Good News Partners 2011 Annual Report

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Good News Partners 2011 Annual Report The Jonquil Hotel, first building purchased by GNP, where 58 families call home. HOME – OUR STORY 35th Anniversary of Good News Partners In 1976, a group of Northwestern University students met with the campus chaplain for Bible Study. They asked, “Why did Jesus not spend more time with the Northwestern students of His day? The Rev. Dr. Arthur “Bud” Ogle responded, “Why don’t we go find out?” They traveled south of the campus a mere three miles to an area of Chicago that had the highest crime rate, highest density, and highest poverty rate in the city. Here is where the community was built – a 10 block area known as “North of Howard.” Along with our Rogers Park youth and other interested members of our community, we focused on a better future. Together, we learned about the struggles of poverty and racism, but we also learned about courage and resilience. What began as a pick-up game of basketball every Saturday morning grew to an overnight shelter and, ultimately, a permanent housing continuum. We realized that for our youth to thrive, our entire community needed to be a place of support. In 1980, we became incorporated and obtained an IRS taxexempt status. We also purchased The Jonquil Hotel, once a haven for drugs, prostitution, and gangs. Since then we have renovated hundreds of housing units and established a shelter, rental housing, homeownership cooperatives, jobs , tutoring, and youth programs. 4 Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Issue Good News Partners now owns 10 buildings for affordable housing and manages two others, where over 500 people find shelter every night. We have worked beside more than 160 families who have gone from homelessness to home ownership through our continuum of housing. • New Life Interim Housing, a 32-bed shelter for otherwise homeless women and their children; • a large single room occupancy (SRO), The Jonquil, accommodating 58 families; • 2nd stage and GNP subsidized rental housing; and • 60 units of co-operative housing affordable for families with low and very low income. Owning a home has the potential to break the cycle of poverty for low income families, especially for the next generation. Our hope is not only with adults but also the children of those families. The children that grow up in GNP housing communities are more likely to flourish as they enter adulthood. Homeownership is not only something that is hoped for; at GNP we help our families reach that goal.
WHERE WE CAll HOME The North of Howard/East Rogers Park neighborhood is an under-resourced community in the far northeast corner of Chicago, with approximately 6,000 residents, nearly all with moderate to low income. According to the 2010 census, “Rogers Park is one of, if not, the most diverse communities in the entire country, with a robust mix of ethnic backgrounds, languages, age diversity, and a wide range of family incomes.” (United States Census Bureau, 2010) Continuing gentrification, which causes conversions of rental housing to condominiums and high-rent apartments, leaves our population of focus with fewer affordable housing options. Our community demographics are as follows: 28% African-American, 7% Asian, 45% white, and 19% mixed heritage. The average annual household income in our neighborhood is less than $13,000. Forty percent receive government assistance. This is an untenable situation, as a Chicago family of four must earn an annual income of $33,775 to meet a basic budget which includes rent or mortgage, transportation and childcare expenses. Chicago Av CTA Red & Purple Elevated Lines Calvary Cemetery NORTH OF HOWARD Howard St N Rogers Av Bringing Hope Home Good News Partners ▲ to Evanston ▼ to Chicago Lake Michigan Children living in the neighborhood face significant challenges to academic achievement and personal safety. Most elementary age youths engaged in our programs attend Gale Academy, a Chicago Public School with evershrinking funding. During 2009-2010, Gale Academy and Sullivan High School (the neighborhood high school) were both identified for “School Improvement” under No Child Left Behind and were placed on “Academic Watch” status. Over 20% of Gale students meet limited English-proficiency guidelines, and 87.7% meet lowincome guidelines. Children here face serious temptations to drop out of school and engage in gang violence. Among the goals of Good News Partners is to support community revitalization while minimizing the negative effects of displacement of current and long-time residents. GNP aims to secure more affordable housing and empower our community residents to become responsible homeowners and active neighbors to one another. N Sheridan Rd 5 GNP boundaries are Howard Street on the south, Sheridan Road on the east and Chicago Transit Authority rapid transit tracks to the west. Along its northern border is Calvary Cemetery.
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Page 3: Mission To end homelessness and hop
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Page 9 and 10: When they arrived in Chicago, Jill
Page 11 and 12: STATEMENT OF FINANCIAl POSITION Aug
Page 13 and 14: SUPPORT PARTNERS 21st Century Finan
Page 15 and 16: Alison Harrald Michael Harris Louis
Page 17 and 18: Dick and Edith Phelan Betty Phillip
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Good News Partners 2011 Annual Report

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