Chicago park reopens for summer programs after migrants moved out
CHICAGO (CBS)—The Gage Park Park District Fieldhouse reopened on Tuesday for summer activities after its programs were paused for a year to house asylum seekers.
The fieldhouse, a community hub that brought people together, had been controversial, driving a wedge between residents and officials.
Last year, the city was scrambling to house arriving migrants, so it turned to the Park District, which converted some of its buildings, like Gage Park, into temporary emergency shelters.
The special needs summer program, which Tiffoni Stepney-Davis' daughter had attended for over 15 years, was suddenly relocated.
"She couldn't go to the program as often as we wanted to because the further location added an extra 15 minutes to my commute, so she went 50% of the time," Stepney-Davis said.
A year later, a sense of normalcy is now on the horizon for the family, where the Gage Park Fieldhouse will resume summer programs as migrants are moved to new shelters.
"I'm overjoyed. I feel like she's going back to her second home, and she's going back to the structure that she had been used to," said Stepney-Davis.
Summer programs will return to Broadway Armory Park, Brands Park, Leone Park, and Piotrowski Park, in addition to Gage Park.
While Stepney-Davis doesn't hold any ill will toward city officials over last summer's decision, she hopes to shed more light on the lack of resources for the underserved special needs community.
"Hopefully, we can create more programming. I think there could be more programming," she said.
At an open house on Thursday afternoon, staff outlined all the activities planned for the community this summer.