Becoming Beloved Community Follow up: The Neighbor Project

As a follow up to the Becoming Beloved Community (BBC) workshop held at Grace in February, the Grace Racial Justice team welcomes you to join us as we learn more about The Neighbor Project (TNP). One of the issues the BBC workshop addressed was the enormous racial wealth gap in our country, the main driver of which is the lack of fair and equal homeownership opportunities. During the workshop we first learned of The Neighbor Project, which is partnered with Hesed House in Aurora to help low-to-moderate-income working families reduce debt, build credit, and ultimately own their first homes.

Dr. Richard Guzman, who co-developed the BBC workshop, and his son Rick, TNP Executive Director and Hesed House board member, will share details of how TNP works and the long-term benefits provided by home ownership opportunities. 

Please join us!

Monday, October 13 at 7:00PM

Register by Monday October 6 at peopleofgrace.org/bbc

There is no cost, but we request that people register to confirm attendance.

Attendance can be in person or via Zoom.

Please contact Lauri Tredinnick (lauritred@gmail.com) or Jean Ives (jeanives13@gmail.com) with any questions.

About Our Presenters

Dr. Richard Guzman is a member of Friendship UMC in Bolingbrook, and has served as a consultant for the NIC Anti-Racism Task Force. In addition, besides teaching English & race & culture at North Central College, he also authored DST 203’s first racial equity process/policy/curriculum. Click here for more information. Rick Guzman graduated from North Central College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and public policy and earned his J.D. from the Northern Illinois University College of Law. Guzman has been a deputy chief of staff to two Aurora mayors, where he worked on housing, economic development, and neighborhood planning projects, and a policy advisor to the Governor of Illinois on issues of human rights, criminal justice, and the death penalty moratorium. Today, Guzman is the executive director of The Neighbor Project, a housing and community development organization formed through the 2018 merger of two Aurora-based non-profits. One of those non-profits was Emmanuel House, which Guzman co-founded with his wife in 2002. In 2016, Emmanuel House was recognized as a Classy Award finalist for being one of the “100 most innovative non-profit or social enterprise programs in the world.” In April 2020, The Neighbor Project co-launched Illinois’ first-ever financial empowerment center in partnership with the City of Aurora.