Hi, we’re the Northwest Center (NWC). We’re a community-based organization rooted in and serving Belmont Cragin and the greater Northwest side of Chicago.

At the NWC, there's a thread that brings together everything we do. It’s about human connection. Connecting folks to the right people, the right resources, the right skills, in the form of a listening ear, a helping hand, or a warm hug. We’re about cultivating and sustaining an environment of empowerment, inclusivity, justice, and equity where residents can build their neighborhood into home.

As we say to community members, it’s your neighborhood. Your street. Your family. Your home. And we are here to help ensure that it stays that way. Because at the end of the day, that connecting thread leads right back to you. 

VALUES

Resident-led |  Community residents are at the forefront of our work, and our team, from our board to our staff, reflects the community.

Relational | Strong relationships advance and enhance our work.

Responsive | We were born out of, and continue to be, responsive to the needs of the community.

Innovative | Innovative programs and organizing campaigns drive our work and differentiate us from others. 

Data-driven | We use data from the community to plan and inform all our work. 

Racial Equitable |  Our work seeks to reduce racial inequity through building the power of residents who, as a result of systemic oppression and racism, face pressing issue

CULTURE

At the NWC, you will work with a team of collaborative, thoughtful, trauma-informed, and racial justice-oriented people. You’ll be part of a team that values equity and consensus-based decision making. 

Our office is like a home where guests are always greeted and called by their name, and offered a warm cup of coffee. Our workspace bustles with our team, participants, and community members; youth, parents, older adults. And our people understand that it takes a unified team committed to our values to carry out our work. Our audience is often composed of people who we’re meeting during times of hardship and change. So when we greet folks, pick up the phones, or help a colleague out with refilling the printer paper, we do so with compassion and empathy. Y lo hacemos juntos.