Shantel Hendricks
Shantel Hendricks is a community health worker at United Methodist Children's Services (UMCS), a social service agency in Washington Park. Her job is to build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge. She would rather call herself a connecter, someone who links people to resources available in the neighborhood. Most of her adult life, Ms. Hendricks worked in dentistry. During the 20 years stint working at the front office, she discovered that she enjoys talking to people. She connects to people naturally, “I just felt like the role itself fell into my lap.” She credits her social skills to her upbringing in a very close-knit family.
For Ms. Hendricks, being with family is where healing takes place. She believes in the nurturing power of family because she grew up with that experience. During family gatherings she feels connected and cohesive and these moments offer her opportunities to sit still and replenish. Ms. Hendricks is a single mom; she has raised her three children alone. She strives to provide a supporting family to her children. Part of her parenting philosophy was to let the children know somebody is in their corner and no matter what happens, her love for them doesn’t waived. Ms. Hendricks prioritized her time for her children and as a result. she didn’t manage to finish college. She explains, “that is a sacrifice I chose to make; but that’s what life is about.” Yet she sees herself as a life-long learner, because she believes that “if you keep learning, life will take you in so many different directions.” In October 2019, when she began her job as a health worker at UMCS, Ms. Hendricks started to revive the community garden program on a nearby empty lot which had been neglected for a while. She is responsible for taking care of 14 garden beds at this location, 4 of which belong to the local residents. She had to learn how to identify the weeds and pull them out. As Ms. Hendricks was not conversant with the names of the plants, she took photos and searched for the name and information of each plant using her smartphone. She is excited about learning and discovering new things in her garden just as she was when as a little girl she saw her grandma in a pink raincoat working in the backyard from the kitchen window. The garden has brought people from the block together and has provoked many conversations. Ms. Hendrick’s home garden was Inspired by the success of the UMCS garden. She has been worked on rejuvenating her grandmother’s garden for almost two years. It is surprising for her to realize that she has inherited her grandmother’s love for plants. Ms. Hendricks is an avid walker. She has started a community walk program called “Walk One Mile with your CHW”. She sees her love for walking as another “family heritage.” When she was young she used to go out on long walks with her grandma and her older friends. She believes that “those things generation have left to you, would eventually become a part of you.” Shantel Hendricks, interviewed by Zhao Yuchen & Bernard Apeku, July 2021. |
Shantel Hendricks talks about her childhood memory and the changes she witnessed over the years in Washington Park.
Shantel Hendricks talks about the joy of learning when she takes care the community garden and how it brings her back to childhood memory.
Shantel Hendricks talks about her vision and responsibility as a community health worker
Shantel Hendricks talks about her wish and hope on the garden, the program and the community.
Shantel Hendricks talks about her very close-knit family
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