be done, but so the neighborhood can put a face on some of the statistics we
read about.
A week ago this last Thursday (10 days ago), my father was visiting from out of
state. He has visited us many times in the 15 years we've lived in the
neighborhood, and he enjoys taking walks down Milwaukee Ave. Unfortunately, he
suffers from Alzheimer's disease, and this time he could not find his way back
to our house. He did have a cell phone, but there was no charge on it.
He called the house to say he was lost (we're not sure what phone he used), but
my daughter answered and told him to call me at work, as her mom was out and I
would be the one who would know where he was and how to get home. Unfortunately
I never got a call, but I'm not sure he can remember the number any more.
At any rate, he was missing for 3-4 hours. He somehow crossed Franklin Ave., we
think to go to the Holiday station. He ended up walking down 9th, behind
Holiday, and along the freeway. At the corner of 9th and 24th Avenue (which is
two blocks from where he started!), he ran into a group of young Somali men
hanging out on the corner. He engaged them in conversation, and at some point,
asked if he could use one of their cell phones, which they agreed to. He didn't
get through to anyone because we were all out looking for him (I know, bad
idea, but we weren't thinking very clearly). He had phone numbers on a card in
his wallet and when he took out his wallet, they observed that he had a lot of
cash ($800 in twenties, I know, I know, another bad idea, but he was planning
on giving a cash gift to his granddaughter who was getting married that
weekend.)
They knocked him down and he hit his head on the concrete causing 2 or 3 big
bumps, bruises and scratches. He had a big bruise on his hip as well. Luckily,
I was riding my bike around looking for him, and I saw the cop car and
ambulance, went over to investigate and found him before they took him off to a
hospital. We took him to HCMC to have a CT scan done on his head to make sure
everything was ok. He will be fine physically, but he was pretty shaken up, and
this event seemed to be a big set back in his ability to deal with his
Alzheimer's.
There were a lot of things he did wrong, but it still pains me that my father
was seriously injured while visiting me in Seward neighborhood. I know the
people who did it were taking advantage of an opportunity, and didn't stalk
him, or necessarily plan it in advance, but there were a handful of women
outside who witnessed the event yet would not give any descriptions to the
police.
The only conclusion that I can draw is that if Seward is going to be the
landing spot for large numbers of immigrants, some of whom don't have the
necessary skills to get a good job or to find a way to exist without turning
to crime, then maybe we need add'l resources to help mitigate and buffer the
effects of this crime. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-immigrant, but I am
anti-crime, and if crime is emanating from this community, then we need to
focus more on the reasons why and try and do something about it.
I love living here and while I consider it a very safe place to live, I'm not
sure my father will ever come back again, and for that I'm sad and regretful.
Just wanted to give some background to what will be noted as an assault in the
crime statistics.
Kevin Brown
Smart Set, Inc.
<email obscured>
612-339-7725