Author: Joseph-Johnson, Renese

CHA/Chicago Trivia Answers

Answer - 1
Chicago was first incorporated as a town in 1833 and then as a city in 1837.

Answer - 2
While she is best known for founding Hull House, Jane Addams split the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize with Nicholas Murray Butler 1919.

Answer - 3
Picasso’s unnamed 50-foot Cubist sculpture is prominently displayed in Chicago’s Daley Plaza, where it has become one of the city’s best-known landmarks.

Central Advisory Council
243 E. 32nd Street
Chicago IL, 60616
312-913-7828

The CAC Newsletter highlights resident events and activities in addition to keeping residents informed on upcoming meeting, and CHA policies and procedures. It also highlights resident, PM, and other staff member success stories. The CAC Newsletter links our residents to services such as CHA’s Family-Works team which provides resources for residents as it relates to employment, education, financial goals, health resources, child care, and other various needs. You can share your story with through the CAC as well by contacting us and allowing us to be a part of your success.

Contact Us:
243 E. 32nd Street
Chicago, IL. 60616
O: 312-913-7828 Fax: 312-935-2605
Web: mycac.org

CAC
C.A.R.E.S.
Community Assistance, Resources, and Efficient Services Volume 33 June 2023

Denise Saunders - CHA Employee

Successful people are a catalyst. They make things happen. Driven by passion and fueled by their dreams, they are determined to take action and make a difference. They are not content to sit idle or procrastinate. They infect others with their passion and courage. Hang around a catalyst such as this and before long you may want to join their cause!
Most people look outward for success. They look for someone else to appreciate them, someone else to promote them, and someone else to motivate them. Success is not something external shining in, but rather something internal radiating out. If you can envision a better tomorrow.

Denise Saunders is a God Planted, Southside Chicago native, Family Oriented, Structured Mother of four who has endured many of life challenges.
Denise Saunders believes that Chicago is a beautiful city surrounded by violence and controversy by the media. She found things more simple when she was a kid growing up there, there wasn't much to worry about but as she got older things became more complex here. When it was summer time she would play ins sprinklers or go downtown and play in the fountains with her family. Of course, like most big cities she had to watch her back while growing up because you never knew what somebody was up to. It's weird really growing up here because you never know what's going to happen next , whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. All she can really say about growing up in Chicago is that if she had the chance to redo it, she’d do if a million times.
Denise Came to Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Central Advisory Council (CAC) / Local Advisory Council (LAC) in April of 2016 with over a decade of Social Service and Administrative experience. Assigned as an Administrative Assistance to Northeast Scattered Sites tackling a wide variety of challenges.

Continued Page 2

Page 8

Page 1

Denise Saunders Continued

Rental Assistance

In 2018 she transitioned to Altgeld-Murray Homes where she was afforded the opportunity to excel and showcase her talents under the leadership of LAC President Bernadette Williams. Creating and facilitating the following programs which are still currently active.
Families Feeding Families A weekly food pantry providing healthy high-end quality foods such as poultry, seafood, lamp and grass feed beef, fruits and vegetables harvest by local Illinois and Indiana farmers.
Wee Care Support An as needed and weekly life essentials give away of a wide assortment of items distributed to those in need includes, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, deodorant, female hygiene product, child size diaper ranging from newborn to size 4t-5t training underwear, household cleaning supplies (Clorox wipes & Lysol during Covid-19), shower curtains, brooms, mops, waste baskets, Ziploc/storage bags, body soap, hair products, sink-stoppers, plungers, Britta water pitcher filters just to name a few.
Families @Play During the summer months Altgeld-Murray families were able to attend field trips free of charge and included meals to; Hollywood Park, Field Museum, Ski Zone, Jac’s Warehouse, Navy Pier Chicago Children Hands on Museum, Maggie Daley Park, Brookfield Zoo and Six Flags Great American.
Annual Stay-Warm Winter Necessities Distribution Over 700 winter items are distributed, items include coats, jackets, hoodies, sweaters, snow boots, hats, scarves, gloves, snow pants, heating packs, socks, and thermal underwear.
She also Coordinated events and activities such as, Quarterly Vision Board Parties, MLK Celebration Breakfast, Spring Planting, Easter Celebration, Community Day Give-Away, Movies in the Blocks, Annual Parade & Back to School Picnic, Halloween Party, Thanksgiving fest and distribution, Christmas/Holiday Celebration.
Each initiative allowed her the liberty to cultivate her program management skills. Often meeting with stakeholder’s community leaders and neighboring business owners, playing vital roles in executing events and activities with entities such as Field Museum, Forest Preserve, Friends of the Forest, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Amazon, and Metropolitan Family Services which all became more than stakeholders but LAC allies. She says, “She is forever grateful for their commitment to the Altgeld-Murray Homes community”.
In September of 2022 Denise Saunder’s transitioned to Program Support Specialist with CHA providing service on a similar scale. Being impactful by providing support to the following CHA Special Programs, (CTO) Choose to Own Home Ownership Program, Digital Inclusion, (FSS) Family Self-Sufficiently Program and Senior Service. Completing CTO intake, enrolling participants and residents in (ACP) Affordable Connectivity Program, completing registration, assisting with presentations, and introducing new initiatives.
Denise Saunders continues to look onward to accomplishing far more in the future.

Page 2

Page 7

Chicago Events

Affordable Connectivity Program

Chicago Food Truck Festival
Summer is the season of culinary events in Chicago, and Food Trucks Festival is definitely one of the favorites for locals. About 50 trucks cater almost every cuisine imaginable on Earth. The food truck lineup is provides the biggest choice and diversity in The Windy City.

4th on 53rd Parade
4th on 53rd is the main Independence Day celebration on The South Side and one of the most anticipated annual events in Hyde Park. The free festival, which attracts about 10,000 attendees, starts with a vibrant parade along 53rd Street, followed by a community party and a picnic in Nichols Park. The event runs from 10: 30 am to 3 pm.

Chicago Ribfest
The food festival Ribfest Chicago promises quality and culinary experience. It is known as one of the leading and quality food festivals in North America. The festival’s events attract, every year, more than 60,000 people who eat greedily dozens of tons of pork.
Friday, August 18, 2023 - Sunday, August 20, 2023
Irving Park & Damen/Lincoln

Page 6

Page 3

Help On Domestic Violence

Five Tips to Manage Stress

Toll-Free. 24-hour. Confidential. Multilingual.
Phone: 1.877.863.6338 TTY: 1.877.863.6339
The Office on Domestic Violence continues to house and oversee the operation of the City of Chicago Domestic Violence Help Line. The Help Line is a 24-hour, toll-free confidential number that functions as a clearinghouse for domestic violence services and information.
The Help Line is used by:
Victims
Concerned family and friends
Perpetrators of domestic violence
Helping professionals
Health care workers, faith leaders, police officers, and prosecutors
Established in 1998, Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence contracts with the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network to operate the Help Line. Callers to the Help Line are provided with general domestic violence information, referrals to appropriate domestic violence services and a three-way phone linkage between the caller and the domestic violence services. Trained domestic violence advocates – Victim Information and Referral Advocates (VIRAs) – staff the phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. VIRAs provide victims with immediate information about their options, information on safety planning, referrals to community based providers including:
Shelters
Counseling
Legal advocacy
Civil legal services
Supervised child visitation centers
Perpetrators services

CAC/CHA and Chicago Trivia
Answers are revealed on the last page

1. When was Chicago incorporated as a city?

2. Which Chicagoan became the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Peace when she did so in 1931?

3. Chicago boasts the only public sculpture ever created by which 20th-century artist?

Five tips to manage stress and reduce the overall stress of day-to-day activities
1. Use guided meditation.
Guided meditation is a great way to distract yourself from the stress of day-to-day life. There are many guided meditations available online that can help you find five minutes of centered relaxation.
2. Practice deep breathing.
Deep breathing is a great way to reduce the activation of your sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body's response of fight or flight to a perceived threat. Deep breaths taken in for a count of five seconds, held for two seconds and released for a count of five seconds, can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest, which helps reduce the overall stress and anxiety you may be experiencing.
3. Maintain physical exercise and good nutrition.
Physical exercise and nutrition are two important components in how you respond to stress. When your body is healthy, your mind can be healthy and vice versa. Physical exercise is proven to be a great stress reliever and also helps to improve your overall quality of life. Nutrition is important because stress can deplete certain vitamins, such as A, B complex, C and E. Maintaining proper nutrition not only helps your body feel better, but your mind as well, which allows you to better combat stress.
4. Manage social media time.
Spending time on social media sites can become stressful, not only by what you might see on them, but also because the time might best be spent enjoying visiting with friends, being outside enjoying the weather or reading a great book. In addition, many people use social media at night, which may worsen sleep due to increased stress at the exact time people are trying to wind down for the evening, resulting in fewer overall hours of quality sleep.
5. Connect with others.
Humans are social beings. You need to have connections with people to feel supported. Finding a sense of community, whether at work, with a religious organization or through shared activities, such as organized sports, is important to your well-being. Enjoying a shared activity allows you to find support and foster relationships that can be supportive in difficult times.

Page 4

Page 5

Chicago Daley Plaza - 50 W. Washington
Fri, Jun 23 – Sat, Jun 24

Chicago, IL

Sat, Jul 1 – Thu, Jul 6

Chicago

Chicago, IL