Our Mission: To deliver health and hope for Chicago’s underserved communities

Our Values: Caring, quality, family


In 2004, residents of the neighborhoods of Pilsen and Little Village on Chicago’s Southwest Side joined administrators from nearby Saint Anthony Hospital to address the critical lack of accessible health services in the area. They opened a community health center on South California Avenue called Esperanza, the Spanish word for “hope.” 

Since then, Esperanza has provided bilingual, high quality primary care, behavioral health and wellness services to the community, regardless of immigration status, insurance status, or ability to pay. Our five sites in Brighton Park, Little Village, Marquette Park, South Lawndale and West Lawn deliver care to more than 50,000 patients each year from communities across the Southwest Side.

Our commitment to offering care of the highest quality is made clear by our designation as a National Quality Leader by HRSA in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020, which ranks Esperanza among the top 3% of health centers in the nation and the top two in Illinois for our quality of care.