HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – The cold and snow couldn’t stop a groundbreaking ceremony in Highland Park as the community gathered to celebrate a Healing House being built.
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, was a big day for the people who live in the Highland Park community. The Healing House is being built with help from a $500,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
At the center of this big event? A Highland Park mom who is working to save her neighborhood -- Shamayim “Mama Shu” Harris.
“This is going to be the Avalon Village Healing House. Going to be health and wellness first piece of our health and wellness plan for the village so people will be able to come here, do yoga, get their blood pressure checked, mothers will be able to come here to get checks with their midwives,” Mama Shu said.
Mama Shu has been transforming her neighborhood for a decade. Building a Homework House, a Village Hall, and holding events for the community. Her response began after she lost both of her sons -- she has since been working to improve the neighborhood for other children.
Inside the Healing House will be a room for different counseling spaces and an open community space for health and wellness workshops. There will be room for yoga, reiki classes, and space for midwives to give their clients checkups.
Regina Strong leads the Office of the Environmental Justice Public Advocate in EGLE. Strong said when EGLE was in the area in 2017, there were tanks beneath the ground. EGLE cleaned that up, which ispart of the regulatory side of things. In this case, Strong said EGLE went a step further and invested in building community.