90,000 square feet of what's possible.
The Robert R. McCormick Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center is rising on S. King Drive — built by the neighborhood it serves, with graduates of our own construction program on the crew. We're 84% of the way there.
$7M left to finish the building.
Every brick in the Walkway of Destiny carries a name. Leave yours.
This is what transformation looks like.
Behind every number is a person whose life changed on this block. Watch one — then read the rest.
Built in the H.O.O.D. Built for the WORLD.
From taking orders at Starbucks to a proud member of the Roofers Union — and now he’s helping build the roof of the LEO Center.
Watch the story →
Five Pillars. One neighborhood. A decade of showing up.
Project H.O.O.D. invests directly on the block — in violence prevention, workforce development, health & wellness, youth programming, and re-entry services. No national overhead, no middle layer.
Real people. Real results. On the block.
Five Pillars, one strategy.
Outreach on the block.
Credible messengers and conflict mediators embedded in the neighborhood, defusing violence before it escalates.
Read more →Careers, not jobs.
Training, certifications, and placement in construction, tech, and skilled trades — with an average starting wage of $19/hr.
Read more →Entrepreneurship & youth enrichment.
Business skills, mentorship, and after-school programs — investing in who young people are becoming.
Read more →Access to care & community wellness.
Free medical access, counseling, senior programming, recovery navigation, and crisis response — no insurance required, no barriers.
Read more →Second chances, real support.
Employment pathways, housing navigation, and wraparound support for individuals returning from incarceration.
Read more →Built with Woodlawn.
Churches, schools, businesses, city agencies — rowing in the same direction.
Read more →SOMEBODY
When is the last time you helped somebody?
A home for everything we do.
Right now our five pillars run out of borrowed rooms across Woodlawn. The LEO Center puts them under one roof — a gym and workforce training floors, classrooms, counseling space, and a community kitchen on S. King Drive.
It is the physical home of Project H.O.O.D., and a signal that investment belongs on the South Side.
"Project H.O.O.D. doesn't do programs for us. They do them with us — and they're still here when the cameras leave."— Community member · Woodlawn