MARCH 12, 2026
Perry Outreach: A Center Rooted in Service
Percy and Idella Perry photos hang above the wall.On a cold February Wednesday afternoon in Southwest Detroit, the Perry Outreach Center opened into a space brimming with energy, full boxes, and a team preparing for the day ahead.
I visited the Perry Outreach Center on behalf of my role at I Find Staffing, where I was asked to take fresh photos of the Perry team. What first seemed like a straightforward task also became an introduction to the center itself and the work it provides. The Perry Outreach Center operates as both a food pantry and a community resource center, serving underfunded communities in the city through food access, health services, and educational support.
Marcel Smith, Perry Outreach.Like many, they believe in the goodness of people, that at the core, community is reflected in both what we have and what we need. Perry carries that strength into today in the way it gives without asking for anything in return. If they ask for anything at all, it is a willingness to stand on your own and, once helped, to help lift others in the same way.
The center’s history begins with the house itself. In 1958, Percy and Idella Perry purchased the property from a Hungarian family after coming to Southwest Detroit to build a life and raise their own family there. At the time, it was simply a home, but over the years, the space became connected to something much larger than the family who first lived in it. What began as a private residence would later grow into a center dedicated to serving the surrounding community.
Marcel Smith on the right, and Lacy Guyton on left.In this part of Southwest Detroit, the neighborhood carries its own history. Before the 1960s, the area was largely Polish and Slavic, and over time it became home to a predominantly Black working-class community, with many residents connected to work at the Ford Motor Company. It is part of a place shaped by a long industrial, cultural, and community history, and that history still sits close to the center today.
After spending time with the Perry team for the week, it became clear that history is not treated as mere information. Nearly every question directed to Executive Director Randall Mosley seemed to lead back to a name, a memory, or a piece of the center’s past. The history of Perry Outreach does not feel distant, for it continues to shape the way the center is understood in the present and the way its work is carried forward now.
Among the names most closely tied to that history are Sister Eileen Lantzy, OSM, Fr. Edward Francis Zaorsky, and Percy and Idella Perry. They are a part of the foundation, and each represents a piece of faith, labor, care, and community that helped shape what Perry Outreach would become.
Sister Eileen was an especially important part of those memories. A member of the Order of the Servants of Mary, she worked closely with Fr. Edward Francis Zaorsky through St. Andrew & Benedict’s Church and became part of the larger effort that supported the community around the center. In the way she is remembered, she comes across as someone with strong character and steady purpose, a person who kept moving forward and encouraged others to do the same. That kind of persistence feels closely tied to Perry Outreach itself, a center that has continued to grow through steady work, practical help, and the people who have kept its mission in motion.
Lacy Guyton getting boxes filled.
Donated fruit and vegetables in boxes.
Executive Director, Randall Mosley.That sense of service continues in the work Perry Outreach does today. The center provides essential resources through food distribution while also offering programs tied to health and education. Free health screenings, including checks for blood pressure, blood sugar, and heart rate, are offered by Madonna University student nurses on Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Job assistance through I Find Staffing is also available on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., adding another layer of practical support for visitors who may need help beyond food access alone.
At its core, Perry Outreach is not only a place shaped by the people who built it and sustained it over time, but one that continues to meet present needs in direct and practical ways. It remains a place people can turn to, built on welcome and a commitment to serving people from every background. Its growth reflects more than one moment or one program. It reflects years of effort, a neighborhood’s history, and steady persistence that keeps showing up each day for the people of Southwest Detroit.
Madonna University Student Nurses.
Roberto Rangel, left. Yesenia Sanchez, middle. Michelle Lopez, right. I Find Staffing Services LLC.Andrea Cuevas, I Find Staffing Services LLC.For more information about the Perry Outreach Center, please visit perryoutreach.org.
Written and photographed by Ana Yadira for I Find Staffing Services LLC.
© 2026 Ana Yadira. All rights reserved.
