The Creative Writers of 7320

The Creative Writers of 7320 formed during the pandemic at H.O.M.E.’s Nathalie Salmon House when Gail Schechter connected Beth LaBrosse—then newly hired by H.O.M.E. through a Chicago Community Trust grant to work with residents on activities—with Janise Hurtig of the Community Writing Project (CWP). CWP runs community writing programs and has a credo that is a perfect match for H.O.M.E.: “Every person is a thinker and an artist, and the seeds of change can be found in the artistic and intellectual renderings of ordinary people.” 

For more than 40 years, H.O.M.E. has helped older people in Chicago stay interconnected—whether in their own neighborhoods or at H.O.M.E.’s intergenerational properties, including Nathalie Salmon House. The Creative Writers of 7320—a group that Janise described as experiencing “plenty of laughter” and “so much empathy”—is one of many ways in which H.O.M.E. creates a warm, accepting community.

The group of residents—plus Beth and occasional guests from the neighborhood—continues to meet three Fridays a month for 90 minutes, the sessions facilitated by Janise.

According to Constance, a member of the Creative Writers and Nathalie Salmon House resident, the group members all write differently, but together they have shared their joys and grief, learned about each other, and built up a lot of trust. “What’s inside here is what stays here.”

In 2022, the group published a collection of their pieces in English and Spanish entitled, “The Writer’s Tree: Stories and Poems by the Creative Writers of 7320.” The group also hosted a public reading showcasing their work, as well as the work of other CWP groups from across Chicago.

In 2023, the group hosted another public reading and published a second collection: “Amidst Spiraling Leaves and Shimmering Stars: Stories, Poems, and Reflections from the Creative Writers of 7320.”