Continued growth – spurred by opportunity and delivering results – generated a banner year for Metropolitan Family Services (MFS)! We are honored to say that we now Mpower 183,601 families and individuals throughout Cook and DuPage Counties, and other regions in Illinois, with a team of more than 1,500 full- and part-time staff.
Much of that growth occurred through Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI), Chicago’s leading Community Violence Intervention (CVI) collective, and the Calumet Center, an anchor for families throughout the city’s far South Side.
As a result of Calumet’s success in partnering with the Chicago Housing Authority for 17 years, Calumet was chosen to provide case management services for all of CHA’s senior housing. The Center also has expanded its support services for domestic violence survivors needing housing, along with youth employment programming.
Our biggest growth has come through Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI). We’re excited to report that MPI’s Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA) Center opened in January 2024.
The MPA Center is a state-of-the art facility, located in Chicago’s Pilsen community (which was selected for its central location). With classrooms and meeting spaces equipped with the latest technology, to its podcast recording studio and Peace Room, MPA is a customized space where students, staff and Chicago’s CVI community work together to help make the city safer.
MFS is at the forefront of multiple emergency issues impacting our city. With the influx of thousands of new arrivals from Venezuela, our Legal Aid Society (LAS) was selected by the City of Chicago to lead management and dispersing of city funding for legal services assisting new arrivals, and to process asylum and work authorization applications. In addition, our Midway and North Centers (along with LAS) are Illinois Welcoming Centers, serving as hubs that facilitate the integration of new arrivals, immigrants and refugees into the state.
MFS continues to provide critical services to our clients through our 10 community centers. From preparing first-generation college-bound teens for success, to providing counseling and services that help clients care for spouses who have dementia, we strive to be where clients need us. We are excited to share our successes in this Report.
Thanks to all of you who partner with us to “Mpower Families” and make our communities stronger!
Ric Estrada
President & CEO
David Tropp
Board Chair