AfriCaribe
2547 W Division St, Chicago, IL, United States
Read/Write Library Chicago
914 N California Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
Graffiti Zone
3722 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
Youth Service Project
3942 W North Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
The Westside Writing Project
1465 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
Street-Level Youth Media
1637 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
Community TV Network
2418 W Bloomingdale Ave, Chicago, IL, United States
UrbanTheater Company
476939 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
3000 North Elbridge Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States
AfriCaribe
AfriCaribe is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, research, promotion and development of the Puerto Rican and Caribbean cultures through music, dance, theatre and other artistic mediums.
Read/Write Library Chicago
Phone: 7733362516
Address: 914 N California Walton Entrance
Chicago, IL 60622
Read/Write Library Chicago
Address: 914 N California Walton Entrance
Chicago, IL 60622
Phone: 7733362516
Position: Executive Director
Read more
Read/Write Library is a new type of library that collects community media from around Chicagoland to preserve the stories of all Chicagoans past and present and make them available to the public.
Without making any quality or importance judgments, we collect every piece of print media we can get our hands on from around the Chicago area, and hope to expand into audio and video as we grow. Our inclusive collection of nearly 3,000 books, magazines and newspapers currently dates back to 1903 and contains everything from university presses to handmade artists’ books to neighborhood newspapers to ‘zines made by students in literacy programs. All tell the stories of people who contribute to moving the City’s culture forward and how they are connected to one another.
Entirely volunteer-run, we are always looking for people who want to get involved, help us create public programs and workshops, or contribute their own media to the collection. Please contact us for more information.
Graffiti Zone
Graffiti Zone is an after-school arts program in which youth can connect with themselves and their community through art making and arts promotion. Art is used as a tool to develop business skills, leadership skills, increase self-esteem, strengthen community involvement and encourage advanced education. Artist Jody Cooley founded Graffiti Zone in 2006 as a drop-in arts studio for children and teens in West Humboldt Park.
The program was established in direct response to a pressing community need: to keep young people off the streets during the critical afterschool hours when drug and gang-related activity is at its peak. Cooley generated interest in the studio using street outreach methods common to social services organizations. Upon identifying at-risk youth hanging out on street corners, staff members invited them in to the studio to work on arts projects, learn new skills, and find support in a safe environment. Graffiti Zone now provides art classes, workshops and art shows at Cameron Elementary School, Rowe Clark and West Town Academy.
Youth Service Project
YSP provides positive alternatives for youth in the neighborhood. Through a spectrum of enrichment opportunities, YSP meets youth’s needs while focusing on young people’s interests, assets and strengths. YSP works with youth rather than for youth, through program offerings in seven core areas: education, recreation, intervention, prevention, arts and culture, community building, and diversion.
Through our services, YSP works with youth and their families to overcome difficulties and stabilize lives. Our programs, focusing on community building, engage youth, their families and the community at large in activities that promote positive youth development.
“To The Moon” Art Program
An arts and culture education program that teaches the value and different mediums of arts as well as the importance of cultural identity and diversity.
Addiction Intervention Program
A harm-reduction program designed to help youth address issues related to triggers leading to social and legal problems stemming from drug and alcohol use/abuse.
Transitional Living Program
A comprehensive case management and housing program for female youth, ages 17½ – 21, who are in DCFS state care and are preparing to live independently after they emancipate from Illinois’ child welfare system.
Independent Living Program
A comprehensive case management and housing program for youth in DCFS state care, ages 19 – 21, who are preparing to live independently and have obtained their high school diploma, or its equivalent, and are working or attending higher education.
Crisis Intervention Program
A service for youth displaced from their homes due to family and legal crisis or conflicts, designed to stabilize, intervene, and enhance the family unit.
Clinical Services
Supportive and culturally-responsive individual, family, and group counseling utilizing art, talk, and behavioral therapies to assist youth in enhancing their strengths.
Youth Leadership Academy Program
A community-based youth-led leadership training and development program for Humboldt Park youth, ages 14 – 24.
Career & Workforce Development Program
Various career readiness programs for youth, ages 11 -24. Youth will have an opportunity to complete a part-time internship in various sectors of their career interest, explore careers, job readiness, and venture on high school, college, and trade school visits.
Anti-Bullying Program
A school-based program for middle school-aged youth, their parents, and teachers that aims to increase knowledge and provide strategies to decrease bullying behaviors, empower bystanders, and embolden victims to respond nonviolently to bullying.
Juvenile Justice Community Support Program
An intensive case management program for justice-involved youth, ages 12 – 18. Our model works closely with families and communities providing creative, empowering, and culturally rich services to disconnected and vulnerable youth.
Intake & Referral Process
Fax, phone, walk-in
The Westside Writing Project
Address: 1465 W Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60642
Phone: 3124985857
Position: Executive Director
frank.latin@westsidewriting.org
Read more
The Westside Writing Project (WWP) is a youth enrichment program that works to improve the overall communication skills of area youth by helping students develop an interest in media and journalism.
The mission of WWP is to provide positive youth development to young people ages 13-19 through the use of writing, digital media and journalism as tools for individual and community transformation.
WWP provides hands-on experience and increased exposure to various career fields available in media and journalism. We now offer various media related programs during school hours as well as after school, that provide a unique youth voice on issues facing not only our young people but our city and our nation as a whole.
At a time when texting is the most common form of writing for young people and the dominant image of urban youth is one of being “at risk” for violence, drugs and educational failure, WWP stands out as a powerful model for reaching and teaching our next generation of thinkers and doers. At WWP we value:
- Youth for who they are, where they are and supporting their personal development.
- Writing and digital media as tools for teaching creativity, self-expression, civic voice and general communication skills.
- “Leveling the playing field” by providing deep learning experiences and positive mentorship that enable youth to succeed.
- Respect for self and community that is modeled by mentors and staff at WWP and that is instilled in youth participants, who in turn model it for their peers.
The Shakespeare All-Stars
The mission of The Shakespeare All-Stars is to produce professional theatrical productions that enliven Shakespeare’s plays for veteran theatre-goers and new audiences alike. We strive to present Shakespeare in a fresh, accessible way by suiting “the action to the word, the word to the action.” Dedicated to educational and community outreach, The All-Stars use Shakespeare’s Theatre to inspire, entertain, and educate student audiences through live performances and workshops.
To book a performance and/or workshop at your school or community center, please call 773-289-2374 or visit our website.
Street-Level Youth Media
Street-Level Youth Media educates Chicago’s urban youth in media arts and emerging technologies for use in self-expression, communication, and social change. Street-Level’s programs build critical thinking skills for young people who have been historically neglected by public policy makers and mass media. Using video and audio production, computer art and the Internet, Street-Level’s youth address community issues, access advanced communication technology and gain inclusion in our information-based society.
Street-Level’s media arts training programs are free and open to youth ages 8 to 22. Each year, we reach 1,000 youth across Chicago through on-site, in-school, and community-basedworkshops in video production, audio and music production, graphic design, and digital photography.
Our programs promote media and news literacy, and empower youth to be agents of social change in their community.
All workshops are free, but space is limited to 15 youth per class. Pre-registration is encouraged. To register, please complete and return this 
on-line membership form.
Community TV Network
Community TV Network (CTVN), a leader in community access to media, empowers low-income young adults and children in Chicago by engaging them in the creative and collaborative process of digital video production. Harnessing this dynamic process and the resulting media content, CTVN promotes positive youth and community development with the overall goal of raising the educational success and economic viability of the neighborhoods in which youth participants live and work. CTVN programs instill in youth the awareness, motivation, and tools they need to create positive futures for themselves and their neighborhoods.
UrbanTheater Company
URBANTHEATER COMPANY (UTC) is committed to the creation and exploration of urban-inspired works that convey, illuminate and empathize with the human experience.
The multicultural company was founded in 2005 by a Latino ensemble rooted in their community and culture, who through performance art bring awareness to the issues impacting Chicago communities. As a platform for multicultural representation in the performance arena, UTC serves as a bridge between Chicago performing artistic, our respective communities and the youth we work with. Although UTC operates with an intrinsic focus on creating new works, we also engage in performing classic plays and contemporary adaptations.
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
The Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA) is dedicated to preserving Puerto Rican culture by maintaining our traditions, promoting our arts, providing educational opportunities in arts programming, and cultivating pride in our heritage for future generations.
Programs
The core of PRAA programming is to provide access to free multidisciplinary arts programming to underserved youth.
From free music lessons in our Latin Music Project or exploring historical and cultural traditions in our Taíno Project and Three Kings Program, to experimenting with a variety of media and art forms in our Studio Arts Program; PRAA uses the arts as a vehicle to promote cross-cultural understanding among youth.