On the second Thursday of the month(No Meeting on July), HDFCC hosts coalition meetings that are open to the public. You can come to the Piast Institute building at 11am located at 11633 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck MI 48212. You can also join in online via Zoom using the following link: ​

The Piast Institute and its Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition (HDFCC) are seeking a passionate, community-minded professional to serve as Project Director, helping lead substance use prevention initiatives that strengthen the health and well-being of residents throughout the Hamtramck community.

The Project Director will coordinate evidence-based prevention programs, engage youth and families, collaborate with schools, businesses, faith-based organizations, and community partners, and support grant-funded initiatives that address emerging community needs. The position also includes program planning, evaluation, public education, and grant development.

"We're looking for someone who is passionate about making a difference through prevention, education, and community collaboration," said Lara Girdwood, Executive Director of HDFCC. "This is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact while working alongside dedicated partners committed to building a healthier community."

Candidates with strong communication, organizational, and leadership skills, along with an interest in public health, prevention, or community development, are encouraged to apply. Grant writing experience and public speaking skills are preferred. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to obtain professional prevention certification through the Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals (MCBAP).

Interested applicants are encouraged to submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected]

HAMTRAMCK, MI. — As financial scams targeting older adults continue to increase across the United States, the Piast Institute is helping local seniors protect themselves through free educational presentations focused on Medicare fraud prevention, identity theft, financial scams, and emerging cyber threats.

Over the past several months, the Piast Institute has hosted fraud prevention workshops for older adults throughout the community, providing practical tools to recognize scams, safeguard personal information, and report suspicious activity. These educational sessions brought together seniors to learn about today's most common fraud schemes while fostering social engagement through interactive discussions and community activities.

The need for this education has never been greater. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Report, adults age 60 and older reported $7.748 billion in losses from 201,266 complaints in 2025—a 59% increase in reported losses compared to the previous year. The report underscores the growing financial impact of fraud on older Americans.

"Education is one of the most effective tools we have to prevent fraud before it happens," said Malgorzata Tulecki, Executive Vice President of the Piast Institute. "Scammers are constantly changing their tactics, using phone calls, emails, text messages, artificial intelligence, and social media to target victims. By teaching people how to recognize these scams and respond appropriately, we can help protect their financial security and independence."

During the workshops, participants learned how to identify and avoid a wide range of scams, including:

• Medicare, Social Security, and IRS impersonation scams
• Technology support scams
• Investment and retirement fraud
• Grandparent scams
• Identity theft and check fraud
• Funeral scams
• AI-generated phishing attempts
• Social media and online marketplace scams
• 
  

Attendees also learned to recognize common warning signs of fraud, including unsolicited calls demanding immediate action, requests for payment using gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers, pressure to keep financial transactions secret, and offers that seem too good to be true.

The presentations emphasized practical steps everyone can take to reduce their risk, including verifying the identity of callers by contacting organizations directly, never sharing personal or Medicare information with unsolicited callers, using strong passwords and multifactor authentication for online accounts, and consulting trusted family members or financial professionals before making significant financial decisions.

Because many fraud victims never report scams due to embarrassment, fear, or uncertainty about where to turn, experts believe the true financial impact of fraud is significantly higher than official reports indicate. This makes public education and awareness essential components of fraud prevention.

Although older adults often experience the greatest financial losses, fraud affects people of every generation. The Piast Institute encourages individuals and families to stay informed, discuss common scams with loved ones, and remain vigilant against evolving fraud tactics.

These educational presentations reflect the Piast Institute's ongoing commitment to improving the health, financial well-being, and quality of life of the communities it serves. By partnering with local organizations and bringing trusted information directly to residents, the Institute continues to empower individuals with the knowledge and confidence needed to protect themselves from fraud and financial exploitation.

About the Piast InstituteThe Piast Institute is a national nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to serving communities through research, education, outreach, and public service. Through its health education, prevention, and community engagement initiatives, the Institute works to improve quality of life, promote healthy aging, and connect individuals and families with trusted resources that strengthen communities.

Visit online at www.PiastInstitute.org for more information.

Please note that the Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition (HDFCC) is a project of the Piast Institute.

The Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition (HDFCC) was founded in 2007 by the
Piast Institute in Hamtramck, Michigan to organize a group of concerned community
leaders in response to increasing rates of youth substance use. Hamtramck, completely
surrounded by Detroit, is the most densely populated city in Michigan. According to the
2023 Census ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, at only 2 square miles, there
are 27,830 residents equating to over 12,000 residents per square mile. Hamtramck has
historically been a community of immigrants, with current residents coming from
diverse parts of the world including Yemen, Bangladesh, and various Eastern European
countries such as Poland, Albania, and now Ukraine. This diversity results in over twenty
languages spoken in local schools. Around 15.7% (Census ACS) of Hamtramck's
population consists of older adults over the age of 55. The percentage of families in
Hamtramck living below the poverty level - 38.3% (Census ACS) - is over three times
the national average, with a Median Household Income of $40,103.

School Partnerships & Outreach
● In partnership with Hamtramck Public Schools, we’ve been able to collect data
over the past decade, tracking trends and progress accordingly.
● In Fall 2025, we were able to engage with 300 7th and 8th graders in their
classrooms about substance use prevention, including safe use and disposal of
prescription drugs.
● 13 emergency overdose boxes total have been provided to all buildings within
the school district including the recreation and administrative buildings - these
overdose boxes make Narcan (which helps to reverse opioid overdose) more
readily accessible in case of overdose emergencies.
● We have provided Narcan training to staff during professional development as
well as students and are working with the district now to provide training for a
new set of out-going students.
● We provide “Parents Partner” meetings within the district to provide prevention
education for our parents - A big topic we cover is safe storage of medications in
the home, providing medication lock bags to parents - We also provide these
educational moments at school and community events throughout the year.
● We facilitate 3 Junior Coalitions throughout the district reaching about 45
students in grades 4-12 to discuss health and wellness topics and create
leadership opportunities for them to be champions for health and wellness within
their schools.
● In partnership with Hamtramck Public Schools, assessments in Hamtramck have
shown a decrease in past 30-day use of all substances including Alcohol,
Tobacco, Marijuana, and misuse of Prescription Drugs among both middle and
high schoolers since 2014.
○ One change showed a 59% decrease in middle schoolers' past 30-day
misuse of prescription drugs from 10% of students in 2016 to 4.1% in
2022.

Community Outreach
● This is crucial because a coalition is not a coalition without support from a variety
of community sectors. We are proud of the local partnerships we have been able
to develop throughout the years and look forward to continuing our partnership
with the city.
● Through these partnerships we are able to host large-scale events like the
Hamtramck Health Hike - which is a free community event that garners
participation from more than 400+ youth and families. This year past year we
hosted the 17th annual Health Hike with 713 total registrants.
● We have been providing 150 holiday gift bags for residents of the Hamtramck
Senior Plaza for the past 6 years. In 2025, through donations from over 20
community partners, we were able to provide a total of 300 gift bags for not only
the Hamtramck Senior Plaza but also residents of St Joseph’s nursing home.
○ Diversified funding sources were pursued to better support Hamtramck’s
senior population, including the Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services (MDHHS) Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program.
Programming engages Medicare beneficiaries and/or vulnerable adults,
empowering them to detect, respond, and prevent healthcare fraud,
errors, and abuse.

● We employ youth interns, exclusively local to Hamtramck and the surrounding
catchment areas, serving both our team and the community.

● We often provide a “welcome back” gift for our local teachers at the beginning of
the school year and try to connect with them throughout the year in different
ways.
● Also, as a token of our appreciation for our city partnerships, we host a free
annual pancake breakfast on Halloween. It’s a great way to stay connected and
continue to let people know what we are up to and continue to build
relationships.

Community Change
● We host National Prescription Take Back events (2 times a year in order) to
reduce accessibility of unused / expired medications in the home - over the past
decade, we have collected about 650 pounds of pills, this past year (2025
specifically), we collected about 50 pounds.
○ We also connect with all 17 pharmacies to provide messaging for patrons
on proper disposal of medications.

● In 2025, we trained 620 people on Narcan and distributed over 650 boxes of
Narcan - learned from one particular partner that Narcan training had made a
noticeable difference in reduction of overdose emergencies within the apartment
complex.
● HDFCC also closely monitored the Opioid Crisis in the area and found that,
compared to 2021, 2025 showed a 43% reduction in opioid overdose
emergencies where Narcan was used and a 70% reduction in opioid-related
deaths in Hamtramck.
● We conduct community surveys and assessments so that we can understand
how our community landscape changes over time. In 2026 we touched all 75
alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis vendors in the city to provide education on proper
sales of substances.
Challenges
● In partnership with Hamtramck Public Schools, the Michigan Profile for Healthy
Youth (MiPhy) survey is typically conducted every other year. Policy changes from
the Michigan Department of Education within the 2025-2026 school year required
publication of survey questions, including translations. Failure to comply may
result in barred school funding. As a result, the MiPhy survey was never
administered, limiting capacity to track critical youth substance use prevention
data.

● The loss of the Drug Free Communities (DFC) federal funding, one of the
coalitions largest federal funding sources, coupled with the lack of
reimbursement from the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) as
well as Wayne County has placed undue financial hardship on the Piast Institute
and Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition (HDFCC).

Congratulations to our very own, Franciszek Buciek!

We are proud to celebrate Franciszek as he will be receiving the MCRUD 2026 Rising Star Award (Youth Under 21) at the 30th Anniversary for MCRUD Annual Meeting & Award ceremony (Southfield, Michigan) in recognition of his outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to making a positive impact in our community.

Franciszek Buciek joined the Piast Institute as a high school intern during his freshmen year. Five years later, his work in the community with the Hamtramck Drug Free Community Coalition (HDFCC) is being celebrated by others. Frankie's commitment, participation and feedback as a minor was crucial for projects such as State of Michigan Synar checks, community scans, and substance misuse prevention activities. 

Frankie, your hard work and passion inspire those around you, and we couldn't be more proud of this well-deserved achievement. Keep shining and making a difference—we can't wait to see all that you'll accomplish in the future!

#RisingStarAward #CommunityLeadership #YouthLeadership #PiastInstitute #HamtramckDrugFree #MakingADifference #Congratulations