By Dorinda Stephens
I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Mills Service Coordinator at Belleville Co-op in the city of Belleville and Whispering Willows Co-op in Romulus. Janet has been a Service Coordinator with Hannan since January 2014. She works part-time at both locations. Janet is passionate about working with vulnerable seniors, which inspired her to become a service coordinator and go back to school. In December 2013 she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Marygrove College. In addition, she has an Associates degree in Gerontology from Wayne County Community College. Prior to completing her Bachelor degree, she worked at Focus Hope in Detroit for eight-years as a Senior Outreach Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator. Janet assisted seniors who had limited resources for food by identifying and setting up miniature distributions food sites. Also, she conducted tours, presentations about Focus Hope facility, and trained new volunteers to help serve individuals suffering from hunger within the metropolitan area. She works closely with seniors at her church while mentoring teenage girls. Janet implemented an intergenerational program where seniors teach the teenage girls how to sew and cook in exchange the teenage girls help the seniors operate a cell phone and computer.
Janet finds relaxation in balloon decorating for individuals celebrating a special occasion such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and kid parties. Her favorite book is “The Shack” a Christian novel that talked about life experiences. One of her favorite quotes from the book is “Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly. Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.” She enjoys spending time with her daughter who is away at Michigan State University, but the new dog Winston keeps her busy. In the future Janet would like to continue her education by receiving a Master’s Degree in Social Work.
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