RETIRED CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER PROVIDES MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR

(from left) The Rev. Leonardo D. Gilbert, pastor of Sheldon Heights Church of Christ in Roseland, founded the nonprofit International American Medical Mission whose executive director is DeWayne Mason, a retired Chicago police officer and a deacon at Sheldon Heights Church. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
(from left) The Rev. Leonardo D. Gilbert, pastor of Sheldon Heights Church of Christ in Roseland, founded the nonprofit International American Medical Mission whose executive director is DeWayne Mason, a retired Chicago police officer and a deacon at Sheldon Heights Church. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

Retired Chicago Police Officer Provides Medical Assistance to the Poor

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

When DeWayne Mason joined the Chicago Police Department in 1997, he swore to “protect and serve” his community, and even though he retired two years ago, he continues to help people as a volunteer for a South Side nonprofit organization.

After first joining the organization in 2009 as a volunteer security consultant, Mason has been executive director of the International American Medical Mission, 11355 S. Halsted St., since 2016. And even though he is not paid a salary, he said this role allows him to do what God has called him to do.

“I love what I do. It is where God has placed me at this point in my life and I am a firm believer that you do not question God, you just do as he asks,” said Mason, 65, a deacon at Sheldon Heights Church of Christ in Roseland. “My whole life has been about serving people. I was raised in the church so helping people is all I know.”

The organization embarks on three medical missions annually mostly international locations where Mason said the need for medical assistance is the greatest. On each mission, an outdoor clinic is set up for people, from children to adults, to receive a free, basic medical examination and medication from doctors and nurses.

“We do missions in the U.S. too but most of our missions have been internationally where simple things like clean drinking water is not always available,” explained Mason, a West Chesterfield resident. “Sexually transmitted diseases are another big problem we see in Third World countries where there’s no contraceptive method used. Therefore, their STDs run rampant and wild, and many females come into our clinics with a venereal disease.”

Since its 2006 inception, IAMM has hosted medical clinics in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Belize where Mason, a husband, father and grandfather, returned earlier this month. He said locally, IAMM has visited Texas, Puerto Rico and south suburban Country Club Hills. And moving forward, Mason said IAMM plans to host a mission in Nigeria and Africa.

“It is our goal to have a mission in Africa in 2021,” he said. “And we want to do more U.S. missions as well but we know the United States is the richest country in the world and there are plenty of resources available here.”

IAMM was founded by the Rev. Leonardo D. Gilbert, pastor of Sheldon Heights Church of Christ, and was done so as an act of God, he said.

“It (IAMM) is the way Jesus did ministry. He healed the people and IAMM’s mission is help, hope and mission,” said Gilbert, a former technician and research assistant in the Ophthalmology Department at the University of Illinois Hospital. “The medical missions that we do are about being a blessing to others.”

Each year Gilbert travels with IAMM to its medical missions even though he is no longer the executive director.

“I have not missed one mission yet but I’m sure that will change as years go on,” added Gilbert. “The work I do with IAMM is much like the work I do at the church as a Christian.”

And while life as a Chicago cop can sometimes be stressful and challenging, Mason said it is also a rewarding career.

“There are several things I can attribute to being a police officer that has helped today as a volunteer worker. My leadership abilities and being able to control situations with crowds I learned as a police officer,” added Mason. “But I don’t miss being a Chicago police officer because I did my job well and served the community to the best of my ability and I have wonderful memories as a result.”

As a deacon, Mason said these days he is busy saving souls in church.

“Lord willing, I am at church every Sunday singing, praying and bringing people to Christ,” he said. “I try to live my life as God would want me to do and I will continue doing so until he is ready to call me ‘home’ where my journey will be complete.”

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