Shawn Force

Background

About Shawn Force

I started off my adult career as a crisis intervention and suicide prevention specialist, working at various non-profit and government agencies. In 2015, following rounds of state-wide budget cuts to mental health services, I left to work on the other side of the phones, focusing on healthy workplaces and communities. In the 7 years since I left my last crisis center, I co-founded Forlane, LLC, where we worked to improve processes, push for equitable outcomes, and improve relationships in organizations. Between consulting and training for organizations including The Roeper School, American Indian Health and Family Services, Detroit Kung Fu Academy, I also tended bar and spent time working with various social justice organizations. I completed a fellowship with the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan, where I worked with Restaurant Opportunities Center Detroit and Mothering Justice to get One Fair Wage and Paid Sick Leave on the ballot in Michigan, as well as working to draw attention to the plight of tipped workers in this country. When I lost my job due to COVID, I helped found the Madison Heights Food Pantry, which is still going strong 2 years later. I served on Madison Heights Human Equity and Relations Committee, and joined SAGE Metro Detroit in 2021, where I worked to create intergenerational connections amongst the LGBTQIA+ community in Metro Detroit and offer support and resources to our older adults until my contract position ended in October of 2022. I currently work from home doing medical credentialing for providers all over the country. In my free time, I enjoy writing, learning new skills, and putting those to the test - most recently by remodeling a mobile home, including learning how to plumb, patch a roof, hang and finish drywall, and install a mobile home underbelly.