Community members and a small batch of job experts join City Bureau in networking and sharing career resources for young adults.

By Jerrel Floyd

City Bureau alums participate in a recent Social Hour activity. (Photo: Grace Del Vecchio)

With ongoing attention and debate around Chicago youth and their place in the city, City Bureau welcomed community members to its Bronzeville office this spring to provide young adults guidance on starting their careers.

Community members gathered during the April 17 City Bureau social hour, a collaborative effort between our Winter 2025 Civic Reporting fellows, engagement reporter Jerrel Floyd and events and outreach coordinator Marilyn Carteno.

Organizations and individuals in attendance included:

  • Youth Guidance, a service that supports youth with both job placement and career readiness. The organization has existed for more than 100 years and has worked with hundreds of Chicago youth mapping out future career plans. Representatives offered career guidance resources to interested visitors.

  • The IJ Clinic on Entrepreneurship, a clinic that supports low-income Chicago entrepreneurs with free legal assistance and advocacy. They also have a resource guide for entrepreneurs. In October, they awarded five South Side small businesses with cash prizes as part of their South Side Pitch competition. Their operations and community coordinator joined the social hour to offer connection and reliable advice and information for those interested in entrepreneurship.

  • The Resurrection Project, a Southwest Side-based organization that helps families improve their financial health, builds community wealth, boosts access to affordable housing and advocates for immigration justice. A representative of the organization’s paralegal fellowship offered career advice to attendees. 

  • Davon Clark, a freelance multimedia artist, photographer and a former Civic Reporting fellow. Clark attended to talk about navigating the world of freelance work.

From January through April, reporting fellows Jasmine Barnes, Amaris Edwards, Mare Ralph and Alonso Vidal explored how young Chicagoans between 18-25 years old are looking for housing and work to build their adult lives. 

With this focus, they published interviews with youth resource providers and advocates, examining the unique challenges of housing and work for adults living with families, young mothers, artists and trans Chicagoans. They also spoke to neighbors in South Shore, Pilsen and Little Village about what young adults need most to support their independence.

It was during these community conversations that they discovered common threads inspiring their pitch for a public event. They found that while most people they spoke with were aware of numerous resources to support young adults in Chicago, they didn't know exactly where to find them. Young adults also spoke to our reporters about wanting to pursue entrepreneurship and ownership of their work.  

The fellows pitched an event to City Bureau's engagement team that would allow community members to learn about some of those resources and build entrepreneurial and career connections. From there, staff developed the social hour.

During the event, guests were encouraged to network with organizations, City Bureau staff and community members. Young people enjoyed refreshments while talking with seasoned professionals and resource providers about their own unique career plans and concerns.

The goal was to inspire organic connections surrounding a variety of career needs. This ranged from young people who might be interested in starting their own business or want job training, to young photographers and freelance artists seeking advice on getting work. 

While the event is one of the fellows' final assignments during their 16-week stint with City Bureau, there is still more on the horizon.

In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for additional feature stories by City Bureau's fellows detailing different issues relevant to young Chicago adults mapping out their pathways to independence. 

If you missed the social hour or would like to reconnect, here’s how you can get in touch with the community partners:

Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.