DETROIT (FOX 2) – They spent years, some made it their career, risking it all to protect our country. On Wednesday, other people stepped up to serve veterans in their time of need.

It is all made possible through a partnership, providing veterans with special coats and more, and the special event just so happens to fall on World Kindness Day.

A little kindness can go a long way.

“We saved lives, that’s all we did was save lives. I thank god I was in the army,” said US Army Veteran Daniel Lennon. 

Veterans flocked to the Detroit VA Hospital on Wednesday to pick up a coat built to handle the cold winter months ahead.

“I think, unfortunately, we have a lot of veterans who sleep on the street, fought for our country, yet they came back to America, and they have nowhere to go, and they don’t have any clothes on their backs, and they have to come here to get a coat for the winter,” said US Navy Veteran Latuaska Carr.

The non-profit ‘Empowerment Plan’ gave out 100 of their ‘Empwr’ coats, geared towards combating homelessness.

“So what’s unfortunate is that our veterans make up a high population or high percentage of the un-housed population, and we want to help them as much as we can in any way we can,” said plan director Lauren Knill. “What’s really wonderful is our coat is disability accessible and so our veterans who are disabled who may be in a wheelchair, our coat features Velcro and other features that can help them get in and out of it much easier. And if they are in a wheelchair, they can still slide that bag over their feet and toes.” 

‘Empowerment Plan’ teamed up with the Detroit VA and the Detroit Pistons to dress vets for the winter ahead. 
They said this mission is all about raising homelessness awareness.

“Unfortunately, working in the homeless program, we see a lot of frostbite, a lot of subzero temperatures and so making sure these coats are appropriate for them to have,” said Chief of the Veterans Community Resource and Referral Center Beth Baker Callen. “They are having lunch today, they’re enjoying themselves. Different t-shirt giveaways, pendant giveaways. Mainly, we want to make sure that our veterans in those categories are supported.” 

That strong support is exactly what veterans felt, as they picked up a warm new coat and a bite to eat.

“I’m very appreciative, very appreciative,” said US Army Veteran James Holden. “Anything that they do for us veterans, I appreciate it.”
 

COMMERCE TWP, Mich. (FOX 2) – A man who feared treatment for Lung Cancer is now cancer free after receiving help from a team of health experts. 

65-year-old Glen Cannon from Detroit began smoking a pack a day since he was 12-years-old. He was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer in May 2023.

“In the black community we’re so ill-informed about what cancer is,” said Cannon. “It was like a gut punch from Mike Tyson.”

Cannon did not want chemotherapy, immune therapy, or radiation. He was told radiation would burn him up. 

Tammy Pouget is an oncology nurse navigator at DMC Huron Valley Sinai Hospital, who helped Glen overcome his fears by feeding him knowledge.

“Do you find it’s more prevalent, the uncertainty of medical treatment, in the black community than other communities?” asked FOX 2’s Charlie Langton.

“I would say it is more prevalent, but I believe most patients diagnosed with cancer really do not have a lot of knowledge,” answered Pouget.

One little weird remedy: Glen’s doctor was a big Prince fan, and Glen used to do promotional work in the 90s for Prince.

“He loved Prince. I worked for Prince, and we bonded. We clicked,” he said. “It’s kind of creepy.”

Creepy or not, Glen beat lung cancer as of September 2024. But he does have a message, especially during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.  

“To the black community, the best thing that you could do for yourself, whether you feel good or not, is go and get screened.”
 

DETROIT (FOX 2) – After 12 years of leading the city of Detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan says he is not seeking reelection in 2025.

Duggan made the announcement on Wednesday but di not specify what his plans are after completing his term in 2025. Politicos believe the outgoing mayor could run for governor of Michigan with Gretchen Whitmer’s term ending in 2026.

“Detroit’s story of resurgence is one of Detroiters who never gave up on their city,” said Mayor Duggan. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as mayor over the past 12 years and I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together-from emerging out of bankruptcy to becoming a vibrant, healthy city that is a model of resilience and transformation. This last year is about continuing the work we started and ensuring Detroit’s success remains rooted in opportunity for everyone.”

Duggan will speak during a press conference at noon on Wednesday. You can watch his announcement live in the player above.

A write-in candidate leads Detroit

Duggan was first elected in 2013 after winning the vote through a write-in campaign. 

After working as the president and CEO of the Detroit Medical Center, Duggan moved to the city in 2012 with intentions of running for mayor. However, he hadn’t lived in the city for a full year and subsequently filed his paperwork two weeks before he should have.

Even with the early hurdle, Duggan won the mayoral race with 52% of the vote in the August Primary and then 55% of the vote in the general election. 

He would win reelection two more times: in 2017 he was re-elected with 72% of the vote over Coleman Young II. Then in 2021, he was re-elected with 75% of the vote.

Duggan’s accomplishments as mayor

In the statement announcing his intentions not to run, Duggan highlighted improved EMS times, historic reduction in violent crimes, and the rebuilding of city’s neighborhoods. When Duggan was first elected, there were 47,000 vacant and abandoned home. Today that number is 3,000.

Over his first four years in office, Duggan focused on improving emergency services response times, getting the city’s streetlights back on, increasing park maintenance, and decreasing blight through the Detroit Land Bank Authority. 

Duggan’s administration also spearheaded Motor City Match, a program that provides grants to entrepreneurs in the city. Since MCM started in 2014, it has provided more than $19 million in grant money to nearly 2,100 small businesses. 

In the spring of 2018, Detroit was released from state oversight, marking the first time in four decades that the city was fully in control of its own future. 

However, his second term wasn’t as smooth sailing. In 2019, Duggan was caught up in a scandal involving the non-profit Make Your Date after he was accused of giving the organization preferential treatment. His relationship with the director of the organization came under scrutiny with accusations that Duggan had asked the staff to raise money for the nonprofit. 

Additionally, chief of staff Alexis Wiley ordered some employees to delete hundreds of emails related to the Make Your Date program as news surfaced about a potential conflict of interest.  

Duggan was ultimately cleared by the attorney general’s office of any wrong-doing. A few years later, Duggan and the director of the organization, Dr. Sonia Hassan, were married.

In 2020 and 2021, Duggan navigated the city through the COVID-19 pandemic including testing and the eventual implementation of the vaccine ahead of his third re-eleciton.

Even with the health crisis, the city continued to grow and in 2023 it experienced its first year of population growth in nearly 70 years – a goal that Duggan had set when he first ran for mayor.

“Today, Detroit is offering a roadmap to cities across the nation as an example of what can be accomplished when leaders put people over politics and build bridges instead of sewing division,” the statement from the city read.

Detroit’s future leader

With Duggan’s plans not to run, the city will look to its next leader. 

Names considered for the role are former Detroit City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, current City Council President Mary Sheffield, City Councilman Fred Durhal, and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig are among the possible candidates.