NextGenRadio

Finding, coaching and training public media’s next generation.

what is the meaning of home?

is a set of audio and digital stories highlighting the experiences of people in the Chicago area.

This project was produced in June 2023 in partnership with Chicago Public Media. Our reporters are early-career journalists in Illinois.

A mouse cursor goes back and forth toggling between dinosaur and duck theme decorations for a digital diagram of a room. The room is furnished with two beds, a desk, a bean bag chair and numerous other items. The left side of the room has a more mature, muted green palette while the right side of the room is more vibrant, with lilac, yellow, and red highlights.

From mini bars to rubber duckies: Marco Lopez’s journey to feel at home

by CYNTHIA SALGADO

Marco Lopez is setting down roots in Chicago to provide his daughter with a sense of home. The Venezuela native had moved every few years and was lacking a sense of belonging. Becoming a dad has shifted how he views the word “home.”

A young man stands in the center of a colorful park smiling and holding a camera while he speaks to another person. He has a tattoo on his forearm that reads Waukegan, Illinois. The wall on the right has flower art and a sign for the Art Park. A row of string lights held up by wooden pillars moves down the pathway and people are scattered in the background.

Finding home in an abandoned art park in Waukegan

by ANDREA FLORES

Austin Cantú reclaimed the abandoned ArtPark in Waukegan, Illinois, inspired by his fathers’ stories about growing up in the once-bustling downtown. The space has not only been his passion project for the last seven years, it has been a glue to his family and an extension of what he considers home.

Young woman stares peacefully and confidently in the distance, she wears two earrings — one in the shape of the country China and the other in the shape of the United States. Her shirt is a simple baby blue and where her shirt pocket would be, there is the cutout of a house that glows with a serene white light. Right in front of her, a monstera plant grows from buds to full leaves around her. The background is a gentle wash of cloudy pinks, whites and blues.

How a Chicago therapist is creating a place where LGBTQ communities of color can belong

by NIDHI SHASTRI

Chicago therapist Lola Wang is helping create a welcoming space for queer people of color. The founder of Fig Space Therapy is originally from Taiyuan, China, and immigrated to the U.S. in 2014 to pursue social work.

A high angle view of a giant white star silhouette being wedged into the mountains behind Caracas, Venezuela. The star represents Chavez’s reign referencing how he changed the Venezuelan flag to include an eighth star. The star’s intrusion and dangerous teetering has led Erwin Lopez Rada to lose the feeling of safety in his home country.

From the mountains to Lake Michigan: A search for ‘peace’

by RYLAND PIETRAS

Erwin Lopez Rada left Venezuela after threats of persecution because of his political activism. He enjoys the opportunity to live and speak freely in Chicago, but at times he wonders if he will ever see the mountains of Caracas again.

A home built with you in mind: What access can mean to someone living with disability

by KATRINA PHAM

Heather Clark, a Chicago woman living with cerebral palsy, used to have trouble with tasks around the house. She is able to live more independently thanks to accommodations added during a renovation of her home.