 New Resident Service Coordinator Claretian Associates welcomes Jennifer Turner as the new Resident Services Coordinator. Jennifer’s office will be at Villa Guadalupe Senior Services, but she will be serving all residents. “I hope to bring a new outlook on life. Give them something to look forward to everyday,” said Jennifer. She would like to start hosting activities for the residents. Jennifer previously worked at a nursing home on the North Side, she was the liaison to the activities director. At Villa Guadalupe, Jennifer is implementing floor captains. “I’m trying to get the residents more involved to figure out what activities they want,” said Jennifer. The floor captains will help get residents to be active. On Mondays and Fridays, Jennifer has brought back chair exercise, which was put on hold because of COVID-19. Once more resident's signup to be floor captains, Jennifer would like to start movie nights, gardening, and more. Jennifer will eventually branch out to Casa Kirk the multifamily apartments and begin activities there as well. Youth Summer Jobs There is still time to apply for Claretian Associates youth summer programming!
Youth will be employed for six weeks by One Summer Chicago SYEP, Tech Corps, and will be paid minimum wage. “This summer I’m really excited because we have never done SYEP. This is our first year being able to provide employment for youth ages 16 and older,” said Program Manager Tiarra Owens. Youth will learn new skills for building websites and can possibly turn them into entrepreneurship skills. Tech Corps programming will happen at the SALUD Center in the innovation lab. Thrive Chicago provided the laptops youth will be utilizing this summer. “I’m also excited because we are collaborating with Google,” said Tiarra. UNITY Squad participants ages 14- 15 will earn a stipend during the six-week program. Through the partnership of Advocate Aurora Health, Tiarra would like to have the doctors who participated in the South Chicago Neighborhood Network Health and Wellness to be mentors for the UNITY Squad participates this summer. Youth will earn skills to prepare them for future employment. “By the time they are 16 years old they will know about going to a job interview, speaking up, how to conduct and advocate for themselves,” said Tiarra. A former UNITY Squad member, David approached Tiarra for a school project, where he chose to interview a community leader. “When he interviewed me, he carries himself like a leader,” said Tiarra. Youth will learn leadership skills and much more to prepare them for their future. For more information on summer programming contact Tiarra at tiarrao@claretianassociates.org .  Light in the Night On June 1, Communities Partnering for Peace (CP4P), Light in the Night events have resumed. Each week this month, three Light in the Night Events will be held in the South Chicago, South Shore, and South Deering neighborhoods. Music, games, and warm meals will be provided and outreach workers will have resources. Light in the Night events were modeled from Los Angeles, California, creating safe spaces for community members to enjoy their neighborhoods and coexist with the street guys. “We are trying to take a hotspot, a place which is known for violence, and turn it into a space where community members can enjoy it,” said Director of Safety Programs Sam Castro. Food will be provided at the Light in the Nights, such as hamburgers and hotdogs, but also warm meals will be given. “We don’t know if at home community members receive a hot meal. We’re making sure community members get hot meals as well,” said Sam. Local businesses will be catering the warm meals. Local community organizations also will have tables with resources.  PlayStreets PlayStreets’ first event will be June 14 at Douglas Taylor Elementary from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. The PlayStreets event will be on 99th and Avenue J, and the street will be blocked for children to enjoy food, games, music, and resource vendors will be provided. For more information contact Safe Passage Program Manager Mustafa Suliman at msulaiman@claretianassociates.org. The next PlayStreets event will be on June 20 at 91st and Houston.  Hoops in the Hood Registration for Hoops in the Hood begins June 9. Look at our website calendar for an online registration link. Claretian Associates will have a basketball camp July 14 - August 4, from 10am- 1pm on Wednesday and Thursdays at the SALUD Center for youth ages 11- 15. “We are inviting the neighborhood children. It will be a developmental/summer camp,” said Safe Passage Program Manager Mustafa Suliman. Youth will arrive at the SALUD Center and begin an hour of basketball drills and skills. Afterwards youth will break for a snack. For the remainder of the day, youth will be put into groups and play games. There will be five groups of five and each group will play against each other. It is not necessary for youth to know how to play basketball. Darrell Banks, a well know trainer and coach in the Chicago basketball community, will be coaching the basketball camp. “I’m excited to provide this opportunity to kids, to be off the street, out of the heat, and in a safe environment,” said Mustafa. For more information on Hoops in the Hood contact Mustafa at msulaiman@claretianassociates.org.  Seniors Social Services Coordinator Wendy Steward and new Resident Service Coordinator Jennifer Turner will be preparing for Father’s Day luncheons at the SALUD Center and Villa Guadalupe Senior Services. Wendy is also searching for a first-year social work or psychology intern. If interested, contact Wendy at wendys@claretianassociates.org  We’re Building
Claretian Associates is planning on conducting a series of focus groups for the acquired piece of land, 3200 East 92nd Street, to have further community input on the development of it. Stay tuned for future dates. Construction improvements are in progress for the Peloton exercise equipment.
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 Tech Corps Claretian Associates will be hosting Tech Corps as part of the One Summer Chicago, Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). For the first time, Tech Corps, an Ohio based STEM nonprofit organization, will hold youth summer programming in Chicago with Claretian Associates as host partner. Participants 16 – 18 years of age will be designing a website for a business in collaboration with Google. Youth can complete an application here. June 10 is the deadline to apply. The City of Chicago will debut paying youth minimum wage. There are about 50 spaces available for youth to apply for Tech Corps summer programming. There will be two sessions every day 8am -12pm and 1pm – 5pm. Programming will be in the SALUD Center innovation lab. “I’m excited because it gives youth the opportunity to learn how to design their own website,” said Program Manager Tiarra Owens.  UNITY Squad This will be the fifth year Claretian Associates will host One Summer Chicago, UNITY Squad, summer programming. The program runs July 5 –August 13 and youth 14 –15 will earn a stipend. Participants will learn about civic engagement, mental health and wellness, being trauma-informed, workforce preparedness, college readiness, and financial literacy. Complete an application here. All of UNITY Squad programming will take place in the new teen drop-in space and youth will have the opportunity to name this space. Program Manager Tiarra Owens and Youth and Family Coordinator Pamesha Robinson are planning a mock trial for the youth this summer. “They will see the importance of the justice system and learn about it, knowing their rights, and why it's important to be a public servant,” said Tiarra.  Housing Fair has Moved The May 14 housing fair held by Claretian Associates will now be held at Fifth Third Bank from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Center for Changing Lives, Spanish Coalition for Housing Resources and other organizations will provide information on how to better access housing, improving credit and applying for loans. Look for the Fifth Third Bank eBus which provides financial evaluation, credit reports, financial education modules and more.  Senior Walking The SALUD Center offers senior walking every Wednesday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. in the gym, at no cost. For more information contact aprilm@claretianassociates.org  PlayStreets This will be the tenth year that Claretian Associates will host Playstreets, a program geared towards providing a safe environment for youth to have safe play. “We get permission to block certain streets to provide games, healthy snacks, and it's just an opportunity for kids to play outside in a safe controlled environment,” said Safe Passage Program Manager Mustafa Sulaiman. Starting in July, a PlayStreets event will tentatively be held at Arnold Mirales Academy, James N. Thorp Elementary School, Douglas Taylor Elementary and at 9108 South Brandon. Safe Passage watchers will be helping with each PlayStreets event. Outdoor activities are provided such as giant Connect Four, Jenga, bouncy houses and more. This is Mustafa’s first year coordinating PlayStreets, and he is planning on incorporating more activities. “I’m looking forward to providing a safe environment for young people,” said Mustafa.  South Chicago Neighborhood Network Health and Wellness Fair The South Chicago Neighborhood Network held a Health and Wellness Fair on April 13 at the SALUD Center in the multipurpose event space. Over 30 vendors attended the fair. “It was successful and became bigger than what we imagined," said Program Manager Tiarra Owens. Advocate Aurora Health, Chicago Family Health Center, Family Rescue, Metropolitan Family Services and Pilsen Wellness Center, and other local organizations provided resources for community. Read more about the Health and Wellness fair here. In partnership with Advocate Aurora Health, 30 medical students and residents hosted a ‘Tea with the Docs.’ Health fair attendees were able to come in and ask about their medical conditions or for medical advice and have tea with doctors. “The doctors were excited to provide those types of services in the community. We look forward to collaborating again,” said Tiarra. The Ronald McDonald House hosted an immunization clinic for kids. “We are hoping that when we host the health and wellness fair in August parents will be able to get their children ready to return to school. The Health and Wellness Fair will be in collaboration with the end of the year PlayStreets event.  Paint and Create On April 29, the South Chicago Neighborhood Network’s UNITY Squad program had a Paint and Create with Antonia Ruppert from Antonia Ruppert Fine Arts. The afternoon began with families enjoying food and listening to family-friendly music provided by a DJ. Afterwards families were introduced to their project. Families received a canvas, a drawing with carbon paper to trace onto canvas and paints, brushes, easels. Attendees chose from two drawing themes; music soothes the soul and landmarks from the South Chicago community or some chose to paint free style. “It was a wonderful event, lots of parent participation. Parents said they were happy to have that time with their families. It was a safe and therapeutic space for families. They got to take their portrait home and it will serve as a reminder of time they spent together,” said Youth and Family Coordinator Pamesha Robinson. A family game night, on June 16 will be the next family focus event.  Seniors Claretian Associates has hired a resident's service coordinator to work directly with the residents, coordinating senior shopping trips and providing case management services. Social Services Coordinator Wendy Steward is also searching for a first-year social work or psychology intern, if interested contact Wendy at wendys@claretianassociates.org We're Building
The first two New Homes developments are near the finishing phases of construction. The two properties now have water. Painting will start in the next few weeks. Claretian Associates held a community discussion for the acquired piece of land on 3200 East 92nd Street. Community members are interested in the possibilities of educational service, flagship store, or an attraction. Angela Hurlock Featured on “Open Lectures for Residents: Voices in Action” Angela Hurlock Featured on “Open Lectures for Residents: Voices in Action” Our CEO Angela Hurlock was featured on “Open Lectures for Residents: Voices in Action,” a series of free educational videos featuring civic leaders and The University of Chicago grad students. The videos were produced by Cook County Government and the University of Chicago’s Office of Civic Engagement (OEC). Angela speaks about being a traditional architect and shifting to community development for residents to have a voice in the developments in their surrounding six blocks. Open Lectures for Residents aims to advance digital equity by providing engaging educational content taught by UChicago faculty or curated by OCE free to all Cook County residents. Cook County will release the Voices in Action videos one per week from now until June 15. There are ten videos in the Voices in Action series by environmental activists, public health executives, UChicago graduate students, educational advocates, and other civic leaders, all graduates of University of Chicago Center for Effective Government's Civic Leadership Academy. For more information video info here.  Strategic Planning
The strategic planning committee met in April to decide the goals and priorities needed to be for the organization. Claretian Associates anticipates it will be done in July.  New Director of Safety Programs Claretian Associates welcomes Sam Castro as the new Director of Safety Programs. Sam has worked in the safety sector for 15 years. He was formerly at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago working in Austin, West Garfield Park and Back-of-the-Yards, and Brighton Park. Sam started as an outreach worker, became a supervisor in the Ready Chicago Program and was later promoted to program manager. In 2019, at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago where Sam was a program manager safety, in their area, there was 57% reduction in violence. “Not only was it attributed to the work that we did, but it was also in collaboration with law enforcement, faith base organizations and elected officials,” said Sam. Sam also helped build a non-aggression agreement in Brighton Park with FLIP (Flatlining Violence Inspiring Peace) participants. The following year former organization, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago partnered with an organization, who received funding to do outreach in the Brighton Park community. “That for me was a success because I had guys who were FLIP participants and then became outreach workers, and just believing in the vision of violence prevention through the city of Chicago,” said Sam. For Sam, violence is nothing new, he felt that it was his duty to help restore and build some of the communities that he helped destroy. “For me the plague of violence is relentless anywhere you go, so I said to myself, I will be relentless in helping prevent [violence] where I can and to help change lives of people,” said Sam. As Director of Safety Programs, Sam would like to bring the best practices that are used throughout the city to help reduce violence. “They have been doing amazing work here. It's just bringing fresh thoughts and new ideas. The magical part is how to get all the program to coincide in one. We all work safety, not reinventing the wheel, just greasing the wheel to make sure we are all connected,” said Sam. Sam is looking forward to learning about housing and understanding community trauma and challenges. He will be doing restructuring with CP4P. Sam wants to make sure there is seven-day coverage, but also wants to respect the team’s days off because selfcare is important in their work. “I’m looking forward to building relationships with all community partners, elected officials and professional understanding with law enforcement,” said Sam.  South Chicago Neighborhood Network Health and Wellness Fair The South Chicago Neighborhood Health and Wellness Fair is approaching, April 13, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the SALUD Center. “We wanted to have the Health and Wellness fair to reengage the community, and bring attention to health disparities,” said Program Manager Tiarra Owens. Immunizations, dental health, and other resources from South Chicago will be offered. Advocate Aurora Health, Chicago Family Health Center, Family Rescue, Metropolitan Family Services and Pilsen Wellness Center, and other local organizations will be providing resources. Advocate Aurora Health will be providing an immunization van, medical students and providers on site to answer questions for community members. “They will be showing how read and answer questions that attendees may have about their medical records,” said Tiarra. Place of Purpose will have meal demonstrations, healthy snack instructions and will catering the lunch. The fair will have a DJ and live. entertainment as well. “This event is for everyone, seniors, young adults, youth, families, no age limit. We want to start to build that family connection with residents in South Chicago,” said Tiarra. For more information about the health and wellness fair, contact Tiarra Owens at tiarrao@claretianassociates.org  The fair leads up to the Paint and Create event. Teens and their families will receive a canvas and create a painting about the artistry in South Chicago. For more information contact Pamesh Robinson at probinson@claretianassociates.org and register here.  One Summer Chicago UNITY Squad UNITY Squad is starting to recruit for One Summer Chicago programming. Students are employed to learn in a series of modules, focused on leadership development, trauma-informed mental health and wellness, workforce preparedness, and civic engagement. Youth can apply here. Learn more about UNITY Squad here.  Our Strategic Planning Claretian Associates' is working on our strategic plan. “We are embarking on the next five years, what our work will be, who we will be as an organization and what we will focus on,” said CEO Angela Hurlock. Claretian Associates will be getting input from board members, staff, residents and stakeholders about opportunities for growth and where to be focused for the next three to five years. “The last strategic plan got us to where we are now. We are excited to be at this point and look forward to continued growth and being able to serve the community,” said Angela.  Senior Spring Fling On April 20, Change for Action is hosting a Spring Fling for the South Chicago SALUD Center Senior Residents in the court yard. Social Services Coordinator Wendy Steward and Frances Bratt from Change for Action worked together to have outdoor activities for the seniors. “We came up with the idea to have a spring party in the court yard,” said Wendy.  We’re Building- New Homes Project The two New Homes located 92 and Brandon are set to come online in late April or early May. Claretian Associates was granted land, which is being called, the Black Industrial Site, located on 3200 East 92nd Street. They will have a community engagement meeting for their usage of land. Villa Guadalupe Senior Services is also soliciting architectural bids as it prepares for the renovation of the facilities.  Housing Fair Save the Date on May 14, for Claretian Associates Housing Fair with Fifth Third Bank, Center for Changing Lives, and Spanish Coalition for Housing Resources will be available on how to better access housing, improving credit and applying for loans. Look for the Fifth Third Bank eBus which provides financial evaluation, credit reports, financial education modules and more. The fair will be held at the SALUD Center from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  Paint and Create The South Chicago Neighborhood Network UNITY Squad will have a Paint and Create on April 29 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Youth and their families will learn about the artistry of South Chicago. They will create a painting from what they learn about South Chicago history. Register here.  UNITY Squad Meet and Greet
UNITY Squad will have a Meet and Greet on April 27 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. in the newly furnished Teen Drop-in Space. Program Manager Tiarra Owens and Youth and Family Coordinator Pamesha Robinson will meet with youth and family and introduce the UNITY Squad Program. There will also be assistance with the One Summer Applications. Learn more about UNITY Squad here. |
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