Meet our partners in community development
Near West Side Community Development Corporation (NWCDC) is engaged in a variety of partnerships with organizations ranging from workforce development agencies and neighborhood health centers to private sector development firms and entertainment center operators. It is committed to working with strong and experienced partners in order to create a viable, mixed-income community.
Center for Economic Progress
www.centerforprogress.org
NWCDC is working with the Center for Economic Progress to provide tax preparation assistance and financial literacy education through the new West Haven Center for Working Families.
Center for Economic Progress is working to build the assets and increase the economic prosperity of working families and individuals throughout Illinois and across the nation. The Center for Economic Progress works in dozens of communities in Chicago and across Illinois to provide important income boosting and asset-building services to low-income working families and individuals.
There are numerous ways to partner with the Center and help our families and communities invest in themselves and their futures. Over 30 communities across Illinois host the Tax Counseling Project (the Project), the nation's largest volunteer-driven provider of free tax preparation services to low and moderate income families and individuals.
The Project continues to expand its locations and hours/days of operation as more working individuals and families struggle to maintain their financial health in an uncertain economy. The Tax Counseling Project began in four Chicago communities in 1994, assisting low-income families and individuals by providing free tax preparation services. Today, just ten years later, the Project is the nation's largest provider of free tax assistance services.
This year, the Project and its 1,000 volunteers will eclipse $100 million in tax refunds returned to residents from 28 neighborhoods and communities throughout Chicago and Illinois . If you are affiliated with a church, college, community center, bank, library branch, senior center, or business, please consider hosting a tax site and help your neighbors access all the tax credits and benefits as well as other resources and services legally available to them.
Chicago Department of Housing
www.cityofchicago.org
Near West Side Community Development Corporation develops single-family and two-flats homes in West Haven through the New Homes for Chicago Program. DOH works with developers and community organizations to construct new homes for sale at prices affordable to Chicago citizens.
The mission of the Chicago Department of Housing (DOH) is to strengthen neighborhoods and enhance affordability by providing a range of housing opportunities for all Chicagoans. DOH goals to fulfill its mission include:
- Create more affordable housing opportunities
- Improve efficiency in delivering housing
- Maximize access to private and public resources
- Establish leadership in public policy development
Strong, vibrant neighborhoods are the future of great cities like Chicago —- and the cornerstone of these neighborhoods is housing. Housing of all types; for people of all ages and incomes. Our goal is simple: to provide a wide array of information for singles, working families, seniors, first-time home buyers and renters, or owners needing home repairs, rehab or tax relief. Services of the Chicago Department of Housing are offered in two categories:
Consumer Housing: First-time home buyers; property tax-relief; locations of new for-sale housing built by the city; financial assistance for a new roof, porch or furnace; and locations of senior housing can find assistance information on the Home Owners or Home Buyers page. Landlord and Tenant concerns are addressed through the DOH Programs/Assistance to Presidents page.
Developers of Housing: Small rehabbers looking for vacant city buildings to rehabilitate or larger corporations interested in developing single-family and two-flat homes or multi-unit rental buildings on vacant city-owned land can find guidance through the Doing Business with DOH page.
The following is a listing of DOH programs and information resources: Affordable Condos – CPAN, Affordable Home Expo - Spring 2005 Schedule, City Mortgage, Historic Chicago Bungalow Expo - Saturday, April 30, 2005 at IIT, Historic Chicago Bungalow Initiative, Homeownership Housing Counseling Centers, Neighborhood Lending Program Home Purchase and Purchase/Rehab, New Homes for Chicago, Police Officer Home Ownership Incentive Program, Preserving Communities Together, TaxSmart Mortgage Credit Certificate, Teacher Housing Resource Center, Affordable Home Expo - Spring 2005 Schedule, CEDA Home Weatherization Program, Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP), Home Ownership Preservation Initiative/311 Campaign, Home Repairs for Accessible and Independent Living (H-RAIL), Neighborhood Lending Program - Home Improvement Loans / Purchase/ Rehab, Responsible Lending, Reverse Mortgage, Chicago Rents Right, Rental Assistance Program, Residential Landlord/Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) Summary, Security Deposit Interest Rates, Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Rental Subsidy, Community Investment Corporation Programs, Cook County Class 9 Program, Cook County Class S Program, Troubled Buildings Initiative, Mayor's Speakers' Bureau, Housing Relocation Service, Upkeep and Repair Services Program, Chore Housekeeping Program and Senior Services
Local Schools
www.cps.k12.il.us
The following is a list of Chicago Public School in the West Haven community: Best Practice High School , Brown Elementary, Crane High School , Dett Elementary School , Foundations Elementary School , Victor Herbert Elementary and Nia Middle School .
The Chicago Public Schools will be the premier urban school district in the country by providing all students and their families with high quality instruction, outstanding academic programs, and comprehensive student development supports to prepare them for the challenges of the world of tomorrow.
Interstate Realty Management
www.irmmgmt.com
Near West Side Community Development Corporation serves on working groups with developers and property managers to support relocating public housing residents. Interstate Realty Management developed and manages West Haven Park , the new mixed income housing development on the former site of Henry Horner Homes.
Interstate Realty Management Co. is an accredited Management Organization (AMO), affiliated with Michaels Development Company, providing marketing, maintenance, administrative, asset management and accounting services for more than 220 properties spanning 25 states. Staffed with over 1,300 employees, and currently managing in excess of 26,000 apartments, IRM maintains a leading edge sophisticated computerized center of operations at our Headquarters in Marlton , New Jersey .
Interstate has been recognized nationally as an innovator in applying creative management solutions, as exemplified by being the recipient of the first "Community of Quality" award, and subsequent awards, given by The National Assisted Housing Management Association. The full-time on-site staff at every property is coordinated through IRM's district offices around the country.
James Jordan Boys & Girls Club
http://ferrarikorea.com/boysandgirls.html
The James Jordan Boys & Girls Club offers a diverse set of recreational, academic and cultural programs for West Haven residents and youth. Near West Side Community Development Corporation (NWCDC) utilizes the James Jordan Boys & Girls Club to serve as a meeting place for community events and functions.
It was at the retirement celebration for basketball great Michael Jordan's #23 in November, 1994, that Jerry Reinsdorf and the Chicago Bulls announced their intention to build a Boys & Girls Club. The Club would honor the memory of Michael's father, James Jordan, and would serve the residents of Chicago 's West Side community. Two years later in November, 1996, thanks to a $5 million contribution from the Chicago Bulls to build the Club, and a personal commitment of $2 million payable over the next four years by Michael, the 41,000 square foot facility was opened to the public.
Today, more than 1,000 inner-city children and their families come through the doors of the James R. Jordan Boys & Girls Club and Family Life Center each week. "My family is my life," patriarch James Jordan was once quoted as saying. Mr. Jordan 's emphasis on the family is entrenched in the Club's philosophy. Upon entering the contemporary, two-story facility, members and visitors alike are greeted with the James Jordan Photo Mural, which provides an intimate view of the Jordan family. Graduation photos of the Jordan children, and other cherished photos donated to the Club by the Jordans , emphasize the importance of family.
The variety of programs and services provided by the Club sets the James R. Jordan Boys & Girls Club and Family Life Center apart from any other Boys & Girls Club in the nation. Some members come to learn more about computers at the Computer Learning center. Others, come to play bumper pool, take pottery lessons, do homework, or just relax in a safe place.
Of course, with the Club just a few short blocks west of the United Center , home to the Chicago Bulls, many come to play basketball in the state-of-the-art gymnasium. Many adults walk through our doors with the anticipation of receiving basic employment skills training at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago Office of Employment Services, which is also housed at the facility. Other services for entire families include: the Donald R. Oder Science laboratory, restaurant-quality kitchen (great for cooking and nutrition classes), day care wing for infants and toddlers, meeting space, classrooms, game room, and a photography lab.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation- Chicago (New Communities Program)
www.newcommunities.org
Near West Side Community Development Corporation (NWCDC) is one of fourteen lead agencies participating in a LISC comprehensive, quality of life planning initiative, which spans sixteen Chicago area communities.
LISC/Chicago organizes capital and other resources to support initiatives that will stimulate the comprehensive development of healthy, stable neighborhoods and foster their connection to the socioeconomic mainstream of the metropolitan region.
LISC's $100 million investment in Chicago 's neighborhoods over the past twenty-four years has leveraged $2.4 billion in financing from private and public sources. Chicago LISC is part of the national LISC network, which operates in more than 100 cities and rural areas across the country. The largest of its kind in the United States , LISC was established by the Ford Foundation in 1979 and has been operating in Chicago since 1980. Chicago LISC's service area includes all of Cook County . Chicago LISC has:
- Daycare and healthcare facilities, job programs, community safety programs and job programs have been developed through these organizations.
- Invested $150 million in 60 community-based organizations.
- Those organizations have produced 11,000 units of housing and 2.6 million square feet of commercial and industrial space.
The New Communities Program is an ambitious program to support comprehensive community development in 16 Chicago neighborhoods. The five-year effort seeks to rejuvenate decaying communities, bolster those in danger of sliding downward and preserve the diversity of areas in the path of gentrification.
Major Adams Youth Academy
Major Adams Community Committee
125 N Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60612
(312) 421-6903
http://majoradamscc.org/
History
In 1955, the Henry Horner Boys & Girls Club was the first social/recreational center, built in a public housing development. The programs housed in the center were revolutionary and noted for encouraging the talents of the youth in the community. Music, athletics and education were at the core of the club’s activities. The programming and staff of the club heavily influenced many professional recording artists, athletes and scholars. Throughout four decades of service one fixture remained constant in the center, James “Major” Adams. Since 1955, it is his hard work, dedication and compassion that stabilized the development of services to thousands of families.
With the development of the James Jordan Club in 1996, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago decided to end its forty-year partnership with the Henry Horner Community and cease operation of the facility. During the fall of the same year, plans for the “Major” Adams Community Committee officially opened its doors in July of 1997.
Mission Statement
The “Major” Adams Community Committee was created to provide a continuum of programs and services to youth and families in West Haven to increase opportunities to become contributing members of society. MACC’s community based model provides a comprehensive, community-wide strategy of employment as well as cultural needs.
The mission of the Major Adams Community Committee is: to empower young people through culturally enriched programming to be self sufficient and positive contributors to society. In addition, MAAC seeks to offer programs which promote social/racial understanding and tolerance, cultural awareness, responsibility, integrity and economic self-sufficiency.
Programs
The MACC utilizes a holistic approach in the development of our children. Our curriculums are tailored to the community needs and have been developed and implemented into a comprehensive and constructive activities for youth and family development by offering a broad range of initiative. The following is a listing of MACC’s current programs:
Homework Assistance: The Homework Assistance Program is deigned to assist members with their homework and create proper study habits
Tutoring: Youth receive tutoring and school based special project assistance
Sports Leagues: Youth participate in and receive instruction in various sports, such as, basketball, baseball, flag football, volleyball, floor hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, etc.
Fitness & Wellness: Youth receive physical fitness (calisthenics, weight training, etc.), aerobics, nutritional and safety training as it pertains to proper fitness and health.
Recreational Activity: Youth receive and participate in various games room activities designed to create positive interactive skills and gamesmanship
Teen Reach: This program targets a selected number of youth to engage in activities structured to build on life experiences; education based programming, arts & crafts and field trips
Hip-Hop Dance: Provides youth, with a flare for expression, an opportunity to articulate their talents through structured dance lessons
Group Clubs: Provides youth with the opportunity to develop team building, leadership, organizational and life skills
Drum & Bugle Corp: Cadet and intermediate members will learn basic skills in brass, percussion, color guard, marching & maneuvering and competitive performances
Computer Lab: Participants will receive training for beginners, intermediate and advanced education in an array of computer based programs
HIV/AIDS: Provide intake assessments, counseling, workshops, referrals, testing, meds
Mentoring (Street Organizers): Mentors will provide a nurturing environment for mentees by helping to fully develop their social and intellectual potential. The mentors will also serve as counselors and crisis intervention specialists to community youth, specifically at risk to gang involved kids
Fatherhood Initiative: Provides intake, assessments, personal development plans, counseling, group meetings and referrals for parenting classes, job counseling/training/placement, information resources & health
Adult Sports & Recreation: Adults will participate in weight training, calisthenics, aerobic-based training and nutrition classes directly toward a lifestyle. In addition, it will provide an outlet to participate in a positive fitness activity with supportive programming
Adult Basketball: Alumni ages 18 & up will participate in men’s evening open gym and organized basketball tournaments
About
Major Adams Community Committee is a community based not-for-profit organization that celebrates the strength of community by building a partnership of donors, grantees & volunteers. Your investment in the future of Major Adams Community Committee will aid the families to become self-reliant, independent and responsible. With your contributions you can impact the lives of many future Chicago leaders.
In 2003, Major Adams Youth Academy was one of two recipients of Near West Side Community Development Corporation's (NWCDC) small grants awards. Major Adams Youth Academy used the grant to develop recreational programming for Henry Horner Homes and other West Haven youth.
The James "Major" Youth & Family Academy , formerly known as the Henry Horner Club, is a joint partnership between the Horner Association of Men and Youth Service Committee of the West Side .
The Academy is committed to continuing the legacy of "Major" Adams - enhancing and expanding services to children, youth, and families residing in the Near West Side community. The partnership responsible for the development of the Academy represents a cadre of individuals who have been significantly impacted by "Major" Adams ' commitment and dedication to the Henry Horner community, most of whom recognize the need to enhance and expand his mentorship, and give back to the community. Through the development of this partnership, community members will be able to continue the tradition of service and commitment to children, youth, and families that has been demonstrated by "Major" Adams over the years.
The mission of the Academy is to empower community members to develop their own thinking capacities, to enable them to become self-reliant, independent, self-accountable, responsible, family-oriented, and culturally aware persons. Academy Programs and Services include: academic skills enhancement, computer learning center, life skills development, employment training and job placement, mentoring, music education, sports medicine – fitness & wellness, recreational services and rites of passage.
Mid-America Bank
www.midamericanbank.com
With assets totaling $9.4 billion, MidAmerica Bank is the second largest bank headquartered in Chicago . In 2003, the Bank originated $5.0 billion in loans, making it one of the top lenders in the state of Illinois . Despite its size and rapid growth, MidAmerica Bank has remained focused on its long-standing commitment to being a true community bank that provides personalized and trusted service to its customers and the communities in which it operates.
The company is involved in several initiatives to support underserved communities and help boost home ownership. MidAmerica Bank is in its second year of a six-year, $3 billion commitment that focuses on single- and multi-family residential lending initiatives.
In 2003 alone, the Bank made nearly $1 billion in loans toward this commitment. A similar pledge of $500 million over a five-year period was made to the Milwaukee community in May 2003. MidAmerica Bank also operates a dedicated Community Lending Division that works with numerous organizations, such as ACORN and Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, to support Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin communities.
Miles Square Health Center
www.uic.edu/UI-Service/programs/UIC164.html
Mile Square Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center . It is managed and staffed by health professionals from the University of Illinois, and has a Board of Directors, 51% of whom are residents of the Near West Side of Chicago. Mile Square offers a comprehensive array of Medical Care and Social Services which includes Geriatrics, Family Practice, Obstetrics and Gynecology Care, Family Planning, Pediatric Dental and Mental Health, Podiatry, and Nutritional Services and a Specialty Clinic dedicated to sexually transmitted diseases.
Medical services are provided on a sliding fee scale for patients who possess limited or no medical insurance. Patients are seen regardless to their ability to pay. Mile Square currently has six primary service sites: (1) Mile Square Health Center, 2045 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, IL 60612 (2) Better Health Care for Youth at the Suder Elementary School, Chicago, IL 60612 (3) James Jordan Family Life Center, 2102 W. Monroe, Chicago, IL 60612 (4) Near West Family Center, 2310 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60608 (5) John M. Smyth STARS Programs at John M Smyth Elementary School, 1059 W. 13th St., Chicago, IL. 60608 (6)Young Women's Leadership Charter School Clinic, IIT, 3424 S. State, Room 409, Chicago , IL . 60616
Project Match
www.pmatch.org
Near West Side Community Development Corporation (NWCDC) utilizes the Project Match employment service model and tracking system in the West Haven Center for Working Families. Founded in 1985 in Chicago , Project Match conducts program development and research in the fields of welfare-to-work and workforce development.
Project Match's employment model for community-based organizations and its case management model for state and local welfare agencies have both been adopted at sites around the country. The program's research division uses data from replication sites—as well as from Project Match's own community-based employment program—to explore the process by which poor Americans move toward economic and social stability.
The community-based employment model is derived from Project Match's experience operating its own direct-service program, first in Chicago 's Cabrini-Green neighborhood and now in West Haven , on the city's Near West Side. In the 1980s, through analysis of job-turnover data for the program's first participants, Project Match provided some of the earliest evidence of the widespread phenomenon of job cycling among current and former welfare recipients.
While the intervals between jobs were short for some people, they were much more extended for others, resulting in a pattern of intermittent work. Based on these data, Project Match became one of the first programs in the country to develop a continuum of employment services, including job placement, retention, reemployment, and advancement assistance.
Project Match is currently guiding implementation of its employment model in several low-income neighborhoods in Chicago , as part of the New Communities Program (NCP), initiated by LISC/Chicago with primary funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Touhy-Herbert Park
www.chicagoparkdistrict.com
In 1917, the Chicago City Council authorized the purchase of land at the corner of West Adams and South Hoyne Streets. By 1928, the city had acquired enough additional property to create Touhy-Herbert Park , constructing a playing field, a skating pond, and an office building/shelter house. Twenty years later, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation built a fieldhouse there.
In 1959, the city transferred the park to the Chicago Park District, which purchased additional land to expand the park to its current 8 acres. Since 1961, the park district and the Board of Education have jointly operated the park and the adjacent Herbert Elementary School . As early as 1930, the Bureau of Parks and Recreation referred to this site as Touhy Park , a name that recognized the public service of local resident John J. Touhy (1888-1974).
Touhy served as a city alderman from 1917 until 1926, when he was elected a trustee of the Sanitary District of Chicago. In 1950, he left the Sanitary District to become a Cook County Commissioner. Touhy retired from office in 1970. In 1999, the Chicago Park District officially designated the site Touhy-Herbert Park , a name commonly used by neighbors. The new name, of course, mirrors that of the nearby school, which honors American musician, composer, and conductor Victor Herbert (1859-1924). The New York Times eulogized Herbert as " America 's Leading Composer of Light Opera."
The United Center-Joint Ventures
www.unitedcenter.com
In 1988, William Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Jerry Reinsdorf, majority owner and Team Chairman of the Chicago Bulls, formed a new partnership to create an arena that would take sports and entertainment into the 21st century. The United Center , home to the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls, is the largest arena in the United States . Construction was begun in April of 1992, with the ribbon cutting ceremony being held on August 18, 1994 . Since opening, the United Center has hosted over 200 events each year.
Some of the events the United Center has been proud to host include the 1996 Democratic National Convention, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, U2, The Who, The 3 Tenors, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice, the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Great Eight Classic, DePaul College Basketball, and Champions on Ice. The United Center has hosted over twenty million guests since its opening in 1994.