I asked her about her experiences raising three children close in age and how she found the community or her “village.”
Maureen told me a story about her mother, who developed a close group of friends in high school. She said that, throughout the years, these ladies played cards together on a regular basis through their Pinochle club. It was these women that her mother stayed in touch with that formed her village.
Her mother guided her further as she grew into her own woman. “I remember my mom telling me, ‘One day, you’re going to need your girlfriends.’ She was the one who reminded me that you are always going to need other women in your life because it’s primarily other moms that are with you.”
When Maureen began in politics, she did not find this village of women in the workplace because, at that time, women simply weren’t represented. A close circle of men helped her in the beginning. Times have changed as Maureen has served the city in many roles and has seen an influx of women around her. “It is an important moment in time to recognize.”
Building a Strong Family
Maureen recently shared on social media that she is engaged to be re-married. Blending families is a challenge for any mom, one that my own mother undertook many years ago.
“What I’ve learned so far from this endeavor is the joy that comes from providing a loving and supportive environment, that is really meant to build them all up, is where we are going to find that they will eventually blend at,” she said.
She continued “…I don’t think you are going to be able to force everyone into a mix, it really is about providing that foundation where they feel like they can cultivate and engage, safely and warmly; so that’s the challenge my fiancee and I have before us.”
Building a Community Inclusive of ALL Moms
The City of Livonia, like many communities in the Detroit area, is not immune to the political and racial upheaval that spurred protests in the last year. I asked Maureen about how she as Mayor has addressed the outcry from those who have been affected by prejudice and unconscious bias for so long.
“For me, diversity, equity, and inclusion start here in the city of Livonia by reactivating the Livonia Human Relations Commission,” she said. The commission, which has been revitalized is able to provide actionable recommendations to create policy.
Maureen aims to make Livonia an “Arms Wide Open Community,” supporting all individuals, regardless of color, creed, race, religion, or sexual orientation. During her campaign for mayor, she “knocked on 47,000 doors in our community, and in doing that I began to understand that we had a … much greater variety of people living in Livonia. We need to recognize that we are a diverse community and begin to celebrate that.”
Building a Mental Health Support System
Maureen has made strides to recognize the mental health crisis facing not only the city of Livonia but our entire country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is no surprise that this time has been especially hard on women, whatever their role has been — stay-at-home moms, working moms, work-from-home moms — there is no question that we are all struggling through an unprecedented crisis.
Behavioral health issues and support have emerged as growing concerns in our communities, including in Livonia. Maureen highlighted Livonia’s actions in trying to address this problem with the hiring of two full-time social workers to respond with police to domestic calls.
“Oftentimes the best responder to these calls is not a police officer, and we recognize that. We want to send someone in who has that social service background to help to de-escalate situations and then to also provide the [services] afterward,” she said.
