The goal is to meet community needs and address a long-running life expectancy gap. There is a 13-year life expectancy difference between West Garfield Park residents and people who live downtown, according to city data.
It was the primary source of fresh food for a lot of community members. Rush University Medical Center, which is also part of the Sankofa project, quickly organized food distribution pop-ups that served hundreds of families each weekend. Creating opportunities for future generations is also the driving force behind the Maafa Resurrection Project. It’s a ministry of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church that offers housing, mental health care and family support for Black and Brown youth in West Garfield Park and surrounding neighborhoods.
“It’s a neighborhood with a lot of history and we just see ourselves as part of the continuum building on that history and making sure that the coming generations have the opportunities, the resources that they need to thrive,” Hatch said. In the warmer months, the roller rink inside of the plaza will reopen. It’s what residents wanted, Crawford said, as there used to be a rink in Garfield Park.
60,000-square-foot center
20 years too late. The new gentrifiers will end up enjoying it.