Latest news with #Dimond
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan Lupus Foundation facing funding cuts
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A non-profit that supports lupus patients across the state is now asking Michiganders for some financial help. Members of the say they're dealing with funding cuts that could lead them to close their doors after more than 50 years. About 14,000 Michiganders have been diagnosed with some form of lupus, an autoimmune disease that makes your immune system damages organs and tissues throughout your body. Fatigue, joint pain, and even rashes are some of the symptoms, Erica Lynn and many other Michiganders suffer from while dealing with Lupus. 'Hair loss. Brain fog,' said Lynn. 'I was having breathing issues. Kidney issues.' She says she was diagnosed back in 2015, when she was 33 years old. 'I attended some support groups, and I agreed to be a co-leader of the support group,' said Lynn. 'At that time, they put on symposiums that bring medical professionals in to talk to you about the various symptoms, the various tests.' With the non-profit facing funding issues, Kimberly Dimond, executive director of The Michigan Lupus Foundation, worries about the future. 'Pharmaceutical companies that did support patient advocacy groups like ours, they eliminated their departments and cut funding from groups like ours nationwide,' said Dimond. Dimond says their operating annual budget is $150,000, and says they use $10,000 a month just to operate. 'The pharmaceutical companies made up about 60% of that individual or corporate support that came into the Foundation,' said Dimond. 'So, it really did have much of a significant impact.' She says GlaxoSmithKline was their largest sponsor, which helped them educate people about the illness. 'There's also Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. They have a lupus nephritis drug. They were another one of our large sponsors, and GSK actually restructured and eliminated their entire advocacy department completely,' said Dimond. Diamond says the organization has been rebuilding and reconstructing since 2022 due to depleted funds and other issues. 'When I started in 2022, I came into the organization, and we did not have any funding. We had also lost our 501(c)(3), because the 990s were not filed with the IRS for four years,' said Dimond. Being sick is expensive; that's why the organization does all it can for lupus survivors like Lynn. 'One of the biggest things that they do is they provide support,' said Lynn. 'And they provide a community, they provide a lot of resources that you can't really get in one place.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community protesting demolition of Eastern High School
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – A group advocating for parts of Eastern High School to be saved gathered at Lansing City Hall to voice their concerns. 'The Eastern grads are many in this town,' said Linda Peckham, a member of the Coalition to Preserve Eastern High School and Promote Mental Health. 'There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds who vote and they are very attached to the building for emotional reasons [and] personal reasons because it's a gorgeous building.' Eastern High School is nearly a century old, and some people in the Greater Lansing area feel connected to the space. For some, it even runs in the family. 'I have four younger sisters, and we all graduated from Eastern, and even my mother graduated from Eastern,' said Faye Norris, who is also part of the coalition. The group says they are interested in preserving the West Wing and the auditorium. 'The building is quite dilapidated,' said Margaret Dimond, regional president of U-M Health. Unfortunately, the building hasn't held up the same way many Quakers' memories have. 'The auditorium has water intrusion, mold, black mold, and the asbestos is everywhere…Anyone going through there should have an N95 mask on,' Dimond continued. She says that given its current state, saving the space simply isn't an option. 'I don't think they understand that a lot of the water intrusion is behind the walls,' said Dimond. Dimond says plans have been made to keep and highlight artifacts that could be preserved on the new property. 'That includes the beautiful arches and includes the cupula…Things that are historic, we can put around the park,' she said. The coalition is hoping for the city to do a preservation analysis. 'We're trying to get the mayor to pause the demolition long enough to have that analysis made,' said Peckham. The group also says they understand and support the need for a new mental health facility '[They] say we're not interested in mental health, we're only interested in preserving an old building… No. Not true,' said Peckham. Thursday morning, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor gave 6 News a statement saying if Sparrow meets all the requirements, the city has to issue the permit to allow for demolition. The city added that if it were to intervene in the project, a lawsuit would likely follow—costing taxpayers money and still resulting in the demolition of Eastern High School. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
