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SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 | FREEP.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

AT TCF CENTER, MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR THOSE IN NEED Hopes hang on vaccines

ENTERTAINMENT, 1D as virus ‘’s me singing all the songs’ surge looms Actress Cynthia Erivo talks about preparing for vocals Lifting restrictions has led on Aretha’s music. to a rise in COVID-19 cases

Kristen Jordan Shamus Inside h USA TODAY NETWORK Michigan schools see It’s too soon to start cele- drop in brating — even though 2.2 kindergarten million Michiganders have enrollment, already gotten at least one 4A dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, h Prison more than one-quarter of workers the state’s population 16 and BUSINESS, 1B refusing older. vaccine a Time to go back Even though the state has concern, 4A reopened restaurants to to the office? Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley grabs bags to pack up vital resources to hand out to guests at 50% capacity and Gov. Infection the Pope Francis Center in the TCF Center in . PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP Companies consider a totals for work that may be forever announced 8,200 fans can Michigan: changed. attend Tigers Opening Day in person at . 15,897 Even though is deaths, When people at the homeless center poised to open Wednesday 624,811 cases as the state’s first federally U.S.: 541,907 operated mass vaccine clinic deaths, where he often helps out ask, and eligibility expands Mon- 29,780,301 day to allow hundreds of cases Ford CEO says: thousands more Michigan- World: ders access to shots. 2,705,934 That’s because after see- deaths, ing encouraging declines in 122,639,917 case numbers and COVID-19 cases hospitalizations in January (As of 8 p.m. HOUSE ENVY, 8D Saturday) and February, Michigan’s Sources: Johns Hopkins University and state of ‘MY NAME See COVID-19, Page 22A Michigan house a beauty Estate includes an intricate conservatory and abundant landscaping. IS JIM’ Mark Phelan Phoebe Wall Howard | USA TODAY NETWORK METRO, 4A Auto Critic Detroit Free Press Concerns over ather Tim McCabe has kept a secret for a devout Catholic who enjoys USA TODAY NETWORK prison vaccines spending time quietly serving the church and people who need help. h Experts worry about staff “He doesn’t want anybody to know who he is,” McCabe said. “He may just Can the grid and prisoners who are h hesitant to get shots. be in the kitchen scrubbing the stove.” Jim Farley, 58, is the CEO of FFord and can be found serving meals at Pope Francis Center downtown when his handle 30M schedule allows. His charitable work began at age 16 with his grandfather going to Inside today’s Free Press Saints Peter & Paul Jesuit Church on St. Antoine. See FARLEY, Page 20A EVs? It could ❚ Obituaries ...... 32A-36A ❚ Business...... 1B ‘get dicey’ Men and ❚ Entertainment+Life ...... 1D women wait Do we have enough electricity to power the ❚ Puzzles...... 6D-7D to enter the coming flood of electric vehicles? Pope Francis Yes, but the details matter. Center at the First, don’t get snowed by automakers’ Weather TCF Center. seemingly daily announcements of new EVs. The facility The vast majority of vehicles built, sold, and High 61° ❚ Low 36° provides a especially driven in the will Sunny, mild. Forecast, 2A multitude of continue to use internal combustion engines services for for years to come. those in EVs are growing fast, though, and the tech- need, nology improves every day. If you don’t see including them regularly now, odds are you WEAHII-40000x food, will soon. showers, And they use a lot of electricity. The 88 clothes, kWh battery that can carry a rear-drive Ford phones and Mustang Mach-E 300 miles could power a Volume 190 | No. 321 ©2021 $3.00 Home delivery pricing inside more. modest house for several days, depending on Subscribe: 800-395-3300 the time of year and other variables. Classified: 586-977-7500; 800-926-8237 See PHELAN, Page 9A 20A | SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 | DETROIT FREE PRESS

COVER STORY

Farley

Continued from Page 1A

It is Detroit’s oldest church building in continuous use, built in 1848. Farley, who lives in the heart of the city near Campus Martius, volunteers per- iodically on weekends at Pope Francis Cen- ter. On the sidewalk outside the warming center is a bronze sculpture titled, “Home- less Jesus.” Church members created a day center for homeless people with a commercial kitchen, dining room that seats approximately 80 people without social distancing, three showers, four bathrooms and laundry facil- ities. While Farley is devoted to the church and its work, he has declined requests for two years from the Free Press to accompany him until this time of crisis. Part of his commitment to people with ad- diction and struggle is inspired by his cousin, iconic comedian Chris Farley, who over- dosed on cocaine and morphine at age 33. The death devastated the tight-knit Irish family that adored him. In recent years, Jim Farley has made him- self accessible to the executive director of the Pope Francis Center by text or email. “He always asks what he can do to help. He gets, like, 1,500 emails a day and he al- ways responds,” McCabe said. The Ferndale native has overseen home- less services for five years at the Pope Fran- Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley, right, talks with Ronald Williams, 66, of Detroit, as he hands him a cup of coffee at the Pope Francis Center in cis Center. McCabe, 58, attended the Jesuit the TCF Center in downtown Detroit. Farley often volunteers at the center, which helps out needy people. KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DETROIT FREE PRESS School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. He frequently turns to Farley for reliable gust as part of the Jesuit volunteer corps af- questions. “It’s hard for people in the suburbs to un- help and advice. ter college. “With the pandemic, I have a lot more free derstand why people choose to live under “It’s amazing, really,” McCabe said. “I love Detroit. It has a small town feel,” time,” Asam said, adjusting his rubber bridges. They may have been abused as a After 30 years of caring for needy people, she said. gloves. “This all puts things into perspective. child and they want freedom,” Farley said. the church project was driven out of its home Paulsrud said she exchanges books with It makes me grateful for what I have.” Or sometimes people avoid shelters be- by the pandemic year 2020 for the first time one of the Pope Francis Center’s guests reg- Farley, meanwhile, wore two face masks. cause they fear being robbed or getting bed- in history. At issue was simply an inability to ularly as part of an informal book club. He His black running pants and vintage Nikes bugs, McCabe said. Sleeping at Hart Plaza serve a population in need that not only finds books in little free library boxes and allowed him to quickly move between getting feels safer. surged but required social distancing and they talk about them. coffee cups and T-shirts to filling orders for He has placed 15 people into homes in re- lifesaving health protocols that simply toiletries. cent months. “Even then, people will sleep couldn’t be achieved in a small space. Hot coffee, no A volunteer wondered whether the next to their bed. Or turn on the “We have always relied exclusively on “FAAN” letters on Farley’s black T-shirt indi- radio because the silence is too quiet.” charitable contributions, primarily from Dan Asam, 32, a computer programmer cated his role with a TV station. It stood for metro Detroiters,” McCabe said. “Whenever from Lincoln Park, has been volunteering at Ford African Ancestry Network. Superman vs. the need arose, whether the polar vortex or TCF Center since November. On this day, he “People here are very thankful and really the pandemic, and our costs skyrocketed, stood beside Farley, as they both filled paper nice,” Farley said, putting out cups filled with Farley has cooked eggs in the past for the Detroit never let us down.” coffee cups with hot coffee from large insu- coffee on the folding table to keep the line men and women needing a hot meal. He lated plastic urns, awaiting the expected moving. works in the office area too, giving out mail. Moon sliver rush of guests, a term volunteers and staff After doors opened at 7 a.m., people People without addresses can’t apply for jobs use for the people served. streamed in for warm oatmeal and coffee, or make medical appointments, so they use On an early Saturday morning in March, This all takes place in the convention cen- and individual bags with bagels and oranges. the church or TCF Center as their address as a sliver of the moon shone in the sky and ter on the lower level, where eight rooms are A heavier homemade meal is served at 9 a.m. now. blue lights that ring the used during healthier times for small group “I’ve been coming now for quite some In times past, Farley said, people on the towers blazed downtown, cars lined up in meetings. Now the area is used as two dining time,” said Pedro Hunter, 44, of Detroit. “It’s street have recognized him and thanked him. parking spaces on the roof of the city’s home rooms, two sitting areas, clothing and hy- a blessing. We really need the showers and They associate him only with offering a help- for big conventions, the TCF Center. Old- giene storage and pickup, a medical clinic we get two hot meals. They do a wonderful ing hand, and there’s nothing like it. time Detroiters still call it Cobo Hall. and staff office to process guest paperwork, job for us.” Paul Ciaravino, 17, a student from Grosse The streets were empty. No one walked and a laundry room. Hunter recently had heart surgery and is Pointe Woods, sorted socks while Farley ran along Randolph. Or Jefferson. Or St. Antoine. The Detroit auto show and Autorama are- seeking help getting his medical benefits. For frantically through a back room filling re- Campus Martius was quiet. Cadillac Square held primarily on Level Two, the main floor now, Hunter said, men have been grateful for quests from a line of people requesting lip was lit up with holiday lights. American flags accessed from Jefferson Avenue. the opportunity to ride city buses at night to balm, gloves, lotion. blew in the wind. Currently, the showers on-site are housed stay warm. “It’s a good workout,” Farley said rushing Men began to line up outside the street- in a trailer on a ramp leading to the parking He misses the Detroit car show this year, past. He combed through bins of T-shirts, level door off Congress. garage. It actually is in direct line of sight what Hunter calls “the fashion show” be- looking for the right size to fill the latest or- In years past, this site of the North Amer- down a ramp from the upscale Apparatus cause of the swanky events. Now, just having der. A line had formed outside the room. ican International Auto Show has attracted Room Restaurant in the Detroit Foundation a place to lay down for a few hours and take a “Customer service is hard,” Farley said, some 1 million visitors from around the Hotel on Larned Street. nap and shower at the TCF Center is a gift, he laughing and feeding through boxes as the globe. The pandemic shut everything down. Around 9 a.m., which is considered lunch- said. line grew. “Now he’s gonna be pissed be- The TCF Center has gone from a spectacular time under the circumstances, volunteers cause I can’t find another Superman shirt. He economic driver for the city of Detroit to a serve hot meals such as spaghetti and meat- Passing by liked the Superman shirt I brought out for care center in a time of crisis. balls or chicken and vegetables. Before and someone else. Well, Batman will just have to In November, the TCF Center became an after meals, people gather to read and “Would you like a hot coffee to warm up?” do.” emergency COVID-19 hospital, a shower and sleep and watch the news in the adjacent Farley asked, as men streamed by slowly. He disappeared around the corner to get laundry site for homeless people, and a rooms. They’re doing laundry and taking Some took cups, others said nothing as they the next order, coming back with sticky source of food and clothing. showers. passed and nodded. notes because he couldn’t remember every- “We went to the TCF Center and they re- Guests may use phones and meet with pro “I’d like a bourbon and water please,” one thing at once. Belts. Sizes of shirts. Different sponded with generosity,” McCabe said. “We bono lawyers to navigate the court system or man said to Farley. sock preferences. Mostly, folks want shirts looked everywhere for a place big enough to consult with volunteer doctors to review “Do you want cubes with that?” he re- that are anything but white. Or pink. do what we’re doing with social distancing health concerns. It is also a time to fill knap- sponded, smiling. requirements. There was nothing.” sacks and bags with soap, shampoo, femi- Farley looking down at the tiny cups of ‘Just like me’ The city contracted the place to the Pope nine hygiene products, toothbrushes, tooth- oatmeal and whispered, “Nothing is fancy.” Francis Center, a deal initially set to run paste and hand warming gel packets that People talked to the global executive hav- Farley looked down at the list and asked through March, but just extended to June 1. tuck into gloves. ing no idea who he was or that he had just the one person in the back room with him, “The whole reason they’re here is not be- “We have staff working to help our guests finished a series of calls with teams in . “Where do I find a pantyliner? I don’t even cause they don’t have a facility of their own. navigate the housing system to find them Volunteers asked his name, and he replied know what that is.” They do,” said Patrick Bero, CEO/CFO of the permanent housing, so there’s just no way only, “Jim. My name is Jim.” LaShon Talley, 47, a volunteer from Royal Detroit Regional Convention Facility Author- we could do all we’re doing without this great Farley shared how these men talked about Oak, explained that it’s a women’s feminine ity. “They can’t host the number of people team of volunteers,” McCabe said. staying safe on the street and the need to get product. And Farley said, walking back to the they normally host within the confines of Asam, working that day with Farley, people mental health support. The problem long line outside the room, “It literally was their facility. Even under tents, it’s not an talked about his job at Blue Cross and every- isn’t just about getting a job, it’s deeper and out of my league. I’m learning every day.” ideal environment.” day life stresses. Farley listened and asked often misunderstood, he said. He came back, “Do we have ? I don’t Bero plays a key role in operations of the think so but I promised I’d check. OK. No facility. In 2009, the Michigan Legislature shoes.” And he filled out an order form with transferred control of then-Cobo Center to Pope the help of Talley. an entity with members from the city of De- Francis “This is about just helping the person. troit, and Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Center They want what they want, just like me,” Far- counties. Executive ley said. “People are asking for basic stuff, After months of being closed to auto and Director things we all take for granted. We’re fortu- boat shows, trade conventions, athletic Father Tim nate. Just blessed.” events, big weddings and charity fundrais- McCabe Few of the volunteers have any idea that ers because of the pandemic, the TCF Center receives his Farley is Farley. He is just another run-ragged and Pope Francis Center partnered to open second volunteer doing his best. He is not dressed in mid-November. More than dose of for photos. He is dressed to blend in with the 17,000 Detroiters have been served. COVID-19 crowd. vaccine at Small town the TCF Barber turned engineer Center in Just inside the rooftop door of TCF, Sarah Detroit. Boratha Tan, 27, of Detroit has been - Paulsrud, 23, takes the temperature of vol- JUNFU HAN/ ting hair at Pope Francis Center since 2016. unteers as they arrive. She moved to south- DETROIT FREE On this day, his hair appointment was a no- west Detroit near Most Holy Redeemer PRESS Church from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, in Au- See FARLEY, Page 21A FREEP.COM | SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 | 21A

COVER STORY

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley, left, goes over a clothing request slip with volunteer LaShon Talley, 47, while he attends to guests’ requests. PHOTOS BY KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP

day 200 to 300 people who otherwise might ‘No one looking’ en over at Larned and St. Antoine streets. Farley not have known where to go,” Duggan said. McCabe reached out to his religious commu- “They know they can go downtown to the Behind the scenes, the team making it all nity to recruit Jesuit students from . Continued from Page 20A TCF Center. They know they can get hot happen watches it unfold in awe. Serving more than 200 people a day was meals, a shower, doctors there, lawyers “I’m a big believer that character is mea- inconceivable over the past 30 years. Since show, so he helped in the TCF Center laundry there. You can get clothing. It really is a re- sured by things you do when no one is look- COVID-19, the nonprofit, now operating in a room. markable accomplishment.” ing,” Bero said. “We didn’t go out to promote big city convention center, rarely drops be- “I grew up in a family that always gave The Detroit Department of Housing and this.” low 200 and sometimes reaches 500. Other back. My parents emigrated from Cambodia Revitalization helped get the TCF site up and Whether it’s the emergency field hospital, programs in the city have shut down. to . Mom never had a high running with a $300,000 grant and the city food distribution, sanitization center where “Food insecurity has become a bigger is- school diploma and Dad barely passed high agency continues to collaborate on the pro- PPE is cleaned for medical centers, Pope sue for people on the edge, including restau- school,” he said. “This is something I want to ject. Francis Center or the vaccination center, the rant workers,” McCabe said. “People are do, I need to do.” That money is used to offset costs of sup- happenings at TCF are “part of who we are struggling, and couch surfing. People who Tan, a licensed cosmetologist and Ford plies as well as heat, electricity, water, secu- and what we do,” Bero said. couldn’t afford to pay their rent and buy food engineer, said hello to Farley in passing. rity and cleaning. “When our community asks for help, we or insulin, they would supplement coming to Just then, Willie Randle, 55, a Chicago na- The contract allows the Pope Francis Cen- help because we’re part of the community,” us.” tive raised on the east side of Detroit, came ter authorized access to the site, and involves he said. “I think it would be an injustice for us through the food line featuring fresh oranges reimbursement of costs incurred at the TCF to allow those resources to sit on the side- Three buses for cash and individually packaged bagels singing Center. The charitable operation is not being lines when our community needs help.” the Oscar Meyer Wiener song. Just to make required to pay rent, McCabe said. “We’re During the cold snap in February, TCF people smile. He celebrated surviving CO- simply covering the costs.” Saying goodbye opened its space to provide temporary over- VID-19 “with the grace of the Lord.” night relief. Randle used to cook for churches and ‘Heart’ and soul As Farley finished his Saturday shift and “One of our guests his feet to frostbite, shelters, then ended up living in Hart Plaza. turned to head out the door, a man in a Lions a man in his 60s,” McCabe said. “He was just “Just because I’m homeless, I ain’t got to To city leaders, the Pope Francis collabo- jersey stepped over to tell Farley the shirt he walking around trying to stay warm. For look it or feel it or be it,” he said. “I’m not the ration is a model of excellence. had provided earlier didn’t fit. The man those of us who cared for him, the amputa- man I used to be. I’m sure not the man I want The nonprofit, one of a handful of social asked Farley to exchange it for a 2X or 3X. tion was traumatic and seeing his pain was to be. I want to thank the Lord for letting me service agencies that addresses the needs of Farley took the T-shirt, apologized and head- heartbreaking. We got him to a hospital and be the man I am just for today.” homeless people downtown, operates on a ed toward boxes in the back. out of the cold.” Randle looked around the room at the vol- $1.5 million annual budget. “They give me Little Lord Fauntleroy COVID-19 has led to job loss, family loss unteers feeding everybody and took a “We took the assets of the city and the tal- clothes,” said Curtis Smith, 50, of Detroit. and a struggle to survive. When the morato- breath. ents of the city in a time of need, and it all “I’m a big, big man.” rium on evictions is lifted, McCabe fears the “We fall down, but we get up,” he said. came together to help the homeless,” Duggan Farley reemerged with two big T-shirts, number of people without homes will sky- “Just because you going through bad times, said. “Gary Torgow (CEO of TCF Bank) has gray and black, and sent the man on his way rocket. trials and tribulations, that don’t mean that this community in his heart, so you wouldn’t smiling. Farley slipped off to make his Sat- “I did an overnight at TCF and went into you have to live it, that don’t mean you have expect anything different. ... Everybody saw urday business calls. the kitchen at 4:30 a.m. to make coffee,” to be it. You have to inspire yourself. If you Father McCabe’s vision from the beginning McCabe said. “I got a call that someone find one person in the world that care about as being a great way to expand service quick- From winter to spring needed to leave. The man says to me, ‘I have you ... that gives you hope to live, hope to do ly in a building people could get to. Every- got to get to work. I work at 12 Mile and Van something.” body in this community has been behind it When the pandemic began, McCabe, 58, Dyke and it takes three buses.’ So this man is and been proud of it.” of Detroit had to make quick decisions. up at 5 a.m. to take three buses to get to work Spirit of Detroit Detroit has emerged from bankruptcy “We had to pivot,” he said. “We realized we and he’s living in an overnight shelter.” during the Great Recession and is feeling the couldn’t bring people into the church any- Patrons have likened the cozy yet spa- This is the Motor City. The industrial love, Duggan said. “The rest of the state has more. We moved to the parking lot of the Uni- cious convention center to a Taj Mahal with heartland at its core. embraced us.” versity of Detroit Mercy law school on March great cooks and delicious meals. “In a lot of ways, TCF is the story of Detroit “Every food distribution center I have 14, when the state began to close everything Thankfully, warmer temperatures are and COVID,” Mayor told the been to in the last year, it’s people from the down. Within 48 hours, we put circus tents coming. Free Press. “It would’ve been the center of city and the suburbs coming together. We’re in the parking lot, a shower trailer, hand- Last year, before the move to TCF, McCabe the international auto show. But you remem- seeing exactly the same thing at TCF,” he washing stations, port-a-johns out there and worried. ber, almost exactly a year ago, the state took said. “We have a lot of people in the region doing what we could.” “As fall came, I was ringing alarm bells over the TCF Center to create 1,000 hospital with good hearts. They don’t just talk, they Pope Francis Center continued feeding with the city, we can’t do this in the winter,” beds, expecting COVID to explode.” act. It makes a real difference.” people out of the church door using its kitch- McCabe said. “Last spring was terrible. We’d Few of those overflow beds were used, in be in the 40s in the morning and have little part, because Detroiters followed pandemic heaters that weren’t keeping people warm. I protocols, using fewer than two dozen beds Farley grabs just couldn’t find anyplace big enough to so- in the emergency hospital, Duggan said. a T-shirt for cially distance.” “Then it evolved to serving the communi- a guest Now that the convention center is home, ty. The vaccination site has gotten enormous request patrons are served daily from 7 a.m. to 11 publicity but just as important is what Father while he a.m., with a high-nutrition meal at 9 a.m. McCabe did in the other side of the TCF Cen- works the “Initially, during the early parts of the ter. He’s been caring for those who need front office pandemic, people were really afraid when some help for a long time,” Duggan said. “And at the Pope there was ‘shelter in place.’ They didn’t know when the economic impact hit, we needed a Francis what that meant, when you’re told to stay at lot more help.” Center. home and you don’t have a home,” McCabe “People here said. “I promised the homeless — our guests 200 to 300 each day are very — we would not leave. We knew we would thankful and get through this together.” The city did assist this COVID-19 relief ef- really nice,” Note: The Pope Francis Center is having its fort financially, Duggan said. said Farley, 2021 annual gala on April 15 at the Detroit “But this is, by and large, this is driven by who often Foundation Hotel and the Shinola Hotel, Pope Francis Center, and people like Jim Far- volunteers at streamed live virtually and in person with ley at Ford, who hasn’t done this because it the center. social distancing protocols. For more - got him personal publicity. He did it because mation: https://one.bidpal.net/pfcgala2021/ he believes in it. Now you’ve got on any given about