Hi, I’m Brent Ross and I work with an organization called the “Normal Heights Community Hub” and we are a local non-profit that is committed improving life in Normal Heights by connecting needs and resources within the community particularly in the areas of food insecurity, housing, community life and justice-focused education. We connect neighbors, civic officials, small-business owners and community groups to help everyone give and receive what is needed. We’ve got a proven track record of helping chronically unhoused folks get into housing, and in fact just earlier this year we placed someone in permanent housing who had been unsheltered for more than 20 years, and we’ve also provided more than 10,000 meals to neighbors. We also have a Social Service program called “Next Steps” that connects folks with a social worker on a drop-in basis. We’ve got decades long partnerships with community groups, the AABA and our local schools, and we’ve got a centrally located building with a full time Community Hub Director as immediate assets that have enabled all this work. This year we are starting our greatest project ever…the Normal Heights Community Meals program. A monthly meal for the whole community that connects neighbor to neighbor in relationships, connections,

resources and education. It will be the key to sustainable food access for so many folks and a place of celebration and learning each and every month. We’d love YOU to help us build it!