. He described how one of his neighbors was dealing drugs out of their home which led to the house being boarded up.

This same neighbor was also a victim of wasting water as Bednarski saw them filling up a pool with around 20 cases of bottled water.

“People just want more, more, more,” said Bednarski. “I could really abuse my water if I wanted to.”

The post The Hidden Waste of Bottled Water appeared first on Finding Flint.

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