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Empowering a neighborhood: by Tareq Qatanani There are many community centers all around the country but few are like the Howard Area Community Center. It is a multi-service, community-based agency serving low-income residents of the Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago. The Howard area of Rogers Park has a population that is roughly one-third white, African-American and Hispanic, with a significant south-Asian population. Throughout many cities in the U.S., rental units are undergoing gentrification or being converted into condominiums. The Howard area community is steadily becoming poorer because it attracts many low-income residents; it is one of the last areas around Chicago with cheap rental units. As the population grows and the income level of the neighborhood drops, the Center’s responsibilities have expanded. John Fitzgerald, associate director of the Howard Area Community Center, has been working and volunteering for over ten years and lived in the area almost his whole life. "We started summer camps for kids, adult education programs, counseling to help people overcome needs, and political activists in the community voted the precinct dry,” Fitzgerald said. “We expanded our programs; we now have a well-managed day-care center, an alternative high school, dental clinic, legal clinic, services for specific needs like AIDS/HIV [and] domestic violence.” The Center provides intensive services to over 4,000 individuals through a wide variety of programs. Their alternative high school is for high school dropouts between 16 and 20 years of age, as well as a college credit program called the Odyssey Project. There is also a GED program for individuals outside of that age range. Because 20 percent of Rogers Park residents do not speak English as a first language, the center also has an English-as-a-second-language program. Howard Area Community Center owns a garden and participates in community beautification, and has a program for that as well. The Center has programs that provide emergency intervention, family stabilization, and psychological or legal counseling services. Many clients are poorly educated; some have health or addiction problems, and some require pro bono legal services. The infants and toddlers program helps over 100 families by teaching parenting skills and educating parents about proper development. However, according to Fitzgerald, the Center is proudest of their new, fully accredited daycare. It serves families with infants up to three years old, particularly those whose mothers have to work to support the family in the Federal Welfare-to-Work Program. Helping people is the primary goal of the Howard Area Community Center. Participants are encouraged to be the leaders that solve the community’s problems instead of behaving like victims. The Center encourages the lower-income residents to get politically involved in their community and to vote. “We are not partisan, but we encourage participation,” said Fitzgerald. “We encourage voting and schools and tell people that they have a stake in the community, like the CTA station. They don't have money so all they can do is vote." Hundreds of people donate their time and money to the Howard Area Community Center. Because of the strong volunteer base, the Center has almost $4.5 million in their budget, which is comprised mainly from donations and taxes. There are so many programs to support that the Center spends roughly 95 cents of each dollar directly on services to help the Howard area community. Main office: 7648 N. Paulina |
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