Austin Weekly News 042121

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Two tasty, healthy recipes, page 5

Organizations launch North Lawndale literacy campaign,

Vol. 35 No. 16

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April 21, 2021

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Also serving Garfield Park

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Special Section INSIDE

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Vaccination clinic opening at Loretto But city will manage it after hospital’s vaccine scandal

By KELLY BAUER Block Club Chicago

A city-managed vaccination clinic is opening next week at Loretto Hospital, the West Side clinic that vaccinated ineligible people with ties to hospital executives.

The city quietly announced the clinic in a Friday afternoon news release.

The clinic will be onsite at Loretto and will exclusively serve Austin residents. It will open Wednesday, with shots administered noon-6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.

The city will manage all operations at the clinic to start with, including providing the registration and scheduling system and ensuring vaccines are appropriately administered and reported to the state’s tracking system, according to the health department.

Loretto will provide the staff to administer the vaccine and will work with community groups to set up appointments for Austin residents, according to the health department.

The city stopped sending vaccine doses to Loretto after reports from Block Club and WBEZ highlighted how the hospital vaccinated ineligible people with ties to its executives — including Trump Tower workers, people at a luxury Gold Coast watch shop, workers at a Gold Coast steakhouse and more than 200 people at the CEO’s suburban church.

A doctor tied to Loretto also vaccinated his family in the suburbs with doses from the West Side hospital.

Rep. LaShawn Ford resigned from the hospital’s board after it refused to say how it would punish CEO George Miller and then-COO Dr. Anosh Ahmed. Ahmed resigned from the board See LORETTO on page 3

Photo by Woojae Julia Song

Dawnyé Hawkins assists a customer from behind a partition. Hawkins, a recent college graduate, has worked at Sha-poppin for about three years.

Black business owners tell their PPP stories

We interviewed three Black entrepreneurs and one Black nonprofit executive who received Payroll Protection Program loans about their experiences

By WOOJAE JULIA SONG, MICHAEL ROMAIN & OLIVIA OBINEME Catchlight, Austin Weekly News & Better Government Association

As the federal government’s main initiative to help small companies survive the coronavirus pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program has become a focal

point for businesses across the nation and praised by Democrats and Republicans alike. But questions remain about how well PPP loans have worked — and who they worked for best.

Early surveys and studies repeatedly showed Black and Latino businesses struggled to get assistance from the program while white-owned businesses ben-

efited. Most of the data released last year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which administers the loans, didn’t detail how much minority-owned businesses received. The small amount of data that did include information about race or ethnicity of business owners who See PPP on page 7

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

Campaign aims to improve children’s literacy North Lawndale Reads campaign includes book giveaways, little libraries and outdoor events

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Open Books Chicago, a literacy nonprofit and used bookstore chain, is working with several North Lawndale nonprofits to improve children’s literacy in the community.

The North Lawndale Reads campaign was launched in the fall of 2020 with funding from the Steans Family Foundation, which has been working to improve children’s literacy in North Lawndale since 2015. The campaign is currently in the early stages, with volunteers doing book giveaways, setting up “little library” book spots and discussing strategies with North Lawndale schools.

But the campaign plans to ramp up events and activities during the summer and it is expected to continue its work for years to come.

Open Books is also looking for a location for a North Lawndale bookstore, which it hopes to open sometime next year.

Open Books is a West Loop-based nonprofit

PROVIDED

SPREADING LITERACY: Chelsea Ridley at the Stone Temple Baptist Church book giveaway. that works to improve literacy among kids and teens through book giveaways, and various reading and writing programs. It operates two used bookstores: one in the West Loop, at 651 W. Lake St., and one in Pilsen, at 905 W. 19th St.

In 2016, Open Books organized a pop-up bookstore in Englewood, next door to Kusanya Cafe, 825 W. 69th St., but hasn’t added any permanent locations.

The Steans Family Foundation was founded in 1986 to address the many issues facing North Lawndale kids and their families.

Aside from its own programs, it offers grants to organizations that share their goals.

Chelsea Ridley, who currently heads the North Lawndale Reads campaign, said that the foundation approached Open Books about doing the campaign and provided the funding.

Since then, Open Books has been laying the groundwork, reaching out to North Lawndale schools, churches and nonprofits.

Ridley said that around 30 community organizations, including the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council and the North Lawndale Employment Network, are involved in planning the campaign activities.

Aside from the outreach, Open Books have been setting up “Little Libraries,” wooden boxes where residents can pick up or leave as many books as they like. Every Monday, between 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the organization has been conducting giveaways, as part of Stone Temple Baptist Church’s weekly food and clothing giveaways. The church is located at 3622 W. Douglas Blvd.

Ridley said that, in addition to handing out

books, they are using the giveaways to sign up families for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a nonprofit that mails free books to children younger than 6 years old.

During the summer, the campaign will use the church’s outdoor stage for kids’ literary programs. They also plan to organize block parties and hold virtual events for parents.

In September, the campaign will organize a book fair at the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, which is located at the northwest corner of Central Park Avenue and Douglas Boulevard. Ridley, who co-founded the outdoor museum, said that they will use one of the museum’s shipping containers as a “pay what you want” popup bookstore.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign will keep its events either outdoors or virtual for the rest of 2021, even as they hope that the vaccinations will make a difference over the next few months.

“We think it will allow us to execute everything that we’re planning for next year and will allow us to plan for gathering safely indoors next year,” Ridley said.

For the latest information of North Lawndale Reads, visit Open Books’ social media pages, or contact Ridley at cridley@openbooks.org

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

West Side motorcycle club organizes community cleanup The Night Owl motorcycle club took to the streets on April 17 to pick up garbage and pull weeds

AUSTIN WEEKLY

news

Editor Michael Romain Senior Editor Bob Uphues Contributing Reporters Igor Studenkov

By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter

Reporting Partners Block Club, Austin Talks

Ten members of the Chicago chapter of the Night Owl motorcycle club fanned out through the blocks surrounding their clubhouse at 4359 W. Kinzie St. on the morning of April 17 to pick up garbage and pull weeds in their corner of West Garfield Park.

Founded in Milwaukee in 1974 by Black motorcycle enthusiasts, the club has chapters in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and even Tokyo, Japan. According to Jerome Jackson, the Chicago chapter’s current vice-president, community clean-ups are just one part of the club’s ongoing efforts to support and improve the community. They have been doing clean-ups for the past three to four years, and they intend to keep doing community clean-ups on each month for the next few months.

According to the “About Us” document displayed at the clubhouse, the Chicago chapter, which was founded in 1976, was one of the club’s “mother” chapters.

“We are not a social weekender riding club, we are a brotherhood of bikers that take riding and flying our colors very seriously,” the document states. “Membership can be a very long and demanding process requiring pure dedication and loyalty.”

Some members said that they appreciate the sense of comradery and support, as well as being able to share their love of motorcycles.

“I want to see the community a little better than it is — safer, cleaner,” Jackson said.

The chapter organizes back to school events with school supply giveaways, winter coat drives, Easter and Christmas gift giveaways, and neighborhood cookouts. It

Columnist Arlene Jones Staff Photographer Alex Rogals Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Designers Javier Govea, Mark Moroney Sales & Marketing Representavies Lourdes Nicholls, Marc Stopeck Sales & Development Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner Igor Studenkov

SPRUCING THINGS UP: Members of the Night Owl motorcycle club took to the streets on April 17 to clean up the community surrounding their clubhouse at 4359 W. Kinzie St. has also been helping out at the nearby True Tabernacle Fellowship Church, 4492 W. Carroll Ave. “We’ve always been in the community and trying to help the community,” said chapter President Derrick Benford, who’s been a member since 2016.

“I enjoy doing stuff for the neighborhood,” he said. “It gives us a sense of unity, when we do stuff like that.”

Benford said that the pandemic “put a damper on what we’d normally do, but as the city gradually pens up we’ll be able to do more stuff for our community.”

Night Owl clubhouse is located in the mostly industrial strip along the Union Pacific West Metra line tracks. The cleanup focused on the block of Kinzie Street the clubhouse is located on, with particular emphasis on the land by the train tracks.

The club members then cleaned the block

LORETTO

A new phase from page 1 after Block Club revealed more scandals.

“Loretto has acknowledged there were problems with their previous vaccination efforts and apologized for their mistakes,” Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said in a news release. “After reviewing the full accounting

of past vaccine administered, and after multiple productive discussions with the team at Loretto about our expectations, we are ready

of Kostner Avenue as far south as Carroll Avenue, finishing up around the Tabernacle Fellowship Church.

While they covered a relatively small area, the group was thorough, going through the grass to retrieve garbage and chopping down weeds with shovels.

Leah Martin is a 20-year member of Night Owls. She grew up in East Garfield Park and currently lives in West Garfield Park.

During the clean-up, Martin lamented that many drivers simply toss bottles and other waste out the window without a second thought.

“We’re hoping that, at least, we can keep the community clean,” she said. “We do this all the time, without recognition, but it’s good to be recognized for the things we do in the community.”

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com to work in partnership with them to help get vaccine to a community that needs it.”

The hospital conducted an internal audit.

That audit has been reviewed by the city, and officials have also interviewed the hospital’s leaders, according to the health department.

The clinic’s vaccinations will be free and will be available to all Austin residents 18 and older. People will need to provide proof of address to get the shots.

Eligible people can sign up online or call 312-746-4835 to make an appointment.

CONTACT: pascal@blockclubchi.org

≈ Publisher Dan Haley Business Manager Joyce Minich ≈ GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA Board of Directors Chair Judy Greffin Treasurer Nile Wendorf Deb Abrahamson , Gary Collins, Darnell Shields, Sheila Solomon, Eric Weinheimer ≈ HOW TO REACH US 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE 773-626-6332 FAX 708-467-9066 CIRCULATION Jill@oakpark.com ONLINE www.AustinWeeklyNews.com TWITTER @AustinWeeklyChi Austin Weekly News is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. It is distributed free of charge at locations across Austin and Garfield Park. Our hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

High school seeking to build new E. Garfield Park campus Project a collaboration of Chicago Hope Academy, Chicago Lions Rugby club

By IGOR STUDENKOV Austin Weekly News

The Chicago Plan Commission voted unanimously on April 15 to recommend zoning changes that will allow a private school to build a new facility and athletic fields in East Garfield Park.

The Chicago Hope Academy, a private Christian high school at 2189 W. Bowler St., and the Chicago Lions Rugby club are looking to redevelop the land at the east end of East Garfield Park into the new school and new athletic fields. The property is located in the area bound by Taylor Street in the south, Washtenaw Avenue in the west, Harrison Street in the north and the railroad embankment in the east.

Hope Academy already operates an athletic center at the north end of the property, at 2641 W. Harrison St., and it plans to build a school at the west end of the property, at 731 S. Washtenaw Ave. Lions Rugby will build two athletic fields and a field house, along with a dog park and a playground for community use, at the south end of the site.

Mike Parella, a project manager with the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, said that the two organizations have been working on the project since 2018.

They held community meetings on Jan. 10, 2018 and March 8. In response to the feedback, they agreed to add a dog park, a basketball court and a playground exclusively for community use.

Project architect Joe Buehler said that the school will be three stories tall and span 120,000 square feet, with a chapel at the north end of the building and second-floor outdoor terrace connected to the top of the athletic field bleachers. A new fitness center will serve as a connector between the school and the athletic building.

PROVIDED

NEW DIGS: Architectural rendering of the proposed athletic fields that Chicago Hope Academy and the Chicago Lions Rugby club want to build.

“The new school will have a big trades component; we’re working with the unions on that,” Muzikowski said. “We need more people in the trades, so it’s going to be a big part for the students in our school.”

According to Hope Academy’s presentation to the commission, the project will create 150 construction jobs and 80 permanent jobs. They set the goals of hiring at least 50 percent of the workforce from Chicago, and at least 7.5 percent from the surrounding community.

The project is estimated to cost a total of $37 million, $34 million of which Chicago Hope Academy has already raised. Hope Academy founder Bob Muzikowski said that the existing school was at capacity, and the new building will allow them to teach more students while turning their current building into a K-8 school.

Now that the proposal has cleared the

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PROVIDED

RISING UP? An architectural rendering of the new school Hope Academy is planning to build in East Garfield Park.

Plan Commission, it will need to clear the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards before going before the full City Council for the final vote. The vote isn’t on the agenda for the next committee meeting on April 20.

Muzikowski told the commission that Hope Academy traces its roots to a Little League baseball team that launched in the Cabrini-Green public housing development in 1991 and was profiled in “Hardball: A Season in the Projects,” a 1993 book by journalist Daniel Coyle.

“When they took the field away, at Cabrini-Green, we moved the league over to the West Side,” he said, saying that they ended up practicing at Altgeld Park, located at 515

S. Washtenaw Ave. In 2004, the nonprofit purchased the closed St. Callistus School and parish from the Archdiocese of Chicago. Muzikowski said that the school acquired the largely industrial land for the new school “around seven years ago.”

Bruce Prince, who said he has lived in the community for 50 years, explained that he appreciated what Hope Academy has done in East Garfield Park so far and that he fully supports the project.

“I have no objection to them building a school in the community,” he said. “I actually welcome it.”

CONTACT: igorst3@hotmail.com

Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

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L E T T E R S

Loretto needs to be held accountable At first, I thought of using the word Uncle Tom, but another term quickly came to mind: sellout.

Perhaps that is too nice of a word to describe Loretto Hospital. I’m not surprised Loretto hospital sold out the Austin community yet again. This is not the first, second or third time Loretto displayed shady practices in the Austin community.

A report published in 2015 by the Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission detailed numerous violations at the West Side hospital throughout the years.

Ladies and gentlemen history is repeating itself and it must stop! Can we call a spade a spade?

We all know that, regarding the vaccine, Loretto Hospital took food off the tables of Austin residents. Loretto hospital executives, city officials, clergy and politicians knew the federal government said those vaccines were intended for Austin residents only. That was reported by media outlets everywhere in Chicago.

The federal government did not say it’s time for “The Price is Right!” or “Let’s Make a Deal!” with a vaccine meant for Austin residents. Loretto officials only claim to care for our community, but in reality, they don’t care about us. They only care about money.

Did you know the Austin Chamber of Com-

W E L L N E S S

Two Tasty Spring Snacks Springtime is finally here! We all have nature blossoming and sunnier days to look forward to in the coming weeks. In honor of the new season, we’ve listed some fresh and savory snacks to help get you into the spring of things. Whether it’s a small picnic at the park or a fun day with family or friends (responsibly and with Covid-19 restrictions in mind), these snacks will excite your taste buds with their unique flavor.

Strawberry Beet Smoothie Bowl This beets and berries combo offers the perfect amount of sweet tang and earthy flavor to any spring day! This is a high protein, high fiber, vitamin-rich smoothie bowl with an abundance of nutrients for overall health. Ingredients include: ■ 1 cup of frozen sliced strawberries ■ 30 g (vegan) vanilla protein powder (optional) ■ 1 small fresh chopped beet ■ 1/2 cup fresh chopped zucchini (optional) ■ 1 cup plant-based milk of choice ■ 1/2 a frozen banana Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add to bowl along with toppings of your choice, such as granola, chia seeds, flaxseeds, kiwi, and/or nuts. (Full recipe: Running on Real Food).

merce is a community liaison of Loretto Hospital? As my mind pondered over the word commerce, I had to refresh my memory of the meaning of the word. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, commerce is “the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place.”

This is interesting because that is what Loretto Hospital did with our vaccines. The Austin Chamber of Commerce might say it’s an organization designed to assist existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Austin community while lowering the unemployment rate.

Austin has one of the cities highest unemployment rates. According to 2019 CMAP data, Austin’s unemployment rate was 15.4 percent and 44.6 percent of residents were not listed in the workforce.

We have been doing this song and dance for a minute with Loretto and politicians who protect them and turn a blind eye to unethical behavior and questionable practices. For example, Loretto has hired past directors who didn’t live in the Austin community and didn’t understand our community and how it works.

I have a few questions for the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Where is your business plan to further enhance the Austin business community? How can you give advice, vision or direction to business leaders in Austin

when you do not have your own stuff together? Again, the Loretto Hospital way!

Loretto Hospital is a hospital where sick people don’t want to go. The stories about it are endless, earning it the nickname “Death Loretto.”

The hospital is being mismanaged and there’s a high employee turnover rate.

Last year, 180 staff members were threatening to strike over wages, staffing issues and disloyalty to the Austin community.

Now let’s examine the political ties to Loretto Hospital.

State Rep. Camille Lilly or as I call her, “Run of the Mill Camille,” is the chief external affairs officer at Loretto Hospital. I feel this is a conflict of interest.

Why do I feel that way?

She is a former director and currently a decision-maker under the Loretto Hospital community component of Austin Chamber of Commerce.

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, which broke the story, she alone handed the list directly to staff members at Loretto Hospital to conduct vaccinations at Trump Towers, a high-end jewelry store and a steakhouse restaurant — all located in ritzy areas around Chicago.

Others receiving vaccinations included Cook County Judges.

C O R N E R

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CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

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I would understand if Loretto Hospital did the vaccinations at Coleman’s Chicken, Uncle Remus, Sankofa, or even Mac Arthur’s. But No! Do Loretto officials feel an apology or explanation is not necessary for decades of wrongdoing and unethical behavior? There should be an internal investigation of Rep. Camille Lilly for ethics violations and health department investigations into Loretto Hospital regarding the vaccines. The Austin community was one of the areas hit hardest by COVID-19 last year.

Some of Austin’s political, business and clergy leaders gave Loretto a pass saying they were “only concerned” during a Westside Black elected officials zoom meeting regarding Loretto’s shady practices.

Facts are facts people!

Resign Camille. Just ride off into the sunset!

History is repeating itself over and over again in Austin. The Austin community is a diamond and it will shine once older leaders recognize new leaders in the community and step aside.

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Unintended consequences of the messages we send

A

lthough I am now in the twilight of my life, I still have vivid memories of when I was a teenager.

I can recall hearing the defense of somebody accused of a crime and their lawyer defending their actions by blaming it on their youth. I can remember thinking that I, too, could get a gun and shoot up the kids who bullied me and get away with it, because I was only a teenager. It never happened, but I remember having that kind of illogical thinking.

As a community and as a society, we send unintended messages to our young people all the time. One of my classic examples of this was listening to Black ministers talk about how they used to be a drug dealer, pimp, menace to society, etc., and then they were called by God and they changed their evil ways.

Most people couldn’t understand why I hated to hear that. I would always comment on that person’s story by reminding folks that in the meantime until God calls them, we as a society have to deal with that criminal behavior. And in a lot of instances, the criminal element may never get the call.

So instead of that story being one of positive redemption, it sends an unintended message to our young people to continue doing their dirt, because one day God will call. And in the meantime, we have to deal with the criminality that goes on.

I am seeing that same sort of situation today in both the media and activists’ decisions who are trying to turn Adam Toledo, the 13-year-old who was out shooting a gun at 2:30 in the morning, into simply an innocent victim while ignoring his criminal actions.

Nowhere in the video could I tell that he was a 13-year-old as he ran down the alley at 2:30 in the morning. Yes, technology has allowed us to see him raise his hands,

but less than a second before, those same hands held a gun.

The armchair quarterbacks are ignoring the fact that the officer had a split-second decision to make.

Many of those who are critiquing the shooting sit behind locked wrought iron fences, security doors and home security systems as their manner of fighting crime. Very little chastisement has been made of Toledo’s family for permitting him to be out there running the streets.

As our young criminal element watches while one of their own is turned into a hero, including a mural drawn of him with angels’ wings, there’s very little concern about the opposite message that is being sent: Do your dirt and let the police go after you because this society will defend your actions so long as it’s the police that are involved. Even if you are caught, this society will do all it can to make you an innocent victim.

Our criminal elements have now become more emboldened in their behavior. Now, as someone goes through a drive-thru at McDonald’s, they can hop out of a car and shoot up a 7-year-old, Jaslyn Adams.

Or shoot up a guy, Jawaun L. Davis as he stands in line waiting at the DMV to get his license while one of the killers has his 6-year-old brother in the car as they attempt to escape and are chased by police. Or shoot up a car as it drives down the street killing a 17-year-old girl, Lydia Jimenez. Or be in a car at the gas station and they can get to shooting and kill a child just sitting in the backseat, Ny’Andrea Dyer.

None of these innocent victims get murals or thousands of people protesting their deaths, because they weren’t killed by police but by the criminal element who benefit from the unintended messages.

ARLENE JONES

AUSTIN WEEKLY NEWS Mail your letter to the editor to: AAustin Weekly News, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 or email michael@austinweeklynews.com

Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

PPP

A frustrating process from page 1 received PPP loans indicated Black-owned businesses “received less than 2% of the loans, and 6.6% of the loans went to Hispanic-owned businesses,” according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity.

With another round of PPP funding set to launch this spring, the Better Government Association’s Olivia Obineme wanted to spotlight the stories behind the statistics and detail the experiences of some Blackowned businesses and nonprofit leaders in Chicago and the suburbs when they applied for PPP funding.

For this series of interviews, the BGA partnered with Austin Weekly News, which covers the West Side neighborhoods of Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park; Village Free Press, which covers nine of Chicago’s western suburbs; and Catchlight, a nonprofit news organization focused on visual journalism.

Catchlight reporter and photographer Woojae Julia Song conducted more than three hours of interviews with three Black business owners and one Black nonprofit leader who reported receiving PPP loans.

All of the interview subjects were identified and vetted by Michael Romain, who edits Austin Weekly News and publishes Village

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Free Press.

We have condensed Song’s interviews into short excerpts, which have been edited for clarity. We hope these interviews will shed light on the experiences of Black business owners and social entrepreneurs who applied for PPP loans. We also hope these stories will be useful for other Black entrepreneurs applying for PPP loans or other government grants in the future.

Vena Nelson ■ Owner, Go Big Accounting and Global Business Center, 840 S. 17th Ave. in Maywood ■ PPP funds received: $8,712

Nelson, a certified public accountant, works with local Black-owned businesses, nonprofits and churches through her Go Big Accounting company. She also operates Global Business Center, a shared office space in Maywood for area entrepreneurs to conduct business.

When she learned about the first round of PPP loans, Nelson called dozens of her clients. “Maybe one or two” got the funds, she said. Her state representative recommended she work with a nonprofit to help more small businesses through the PPP process.

The pandemic hit during tax season. I probably do, on average, about 125 tax reSee PPP on page 8

w e n e h t t a s u Join

Photo by Woojae Julia Song

Vena Nelson, CPA and owner of Go Big Accounting, has helped hundreds of Black business owners navigate the PPP program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

e W n i t s Au

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e in. v i l u o y orhood b h g i e n for the d e e n U s YO The new

8

Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

PPP

Much-needed assistance from page 7 turns each tax season. Well, the PPP came up. I had banked with Chase at the time and so I applied with Chase. Silence. I heard absolutely nothing. And I actually ended up getting PPP through Wintrust.

When I was doing this, I not only did it for my company but I called all of my clients who I provide accounting services for and I had webinars to talk to them about getting their applications in. I walked everybody through how to go to the SBA website, how to go to their banks to fill out the PPP applications.

Maybe one of my clients got PPP funding and that was through a community bank.

I was so upset that we banked with the big banks, I contacted my state representative and I just complained that the big banks did not serve us. I think the intent of the legislation was to help small businesses, but the banks have kind of ignored and preyed on our communities. They really haven’t invested in our communities.

I saw a lot of the good and the bad. If you don’t have enough capital for your business, the longer you stay in the game, trying to turn it around, the more deteriorated you become.

So you may have more late payments, your bank account may be overdrafted more. Your credit goes south, but you’re still trying to maintain your smoothie shop or your trucking company. A lot of those people were not eligible for the EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) or for the paycheck protection loans because of their credit.

Jeannie Jones ■ Site manager for the Bethesda Manor West Association, 23 S. Central Ave. in Chicago ■ PPP funds received: $5,528

Bethesda Manor West is a nonprofit housing development that provides affordable housing to area residents. It is run by the Pleasant Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, which has served Chicago’s West Side for nearly 97 years. Jones is wife of the church’s pastor, Joseph Jones, and serves as first lady of the church as well as its Christian education director. Bethesda is one of the few clients of Nelson’s that secured a PPP loan.

We did the PPP program, but we didn’t hear about it or were informed of it until the day it was due. When my CPA called me, she said, ‘We gotta get this in today!’ And I said, ‘What? We haven’t been told.’ So I had to gather all of my documents in one day and we got it in on time thanks to her — and that was Vena Nelson.

She helped a lot of businesses and churches try to apply and get it going. I think, overall, it was a good program.

There are some things I would change, though. For minority small businesses, a lot of them (lack enough financial resources to)

Photo by Woojae Julia Song

Jeannie Jones has held several roles at Pleasant Ridge Missionary Baptist Church since her husband became the pastor in 1977. have full-time workers and they tend to have contractors who are on regular staff, but are not on the payroll. I think there should be some allowance for those small businesses that have contractors on a regular basis, but who are not on a salary. So, I wish they would look at that.

I also want to make sure that the loan forgiveness doesn’t slip by us. I notice that I don’t hear anything else about the forgiveness application. I printed it out when it came into my email and forwarded it to my CPA and my management company to make sure that it’s done appropriately. I didn’t want to do anything to mess up the whole thing. So, my concern is, can it pass by you without them notifying you? I would hate to learn later that we missed that deadline and now have to pay interest on that loan and pay it back. That’s a possibility and that can be the catch.

Never just trust yourself to go blindly and do it. Find out some people who have applied or find someone like a Vena who knows what they’re doing, because you don’t want to mess up and get audited if you do the wrong thing. I would say, go for it. Do it. Even if it’s hard, it’s worth it.

Corry Williams ■ Owner, 345 Art Gallery, 345 N. Kedzie Ave. in Chicago ■ PPP funds received: $3,000 (self-reported)

Williams, who is also a Chicago police officer, re-opened 345 Art Gallery in Garfield

Photo by Woojae Julia Song

Owner Corry Williams poses for a portrait inside 345 Gallery on Feburary 11, 2021.

Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

Five Things to Know Before you Apply for PPP Looking to apply for governmental funding for your small business? Here are some tips we gathered from the small business owners we interviewed about their loan application experiences:

Get an accountant, if you don’t have one already All four of the businesses we interviewed for this project had one very important thing in common — they all had accountants who were able to easily provide the required information for applying for PPP and other emergency assistance.

Pay your employees legally Many did not pay their employees taxable income, which means employees did not receive 1099 or W-2 forms. Taxpayers use those forms to provide information about their income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For more information about what tax forms you should have on hand when hiring employees, click here.

Invest in a payroll processing service Photo by Woojae Julia Song

Owner Stacey Hawkins Armstrong poses for a portrait inside Sha-Poppin Gourmet Popcorn Shoppe.

Park in February after the city loosened coronavirus restrictions on storefronts.

The gallery canceled many of its programs, including art shows and partnership events with Chicago Public Schools, during the pandemic. Williams said when his gallery applied for PPP funding, preparation paid off. While not completely adequate, the loan helped, he said.

We have a team member who fills out our grants. We sat down and discussed the ask and whether it met the qualifications in areas that they were looking to assist.

So, we figured things out on our own.

We knew what we needed and what we were doing and how it would help support us during these times and just provided the information for the documents that were requested of us.

We used the money for payroll protection in order to keep the team employed.

That extra money really helped. It wasn’t enough, but I appreciated the amount we got. To me, it wasn’t how much they gave us, it’s how we utilized what we got.

It (the loan) was for the purpose of keeping the team together because we still got together to come up with ideas.

The planning doesn’t stop. We try to know what’s going on in the art world and in different art galleries and think of different events and activities for the kids that we can bring back to the gallery.

Stacey Hawkins Armstrong ■ Owner, Sha-Poppin’ Gourmet Popcorn, 10352 Roosevelt Rd. in Westchester ■ PPP funds received: $17,745

Patrons dub Armstrong the Mad Scientist of Popcorn. She’s been testing popcorn flavors since she was 9 and has customized more than 150 popcorn flavors in her West suburban storefront since 2018. During the pandemic, Armstrong saw other businesses close and didn’t want that to be her business’ fate. She decided to go curbside with her popcorn retail shop.

I tried to apply for PPP through Chase, which is where I bank, and it was horrible. You couldn’t get through online and you couldn’t go in somewhere and speak to anyone. Every time I turned around, I hit a brick wall, hit a brick wall. There was nothing. I was just left out in the cold.

Just like other small business owners that were shut out, I was in a dark room. It was like, ‘What do I do?’ It just seemed like my dreams were diminishing right before my eyes.

When I made contact with the person at Self-Help Credit Union, it was maybe a little more than a week and my process was done. That’s how simple it was when you have someone to contact. Chase is such a large company, you can’t say they don’t have anyone for customers to contact. And as large as they are, they should have had

some kind of helpline when they were going into this since they were the ones getting millions of dollars. But you go to a smaller entity and they guide you through it from beginning to end.

I didn’t want to close my doors because I employ a lot of high school and college students. I try to keep them working because that keeps them busy. I also teach them about opening up a small business so I didn’t want to let them down. I didn’t want to let my dream go.

All the money that I received went towards my payroll completely just to keep my kids employed. It gave me that leg up to keep them going and that was all I needed — just to make sure I was able to innovate and keep my doors open and keep someone there to help me. And that’s what I needed.

Last year April, Armstrong filed a class action lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase Bank and three of the bank’s large business clients. That suit is still pending. We reached out to Chase for comment on Armstrong’s lawsuit and they emailed us the following statement: “While we can’t comment on pending litigation, we’re proud that our bank provided more PPP loan relief funding than any other lender in both 2020 and in 2021. In 2020, we processed $28 billion in loans to 280,000 small businesses. The average loan size was $112,000 and 50% went to companies with fewer than 5 employees. This relief went to America’s small businesses, protecting more than 3 million jobs.”

To keep track of what you’re paying your employees and what you’re withholding for taxes, invest in a payroll processing service, such as ADP, SurePayroll, Gusto Payroll, QuickBooks and Paychex. (“all of them had PPP information and reports, so they were in tune with what was going on with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and would help you calculate all your information,” Nelson said).

Seek out information You should actively monitor the websites of key government entities such as the SBA, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development and the Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Subscribe to start receiving those agencies’ emails or text notifications to get the latest updates about possible financial assistance for businesses.

Get a champion All of the businesses we interviewed expressed gratitude for having networks of support that they can lean on during times of financial hardship. Those networks can also advocate for them and mobilize resources when the time comes. Join a local chamber of commerce or a larger chamber such as the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. There are also groups designed to offer support and community for Black business owners, such as Black Owned Chicago.

CONTACT: michael@austinweeklynews.com

9

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

deadline: 9:30 am Monday office hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday

CLASSIFIEDS TO PLACE AN AD HELP WANTED

CALL: 773-626-6332 | FAX: 708-467-9066 | E-MAIL: classifieds@AustinWeeklyNews.com Place your ad online anytime at AUSTINWEEKLYNEWS.COM/CLASSIFIED HELP WANTED

ITEMS FOR SALE FRUITWOOD FINISH NIGHTSTAND Solid wood nightstand, fruitwood finish. 1 drawer and 1 bottom shelf.

15”d x 24”w x 24”h. $59.00 708-488-8755

We are hiring Relationship Bankers in Oak Park, IL.

Check out this opportunity to join a great team! https://wintrust.taleo.net/careersection/2/ jobdetail.ftl?job=2100424&lang=en PART-TIME CHEF Oak Park Meal Service looking for an experienced part time chef to manage food prep, cooking, cooling & packaging. Day hours, $15+/hour.

Contact Angie via email. angiemontroy@angiespantry.com ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INTERN The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Environmental Health Intern in the Health Department. This fulltime seasonal position will provide assistance to the Environmental Health Practitioners in the inspection and local businesses, homes and other establishments to enforce state and local laws and ordinances related to public Health safety; to respond and resolve citizen complaints regarding nuisances and reported epidemics. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oakpark.us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application no later than April 30, 2021.

HOMECARE AIDES Sahara Homecare is hiring Homecare Aides for our Melrose Park location. We are looking for compassionate caregivers to assist elderly clients with everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and other errands. Pay starts at $14.00 per hour and flexible hours are available. Please call our Melrose Park office at (708) 344-2273 if interested or email Nicole Gray at nicoleg@ saharahomecare.com and Greyder Martinez at greyderm@saharahomecare.com.

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SUBURBAN RENTALS

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Find your new apartment this Saturday from 10 am – 4pm at 35 Chicago Avenue.

Or call us toll free at 1-833-440-0665 for an appointment.

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

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Austin Weekly News, April 21, 2021

Summer Day Camp June 28 to August 6

Late Summer Camps & Sports Camps August 9 to 29 Important dates: • Programs go live for viewing: May 3 • Online registration begins: May 10 & May 11 • In-person registration begins: May 14 Please visit www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com/Day-Camp for information and specific details.

For more information about your Chicago Park District visit www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com or call 312.742.7529 or 312.747.2001 (TTY)

Register online at www.ChicagoParkDistrict.com Financial assistance is available for eligible Chicago residents. Learn more at www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/day-camp/ Help send a kid to camp!

Donate to the camp scholarship fund at www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/donate

City of Chicago Lori E. Lightfoot, Mayor Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners Chicago Park District, Michael P. Kelly, General Superintendent & CEO

STAY CONNECTED.

April 21, 2021

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY PUBLISHED ITS FIRST QUALITY-OF-LIFE PLAN CALLED AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. (AFT) IN 2018.

THIS QUARTERLY PUBLICATION DESCRIBES HOW AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER (ACT) IS SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT AFT AND OTHER EFFORTS.

SEEKING EQUITY FOR

AUSTIN

How the community is tackling deep-rooted health injustices.

A PATH TO HEALTH EQUITY PAGE 3 | SUPPORTING PLAN IMPLEMENTATION YEAR THREE PAGE 4 FOOD APARTHEID: HOW AUSTIN IS RECREATING ITS FOOD ECOSYSTEM PAGE 7

2

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

Since 2010, Austin Coming Together (ACT) has facilitated collaboration to improve education and economic development outcomes in Chicago’s Austin community.

Today, we serve 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 a stable Housing Market.

ACT BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers CHAIR

Larry Williams Broker, State Farm Insurance VICE-CHAIR

Angela Waller Community & Government Relations Director, Advocate Aurora Health SECRETARY

Bradly Johnson Director of External Affairs, BUILD Inc.

TREASURER

LaDarius Curtis Senior Director of Community Engagement & Health, West Side United EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Darnell Shields Austin Coming Together

Directors Sharon Morgan Director of Graduate Support & Community Outreach, Catalyst Schools

Reverend Reginald E. Bachus

Tenisha Jones

Ruth Kimble

Senior Director of Strategy & Operations, West Side United

Founder & CEO, Austin Childcare Providers Network

Reginald Little

Jerrod Williams

Mortgage Loan Originator, Fifth Third Bank

Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court

Dawn Ferencak Senior Marketing Strategist, Chicago Parent

Deborah Williams Community Outreach & Engagement Specialist, Habilitative Systems, Inc.

In Memoriam BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jack Macnamara 1937–2020 FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR

Mildred Wiley 1955–2019

Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church

ACT STAFF Leadership Team Darnell Shields* Executive Director

Shavion Scott

Strategic Initiatives Team Sandra Diaz

Deputy Director

Service Delivery Enhancement Manager, Austin Community Hub

Andrew Born

Jai Jones

Research & Evaluation * Ex Officio Member of the ACT Board of Directors

Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub

Dollie Sherman Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub

Ethan Ramsay Lead Organizer, Austin Forward. Together.

Marketing & Development Team Alicia Plomin** Marketing & Development Manager

Dearra Williams

Nicole Marcus

Marketing & Development Associate

Neighborhood Network Liaison

**Also part of the ACT Leadership Team

We’re hiring! Learn more at AustinComingTogether.org

ACT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS A House in Austin Allies for Community Business

Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures

Kids First Chicago

South Austin Neighborhood Association

KRA Westside American Job Center

St. Joseph Services

Jane Addams Resource Corporation

Austin Childcare Providers Network

Chicago Community Loan Fund

Legal Aid Chicago (fka LAF)

St. Leonard’s Ministries

City of Refuge

Manufacturing Renaissance

Austin Community Family Center

Cluster Tutoring Program

Mary Shyrese Daycare

Stone Community Development Corporation

Austin Weekly News

Erikson Institute

Maryville Academy

Be Strong Families

Friends of the Children

Mercy Housing Lakefront

Beat the Streets Chicago

Friendship Community Development Corp. of Austin

New Moms

Greater West Town Community Development Project

Oak Park Regional Housing Center

Housing Forward

PCC Community Wellness Center

I.C. Stars

Project Exploration

IFF

Renaissance Social Services, Inc.

Institute for Nonviolence Chicago

Sarah’s Inn

Because I Care Bethel New Life Beyond Hunger BUILD Inc.

By The Hand Club for Kids Cara Catholic Charities

OAI, Inc. Open Books

The Catalyst Schools The Loretto Hospital The North Avenue District, Inc. UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work VOCEL Westside Health Authority West Side Forward Youth Guidance

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

3

A path to health equity

By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together

A

ustin is Chicago’s largest community area with nearly 100,000 people but it only has two grocery stores. Lincoln Park, on the other hand, has ten grocery stores for their 60,000 residents.

Unfortunately, that is just one example. Austin residents also struggle to find the same quality education, living-wage jobs, and safety that is readily available in other areas.

Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world. But life in some areas is dramatically different than others. Your zip code really determines how close to home you will find quality health care or education, healthy food, and even a well paying job.

When it comes to equity—defined as fair treatment, access, opportunity and advancement for all people—it is simply not present in Austin.

Why? Years of disinvestment and lack of support for essential services and infrastructure.

With high unemployment, low life expectancy, and limited to no access to certain resources, families here face racial injustice on several levels.

When a community lacks basic infrastructure, it becomes more vulnerable to the effects of a disaster being detrimental in the long-term, especially a disaster of the caliber of COVID-19.

The events of 2020 exposed broken systems, oppressive policies, and layers of deeply rooted injustice. But it also showed just how strong the Austin community is.

Through riots, unrest, and much heartbreak, Austin remained resilient. And we continue to push through seemingly insurmountable challenges because we are standing together to face them.

Austin is my home, so seeing the creative and often heroic ways neighbors are helping each other fuels my passion for this work.

Austin Coming Together (ACT), alongside other stakeholders, has been dedicated to

and faith-based entities, West Side United’s ‘Live Healthy West Side’ framework brings health education, training, and services to vulnerable populations through community engagement. These and other efforts are helping West Side neighborhoods grow stronger, healthier I have never been more into and more vibrant places proud of my colleagues to live.

connecting Austin to the opportunities it needs since our inception in 2010. We leverage our network and experience in order to mobilize resource distribution and increase equitable access.

Last year, ACT joined Mayor Lightfoot’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team (RERRT) and its collective effort to address racial disparities Far beyond health in Black and Brown at the Austin clinic. care, there are many communities. In an social factors that attempt to flatten the They’ve shown we will determine a family’s COVID-19 mortality of thriving. curve, the RERRT step in and do more with chances That is why West Side partnered with local United partners like groups to launch no hesitation.

Rush University Medical an education and Center have expanded engagement strategy, DARLENE HIGHTOWER, their mission from generate and distribute VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY beyond providing expert PPE supplies, and set up HEALTH EQUITY AT RUSH health care to improving testing sites including the quality of life for five in Austin. Through people in its diverse neighboring communities, this, the foundation for future work to tackle long standing and systemic inequities was laid. like Austin.

Being part of this effort has allowed ACT to “When you have a strong economic magnify the needs of Austin and participate in foundation, the health outcomes are better,” the creation of community-centric strategies. said Darlene Hightower, Vice President of West Side United takes a similar approach seeking out community involvement in designing solutions. The group was formed through input from local residents and leaders who wanted to see tangible impact in metrics like economic vitality, housing cost burden, and violent crime rates. As a collaborative of health care institutions, residents, educators, non-profits, businesses, government agencies

Community Health Equity at Rush.

In addition to critical support of COVID-19 response, Rush has improved mental health access in schools, and served 10,000 families on the west side with food within the past year. Recently, Rush was called upon to assist with a Protect Chicago Plus initiative and to help create, set up and run two temporary vaccine clinics in Austin in a matter of a few short weeks.

“I have never been more proud of my colleagues at the Austin clinic. They’ve shown we will step in and do more with no hesitation,” said Hightower.

Although it is more common now than in years past, this level of coordination and partnership must become the standard going forward.

My faith in a beautiful future for my community has not wavered. We are on the right path, but it will take rethinking and retooling how we invest in communities to really see places like Austin thrive. n

TOP—A small group of Dominican University nursing students volunteered to assist at the clinic at Catalyst Circle Rock. Photo courtesy of Dominican University.

BOTTOM—Time-lapse photo from the clinic.

4

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

ACT awards over $184K Supporting Plan Implementation Year Three

A

ustin’s quality-of-life plan, called Austin Forward. Together.

(AFT), is a set of goals created by and for the community designed to address 23 strategies with 84 total actions across 7 Issue Areas between 2019 and 2023: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement.

Today, there are more than 40 dedicated volunteer members across seven Task Forces, one for each Issue Area. In partnership with ACT, these Task Forces have signed on over 40 unique organizations as Implementation Partners and together have initiated more than 30% of the plan’s total actions so far!

In 2018, ACT’s ability to apply community-driven solutions to foster economic opportunity resulted in a $1 million Vital Communities grant from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Part of that investment is being utilized to support necessary infrastructure, and the remainder

is allocated to Core Members implementing activities in the plan. In 2019, $64,000 of those funds were distributed to Implementation Partners already working to accomplish some of the AFT priority actions, while $181,848 were distributed in 2020.

This year, we are proud to announce that eight organizations have been selected to whom $184,792 total funds will be distributed.

Recipients are ACT Core Members who submitted the most thorough proposals for work that is primed and ready to happen now.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The goal of the Economic Development Task Force is to create economic revitalization in Austin and by Austin.

We will support new and existing local businesses, entrepreneurs, and the workforce; improve our commercial corridors; and attract new investment to build a stronger, more dynamic local economy.

FUNDED ACTION 2.2*: E xpand and support local resources like bootcamps and apprenticeships in high demand economic sectors.

$25,000

will support New Moms’ job training programs to help prepare young mothers ages 16-24 for careers in high demand sectors like advanced manufacturing, health care, and building and trades. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need for this program and its services due to the high increase of unemployment and homelessness in the Austin community. Participants will gain knowledge and skills, practice them in real time, and receive assistance locating an opportunity that will lead to lifelong employment stability.

$20,000

will be allocated to Manufacturing Renaissance (MR) for their YMA Manufacturing Bootcamp that offers residents ages 18-29 ten weeks of technical training and career development. The YMA is an innovative contribution to the broader workforce development and education landscape that systematically inspires, and prepares young people for living wage careers in manufacturing. Bootcamp participants get exposure to employer and strategic partnership development, program recruitment and orientation, technical training, professionalism training, plus job interview coordination and placement.

FUNDED ACTION 2.3*: Build a new Manufacturing Training Center in Austin.

$25,000

will aid Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) in the development and build-out of a training space at Freedman Seating.

In fall 2019, JARC was unexpectedly asked to halt their manufacturing training and support services that had been operating at the Austin College & Career Academy since 2017. A new facility for this important program means Austin residents will now have the chance to complete their training in welding and computer numerical control without leaving Austin while JARC lays the groundwork for their move into a state-of-the-art manufacturing center.

*These reference numbers coincide with the full list of Strategies and Actions in the plan.

READ THE FULL AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. PLAN ONLINE AT AustinComingTogether.org/QLP

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

PUBLIC SAFETY The goal of the Public Safety Task Force is to collaborate and create programs that increase a sense of safety, community and quality of life to build a healthy and resilient neighborhood.

FUNDED ACTION 2.2*: C reate an Austin Restorative

FUNDED ACTION 2.3*: E xpand outreach intervention programs

Justice Court.

$25,000

that break the cycle of violence.

will support BUILD Inc. in creating an Austin Restorative Justice Center as they wait for Chief Judge Evans’ approval of Austin’s first Restorative Justice Community Court (RJCC).. Restorative Justice is a philosophy that focuses on repairing the harm caused to people and relationships, aiming to humanize all those involved in a group or conflict. Value is placed on empathy, learning, collaboration, mediation, and the ability to have brave conversations.

$25,000

will allow the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago (INVC) and Hope Community Church to expand their public safety and street outreach for the Austin community. With violence increasing, creating peace-building activities and conducting training programs on conflict management will encourage greater social cohesion, creating a safer space for everyone. Funds will also be used to support joint Hope Community Church/INVC events and activities planned by peacemaker participants that will engage the community, promote peace, and bring resources to those who need them most. Collectively, these efforts will empower residents who are involved with street organizations to use their influence to change the tide on specific neighborhood blocks.

COMMUNITY NARRATIVE The goal of the Community Narrative Task Force 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.

FUNDED ACTION 3.4*: B uild a sense of community through activities such as

FUNDED ACTION 2.1*: Bridge the gap between

creating and maintaining community gardens.

$15,644

will support the South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA) in helping the recently created Austin Veterans Community Organization (AVCO) engage with more Austin-area veterans and others to take advantage of group therapy, peace circles, and meditation at the Veterans Peace Garden.

Funding will also support members of the Austin Garden Collective who are working to maintain safe and beautiful spaces throughout Austin by volunteering in local gardens.

Plus, funds will help improve and expand physical structures in SANA’s Farm to Table Summer Community Garden, as well as support efforts to create to create new educational programming that teach residents how to maximize their financial resources while maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle so they can address food insecurity, financial strain, and worsening health.

residents’ experiences and how they are reflected by media outlets.

$24,148

will support the expansion of Westside Health Authority’s Austin Has The Mic (AHTM) youth training program. This program teaches 20 participants the basics of broadcasting, videography and photography. The main goal is to cultivate strong relationships and give Austin residents a voice on multiple mass media platforms. Funding will go towards supporting the expansion of the weekly podcast show, which will incorporate interviews from community members about current events and social injustice topics.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT The goal of the Youth Empowerment Task Force is for Austin to have healthier and more engaged youth who are able to reach their full potential.

FUNDED ACTION 3.4*: C reate paths for youth interactions with mentors and role models.

$25,000

will provide staffing for St. Joseph Services’ Youth Mentoring Program at St. Angela’s Catholic School in Austin, allowing them to increase the number of youth they serve. The program offers Austin’s young people a safe mentoring environment that promotes education, peaceful conflict resolution, and sustained healthy behavior and positive community engagement.

5

6

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1 Education

Housing

Public Safety

TASK FORCE CHAIRS

TASK FORCE CHAIRS

TASK FORCE CHAIRS

Plan Leaders

Natasha Smith-Walker

Athena Williams

Bradly Johnson

Community Narrative

Crystal Bell

Project Exploration

Economic Development

TASK FORCE CHAIRS

TASK FORCE CHAIR

Briana Shields

Jerrod Williams

Briana Janeé Arts

Kenneth Varner Healthy Schools Campaign

STRATEGY LEADS

Lasondra Kern

Community Resident

Suzanne McBride

Community Resident, South Austin Neighborhood Association Member INTERIM TASK FORCE CO-CHAIR

Heather Sattler

Community Development Consultant

Austin Talks

STRATEGY LEADS

Michael Romain

Erica Staley

Austin Weekly News

Alicia Plomin

Austin Coming Together

Cindy Schneider Spaces-n-Places

Manufacturing Renaissance

Emily Peters

Jane Addams Resource Corporation

Tina Augustus

Ella Flagg Young Elementary School

Charles Anderson

Michele Clark High School STRATEGY LEADS

Ruth Kimble

Austin Childcare Providers Network

Madelyn James

Austin Childcare Providers Network

Pam Price

Chicago Public Schools

West Cook Homeownership Center/ OPRHC

Allison McGowan

Community Resident STRATEGY LEADS

Shirley Fields Hunters Realty

Rosie Dawson

BUILD Inc.

Marilyn Pitchford Heartland Alliance

Chris Patterson

Institute for Nonviolence Chicago STRATEGY LEADS

Adam Alonso BUILD Inc.

Westside Health Authority

Bradly Johnson

Athena Williams

Edwina Hamilton

West Cook Homeownership Center/ OPRHC

Natasha Dunn VOCEL

Cata Truss

Community Resident

Sean Schindl

Kids First Chicago

Austin Chamber of Commerce

Youth Empowerment

Civic Engagement

TASK FORCE CHAIRS

TASK FORCE CHAIR

Carmen Scott-Boria

Deborah Williams

BUILD Inc.

D’Elegance Lane Westside Health Authority

STRATEGY LEADS

Deonna Hart BUILD Inc.

Gina Young

Habilitative Systems Inc. STRATEGY LEADS

Arnold Bearden

South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA)

Sharif Walker Bethel New Life

Catholic Charities

BUILD Inc. BUILD Inc.

Juan Villalobos BUILD Inc.

Gina Young

Catholic Charities

Bertha Purnell

Institute for Nonviolence Chicago

Jose Abonce

The Policing Project

Roxanne Charles West Side Forward

INTERESTED IN JOINING AN IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE?

Contact ACT’s Lead Organizer, Ethan Ramsay at 630.474.4016 or eramsay@austincomingtogether.org for more information

AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 1

Austin Weekly News • April 21, 2021

7

Food apartheid:

How Austin is recreating its food ecosystem

By Alicia Plomin Marketing & Development Manager, Austin Coming Together

F

or generations, residents of Chicago’s Austin community have been challenged to find what others might consider basic resources. The neighborhood has plenty of liquor stores, mini-marts, and gas stations, but fresh food is hard to come by.

Austin is often referred to as a ‘food desert,’ but that term does not accurately describe the decades of systemic racism, neglect, and misinvestment that have created these conditions.

transportation, housing, and education before COVID-19, and now the pandemic has greatly exacerbated these difficulties.

Due to a lack of mobility or transportation options, many Austin residents who need the emergency food services of pantries and soup kitchens can’t access them.

As part of the city’s Racial Equity Rapid Response Team (RERRT), Austin Coming Together (ACT) led weekly food distributions in the summer and fall of 2020. Even with nine other Austin based food pantries, the effort still served 750-1,000 families every week. ACT responded by convening the community around this growing issue.

Through that convening, the depth of the problem became even more clear.

“When you think of a desert, it’s a naturally occurring environment, so calling neighborhoods food deserts when they don’t have healthy food options is basically saying ‘this just happens in some places,’” said Liz Abunaw, owner of Forty Acres Fresh Market.

“At its core, Austin Eats addresses the inequalities in food access that drive the inequalities of health and economic outcomes for Austin,” says Abunaw. “When you have an inequitable food system, and the choice to be healthy in your diet is not readily available, that extends to unequal access for people’s health, jobs, income, and neighborhood built environment.”

Therefore, ‘food apartheid’ is a better fit. “What we see today is inequality and segregation. What we have to do is break down these barriers, and that’s why we are facing food apartheid in the Austin community,” said Abunaw.

The result of lack of food resources? Austin residents spend 85% of their disposable income in Oak Park and other neighboring areas. This trend must change if we are to revitalize the community. The time is now, and the work has already begun.

Access to healthy food options should be the right of every single American; unfortunately, it has become more of a privilege. This is evidenced by the fact that nearly 4 out of 10 households were making stressful tradeoff decisions between food, healthcare,

A diverse group of stakeholders have come together with an holistic approach to address the entire food ecosystem with the goal of achieving long-term sustainable change.

AUSTIN EATS

“Food apartheid” describes Austin’s lack of food access caused by years of systemic issues.

THE PROBLEM

55.4% of Austin’s residents report having easy access to fruits and vegetables.

Source: chicagohealthatlas.org

This effort, called Austin Eats, will synergize the organizations already working to promote healthier food choices across Austin and create an infrastructure geared toward food access. To accomplish this, Austin’s entire food continuum needs to be considered, from community gardens, food pantries, and grocery stores, to food cooperatives, culinary entrepreneurs and restaurants.

These funders came together to form the Austin Fresh Fund in an effort to explore what it would mean to support greater access to healthy food in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side—a key strategy of Austin’s Quality of Life Plan. They pooled a pledged $1 million in grant funds and have awarded resources to several of the organizations involved in the Austin Eats Initiative.

Austin Eats is “a collaborative action that brings the ideas of individual organizations, residents, and faith-based leaders together to scale a more cohesive, robust and strong food system that covers the needs of everything in Austin. We came to the understanding that alone, we will not solve the problem,” says Abunaw.

While the Austin Eats plan spans a five year timeline, organizers are concentrating the first year’s efforts on uniting the various groups already touching parts of this work; crafting a cohesive plan that will stand the test of time; and implementing strategies for successful execution.

Ways to address these problems are outlined in the Austin Forward. Together. plan, a set of goals created by and for the community designed to utilize 23 strategies with 84 total actions to improve seven issue areas by the year 2023: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement.

The Austin Eats initiative was born out of the Community Narrative (CN) issue area in Austin Forward. Together., which describes the community’s desire to revitalize the image and spirit of Austin by creating environments that foster health and wellness and promote healthier food choices across Austin. This community led effort was made possible through the collaboration of the Christopher Family Foundation, Lumpkin Family Foundation and The Builder’s Initiative.

REAL SOLUTIONS The Austin community is slowly moving towards a more equitable food ecosystem with a future grocery store and food co-op at different stages of development.

Austin’s food co-op educates residents on the significance of integrating healthy food choices in a daily diet. They will teach food literacy, mental and physical wellness, as well as cultural empowerment.

Furthermore, Austin Eats will support a pilot program for culinary entrepreneurs that provides 250 meals per month to Austin families.

To date, twenty two organizations are now working together to support and lead the implementation of the Austin Eats initiative.

THE PLAN Austin Eats outlines plans to change the food landscape and rewrite the narrative around food in Austin by focusing on: •G rocery Access & Culinary Entrepreneurship: Last year’s Farmers Market as managed

by Forty Acres through the city’s Dept. of Cultural Affairs & Special Events was a valuable resource for residents. Over the next two years, Austin Eats aims to increase the number of market customers from 50 to as many as 150, and to double the number of vendors.

•G ardens & Farms: A new community garden will be built in northeast Austin, while efforts to support a year-round hydroponic farm and 20+ existing community gardens is also a focus.

• Marketing: Increasing awareness of Austin Eats and the work it involves will be a challenge, but it is essential in helping this initiative succeed. n

We We We

about AUSTIN. about OUR CITY. about EQUITY.

Chicago’s Austin community is full of incredibly passionate individuals and groups who truly care for one another. It has beautiful architecture, housing stock, and an immense potential for growth. But it is also struggling now more than ever. From job loss to food insecurity, existing problems have recently gotten worse.

Austin Coming Together (ACT) has worked alongside our 50+ member network to serve and care for Austin families since 2010. Since COVID-19 began, we have connected thousands of residents to critical resources, but the need is still growing.

2

COVID-19 temporary Vaccine Clinics

$158K

support for communitybuilding efforts

200

Wellness Kits distributed

$210K+ direct financial assistance to families

Show how much you Join the #AustinCares campaign today!

In order to continue supporting Austin families right now, we need your help.

Make an impact where it’s needed most!

DONATE ONLINE AT

AustinComingTogether.org/AustinCares