Benjamin J. Handy, Community Organizer

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Ben joined the Legal Council in May of 2021 as a Community Organizer in the HIV/AIDS program. Prior to joining the team, he worked as Lead Case Manager for Matthew House, a homeless services organization on Chicago’s south side, where he assisted individuals who were chronically homeless with getting needed social services and finding permanent subsidized housing. Facing head on the challenges of weakening social ties among aging neighbors in his Calumet Heights Community, Ben formed the Ridgeland Block Club Association which annually attracted hundreds of visitors with its family focused six block long summer street festival called the Ridgeland Homecoming. He brings extensive experience in community outreach and non-profit/public sector management to the work of the Legal Council. Ben is an alumnus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and Columbia University in the City of New York.