Esperanza Community Services
The Esperanza Community Services is a fantastic organization located in West Town that provides services to people who have developmental disabilities, emotional disturbances, behavior disorders, autism and other forms of cognitive challenges.
Here is excerpt their site:
The phenomenal person who founded Esperanza and gave our participants hope for a better future was a Mexican-American mother and visionary named Guadalupe Reyes. Her son, Bobby, contracted spinal meningitis and was diagnosed with a developmental disability at a young age. At the time, the lack of services and understanding for people with special needs compelled most to institutionalize their children, but Mrs. Reyes refused to do so.
Instead, she spent years teaching him herself. Whereas doctors warned her that Bobby would never walk or talk; she taught him to do so with the help of her family. He loved watching the Cubs and loved to sing. He was even able to experience the same activities as other children with some modifications. However, all of these accomplishments were not enough for the Reyes family; Bobby longed to go to school like the other neighborhood kids.
Guadalupe began knocking on doors and ultimately formed a parent group. At the same time, governmental reforms were taking place. In 1968, Illinois passed legislation that established community-based programs for children with developmental disabilities. This regulation provided Guadalupe Reyes and the other families the incentive to launch a program for their special needs children.
In September of 1969, with the help of Dr. Ogletree, a professor from Chicago State University, the doors of Esperanza School opened in a small church basement in the Pilsen neighborhood. Families and educators joined together to teach special needs children using the Waldorf method of therapeutic education. This approach looks at the whole child from a development perspective helping to bring abilities of each child to their fullest expression through arts.
10% of our Tamale! Tamale! t-shirt profits go to Esperanza Community Services so they can continue to help those in need and to reach their goals.
Please stop by their web site or visit them at:
www.esperanzacommunityservices.org
520 North Marshfield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622-6731
(312) 243-6097
