School is officially back in session for Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS) students, but summer didn't keep some students and teachers away from the classroom. YCS's Grizzly Learning Camp gives students opportunities to explore their interests and further their education through hands-on projects and field trips. The camp's coordinator, YCS teacher Tiffany Powell, talked about the camp and the partnerships behind it with Lee Van Roth.

For more than four decades, the Ypsilanti Heritage Foundation (YHF) has hosted its annual Historic Homes Tour. This year, the foundation is turning its attention to Ypsilanti’s Southside neighborhood with the theme "Harvesting Our History." Lee Van Roth gave a preview of the upcoming tour with YHF member Delrhea Byrge.

For years, Ypsilanti resident Lonnie Brammer has watched app-based delivery drivers navigate unfamiliar neighborhoods with little information about where they are headed. After five years of development, Brammer has launched Courier Mates, a web-based application designed to help delivery drivers track and share information about delivery locations with other drivers. Brammer talked about the app and how it may change the delivery industry with Lee Van Roth.

The Ypsilanti District Library is bringing in new stories for its ongoing Ypsilanti Farmers & Gardeners Oral History Project. Among the storytellers is Shalina Nicohl Rankin, a local herbalist and founder of Fiery Maple Wholistic Healing, Inc. Shalina shared her contribution to the oral history project in a conversation with Lee Van Roth.

The Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has launched an updated website. The redesigned site, launched at the end of July, allows businesses and nonprofits to create and manage their own profiles, improving their visibility in online searches while contributing directly to a community calendar, job board, and volunteer listings. Lee Van Roth talked about the DDA's new online endeavor with the authority's coordinator, Danya Youssef-Agha.

Those reentering society after incarceration face numerous challenges, including addressing their own health. Yet, access to quality health care, housing, and other necessities can be exceedingly difficult. In response to this, Packard Health has partnered with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department to create the "Beyond Incarceration" program. Lee Van Roth talked all about this amazing initiative with Packard Health reentry coach Jessica Slone.

A recent study from Washtenaw Optimal Wellness is shedding new light on a long-standing reality in Ypsilanti: where residents live, the opportunities available to them and the color of their skin can all influence how long they are expected to live. Jeff Tritten, the President of Washtenaw Optimal Wellness, authored the study. He joined Lee Van Roth to discuss it in detail and what can be done to improve the lives of all Ypsilanti residents.

A YMCA building that closed its preschool collaborative doors in March reopened in June as something else entirely — a free, neighborhood-embedded wellness and community hub now known as the "Neighborhood Collaborative". Ann Arbor YMCA President James Highsmith spoke with Lee Van Roth about the development of the Neighborhood Collaborative and what the future may hold for it.