The Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago

The Firehouse Community Arts Center has served as a safe haven for young people in the Chicago area for nearly two decades a and has been coordinating various events and art programs dedicated to preventing and interrupting youth and young adults caught in violence. The Firehouse Community Art Center was birthed from youth and young adults in North Lawndale who attended an all youth and young adult Saturday night Hip-Hop worship service in 2003, started by Pastor Phil Jackson. Youth and young adults came from all over the community and city to engage in the arts. This prompted Pastor Phil and several youth and partners to incorporate The Firehouse Community Art Center as a 501(c)(3) in 2006. Then in 2007 they purchased the 100 year old Chicago Firehouse in North Lawndale. The Firehouse now offers year-round, multi-disciplinary cultural arts programming, mentorship, leadership and workforce development centered around the prevention and interruption of violence.

OUR MISSION: IS TO INTERRUPT THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AMONG YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS IN NORTH LAWNDALE THROUGH THE POWER OF THE ARTS.

OUR VISION: IS THAT NORTH LAWNDALE SETS THE EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY UNITED IN PROSPERITY, SAFETY AND HOLISTIC SHALOM (PEACE).

Our Values are: Faith, Hope, Love, Accountability, Ownership, Servant leadership and Fun

Our work is focused on reaching youth and young adults (17-28) who are mostly to get shot or to shoot someone and to interrupt that life style with deep relational programing, infused with the arts, this program is called V.I.P (very important process).

We seek out students 13-18 to participate in our SparkArts violence prevention in which students are exposed to 7 various art disciplines.

Lastly our workforce development is connected to our food distribution through, Culinary training and our Catering company. We are not a religious origination serving on the Westside of Chicago in the North Lawndale Community.