BELMONT CRAGIN — Carlos Olivero went to a meeting on how to better Belmont Cragin Tuesday with one idea in particular.
He wanted to see some aid for middle class homeowners battling a recession and gentrification at the same time.
That's because Olivero, a 13-year resident of Belmont Cragin, said his home and those of many of his neighbors went into foreclosure after the housing market crashed earlier in the decade.
"The bubble burst. A lot of homeowners were duped," he said. "But my family is here and we love it. I want to stay in my neighborhood."
Many neighbors have been in similar situations after former residents of Logan Square and Humboldt Park were forced out due to gentrification. With the community growing and changing, the Northwest Side Housing Center has embarked on creating a "quality of life" plan for Belmont Cragin to help address the community's concerns.
The neighborhood is battling overcrowding, gang activity and a lack of affordable housing, the housing center said. And no one is going to solve those problems except the residents of the community, said Ernie Lukasik, outreach coordinator with the housing center.
"The city is broke, the state is broke, but if we come together, we can make the community stronger," he said.
Tuesday was the group's second public meeting, and neighbors were asked to come and weigh in on which initiatives should be undertaken as part of the quality-of-life plan.
The housing center is looking to improve upon four issues central to quality of life: business and jobs, public health, education, and housing.
From there, neighbors identified specific goals under each category that the housing center should seek to improve.
Neighbors agreed on four main projects: building a community center, improving after-school options for students, establishing a network of community businesses and job seekers, and offering assistance for homeowners.
With the input from Tuesday's meeting, the housing center will then draw up its quality-of-life plan and discuss how it will be achieved.
One issue mentioned multiple times was improving access to medical services, especially for undocumented immigrants.
"There is a strong lack of resources for undocumented immigrants in terms of medical and mental health," said Amanda Norris, a member of the housing center's health committee. "Improving those services is important to us."
A lot of discussion also focused on education, the overcrowding of local schools and what can be done to keep kids safe.
Christopher Yanez, 16, said he came to Tuesday's meeting with his mom to discuss the neighborhood's burgeoning violence.
"There's a lot of violence, gang violence," Christopher said. "We need more police. They need to work better with the community."
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