Brighton Park is a primarily residential neighborhood located about five miles southwest of downtown Chicago. The neighborhood is flanked by water and transportation infrastructure, including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Stevenson Expressway which both run along its northern border.
Brighton Park is home to about 45,000 residents, 83 percent of whom identify as Latinx. Historically, the neighborhood prospered as an industrial center until factory closures in the post-World War II period negatively impacted the local economy. Today, 58 percent of the population is considered low income.
The construction of the Michigan & Illinois Canal, which functioned as Chicago’s sanitary and shipping channel, drew many early settlers to the area in 1851. The neighborhood attracted industry, manufacturing, and a large Eastern European population. Over the past 20 years, the Polish, Irish, Lithuanian, and German residents who once defined the neighborhood left the area and Latinos, many of whom are recent immigrants, moved in. Some factories have remained, while others have been replaced with new housing and strip malls. The neighborhood faces the usual urban challenges such as crime, high unemployment, and insufficient education facilities.
In 2010, Brighton Park was identified as a high need community but there were no social service intermediaries and funding was lacking. However, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) was an active organization focused on community schools and after-school programs. BPNC was drawn to the idea of working with other community organizations to offer broader support to families and residents. As a result, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Network was established in 2012. The coalition now has 40 partners that include schools, hospitals, social service providers, city departments, elected officials, and small businesses.
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Network is focused on making their community safe for all residents by providing comprehensive wrap-around social services and community-led initiatives.
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Building a Safer Brighton Park
After adopting a charter and creating an infrastructure to support the work of the coalition, the Brighton Park network has seen parents and residents taking an active role in their neighborhood by convening large groups of people to address neighborhood issues.
A Parent Mentor program was established, and Chicago Public Schools’ standardized testing shows that classrooms with a parent mentor demonstrate a +3 point differential in test results and improved academic achievements.
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Network is developing ongoing support and programs in community schools to advance the positive outcomes for families.
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Education Supports
Five full-time counselors are now embedded in six neighborhood schools.
Brighton Park schools have become sanctuary schools for families concerned about deportation; the school has hosted 65 immigration workshops engaging nearly 3,000 community members.
Gads Hill opened a new state-of-the-art Brighton Park Early Learning Center. This location provides comprehensive early childhood education for 124 children ages birth-5 years and vital services for the families of Brighton Park.
Improved Access to Physical and Mental Health Care
Expanded mental health services include the hiring of a Domestic Violence Counselor, Community-Based Family Therapist, and School-Based Counselor.
Esperanza Health Centers, a top-ranked Federally Qualified Health Center serving low-income and uninsured residents of Brighton Park, is a model health center that weaves together wellness, medical care, social services, and recreation for residents.
“There are a lot of variables that contribute to student success—or lack of, in some cases—but having parents and teachers in there is huge. Parents are lesson-planning with teachers, working with small groups of kids, [and] working directly for the academic success of the kids in the classroom.”
Ellie Forman
Vice President, Corporate Community Relations
“Mesirow’s deep-rooted commitment to the Brighton Park Neighborhood leverages United Way’s approach to increasing high school graduation rates through holistic support for the whole family. By virtue of our partnership with United Way, our activities – volunteerism, mentorship, donations, collection drives and more – can be amplified to make an even greater difference.”