In Community
This story is from our FY2025 Annual Report which can be read in full here.
“When I first started, the staff looked out for me and made me look at the world differently, and I want to do the same for those younger than me,” Cortez said. “The ones that feel like they don’t have anybody to talk to, they’re the ones who gravitate towards me the most; I can build a relationship with them and help them understand that there’s more to life than this.”
Cortez mentors youth at Lawrence Hall’s 71st Street Campus, home to our Community Wellness and Workforce Development programs. These programs — the same ones Cortez participated in — have become a pillar for the young people enrolled, and Cortez has seen his leadership make a direct impact. “A lot of them are doing really well right now,” Cortez said. “At first, some didn’t want a job, they wanted to give up at times, but with me and staff talking to them, we grow real bonds.”
“Wherever they need us out there, we show them real support, even on the street, so they know it’s not fake with us. It’s real.”
Meeting people where they are is at the heart of Community Wellness. While the program offers services for young adults ages 14–26, it also serves the greater South Shore community as a whole. For Breanna Hogancamp, Vice President of Youth and Community Development, being in community with South Shore neighbors means celebrating the area’s rich history and actively investing in its future.
“Having Lawrence Hall be part of the South Shore community means being a trusted partner that shows up consistently for youth and families,” Breanna said. “It is about building meaningful relationships, listening to community voices, and providing supportive spaces where young people can grow, heal, and access opportunities. Being present in South Shore also means honoring the strength and culture of the neighborhood while working collaboratively with residents and partners to support safety, wellness, and positive outcomes for youth.”
Lawrence Hall joined the South Shore neighborhood in 2015, when programming took place in just two rooms down the street from its current location.
“We built our reputation there,” Community Wellness Program Manager Narestus Coley said. “Our impact started there, and then it grew.”
“We were approached by Juvenile Probation and they said, ‘You know, there’s a service desert in this community, would you be willing to open and start services here?’ So, we partnered with Juvenile Probation to start one program that grew significantly over the years. But we really had to fight for trust and relationships and community partners to prove that we’re going to stay here, that we’re not just here as a big organization coming to take jobs and business space,” Breanna said. “We’re here because we want to make an impact. We trust the community; we want to thrive with you all and not just come in and change things. We want to learn and be who you need us to be in a time of need but also celebrate with you.”
Once established as a safe, steady presence in the neighborhood, Lawrence Hall was able to further its work with additional offerings in a new space on 71st Street. “We were able to start Career Readiness Trainings (CRTs) and, through that, show our footprint in South Shore, with all the kids telling their friends, ‘I did CRT, I’m getting a job, I’m getting clinical services,’ through word of mouth,” Narestus said. “Building relationships with the partners that we have, all these different businesses in South Shore saw what we’ve impacted and changed.”
It’s having been there every single day for the past 11 years, seeking opportunities to further connection — like the weekly meals open to all — that have shown the community we’re here, and we’re in this together.
“Since June of 2020, we’ve held Community Meals every Tuesday. That shows consistency,” Narestus said. “We’ve done the hard work, we’re still doing the hard work, and now we’re seeing the benefits of what we’ve planted in South Shore.”
What’s being planted is rooted deeper than just support services — it’s hope; it’s connection.
It’s the kind of connection that has led youth like Makayla and Lorenzo, both participants in our Community Wellness’s Reporting Center, to engage with us long after their required time ends. Helping to reduce recidivism rates, the Reporting Center provides an alternative to detention for young people within the Cook County juvenile justice system. Both were enrolled last summer, and each completed their mandated time, but they have actively chosen to stay.
“At first, I was like, ‘Why am I here?’” Lorenzo said. “But then I started to learn more about it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, alright, I see.’” More than a year after his mandated hours were up, he’s still finding ways to grow. “I’m still learning a lot. Something I’ve realized is that you could learn something from everybody. Everything that staff is doing is helping me…they make me feel at home.”
With Makayla, her time in the Reporting Center gave her the chance to see what other offerings were available to her, and she’s continued to utilize these services as stepping stones for her future. “When they started showing us that there’s other kids that were willingly putting themselves in Lawrence Hall’s programs, it made me want to tune in,” Makayla said. “So, when I finished my required program, all I was asking was, ‘Can I get another program? Can I do this?’”
While the services have helped Makayla grow, it’s the relationships — and genuine care from the staff — that have made the deepest impact.
“You look at the staff, and you see they’re not just here for a check, but they’re here because they care, and they’re here because they want to show us better, and they do show us and talk to us all the time,” Makayla said. “It does make a difference when you’re able to come to a program and be able to feel seen and heard. It makes kids feel good, and I really think that’s the reason kids come back. That’s why I came back.”
As a program alum and now Lawrence Hall’s Employment Mentor, Kendra Taylor knows the connections formed reach everybody. “I’m so happy to be on this side now, because I get to help youth and the community flourish,” Kendra said. “It just fills me with joy knowing the same way that I was impacted by staff, I can also pass the torch down to someone else. When you have a village that really believes in you, you can’t help but think, ‘You know what? You’re right. Yeah, I can do it.’”
This is what it’s meant for Lawrence Hall to be in community with our South Shore neighbors — creating a space together where the people believe in you so much that you have no choice but to believe in yourself.
“This is such a beautiful community,” said Breanna.
*This story is featured and originally published in Lawrence Hall’s FY2025 Annual Report
