Friends of Neighborhood House (FTNH)
8458 S Mackinaw Ave
Chicago, IL 60617
NEIGHBORHOODHOUSE1@ATT.NET
773-731-8187
FTNH was started by members of the BUSH community, with the purpose of reopening the recently closed South Chicago Neighborhood House. Our goals are outreach to the community serving the youth, young adults, adults, and seniors. The Neighborhood House doors will be open from 10am to 7pm Monday through Friday. Saturday is dedicated to family starting with a 9am breakfast. Our senior program is geared to provide activities, a lunch program, and field trips for our seniors, from the hours of 10am to 1pm, Monday –Friday. The activities include bingo, crafts, as well as a senior lounge. The lunch program will consist of healthy options in order to provide a well balanced meal for our seniors. The Youth Program offers to members ages 6-13 and runs Monday through Friday from 3pm-5pm. The homework program provides members with homework assistance and tutoring. FTNH is stressing education as a main priority. Each member will be expected to provide progress reports and report cards, allowing us to track strengths and weaknesses. We offer various programs such as the BUSH Journal, Boys Club, Girls Club, Homework Club, sports, and physical fitness activities daily. The Teen Program is offered to members ages 14-18 and runs Monday through Friday from 5pm-7pm. We are offering a basketball teams, volleyball teams, and a game room. Our adult programming is beginning to take shape as we partner with many Chicago land organizations including, Chicago Family Health Center to bring free screening for blood pressure, glucose, and body mass index, every month. The Spanish Coalition for Housing and CEDA energy program frequently hold workshops, for area home owners, at our center. We hosted the Illinois Hispanic Nurses Association’s 2011 Muevete U.S.A. a four week workshop to teach nutrition, healthy eating alternatives, and Zumba dance classes to area youth. We are currently working with Y.M.C.A. Street Intervention Program to design programming which deters at risk youth from gangs and gang activities through recreational and sports activities. Advocating conflict resolution and group conversation to combat the influence gangs can have on young influential minds. We were an integral partner in the planning and implementing LISC/Chicago’s (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) 2011 Hoops in the Hood program offering summer sports programs focusing on building youth engagement, leadership, and community safety strategies. We recently began a partnership with Peace Players International. An international nonprofit organization that uses the game of basketball to unite young people in some of the world's most deeply divided communities - Israel and the West Bank, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Cyprus. At the heart of their program is a philosophy of conflict transformation which stresses individual responsibility and seeing the humanity in others as tools for overcoming personal, communal and society-wide conflict.
