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Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) Founded in 1998, LVEJO is a 501-c-3 community based organization (CBO) in the Chicago region's largest Latino neighborhood, South Lawndale, Chicago Community Area #30. LVEJO has 6 staff members, 25 regular volunteers, and a membership of 300. LVEJO’s mission “includes building a sustainable development program for our neighborhood and region that incorporates utilizing indigenous community talent, assets and leadership in democratic decision making for our future. In order to balance our economic, environmental and social needs a broad network of leaders working with our neighbors, block clubs, local businesses, schools, churches, parks, agencies and grass roots base organizations is being built. In order to make balanced equitable decisions all of us need to use democratic methods and be trained in the use of appropriate technological tools.” LVEJO began a Geographic Information System (GIS) program in 1998. For two years neighborhood college and high school youth worked with a geography graduate student to inventory each land parcel in South Lawndale. Adults and youth worked together to then learn how to enter data into computers using ArcView GIS. 150 blocks of the community were inventoried and mapped. In 2002 LVEJO became the only CBO in the state to be awarded a 2-year Illinois EPA visioning grant. Since 2000 LVEJO has developed an information technology (IT) program, which now includes training of youth and adult IT leaders. In 2003 the organization began an adult and youth leadership program, which has grown to 40 people and includes asset based community development (ABCD) training. LVEJO and its partners will work with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (CMAP) on the Full Circle Project over the next three years to move from the visioning project to the next phase: an on-the-ground planning and mapping project which integrates IT with neighbors and planners building a sustainable development plan for the community. This will be done through training youth and adult leaders in each of the partner sites. The training program will include developing an inventory system for each land parcel and building, including the mapping of existing and potential community assets. Assets include open space, abandoned and underutilized buildings: residential, institutional, commercial and industrial; existing, utilized land and buildings, transportation routes, community based public and private institutions, agencies, commerce, industry, parks and grass-roots organizations. Critical assets to development include individuals’ skills and talents and organizations which may not be housed in specific buildings or space like cultural art groups, sports teams, Mexican "home town" organizations, and vocational art circles (cooking, sewing, etc.). Leaders will be trained in the use of hand held computers/digital cameras with direct access to the internet for downloading and uploading information to both the CMAP and LVEJO web site. Training will also include how to facilitate groups, develop a consensus in both English and Spanish, various methods of participatory planning, including charettes and methods of planning and development. The train the trainer program will then move to leaders working in pairs to facilitate groups of youth and adults in each of the partner locations as well as other schools, churches, block clubs and community based organizations and agencies. These groups, working with planners, will answer the question of what is needed in Little Village, what exists now, what are the priorities for planning and development and how to get there? Final Products include a group of 25 bilingual youth and adults certified in community based training methods in planning, including the use of IT tools, a web site with various scenarios/plans for sustainable development in Little Village, a set of specific proposals to government agencies, a web based bilingual training manual on both the process and outcomes in PDF format, CD-ROM and hard copy. Click Here to View LVEJO’s Official Website Get data and information on South Lawndale from www.chicagoareahousing.org Click Here for the Chicago Tribune’s South Lawndale Community Profile Click below for links to The Local Community Fact Book (1990) Narrative: Other community area data resources: Click here to view The Woodstock Institute's- Community Lending Fact Book Click here to view Chicago Prospector Area Demographics and Businesses Click here to view Chicago community area market profiles by MetroEdge
Map of South Lawndale
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