LVEJO Quarterly E-Newsletter - December 2018
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State of Zapata: Air, Land, Water.
December of 2018
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Community members gathered for the State of Zapata Town Hall to learn about the historical legacy of environmental injustices at Zapata Academy and the surrounding area. The presentation touched on land, water and air. Due to its placement and lack of restrictions in the industrial corridor, Zapata students were exposed to contaminants in the soil for 5 years before the site was properly remediated. Chicago public schools tested all its schools for lead in the water and in Little Village only Zapata Academy tested positive for lead which were found in two kindergarten classrooms. Most recently Unilever, a global multi billionaire company that has been producing Hellman’s mayonnaise, expanded and is bringing in 500-900 trucks a day on top of the already heavy diesel traffic in the area making the air quality dangerous for sensitive populations such as children, people with respiratory problems and seniors.
For most community members that attended the meeting it was the first time hearing of these issues and were appalled at the environmental injustices that students at Zapata Academy were being exposed to. There are a few proactive steps to bring light to these issues, community members were encouraged to take with them window posters that said “
La Villita Deserves to Breathe
”, a petition for people to sign that demands Unilever pay for adequate air filtration system for Zapata and a sign up sheet for people to volunteer to host a stationary air monitor in their home to further collect air data.
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At the end of the meeting water pitchers with lead filters were distributed to families and water bottles with lead filters were distributed to students.
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Mi Parque is a community-led program that allows Little Village residents to help maintain La Villita Park as a safe and open green space for recreational activities. Participating youth are seasonal part-time paid-interns that are trained in community stewardship, de-escalating conflicts, and restorative justice and practices as alternatives to surveillance and policing in public spaces, such as La Villita Park.
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We practice alternatives to surveillance and policing in public spaces. We also encourage community stewardship, and restorative justice practices.
This year,
there were seven interns who were trained and worked into using these practices at La Villita Park for seven weeks.
Special shout out to:
Melanie
,
Jazzy
,
Miyah
,
Lavondra
,
Xavier
,
Yuzim
,
and
Jorge
!
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The Mi Parque team and La Villita Park Advisory Council work together to advocate for for ways to better Chicago Park District programs and facilities. The team goes around the park to clean up and also let community members know who they are and why they’re going through the program.
Due to their big role at the park, the Mi Parque team takes note on the park’s needs. The main things that were discussed by the team and volunteers are the following:
Implementing a zero waste campaign at La Villita Park
Signs around the park to also be in Spanish
Proper maintenance of La Villita Park Playground
More programs other than sports for the community
Mi Parque will continue to take initiative to help obtain what their community and park needs.
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Vota Con Ganas
is a civic engagement/voter registration project of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization launched during the Summer of 2018. Vota Con Ganas is politically neutral, it does not support or oppose candidates,parties or referenda. The team spent the first few months doing field work in the community, having many engaging conversations with community members to get a sense of what the needs of the community are in terms of voter education and issues that they find important.
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Municipal elections are coming up on February 26th, 2019 and there is an urgent need for residents to know where aldermanic candidates stand on environmental justice issues for the future of our communities.
The forums are organized by
Vota Con Ganas
, a civic engagement initiative of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) for the purposes of educating and achieving the self-determination of residents of the 12th and 22nd Ward. *Please note the event will not include any endorsements or political activity.
Moderator: Jackie Serrato - Barrio Journalist at Tribune Publishing.
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Credit: Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune
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Illinois EPA is supposed to inform poor, minority communities about potential polluters, but many have been left in the dark
"Environmental advocates like Kim Wasserman contend that industrial polluters deliberately target disadvantaged communities that have fewer resources to push back against unwanted development.
Wasserman, a native of Little Village and mother of three, lived less than a mile away from the coal-fired Crawford power plant for 12 years. From an early age, her two sons suffered from asthma attacks and Wasserman quickly had to learn about their triggers. For more than a decade, she and other activists demanded officials close the Crawford plant as well as the Fisk coal plant in neighboring Pilsen. Both closed in 2012."
To read the full article, click
here.
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Help Mercedes Alvarez' family stay together
Mercedes Alvarez, also known as Meche by community, needs help paying off a lawyer for a custody case to get her newborn granddaughter back in her arms. She has been able to pay off part of the costs for her lawyer, but she needs all the support she cans from others. We want to be able to support her the same way she has supported us as a community.
To read more or to donate, click
here.
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LVEJO Longtime Youth Leader Joins the Team!
"Staring to working with LVEJO has been a great learning experience on finding ways on how LVEJO can share the information of what is going on in Little Village, how will it affect in the future. Also how LVEJO can organize to help the community to fight for what is right for them.
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I will be working at the Semillas de Justicia garden alongside gardeners hosting monthly meetings at the garden to get ideas on what the gardeners want to do for the summer. I also look forward to inviting you all for Mother's day, Earth day, Day of the dead, and an Art day. We will also be working alongside gardeners to figure out what the best model would be for a future worker owned cooperative in Little Village. This can be helpful in the Little Village community to have access on local organic produce to be run by the people in the community and work in the cooperative."
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LVEJO youth leaders, Cindy and Marisol worked alongside 6 other Chicagoland youth groups to further define how we work with Trauma Informed and Healing Justice frameworks. The youth from all 7 organizations coordinated an event where they shared how being trauma informed looks in each organization. Marisol and Cindy facilitated a tabling session for about 40 youth from all over the city!
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On behalf of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), we would like to express our sincerest appreciation to all our donors for your support. Thank you! We want to continue sharing with you our exciting accomplishments!
In 2018, one of LVEJO crowning achievements is the continued success of the Semillas de Justicia (Seeds of Justice) Community Garden. Five years ago, this was an abandoned brownfield site. LVEJO advocated and organized to clean up the contaminated site. Now, the brownfield site has blossomed into a community garden with over 40 active, low-income Latinx families and growing over one ton of organic produce every year! This serves as an example of the impact of your contribution to LVEJO.
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In 2019, LVEJO Semillas de Justicia garden wants to build a garden roof to serve as a respite during the hot summer days; a play space for over 25 children and youth; and a gathering space for over 40 Latinx families and for the annual Harvest Fest that attracts over 150 participants every year. Will you help us build this community garden roof? LVEJO has already raised over $15,000. Will you help us get over the top and raise $5,000 to reach our $20,000 goal?
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Your
donation of $1,000, $100 or $10 is sincerely appreciated.
Without your support, we would not be able to do the amazing work LVEJO does.
We are grateful for your donation because you help LVEJO build this community garden roof and move our vision forward. Your meaningful donation will allow us to put on activities throughout the year. Please acknowledge that your donation is tax-exempt to the fullest extent of the law.
P.S. Please give today to allow us to continue organizing with our community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. You can also donate online at
Network for Good
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Wishing All of Our Supporters a Happy New Year!
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Thank you to all of you for working with us this year! We had an amazing year full of victories and ended the year with having many more environmental justice fights coming ahead. It feels super awesome to know we have such a strong community that'll fight for environmental justice!
We'll see you all next year! ❤️✊
Happy Holidays! *Please note: LVEJO Office is closed for the winter break. We re-open on January 7th, of 2019!
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What's a great way to stay updated with our work? Follow us on social media!
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