From crime to budget cuts

[I apologize in advance for how long this post is!!]

The past few days I have started to see the pop-up art gallery really come together and I am so excited about it! We finally got a location (our fourth choice) after being turned down by multiple landlords and community members. I began to see the difference between a corporate out-of-town landlord and simply a local individual who owns a building and really cares about the neighborhood and tenants. Our mission was to transform a vacant storefront into an art gallery for a one-night-only event, but many landlords were hesitant to commit due to various issues such as potential tenants moving in before the event or liability issues. Finally, a young couple agreed to allow us to use their space for the gallery and it is pretty perfect for the event as it was recently renovated and looks great! We've also gotten over thirty artist submissions so it seems like the event is going to be full of art at the very least. Some of them have even started to drop off their artwork at the office, so my little office is becoming full of life with art! Hopefully we will get many community members and other artists to come out to the gallery, but either way...I am thrilled about this event!!

This week's experiential day was about crime and justice. The day was sure to be an interesting one as the morning started off with heated debates ranging from nature vs nature to whether boys are more bound to end up in trouble with the law. Through a later discussion led by a local professor, we discussed a lot history in how and why our society is the way it is today...segregation due to systems and not racism (though looking back, who can really say that red-lining wasn't a form of racism?). Something that I found really interesting and relevant to my internship at NeighborWorks was looking at the impact of neighborhoods on the health, economic opportunities and successes for young men and boys of color. Some of the aspects of a positive neighborhood are exactly what we are trying to build up through the Healthy Blocks program, such as a safe social environment with resources to develop as a child and beyond. While some neighborhoods may have parks or community centers for the kids to use, others simply have commercial buildings or vacant abandoned buildings as their "playground." The access to these resources clearly depends on what type of housing one can afford and as a result, some kids do not grow up in a nurturing environment but one full of crime, drug trade and other illegal or simply dangerous activities that become mainstream and institutionalized for them.

Some statistical food for thought:
-Today, more black men receive their GED in prison than graduate from college.
-1 in 17 white males will serve time in their lifetime, yet 1 in 3 African American men will be in prison in their lifetime.

Education never fails to come up in our discussions. This week was no exception. Often times parents will choose to bus their children to a different public school in the city because the one in their neighborhood isn't "good enough" according to parental standards. This really destroys the potential cohesion of parents to unite and try to improve the school; the undesired school remains that way because nobody has the motivation to try and fix it since they can send their kids elsewhere.

We also talked about what role we, as community members but also outsiders, should play in trying to help inner city depressed neighborhoods. Some people are unwilling to accept help from white folk. Katrina, my supervisor at NWR, has told me stories of neighbors who were very rude to her when she first went into some neighborhoods to offer their services. It took a few years for her to gain respect from some resistant neighbors as someone who wants to help them succeed and grant them justice. What we (anyone who wants to help, not just whites by any means) need to do is to move out of missionary mode and help give them justice by using resources to change institutional barriers that still exist. We need to go into neighborhoods humbly, listening with our two ears. (We have two ears and one mouth for a reason!) We cannot simply dismiss these neighborhoods as hopeless because of mere statistics that show crime is prevalent in the area. Regardless of these real statistics, these neighborhoods often have extremely resilient individuals who don't lack determination but are held back by systematic barriers to reaching success.


In the afternoon we went to Partners in Restorative Initiatives, which essentially works to create a sense of unity among communities. When a crime happens, the community isn't involved in the trial, yet it is deeply affected by the crime. This organization tries to create a space for open discussions and bonding amongst community members, ranging from neighborhoods to groups of high school students. While we were at their center, we participated in a peace circle, one of their methods to build harmony. It probably sounds kinda hippy or tree hugger-esque, as someone described it, but it was really powerful. We sat in a circle with candles in the center of the circle, passing around a mini wreath that meant you could talk when holding it. We started pretty easy with brief silly introductions and random questions but eventually moved to a deeper one: Share a time when you experienced either injustice or justice. It didn't take long for people to really begin to open up and share very personal incidents. Some provided comic relief with stories from childhood, but others shared extremely real, personal and unjust experiences. It blows me away how close our group has grown and how open we are willing to be in discussions on such taboo or intimate topics, as we have only been together for a little over a month. While a few people passed on the wreath without speaking, everyone was providing attentive ears and sometimes that's all someone needs to really share their story. I think this was a clear sign that we aren't strangers anymore, but rather a group of people with similar goals, working together to try to help others reach justice, happiness and much more.

The day didn't end with this event - we went as a group to the Rochester City School Board meeting that evening. When we first walked in, I noticed a bunch of people wearing pink signs that said "84 to 55" with a bunch of music notes in the background. After asking around, I found out that it was because that very day the district laid off nearly 30 music teachers (among 400 other teachers) in the city schools. More than ten people stood up and gave passionate speeches to present to the board, hoping that they would change their minds about the budget cut decision. One mentioned how music shouldn't be an opportunity reserved for suburb students. The city students who are blessed with a greater disposable income may be able to afford private lessons, but a vast majority of these children's families cannot do so, leading to classism and disparities in access to music. Many teachers got extremely emotional about the topic and shared stories of how heart-breaking it was to tell their elementary students that they wouldn't be able to play next year because of money problems. These students can't fully comprehend why they won't get to have lessons or band, their favorite subject, next year. Some mentioned how many students claimed they don't want to come to school anymore without music. In the Rochester City School District, there is 1 music teacher for every 552 students, yet 1 administrator for every 106 students...something is wrong with this ratio. It's hard to say exactly what SHOULD be cut from a school budget when they have such an extreme deficit, but it was very clear that these music teachers are beyond passionate about what they do and their work really impacts the students, allowing children to create and not simply absorb in the classroom. The superintendent ensured that they will be doing everything they can to bring back as many teachers as possible in the fall, but no promises are being made.

Back to NeighborWorks, there are two ladies who I work closely with for Healthy Blocks, one being the manager, Katrina, and the other is Jackie. Thursday we found out that Jackie has been cut back from full-time to part-time. So many organizations are suffering from the economy, having to make budget cuts and layoffs. I am sure it is a challenge to find the best solution for what to cut back on, but it's hard to begin to fathom just how many individuals and families have been hit hard by this economy. I witnessed it first-hand the past few days, seeing people react to the realization that nothing is guaranteed in this life. I know it is definitely easier said than done, but in times like these, you have to realize how insignificant the things of this world are in comparison to what we have waiting for us in the ultimate Kingdom! When we are thrown these obstacles, that's when we really have to grow strong and set our values straight - a job, security, finances, the latest gadgets, and the list goes on...very rare do we put what TRULY matters before all of these senseless "necessities."