Leader of Non-Profit Cited as a Public Nuisance Says Ypsi Twp. Trustees Are “Missing the Good”

by P.D. Lesko

Men Like Us was created as a non-profit in 2021. Since leasing space in a building at 3011 E. Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti Twp., Ardis Lewis Jr.’s “men’s club” has been the subject of over 30 police reports. The police reports, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, document complaints about attempted murder, shootings, sex crimes, assaults and gunshot wounds. In July 2023, Ypsilanti Twp. officials served Lewis and his landlord with a lawsuit that alleges Ardis Lewis, Jr. hosted illegal gambling, illegally sold liquor, and that the club has become a public nuisance. Ardis Lewis, Jr. appeared before the Ypsilanti Twp. Trustees on Aug. 15 to ask that his club be permitted to remain open for “reasonable hours” during the day.

All of the police reports reviewed by The Ann Arbor Independent show that police officers responded to calls for service at the 3011 E. Michigan Ave. address after 5 p.m.

In an Aug. 15 Facebook post, Lewis blamed his legal woes on “a few individuals in our community that’s choosing to do wrong.”

Along with Lewis, a number of individuals spoke in support of Men Like Us during public commentary.

One individual who spoke up about Men Like Us told the Ypsi Twp. Trustees that he had put down a deposit in order the rent the space. Others at the meeting, likewise, told Trustees they had events scheduled at the now-closed venue. As per Michigan law, deposits are refundable. This means Ardis Lewis, Jr. is on the hook for deposits he collected from individuals whose events have been cancelled.

Trishe Duckworth, the leader of a small local non-profit called Survivors Speak, came to Ardis Lewis, Jr.’s defense during public comments.

“Why don’t you wrap your arms around this Black-owned business?” Duckworth asked the Trustees in her five-minute comment.” Duckworth went on to say that Township officials should “utilize some special funding” to give Men Like Us a “special grant” for one year to help put security measures in place. Duckworth called the lawsuit “truly grounded in racism.”

Both Lewis and Duckworth blamed the violent crime associated with Men Like Us on the fact that there has been gun violence in the 48197/48198 [Ypsilanti/Ypsilanti Twp.] area for quite some time before Ardis Lewis, Jr. and his men’s club moved into the neighborhood.

In his comments at the Aug. 15 Trustees’ meeting, Lewis stressed some of the events he said he had hosted at the space he leases. In particular, he referred to community events he has hosted. Lewis later posted to his Facebook page a list of community events for which he says his venue has been used:

I only tried to help and uplift My City and Community. I’ve brought entertainment to this town, I’ve helped families in times of need for repass after funerals, Development a Skill Trades Program for The Youth in This Community, I’ve helped ppl get jobs thru my Programs, I’ve held expungement programs for felons to wipe off felonies, I’ve Fed the homeless and gave away socks and shoes to them, Halloween party for the kids, Hosted a Meet and Greet Kyra Harris Bolden, I taught young men how to tie ties, worked with Corner Health With Fathers and Son Program, Gave away over 200 Coats for Kids, We gave away 100 pairs of Air Force Ones to young kids in the community, We gave a firework show for the kids in the community and single mothers, We had Mental Health Panels held at my building numerous times, we have a Annual Bike blessing prayer every year the last 3years where ppl travel far as Kentucky and Chicago just to ride to Ypsilanti Township for Prayer. I’ve hosted Birthday Celebrations for ppl in the community, Held Covid Vaccination shots to be done here.

Along with events, parties and wakes, among other events hosted at the Men Like Us club was a Feb. 25, 2023 roundtable discussion focused on “Black men dealing with trauma” put on by the Black Men Wellness and Resource Center in partnership with Men Like Us. The mental health and “trauma” event put on by Ardis Lewis, Jr. was hosted by Nate Frazier.

Court records show Frazier is a registered sex offender who was charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct in the 1st and 4th degrees. Frazier was charged with repeatedly raping a boy under the age of 13 in acts that included force or coercion. Ardis Lewis, Jr., County Prosecutor Eli Savit and Sheriff’s candidate Derrick Jackson were speakers at that Men Like Us gathering.

“Our City has been faced with crime and gun violence way before me, but everything I worked hard for gets taken away from me just like that because of a few individuals in our community that’s choosing to do wrong! This is Crazy to me.! Asking God to let His Angels Protect Me and Encamp Around Me and Send Help to a Soldier in The Fight… Amen ,” wrote Lewis in an Aug. 15 Facebook post.

In his comments to the Trustees, Ardis Lewis, Jr. asked the elected officials what he was supposed to do for money to support his six children.

The Men Like Us CEO was, several years ago, charged with a felony for leaving the State in order to evade child support payments. He owed over $14,000 in back child support. The presiding judge jailed Lewis and set bail at the amount owed in missing child support payments. Lewis posted his own bond and was released. Court records show the bond money was forfeited to pay the back child support.

Court records show he has, over the past two decades, been embroiled in ongoing Trial Court disputes related to non-payment of child support, including for one of his children whose paternity was established legally.

Lewis has engaged attorneys to fight paying child support, and has fought in the Trial Court to reduce his child support payments.

Trial Court records show that since 2003 Ardis Lewis, Jr. has been the defendant in multiple complaints made by the mother of a child of whom Lewis is the father. Court records show Lewis has been ordered not fewer than a dozen times to pay child support to his child’s mother. At one point, Lewis floated $1,900 in bad checks to the Washtenaw County Friend of the Court. Related to this child support complaint, in Mar. 2023, Lewis was the subject of a Notice of Contempt Hearing for ignoring repeated [Child] Support Enforcement Orders related to non-payment of support. That hearing had yet to be scheduled.

Court records available through the 22nd Circuit Court, 15th and 14-A District Courts show that Ardis Lewis, Jr. has been sued repeatedly by a variety of creditors. In 2022, the Harley Davidson Credit Corp. sued Lewis for repossession.

On his Facebook page, Lewis provided a link to a GoFundMe page where he is asking for $10,000.

At the end of the Aug. 15 meeting, Ardis Lewis Jr., standing in the back of the room, asked the Trustees, “What about me?”

He received no answer.

On Aug. 1, Judge Timothy Connors granted Ypsilanti Twp.’s Ex Parte Motion to temporarily close Men Like Us. The Show Cause hearing at which Judge Connors will rule on whether to padlock the building that houses Men Like Us for one year, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 24. At the Aug. 15 meeting of the Ypsilanti Twp. Trustees, Lewis announced the date of the Show Cause hearing and asked supporters to pack Judge Connors’s courtroom in support of his efforts to stop Judge Connors from ruling to padlock the building that houses Men Like Us.