We’re in Chicago: Eva Maria Lewis

What is your current role? How would you describe the work that you do? 

Founder and ED of Free Root Operations (FRO), we focus on the eradication of poverty-based gun violence. We do this work by providing wraparound wellness and economic development programs, and through our flagship BLOOM program. The BLOOM program is under the BLOOM network. There are auxiliary wellness events and workshops, which folks can do if they’re in the network. 1,800 women impacted by gun violence in Cook County are in our network. We just launched auxiliary events this year to reach more people. The rest of the programs are more strenuous and they take time. They’re a good way to tap in and tap out at their leisure. With our BLOOM cohort, it’s in-person support, the BLOOM curriculum, self-love, and nourishment. It all trickles down so we are empowering Black women, moms, and caregivers that are accused of perpetuating gun violence. We work with them to learn how to obtain a SMART goal over the 6 month course. They graduate at an in-person graduation ceremony, where we can see them get celebrated and transform. We have women who never walked, so for some of them this is the first time.  There is also our pilot ambassador program, with a small cohort over 7 months to learn professional development and leadership skills through projects geared towards gun violence reform. We teach them how to write papers, tap into communities, and launch them as community leaders for other women to see. And with our Alumni, we have the BLOOM Alum Network, to try to keep in touch.  

We’re trying to create avenues of support that a lot of adults don’t receive unless they got it in youth or in school. We serve people from ages18-65. Some have gone 20+ years without field trips, investment. We’re picking up where schools dropped the ball and facilitating generational change and growth.  

What was your Chicago Scholars experience like? 

I love CS down. There are no words. Anything y’all ask, I’ll do. I was raised by a single mom. On my mom’s side, I am a 2nd gen student. She went to a state school, but her experience was so different from our time. She couldn’t help me navigate it, plus she was a single mom and dealing with poverty. I’m first-generation on my father’s side. Both sides didn’t go to college, and were low income. CS made it so I didn’t feel a lack. I was also a Quest Bridge Scholar, so I matched with the University of Pennsylvania. I wouldn’t have been able to do Quest Bridge without CS. Because of CS, my personal statements were done by August, schools selected by the time I was entering senior year of high school. On paper, I never felt like I was at a disadvantage. In college, CS showed up in invaluable ways, in ways a lot of students don’t take advantage of. They made sure I came home for holidays, communicated with my school when I had health issues. For students with more resources, advocacy is not a problem for them. CS made sure I never felt at a disadvantage and set me up for personal success. There are so many barriers for first-generation, low-income students beyond getting into and navigating college. CS is unique because they care about all aspects of their students. They will find the resources. They really filled in to the point that me being a low-income student, raised by a single mom didn’t hold me back from getting my degree from an ivy league institution. 

How did Chicago Scholars support you to be the person you are today? 

I would add, they made processes easier. They made them easier, and they made me feel more confident entering spaces I had not previously had access to. And in the early days of me figuring out my nonprofit, they let me have team meetings in the building, let me use the printer, and were just so open to what I was doing, even if they didn’t see the whole vision. They didn’t gatekeep. I always felt comfortable, and they had an open-door policy. On breaks from college over summers, I was able to use the space and use resources in unconventional ways. The support offered to me helped me to dig deeper when people asked for support because there is probably a way to support others. We say we don’t have enough, but CS letting me print was so helpful. They showed me what commitment to support looks like.  

What advice would you have given yourself just after being accepted into the program? What advice do you have for current Scholars? 

Honestly, there are going to be some things you know and think you can chill, or maybe that’s for someone else, but it’s for everybody. Even if it’s a refresher, you’ll need it. The kids in the program don’t realize what they don’t know until they get out there. CS tries to bridge the gap before students realize there is one. Take it in, take advantage, be proactive with your mentor. Talk to the staff. Your experience with CS is what you make of it. Somebody will help you. They are invested in all of you, not just your academic experience. It is a lifelong program. I don’t think I understood that at the time. I’m happy that we’re doing this interview because it will help Scholars to get it. We did not have that in my time, no people coming back.  

What does being from Chicago mean to you now? 

I love Chicago. Chi girl through and through, always will be. Being from Chicago is a source of pride for me, particularly being from the Southside, Woodlawn, and South Shore. So many things that I might have cowered away from or felt ashamed of are now lessons that I value and hold dear. Learned so many values from geographies that are deemed desolate. You can make a way out of nowhere. A reminder that having gone to a school like UPenn is a reminder that we can do anything. For a girl like me, raised by a single mom, dealing with poverty, to make it out there and come back, that is magical. That source of power didn’t exist because of the education, it was contextualized by the experiences of my community. Have an assets-based lens in which I view Chicago.  

What do you wish people knew about Chicago Scholars, as well as the city of Chicago? 

I want people to know that CS is an organization that sees the diamonds in the rough. The diamonds aren’t rough among people, the rough is divestment. We are all young people with so much promise that statistically would be written away. And CS is saying no, there is more here, more to your story than the cards your family were dealt. In the context of Chicago, every single Chicagoan, Black and Brown youth, every person deserves a source of resources like those provided by CS. When I think about CS and what they’re doing and the magic of investing in us, I think about what that would look like on a grander scale so more could shine. The work highlights how Chicagoans are a beacon of possibility and hope. All of us are capable of great things, if provided the chance. I’m glad CS exists to give some of us the chance. I challenge the city to give us all a chance.  

Genuinely, what I am trying to build with FRO, is a pillar of economic development, so if there are other alums or students, or ever other folks, particularly Black women from the trenches trying to sow a seed, I am more than happy to find avenues where they can do that. I want this to be an org where people can gain resources and build the community as a site of oasis.