A Meeting of the Hearts
Sep 30, 2021
The Community Council is a rotating group of cat colony caretakers, pet parents, animal lovers, and advocates in the communities our outreach program serves—Englewood, West Englewood, and Back of the Yards. The council meets quarterly so they can share their wisdom with each other and with us.
In addition to their first meeting at the Englewood Outreach center in June, the Community Council engaged in activities throughout the summer, including a bilingual tour of the Medical Center. We also offered two tours of Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC)—one in English and one in Spanish.
“Offering transportation was key in getting folks to the tours. Most of the people attending had never been to the Medical Center in person even though we’ve been picking up their pets for spay/neuter for years! And none had ever been to CACC. Everyone left so motivated to continue to help animals in their communities,” said PAWS Director of Community Outreach Laurie Maxwell.
On September 11, the Community Council reconvened at our Englewood Outreach Center for a guided discussion.
“We focused on what to do when your pet is sick. And just sharing stories and experiences around what people have done in the past and what they need in the future. It was an information-gathering experience so we can put together good materials from the vet and tailor our offerings to their needs. Community Council members are already getting asked for advice in their communities. They are people’s go-to when they have a problem with an animal. So, we want to make sure we’re equipping them with the best knowledge possible,” said Laurie.
Twelve people attended the Community Council meeting and it got pretty emotional as they shared personal stories about dealing with local animals. Because veterinarians are scarce in the areas where council members live, most attendees have frequently been in the difficult position of trying to assess and help sick and injured pets themselves. These individuals have moved mountains to get pets—often not even their own—the care they need. This includes researching home remedies and resourcing transportation to veterinary care on the other side of the city.
Council members often act as a shelter in their neighborhoods and residents turn to them when needing help with an animal because there are few or no other options. While rewarding, it can be stressful and isolating. That’s why building this community is so important.
“It really was a beautiful sharing session about the struggles these folks have gone through. A lot of the folks in our Community Council have been rescuing animals off the streets for years. At least three of them have rescued over 200 animals,” said Laurie.
The gathering included a mix of English and Spanish speakers.
“One of our council members translated for everybody. So, we had English speakers and Spanish speakers sharing and supporting each other, giving help and advice even through language barriers. It was really, really cool,” said Laurie.
Laurie also collected questions from the Community Council and passed them along to our Community Outreach veterinarian. She followed up by emailing answers from the vet to the group.
Despite all the sad stories, it was heartening to hear about the positive impact PAWS has made.
“I teared up no less than three times hearing from people who have been caring for animals throughout these decades and what a relief it is to have less animals to care for because we’ve been doing this spay/neuter work for so long. There was a lot of general relief about PAWS being there now and having a place to go. Caring for stray animals can be very isolating, and even if we can’t do everything, and provide everything, just getting advice and asking questions is really helpful,” said Laurie.