2010 Census

The 2010 Census is rapidly approaching in April 2010. Chicago Commons is teaming up with two other neighborhood organizations -- La Casa Norte, and Humboldt Park Social Services – to increase response rates in the 2010 census in neighborhoods where the response was very low in the year 2000. Our work is supported by a “Count Me In” grant through the Illinois Census Funders Initiative.


Through aggressive neighborhood outreach, we are going to reach people BEFORE they get their census form so they understand its importance.


Here are some of the answers to the kinds of questions we often hear about the Census:


Will the 2010 Census be the same as before?
No, there are some important changes:
• 2010 Census will be short form only—just 10 easy questions.
• the long form is now part of the annual American Community Survey.
• handheld computers with Global Positioning System (GPS) will be used to check the address list in 2009.

How is Census data used?
The federal government uses population data to allocate congressional seats along with funds to your community in a number of areas:

• Head Start programs
  


• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (food grants)
  


• Public transportation
  


• Programs for the elderly
  


• Emergency food and shelter
  


• The data help the private sector as well as state and federal governments determine where jobs and job programs are needed.
  


• Corporations use population data for market research to determine locations for commercial enterprises, such as food stores, pharmacies, and other essential services.
  


• It is NOT used to identify specific households, all household information is confidential for 75 years.
  
  What you can do to make sure your community is counted:
  
  Identify organizations in the community that can provide space for Questionnaire Assistance Centers and will serve as a Be Counted site.
  
  Hold a meeting with leaders of the organizations and solicit their help in creating a census awareness campaign targeted for community residents.
  
  Distribute/post fliers announcing the delivery of the census questionnaire at busy locations in the community.
  
  Encourage residents to complete and mail back their census questionnaires.
  
  Plan a Census Day event to motivate community response.
  
  Remind residents if they don’t mail back their questionnaire a census worker may come to their home. Encourage residents to cooperate with census workers.

H1N1 Response

Many people have asked how H1N1 virus affected Chicago Commons. There were less than 10 cases among our 700 pre-school children and all have recovered fine.

Commons staff were great about taking it seriously and raising awareness with parents. One key resource was a special H1N1 newsletter that went to all parents. Click here to see it. It was written and designed by two family service workers that have joined our staff for one year through AVODAH, the Jewish Service Corps, a wonderful connection for Commons.

Our Kind of Research

Through our neighborhood partnerships (in this case Humboldt Park Community of Wellness), we learned the Urban Institute is researching the problem of maternal depression in low-income communities. As part of the study, Commons' Nia Center hosted a mothers focus group, giving our parents a voice in national policy and $35 for an hour of their precious time! Commons appreciates this kind of policy research... research that incorporates the ideas and opinions of our neighborhood residents -- it is absolutely consistent with our Settlement House roots.

Holiday Cheer

200 children from Chicago Commons pre-schools visited Macy's on State Street this morning for the 2nd annual Operation Happy Children event. Children and their teachers were treated to breakfast in the Walnut Room and a visit with Santa. Thank you to Macy's for choosing Chicago Commons as their partner for this special event!

Slow Road to Peace

The Chicago Police and Park District organized a stop the violence forum in Back of the Yards on Saturday, Nov. 21st. It was organized fairly last minute, but youth from Nuevos Exitos attended and brought the finished Peace Quilt (see past blog post). You can see the quilt in the photo, hanging behind Police Commissioner Weis and Alderman Cardenas. Cassandra Cortes, Chicago Commons Youth Specialist, is speaking.

The forum gave several parents a chance to voice their specific frustrations to the Police Department which will probably result in some targeted follow up for them. But, last minute forums like this one probably do little to stem the tide of violence. Commissioner Weis acknowledge this, stating that the police can only be as aggressive combating violence as the neighborhood will allow. To that end, Commons must seek more ways to engage with the police, parents and others in an ongoing way. Ongoing communication within the neighborhood is the only true solution, and much harder than it sounds.

Moving Forward

Youth violence, such as the death of Gama Toscano, is devastating in many ways, including the way it saps the morale of our students. It is up to the adults to counteract this through conversations and by showing interest in young people who are doing positive things.

To that end, Chicago Commons and the Illinois Department of Human Services is hosting a Stop the Violence forum on Thursday, November 19, 4 p.m., at Paulo Freire Center at 1653 West 43rd.

Students will present their work including a Day of the Dead exhibit, a peace quilt and a "street art" project where students produced and installed positive messages around the neighborhood, such as in the photo shown.

If you want to join us at the forum, RSVP to garzal@chicagocommons.org.

Gamaliel Toscano

The death of Gamaliel "Gama" Toscano was difficult for all of us to process last week. He had been a participant in our program from 6th to 9th grade and was preparing to participate in our RISE mentoring program later this year.

Obviously the family is hit the hardest. Gama has a little brother who is an active participant in our youth program. We are going to do all that we can to support the family.

Our staff were also hit hard. After the initial shock passed, it was clear that the best way to honor Gama and make sense of this tragedy is to just work even harder. Esther Cepeda's column in today's Sun Times expresses the same feeling we have, that we must continue to engage in dialogue with as many young people as we can. We arranged for grief counseling for our youth program participants, many of whom were friends with Gama.

Today, the Sun Times ran a letter to the editor from Eddie Anguiano, Youth Program Director. Eddie and his team have been incredible. Our staff Felmar Dean, Cassandra Cortez and Laura Pawson visited the family and extended our offer of help. Thank you to the youth program staff for representing the best of Chicago Commons at this difficult time.

We have received many calls from community members -- neighbors, organizations, police and clergy -- seeking to help. We will now work to turn that concern into more coordinated, powerful coalition to save lives in the future.

Resilience

There was a wonderful story in the Chicago Tribune about Derrius Quarles. He grew up without either parent, but is a testimony to how resilient people can be. He set his mind upon his education and began at Morehouse this Fall.

During his Senior year in high school, Derrius was a participant in our RISE mentoring program, through which he interned at a dental office. Derrius also went on our college tour last year. Desmond Kemp, the Commons RISE Coordinator last year , is quoted in the Tribune article.

I have two key "take-aways" from this story.

1. People are resilient. No matter how bad things seem, all it takes is a dedicated focus on education. Derrius is a shining example, as his level of focus is something to behold.

2. The key to Chicago Commons success is talented and committed staff. In this case, it was Desmond Kemp who went the extra mile for Derrius. I continue to be inspired by the many Commons staff who are willing to do whatever it takes.

There is also a great letter to the editor on this story highlighting the importance of mentoring, such as the mentoring Demsond provides Derrius.

Thank you Chicago Tribune

Thanks to the Tribune for some excellent coverage about the need for support for families grappling with Alzheimer's disease. Shanthy Edward, Chicago Commons Director of Clinical Services and Community Relations is quoted several times.

Commons' role at the end of life

It is not something we want to think about, but an important new study was released today by the Alzheimer's Association.

It explains that the incidence of alzheimer's disease and dementia is increasing worldwide a rapid rate. We must intensify the search for a cure and treatments.

Chicago Commons Adult Day Service fills a crucial need while the search for a cure continues. Our center at 51st Street provides a safe environment for seniors during the day, allowing them to continue living at home with family and in their community.

Unfortunately, the state funding for this service has been declining, so this program has become a difficult one to fund.

In fact, over 10 Adult Day Service centers have closed in Chicago during the past decade. Things are moving in the wrong direction!

Chicago Commons has released a new video to highlight the importance of the program and the funding challenges it is facing. In the meantime, we are working with other Adult Day Centers to conduct a statewide study in order to secure both public and private investment in this important service.

NEW VIDEO ON CHICAGO COMMONS ADULT DAY SERVICE

RISE - ing

The new year has started and the RISE program is back underway. RISE stands for Raising Individual Success through Empowerment. High school students in RISE take part in paid internships, are paried with a mentor and feel the pride of holding down a job. Also, RISE participants go on college tours (see photo) and Commons provides help and guidance on selecting and applying to colleges.

Here are some great before and after stories that shows the power of work and discipline:

“Before the RISE program, you could say that I was literally a couch potato. I was not active. Everyday I would just wake up and watch television.” This students increased his GPA FROM A 1.8 TO A 2.97 and he started at Northern Illinois University this Fall!

Here’s another:

“Before RISE I Would REALLY slack off in school …. I would constantly look for a job, but constantly prayed not to find one. I was Lazy.” Now, he is attending University of Illinois Chicago on two scholarships.

We are keeping in touch with last year’s RISE graduates, so they can return to mentor future students. Although generation cycles of poverty seem so entrenched, all it takes is a commitment to education to create a positive cycle with a momentum of its own.

School's In (almost)

Chicago Public Schools is back in session on Tuesday, Sept. 8th.

Of course, it is critical that children get to school on the first day and hit the ground running. Also, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) benefits financially because funding levels with State of Illinois are calculated based on first day attendance rate.

Chicago Commons is a key supporter of CPS, helping build support for schools at the neighborhood level.

Today, we gave away 100 backpacks with school supplies to families in West Humboldt Park. Thank you to State Farm for donating the backpacks and supplies!

Last week, we donated a van load of supplies to Alderman Burnett's Back to School rally.

Throughout this week we posted yard signs and distributed flyers in the neighborhood to make sure children attend the first day of school on September 8th.

And next week we welcome 700 children to start a new year at our full-day pre-schools.

All of our programs are educational, at root. Ultimately, we are building a culture of lifelong education in our neighborhoods. As we reach more and more families, that culture is starting to take root in the neighborhoods.

Tumbling Into Fall

What a treat last week! The Jesse White Tumblers performed at the NIA Family Center block party on a cool Friday afternoon. We were so pleased that Jesse White (IL Secretary of State) himself was there to supervise the team, as he often is. If you have never seen the tumblers, they are a sight to see, extremely talented. Thank you to the staff at NIA for organizing such an exciting block party for the neighborhood.

CHICAGO COMMONS IS GOING GREEN

We just turned off 620 sixty-watt light bulbs a year! And we’re still just as bright.

Thanks to a grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, Chicago Commons was able to replace ballasts, reflectors and ceiling light fixtures in all four of our early learning family centers.

And we reduced our energy usage by 37.27 kilowatts, equivalent of turning off 620 sixty-watt light bulbs a year.

Youth Quilt is Almost Finished!

As you know from reading the paper, violence continues to infect inner-city Chicago neighborhoods. All too often, youth are the victims and perpetrators of violence. Over the summer, the teen youth program experimented with an interesting new group project to address this issue head on. One youth group at the Back of the Yards location worked on a quilt project. The concept behind the quilt project is to have the students celebrate their neighborhood while challenging them to push for change. Students were asked questions like "What would peace in your community look like?" and "If you could visually represent the best part of your community, what would that picture be?" Students drew a picture to represent their ideas and then turned the drawing into a fabric collage. Now the individual collages are being assembled into a large quilt... combining individual voices into a unified whole! We will post a picture of this wonderful creation on this blog when it is complete in early September.

New Directions for ETC

Each program faces its own challenges related to the budget this year. The Adult Education and Training Center (ETC) is especially vulnerable because over 50% of program funding depends upon the state. But we are not letting this get us depressed. The neighborhood level demand for the program remains strong, so we will figure out a way to fund it. The key is to understand the nature of the demand for our services. For example, we are serving more and more adults who are considered "ex-offenders". Around 40% of ETC students right now have a criminal record of some kind. So we are trying to plug into federal and other funding to serve people who are exiting prison. The ETC started as a welfare to work effort in the 1990s, but today we are finding we need to re-tool to meet the present day circumstances and demand. We had a great meeting today with Project Safe Neighborhoods about what they are doing and how we could work together. This issue will be big for Chicago Commons during the coming few months.

Summer Reading!

Ok, we need some good news. Here's some:

Who knew Ron Boggs, loyal Commons Board member, just published his second novel? Who knew he had a first novel? Insurance executive by day and spinning tales of intrigue by night.

His new book is called Natural Drift. Go see the blurb and buy it on Amazon (click here). And a percentage of the royalties will go to Chicago Commons!

Ron, thanks for this generous gift, now let's all help Ron get a movie deal.

More Budget Woes

Sorry that this new Chicago Commons blog is full of tales of woe... but it reflects the fact that our country is going through a time of re-prioritization.

On a more positive note, I actually believe it can be a good thing to reconsider one's priorities... what is truly most important? Potentially, the current budget mess could really help lead to an understanding about what state government does that we value.

One role I think we should value is the state's role in funding an effective education system for all children. Children are the future, and they are going to have to do a lot of innovating to create the economic growth necessary to pay all the bills we are racking up today!

So, it is truly frustrating to see early education get whacked this year.

Click here for an article on the $125 million cut to early childhood education. Next week we will learn exactly how this affects Commons and it may force painful sacrifices to our early childhood program and our commitment to quality.

Former Commons Board Member, Jesse Ruiz, now serves as Chair of the Board of Education. He had the impossible choice... which children to cut? Early childhood education was singled out for the biggest cuts mainly because the other education dollars leverage federal matching funds, but Pre-K funding does not. So, Jesse and the Board of Education made the right fiscal decision.

The real issue is that Governor Quinn and the Board of Education were hung out to dry by the State Legislature. That is where leadership is absent.

Accreditation

It has been a few busy weeks for the Child Development program. Three of our four pre-school locations hosted a team of early childhood educators during the past several weeks in order to renew our accreditation through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is the ultimate "seal of approval" for early childhood centers.

NAEYC visits are unannounced, so staff must be on their toes at all time, showing our commitment to high quality. The assessment teams are very detailed, evaluating our facilities, curriculum, teacher - child interactions, parent involvement, professional development and the list goes on.

We will learn the official results in a few months, but the staff did a wonderful job and we feel confident that we will be re-accredited. Congratulations to everyone involved!

State Budget Advocacy

There are some excellent coalition groups organizing advocacy around the State Budget.

One of the best is the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. They are defending the potential cuts to the Illinois Community College Board, which is the key funding source for Commons' Adult Education and Training Center (ETC).

They have a great website where you can quickly send a message to the Governor to tell him to prioritize Community College funding, since it leverages significant federal funds. If Community College funds are cut even a small amount, the State will lose all of the federal matching funds for adult education because federal laws require states to maintain a constant amount of funding.

Send Message to Governor Quinn (Choose Save Adult Education Now)

State Budget Woes

The current State of Illinois budget is by far the most challenging funding situation I have experienced at Commons. And this is saying a lot because we faced a severe financial crisis at Commons several years ago.

It is the uncertainty that makes this so difficult. It is certain that cuts will be made, but we are now two weeks into the new fiscal year with no clarity from Illinois as to where the cuts will fall! When Commons had its own financial difficulties, it was hard, but we identified the tough decisions and made them as quickly as possible.

Here are a couple of links to good overviews of the current Illinois budget situation. Beware, it is not uplifting.

Rich Miller Column

Good article from Rockford

Welcome

Welcome to this new way of communicating with Chicago Commons!

When I came to Chicago Commons ten years ago, I found an organization engaged in a huge variety of neighborhood level work. I was inspired and it is a large reason I am here ten years later and that I became Executive Director in 2005.

But one thing I know from experience -- it is hard to get to know Commons and all of its work. As a new employee here in 1998 running a welfare-to-work program, I was completely unaware of many things Commons was doing. Every year I would discover a whole new area where Commons was making an impact.

Today, I am sure we are still struggling with the same issue... Commons does not always work to toot its own horn! At heart, we are a modest organization. Staff are realistic that it is not our work alone that makes the difference.. but that of neighborhood residents. Nonetheless, there are many good things we need to cheer about and many challenging things we need to share.

My purpose in starting this blog is to try to give you another way to learn about Chicago Commons and our ongoing work. I only hope I can do Commons justice!

Dan Valliere
Executive Director