About the Program

Upon identification of need, the Brother’s Keeper Program provides assistance to mature and ailing members of its communities. Limitations caused by advanced age place demands on family members, caregivers, and the larger community to ensure that elders remain independently functional. The goal of the Brother’s Keeper Program is to promote dignity and independence among Alpha family and community members who need help in keeping their lives and homes functional. There are seven objectives to the program:

• Assist in maintaining living environments that are compatible with participants’ levels of functioning
• Assist in maintaining the upkeep of participants’ properties
• Assist with health care decision-making
• Provide companionship
• Provide legal services
• Provide transportation
• Ensure adequate supplies of food, water, and clothing, with special emphasis on disaster management and recovery.

The Detroit Alphas have support this program through the following activities:

• Distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies, sanitizing supplies and a $25 Meijer gift card to senior brothers, retired brothers and brothers with disabilities and ailments, totaling $675.00
• Provided fall and winter leaf and snow removal for senior brothers, retired brothers and brothers with disabilities and ailments
• Provided regular, organized wellness check phone calls to senior brothers, retired brothers and brothers with disabilities and ailments during the government mandated quarantine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Celebrated brothers’ birthdays via drive-by celebrations
• Assisted senior brothers with Zoom and Election Buddy platforms to virtually attend general body meetings and vote in the 2020 general body election
• Provided prayer calls, led by Bro. Dr. Tony Henderson, Gamma Lambda Sr. Chaplain
• Hosted socially distanced Brotherhood Smokes and virtual brotherhood happy hours events to stimulate the mental health and well being of the Brotherhood during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Partnered with Wayne County and with Henry Ford Health system to ensure elderly brothers and those with comorbidities received COVID-19 vaccines.
• Hosted a virtual event On The Issues: COVID-19 Vaccine to provide information and dispel myths about the COVID-19 pandemic, its relationship with the Black community, and the COVID-19 vaccine. This event was hosted by Bro. Jonathan Williams, M.D., an infectious diseases specialist at Henry Ford Health System, and Bro. Robert A. Solomon, M.D., a cardiology fellow at Ascension St. John Hospital.