The Coalition on Urban Girls is collecting 1,000 voices from girls (ages 12-19) to inform Chicago's first Quality of Life Plan for Girls. With schools closed today due to extreme cold, this is a perfect time for girls to participate from home. Our MLK Day of Service campaign (extended through Presidents' Day, Feb 16) asks one question: What are your top 5 quality of life priorities? Their answers will directly shape: ✓ Communities of Practice launching in March ✓ Resource all

On January 19, 2026, the Coalition on Urban Girls is inviting Chicago to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy not just with words—but with action rooted in listening. This year’s MLK Jr. Day of Service centers on one powerful question: Are the girls well? Because the well-being of our girls tells the truth about the health of our city. Why This Question Matters Girls—especially Black and Brown girls—experience the city differently. They navigate schools, neighborhoods, p

A day of connection, reflection, and action. 💗 On 12/20, GIRLS DAY in Englewood brought together 70+ young women and girls (ages 12–18) for rest, restoration, and a powerful prioritization session rooted in their real experiences and voices. Together, we spotlighted the white paper Are the Girls Well? and pulled TOP priorities for the QLP, directly from the girls themselves, to help guide youth-centered action across the city. This is bigger than one day. By January–end 2026

This Resource Gathering brought together partners across education, health, and community services to advance Chicago’s Quality of Life Plan for girls. This work is about more than symptoms—we’re confronting structural conditions that shape safety, housing stability, mental health, and economic opportunity. Why this matters A comprehensive QLP is a strategic investment framework that recognizes: you can’t address safety without housing stability; you can’t improve education w

On September 16-17, 2025, at the 2025 Conference of the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force, I kept thinking about something: we're having all these separate conversations about problems that are fundamentally connected. Our "Are the Girls Well?" data argues a clear connection: 111,591 Black girls went missing in Chicago between 2000-2021. During that same period, 13% of CPS students experienced homelessness - 53% of them girls. When I see those numbers together, I don'