Elev8 Chicago Goes Streetside With Health Fair, Art Show

By Ed Finkel/LISC Chicago

LISC/Chicago’s Elev8 program is becoming fully rooted in all five of its middle schools with the opening of on-site community health centers.

Perspectives-Calumet Middle School in Auburn Gresham, which opened its center in June, launched a major community outreach effort on July 23 with its Health Fair and Gallery Walk along 79^th Street near Racine Avenue. 

Tenisha Jones, Elev8 program director at Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corp., said she developed the list of vendors after surveying residents on their health concerns, which included diabetes, obesity, breast cancer and other women’s health issues.

“I’m very excited about the vendors who are here,” she said, which included the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Chicago Women’s Health Center, Federation of Community Schools, Campaign for Better Health Care, University of Illinois-Chicago College of Nursing, and University of Illinois School of Public Health. “I’m very much interested in bringing Elev8 into the community.”

“We’re looking to educate the community on what Elev8 is and the influence it’s having,” said Ramon Gardenhire, advocacy director for Elev8, which is funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. “We’re hoping to get parents in the community involved.”

Among the five Elev8 Chicago schools, health centers at Marquette Elementary and Reavis Elementary also opened this summer, and centers at Ames Middle School and Orozco Community Academy are scheduled to open before the school year begins.

During the Auburn Gresham health fair, vendors were grouped into categories – like advocacy, women’s health, child-specific services, and insurance-related products – so they could hopefully meet and create new partnerships, said Sam Perryman, health services coordinator at Perspectives. For example, Walgreen’s and the Access Community Health Network, a system of health clinics that’s on site at Perspectives, were discussing referrals back and forth.

“They can network together so everyone is referred to the appropriate person,” Perryman said. “Vendors more generally are making connections, so we can pull them together [for future initiatives].” And there was another benefit: “People who stop through also get a much broader idea of, for example, what their health insurance options are.”

Access Community Health Network wanted to get the word out about the newly opened clinic at Perspectives, said Terrie Jordan, clinic manager. “[Community members] don’t know that there’s a facility inside the school,” she said, adding that it’s mostly for students and expects to handle primarily physicals for school and sports teams.

Perspectives Principal Tamara Davis said students and their parents were excited to see the mosaics, paintings and mixed-media creations from the after-school Elev8 program on display.

These ranged from collages that drew inspiration from President Obama’s election to more abstract works like cardboard sculptures of raised tetrahedrons in complementary colors – yellow and purple, blue and orange, red and green, and black and white.

“We know the more students are involved in extracurricular activities, the more it translates into achievement in the classroom,” Davis said. “It’s important for us to step outside the school because we are part of the community.”

“Our kids are truly engaged,” said program manager Monique Turner. “The really enjoy the art classes and the art club. We try to make the connection between what’s going on during the day and after school [programming] … without them actually knowing.”

The appeals are similar for brothers Kendall and LeSean Harbin. “It’s been really fun to hang around with my friends and to create things,” said Kendall, who begins eighth grade in September. “It gives you a new experience.” Added ninth-grader LeSean, “I like hanging out with friends. I like working with art, with my hands.”