Mission
Outreach
Mission
Our mission is to equip young people from Chicago’s South and West Sides with lifesaving emergency response skills, trusted mentors, and early exposure to careers in healthcare. We focus on strengthening community health from the ground up—giving youth the tools to keep their neighborhoods safer today and empowering them to step into health careers that serve their communities tomorrow.
Goals
Outreach
Mission
Equip more youth on Chicago’s South and West Sides with lifesaving emergency response skills.
Expand access to healthcare career pathways through hands-on exposure and mentorship.
Strengthen resilience and wellness among youth facing high levels of stress, trauma, and community violence.
Improve health outcomes by increasing awareness, preparedness, and access to health education in underinvested neighborhoods.
Outreach
Outreach
Outreach
We bring our hands-on programming directly to high schools across Chicago’s South and West Sides, equipping students with practical emergency response skills and early exposure to careers in healthcare.
By training the next generation of leaders and community members, we’re helping youth become powerful agents of change—ready to respond in a crisis and inspired to serve in the future.
In addition to schools, we also offer our programming in local churches, community centers, conferences, and public events. To date, we’ve trained more than 7,000 youth and adults across Chicago.
Invest in A Child’s Future!
Your support helps us continue delivering mentorship, hands-on training, and educational opportunities to youth across Chicago’s South and West Sides. Every contribution directly fuels our mission to prepare young people with lifesaving skills and inspire future healthcare leaders—strengthening community health and resilience for years to come.
The Revisionist History Podcast
Guns Part 6: “Sin is the failure to bother to care”
Our very own, Dr. Abdullah Pratt, engages in a profound and enlightening discussion with Malcolm Gladwell on his podcast, "The Revisionist History" as they delve into the critical issue of gun violence and its impact on our communities.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Demeka Akins
Dr. Abdullah Hassan Pratt knows trauma, treating gunshot patients on a regular basis at the University of Chicago hospital, and motivated by his own upbringing on the city's South Side, he decided he wanted to do more to help. As part of that effort, Pratt started the initiative, MEDCEEP.
MedCEEP is giving students like Demeka Akins a fresh outlook. The high school student is already a CNA nurse, thanks to the MEDCEEP program. Demeka gives the program credit for keeping her on the right path after she lost her sister, Tierra, in a shooting last summer.
“She wanted to be a nurse just like I’m doing, she wanted a future, but her life was ended so soon so she couldn’t do it. That’s why I’m here to do it, to continue her legacy,” Akins said.
By Lexi Sutter • Published December 27, 2022 • NBC 5 Chicago
