Fighting Detroit blight with gingerbread houses

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CLICK HERE for a slideshow of the blighted gingerbread houses.

"If we're poking fun at anything, we're poking fun at our own circumstances," she said.

One gingerbread house has a warning for scrappers, another  is a replica of a home in West Village.

These homes may taste bad, but their makers hope they're not in bad taste. Some even tell real Detroit stories.

One is a re-creation of an incident when a car hit a home, setting it on fire. Another shows the great flood, complete with sharks. One crumb-y creation captures the spirit of the unfinished Wayne County jail.

"There's pretty much no nutritional value in these houses. and some of it might actually be toxic," Scoville said. "Much like the actual blight."

James Grenwick is the president of the Cornerstone Village Association, he's also an admitted bid rigger.

 Grenwick will first off start by bidding all houses at $10.

That can get pricey, but like many of his neighbors, he says he's willing to live dangerously.

"I looked to my wife and said it's possible I could win all of the houses here," he said. "So we're ready."

Scoville says last year's auction raised about $400. 

"I think they said we raised enough last year to board up 12 houses," she said.

Scoville grew up in Grosse Pointe, just across Mack from Cornerstone Village. She has chased off scrappers and says that after a decade in the dumps, she's not about to give up.

"What people don't realize is that you're not always a victim to circumstances, you can help shape your circumstances," she said. "Just as quickly as it can fall apart, it can come together. If somebody's just willing to take a chance and get the ball rolling."

The auction hasn't raised enough money yet to buy a house, but they've raised more than enough to save plenty of them on Detroit's east side.

The third annual I'm Dreaming of a (No) Blight Christmas Party is Saturday from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Quack House, 4127 Neff, Detroit and is open to the public.

For more info, click HERE.