As you know, last winter Association House experienced a flood that impacted 25,000 square feet on multiple floors, which required restoration efforts that occurred throughout 2019.
Prior to reconstruction, Association House had to relocate staff and participants of the affected areas throughout the building in order to ensure services went uninterrupted.
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Diana, a resident of our Buena Vista group home, has received assistance with her moderate intellectual disability at Association House for years. With the help of AHC, she increased her competency areas and even held a job, which has allowed her to save money for an annual trip to celebrate her birthday. Her past trips included cruises and island adventures, but this year’s 77th birthday trip was especially meaningful.
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Letty Sargant has found a passion for giving back to Association House for the past 20 years through her church. As a member of Friendship Presbyterian Church, who has partnered with us for many decades, she has led initiatives, including volunteering with the afterschool program; donating food for our food pantry; and, participating in the annual Holiday Smiles Toy Drive. Through Friendship’s annual toy drive efforts, church members have adopted more than 700 children over the last two decades with Letty’s leadership. Here’s a bit about Letty and Friendship Presbyterian Church’s giving in her own words.
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In December 2018, Symone applied to AHC’s Financial Careers Training (FCT) program. She dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and saw FCT as a step towards that. Her goal in joining the program was to gain customer service and financial literacy skills that would prepare her for owning her own business. Symone had prior work experience as a sales associate, receptionist, and production worker, but was ready for a more stable career in banking, in the meantime.
During the intake process, it became clear that Symone presented a few barriers to employment: she did not have stable housing and at the time was living in a shelter. Symone was connected to Income Support Services (ISS), where she received assistance in meeting her basic needs, including applying for public benefits. She qualified for Illinois’ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the ISS Specialist helped her complete and submit an application. The ISS Specialist also helped Symone obtain transportation, allowing her to get to and from class easily, and assisted her in obtaining business attire for job interviews.
By taking advantage of AHC’s wraparound programs, Symone successfully completed FCT and landed a job as a Relationship Banker with TCF Bank.
“I needed my education to go further in life, and that was the promise I made my mother. When I was blessed with my son, I didn’t have a babysitter. I didn’t have daycare close enough for me to get him there because I wasn’t working.”Nancy faced the reality of many students with children, the lack of options in childcare, which affects both education and financial opportunities. In 2018, Nancy came to Association House High School as a senior and enrolled her children in the Family Literacy Program (FLP), on-site childcare, early childhood education, family literacy activities, and parenting workshops to engage two generations at once.
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The summer is drawing near a close and Association House is fully into the back-to-school spirit.
Tuesday, September 3, staff and faculty of Association House High School welcomed more than 120 students back to our hallways for the start of another school year.
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Association House is proud to announce the addition of a new member to our Board of Directors, Kathleen Smith, VP, director of business transformation at BMO Harris Bank. Kathleen continues the rich history between Association House and BMO Harris. As a member of our board, she will provide leadership and insight for the execution of our efforts of being a community resource to Chicago through educational, vocational and health programming.
For more than five years, Kathleen has supported Association House as a member of our Special Events Committee, which plans our annual Faces of Hope Benefit. In addition, she has assisted with various volunteer efforts and in-kind drives for initiatives throughout the year.
Shortly after her addition to the Board of Directors, Kathleen highlighted what inspired her to take the next step in furthering Association House’s mission.
Association House of Chicago is grateful to be a recipient of a $25,000 grant to support our Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training program. Funding enables Association House to expand our training to include a component focused on the opioid reversal, and specifically, the administration of Naloxone.
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Association House of Chicago is grateful to be a recipient of the UnidosUS Digital Innovation grant made possible through the support of Comcast NBC Universal. This generous funding enables us to expand our Workforce Development offerings into the emerging technology field. Since 1988, The Association House of Chicago is a member of the UnidosUS Affiliate Network, building a stronger America by creating opportunities for Latinos.
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