In the spirit of READI’s values and commitment to being bold, staff and participants came together in North Lawndale to erect a mural on St. Agatha’s church celebrating real talk, real hope, real love, and paying homage to the lives lost to gun violence.
READI Chicago teamed up with volunteers from the Chicago Sports Alliance and other community partners for an afternoon of art and appreciation. In addition to painting, food, and music, everyone showed up to celebrate the program’s efforts towards building safer communities and promoting opportunity for Chicagoans most likely to experience violence. The focus of the gathering was on painting a large mural designed and led by READI participants and artist Haman Cross III.
The support of partners like the Chicago Sports Alliance—which supports participants with resources, but also through relationship-building and in-person engagements such as this one—are critical to the success of READI Chicago. Now, participants can take pride in knowing that not only are they helping create safer outcomes for themselves and their families—they are also helping to brighten up the city with new art.
