Vic Mensa of Chicago, Illinois hosted the inaugural “Sleep Out Chicago” event in his home neighborhood of Bronzeville. Apparently, the hip hop artist has hosted over 50 events since March and his non-profit SaveMoneySaveLife is responsible for helping over 1,000,000 homeless! Vic went platinum helping the homeless! All those rappers and hos talking about “the streets” when all they do is swoop into the hood, snap a photo, maybe grab a Starbucks on the way out, and then leave with more than they brought in to the economy and culture.
The SaveMoneySaveLife mission: “OUR MISSION is to use art and entertainment to foster sustainable change.” That’s very much what Basement Made is about. So are the programs, which include education on one’s rights, getting minorities into hands-on experiences to learn, independent journalism, and “Street Medix”. They work with kiddos to get them student pictures during Covid-19, and handle other Rona issues. The “Anti-Bait Trucks” might be one of my favorite initiatives of theirs. I love this literal addressing of specific issues.
“In August of 2018, the Chicago Police Department used “bait trucks,” container trucks filled with goods, left to attract potential thieves in an already impoverished neighborhood. In response to this, SMSL came up with their own answer and launched the “Anti-Bait Truck” initiative. Leading up to the actual event, SMSL put out the call and was met with overwhelming support. Over the course of 3 weeks, SMSL received over 15,000 brand new pairs of name brand shoes. Once all shoes were received, 8 Uhaul trucks were loaded up and placed in the same neighborhood the police set up their trucks. Oer the course of a few hours, every pair of shoes was given out to the community thanks to the efforts of the SMSL team and volunteers.”