Auntie Na's House - Detroit, Michigan

Nicole Freeman

I had the honor to meeting Auntie Na's. And it was truly an beautiful experience. What she is building on Yellowstone is amazing! Thank you & Bravo. Looking forward to lending a hand!

Hope Shelley

Went 2"Share Water Detroit" fundraising event there.very nice&community based?.Auntie Na&Meeko Williams helped me a lot during this Event?

Christina Chang

My daughter and her boyfriend is there almost all the time. I came for a cook out to see my grandson. I met Auntie Na and her family, friends, and workers.
They are very nice and my daughter told me so much about how much Auntie Na has helped her family out. This place is good because the people are caring and the kids had fun. All the kids are nice to each other. Everyone here helps each other.
I feel good knowing that people here will watch my grandson and make sure he is safe.

Ms. Whitney

Being at Aunty Na’s village over this summer has been both an eye opening and bewildering experience. There’s something to be said about an organization where safety of it’s volunteer’s are not handled with the utmost regard. Working at ANV showed me a lot of how to run and efficient proactive community organization. Mainly ....what not to do. You don’t allow the degradation of borderline pathological and patriarchal non-organizers to disrupt your mission. You don’t allow loaded firearms to be displayed cavalierly from a felony-rendered family member and justify said relatives behavior as “as a by product of the cultural nuance of the village”. Poorly structured and poorly ran. The volunteers who continue to dwell on Ms. Sonja’s village do so at their own emotional, psychological (and possibly physical) risk. Her village has been declared a proponent for initiative of community liaison building but little is to be said about the accountability factor there. It is desperately and I DO MEAN DESPERATELY- lacking. Ms.Sonja goes out of her way to recruit free labor workers to psycho emotionally abuse them and manipulate them as she see’s fit. Men get paid or offered employment before women do. Marijuana drug use is pervasive on her property even in front of kids who unbeknownst to them...is a byproduct of the cultural nuance of irresponsible adults. I left ANV after Ms. Sonja disproportionately insinuated that I alone neglected her pets which lead to the untimely demise of all three. The pets were not attended to nor cared for before I ever came to the village. Numerous complaints have been made against ANV and her the conditions of her animals and neighborhoods surrounding ANV have legally threatened actions of self defense against her rancorous, unkempt and uncouth animals. I sincerely hope that ANV does the necessary work of rehabilitation on the village. Those houses (after 150,000 dollar Grant that was bestowed to the village that she mentioned numerous times in passing to me) ARE NOT FUNCTIONAL houses let alone safe spaces for children in the community. Ms. Sonja is of a totalitarian mindset meaning she gets others to believe and execute her vision for her. She is not a good steward of what the city of Detroit had unabashedly given her and It’s a disgrace.

Emani Love

From my experience as a volunteer this summer 2020, I initially found ANHV to be communal, warm and welcoming, but even that could not negate how terribly inefficient, unclean, and disorganized the “place of business” actually was on various levels and numerous other volunteers I’ve spoken with are in concurrence. I highly recommend trainings and or refresher courses on administrative functions, cultural sensitivity, especially LGBTQ+ cultural competency, and general skill building (which is vital) as this will only improve their infrastructure.

There obviously needed to be some deep cleaning done in both the main and medical houses prior to summer programming starting, which was completely neglected. I think it’s a shame for any young person, hardworking volunteer, or employee to not have access to a clean bathroom/restroom at a “place of business”...

Absolutely no programming should have happened “at all” without proper cleanliness and sanitation, which again, was clearly neglected... It was as if no modicum of cleaning would have been done without current guests and volunteers there, which, to me, is indicative of the paid staff being totally fine with the filth, which I find totally unacceptable. Again, absolutely NO youth programming or otherwise, should have taken place without proper facility cleaning rituals employed consistently, which they weren’t; their team should better strategize on maintaining a clean and functional organization. From my perspective as a worker and former employee of a non-profit, the lack of good structure is disappointing. The community being served absolutely deserves much better in terms of structure and cleanliness. I’m not satisfied with my experience overall. I can also speak personally to the toxic atmosphere created by the poor directorship which has no mature way of sustaining community, and I’ve personally seen an utter lack of professionalism stemming from fear and intimidation tactics in order to be manipulative and controlling, with that being said, I regret being vulnerable in that environment. There was insurmountable evidence of a very poorly ran organization, and I do not consider it a safe place.

Raveena M

Community center with weekly medical house and tutoring house in progress. Contact Auntie Na to get involved, volunteer, and be a part of Detroit's vibrant family.

Tia Johnson-Shepherd

Auntie Na's House is always helping the community!

Tacranium Black

Auntie Na is a wonderful lady that is helping her neighbors with food and city services. You can get lots of information on services.highly recommend.