ProgramsYouth Programming Summer youth programming continues at the SALUD Center. Both programs are completing the One Summer Chicago curriculum, My Chi My Future, online. Read more about the summer youth programming below.
 Metropolitan Peace Academy Graduation Claretian Associates congratulates Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) for the newest graduates of the Metropolitan Peace Academy. The Academy hosts an 18-week program that trains and professionalizes the field of street outreach. The Claretian CP4P team had 12 outreach workers graduate and five of the outreach workers received awards. “I’m proud of them because they demonstrate love and passion for this work,” said CP4P Program Manager James Sims. The outreach workers graduating and being professionalized in violence prevention work provides them with a different outlook. “In this work, most of us know how to do it. We want to make sure that we are on point, so when we get addressed with adversity and negativity, we don’t match that energy,” said James. The graduation was held at the South Shore Culture Center. CP4P Outreach Worker graduates, Patrick Bose and Onye Davenport, from the Hospital Outreach team were chosen to be speakers at the graduation ceremony. “I thought it was a true honor,” said Onye. He is currently taking a facilitator class at Metropolitan Peace Initiatives and will soon start victim specialist training. Onye is also a student at Northeastern Illinois University. “I want to grow. I always tell people, ‘I’m not a human being, I’m a human becoming,’ because I’m constantly evolving,” said Onye. Since 2018 Claretian staff has attended the Metroplitan Peace Academy. Learn more about the academy here.  Seniors The seniors celebrated Father’s Day at the Villa Guadalupe and the SALUD Center. This year, the SALUD Center seniors celebrated outdoors in the garden area. They grilled, listened to music, and enjoyed each other’s company. Community Announcement A Brighter Future in South Chicago The former South Works steel mill in South Chicago was selected to become the location for a multibillion-dollar quantum computing campus, PsiQuantum. Governor JB Pritzker joined by Mayor Brandon Johnson and other officials made the announcement at Steel Workers Park. According to Block Club Chicago, Governor Pritzker stated the campus could bring thousands of jobs. Learn more about the quantum computing campus here. ANnouncements Back to School and Wellness Fair The South Chicago Neighborhood Network, Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), Advocate Aurora Health, and other community partners will have the annual Back to School and Wellness Fair on Friday, August 9th at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM on the block of 91st and Brandon. There will be a book bag giveaway, resource vendors, games for kids, food, and music. For more information contact Program Manager Tiarra Owens at [email protected].  Communities Partnering 4 Peace The next series of Light in the Night events will be August 6th, 9th, and 23rd, in the neighborhoods of South Shore, South Chicago, and South Deering. Each event will have music, food, games for kids, and resources. We hope to see you there! SALUD Fitness Center
If you have not joined the fitness center, take advantage of our memberships, Classic $14.99, Classic Plus One $25, and Classic Paid in Full $150. As a member you can take advantage our free Get Fit Class every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11:00 AM. Interested in more challenging exercise classes? The fitness center offers Spin Class every Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:00 PM for $10 per class. Look for our Boot Camp class in September. For more information contact us at [email protected] SALUD Fittness Center Highlight A Way of Life Exercise has become a way of life for Rosalia Leal, a SALUD Fitness Center member. Rosalia exercises regularly, being the first fitness member to sign in most mornings. When she is not exercising at the fitness center, she is cycling or hiking.  Rosalia joined the fitness center in the winter and comes in almost every morning. Rosalia started exercising because she wanted to feel better about herself. She encouraged her twin sister, mother, and two friends to join too. “My mom and sister saw me motivated and wanted to join too,” said Rosalina. Even if her family and friends stop exercising, she continues to motivate herself. One of her goals is to lose 10 more pounds. Every morning before exercising at the fitness center, Rosalina goes cycling on her own or with her husband in the community. Hiking is also an outdoor activity that Rosalina does with her family. She has become a role model for her 13-year-old son, who also exercises regularly at home. “My son saw me lose weight and that motivated him too,” said Rosalia. She teaches her son how to use weights. Rosalia exercised at the South Chicago YMCA before it became the SALUD Center. Since becoming an avid member, she has attended boot camp and spin classes. She is looking forward to Zumba in the future. Staff Highlights Guest Speaker at Illinois Women Affordable Housing Network (WAHN) Event Claretian Associates CEO Angela Hurlock was the guest speaker for the WAHN Summer Event. Angela spoke on how affordable housing provides residents the opportunity to thrive without worrying about basic needs. Read more about the event here.  New AmeriCorps VISTA Claretian Associates welcomes Paul Panciera as the new AmeriCorps VISTA from Housing Action Illinois. Paul is a part of the real estate development team, and the focus of his work will be on research and zoning ordinances. He will also be looking for property that can accommodate future developments. After college Paul was interested in housing development and policy, economic revitalization, and urban policy. Paul thought a good way to get into the field was through the AmeriCorps program. Paul’s interest in housing sprouted because the area he was living in had a terrible housing crisis. Paul wondered how other parts of the world, outside North America, didn’t have systemic housing issues and thought these issues were fixable. “I wanted to go into housing policy because I wanted to be a part of a team that fixes issues that make housing cheaper and improve the way we currently use land, which means updating our current zoning codes,” said Paul. For the past six years, Paul lived and studied in Canada. He has a degree in political science, a minor in the human dimensions of climate change, and a certificate in geography from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. Paul is looking forward to being a part of the thought process behind developing projects for Claretian.
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Programs Loneliness Project The South Chicago Neighborhood Network in partnership with Advocate Health Care Systems, hosted their third cohort for the Loneliness Project. The program was created to bring awareness to all components of loneliness and to provide tools for connection and reduce the risk of social isolation. Registered participants met for six weeks at the SALUD Center to learn, eat lunch together, and enjoy each other's company.  Safe Passage The Safe Passage program ended for the academic school year. The program ended strong with 54 community watchers and gained an additional school, Ninos Heroes Elementary. Safe Passage is a Chicago Public School initiative that provides a secure path to students going and coming from school. For more information on the program contact Safe Program Manager April Morris at [email protected]  Grand Opening of the US Bank Branch in South Chicago Claretian Associates was invited to the US Bank grand opening of their new branch location on South Chicago Avenue. As a community partner, Claretian was awarded $5,000 during the grand opening. This money will help Claretian cover the cost for internal capacity building efforts such as financial literacy and budgeting along with leadership training. Youth Programming Summer youth programming started at the SALUD Center!
SALUD Fitness Center SPOTLight Local Senior Resident Keeps Healthy at the SALUD Fitness Sheila Ocasio became a fitness center member last winter and since then has lost 40 pounds. Sheila is a South Chicago SALUD Center senior resident and encourages other residents to sign up for a membership. Sheila initially joined because her daughter encouraged her to stay healthy. “She said to me, ‘Mama, I want you to be here. If you take care of yourself you will live longer.’ I took her advice and I feel good,” said Sheila. Learn more about Sheila’s fitness journey here. In addition to exercising at the fitness center, Sheila does sit-ups every morning. She also follows a healthy diet, “I don’t eat junk food anymore. I eat salads, fruits, and healthy stuff,” said Sheila. Her goal is to stay at her current weight. According to Sheila the fitness center is a wonderful resource for the residents. “The fitness center is good because it’s safe and we don’t have to leave the building. I love it here!” said Sheila. Sheila's exercise journey started long before she lived at the South Chicago SALUD Center. She used to attend exercise classes at her aunt's house. This motivated her daughter at a very young age to exercise too. “We were six adults, and she was the only little girl. She used to ask me to take her with me,” said Sheila. Sheila credits Health and Wellness Coordinator Maurice Garrett for her weight loss. “He inspires me, he’s a good coach. He keeps up with clients and is interested in their goals,” said Sheila. Sheila attends the Get Fit class every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She encouraged many building residents and friends to join the fitness center. Staff HighlightsSummer Interns Claretian Associates welcomes the Summer Program Interns, Nyla Moss and Evelyn Apolinar. They will be assisting with the youth who are participating in the One Summer Chicago program.
Announcements Back to School Wellness Fair
The South Chicago Neighborhood Network, Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), Advocate Aurora Health, and other community partners will have the annual Back to School and Wellness Fair on Friday, August 9th at 10:00 AM- 2:00 PM on the block of 91st and Brandon. There will be a bookbag giveaway, resource vendors, games for kids, food, and music. For more information contact Program Manager Tiarra Owens at [email protected]. ProgramsClaretian Associates and Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) Visit Springfield
The CP4P team visited Springfield to lobby for funding for the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program. Later in the month CEO Angela Hurlock, Chief of Programs Tevonne Ellis, and CP4P Program Manager James Sims made a second trip to Springfield to continue lobbying for CVI. Claretian also met with Representative Curtis J. Tarver II, Representative Marcus C. Evans Jr., and Senator Robert Peters to discuss state funding for the SALUD Fitness Center pool. We anticipate funding will be included in the next state budget.  CP4P MPI Press Conference Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) Hospital Response team and CEO Angela Hurlock attended the HEAL Initiative Press Conference with Senator Dick Durbin which was held at the Metropolitan Peace Academy. Senator Durbin secured $4.5 million for the HEAL Initiative, a collaboration to address the root causes of gun violence through economic, health, and community projects in 18 of Chicago’s neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence, poverty, and health disparities. Read more about CP4P’s Hospital Response Team and the HEAL Initiative here. The CP4P Hospital Response team was present at the HEAL Initiative Press Conference. CP4P Program Supervisor Michael Tafolla spoke about the Claretian CP4P Hospital Response and their experience with working with the University of Chicago Medicine. The team's role is to connect in-real time at the hospital with shooting victims from South Chicago and South Shore. “The goal is to immediately connect with victims and families and offer conflict mediation,” said Michael. Since its initial start, the hospital initiative has expanded. “Thanks to the University of Chicago Medicine and our team, we have expanded our services to include victims of gun violence and other forms of violence.” said Michael. Now any victim of violence from South Chicago, South Deering, and South Chicago who is treated at the University of Chicago Medicine emergency room is informed of Claretian CP4P Hospital Response Outreach and Victim Advocates services. If the victim is interested in the services, they are connected to the team. Prior to the relationship with the hospital, the connection rate with victims was around 10% and there was no hospital response outreach team. “Thanks to this relationship, our connection rate has increased to 50%-90%,” said Michael. At the press conference, Michael had the opportunity to speak and thank Senator Durbin. “I thanked him for recognizing our communities, our people, and most importantly our humanity,” said Michael.  Mother’s Appreciation Paint and Chat Claretian Associates and the Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) team collaborated to host a Mother’s Day event at the SALUD Center. Community members and residents gathered to enjoy music, food, and painting. Learn more about the event here. Upon arrival, registered event participants received Mother’s Day appreciation baskets containing basic hygiene, self-care, and cleaning products. The baskets also contained a small canvas with paints. “A lot of people do not realize that art is a form of therapy. It was also a way for people to engage with each other by talking about what they planned to paint,” said Program Manager Tiarra Owens. Painting on a canvas was a new activity that some participants had not experienced. “My residents loved it, especially the painting,” said Resident Manager Wendy Steward. The CP4P outreach workers served dinner at each table. CP4P Case Manager Suncheka Henderson emceed the rest of the event by giving participants the opportunity to recite poetry, dance, and sing. The event also included discussions about women's health from Family Rescue and Chicago Family Heath Center.  Youth Summer Jobs There are still a few open spots for Tech Corps for youth between the ages of 16-18. The program is centered on website development and computer programming. Tech Corps will have two sessions, mornings from 8 am –12 pm and afternoons from 1 pm- 5 pm. Participants will earn an hourly wage of $15.80. Apply here. SALUD Fitness Center Spotlight Mother And Son Stay Healthy Together Debra Hawkins and Damon Polk began exercising at the SALUD Center a year ago because they wanted to incorporate exercise into their lives. They started walking for exercise in the gymnasium and afterward joined the SALUD Fitness Center. Learn more about their exercise journey here.  Three times a week, Debra and Damon attend the Get Fit Class. Debra’s fitness goals are to get stronger and healthier, and Damon wants to be active. In the past, Debra has done some form of exercise such as walking before work or during lunch. “I have not exercised as well as I should, but I’m getting back to a regular schedule,” said Debra. Exercising is new territory for Damien, but he enjoys his new lifestyle. “Both of us have lost weight and we are trying to eat better too,” said Debra. They feel fitter and have more endurance. Debra and Damon were introduced to the SALUD Center by Metropolitan Family Services. "I needed to get out more,” said Damien. Not only do they exercise together, but they have formed friendships too. Since joining the fitness center, they have celebrated birthdays with other fitness members. “We are like a little family down there,” said Debra. Both are looking forward to the future coming of the pool. Debra believes the fit center is great and would recommend it to everybody. Staff Highlights CEO Angela Hurlock Featured on Enterprise Blog
Claretian Associates CEO Angela Hurlock authored an essay which was featured on the Enterprise blog. The essay reflects Ms. Hurlock's childhood as a first-generation Chicagoan. She writes about how communities change, but how there is still the opportunity to build healthy neighborhoods of choice. She also writes about the partnership with Fifth Third Bank Empowering Black Futures Program and Enterprise in South Chicago to increase homeownership and quality of life. Read more here. |
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