Thousands of volunteers arrived early Saturday morning to begin a day of repainting and repairing 49 homes in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and 23 in south suburban Markham.
The skilled-trade labor unions — plumbers, electricians, carpenters — made a strong showing among the volunteers, bringing with them the skills and tools the amateur volunteers lacked.
Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago coordinated the effort, which is part of a national program. The goal: to enable low-iincome elderly, disabled and families to stay “warm, safe and dry” in homes they own but can’t afford to maintain.
There’s not much doubt that media coverage would draw more volunteers and more corporate and organizational support to this much-needed program. With the exception of CBS 2, however, the mainstream media had no coverage: no homes, after all, were being “stolen” from residents in Englewood, and no residents were being “forced out” of their homes by gentrification.