Completely eradicating the violence that plagues our city may be nothing more than a far-fetched dream. But in October 2022, we took on the task of doing our part to help reduce it. The Washington Heights community, home to more than 27,000 African-American residents (98%) is ranked 24 out of 77 for violent crimes in the City of Chicago.
Our approach? Address poverty which, amongst other factors, often leads to acts of violence and is directly linked to lack of employment or underemployment. The impetus for transformation stems primarily from disrupting people's mental models. We have found success by leveraging a bottom-up approach- one that believes in people, instead of the traditional top-down deficiency model. The people we serve are important, and we rely on the knowledge we glean from the information received from participants.
Economic and Workforce Development are the primary services provided. This includes:
Literacy (financial and health)
Worker cooperatives
Entrepreneurship
Small business development
Re-entry
Mental and behavioral health services
Substance abuse and recovery
Youth/child care and counseling services
