Youth program relocates to service new community

Story by Emily Slusher

A non-profit organization aimed at encouraging and preparing minority youth for college relocated in November for the second time since it began in Wicker Park in 1989.

East Village Youth Program moved to East Village in 2005 because gentrification was pushing minorities out of the Wicker Park neighborhood.

After 20 years of serving Chicago’s Near Northwest side, program directors moved the organization to Belmont-Cragin, a predominantly Hispanic area of the city where minorities have relocated due to continued gentrification in West Town.

“We are moving to where our services are needed, although there has been a lot of pull to stay in this community,” said Program Director Katherine Moone.

East Village understands there are still students in West Town that need the services, Moone said, but the area has changed drastically over the last 10 years and the participation rate dropped significantly.

Some veteran participants in the program say they are sad to see it leave their community because of the positive effect it has had over the years.

“Fractions are fun,” said Jessica Salgado, a ninth-grader at Rauner College Prep who participates in the East Village Youth Program. “But I never would have thought this before I entered the program. I joined because my sister said the tutors made things fun and it is true, they do.”

Her 17-year-old sister, Laura Salgado, an 11th-grader at Wells High School who has been in the program for six years, shares her sister’s disappointment that the program is relocating, but is willing to adjust to the move because she knows the program has led her down the right path.

“The move makes it farther for me and that sucks,” said Laura.  “I will have to find transportation to the new location because I know I have to stick it out.”

Laura stays motivated by thinking about the scholarship money she will receive to attend Columbia College Chicago, where she wants to study music.

“The organization didn’t want to abandon its current students,” said Amanda Ochoa, director of elementary and volunteer programs.  “So we have a new pilot program that is school-based to continue to serve the needs of students in this community.”

The new after-school programs operate out of Mitchell Elementary and Golder High School due to the support of both principals, but these programs mainly support students who attend those two schools.

“We are very conscious of our program design and in anticipation of our move we made sure to focus our recruiting efforts on 8th-graders last year,”  Ochoa said.

“We have made a deal with the principal of Mitchell Elementary to let kids already enrolled in the elementary program attend the new pilot even though they don’t attend Mitchell.”

Since this deal does not apply to the program at Golder College Prep, students like Jessica and Laura who attend other high schools will have to travel further this year.

But students and tutors alike see the large scale success of moving to a community that has a shortage of social and educational services, giving Belmont-Cragin residents like 10th-grader Damaris Jimenez a chance to also acquire financial assistance for college.

“I am participating to get help for college,” said Damaris, who attends Gordon Tech.  “I know college is important to get somewhere in life, to be accomplished, and to be what you want to be.”

Fourteen-year-old Erika Mojica, a ninth-grader at Golder College Prep who is also starting her first year in the program, agrees with Damaris that “college aides in success and without college it will be harder to get a job and do what you want.”

Erika’s mother, Laura Mojica, says her daughter is attending Golder because of the after-school program.  She remembers her time at Roberto Clemente High School and how difficult it was just trying to stay out of trouble.

“That’s how life is, nothing is easy and nothing is fair, which is what we are trying to teach Erika and we think this program will help surround her with other kids who have the same goals,” Mojica said.

Ochoa says East Village doesn’t expect to get a lot of juniors and seniors in the Belmont-Cragin community because of the lack of time they have to generate scholarship money.

“It benefits the kids even more to start in our elementary program so we can help them apply for high school,” said Ochoa. “Unless a kid is really outspoken, it is hard for him or her to find intellectual opportunity in neighborhoods schools.”

“The program focuses on kids’ needs, which helps fit the kid to the school.”

East Village is running Belmont-Cragin programs out of Burbank Elementary and Prosser High School until renovation of their new building is complete.