READI Chicago: Lived Experience Is an Asset

At age 55, Robin Pettigrew has found his passion in life. Working for Centers for New Horizons (CNH), READI Chicago’s Englewood transitional jobs partner, he helps young men change the trajectory of their lives as a READI crew chief.

But according to Robin, life would have turned out much differently had he not had such a strong support system to rely on when he returned home after spending a decade incarcerated. Through READI, Robin is trying to be that support system for others.

“Working for READI and CNH is so much more rewarding than other jobs I’ve had,” Robin said. “I have access to a lot of people’s lives on a daily basis, to show them that change is possible. These guys see me working with them every day—I’m not just preaching to them, but showing them how I overcame my own challenges, so they know they can, too.”

Robin’s progress is thanks in large part to the time he spent studying, earning his GED and taking business classes and certifications while incarcerated. He was prepared and ready for employment upon release, and he advises other returning citizens to do the same—focus on education and realistic goal setting. He also encourages them to rebuild their support systems as early as possible.

“The biggest hurdle I faced after incarceration was trying to find a way to apologize,” Robin said. “I had to get to know my brothers as grown men. I had to show my children I was still their father. I had to show my loved ones through my actions that I wasn’t going to be leaving them again.”

READI relies heavily on the expertise of staff with lived experience who are from the communities they serve. Like Robin illustrates, we recognize that violence and incarceration don’t only affect individuals—they cause ripples through families and communities. Without community-based organizations with longstanding neighborhood ties, like CNH, offering family and community supports to stop the cycle of violence and incarceration on the South and West Sides would not be possible.

CNH Executive Director Christa Hamilton understands this firsthand. In 2014, her 21-year-old nephew, an Englewood resident, was shot and killed. As the leader of a 49-year-old community cornerstone organization, Christa felt a responsibility to adapt CNH services to be at the forefront of violence prevention and intervention.

“Being a READI partner meant that we could deliver the services that we already offered—transitional jobs, supportive services, and counseling—at an extremely higher dosage,” Christa said. “The unique approach of targeting not only the victim but also the perpetrator of violence is closely connected to our organization’s mission to support the entire community.”

Three years into the READI initiative, Christa said it is still exciting to support individuals like Robin who are using their lived experience as an asset to change the trajectory of people’s lives.

“I really see READI as a stepping stone for our young men to enact real change in their lives,” Robin said. “Every day I wake up thankful to be in a position to share what I’ve learned and lead by example.”

The Election

As a human rights organization, Heartland Alliance is eager for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris to implement their campaign commitments to address the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, end harmful immigration policies, create jobs, pursue police reform, and address systemic racism. We look forward to an administration that will be less isolationist in foreign affairs, more willing to work with civil society, and more apt to make human rights a part of US diplomacy. These are matters of life and death for the people we serve – immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Black men and women, vulnerably-housed individuals, people involved in the criminal legal system, and people living in poverty.

Yet, even with so much to look forward to, we know there is still a tremendous amount of national healing, reckoning, and restoration that needs to take place. Our nation’s recovery won’t be achieved overnight, especially with a divided nation, and that’s why Heartland Alliance will remain focused and vigilant in our pursuit to achieve equity and opportunity for all.

Heartland Alliance is grateful for our partners and supporters who have stood in solidarity with us throughout one of the most challenging times in our history. We look forward to stepping into the next era together as courageous champions of human rights.

With the Election Behind Us, We Call for New Systems

With more than 75 million voters from every region of the United States choosing our next President, and the historic election of our first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President Kamala Harris, we – once again – feel optimism and promise in our collective future.

At Heartland Alliance, our program participants and people like them all over the world have faced unprecedented challenges over the last four years – many of them direct results of actions taken by the Trump administration.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to rebuild the U.S. federal government and use this as an opportunity to do things differently: our new leaders should build a government that boldly advances human rights and justice, and dismantles systemic racism. A government that unequivocally supports people who struggle to make ends meet. A government that centers anti-racism and stands up to anti-Blackness.

Before the pandemic, data showed that 34 million Americans and 1.4 million Illinoisans were living in poverty and still struggling every day. The destruction of the pandemic is far from over, and the disparate impact on Black and Latinx people has been devastating.

We must ensure that everyone has access to health care, especially in the midst of a pandemic. We must rebuild our strategies for helping people access economic security in our country, such as with access to cash, food assistance, employment, and affordable housing. We must rebuild our legal systems to focus on restorative justice, decarceration, and harm reduction. And we must rebuild our pipeline for serving refugees and immigrants, and do so in a way that focuses on pathways to citizenship.

Our democracy continues, but it has never worked for everyone. We look forward to being part of the movement to chart a new path forward – one that transforms our systems, and creates equity and opportunity for all.

READI Chicago: North Lawndale Employment Network

Founded in 1999, the North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN) serves residents of the West Side neighborhood through innovative employment initiatives to promote economic opportunity and improved quality of life.

“We started NLEN in direct response to a community need we were seeing for employment opportunities for our brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters returning from correctional institutions,” said Jose Wilson, director of facilitation and organizational learning for NLEN. “When we looked at the mission and vision of READI Chicago, we were excited because we knew there weren’t a lot of services being provided for this population.”

‘This population’ is those who are at the highest risk of gun violence involvement: typically young adult men facing high exposure to trauma, barriers to employment, and disconnection from traditional social and support services.

This is why partners like NLEN, with meaningful and longstanding community relationships, are critical to the success of READI Chicago. By relying on organizations with deep community presence and credibility, READI ensures that community change and economic development come from those who know their communities best, and that participants have access to a wide array of services and resources.

“It’s important for NLEN to hire individuals with lived experience because those are the folks who we’re serving,” Jose said. “We believe that once an individual has done their time, they deserve an opportunity to work and move forward.”

One of these employees, who Jose says are critical to identifying service gaps and informing programming, is READI Chicago Lead Coach Sadie Joseph.

Sadie has been with the READI initiative since its launch in 2017. Her professional skills facilitating cognitive behavioral therapy and professional development, along with the 25 years she spent incarcerated, have helped her inspire and support countless young men in READI.

This summer, Sadie shared her experience at Heartland Alliance’s annual women’s event, Standing Together: A Conversation About Equity. The panel featured four Chicago-based women and criminal justice experts discussing and exploring what can be done to help women who are impacted by permanent punishments—the complex system of policies that prevent people with criminal records from accessing resources necessary to rebuild their lives.

“When you come home after incarceration, it’s like starting all over again from the beginning,” Sadie said. “It’s heartbreaking when no one is willing to take a chance on you.”

Sadie said she is where she is today, helping others to turn their lives around, thanks to NLEN’s U-Turn Permitted, and to the training and investment Heartland Alliances makes into READI Chicago staff and partners. Through our staff’s lived experience, credibility, and compassion they’re able to build relationships with men who have been disconnected and are off the grid. Investing in communities and people through community-based organizations is essential to building a lasting ecosystem of safety and opportunity.

“It’s important for us to shift from punitive to restorative when we think about criminal justice involvement and community development,” Jose said. “People are worth restoring.”

When it Comes to Creating Opportunity, Farms Work

When your model for individual and community development is based upon human interaction, things like a global pandemic really throw a wrench into your work. For Hannah, Jo, and Irvin of our Chicago FarmWorks urban farm, the arrival of COVID-19 forced the team to quickly adapt their nutrition and workforce development programs. It was just in August that the farm was reopened to participants and volunteers, but what they are coming back to is a system that is in some ways more efficient, welcoming, and impactful.

“We are a person first farm, meaning our production model is designed with the people we serve in mind,” said Jo Mathias-Porter, FarmWorks site coordinator. “Not just recipients of the food, but the participants who come in and make this whole place thrive.”

Chicago FarmWorks builds access to opportunity and nutrition through two systems: an in-depth transitional jobs program that provides workforce trainings, and hands-on skill-building through work on the farm itself. As coronavirus spread, the team had to build two new systems at the same time to adapt. To ensure the safety and health of their participants, in-person interactions shifted to telecommunications. To ensure fruitful yields for our community partners, they found ways grow more produce on less land.

“We focused on growing as much as we could – for both our participants and the farm,” said Hannah, FarmWorks project manager. “We provide food to our Vital Bridges food pantries – and lines were only getting longer during this crisis.”

The team also manages two other gardens – one at our Harvest Commons affordable housing development and one with our partners at Inspiration Kitchens. The new systems put in place resulted in an increased production per square foot by 44 percent, placing the farm in a position to meet or – even beat – its highest-ever servings-per-year while using less than half the land and fewer people.

“Those new efficiencies have made a huge difference. Now that we’re able to open up to participants again, that production is just going to skyrocket.”

But FarmWork’s production means little if their participants aren’t growing as well. The workforce development challenges caused by COVID-19 have been similar to what many have faced across the country. Workshops and readiness trainings had to shift toward conference calls, as many did not have sufficient access to internet. Even more, the team had to develop new tactics and strategies to help their participants find and obtain work in the new normal.

“The technology divide is ripping wide open, and so we wanted to make sure people had their resources were saved for job interviews and the like. We’ve had to really focus on learning to be good listeners and good salespeople in a digital world.”

In August, health and safety protocols were in place to begin accepting people back onto the farm – a welcome shift for both staff and participants. It’s particularly nice to work outside this time of year, even with a mask on. The team and the people they serve are out on the farm four days a week, getting their hands dirty, and learning the fundamental skills and norms necessary to find work in the city. Job club is in the afternoons and on Fridays, and everyone agrees that the hands-on experience helps to put job skill theories into practice.

“This has changed everything this year – now we can really work with people at an emotional level,” Hannah said. “Routine has made a huge difference in everyone’s lives, and we can even train on social-emotional learning skills in a way that’s difficult over the phone.”

Perhaps more importantly, the program’s strengths-based philosophy has allowed for a return of community ownership and purpose. FarmWorks exists at a nexus of social problems: food insecurity, health, unemployment, community investment. Every day, the work happening at the farm addresses these issues as our participants and staff work together to create solutions for both individuals and communities.

“You can literally see the impact you make here. Now that we’re firing on all cylinders, we can pack up our vans with produce and it’s full,” Hannah said. “When you know that it goes to Vital Bridges food pantries, we’ve really seen how participants are emotionally impacted by that. It’s such a powerful experience.”

Learn more about the programs mentioned in this piece:

Fair Tax on Ballot in November

On this year’s ballot, you’ll get to vote on the Fair Tax – an opportunity to support middle class families in Illinois.

Our research shows that far too many families are struggling to make ends meet, and more of us in Illinois are struggling with poverty, unemployment, healthcare access, and education barriers. As we stare down the economic and public health crises forced on us by COVID-19, our state needs to find concrete solutions to help middle-class families thrive. This November, one of those concrete solutions is on the ballot in Illinois.

People who struggle to make ends meet should be able to be taxed at a lower rate so they can use their money to support their families – it’s that simple. And because Illinois leaders cannot implement a graduated tax, the state perpetually underfunds critical services – like health and human service programs – that are meant to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable people in our state.

Illinois is one of the last states that doesn’t have a graduated income tax or “Fair Tax” – meaning that all working families, no matter how much they make, have been forced to pay the same percentage of their income in taxes as the super wealthy.

At Heartland Alliance, we know how critical it is to have social workers and clinicians on the streets to help individuals experiencing homelessness face the coronavirus. We know how providing transitional jobs and cognitive behavioral therapy can change lives and combat our city’s gun violence. We know how affordable housing can transform communities. Our program participants rely on a robust safety net of health and human services supported by the state and provided by community-based organizations. Our program participants – and the myriad services they rely on – need a state with stronger financial health, year after year. A Fair Tax can help us achieve these goals for our communities, our cities, and our state.

Imagine what our communities could do with the resources they need to help their most vulnerable neighbors thrive.

It’s only possible if you vote “yes” for fair tax this November.

Creating Space to Talk About Racism

“We’re dying to live,” says Dartrell, to nods and affirmations. “We’re dying to live.”

Dartrell is a member of READI Chicago’s Participant Advisory Council (PAC), a weekly convening of men from across Chicago who are current or former READI participants. Typically, the PAC uses its weekly meetings to discuss opportunities for the initiative and advise on concerns or areas for improvement, but this meeting is different.

In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, the shooting of Jacob Blake, and weeks and months of protests and demonstrations nationwide, Community Project Manager Kimeco Roberson is instead leading a restorative justice circle with the PAC and READI Chicago staff to talk about what’s going on with them and their communities.

“Restorative practices can bring enlightenment instead of chaos—help inspire change in a way that moves to renew and uplift and bring peace,” Kimeco says. “Racism, police brutality—that’s pure controversy, but we want to have this conversation. We need to have this conversation throughout the country.”

This is not the first circle held for READI Chicago participants this year. Restorative justice circles have become an important part of how READI Chicago builds and maintains trust, relationships, and an atmosphere of healing within our communities. These circles complement the critical cognitive behavioral therapy that sets READI apart, providing an additional healing space to address the generational trauma and decades of oppression and disinvestment facing our communities.

As our city, state, and nation work toward addressing racism and achieving equity and opportunity for all, we are also seeing how important these restorative spaces are for promoting open and trusting dialogue in a broader context. To promote that dialogue and bring access to men deeply impacted by decades of silence, READI Chicago is now partnering with the Illinois Department of Corrections to facilitate healing circles for people incarcerated in select prisons. This is a starting point for processing and changing the systems, policies, and attitudes that have impacted Black and Brown communities, resulting in their disproportionate representation in corrections systems.

“For a long time, there wasn’t enough unity in our communities of color—not enough conversations between people with different experiences,” READI Chicago Job Coach Kevin Holifield said. “Now, we have to have as many of these conversations as we can, so we can start to come up with some solutions.”

Reflecting on 2020 Violence: Invest in Our Communities

This week, Senior Director Eddie Bocanegra and Centers for New Horizons Executive Director Christa Hamilton joined representatives from Chicago CRED and Communities Partnering 4 Peace to reflect on 2020’s surge in gun violence and to call for increased funding in outreach and critical community development approaches to public safety.

At the press conference, Eddie shared early analysis results of READI Chicago from the University of Chicago Crime Lab, indicating a considerable reduction in gun violence victimization among participants.

“Early results show that our guys are staying engaged, and that they are less likely to shoot or be shot than peers in their same communities,” Eddie said. “These are among the highest-risk individuals in the city. If we had sufficient funding, we could expand access to READI Chicago—we know that doing so would make our neighborhoods safer.”

While recognizing that the City faces budget challenges, the groups that met this week have previously called for $50M in city funding, as well as major investments in state funding.

“This is a life or death program,” Christa said. “We know the program works, but we need help to keep pushing and keep encouraging employers to open their doors to our guys. We can’t deal with this issue in isolation—we need funding and support to engage families and communities.”

Read the press release here.

While Congress Debates Future COVID Relief, Many Illinoisans Still Haven’t Received the First $1200 Stimulus Check

Heartland Alliance is a lead partner of Get My Payment Illinois, an initiative helping low-income Illinoisans receive the $1200 CARES Act stimulus payments. Many of the people who need the payment the most – people experiencing homelessness, people with very low incomes, and people with limited technology – will have to take action to receive the payment. Heartland Alliance has seen this directly, working with participants to obtain their payment – see what that months-long process has looked like for three participants: Catherine, Bill, and Mandi.

Get My Payment Illinois is raising awareness about this, and has recently received news coverage in Champaign, the Quad Cities area and Rockford, and launched billboards and media throughout the state.

Help people in your community receive the payment by watching our training for nonprofit organizations and sharing about the stimulus payments using our social media toolkit.

Census 2020: Make Yourself Count

Your response matters.

Health clinics. Fire departments. Schools. Even roads and highways. The census can shape many different aspects of your community.

This year’s Census will determine how billions of dollars in public funding are spent, and our communities use federal funding for important services such as health care, schools, parks, trains, roads and much more. If there is an undercount in our area, we may not get our full share of federal resources.

You can complete the questionnaire online, and your personal information is secure. The questionnaire is short and only asks for basic information (e.g., age, sex, race, type of housing, etc.) for people living in your household. It does not ask for sensitive information like social security numbers, immigration status or bank account information. If you have questions on how to fill out the form, you can find answers here.

Please encourage people in your personal networks to also fill out the census. You can find helpful resources to help spread the word – like posters, graphics and FAQ documents – on the City of Chicago’s Census 2020 page.

Make yourself count!

Economic Opportunity