Getting a fresh start

At-risk youth find a home at Girls and Boys Town

by Elisabeth Román

There is a place in Chicago that is rife with problems but also full of joy and hope. It is known as Back of the Yards, an area of poverty, where gangs, drugs, and violence thrive and almost 70 percent of the population is under the age of 18.

Many of the residents in this gateway community have “pending” documentation issues related to their immigration status. Without appropriate documentation, access to food subsidies, adequate housing, health care, and employment is difficult.

Now at-risk neighborhood youth can look forward to a better situation. Last May the Girls and Boys Town of Chicago, known as “Casa Tepeyac,” opened to serve them. The Girls and Boys Town of Chicago is expected to assist nearly 250 to 300 children through crisis services each year, while also creating a safer neighborhood for everyone. The home will provide treatment, counseling, and a stable environment.

It is one more initiative in the community work of Claretian Father Bruce Wellems in the area. For many years now the Claretians, through Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, have fostered activities to help young people realize their potential and break the cycle of poverty and violence in which many find themselves.

The Girls and Boys Town of Chicago was named Casa Tepeyac in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to the peasant Juan Diego in 1531. She asked that a temple be built at Tepeyac in Mexico City, so all would have a place to seek comfort amidst turmoil.