Page 36 - May 2020

n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
The order to stay home and socially distance felt especially difficult in the beginning of April, as religious holidays like Passover and Easter arrived on the calendar. For many families, Easter Sun- day would have felt like just another day in quarantine if it weren’t for a special surprise that landed on their doorsteps.
While families were forced to alter holiday traditions, 15th District offi- cers partnered with a local church to make Easter Sunday special for children throughout the community. Friendship Baptist Church was relieved that 15th District officers would help continue its annual Easter basket handout to chil- dren even as churches remained closed on the holy day.
“Our churches in the community nor- mally pass out Easter baskets at church,” explained 15th District officer Jessica Duckins. “Because of the pandemic, they weren’t able to do that, so we agreed to find families in need and go to those lo- cations and hand out Easter baskets to help make their day brighter.”
15th District Officers Jessica Duckins and Demond Sykes enthusiastically took on the task and ensured Friendship Bap- tist Church that the baskets would end up in the hands of those who needed them most. The officers reached out to schools across the 15th District for a list of children who would benefit from the
Easter delivery.
On April 12, Duckins and Sykes geared
up with face masks, gloves and a patrol car filled with 75 Easter baskets as they hopped from house to house for the de- liveries.
“It was unexpected for the kids,” noted Duckins. “We called the parents before each stop and told them to have the kids waiting at the front door.”
Though it might not have been the Easter Bunny they were used to, children jumped for joy as the uniformed officers walked up to each house to hand them a basket filled with goodies. Duckins helped film the reactions as Sykes enthu- siastically greeted kids with an elbow in- stead of a high-five and wished families a happy Easter.
“We felt it was very important that we do this because the kids are the ones
who are really suffering from the change in routine,” Duckins stressed. “They can’t go outside, they can’t play, they can’t go to school. We tried to give them some sort of normalcy on Easter day.”
The Easter basket delivery was just one of many efforts that the 15th District has joined to look out for the wellbeing of the community. In addition to part- nering with local food pantries to help distribute meals to senior citizens, 15th District officers have worked to provide local schools with a free yearlong sub- scription to IXL Learning to help teach- ers track the progress of their students online.
“I think it’s very important that we show the community that we are here for them,” Duckins insisted. “Anything we can do to assist them during these hard times, we will do.”
15th District officers help families celebrate a very “hoppy” Easter
Zooming toward solutions in the 17th District
n BY KAREN STAHL
Staying connected to the community
while simultaneously abiding by social distancing recommendations is no easy feat, but on April 16, officers in the 17th District found a solution that checks all the boxes.
Holding beat meetings cultivates posi- tive community relations and encourag- es productive problem-solving, which is why Sergeant Debbie Iza knew that the meetings couldn’t vanish just because people are sheltering in place.
“We were trying to figure out how we can possibly abide by this stay-at-home order,” Iza recalled. “We’d been connect- ing email-wise, but we knew that wasn’t enough.”
Enter one of the most ubiquitous meeting services of the COVID-19 era: Zoom.
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2020
With the decision to Zoom beat meet- ings came an extensive approval process with the 17th District’s office of commu- nity policing. With date and time coor- dinated, the district conducted its inau- gural virtual meeting to great success, boasting 120 attendees.
“We’ve had great replies from the peo- ple that have attended,” Iza explained. “I think everyone understood too that we all had to work somehow in sharing the information and getting the information out there. The community saw us trying to work with that.”
Not only did the meeting allow for cru- cial knowledge to be shared about recent increases in shooting incidents within the 17th District, it also helped foster connection to keep community mem- bers from, Iza puts quite frankly, getting bored.
“We don’t know how long these events will be cancelled, so this was one way to try to [engage the community],” she shared. “It was an interaction we kind of wanted – or needed – on both ends.”
While the next meeting is not yet scheduled, Iza mentioned that the pos- itive response prompted planning for fu- ture events. The sergeant is proud of her officers, aldermen and state representa- tives who have stepped up and remained proactive in fortifying community rela- tions throughout the crisis.
“We just aren’t having the interactions we would normally have,” she conveyed. “If we’re in the office of community po- licing, it’s kind of hard to not be involved with the community. So you prob- lem-solve.”