and in 2022, the Village Futures program was initiated to provide teenagers with leadership, mental health, and career development offerings. Their signature career development training is My Health Future, a 25-hour course that teaches its young adult participants the basics of mental health first aid, health care system navigation tools, trauma and recovery strategies, and burn-out prevention.

The tightly-knit staff of family services providers and early childhood educators who work at the Village Institute are themselves members of the communities its mission is designed to serve. Little Village teachers come from many countries, and are collectively fluent in the several languages spoken within the diverse student body. “Speaking the same language that the parents speak helps them to feel comfortable,” explains preschool teacher Harriet Kwitegetse. “They know their children won’t have that hardship in communication.”

Making their mission especially holistic, in addition to daylong education and after-school care for children, the Village Institute also offers ECE teacher training to refugee and immigrant community members. “Yes, the focus of the Little Village is on the children who attend our school, but the Village Institute is for the whole family,” says Garces. “We’re caring for and teaching the children, but we’re also asking ourselves things like: What does a mom need? How can we help her get that job she's interested in, or that safer place to live? Love, integrity, prosperity, evolution, and advocacy. That’s how we operate here.”