October 7, 2024

Dear Community Members and Friends, 

I want to begin with a note of sincere thanks – the outpouring of good wishes, calls to check in, and support over the past week has been deeply appreciated by our whole staff.  

In the early hours of Monday, September 30, a vehicle crashed into The Resurrection Project’s (TRP) office at 1805 S. Ashland. The crash was a result of a car chase that began with a shooting a mile north of TRP. There were no fatalities or serious injuries to those involved. 

Because this happened overnight, no TRP staff, clients, or participants were present, and we are so grateful for that. In another scenario, at a different time of day, this could have ended with a much worse outcome. Click here to read more about the incident. 

1805 S. Ashland is home to TRP’s Immigrant Justice department and welcomes more than 1,000 immigrants through its doors each year. 

Our building at 1805 S. Ashland has served as the heart and primary office for our Immigrant Justice department for a decade. This building is the home office of 35 TRP employees and serves as a welcoming and safe space for immigrants seeking legal support, with service delivery Tuesday – Saturday.  

We have established temporary workaround plans, enabling services to resume safely and ensuring no interruption to our Saturday legal clinic. 

Our building has sustained substantial damage requiring significant repairs, but TRP is resilient. To minimize disruption to those we serve, we will temporarily host legal appointments and Saturday clinics in unaffected spaces at 1801 and 1805 S. Ashland that have been cleared for safety by structural engineers. I want to commend our Operations, Property Management, and Immigrant Justice teams for acting so quickly to address this situation, always keeping the safety of our team, clients, and community as priority.  

You can support our efforts to repair our building and prevent service disruption. 

While we are relieved that parts of the building are unaffected, the damage sustained to the front facade and first floor is significant. Insurance will cover a portion, but TRP will be responsible for a $25,000 deductible along with costs incurred to temporarily shift immigration offices and services to alternate spaces. 

We have been motivated and heartened by the inquiries about how you can help during the last few days. To support our efforts to restore and rebuild 1805 S. Ashland, you can give a gift to the TRP Office Repair & Facilities Fund. 

If you’ve ever visited the Immigrant Justice office at 1805 S. Ashland, you know that it is a beacon of hope for many – a welcoming space affirming and celebrating the immigrant identity and creating pathways to justice and opportunity. We look forward to hosting a re-housewarming once our repairs are completed.  

Thank you for your support, 

Raul I. Raymundo

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The Resurrection Project (TRP) builds trusting relationships to educate and propel individuals, immigrants, and families to achieve their social and economic aspirations, stable homes, and equitable participation in their community. TRP is a leading provider of immigration services, affordable housing, and financial education on Chicago’s Southwest side.  

For more than three decades TRP has worked to improve lives by creating wealth, building assets, and engaging residents to be catalysts for change. Rooted in the Pilsen community, TRP’s impact now extends across the City of Chicago and through the State of Illinois; we are making steady progress towards leveraging and preserving more than $1 billion in community wealth by 2025.