AWN_AnswerBook_2017

Answer Book AUSTIN WEEKLY news

2017

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GALEWOOD 2017 austinweeklynews.com | 1

Austin Coming Together provides back bone support for a network of over 70 non-profit, faith-based, public, and private entities commited to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Since 2010, we have helped our members take a strategic and collaborative approach to achieving outcomes together.

VISION

We will create a thriving Austin community

MISSION

To increase the collective impact of our member organization on improving education and economic development outcomes in the Austin community.

CORE VALUES

Unity, Commitment, Transparency, Collaboration, Action

STRATEGY Thrive 2025

THRIVE 2025

In 2016, ACT developed Thrive 2025, a common agenda that focuses the efforts and resources of our member organizations on improving the quality of life in Austin by targeting 4 impact goals in Austin from now until the year 2025: 1. Increase access to high Quality Early Learning programs 2. Develop pathways to Living Wage Careers 3. Create Safe Neighborhoods by restoring relationships among neighbors 4. Stabilize the Housing Market through targeted property interventions In order to achieve these impact goals, Austin Coming Together fosters the conditions for collaborative action among our members and other important stakeholders.

To become a member or to learn more, visit out website www.austincomingtogether.org or call 773.417.8612

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Once Upon a Time in Austin

A TREASURE TROVE OF IMAGES: The photos of the late photographer Dorell Creightney, who lived in Austin when he died in 2011, showcase a diverse range of black life both in Chicago and beyond. Creightney’s daughters want to establish a permanent home for their father’s work somewhere in Austin.

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Contents AUSTIN WEEKLYnews Editor Michael Romain Associate Publisher Dawn Ferencak Publisher Dan Haley IT and Digital

Ad Director

Technology

Dawn Ferencak

Mike Risher

Business Manager

Staff Photographer

Joyce Minich

William Camargo

Media Coordinator

Editorial Design

Kristen Benford

Manager

Classified Ad Sales

Claire Innes

Mary Ellen Nelligan

Editorial Designers Jacquinete

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner

Baldwin, WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Javier Govea

Michael and Doris Parnell are the owners of Michael Parnell’s Magnum Scuba in Austin, the country’s only black-owned dive shop.

INSIDE AUSTIN ANSWER BOOK Arts ....................................................... 4 Beauty .................................................. 6 Churches ............................................... 9 Community Groups ............................. 18 Financial Institutions........................... 24 Government ........................................ 28 Health ................................................. 33 Street Beat ......................................... 36

Mental Health ..................................... 43 Libraries .............................................. 44 Parks ................................................... 45 Restaurants ......................................... 50 Schools................................................ 57 Seniors ................................................ 63 Social Services..................................... 65 Recidivism........................................... 69

ON THE COVER Kandeyn Hatley poses for a portrait in front of the balloons her family made before going to prom in May 2016.

Photo by William Camargo Design by Javier Govea

Ad Production

Comptroller Edward Panschar Credit Manager

Manager

Laurie Meyers

Philip Soell Ad Design Manager

Media Assistant

Andrew Mead

Megan Dickel

Ad Designers

Front Desk

Mark Moroney,

Carolyn Henning,

Debbie Becker

Maria Murzyn

HOW TO REACH US 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 PHONE: 773-626-6332 FAX: 708-524-0447 www.AustinWeeklyNews.com.

The Austin Weekly News is published each Wednesday by Wednesday Journal, Inc., an Illinois corporation.

It is distributed free of charge at more than 100 locations across Austin and Chicago’s west side. © 2017 Wednesday Journal

Serving the Austin & West Side communities Michael Romain • Editor

AustinWeeklyNews.com • Sign up for Breaking News Dawn Ferencak • Advertsing

michael@austinweeklynews.com dawn@austinweeklynews.com 2 0 1 7

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The Arts Up from the underground

West Side rapper Chris Crack and producer Cutta could be on the verge of breaking out

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he past few years have been kind to Austin resident and full-time rapper Christopher Harris, 30, who goes by the stage name Chris Crack.

His 2015 self-released album Public Domain 4 garnered a respectable review by Pitchfork magazine, which noted that the Oak Park native has “played local support for acts like Slick Rick, Mystikal, and Can Ox.” In May 2015, Crack was the subject of a Twitter shout-out from the actor John Leguizamo after the Carlito’s Way star was mentioned in a song, “Wanna See a Dead Body?” on which Crack collaborated with his two musical mentors, the widely respected underground rapper Vic Spencer and the rapper/producer Tree.

“I’ve contemplated quitting almost every day,” said Crack during a recent interview in his Austin apartment. “This isn’t very lucrative, but it’s like right when you want to quit, that’s when things start happening.”

Crack’s elevated stature in the Chicago hip-hop scene didn’t come out of nowhere.

The rapper developed his sound alongside his longtime best friend and roommate Paul Gulyas, 30, who goes by the name Cutta and is something like Crack’s muse (the rapper shouts out his best friend in virtually every song).

In their teens, the former elementary and high school classmates would meet inside of Cutta’s parents’ basement

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

The career of West Side rapper Christopher Harris, aka Chris Crack, was ascending when Austin Weekly News interviewed him at his Austin home in 2016. studio, cranking out mischief and music during rambunctious jam sessions that, in the beginning, were heavier on the mischief than the music.

“It was pretty much us [messing] around and recording,” Gulyas said. “It would be a bunch of people in the basement. Over the years, people would fall off. It wasn’t really who they were. They were just doing it for fun, so the crew got smaller and smaller. Now, it’s really just us and our one mission is to make great music.”

The duo, who call themselves the New Deal Crew, have since gotten more serious about the work that goes into making a career of this.

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Crack sounds like a craftsman recalling that he learned from Spencer how to write his lyrics in a more efficient and workmanlike way.

They are now focused on cultivating a sound that Pitchfork music critic Winston Cook-Wilson described as “lightly psychedelic,” “personable,” a bit quirky and spontaneous, less ambitious than atmospheric (“On every level, this is music that is about just living, moving forward and getting by, told from the perspective of a proverbial Lothario and partyhunting nomad, loose in the city at night”).

But during the day, Crack talks about properties he 2 0 1 7

owns, which allow him to rap full-time, a process that varies by the season. A small shelf of books underneath the television betrays deeper sensibilities, which the rapper said “make up like 80 percent” of his lyrical content — Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, W.E.B. DuBois’ “The Souls of Black Folk,” Michael Moore’s “Stupid White Men” and Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States.”

“If you play 10 songs, eight of them will have that [stuff] in there,” Crack said. “It’s like super-conscious. I feel like that awareness [of injustice and systemic racism] skipped the last generation.”

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Arts African Art & Objects

E.S.O. Theater

4918 W. Flournoy 773-379-2787 www.africanartandobjects.com

5401 W. Madison, Chicago 312-487-6861 esochicagotheater.org

Afrikan Village Chicago Cultural Center, (NFP)

Local-Motions, Inc.

5840 W. Madison Ave. 773-850-2822 theafrikanvillagechicago.com

Performing Arts Organization 6272 W. North Ave. 773-622-3267 localmotions.net

Chicago West Community Music Center 100 N. Central Park Ave. 708-386-5315 cwcmc.org

Final Explosion Entertainment & Dance Studio 543 N. Waller (inside Douglass High School) 773-658-3246 finalexplosiondance.com

Pyramid Players Productions P.O. Box 440-446, Chicago IL 60644 773-914-3536 facebook.com/pyramidplayersproductions

Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center 5820 W. Chicago Ave 773-626-4497 sankofa-arts.com

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Malachi Jefferson, one of five winners of a Black History Month essay contest sponsored by the 15th District Police, reads his award-winning piece during a ceremony in March 2017.

6272 W. North Ave Suite B (North Ave. and Ridgeland)

Monday – Friday 9am-3pm

Dance , drama, backdrop designing, costuming, weekly field trips and more!

Cost $300.00/7 weeks

For more info:773-622-3267 Register today!

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Join us this Summer where Camp is Artrageous

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6272 W. North Ave Suite B (North Ave. and Ridgeland)

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Xxxxx Beauty Adam’s Barber Shop

Mr and Mrs

5138 W. Madison 773-261-9758

3356 W. Chicago Ave. 773-826-0255

African Hair Braiding

Herb’s Barber Shop

3515 W. Chicago Ave. 773-342-7350

5118 W. Chicago Ave. 773-261-9595

Avenue Academy of Beauty and Culture

His & Hers Barber School

5306 W. Chicago Avenue 773-921-6990 theaveacademy.com

5355 W. Madison 773-261-2099 hisandhersbarberschl.com

Chic’s Elite Hair Salon

ISIS Hair Salon

5234 W. Chicago Ave. 773-626-2266

5812 W. North Ave. 773-622-5344

Clay’s Beauty Salon

JW Salon

Original African Hair Braiding

5446 W. Harrison St. 773-378-9283

705 S. Pulaski Rd. 773-826-9711

224 S. Laramie Ave. 773-378-0890

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Kandyn Hatley gets the star treatment outside of her Central Avenue home from her aunt, Shonda Lemon, 29, before Hatley goes off to prom in 2016.

Shear Elegance 5725 W. Division 773-921-1680

Tina African Hair Braiding 724 N. Cicero Ave. 773-261-1233

AUTO • LIFE • FIRE • HEALTH Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There.®

Larry Williams • State Farm Agent Providing Insurance and Financial Services Larry and his staff are licensed and together have over 75 years of State Farm experience.

(773) 379-9009 • (773) 379-9010 fax (773) 379-0323 5932 W. Lake St., Chicago, Illinois 60644 Email: larry.williams.b0bk@statefarm.com • www.statefarm.com Office Hours: Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.–1 p.m.

After Hours by Appointment

State Farm Mutual Automobile • Insurance Company State Farm Indemnity Company • Bloomington, IL • statefarm.com® 6 | austinweeklynews.com

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8:30am or 10:30am Children Church available at 8:30 and 10:30 Services Nursery only available at 10:30 Service

Greater St. John Bible Church Rev. Ira J. Acree, Sr. Pastor

773.378.3330 1256 North Waller, Chicago, IL 60651 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

www.GSJBC.org 8 | austinweeklynews.com

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Churches A ministry without walls

Austin minister George Bady and his Red Team work full-time at reducing neighborhood violence

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f there were a modern, West Side of Chicago equivalent to Adam’s book of generations, which is found in Genesis, Chapter Five (“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness,” named Seth who begat Enos who begat Cainan ...), it would be that of George Bady — a 49-year-old ordained minister who lives in Austin.

“I had a little cousin who was killed in a robbery in 2008, then I had my own son get killed in 2010 because he was talking to someone who was into it with somebody else and the guys just came up and started shooting, and my nephew got killed in a robbery in 2012,” Bady said during a recent phone interview.

Bady, who everyone calls

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WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

George Bady, an Austin minister and founder of the Jehovah Jireh #1 Outreach Ministry during demonstration in April 2017 outside of Corcoran Grocery in Austin. On April 7, someone was murdered while walking out of the store.

Jody, said that he had something of a revelation after his son, 20-year-old son, Jamar Moore, was murdered.

“I didn’t want no other parents to go through what I had been through,” said Bady, who for the last several years has carved out a presence on the West and South Sides of Chicago with his Jehovah Jireh #1 Outreach Ministry. The organization has become ubiquitous for its lively gatherings at street corners throughout the city.

Bady and his 25-member Red Team are known for their trademark red (which is the color of the t-shirts, baseball caps, jeans and zip-up fleece

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hoodies they sport while on assignment) and their motto, “Stop the Violence.”

Team members show up at the request of residents who just want to have fun, but more often they converge, uninvited, on erstwhile murder scenes.

They’re also a constant presence in the minutes and hours immediately after crises, often visiting people in the hospital or praying for people on the streets.

“My day starts at 5 a.m.,” Bady said. “I get up, pray, get my son off to school and then my wife goes off to work. From then, I do everything I do in the streets. When my wife gets off at around 10 p.m., I drive

Uber from then until around 3 a.m. That’s how I fund my ministry for the most part.”

On April 19, Bady said that the thankless, often unpaid work that he puts into his calling pays off in the lives that the Red Team saves.

“I can’t give up on [these kids],” Bady said.

“We come from these streets and we come from doing the same things these kids are out here doing now,” said Jehovah Jireh Vice President Chris Burton. “So, we know the heart beat of this community.

We lived what these kids are doing now, but we survived it. Now, we’re trying to show them how to survive.”

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YOU’RE INVITED LIVING WORD CHRISTIAN CENTER A Church for All Nations, A Church Without Walls

WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Service Times: 7am, 9am & 11:15am Wednesday Bible Study 6:30pm LIVE Webcast - 11:15am Service www.livingwd.org

SERVICE LOCATION Living Word Christian Center 7600 W. Roosevelt Rd. Forest Park, IL 60130 (708) 697-5000

WILLIAM S. WINSTON, PASTOR CHILDREN’S CHURCH - servicing ages 9 months - 12 years every service

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES avail avail-able from the Blue & Green Lines

GO HARD FOR CHRIST YOUTH MINISTRY (ages 13-19) Every Wednesday 6:45pm

50+ VOLUNTEER MINISTRIES includ includ-ing Singles Ministry, Fitness Ministry, SPANISH & POLISH TRANSLATION SERVICES Latino Ministry, Prison Ministry and available during Wednesday Bible Study & many more.

Sunday 9:00am & 11:15am Worship Services

A WARM SEAT OF WELCOME AWAITS YOU! 10 | austinweeklynews.com

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Churches #2 Mt. Pleasant M.B. Church

Christian Love Church

947 N. Cicero Ave. 773-287-2018 & 773-2069576

535 N. Spaulding 773-638-3700

Abundant Favor Worship Center

Corinthian Temple Church of God in Christ

5833 W. Division St. Chicago, IL 60651 773-961-4340 Pastor Ray

4520 W. Washington Blvd.

773-626-1972

Emanuel’s Temple of Love & Faith

Chicago First Spanish Church

4843 W. Division St. 773-626-4500

3909 W. North Ave. 773-862-8734

Circle Urban Ministries

Evangelistic Outreach Deliverance Ministry

118 N. Central 773-921-1446 circleurban.org

5619 W Madison 662-267-9631 eodm.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Vincent Guider leads a Kwanzaa ceremony at St. Agatha’s Church in North Lawndale in December 2016.

La Shawn K. Ford State Representative 8th District

Mohandas K. Gandhi once said, "I believe in the essential unity of all people and for that matter of all lives. Therefore, I believe that if one person gains spiritually, the whole world gains, and if one person falls, the whole world falls to that extent."

During these turbulent and difficult times, I believe more strongly than ever in the concept of social justice: the promise that every member of society is deserving of equal economic, political and social rights, extending the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to every child, woman and man.

Dr. King said, "Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice." Let's work together to bend that arc in the direction of justice...

8th District. communities: Oak Park Berwyn North Riverside Riverside

West Side of Chicago - Austin Proviso Township Forest Park La Grange Brookfield Western Springs La Grange Park

Committee assignments:

Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development (Chairperson); Tollway Oversight (Vice-Chairperson); Health & Healthcare Disparities; Housing; Veterans' Affairs; Tourism & Conventions; Higher Education, and Insurance

4800 W. Chicago Ave. Chicago, IL 60651 773-378-5902

816 S. Oak Park Ave. Suite A Oak Park, IL 60304 708-445-3673

repford@lashawnford.com 2 0 1 7

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Sign up for Government & Private Job leads, 7 days a week, 365 days a year at www.lashawnford.com austinweeklynews.com | 11

If you need help, or know someone in need, call us today to learn about your local support options.

We offer many ways to engage and reduce the risk of substance abuse among youth.

Join our Community Meetings the 2nd Monday of every month at 6pm. Everyone is welcome.

Sponsored in part by:

Bridging the inter-generational gaps, to promote a safe and drug-free community

4540 W. Washington Blvd. • 773-287-5821 12 | austinweeklynews.com

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youth.

unity

West Side Community Partners Community Partners working together, to promote a safe and drug free communities Rev. Walter Amir Jones Jr.,

Clerk Dorothy Brown

Molina Healthcare Center

Executive Director, Fathers Who Care

State’s Attorney Kim Fox

Yes Chicago

Dawn Ferencak,

CAN-TV

Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive

Secretary, Austin Weekly News

Leaders Network

Behavioral Health Center

Zerlina Smith,

Gone Again Travel

Chicago Public Schools

Treasurer, Increase the Harvest, Inc.

Austin & West Garfield Park Chamber

Sisters of Alpha and Omega

Mrs. Angela Taylor,

of Commerce

Ms Jo-Ann Terrell Stuckney

Co-Chair, Garfield Park

Garfield Park Community Council

Deborah Williams,

Garden Network

West Side Men, Women,

Provision Consulting Services

Co-Chair, Chuck Levy,

Bridge & Parents

Mead Communications

Garfield Park Hospital

West Garfield Park Youth Council

Chicago Police Department,

Congressman Danny K. Davis,

Westside Health Authority

11th, 15th and 25th Districts

Illinois 7th District

Treatment Alternative for Safe

Holsten Human Capitol Development

Senator Kimberly A. Lightford,

Communities (TASC)

Brother Andre Hinton,

Illinois State 4th District

National Guard

Circle Urban Ministries

Senator Patricia Van Pelt,

Grand Blvd. Coalition

NAACP, West Side Branch

Illinois State 5th District

Unity West Coalition

Rose Marie Rodriguez

Representative La Shawn K. Ford,

Chicago Area Project

Mr. Tracy Johnson

Illinois State 8th District

Illinois Liquor Control Commission

Attorney Lewis Myers Jr.

Representative Camille Y. Lilly,

Providence St. Mel School

Ms. Beverly Watts

Illinois State 78th District

United for Better Living

Mr. Richard Davis

Representative Melissa Conyears-Ervin,

Prevention Partnership

Larry Ann Aaron

Illinois State 10th District

Maretta Brown-Miller and Cherry

Rush Medical Center

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Bullock, Chicago Park District

CAN-TV

SAMSHA

Larry Williams, State Farm Insurance

Gone Again Travel

Cook County Justice Advisory Council

Gus Rickette, Uncle Remus

Tilton Park Advisory Council

Alderman Jason Earvin,

Jerry Stender and Raid Bisharit,

Maretta Brown-Miller

28th Ward Alderman

Ice House / Personal Packaging

and Cherry Bullock

Alderman Chris Taliaferio,

Subway

Chicago Park District

ABC Bank

Jerry Stender and Raid Bisharit

New Mt. Pilgrim Church

Ice House / Personal Packaging

Loretto Hospital

Access Community Health Network

Rush Medical Center

Attorney Lewis Myers Jr.

Hartgrove Hospital

Andre Hinton, Circle Urban Ministries

Access Community Health Network

Mr. Richard Davis

29th Ward Alderman Alderman Emma Mitts, 37th Ward Alderman Commissioner Robert Steele, 2nd District Commissioner Richard Boykin, 1st District

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Churches Faith & Deliverance Church of God in Christ 4666 W. Fulton 773-261-2400 www.faithanddeliverance Churchofgodinchrist.com

773-378-6600 fbcchicago.org

Gospel Temple C.O.G.I.C. 3855 W. Harrison St. 773-533-5858

First Church of the Brethren

The Word Works Church

425 S. Central Park Blvd.

773-533-4273 brethren.org/church/6060

4118 W. Division St. 773-486-6300 thewordworkschurch.com

Fraternite Notre Dame

Greater Galilee Baptist Church

502 N. Central Ave. 773-261-0101 fraternitenotredame.org

1308 S. Independence Blvd.

773-521-4330

Friendship Baptist Church 5200 W. Jackson Blvd.

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Rev. Gerald Smith, left, of New Life church in Oak Park, prays during a ceremony in May 2016 near the first purple cross his church planted at 300 N. Central Ave. in Austin.

Great True Vine MB Church

Greater Love Missionary Baptist Church

Greater Rock Missionary Baptist Church

5936 W. Division St. 773-626-3542

5720 W. Fulton 773-921-6750

718 S. Independence Blvd.

773-722-7701

Greater St. John Bible Church 1256 N. Waller 773-378-3300 gsjbchurch.org

2017 Calendar Celebrating Seniors Week May 18, 2017 to May 25, 2017 Fall Community Meeting October 17, 2017 at 7pm Interfaith Thanksgiving Service November 17, 2017 at 7pm Unity Temple The Community of Congregations brings people of diverse faiths together to build relationships while working together to better our wider community. We seek to support the most vulnerable in our community and find opportunities to engage, support and learn from the Austin community. We also rally together to affirm religious liberty and promote compassion and equity in human relations. Interested in learning more about our efforts?

Please visit our website www.communityofcongregations.org or email oprfcoc@gmail.com 14 | austinweeklynews.com

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Churches

Greater St. John M.B. Church

Mt. Vernon Baptist Church

310 S. Kostner Ave.

2622 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-826-3064 mtvernonbc.com

Heirs of the Promise 4821 W. Chicago Ave. 773-342-5377 promisechurchchicago.org

Prevention Partnership believes the best way to empower individuals and communities is by helping them to empower themselves.

New Deliverance Church of God in Christ

Helping Hand Missionary Baptist Church 538 N. Lavergne 773-379-4918

Heritage International Christian Church 5312 W. North Ave. 773-237-9600 heritageicc.org

5936 W. Lake Street • Chicago IL 60644 (773) 378‐4195 -Income li -Income may not exceed mits; li may not exceedmits;

5801 W. Augusta Blvd.

773-921-1115

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informatio n vailableupon sst.t. information availableupon reque snt.aavailable informatio upon reque reque

-Income may not exceedmits; li New Greater St. John APARTMENT MB APARTMENT HOMES AVAILABLE HOMES AVAILABLE APARTMENT informatio n available st.

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--Spacio us && One Bedroo m Spacio usStudio Studio One Bedroo m BETH-ANNE RESIDENCES 773-533-2290 -SpaciousStudioBETHEL BETHEL NEW LIFE RESIDENCES &One Bedroo m NEW LIFE APARTMENT HOMES AVAILABLE BETH-ANNE RESIDENCES Spacio us Studio & One Bedroo m Apart m ents NEW LIFE Apart m ents BETH-ANNE RESIDENCES NEW LIFE RE NT AL FEAT URE S A BETHEL NEW LIFE PROPERTY Apartments Apartments PROPERTY A NEW BETHELLIFE NEW PROPERTY LIFE PROPERTY A BETHEL --Planned Activitie s, Exc ursions Planned Activitie s, Exc ursions -Planned ordable Senior Livi ng Activitie s, Exc ursions New Landmark Missionary -Planned Activities, Excursions &&Social Program ss BETHEL Program &Social Social Program -Spacio us Studio s&One Bedroo m BETH-ANNE RESIDENCES NEW LIFE Baptist Church& SocialPrograms --On-s Resident Requirements Apart m ents Resident Requirements ite Ma nagement Mai ntenance Resident Requirements -On-s ite Ma nagement && Mai ntenance On-s ite Ma nagement & Mai ntenance Storage

Living area

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Storage Storage

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Bath

Bath Bath

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Hope Community Advent Christian Church 5900 W. Iowa 773-921-2243 thehopecity.org

Inspirational Deliverance Center Church of God in Christ 647 N. Parkside 773-287-4311 idccogic.org

Entry

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New Life Covenant Church

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Call CallNow! Now! Call Now!

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60651 | tbethanne@bethanneres.com requ iremen tsass mu Eligibility gibility for yourts requ iremen mu st be me . Callfor application.

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.873 .870 3| fax 4952773.378.5000 W.Thomas Thomas | |773 Chicago, Il 60651 | bethanne@bethanneres.com 4952 W. Chicago, bethanne@bethanneres.com | TTY 800.526.0844 773.378.5011 773 .873 .870 3|. fax 773.378.5011 4244 W. Madison St. Rent forthese apartmentsissubsidized 773.378.5000 and si re dents y ba sed on income 773.378.5000 ||pa TTY 800.526.0844 773.378.5011 773-826-4899 iremen ts mustbe me t. Callfor application.

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4952 W. Thomas | Chicago, Il 60651 | bethanne@bethanneres.com .8703| fax 773.378.5011 773.378.5000 | 773 TTY .873 800.526.0844

Mandell United Methodist Church 5000 W. Congress Pkwy.

773-626-3626

Mars Hill Baptist Church 5916 W. Lake St. 773-287-3535

Miracle Center Baptist Church 5634 W. Chicago Ave. 773-287-2525 S I D E

Kitchen Kitchen

New Life Community Church

• Pet Friendly

301 N. Central Ave. 773-378-1255 kbcchicago.org

Bath

-Heat n IRental cluded Re nt • Affordable MustinFeatures be 62Senior or older, unless disabled • Living 1 Bedroom D Bath -Easy Access toCTA Bus-Line s-h -24 Securitin yin Re Heat n In cluded nt Iour cluded Re nt Senior • Living Income not&exceed limits; information available upon request. Living/Dining BedroomDD • Affordable Senior Living ••Affordable Spacious Studio One Bedroom Apartments 11Bedroom Kitchen -AirConditio ning may Rental FeaturesHeat Entry Bath -Easy Acce ss to CTA Bu s Line s Entry •Rental Planned Activities, Excursions & Social Programs • Spacious Studio & One Bedroom Apartments Bath • Spacious Studio & One Bedroom -Heat n I• cluded in Re nt Air Conditio ning Air Conditio ning Entry Features -Central Lau ndry Affordable Senior Living 1 BedroomStorage D Entry On-site Management &Excursions Maintenance& SocialBath Entry -Heat•n I•• cluded in Re ntActivities, Planned Programs Planned Activities, Excursions Affordable Senior Living Bath 1 Bedroom D Bath Storage Entry Entry • Spacious Studio &••rLau One Apartments --Central nndry -Elevato Central Lau dryBedroom -AirConditio ning Active Resident Committees • Spacious Studio & One Bedroom Apartments Storage • On-site Management & Maintenance Storage -AirConditio ning •• On-site Management & Maintenance Entry Bedroom Bath 200 N. Oak Park Ave Kitchen Bath Easy to& Bus Lines Kitchen Entry • Planned Activities, Excursions Programs -Commu BusAccess forShoppi nCTA gSocial Bath Planned Activities, Excursions & Social Programs Storage Bath --Elevato Elevato Entry •r•r••nity Active Resident Committees Active Resident Committees Entry Central Lau n dry -Central Lau n dry Heat Included in Rent and Exc 773-417-9881 Storage •ursions On-site Management & Maintenance Storage • On-site Management & Maintenance Bath Bedroom Bedroom Kitchen Kitchen ••nity Access to CTA Easy Access tonn CTA Bus Lines Lines Storage Bath Kitchen •• Attractive Grounds --Commu B us for Shoppi gg Bus Commu nity Bus for Shoppi Elevato rEasy Active Resident Storage newlifechicago.org --Active Re side nt Commitee s Committees Living/Dining

mynewlife.org

Kingdom Baptist Church

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Storage

Bedroom

Bath A disabled BETHEL NEW LIFE PROPERTY Entry Must be 62 oror older, unless Requirements •••Securit Must be 62 older, unless disabled Management &-24 Mai ntenance Planned Activitie s, Exc ursions Must 62 or older, unless 2700 W. Wilcox St -On-siteResident --24 -h our yyybe -h our Securit -24 -h our Securit •Income Income may not exceed limits; information availableavailable upon request. & Social Program s • may not exceed limits; information upon request.

• Must be 62 or older, unless disabled Living/Dining • Income may not exceed limits; request. Living/Dining Entry 773-733-7555 -24-hour Security Entry -Easy Access toCTA Bus Lines Bath --Easy Acce ss to Bu Line ss Bath Resident Requirements Easy Acce ssnagement toCTA CTA Bu Line Features -On-s iteRental Ma &ssMai ntenance • Income may not exceed limits; information available upon request.

Living/Dining Kitchen Rental Features Entry Living area

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Living Living area area

New Moriah Baptist Church 1501 N. Harding Ave. 773-278-8923

New Mount Pilgrim MB Church 4301 W. Washington Blvd.

773-287-5051

New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church 208 S. Hamlin 773-826-3410 nmschurch.org A N S W E R

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Not Listed?

We do our best to be inclusive of organizations serving Chicago's West Side. If your business falls within one of our categories and we missed you, please send an email to Dawn@AustinWeeklyNews.com with your business name, address, phone number, website and 2 sentences which outline your services.

austinweeklynews.com | 15

Churches New Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church 415 N. Central Ave. 773-287-0345

Original Providence Baptist Church 515 N. Pine 773-378-5678

St. Francis of Assisi Church 932 N. Kostner Ave. 773-235-3132

Paradise Missionary Baptist Church 5250 W. Kinzie 773-379-2507

Peaceful New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church 345 S. Cicero Ave. 773-626-2114

People’s Church of the Harvest 3570 W. Fifth Avenue 773-533-6877 peopleschurchoftheharvest.com

Pleasant Ridge MB Church 116 S. Central Ave. 773-379-2335

Church on the Block Church of the Nazarene 500 N. Laramie 773-921-4673 ontheblock.us

Redeemer Church 6740 W. North Ave. 773-417-2399 redeemerchicago.com

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Greater St. John Bible Church in Austin, 1256 N. Waller Ave., was one of more than 29,000 churches across the country that participated in National Back to Church Sunday in September 2016. Above, Greater St. John congregants enjoy the sounds of the church’s children’s choir.

Rhema Word Church 5460 W. Ohio 773-378-4327 rhemawordchurch.org

Rising Sun M.B. Church 820 N. Central Ave. 773-921-0744

Rose of Sharon Community Baptist Church

Soul Saving Missionary Baptist Church 4922 W. Division St. 773-287-5682

St. Mark International Christian Church 832 N. Leclaire Ave. 773-378-4601

St. Paul Lutheran Church

4256 W. Walton St. 773-227-7993

846 N. Menard 773-378-6644 stpaulaustin.com

Sisters of Providence

St. Stephen AME

1540 N. Monticello Ave. 773-235-6202

3042 W. Washington Blvd.

773-826-7009

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Third Unitarian Church 301 N. Mayfield 773-626-9385 thirdunitarianchurch.org

Three Crosses of Calvary

3 S. Laramie Ave. 773-626-3800 tdim.org

Universal Missionary Baptist Church

4445 W. Madison 773-378-0998

Trinity Community Missionary Baptist Church 1210 N. Waller 773-379-4911 2 0 1 7

Truth & Deliverance International Ministries

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535 N. Cicero Ave. 773-287-7128

Way of Life Church International 4635 W. Fulton 773-378-1788 wayoflifechurchinternational.org S I D E

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Fathers Who CareCare is a non-profit Fathers Who

organization that promotes a myriad of programs and initiatives supporting the wellness and development of responsible fathers, families and youth initiatives within the West Garfield Park community.

FWC is the lead agency for the Illinois Violence Prevention Initiative to address violence prevention through its Safety Net Works Program. FWC colloboratively works with community based organizations, youth advocates, law enforcement, public servants, faithbased and educational institutions to identify and mobilize local resources and community participation to achieve violence prevention and youth development strategies Community residents are invited to join the West Garfield Park Stakeholder's coalition meeting to address ways to make our community a "Violence-Free Zone."

Who We Are Fathers Who Care Safety Net Works Youth Leadership Council engages their peers in leadership development, violence prevention activities and events as well as promotes non-violence lifestyles through a variety of ways.

• Weekly Youth Council Meetings every Monday at 4:30pm • Youth-Led Community Events, Community Healing, Youth Townhalls & Summits • Youth leadership committees tackling issues, strategies and fundraising opportunities for their community.

Fathers Who Care | 4540 W. Washington Blvd.

Chicago, IL 60624 | (773) 287-5821 Fax: (773) 287-5853 email: info@fatherswhocare.org

• Youth-Led weekly CAN-TV Show on Channel 21 • Recreational Activities • Youth College Tours & Scholarships

OFFICE LOCATION OFFICE LOCATION

OFFICE HOURS* OFFICE HOURS*

4924 W. Chicago Ave. MONDAY

5344 W. North Avenue Chicago, IllinoisMONDAY: 60651

Chicago, Illinois 60639 379-0960

Office Phone: (773)

Office Fax:(773) Office Phone: (773) 745‐2894 379-0966

Office Fax: (773) 745‐3749 TUESDAY

Email:emitts@cityofchicago.org Email: emitts@cityofchicago.org Facebook:WEDNESDAY Facebook: www.facebook.com/EmmaMittsAld37 THURSDAY www.facebook.com/EmmaMittsAld37 FRIDAY

SATURDAY

MONDAY: Ward Night

9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.

Ward Night No Appointment Necessary 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. Doors close at 7:00P.M.

No Appointment Necessary

Doors close at 7:00 P.M. TUESDAY 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

WEDNESDAY 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

THURSDAY 9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. FRIDAY 9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

9:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

SATURDAY 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

City Observed Holidays! *Except 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

“UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY” *Except City Observed Holidays!

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Community Groups

An Austin garden changes minds

A

Mercy Housing’s garden on West Quincy Street was cultivated by youths, who sold the produce to a North Side meal company

sar Hapi, 71, was loading a raised garden bed with a wheelbarrow full of organic soil when he learned that 10-year-old Jerrell Scott wasn’t very fond of squash.

“You don’t eat squash?”

Hapi asked incredulously as his wife Natchura, 71, looked on with a wide smile, mildly shocked herself.

“That’s because you haven’t had any of ours,” said Asar.

“We’ve got squash that takes so good you’ll be asking for more.

You haven’t tasted it right.”

The Hapis, of Oak Park, and Scott, of Garfield Park, were two of more than 20 volunteers who converged on a plot of land in the 4900 block of West Quincy in Austin last May to plant lettuce, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and other fresh, organic produce in an area known for its concentration of grocery stores stocked with cheap, processed food.

“The garden is where produce is and produce is what’s vital,” said Hapi, a holistic doctor and a pioneer of Egyptian Yoga who said he’s helped rehab the careers of athletes like Chicago Bear legend Richard Dent with his proven breathing techniques and emphasis on a gardenbased diet.

“The problem is that we’re not staying close to the garden, we’re staying close to the grocery store. Most of the food we eat is processed. You eat that and sure enough you’re going to have some health issues.

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Tyrese Richardson, a Mercy Housing resident, volunteers in an urban garden owned by the nonprofit in Austin in May 2016. Youth participants of Mercy’s summer programming grew food that they sold to the North Side meal company Kitchfix. What the kids didn’t sell they gave to Mercy Housing residents.

So, the more connected to the earth we are, the better.”

Considered in Hapi’s terms, the garden on West Quincy Street is like connected tissue grafted onto a patient in recovery. It sits between two large, multiunit apartment buildings owned by Mercy Housing — which also owns and operates several other properties up and down the street.

Mercy, a national nonprofit headquartered in Denver,

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Colorado, has developed, preserved and financed more than 48,000 affordable homes to low-income families since its founding in the early 1980s, according to a statement on its website.

The organization’s Chicago branch has controlled the vacant land on West Quincy Street for more than a decade, said Felix Matlock, Mercy’s regional vice president for resident services. Matlock 2 0 1 7

said the nonprofit NeighborSpace, a community garden land trust, owns the vacant land and leases it to Mercy for about $1 each year.

Last summer, the 24 raised garden beds on the site will become part of Mercy Housing’s afterschool and summer programing for children, said Dominique Davis, a resident services education coordinator with Mercy and the garden’s manager.

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Community Groups AAABNA

Austin Green Team Austin Weekly News’ West Side Mary Peery 6640 W. Belden Ave. Business Network

5820 W. Chicago Ave. 773-626-4497 aaabna.org

773-637-6804

After School Matters

Austin Peace Corner

66 E. Randolph 312-742-4182 afterschoolmatters.org

Austin Chamber of Commerce 645 S. Central Ave. 773-854-5848 austinchicagochamber.com

Austin Coming Together 5049 W. Harrison St. 773-417-8612 austincomingtogether.org

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Dawn Ferencak, Founder 708-613-3329 austinweeklynews.com/ WSBN

S I D E

5022 W. Madison St. 773-261-5330 thepeacecorner.org

Bethel New Life

BUILD, Inc. 5100 W. Harrison St. 773-227-2880 buildchicago.org

By the Hand Club

4950 W. Thomas 773-473-7870 bethelnewlife.org

415 N. Laramie Ave. 312-305-2622 bythehand.org

Breakthrough

Ceasefire

3330 W. Carroll 773-722-0179 breakthrough.org

1603 W. Taylor St. 312-996-8775 cureviolence.org

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WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Deondre Rutues, an Austin native, wants to cleanup the West Side one showcase at a time.

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Community Groups Central Austin Neighborhood Association

Cook County Bar Association Foundation 19 S. LaSalle St. Ste. 702 312-630-1157 cookcountybar.org

P.O Box 531 Oak Park, IL 60303 312-952-4983 cana16.com

Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance

Change 4 Children Inc.

300 N. Central Park Ave. 312-746-5100 garfieldconservatory.org

6409 S. Ashland Ave. 773-456-5465 change4childreninc.org

Garfield Park Little Chicago Westside NAACP League WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Marshawn Fort experiments on a harmonica someone gave him inside Freedom Square, the protest camp that was setup last summer across the street from the Chicago Police Department’s Homan Square facility.

5820 W. Chicago Ave. 773-261-5890 illinoisnaacp.org/chicagowestside

3700 W. Jackson Ave. 773-443-2746 www.gpleague.org

Cluster Tutoring

Goodcity

5460 W. Augusta Blvd.

773-378-5530 clustertutoring.org

1550 South State St., Suite 100 773-850-0354 goodcitychicago.org

Gone Again Travel & Tours Creating Custom Itineraries for Individuals and Groups since 1999 DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL PACKAGES Contact Crystal Dyer and her team to help you stress less, travel more!

All Inclusive Vacations Cruises Honeymoons Weddingmoons Certified Sandals and Beaches Specialist

Now Open at 5940 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60651 773.417.8808 • www.goneagaintravel.com LIKE US on FACEBOOK & WIN! 20 | austinweeklynews.com

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COME WATCH A GAME!!!

Registration Packets are available to print out online via

GPLEAGUE.ORG We invite the community out to watch a few games at Garfield Park, Columbus Park and UIC Curtis Granderson Stadium.

For more information call Frank Brim, Director of Development at 773.443.2746

PROGRAMS AVAILABLE INCLUDE

Elementary Tutoring, Mentoring, Team and Individual Skills Training Competitive Travel Program and ACT Prep FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT GARFIELD PARK AT: email: garfieldparkbaseball@gmail.com • 773.443.2746 or 773.225.9103

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT GPLEAGUE.ORG

ALL REGISTRATIONS WILL BE HELD AT Homan Square Park District • 3559 W. Arthington 2 0 1 7

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Community Groups Greater Austin Development Association P.O. Box 1061 Oak Park, IL 60304 708-397-6621 chicagoaustin.com

The Leaders Network 312-834-7372 leadersnetworkchicago.org

Mead Communications 708-764-0000 Email: Bob@meadcomm.com meadcomm.com

Monroe Foundation 1547 S. Wolf Rd., Hillside, IL 773-315-9720 themonroefoundation.org

Off the Street Club 25 N. Karlov Ave. 773-533-3253 offthestreetclub.com

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Last summer, the social service nonprofit BUILD Chicago hosted an event called ‘Hoops in the Hood,’ which included a day of basketball games and a rally held to promote peace in the neighborhood.

The Prevention Partnership, Inc. 5936 W. Lake St. 773-378-4195 preventionpartnership.org

Sankofa Safe Child Initiative 4041 W. Roosevelt Rd. 773-542-9900

South Austin Coalition Community Council 5071 W. Congress Pkwy.

312-743-1543 WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Participants in BUILD’s rally march through the streets last summer to promote peace. According to the organization’s website, “BUILD’s programs are designed to meet both the immediate problem of preventing at-risk youth from joining gangs as well as working with gang-involved youth to develop alternatives to this destructive lifestyle.”

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West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders Reverend Walter Jones 4540 W. Washington Blvd.

773-287-5821 fatherswhocare.org 2 0 1 7

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West Garfield Park Renaissance Corporation 4223 W. Lake St., #350 312-285-6369

Westside Health Authority 5417 W. Division St. 773-378-1878 healthauthority.org

Introspect Youth Services, Inc. 430 N. Cicero Ave. 773-287-2290 introspectyouth.org

Youth Guidance 1 N. LaSalle St. Ste. 900 312-253-4900 youth-guidance.org S I D E

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Financial Institutions To build financial wealth, build good neighbors, says nonprofit

M

West Side Health Authority looks to develop young people, one block at a time

atthew J. Rice greeted customers eagerly behind a foldable table festooned with what he calls novelty nuts — small mementos he makes by hand from small slabs of wood and found objects like walnuts and plastic toys.

The 8-year-old entrepreneur sold his wares and handed out his business cards during the Westside Health Authority’s Octoberfest last summer, held in the parking lot of the organization’s Wellness Center at 4800 W. Chicago Ave. Rice has sold more than $250 worth of the novelty nuts, said his great-grandmother LaAndrea Turner, 71, a prison evangelist and a co-founder, along with her daughter Yvette McKinnie, of Life Changing Community Outreach.

Rice, who his great-grandmother said counts an FBI agent and a teacher among his clientele, is part of Life Changing’s young entrepreneurs program.

“My motto for novelty nuts is, ‘If they’re crazy about it, we can make it,’” said Rice, who lives on the West Side and attends CICS West Belden, a charter school in BelmontCragin.

Rice and his great-grandmother are the embodiment of the Westside Health Authority’s Good Neighbors Campaign, a collaboration between

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Mathew Rice, 8, sells his novelty nuts last summer during the Westside Health Authority’s Octoberfest in Austin. clergy and local stakeholders eager to reduce violence and increase economic development opportunities for the West Side.

The campaign officially launched last October during a press conference outside of the shuttered Emmitt Elementary School, 5500 W. Madison St. The conference was attended by 100 people, including Morris Reed, CEO of the West Side Health Authority.

“We must connect with one another and build better communities one block at a time,”

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said Reed. “It is important that we support this effort to build a better community and to make living on the West Side great.”

One longtime Austin resident and social activist, Lillian Drummond, 95, spoke at the press conference and told the crowd that even though she was running late for work she wanted to make an appeal to help youths find employment.

“I have been living in Austin for over 50 years and I am 95 years-old. I am concerned about the disinvestment in our community,” said Drummond.

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“But I have faith that together we can make a difference especially for our young people.”

The campaign illustrates that not all institutions that deliver economic empowerment are financial; they can also be based in the community.

“To have a paid program is one thing, but to have people on the block invested in their communities — that’s laying down the infrastructure for society,” said Jacqueline Reed, WHA’s founder.

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— By Wendell Hutson S I D E

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Committed to the community Committed to the community

Since 1943, we’ve maintained the belief that a strong, trustworthy bank is imperative to the well-being of the community. Our focus has been to expand relationships by providing reliable and innovative Since 1943, maintained the and beliefbusinesses. that a strong, trustworthy products andwe’ve services to families bank is imperative to the well-being of the community. Our focus has been checking to expand and relationships by providing andmortgage innovative and From online banking, to reliable personal, products and services to families and businesses.

business loans, you can count on us. We’re your dependable resource, committed to preparing you financially for the future.

From checking and online banking, to personal, mortgage and business loans, you can count on us. We’re your dependable resource, committed to preparing you financially for the future.

7348 West Madison Street 7331 West Roosevelt Road

7348 West Madison Street 708-222-2800 forestparkbank.com 7331 West Roosevelt| Road 708-222-2800 | forestparkbank.com MEMBER FDIC MEMBER FDIC

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Financial Institutions ABC Bank

Liberty Bank

5645 W. Lake St. 773-854-2900 6400 W. North Ave 773-804-3600 abcbank.net

1111 S. Homan Ave 773-533-6900 libertybank.net

PNC Bank 2154 W. Madison St. 312-850-2670 pnc.com

Access Credit Union 404 Lathrop, River Forest, IL 708-343-0228 access-cu.com

U.S. Bank

4959 W. North Ave. 773-252-2440 bmoharris.com

5201 W. Madison St. 773-854-0670 310 N. Pulaski Rd. 773-826-2070 6011 W. North Ave. Oak Park 708-386-4308 usbank.com

Chase Bank

Wintrust Bank

4440 W. North Ave 773-489-0992 chase.com

2 N. Western Ave. 312-837-4542 wintrust.com

BMO Harris Bank

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union 4909 W. Division St 312-236-2326 cmecuonline.org

U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (7th), experience Google Cardboard viewers, which take wearers on a wraparound 3-D trip of virtual reality. Davis hosted a youth tech summit last June at Google’s new Chicago headquarters in the West Loop.

You’re not just banking with a BANK, you’re banking with PEOPLE!

Business Banking Personal Banking Commercial Lending Mortgage Lending

Contact Us Today!

773.804.3600 | 6400 W. North Ave | Chicago, IL www.abcbank.net 2 0 1 7

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NMLS#193697

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Government Police, residents unite to tackle crime The 15th District Austin Mobilization Team is designed to engage the community in crime-fighting

C

hicago police officers from the 15th District recently organized a block canvass with local clergy and community leaders to bring awareness to continued gun violence in Austin.

After initially meeting at the Helping Hand Church, 538 N. Lavergne Ave., the 15th District’s Austin Mobilization Team hit the street knocking on doors and speaking with residents about their concerns.

The goal of the April 2017 event, said police officer Tonya Collins, was to get residents more involved with police to help combat shootings in Austin.

“This is our second block canvass and we’re going to be conducting block canvasses all summer and up until the fall,” said Collins, a CAPS (Chicago Alternative Police Strategy) member. “We hope to have our next canvass in May and plan to target locations that have a lot of shootings and other different public violence in the area.”

She added that to achieve this goal police officers must build trust with residents.

“If we’re going to work together we have to be able to trust one another and that

WENDELL HUTSON/Contributor

Chicago police officers from the 15th District join volunteers from the Good Neighbor Campaign during an April 2017 block canvassing in Austin to bring awareness to rising gun violence on the West Side. is something CAPS is constantly working towards,” said Collins, who argued that one contributing factor to violence in Austin is curfew.

In Chicago, the curfew law states that minors 16 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult in public after 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“We have a lot of activities that contribute to violence and curfew is one of them. Minors should be in the presence of a parent and that’s not happening,” explained Collins. “Unfortunately, a lot of our crime takes place at night after curfew and it usually involves

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juveniles.”

Another contributing factor to rising crime in Austin is young, single mothers raising boys, said Rev. Rosetta Dotson, a volunteer with the Good Neighbor Campaign in Austin.

“Too many babies are having too many babies,” said Dotson. “I know a young mother, who is 22-years-old and raising five kids with no help from the father.”

Dotson said along with young mothers, who often have weak parenting skills, a lack of jobs and drugs are other reasons why so much crime is taking place in Austin.

“Parenting skills need to be taught to these young mothers 2 0 1 7

between 18 and 24-years-old.

But beyond that the community still needs jobs and more drug prevention programs,” said Dotson. “Otherwise, you can expect the same result year after year.”

As volunteers marched down the block urging residents to get involved, one resident said she came outside after hearing the group praying.

“I was in my kitchen when I heard someone on a bullhorn praying. It moved me so much that came outside to see what was going on,” said Sharon Hodges, 53.

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Government Ald. Michael Scott, Jr., 24th Ward

Austin-15th Police District 5701 W. Madison Ave. 312-743-1440 chicagopolice.org

1158 S. Keeler 773-533-2400 aldermanscott.com

Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th Ward 2602 W. 16th St. 773-533-0900 aldermanervin.com

Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th Ward 6272 North Ave. 773-237-6460 cityofchicago.org/ward29

Harrison-11th Police District 3151 W. Harrison St. 312-746-8386 chicagopolice.org

Grand Central-25th Police District 5555 W. Grand Ave Chicago 312-746-8605 chicagopolice.org

Ald. Emma Mitts, 37th Ward

Dorothy Brown, Cook County, Clerk of the Circuit Court

4924 W. Chicago Ave. 773-379-0960 cityofchicago.org/ward37

50 W. Washington St., Rm. 1001 312-603-5031 cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, second from right, with students from DePriest during a tour through Austin in September 2016.

Richard Boykin, Cook County Commissioner-1st District 7221 W. Madison, Forest Park 312-603-4566 richardrboykin.com

Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President 118 N. Clark St.

312-603-6400 cookcountyil.gov/person/toni-preckwinkle

Rahm Emanuel, Mayor 121 N. LaSalle St., 4th Floor 312-744-3334 cityofchicago.org

Senator Don Harmon

Representative Camille Lilly

(708) 848-2002 harmon@senatedem.illinois.gov

(708) 613-5939 staterepcamilleylilly@gmail.com

6941-B W. North Avenue • Oak Park, Illinois 60302

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WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

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6937 W. North Ave. • Chicago, Illinois 6065

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Government

Chicago Police Department

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, 8th District

15TH DISTRICT DAC SUBCOMMITTEES

4800 W. Chicago Ave. 773-378-5902 lashawnkford.com

State Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin, 10th District

Business Court Advocates Domestic Violence

115 N. Damen Ave 773-417-1020 www.conyearservin.com

Faith Based Seniors Youth

TOGETHER WE CAN

State Rep. Camille Lilly, 78th District 5755 W. Division 773-473-7300 staterepresentativecamilleylilly.com

15th District C.A.P.S. Office 5701 W. Madison St. • 312-743-1495 CAPS015District@chicagopolice.org Twitter: @chicagoCAPS15

Rep. Arthur Turner, 9th District 3849 W. Ogden Ave. Suite B 773-277-4700 friendsforturner.com

State Sen. Don Harmon, 39th District

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Michael Scott Jr alderman of the 24th Ward throws the first pitch in Lawndale on July 14, 2016.

6941 –B W. North Ave. 708-848-2002 donharmon.org

Karen A. Yarbrough, Cook County Recorder of Deeds

State Sen. Attorney Kimberly Lightford, General Lisa 4th District Madigan

118 N. Clark 312-603-5050 cookrecorder.com

10330 W. Roosevelt Rd. Suite 308 Westchester 708-343-7444 senatorlightford.com

100 W. Randolph St. 312-814-3000 illinoisattorneygeneral. gov

Cook County Office of Adult Probation

Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney

U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, 7th District

69 W. Washington 312-603-0258 cookcountycourt.org

69 W. Washington, 312-603-1880 statesattorney.org

2813-15 W. 5th Ave 773-533-7520 davis.house.gov

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Jay Friedman, Music Director (Illinois Council of Orchestras 2017 Conductor of the Year) Maurice Boyer, Assistant Conductor

2017-18 Season October 8 • Tchaikovsky Spectacular December 10 • Bach to Bach February 11 • Folk Tales June 10 • Nature’s Realm Monday, April 23 Symphony Center Chicago Carmina Burana

www.SymphonyOPRF.com theSymphonyOPRF@gmail.com 708.218.2648 • PO Box 3564, Oak Park, IL 60303

austinweeklynews.com | 31

Loretto Hospital’s A Division of Loretto Hospital’s Behavioral Health Services 5524 W. Harrison St. ▪ Chicago, IL 60644 ▪ www.lorettohospital.org



We conduct psychiatric care and supervision of medication.



We have individual, family and group therapy/counseling.

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We provide dual diagnosis treatment for persons experiencing difficulty with psychiatric disorders and substance abuse.

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We have after care services for patients who are discharged from state-operated facilities.

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Our case management provides assistance with finances, housing, medical care and coordination with other providers in the community.

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Our programs are fully accredited and covered by most insurance programs Including Medicaid and Medicare.

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We are conveniently located off of I-290 (at Central Avenue).

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Patient Transportation Available.

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Health Old County Hospital rehab could be boon to West Side

The project could take up to 15 years and cost upwards of $550 million

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plan to rehabilitate the historic old Cook County Hospital on the Near West Side was approved overwhelmingly last May by the 17-member Cook County Board of Commissioners.

The county plans to turn the 102-year-old hospital into a mixed-use complex that would include retail establishments, apartments, restaurants and a hotel. It’s the first phase in a comprehensive four-part plan to transform more than a dozen acres of county-owned land in the Illinois Medical District into an additional hotel, parking decks and a new medical research center, among other developments.

The whole plan would take up to 15 years and cost between $550 million and $700 million, commissioners noted. That money would come from private developers like MB Real Estate Services, the development team the county hired to steer the project.

The county, which has spent more than $3 million on the project’s planning phase, could pay up to $5 million on environmental remediation efforts at the site. The county would lease its land and the buildings to MB Real Estate for $520,000 a year, rental costs that could increase to $2 million once the entire development is finished.

The life of the lease is 99 years and includes two 25-year re-

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Courtesy Cook CountyBoard of Commissioners

A rendering of the four-phase redevelopment project for Cook County’s central medical campus, which could cost upwards of $550 million in private funds to complete. newal options.

The plan — construction for which could begin next year, with the first phase completed by 2018 — is projected to create at least 5,000 temporary jobs and permanent jobs. The development agreement calls for contractors and subcontractors to collaborate with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to realize a series of local hiring goals.

Those goals include that at least 50 percent of total hours worked on each phase be performed by Cook County residents and that 7.5 percent of the total hours worked over

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the project’s four phases be performed by residents within a three-mile radius surrounding the project area.

Some critics of the plan, such as Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st), whose district includes Austin and other areas of the West Side, argue that the project should be accompanied by a strong community benefits agreement.

Boykin recommended a goal of 30 percent, instead of 7.5 percent, of total hours to be performed by residents and advocated that the project area be extended to include the entire

West Side, particularly the 29th and 37th Wards.

In addition, Boykin wanted priority hiring to go to exoffenders, who are concentrated in places like Austin, and for the community benefits agreement’s hiring goals to be binding.

Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (7th), among other county officials, noted that the rehabilitation has been in the works for years and won’t be a panacea for the West Side.

They also noted that the plan will include local hires, but that residents shouldn’t consider it a jobs plan.

austinweeklynews.com | 33

Health Advocate Health Care Oak Park 6434 W. North Ave. 773-836-3000

American Lung Association of Illinois Greater Chicago 55 W. Wacker Dr., Suite 800 312-781-1100 lungum.org

Fresenius Medical Care- West Suburban Dialysis Center

1400 S. Austin Blvd. in Cicero, IL 708-329-4022 catholiccharities.net

518 N. Austin Blvd., 5th floor in Oak Park, IL 708-386-5550 ultracare-dialysis.com

Circle Family Healthcare Network

Louise Landau Health Center

5002 W. Madison St. 773-379-1000 cfhcn.org

Austin Peoples Action Center 5125 W. Chicago Ave. 773-921-2121 http://austinpeoplesactioncenter.org/

Boycin Medical Clinic 5219 W. Madison St. 773-378-4823

Catholic Charities West Regional Services

Habilitative Systems, Inc. 415 S. Kilpatrick 773-261-2252 habilitative.org

773-242-2299 oakstreethealth.com

PCC Austin Family Health Center

Loretto Hospital

5425 W. Lake St 773-378-3347 pccwellness.org

645 S. Central Ave. 773-626-4300 lorettohospital.org

PCC Lake St. Family Health Center

800 N. Kedzie 773-826-3450 nearnorthhealth.org

Loretto Hospital Ambulatory Care Center (Outpatient Center)

Norwegian American Hospital

645 S. Central Ave. 773-854-5475 lorettohospital.org

1044 N. Francisco Ave. 773-292-8200 nahospital.org

IWS Children’s Clinic

Oak Street Health

320 Lake Street in Oak Park, IL 708-848-0528 ChildrensCliniciws.org

18 Chicago Ave, Oak Park 773-253-3933 3433 W. Madison, Chicago

14 W. Lake St., Oak Park 708-383-0113 pccwellness.org

PCC Community Wellness Center At Loretto Hospital 645 S Central Ave Suite 600 Phone: 773-537-0020 pccwellness.org

Loretto HospitalJames D. Montgomery PCC South Family Men’s Health Program Health Center 645 S. Central Ave. 773-854-5475 lorettohospital.org

6201 W. Roosevelt Rd, Berwyn 708-386-0845 pccwellness.org

Ambulatory Care Clinic PCC Community Wellness Center and Austin Outpatient Pharmacy also on site.

SERVICES: Primary Care Services (773) 854-5475 One of the best allies you can have for maintaining good health is a doctor who knows you and your medical history. At Loretto Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Clinic, our highly trained doctors and staff take the time to get to know each patient so that we can deliver the best individualized care and attention.

Our patients also have access to on-site diagnostic testing and transportation services making their visits easier and more convenient.

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation (773) 854-5580 Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging (773) 854-5220 Laboratory (773) 854-5250 Outpatient Behavioral Health Center (773) 854-5290

For more information about Loretto Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Clinic or for a complete list of services visit lorettohospital.org.

To make your appointment call (773) 854-5475

Walk-ins welcome!

Loretto Hospital • 645 S. Central Ave. Chicago, IL 60644 • (773) 626-4300

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Make ACCESS Austin Your Health Care Home.

Quality care right in your neighborhood

Hours of Operation:

Our Services:

Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• Behavioral Health • Benefits Counseling

Location: 4909 W. Division, Suite 508 Chicago, IL 60651

• Buprenorphine Treatment Services • Care Coordination • Family Medicine

Same day appointments available

• School Physicals and Immunizations

773.364.4600

• Primary Care

Schedule your appointment today.

This material was paid for by the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration through grant number H80CS00834.

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Street Beat

You talked, we listened SAM GAUSE, A HOOPER AT HEART

DAMON WILLIAMS, ON FREEDOM SQUARE Every day we talk about freedom, about creating a world without police and what that means. We’re trying to build systems and protocols and practices of how to engage with each other in more loving and less violent ways.

We want to figure out new ways to deal with harm and to prevent harm, because we want a world without police.

But in order to make that happen, we have to be unified and we have to have solutions on how we deal with violence and harm. We need to be less violent.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that we, as in black people, are the source of the violence. Black people are the victims of structural and militaristic violence that far exceeds what you hear in a drill song. I want to make sure that that narrative is not being reinforced — that we’re the violent ones.

36 | austinweeklynews.com

I grew up playing basketball, baseball, softball, football. We played everything. I went to Howe Grammar School, where I played basketball. Then I went to Prosser Vocational and started at point guard and wide receiver.

The basketball circuit, when I was a young teenager, was really important in teaching us how to work with each other and things of that nature. It was really important.

I was on a team called the Court Masters and my coach was Henry Cotton.

There was also a team from the Emmet School area called the Wolf Park and we always played against each other in different tournaments.

I had a chance to be part of a city championship team called the Columbus Park All-Stars. It was the best players from each team in this tournament and we played other teams from different parks throughout the Chicago Park District.

LAANDREA TURNER, PREACHES LOVE I’ve been in Austin since 1979. I was the third American — I don’t call myself African American — who moved on my block. I’ve seen the change. The good, the bad, the ugly. And I’ve seen the falloff, where neighbors don’t know the person next door, anymore. There’s no more involvement.

When I first moved here, I lived surrounded by Caucasians. When my son graduated from grammar school, they told me he had to go to Austin. They said it was the district school for us, but I wouldn’t accept it. I went around and asked different people where their kids were going to school at and they were going to different places.

My son was the 20th African American to go to Foreman High School. Every day, we would have to pick him up in the back of the school, because there would be a mob out front. There was so much hate.

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RAHM EMANUEL, HIS GRANDFATHER’S CHILD

LATASHA PARCHMAN, CHURCH GIRL My life changed on Aug. 29, 1999. That’s when I rejoined the Mount Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 2625 W. Ogden Ave., where my pastor is Rev. Larry L. Branch, Sr. I have a strong passion for people and for helping them, and helping my community.

When you see a dying community like Lawndale, it’s about what you can do, what type of strategic planning and redevelopment you can bring to your community.

It’s about how you can develop people.

I’m a great example. I didn’t graduate high school. It wasn’t until I got back into the church that I [got my GED] and received my associate’s degree. Then, I went and got my bachelor’s degree and three master’s. I’m working on my doctorate degree now.

But before I got back into church, I couldn’t accomplish anything. My life was depressed. I was having babies. I wanted to give up sometimes.

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GLENN JOHNSON, CLEAN AFTER 40 YEARS I was on drugs (heroin, cocaine and some alcohol here and there) for almost 40 years and when I got through I was completely blind, crippled and crazy. I’m still a little crazy [laughing]. The first 10 years of using drugs were fun, but the last 30 were horrible.

Horrible. You lose everything — your family, jobs, loved ones, friends, selfdignity, self-worth.

It’s kind of hard being a dope fiend when you’re blind, cripple and crazy.

I got tired of smoking my finger. I just didn’t have any more to give. I had given everything I had to it. I had nobody left, had ripped up everything you can rip up in life that’s good.

In June 2010, I went into drug treatment and got into a halfway house.

They closed that down and from there, I went into this homeless shelter called the Boulevard. I was there for about seven or eight months. That placed turned out to be a blessing in my life.

My grandfather was somebody who firmly believed that this city gave him a chance. And I believe it gave me a chance.

When I was growing up, my mother and my father hung on the wall the passports of my grandmother and my two great aunts and the purses they brought with them to America. And there were pictures from my father’s family and my mother’s family of relatives who never made it to America.

So, when you were watching TV or just hanging out in the family room, your relatives who died in the Holocaust or the pogroms stared at you. Let me tell you, nothing is subtle in a Jewish family [laughter]. And it was my parents’ way of saying, “If you’re lucky and you got to this great country, you have to give something back.” That’s what’s driven me in my life.

austinweeklynews.com | 37

At Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago, our mission is simple: deliver world-class care to children who need it most – regardless of their ability to pay.

For over 90 years, thousands of families with children affected by orthopaedic conditions, cleft lip and palate, spinal cord injury, and rehabilitation needs have come through our doors with hopes of finding the very best pediatric specialty care. Under our roof, those hopes are answered every day — by physicians, nurses, and specialists using the latest technology, innovative research, and a collaborative, family-centered approach. It’s how the 22 Shriners Hospital locations provided care to over 127,000 children last year alone.

facebook.com/shrinerschicago twitter.com/shrinerschicago shrinerschicago.org

We’re in your neighborhood.

If you know a child who needs expert specialty care, call:

Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago

773-385-KIDS (5437)

2211 N. Oak Park Ave., Chicago, IL 60707 (Five blocks north of North Ave.)

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Health

Questions about Pregnancy?

Discover your options for childbirth at PCC Certified Nurse-Midwives, Family Medicine Physicians, and OB/GYNs

Ask about out-of-hospital delivery at the Birth Center at PCC, the only freestanding birth center in the Chicagoland area!

Free Pregnancy Tests Family Planning Free Childbirth Education Hospital and Out-of-Hospital Delivery Natural Birth & Pain Medicated Birth Water Birth VBAC

Delivery and Care at Birth Center at PCC • Berwyn West Suburban Medical Center • Oak Park

SEBASTIAN HIDALGO/Staff Photographer

A young girl participates in a yoga exercise offered by A House in Austin, a new nonprofit designed to offer resources to West Side families. The event took place at the Austin Branch Chicago Public Library last February.

Prevention Partnership, Inc.

St. Anthony Hospital

5936 W. Lake 773-378-4195 preventionpartnership.org

2875 W. 19th St. 773-484-1000 saintanthonyhospital.org

Rape Victim Advocates

1969 W. Ogden Ave. 312-864-6000 cookcountyhhs.org

Shriners Hospitals for Children 2211 N. Oak Park Ave. 773-622-5400 shrinershospitalsforchildren.org Providing services to children up to age 18.

Sinai Medical Group West Care

851 N. Leamington 773-626-0525 sisterhousechicago.org 2 0 1 7

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West Suburban Medical Center 3 Erie Court, Oak Park 708-383-6200 westsuburbanmc.com

Westside Health Authority 5417 W. Division St. 773-378-1878 healthauthority.org

Westside Holistic Family Services

Sister House

4909 W. Division St. 773-921-8777 S I D E

(708) 317-3035

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital

Austin Community Office 4909 W. Division Suite 511 773-287-6057 rapevictimadvocates.org

5470 W. Madison 773-287-7900 sinai.org

For more information, please call:

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Comprehensive

Medical, Dental, & Behavioral Health Care Services for children from birth to18 years Make an Appointment Today 320 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL (708)848-0528 www.childrenscliniciws.org Daytime, evening and weekend appointments available. Bilingual staff. austinweeklynews.com | 39

PLEASE HELP RAISE FUNDS TO CREATE A HISTORIC LANDMARK IN AUSTIN!

PROJECT LOCATION: 4800 West Chicago Avenue (Cicero “Mandela Road” and Chicago Avenue) PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

18, 2017 (Mandela’s birthday

The Austin Community Peace & Justice Plaza will help honor this intersection as a cultural landmark in the Austin community. The dedication of this intersection was initiated by state Rep La Shawn K. Ford, to rename Cicero Ave as Mandela Road on July 18, 2014 - Nelson Mandela’s birthday.

The Plaza will also be home to the famous ‘Cheiftan’ statue of Dr. King, done by renowned sculptor Geraldine McCullough, which was commissioned following the riots of 1968 after the assassination of Dr. King. The donation of the ‘Chieftan’ statue and the r e naming of Cicero as Mandela Road offers a unique opportunity to build a significant landmark and symbol of peace for the Austin community while celebrating the lives of two extraordinary leaders of our time – South African President Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Estimated Completion: JULY

Business Sponsors $2,500 and Individual Sponsors $1,000 (engraved brick at site), Supporters $25 and up (name listed in program). Make Checks payable to Westside Health Authority, addressed to 4800 W Chicago Avenue, Chicago IL 60651 or by Credit/Debit Card via PayPal at donate@healthauthority.org. The Westside Health Authority is a 501c3, donations are tax deductible.

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WELCOME TO GARFIELD PARK BEHAVIORAL HOSPITAL Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital is dedicated to providing high quality behavioral health psychiatric support for three to seventeen year old youths. At Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital, every youth is treated as our own.

The core programming throughout Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital is grounded in evidenced supported cognitive behavioral treatment, and has a strong emphasis in ensuring a structured environment so that patients can obtain the most from their hospital stay.

Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital’s Services:

• Inpatient Hospitalization for youths 5-17 • Partial Hospitalization for youths 6-17 • No cost level of care assessments 24 hours a day 7 days a week Other Garfield Park Behavioral Services Include: • Medication Evaluation and Management • Fully Accredited Educational Programming • Expressive and Recreational Therapies • 24-hour Safety Monitoring • Individual, Group and Family Psychotherapy

520 North Ridgeway • Chicago, Illinois 60624

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austinweeklynews.com | 41 6/17/14 9:55 AM

Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center, Inc. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for residents of Chicago’s Westside

communities by providing the highest quality of comprehensive behavioral health services.

Services we offer: • Youth Intensive Outpatient Program • Assessment and Diagnosis (Juvenile Justice System Referrals • Developmental Training and and/or “At Risk” CPS High School Employment students) • Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drug • Case Management and Psycho-Social Abuse Prevention Day Program for Adults • Alcoholism & Substance Abuse • SSI and Medicaid Application Treatment Assistance • HIV Screening and Counseling • Children and Adolescents Individual • Residential Services and Group Family Therapy • Treatment for Depression, Anxiety and • Housing Assistance for the Mentally Ill Grief Counseling • Foster Care Program for the Adult • Psychiatric Evaluations and Treatment Mentally Ill Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral health Center • Youth Substance Abuse Treatment 9 South •Kedzie Avenue, DUI education andChicago, evaluationIllinois 60615

We are accredited by CARF International (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) “BEW (Bobby E. Wright) offers a wide variety of essential behavioral health services and continually looks to provide additional services to address the tremendous needs of the persons served.”

“For many consumers and their family members, the staff of BEW is their primary support. Consumers indicate that the staff members provide the support, direction and assistance they need to manage their lives.”

Quotes taken from CARF International Survey Report, December 2013

Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center 9 South Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612 773/722.7900 | bewcbhc.org

3. Columbus Park Boathouse || 500 S. Central Avenue

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Walk-Ins are accepted Monday through Friday between 8:30am-5:00pm.

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Mental Health Services Dozens of men gather outside of Deer Rehabilitation Services in North Lawndale in October 2016 for a balloon release and to sign a pledge against domestic violence of any kind. “We’ve got to get our black men standing up,” said psychologist Dennis Deer, pictured wearing sunglasses. Deer is the president of Deer Rehabilitation.

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

A Safe Haven 2750 W. Roosevelt Rd. 773-435-8300 asafehaven.org

Austin Special Chicago 5318 N. Elston 773-282-9992 austinspecial.org

Circle Family Health Care Network

888-337-8803 recovergateway.org

Behavioral Health Services 5002 W. Madison 773-379-1000 cfhcn.org/programs-services

RML Specialty Hospital

Family Community Resource Columbus Manor Center Residential Care

The Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center, Inc. 9 S. Kedzie Ave. 773-722-7900

4105 W. Chicago Avenue 773-265-7000 dhs.state.il.us

Thresholds Carroll Street 4101 N. Ravenswood Ave. 773-572-5500 thresholds.org

Peaceful Beginnings Recovery Drop-In Center 2339 W. Lake St. 312-600-9240

Gateway Foundation Alcohol & Drug Treatment Chicago West 3828 W. Taylor St.

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3435 W Van Buren St 773-826-6300 rmlspecialtyhospital.org

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5107 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-378-5490

Hartgrove Hospital 5730 W. Roosevelt Rd. 773-413-1700 hartgrovehospital.com

DCFS Children & Family Services 1701 S. 1st Ave., Maywood, IL 708-338-6600 illinois.gov/dcfs

Adapt of Illinois

William P. McMiller, MD PC

901 S. Austin Blvd.

773-921-1452 adaptusa.com

4909 W Division St. 773-626-5551 drbillslearningcenter.com

Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital

Austin Family Counseling Center

520 N. Ridgeway 773-265-3700 garfieldparkhospital.com

4909 W Division St. 773-921-7805 austinweeklynews.com | 43

Libraries Austin

North Austin

5615 W. Race Ave. 312-746-5038 chipublib.org

5724 W. North Ave. 312-746-4233 chipublib.org

West Humboldt 733 N. Kedzie Ave. 312-743-0555 chipublib.org

Humboldt Park 1605 N. Troy St. 312-744-2244 chipublib.org

Legler 115 S. Pulaski Rd. 312-746-7730 chipublib.org

North Pulaski 4300 W. North Ave. 312-744-9573 chipublib.org

West Chicago Avenue 4856 W. Chicago Ave. 312-743-0260 chipublib.org

COURTESY OF NORTH AUSTIN LIBRARY

North Austin Library STAY CONNECTED.

Day Camp

June 26 - August 4 Late Summer Camps

August 7-18

(Offered at many parks. Varies by park.)

Online Summer Registration opens April 24-25 In-person Summer Registration opens April 29 Financial assistance is available for eligible city of Chicago residents.

Learn more at www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/day-camp/

Explore Water Fun

Field Trips

Warrior Games

Affordable

Active Sports, Games & Art

June 30 – July 8 in Chicago

City of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, Mayor

For more information about your Chicago Park District

Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners

visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com, or call 312.742.7529

Michael P. Kelly, General Superintendent & CEO

or 312.747.2001 (TTY)

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Parks An Austin garden worth 10,000 words The Washarthur garden, on the 4800 block of West Ferdinand, speaks volumes about its creator’s values

A

former elementary school teacher said when he built a community garden five years ago in Austin he did so to inspire and encourage residents to care about their community and one another.

Terry Barnes, 69, said he moved in with his 77-year-old sister several years ago to look after her as she gets older. He lives at 4839 W. Ferdinand Ave., and his nearly 1-acre garden is located in an empty lot next door. The “Washarthur” garden is a portmanteau comprising the last names of his deceased father and his sister’s deceased father-in-law — Wash and Arthur.

“The purpose of this garden is to empower my people and to show them what a garden can be,” explained Barnes. “I remember being in the basement cleaning

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WENDELL HUTSON/Contributor

GARDEN OF WISDOM: Terry Barnes moved to Austin five years ago to look after his 77-year-old sister, and has since built a community garden filled with unique displays. He built the “Washarthur” garden at 4839 W. Ferdinand Ave. to inspire and encourage residents to care about their community and one another. up four years ago when my daddy came to me and said I should build something to let kids know where they came from. That’s when bells starting going off in my head.”

The garden, which is open to the public, is filled not only with vegetables like greens, tomatoes and corn, but also features wooden signs scrawled with biblical scriptures, poetry, quotes from famous people and quotes from Barnes himself — what he calls his “food for thought” phrases.

One garden display is a toilet seat stapled to a tree and it reads, “Shit happens!” Another toilet seat reads, “Put a lid on it.”

Every day Barnes spends time working in the garden and said it is an ongoing project that

will never end.

“This is the Lord’s garden and the things in the garden is what he told me to put here,” said Barnes as he walks through the garden. “I am only doing as the Lord sees fit. My job is to wake up every day and do whatever I am instructed to do by my Lord and savior Jesus Christ.”

For too long Austin has been plagued by violence and unsolved murders of young people, Barnes said.

“I’ve lost many family members to gun violence. It is an epidemic that’s killing our race one by one,” added Barnes.

And with so much attention on violence, Barnes said he wants to give children something positive and educational to focus on.

“Education is the key to the future.

When I was growing up you didn’t need an education to get a job, but that is no longer the case,” said Barnes.

— By Wendell Hutson austinweeklynews.com | 45

Parks

Garfield Park Little League players during an April 2016 practice at Curtis Granderson Stadium on the Near West Side.

PHOTOS BY WILLIAM CAMARGO Staff Photographer

Community leaders and civil rights activists, many of whom marched with Dr. King in 1966, cut the ribbon on a memorial in Marquette Park during a ceremony last August.

Austin Park

Clark Park

5951 W. Lake St. 773-287-7658 chicagoparkdistrict.com

4615 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-287-7794 chicagoparkdistrict.com

Austin Town Hall

Columbus Park

5610 W. Lake St. 773-287-7658 chicagoparkdistrict.com

500 S. Central Ave. 773-287-7641 chicagoparkdistrict.com

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Teams from all over the west side join before the opening game of the North Lawndale Police Youth Baseball League.

Cottonwood Playlot Park 5058 W. West End 773-287-7658 chicagoparkdistrict.com

Garfield Park 100 N. Central Park 312-746-5092

chicagoparkdistrict.com

Hubbard Playlot Park

773-287-0541 chicagoparkdistrict.com

4942-58 W. Hubbard 773-287-0806 chicagoparkdistrict.com

Sweet Clover Playlot Park

La Follette Park

650 W. Leamington 773-287-0541 chicagoparkdistrict.com

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GARFIELD PARK NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET Locally grown produce

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October: Sat. Oct. 14, 10am-2pm Thurs. Oct. 19, 3pm-6pm

August: Sat. Aug. 12, 10am-2pm Thurs. Aug. 17, 3pm-6pm

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Music & Cooking demos Garfield Park Garden Network 2 0 1 7

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Named one of “AMERICA’s BEST LAWYERS”

by Forbes Radio™ I would like to congratulate you on the publication of your book, How ™ to Be a Good Divorced Dad. I am honored that you chose to share it with me.

Thank you for your commitment to ensuring that fathers play a role in their children’s lives. It is a cause that both you and I feel strongly about.

Named one of “AMERICA’s BEST LAWYERS”

by Forbes Radio

- President Barack Obama

Matrimonial and Custody Attorney Jeffery M. Leving is also the author of the groundbreaking books:

FATHER’S RIGHTS and DIVORCE WARS

www.dadsrights.com

312-356-DADS

Matrimonial and Custody Attorney Jeffery M. Leving is also the author of the groundbreaking books:

FATHER’S RIGHTS and DIVORCE WARS

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312-356-DADS austinweeklynews.com | 49

Xxxxx Restaurants New West Side eatery has ambitions beyond food

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LiFE in West Garfield Park wants patrons to be healthy and empowered

new West Garfield Park eatery, located at 2858 W. Madison St., opened on April 1 with a bang and a serious mission. Owner Joseph Black said that he hopes his new restaurant, called LiFE, improves the collective health of West Side residents and encourages them to treat each other better.

In the summer months, Black said, a vacant lot next to the restaurant will be open for yoga, Zumba and boxing classes. The North Lawndale native said that he ultimately wants his establishment to anchor a small renaissance of local economic growth that would entail refurbishing vacant buildings and creating job opportunities for area residents.

Black, a North Lawndale native who graduated from Southern Illinois University in 2006 with a degree in mass media and communications, is a serial entrepreneur who has launched a range of businesses, including film and landscaping companies.

He said that he got into the restaurant business because he didn’t like the hard reality he confronted when he’d drive around his neighborhood looking for healthy food.

“I got tired of driving around looking for something healthy, or at least something healthier than average, to eat,” he said. “So, I decided to open

LEE EDWARDS/Contributor

The owners of LiFE, a new eatery in West Garfield Park, cut the ribbon during the restaurant’s grand opening in April 2017.

my own place.”

The current menu includes salads, tacos, sandwiches, seafood dishes, meat and vegetable bowls, smoothies, wraps and loaded potato meals. It also features vegetarian op-

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tions. Black mentioned that he deliberately avoided fast food staples such as jerk chicken or wings, because he didn’t want to undercut local fast-food stands.

Many of LiFE’s menu offerings are named after community leaders and other inspiration figures. The turkey burger is named after 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin.

One of the smoothies is named Akkeem, the middle name of Black’s father, Reginald, a former gang member who served nearly 20 years in prison for murder before becoming a 2 0 1 7

respected community activist.

Black said that leaving the ‘I’ lower-case in the eatery’s name is a design detail that carries with it a deliberate message. He wants to emphasize the pronoun in order to encourage customers to take responsibility for their choices and actions.

“Too often, we blame anyone, but we don’t blame ourselves” he said.

The lowercase ‘I’ might also emphasize respect for each person’s individual humanity, Black stated referencing his restaurant’s design.

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Grand Opening!

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Restaurants

Second chances, smoked and slow-cooked Ben’s BBQ in Austin targets job recruitment at exoffenders, urges other businesses to do the same

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eads of sweat dripped from the wizened face of Eddie Harris, the 50-year-old pit master at Ben’s BBQ — the Austin restaurant that, for the last three years, has been hosting the convicted felon’s slow-cooked metamorphosis from gangbanger to budding businessman.

“I don’t want people to look at me as a gangbanger,” said Harris, who aspires to open his own restaurant one day; perhaps in the next three years.

He was explaining the two tattoos that are conspicuously etched onto his very being — one, on his right cheek, of a heart that appears to be leaking, and two others, just

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Eddie Harris, 50, the pit master at Ben’s BBQ in Austin, where he’s been employed for around three years, prepares a meal last May. Harris, an ex-offender, is one of seven employees with extensive criminal records the restaurant makes a point of hiring. underneath his left eye, that depict two blackened tear drops stained the color of soot.

“What makes more sense?

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Michelle Green, 44, prepares a meal at Ben’s last May. Green, an ex-offender, was hired by the restaurant seven years ago.

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That I got this one right here,” said Harris, pointing to his cheek, “for stabbing somebody in the heart and this one right here,” he said, pointing to the acid tears, “for killing somebody,” before pausing to shift the narrative, “or that this one means when I was locked up my grandmother passed away and she was a peace of my heart and this one means that I cried a lot while in prison?”

For the majority of his life — 27 years to be exact — Harris has lived confined to a prison cell. At 17, he was convicted of attempted murder, having shot a man 11 times; it was the crime that earned him the tears, his colleagues in the street having believed the man had died.

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“He tried to kill me and my brother,” Harris said, of the man he shot and paralyzed.

“He shot my brother five times and he shot me three times.”

Harris went to prison in 1983 and was freed 22 years later. Five weeks after walking out of the penal system, he went right back in. He had violated his parole by hanging around gang members and other criminals, which the law prohibits as a condition of a parolee’s freedom. Harris served another five years before his release in 2010.

“The scary part about being an ex-con is that it’s so hard to get a job,” said Harris, who had been walking around with both the shame of his conviction and the dread of jobless-

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Restaurants ness when he found Tyrone Wideman, 65, and Linda Leslie, 63, the co-owners of Ben’s, located at 5931 W. North Ave. “I was just looking for a job and they gave me an opportunity, another chance,” said Harris.

“If they hadn’t done that, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”

Wideman said that around seven of the restaurant’s nine employees are ex-offenders, a disproportionality that is deliberate. When Leslie opened the restaurant 12 years ago, after a long career in the hair industry, she wanted to remember the people she said society has forgotten.

“This is a community where the vast majority of the people in this particular Austin district has been incarcerated at one time or another in their lives and so many people don’t know their stories or even

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Ben’s BBQ owner, Linda Leslie, said she deliberately hires felons. care to hear their stories,” said Leslie. “But if you give them a stigma and don’t employ them, what do they do? They return to crime.”

“There are so many young men out there we’re trying to reach out to and get in employment where they can see there is another way to life,” she said. “I often say that Ben’s is

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not a place they can look for a lifetime of employment, but it is a transition back into the mainstream of society.”

For Michelle Green, 44, that transition began one predawn morning in 2008. Green had done “every drug you can name,” had been living on the streets, stealing, “everything,” since she was 14 years old. She

had been to prison six times.

“The judge said, ‘You’re a six time loser and if you come back here again, we’re gonna make an example out of you,’” Green recalled.

“So I made up my mind and I walked all the way from Jackson and Keeler to The Women’s Treatment Center on Ashland and Lake, but they weren’t even open,” she said. “It was like four in the morning. They didn’t open until six. I sat on the stoop until it opened and I’ve been clean ever since. I couldn’t do it no more.”

Two years later, on April 3, 2010, she walked into Ben’s BBQ and hasn’t looked back.

She’s now the restaurant’s longest-serving employee, who commands the establishment’s military-clean kitchen and counts the money at the end of the day.

austinweeklynews.com | 53

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Schools For West Side students, a 200-father salute Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School held its annual Dads Take Your Child to School initiative on Sept. 15

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atalyst Circle Rock Charter School, 5608 W. Washington Blvd., welcomed 200 fathers and men from the community to celebrate students as they walked into the school building on Sept.

15, 2016, during the K-8 school’s Dads Take Your Child to School

initiative.

Catalyst previously held the ceremony in 2015 to showcase the positive male role models within the Austin community, said Catalyst Circle Rock Principal Elizabeth Jamison Dunn.

“We really did it as a response to the negative feedback and press

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Fathers high-five, hug, hold hands and applaud during Catalyst Circle Rock’s Dads Take Your Child to School initiative on Sept. 15, 2016. The celebration attracted more than 200 fathers, who school officials invited as a counter offensive to the negativity that is often communicated about black males in communities like Austin. that our community often gets, especially in regards to young black boys and black men,” said Dunn. “We thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to show that black men do care and do matter in our community.”

Dunn said one of the school’s goals is to make the celebration of students an annual event.

She said she wants to make men a staple presence in the school.

Last year, Catalyst Circle Rock launched “Daddy & Me,” a program that will bring men into the school on a monthly basis for reading activities, inspira-

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tional workshops and to assist on field trips, among other activities.

“It takes a village to raise a child and so we want to make sure that the entire village is present for different events like this so the children know they matter,” said Dunn.

Austin resident Julius Lumpkin, who shares a connection to Catalyst Circle Rock with numerous family members, was proud to participate in the celebration. His five-year-old son is a student there and his daughter Megan is a third-grade teacher.

Lumpkin stood outside of the school with his

son’s godfather, Charles Dell, and Lumpkin’s sonin-law, Dell Harrison.

“All the men coming out as one is a powerful movement for the Austin community,” said Lumpkin. “You hear so many negative things and this is a positive event, so I wanted to participate.”

Charles Dell attended the celebration after he was asked to come by his godson. Dell said he wouldn’t have missed the event “for the world.”

“I think doing things like this show our kids that we love them,” he said.

— By Lee Edwards

austinweeklynews.com | 55

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Schools Academy of Scholastic Achievement 4651 W. Madison St. 773- 921-1315 asaschool.org

Adler School of Professional Psychology 17 N. Dearborn 312-662-4000 adler.edu

Al Raby High School 3545 W. Fulton Blvd.

773-534-6755 alraby.org

Alaine Locke Charter School

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

3141 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-265-7230 alainlocke.org

Youths, above and below, fill out resume worksheets at an April 21, 2016 empowerment conference sponsored by Westside Health Authority and held at By the Hand Club in Austin.

Alfred Nobel Elementary School

Austin Career Education Center

773-762-2272 ccaacademy.org

5352 W. Chicago Ave. 773-626-6988 austincareer.org

Cameron Elementary School

4127 W. Hirsch St. 773-534-4365 cpsnobel.weebly.com/

Angel Wings Daycare Center, Austin Multiplex One campus, three schools Inc. 231 N. Pine

5365 W. North Ave. 773-745-0262

773-534-6300

Austin Business & Entrepreneurship Academy Austin Polytechnical Academy

V.O.I.S.E. Academy austinmultiplex.org

Brunson Math & Science Specialty School 932 N. Central Ave. 773-534-6025 brunsonbulldogs.org

CCA Academy 1231 S. Pulaski 2 0 1 7

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1234 N. Monticello Ave. 773-534-4290 Cameron.cps.edu

Casals School of Excellence 3501 W. Potomac Ave. 773-534-4444 casals.auslchicago.org

Chicago State University 9501 S. King Drive 773-995-2000 csu.edu

Chicago Police & Firefighter Training Academy 558 W. DeKoven 312-747-7239 cpfta.com

Christ the King Jesuit Catalyst - Circle Rock Charter College Preparatory 5608 W. Washington Blvd.

773-945-5025 catalystschools.org/circle-rock

5088 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-261-7505 ctkjesuit.org

Chicago Academy HighSchool

Collins Academy

3400 N. Austin Blvd.

773-534-0146 cahs.auslchicago.org

High School 1313 S. Sacramento Dr. 773-534-1840 collinsacademyhs.org

Chicago Jesuit Academy

CSW Career Academy

5058 W. Jackson 773-638-6103 chicagojesuitacademy.org

180 N. Wabash 312-809-3511 cswcareeracademy.com austinweeklynews.com | 57

Schools DePriest Elementary School 139 S. Parkside Ave. 773-534-6800 depriestschool.org

Dr. Bill’s Learning Center 18 W. Lake St. Oak Park 708-434-0336 4909 W. Division St. 773-626-5551 drbillslearningcenter.com

Ellington Elementary School 243 N. Parkside 773-534-6361

Ella Flagg Young School 1434 N. Parkside 773-534-6200 ellaflaggyoung.weebly.com

Fenwick High School 505 W. Washington Blvd., Oak Park 708-386-0127 fenwickfriars.com

First Start Child Care 4753 W. Washington Blvd.

773-379-4928

Fredrick Douglass Academy High School 543 N. Waller 773-534-6176 douglassacademy.org

George Leland Elementary School 512 S. Lavergne Ave 773-534-6340 lelandstem.weebly.com

George Rogers Clark Elementary School 1045 S. Monitor 773-534-6225 georgerogersclarkes.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

DeShawn Adams, the Austin VOISE student who recently won a Gates Millennium Scholarship, relishes in the accomplishment at his high school on May 12, 2016.

George Westinghouse College Prep

His & Hers Barber School

Jacob Beidler Elementary School

Joseph Business School

3223 W. Franklin Blvd.

773-534-6400 newwestinghouse.org

5355 W. Madison St. 773-261-2099 hisandhersbarberschl.com

3151 W. Walnut 773-534-6811 beidlerschool.org

Greater West Town Community Development Project

Horizon Science Academy HSA Belmont Charter School

7600 W. Roosevelt Rd., Forest Park, IL 708-697-6200 jbs.edu

John Hay Community Academy

500 N. Sacramento 312-432-9595 gwtp.edu

2456 N. Mango Ave 773-237-2702 Â hsabelmont.org

1018 N. Laramie 773-534-6000 johnhayacademy.org

Joseph Lovett Elementary School 6333 W. Bloomingdale Ave. 773-534-3130 lovettelementary.org

Howe School of Excellence

John Marshall Metropolitan High School

720 N. Lorel Ave. 773-534-6060 howeschoolofexcellence.org

3250 W. Adams St. 773-534-6455 marshallmetrohighschool.org

1616 S. Avers Ave. 773-521-4399 kippchicago.org

Henry H. Nash Elementary School

Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center

Josephine Locke Elementary School

KIPP Create College Prep

4837 W. Erie St. 773-534-6125

1645 N. California Ave. 773-489-8989

2828 N. Oak Park Ave 773-534-3300 lockeschool.org

4818 W. Ohio St. 773-938-8553 kippchicago.org

Gregory Math & Science Academy 3715 W. Polk 773-534-6820 gregoryacademy.org

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KIPP Ascend Charter Middle School

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HANDS-ON EXPLORATION. REAL WORLD DISCOVERY. A CPS Level 1 School

The mission of Polaris Charter Academy is to educate students to be self-motivated, creative, critical thinkers, with the ultimate goal of shaping life-long learners and citizens with a strong sense of personal and civic responsibility.

• FREE public charter school • FREE healthy breakfast, lunch and Accepting snack everyday The mission of Polaris Charter Academyapplications is to educate for grades • Long school day: 7:50AM - 4PM for the 2017-2018 school year • Small class size: 25 students to be self-motivated, creative, critical thinkers, • Student/teacher ratio: 12 to 1 • Music, art, drama & technology

K-8

with the ultimate goal of shaping life-long learners and We are located at

citizens with strong sense of personal and civic 620aN. Sawyer Ave. in West Humboldt Park responsibility.

(1 block west of Kedzie, between Ohio & Huron)

Please • FREE publice-mail chartertsandifer@pcachicago.org school

call (773) for an application • Longorschool day: 534-0820 7:50AM - 4PM • Small class size: 25 • Student/teacher ratio: 12.5 to 1 2 0 1 7

W E •S TMusic, S I D E art, A Ndrama S W E R& Btechnology O O K

Accepting applications for grades K-8

austinweeklynews.com | 59

Schools Learn Romano

Malcolm X College

Butler Campus 1132 S. Homan Ave. 773-722-0200 www.learncharter.org

1900 W. Jackson 312-850-7000 ccc.edu/colleges/malcolm-x

Malcolm X Westside Learning Center

Learn Charles and Dorothy Campbell Campus

4624 W. Madison 312-850-7420

212 S. Francisco Ave. 773-826-0370 learncharter.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Marine Math & Science Academy

Moments before Quinteria Harris emerged from her Laramie Ave. home, the camera phones were poised and positioned.

1920 N. Hamlin Ave. 773-534-4970 marine.cps.edu

Legacy Charter School

Legal Prep Charter Academies

Lewis School of Excellence

Magic Johnson Bridgescape

Mary Lyon Elementary School

4217 W. 18th Street 773-542-1640 legacycharterschool.org

4319 W. Washington Blvd.

773-922-7800 legalprep.org

1431 N. Leamington Ave. 773-534-3060 lewis.auslchicago.org

3222 W. Roosevelt Rd. 773-826-1136 magicjohnsonbridgescape.com

2941 N. McVicker 773-534-3120 marylyonschool.com

Learn Excel Campus 3201 W. Carroll Ave. 312-243-7001 learncharter.org

NOT LISTED? We do our best to be inclusive of organizations serving Chicago's West Side. If your business falls within one of our categories and we missed you, please send an email to Dawn@AustinWeeklyNews.com with your business name, address, phone number, website and 2 sentences which outline your services.

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Schools Maternity BVM School 1537 N. Lawndale 773-227-1140 maternitybvmchicago.com

McNair School of Excellence 4820 W. Walton 773-534-8980 mcnair.auslchicago.org

Michele Clark High School 5101 W. Harrison St. 773-534-6250 micheleclark.org

Moving Everest Charter School

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

A Golden Apple Scholar facilitates a classroom session last summer. The program seeks to develop aspiring teachers for the classroom early in their college careers.

416 N. Laramie 312--683-9695 movingeverest.org

Northwest Institute for Contemporary Learning Academy 5108 W. Division Ave. 773-921-2800 niclchicago.weebly.com

North Lawndale College Prep 1615 S. Christiana Ave. 773-542-1490 nlcphs.org

Orr Academy High School 730 N. Pulaski Rd. 773-534-6500 orracademy.org

Phoenix Military Academy 145 S. Campbell 773-534-7275 phoenixmilitary.org

Piccolo School of Excellence 1040 N. Keeler Ave 2 0 1 7

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773-534-4425 piccolo.auslchicago.org

Plato Learning Academy -Elementary School 5545 W. Harrison St. 773-413-3090 platolearningacademy.org

Plato Learning Academy -Middle School 116 N. Leclaire Ave. 773-673-5100 platolearningacademy.org

Polaris Charter Academy 620 N. Sawyer Ave. 773-534-0820 pcachicago.org

Prosser Career Academy 2148 N. Long Ave. 773-534-3200 prosseracademy.org A N S W E R

B O O K

Providence St. Mel School 119 S. Central Park Ave. 773-722-4600 psmnow.com

Rowe Clark Math & Science Academy 3645 W. Chicago Ave. 773-242-2212 Roweclark.noblenetwork.org

Laura Ward Elementary School 646 N. Lawndale Ave. 773-534-6440 lwardstem.org

Sayre Language Academy 1850 N. Newland Avenue 773-534-3351 sayre.cps.edu

Spencer Elementary Technology Academy 214 N. Lavergne 773-534-6150

spencertech.org

VOCEL

St. Angela School

5058 W. Jackson Blvd.

773-797-2210 vocel.org

1332 N. Massasoit 773-626-2655 saintangela.org

St. Paul Lutheran Church and School 846 N. Menard 773-378-6644 stpaulaustin.com

Sumner Math & Science Academy 4320 W. 5th Ave. 773-534-6730 sumnermsca.org/

Whitney Young High School 211 S. Laflin St. 773-534-7500 wyoung.org

Willa Cather Elementary School 2908 W. Washington Blvd.

773-534-6780 cather.cps.edu

Wright College

Touch by an Angel Child Care 6134 W. North Ave. 773-237-8222

Ucan Academy 3110 W. Grand Ave 773-722-3097 ucanchicago.org/academy

4300 N. Narragansett Ave. 773-777-7900 ccc.edu/colleges/wright

Youth Connection Charter School 10 West 35th Street, Suite 11F4-2 312-328-0799 yccs.us

austinweeklynews.com | 61

Xxxxx Seniors A part of Monroe Street gets renamed in honor of its matriarch Alma Richmond, 100, had lived on her West Side block for nearly 60 years

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hen Alma Richmond turned 100 on April 12, 2016, she was still known for regularly calling her alderman and holding court on the 3900 block of West Monroe St., where she’s lived for nearly 60 years. The local matriarch, known universally as “Granny,” had seen generations of neighbors leave.

Lynetta Daniel, 63, met Richmond when she was just 9 years old and living with her parents across the street.

Daniel moved to the South Side with her mother around 10 years ago.

“Once, Granny asked my daughter about my mom and my daughter told her, ‘Granny, my grandmother lives with my mom, now.’ Granny says, ‘Tell her I want to see her,” Daniel recalled.

“My daughter called me and said, ‘You have been sum-

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Alma Richmond, 100, is rolled down the 3900 block of Monroe Street, now Honorary Alma Richmond Way, by a relative and accompanied by one of her best friends, beautician Gertrude Hudson, left, during a sign-unveiling in April 2016. Richmond had been living on her block for nearly 60 years. moned.’ I’m thinking, the only person on Monroe who can summon me is Granny. So, I pulled up the next day and there she was on the porch.

She goes, ‘How did I know I was going to see you today?’ I

62 | austinweeklynews.com

said, ‘No you didn’t go there!

You summoned for me! Who is going to refuse you?’ She’s just as alert as she wants to be and doesn’t she look good?”

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a few dozen other neighbors — past and present — friends and relatives to see Richmond unveil a street sign bearing her name during a quaint sidewalk ceremony held last April. Although she was in a wheelchair

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Seniors that day, Richmond still cut a sprightly figure even sitting down and is alive and buoyant enough to pass for someone at least a decade younger.

Her children noted that she still gets around even without the wheelchair and cooks regularly.

“I speak to her once a month, sometimes every other month,” said Ald. Jason Ervin (28th).

“She calls just to say hello.

Sometimes she has an issue and we tackle it. I’ve been communicating with her since I’ve been in office.”

Richmond’s daughter, Terry Wheat, said she was 14 years old when she moved to West Monroe St., and her mother has been cultivating it ever since.

“She started the block club party, she pulls a lot of things together,” Wheat said. “She sits on that porch in the summer-

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Neighbors, friends and relatives of Alma Richmond photograph a street sign marking part of Monroe Street Alma Richmond Way during an April 2016 gathering. time and makes people speak to her. Once she says hello and you don’t respond, it’s, ‘Hellooo!!’

People respect her around here.”

Shang Richmond, 68, and the

oldest of his mother’s three children, said when he and his siblings moved on the block in 1959, most of their neighbors were white.

“We moved here to be in a

better neighborhood,” he said, adding that he played basketball at St. Philip and his two sisters attended Providence St. Mel. It was a dream and a train ticket away from the small town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, where their mother grew up.

All of those memories were massaged out of Granny Richmond by her children and grandchildren (“Talk about how you marched with Dr. King …”). When asked to recall this history herself, the woman whose presence on the porch anchors her block’s relative tranquility deferred to a humble nonchalance.

So what happened, Granny Richmond, during the six decades of your quiet reign over this block of Monroe Street?

“Nothing much,” she said, before easing back into a softly creased smile.

The Illinois Supportive Living Program is available to seniors 65 or older who need help maintaining their independence regardless of their financial resources.

Services & Amenities · On-going health monitoring and nursing assessments · Assistance with activities for daily living, including bathing, dressing, personal hygiene, grooming, getting to and from activities and dining

Classic Properties has been serving the Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park & Austin area for over 20 years.

· Medication set-up, reminders and assistance · Three restaurant-style meals served daily plus snacks · Assistance with transportation needs · A range of interesting and varied programs and events · 24-hour staffing by certified nursing assistants · On-site beauty/barber services

Let our experienced agents help you sell your home or find your new home.

To schedule a tour, contact Lorraine Thomas

773-722-2900 Call today for move-in specials!

Heritage Woods of Chicago · 2800 West Fulton, Chicago, IL 60612 www.hw-chicago-slf.com · 773-722-2900 · Managed by Gardant Management Solutions

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1009-11 W. Madison St. Oak Park, IL 60302 • 708-524-8400 www.classicproperties.us austinweeklynews.com | 63

Seniors

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Le’Etter Bryant, 103, celebrates her birthday with family and friends at Heritage Woods assisted living facility in East Garfield Park in 2016.

P.J.’s

Hardware

We meet all your hardware needs.

Austin Satellite Senior Center

773-473-7111 chicagocommons.org

5071 W. Congress Pkwy.

312-743-1538

Columbus Manor Intermediate Care Nursing Facility

Catholic Charities Commodity 5107 W. Jackson Blvd.

Supplemental 773-378-5490 Food Program columbusmanorcare.com Nutrition Services for the Elderly Generations at 5125 W. Chicago Ave. Columbus Park 773-378-8760 catholiccharities.net

7 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park (708) 848-3600 Hours: Monday through Friday 8-6 Saturday 8-5 Sunday 10-3

Central Plaza Residential Care Home 321 N. Central Ave. 773-626-2300 centralplaza.org

Chicago Commons Adult Day Services 4349 W. Washington

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901 S. Austin Blvd.

773-287-5959 generationscolumbuspark.com

Greencastle of Garfield 3811 W. Washington Blvd.

888-848-5698 agingcare.com

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773-722-2900 gardant.com/heritagewoodschicago

Jackson Square 5130 Jackson Blvd.

773-921-8000 jacksonsquarecare.com

The Mosaic of Mayfield 5905 W. Washington Blvd.

773-261-7074 mosaicmayfield.com

Senior Suites of Austin 335 N. Menard Ave. 888-332-6559 seniorlifestyle.com

Westside Coalition for Seniors 2102 W. Ogden Ave. 312-746-5300 A N S W E R

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Social Services West Side nonprofit preps job-seekers for life

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Above and Beyond paired with staffing firm Apple One during the one-day event

ail S. Bussie, 57, arrived in front of the Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center, 2942 W. Lake St. in Garfield Park on Nov. 17, 2016 — one day before a job and resource fair the nonprofit was set to host.

“I showed up yesterday like this,” said Bussie, who was dressed in a black power suit.

“I was the first in line, but it was the wrong day. I offered to spend the night.”

Bussie was among more than a dozen people who flocked to Above and Beyond to receive job training skills and go through mock interviews offered by the Chicago staffing firm Apple One. Siri Hibbler, Above and Beyond’s director of housing and job readiness, said the event was designed to introduce the nonprofit’s free services,

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

An Apple One staffing agent conducts a mock interview on Nov. 18, 2016 at Above and Beyond. A job and resource fair that the organization hosted within its facility at 2942 W. Lake St. allowed community members the opportunity to receive job-search advice and interview skills.

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Job applicants during a resource fair at Above and Beyond.

The fair was designed for those looking to get back into the formal economy.

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which include substance abuse treatment, housing readiness and skills development, to the general public.

For Bussie, a trained medical transcriptionist before her career was disrupted by automation, the event was a chance for her to build her confidence in what, for job-seekers of all backgrounds and experiences, is proving to be something of a brave, new world.

“I’ve been out of the workplace for too long,” said Bussie.

“I’m here for something parttime or full-time. I want a real job and I need an employer who will recognize that I’m here for the long haul. Here [at Above and Beyond], I know I’m

in the right place.

“I came here with such angst, like, ‘Oh, a job interview! I have to sell myself to somebody? But they’re making me realize that I don’t have to sell me to somebody. Employers need to get to know us. All I can be is me.”

Staffing firms want to attract people with winning attitudes similar to Bussie’s, said Shaevon Adams, a staffing agent for Apple One. “The typical candidate we’re looking for is someone with a good personality, a great smile and a never say die attitude,” she said. “They’re going to show up early and stay late, because that’s who they are.”

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St. Joseph Services

Committed to Austin Youth

After School Program (Pre-K thru 8th grade), Mentoring, Homework Help, Tutoring, Seasonal Camps (Winter, Spring & Summer), Paid Internships, Open Gym, Volunteer Opportunities

Locations: St. Angela School, 1332 N Massasoit Ave Schedule a Visit: 773-278-0484 - info@stjosephservices.org Find us on the Web: www.stjosephservices.org • www.facebook.com/SJSChicago 66 | austinweeklynews.com

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Social Services The Allison United Foundation for Better Living

Chicago Area Project 55 E. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 900 312-663-3574 chicagoareaproject.org

4540 W. Washington Blvd.

773-261-3309 aufbl-org.doodlekit.

Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition

Austin Childcare Providers’ Network

641 W. Lake St., Suite 200 312-659-1520 chicagocitywideliteracy.org

5701 W. Division St. 773-379-7627 austinchildcareprovidersnet.org

Chicago Commons Adult Education & Training Center

Austin Peoples Action Center 5125 W. Chicago Ave. 773-473-7270 austinpeoplesactioncenter.org

Center for Neighborhood Technology 2125 W. North Ave. 773-278-4800 www.cnt.org

Adult basic education, GED preparation, ESL, computer lab, and job readiness skills 700 N. Sacramento, Suite 210 Adult Day Services: 4349 W. Washington Blvd Chicago Main Office: 773-638-5600 chicagocommons.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Theodore Thompson deejays during the Westside Health Authority’s annual Octoberfest in Austin. The fest is an extension, of sorts, of WHA’s Good Neighbors Campaign, launched last fall.

Your Door to the World!

Quality Behavioral Health Services Since 1978 • Behavioral Health

- Halfway House - Tabitha House - Outpatient Mental Health Services - Outpatient Substance Abuse Services -Residential Treatment Mental Illness

• • • • •

Vacation Packages Domestic & International Vacations Cruises Destination Weddings Honeymoons

• Developmental Disabilities Services - Community Integrated Living Arrangements

• Employment and Training - Sheltered Workshop

• Senior Housing

- Elois McCoy Village Apartments - Enola A. Dew Apartments

Contact Nathan Dyer to see how HSI can help you FOLLOW US ON

Find us on OakPark.com or at TanTrvl.com

708.386.6363 email: lydia@tantrvl.com

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Office: 773-745-2644 Fax: 773-854-8300 Cell: 312-810-6901 ndyer@habilitative.org

HABILITATIVE SYSTEMS, INC. 415 S. Kilpatrick Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60644

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Social Services ChildServ 743 N. Pulaski 773-867-7319 childserv.org

City of Chicago - DFSS Community Service Center 10 S. Kedzie 312-746-5400

Circle Family Healthcare Network 5002 W. Madison St. 773-379-1000 cfhcn.org

Community Justice for Youth Institute 2929 S. Wabash St., Suite 203 312-842-5345 Cjyiorg.publishpath.com

Easter Seals/Head Start Early Head Start Program 120 W. Madison St., Oak Park IL 708-434-2525 easterseals.com/chicago/our-programs

Fathers Who Care, Inc. Rev. Walter Jones, Executive Director 4540 W. Washington Blvd.

773-287-5821 fatherswhocare.org

God Breathed Ministries

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

A group of West Side students and residents hold “Put The Guns Down!” posters during a rally that also served as a a leg of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run in Austin last year.

Housing Forward

Mead Communications

848 Lake St. (Basement entrance behind First United Church in Oak Park) 708-386-1946 housingforward.org

708-764-0000 Email: Bob@meadcomm.com meadcomm.com

Introspect Youth Services

P.O. Box 24709, Chicago IL 60624 773-638-0228 neopolitanlighthouse.org

430 N. Cicero Ave. 773-287-2290 introspectyouth.org

Kidz Express 312-730-2670 Douglow09@gmail.com kidzexpress.org

Minister Jane Connie McClendon 773-889-2767 Email: GodBreathedMinistries@gmail. com

Literacy Works

Habilitative Systems, Inc.

Loretto Hospital- Addiction Center

415 S. Kilpatrick 773-261-2252 habilitative.org

A House in Austin A 501c3 that provides a safe haven, support, and enrichment services for parents and young children in the Austin community. ahouseinaustin.org

641 W. Lake St., 2nd Floor 773-334-8255 litworks.org

Primo Center for Women & Children 4241 W. Washington Blvd.

773-722-0544 primocenter.org

Neopolitan Lighthouse

St. Joseph Services Austin Neighborhood 1332 N. Massasoit Ave. 773-796-5110 stjosephservices.org

New Moms, Inc. 5317 W. Chicago Ave. 773-252-3253 newmomsinc.org

Sista’s of the Hood

Northwestern Bluhm Legal Clinic-Children & Family Justice Center

773-858-4453 sistasofthehood.com

Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC)

375 E. Chicago Ave. 312-503-8576 law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic

700 S. Clinton St. 312-787-0208 tasc.org

Rape Victim Advocates 180 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 600 312-443-9603 Chicago Hot Line 888-293-2080 rapevictimadvocates.org

World Vision

Mary Crane Center

The Peace Corner Youth Center

Youth Outreach Services, Inc.

4006 W. Lake St. 773-242-2860 marycrane.org

5022 W. Madison St. 773-261-5330 thepeacecorner.org

5910 W. Division St. 773-777-7112 www.yos.org

645 S. Central Ave. 773-854-5445 lorettohospital.org

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5001 W. Harrison 773-921-3900 worldvisionusprograms.org/contact.php

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Recidivism

O

A way to start anew

Clerk Dorothy Brown’s expungement summits offer thousands a second chance

n the Fourth of July last year, Jason Meekins, 18, was caught trying to steal $70 worth of alcohol from a Jewel in the city’s Old Town neighborhood. He was later convicted of retail theft.

The Englewood resident, who is currently studying audio technology at SAE Institute Chicago, said his arrest has affected his employability.

“I did get turned down from a couple of jobs,” he said. “They asked if I had a record and I didn’t say nothing. I didn’t think it was a big thing, because it wasn’t a felony. But they were like, ‘Nah, any charge is a thing.’

I feel like it can potentially prevent me from getting a job in the future.”

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Attendees at one of Clerk Dorothy Brown’s annual Expungement Summits file into a room in a suburban church to meet attorneys waiting to process applications that would expunge and seal criminal records.

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

Jason Meekins, 18, attends a Summit in 2015, held at a church in west suburban Forest Park. Meekins was convicted of retail theft in 2014.

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For convicted individuals like Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown’s annual Expungement Summits have become a way to start their lives anew. The day-long event, which Brown has been hosting for 11 years, typically draws anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 people from across the state looking to have their criminal records sealed or expunged at a fraction of the cost and complication of attempting the process themselves.

“It can be pretty difficult for the lay person to expunge or

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seal without an attorney,” said Jalyne Strong-Shaw, Brown’s chief public information officer. “You have to get your record, your rap sheet and know what’s expungable. Some cases are expungable and some aren’t. That’s something an attorney deciphers — a layperson usually can’t.”

Strong-Shaw said there’s also the matter of costs, which can include lawyer and application filing fees — costs that attendees of the annual Summits may be able to avoid altogether.

“Here, we have volunteer attorneys to look at your cases and they’ll explain to you what your options are, whether or not you qualify for expungement or sealing; assist you with filing the application on-site; and if you’re indigent or impoverished, you can go before a judge on-site to have your fees waived. If you need to pay filing fees, we have clerk’s office cashiers on-site. The last part is for all these petitions to go before judges who make the final decision.”

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Recidivism 444-8259 breakthrough.org

Bethel New Life 4950 W. Thomas 773-473-7870 bethelnewlife.org

Build connections, develop skills and open doors of opportunity.

Entrepreneurship Training Program.

Bridge 2 Freedom

3501 W. Fillmore St 773-265-1370 breakingground.net

Faith based residential non-profit re-entry program.

Creates Education and Employment Opportunities.

Business and Human Resources Center

Breakthrough Men’s Center, 402 N. St. Louis Ave., 773346-1785 Women’s Center, 3330 W. Carrol Ave., 773-722-0179 Familyplex, 3219 W. Carrol Ave., 872444-8200 Fresh Market, 3334 W. Carrol Ave., 872-

4800 W. Chicago Ave 773-786-0249 healthauthority.org

118 N. Central Ave. 773-854-1610 clclaw.org

Richard J. Daley Center, Room 1001 50 W. Washington Street 312-603-5031 cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM) 740 N. Milwaukee Ave. 312-738-2452 cgla.net/claim

Chicago Area Project

Catholic Charities of Chicago 721 N. LaSalle St 312-655-7500 catholiccharities.net

Dorothy Brown - Clerk of the Circuit Court

Provides community based legal services to the underserved and disadvantaged.

130 N. Central Ave. 773-287-2627 bridge2freedom.org

Breaking Ground-APL Teaching Factory

Chicago Legal Clinic Austin Circle Law Center

55 E. Jackson Blvd. #900 312-663-3574 chicagoareaproject.org Working to eradicate juvenile delinquency.

Criminal and traffic expungement and Sealing procedural guide available online. Illinois law permits people with qualifying arrests, felonies, misdemeanor supervisions and convictions to ask the court to either expunge or seal the records related to their case.

Juvenile Expungement Help Desk 1100 S. Hamilton Ave. 312-229-6359 cookcountycourt.org Expungement and sealing of all arrests that occurred before a person’s 18th birthday and crimi-

Kings Hardware Window and Screen Repair Keys Made Electrical | Plumbing Housewares Lawn & Garden Fasteners 4415 W. Madison St. • Chicago, IL 60624 • 773-626-8242 Store Hours: 8-6 Monday – Saturday • Closed Sunday 70 | austinweeklynews.com

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Recidivism nal charges filed against person in juvenile court.

National Alliance for the Empowerment of the Formerly Incarcerated: Re-Entry Center 5820 W. Chicago 773-593-2540 naefimentor.wix.com/ naefi Self-help group created to give support to the formerly incarcerated and convicted.

Chicago Police Department, 3rd District- Sgt. Maudessie Jointer “Keepin’ it Real Program” 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave. 312-747-8201 Program brings incarcerated individuals to speak to community groups.

Legal Assistance Foundation 120 S. LaSalle St #900 312-341-1070 lafchicago.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

“In prison, I got it turned around,” said Min. Chris Burton one day in April 2016. “I began to mentor right there in prison. I began to chair self-help groups. I got in 1997. In 2001, I started working with the Agape Youth Center, where I became a mentor. I’ve been a mentor ever since.”

Safer Foundation 571 W. Jackson 312-922-2200 saferfoundation.org Reducing recidivism through employment, education and support services.

St. Leonard’s Ministries

Providing free legal assistance for people living in poverty.

The Michael Barlow Center 2120 W. Warren Blvd.

312-226-6270 slministries.org/mbc-about

M&D Youth Center

Transition residence for those recently released from prison.

Clifton “Booney” McFowler Jr. 4540 W. Washington 773-999-5717 Email: CliftonMcfowler@ buildchicago.org Support group for formerly incarcerated individuals.

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Reintegrate formerly incarcerated back into their community.

Habilitative Systems Inc. 415 S. Kilpatrick 773-261-2252 habilitative.org A services agency that provides communitybased programs offered at care centers.

Housing Forward

West Side Health Authority

www.housingforward.org 848 Lake St. (Basement entrance behind First United Church in Oak Park) 708-386-1946 housingforward.org

5417 W. Division 773-378-1878 healthauthority.org

Transition people from housing crisis to housing stability.

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Introspect Youth Services 430 N. Cicero Ave. 773-287-2290 introspectyouth.org Helping young people access opportunities.

Literacy Works 641 W. Lake St., 2nd Floor 773-334-8255 litworks.org Working to strengthen literacy.

Loretto HospitalAddiction Center 645 S. Central Ave. 773-854-5445 lorettohospital.org Provides substance abuse services.

Mary Crane Center 4006 W. Lake St. 773-242-2860 marycrane.org Comprehensive early childhood development support for families.

North Lawndale Employment Network 906 S. Homan Ave. 773-638-1825 nlen.org Contact us for reentry policy and advocacy programs.

Northwestern Bluhm Legal Clinic-Children & Family Justice Center 375 E. Chicago Ave. 312-503-8576 law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic

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Recidivism The Peace Corner Youth Center 5022 W. Madison St. 773-261-5330 thepeacecorner.org Job training & placement for young adults, and GED classes.

Primo Center for Women & Children 4241 W. Washington Blvd.

773-722-0544 primocenter.org A transitional shelter for women and children.

St. Joseph Services Austin Neighborhood 1332 N. Massasoit Ave. 773-796-5110 stjosephservices.org Serve and support families and individuals at risk.

Sista’s of the Hood 773-858-4453 www.sistasofthehood.com

Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) 700 S. Clinton St. 312-787-0208 tasc.org

WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer

We place people into rehabilitative programs across Illinois and provide monitoring & recovery support.

Tramaine Jones holds her son Aiden Jones as she participates in a breathing exercise during an event last April that was facilitated

by Marshawn Feltus, a West Side yoga instructor who took his first yoga class while incarcerated. He’s been teaching ever since.

Allison United Foundation for Better Living

World Vision

4540 W. Washington Blvd.

773-261-3309 Provides help with housing, employment, transportation, adult literacy.

WEST SIDE MEN’S HEALTH FAIR

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5001 W. Harrison 773-921-3900 worldvisionusprograms.org/contact.php Christian humanitarian orga-

Youth Outreach Services, Inc. 5910 W. Division St. 773-777-7112

nization tackling the causes of

yos.org

poverty and injustice.

Helps youth find safe homes.

SAVE THE DATE September 30, 2017 at 10am -2pm

Loretto Hospital

645 S. Central, Chicago Don’t let your health take a back seat – many health conditions and diseases that men face can be prevented or treated – if found early. You need to understand your risk factors and learn how to improve your overall health. Come learn about common conditions affecting men, while you enjoy complimentary lunch, hear from a panel of men’s health specialists, receive free screenings and learn about support from vendors. Tours of the newly renovated Loretto Hospital will also be available. Contact Kristen to register at kristen@oakpark.com or 708.613.3306.

FITNESS & NUTRITION

MENTAL HEALTH & STRESS MANAGEMENT

CARDIOLOGY

FINANCIAL HEALTH

PROSTATE HEALTH SOCIAL WELL-BEING

SUPPORTED BY:

West Side Men, Wednesday Journal, Austin Weekly News, Loretto Hospital, Fathers Who Care, West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders, Mead Communications, State Representative of the 78th District Camille Lilly, State Representative of the 8th District LaShawn K. Ford, Congressman Danny K. Davis, and Senator Kimberly Lightford

Vendor opportunities available!!

Space is Limited!

Contact Angela Waller: (773) 854-5275 angela.waller@lorettohospital.org 72 | austinweeklynews.com

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