Civic Engagement & Community Relations We will strive to unify our neighbors through enhanced outreach efforts and collective initiatives to bolster neighborhood conditions and give residents a voice. Many of the goals and objectives under the Back of the Yards Community Plan require the participation of residents and stakeholders to advocate and carryout its neighborhood-stabilizing initiatives.
methods of spreading information, such as a Facebook group. This will allow residents to take advantage of programs and services that are already offered in the community. Issues related to public safety also undermine the community’s capacity for self-governance. Leadership is needed in various forms to reduce barriers to engagement and improve relations within the neighborhood. A representational neighborhood-wide council could help bridge gaps while other communication tools could be used to improve civic knowledge. A strong network of churches is also a key asset that the neighborhood can utilize to gather people, spread information, and work toward a more engaged community. Local faith leaders explain: Long before Saul Alinsky helped to pull together the various strands of ethnic groups, the Churches created multiple levels of community cohesion. They created a “parallel universe� for the packers who were under such pressure from the companies. The diverse geography today and its access would render such a close-knit system to be difficult to maintain.
Given that Back of the Yards is comprised of four separate wards, it has been challenging to distribute public resources and services in an effective and comprehensive manner. The separation of the wards has made it difficult for public programs and funding to reach their fullest potential and serve the entire Back of the Yards community. Citizen representation in local government is also undermined because the collective voice of the community is fragmented and weakened by the separation of wards.
The churches still have three special routes of contribution.
The first is
communication. We see several thousand people every week and can be a source of both communicating events and become a listening forum for the many groups active in the community. The second is public space. Like the library, the high school, park district, there are meeting spaces that can be used to stimulate the quality of life. The presence and activity of the churches can give credibility to activities and especially to grant proposals, and other requests for resources for the community.
While increasing the amount of public and private resources to Back of the Yards should be prioritized, existing resources and services should be coordinated more efficiently to reach the most people possible. This can be done by promoting neighborhood forums and events, as well as electronic
The strategies that follow seek to cultivate a culture of civic engagement and selfgovernance in Back of the Yards. In doing so, a stronger, more unified community will be in a better position to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Back of the Yards Neighborhood Plan
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