Imagine Englewood if...

It was a typical summer day in Englewood: kids were playing on front lawns, older residents were sitting on their front porches sharing stories, and at a distance a group of teenagers was involved in a heated basketball game. It was on a day like this that Jean Carter-Hill, a long-time resident of Englewood, made her usual visit to the Boulevard Arts Center. As she looked at the art pieces on display, something caught her eye – a flyer for Imagine’s Chicago Citizen Leaders Program. Jean decided it was something that she would like to try. From that moment on, neither she nor her community would ever be the same.

Jean discussed the program opportunity with her long-time friend, Helen Arnold-Massey. They agreed that the program could produce significant results. Their church, Mount Carmel CME Church, agreed to serve as the required fiscal agent for a neighborhood innovation they would design and create. "We all knew that something needed to be done," recalled Jean. "We just hoped the Citizen Leaders Program would show us how."

Within no time, the Englewood community had a team of neighborhood leaders, youth representatives, and interested citizens all seeking ways to transform Englewood. Every month, Jean picked up seven team members from Englewood and drove to Imagine Chicago’s downtown office. They decided on the slogan, "Imagine Englewood if…", in hopes that it would inspire their neighbors to think creatively about their community. Jean and Helen decided that for their project, they would sponsor Family Health nights in which families could come together for a nutritious meal, discuss health issues and take a walking tour of the whole neighborhood. "We walked around to see what was going on, what was there and what needed to be done to make it a better place to live," said Jean. They would then share the celebrations of the community like promotions, retirements, and graduations before each meeting began.

After gaining new leadership tools and resources, the group hosted meetings throughout Englewood. Once people started hearing about the program, more and more people wanted to participate. Helen and Jean, working with Imagine Chicago, led Citizen Leaders classes just for Englewood residents. Many community innovations were created. Citizen leaders from the first IEi class became mentors and board members for the next class.

But after a year, people gradually lost interest in the Citizen Leaders meetings. "The spirit was dying… I didn’t want that to happen," said Jean. She decided to introduce "Make a Difference Day" to the Englewood community. Participants went on group tours to key locations in the community, such as parks, youth centers, and medical facilities. The organizing team collaborated with the Department of Human Resources and the Park District to provide each participant with information about community assets. The event concluded with panel discussions for children, teenagers, and adults about urgent issues, including education, health care, and safety. The day not only connected 750 Englewood residents to community resources, but it also ignited a desire to collaborate and create a community that its citizens could be proud of.

IEi continues to thrive. It has many new partners including The Jewish Council, Rebirth of Englewood, Youth Possibility, Community Action Policing Services, and Nicholson School. IEi has also been visited by an international team of community activists from Birmingham, England. Developing and sustaining Imagine Englewood if... has taken Jean and her peers on a journey, in which they have redefined what it means to be part of a community. "Initially, I thought that people didn’t care. But over the years, I have realized a lot of people do care, but they don’t know what to do," said Jean. "People just need to communicate, connect and collaborate. It is only then that they will feel differently towards each other and be able to transform the communities they call home."