Young people sleep under bridges, using boxes as blankets, and their bodies as currency. It isn't the way that Latinos want to see their youth. It isn't the way that the community might have imagined that hundreds of thousands of 10-18 year olds would spend their adolescence. On the street, they loss their innocence and they gain a twisted and torn understanding of how things work, simply by doing anything they can to stay alive. La Casa Norte, an eleven year-strong Chicago-based organization, works to make sure that Latino youth don't gain that false understanding, and they help young people and families retain what optimism they might have.

La Casa Norte is community-driven organization whose mission is to confront homelessness, to provide stable housing and to transform communities. The programs and services used to improve the lives of 20,000 homeless and at-risk individuals across more than 43 zip codes are available in English and Spanish, enabling access to a wider range of individuals.

"With an enormous amount of passion, faith and dedication, a small group of people came together to step out on a bold mission of impacting youth, family and Latino homelessness in Chicago. As the founding Executive Director of La Casa Norte, I had the opportunity to design, develop and sustain an organization that has impacted the lives of thousands of youth and family households in Chicago," said Sol Flores. "We have been accountable for ensuring that our mission is implemented such that our clients achieve their outcomes and that we exhibit the best possible stewardship with the resources allocated to us."

La Casa Norte, its organizers, its founders and the Founding Executive Director Sol Flores were honored by the president and the White House, calling La Casa Norte champions for change. They also received praise from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Senator Dick Durbin and Governor Pat Quinn, given nods for their for innovation and excellence when it comes to arming young people with tools to transform their damaged lives, and providing access to health services.

Their fundraising efforts provide food, clothing, furniture, employment services, and much more. La Casa Norte also offers simple joys to the homeless community through donation-motivated events. During the months of November and December, they host an annual toy drive, collecting toys, clothing, puzzles, arts & crafts, books, educational item and gift cards, so that children have something to enjoy during the holidays. During the month of December, they also have an annual volunteer wrapping party, where community members are asked to volunteer to wrap gifts donated to the toy drive, in preparation for Christmas.

The supportive network that La Casa Norte has assembled, equips homeless Latino youths with homes, food, skills and information. It's an organization which runs on the help of others, so that they can provide resources to those who are in need.