Adults & Families

Adeola, or “Addy” as her patients call her, immigrated to America from Nigeria with the dream of helping sick people become healthy. After working with the HECC Employment Resource Center, Adeola received tuition aid for nursing school and mentorship through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. It covered $8,000 of her $16,000 tuition. As a registered nurse, she can make up to $20 per hour and afford the costly necessities for a family of four with her husband. “[HACC’s support] is really helpful for us immigrants...now the children are happy and doing well. Whatever they need for school, I can

Students from HACC's Adult Education program have written over 50 letters to their state representatives to advocate for their own education and spread awareness of the need for free adult basic education in low-income and marginalized communities. They sent letters to: Governor Bruce Rauner, Senator Richard Durbin, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Representative Jan Schakowsky, and Representative Kelly Cassidy. Hear them out! Read their letters, share this post, and share student voices that are so often erased and diminished.  Kafayat Adebiyi (above) Representative Schakowsky "Adult education is very important to me because I wanted to go to college in my country in Nigeria. Then my mom

Anna sought help at HACC’s Employment Resource Center and earned an internship with the CTA Second Chance Program. In 2016, she was offered a full-time job! As she nears her first year on the job, HECC celebrates her success. Anna lives with her elderly mother. Her full-time job as a bus cleaner at the CTA means that she can support them both. “Everytime I look at her eyes I can see her getting older,” Anna said. “She’s gonna need me. Now, it’s my turn [to support her].” This has been a long road. As a child, Anna said she did

Today, Richard has a job and a place to live, and gets to spend time playing with his 12-year-old son in Willye B. White Park on Howard Street. But for over a decade, he had some very dark times in and out of prison suffering from a heroin addiction. He burglarized houses and sold drugs to survive. At the time, it seemed like the only way to get through life. His mother was addicted to drugs neglected him. “I was bright. I finished school. But I didn’t want to be in that house, so I went outside [to the streets],”