title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION HONORING LA CASA NORTE & SOL FLORES
WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the Cook County Board of Commissioners that La Casa Norte was co-founded by Keith Decker and Peter McQueen in 2002 as a non-profit organization and, under the leadership of founding executive director Sol Flores, a Chicago native and with a long history of community engagement who's served on the boards to The Latino Policy Forum, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Heartland Housing Corporation, The Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund, and Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, Protestants for the Common Good and Kuumba Lynx; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, La Casa Norte began a capital campaign to make Solid Ground Supportive Housing Program, one of Chicago's first housing projects serving homeless males ages 16-21, a reality. Shortly after, La Casa Norte also received an award of $400,000 for capital and operating expenses from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This seed money paved the way for other funding opportunities to develop and La Casa Norte began to see an influx of support from various foundations, churches, and individuals who believed in the mission of serving youth and families confronting homelessness; and
WHEREAS, in 2005, La Casa Norte continued to grow and began construction of Solid Ground and La Casa Norte's third program, Esperanza Trabajando, providing free career and educational assistance to ex-offenders, limited English speakers, and those without a high school diploma or GED; and
WHEREAS, in 2006, La Casa Norte opened Solid Ground and continued to gain recognition and support for its leadership and work within the community, Sol Flores, Executive Director, received the inaugural Ruby Slipper Award for leadership and advocacy from Mayor Richard M. Daley on behalf of the City of Chicago's Plan to End Homelessness; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, as it celebrated its ten-year anniversary,...
Click here for full text