GSDC

Her motto has always been, “Just do it.” And she truly has. Livia Villarreal, director of the Southwest REACH Center who helped grow a vital neighborhood housing center, recently announced she will be relocating with her family to Arizona.

In the early 1990’s Villarreal moved to the Chicago Lawn neighborhood and left a career with the FBI to become a full-time mom. This led her to become active with the local school council at her children’s elementary school near Marquette Park. That, in turn, led her to help draft the neighborhood’s quality-of-life plan as part of Chicago’s New Communities Program (NCP) with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a guide to comprehensive community development in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

Senior staff at Greater Southwest Development Corporation (GSDC) and the Southwest Organizing Project—the lead NCP groups working on the project—saw a leader and hired Villarreal part-time to help with a neighborhood mapping project. In early 2005 GSDC received certification from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a certified housing and counseling agency.  In 2006, when it was apparent they would need a director to help set up a strong counseling program for families facing foreclosure, Villarreal was the obvious choice.

With Marquette Bank generously providing space for the new GSDC Southwest REACH Center, Villarreal realized that in order to make the REACH center a productive service center, she would need to bring in experienced counselors. Before long, she had recruited three seasoned housing counselors.  Working closely with her team, Villarreal put together a strategic plan to address the needs of the community, most especially in areas of foreclosure counseling.  She and her staff attended many housing training seminars to learn the best possible methods of serving the community.

During this time it also became apparent there was a growing urgency to address the rising number of families who were facing loss of income due to lay-offs and the economic downturn. It was then that she brought in an experienced employment specialist to put together an employment program geared toward getting families back on their feet with good jobs.

Villarreal’s passion has been the driving force in the growth of the center that is now home to a staff of 10. The center currently offers counseling services in housing, employment, public benefits, financial coaching and computer training.  Villarreal has worked tirelessly with community organizations, private companies and foundations to maintain each and every service offered.  Those of us who have had the pleasure of working with her will miss her dearly, and the community  will lose one of its best contributions to Chicago Lawn. We wish Livia and her husband Ed the best in their new life path.