CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The fears of a home healthcare professional highlight a challenge the city faces with escalating violence.
This is a story about perception: how someone from outside the city perceives things.
Trisha is a phlebotomist and medical assistant, who makes house calls all over Northwest Indiana and Michigan. But her latest assignment, and her first in Chicago, had her concerned, because it was to an apartment in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.
"Yes, I guess I was a little nervous as far as where I had to go. You know, neighborhoods that are known for shootings," she said.
She reached out, wondering if it would be safe to go to 82nd and Marshfield by herself. She said this is not about race, but the perception of violence.
WBBM: You mentioned that you didn't want to come off as some type of racist.
"Correct. Chicago does have a reputation. You see it on the news daily, and I've been told by several people, even police officers, that this isn't a neighborhood I need to be alone in," Trisha told WBBM Newsradio.
She decided to call the district police station, and was surprised when she was told, stop by, they’ll give her an escort.
"I talked to two different police officers and both were very understanding, very kind..." she said. "I didn't think they'd be so nice about it, I guess is the word I want to use, because I thought maybe I might get laughed at, honestly."
When WBBM Newsradio asked an officer if her fears were warranted, he said you never know, anything can happen.
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