Along Jefferson from I-375 to the Grosse Pointe border, one of the organizations that’s undoubtedly making an impact is Jefferson East Inc., or JEI.

It’s not just with flashy projects, but in very personal ways such as helping Detroiters stay in their homes.

The nonprofit covers five neighborhoods with more than 18 square miles of land area and 42,000 people. That’s bigger than many suburbs.

As someone who knows this area decently well, I also know lots of people write off the east side.

At first glance, parts of it have been some of the hardest hit in Detroit.

But whether it’s the beautiful houses of Indian village or Jefferson Chalmers; the canals, the economic development that has slowly but surely been firing up, and of course, the proximity to one of our region’s most important resources, the Detroit river - I wouldn’t sleep on it.

So today is my conversation is with Josh Elling of Jefferson East.

Then, I'll send you out the door with a couple things to know.

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