St. Leonard's Ministries

Viceroy Hotel Projects

diroper — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:11:18 +0000

We’re nearing the Spring move-in dates for both SLM projects that will be housed in the Harvest Commons Building, formerly known as the Viceroy Hotel, at Ashland and Warren. Program participants from Grace House and St. Leonard’s House will move into SLM’s second floor Harvest Commons Residency program as early as mid-April. The Program Director and the Director of Supportive Services for SLM’s Harvest Commons Residency Program will be selected in April and will begin their work in May. Final components for Gracie’s Café are being addressed; equipment will be moved early in April with a projected opening date for the Café sometime in May. Stay tuned!

Save The New Date for the 2013 Walk-a-thon

diroper — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:18:14 +0000

Come and join us on Saturday, May 11th, 2013 from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM for our 2013 Walk-a-thon. This will be, as it has been in the past, a really enjoyable time to come out and support St. Leonard’s Ministries. You’ll meet new friends, have a chance to spend some time at St. Leonard’s and to know that you are helping people with a second chance at life.

All funds raised through the Walk-a-thon will be part of a dollar for dollar grant match awarded to St. Leonard’s Ministries.

Staff Changes at St. Leonard’s Ministries

diroper — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:25:25 +0000

St. Leonard’s Ministries is pleased to announce that Walter Boyd has become the Agency’s Executive Director as of mid January, 2013. Walter is well known in local and national circles that are devoted to criminal justice issues and, in particular, community re-entry issues of men and women exiting prison. Formerly with Protestants for the Common Good, Walter brings a great deal of passion and many varied skills to his new position at St. Leonard’s.

At the same time, Bob Dougherty has assumed the role of Development Director for St. Leonard’s Ministries. Having a full-time staff person devoted to development efforts will benefit the Agency’s short and long term financial needs. With more than a few years of experience in development work, Bob is a good fit for this new role.

Administrative Restructuring

diroper — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:51:57 +0000

The coming of the New Year 2013 will bring about a new design for the Administration of St. Leonard’s Ministries. For twenty-five years, the Agency has combined the positions of Executive Director and Development Director. The combination of these two roles has worked effectively. With Agency growth, however, both programs and funding needs have come to require new levels of focus. The Board of Directors and Senior Staff Members have spent the last two years addressing these concerns as articulated in the Agency’s current Long Range Plan.

Beginning Jan. 1^st, 2013, the current executive director, Bob Dougherty, will assume development responsibilities for the Agency. Bob’s years of experience in developing funding for St. Leonard’s Ministries make this transition seem optimal. With more time to devote specifically to development tasks and concerns, a full-time Development Director will better position the Agency to continue meeting current financial needs and to provide for a more solid future.

A Search Committee was created early in 2012 to begin the process of choosing a new executive director for the Agency. Seven members of the SLM Board of Directors constituted the Search Committee which undertook a variety of distinct tasks related to the search process. Most recently the Committee has been reviewing the sixty some resumes of individuals who have applied for the position. Plans call for the final selection to be made in December and for the new executive director to assume the position early in January, 2013.

Grace House Annual Fundraiser Luncheon

diroper — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:10:42 +0000

Grace House is hosting its Annual Fundraiser Luncheon on Thursday November 1, 2012. Come and join us for lunch and celebrate Grace and Hope with the residents and staff of Grace House. The Luncheon will take place at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, located at 3121 W Jackson Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois, from 11am- 2pm.

RSVP is requested by October 22, 2012. Please call Carla at Grace House at 312.733.5363, or E-mail Sister Theresa at tmayrand@slministries.org to confirm your attendance.

Michael Barlow Center Exploring Class Focus

diroper — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:02:25 +0000

The Draper and Kramer Montgomery 500 property management team led by Patricia Salinski has been widening horizons of the MBC staff regarding components and concerns of the property management field. After hosting a mind expanding tour of their building’s mechanical systems, Ms. Salinski introduced the staff to Tom Dobry, Executive Director of the SEIU Local 1 Training Fund. SEIU Local 1 represents a wide variety of building maintenance workers in the Chicago area. The Training Fund operates an educational center that helps Local 1 members obtain and upgrade their skills. Mr. Dobry hosted a tour for MBC staff and was able to pass on examples of the training materials that the center uses. He also shared his insights about the building maintenance field at the September meeting of the MBC Advisory Board.

Recidivism – A New Look

diroper — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:54:36 +0000

For many years now, SLM has tracked recidivism rates for its residential programs. Typical recidivism rates for men into the third year out of prison are approximately 20%; rates for women are even lower at less than 5%. General population rates of return in Illinois are 50.3% for men and 33% for women. This year, staff at the Michael Barlow Center began tracking recidivism rates for their own program participants who are both residents of SLM’s programs and residents from the broader community. Upon review of MBC program participants who provided IDOC information, only 14% returned to prison in 2009; the rate decreased a bit for more recent MBC program participants. This analysis was completed by comparing the names of MBC participants over the past three years to the records found through the Inmate Search Function of the Illinois Department of Corrections database. While there is a margin of error for these statistics, they do suggest that MBC program participants are serious about building new lives for themselves and their families. Even in these very difficult economic times, individuals are making great strides.

Preserving the Past

diroper — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:01:23 +0000

Sister Eunice Drazba, OP, continues her volunteer efforts at St. Leonard’s Ministries as the Agency’s Archivist. She has gone through box after box and photo after photo to sort and label memorable – and sometimes not so memorable – documents and items of all kinds. Efforts have concentrated on preservation of all four sites as well as for SLM as a whole. The work is sometimes tedious, but it is often punctuated with moments of “Oh, remember this!” and “What ever became of the person in this photo?” Sister Eunice took many of the photos, but Sister Jean Hughes and Board Member, Lisa Ebright, are also well represented in the archives.

Interns Back on Campus

diroper — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:55:58 +0000

Fall is the time of year when SLM welcomes a new group of interns to various programs at all four of its program sites. This year, Northeastern Illinois University, with seven interns, and the Adler School of Professional Psychology, with six interns, are most heavily represented. The University of Illinois at Chicago, De Paul University, Columbia College, Wright College and the Career Tech Center all have one intern on campus. An Ignatian Volunteer, a Julian Volunteer and a Sister of St. Joseph Novice complete the professional intern/volunteer team for the next semester. All of these individuals provide valuable service provision extensions at SLM sites. Time spent with SLM populations is a valuable and often life-changing experience for the interns and program participants meet “the next generation.”

A Really Special Speaker

diroper — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:42:40 +0000

The Michael Barlow Center has held many Graduations for its Green Building Maintenance Classes. March 16th, however, was a very special celebration because of the commencement speaker. Dr. Alcus Cromartie, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, delivered challenging remarks for the graduates that were coupled with unique historical observations. In addition to serving in World War II, Dr. Cromartie spent a number of years with NASA, the National Aero Space Administration; his reflections included many stories about both of these engagements. Patricia Williams, Barlow Center Receptionist, met and struck up a conversation with Dr. Cromartie while she was on her way to work one day a few years ago. Patricia realized that she was in the presence of a very special person and developed a friendship with him. Participants and guests at the Graduation were all moved by Dr. Cromartie’s remarks and his generous presence with us.