Thursday, October 13, 2005

Ankur Dholakia / The Detroit News People at Mom's Place, a homeless shelter in Detroit, watch Oprah Winfrey's show on Wednesday. The show discussed poverty in America and included stories about a few former shelter residents.

Oprah takes on Detroit's poverty

Talk-show host features stories of two local families that have endured tough times in the city.

By Adam Graham / The Detroit News

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Oprah Winfrey exposed "America's dirty little secret" -- poverty -- on her show Wednesday, and in doing so, turned a harsh light on Detroit.

The show referred to Detroit as America's poorest big city, where one in three people live beneath the poverty line. CNN's Anderson Cooper filed a report from the city in which he interviewed people living in freeway underpasses and spotlighted two local families and their struggles with poverty and homelessness.

One of the women featured, Alexandria Steele, said before the show aired she was nervous because "the whole world" was going to see her story, which she referred to as "humiliating" as opposed to inspirational.

But afterward, she said it was "breathtaking" to see how many people were living the same way she was. "I'm glad the story got out, because it's not just a private matter, it's a public matter," she said.

Steele lived with her three children in a 1989 Dodge Caravan on Belle Isle for the majority of summer 2004. But after a stay at Mom's Place, a homeless shelter for single women and their children on 15th Street in Detroit, Steele was able to get back on her feet. On Aug. 19, she moved into a home on Detroit's east side, and she is currently studying to be a pharmacy technician.

Candace Williams, housing coordinator for the Salvation Army in southeastern Michigan, helped Steele find shelter. Steele's story stood out to Williams, who recommended her to Oprah's producers.

CNN's Cooper taped the segments with Steele on Oct. 1. Detroit was one of a handful of U.S. cities featured in the episode.

Williams hopes the show will shed light on poverty nationwide.

"We need to make people aware we have people right here in our back yard, in our community, human beings, just like me and you, who need our help," Williams said. "We need to help them get up, and I'm hoping people hear that message."

Oprah should help spread that message, Williams said.

"That's huge," she said of Oprah's involvement. "It's gigantic. I know how powerful she is, and I'm excited. I'm hopeful. Just because she's taken an interest, I think things will change, even here in our city."

After the show aired in Chicago on Wednesday morning, calls of support started pouring in to Detroit's Cass Community Social Services, which operates Mom's Place.

Wednesday's show also featured a segment on Steve and Luwana Douglas of Detroit. Steve sells his blood twice a week to be able to afford gas money to drive his three children to school. When the show taped, the Douglas family was living at Detroit's Doorstep Shelter.

The Rev. Faith Fowler, who runs Cass Community Social Services, said she was thrilled the show was able to spotlight Steele, who's come through Mom's Place and found success.

"(Steele) has had a dramatic reversal of events and circumstances, so we're delighted to feature not only someone who's struggled with poverty and homelessness, but someone who's been able, through the system here in Detroit, to have a fresh start," she said. "Clearly, the exposure on 'Oprah' will only make things better for her."

At the close of the show, Cooper said he was moved by the Douglases' story, especially that of their daughter, Marteea, who said that she prays every night that God will help her family.

To help bring the show's subject a little closer to home, Winfrey read a statistic at the end of the show that said at any given time, most Americans are only two paychecks away from being on the street.

You can reach Adam Graham at (313) 222-2284 or agraham@det news.com.