Victim of Gun Violence

Hello,

My name is British. I am a Chicago native who unfortunately became a victim of a random act of gun violence. At 1:26am on April 2nd, I dropped my cousin of at her new apartment after enjoying a night out attending the Summer Walker concert and getting food. I had no idea that upon exiting the alleyway I would be met with 7 shots of gunfire which spiraled into unexpected financial and emotional stress. When CPD and the ambulance arrived on the scene I was sent to UChicago Hospital to receive medical attention as glass was lodged into my face, chest, and eye. The medical experience at UChicgao was beyond horrible. I sat in a chair in the ER area for hours until someone can and checked on me and provided a hospital bed. They performed scans and did not have anyone on staff qualified to safely remove chards of glass from inside my eye. Hence, I sat in discomfort until the next morning when the doctor was available.

The medical expenses were beyond what my insurance would cover which left me with a substantial amount of debt to take on in addition to ambulance costs and normal living expense. While my car insurance covered some expenses for vehicle repairs and awarded me a rental vehicle for a limited amount of time. I accumulated a lot of expenses commuting to and from work.

I filed for compensation via Illinois Crime Victim Compensation Program in April ‘22 and have consistently been met with resistance saying that “more time is needed” and “the police department (Chicago Police Department ) has failed to submit the police report”. I have done everything in my power to ensure that my case is properly handled and have been ignored and dismissed.

It is disturbing and frustrating that many Black and Brown bodies are being senselessly harmed because of racism, social bias, lack of access to high quality resources, economic disinvestment, and some many other things. The scarcity mindset that is disseminated throughout the community causes people to live in fear which leads to events such as this.

If you are able to donate, call the CVA (crime victim assistance) and/or the CPD to get them to do their job, I would greatly appreciate it.

While, I was able to pay a good chunk of the bills from this incident. I still have some debts and my vehicle has not been operating the same since and may be on its way out. I intend to use the funding generated to pay off outstanding medical debts and invest in the community as you can not fight harm with harm. I aim to purchase a pick up truck to expand my urban farming business that focuses on servicing BIPOC communities on the Southside of Chicago. It is my hope to use this experience as fuel for creating economic development opportunities for youth and at-risk young adults through urban farming.

Lastly, if you have any contacts or familiarity with the Illinois Victim Compensation program I welcome advise or insight as to how to get Justice.

Peace and Love to All,

British