Since Mayor Lori Lightfoot launched the vacant lot beautification pilot Grounds for Peace nearly two months ago, READI Chicago work crews have made progress on about 20 previously vacant lots.
Work crews from all five READI Chicago communities have worked with supervisors from Urban Growers Collective (UGC) to beautify lots on the South and West sides, and UGC supervisor Edwardo Bey said the READI Chicago participants working on the lots love the project, in part because they are learning skills they can convert to unsubsidized employment opportunities.
“It’s been really great to see community members engaging with Grounds for Peace and getting excited for the projects in their communities,” said UGC’s Candace Clark, who supervises the READI Chicago work crews. “Many folks have visited the gardening sites to shake hands and thank the team. The participants are really starting to realize the impact they’re having on their communities.”
When the pilot program was announced in July, Marlon Chamberlain, Greater Englewood community project manager for READI Chicago, stressed the importance of employer partners believing in READI Chicago participants, as well as the value that meaningful work brings to participants, allowing them to build up their communities from the inside out.
“Violence can only be solved with the help of employers like Urban Growers Collective, who are committed and invested in this population, to remove obstacles for people who were formerly incarcerated,” Chamberlain said. “This collaboration really represents a model to the city of what violence solutions can look like.”
