Don't "ride by" poverty. Get involved.

In the May 13, 2013 issue of Crain's Chicago Business a map was shown of Metra transit routes through the Chicago region, connecting people with the downtown business district and the places where they live.  The intent was to show how some routes go through wealthy communities and others through poorer communities (I think).

I created a map analysis, using this image, along with one that the Tutor/Mentor Connection had created a few years ago.  On the left is the map from the Crain's article and on the right is one showing Metra routes along with major expressways. 

The first time I  used this maps was in 2009, in this article titled "Don't Drive By Poverty, Get Involved."

That was four years ago. I've been creating maps since 1993. My goal is that leaders in business, media, politics, religion, universities, etc. would use the maps to mobilize others in an on-going effort to build and sustain mentor-rich, non-school programs IN EVERY HIGH POVERTY NEIGHBORHOOD, where youth would be safe during non-school hours and would find an extended network of adult support and learning opportunities intended to help them go to school every day better prepared to learn and succeed, while also building a network of peers and mentors who would help them through school and into jobs and careers in future years.

I've been collecting information about Chicago area non-school tutor/mentor programs since 1993 and share it in a map-based directory and in this list of program web sites.

I've shared my thinking on a daily basis in blog articles, like this one, and in web pages, comments on media articles, web forums, and conferences I've hosted in Chicago every six months since May 1994. yet I find few reaching out to support the map-making and information collection/sharing that I do, or who are adopting these mobilization tools in their own efforts. 

This was the headline of the Chicago SunTimes in October 1992. It said "7-Year-Old's Death at Cabrini Requires Action".  Chicago and other cities are still waiting for leaders to become strategic, using maps and other available data, to build the on-going systems of support that might result in more kids finishing school and going into Chicago area jobs and careers rather than dropping out and/or getting involved with gangs and the state's prison system.

Take a look at some of these leadership ideas. Form a Research & Development team in your company, faith group, college, etc. to study this information and offer strategies you can adopt. 

If I can  help you with these please connect with me on Facebook, Twitter or Linked in.

Interactive map shows access to jobs

I attended a Community Development Conference in Chicago and this opened up a wide range of new resources that I was not aware of and that might be useful to those working for the well-being of young people and families.

One speaker was from the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. When I visited his web page I found this information about "Transit Access, an interactive mapping application associated with the Missed Opportunity transit report, which presents metropolitan and neighborhood-level information on how transit connects workers to jobs in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas. See the map at http://www.brookings.edu/metro/jobs_and_transit/map.aspx

Volunteering: Easy to get to Programs. Small Investment. Big Rewards.

I make maps that show city boundaries, locations of "failing schools," the 2000 Census bureau's poverty tracts... and then overlay these with locations of community assets and known non-school tutoring and mentoring programs.

The feedback I receive on patterns that emerge range from concern to shock to outrage.

But we at Tutor/Mentor Connection don't stop at exposing the clear lack of quality tutoring and mentoring programs - programs that exist as options for students who need a little help to compete for college placement, jobs, and ultimately community/business/political leadership.

We also propose comprehensive solutions.

My maps are free tools that business leaders can use in creating strategies that invigorate the local economy through investment in - and philanthropic funding of tutor/mentor programs.

We propose solutions to the problems that concern communities - strategies that universities, hospitals, places of worship, and concerned parents can use to address issues of crime, violence, and poverty.

We also provide district overviews of resources and assets for politicians to incorporate into the work they do for their constituency...

And we encourage the media to provide tutoring/mentoring-based solutions when discussing problems associated with inadequate school facilities, poverty, and gangs.

But one part of a comprehensive solution to the lack of non-school tutoring/mentoring options... a part that I frequently tend to gloss over... is you and your ability to volunteer as a one-to-one mentor for students at the programs.

Simply, without volunteers, there are no programs.

That's what this is all about: Pairing students with volunteers in long-term relationships whereby the student gains needed help on homework (tutoring) and needed direction in developing a course of action that will put her/him on college and career paths (mentoring). Many of these kids do not receive this guidance at home and are a bit lost on how to get there from here.

You've been there. For an investment of a couple hours each week, you can answer so many questions that seem simple to you but are not for the students. "How do I research schools? How do I fill out an application? Where do I start?"

For this same investment, you get to meet an amazing kid, and grow yourself. The volunteers at a tutor/mentor program like Cabrini Connections almost invariably report personal fulfillment and growth as a primary factor in staying on year after year.

Some of you think this sounds great, but how do I get there? "I commute on train... I don't have a car. I don't have a lot of time!" Not surprisingly, many programs are within seconds of a stop on your Metra line. If you have a monthly pass, as I do, perhaps you might consider jumping off for a few hours and then jumping back on after working with a student on an art or tech project?

Even more programs are within minutes of the route your CTA "el" train takes:


... And if you think outside the box a little bit, you might be able to combine efforts/communter options to make an even easier customized solution to your transport/volunteer concerns.

For instance, many people may be concerned with venturing alone into unknown high-poverty areas of the city. Who wouldn't be? Look at the highways in relation to programs and commuter rail in the maps above. Perhaps a safe, effective, and efficient strategy might involve carpooling to your downtown job with friends/coworkers (saving gas), heading to a program near a Metra stop with one or two members of the carpool, and then using Metra to head home together after a couple hours of tutoring?

I hope you use these maps to find a route that takes you to a program of your choice one night a week. Without your help... without volunteers, programs can't grow. New, needed programs can't start.

Please click on either of the maps above to get larger, detailed maps, to get started.

For details on the specific CTA Stations, please visit the CTA system map. For details about Metra Stations, their website is here.

And for details about the programs that are near stops on your commuter line, visit the Tutor/Mentor Connection's online searchable Program Locator.

For information about volunteering in general , go here.