Currently a parking lot at the southwest corner of Lake and Genesee streets with a freshly painted mural on the building to its north, Mary Roberson sees the southern gateway to downtown Waukegan becoming something special.
Already located on Genesee, between Lake and Water streets, are three social service organizations, two government offices and a church, all poised to help people achieve better lives.
“We envision this being the corner of hope and opportunity,” said Mary Roberson, the founder and CEO of the Northern Illinois Recovery Organization (NIRCO), one of the organizations located there. “It’s a corner where there are multiple resources.”
Roberson was among the people who dedicated the mural on June 8, and will hold a resource fair on July 19 at the corner to show the public the breadth of services available in that immediate area of downtown Waukegan.
Along with NIRCO, within a block from the corner are the offices of Waukegan Township, Community Works, the Community Resource Healing Center, Jesus Name Apostolic Church and state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Gurnee.
“There are more resources around here than any other corner,” Waukegan Township Supervisor Marc Jones said. “Locally, those who need help can get it here from a multitude of resources.”
As Roberson thought how to spread the message of hope and opportunity, she commissioned Everett Reynolds, a Waukegan native now living in Chicago, to paint a mural on the south wall of the JIC Community Development Corp.
NIRCO’s office is located in the JIC building, named for Bishop John I. Caples, Jr. who founded the church and owns the structure. Roberson said the church has long been active helping people in the area.
Showing a young Hispanic girl holding a brightly lit candle, a dove, a Black woman holding a tree, a father and son, appropriate logos and a large portrait of Caples and his wife, Celeste, Roberson said it represents hope, opportunity and the diversity of the community.
“It is a definition of what we want to do,” Roberson said. “It has the spirit of hope, and shows we are all inclusive.”
“It is a vision of hope, opportunity, community, family — all the things that bring us together,” Reynolds added.
After talking with Roberson, Reynolds said he created a picture, showed it to her and started painting the side of the building. Hope starts with the young girl holding the candle.
“She is the hope of the future,” he said. “She is lighting up the future. The dove has always been a symbol of peace. The woman is Mother Earth. She is holding the tree of life. The father and son symbolize family.”
Founding NIRCO in 2019, Roberson said the organization helps people who have issues with drugs, alcohol, gambling or any obsession with anything preventing them from reaching their potential. Participants get recovery help from someone with like experience.
“They work with peer-support specialists who have been down the same road,” she said. “They usually come to us when they’ve hit rock bottom.”
Describing herself as someone in sustained recovery for 32 years, Roberson has earned a doctorate in education. She teaches at the College of Lake County and National Lewis University.
Waukegan Township offers a variety of assistance, from helping with utilities to providing seniors with snow removal and lawn care, among many other services. Both U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, and state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, have branch offices there.
Opening in December, the Community Resource Healing Center is devoted to reaching people with trauma and helping them to live a more peaceful and productive life.
Started by Yvette and Ronnel Ewing, Community Works helps young people find careers from skilled labor to the arts. It has workshops and is a combination workforce development organization and community center.