Our mission is to help girls and young women experiencing homelessness and other risks avoid violence, early pregnancy, and exploitation; and help them to explore and access the support, resources, and opportunities necessary to be safe, to grow strong, and to make positive choices for their lives. We serve girls and young women experiencing homelessness and other risks through the following programs:
Our focus is on crisis response and safety. We provide a stable home that helps teens and women avoid high-risk activities, such as sex work, drug use, domestic violence, and gang involvement. We empower participants to make safe choices and live healthy lives. Read more about Shelter here.
Our focus is on early intervention and leadership development. We serve girls ages 7-19 who are at risk of gang involvement, abusing drugs or alcohol, early pregnancy, and school truancy. We engage them through mentoring, after-school programs, a college prep program, and a summer camp. Read more about Prevention here.
Our focus is the expansion of participant opportunities. Our programming serves as a lifeline to many young and adult women seeking to remove themselves from situations and activities that threaten their well-being, their futures, and their lives. Read more about Outreach here.
Our focus is housing and community permanence. We support 18 to 24-year-olds experiencing homelessness with housing and other resources designed to stabilize them in the community. Young adults, including some with children, accept housing assistance and personalized case management. We emphasize the pursuit of education, vocational training, and employment geared for self-sufficiency and healthy, productive lifestyles. Read more about Housing Stability here.
The inspiration for Alternatives For Girls came in 1985 when a group of southwest Detroit residents, clergy and business people began to share concerns about the alarming increase in drug use, homelessness, prostitution and street activity among girls and young women. Originally a small, volunteer-run program, operating a five-bed emergency shelter in a neighborhood church, AFG has evolved into a multi-service agency with over 75 employees. It is housed in a two-story brick building constructed in 2002.
Amanda (Amy) Good, CEO, Alternatives For Girls (AFG).
M.S.W., and B.A.: Psychology, University of Michigan. Ms. Good has served as Alternatives For Girls’ CEO since 1988. She has over 35 years of experience managing and directing human services programs serving Detroit children and families.
Under her leadership, AFG has grown from a volunteer-led project to a full-service agency serving homeless and high-risk girls and young women, along with their families, through street outreach, emergency shelter, transition to independent living, and prevention services. Ms. Good served as a gubernatorial appointee on the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice (2004 through 2017), and serves on the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit board. She is a member of the Michigan Chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Her awards include Oprah Winfrey’s “Use Your Life” award (accompanied by $100,000 for AFG’s capital campaign), the United Way Community Services “Executive Director of the Year” award, Leadership Detroit’s “Leadership Challenge” award, and the National Council of Jewish Women Josephine S. Weiner Award for Community Service. She was awarded the University of Michigan School of Social Work Distinguished Alumni award in 2014. Alternatives For Girls was awarded Crain’s “Best Managed Non-Profit” award in 2017.
She is a lifelong runner, and, inspired by her son, she is a dedicated unicyclist. Ms. Good and her husband, David Finkel, raised their two children—now accomplished and contributing young adults—and continue to live, in their Detroit home.