Harper College student group aims to help Dreamers
A new student group at Harper College in Palatine aims to help immigrant students, faculty and workers, known as Dreamers, through advocacy, referrals for legal services and community education.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision Thursday upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program shielding immigrants brought to the country as children without documentation from deportation and allowing them to legally work here. The program, created in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama, has been under threat of elimination by President Donald Trump since 2017.
The court's decision provides "a sense of stability for the time being," said Giancarlo Rivera-Moore, of Palatine, president of the Foundation for Allies of Undocumented Non-Citizen and DACA Students at Harper.
Rivera-Moore, 23, is a DACA recipient from Peru brought to the U.S. at age 5. He is studying biomedical engineering at Harper and works as a certified nursing assistant at a Lake Zurich nursing home. For three years, he lived with a crippling fear that at any moment his life could be taken away, he said.
"It's important that DACA (recipients) know that they are not alone," he said. "The goal of the organization is to create empowerment and a sense of leadership in these students."
<h3 class="breakHead">LGBTQ health equity: Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recently hosted a Facebook panel discussion on health equity addressing systemic barriers preventing LGBTQ people from accessing health care and how COVID-19 is affecting that community. </h3>
Speakers highlighted health disparities and specific challenges for people of color and those who identify as transgender and nonbinary.
"This is about a whole set of inequities based on crowded housing conditions, poor access to health services, working conditions that are unsafe like food processing and manufacturing (facilities)," said David Ernesto Munar, a Cook County Health Board member.
Resources allocated for pandemic response have helped clear some hurdles for Black and Latino communities to access telehealth services and medications, said Aisha Davis, director of policy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
Job loss and homelessness is another growing concern for Cook County's LGBTQ community, said LaSia Wade, founder and executive director for Brave Space Alliance, an LGBTQ Center located on Chicago's South Side.
<h3 class="breakHead">Pride events: Aurora, Bolingbrook and Chicago canceled their Pride parades this month due to the coronavirus pandemic. </h3>
Instead, Bolingbrook residents will showcase their Pride spirit decorating homes and lawns for spectators to view as they drive by from noon to 4 p.m. today. To view a map of decorated homes visit Bolingbrook Pride's website and Facebook page.
Naperville will host its first Naper Pride Fest on Aug. 21 and 22. Aurora is raising funds for its 2021 Pride Parade to be held next June. And Chicago's 51-year-old Pride Parade, one of the largest nationwide originally set for this weekend, could be rescheduled for late-summer or early-fall, organizers say.
<h3 class="breakHead">Recognizing seniors: Nominations are being sought for the Illinois Department on Aging's 2020 Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame Awards.</h3>
"There is a lot of knowledge and wisdom that can be gained by honoring and recognizing the contributions of the older adults in our lives, including our friends, neighbors and loved ones," said state Rep. Michelle Mussman, of Schaumburg, representing the 56th District which includes portions of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Roselle, Rolling Meadows and Palatine.
Nominations are being accepted in the categories of community service, education, labor force and performance/graphic arts. The deadline is Aug. 31 to submit nominations on the Illinois Department on Aging's website, illinois.gov/aging, or by calling the Senior Helpline at (800) 252-8966.
<h3 class="breakHead">Racial equity: Cook County will conduct its second annual Racial Equity Week in September. </h3>
During last year's inaugural event, officials held a series of listening sessions to hear from residents and community partners and educate the public on why racial equity matters and ways to work together to close the gap.
For more on the county's equity initiatives, visit cookcountyil.gov/service/racial-equity.
<h3 class="breakHead">Social justice: The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago is offering $1,000 grants to Chicago-area and suburban mosques to implement social justice service projects in their communities as part of a challenge.</h3>
Each grant-funded project will be entered to win a $5,000 grand prize. The challenge winner will be selected in August by community members voting.
To participate, mosques can upload a 30-second video and receive $1,000 to start implementing the idea. Collaborations among mosques and with interfaith or intrafaith groups are encouraged, said Sabina Qadir, board member of CIOGC, an umbrella group of more than 60 member organizations.
As part of its project, the Islamic Center of Wheaton is seeking submissions of social justice-inspired art from community members, while challenging the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park to compete.
For more information, visit ciogc.org.
• Share stories, news and happenings from the suburban mosaic with Madhu Krishnamurthy at mkrishnamurthy@dailyherald.com.