Place-based effort to build stronger communities expanding to Harvey with help from 'community quarterbacks'

A new effort to build a stronger Harvey officially launched earlier this month. It’s called the Transforming Places Harvey Neighborhood Network, and two trusted Harvey organizations are taking the lead.

The United Way of Metro Chicago has been funding Restoration Ministries since the 1990s. Over the course of a decade United Way, a nonprofit organization that focuses on building stronger neighborhoods, brought its Neighbourhood Network initiative to communities across Chicago's South and West Sides and suburban areas like Elgin and Evanston.

As trusted nonprofit organizations, CEDA and Restoration Ministries were assigned as community quarterbacks by United Way and will oversee the project.

The two groups introduced the effort to officials from most of the city’s public bodies who gathered to discuss the future of Harvey at the initiative's first meeting last month. It marked the first time in years that officials from Harvey’s school system, library board, and municipal government were in the same room—and on good terms.

Attendees included Mayor Chris Clark, Thornton Township High Schools District 205 Superintendent Nathaniel Cunningham, Jr., Alderwoman Shirley Drewenski (2nd), and new Harvey School District 152 board president Myra Gardner.

According to Machelle Anderson, Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County (CEDA) Mobility LABs Project Director, the meeting was an essential first step to jumpstart the work. “The most exciting part for me is that it is community-driven and it's going to be its own unique project,” Anderson said.

While the initiative is still in its early stage it is not clear yet the exact changes that will be brought to Harvey, because each neighborhood community determines its own needs.

An accompanying resident-led steering committee would determine the community vision and identify issues that are necessary to address within the funding period. If residents are interested to join they can email Karen Vrdolyak, Vice President of Development and Administration at Restoration Ministries for the application.

The steering committee is set to be determined during the summer of 2023, said Monique Shelton, Director of Community Engagement at United Way of Metro Chicago.

“Our goal is not to come in with funding, have these great ideas, start something, and then leave,” Shelton said. “Our goal is to create strong coalitions … thinking about long-term sustainability and connecting them to those entities that could help support that.”

Vrdolyak shared that the initiative will also involve nonprofit organizations to ensure that their efforts complement existing ones instead of duplicating them.

“We welcome those who want to think critically and strategically about the needs of the city of Harvey, and start to put resources to address those needs,” Vrdolyak said.

The project will take place in phases over three years.

The first year is to build the coalition and create the vision, followed by the second year focusing on implementation and capacity building for program partners. In the third year, the initiative will implement similar goals as the second year, with the addition of identifying long-term funding.

“I'm excited because there's going to be so many new opportunities for all residents,” Vrdolyak said. “We look at what the other neighborhood networks have accomplished and what they're doing on a daily basis in their communities. It's amazing. It's awesome.”

One of the success stories is Neighbourhood Networks’ member Brighton Park neighborhood. Through the initiative, there are five full-time counselors in six neighborhood schools and becoming sanctuary schools to assist families worried about deportation.

One partner helped establish an early childhood education center and essential services for over 100 families of children up to age 5. The network also forged space for new and improved mental health and domestic violence centers.

CEDA and Restoration Ministries are planning to conduct surveys in Harvey. There will be a series of meetings with invitations extended to religious leaders, community partners and residents.

“[A] big area that comes up time and time again is always safety and security, but that's so broad. We want to look at what is the root cause of the safety and security,” Anderson said. “I think a lot of that will come back down to youth programming and having safe places for people to convene, and give them something to do, and workforce development.”

As the support body, United Way has the ability to mobilize resources, agency partners, investors, and corporations to address barriers to community goals, infrastructure investment, capacity building, and technical assistance.

“Change doesn't happen overnight,” Shelton said. “This is going to take time, but I believe that when we have the right partners at the table we'll get there one step at a time.”

TPHNN encourages everyone who is interested to reach out to CEDA and Restoration Ministries to get involved.

Email RM staff at karenv@restorationministries.net and CEDA staff at Troy.OQuin@cedaorg.net to get involved.

Update 05/24/2023: This story has been updated to reflect new contact information which residents can use to get involved. Organizers with the project alerted our staff the previous contact information included someone who is now, as of publication, no longer involved with the project.