OverComers-SAFE Haven Ministries

As most of you know, Mrs. Michelle Obama is the Vice President of the Department of Community Affairs at The University of Chicago Hospital (UCH).

On August 5, 2008, The Dean (who is very kind) referred me to the Department of Community Affairs. When I contacted the Department of Community Affairs, I had received a phone call from Mrs. Michelle Obama’s assistant. The assistant verbally intimidated and indirectly threatened to have me fired simply because I sought the Dean, several times, for help to start a pilot violence intervention prevention program for high risk young people in my neighborhood of South Shore where there are no resources and several murders have taken place.

After this incident, I was forced to question how many others have sought Mrs. Michelle Obama’s help from The Department of Community Affairs and were ignored, rejected or mistreated by her staff simply because he or she did not have any political ties or he or she is deem as an “UP” – unimportant person. Maybe the Department of Community Affairs is only to serve UCH best interest and not be concern for the neighborhood residents who are poor to working class poor and where there are no resources.

I do not know. All I know is the ending result of intimidation and threats by Mrs. Obama’s staff person when I sought Mrs. Michelle Obama’s department to help my neighborhood.

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Recently,

7^th Ward Alderman Sandi Jackson had a march on violence in the community and a back to school event in the South Shore Community. This is nothing new among politicians, church, community leaders, and other VIPs. What is amazing to me, time after time, is that a march is to bring awareness or protest against something to promote change. I knew Sandi Jackson did not care about certain sectors of people in our community when she allowed the Walgreens closing on East 79^th Street early this year.

The Alderman Sandi Jackson knew that the elderly, disabled, and sickly must walk through dangerous neighborhood blocks within their community, wait on a corner to ride the CTA bus and pay two fares ($2.00 each way) to go to another Walgreens almost a mile away to get their medication. I did everything I could to bring attention and to protest the Walgreens closing. 

Alderman Sandi Jackson and her staff made sure that my protest would not succeed.

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