Laurie Hasbrook - Transcript

Interviewee: Laurie Hasbrook
Interviewer: Dorothy Nygren, Sandra Guenther
Date: April 19, 2024
Place: Edgewater Library, 6000 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL.
Time: 18:29
Transcriber: Sandra Guenther, Dorothy Nygren

Copyright © 2024 Edgewater Historical Society

DN: This is Dorothy Nygren of the Edgewater Historical Society. I’m at the Edgewater Library, 6000 N Broadway, Chicago, IL, on April 19, 2024 with my colleague, Sandra Guenther. We are interviewing Laurie Hasbrook, one of the 2024 Living Treasures. First of all, I’d like to say congratulations on being chosen as a Living Treasure. We’re very grateful for all of the community activities and work you’ve done in Edgewater. So my first question is, How did you come to Edgewater? How many years have you been here?

LH: Well, I moved to Chicago from Wisconsin, my home state, in 1988 to take a job with the Palestine Human Rights Campaign. I lived in Evanston for a short while and then I moved to the Edgewater- kind of the border of Edgewater - shortly after. It’s been since at least 1990 that I’ve been in Edgewater/Uptown and specifically Edgewater, since my boys were tiny, and they’re now 28, 26, and 23, so quite a while.

(01:32)

DN: How did you get involved in community activities in Edgewater?

LH: I was raised in a family where that was the water we swam in. Both my parents were really active in their community. I learned at a young age that that’s how you meet neighbors, that’s how you can build community, which to me is just very important personally and ethically to try to know my neighbors and to contribute to where I live. When I became a mom, I saw all the more how important that was, and living in such a vibrant place as Edgewater with so many people already doing fabulous community-oriented activities and involvements, it was pretty natural, just the way to go.

DN: So, one of your first activities was as a volunteer crossing guard?

LH: When my kids were in Hayt Elementary school, I discovered that one of the crossings right across from the school had constant threats of people getting hurt at Clark and Thome. So I decided since I was working part time and my kids were in school that I would start volunteering up at the corner. It was a fabulous way to meet families. I was involved in the school, but it was a way to get to know more families. I was amazed how grateful the families were. It seemed like such a simple, easy thing to do for half an hour in the morning, half an hour at the end of the school day. I got a lot more than I gave as the saying goes.

(03:34)

DN; I understand that thought. I think you also were involved with Care for Real, Tom Robb and refugees? Can you talk about that?

LH: Yes, I had worked in the Middle East. That’s what brought me to Chicago. I worked, as I mentioned, for the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, and then the Palestine Human Rights Information Center. I had traveled to the Middle East. I had been in Israel-Palestine. I learned a little of Arabic, and I had heard about Tom’s work with the Iraqi refugees. At that time, I was working with Voices for Creative Nonviolence to bring humanitarian aid and break the sanctions against Iraq. So when I heard that Tom was welcoming families, I was invited to a barbeque in Tom and Phyllis’s backyard and met these beautiful families, two of whom I‘m still in touch with after so many years. It was an extremely moving experience. Tom had had the experience of welcoming Bosnian refugees, so he just really knew the difficulties of having been uprooted from your home due to war and the challenges of relocating. It was such a privilege to work with him and to get to know these families and Iraqi culture. I actually was able to travel to Iraq and help a delegation of women who were bringing aid, some money and some medical supplies. So then being able to welcome Iraqis into my home community was tremendously meaningful.

(05:25)

DN: How many Iraqi refugee families did you sponsor?

LH: Two, whom I was very close to. One of them, Fatima Hindi, was very involved in welcoming other Iraqi refugees. She held many events to welcome people that I helped with. St Gertrude Parish would do a toy drive over the winter holidays. I was able to help Fatima with assisting with that, with just getting needed gifts and essentials to families. So two [families] in particular, but I was able to help with two other families that I am still close to.

DN: Another thing that you’ve talked about was your involvement in the Parkway Pollinators. Could you tell us a little bit about the Parkway Pollinators?

LH: That’s a project of the Edgewater Environmental Committee. I don’t have much of a green thumb, but when we moved into our apartment- we currently live on Elmdale Ave.- I noticed there was a tree and then just dirt on the ground. Being very aware that environmentally the more green there is, the better for the environment, the better to reduce flooding. I had asked our landlord, “Could I with friends help plant something?” He said, “Oh nothing will grow there.” And I gave it up at that time. Then about a year or two later, which would be about three years now, I heard about this program, Parkway Pollinators, that gave away indigenous plants from Illinois, from the Chicago area, helped people know what to plant, how to plant. And so I decided, well I don’t know anything but I’d love to learn. I am thrilled to say that this year, which would now be the third year; things have just been coming up on their own. What used to be just dirt on the ground is now starting to be a flourishing garden. I’m looking forward to getting more plants this year from Parkway Pollinators. They’re a fabulous organization.

DN: They say that it takes three years. Like a baby- the first year is to crawl; the second year is to walk; and the third year is to run. I’d also like to ask you about the current influx of asylum seekers into our Edgewater community and the work you’ve done with the Venezuelan asylum seekers.

(08:10)

LH; Back in March, so it’s been a year now, March of 2023, I heard from a friend in our neighborhood who had just learned that there were people sleeping outside the 24th district police station. He was really concerned. He had gone for another issue, a ticket or something, and said people were cold. They were sleeping on the ground. So I went over and discovered that indeed I hadn’t realized how many Venezuelans had been coming to Chicago on buses, arriving in the middle of the night, and then dispersed to our police stations. Again, it didn’t take long to reach out to people who I heard knew a little more. Very quickly I discovered there were already people bringing meals over there. There were WhatsApp groups that really grew quickly where people would find out there was a child who was sick; who needed a ride to the hospital; there was a family that has just arrived at 10:00 at night. Did anyone have sleeping bags?

(09:38)

So I joined this WhatsApp community and then discovered that there were families in Rogers Park. I just went one day. I put out a call to a few friends for some art supplies. I went over and was quickly told I couldn’t go near the front door. I had to stay in the parking lot, and I was concerned by the level of….It didn’t feel like security. It just felt like a barrier. I reached out to other friends. Someone right from our neighborhood started bringing coffee every morning to families. Someone in our neighborhood started bringing coffee to the families. We started visiting in the evenings. Again, people on WhatsApp heard there was a need. One of the first times I went with a carload of things. I have [very little] Spanish. I quickly discovered I needed to have friends who spoke Spanish with me. But families were just desperate to get changes of clothing, underwear. Women needed feminine products; the kids were thrilled to get a ball or a game. And so we kept going regularly. Again I kept meeting fabulous people from the Edgewater/Rogers Park area, many of whom I already knew who, like myself, just felt we don’t know what we can do, but surely we can do something to try to let people know they are welcome here. We understand they’ve had a really difficult journey to make it to Chicago, which speaks to their resilience and their desire for a better life and safety, and we can offer that to them.

(11:30)

DN: The other organization that you mentioned was the Edgewater Mutual Aid Network. Could you talk a little bit about that?

LH: The Edgewater Mutual Aid Network grew during the Covid crisis, when things were shut down. I certainly discovered how many people live in isolation in our area, whether they’re seniors on a fixed income, or families who are struggling to make it. One of the things that happened nationally, really including here in Chicago and in Edgewater, was the growth of mutual aid networks, which were free networks where neighbors came together and did things like put a bin of free food out in front of their apartment, and put a sign saying “Please take what you need”; providing masks for people; running errands. Our alderman at the time, Harry Osterman, put a call out for volunteers to check on neighbors, and the Edgewater Mutual Aid Network feels very much like a continuation of that. It’s run predominantly by young people. It’s extremely inspiring. They continue to have outreach to the community; clothing drives, food drives. They send out a regular newsletter to let people know what the needs in the community are. I find it extremely inspiring to be able to connect with them, to reach out with them when I get items at the lending closet where I work that I think might be of help- masks and things like that. It’s a beautiful network.

(13:30)

DN: What advice would you give young people about volunteering?

LH: I remember years ago, someone telling me that parents who got involved in social and economic justice issues and issues in their community, or world issues- that example gives their children hope. I think there are a lot of reasons for young people in our world to not be very hopeful. We’re in the midst of a terrible climate crisis. There’s a genocide going on in Palestine that we’re funding. There are so many needs here at home and in our city. However, getting involved with other people is so nurturing. I truly believe it makes a difference. As a child, I was very inspired by the civil rights movement. I saw my parents learning and becoming involved in housing rights issues. I think one of the only ways to maintain hopefulness is connecting with other people, sharing the desire for a better world. Although the problems can truly seem overwhelming, I really believe we each have something to contribute, and through that there is hope. I believe there can be change.

(15:14)

DN: I think before we started the interview, you had said something about how it did more for you. Could you repeat that for us?

LH: I was very humbled to be told I was being chosen for this award because I feel like I just hear about something and I try to do something, but I’m not starting anything, I’m able to join in. I have met some of the most remarkable people. When I moved to Chicago in 1988 to work with the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, I really planned to stay for a year. I was from Wisconsin. I was not a big city person. I moved here from Madison. I fell in love with this city and very specifically I’ve fallen in love with my community. It nurtures me. It gives me great joy when I walk around Edgewater. When friends are visiting, they’re always shocked. “You know so many people!” Many people in my neighborhood know so many people because it’s a welcoming, diverse, growing place. I think many people continue to try to make it a more livable, welcoming place.

DN: That’s about all the questions I have. Sandy, do you have any questions?

SG: I don’t. I feel happy to be involved. I think you asked all the questions and covered it pretty well.

(17:10)

DN: So this is your interview Laurie. Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview at this time?

LH: I just thank you for the opportunity. I think we all enjoy a chance to reflect on what’s going on. For me, right now, this has been a really challenging time in my life. I have many Palestinian friends. I’m very involved with Jewish Voice for Peace and meeting more people from Edgewater from that group. The genocide is breaking my heart. So to live in a place where I can find outlets for my concern is very meaningful for me. I think the work that the Edgewater Historical Society does to remind people of how much beauty there is in this area and how many opportunities to contribute means a great deal. So thank you so much!

DN: At this point, I’m going to conclude the interview. It was a great interview. Thank you so much.

End of interview

(18:29)