May 10, 2024

Duckworth Touts $150,000 in Federal Funding She Secured for Centro Romero

The Duckworth-secured investment will support the North Side refugee and immigrant assistance center

 

[CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today visited Centro Romero to highlight and discuss the $150,000 federal investment she secured through a Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending Request for the North Side non-profit refugee and immigrant assistance center. The funding Duckworth requested and successfully secured will help Centro Romero enhance their domestic violence counseling services, immigration legal services, after-school programming, public benefits access and more to enable program participants to thrive through financial self-sufficiency. Photos from today’s visit are available on the Senator’s website.

“Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families—and that’s one of the things Congressionally Directed Spending allows us to do,” said Duckworth. “I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects all across our state, including for Centro Romero’s critical services for the immigrant and refugee community in Chicago. It was great to meet with Centro Romero leaders program participants today, and I look forward to watching this federal investment I secured help Centro Romero accomplish its goals and improve lives right here in Chicago.”

“As the Executive Director of Centro Romero, partnering with Senator Tammy Duckworth is a source of immense pride,” said Centro Romero Executive Director and Co-Founder Daysi Funes. “Her support has significantly bolstered our Women’s Leadership, Domestic Violence Prevention and Adult Education programs, profoundly impacting our programs’ participants and clients’ lives. For 40 Years, our array of programs including Adult Education, Legal Services, a Women’s Program, Public Benefits and a Youth Program, have ensured comprehensive and tangible solutions to the immigrant and refugee communities in Chicago, empowering individuals for personal, professional, and economic success.”

For 40 years, the mission of Centro Romero has been to provide opportunities for those community residents with the fewest options. The agency, a community-based non-profit organization, realizes its mission with programs that provide essential supportive services for the healthy personal and social development of participants and their families. Last year Centro Romero served more than 34,000 clients and participants in five programs: Adult Education, Legal Services, a Women’s Program, Public Benefits and a Youth program.

In Fiscal Year 2024, Duckworth and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) successfully secured more than $264 million through the CDS process for Illinois, $182 million in FY23 and another $211 million for Illinois in FY22. A map detailing where funding has gone throughout Illinois can be found on the Senator’s website. Senator Duckworth works with an Independent Review Board to examine and evaluate worthwhile projects focused on building infrastructure, stimulating economic development and providing essential services for Illinois communities.

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