A social services non-profit helping immigrants in Chicago since 1870 has evolved as the city has.
Erie Neighborhood House Executive Director Cristina De La Rosa says “We started here in West Town. As the immigrant population changed in the neighborhood, that’s who we shifted our services to support.”
That assistance runs the gamut from workforce training to mental health counseling to early childhood education.
The former chapel on Erie Street that houses their afterschool programs has stacks of games to practice math and reasoning skills.
Downstairs, a newly refurbished pool table sits protected under a cover in the space for teenagers.
De La Rosa estimates Erie House serves about 7,000 clients and reaches 20,000 immigrants and low-income family members.
She says their work has become more crucial since ICE and US Customs and Border Protection stepped up detentions last fall.
Since Operation Midway Blitz, they are offering fast-track citizenship classes and refocusing on a fundraise drive to build a new community center in Little Village.
People have responded to the raids with offers of support.
Marketing Director Roberto Mendez says they direct help based on skill sets, so a young graphic designer who recently volunteered has been put in charge of updating Know Your Rights literature.
“We have to keep our eye on that bigger vision because it is so easy to get lost when you feel like you’re in crisis”, De La Rosa says.
Erie House hopes to be ready for the next surge in immigration enforcement and hopes to break ground on a 22,000-square-foot center in the spring of 2027.