Mama Shu, The Avalon Village

2023 TOP 10 CNN HERO

The Elevate Prize Foundation will be matching donations to all of the 2023 Top 10 CNN Heroes up to $50,000 per hero.

For Shamayim Harris, known as Mama Shu, the hit-and-run death of her 2-year-old son 16 years ago was a call to action to save her struggling Highland Park neighborhood in the heart of Detroit. Channeling her grief into glory, she purchased 45 surrounding lots of land and transformed her blighted block into The Avalon Village, a sustainable eco-village that serves her community with resources, youth programming and activities, gardens, small business support and even its own streetlights -- providing its residents the beautiful living environment they deserve.

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Read about Mama Shu on CNN.com

Watch CNN Hero Mama Shu's video here.

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Avalon Village is the prototype for distressed and neglected communities that aim to become eco-friendly, resilient, and self-sufficient, transforming the community from “Blight to Beauty.”™ Please support our fundraiser and help our village grow.

Founded by CNN Hero Shamayim 'Mama Shu' Harris, the inspiration to build Avalon Village came from more than just wanting a beautiful place for her community to thrive, it came from a place of pain turned into power.

In 2007, Mama Shu's youngest son Jakobi RA was killed by hit-and-run driver at the age of 2. In 2021, the unthinkable happened. She lost another child when her 23-year-old son Chinyelu was murdered.

Rather than fall into despair, Shu chose to heal and honor the memory of her sons by creating something wonderful for the people of Highland Park. She assembled a team of engineers, futurists, artists, urban farmers, volunteers, and donors from around the world who are helping to build Avalon Village. The sustainable eco-village is located on what was once the most dangerous street in the city. Now, everyone knows that Avalon between Woodward and Second is a safe, nurturing, uplifting place for children, families, and the entire community. The village currently owns 40+ parcels of land and 5 houses with plans to acquire more property as the nonprofit organization grows.

These vacant, blighted lots and structures are being brought back to life as the Homework House (an after-school learning and activity center for neighborhood children), the Goddess Marketplace (an economic development initiative for women entrepreneurs), a shipping container STEM Lab (where students learn about science, technology, engineering and math), a future Healing House (a center for holistic healing), a healthy cafe, activity courts, greenhouses, a micro-library and more.

Everything is built with a green infrastructure. The village has a solar-powered roof on the Homework House and geothermal heating and cooling, community gardens, recycled shipping container structures, and the first residential solar-powered streetlights in Highland Park, where the energy company removed roughly 1,200+ streetlights due to $4 million in unpaid bills going back several years. This left residents in the dark.

Shu has dedicated her life to serving the people (especially children and elders) in her community, demonstrating that one person truly can make a difference, even against seemingly impossible odds, and inspiring others to live without fear and follow their dreams. Learn more at theavalonvillage.org.