Who do we serve at LIFT?

In 13 years, LIFT has served over 50,000 individuals and families at or below the poverty line to help them on a path out of poverty.* At the LIFT-Chicago office, these individuals come from various communities all around the Chicagoland area, and some travel from as far as the Southwest or Northwest suburbs. These individuals all bring different strengths and backgrounds to their meetings at LIFT-Chicago, and it is these assets that allow us to foster the most optimal advocate-client rapport in addition to contributing to the success of our organization as a whole:

• The willingness of our clients to travel so far and regularly attend scheduled meetings demonstrates their determination and perseverance to seek out opportunities to better their lives. As I tell my clients, even making the decision to attend one meeting with us shows that they are willing to make changes.

From the "Inside Loyola" website: Advocate Rachel Roti working with a client.
 

• The diverse cultural background of our clients makes our meetings a learning experience for both of us. Though we as Student Advocates educate our clients about navigating the neighborhoods of Chicago and learning where to apply for jobs and benefits, in return, we get the experience of learning about the benefits and hardships of being a Senegalese immigrant or speaking Spanish as a first language.

• The patience of our clients is certainly a valuable asset to our meetings. Usually, finding a job takes months, and obtaining housing could take years. However, clients understand that it is not an instantaneous process, and their gratitude to us for helping them shorten the process even minutely motivates us to keep serving our clients enthusiastically and optimistically.

• Sometimes, our clients know the system even better than we do. Having navigated it for months or years trying to find a way out of poverty, our clients fully understand which paths have worked for them with regard to housing, employment, etc., and, more importantly, which paths have not. They know which of their strengths they feel comfortable highlighting on a resume and what they can elaborate on in job interviews. This insight allows us to work more efficiently with our client to get them the jobs, housing, etc. they want and deserve.

(From the LIFT-Chicago Facebook page) Clients sharing their input with Advocates at a CAB (Community Advisory Board) meeting.

• Finally, clients are caring and compassionate. They will suggest tips and resources to other clients in the waiting room and talk about soup kitchens and free events and job fairs that they can attend and will sacrifice food and time to provide for their families. This compassion inspires us to prioritize for our clients, who often have no one else to advocate for them.
   

What about the community of Uptown?

LIFT-Chicago is located on the corner of Broadway and Wilson in Uptown, a neighborhood full of resources for our clients and other social service organizations to supplement our meetings with our clients. Here are some concrete assets of Uptown that improve community life:

• Its proximity to public transportation is a great convenience. Clients can take the Red Line to Wilson (the LIFT-Chicago office is a mere 200 feet away) or the 36 Broadway bus to their appointments. As many of our clients come from far-flung locations or cannot afford cars, access to public transportation is a vital resource.
  
   

(From Google Maps) Location at Wilson/Broadway.

• Many of our clients come from the shelters in the surrounding area such as Sarah's Circle or Cornerstone. Because they can walk to the LIFT office, our clients are far more motivated to attend every appointment and maximize our resources.

• We are located next to or near other social service agencies, including Inspiration Corporation, Uptown Social Services, Apna Ghar, etc. Referrals and meetings are quick and easy, and their locations allow our clients to visit their locations that day and quickly and efficiently use their resources to build on what we have done in our meetings.

• Truman College, located on the other side of the Wilson L stop, provides affordable degree tracks and seminars. This gives our clients the opportunity to maximize their grant money and more easily accomplish their educational goals. Once they obtain a degree, many of our clients find they have far more job opportunities as well.

Interior of Truman College (image from here).
 

• The parks in the area, such as Buena Park and Sheridan Park, gives us a place to host picnics and client appreciation events. This open venue provides a relaxed setting outside of our high-pressure meetings in which we can interact with our clients.

Being aware of all assets of our client base and the surrounding community allows LIFT-Chicago to fully utilize its skills as an organization. Our approach to client service revolves around the skills and strengths of our clients, prompting them to become more motivated to work toward what they, ultimately, would like to accomplish.

While we encourage our clients to expound on these strengths outside of our meetings, we provide an important system of support and are there for our clients when they need to bounce back from challenges, fostering their perseverance and sense of optimism.

In addition to building relationships with our clients, we have also established connections with fellow organizations so as to more easily provide resources and connections to our clients; we have an entire resource guide online filled with such resources that we have investigated.

As Student Advocates, we educate ourselves on public policy as it constantly changes so as to provide the most accurate information to our clients.

Finally, outside of our work at the office, LIFT inspires its volunteers to protest and challenge unfair discrepancies within social issues even after we graduate. Through this advocacy, both in and out of the office, LIFT-Chicago provides its client base the most optimal support and empowerment.

*Statistic from the LIFT web site.