The document summarizes the activities of the nonprofit organization Icarus-E, which provides support services to homeless students in Chicago's Englewood community. Icarus-E offers housing assistance, substance abuse referral, academic tutoring, job training and other services to help homeless youth. It also partners with local schools on initiatives like an urban farming program to keep kids engaged in school and their community. The nonprofit aims to address health disparities and give vulnerable residents access to medical support through advocacy and partnerships with universities.

1. BY THE WINGS OF
BY THE WINGS OF
A N G E LS
A N G E LS
7.16.09 Issue 1
ICARUS-E Monthly Newsletter
INSIDE
Dreams Deferred
Growth
Rally
Rally Cont'd
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Dreams Deferred
Imagine a world, cold and
dark; forever isolated from
the light of reason, ruled by
the brazen violence of a
harsh town without pity.
This is the reality for
thousands of youngsters
trapped by the impact of
stress disorders related to
Chicago Public School
students that are residents
of the Englewood
community are getting a
first-hand lesson in
protecting the environment.
Icarus-E, along with an
initiative from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Today at noon, an upstart
nonprofit organization
located near 63rd and
Ashland held a social
service cuts policy rally in
front of its vacant lot turned
memorial site named for
recently slain 7th District
Police Officer Alejandro
"Alex" Valadez.
Taking Care of the Flames for
D re a m s D e f e rre d
Imagine a world, cold and dark; forever isolated from the light of
reason, ruled by the brazen violence of a harsh town without pity. This
is the reality for thousands of youngsters trapped by the impact of
stress disorders related to depressive traumatic homelessness in
Chicago’s Englewood community. Now there is an answer, a clarion
call to come and seek safety within the angelic wings of Icarus-E’s
nonprofit programs.
It is estimated, according to the Heartland Alliance Chicago Poverty
Report 2008 that of the approximately 54, 000 children who have
become extremely poor 10,642 are homeless Chicago students. This is
a 35% increase over the last 5 years. Icarus-E, a innovative nonprofit
service located in the heart of Englewood near 63rd and Ashland,
provides professional and authentic advocacy, mediation, intervention
and support service to hundreds of targeted, at-risk homeless CPS
students. Icarus-E gives help to families impacted by the effects of
poverty and academic isolation.
Icarus-E offers help with:
Housing case management
Substance Abuse referral/assessment
Career mentoring
Academic tutoring and coursework support
Job readiness training
Conflict management
Educational Policy group Facilitation
Help us ignite the future. Icarus-E nonprofit and channel 7 [WLS TV]
bring this message to you. For more information call Jeffery Massey,
Sr. at: 773-476-9049

2. Today at noon, an upstart
nonprofit organization located
near 63rd and Ashland held a
social service cuts policy rally
in front of its vacant lot turned
memorial site named for
recently slain 7th District
police officer Alvarez. As a
part of Icarus-E’s Urban
Farming and violence-free
homesteads, prospering
vegetable-flower gardens,
tended to by participants in
their Homeless Student’s
Initiative, now represent the
hope for a better tomorrow.
The face of promised hope is
reflected in the story of
Page 2
Deirdre Dangerfield, a 15-yearold student at Gage Park H.S.,
who began in January 09’
dropping out of school after
the imprisonment of her single
parent mother for drugs and
prostitution. With no other
able family members available
to give shelter and food, she
turned to doubling up with
another friend whose gangaffiliated lifestyle began to
lure her towards a life of crime
and habitual homelessness.
Right before she’d totally
given up hope, outreach
workers from Icarus-E became
aware of her plight after
school officials involved with
our education liaison
designated her with an ‘atrisk’ status. Within days,
Deirdre was assessed,
processed and initiated into
our homeless student initiative
programming. As well, the
friend’s family unit was
encouraged to also begin
entry into our family
intervention support unit.
Today, Deirdre is a perfect
attendance student actively
engaged in our ‘Urban
Farming’, ‘Quasar’ school
curriculum assistance,
housing assistance, urban post-

3. Ic a r u s S t a t e m e n t o f A c t i v i t i e s

4. Planting Seeds in Future Farmers
Ic a r u s - E a n d C H A S a r e w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r t o k e e p k i d s o f f t h e
s t re e t s a n d i n t h e ‘ g a rd e n ’
When 15 year old John Jimenez and his sister Maria Garza came to CHAS, it was
their idea to change the way children viewed farming. The children of a farming
family, they already had a firm foundation. “Now we get the opportunity to share
with others the joy we have when it involves planting crops” says Maria. Maria,
like other high school students at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
(CHAS; 3857 West 111th Street, Chicago) are taking their mission for farming
abroad. With assistance from Icarus-E, CHAS students are in Englewood
teaching other high school students the importance of farming and agriculture to
our city.
The Future Farmers Initiative, which began as collaborations
between the far south side school and Icarus-E, provides needed information and
skill building for local high school students. The students of the Englewood
community are using this opportunity to learn agriculture while taking their
knowledge back to their local high schools in an effort to make their school more
environmentally conscious. The students, from John Hope High School and
Harper High School, are working together to make Englewood the first
agriculturally sound neighborhood in the city.
“The students are working closely with the resources of CHAS, while
gathering sound information for their own careers” says project coordinator
James Williams. “When William Hook (Principal) approached Icarus-E about this
program, we did not hesitate to agree with”. Besides students learning the basics
of agriculture and the environment, they are also getting a step ahead in college.
Through the University of Illinois-Extension, students are receiving college credit
for their academic interests. This program continues through October, when
some considers the harvest time for agriculture.
For more information on The Future Farmers Initiative, please visit
our website, or call John Williams at (773) 476-9046. The Future Farmers
Initiative can also be reviewed on CHAS website: www.chicagoagr.org.

5. Icarus-E NP
6229 S. Justine St.
Apt. 1R
Chicago, IL. 60636
phone: 773-476-9049 or 773-863-0677
fax: 425-675-9049 or 773-863-0680
email: jmasseysr7@aim.com
web:
http://sites.google.com/site/jmasseysrmsnm/Home
Icarus-E. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the
facilitation of direct-care, advocacy & training for
community residents who are participants in the Chicago
Public School System impacted by homelessness, medical
constraints associated with traumatic stress issues &
educational impairment.We hope to address Chicago’s inner
city care access disparity, allowing the group to execute its
mission providing medical and social support networks for
Englewood’s Homeless Student Initiative.
Also, it will provide facilitation for a unique consortium of
local health care and social service institutions, including
both the University of Chicago and University of Illinois
Medical School’s public policy research branches. We all will
share common mission goals to provide disenfranchised
citizens suffering from the ravaging impact of little or no
access to quality treatment and research options for
debilitating neurological conditions.