AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/westside-health-authority/)
The Westside Health Authority and Austin Coming Together, joined by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Planning Department Commissioner Maurice Cox, will break ground on the new $40 million ASPIRE Center for Workforce Innovation. It will be located in the former Emmett Elementary School at 5500 W. Madison St., which was closed under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration.
The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation will open next year and provide free services in career development. The center will be on the former site of Emmet School, 5500 W. Madison St., which former Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed in 2013.
The new youth-led podcast aims to tell a more accurate narrative about Austin the bigger media outlets miss. West Side residents Tobias Bell, Tamia Crawford and Ziolet Nellum want to help Austin residents share their stories. Listen to “Austin Has the Mic” on Spotify.
Chicago has moved to phase 1B of vaccine distribution, which includes people 65 and over and many essential workers. While some people are jumping at the chance to get the two shots, concern remains over misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine, especially among African Americans. The Westside Health Authority’s Good Neighbor Campaign held a meeting last week aimed at debunking misinformation and encouraging Austin residents to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
The “Everyday Activists” project entails interviewing and taking photos of West Side heroes who are too often unheard and overlooked. Once the pandemic has subsided, organizers plan to hold two in-person exhibits – one in Austin and the other in Oak Park. Another project titled “Austin has the Mic” also aims to empower Austin residents to share their stories and help depict the community in a more authentic and positive light.
The Westside Health Authority will hold a fall festival and groundbreaking ceremony from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at the corner of Chicago and Lockwood avenues. All are welcome!
About 50 people came together last week to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Million Man March and to call for new economic drivers for the Austin community. The Million Man March, which the Washington Post called “the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history,” was held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 1995.
Westside Health Authority, Safer Foundation and Habilitative Systems Inc. are among 31 groups receiving funding through the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, which received a $56 million grant from the Chicago Department of Public Health to oversee contact tracing efforts.
Dozens of West Side residents gathered to commemorate Nelson Mandela and call for economic empowerment in Austin.
West Side organizations hosted events in celebration of Juneteenth on Friday. Commemorating Juneteenth this year was seen as especially important in the wake of the national movements sparked by the police killing of George Floyd.