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Parlez-moi de votre communaut\u00e9 et des communaut\u00e9s desservies par votre coalition \u2013 sa population et ses caract\u00e9ristiques uniques. Quand la coalition a-t-elle \u00e9t\u00e9 form\u00e9e ?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n West Garfield Park (WGP)\u00a0is 1.5 square miles on the west side of Chicago, seven miles from downtown with a population of 18,000 located in the \u201cBlack Belt\u201d of Chicago, home to the \u201ctruly disadvantaged\u201d (Wilson, William J. 1987, The Truly Disadvantaged).<\/em>\u00a040% of adults and 60% of children live at or below the poverty level. Poverty is fed by racial isolation failed businesses, lost manufacturing jobs, flooding of illegal substances,\u00a0and lack of adequate infrastructure or capacity of the community to solve these complex problems.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n The West Garfield Park Community Stakeholders (WGPCS) started in fall 2011 with funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services and Governor Quinn<\/strong>, to engage young people and sector partners in working together to reduce youth involvement in substance abuse and violence. The WGPCS was part of a statewide Safety NetWorks (SNW) group, a city-wide reach into 20 Chicago poverty communities to organize young people, parents, and community stakeholders to provide constructive alternatives to gangs, violence and drug use. The coalition brought together these community stakeholders in an effort to bridge gaps and to work together to promote a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00c0 quels probl\u00e8mes uniques votre coalition est-elle confront\u00e9e\u00a0?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Lack of employment opportunities for young people between the ages of 16 to 24, ongoing illegal drug usage and sales of K2, Spice, LOUD (Marijuana with other substances added), and LEAN (alcohol, candy and cough syrup), poor economic development, and the inability for residents to feel like they are getting ahead are issues faced by the coalition.<\/p>\n What activity or program is your coalition most proud of? <\/strong><\/p>\n In 2013, WGPCS was awarded a Drug-Free Communities grant to continue its work on reducing underage drinking and substance abuse via three strategies:<\/p>\n These strategies have been successful from 2013 through 2018. In addition, the coalition\u2019s goals on youth participation, parental and community involvement and overall participation have all been met and\/or exceeded. The Youth Council Leadership Council has a steady number of 20-30 youth, while the Youth Council support increased in numbers from 20 to as many as 100.<\/p>\n Our parental involvement component is made up of the West Side Men, called Fathers Who Care, that meet monthly to build resources and to network on strategies to recruit, retain and engage more men from the West Side of Chicago, on various issues that are facing our community.\u00a0 The Mothers Who Care component meets monthly to strengthen relationships and to provide resources and support to other mothers on the West Side of Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quels conseils donneriez-vous \u00e0 d'autres coalitions qui pourraient \u00eatre confront\u00e9es \u00e0 certains des m\u00eames probl\u00e8mes\u00a0?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cContinue to nurture and encourage other community stakeholders on the importance of working together and building bridges to strengthen community collaborations,\u201d said Reverend Walter Jones<\/strong>, executive director of Fathers Who Care. \u201cBe patient with each other and open to the opinions and concerns of others as well as our young people.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tell me about your community and the communities that your coalition serves \u2013 its population and unique features.\u00a0When was the<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":13630,"template":"","resource_type":[281],"drug_specific_issues":[],"action_to_do":[],"class_list":["post-17302","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-coalitions-online"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n