What are Community Development Corporations and what is their role in your community? 

In this episode of Courting Justice, host Ashley Caveda speaks with Mike Bowling from Englewood CDC and David Cederquist from Brookside CDC, along with Clinic Executive Director Chris Purnell. Together, they address the above questions and share their stories of relational ministry within their communities, as well as the pitfalls of gentrification and how true community development can combat them.

On the blog this month, Executive Director Chris Purnell urged us to fight with love and compassion, and we got to know Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Paralegal Kim Smith. We took a close look at our partner, Brookside Community Development Corporation, and the work they're doing to serve their neighborhood. We also introduced you to our Financial Counseling program, run by our Financial Counselor Angie Simmons. And, in honor of National Crime Victims' Rights Week this April, we shared the story of a client we are assisting through our Victim Justice Program.

“What’s great about being a church is we’re not Human Services and we don’t want to be Human Services,” says David. “A guy coming out of prison needs resources, but he doesn’t need to be resourced. He needs relationships.” For Brookside CDC, this means regular meetings where staff and those seeking assistance can be real with one another. Their men also go through an education series. “We’re checking off boxes to make sure they don’t have a reason to go back to their drugs or crime or old lifestyles, but they are walking in newness with a Bridge Coach that will support them all the way through the process,” David says.