Table Of Content
During the past 150 years, change has been constant for Erie House, Executive Director Kirstin Chernawsky said in a press release. She became executive director at age 24 and was the first Spanish-speaking director of the agency. Erie House's Legal Services program grows into its own department, expanding its mission of keeping families together and allowing them to achieve a greater sense of security in the U.S. Superior St., sharing a renovated factory building with Erie Family Health Center. This new space allows Erie House to expand early childhood education programming and serve more of the West Town community.
Citizenship & Immigration Services
By the 1980s, Mexican Americans were recognized as Chicago's largest group of immigrants, and the rising influence of Latin Americans in Chicago was reflected in the changing makeup of Erie House program participants as well as its staff members. Rafael Ravelo, an immigrant from Cuba, became the agency's first Latino executive director in 1985 (all three Erie House executive directors who have served since Ravelo's tenure have also been Latino, representing both the Puerto Rican and Mexican American communities served at Erie House). The demographics of the West Town community began to transition at the turn of the 20th century as Italian and Polish immigrants populated the area near and around Erie Chapel. By 1915, Erie Chapel consisted of three staff members and an annual budget of $6,400 (roughly $150,000 when adjusted for inflation), at which point it incorporated and renamed itself Erie Chapel Institute.
Erie House & New Arrivals from Texas
As the city and its immigrant populations changed over the years, so did Erie House. While founded in the settlement house tradition, today, we are a modern social services nonprofit providing the most comprehensive support immigrant and low-income families need to thrive. And finally, we’ve continued to grow and evolve to provide what our community needed the most. In 1996, we opened a community technology center to provide new education and professional development opportunities for our participants in a rapidly changing world. In recent years, we’ve responded to our immigrant community’s concerns by providing “Know Your Rights” trainings and expanding our Legal Services department.
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One such story, a Chicago story, that has always grabbed my attention, pertains to the birth and growth of the settlement house movement before, during, and after Hull House and Jane Addams. My view is that it was a faith-based movement – not necessarily church-based, although churches were involved. Nor was it religious, but rather, as Eleanor Stebner describes it in her book, The Women of Hull House, “a study in spirituality, vocation and friendship.” It is a gospel story about being a good neighbor. We are a diverse community of passionate individuals, bound together by a shared commitment to building proud, powerful communities across the city.
Adult Education & Training
Our Proyecto Cuídate community wellness and safety program expands its footprint in providing critical mental health services to our community, ultimately becoming a standalone department within Erie House. Erie House believes in the importance of diversity, equity, access and inclusion. We stand in solidarity with those fighting against injustice, oppression, and systemic racism in all its forms. Our mission is to empower our community — Latinx immigrants and individuals and families of all backgrounds. AAnn Grecek directs a NAEYC-accredited child care program that provides care and instruction to 175 children and their families. She came to Erie House in 2019, having invested two decades working within Early Head Start and Head Start programs throughout Chicagoland.
Director of Expanded Learning Programs for Children & Youth
Kirstin has served as a tireless advocate for the mission of Erie House and brings with her a strong background in nonprofit administration and strategic fundraising. She also has extensive experience working with the agency's strategic partners both across the city of Chicago and at the national level. Through each wave of immigration, the leadership of Erie had become aware of Jane Addams’ work, recognized its value, and incorporated its methodologies into its support of the community. But the foundation of “the House” had been laid years earlier by the Presbyterian church on the corner. This work was started by a small mission church, called Holland Presbyterian, in 1870, when Ulysses Grant was still President and Chicago was only thirty-three years old.
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation was also founded by Erie House in 1967 to create affordable housing opportunities for members of the community. And in 2005, Erie Elementary Charter school was founded out of Erie House to provide a bilingual school option for neighborhood families. In 1893, we offered one of twenty flagship programs in Chicago’s Free Kindergarten Association, and in 1942 we began providing daycare in response to growing demand during WWII as the American workforce evolved. In 1984, we launched TEAM, a groundbreaking mentoring program that supports the growth and development of neighborhood youth. We work with young people from infancy through high school graduation to equip them with tools and resources to build a bright future, including educational programs and activities, mentoring, and family support.
In the morning, Erie House’s newest neighbors dropped off their pre-schoolers. After work, they picked them up, along with their older children who went to Erie after school. Monday through Thursday evenings, and twice on Saturday, the adults studied English or enrolled in citizenship classes. Through foundational academic and professional programs like English as a Second Language (ESL), civics education, workforce development, and more, we provide the tools adults need for long-term success.
Testimony reveals gang beef led to 14-year-old's shooting on Cherry Street in Erie - GoErie.com
Testimony reveals gang beef led to 14-year-old's shooting on Cherry Street in Erie.
Posted: Thu, 04 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
She also spent 14 years teaching in the Early Childhood Education department at Morton College. Cheryl Philip oversees development and communications and is responsible for sustaining and increasing private, institutional and public funding to support the agency's objectives. Her background is in individual giving, specifically mid-level and major gifts.
Its programs operate on a blend of federal, state and private foundation funding. The organization also relies on a generous donor base in addition to an active volunteer corps. While Erie House serves Chicagoans of all backgrounds, clients predominately include Latino immigrant families, including documented and undocumented immigrants. These communities have been among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Cristina De La Rosa became Erie House's 10th executive director after serving as Senior Director of Programs. Before coming to Erie House in 2011, she worked for 7 years at the Chicago Federation of Labor as a program coordinator and case manager. Leslie Okamura directs a finance department that manages a $9 million annual budget comprised of private and public revenue streams. She came to Erie House in 2013, having worked previously at Casa Central Social Services in the world of corporate finance. Melissa Flores oversees all 12 programs at Erie House and works alongside program leadership on strategic planning, identifying and achieving outcomes and managing grant funding. She previously served as Dean of Adult Education at Richard J. Daley College, one of the 7 City Colleges of Chicago (CCC).
Erie House begins providing daycare in response to growing demand during World War II as the American workforce evolves. By equipping you with the right tools and resources, we can help you thrive in the face of adversity. With greater access to well-being comes the chance to build proud, powerful communities together. By providing your family with quality education and holistic support, we can help shape a brighter future.
Superior St., a move that move enabled the agency to greatly increase its early childhood education program capacity from 40 children to 180 children. Erie House administrative offices were also moved to this location. Erie Family Health Center renewed ties with Erie House to co-purchase the building, formerly a cardboard box factory, and moved their headquarters and clinic services to occupy the third and fourth floors. We work with young people from infancy through high school graduation to equip them with tools and resources to build a bright future, including educational programs and activities, mentoring, and family support. We’ve been an incubator for other community-based organizations, including Erie Family Health, which began as a clinic operated by Northwestern University medical students at Erie House in 1957.
A home with no borders, impacting lives to create powerful communities. Check out our list of volunteer positions with our programs — including virtual opportunities to get involved. We empower the people we work alongside to build powerful communities. Eventually, the Erie Chapel Institute became Erie Neighborhood House, adopting this as its name in 1936, when the current structure at 1347 W. Since the time of Holland Presbyterian, it responded to five generations of immigrants that passed through its doors at the same address for 150 years, giving it a unique perspective on this port-of-entry neighborhood called West Town. As a deep admirer of Jane Addams, and aware of the many books written by and about her, I felt it was time for the story of a place that was influenced by her, and has actually surpassed Hull House in its longevity.
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