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CHICAGO – A single mother is speaking out after her business was broken into overnight.
Smashed glass, broken windows and busted doors have become a sight all too familiar for Meriza Perez.
“Very up and down. It’s just been break-in after break-in…it’s just been very rocky,” Perez said.
She’s been the owner of Sweet Treats Chicago on South Ashland Avenue in Back of the Yards for a couple of years. Lots of sugary goodness is now strewn across the floor for the fifth time in as many weeks as Perez has been plagued by break-ins.
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“It’s like enough is enough, you know? I’m a single mom and everything I had and to my business, I’m good to my customers, you know, so it’s like enough is enough,” she said.
According to Perez, that string started before Christmas.
“It started Dec. 4 with the broken window and a break-in. Then on the 22nd, my door was broken. Dec. 25, they pushed a door in. New Year’s, the first, that’s when they did the most. They took down the boards and they came in and they really just took most of my inventory,” she said.
The latest incident happened overnight Monday into Tuesday morning as the wall between Perez’s shop and next door was torn down.
“I felt defeated, you know, I just it’s like every day I’m like holding the tears in. I’m just, I’m like shocked, like last night is this real? Is this really happening? It’s crazy,” she said.
She added that it feels personal at this point, but said she’s heard of other businesses being hit, too.
The latest data from Chicago police show burglaries in the area have actually decreased slightly on last year, with overall crime in the neighborhood down by 12%.
However, with only bare minimum insurance, Perez – a single mother – feels very much on her own, just hoping she can recover.
It may be candy to you, but this is my livelihood. This is how I take care of my kids. This is how I survive,” she said.
affiliate WGN reached out to the 20th Ward and has not yet received a response.
Police told WGN News no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been set up for Perez.
