In the Spotlight: Supreme Felons Incorporated

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 For our “In the Spotlight” series, we’re shining a light on community resources around the Ypsilanti area, sharing how to best share support with our friends and neighbors. This month’s highlight: Supreme Felons Incorporated.

We connected with Executive Director, Billy Cole, to hear about how this organization is working towards reducing recidivism, and supporting youth, seniors, and returning citizens to build a stronger community and how to get involved.

What should we know about Supreme Felons Incorporated and who do you serve?

We are boots on the ground organization. Supreme Felons is a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit and we purposefully target our services most in need within all of our county, and that’s mainly the 48197 and 48198 area codes. We help bring resolution to avoid conflict, something like a call that the music is too loud next door, or responding to our seniors who have no other support for moving snow…to organizing and supporting events and actively addressing violence in our communities.

We are by-products of this community. Even though all of us are not returning citizens, those of us that are felt there’s a need to come back to bring improvement and betterment to our community as earthly possible.


What makes this work so personal, and how does it show up in your approach?

Supreme felons are very personal with the work that we do. All of us are from this particular community, and it gives us the ability to actually save lives. The families are appreciative to just have a relationship, and that gives us the ability to knock on a person’s door, sit down, and let them know what their son or niece might be doing out in these streets that they should be aware of. 

Our employees are in the communities they grew up in, and they want to bring quick resolution to violence. A high percentage of gun violence is based on retaliation. I think [former] Sheriff Clayton spoke recently the decline of the gun violence and attributed some of that to Supreme Felons as one of the major opponents to reducing gun violence. I shared that with our employees, about how important our work is. We are truly boots on the ground in our community.

Can you tell us about the organization’s programs and pillars?

We took a realistic approach to have our pillars and programs serve different generations and clientele. Our umbrella is based on community intervention, and we have four pillars:

Re-entry program: We’re the only organization in the county to allow returning citizens to have immediate access to short term housing. We supply food cards, transportation through bus tokens,  telephones and temporary housing for returning citizens and we gave them a resource guide. We ask them to check in and we find resources for whatever they feel their success is, and through partners like Michigan Works. 

Senior Support Program:  Our intent was to help enable seniors to continue proper care to keep their homes. Our employees are invested in that work and also have prior experience.  Now, we go in Chidester Place on Mondays, Towne Place on Tuesdays. We interact, we play bingo, and give them the opportunity to share thoughts and ideas. and for over maybe two years we were in collaboration with Lisa Barfield’s ‘Kayla’s Kitchen’.  

Youth Mentorship:  We’re in collaboration with Parkridge Park and every Monday with our basketball mentorship. We collaborated with University of Michigan and four interns from their departments help tutor our students. It’s an after-school project that allows mentorship. The basketball helps them get in the door. It’s meeting people exactly where they’re at.

Neighborhood Watch Team: Brian and neighborhood watch have been very instrumental within our homeless community.  They had a drive to volunteer blankets and yoga pads to keep them off the ground. Shout out to the community. They showed up and showed out! We couldn’t do this work without them, and without them being receptive of the work that we do. 


How can someone seeking your services get in contact? Where could they start?

By website: www.SupremeFelons.com
Office phone: (734) 340-2269  or contact Brian Foley or Billy Cole.
Downtown Location: 301 W. Michigan Ave.

Honestly, it’s mostly been word out mouth. We’ve had the opportunity to do media tours like radio commercials; you’ll hear Brian mention some of the activities that Supreme Felons is doing on Facebook.


If someone wants to volunteer, how can they get involved?

Just call us. Let us know you want to be involved. We are very appreciative of our volunteers. For those who want to volunteer, we send a monthly calendar of events, workshops, things of that nature so they would be updated if they wanted to participate.

Realities: Not everyone is fit to come a Supreme Felon, but we feel in order to be an employee or volunteer, there are certain criteria that we demand and structures we ask our employees to have. And you have to have character. We believe in empathy, a key word we focus on as returning citizens. Not only in the work that we do but for those who we serve.

Can you tell us about the annual Reach One Teach One event, hosted with NFL star Blake Corum here in Ypsilanti?

We just passed out turkeys with Blake Corum. Blake and his representative contacted us, and we’ve been putting this annually with Blake for a few years (shout out for his contribution to our community) with over 400 turkeys! We were serving all around Ypsilanti - politicians, teachers...everyone had a lot of fun serving the community and we were very appreciative of the turnout.

  • Supreme Felons Incorporated has recently supported more events, including the Women and Men Working for Change's 5th Annual 5k Run/Walk.


What should the community know about the ‘State Crisis Intervention Program’?

This program offered for the public now is the State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP). Our collaboration goes from ages 14-25, and target individuals that have had any association with gun violence. I was surprised to see the kids, you wouldn’t even think, but they have had some association with a gun.  

The Michigan State Police Department will partner with Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office, Supreme Felons, and associates to implement the Washtenaw Community Violence Intervention Initiative through  Supreme Felons, the proposed project partner who is actively addressing violence through direct engagement with at risk youth and other community members purpose to build on current progress by preventing future incidence of gun violence particularly among youth and young adults through targeted intervention strategies and collaboration with key community partners. Contact the organization to learn more.

Anything else you’d like to share?

If you would like us to continue these services, you have the opportunity to donate through our website: SupremeFelons.com. We would love to continue this work and upgrade the work. We’ve got big dreams, and we’ll continue to dream and pray. I don’t feel like anything is an accident, there’s a purpose we’re having this conversation.  

We’d like to thank Billy for sharing with us. Supreme Felons is an organization working to reduce recidivism and support juveniles, elders, and returning citizens to build a stronger community. Learn more at SupremeFelons.com.

View the latest spotlights and more of what Ypsilanti has to offer at LiveNypsi.com.