JoAnn Smith, April 27th, 2024

Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo: I'm Doris Lanzkron-Tamarazo. It's April 27th, 2024 and I'm here with—can you please say your name?

JoAnn Smith: JoAnn Smith.

DLT: And could you please spell that for me?

JS: J o capital A n n s m i t h.

DLT: And do you live in the city of Detroit?

JS: I do.

DLT: How long have you lived there?

JS: Oh, I've been going on over 50 years. Chalmers, yes.

DLT: And so have you always lived in the same neighborhood in Jefferson Chalmers?

JS: Yes.

DLT: And have you lived in other places at any point? Has it always been in Detroit for all the years?

JS: I lived in Kentucky, but I've been in Detroit for over 50 years. Yeah, I've been over here for 50 years, but I've been in Detroit longer.

DLT: And what career are you in?

JS: I'm retired now.

DLT: What did you do before retirement?

JS: I worked for the federal government for 20 years. And then I worked for doctors. I was office manager for a doctor.

DLT: And did you work in the city of Detroit?

JS: No, I didn't work for the city of Detroit.

DLT: Where did you work?

JS: Where?

DLT: Yeah. Where did you work?

JS: I worked for the V.A. for 20 years, and when I left from there I worked for one of the doctors, a private doctor. I worked for him for 11 years, and then I retired.

DLT: And how long have you been involved in the Treehouse organization?

JS: Ever since the beginning of it.

DLT: And what do you remember about the beginning of the organization?

JS: The beginning of our organization was just getting it together, gathering up people, just started helping other people. That’s our beginning, and just trying to put it together. Well, we would have meetings and people would come to meetings and we tell them, ask them what would they need, what do they need, and how can we help them? That's the beginning. And then we started growing. So that's how.

DLT: And when you started, what were some of those responses you were getting from people about what they needed, and what they wanted?

JS: Oh, food, groceries, help with housework, this and that and right when the pandemic hit, that's when we get in gear, and we started taking boxes to people's homes once a week. To the seniors, to senior citizen buildings, and getting fruit and vegetables and everything. It was picked—some of us was picking them up, taking them to the store, shopping for them.

DLT: And what year did the organization begin?

JS: Please don't ask me that. I couldn't tell you. You’re talking about Manistique?

DLT: Yeah.

JS: Oh, gosh, let's see. About, I'm thinking about 2017 or maybe a little bit before that.

DLT: And who was there at the start? What were the people that were there when you began?

JS: Tammy Black. Ms. Mills. She passed away from the Covid. And those were the two main ones. And then I was talking to them, and they said, ooh, come on in, Joan. So then I told her, I said, well, let's join them and see what, you know. Ms. Mills came to me and she said, why don't you join a, you know, organization? Because you like to do stuff. So. Then I started talking to some other friends, and then I brought in Edna Nelson, I brought in Rita, Pastor Rita. And a lot of other people were still just gathering up.

DLT: And can you spell some of those names of the first two?

JS: Edna is E d n a Nelson N e l s o n. And that was Rita Beale, R i t a B e a l e.

DLT: And, the founders, those were the founders at the start?

JS: Tammy Black was the founder. T a m m y B l a c k. And Ms. Mills, I don’t know her first name but last name was Mills, M i l l s.

DLT: Okay, thank you. And what does the Treehouse do to combat climate change?

JS: What do we do?

DLT: Yeah.

JS: Well, right now we got, we have meetings to let people know what's going on, what's coming. We, you know, we grow, we got vegetables, we grow fruit, vegetables and all of that. And have people come and pick up whatever they want out of the garden. We do a lot for the climate change too. We let them know, you know, okay, so we do have a meeting sometime with the climate change people. So we gather with the NWS. I think that's the weather people.

DLT: Yeah.

JS: We’re with them too.

DLT: And can you tell me a little bit more about what those meetings are like? And what you talk about?

JS: Oh, they tell us we can monitor how much rain we've gotten and they let us know, you know, we got an app on the phone where we monitor rain. They tell us when it's going to rain, and we tell people what we prepare for. So that's what that does.

DLT: And how long have you been partnered with the National Weather Service?

JS: Going on two years.

DLT: And how did that get started? How did you get that partnership going?

JS: Through Tammy Black. Yes. She met up with the gentleman, and then she called me. She said, let's meet with someone. So I'm like, well, okay, I can meet him, let's talk about this. So we got some other people, came along and we met with him, and he started telling us about, you know, how we can monitor the rain. And we might be able to know when flood’s going to come, a little bit like that.

DLT: And what do you feel, how do you feel that the app helps people in the community?

JS: It does. It helps some of the people that has it. Because, you know, we know about how much rain we're going to get. And that prepares us to get something, if we got anything down in the basement, to get it prepared. Just get it off the floor, whatever, it prepares us. Yes. Even if we don't have that down there, it prepares you for what's outside too, because sometimes the rain can mess up what you have outside. So it prepares us to put stuff up.

DLT: And what did the process of making the app look like? Did you contract someone to make it? Was it made internally?

JS: A guy came to us and he put it on, showed us how to put it on our phone. I think I still have it on there, this is another phone, so. Well, he came to us and he put the app, showed us how to put the app on the phone. But we still get emails when it's going to rain or thunderstorm or whatever. We get those. It comes to our phone to let us know. Yeah.

DLT: And are there any other things that the Treehouse does to combat flooding, or is it mainly the app and the partnership with the NWS?

JS: It’s the partnership and the app, yes.

DLT: And can you tell me a little bit about the Treehouse’s solar efforts with the solar panels and other projects?

JS: Well, with the solar panel and the Treehouse—I have solar on my house. I got it. I have the solar, and there’s 25 other people. And with that, you know, with the solar on the Treehouse, we show movies at night during the summer and we have different events over there. We have people come over and talk to us about something's going on and we have a lot going on. We feed them and everything with the solar. But I do have it on my house and I love it, I do.

DLT: How long have you had the solar panels on your house?

JS: I get it on there right after the pandemic. Well, they were supposed to put it on before the pandemic, but it's been on there right after the pandemic, about three, four years.

DLT: And what did the process of getting them look like?

JS: It wasn't bad. The process was, they just come to your house and check out the house first to see if you can get the solar, you know, go down your basement and check your fuse box and everything. And then they come, put the panels up and they pull out the boxes, what has to be on there on the side. And they come and connect it to your fuse box.

DLT: And what does the treehouse do to—besides spreading awareness, does it do anything else to help people get solar for their houses?

JS: Well, yeah, asking about the solar, we do a lot of other stuff. Like I said, we have a garden. We tell people: come and pick whatever you need and tell your neighbors and we pass out food to them. Now with the solar, with that, we have people come to us to have the events because they know we have a solar panel up there. So we had a wedding over there once. We had a nice wedding, and there's some people just come to have a birthday party or whatever. So it pays, you know, for the solar. We don't charge them up, [Laughter] just tell to clean up or whatever, but it's good. The solar’s paying off for us. So everyone knows how the solar works. It’s paying off for us. So that's that.

DLT: And can you tell me a bit about how the garden got started?

JS:] It got started through Tammy and Ms. Mills. We had a person named Pat, and me. We said, you know what? Tammy said, hey, let's get us a garden started for the neighborhood. So we started doing, getting it ready. And we started planting the seeds and stuff and the [] and then keeping it clean and this. That's how it got started, because, you know, at the time we don't have, we don't have a grocery store close by. So that's how it got started, we knew people needed greens, green beans, fruits and stuff. So we decided to do that.

DLT: And is the garden located at the Treehouse Center?

JS: Mm-hmm, It's right over there on Manistique.

DLT: Can you tell me a little bit more about, like what the Treehouse center is like? What its setup is, what its location is.

JS: The location I think is 259 Manistique. And then Kresge Foundation has something to do with the Treehouse, with Tammy's view and insight, what she wanted. But it got set up with them and, like I said, we have had a lot going on over that Treehouse. We have Christmas thing. We have every year at the end of the year, we have people come over and say, goodbye to the old year, welcome to the new year. We have them write something and we put it on a wall. We put a wall, a little board up. We tell them to put it on one of the trees, and this is that what we tell them. So it's nice. That's how we’ve been doing to []

DLT: And was there another location prior to the Treehouse being complete that you met in, or have you always met in the Treehouse?

JS: Well, was there another location? Besides, that’s where it is now, it's not going to go there, one’s going to be built. But we call it the Treehouse. One's going to be built there. We have a little, little station there that's connected, that has the panels there. And that's what we've been using.

DLT: And what are some of the plans for the building in the future?

JS: The plans are for the disability, where we’re going to have what they can use, the wheelchair, and we’re gonna have a library and it's going to be where they can come in, look for jobs, come in and talk to people who handle mental health. And for the seniors to come in and associate with the other seniors. That's what it's going to be.

DLT: And what do you feel the Treehouse has been able to do to educate people about climate change and other environmental issues?

JS: I think that it has— Well, with the climate change when we can't get the people to come and listen, well they know something, well they know about the climate change. It has helped as far as the other issues. It's like for, the food issues, we show the kids how to grow stuff. That's what we built. That's what we've been doing lately. Having a company and we show them how to make a plan, grow this and divide it and do this and that. So this pan out for us.

DLT: And what is the response been from the kids who you had learning this?

JS: Oh they love it. Oh they love it. Yes. Because. Yeah. Because we had the ones where they came in and we had them to—once they did this, we showed them how to get [], and we had surprises for them where if they did this, they would get a surprise. And the kids love, they would come over even if we didn’t ask them to. Well, when can I grow, can I grow this? I’m like yep, you sure can. I'm gonna show you how to do it. Make it down there and do it, and they like it.

DLT: And what's the age range of the kids coming to this program?

JS: Actually the youngest, you know what? We did have one that was five years old.

DLT: Wow.

JS: Yeah. So we did, and the highest one we had was 18. Yeah. So it starts out, I don't know if it starts out at five because it was just they started coming, when we invited them. they just started coming. The parents were dropping them off and we was working with them.

DLT: And do you have any adult educational programs along those lines?

JS: We're going to have some. Yeah.

DLT: Tell me a little bit about those.

JS: Well, we're going to have for the seniors, how to get up, get in your house, how to maneuver in your house, and how to ask for help, and where to go for help. We're going to have reading programs. We have a lot going on. We haven't got it, Tammy haven't got it all out yet, but it's going to be a lot going on up that Treehouse for everybody. Whatever issue, we're going to have something for it.

DLT: What would you say is your main role within the Treehouse? What's your primary, do you have a primary focus or are you just kind of a bit of everything?

JS: I'm just, my main focus would be running for everybody to help where I can help. That's my main focus. Where I can help. If I have to go here and there, that's going to be my main focus. I don't have to be steady in one spot. I can go, if you need me here. I go there to help. If I go, have to go read. If I have to go help, show them how to do—that’s my focus. Put me where I need to be.

DLT: And what do you think the overall response from the community has been to the Treehouse’s efforts?

JS: Love it. Everybody come back. When we start giving out food boxes, they come back. Oh, this is the first time somebody ever did this for us. They love it. They're going to love it because they always come back and say, when are y'all going to start? They’re going to love it. They are.

DLT: And what has the response been in particular to your efforts on flooding and solar?

JS: From the solar community?

DLT: Yeah, from the people who are using the Treehouse’s resources.

JS: Well, that's what they want. If we get the Treehouse, they're going to see how they can get resources for their flooding. Because when we did flood, we didn't get too much help. We didn't get a lot of help, so, and some people still haven't got what they need. So with the Treehouse, we’re hoping we can come up with some resources to help them.

DLT: And how would you describe the needs that people have regarding flooding? What are some of those needs?

JS: Some of the needs are still furnace, hot water tanks, cleaning the basements and just able to go back downstairs. Some people don't have washers and dryers or anything like that. And it's been too long for them to be without.

DLT: Would you say that the flooding has gotten worse over time, or is it about the same?

JS: Well, to me it has. Well, in the 80s we had the big flood, we had a terrible flood in the 80s. That's when everything, we had to get canoes to get out and then every two years we was having a flood. We had one 2012, 2014, ‘16. And then when this 2021 came, it was trouble for most people because most people didn't expect it. We didn't expect that. Because when I woke up, my water was up, my steps going out my side door, and I had six feet of water in my basement. Most people, they just didn't, we did not expect that. So that flooding kinda hurt us a lot. Hurt a lot of people, especially the older seniors.

DLT: And can you tell me a little bit more about the floods back in the 80s?

JS: Oh yeah. Well, the flood back in the 80s, it was like, it came through the streets, up in the streets. The street was flooded. The water started coming up by that side steps, coming through the door. And from the basement, it was just— Like I said, [Laughter] we couldn't go nowhere, someone went and got canoes for us so we can get out. But that was one of the worst I've ever seen, Yeah. It's flooded over before, though. But I wasn't there for that one. I was there for 80s.

DLT: And, with the more recent ones, what have been some of the ways that people have attempted to manage the impacts of that?

JS: Well, some people have been able to, you know, you get the sump pumps. You can go get the little pumps yourself. Well, you pump the water out with your hose connected. Some people just left the water down until the water went down by itself. And try to get help to get their basement cleaned up. If you don't have the resources or you have no one to help you, you don't know what to do. So I did help a couple of my neighbors. And went over and took my pump, I had three pumps, and we took the hose over there. We got the water out of the basement and stuff, but if you don't know where to go, or who to call, or what to do, and if you do call someone, no one comes, then you’re just there, just somebody to come and help you.

DLT: And does the Treehouse have any plans for future projects that will help more with mitigating the flood effects?

JS: I really can't say. But I do believe we are working on that. I do believe as far as letting them know where they can go for resources. Resources is going to be the main thing they're going to need, resources. But now, you know, some of us have backflow preventers put in our basements, the city put in backflow preventers hoping that would help. So that's what we hoping on, you know. But nothing's guaranteed.

DLT: And if the city could put in any kind of green infrastructure, that would help with any of these issues. Like what would be your dream infrastructure that the city would put in?

JS: You know what? I haven't really thought about that. I think what they really need to do is put in where they can block the water from coming through our basements, blocked that, and they need to keep everything cleaned out. And put in where that water would go back. I mean, I do believe the backflow preventer’s going to help, but not that much, because we get so much water coming through and no one to manage it, to open up the gates, then we still going to flood. So either way it goes, they need to do a little better than what they doing. We need to get infrastructure done, some of these old pipes out, because our pipe’s past 100 years old. They wait because when they was putting it down in front of my house, I'm looking like, that pipe’s got to be at least 3 or 400 years old, the way it was looking. And some of them, they not connected to the other pipes. So the city, they just have to do better. Hopefully they will.

DLT: So you feel that the city's response has been insufficient so far to the issues?

JS: I do, I do. Because they didn't help a lot of people. And they still not helping a lot of people. I just believe that they're not putting in enough. They help some people. Especially the Water and Great Lakes Water Authority.

DLT: And if there was some sort of dream project that your organization could do to help with this, like, what would be like, what you would want it to do to deal with any of these issues?

JS: I would like for it to give people grants to get their house repaired, back. Not a loan, grants, where they don't have to pay nothing back, and where some people can go back home. That's what I like them to do. Give out grants for people.

DLT: For repairing their houses? For putting in prevention?

JS: Yes. Most of their homes, or their basements, because a lot of people just left their homes. A lot of people got mold, still has mold. So yeah, I think they should give them grants. Let them sort of, because you don't want to leave your house, but you don't have a choice. Yeah. Grants would be nice. They need to do that.

DLT: And what would you say is the impact on communities where a lot of people have to leave their homes due to the damage?

JS: It hurts the community. That means we losing people. [Laughter] We lose people, we're not going to have anything then, because then nothing's going to come over here because we don't have enough people. So it put an impact on the rest of us, to try to help, to get things done in the neighborhood, as to where we want something to come over. If they find out we don't have enough people, you're not going to come where you don't have that many people to put nothing up. So it hurts, and it hurts the people who have to leave their homes to look for something else. It’s not good.

DLT: And have more people been leaving recently? Fewer people been leaving recently?

JS: Well, after the ’21 flood, more left. But then we got some coming in, coming back. And we do have some coming in.

DLT: And what do you think has allowed them to come back? Is it the Treehouse’s efforts? Is it any other efforts? What has allowed those people to come back to their homes?

JS: What allowed them to come back? Most of them, well, when they found out they can get the backflow preventer put in free. And that's what brought most of them back home, because they couldn't afford to pay, at the time they thought they would have to pay, but then that get changed. So that's what brought most of them back. They can go back to their home, but most of them are still gone because they have no furnace and no hot water tank.

DLT: And how do they get the backflow preventer for free?

JS: We got to go through this app that the city has put up, and the city sends out plumbers and inspectors to inspect the home to see if there is any blockage, anything and they just get it put in. They put it in and it's free of charge for now.

DLT: And do you know how long the city has been doing that?

JS: The city’s been doing that since ‘21, ‘22. So about the end of ’21, first part of ‘22.

DLT: And are there any final things that you would want to discuss regarding the Treehouse’s work on climate change, its impacts on Detroit?

JS: With the Treehouse work, I think I would like to say that once we get everything settled it’s going to be a good fit for the neighborhood. The people are going to come. They are looking forward to it, and they going to find that they’ll able to get help. Especially for the. mental and for the disability people, they going to be able to get a lot of help. So it’s going to be a good, good fit for that neighborhood, for our neighborhood? It’s going to be a good fit.

DLT: Okay!

JS: Okay.

DLT: Thank you very much for your time.

JS: Thank you!