A Project of YAOTL

Acknowledging a Special Staff member February 18, 2010

by Breli

When you call LVEJO the friendly welcoming voice that answers the phone will most likely be Oscar, he is a warm hearted person that brings LVEJO joy. Oscar is 74 years old and originally from Texas. He has lived in the Little Village community since1963. Although Oscar likes his Latino community, he dislikes that there are too many gang bangers and gang violence.

At age 19 he was drafted and sent to Korea, “I got lucky, the Korean War was over”, he says. Since then, most of his past jobs were as a structural draftsman. He was also part of Senior CAPS (Chicago’s Alternative Policing Strategy), which is a partnership between the Chicago Police Department and community residents to help reduce crime and provide the needs to seniors living in the community.

Oscar has worked at the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization for approximately two years. He lives just two blocks away from the office, “It’s easier when you don’t have to drive in the snow, for me it’s just a walking distance to get to work”, says Oscar. He works four hours every day from 9 am. to 1 pm. answering the office phones. He says, “The experience has been great, I have learned a lot, like how to use the computer, copy machine, fax machine, that’s basically what the job is about, to learn how to operate the basics so I can find a job after this”. What he likes about working with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization is that people are very nice and friendly. “I appreciate having this job”, says Oscar. We are grateful for having him as a member of our staff.