Benny Estrada Commemorated by Chicago Cubs
Family and friends accompanied Benny to the game and many describe him as an amazing dad, coach, and mentor.
Watch the full video here!
Intervening During a Mental Health Crisis
Elías Román, part of New Life Centers’ street outreach team was featured on a WBEZ article where he talks about how he found himself stepping between a Chicago police SWAT team and a young neighbor experiencing a mental health crisis recently. He was able to persuade the youth to come out of his barricade and was later transported safely to the hospital.
“Román is not a mental health professional but the officers eventually allowed him to try to talk the young man out of the basement. Román said he put his youth mentoring skills to work: “ ‘You got a crowd out here waiting for you,’ I told him, playing around. And he’s like, ‘Yeah, man, they want to get me.’ I’m like, ‘They don’t want to get you. It’s just that everybody’s concerned because you said there are guns. … Come on, man, don’t do that to yourself or your family. Think about your safety.’ That’s what I was telling him."
The Importance of Staff Wellness
"New Life Centers practices what they preach. Not only is caring the driving force for the youth and community but also towards the staff. It’s been a long summer of serving so our day of rest, fun activities, and reconnecting was a breath of fresh air. So grateful to be part of an organization that cares so much for all who are around us and for us"
Our summer programming has officially concluded and we are gearing up for the Fall! Throughout the summer we have enjoyed in-person interaction. However, especially with the weight of the work, we recognize the importance of staff wellness. Thanks to one of partners we were able to provide every team at New Life Centers a budget to do something fun and relaxing. Some chose boating, others zip-lining and indoor kart racing!
"New Life Centers practices what they preach. Not only is caring the driving force for the youth and community but also towards the staff. It’s been a long summer of serving so our day of rest, fun activities, and reconnecting was a breath of fresh air. So grateful to be part of an organization that cares so much for all who are around us and for us," said Ken Alvarado, Associate Director of Partner Engagement.
Copa La Villita 2021
Our Copa La Villita 2021 soccer tournament championship game took place this past Friday at Gary Elementary School, as part of our Light in the Night programming. It was Team Chuy versus Club Cuervos, with Team Chuy taking home the trophy. Soccer is a new program we added this year, led by Ivan Alvarado. La Villita Club de Fútbol (LVCF) is a sports program for youth ages 12-16 that strives to create life changing experiences and opportunities through soccer. We believe soccer is more than just a game; it’s a tool for change, an artifact of culture, and a gateway into extraordinary opportunities to the world around us.
Youth Participate in 6 Week Crossfit Course
This summer, youth from our different sports programs participated in a 6 week CrossFit course hosted by South Loop Strength & Conditioning. The youth learned the proper way of conducting certain exercises and the importance of physical and mental health. The program also motivated them to seek a healthier lifestyle.
“I learned a lot of different exercises every week. Another thing was how to do the exercises correctly, so I won’t hurt myself in the future," said Bryan.
Volunteer Spotlight: Maria
"It is very gratifying to have been able to serve for these many years in my Little Village community. There are many needs here and I am happy to help at any moment"
Maria Delgado is one of our Pan de Vida volunteers. She is known by many in the neighborhood for teaching aerobics. We call her “la maestra”. Maria has been a faithful volunteer for more than 10 years. She may be small in stature, but her contagious energy rivals anyone else on the team. "It is very gratifying to have been able to serve for these many years in my Little Village community. There are many needs here and I am happy to help at any moment," shares Maria about her experience. Maria feels blessed by those who come, even as she is a blessing to others.
La Semilla Returns to In-Person Programming
La Semilla now moved to three days of in-person programming in place of virtual programming. We are so excited to continue serving the youth and their parents throughout the pandemic. We are back to afterschool settings and offer kickback time where students are able to hang out with peers and share about life, homework help, social-emotional learning, bible lesson, and gym/park time for physical activity and team-building skills. It's been so fun to have the laughter and connections back in our space!
The Impact of Mentoring & Coaching
With Baseball underway the young men are conditioning, working together, and playing the game! Xavier has been playing for the Little Village league for four years. When asked what he liked most about the league he said "Every coach, every mentor is loving and open. It feels like a family. Everyone is very close close-knit and easy to talk to."
Working together on and off the field helps build a community. Everyone fighting for the same goal, and wishing the best for all involved.In the future Xavier would like to see more mentors and the continuation of building the family.
GEMS Builds Connections Through Art
Last week the GEMS women, used paint to express the different emotions and situations that the young ladies have experienced. Each canvas was rotated in a circle between each GEM, each girl got to leave their mark on someone else's canvas. As the girls shared, it was a reminder that the GEMS room is a safe space where you can come as you are.
They are a community of women who love and support each other through this journey of life. The young ladies have shared their joys and pains, and it was beautiful because that's what GEMS stands for: empowering young ladies to use their stories of hope, joy, pain, and endurance. Both middle school and high school GEMS did a great job of being honest and open and using some of our values through the activity.
Seeking Healing - Walk With Adam Toledo
As a tribute to Adam’s life, the Walk With Adam Toledo was held on April 18. The walk was community-organized, lead, and attended. With multiple local businesses donating more than 4,000 flowers for the event. Elie Amador, who has been involved with New Life since childhood and now is one of our Pan De Vida Assistant’s said, “I got to watch our huge pile of flowers grow and grow throughout the weekend. Which was a special thing to me as I started to process everything, the flowers became a visual for unity.” She went on to say, “peace is what we want and we are going to get it together”. Hear more about the Walk With Adam Toledo in the video Real America with Jorge Ramos.
We are stronger together and we have to heal together. There have been many different opinions on what actions should be taken to help the healing start on a systematic level. These different viewpoints in the community have been highlighted well in this article by the Chicago Tribune. However, we have seen what proactive violence prevention through street outreach, mentoring, and authentic relationships can do.
We need change that invests first in youth in a way that sees the youth as family, as themselves, and as our future. As Benny Estrada, the director of Street outreach, shares in the article “[Police departments] want to put them in jail and we want to keep them out of jail.” We want our youth to know they have people in their corner, who love them, who will fight for them, and who will walk with them every step of the way. This is our commitment.