May 22, 2019
AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
A VICTORY FOR
AUSTIN Celebrating the first IB High School on Chicago’s West Side! Chicago artist Max Sansing’s mural “Soaring Minds” in front of Michele Clark High School. CARRYING THE TORCH PAGE 3 | SPOTLIGHT ON AUSTIN’S QUALITY-OF-LIFE PLAN PROGRESS PAGE 4-5 | COLLABORATION MEANS TRANSFORMATION PAGE 7
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Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
Austin Coming Together (ACT) serves a network of 50+ organizations committed to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Our strategic plan is called Thrive 2025 and outlines how we will mobilize our resources to achieve 4 impact goals by the year 2025: Quality Early Learning, Safe Neighborhoods, Living Wage Careers, and Stable Housing Markets.
ACT BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers Larry Williams, Chair Broker, State Farm Insurance
Ruth Kimble, Vice-Chair Executive Director, Austin Childcare Provider’s Network
Angela Waller, Secretary Community Government Relations, Advocate Aurora
Deborah Williams, Treasurer
Tenisha Jones
Jack Macnamara
Community Outreach & Engagement Specialist, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
Chief Program Officer, Chicago Child Care Society
Visiting Scholar, Center for Urban Research & Learning at Loyola University
Directors
Bradly Johnson
Founders
Director of Core Programs, BUILD
Sharon Morgan Director of Community Outreach, Catalyst Schools
Reverend Reginald E. Bachus Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church
Reginald Little Mortgage Loan Officer for Residential Lending, Old Second National Bank
Mildred Wiley, 1955-2019 Founding Board Chair
Dawn Ferencak Associate Publisher, Austin Weekly News
ACT STAFF Leadership Team
Service Delivery Team
Planning & Investment Team
• Darnell Shields*
• Gina DeCoud
• Jose Abonce
• Shavion Scott
• Jai Jones
• Ethan Ramsay
• Alicia Plomin-Spitler
• Dollie Sherman
• Christopher Banks
• Andrew Born
• Kaprisha Martin
Executive Director
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Marketing & Development Manager Research & Evaluation
Community Hub Coordinator Community Engagement Coordinator Youth Engagement Coordinator
Project Coordinator Micro Market Recovery Program Coordinator
Community Engagement Associate
ACT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
A House in Austin Academy of Scholastic Achievement American Red Cross Austin Childcare Providers’ Network Austin Weekly News Be Strong Families Because I Care Bethel New Life BUILD, Inc. By the Hand Club Cara Catholic Charities Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures Chicago Children’s Choir Chicago Community Loan Fund
Lead Organizer
Christ the King Jesuit College Prep College Mentoring Experience Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest Cluster Tutoring Erikson Institute First United Church of Oak Park Friends of The Children Friendship Baptist Church Greater West Town Community Development Project Housing Forward I.C. Stars IFF Inspiration Corporation
*Ex officio Member of the ACT Board of Directors
Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Jane Addams Resource Corporation Kids First Chicago KRA Westside American Job Center LAF Literacy Works Manufacturing Renaissance Mary Shyrese Daycare Mercy Housing Lakefront New Moms OAI, Inc. Oak Park Regional Housing Center Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry Positive Attitudes, Inc. Prevention Partnership
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HIGH-SKILLED WELDERS, LASER & PRESS BRAKE OPERATORS
Project Exploration ReDevelopment Management Resources, Inc. Sarah’s Inn South Austin Neighborhood Association St. Joseph Services St. Leonard’s Ministries The Catalyst Schools The Loretto Hospital UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work VOCEL Westside Health Authority Worldvision Youth Guidance
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
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Carrying the torch P
By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together
ragmatic, wise, resilient, loving, and courageous. That was Mildred Wiley. When she passed on March 26, the Austin community and Austin Coming Together (ACT) lost a fierce and loyal champion. Mildred was a founding chairperson of ACT’s Board of Directors, and a beloved Community Leader. When I think of Mildred, I think about how she took great pride in being present and stepping up to make the case for those who she believed deserved better. So I know I’m just one among many whose life was so greatly impacted by her. Ruth Kimble, Mildred’s fellow board member and founder of the Austin Childcare Provider’s Network, so eloquently told me, “My heart is heavy with grief because Mildred was not only a friend, but a sister. She had a sense of humor that I can’t explain. I can’t tell you how much she inspired my life!” Some of you worked closely with Mildred years ago to develop and establish Austin Coming Together. Others have worked with Mildred on the front lines to fight for justice and address the great
need in her beloved Austin community. Mildred was chair, one of her first orders of business was to have always involved in every aspect of improving the us start a newsletter and in perfect Mildred fashion quality of life here in Austin. Having been here since she looked around the room, saw me, and said “who are you.” I said “I’m Darnell and I’m the 1960s, Mildred was passionate here to help ACT with its technolabout creating opportunities for ogy.” She replied “Okay, Darryl, I her family, neighbors, and overall need you to create us a newsletcommunity. Whether it was durter.” ing her time at Bethel New Life You see more than anything or while serving as the chair for else, Mildred believed in the Austin’s Community Action Counpower of outreach and engaging cil (CAC), Mildred was a longtime the community. A lot more than organizer, leader, and pioneering something trivial like getting your activist. We all should be grateful name right. To this day, she would for her tireless efforts that estabstill call me Darryl but it didn’t lished Al Raby High School and bother me much because I knew even helped save the Green Line who she meant and I also knew I from discontinuation. better create that newsletter beWhile I lived around the corfore I did anything else if I knew ner from this giant for more than what was good for me. 20 years, my first encounter with DARNELL SHIELDS Mildred loved Austin and ACT Mildred was 10 years ago at Ausso much and was always there to tin Coming Together. I had joined lend a hand or her voice to move ACT as a volunteer and she had just been voted Board chairperson. In her role as us all forward together. When ACT was starting up,
“Mildred was the epitome of what makes the Austin community so great. She possessed a fire inside to press on and withstand adversity, no matter what the circumstances.”
Mildred was a critical force in helping us to sustain through some very uncertain times. She was a dedicated and loyal friend who consistently worked to support the values that ACT was built on. To me, Mildred was the epitome of what makes the Austin community so great. She possessed a fire inside to press on and withstand adversity, no matter what the circumstances. Mildred had a way of being with you to the end while challenging you every step of the way. Make no mistake, if you had her respect it wasn’t by chance; you most certainly earned it. To know Mildred was to know that fire and without being forged by it, Austin Coming Together would not be the organization it is today nor personally, would I be the leader I am now. I look forward to honoring her legacy by carrying the torch she has passed along. Because of Mildred Wiley, my community is ready and willing to continue the work of realizing her vision of a thriving Austin. What a blessing it has been for me to have known her. She will be greatly missed!
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Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
A spotlight on Austin’s Quality-of-Life Plan progress Implementation for the community plan is in full swing! Action Plans keep coming in, and we are up to 25 organizations who have officially committed to working on a specific QLP Action by signing on as an Implementation Partner. In the last ACT Thrive 2025 special section, we listed the Prioritized Actions that the QLP Task Force Chairs and Strategy Leads collectively determined as most critical to initiate as early as possible. Now, we want to update you with the specific ways some of the Actions for Community
Narrative, Education, and Public Safety (which are 3 of the 7 total QLP Issue Areas) will be accomplished. For more information on any of these efforts, or to discover how you or your organization can lend support, contact Jose Abonce, ACT Lead Organizer at jabonce@austincomingtogether.org or 773.417.8615.
COMMUNITY NARRATIVE Our goal is to revitalize the image and spirit of Austin by promoting assets such as our historic housing, creating a healthy community and building a more robust environment for local arts and culture. Strategy 3 Action 3.4*
Create environments that foster health and wellness in the community Build a sense of community through activities such as creating and maintaining community gardens
Not only do community gardens offer a safe space to strengthen bonds and cooperation between residents, but participating in garden activities can help alleviate trauma. The Austin Garden Collective, which includes gardens managed by the South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA) as well as the Austin Green Team, will host Volunteer Days and Seminars each Saturday in the summer from 10am-12pm at gardens around the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. The group will provide refreshments and gardening supplies. Seminars will be educational, offering residents a chance to get gardening tips or learn about healthy food choices.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SANA
“These gardens bring together community members of all ages. It’s beautiful to see how excited our seniors are to teach the youth!” CASSANDRA NORMAN, PRESIDENT OF SANA AND LONGTIME AUSTIN RESIDENT
20 Volunteers are needed for each of these Volunteer Days: • June 8: • June 15: • June 22: • June 29: • July 13: • July 20: • July 27: • Aug. 10: • Aug. 17: • Aug. 24: • Sept. 14:
Farm-to-Table Vegetable Garden, 5421 W. Monroe PCC Austin Farm, 330 N. Lotus 600 N. Lorel Block Club, 624 N. Lorel St. Wells Garden, 4900 W. Ferdinand Mayfield Community Garden, 301 N. Mayfield Unity Garden, 5102 W. Fulton Peace in the Valley, 168 N. Laramie Leland Elementary School Garden, 512 S. Lavergne Ave. LeClaire Garden, 432 LeClaire Division & Menard Garden, 1201 N. Menard Harambee Community Garden, Menard & Midway Park
In alignment with Community Narrative Strategy 2, “Increase the number of authentic images and stories portraying the Austin community,” the Austin Garden Collective has created a Facebook page. Like and follow them to get updates or to sign up to volunteer at Facebook.com/austingardencollective. *These reference numbers coincide with the full list of Strategies and Actions in the plan. READ THE PLAN AT austincomingtogether.org/QLP
Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
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PUBLIC SAFETY Our goal is to collaborate and create programs that increase a sense of safety, community and quality of life to build a healthy and resilient neighborhood. Strategy 1
Create high-quality prevention strategies to build a safer Austin
Action 1.1*
Increase restorative justice activities in the community
According to local restorative justice practitioners, restorative justice views crime as more than breaking the law – it also causes harm to people, relationships, and the community. So a just response must address those harms as well as the wrongdoing. If the parties are willing, the best way to do this is to help them meet to discuss those harms and how to bring about resolution. Other approaches are available if they are unable or unwilling to meet. These meetings often lead to transformational changes in the lives of those participating. ACT Members BUILD and Catholic Charities have committed to radical outreach to support Action 1.1. BUILD is positioned well as the lead agency for the Chicago Department of Public Health Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST)’s Community Ambassador program, which allows BUILD to do outreach and training for community residents to promote access to healing spaces and other resources to address trauma and strengthen resiliency. Catholic Charities will leverage their resources to help build capacity for restorative justice by researching, cultivating, and facilitating restorative justice workshops and trainings. In alignment with Action 2.2, “Create an Austin restorative justice community court,” BUILD, Catholic Charities, and several community partners will be spearheading efforts to bring a restorative justice court to Austin while promoting high-quality intervention strategies to help at-risk residents and those impacted by the criminal justice system. Other groups supporting Action 1.1 as Implementation Partners are Catholic Charities, Christ the King High School, Nehemiah Trinity Rising, KL Morton Enterprises, Taproots, and ACT.
PHOTOS FROM ACT’S EARLY CHILDHOOD SYMPOSIUM, AN ANNUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR EARLY LEARNING PROVIDERS TO GET CREDIT HOURS.
EDUCATION Our goal is for our local educational system and partners to provide the services, opportunities and support to help all our students stay on track, enrich their education and serve their needs, from early childhood through high school to job and career readiness. Strategy 1 Action 1.2*
The Austin Childcare Provider’s Network (ACPN) will help providers pursue their credentials through the creation of the Austin Early Learning Cohort (AELC). In partnership with City Colleges of Chicago, the AELC will develop tutoring programs and boot camps. These efforts aim to increase the number of Austin participants who are able to complete English 101 and move forward in completing their Associate and Bachelor’s Degree. Strategy 4 Action 4.2*
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BUILD
Improve and expand access to quality early-childhood programs Improve the early learning environment in Austin by helping existing providers become accredited and more deeply prepared for child development
Increase student enrollment in Austin neighborhood schools Review curriculum program needs and collect current data to create profiles of all local schools
The Education Task Force hosted focus group sessions with parents at two area High Schools and seven local elementary schools during report card pick-up days in April. The focus groups surveyed parents about what they felt were their school’s assets and challenges. In addition, principals were also surveyed. Both of these efforts will help create accurate school profiles listing all of the distinctive benefits and resources available at our Austin schools.
*These reference numbers coincide with the full list of Strategies and Actions in the plan. READ THE PLAN AT austincomingtogether.org/QLP
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Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
Austin Quality-of-Life Plan Leaders Community Narrative Task Force Committee Chairs: Briana Shields - Briana Janeé Arts Kenneth Varner - Healthy Schools Campaign Strategy Leads: Lasondra Kern - Resident Kiana Beasley - Resident, Community Organizer Suzanne McBride - Austin Talks Mike Romain - Austin Weekly News Cindy Schneider - Spaces-n-Places Antonia Ruppert - Local Artist
Economic Development Task Force Committee Chairs: Jerrod Williams - Community Resident Thomas Gary - Community Resident Strategy Leads: Yemisi Dinkins - Westside Health Authority Joshua Brooks - Manufacturing Renaissance Liz Abunaw - Forty Acres Fresh Market
Heather Sattler - Community Development Consultant Emily Peters - Jane Addams Resource Corporation Roxanne Charles - Bethel New Life
Education Task Force Committee Chairs: Natasha Smith-Walker - Project Exploration Crystal Bell - Ella Flagg Young Elementary Charles Anderson - Michele Clark High School Strategy Leads: Ruth Kimble - Austin Childcare Providers’ Network Pam Price - Chicago Public Schools Sean Schindl - Kids First Chicago Dwayne Truss Austin Community Action Council (CAC)
Interested in joining the Implementation Task Force?
Housing
Jordan Bester - Westside Health Authority
Task Force Committee Chairs: Athena Williams - West Cook Homeownership Center Allison McGowan - Community Resident Strategy Leads: Shirley Fields - Hunter’s Realty Dominique Davis - Mercy Housing Rosie Dawson - Westside Health Authority Athena Williams - West Cook Homeownership Center Chris Banks - Austin Coming Together
Youth Empowerment
Public Safety
Task Force Committee Chair: Deborah Williams - Habilitative Systems Inc. Strategy Leads: Arnold Bearden - South Austin Neighborhood Association Sharif Walker - After School Matters
Task Force Committee Chairs: Bradly Johnson - BUILD Inc. Marilyn Pitchford - Heartland Alliance Strategy Leads: Remona Sanders - Catholic Charities Edwina Hamilton - Catholic Charities David Cassel - Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Bradly Johnson - BUILD Inc. Adam Alonso - BUILD Inc.
Contact ACT’s Lead Organizer, Jose Abonce, at 773-417-8615 or jabonce@austincomingtogether.org for more information.
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Task Force Committee Chair: Carmen Scott-Boria - BUILD Inc. Strategy Leads: Shavion Scott - Austin Coming Together Deonna Hart - BUILD Inc. Jeramie McGill - St. Joseph Services Victoria Tejeda - St. Joseph Services Frederica Malone - Catholic Charities Gina Young - Catholic Charities
Civic Engagement
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
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Collaboration means transformation A
By Alicia Plomin-Spitler Marketing & Development Manager, Austin Coming Together
ustin has come together to complete the first of many actions in the community’s first ever Quality-of-Life Plan (QLP)! Michele Clark High School has been selected by the city to offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) program beginning next year! As part of the QLP’s Education Strategy 4 to “Increase student enrollment in Austin neighborhood schools,” the Education Task Force partnered with Michele Clark High School and ACT member Kids First Chicago to support and successfully implement Action 4.1, to “Establish a highquality high school IB program and other options for students.” As a result, Michele Clark will now be the first and only CPS school to offer an IB program on Chicago’s West Side. This is an incredible milestone for all of us! “We are starting to amplify the assets that have already existed in Austin and bringing them front and center. Now, more and more, the narrative around who Austin is as a community is starting to shift,” said Natasha Smith-Walker, Executive Director of Project Exploration, co-chair of the Community Action Council, and co-chair of the Education Task Force for Austin’s QLP. In fall 2018, the results of the annual regional analysis for CPS were released, shining the light on an un-
equal geographic distribution of IB programs across shows how important residents feel bringing an IB the city. Around the same time, the City of Chicago program to a West Side high school is in order to reopened a first-ever Request For Proposal process for ally make an impact with improving quality of life. schools to apply to be awarded new programs. Austin residents have seen inequality in regard to Michele Clark’s Principal Anderson, a co-chair for access to quality education for a while, so the opthe QLP’s Education Task Force, decided to enter the portunity to create a comprehensive and strategic application process in October. But guide for taking action the Task Force knew it would not be came at the perfect time. so simple. “I’ve been doing comSupporters hosted a community munity development meeting, organized a petition drive work for years now both in-person and online, and coland oftentimes the lected letters of support from the biggest challenge is a community. Ms. Smith-Walker delivway and structure to do ered over 1,300 letters and petitions the work,” said Ms. Smithto CPS central office staff and CPS Walker. board members. Letters to the ediThe QLP also helped to garner the tor were published by local support1,300 community members who ers, including Tawana Harris, Rena signed a petition or wrote a letter Robinson, and Dwayne Truss. The of support, as well as to get several dedicated Clark staff and Rebecca resources aligned and working toDaen, Policy and Engagement As- NATASHA SMITHWALKER gether to get all the components sociate at Kids First Chicago, spent completed. countless hours on a long applicaIB programs encourage both pertion. sonal and academic achievement, challenging stuFinally, when it came time for CPS to make their dents to excel in their studies and in their personal official visit to the high school, the presence of nu- development. IB is highly desired, and now that Mimerous Clark parents and Local School Council chele Clark will be offering it, parents whose children members helped to seal the deal. are in IB elementary schools will not be forced to The fact that this effort was part of Austin’s QLP send their youth out of Austin in search of an IB high
“We have an opportunity right now to redefine our community. So let’s reclaim the Austin we want to share!”
Download the full version of the Austin Quality-of-Life Plan at austincomingtogether.org/QLP
school. Plus, the program will complement Clark’s current STEM focus in producing global, skilled leaders to move into college and the workforce. But this is only the beginning of the transformation. The QLP Education Task Force hopes this completed action will motivate other schools to look at how they too can improve resources and programming. Although Sean Schindl, Director of Community Engagement at Kids First Chicago, considers this accomplishment the result of “what can happen when we collectively raise our voices about an issue,” he also considers it a “stepping stone to greater victories down the line. So in order to achieve more successes through the QLP, we’ll have to coordinate our community efforts in a similar way.” Austin Coming Together has been working to create large scale, lasting impact for almost ten years now and this completed action is an example of how we help make that impact possible. Now that we’ve seen Austin’s plan and the structure behind it function as an effective method to implement change, we are excited to participate in reframing and reinvigorating life in Austin. As Ms. Smith-Walker succinctly put it, “We have an opportunity right now to redefine our community. So let’s reclaim the Austin we want to share!”
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Austin Weekly News May 22, 2019
THRIVE 2025: 2019 QUARTER 2
2019
MEMBERSHIP
AWARDS
Austin Coming Together (ACT) is hosting its 2019 Membership Awards to recognize some of our members and partners who are making notable contributions to our common agenda, Thrive 2025. Join us as we highlight these leaders, their agency's achievements, and report on the State of Our Collective Impact.
FRIDAY | 06.14. 2019 | 3PM-6PM El Palais Bu-Sche` 4628 W Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL 60644 RSVP https://2019actmembershipawards.eventbrite.com General Admission: $65 Thank You to Our Sponsors
