Latino Initiative Update: A Look into One Agency’s Vision for Latino Youth

In Cicero, hundreds of young men and women between the age of 8 and 17 are gang members, according to a report by the Cicero Youth Task Force (CYTF) released last year. Many of their siblings, parents and extended family are also involved in gangs. Gang recruitment occurs before, during and after school, often targeting children as young as third grade.

Although these statistics may be staggering, many of the young people in Cicero have not lost hope in their community. In fact, the same study found that the majority of Cicero’s youth still feel good about where they live, including about 85% of students who said they felt safe in school.

The gang problem in Cicero is clear, but the CYTF wanted to build on the prevalent sense of optimism among the youth directly affected by these negative statistics. That’s part of the reason it was selected for the United Way Latino Initiative.

United Way created the Latino Initiative to engage Latino teens in understanding the importance of staying in school, creating a strong identity that bridges two cultures and assuming healthy family and social roles. The Initiative concentrates its efforts in areas of rapid Latino population growth. One of these areas is Cicero.

Last year, the CYTF became one of the four agencies selected to partner with United Way with Latino Initiative funding. The CYTF is a volunteer coalition of health and human service agencies, schools, police, government, civic groups and citizens dedicated to the well-being of youth and families. CYTF has grown from 40 individuals and organizations in 2003 to more than 200 members in 2007.

The Latino Initiative is currently in the planning stage, with all four agencies creating a vision and plan that focuses on improving the lives of Latino youth. In Cicero, the CYTF is conducting numerous Visioning Sessions to assess the town’s assets, challenges and the gifts it has to offer.

“We want this effort to focus on our youth’s potential, bringing to the forefront the dreams and hopes people have for Cicero,” said Sylvia Puente, executive director, Latino Policy Forum who is coordinating the Visioning Sessions with health and human service providers, parents, community residents, government officials and the youth themselves.  “So far we have seen that the citizens of Cicero have big dreams for their community, including strong families, healthcare access, respect for self and others and an end to violence here.”

Common themes from the Visioning Sessions include the need for better education, income, health and safety. The community also hopes for after-school sports programs for youth, a fine arts center, better early childhood programs and a new town pool.

Once the planning stage is complete, Latino Initiative agencies will launch their programs and United Way will continue to evaluate their progress.

Other Latino Initiative agencies and communities in the planning stage include Organization of the North East (ONE) in Rogers Park, Metropolitan Family Services (MFS) in Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Irving Park and Portage Park and Family Service in Highwood and Highland Park.

Sarah Frick

I am the Director of Media and Community Relations for United Way Metropolitan Chicago.