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Circle Urban Ministries Makes An Impact

Over the past 30 years, Circle Urban Ministries has sought to reweave the tapestry of Chicago’s Westside Austin community.  From its early humble beginnings as a storefront outreach program, we have realized the importance of community development and enrichment. Circle Urban began its work in the Austin area during the years when white flight was at its peak and blighted urban communities were in full bloom. We have witnessed the unraveling of a well-woven tapestry, resulting in the loss of the kinds of things that make “community,” such as:
•  The family doctor and dentist who know your name
•  The local school that calls when your child’s homework is missing or slipping
•  The corner family restaurant or Ma and Pop shops
•  The supportive community services that help neighbors through crisis
•  The disappearing of safe and clean sidewalks for our children, family, friends, and loved ones to walk on

Circle Urban Ministries has been serving the Austin neighborhood of Chicago since 1974 as a “multi-cause” ministry.  What do we mean by multi-cause?  Circle Urban has chosen to reach out to a community with a wide variety of challenges and issues.  As opposed to a single-cause organization, like the Red Cross for disaster relief, we have endeavored to minister to those in need in our community addressing a wide variety of needs and causes.

Since 1985 the ministry has been situated at the corner of Central Avenue & Washington Blvd. in the former Sienna High School campus.  Through our partnership with Rock of Our Salvation Church we have provided wholistic services to our neighbors.  By wholistic we mean services and programs that address both physical needs and spiritual needs of those we serve.  Circle Urban’s mission statement is “to transform lives and community through the applied power of the whole gospel of Jesus Christ”.

Why the Austin Neighborhood?

In the early 1970’s, Austin was in the midst of a tidal wave of racial transition.  Fear tactics were being employed by real estate agents seeking to increase their incomes by fomenting the wave of home sales.  A group of young professionals, who saw the impact of white flight and urban blight in the rapidly deteriorating neighborhood on Chicago’s far west side, felt the call to move into the community and seek to be part of  an effort to bring needed services and stability.

Today we have seen much success and many improvements benefitting our neighbors.  That said, there are still tremendous needs to be addressed. The complexity of issues surrounding poor urban families can be overwhelming.  According to US Census data for the Austin area, the most recent data at the community level, up to 34% of households and 43% of children live below the poverty line. SMART mapping data indicates that our zip code averages the maximum Community Disadvantage Index of 10. Of the schools located within ½-mile of our facility, 96.8% of students qualify as low-income.

Quality of education and educational attainment are immense issues in our community.  According to available data, 11% of the community population 25 and older has less than a 9th-grade education. Almost 40% of all adults in our area have not completed high school, double the national average for educational failure. Only 7% of the population 25 and older has earned a bachelor’s degree or higher (vs. 24.4% nationally). Census data also indicates that single parent households make up 69% of those households with children in our community, creating a significant need for additional adults to be involved the these children’s positive upbringing.

US Census data show that in 2000, an average of 37% and as many as 65% of youth ages 18 to 24 in our area had no high school diploma. In 2007 the Chicago Public Schools reported a 46.1% drop out rate and a 55.1% graduation rate among five-year cohorts. There are four traditional public elementary schools within ½- mile of our facility and all of them are classified by the state board of education as: 1) not making adequate Annual Yearly Progress, 2) identified as needing improvement, and 3) rated for Academic Watch (2 for 5 years, 2 for 6 years). The four schools’ achievement tests scores averaged below 60% of the state target for test results in reading and math.

Circle is located within the 15th police district of Chicago, geographically one of the smallest districts citywide, yet its crime rates are higher than most of the larger districts in Chicago.  Between 2007 and 2008, crime rates in our district rose 36.4% for murder, 26% for criminal sexual assault, and 23.5% for burglary.  In 2008, according to the CPD, the Austin community ranked 1st of 77 Chicago communities for the highest number of drug-related arrests, and was among the top three communities with the highest number of public violence incidents among persons ages 14 to 18.