The American Medical Association provided an additional $10,000.00 to purchase cloth masks from a local vendor in Little Village. In March 2020, Novias Davila began making and distributing over 1000 cloth masks in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases. West Side United will donate 2,000 PPE to the Mask for Moms initiative. Learn more about the Masks for Moms below. 

https://coeinmch.uic.edu/masks-for-moms/
 

West Side United Community Advisory Council Members distributes PPE to residents in 4 West Side Communities

West Side United Community Advisory Council Members Keith Freeman (Chicago Homeless Coalition), Greg Van Hyfte (Yoga Care), Esteban Rodriguez (Northwest Side Housing Center) and Ed Boone (Lurie Children’s Hospital) distributed 10,000 PPE donated by the Willie Wilson Foundation to residents in the Near West Side, West Town, Belmont Cragin and West Humboldt Park.

Tenisha Jones, WSU Senior Director of Strategy and Operations featured panelist in LIFT-Chicago’s #Disrupt Poverty Virtual Summit


The #DISRUPTPoverty Summit hosted by LIFT-Chicago took place on May 20th. It was a virtual convening focused on changing the narrative around poverty alleviation and lifting up disruptive approaches to fighting poverty. Tenisha Jones, Senior Director of Strategy and Operations, said it was an enriching experience speaking on a panel in a room with the city's top community leaders. 

"I truly enjoyed speaking at the #DISRUPTPoverty Virtual Summit, which brought together leaders from across all sectors to tackle the issues that face low-income community members in Chicago, discuss Chicago's systemic challenges, their effects on the city's vulnerable populations, and explore solutions to create long term impact for the future of the city," she said. 

The #DISRUPTPoverty Summit is an inclusive and cross-sectoral thought partnership gathering that will change the future of shared learning in the anti-poverty space, bringing together community members and leaders across sectors to make transformative change in Chicago with less barriers.
 

West Side United expands Series of Racial Equity Rapid Response Team COVID-19 Community Townhall Series in partnership with Garfield Park Community Council and Puerto Rican Cultural Center

This May, West Side United collaborated with community leaders in West Garfield Park and Humboldt Park to host two COVID-19 Town Halls. The Town Halls highlighted neighborhood-specific COVID-19 data, COVID-19 facts, and local organizations and resources that are available to the community including food and mutual aid. WSU is planning on collaborating with more neighborhood leaders to host additional Town Hall meetings in other West Side communities.

If you are interested in getting involved in planning a town hall for your community, please contact Rachael Wilson at rwilson@westsideunited.org.

West Side United Convenes Live Healthy Chicago initiative funded by Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation

A $5 million donation from the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will accelerate efforts to decrease the COVID-19 death rates in Chicago’s predominately black and Latino communities, which have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic compared to white Chicagoans, while also strengthening longer-term efforts to address the root causes of this health inequity. 

The gift will fund the efforts of Live Healthy Chicago, a Chicago collaborative that assists older adults and other high-risk populations in the city who are experiencing disparities in COVID-19’s impact. Live Healthy Chicago was launched in April by local organizations West Side United, Rush University Medical Center, the MAAFA Redemption Project, My Block My Hood My City and Forty Acres Fresh Market (See below for details about these organizations).

Live Healthy Chicago's efforts complement, and will be coordinated with, the work done by Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot's Racial Equity Rapid Response Team (RERRT). The City of Chicago created the RERRT in partnership with West Side United in response to data showing that black and Latino Chicagoans die from COVID-19 at a much higher rate than white Chicagoans. 

"The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation's investment in Live Healthy Chicago accelerates our work to not just fight this virus, but also to address the underlying reasons why it is taking so many black and brown lives,” said Ayesha Jaco, executive director, West Side United. 

Learn more below:

https://mailchi.mp/d46be3a2c3c9/oprah-winfrey-grants-5-mil-to-accelerate-chicagos-covid-19-response?e=e4eee3b676
 

Ayesha Jaco, Executive Director of West Side United appointed to Choose Chicago Board by Mayor’s Office

Ayesha Jaco was appointed to the Choose Chicago Board by the Mayor’s Office. the Board of Directors serves as a primary source of communication, decision-making, initiative leadership, management, and execution to better serve the Chicago tourism industry. 

“I’m honored to have been appointed to Choose Chicago’s Board of Directors,” said Ayesha Jaco, Executive Director of West Side United. “Now more than ever our entire community needs to collaborate on, not only a safe and responsible way to reopen our businesses, but an inclusive way as all of Chicago faces this moment together.”

Jaco will serve a 3-year term with alongside 3 other leaders appointed by the Mayor’s Office. Congratulations to Blanca Soto, Executive Director, Little Village Chamber of Commerce, James Rondeau, President & Eloise W. Martin Director, The Art Institute of Chicago and Liz Lombardo Stark, Director of Marketing & PR Gibson’s Restaurant Group. See the full list of board members below. 

https://www.choosechicago.com/about-us/board-of-directors/

West Side United Joins Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Initiative

WSU is partnering with local organizations in West Garfield Park under the name Rite to Wellness to address health and wellness needs in West Garfield Park. We have developed a short survey for residents of West Garfield to better understand community needs. If you are a West Garfield Resident, please help us by taking five minutes to complete the survey.

Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P7NFSMB

West Side United has been compiling resources to support residents during the coronavirus crisis. You can access different resources at https://westsideunited.org/covid-19-resources/.