I visited with folks in the eastern most precinct of Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3), 04H in Duval County. This is an older neighborhood that was probably built during the 1950s and 1960s as Jacksonville spread East to the Atlantic Ocean. Some homes and yards are nice whereas others have seen better days.
I had a very engaging conversation with a family. We talked for approximately two hours about:
1. Their disappointment with their current representation in Washington,
2. Their thoughts about the direction of our country, and
3. How to run a political campaign.
It was nice to see citizens so engaged in the political process. If more people were, then citizens of the United States would begin to take back control of Washington by electing people that represented them and not special interests.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Breaking the Cycle in New Town
I recently visited a New Town Success Zone (NTSZ) monthly meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. New Town is an area within Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) and is representative of many of the inner city areas of CD-3. It is high in crime, poverty, etc...
NTSZ is modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone and per NTSZ’s website, it is “a community collaboration with the Jacksonville Children's Commission providing intensive resources to families living within the New Town area - supporting children from cradle to college and beyond.” ‘Intensive resources’ is an understatement.
Based on my onetime observation, I was amazed at the amount of resources being applied to this small area. In addition to tax dollars supplied through the city, the police department, a local hospital, and several community/regional charities also contribute resources of one form or another to this area. More importantly, there are many individuals, including outsiders, investing their time and efforts to help others improve their lives.
It is in our nation’s best interest to help people in communities such as New Town learn problem solving skills, etc... so they can become self-reliant. Once self-reliant, these individuals can become productive members of society and possibly help others do the same.
However, I am just not so sure how sustainable and scalable the NTSZ model is in solving the challenges of poverty, crime, etc… throughout CD-3 and elsewhere, yet we need to start somewhere.
NTSZ is modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone and per NTSZ’s website, it is “a community collaboration with the Jacksonville Children's Commission providing intensive resources to families living within the New Town area - supporting children from cradle to college and beyond.” ‘Intensive resources’ is an understatement.
Based on my onetime observation, I was amazed at the amount of resources being applied to this small area. In addition to tax dollars supplied through the city, the police department, a local hospital, and several community/regional charities also contribute resources of one form or another to this area. More importantly, there are many individuals, including outsiders, investing their time and efforts to help others improve their lives.
It is in our nation’s best interest to help people in communities such as New Town learn problem solving skills, etc... so they can become self-reliant. Once self-reliant, these individuals can become productive members of society and possibly help others do the same.
However, I am just not so sure how sustainable and scalable the NTSZ model is in solving the challenges of poverty, crime, etc… throughout CD-3 and elsewhere, yet we need to start somewhere.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Redemption, Caring, Challenging & Resourcefulness
I truly enjoyed my walk through the St. Nicholas area within Precinct 04S of Duval County. What made it so enjoyable were my observations from other areas of Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) are starting to meld together. The four separate discussions and the associated takeaways that stirred me the most are titled Redemption, Caring, Challenging, and Resourcefulness and are shown below.
Redemption
I met a convicted felon who was on his way to work as seen here to the right. He was nice young man who had made a bad decision early in his life. He sold drugs (aka recreational pharmaceuticals) resulting in him spending three years of his life in the Madison, FL prison.
I have met multiple felons in my travels through the district; it seems a conviction (regardless of the time spent in prison) is a life sentence. I have not completed a formal study, but for most felons, one time in prison is more than enough to drive them from crime. However, making a living by being on the straight and narrow is hard.
Arguably, felons did not learn good life skills prior to entering prison (or they would have mostly likely not committed a crime) and did not receive any life skills while in prison that would help them make a decent income so they can avoid a life of crime. As a result, it is very hard to find work on which they can live without subsistence from others. When they do find work, it is typically mind numbing and minimum wage. I can see how some fall back into the trap to become repeat offenders. A mind (and a life) is indeed a terrible thing to waste.
I believe the gentleman I met on my walk is sincere about staying free of crime and I hope he can. Something told me he had a lot of people praying for him, me included.
Caring
I had a very long conversation with a man who had his own business. As I walked away from his house to cross a small field, he followed me. As he followed me, he explained that he was going to pick up a piece of trash he saw at the far end of the field. I told him that I would pick up the piece of trash since it laid in my way. What made this occurrence so satisfying is that this man cared about the appearance of his neighborhood and he was doing something about it.
Since I have started my walks, one thing that has been quite common is the abundance of trash in the common areas in the less affluent neighborhoods, as seen in these photos.
I just do not understand why people litter. The only thing I can think of is that they have no respect for other people and other people’s property, which leads them to indiscriminately debase our planet we share together. I believe there are people in these neighborhoods who care and would like to see a clean neighborhood, but they may hate picking up after others, may be too tired after a long day to go down to the corner to clean up someone else's mess, etc. I do not blame them; cleaning up after someone else is not solving the problem. Solving the problem begins with early childhood development and teaching right from wrong, etc., but if the parents are not there or do not know right from wrong themselves, where do we start as a society? Not an easy question to answer, to what seems to be so minor at first blush.
Challenging
Another man I met had very good thoughts and challenging questions. He worked in the precinct, but lived in the ‘Northside’ section of Jacksonville, which essentially comprises the majority of the CD-3 in Duval County. I suspect he may live in Precinct 07P where I previously visited or somewhere nearby.
His views were both conservative and liberal. He felt we needed stiffer prison sentences, which I find interesting/amusing/sad/frustrating after my discussion with the felon just described above, yet he was for a nationalized healthcare. He believed parents needed to take more responsibility in raising their children, yet he felt we could do more as society to help out the impoverished.
I agree with him about parents taking a greater role in their children’s lives, but what happens when the parents are not there due to a broken family, parents working two jobs, etc.? Who takes care of raising these children? While he might be from the community, I felt he was out of touch with the more challenging areas of the district.
I recently learned from attending a monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Alliance of Black School Educators, an affiliate of the National Alliance of Black, that 40% of all children in Jacksonville are born to single mothers. This statistic is alarming because of the secondary and tertiary effects that it portends. By lowering that number, I am sure there would be a less of a need for more prisons 15 plus years from now.
Resourcefulness
I met a retired gentleman who was in the process of repairing his tire which had a screw embedded in the tread. I mentioned I normally pay $20 to have it fixed at the tire store. He informed that he was retired and could not afford a $20 fee. However, he did have enough to purchase a repair kit for one-fourth that amount, which would allow him multiple repairs. After watching him repair the tire (as seen in this photo)
I was embolden that I could do the same, which I figure would save me time in addition to the money. If I had not interrupted him with our conversation, I am sure he could have done the repair in under five minutes, which is far less than it would take me to drive to the tire store a mile or two from home. I suspect he is not alone in the district in being resourceful since the district has some of the highest poverty rates in the state of Florida and the nation.
Redemption
I met a convicted felon who was on his way to work as seen here to the right. He was nice young man who had made a bad decision early in his life. He sold drugs (aka recreational pharmaceuticals) resulting in him spending three years of his life in the Madison, FL prison.
I have met multiple felons in my travels through the district; it seems a conviction (regardless of the time spent in prison) is a life sentence. I have not completed a formal study, but for most felons, one time in prison is more than enough to drive them from crime. However, making a living by being on the straight and narrow is hard.
Arguably, felons did not learn good life skills prior to entering prison (or they would have mostly likely not committed a crime) and did not receive any life skills while in prison that would help them make a decent income so they can avoid a life of crime. As a result, it is very hard to find work on which they can live without subsistence from others. When they do find work, it is typically mind numbing and minimum wage. I can see how some fall back into the trap to become repeat offenders. A mind (and a life) is indeed a terrible thing to waste.
I believe the gentleman I met on my walk is sincere about staying free of crime and I hope he can. Something told me he had a lot of people praying for him, me included.
Caring
I had a very long conversation with a man who had his own business. As I walked away from his house to cross a small field, he followed me. As he followed me, he explained that he was going to pick up a piece of trash he saw at the far end of the field. I told him that I would pick up the piece of trash since it laid in my way. What made this occurrence so satisfying is that this man cared about the appearance of his neighborhood and he was doing something about it.
Since I have started my walks, one thing that has been quite common is the abundance of trash in the common areas in the less affluent neighborhoods, as seen in these photos.
I just do not understand why people litter. The only thing I can think of is that they have no respect for other people and other people’s property, which leads them to indiscriminately debase our planet we share together. I believe there are people in these neighborhoods who care and would like to see a clean neighborhood, but they may hate picking up after others, may be too tired after a long day to go down to the corner to clean up someone else's mess, etc. I do not blame them; cleaning up after someone else is not solving the problem. Solving the problem begins with early childhood development and teaching right from wrong, etc., but if the parents are not there or do not know right from wrong themselves, where do we start as a society? Not an easy question to answer, to what seems to be so minor at first blush.Challenging
Another man I met had very good thoughts and challenging questions. He worked in the precinct, but lived in the ‘Northside’ section of Jacksonville, which essentially comprises the majority of the CD-3 in Duval County. I suspect he may live in Precinct 07P where I previously visited or somewhere nearby.
His views were both conservative and liberal. He felt we needed stiffer prison sentences, which I find interesting/amusing/sad/frustrating after my discussion with the felon just described above, yet he was for a nationalized healthcare. He believed parents needed to take more responsibility in raising their children, yet he felt we could do more as society to help out the impoverished.
I agree with him about parents taking a greater role in their children’s lives, but what happens when the parents are not there due to a broken family, parents working two jobs, etc.? Who takes care of raising these children? While he might be from the community, I felt he was out of touch with the more challenging areas of the district.
I recently learned from attending a monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Alliance of Black School Educators, an affiliate of the National Alliance of Black, that 40% of all children in Jacksonville are born to single mothers. This statistic is alarming because of the secondary and tertiary effects that it portends. By lowering that number, I am sure there would be a less of a need for more prisons 15 plus years from now.
Resourcefulness
I met a retired gentleman who was in the process of repairing his tire which had a screw embedded in the tread. I mentioned I normally pay $20 to have it fixed at the tire store. He informed that he was retired and could not afford a $20 fee. However, he did have enough to purchase a repair kit for one-fourth that amount, which would allow him multiple repairs. After watching him repair the tire (as seen in this photo)
I was embolden that I could do the same, which I figure would save me time in addition to the money. If I had not interrupted him with our conversation, I am sure he could have done the repair in under five minutes, which is far less than it would take me to drive to the tire store a mile or two from home. I suspect he is not alone in the district in being resourceful since the district has some of the highest poverty rates in the state of Florida and the nation.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Segregated Middle America at the Tip
I visited the northern most precinct in Florida Congressional District-3 (CD-3), 07P in Duval County. The neighborhoods/communities were probably built within the last twenty years. The streets are wide with a sidewalk to one side and most homes sit on spacious manicured lawns. The homes are similar to the ones in Precinct 01H in Duval County. However, unlike the communities in precinct 01H, which are integrated, the neighborhoods I visited in 07P are essentially not.
I point it out because most other neighborhoods segregated by race in the district are less affluent. It is nice to see a whole community of African-Americans in the district who live in neighborhoods free of crime and poverty and have achieved, which I think most would consider being, the American Dream.
I welcome integration and think it is highly beneficial, but realize segregation still occurs today either by choice or design. I think most Americans want to look past the color of one’s skin, but there are cultural differences between the races that tends to separate us. However, through education, understanding and respect, we can overcome these differences to be a more integrated society. It is happening in communities such as those in Precinct 01H.
I point it out because most other neighborhoods segregated by race in the district are less affluent. It is nice to see a whole community of African-Americans in the district who live in neighborhoods free of crime and poverty and have achieved, which I think most would consider being, the American Dream.
I welcome integration and think it is highly beneficial, but realize segregation still occurs today either by choice or design. I think most Americans want to look past the color of one’s skin, but there are cultural differences between the races that tends to separate us. However, through education, understanding and respect, we can overcome these differences to be a more integrated society. It is happening in communities such as those in Precinct 01H.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Retreat Indoors
This past weekend I visited several communities within Precinct 01H at the north end of University Boulevard in Jacksonville, Duval County. Historic Sanford aside, these communities are some of the nicest I have visited in Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) and are inhibited from a socioeconomic standpoint, by both black and white middle income individuals/families. The homes are relatively new, fairly large and nicer than the one my family and I live in.
Interestingly, I had hard time finding people willing to talk with me compared to other neighborhoods previously visited. A beautiful Saturday could be a contributing factor; however, I think it has more to do with the availability of A/C, lack of porches and that these people arguably have longer commutes to work and shopping than others. After a hard work day/week and a long commute, people retreat indoors where it is cool to unwind.
Of the people with whom I spoke, I observed a similar pattern of concerns to those observed in historic Sanford; once basic human needs are satisfied, concerns are more varied.
Interestingly, I had hard time finding people willing to talk with me compared to other neighborhoods previously visited. A beautiful Saturday could be a contributing factor; however, I think it has more to do with the availability of A/C, lack of porches and that these people arguably have longer commutes to work and shopping than others. After a hard work day/week and a long commute, people retreat indoors where it is cool to unwind.
Of the people with whom I spoke, I observed a similar pattern of concerns to those observed in historic Sanford; once basic human needs are satisfied, concerns are more varied.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Two Worlds Aparts
I visited two separate communities in Sanford/Seminole County. While only a mile apart, the communities were opposite in many ways. The most notable differences can be seen in the two pictures below.
However, the differences go even deeper than from a visual perspective. The concerns of the citizens occupying these different communities are just as stark. The people in the more impoverished neighborhood are concerned about basic human necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, health care, whereas the people in the more affluent neighborhood are concerned about gun rights, abortion, taxes.
The best way to summarize the differences is to look at Maslov’s hierarchy of needs, which goes a long way in understanding those in the community and explaining what people seek from their representation in Washington.
However, the differences go even deeper than from a visual perspective. The concerns of the citizens occupying these different communities are just as stark. The people in the more impoverished neighborhood are concerned about basic human necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, health care, whereas the people in the more affluent neighborhood are concerned about gun rights, abortion, taxes.
The best way to summarize the differences is to look at Maslov’s hierarchy of needs, which goes a long way in understanding those in the community and explaining what people seek from their representation in Washington.
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