Page 51 - FOP August 2021

15th District officers beautify the backyard of a senior and a retired veteran
15th District officers exemplified the meaning of working together to help a citizen in need, Ms. Luster, by beautify- ing and fixing her fence and yard. In a Facebook post by the Chicago Police De- partment, District Coordination Officer Jose Sanchez explained the process of helping the resident from Austin on July 20.
Sanchez was touring the area looking for problems or concerns when he no- ticed an opening in Ms. Luster’s gate. He knocked on her door and asked how they could assist and what kind of issues she was experiencing due to the trashed gate.
“She mentioned about drug activities and gangbangers running through her backyard,” Sanchez said in the Facebook video. “Her husband’s a retired Air Force veteran with a disability, and she’s a se- nior. So we thought, ‘Man, this is some- body that we could work together in as- sisting with her issues and concerns for her backyard.’”
Sanchez reached out to Top Line Fence to explain the situation and start-
ed to get to work. The company agreed to provide their services free of charge. He also talked to Home Depot, which gave the volunteers free equipment to use for beautifying the yard.
He communicated with DCOs, the Community Safety Team and CAPS to obtain help. He contacted business, faith-based and community leaders to get volunteers to take down the old fence on the side of the couple’s house. They tore off the old wooden fence and in-
stalled a new, chain-link one.
Officers, community leaders and
neighbors showed up to assist in the project. They dug soil, planted new flowers and cleaned up stray leaves and branches. Sanchez is thankful for the volunteers who worked together to help the Luster couple but says there’s still more work to be done.
“It was a process of probably two months,” Sanchez recalled. “And it’s not finished yet.”
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