Leadership training and community dignity

by Diana Pando

This month we spotlight Father Hugo Leon Londoño from St. Joseph’s Parish in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and the work that’s being done there to strengthen community.

How did you end up at St. Joseph’s Parish?

I was born in Colombia and I studied there to be a priest. After finishing my studies I was selected to work in California. My first three years I worked at two parishes in Palm Springs called Our Lady of Solitude and Our lady of Guadalupe parish. We are missionaries of the Sacred Heart and we are in 55 countries and 5 continents. During my time in California my supervisor asked if I could come to Chicago to be part of St. Joseph parish.

What has surprised you about being part of a parish in the U.S.?

As a Colombian, I had a certain image of the U.S. that everything is perfect and organized and that there aren’t social problems. I wasn’t expecting to find the social problems that you can find in Colombia, such as families with problems, immigrants, gangs, and housing issues. There is a lot of work to be done in our communities.

How do you want to impact the community?

At a social level the Catholic church promotes human dignity. Our desire is to help despite the person’s social or personal situation and to remind them of their dignity because it signifies they are children of God and that’s the base to help solve problems. It’s a spirituality of trying to be near people to remind them of their dignity and guide them where they can recover their dignity through our friendships and interactions with our community.

What types of services does St. Joseph Parish offer the community?

Here at St. Joseph we have childcare services through Catholic charities where parents can drop off their child and go to work. It’s a great service because the children receive excellent care and education.

We also have our youth program that engages youth in sports and community work, reminding them they can live a healthy life without drugs or gangs. The youth group also helps clean the neighborhood and remove graffiti and we teach them to make a difference without violence and aggression. We also have other programs that include prayer and bible groups and a program called Journadas. Its members visit the sick, visit homeless people, and host community activities.

What do you love about the Back of the Yards community?

We have families who are very united. Parents and children come to participate at church and want to lead a healthy and peaceful life. Our youth want to study and make a difference. It’s a place where Latino families have dreams, goals, and lots of potential and we need to work together to make things happen. Some people in our city don’t want to visit our neighborhood because they think it’s dangerous. Many hard-working families live here and while we do have some difficulties, Back of Yards should not be singled out in this way because it stigmatizes the neighborhood and it’s a form of violence. I invite people to get to know the community and also come to our parish and get to know our families.

What initiatives is St. Joseph parish working on?

A year ago we started a scholarship for college-bound youth in our community and we are partnering with other organizations to conduct financial aid workshops so families can get the help they need. We also collaborate with attorneys to help people who have immigration issues.

Through our partnership with TRP, we have done driver’s license workshops for the community. TRP has also been helping to create dignified affordable housing where people can feel happy. TRP workshops have always impacted me with concrete projects because it’s a form to give life to a community with concrete projects like affordable housing.

We are also working with TRP to help our youth understand the DREAM Act and giving recommendation letters for our DREAM students to apply. TRP’s support has been magnificent because they are helping us bring leadership workshops to our community for people to learn new skills and empower them. Community members have helped with petitions, promoting the workshops, and motivating people to participate and become leaders.

We’re continuing to raise funds for our scholarships to help neighborhood students go to college. The more funding we get from the community, the more scholarships we can give. If you would like to make a donation you can call (773) 254-2366 for more details.

We are also enthusiastically supporting immigration reform. Many families have spent many years unable to return to Mexico because of their immigration status. With immigration reform they will have the opportunity to go back and see their families and that’s something beautiful for the human spirit.

Return to Nueva Vida April 2014 here.