Quiet and peaceful–that’s about the only way to describe the corner of Carpenter and Polk on a sunny summer day.
In April they closed it. They had to. After nearly five months of vandalism, taunts, and other acts of intimidation from their neighbors, they felt they had no choice.
“They urinate in the street and in the hallways,” one shopkeeper recently told the West Side Times newspaper about some people at a shelter in Pilsen.
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“Some of them come in to drink a cup of coffee, others just to talk,” a restaurant owner told the paper. “They spend two to three hours drinking a cup of coffee, and then they leave without paying.”
The center was to be in the basement of the Agape House church, which is on the northeast corner of Polk and Carpenter.
“There was this one guy, he was a lawyer. He was a really well dressed guy, and he was acting like the leader. You could tell he was used to being treated like a big shot. He gave a speech about how the people in the community had suffered enough. He said, ‘They lost most of their community when the University of Illinois and the expressways were built. Now all they want is to be left alone so they can die in peace.’ He said, ‘Take your shelter anywhere but Agape House.’ He said, ‘I’ll help you find the real estate. I’ll write you a check for $5,000.’
“Another guy said: ‘You have a big heart. I know you would probably take them all in if you could. But we don’t want them here.’
