McClellan 1 Chelsea McClellan UNIV 291 Dr.

Patrick Green 09/30/2012 Community Organization Research Paper Latinos Progressando is one of the city of Chicagos many community organizations, known distinctly for its work with Hispanic immigrants living in the Chicago area, including the city itself and surrounding suburbs. Offering a host of programs and services designed to strengthen communities and provide legal immigration information and services to Hispanic immigrants, Latinos Progressando is an organization founded on the basis of advocating social change and continually striving to achieve it. Latinos Progressando was founded in 1998 by Luis Gutierrez, who currently serves as the organizations executive director (Our Story. n.d.). The organization moved from its original location in Pilsen to Little Village three years ago with the aim of investing itself in the community in order to better it (L. Gutierrez, personal communication, September 14 2012). Latinos Progressando currently employs eleven staff members, including Gutierrez, and is guided by both a Board of Directors and Board of Associates (Staff, n.d.). Latinos Progressando offers a wide range of services dedicated to enlightening, informing, and enriching communities, including a legal services program for immigrants as well as a youth theatre program, Teatro Americano. Latinos Progressando also actively involves itself in the Marshall Square Research Network, a coalition of fourteen nonprofit organizations who work together to

McClellan 2 serve the community, meeting on a monthly basis to discuss current practices as well as ways to improve services to the ten-block area the Network serves (Community Development, n.d.). Latinos Progressandos community aims, goals, and work are headed by their mission and values statements, which serve as guidelines for the organization to follow in order to achieve the most constructive social change. In addition to these statements, the organization also operates with three specific focus areas, which tie into their mission and values. The mission statement reads, Latinos Progressando serves immigrants with the highest quality, low-cost legal immigration services, community education and engagement, and advocacy/organizing around policy that affects immigrants, (Mission and Values, n.d. Mission section). This statement provides the general framework and guiding principles for the organization to follow, and illustrates its highest priority as providing affordable services regarding immigration and immigration-related polices. In fact, Latinos Progressando boasts its ability to have served over 20,000 clients in its fourteen years of operation (Legal Services, n.d.). Latinos Progressandos goals extend past immigration to additional issues, such as fostering a safe and welcoming community for all, which are outlined more specifically in its values statements and focus areas. The organization has three guiding values statements, with each related to the community and how Latinos Progressando seeks to serve it. The first statement expresses concern for social justice for all, stating, An injustice to any community is an injustice to our community, (Mission and Values, n.d. Values section, para. 1). The statement continues on to emphasize the belief of justice for all, even for those beyond the Little Village, Latino, and even greater-Chicago communities, saying, Social Justice comes from collaborating around diverse causes, even those that dont directly affect us, (Mission and Values, n.d. Values section, para. 1). This advocacy for justice for all communities highlights

McClellan 3 Latinos Progressandos belief in equality, and emphasizes their determination to seek it for all people. This determination is also outlined in the second values statement, which states that every decision the organization makes is made with the best interest of the community in mind, not just what is best, most beneficial, or most convenient to the organization itself or any specific individual (Mission and Values, n.d.). The last values statement drives home Latinos Progressandos determination to serve its community, stating, We do everything the best we can, because helping our communities achieve excellence means using and attentively refining our best practices, (Mission and Values, n.d. Values section, para. 3). This final statement ties everything the organization says about its work for communities together, as it not only highlights their willingness to serve others, but to continually improve and innovate its practices to yield the best possible results. Latinos Progressandos vision and mission are supplemented by its three focus areas: Family Strengthening, Community Development, and Innovation. The organizations website lists a variety of means by which Latinos Progressando works to improve on each of its focus areas, and gives examples of its efforts and programs that correspond to each. Already demonstrated through the mission statement is the focus of the organization on providing legal services and information to immigrants. The Family Strengthening focus area adds to that, describing how that crucial information is a cornerstone of strengthening a healthy family, which in turn creates a strong and vibrant community (Focus Areas, n.d.). The Community Development focus area is critical to the organization, as seen by the heavy emphasis placed on it in the vision statements. In the arena of community development, Latinos Progressando prides itself on working to beautify neighborhoods through local programs such as the Mural Project, celebrating ethnic heritages by hosting and coordinating cultural

McClellan 4 celebrations, and working to ensure safe living conditions by offering free legal and informative services for victims of domestic violence, as well as coordinating programs to promote nonviolent youth engagement and activity (Focus Areas, n.d.). This focus area also encompasses Latinos Progressandos involvement with the Marshall Square Research Network. The last focus area is that of Innovation, which the third values statement begins to hint at. The organization focuses on continuous improvement, and assessing and evaluating interactions with clients to determine if they are receiving the best possible service and practices. Also, relating back to the issues of legal immigration information, Latinos Progressando makes it a focus point to actively respond to changes in legislation and policy, so as to provide the most current information to immigrants (Focus Areas, n.d.). Along the same lines, Latinos Progressando strives to connect community members to other sources of information and resources such as health care and financial services. All of these aspects, combined with those outlined in the mission and values statements, come together to effectively and efficiently guide Latinos Progressando in its community work. As with most community organizations, Latinos Progressando is best defined by those it serves. Located in the Little Village community, much of Latinos Progressandos work is seen there, as well as in its hometown of Pilsen. Its work with the Marshall Square Research Network particularly helps the organization to reach out to its constituents. However, the organization serves people miles away from the Pilsen/Little Village area, with clients all over the world (L. Gutierrez, personal communication, September 14 2012). As its name suggests, most of Latinos Progressandos clients are immigrants of Hispanic/Latino descent. However, the organization is accredited by the United States Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals, making it

McClellan 5 qualified to handle cases for immigrants of any country, as the Board is a part of the highest immigration court in the US (Legal Services, n.d.). Latinos Progressando actively works to address and fill the needs of its community, which is mainly done through the legal services it offers to clients. However, Latinos Progressando also studies ever -changing immigration policy issues, and offers seminars and programs to keep the immigrant community informed. The most recent of these initiatives Latinos Progressando has undertaken is educating undocumented immigrants about the new policy of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The policy, which qualifies certain undocumented youth for postponed deportation, has created a large amount of confusion and fear in the Latino community, with many people avoiding applying for the policy even though it can be beneficial to those qualified (A. Lange, personal communication, 14 September 2012). The policy, applicable to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States while under the age of sixteen and who are either currently enrolled in high school or college or who have obtained a diploma or GED, places individuals on a low-priority list for deportation for up to two years, with the possibility of renewal. The policy can also aid individuals in obtaining work permits for the same two year period, so as to aid them financially before returning to their native country or applying for US Citizenship (Considering Deferred Action? n.d.). Latinos Progressando has added many informational articles to its website in an attempt to spread knowledge about the policy and encourage qualified youth to apply, and has recently undertaken a project to create a network of resources throughout the Chicago area for families with questions about the policy (L. Gutierrez and A. Lange, personal communication, September 14 2012).

McClellan 6 Latinos Progressando also serves the needs of its community beyond legal policies and information. The organization strongly advocates bringing community residents together so as to foster strong and healthy relationships, as well as invoke in them a sense of pride. Latinos Progressando looks to do just that through the sponsoring, organizing, and implementing of several programs, such as the Mural Project, the first of which was completed in 2010. The Mural Project was undertaken to honor a local youth who was killed in gang-related activity, and involved the work of local artists who covered a gang-graffitied wall with artwork depicting the rich cultural heritage of the Pilsen Latino community (The Mural Project, n.d.). Another way in which Latinos Progressando works to foster a strong community is through the Teatro Americano. Operating primarily as a means to involve youth in constructive activities and inspire young artists, Teatro Americano puts on many productions written and performed by the Latino youth in the community (About Us, 2012). Many of the productions put on by the Teatro seek to, according to its website, take back our voice and counter negative stereotypes of Latino youth and communities, (About Us, 2012, para. 1).The Teatro brings a sense of unity to the Latino community, as the productions are generally rooted in Latino cultural heritage. Community theatre and plays, as well as other forms of collaborative art are many times seen as some of the best ways to bring a community together and close cross-generational gaps, as Randy Stoecker advocates in Research Methods for Community Change. (Stoecker, 2013). Another service offered and facilitated by Latinos Progressando to serve the community at large is the VAWA Project, which is a domestic violence program that offers help to battered women involved in abusive relationships. The program stems from the Violence Against Women Act, which was created in 1994. The Act increased, enforced, and created new policies and

McClellan 7 procedures for victims of domestic violence, including providing legal protection to battered immigrants, so that their abusers cannot use their citizenship status to prevent them from calling the police or leaving the relationship (Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act, n.d.). Latinos Progressandos role in the Violence Against Women Act is to provide free consultations, information sessions, and recommendations to victims of domestic abuse, helping them to find the resources they need to obtain immigration benefits free from their abuser (The VAWA Project, n.d.). The organizational structure of Latinos Progressando very much reflects its aims and goals for the people it serves: to bring individuals together and allow equality for all. Rather than operating from a strict, hierarchical structure, Latinos Progressando is formed in a more collaborative way. Guided primarily by founder and current executive director Luis Gutierrez, Latinos Progressando employs ten other staff members, who each serve unique roles in the organization and help to guide it to success. Amongst the staff members are various administrative directors, such as the marketing director, director of development, director of arts programming and outreach, and internal controls director. Latinos Progressando also employs four legal services case workers, two of whom are accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals (Staff, n.d.). Because the organization is small, it is necessary for all members to work together to collaboratively guide the organization to success, rather than receiving orders from the top of a typical pyramid-like structure. In addition to its paid staff, Latinos Progressando is guided by its Board of Directors and Board of Associates. The former helps to lead more executive decisions, whereas the latter is more casual, yet still involved deeply in the workings of the organization. For example, the Board of Associates was recently appointed to manage the Latinos Progressando scholarship

McClellan 8 fund, in addition to its usual objectives of obtaining funding for its other plans, projects and proposals (A. Lange, personal communication, September 29 2012). Volunteers are also a critical asset to Latinos Progressando, considering that when it was first founded, the organization was entirely comprised of them (Volunteer, n.d.). Latinos Progressando openly states their welcoming of volunteers of all types, including students, professionals, and community members wanting to get involved in all aspects of the organization, from their Legal Services to Teatro Americano. The organization, in order to best equip its volunteers with the tools they need to help move their communities forward, offers them training and networking for their specific objectives (Volunteer, n.d.). It is clear that Latinos Progressando has much to offer the people and communities it serves, and this can be mapped out in a specific way by utilizing the ABCD Asset-Mapping Model, developed by John P. Kretzman and John L. McKnight. The model is designed to help communities and community-based organizations examine their own strengths, assets, and capacities, as the authors for the method believed that non-profit organizations are much more powerful community actors when they are not exclusively focused on needs, problems, and deficiencies but are effectively connected to the resources, or assets, of the local community, (Kretzman & McKnight, 2005, p. 3). This method of listing all of the assets that a community has in a visual representation helps an organization see and analyze what it already has rather than focusing on what it needs. Creating a capacity inventory splits an organization into several categories: Personnel, Space and Facilities, Material and Equipment, Constituents, Expertise, Networks of Connections, and Economic Power. From there, an organization then lists all of the assets it has within these categories.

McClellan 9 In a personal interview, Adrienne Lange, the Director of Development at Latinos Progressando, categorized the organizations assets into the aforementioned sections. Lange listed several assets under the category of Personnel, including its teachers, directors of accounting and financing, its accredited legal staff, its capacity for organizational leadership, and its strong trainers and managers. Under the Space and Facilities section, Lange lists Latinos Progressandos shared office space with other community organizations, as well as outside meeting spaces utilized within the Little Village/Pilsen community. The organization lists physical objects, such as desks and computers, as well as its website and informational brochures and fliers under Materials and Equipment. Under Expertise, the organization reiterates its accredited staff and strong leaders, as well as adds its close personal connections and knowledge of the community. Under the more community-based sections of the capacity inventory, such as the Constituent and Networks of Connections categories, Lange listed the organizations knowledge of its community and connections to youth, primarily through the Teatro Americano. The organization also lists the Marshall Square Research Network as well as its board members, funders, and local elected officials. Lastly, under Economic Power, the organization lists that it writes grants and proposals for community projects, hosts fundraisers, and offers jobs to youth during the summer. Latinos Progressando is a unique organization, orienting itself to specific goals and objectives, and continuously innovating its practices to achieve as many of those objectives as it can. It takes on a great deal of work, offering a variety of legal and family-based services, as well as organizing dozens of informational sessions, cultural celebrations, youth programs, and fundraisers all with the aim of bettering the Little Village and Pilsen communities. Starting from

McClellan 10 just a lone founder and a small group of volunteers, Latinos Progressando has only improved over its fourteen years of operation, gaining momentum, staff members, and power and resources within the community, and giving a voice to people who previously did not have one. Although the organization faces hindrances and difficulties, such as the anxieties presented by everevolving immigration policies, it ceaselessly strives to create a better community for all.

McClellan 11 References About Us 2012. Retrieved from http://teatroamericano.org/about-us/ Community Development n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/community-development/ Considering Deferred Action? n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/considering-deferredaction/ Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act n.d. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf Focus Areas n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/focus-areas Kretzman, J. P. and McKnight, J. L. (2005). Discovering Community Power: A Guide to Mobilizing Local Assets and Your Organizations Capacity. Retrieved from http://www.abcdinstitute.org/docs/kelloggabcd.pdf Legal Services n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/legal-services/ Mission and Values n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/mission-and-values/ The Mural Project n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/the-mural-project/ Our Story n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/our-story/ Staff n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/staff/ Stoecker, Randy. (2013). Research Methods for Community Change (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. The VAWA Project n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/the-vawa-project

McClellan 12 Volunteer n.d. Retrieved from http://latinospro.org/volunteer/