IL Latino News produces and amplifies stories focused on the responses to the social determinants of health. Social and Community Context is the connection between characteristics of the contexts within which people live, learn, work, and play, and their health and well-being. This includes topics like cohesion within a community, civic participation, discrimination, conditions in the workplace, and incarceration. Yumary Briseño looked at her 12-year-old daughter. Her tender eyes gazing up at her, filled with worry.  “Mom, I’m hungry.” Briseño gave her daughter the only food she had in her home—a few flour arepas and a can of tomato sauce.  “Mom, that’s not food.” Holding back tears, Briseño realized it was time to flee Venezuela.  Briseño said she did not want to come to the United States, but with the rising economic crisis in her home country, she left in hopes to provide a better life for her daughter and mother.  Her [...]

IL Latino News produces stories focused on the responses to the social determinants of health. Social and Community Context is the connection between characteristics of the contexts within which people live, learn, work, and play, and their health and well-being. This includes topics like cohesion within a community, civic participation, discrimination, conditions in the workplace, and incarceration. Fallen angels, birds, shackles, and small handprints. These paintings are far more than just pictures. Children made this art in Illinois jails. "Can you see me?", the exhibition, at the Weinberg/Newton Gallery in the River West neighborhood of Chicago, presents artwork by incarcerated young people, contemporary artists, and arts-justice organizations exploring themes of ascendance, innocence, and freedom. https://youtu.be/OxRNhTEWt9I "Can You See Me?" - Aubriella Jackson, Columbia College Chicago, reporting. “These are kids and not criminals,” said Devon VanHouten-Maldonado, SkyART Director of Programs. “We over criminalize our Black and Brown communities.” VanHouten-Maldonado believes [...]

Earlier this month, the Illinois Latino Agenda (ILA) convened its first meeting of the “Welcome to Illinois” coalition. The purpose of this new coalition is to provide a space for those responding to the ongoing migrant situation to share information, provide updates, and determine if there are synergies to teamwork. As of mid-October, Illinois has received over 3,600 asylum-seekers from Texas and Florida. State, city, and local organizations have worked around the clock to meet the immediate needs of these families, providing everything from food and shelter to medical screenings and legal advice. Early on, community organizations expressed a need for coordination of these efforts and a long-term plan to ensure that the migrants feel safe and welcomed. The Illinois Latino Agenda agreed to respond by establishing the Welcome to Illinois coalition.  “We’re just getting out of the eye of the hurricane. We still have to figure out how the dust settles and how [...]

Unlike her older sister, Sofia Vega grew up learning Spanish in school. Both girls were born in the U.S., but the 11-year age difference meant Vega didn’t get the chance to travel and visit her extended family back in Colombia. Speaking mostly English at home, Vega regrets never getting the chance to learn Spanish outside of a classroom. “It's something I'm just a little ashamed of, like I don't really know Spanish,” she said. Now a sophomore at Quinnipiac University, Vega said that language barrier made her feel “disconnected” from her family overseas. “It's hard to connect with family if I can't speak the same language as them,” she said. ”I see my sister speaking with them for like 30 minutes and I'm just like, ‘I wish I could do that.’” Like Vega, many U.S.-born Latinos face the expectation of speaking fluent Spanish, even though it is not part of [...]

Cicero Independiente is a bilingual, independent, people-centered news organization local to the town of Cicero, a Southwest suburb of Chicago. Cicero Independiente was founded in 2019 by April Alonso, Irene Romulo and Ankur Singh in response to the lack of accessible information focused on the people of Cicero. The trio bonded over a common desire to create local, transparent news for people traditionally neglected by the media, and to give these people the power to decide how their stories are told. IL Latino News met with Digital Editor April Alonso and Development and Community Engagement Coordinator Irene Romulo to talk about their journey. Irene Romulo, Development & Community Engagement Coordinator of Cicero Independiente April Alonso, Digital Editor of Cicero Independiente ILLN: April and Irene, as two of the founders of Cicero Independiente, tell me about the experience of starting your own publication. Alonso: I think at the beginning I [...]

Free from the rules and regulations of standardized sports and true to the essence of how futbol is played around the world, street soccer is a pastime rooted in many Latinos’ childhood memories and, for some, everyday life. This summer, Mettle Sports, in collaboration with Sterling Bay and the Chicago Park District, is hosting the Chicago Street Soccer Tour, traveling around the city and setting up free, portable soccer fields in select parks. The tour began on July 14 in Ellis Park, with stops scheduled in South Chicago, North Lawndale, and Rogers Park, among others. https://youtu.be/Y9xr0_ynKWc Mettle Sports was founded in Evanston in 2017 as a company that provides pitches and equipment to make street soccer more accessible to underserved communities. The company works to promote the culture of street soccer by providing gated areas to practice but allowing participants to organically organize and decide how to play.  “We [...]