Auburn-Gresham

Upon visiting the Auburn-Gresham area, my eyes were opened to a community I was unaware about. Venturing into the neighborhood, I was able to take a glimpse at the organization "The Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation". What immediately impressed me of the organization was the message they based themselves on, which is relationships, and the fact that it is key to contributing to the community. One of the key components that this organization works on is that they focused on Education and Youth Development. Education is key in the community in order to succeed, and in neighborhoods like that there is a lack of education and opportunities for students to succeed. They showed off a great example of how the committee has impacted several kids for the best through the four volunteer students that were present during my visit. These individuals have had the opportunity to learn new things with the people they work with, such as obtaining public speaking skills and traveling to different parts in the country in order to represent themselves, the organization, and their neighborhood. Aside from influencing the youth, the organization works for the entire neighborhood, in order to ensure that the lives of people are simplified. I was intrigued at finding out that the #79 bus happens to be the busiest bus in the city of Chicago, even busier than the #22 and the #36. This being the case, you would expect the CTA to build additional stops and methods of transportation in order to help the people, but the fact of the matter is that nothing is being done to help the people of the neighborhood. Like one representative, Carlos Nelson, said, "It is easy to get a cab or use public transportation to get to Auburn-Gresham, but it is harder to get out of there." This issues the need of unity among the people of Auburn-Gresham in order to bring about change. What made me feel content with this is the fact that the people took initiative and fought for being able to create a better and additional form of transportation. Fortunately, the city of Chicago decided to create a Metra train on 79th street in order to help the people of this neighborhood. The attempts and determination this organization has in order to resolve conflicts faced in the Auburn-Gresham community is what really drew my attention, since in the world we live in today we don't see much of people helping one another, rather it's one individual looking for self interest. I still continue to stay amazed of this neighborhood, and the fact that there are numerous things there, such as churches, schools, and bungalows. Auburn-Gresham is a place that you should consider visiting if you haven't yet visited the South Side of Chicago.