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The Southwest Organizing Project Receives MacArthur Foundation Award

2/28/2013, 3:00 PM

SWOP

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today that the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) in Chicago, Illinois is a 2013 recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. This international award recognizes exceptional grantees who have demonstrated creativity and impact and invests in their long-term sustainability with sizable one-time grants. SWOP joins 12 other organizations across 5 countries as 2013 honorees.

“SWOP is tremendously excited about the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions”, said Jeff Bartow, Executive Director of the Southwest Organizing Project. “This award highlights the strong work by our institutions and residents over the years and will allow us much needed expansion space, greatly increase and improve our technological capability and allow staff and community members to connect with others doing outstanding organizing work and deliver successful outcomes beyond our community.”

This award, according to MacArthur, is recognition for past leadership and success and also an investment in the future. Organizations will use this support to build cash reserves and endowments, develop strategic plans, and upgrade technology and physical infrastructure.

“From New York to New Delhi, these extraordinary organizations are making a real difference in the lives of people and communities,” said MacArthur President Robert Gallucci. “MacArthur recognizes their importance and impact, and we hope our investment will help ensure that they continue to thrive and to increase their reach in the future.”

For these Awards, the Foundation does not seek or accept nominations. To qualify, organizations must demonstrate exceptional creativity and effectiveness; have reached a critical or strategic point in their development; show strong leadership and stable financial management; have previously received MacArthur support; and engage in work central to one of MacArthur’s core programs.

“This MacArthur Award is a well deserved endorsement of the challenging and vital work SWOP does to rebuild communities that work for families,” said Father Tony Pizzo, Pastor of St Rita of Cascia Church, “SWOP has helped us strengthen our understanding of what it means to live out the gospel through public life and effectively address the very serious issues that impact all families in our community.”

Additional information about why MacArthur selected SWOP for the Award and an overview video can be found at the MacArthur Foundation.

SWOP LEADERS MAKE HISTORY AT DRIVER’S LICENSE BILL SIGNING

2/28/2013, 1:42 PM

SWOP leader Eugenia Flores speaking at the bill signing.

On January 28, SWOP leaders watched as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed the highway safety legislation into law. Illinois makes history by becoming the first state in over a decade that had the courage to work in a bipartisan manner to pass driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. The legislation will enable 250,000 undocumented immigrant motorists in Illinois to apply for a Temporary Visitor’s Driver’s Licenses (TVDL).

“I thank everyone who actively participated in making this legislation happen and challenge people to get involved by helping pass an immigration reform,” said Maria Eugenia Flores, leader at the Southwest Organizing Project. “This was a great first step, but now we need to ensure that our families aren’t separated through deportation, but are given the chance to contribute to society.”

The 2012 election made clear that Latino and immigrant voters consider this a personal issue and a defining one. In fact, an entire electorate now clearly demands a practical solution that keeps families together as they work toward achieving a path to citizenship.

"Today is a proud day for our immigrant community, who has been fighting for driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants for the last 13 years," said ICIRR's CEO Lawrence Benito. "The signing of today's law sends a clear signal - our country is ready to unite in a bipartisan manner to pass a humane immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship," he added.

“Undocumented immigrants will now be able to drive to work, to school, to worship, or the store without fearing that a traffic stop will put them at risk of deportation,” said Benito. “Illinois is an example of what can happen nationally now that the community is energized and the political will exists.”

The law will go into effect 10 months from this Sunday, on November 27, 2013. It will allow undocumented motorists to apply for Temporary Visitor Driver’s Licenses (TVDLs). Applicants will need to prove they have lived in Illinois for one year, provide a valid passport or consular identification document, maintain insurance on their vehicles, and pass all relevant written, vision, and road tests.

SWOP’s Next NAI Citizenship Workshop is March 23rd at Daley Community College

2/27/2013, 3:51 PM

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Since 2005, the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) has been a lead organization in the in the New Americans Initiative (NAI). Through NAI, administered by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), SWOP links legal permanent residents directly to the information and services they need to successfully pursue citizenship. Through monthly citizenship workshops, individual appointments, and citizenship classes, eligible residents are able to complete the citizenship process with support and guidance.

The next citizenship workshop will be at Daley Community College on Saturday, March 23^rd from 9am to 12pm.

The workshops will provide free assistance in filling out the citizenship application and provide free legal consultation. There are also free citizenship classes held at SWOP member institution, St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church from Monday through Thursday, 7pm to 9pm, to help applicants prepare for the citizenship test. If you are interested in applying, getting involved in the workshops or taking citizenship classes, please call Eugenia Flores or Esperanza Marrufo of SWOP at 773-471-8208 x 22.

El próximo taller de ciudadanía será en el colegio comunitario Daley el sabado, 21 de abril a las 9am hasta las 12pm.

Los talleres ofrecen asistencia gratis para hacer la aplicación, consultación legal y sacarán las fotos. Tambien, hay clases de ciudadania en la parroquia de San Nicolas lunes a jueves de 7 a 9 PM para ayudar a los aplicantes a que se preparen para su examen de ciudadania. Si usted esta interesado en aplicar por la ciudadanía o involucrarse en los talleres o asistir a las clases de ciudadania, por favor llame a Eugenia Flores o Esperanza Marrufo de SWOP a 773-471-8208 x 22.

Por favor, vea el volante abajo con los requisitos.

For more information click here.

Teen REACH: Youth Power Not the Future but Very Present

2/27/2013, 10:24 PM

The relationships built in the Teen REACH after school program between students, parents, teachers and administration has enabled us to build and test new methods of leadership and instruction. Each class offered by our program is created with youth input. This is geared to offer youth a philosophy of education in which they are respected and are recognized for the power in their experiences. Although academic support and success is paramount in our work we understand how youth also need to be offered practical solutions to the realities of their community. Teen REACH has developed into an After-School Program that not only instills hope and optimism but is also inclusive of the experiences of all community members.

Recognizing the impact of the culture of destabilization within the larger community on our youth, Teen REACH is challenged to create internal accountability, self-confidence and responsible citizenship within our students. With high foreclosure rates and other external pressures contributing to the high mobility rate among families at the school, our program works efficiently and effectively to ensure the academic as well as social success and development of our students. As adults, we believe it is critical to nurture in youth the ability to problem solve and evaluate, rather than blindly accept solutions created by others.

This means that we address the destabilization of our community with an urgency and diligence that is second to none. Our program reflects this urgency by being dynamic and fluid. As issues develop and change how they impact youth, the youth work with staff to adjust programming to reflect our collective growing understanding. Our youth have engaged on the immigration issue as well as traveling to Springfield to advocate on health, safety, immigration and housing issues. The youth take into account the constructive powers in their own personal experiences and the factors in their lives that can be used to develop innovative solutions. The programs work is best measured by the self-confident, creative and dynamic youth who are now creating their own paths to higher education in high schools all around the city.

Teen REACH measures its impact based on academic achievement and social enrichment. Since 2010 the graduation rate has increased from 50 to 80 percent school wide. Additionally, 90 percent of all active Teen REACH participants have maintained or increased their grades. Our Teen REACH students are now actively participating in the governance of the school through the LSC meetings. Although these successes are not solely attributed to Teen REACH , we firmly believe that they are a direct result of engaging all stakeholders in the emotional, social, physical and moral development of our youth.

Other non-academic but equally as critical examples of our program’s impact on Morrill Elementary is best exemplified by collaborative initiatives that Teen REACH introduced to the school community. From the school’s first ever youth-organized and led haunted house to an active student council, these initiatives have all been a direct result of collaborative efforts by students to take ownership of their school’s cultural enrichment. Our commitment to this community is also driven to bring in outside resources and capitalize on the trust the community has in our work. This can be seen in our partnership and the successful implementation of LISC Chicago’s Play streets Initiative which is intended to offer healthy alternatives and get youth more involved in physical activities. Our program has also been recognized by the Crown Foundation which awardedMorrill School a $250,000 community garden. The garden is scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2013. The Teen REACH staff see the number of former Teen REACH students that come back and mentor their former classmates and and friends as the best measure of the success. We believe that graduates returning to help in the development of younger students showsthat their sense of ownership continues beyond the program.

Students and Parents Standing Together for Reinvestment of Police Dollars!

2/26/2013, 5:30 PM

Thursday, January 24, 2013

On Monday, January 21, VOYCE student leaders stood with our allies at POWER-PAC and Illinois Safe Schools Alliance to call for more supports, not more armed police, in schools.

Our action came on the heels of two historic opportunities to meaningfully improve school safety and reduce school-based arrests in Chicago. First, last week the White House recommended that the 2014 federal budget include $150 million for states and local school districts to use towards school counselors, psychologists, armed police and guards, and equipment such as surveillance cameras and metal detectors. Here in the President's hometown, students and parents stood together to demand that any new federal funds for Chicago Public Schools go towards support staff and interventions, not more school police.

The other major opportunity is home-grown: the result of years of powerful grassroots organizing for change. YESTERDAY, the Board of Education voted to cut spending on school police in half. This is a major victory in a city where:

Police made 2,546 school-based arrests in the first five months of last school year (an average of 25 students per day). By comparison, five students were arrested every day in New York City schools during that same time period. New York City has more than twice as many students as Chicago.
76% of the school-based arrests were for Black students, who are five times more likely to be arrested in school than white students.
Almost all of these arrests were for for student behaviors that could have been easily prevented or addressed in other ways, with 82% arrests for misdemeanor offenses.

With Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, we also called attention to the way in which the overuse of police and arrests in schools not only disproportionately impacts students of color but also LGTBQ students, particularly LGBTQ students of color. VOYCE student leader Mauro Ortega, who identifies as LGBTQ, spoke powerfully to the Chicago Phoenix and WBEZ about his experience being arrested after a fight that broke out with a student who was bullying him.

On Monday, we called on CPS CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett to work with us to direct both proposed federal funding as well as cost savings from the new police contract towards counselors, social workers and school psychologists—not more police and metal detectors.