33rd Ward Alderwoman Rossana Rodríguez

Last Friday, I was proud to join my colleagues, Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th), County Commissioner Jessiva Vásquez (8th), and various community organizations for a press conference about Naloxone Newsstands.

Since I took over the Committee on Health and Human Relations, we have been doing absolutely everything we can to spread the word about the importance of having Narcan in our communities: training staffers in our colleagues' offices to administer it, and advocating to make it more accessible. Because it saves lives.

We absolutely need to start looking at these issues through a harm reduction lens. People are going to use substances. We cannot criminalize our way out of it, we cannot just arrest people and hope for the best. It's not going to work. We, as a government, need to protect lives. We are responsible for the people in our communities, and we are going to keep giving them the tools they need to support one another.

In the 33rd ward, the newsstands will be available at:
- Ward services office - 4747 N Sawyer Ave
- State Senator Graciela Guzmán's office - 3140 W Montrose Ave
- 33rd Ward Working Families office - 3248 W Montrose Ave

We also encourage you to contact our offices if you want to be trained on how to administer Narcan, because we need each other. This is only going to work if we commit to one another, commit to help our neighbors, and show them how to access and use it.

Big things are ahead at LUCHA! 🎉 We’re officially launching the search for our next Co-Executive Director (Community Development). This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of affordable housing and equitable development across Chicago’s West Side.

As we begin this exciting new chapter, we’re also celebrating the incredible leadership and lasting impact of Lincoln Stannard after nine years with LUCHA. From transformative projects like Tierra Linda and Encuentro Square Phase I to growing LUCHA’s largest-ever development pipeline, Lincoln’s work has helped create stronger, more vibrant communities for countless families.

Now, with major projects like La Herencia and Encuentro Square Phase II underway, LUCHA is looking for a passionate and visionary leader to help drive the organization’s next era of impact.

Help us spread the word and be part of building a more equitable Chicago. Applications are now open at the link in our comments below! ⬇️

We have a special Neighbor Night event for Monday, June 15. We will be hosted by Roosevelt High School!

Join MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis and Alderwoman Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez for a Rainstorm Ready Workshop! Learn exactly why our Cook County neighborhoods are prone to flooding and—more importantly—get the tools and tips you need to protect your home.

Don't just weather the storm—be ready for it. See you there!

33rd Ward Ald. Rossana Rodriguez
Roosevelt High School
3436 W Wilson Ave,
Monday, June 15
5:30 - 6:30 PM
RSVP: bit.ly/rainstormready33

Thank you to Chicago Department of Streets & Sanitation for hosting our staff earlier this month at one of their food composting drop-off sites during International Compost Awareness Week!

Did you know that through the City of Chicago’s Food Scrap Drop-Off program, you can get your household food scraps composted for free? This thriving program has over 8,800 households participating and has diverted 1,554,000 pounds of food scraps from landfills to composting since its inception in 2023. Thanks to a partnership with the Chicago Public Libraries, the program has recently expanded to a total of 33 drop-off locations. Learn more and sign up today!

Learn More: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/chicago-recycles/home/food-scrap-drop-off.html

[En español debajo]
Today is recognized as Memorial Day. War is horrible and leads to endless pain and suffering. I believe deeply in the end to all forms of war, including the occupation of territory, known as colonization. We honor the many who have lost their lives during war. We acknowledge the grief of each family that has mourned a loved one who never came back. All our love to our military families on this Memorial Day and every day.

We also recognize that one day each year is not enough to heal. We must fight to provide the services that veterans, their families, and survivors need including mental health care, housing, education, good paying jobs, and peer support services.

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Hoy se conmemora el Día de los Caídos. La guerra es horrible y conlleva un dolor y un sufrimiento interminables. Creo profundamente en el fin de todas las formas de guerra, incluida la ocupación de territorios, conocida como colonización. Honramos a las muchas personas que han perdido la vida durante la guerra. Reconocemos el duelo de cada familia que ha llorado a un ser querido que nunca regresó. Todo nuestro amor para nuestras familias militares en este Día de los Caídos y todos los días.

También reconocemos que un solo día al año no es suficiente para sanar. Debemos luchar para brindar los servicios que los veteranos, sus familias y los sobrevivientes necesitan, incluyendo atención de salud mental, vivienda, educación, empleos bien remunerados y servicios de apoyo entre pares.

Our office will also be closed on Monday, May 25 in recognition of Memorial Day. We will reopen the following day for regular business hours.
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Recuerda, nuestra oficina también estará cerrada el lunes 25 de mayo en conmemoración al Día de los Caídos. Volveremos a abrir al día siguiente en horario comercial habitual.

📣 Announcing the Citywide expansion of the CARE program 📣

Yesterday, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Department of Public Health announced the citywide expansion of the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program.

At the press conference, I had the honor of sharing the following while surrounded by the amazing officials, organizers, and workers who have made the CARE program a reality. Please see my statement below:

"I am so happy to be here today. Its been six years since we started a fight to be able to provide mental health crisis response in the city of Chicago without criminalizing people who are struggling, people who might suffer from mental illness, people who might be disregulated due to the material conditions that they face in our city everyday.

I am incredibly grateful to have been able to fight for this alongside community. I am also deeply grateful for an administration that dared to say “yes” to designing systems of care that challenge the ways we have been doing things before.

Our structures, many times, do not provide for transformation. What we wanted to do was a really bold thing. We wanted to be able to address the needs of people with mental health issues without using guns, without putting people in contact with the criminal justice system.

But we also wanted that to be public. Across the nation, we’ve seen many of these programs run by nonprofits. We know what has happened when we stick with neoliberal policies that gut government services.

We wanted this to come from government, because government has a duty to care for people. So we do this work with workers who are unionized, with workers who are protected, and that makes a huge difference in the way in which we deliver this work.

I am immensely proud of this work and I am also incredibly grateful that we have a mayor that said 'yes' to this work, that said 'yes' to building systems that can transform our city, and that kept his promise to all of us. And with that, I will bring to the podium the mayor that said 'yes', and kept his promise, Mayor Brandon Johnson."

[En español debajo]
Today, we celebrate moms, caretakers, and guardians. We also recognize that this day doesn't always bring joy. To all survivors or those experiencing grief and loss, we send peace and healing.
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Hoy celebramos a las mamás, cuidadoras y tutores. También reconocemos que este día no siempre trae alegría. A todos los sobrevivientes o aquellos que experimentan dolor y pérdida, les enviamos paz y curación.