Chicago activist Aleta “Englewood Barbie” Clark is fighting a serious heart condition and calling on the community she’s long served for support (Photo: GoFundMe).
Aleta “Englewood Barbie” Clark has spent years feeding Chicago’s unhoused, marching for justice and pushing a city to care. Now she is asking that same city to stand with her.
Clark, 36, is in a hospital room fighting supraventricular tachycardia, a disorder that sends her heart racing without warning. “Hi, my name is Aleta also known as EnglewoodBarbie and I’m currently in the hospital battling a serious heart condition called SVT (Supraventricular Tachycardia),” she wrote in a public appeal on her GoFundMe page. “For the past 7 years I’ve let this disorder frighten me. It’s been an uphill fight, but this past week has been one of the scariest moments of my life.”
Doctors have restarted her heart four times in recent days. One episode spiked her pulse to 252 beats per minute and left her unable to move or speak for two hours. “I couldn’t feel my legs, my hand was frozen to my side, and my speech was slurred like I had a stroke,” she recalled.
Clark is scheduled for a second heart surgery next week. To focus on healing, she says she needs help covering basic expenses and creating a long-term wellness plan. “I’m doing everything I can to fight for my health and my healing, but I need help to do it the right way,” she wrote, listing a dietitian, trainer, therapist and “the space to recover without the pressure of pretending I’m okay when I’m not.”
Her monthly bills—$2,200 in rent, a $966 car note, $500 for groceries and other essentials—still loom. “I’m not just asking for money,” she said. “I’m asking for the chance to heal in peace. To rest without guilt. To care for myself the way I’ve cared for so many others.”
The Chicago Defender profiled Clark in 2023, calling her “a bold activist with a bolder vision.” Today, that vision is simple: survive, recover and return to the streets where she has poured so much heart.
“If you’ve ever felt my heart, if I’ve ever inspired, helped, fed, or shown up for you or someone you love I’m asking for just a piece of that love back right now,” Clark wrote. “Thank you in advance for loving me enough to pour into me the way I’ve poured into others.”
To support her recovery, visit the official GoFundMe page here.
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