■ Progressive Collins takes 5th District Seat PAGE 2
FREE Vol. 37 No. 34
August 23, 2023 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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Safe f hang h out ffor teens page 3
How to apply for FEMA flood assistance
Grants are available for those in the hardest-hit areas from the July storms By STACEY SHERIDAN and IGOR STUDENKOV Senior Reporter
After the federal government declared Cook County a major emergency disaster area earlier this month, Austin resident Rowan Morrow, whose basement flooded, said he vacillated between gratitude and frustration. “I feel mixed emotions, to be honest with you,” he said. “Number one, I think it should’ve been declared earlier [than] at the 40-day mark. Number two, it’s good that people are getting some type of relief, and something is better than nothing, but then again, we’re looking at the long haul, and we’re hoping that FEMA assistance will take care of the majority of the people’s needs.” The torrential downpours from June 29 to July 2 led to water pooling inside buildings, as sewers, unable to contain such volumes of liquid, overflowed, authorities said. The magnitude of damage across Illinois was so great that President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared Cook County a major disaster area in mid-August. This opened up See FEMA on page 5
FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ
Renee Washington and Sonya Hughes meet with community health worker Angel Sanders at the Westside Health Authority on 5417 W. Division St.
Helping West Siders improve their health through housing
State-funded project trains community health workers to bridge gaps in health, social services
By FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ Staff Reporter
Community health worker Angel Sanders vividly recalls what her client Sonya Hughes said when she helped her apply for housing assistance. “I’m gonna thank God in advance,”
WS ! NEF H S A L
Hughes told Sanders at her office housed at the Westside Health Authority, a nonprofit organization that provides social services to West Side residents. “And it worked.” One month later, around May, See HEALTH on page 8
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