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OUR COMMUNITY
A DATA PROJECT RE-IMAGINING SOUTH SHORE
Preserving South Shore starts with amplifying its residents voices. Scroll to hear about the needs & assets of this community, from this community.
Photo by Grace Coudal
Photo by Isiah Veney
This data project has been a labor of love and a testament that people from marginalized communities do know what they need, they just are not asked. When we collected this data, we made sure to keep it open so people could express their desires for their community. The responses were incredible and insightful. The goal for this project was always to help the community voice its needs and provide a resource for those who do want to work and live in South Shore to make sure they align themselves with those needs. Listening to people is so important, I am so excited to see this project live in the community.
-Eva Maria Lewis, FRO Founder & Executive Director
WE FUELED THIS NORTH STAR INTO A 3 YEAR DATA COLLECTION PROJECT....
View, download, and print our data booklet in the pdf viewer on this page. For the best use, we recommend using a desktop browser.
We believe that those who inhabit a community are the direct link to how their community continues to grow. This is a guiding principle for Our Community—a booklet that is the first of its kind, providing data from the first and only Community Needs and Assets Assessment (CNAA) and data canvassing conducted in South Shore. The CNAA is a part of our organization's qualitative and quantitative approach to ensure the work we are doing is in direct collaboration and alignment with the community. In 2018 and 2019 the Free Root Operation canvassed South Shore to distribute our CNAA, ask residents what they need, and what they want the community to look like.
Within the pages of Our Community are the needs and assets of the South Shore neighborhood as expressed by the South Shore neighborhood, as well as a plethora of community-sourced solutions to bring this community's vision of the future to fruition. Cultivated from years of intentional work led by a South Shore youth, the data covers topics such as housing, economic opportunity, gentrification, leisure, relationship with youth in the community, access to healthcare, access to healthy food, and more.
I NEED YOU. YOU NEED ME. WE NEED EACH OTHER.
-FRO Community Member
OUR COMMUNITY
DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS
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Local Market
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Majani Soulful Vegan Cuisine
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Nash Community Center
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South Shore Branch Library
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South Shore Brew
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The Quarry
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Walgreens
THIS PROJECT WAS MADE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF...
To all of our past and current sponsors, community and distribution partners—thank you so much for your continued support of this project and South Shore. We would not be able to do this work without you and are grateful to be in community with you.
CURRENT COMMUNITY PARTNERS & DISTRIBUTORS:
The Quarry | South Shore Branch Library | South Shore Works | South Shore Brew | Majani Soulful Vegan Cuisine | Local Market | Walgreens | Participant Media | Haymarket Books | Parkside Elementary | Nash Community Center | Black Metropolis Research Consortium
PAST COMMUNITY PARTNERS & SPONSORS:
Lawrence Hall | Bouchet Elementary | Chicago Public Schools | The Obama Foundation | Tate and Associates | Chicago Cares | Lyft | Nash Community Center
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Chicago Community Trust | Kelly Writers House
