RSVP Alejandro L. Molina: alejandrom@boricuahumanrights.org


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From Puerto Rican Cultural Center & Programs

Diabetes Empowerment Center Thanks Jade Dell

By Puerto Rican Cultural Center

On Friday, April 17, the Diabetes Empowerment Center and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center held a luncheon to honor Jade Dell for her lifelong community and human rights activism. Jade worked with Dr. Steve Whitman for decades, particularly at the Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI). Jaime Delgado and José E. López acknowledged her often her many behind the scenes contribution to Chicago's Puerto Rican community.

 

Jade has been a soldier who really is the mover and shaker but often is not recognized. The luncheon was a way for the community to acknowledge her greatness.

"Puerto Ricans at the Dawn of the New Millennium" Sparks Discussion
By Erika Abad, PhD, Puerto Rican Cultural Center
Edwin Melendez's book presentation "Puerto Ricans at the Dawn of the New Millennium" discussed where Puerto Ricans live and where we are moving. He used tables analyzing the history of state to state migration and our education rates to articulate how the job market affects where we move and what jobs we take.
The presentation gave the audience a clearer understanding of why Puerto Ricans are not staying in New York or Chicago; because of the jobs that can be found in other areas like communities in Florida and Ohio. This is important because where we are as what we are doing is shifting. Part of the shift is that Puerto Rico's economy makes it difficult to stay in Puerto Rico. Southern states are recruiting Puerto Ricans to work with their growing bilingual and Spanish speaking populations. More importantly, these numbers and flows demonstrate the why Puerto Ricans are nomads because they will do whatever it takes to find work. Melendez concluded with the critical reality that more Boricuas are in US, according to census, than in Puerto Rico. These numbers beg the question, what does this mean regarding not only the economic but political status of Puerto Rico?
Parent University Continues to Provide Parent Participants With Opportunities
By Michael Emmer, Safe Passage program, PRCC
Parent University participants study blueprint reading in a pre-bridge manufacturing course at Clemente High School
Living the ideal that tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today,
parent participants of Parent University in the Humboldt Park neighborhood continue on the path towards their own self-actualization.

Since February 2015, Parent University has been holding classes at Clemente high school, with parents participating in pre-bridge programming in manufacturing, as well as tutoring in computer skills, math, writing, typing, resume building, and cultural classes such as African drumming.

In addition, registration for English as a Second Language classes began today for a proposed start date of May 18th, 2015. For more information on ESL class registration please contact: urbinamichele201@gmail.com

SUHI Dedicates Conference Room to Late Founder and Director

By 

Julie A. Kuhn, M.S.W., 

Sinai Urban Health Institute

The Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI), founded in 2000 by Dr. Steve Whitman as part of Sinai Health System, is a unique, nationally recognized research center on the west side of Chicago. Dr. Whitman served as its long-time director until his untimely death in July 2014, which left the SUHI community bereaved.  Grieving the loss of the heart and soul of SUHI, staff dedicated themselves to continuing the organization's work and commitment to communities and to keeping Steve's legacy alive.  In addition, staff wanted a way to memorialize his unique role in the organization and unrelenting passion for health equity and social justice.  Dedicating SUHI's conference room to Steve amidst planned renovations seemed a fitting tribute.

 

A fundamental aspect of SUHI's mission is working with the community to improve the health and well-being of its members.   For the conference room dedication to Steve, SUHI included his framed picture with a plaque and a display of SUHI's media coverage over the years.  However, the main showcase of the room are the large canvas photographs of the four neighborhoods that SUHI serves and Steve loved so dearly - North Lawndale, South Lawndale, Chicago Lawn and Humboldt Park.  A special thanks to the Puerto Rican Cultural Center for donating the photograph of the Puerto Rican flag which stands on Division Street, a bustling corridor of activity in Humboldt Park.

 

As the founder and long-time director of SUHI, Steve helped the institute become a national model for eliminating health disparities through data-driven research and community engagement. The collective impact of his intellect, compassion and activism was immeasurable. Everyone at SUHI, past and present, misses Steve tremendously and will always remember him for his humor, mentorship and passion for justice.

Batey Urbano After School Program help youth improve their academic performance
By Christian Roldán, BACCA Program Director

Batey Urbano After School Program has been working with the youth to improve their academic performance. The purpose of this program is to create a safe and educational space in our community to create a culture of excellence and emphasize the importance of knowledge for the youth in our neighborhood. Tutors engage students helping them to develop their homework, scholarship essays, as well to develop their own personal projects and provide mentoring.

Batey Urbano is also collaborating with the Pipeline Program at Roberto Clemente High School and local Restaurants Nelly's and Café Colao. This way we engage the students from the community to come to Batey Urbano and enjoy the benefits of the program

Health Education at the 

Diabetes Empowerment Center Every Wednesday!

By Leony Calderón

Health Education Every Wednesday, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.

Manage, Control and Prevent Diabetes.  Ask Doctors, Residents, Nutritionist, Pharmacist and Dietitian Your Pressing Health Questions.

Weekly Topics

  • *       Diabetes 101
  • *       Medication Education
  • *       Nutrition Class
  • *       Intro to Diabetes & How the Body Works
  • *       Protecting Your Eyes
  • *       Protecting Your Feet
  • *       Oral Health
  • *       Using The Glucose Meter & Meds
  • *       Heart Health Education
  • *       Physical Activity and Diabetes

Diabetes Empowerment Center, 2753 W. Division St. 773-342-0855

Free and Bilingual.


 

Educación de Salud todos los Miércoles de 12:00pm a 1:00pm

Manege, Controle y Prevenga la Diabetes. Haga Preguntas a los Médicos, Residentes, Nutricionistas, Farmacéuticos y Dietista Acerca de Su de Salud.

Temas Semanales

  • *       Diabetes 101
  • *       Educación Medicamentos
  • *       Clase de Nutrición
  • *       Introducción a la Diabetes y Cómo funciona el cuerpo
  • *       Proteja sus ojos
  • *       La protección de sus pies
  • *       Salud Oral
  • *       Uso del medidor de glucosa y Medicamentos
  • *       Educación para la Salud del Corazón
  • *       Actividad física y la diabetes 

Gratuito y Bilingüe.

Centro de Empoderamiento Contra la Diabetes, 2753 W. Division St. 773-342-0855


 

Job Opening at Puerto Rican Cultural Center

 

JOB DESCRIPTION

Organization: Puerto Rican Cultural Center

Job Title: In-Person Counselor (IPC) (Full-time, temporary position)

 

The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) is a non-profit organization founded in 1973 to serve the social and cultural needs of Chicago's underserved communities.

 

We are seeking bilingual (English and Spanish or other languages), motivated, and organized who are already certified or have an inactive In-Person Counselors (IPCs) license. IPCs will maintain expertise about the newly expanded Medicaid program and the Health Insurance Marketplace that are part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The IPCs will provide information and services in a fair, accurate, and impartial manner to the community members. Additionally, IPCs will be comfortable as public speakers and conduct activities to facilitate enrollment in health coverage.

 

Qualifications:

  • Seeking Certified IPC - or IPC with inactive license
  • Bilingual (English and Spanish)
Availability to work during non-traditional hours, including limited evening and weekend hours, and throughout the different seasons under Chicago weather conditions. Download the full description and contact info here.

On Sale Now

November Chicago Magazine "Why José López Stands Between Gentrification and Humboldt Park"

Be sure to pick up the November issue of Chicago Magazine, which features an interview by Puerto Rican Cultural Center ED José E. López conducted by Elly Fishman.

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Calendar of Community Events

Sat. Apr 25th Hostos College, 500 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY

National Conversation on Puerto Ricans in the Age of the Diaspora on the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Albizu Campos with a community concert featuring Roy Brown and El Topo (leaving Chicago on Fri. Apr. 24th)

 

Fri. Apr. 30th, 6pm, Rollout of CPS Latin American Curriculum with CPS CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett at National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, 3015 W. Division St.

 

Tues. May 19th Naming of Dr. Steve Whitman Greenhouse at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School. (Time TBA)

 

Fri. May 29th Event commemorating Oscar López Rivera's 34 yr. Anniversary of his arrest, La Casita de Don Pedro & Doña Lolita, 2625 W. Division St.

 

Sat May 30th NY Rally for Oscar Lopez Rivera's 34 yr. anniversary of his arrest (leaving Chicago on Fri May 29th)

  

SAVE THE FOLLOWING DATES * 2015 Puerto Rican Cultural Center * Annual Events

Puerto Rican People's Parade                    22nd Fiesta Boricua "De Bandera a Bandera"

Sat June 20, 2015                                        Sept 5 - 6, 2015 * 12pm - 8:30pm

Starting 2PM-Division/Western                Honoring: Cayey, Puerto Rico, Orlando, Florida

 

Haunted Paseo Boricua, Sat Oct 31, 2015 
Los Tequis

  Bunkr Gives Your Presentations 

Some New Weapons

   

Bunkr is a fully web-based presentation site. Make presentations the same as you would on PowerPoint or Keynote, but add all sorts of elements - like videos, articles, social media posts, or you can even code something yourself - and it'll show up in your deck. 

 

This has all kinds of cool applications. For example, if you're presenting something that changes over time, like a GitHub repo or Twitter feed, you won't need to update the deck to keep it current. You can even sync Bunkr with slide decks on other services, like 

SlideBean.

    • From Our Community Partners

    PACHS Presented Paulo Freire Democratic Project" award

    On Friday, April 17th, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School was recognized as an organization that aspires to implement the vision of Brazilian visionary Paulo Freire. As such, our school was awarded the "Paulo Freire Democratic Project" award by Chapman University. Being one of two awardees, our school was humbled and honored to share the stage with none other than Henry Giroux and Peter Mclaren.

     

    In his comments, Dr. Henry Giroux referred to Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School as an "oasis", a thriving entity working to implement an educational practice of liberation where students and staff alike work toward self and social transformation in the Greater Humboldt Park area.

    Featuring Cong. José Serrano and author Nelson A. Denis
    War Against All Puerto Ricans: Inside the U.S. Crackdown on Pedro Albizu Campos & Nationalist Party
    By Democracy Now
    Commemorations are being held today to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pedro Albizu Campos, popularly known to many as Don Pedro, the former head of the Nationalist Party and leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement. Albizu Campos spent some 26 years in prison for organizing against U.S. colonial rule. He was born in 1891, seven years before the U.S. invaded the island. He would go on to become the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School. Once he returned to Puerto Rico, he dedicated the rest of his life to the independence movement, becoming president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in 1930. It was a position he held until his death in 1965. Continue reading.
    Blue Bash fundraiser Benefits El Rescate
    By Jackie Gonzalez, El Rescate Program Director
    The Alliance for Student Social Workers (ASSW), which is a student led organization at Northeastern Illinois University that functions collaboratively with the Social Work department,coordinated the wonderful and successful Blue Bash fundraiser event in benefit of El Rescate this Past Saturday, April 18th, 2015. With the directive and vision of the president of this group: Alfonso Trevino and his colleagues. The objective of the event was to generate living necessities, raise possible funds,establish collaborative organizational Allies in the community for future philanthropic endeavors and to raise awareness in the community and /or other agencies about El Rescate's services for the disinfranchised youth. Various business and entertainers donated or sponsored the event such as: Miller Coors Inc, Blue 1637, El Milagro Inc, Parrilla Express Restaurant, Khalo Hair Studio Salon,DJ Xtasy, Modern Clave Salsa Dancers, Two Men & a Lady Latin Group and many more.The evening was full of fun, food, refreshments, cash bar, entertainment, raffles (for seven awesome prizes),ect.

    It was nice to see some of the residents of El Rescate have the opportunity to showcase their talent and share their experiences and life in living at El Rescate. It was nice to see all the youth happy, dancing and having fun. That evening it was all about El Rescate and it's residents. On behalf of El Rescate it's residents and staff, I would like to express publicly our gratitud to the Alliance for Student Social Workers (ASSW), especially to it's president, Alfonso Trevino and his colleagues for the coordination of such great event and for the accumulated donations worth about $300 to $400.00 in toilet treats.

    CTE shows us LP's

    By Mr. Murillo, Allied Health Science, Roberto Clemente Community Academy

    Collaborative effort has been key for our CTE Programme at Roberto Clemente Community IB World School this week as our Allied Health and Broadcasting Technology classes merged their knowledge and created a power-packed scene to film Health-Related Public Service Announcements! For Allied Health Sciences, this was a major undertaking, which called for all of our Learner Profile traits to be in full splendor. With guidance from Broadcasting Technology, our future Doctors, Nurses, and Paramedics from RCCA-IB became A-list actors with a wealth of real-world knowledge to announce and spread to our Barrio. Keeping Clemente Healthy will be our first-annual Health promotion event during which these public service announcements will be the platforms for our youngCommunicationicators.

     

    Students researched ailments & negative trends that undoubtedly cause an impact and affect our community's health. Their data is based on findings from various sources including Center for Disease Control, The World Health Organization, and other local entities. They became Knowledgeable & Reflective, and took this wealth of information and synthesized alternative ways to disseminate what they have learned to their peers, family and community. Some let their creative-self take charge; writing scripts, and acting out short dramas to be recorded and edited by the Broadcast and Technology crew. Our final projects will be on display at our first annual Health Fair, coming soon so be sure to be on the lookout!


     


     

    Our Wildcats are active Inquirers engaged in tons of research. This was not always easy but theirCARING attitudes fueled their thirst to create a more healthy and BALANCED community in which physical and emotional health will be highly regarded.

    Be sure to stay tuned for our upcoming health fair and check out all that we have to offer! CHECK US OUT!

    Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Vex Robotics team competes in 2015 NEIU Upward Bound Vex Robotics Competition

    By Diamond Montana, Science Teacher, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School

    Please congratulate our Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Vex Robotics team for competing in this year's 2015 NEIU Upward Bound Vex Robotics Competition! After twenty-two weeks of hard work in our Instituto Abayarde after school program, eighteen students created and coded three fully functional robots to compete in the annual 2015 NEIU Upward Bound Vex Robotics Competition. 

     

    The first Saturday of Spring break our Robotics Team, adorned with their new Robotics Team t-shirts, traveled to Northeastern Illinois University Center for College Access and Success to test their robots against 7 other schools in the Chicago area. Our team did very well in our second competition this year but hope to do better in the coming '15-'16 school year.  We will be having a summer program that will introduce new students to programing as well as mechanical engineering for next year's round of competitions.  If you are interested please be sure to ask about the VEX Robotics Team when you apply at PACHS and leave your name and number.  

    A Message from the Norwegian America Hospital CEO
    Dear Community Partners,
     
    One of Norwegian American Hospital's important roles as a community hospital is to engage with local residents who support us and to collaborate with every stakeholder in Humboldt Park. As part of that initiative I invite you to join us on April 30 as Norwegian American Hospital hosts a Community Forum.  
    The purpose of this event is to engage the community in a discussion about the healthcare needs of our residents as well as update you on the progress NAH has made this past year. During the meeting, we will release our Community Report which outlines specific accomplishments of the Hospital in 2014.  
     
    The forum will be held at the National Museum for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, 3015 West Division Street, from 8:30 am - 10:00 am and will be hosted by our Chairman of the Board, Mr. Billy Ocasio. We anticipate the participation of the community at this forum and continue to look forward to working with everyone on behalf of the community.  
     
    Norwegian continues to be a leading advocate for improving the health status of the residents of Humboldt Park. Your thoughts and ideas are critical as we plan for the future.  
     
    Regards,  
    José R. Sánchez

    See what it's like to be a CHCI Intern!

    Submit Your Applications for CHCI's Nationally Acclaimed 

    Fall Congressional Internship Program 

    (August 22 to November 14, 2015)

    CHCI Summer Intern Diaries Ep.1


     

    CHCI is seeking full-time college undergraduate students who are interested in participating in the 2015 Fall Congressional Internship Program. Selected individuals will receive unmatched experience by working in a congressional office and learning first-hand about our nation's legislative process. Participants will also receive stipends, housing, and round-trip airfare.

    Students of ALL majors that have an interest in the development of public policy and who have demonstrated leadership abilities should apply. Forward this message to friends and family who may be interested in becoming a future Latino leader!

    Click here to learn more about the program and its requirements.

    Selection Process
    The selection process is competitive. CHCI receives over ten applications for every one available internship opportunity. The CHCI Alumni Review Committee reviews applications to identify the most qualified candidates. CHCI staff will select top candidates for internship positions.

    Online Application Instructions
    Applicants must complete the CHCI online application by April 24, 2015. Please contact Crista Arias, CHCI Associate Manager of College Programs, at carias@chci.org with any questions.

    The Campaign to Free Oscar López Rivera has 

    its own e-newsletter- The Water's Edge/La Orilla del Mar

    Published every two weeks- next issue will be published 4-20-2015

    View past issues here.

     

    WRITE TO OSCAR LOPEZ, #87651-024

    FCI Terre Haute,  PO Box 33

    Terre Haute, IN,  47808 

    Transportation leaving from 10 cities in Midwest and East Coast.
    For more info: alejandrom@boricuahumanrights.org
    Puerto Rican Cultural Center
    o. 773/342-8023 f. 773/342-6609
    info@prcc-chgo.org

    "Live and Help to Live"