What shows up on the block.
The numbers behind the work in 2025 — served, placed, trained, fed, funded — plus the latest news and press from Woodlawn.
The numbers.
Where the work landed.
31% fewer gun homicides in 60637
Our Violence Interruption Team conducted 91 mediations and conflict interventions, hosted 88 community events, and served 7,000+ families across Woodlawn and Englewood.
1,048 job seekers connected · 34 trade graduates
Construction trades, tech, and logistics. 36 students served and 34 graduates earned Carpentry Level 1 and OSHA certifications. Six job fairs with 41+ employers connected 1,048 job seekers to opportunities.
500 youth served in 2025
Entrepreneurship training, daily tutoring, financial literacy, and mentorship. 200 youth in the free “Secure The Bag” summer camp, 228 enrolled in after-school programming, and 16 on our Zimbabwe mission trip.
14 free clinic days · 0 cost to participants
The South Side Free Clinic served 55 patients across 14 clinic days, and 700+ neighbors attended senior and wellness events — entirely free to participants, funded by foundations + individual donors.
The building goes up with the dollars.
Groundbreaking was 2022. Target completion is 2027. Every dollar of the capital campaign goes directly to the build — no operating overhead, fully audited.
"I came in looking for a construction job. I left with a trade, a clean slate, and a plan. That's not a statistic — that's a life."— Workforce program graduate, 2025 cohort
What they're saying about us.
Coverage of Project H.O.O.D. from local and national outlets — the stories others are telling about the work happening in Woodlawn.
Project HOOD credited for Woodlawn violent crime drop.
Homicides in Woodlawn are down roughly 35%. Pastor Brooks and his outreach team — credible messengers from the community — are why.
Read on CBS Chicago →1,000 Men Unity Gathering: violence-free zone on the South Side.
Project HOOD convened more than 1,000 men to celebrate progress at the LEO Center and a growing violence-free zone in Woodlawn.
Read on ABC7 →South Side nonprofit Project HOOD rings NYSE opening bell.
Project HOOD traveled to New York City to ring the New York Stock Exchange opening bell — a national stage for a South Side mission.
Read on WGN →Capitol Hill lawmakers visit Project H.O.O.D. — a "major step forward."
Members of Congress came to Woodlawn to see Project HOOD's community-driven violence interruption model firsthand.
Read on Fox News →Project HOOD receives $8M donation toward new community center.
A major gift accelerates the $45M Robert R. McCormick Leadership & Economic Opportunity Center at 66th & King Drive.
Read on CBS Chicago →First look inside the LEO Center construction in Woodlawn.
A deep-dive site visit into the 85,000 sq ft building rising at King Drive — what's going in each floor, and what it means for the neighborhood.
Read on Building Up Chicago →LEO Center Offering Construction Training Program.
Project HOOD's Pre-Apprenticeship Construction cohort gives Woodlawn residents a direct path from training to union-track careers.
Read on CBS Chicago →Pastor Corey Brooks walks across America for Project H.O.O.D.
Coverage from Chicago's oldest Black-owned newspaper of the cross-country walk that raised millions for Woodlawn's LEO Center.
Read on Chicago Crusader →