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History/ Who is Public Allies?
The Public Ally program is composed of three aspects the first being placing diverse young
individuals in a non for profit for a ten month apprenticeship where they are working four days a week full time doing direct
service to the community. The second aspect is training, Allies receive weekly trainings on Fridays from nine to five on various
topics: gentrification, housing, ethnic conflict, nonviolence, managing time, etc. Then there is the Team Service Project
aspect of the Ally program where 8 Allies were placed in the Logan Square Community to find, implement, and coordinate a community
based and run project.
Our process produced three Requests For Proposals (RFP’s) from the Logan Square
community. Including a Garage Graffiti Art Project, an Open Peace Book Project, and a Youth Mural Project (for all project
descriptions please see attached). The Logan Square Team Service Project solicited feedback from the community to try and
compose a Host Committee (see Partners). The Host Committee role was to give community input as to the needs of Logan Square,
receive all three projects in writing, hear out presentations from the project presenters, and ultimately pick a project that
they believe will best serve the youth of the community. They were composed of diverse Logan Square Community residents from
all ages including youth, organization members, church leaders, and community residents. Our Host Committee unanimously decided
on the Youth Mural Project to be headed by Willie Colon and Shasa Ward. The Youth Mural Project seemed the most inline with
the values of the Public Allies and the values shared by our Host Committee members.
The
Logan Square Team Service Project is composed of 8 diverse young leaders who intend to support the Youth Mural Project through
logistics, ground work, forming community relationships, networking, sustainability and fundraising (see Logan Square TSP
Phase III), and coordination of the project, and the mural painting itself. We do this with the understanding this project
will serve the Logan Square community. Involvement will dissuade gang affiliation, encourage after school community involvement,
and encourage artistic expression.
SUMMARY
Public Allies
has done a year worth of research. The research shows that a youth service project
is needed. Through a request for proposals process, The Youth Mural Project was
chosen. It has been proposed that Public Allies Logan Square Team Service Project
locate a space, artists, youth participants, and supplies to produce murals in the Logan Square community. The mural will encompass images relevant to the neighborhood and will be produced by youth of Logan Square
in conjunction with Logan Square artists. The wall is subject to change twice
a year with the understanding that issues in the community are constantly changing and evolving. A town hall meeting will
be held to solicit ideas from the community about images and issues that affect and reflect the neighborhood every time a
new mural is produced. This project will be facilitated by both Willie Colon
who is a Logan Square resident that has many ties to the youth in the community through his
own art Shasa Ward who is a math teacher at Lane Technical High School which serves many youth
from the Logan Square community. There are also many ties to youth artists in the neighborhood who have a strong interest
in using community space to creatively express shared values and issues concerning their community.
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