From NPR's morning edition: Detroits 'heroes' working to make it a better place

Detroit may not have a ton of grocery stores, but there sure is no lack of non-profits. On All Things Considered, reporter Dustin Dwyer examines Detroit's volunteering army that is trying to make the city a safer place.

Excerpt from the broadcast:

But for an outsider, what's even more surprising than this wreckage is how many really nice neighborhoods are literally right around the corner. One street will look like a tornado came through. The next has perfectly manicured lawns, shady trees and friendly neighbors.

So how can the most troubled big city in America also have some of its nicest-looking neighborhoods? Lyke Thompson runs the urban studies program at Wayne State University in Detroit. Here's how he explains it.

Dr. LYKE THOMPSON (Urban Studies, Wayne State University): There's some heroes out there in those streets.

DWYER: Heroes who've stepped up to keep their streets clean while city services withered. Much of the work has been done through what Thompson calls an ecology of community groups. And there are a lot of them.

Dr. THOMPSON: At one point, the city did an analysis of it, and they found over 1,200 nonprofit organizations - 501-C3's - with real budgets. So that's a large number.

DWYER: And many of these groups are working right in Detroit neighborhoods.

Listen to the broadcast here.