Focus: Hope is facing one of the most significant setbacks in its 56-year history after learning it will lose $6 million in federal Head Start funding, with no explanation from Washington and no other provider stepping up to serve the affected neighborhoods. The loss will end a program that has been a lifeline for hundreds of Detroit children and families, strip at least 90 workers of their jobs, and undermine the stability that allows parents to work, study, and pursue better opportunities.

Founded in 1968 in the shadow of the 1967 rebellion, Focus: Hope was created to address the economic and racial inequities that had fueled unrest. Its model has always linked education, job training, and food access to a broader vision of rebuilding Detroit from within. The nonprofit’s Head Start and

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