Today we’d like to introduce you to India Smith.
Hi India, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story has been one filled with bumps, bruises, resilience, and purpose. Often, I have found myself being the first, the only, the minority, the generational curse breaker, and someone learning to navigate spaces that were unfamiliar to me. But through every challenge, one thing remained true: I kept going.
I am India Smith, born and raised on the east side of Detroit, surrounded by poverty, addiction, and crime, yet deeply determined to rise above the circumstances around me. I was raised by a single mother, and there were many moments where we went without. At an early age, I experienced hardships that shaped how I saw the world, including medical struggles as a child that taught me resilience early on.
Even then, I naturally gravitated toward helping others. I was the child standing up to bullies, advocating for people who struggled to advocate for themselves, and trying to make life easier for those around me, while still pushing myself toward bigger goals and opportunities.
My journey has never been perfect, but I am where I am today because I kept going through the hard seasons, the uncertain seasons, and even the seasons that nearly broke me. Every difficult experience became fuel. Instead of asking, “Why me?” I began asking, “How can this help someone else?”
That mindset ultimately shaped both my nonprofit and business journey.
The idea for Impact Detroit Youth Community Hub began forming around 2019 while I was working in Child Protective Services. I worked closely with families facing significant hardships, and what I realized changed me. Most families are not “bad” families, they simply lack access to resources, support, and systems that truly work together.
I saw firsthand how families who desperately wanted to succeed were often sent to multiple places to receive services, creating barriers that made stability feel nearly impossible. The greatest gaps I repeatedly saw were in health and wellness, financial literacy, life skills, and access to community support.
That experience led me to create Impact Detroit Youth Community Hub, a nonprofit centered around creating access, opportunity, and hope for youth and families. My vision was to create a space where resources, programs, and services could exist in one place while also exposing young people to possibility. I wanted children to see entrepreneurs, professionals, wellness leaders, and business owners who looked like them and to understand that success was possible for them too.
At the same time, my professional experiences in Child Protective Services, corrections, probation, investigations, and case management naturally led me toward launching Impact Investigations, my private investigative business. Throughout my career, I developed a deep passion for seeking truth, advocating for people, and helping individuals and organizations navigate difficult situations with clarity and integrity. In many ways, investigation work and nonprofit work are not separate at all, both require discernment, compassion, problem solving, and a genuine desire to help people through difficult circumstances.
At the center of everything I do is faith.
My biggest goal is to live in alignment with God and pursue what He designed me to do. I truly believe in living in purpose and on purpose. Whether through community work, youth programming, wellness, investigations, or simply showing up for people in meaningful ways, I want my life to leave impact.
Sometimes I reflect and wonder: If I had access to the right spaces, resources, and support earlier in life, how much further would I be? That question drives me. Because if I can help create those spaces for someone else, then every challenge I faced had purpose.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not a smooth road at all. Still isn’t.
But I believe the obstacles are what shaped both my character and my purpose.
Growing up on the east side of Detroit, I was surrounded by poverty, addiction, violence, and limited resources. I was raised by a single mother, and there were seasons where we went without. On top of that, I dealt with medical challenges as a child, which taught me resilience early and forced me to navigate things many children around me did not fully understand.
As I grew older, the struggles shifted. I often found myself being the first, the only, the minority, and the generational curse breaker in spaces that were unfamiliar. Professionally and personally, there have been moments of grief, burnout, self doubt, financial challenges, and simply trying to figure things out without a blueprint.
One of my greatest struggles, if I am being honest, was minimizing my own mental and emotional health. For a long time, I stayed in survival mode. I became so focused on helping others, reaching goals, and pushing through difficult seasons that I neglected healing myself. Instead of slowing down and addressing certain wounds, I sometimes relied on temporary solutions and temporary gratification to cope.
The hard truth is that survival mode can look productive from the outside. People see the accomplishments, the leadership, the nonprofit, the business, and assume strength means you are okay. But I have learned that real strength is not just surviving, it is healing.
Being a generational curse breaker sounds inspiring, but it can also feel lonely. Sometimes you are learning things no one around you had the opportunity to teach you, while simultaneously unlearning unhealthy patterns and trying to build something different.
Building both Impact Detroit Youth Community Hub and Impact Investigations has come with its own challenges as well. Funding, sustainability, capacity, and balance are real. Through my work in Child Protective Services and investigations, I have also carried the emotional weight of seeing people during some of the hardest moments of their lives.
Still, I kept going.
I am where I am today because I kept moving through the hard seasons, the uncertain seasons, and the seasons that nearly broke me. More importantly, I learned that healing, faith, discipline, and alignment matter just as much as perseverance.
And truthfully, the road still is not smooth. But today, I move through it with more intention, more faith, and a deeper understanding that purpose is often built through the very things we once had to survive.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Impact Detroit Community Hub and Impact Investigations LLC?
Impact Detroit Youth Community Hub and Impact Investigations
At first glance, a nonprofit and a private investigation business may seem unrelated, but for me, both were built from the same foundation: advocacy, truth, access, and helping people navigate difficult situations with dignity.
Impact Detroit Youth Community Hub (IDYCH) was created to help bridge the gaps I witnessed firsthand while working in Child Protective Services and through my own lived experiences. Growing up on the east side of Detroit and navigating hardships, medical challenges, instability, and periods where resources were limited, I understand how life circumstances can shape opportunity. During my time working with families, I realized most families are not lacking love or desire to do better, they are often lacking resources, access, and systems that truly support them.
IDYCH focuses on supporting youth and families through health and wellness, financial literacy, life skills, mentorship, community programming, and resource accessibility. We host events, provide practical support, and create experiences that expose youth to possibility. One thing I am especially passionate about is helping young people see what is possible for themselves through entrepreneurship, wellness, leadership, and positive community engagement. I also intentionally create opportunities to highlight small businesses and professionals, because representation and exposure matter.
Impact Investigations was born from my professional background in Child Protective Services, corrections, probation, and investigations. Through years of advocating for vulnerable populations, conducting investigations, interviewing individuals, and seeking facts in difficult situations, I developed a passion for helping people find clarity and answers during challenging times.
Impact Investigations provides professional investigative support throughout Metro Detroit, specializing in services such as statements, neighborhood and business canvasses, process serving, locate services, record searches, and professional investigative support. What sets us apart is our compassion, integrity, and attention to detail. Investigations often happen during difficult moments in people’s lives, and I believe people deserve professionalism, honesty, and respect throughout the process.
What I am most proud of, brand wise, is that both organizations reflect my heart and purpose. Whether through nonprofit work or investigations, my mission remains the same: helping people, creating access, advocating for others, and making meaningful impact.
At the center of everything I do is faith. I strive to live in alignment with God and truly believe in living in purpose and on purpose. My hope is that when people experience either organization, they leave feeling seen, supported, empowered, and reminded that their circumstances do not define their future.
How do you think about luck?
I have never viewed my life through the lens of luck, whether good or bad. I think life happens, circumstances happen, challenges happen, and then we decide what we are going to do with them.
I was not dealt the easiest hand. There were real hardships, instability, medical challenges, moments of uncertainty, and experiences that could have easily shaped my life in a very different direction. But I have always believed that your circumstances do not have to become your identity.
If anything, I think what people sometimes call “luck” is often preparation meeting opportunity. Many of the opportunities in my life came after seasons of hard work, growth, setbacks, self reflection, and learning how to navigate spaces that were unfamiliar to me.
I also believe relationships and community matter. Along the way, there have been people who believed in me, challenged me, opened doors, poured into me, or simply reminded me to keep going when things felt hard. I do not take that lightly.
More than luck, I would say my life has been shaped by resilience, discipline, and learning to keep moving forward, even when things did not go according to plan. I have learned that growth often comes from the very seasons you would never choose for yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: ImpactDetroitYouth.com and ImpactPIServices.com
- Instagram: @ImpactDetroitYouth | @ImpactPIService
- Facebook: @ImpactDetroitYouth | @ImpactPIService
- LinkedIn: India Smith and @ImpactDetroitYouth | @ImpactPIService
