Washington Park Veterans Center Must Fix Code Violations To Stay Open
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After being cited for a number of building code violations, a Washington Park veterans' center has been working to make repairs, and continue serving needy veterans and their families.
The RTW (Remaking The World) Veteran Center operates out of a three-flat at 5536 S. King Dr. On its wrought iron fencing in front, it has nine flags, including the U.S. flag, the Chicago flag, and a POW/MIA flag. The fence also displays signs reading "Free Meals Served Daily."
"We feed over 435 meals a day," said volunteer assistant general manager Krystal Burns. "We feed veterans three times a day, 360 days a year."
Burns said the center must correct more than 32 code violations, or risk shutting down. She believes RTW needs about $32,000 to fix the violations and keep the center running.
"We need help with some roofing issues, electrical, plumbing. The kitchen needs repairs. We're a soup kitchen. We haven't had the funds to modify the kitchen and get it up to par," she said.
According to city records, the building code violations include broken or defective window panes, unsafe exterior stairways, damaged fencing, rotted door frames, missing fireproofing in the basement, missing locks, flood damage, missing concrete in the basement floor, piles of junk and debris, improperly connected gas appliances, rotted siding, missing gutters and downspouts on the garage, and more.
RTW has launched a "Boots on the Ground" campaign this week to try to get many of the code violations addressed.
"It's so critical that we get these violations taken care of prior to going to court, because we could lose the center. We don't want to lose the center, because we serve so many people within the Washington Park area, Woodlawn area, and Englewood area," she said. "We're going to stand up for the center. We're going to get it cleaned up. We're going to raise the funds to get those violations tooken [sic] care of, but we need the help of the people."
Burns said the center receives no help from the government.
Contractor Rashied Bowden has been lining up tradespeople to take care of the work.
"I'm confident it can get tooken [sic] care of, absolutely," he said. "It's a good cause. They feed people. They clothe people. They do a lot of things and it's needed in this community.
On Wednesday, inside the center, Kiaya Perry and a sorority sister were volunteering and were peeling potatoes for some of the meals that will be prepared in the coming days.
Also volunteering were more than 30 students from Team Englewood, Richards, and Prosser high schools. They were raking and doing clean-up work for service learning hours.
Donations can be made by visiting the VTW Veteran Center website. You can get more information by calling (800) 974-2808 ext #3.