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  About Us The mission of this division is to improve the capacity of business and residents to meet their mutual economic needs. PEI began as a pilot in 1993 and has evolved into the Detroit Empowerment Zone's Eastside Community self-sufficiency Center. The primary goal of the PEI program is to increase the economic self-sufficiency of eastside residents. This goal is accomplished by actively addressing barriers to successful employment, connecting PEI members to established community resources, helping them acquire the skills necessary to successfully compete in the labor market, then offering and encouraging options for continual personal and professional development. In 1998 the program was funded through the Empowerment Zone and Ameritech.
PEI simultaneously works with employers in key employment sectors, to identify specific employment needs, and develop the skills of PEI members to meet those qualifications. In 1998, 300-plus residents were enrolled in PEI. To date, approximately 60% have found employment, many of them working part-time while participating in skill training; and another 20%, importantly, are in some form of full-time skill training. About 75% of those, with whom PEI works, have not worked for five years and are part of the Workfirst system.
During 1998 PEI stepped up its work developing partnerships to increase employment opportunities for residents. A computer lab was opened up in 1998, collaborating with the Rebuilding Communities Initiative, to provide Customer Service Representative training through Ameritech. PEI created a partnership among Hutchinson Elementary School, the Detroit Board of Education and the Chandler Park Branch Library to provide GED classes at the library. We also worked closely with several employers and Wayne State to complete a Commercial Drivers License training; and with trade unions to complete a construction skills training. During 1999 we will work with local manufacturers on a unique on-the-job apprenticeship program.
PEI will continue to work with at least 200 Empowerment Zone families each year, partnering with employers, government agencies, labor, education institutions and other non-profits to help put Eastsiders to work in meaningful jobs.
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A Brief History In the early 1990s, Detroit’s economy was in the midst of massive changes as the local economy lost tens of thousands of lower skill jobs. Directly as a result of a community-based strategic planning process, Warren Conner Development Coalition . launched the Partnership for Economic Independence (PEI) in 1993 as a response to calls to “put our people to work.” Even prior to the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) PEI’s mission has been centered on promoting self-sufficiency. We believe people need more than merely referrals and job leads, many require comprehensive support and guidance to build and sustain independence. PEI responded by developing job-training curricula to empower local unemployed with marketable skills; and they built an array of supplemental supports and services within a “coaching” context.
Incorporated as a nonprofit affiliate partner of the Warren Conner Development Coalition in 2004, the Partnership for Economic Independence, Inc. serves as a comprehensive workforce development agency with over a decade of proven experience serving Detroit area residents and businesses.
“We believe people need more than merely referrals and job leads, many require comprehensive support and guidance to build and sustain independence. Therefore, PEI responds by offering industry recognized job-training curricula, job placement assistance and individualized supplemental supports and services in a ‘coaching’ context. This approach has proven to empower local unemployed residents with marketable skills and assist in their chosen career path.”
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