AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/community/)
The Chicago Police Department’s 15th District will hold a virtual Zoom meeting from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5. It’s part of an ongoing conversation about the district’s 2022 strategic plan. Register through EventBrite.
A short documentary about Austin will be released Aug. 18 on Facebook. The “year in review” film documents the work more than 40 West Side leaders and dozens of partner groups have done on Austin’s quality-of-life plan throughout the pandemic.
Don’t miss the largest back-to-school community event on the West Side. It takes place from 12 to 5 p.m. Aug. 13 at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School, 5101 W. Harrison St.
The sports, education and wellness facility at 1841 N. Laramie will open in fall 2022. It will feature 150,000-square-feet of indoor space, new outdoor turf fields and Chicago’s only FIFA regulation turf arena for year-round indoor sport. The campus also will house after-school programming for more than 400 youth and offer over 100 free community hours per week. The Fire will offer more than 20 hours per week of free soccer programming for the community.
Join Austin residents, businesses, neighborhood groups and the faith-based community tonight at 6 p.m. – and every Wednesday throughout the summer – to unite against violence. Meet at any one of six Austin corners as part of the 100 Blocks/100 Churches initiative.
Rev. Ira Acree and David Cherry, co-chair and president of the Leaders Network, say everyone must work together to reform and reimagine policing in our communities.
Father Michael Pfleger called on elected officials to stop the finger pointing and reconnect with local residents to successfully fight Chicago’s gun violence.
“We need mental health support to match the police deployment on the South and West sides of Chicago,” writes state lawmaker La Shawn Ford. He believes in the public health approach to violence, which sees violence as preventable not inevitable.
Over $22,000 was raised for Austin eateries and the nonprofit New Moms at last month’s event. More than 200 tickets were sold for the event that was organized by The Takeout 25 initiative, which was started during the pandemic to help local restaurants in Oak Park and has spread to Chicago’s West Side.
Residents from Austin, Garfield Park, West Humboldt Park and North Lawndale are invited to take part in the July 17th peace walk, which starts at 10 a.m. The walk will end at Garfield Park Music Court at Madison and Hamlin with a celebration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.