Detroit Free Press stories that made a difference in 2022

Improving our community through journalism is our mission at the Free Press. As journalists we stand on guard, ready to investigate wrongs, report on the workings of government, explore the issues of the times, uplift local voices and break news.

These are challenging times for us and most likely for you, too, as we work our way out of the pandemic while struggling with inflation and other economic woes. Yet the stories that follow my words here light a way forward for us all, make a promise that what we do can and does spark change.

We began publishing annual reports like this one in 2019. Our impact, however, dates to our roots in 1831 when editors making the first editions of what would become the Detroit Free Press campaigned for Michigan to become a state.

Today, we mark the Free Press stories from the past year where the wrongfully convicted met freedom, where we inspired Oprah Winfrey to make a documentary film about inequities in health care, where sex assault survivors felt a small amount of justice, and where neighbors stepped up to help one another. For these, and so many more stories, we are all better off.

Story of Michigan man's death and photo of his grieving son haunted Oprah Winfrey, inspired documentary

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Keith Gambrell took his father, Gary Fowler, from hospital to hospital to hospital, trying to get him the medical care he needed. But Fowler was repeatedly turned away, refused coronavirus testing and died April 7, 2020, in his favorite blue recliner in his Grosse Pointe Woods home. Gambrell first told the story of the family's struggle to get medical care to the Detroit Free Press. The account also was published in USA Today. That is where Oprah Winfrey saw it and was stirred to action not only by the words, but by a haunting image taken by the Detroit Free Press picturing Gambrell looking out the window of his northwest Detroit home. Winfrey made a documentary, "The Color of Care," highlighting the death of Gary Fowler and a dozen other families. It detailed the racial health disparities that have led to a disproportionate number of deaths in communities of color from COVID-19. The film aired May 1 on the Smithsonian Channel and also will be shown to medical students, doctors and others in partnership with the Association of American Medical Colleges. Winfrey aims to raise awareness of health inequities with the hope of making change.

Eastern Michigan University commits to regular external Title IX reviews, lawmakers introduce bills for sex assault survivors

In 2020, amid questioning by the Detroit Free Press ahead of an article and during reporting on three sex assault cases, Eastern Michigan University hired an outside firm to review its actions in three Title IX cases. In May 2022, EMU released the results of that investigation. While it lauded the conclusions as proof it did nothing wrong (while facing lawsuits), the firm found deficiencies in the school's Title IX files in the cases, with key communications and notes missing. It also stated that lack of information limited the understanding of the school's response. The school announced it had begun to work on its record-keeping, committed to external reviews every three years, and said it was considering a reporting system that allows anonymous reportees to continue to message with Title IX staff after their initial report. Michigan lawmakers introduced House bills to extend the statute of limitations for civil recourse for survivors of sexual assault. One woman who stood with lawmakers during the announcement for the introduction said she didn't understand until much later after her sex assaults at EMU — not until news of assaults at the school started pouring out — the harm the school had done. The Detroit Free Press broke the news of the assaults. Under the proposed legislation, individuals would have until their 48th birthday, 10 years after the assault, or seven years after discovering their abuse, whatever is latest, to make a claim, according to a news release. There would be no time limit if a criminal conviction took place, groups like agencies and universities would no longer need to get written notice ahead of an individual's legal filing and there would be a two-year revival period so survivors with claims prior to the legislation have a second shot at filing.

Lawmakers and others call for more oversight of Michigan's home-school system 

A Free Press article about a 12-year-old Michigan girl, Jo, who struggles to read and has rarely stepped foot into a classroom, has some lawmakers and advocates contemplating ways to prevent educational neglect. Jo's parents did not send their three children to school, and told investigators with Children's Protective Services that they were home-schooling Jo and her two siblings. But family members, friends and court documents contradict the parents' claim. State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, said he's exploring what legislative reform might look like. "I know that certainly Michigan could strengthen its laws around educational neglect," Irwin said. The Student Advocacy Center said publicly the system needs to change.

Governor creates committee to address juvenile residential bed shortage and quality of treatment

Amid our ongoing investigation into problems at Wayne County's juvenile hall and others, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the creation of the Michigan Juvenile Residential Facilities Advisory Committee. The group will examine residence standards, staff training, case management and data collection. The Free Press was the first to report complaints that youths have been confined to their rooms for long periods and deprived of basic care, including daily showers, recreation time and medication. In one case, a state investigation found a youth had been secluded in his room for 18 days. "This committee will work to ensure that situations like this don't happen moving forward," said a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Wayne County moves juveniles out of unsafe, overcrowded jail

Following our investigation into conditions at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility, county commissioners called for "drastic" and quick action. The concern from officials came after our reporting found the state health department relaxed staffing and lockdown rules at the facility because of its staffing problems and that complaints had grown about youth being confined to their rooms, sometimes for days, and only being allowed out sporadically for recreation and showers. One commissioner told officials during a meeting she was "astounded" after reading the article and said: "We've got to do something drastic, and we've got to do it fast.” Sure enough, the county later moved all 120-plus juveniles to an empty adult jail, abandoning the juvenile facility in its entirety.

Publisher reaches out to help after reading Free Press story 

Jackets for Jobs founder Alison Vaughn, who was featured in the Free Press in December as part of the "Detroit Is ..." series, recently received a volume of resource books from the publisher of the Dummies series. The publishing company came across our story on Vaughn, in which she mentioned using the Dummies series to learn how to start her nonprofit to help Detroiters find and sustain employment, and sent the volume of books to share with clients.

Detroit invites advocates for input, introduces community meetings 

The Free Press and Bridge Detroit published an article about how the city of Detroit promised to end water shut-offs for low-income residents, but longtime water advocates we interviewed felt in the dark during the process of developing a plan. Our story put pressure on Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department, which met with most of the advocates quoted in the story. DWSD also implemented a 60-day engagement period following advocates' requests and has launched a series of enrollment fairs.

Unemployment insurance bills waived 

Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency said it would give waivers to unemployment insurance claimants two days after the Detroit Free Press highlighted that certain people who received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits were accused of misreporting their income and were to repay the excess benefits they had received.

Evictions reporting cited in research brief 

Several eviction-related articles from 2020-22 were cited in a June 2022 research brief from the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions initiative about evictions in Detroit before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owner receives multiple new contracts to train students

Kimberly Harrington, owner of Phlebotomy Express Training Center in Detroit, received significant new contracts to train students following a feature story we wrote about her business. The contracts with major hospitals will not only help Harrington but also the students, who gain entry into the medical profession, and their home communities.

Ford workers get bonus increase after disparity exposed

Ford Motor Co. informed employees Feb. 14, 2022, that it planned to revise its just-revealed annual bonus formula for salaried workers after a backlash that triggered executive strategy meetings. The pivot included top executives taking a significant bonus cut so regular workers could get compensation. This announcement came on a Monday, as the Free Press reported Friday through the weekend and revealed to Ford Motor Co. that it had reviewed internal audio, video and emails plus interviews with employees documenting the issue. The reversal, confirmed to the Free Press by Ford CEO Jim Farley, happened in real time as the expose was ready to publish. Rather than provide a reason for the wildly unpopular decision, Farley revised the policy.

Russian hockey player fired, sentenced after Free Press breaks news of sex assault case

Former NHL player Reid Boucher was fired from his Kontinental Hockey League team after the Free Press broke the news of his sentencing in a Michigan sexual assault case from a 2011 incident involving a 12-year-old when he was 17. Boucher's contract with the Russian team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was terminated on Feb. 18. He had a suspended jail sentence made part of his sex assault sentencing. The judge sentenced Boucher in a closed court hearing after the Free Press broke news of the sex assault case and that the survivor was incensed with the judge previously promising no upfront jail time. The survivor had already raised multiple concerns about this to the judge and prosecutors to no avail before the Free Press broke the story. Following the sentencing, the survivor said she was thankful for the suspended jail sentence, saying it was a change and she was glad for a semblance of justice. Perhaps most importantly, the survivor told us our story was the first time in the entire process that she felt heard. It was her first real bit of healing. In all this, it also came out that the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which gives eligible offenders in Michigan the chance to get criminal offenses dismissed, was being applied for a similar case involving an 8-year-old, raising alarms for advocacy groups and the Larry Nassar prosecutor who said the law is not being applied appropriately.

Governor, others call for law changes after Free Press investigation into 'barbaric' school practices

For years, Michigan educators routinely physically restrained or isolated troubled children in ways deemed traumatic by experts. In 2016, lawmakers promised to tamp down such practices, pointing to the death of at least one student. But a Free Press investigation called "Trapped and Traumatized" uncovered that educators used controversial seclusion and restraint practices nearly 94,000 times over the past five school years. In four out of five cases, the students involved had diagnosed disabilities. The Freep investigation also found multiple instances where educators violated the letter or spirit of the law, from secluding children for too long or for banned rationale to obscuring how often seclusion and restraint are used through shoddy record keeping.

Former Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, a Republican and longtime advocate against both seclusion and restraint, heralded the work and said more change is necessary. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, agrees. “Former Lt. Governor Calley made great strides to limit these practices, but it’s clear that there could be improvements to the law, which already prohibits seclusion and restraint except in emergency situations, to keep students, teachers, support staff, and education professionals safe. We are eager partners with anyone who wants to take proven steps to protect students," said Whitmer spokesman Bobby Leddy in a late-November statement. The work also prompted the CEO of the Autism Alliance of Michigan to call for better training and more resources in public schools, indicating state Rep. Julie Calley is working on related legislation to "eliminate barriers to inclusion of behavior analysts and other medical and behavioral health clinical professionals in a school setting."

GM forced to tell Cadillac Lyriq participants an NDA does not forbid them from reporting safety issues to NHTSA

Our exclusive story "GM offers rebate on Lyriq if consumers sign an NDA and agree to be tracked" raised eyebrows at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over concerns that making customers sign a nondisclosure agreement could make them hesitant to report any vehicle safety issues to the government regulation agency. NHTSA launched conversations and investigations with GM after the story ran, and GM was forced to send a letter of clarification to the consumers participating in the study explaining that the NDA does not preclude them from reporting safety issues to NHTSA and other agencies.

Michigan health department revising how it compiles data on abuse and neglect among mentally ill, intellectually and developmentally disabled 

In investigating the oversight of care received by recipients of public mental health services, we discovered that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services had undercounted the number of cases of abuse and neglect in its annual report to the state Legislature. The department is now working with its IT staff to develop a better, more updated system for compiling this data, which it collects from 46 local community mental health agencies.

Detroiters get better deal after reporters reveal council members' conflicts of interest

Five of the Detroit City Council members who were expected to vote on a $60 million tax break for Dan Gilbert's signature downtown development project received large campaign contributions last year from a Gilbert-funded political action committee. After we published these revelations, council members delayed the vote and spent about a month listening to citizens, Gilbert's team sweetened the deal and the two council members who initially recommended approving it reversed course and voted against the better deal. Council narrowly approved a 10-year local tax abatement, valued at $60 million for Bedrock, only after Bedrock agreed to several concessions for more community benefits, including raising the amount of affordable housing in the firm's Detroit portfolio to 30% from 20%, and improving the affordable level of that housing to 60% from 80% of the area median income.

Congressional candidate loses tight race after investigation exposes ties to millionaire contractor

State Rep. Shri Thanedar won the Democratic primary and then the 13th Congressional District seat anchored in Detroit after we revealed that one of his main opponents, state Sen. Adam Hollier, was being supported by a millionaire with ulterior motives involving a plan to mine Metamora. Metamora is a hilly township in Lapeer County (Mich.), known for horses, Boy Scouts and fox hunting. The Edward C. Levy Company, which deals in asphalt, concrete and other products used in road construction, had been trying for about 20 years to convince officials in Metamora to allow them to start a massive gravel mine near a Superfund site when Hollier sponsored legislation in 2019 to put state environmental officials in charge of mining decisions. Edward C. Levy Jr., Linda Levy and two Levy executives gave generously to Hollier's 2022 congressional campaign. The Levys were also influential with political action committees that spent millions supporting Hollier.

Man exonerated of murder following Free Press investigation  

Six months after the Detroit Free Press published an investigation showing evidence in Anthony Kyles' murder case had emerged raising doubts about his guilt, Oakland County's Conviction Integrity Unit concluded he was wrongfully convicted. On Oct. 12, Kyles was freed. He spent nearly 25 years in prison for a house fire in Pontiac that killed four people, including three children. The Free Press' investigation said a fire expert reexamined the case and determined the initial investigators "committed a grave error" concluding the fire was arson. A key witness has recanted, saying he lied to the jury about what he saw. And the Detroit Free Press found that the witness appears to have received a break in his own criminal case despite a prosecutor's assurance to Kyles' jurors that he did not. Before the Free Press' investigation was published, the director of the Conviction Integrity Unit said her unit would review the case. That review led to Kyles being released from prison. One of the first things Kyles did once free was visit his mother's grave. She died in 2005. In 2006, his father died. Kyles missed both of their funerals. Standing next to his mother's headstone, he told her: "I'm home."

Donations pour into Mama Shu's Homework House 

Multiple organizations and individuals, including the Detroit Public Library, reached out to help Mama Shu and her fledgling Homework House after our story was published. The Highland Park, Michigan, house is a quiet, safe place for neighborhood children to complete their homework, meet with a tutor, read, play music and get a free meal.

Story on veteran suicides leads to $10,000 in donations to pay for medical dogs to save lives

On July 15, 2022, we published an article with graphic details, statistics and firsthand accounts from veterans about their struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideations. The ones who are better, credit it to their medical service dogs literally saving their lives. The story was in connection to the Michigan National Guard looking to raise enough money to buy one veteran in all 54 states and territories a medical service dog by 2024. Within the first hour of the story running online, the Michigan National Guard said it had received $300 in donations; by the time the story printed in the newspaper, donations had risen to at least $10,000.

MSU board conflict with president dragged out into public, president resigns

The Detroit Free Press was the first to report that members of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees had asked President Samuel Stanley to retire. The report sparked significant conversation on campus, leading to Stanley resigning, saying he had lost confidence in the board.

24-hour day care receives diapers, donations

We wrote about Betty Henderson and her 24-hour day care, which, like many other child care centers, operates at a loss at great personal expense to Henderson despite how essential it is to the parents who use it. After the story ran, Henderson received just under $2,000 from a handful of readers, including one who sent her a check for $1,000 and organized a bagel breakfast for her staff. Henderson was able to buy new carpets for her toddler story time area and plans on installing mini-libraries stocked with books. Two other readers sent her boxes of diapers. Normally, when a child arrived at school with no diapers or ran out of diapers, Henderson would have to send the kid home. Parents were upset at having to leave work to pick up their kid, but Henderson cannot care for them without diapers and some of the parents can't afford to always keep them stocked. With the diaper donations, Henderson thinks she'll have enough backup diapers to cover her kids until the end of the calendar year, and their parents will get to stay at their jobs. Just before Christmas, one reader who'd donated earlier returned to deliver Christmas gifts for "all her babies."

Michigan proposes 32 juvenile justice reforms

In July 2020, the Detroit Free Press partnered with ProPublica and Bridge, a nonprofit newsroom in Michigan, to report on Grace, a 15-year-old who was sent to juvenile detention for not doing her online coursework during the pandemic. The story brought national attention to her plight, leading to her release that same month and the creation of the Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform to review Michigan's juvenile justice system. In July 2022, the task force made 32 recommendations that aim to transform what happens when young people get in trouble with the law, including keeping low-level offenses out of the courts, limiting when children can be detained and ensuring juveniles have access to attorneys trained in juvenile matters. Other proposed changes would eliminate most fines and fees charged by juvenile courts and provide more oversight of residential facilities.

High school football coach fired, can't coach in Michigan for two years

Jermain Crowell has been fired as Belleville's football coach and it will be impossible for him to get a job in Michigan anytime soon. The Michigan High School Athletic Association extended Crowell's penalty for violating the undue influence rule, barring him from coaching any sport at any school for the next two academic years. The inquiry began when a student at another school told a Detroit Free Press reporter Crowell contacted him before he entered the ninth grade. He also said that Crowell picked him up and drove him to summer practice sessions and seven-on-seven competitions. While investigating those allegations, the MHSAA discovered a 2018 episode of the TV show "Sports Stars of Tomorrow," which carried a segment on Belleville seniors the show claimed were living with Crowell.

Four Detroiters honored by community after their stories appear in the Free Press

Four Detroiters have received, or have been selected to receive, special recognition after members of community groups read about them in the Free Press' Detroit Is series.

• Luther Campbell: Spirit of Detroit Award from Detroit City Council Member Angela Whitfield Calloway to honor outstanding achievement or service.

• Earlene Hall: Dr. Arthur L. Johnson Community Leadership Award from Wayne State University. Johnson, former senior vice president of Wayne State University, was a civil rights and community leader, educator, and administrator. These eponymous awards honor an individual and an organization exemplifying Johnson's commitment to community and making a positive difference in Detroit and beyond.

• Chris Johnson: Holiday Appreciation Award given to volunteers by the Grandmont Community Association.

• JoAnn Watson: On Nov. 11, students at Wayne County Community College District named a "Get Out The Vote" award in her honor in response to the Detroit Is story linking Watson to the legacy of Erma Henderson, the first African American woman to serve on the Detroit City Council.

Young woman changes understanding of competitive sailing

A 14-year-old girl planned to navigate a 36-foot sailboat alone for hours during the 204-nautical-mile Bayview Mackinac Race in Michigan. Her father, with her on the race, would be getting essential rest below deck at this point during the 30- to 60-hour journey. After we shared her story and it was picked up globally, letters poured in from readers who said they, as young girls, had wished their fathers had trusted them as this father did. Sailors and so many non-sailors said the story affirmed family, faith in our children and fearlessness.

How we track impact: We define impact as real-world change that happens as a result of our journalism. We track 12 different types of change, including new laws and policies, legal action, government investigations, individual actions and benefit to source (the person or people we wrote about or photographed saw some sort of benefit afterward, most commonly a donation or other offer of help). We must believe, through additional reporting or social science methods, that our work was a catalyst for that change in some way. If not, we don’t include it here.

One impact of our work not yet mentioned is that this year more news organizations like ours have been inspired to track impact and report it to their communities as well. We support this and have helped to champion the work that others in this field have done. This collective reporting contributes to researchers’ ability to better understand the role journalism plays in modern society. Our democracy depends on a functioning, watchdog press.

If you’d like to contribute to this work, please consider subscribing, donating to our reporting fund, tipping us to something we should investigate or simply sending us feedback. We cannot do this work alone.

Anjanette Delgado is an executive editor at the Detroit Free Press. She also contributes to the Media Impact Project at USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center, which studies the effect of media on society. Email: adelgado@freepress.com. 

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Free Press impact: Stories that made a difference in 2022