AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/category/news/)
Several photos taken by deceased Austin photographer Dorrell Creightney were put up last month under the Laramie and Kinzie viaduct. The picture, selected by Austin photographer Vanessa Stokes and Ceightney’s daughter, were installed in the 37th Ward as part of the city’s 50 x 50 Neighborhoods Arts Project..
The West Side Community Triage and Wellness Center, which opened in August, provides resources for those who have experienced trauma or mental health issues. The center also aims to correct misconceptions about methods of treatment like counseling or medications.
Another meeting will be held Sept. 19 at BUILD’s offices. Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin has been leading efforts to gauge support for such a court in Austin.
Those in attendance at this month’s meeting of the Austin African American Business Network Association were encouraged to apply for a Retail Thrive Zone business development grant from the city of Chicago.
More than a dozen organizations working on Chicago’s West and South Sides met last week as part of the initiative “Operation Save Lives,” organized by state Rep. La Shawn Ford. “What we have today is a group of organizations and people that are saying that we can help our communities, and we are demanding that the state, the city, the county and the federal government support us,” Ford said.
There have been fewer homicides so far this year, a drop Ald. Chris Taliaferro attributes to “hard” police work and community involvement. Some also credit the drop in killings to the community-building work groups like BUILD and the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago.
Congressman Danny Davis, Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin and 29th Ward Ald. Chris Taliaferro were among the more than dozen officer holders who urged their fellow politicians to do more to help struggling West and South Side neighborhoods.
Residents participated in last month’s event, as did more than 20 people who came to Chicago for workshops put on by the Poetry Foundation.
“If I would have had this when I was 9 or 10 years old, it would have changed everything,” Antonia Ruppert said at last week’s event.
Over the next year, the Austin College and Career Academy will get an entirely new lab, while Michele Clark Magnet High School will see improvements to its existing lab.
Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin said he decided to host the meeting after a number of people throughout the 1st District said there is a need for a community court in Austin.
