West Pullman

      Prayer Points

• Pray for the availability of jobs that can lift the many who are at or below the poverty level into a lifestyle that meets the needs of their families.

• A large number of prostitutes fill the streets of West Pullman every evening, and many residents are caught in the growing influence of gangs and drugs. Pray that these people could find alternative lifestyles and that Christ would be the guiding force in their lives.

• Because of the many gunshot victims there is a desperate need for a trauma center to handle these life and death situations. Pray for an adequate health center to meet the needs of the neighborhood.

• Pray for the spiritual renewal of churches in the community to refocus their efforts to minister to families and children in the community.

      Ethnic Breakdown

• Asian (0.5%)
• Black or African American (94.3%)
• Hispanic or Latino (3.7%)
• White (0.9%)

Neighborhood Background

West Pullman had developed into a strong residential community with a large industrial base by the 1920s. The Great Depression hit the area hard, but following World War II the area regained strength. By 1960 the population grew with convenient public transportation to the Loop and the industrial Calumet region.

However, as developers started to build on once racially restricted land, West Pullman fell to predatory lenders in the 1970s, and by the 1980s its residents lost both industrial and professional jobs, making unemployment the biggest struggle for the residents.

By the 1980s, ninety percent of West Pullman's 45,000 residents were African American. Compounding the issue of the industry shutting down is the toxic waste that was left behind leaving much of the industrial district as an EPA Brownfield. Efforts have been made to clean up some of the harm that was done, and West Pullman remains a large community area rich with economic diversity.