ALBANY PARK — A dozen students from Roosevelt High School gave up part of their summer break to pound the pavement in Albany Park and assess the neighborhood's overall well being.
Among their discoveries: Albany Park is home to an abundance of dentists but just three major grocery stores and not nearly enough trash cans.
The students presented these and other findings at a health symposium held at the Albany Park Community Center, 5101 N. Kimball Ave., last week.
Patty Wetli explains what the students learned:
Guided by faculty from the University of Illinois-Chicago's School of Public Health, students spent five days in the field, walking neighborhood streets and tallying the number and location of restaurants, parks, fitness centers, health clinics and churches, among others, along with making note of issues like safety and transportation options.
"They got to think very differently about health," said Elizabeth Ferrell, the small learning communities coordinator at Roosevelt, who helped arrange the collaboration with UIC.
The goal of the project was to provide insight into the way an individual's ZIP code can affect their health as much as genetics, with the students being encouraged to position themselves as "change agents."
"They heard that term a lot," said Ferrell.
"I want them to understand, this is their community," said Roosevelt teacher Marva McKinley, who hoped students walked away with a "let's-do-something" mentality.
Mohammed Ewaida, a 16-year-old incoming junior, was among the teens participating in the project.
"They told us how to open our eyes to stuff," he said of the instruction from UIC faculty members.
Ewaida's more striking observations included a tendency by shopkeepers to promote unhealthy eating choices.
"You go into a convenience store and all the junk food is up front," he said. "You see ads for 2-for-$4 Monster drinks, not $1 a pound for apples."
Cousins Adrianna and Alejandra Alvarez, an incoming senior and junior, respectively, noted the dearth of recreation options in parts of the neighborhood.
"There's no activities teens can go to," said Alejandra.
Trash was another major problem, they said.
"There's dirt and litter everywhere," Adrianna said. "People just throw it in the street."
An impromptu clean-up effort drove the point home for Henry Sotelo, 17.
"Normally you see [the litter]," he said. "When we actually had to pick it up, we went two blocks and our bag was filled and heavy. You think, 'Wow, this is really bad.'"
Other negatives noted by the students: vacant storefronts and abandoned houses — "They give gang members a place to go," Ewaida said. They also were turned off by the numerous auto body shops, many of which emit fumes, and clusters of fast-food restaurants around parks and CTA stations. All those dentists — 54, by the students' counts — don't necessarily add up to more health care options for residents, many of whom lack insurance.
On the positive side, students pointed to Global Garden training farm and community garden as the "perfect" use of a vacant lot. A variety of churches provide places for social interaction while accommodating different religions. "Neighborhood watch" signs were viewed not as evidence of crime but of residents' vigilance.
"I see those and I'm thinking, 'Those people care, they work together,'" said Adrianna Alvarez.
Among the students' recommendations to create a healthier Albany Park: Ask store owners to put produce up front, organize a health fair and nutrition classes, create a community center that provides more recreational outlets for teens and young adults, and "absolutely more trash cans."
While the students said they planned to share their findings with elected officials and community groups, they also were prepared to take action themselves.
Sotelo was among those who discovered, through the course of the project, the existence of the city's 311 hotline for reporting things like potholes.
"We barely know about it," Sotelo said of his fellow students and their families. "There's a bunch of ways to get things done, people don't know about them."
The teen also said that individuals need to have a sense of responsibility toward the overall community. Too many people, he said, have the attitude, "It's the city's job."
Said Sotelo: "The main thing is, you need people to care."
Pilar Vazquez-Vialva, Roosevelt's new principal, who was attending the symposium in just her second official day on the job, declared herself "utterly impressed" with the students' work.
She said the initial findings would lead to deeper discussion and further projects.
"This is just the beginning of the work you're going to doing this year," Vazquez-Vialva told the students.
