Help Arlene (a.k.a Lisa) Barry
Donativo protegido
Rogers Park is a great neighborhood full of interesting people and friendly faces. One person who makes Rogers Park great is Arlene (a.k.a Lisa) Barry, our local Streetwise vendor who has stood in front of Morse Market for 4.5 years now selling magazines and offering a warm smile to passersby. Many people are encouraged by Lisa's steadfastness and positive attitude - even through Chicago’s harsh cold winter.
As a young adult in Chicago, Lisa was a victim of rape by a deacon of a church. This experience as well as the physical abuse she suffered at home led her to run away and turn to drugs. As a young adult she was arrested for possession with intent (a minor non-violent felony for which she never served jail time) and because this charge remained on her record (despite 16 years of being free of drugs) she had difficulty finding a job and providing for her 7 children. She still struggles today to overcome this obstacle.
Conditions in the homeless shelter where Lisa was staying were bad. The shelter had only 4 sinks for 25 women and she was exposed bed bugs, frequent theft by fellow shelter inhabitants, and harassment from drug addicts. When she started working for Streetwise, Lisa was able to move out of the shelter and rent a room, but she struggles to make ends meet.
A group of neighbors started getting interested in helping Lisa this winter when we heard that she was had health issues from standing in the cold too long. We decided to start this campaign for Lisa to give her a chance to get ahead. With the money raised by this campaign we hope to give Lisa some days off so she can get warm, care for her health, and work on getting her record expunged. We also hope she can start looking for job training and buy clothes for job interviews.
Please donate to this campaign and help Lisa escape a past she has left behind 16 years ago but that still haunts her today. In addition to a monetary donation, please also comment below if you know of any other resources that can help Lisa. Thank you Rogers Park. Lisa is beyond grateful for the support this community has given her. Let's continue to show her we really care!
As a young adult in Chicago, Lisa was a victim of rape by a deacon of a church. This experience as well as the physical abuse she suffered at home led her to run away and turn to drugs. As a young adult she was arrested for possession with intent (a minor non-violent felony for which she never served jail time) and because this charge remained on her record (despite 16 years of being free of drugs) she had difficulty finding a job and providing for her 7 children. She still struggles today to overcome this obstacle.
Conditions in the homeless shelter where Lisa was staying were bad. The shelter had only 4 sinks for 25 women and she was exposed bed bugs, frequent theft by fellow shelter inhabitants, and harassment from drug addicts. When she started working for Streetwise, Lisa was able to move out of the shelter and rent a room, but she struggles to make ends meet.
A group of neighbors started getting interested in helping Lisa this winter when we heard that she was had health issues from standing in the cold too long. We decided to start this campaign for Lisa to give her a chance to get ahead. With the money raised by this campaign we hope to give Lisa some days off so she can get warm, care for her health, and work on getting her record expunged. We also hope she can start looking for job training and buy clothes for job interviews.
Please donate to this campaign and help Lisa escape a past she has left behind 16 years ago but that still haunts her today. In addition to a monetary donation, please also comment below if you know of any other resources that can help Lisa. Thank you Rogers Park. Lisa is beyond grateful for the support this community has given her. Let's continue to show her we really care!
Organizador y beneficiario
Maggie Jones
Organizador
Chicago, IL
Arlene Barry
Beneficiario
