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Serving Those in Need
Grace and Peace Church sits in a unique location that connects the majority Black neighborhoods of Austin, and the majority Latin X/Latino neighborhoods of Hermosa and Belmont Cragin.
The Church purchased an 80,000 square foot property in the Austin community back in 2008 and began building its campus while serving the community through its ministry services, food bank, community outreach and work with the homeless. In addition to its work locally, the Church has also been involved with philanthropic work outside of the Chicago area. In 2014 and
2015 it began using its shelter to store pallets and providing storm disaster relief to the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Harvey along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It has since leveled up to provide services to migrants.
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The Current Backdrop
The topic of establishing migrant shelters has been a
controversial issue in various areas across the city. From here in Austin to the Loop, from Roseland to Brighton Park and even Little Village, many groups have held rallies and protests to voice their opposition. The issue has not centered on race, but on resources being diverted from historically underserved, struggling
communities to be utilized towards migrant issues.
Black communities, across the city, and particularly on the West Side of Chicago have experienced severe disinvestment and decay dating back to the days of ‘white flight’ and now these same communities are being called upon to shoulder the burden of the migrant crisis.
Despite the numerous community-building activities that are held on the campus, the current migrant crisis has brought about many challenges for the Church. Pastor John admits that it’s been rough managing the work against competing narratives that aim
to divide the community. “I think it’s an important issue with all the rhetoric and some of the stuff that people have been saying. The goal of this campus has always been to bridge the gap between the Black and Brown communities.” He mentioned the contrast between those arriving here from Ukraine and those arriving from South America. “You have Ukrainians coming over and once they touch U.S. soil they get work visas some are even provided housing and they go to work and you don’t hear from them. But the migrants coming in from
South America they have to go through this huge bureaucracy to obtain the same resources as Ukrainians. As a society, as a country we treat these two groups very differently.
​Answering the Call
Grace and Peace Church only began providing services to migrants last summer as the crisis escalated when dozens of buses started arriving in the city from Texas on daily basis. As an operator of a food bank, the Church also noticed an increase in demand for food. Realizing its own capacity, it eventually partnered with the city and many other organizations to provide intake services for new arrivals on its sprawling campus.
What gets lost in the current rhetoric is that many Black led organizations, Black elected officials, individuals and families showed up to assist migrants, donating food, clothing and their time. It has been a total team effort.
“The DNA of this ministry has always been community. We’ve always served the Black community, we’ve always served those who are most marginalized, those with the most need, that has always been our passion. During the pandemic we were serving 500 cars a day here at this location.” Pastor John continued, “We
try to help the most marginalized folks in their most needy time. Our goal is always stabilization, it’s not to give forever but to help stabilize families in some form or fashion.”