Our Blog

Stories and updates from the CEDA team, partners & supporters

Two little Black girls cling to one another wearing masks and winter coats. They look afraid,

How You Can Prevent Human Trafficking and Slavery

A common misconception is that slavery in the United States ended in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln made his Emancipation Proclamation. Legally speaking, it was actually the passage of the 13th Amendment two years later which abolished slavery (except as punishment for a crime). Unfortunately, the truth is slavery continues today...

CEDA Gifts and the CARES Act: What You Need To Know

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on what we have seen in our communities throughout CEDA’s 55 years of service. Hundreds of thousands of people in Chicagoland are held back by racial injustice, stagnant wages, institutional bias, and generational poverty. Now more than ever, Black and brown communities are...

Recap: CEDA Annual Meeting 2020: Empowerment and Innovation

On Human Rights Day, December 10, 2020, we hosted our virtual Annual Meeting 2020: Empowerment & Innovation. The meeting brought together our CEDA Family - a family made up of supporters, partners, staff, board, volunteers, and clients – to look back at this monumental year and forward at how we...

CEDA’s Year in Review

What a year it has been. Without a doubt, we are living through one of the most challenging moments in modern history. From the COVID-19 crisis taking hundreds of thousands of lives, to the civil unrest in response to racial injustice, to the millions of people slipping into poverty as...

CEDA Programs: A Lifeline When They Needed It

For over half a century, CEDA has been making a difference in the lives of countless Chicagoland residents. So far, we’ve served 334,122 individuals and 172,751 households. But while these numbers might tell you the size of our impact, what really matters is the people. Today we’d like to take...

Restoring Homes & Communities with Weatherization

View from the Field: Restoring Homes & Communities with Weatherization

Today is National Weatherization Day! “Weatherization” is a term you may have heard in the news lately – the process aims to keep individuals and families safe and comfortable while lowering their gas and electric bills. When a building is weatherized, the structure and heating systems are either repaired or...

Investing in Our Communities

Jobs play a central role in the lives of most adults, allowing individuals not just to afford basic needs, but also to build a secure life and be positive forces in their neighborhoods. Unfortunately, not everyone is offered a seat at the table. The last economic recovery saw an increase...

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

The heartbreaking events over the past weeks have had an intensely personal effect on me. They've brought up the unsettling feelings I've had way too many times before. The unsettling feelings steeped with hurt, anger and frustration ignited by injustice. I am desperately pained for all the Black youth and...

Building Resilience in Our Clients and Communities

Poverty has a great impact in our communities. At an essential level, every parent wants to provide for their children- food, clothing and shelter. For those recently unemployed or the more than 800K people living below the federal poverty line in Cook County, surviving with less than $1,600 a month,...

National Presence, Local Impact

"GENIUS IS IN THE IDEA.  IMPACT, HOWEVER, COMES FROM ACTION!" - Simon Sinek                   Our national impact report showcases the needs of over 50 million Americans living in poverty - unable to afford basic needs like medicine, transportation, health care and food....