THE Year IN revie AT streetwise compiled by Paige Bialik & Dave Hamilton
January
Love fridge: The Love Fridges are community refrigerators across the city where people can drop off food or pick it up if they need it. Volunteers maintain the fridges, which are painted and decorated by local artists. StreetWise has been donating prepared food every week, all year long to make sure Love Fridges stay stocked for Chicagoans in need.
February
Black History Month: To kick off Black History Month, we featured Ka-
mala Harris, the first female, Black, and Asian vice president, on the cover of our magazine. The YWCA celebrated the African American contribution to the US by highlighting famous Black people: Sarah Rector, "the richest [Black] girl in the world" in 1913 after oil was found on her family property; Katherine Johnson, mathematician on NASA’s space program; Granville T. Woods, who founded the Woods Electric Company and was the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer post-Civil War, and Robert Nesta Marley, a pioneer of reggae music. We also looked at the future of the Black Lives Matter movement in the post-Trump era. Black Lives Matter was started by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin. This grassroots movement has been advocating for racial equality and has grown after the death of George Floyd. Black Lives Matter focuses on police brutality against black people and white supremacy in the U.S.
Giveashi*t: GiveAShi*t founder Scott Marvel received NBC5 Chi-
cago's Making a Difference Award for his work with GiveAShi*t, which donates all proceeds to StreetWise. Featured on almost every newscast, the Making a Difference Award recognizes local unsung heroes who are impacting those around them with acts of kindness big and small.
Economic Empowerment Institute: The Economic
Empowerment Institute (part of the YWCA) announced its Black History Month series: The History and Future of Black Wealth. This series discussed the distribution of black wealth, growth opportunities, and tools for future generations. The YWCA’s Economic Empowerment program helps young girls and women begin and advance their careers and build wealth so that they can transfer it to future generations. The YWCA partnered with the World of Money to change the way children and their parents understand money.
Invisible Homeless panel Discussion: Prompted by our podcast “Where I
Stay,” created with Rivet, StreetWise held an online panel with Molly Brown Ph.D, assistant professor, clinical-community psychology, HARC Lab at DePaul University; Erin Ryan, senior vice president, The Night Ministry; along with Julie Youngquist, StreetWise executive director; Suzanne Hanney, StreetWise editor in chief; and "Where I Stay" podcast producer Jesse Betend. The discussion is still viewable at StreetWise’s Facebook page: facebook.com/streetwisechicago.
