Our Story
Built by people who live here. For the families the system keeps failing.
PlantTheVegan was built by Tonja R. Harris and co-founded by Dwane A. Harris — a Chicago-based husband-and-wife team focused on building real community guidance, resources, and support systems for families across the city.
She started in nonprofit work in 2000, dedicating herself to teens and families on Chicago’s West Side. She did things the right way. Followed the rules. Showed up early, stayed late, and built programs from the ground up. But over and over, she watched the same pattern: organizations that talked about serving the community while quietly pushing out the leaders who looked like the community. Dedication got mistaken for a threat. Boldness got punished. Speaking up — even when something was clearly wrong — cost her jobs more than once.
“So in 2012, she built her own.”
The Mirror Project
Tonja launched The Mirror Project in North Lawndale, working out of an empty two-flat building offered rent-free by a local church. It started small — just her own kids and their friends in an after-school program. But the word spread the way real things spread: kid to kid, block to block.
Within a short time, TMP had grown to over 100 young people — 50 middle schoolers and 50 high schoolers — with year-round services and a summer camp in North Lawndale. She partnered with After School Matters and Gallery 37 to expand what kids could access. Older teens stepped up as volunteers. The program became a fixture.
Then, without explanation, the church withdrew the space. The program had to shut down. Just like that.
“When help comes from inside the community, it works — and that’s exactly why some people fight to keep that kind of help out of reach.”
Today
Tonja serves as a Director of Housing for teen moms at a Chicago nonprofit, continuing the work she’s done her whole career — supporting young women and families on the West Side.
Alongside that work, she’s a PhD candidate. Her dissertation explores how Black women nonprofit leaders in Chicago experience and navigate racism, workplace bullying, and institutional exclusion while cultivating healing-centered and culturally grounded leadership practices.
It’s not abstract research. It’s the work of a woman who’s spent 25 years inside these systems and is now writing what she’s seen — so the next generation of leaders has language for it, and a path forward.
Why this site exists
A lot of the people building programs in our neighborhoods don’t actually live in our neighborhoods. They’re not here to help — they’re here for the grant cycle, the line on a resume, the next promotion. Meanwhile, families are out here trying to figure out housing, food, school, healthcare, and their own rights with very little real guidance.
“No gatekeeping. No login walls. No buried information. Just real resources, organized by people who live here and care about getting it right.”
The vegan part
A year and a half ago, Tonja made a personal decision to go vegan — for her health, her energy, and to take her body back after years of putting everyone else first. She lost weight, got stronger, and got her clarity back. Now she shares that journey here, especially for teen moms and women who’ve been told their bodies and their wellbeing come last.
Because rebuilding your community and rebuilding yourself aren’t separate projects. They’re the same work.
The journey so far
Tonja starts her career serving teens and families on Chicago’s West Side.
After-school program in North Lawndale grows to 100+ youth with year-round services and a summer camp.
Tonja leads housing services for teen moms while completing her dissertation on Black women leaders in nonprofits.
A personal decision to prioritize her own health — and a new way to serve the community she loves.
A free community resource hub built with Dwane A. Harris — for Chicago families, by Chicago people.
Welcome to PlantTheVegan. We’re glad you’re here.
Everything on this site is free. No gatekeeping, no strings. Just real resources for real people.
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