Health Priorities

Alliance of the Southeast (ASE) provides leadership training to African American and Latino youth (ages 12 to 19) to give them a voice in the community, take part in positive activities and bring them together around anti-violence initiatives.

As part of the summer program, the Youth Leadership Council (YLC) gave those who took part the skills to increase their work to make a difference in the life of their community, take ownership of their communities and solve problems to deal with neighborhood issues.

The mission of Bronzeville-based Centers for New Horizons is "to develop the capacities of individuals and families to become self-reliant, to improve the quality of their lives, and to participate in rebuilding their community." Centers' summer program placed justice-involved youth in summer jobs and provides vaccination education in the community.

The Chicago Survivors Youth Program provides clinical and therapeutic support to Chicago youth who have lost a family member from homicide and their caregivers. Working with DePaul University and its Education and Counseling Center, Chicago Survivors hosted "The Power of Storytelling." This was a six-week summer program to deal with the complex trauma and grief of survivor families affected by homicide.

Fearless Leading by the Youth (F.L.Y.) works to empower youth and millennials to be community organizers and leaders. Funding from the Southland RISE grant helped to support F.L.Y.'s Healing and Building program in the Woodlawn community, connecting residents affected by trauma with counseling services, trauma-informed care, social-emotional learning workshops, anger management workshops and more. The group also turned empty lots into gardens and gathering spaces.

The Girls Like Me Project’s (GLMP) mission is to help urban African American girls, ages 11 to 16, overcome stigmas and negative stereotypes to become influential, independent digital storytellers. The summer program — Soul Power Healing Summer — focused on digital storytelling as a tool of connectivity and leadership. Twenty people who took part were trained as digital storytellers to document life for Black girls after COVID-19.

Grand Boulevard Prevention Services (GBPS) works to prevent underage drinking, substance abuse and violence among youth. With the Southland RISE grant, GBPS hosted community events that supported messages and activities to prevent violence and substance abuse.

Guitars Over Guns Organization supports Haven Studios in Chicago's Oakland neighborhood, a place that supports teaching music and mentoring. The community-based recording studio is no cost to underserved youth, ages 14 to 21, from South Side communities who seek a supportive community and mentoring through the arts. Workshops include cinematography, music licensing, mental health group therapy and more.

Serving the neighborhoods of Austin, West Garfield Park and Back of the Yards, the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago promotes nonviolence with street outreach, victim advocacy, case management, workforce development and community organizing activities.

For the summer program, the group trained a team of eight street outreach workers in the Back of the Yards neighborhood to work within the community, respond to shootings and have conflict mediations to prevent violence.

Kids Off The Block’s mission is to provide at-risk, low-income youth with positive options to combat gangs, drugs, truancy, violence and the juvenile justice system. The group hosted hundreds of students from the Chicago Metro area in its Summer Basketball League that has existed since 2013. The goals are to keep youth safe and involve them in activities such as group mentoring sessions, skill training and basketball.

The mission of Ladies of Virtue is to instill purpose, passion and perseverance in girls ages 9 to 18, as they help prepare them for college, careers and to become agents of change in their communities.

The Southland RISE grant helped the group provide mental health counseling to 50 South Side girls. It also had workshops for parents that focused on trauma-informed care, adolescent mental health, social-emotional development in young people and more. The summer program also provided training in conflict resolution and restorative justice.

Lost Boyz’s mission is to decrease violence, improve social and emotional conditions, and provide financial opportunities for the youth in Chicago's South Shore community. The Southland RISE grant supported the Successful Youth Leaders (SYL) program. The program uses baseball to build trauma resilience and improve development and leadership skills.

Over eight weeks during the summer, Public Equity hosted online community meals to cultivate community resilience and foster violence education in Englewood. Ten men from conflicting groups were invited to take part in online peace talks as they cooked and shared meals. Public Equity provided gift cards and meal kits for those who took part to prepare a meal at home.

The mission of the St. Titus One Youth Anti-Violence and Mentoring Program is to provide a positive, safe place that supports education so youth can reach their life's potential. The summer program offered Late Night Youth Nights, artistic expression contests and basketball tournaments, and ended in a No Crime Day-Chicago event on August 7.

The mission of W.A.T.C.H. is to create a place of learning for youth, building self-worth, character and passion to live successfully. The summer's One Block, One Porch, One Book Program helped youth to read up to seven books during the seven weeks of the program, and to keep track of the resulting self-esteem and well-being.

The Woodlawn Community Reentry Project Chicago (WCRPC) promotes the educational well-being of school-age persons outside of the public education mainstream and works with those who come into contact with the juvenile and adult justice systems.

The summer program worked to increase re-enrollment in school, delivered education enrichment in safe community spaces and used street outreach to reduce gun violence arrests and charges after release.