With this year's TEDxRochester preparations getting into full swing, my time is becoming increasingly fragmented (as is my brain, it feels at times!) But, I didn't want to put too much distance between myself and this the next program day without getting something on digital paper!
Program Day #4, Building Common Ground (but often nicknamed "Diversity Day"), was held at the Quaker Meeting House downtown. We started out, as we always do, with a former class member framing a day that has the purpose of our "examining our personal beliefs and attitudes and the effects on our behavior". Immediately after we watched the Carvin Eison film, "July '64", about the race riots in Rochester in 1964. It was a powerful and moving film, and one which gave a great grounding in the events of that month. I'd heard of the riots and read the historical accounts, but Eison's film was extremely powerful in message and execution. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to learn about this difficult time in our fair City's history.
One of the most powerful images for me was one of the National Guard herding rioters using their rifles with bayonets. I was reminded of the nonchalant attitude of the officer macing students at UC Davis during an Occupy Wall Street protest just a couple of years ago. It just goes to show that while institutional racism's hold is waning, we still have a long way to go on other fronts.
The movie was followed by a panel made up of people who were there during the riots, and some that may or may not have participated. While the movie was able to present the story in a "canned" fashion, having those who witnessed events be able to answer questions was a unique opportunity I won't soon forget.
After a short break, we proceeded to the first of two "Hurts & Healings" panel discussions. This first focused on the issues of some 20 somethings in our community. Of particular note was the young man that barely managed to escape killed, although was still shot, when rebels invaded his village in Africa, but survived at the cost of being separated from his family. Through an amazing series of events, he ended up in Rochester where the people who aided him on his arrival inspired him to him to return to his home and give back through the building of schools. Truly a remarkable individual!
We then broke for lunch (Unkl Moe's! Mmm!) followed by our next panel discussion which focused on an older generation of those affected by institutional racism. Again, amazing to hear in their own words being banned from movie theaters or unable to marry they person they loved because they weren't the same race. While these issues still remain, it's easy to take for granted what others went through just within living memory.
I will admit, this wasn't my favorite day. The program administrators admitted that normally there's more diversity in Diversity Day. As it stood, African-Americans and homosexuals were well represented, but that was about it. As the panels are made up of people who graciously give up their time to be with us, it happens. Our class just got a weird confluence of events that lead to our day being less diverse than in other years. I'm thinking I might volunteer my time for future instances of this program day just so I could relive it with a wider panel.
Showing posts with label Leadership Rochester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership Rochester. Show all posts
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Leadership Rochester: Program Day #3
Education Day! While I still put up the good fight for the City of Rochester, the fact is my wife and I moved out of it last year. Reason number one had to do with the random gunshots a few doors down one night while we were asleep. The second reason was our first daughter was rapidly approaching kindergarten and I didn't want to send her to the City schools. Hypocritical? Sure, but it is what it is.
The day started off early with the class meeting at East High School on Main Street. Aside from going through the metal detectors on the way in, East reminded me of my own high school in Philly. Kind of dilapidated, with no warmth to make you feel welcome. "Institutional" is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling of the place. The class met in the library, which was closed to students for the day. At first I was a little concerned with this, but I did take note of the number of times someone tried to come in. I'll have to assume the single digit numbers were due to the student body being told in advance that the library was closed rather than the lack of interest in using it.
Dr. Rick DeJesus, VP of Student Affairs at St. John Fischer College opened the day by reminding us that solving the educational problem in our country is one that's been tackled, dropped, picked up, and dropped again by a myriad of people with no immediate success in sight. But, that we were to keep an open mind through our day and to take in all we could. He was followed by Patty Malieri, Chief of Staff for the RCSD. Instead of a talk, she lead a brief Q&A session. The Qs were fairly limited as I believe we were all feeling the need to move on to the next part of the day, school visits!
I should stop here and admit I have a bit of a bias for the first school we went to, The Harley School. My wife and I attended an open house there a few years back and fell in love with the place. As an artist, my wife was blown away by the facilities that were available to all students to take advantage of. As an engineer, I of course looked at the track record numbers of student success. :) We've discussed sending our daughters there, but alas the cost is far too prohibitive. Especially when you have to double it!
Our whole visit can best be summed up with two sentences: "WOW!" A short sentence, but it was heard a lot from those of us in the class. And, "every child should have the opportunity to attend a school like this". The latter was one of my classmates before even entered the building. Simply walking up to it, listening to the birds sing in the fields and the quiet ambiance of the grounds, is a visceral event. The school is housed in a former church, and the impression I had walking up to it during the day was "Cathedral of Education".
Inside, we were met by the Director of Admissions, Ivone Foisy and an elf. No, not a real elf. He was one of the teachers there. This was the day before their holiday break, and the school was allowing both students and staff to blow off some steam by taking it easy. Our elf and Ms. Foisy took us on a magical tour of their facility and it was nothing less than spectacular. The students could be found milling about the halls or in classrooms watching holiday movies, and the teachers and staff were all working actively to ensure the kids had a good day.
My favorite moments? First would be the art room. I imagined my daughters in there and the marvelous creations that would come from them. It's a beautiful two-story room, filled with supplies and workstations and...everything! They even have a glass blowing facility. Second to this would be encountering their "reading nook". Yes, they have a reading nook for the kids. It's just outside one of the libraries (ONE of the librarIES) tucked quietly under a set of stairs.
They have a reading nook.
Our tour actually ran quite a bit long as there's just so much to see and so many great programs and features to learn about. The pride the staff have in their school comes across clearly, and they spent a lot of time showing every amazing nook (not really continuing on that last paragraph there) and cranny. As such we had to be dragged from Harley to move on to our second school visit.
This one was to James Monroe High School on Alexander. I wrote four paragraphs on Harley. Don't expect as much gush here. After driving around the block a couple of times to find a place to park (apparently, there's only one spot dedicated for parents and other visitors), we found a spot on the street a few blocks away. On the way in, I happened to notice the nice playground area outside the school. I thought to myself how it was on par with the one I saw outside the Harley, and so I had hope. That's when one of my classmates decided to point it out and the incongruity of it being at a high school. I'll let you ponder for a moment.
Just like at East, we were greeted by a guard sitting next to a metal detector leading into the school. The principal apparently hadn't told anyone we were coming, so we had a few moments of confused reactions from staff until the principal came out to wrangle us. And, wrangle he did. After unchaining the doors, he lead us into the auditorium where he told us all about his accomplishments and the good work he had done at his previous school to turn it around. He told us about his childhood and growing up in, I believe, Brooklyn. We also got a good overview of how they came to find out the two now-racist murals on either side of the stage have been appraised at over a million dollars. Nice!
But, you say, what about the school itself? Sad to say, he never took us out of the auditorium. I don't know if it was a time constraint or not, but to be honest it felt more like he really didn't want to show us around. He did talk a little about the issues he faced there, such as the lack of parking. There was also the revelation that they have a large Latino community, and for whatever reason a large population of Latino girls who were pregnant or already had children. Thus, the playground. It was for the day care.
Having high notes to end our tours with, we headed back to East High for lunch and debrief where we learned the other teams experiences mirrored our own: the private and charter schools were doing well, the public ones, not so much. This wasn't a universal, but an obvious disparity.
After our debrief session, we got to participate in a panel discussion with students from all around the city. This was a VERY enlightening discussion, and it could again be summed up by describing two of the students. First was Denzel, a very (and justifiably) angry but extremely eloquent young man who related the horrors of attending Franklin High School. He waxed for quite some time, well past his allocated time, about what he faces. He described the uncaring attitude of staff and faculty who have basically labeled him a troubled student and locked him away in a cell disguised as a classroom. There, he's required to sit quietly and read the material he's given and nothing more. There's no challenge, no interest, no desire to help this young man succeed. When he was finished, I looked around the room in hopes that some higher-up from the RCSD had arrived early so I could challenge them to help this young man. No one deserves the life he's been dealt.
The second student was a young lady from a local Catholic, all-girls school. I apologize I didn't write her name down, but having spent the early part of my own academic career at a Catholic school she was fairly typical of students at private schools. I don't mean that in a bad way, she certainly was very smart and able to hold her own in the discussion. No, when it comes to this student, she essentially put the period on the sentence "every child should have the opportunity to attend a school like this". At one point in the discussions, Denzel was relating more of his trials and tribulations when she cut in and said "I don't understand how this can be? I mean, the biggest issue we have to contend with in my school right now is they just banned yoga pants!"
She stopped there, but it was obvious from her face that she got it. We all did. In fact, that's where I'm going to end the description of the day and take us right into the opinionated portion of the article. There were two more panel discussions afterward, but the disparity in our educational system revealed by The Crisis of the Yoga Pants really speaks more to the problem than anything else. Some people are given the opportunity to better themselves and prepare them for success. Others are dumped in a room and told to keep quiet until graduation. If they happen to learn anything along the way, it's most likely by accident. The dividing line seems to be drawn in right around the same spot as a person's net worth.
I should clarify that my intent is not to place all of the blame on the RCSD, either. Despite my getting into a brief shouting match with one of the superintendents over misunderstanding one of my questions, I fully understand what they're up against. As she pointed out, the RCSD has to pay for busing kids around the area. They also have to take in every student, which includes those with mental disabilities and problems, and care for and attempt to educate those students. They face a diminishing budget and a populace that can't or won't take the time to fully understand the issues. That's of course assuming they're even able to get access to the right information on which to base a decision. From what I gathered, it appears the school district is TRYING, but are hindered by costs and political crap.
I left this program day with my world view intact. However, I did find the scope of the issue to be so much larger than it was before today. You see, as a parent, I've got my own opinions on education. My view is the education of my children rests 100% on me (well, and my wife, of course). The teachers and schools are there to set the curricula and schedule. That's it. If my children, for example, somehow made it to the sixth grade without being able to read...the typical consensus is to blame the teachers and the school system that failed them. That may be politically expedient, but it really would have been ME that failed them. It's MY responsibility to ensure they're learning what they're supposed to. It's my responsibility for them to know what they're supposed to know when they're done with school.
But, politicians can't get on TV and say "we can't fix the education system until parents start taking the responsibility on themselves", can they? Of course not! Can you imagine the outrage that would erupt from a statement like that? So, the responsibility for the failure falls on the teachers and system. Perhaps if we tweaked this, pulled here, moved this over there and...oh, yeah, let's REALLY vilify the teachers! Hell, they have a union, that's pretty much the mark of Satan right there!
This isn't a "responsibility" thing, so all you neo-libertarians in the audience can stop jumping for joy. Let's face it, if you're a parent who is making minimum wage and working three jobs to put food on the table how are you supposed to spend hours every night checking your children's homework? Frankly, most people in that position are probably lacking in the educational experience themselves to ensure the kid's gotten it right. In other words, until we "fix" the poverty problem in our country the education issues aren't going anywhere. Study after study has confirmed that 80% of what determines a child's academic success is the level of parental involvement. With that 80% not being brought to the table, how do you make up the difference with the remaining 20%?
It's nice that we won't leave any child behind, despite the fact that legislation like that only ensures more do. And, those that do succeed don't know squat compared to those who were educated prior to its passing. This doesn't mean, though, that we ignore the obvious and glaring short-comings of our education system, but it means we start having a meaningful dialog that actually addresses the issues instead of what's politically expedient to blame.
It also means we leave the damn teachers alone until we've solved at least SOME of the actual issues that are out there. Good teachers can't thrive in an system that prevents them from educating their students. Kids can't be educated under a system more interested in testing the teachers than the students, and using the students as proxies to "get" the teachers. You can't put a pile of manure on top of a flower and then blame the flower for not smelling as good anymore. Until we get a handle on the system, there's no real way to distiguish the good teachers from the bad, and I admit there are bad teachers out there. Let's fix that, and stop with the blaming.
On a final note, I'd like to mention that I do have some serious problems with the educational system as a whole and the direction it's headed. The problems are fundamental to the fact that life in the 21st century is going to be dramatically different than life in any time prior in our history. Looking at current technologies, and those that are on the horizon, it's very easy to see that within the next 20 years you'll be able to get a chip implanted into your brain that will give you 24/7 access to the Internet. That changes the landscape of education away from reciation and regurgitation. When kids have instant access to all of the world's knowledge, expecting them to memorize it becomes superfluous.
As such, we need to modify how we educate to focus even more on experiential learning and critical thinking skills. Students need to be taught how to find the right information in a sea of conflicting viewpoints. They need to understand how to apply the knowledge they have. And, they need to be taught the emotional intelligence necessary to use that application for the greater good. No small undertaking, to be sure. But, if we're going to put the effort into redesigning an educational system shouldn't we do so to prepare for the future instead of trying to fix the past?
The day started off early with the class meeting at East High School on Main Street. Aside from going through the metal detectors on the way in, East reminded me of my own high school in Philly. Kind of dilapidated, with no warmth to make you feel welcome. "Institutional" is the best word I can think of to describe the feeling of the place. The class met in the library, which was closed to students for the day. At first I was a little concerned with this, but I did take note of the number of times someone tried to come in. I'll have to assume the single digit numbers were due to the student body being told in advance that the library was closed rather than the lack of interest in using it.
Dr. Rick DeJesus, VP of Student Affairs at St. John Fischer College opened the day by reminding us that solving the educational problem in our country is one that's been tackled, dropped, picked up, and dropped again by a myriad of people with no immediate success in sight. But, that we were to keep an open mind through our day and to take in all we could. He was followed by Patty Malieri, Chief of Staff for the RCSD. Instead of a talk, she lead a brief Q&A session. The Qs were fairly limited as I believe we were all feeling the need to move on to the next part of the day, school visits!
I should stop here and admit I have a bit of a bias for the first school we went to, The Harley School. My wife and I attended an open house there a few years back and fell in love with the place. As an artist, my wife was blown away by the facilities that were available to all students to take advantage of. As an engineer, I of course looked at the track record numbers of student success. :) We've discussed sending our daughters there, but alas the cost is far too prohibitive. Especially when you have to double it!
Our whole visit can best be summed up with two sentences: "WOW!" A short sentence, but it was heard a lot from those of us in the class. And, "every child should have the opportunity to attend a school like this". The latter was one of my classmates before even entered the building. Simply walking up to it, listening to the birds sing in the fields and the quiet ambiance of the grounds, is a visceral event. The school is housed in a former church, and the impression I had walking up to it during the day was "Cathedral of Education".
Inside, we were met by the Director of Admissions, Ivone Foisy and an elf. No, not a real elf. He was one of the teachers there. This was the day before their holiday break, and the school was allowing both students and staff to blow off some steam by taking it easy. Our elf and Ms. Foisy took us on a magical tour of their facility and it was nothing less than spectacular. The students could be found milling about the halls or in classrooms watching holiday movies, and the teachers and staff were all working actively to ensure the kids had a good day.
My favorite moments? First would be the art room. I imagined my daughters in there and the marvelous creations that would come from them. It's a beautiful two-story room, filled with supplies and workstations and...everything! They even have a glass blowing facility. Second to this would be encountering their "reading nook". Yes, they have a reading nook for the kids. It's just outside one of the libraries (ONE of the librarIES) tucked quietly under a set of stairs.
They have a reading nook.
Our tour actually ran quite a bit long as there's just so much to see and so many great programs and features to learn about. The pride the staff have in their school comes across clearly, and they spent a lot of time showing every amazing nook (not really continuing on that last paragraph there) and cranny. As such we had to be dragged from Harley to move on to our second school visit.
This one was to James Monroe High School on Alexander. I wrote four paragraphs on Harley. Don't expect as much gush here. After driving around the block a couple of times to find a place to park (apparently, there's only one spot dedicated for parents and other visitors), we found a spot on the street a few blocks away. On the way in, I happened to notice the nice playground area outside the school. I thought to myself how it was on par with the one I saw outside the Harley, and so I had hope. That's when one of my classmates decided to point it out and the incongruity of it being at a high school. I'll let you ponder for a moment.
Just like at East, we were greeted by a guard sitting next to a metal detector leading into the school. The principal apparently hadn't told anyone we were coming, so we had a few moments of confused reactions from staff until the principal came out to wrangle us. And, wrangle he did. After unchaining the doors, he lead us into the auditorium where he told us all about his accomplishments and the good work he had done at his previous school to turn it around. He told us about his childhood and growing up in, I believe, Brooklyn. We also got a good overview of how they came to find out the two now-racist murals on either side of the stage have been appraised at over a million dollars. Nice!
But, you say, what about the school itself? Sad to say, he never took us out of the auditorium. I don't know if it was a time constraint or not, but to be honest it felt more like he really didn't want to show us around. He did talk a little about the issues he faced there, such as the lack of parking. There was also the revelation that they have a large Latino community, and for whatever reason a large population of Latino girls who were pregnant or already had children. Thus, the playground. It was for the day care.
Having high notes to end our tours with, we headed back to East High for lunch and debrief where we learned the other teams experiences mirrored our own: the private and charter schools were doing well, the public ones, not so much. This wasn't a universal, but an obvious disparity.
After our debrief session, we got to participate in a panel discussion with students from all around the city. This was a VERY enlightening discussion, and it could again be summed up by describing two of the students. First was Denzel, a very (and justifiably) angry but extremely eloquent young man who related the horrors of attending Franklin High School. He waxed for quite some time, well past his allocated time, about what he faces. He described the uncaring attitude of staff and faculty who have basically labeled him a troubled student and locked him away in a cell disguised as a classroom. There, he's required to sit quietly and read the material he's given and nothing more. There's no challenge, no interest, no desire to help this young man succeed. When he was finished, I looked around the room in hopes that some higher-up from the RCSD had arrived early so I could challenge them to help this young man. No one deserves the life he's been dealt.
The second student was a young lady from a local Catholic, all-girls school. I apologize I didn't write her name down, but having spent the early part of my own academic career at a Catholic school she was fairly typical of students at private schools. I don't mean that in a bad way, she certainly was very smart and able to hold her own in the discussion. No, when it comes to this student, she essentially put the period on the sentence "every child should have the opportunity to attend a school like this". At one point in the discussions, Denzel was relating more of his trials and tribulations when she cut in and said "I don't understand how this can be? I mean, the biggest issue we have to contend with in my school right now is they just banned yoga pants!"
She stopped there, but it was obvious from her face that she got it. We all did. In fact, that's where I'm going to end the description of the day and take us right into the opinionated portion of the article. There were two more panel discussions afterward, but the disparity in our educational system revealed by The Crisis of the Yoga Pants really speaks more to the problem than anything else. Some people are given the opportunity to better themselves and prepare them for success. Others are dumped in a room and told to keep quiet until graduation. If they happen to learn anything along the way, it's most likely by accident. The dividing line seems to be drawn in right around the same spot as a person's net worth.
I should clarify that my intent is not to place all of the blame on the RCSD, either. Despite my getting into a brief shouting match with one of the superintendents over misunderstanding one of my questions, I fully understand what they're up against. As she pointed out, the RCSD has to pay for busing kids around the area. They also have to take in every student, which includes those with mental disabilities and problems, and care for and attempt to educate those students. They face a diminishing budget and a populace that can't or won't take the time to fully understand the issues. That's of course assuming they're even able to get access to the right information on which to base a decision. From what I gathered, it appears the school district is TRYING, but are hindered by costs and political crap.
I left this program day with my world view intact. However, I did find the scope of the issue to be so much larger than it was before today. You see, as a parent, I've got my own opinions on education. My view is the education of my children rests 100% on me (well, and my wife, of course). The teachers and schools are there to set the curricula and schedule. That's it. If my children, for example, somehow made it to the sixth grade without being able to read...the typical consensus is to blame the teachers and the school system that failed them. That may be politically expedient, but it really would have been ME that failed them. It's MY responsibility to ensure they're learning what they're supposed to. It's my responsibility for them to know what they're supposed to know when they're done with school.
But, politicians can't get on TV and say "we can't fix the education system until parents start taking the responsibility on themselves", can they? Of course not! Can you imagine the outrage that would erupt from a statement like that? So, the responsibility for the failure falls on the teachers and system. Perhaps if we tweaked this, pulled here, moved this over there and...oh, yeah, let's REALLY vilify the teachers! Hell, they have a union, that's pretty much the mark of Satan right there!
This isn't a "responsibility" thing, so all you neo-libertarians in the audience can stop jumping for joy. Let's face it, if you're a parent who is making minimum wage and working three jobs to put food on the table how are you supposed to spend hours every night checking your children's homework? Frankly, most people in that position are probably lacking in the educational experience themselves to ensure the kid's gotten it right. In other words, until we "fix" the poverty problem in our country the education issues aren't going anywhere. Study after study has confirmed that 80% of what determines a child's academic success is the level of parental involvement. With that 80% not being brought to the table, how do you make up the difference with the remaining 20%?
It's nice that we won't leave any child behind, despite the fact that legislation like that only ensures more do. And, those that do succeed don't know squat compared to those who were educated prior to its passing. This doesn't mean, though, that we ignore the obvious and glaring short-comings of our education system, but it means we start having a meaningful dialog that actually addresses the issues instead of what's politically expedient to blame.
It also means we leave the damn teachers alone until we've solved at least SOME of the actual issues that are out there. Good teachers can't thrive in an system that prevents them from educating their students. Kids can't be educated under a system more interested in testing the teachers than the students, and using the students as proxies to "get" the teachers. You can't put a pile of manure on top of a flower and then blame the flower for not smelling as good anymore. Until we get a handle on the system, there's no real way to distiguish the good teachers from the bad, and I admit there are bad teachers out there. Let's fix that, and stop with the blaming.
On a final note, I'd like to mention that I do have some serious problems with the educational system as a whole and the direction it's headed. The problems are fundamental to the fact that life in the 21st century is going to be dramatically different than life in any time prior in our history. Looking at current technologies, and those that are on the horizon, it's very easy to see that within the next 20 years you'll be able to get a chip implanted into your brain that will give you 24/7 access to the Internet. That changes the landscape of education away from reciation and regurgitation. When kids have instant access to all of the world's knowledge, expecting them to memorize it becomes superfluous.
As such, we need to modify how we educate to focus even more on experiential learning and critical thinking skills. Students need to be taught how to find the right information in a sea of conflicting viewpoints. They need to understand how to apply the knowledge they have. And, they need to be taught the emotional intelligence necessary to use that application for the greater good. No small undertaking, to be sure. But, if we're going to put the effort into redesigning an educational system shouldn't we do so to prepare for the future instead of trying to fix the past?
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Leadership Rochester: Program Day #2
As Program Day #3 is roaring into sight, I realized...oh, no! I never posted about last month's! So, let's get to it. Program Day #2 was called "Who takes care of whom?" and the basic premise is to introduce the class to the various social organizations in the Rochester area, what they do, what limitations they face, and the issues faced by those who need access to them. On the whole, it was a very enlightening day. One I think most folks would benefit by participating in.
The day started off early...WAY early! I had to meet up with the class at 5:45am. Did I mention I work the night shift until 10? Eek! But, we needed to meet that early as the first task of the day for each of the teams was to make breakfast for one of the homeless shelters in town. I should start by pointing out that each of our teams was given a list of food to procure not only for our breakfast, but also to ensure the shelters had some extra. I had managed to score two loaves of bread generously donated by Small World Food. (If you see them at the Rochester Public Market, make sure you mention LR gave 'em a shout-out and then buy yourself some of their amazing granola! I LOVE the maple cashew!) But, our class is fortunate to have someone who works at Wegmans and they ended up donating ALL of the food needed by ALL of the teams! (If you see them at the Rochester Public Market, ask them what the heck they're doing there). Way to go Wegmans!
After dispensing all of the food, my team set off for our destination: The Open Door Mission. On arrival, we were given a quick tour of the kitchen and set right to work. Everyone on our team jumped right in and worked their butts off to make a fantastic breakfast for everyone. Sam, who is a fireman, jumped right in to working the grill. The man knows how to feed a large number of men! I, with the help of one of my teammates, made the grits. I've had grits once or twice and like 'em, but I've never made them. I've certainly never made 2 gallons of them! Quite the learning experience for me.
The men started filing in as we were cooking and I was struck by the diversity. I had honestly expected what one would typically picture when you say "homeless man", but that image only matched a small number of those we served. The rest seemed like someone I might work with, or be neighbors with. Some of them were young, in their twenties, some not much older than that. There were a couple with obvious mental issues, that was clear, though. I didn't get the chance to sit and chat with any of them, though, as I was busy tending to my grits. They apparently require constant stirring...
As we were cleaning up breakfast, a fellow came in and sat down. The pots and pans were already away, so I went over and asked if I could make a plate up for him. He thanked me and I went back to the kitchen and started unwrapping. The mission admin, however, told us we couldn't serve him. They had rules, and the men needed to learn to follow them. He was late, he wasn't getting any food. A few minutes later, after speaking to the man, the admin came back in and said he'd explained it to him and he could now have some food. He wasn't going to let the guy go hungry, but wanted to make a point.
And, here's where it gets difficult for me. On one hand, I think I need to share my honest assessment of the day. On the other hand, my honest assessment will only make sense to some folks, and probably enrage the rest. But, if someone from the majority wants to give their assessment, I guess they can do that. I can only view the world through my own eyes and relate what I saw...
Here's my problem: as an atheist, I generally don't have issues with religious charities. Most charities do have some level of a religious background, but most also don't force it on either their guests or the people they serve. Open Door, however, is all about spreading the word of the Bible. Throughout the breakfast, a preacher spoke to them about accepting Jesus into their hearts and how that would make everything all right. Most of the men, though, either ignored him or walked away from him as he was talking. When the admin was explaining about the rules, he did talk about how he had men who'd lived there for 7-8 years. He admitted that was no longer a mission, it was enabling. I have to wonder how much quicker the men would make it out if they were actually provided something they could use here and now, and not simply be proselytized for solutions for the hereafter.
Keep in mind, this disparity only became crystal clear when we met up later in the day to debrief on our experiences. I believe our team was the only one that went to a primarily religious-backed organization, and the one thing that resonated in what they had to say about those other locations was the hope they felt from the people living there. Hope they'd get back on their feet. Hope they'd find a job. Hope they'd get their kids into a home. Hope was ubiquitous elsewhere. It caused me to be taken aback when I first heard someone mention the overwhelming feeling of hope. I experienced none of it at Open Door. Was hope absent because of the religiosity of the place? I guess I can't say with 100% certainty, but it seemed fairly obvious who was offering it and who wasn't.
After serving breakfast (and leaving a LOT of extra food behind), we headed to the Hillside Family of Agencies headquarters. I'd heard of Hillside before, who in Rochester hasn't? I know a couple of folks who have worked there, and have encoutered them regularly in my travels as TEDxRochester licensee. What I'd never done, however, was gone to their campus. And, when I say "campus", I mean CAMPUS! Wow, I never knew all of that was up there! It's like a mini-college campus up on the hill, tucked away out of sight. Promise, I'm done saying "campus" for at least a paragraph or two.
We met in one of the meeting halls to both debrief from our mornings as well as be broken up into new teams for our afternoon assignment which really was the "Who takes care of whom" portion of the day. Each team was given a small piece of paper with a scenario on it, and our job was to get assistance for the imaginary person in the scenario. We were challenged, however, to do so in an hour and fifteen minutes and we weren't allowed to use our smartphones as Internet devices. If we wanted to search, we could go to the library, just like someone who needed public assistance would need to do. You can just hear all the groans THAT limitation caused, can't you?
My team was tasked with a teen who was homeless. His mother had moved in with her aunt, but there wasn't enough room for the boy, so he was drifting around living with friends. The friends had suggested he apply for food stamps to help with food costs, but since he didn't have a permanent address or birth certificate, this would prove difficult. What do you do? What DO you do?
We decided immediately that we should hit the Brighton library first to gather information. But, on the way out, my team mate who was a police officer suggested we stop by The Center For Youth quickly since it was right around the corner. Okay, let's try that! We got there and explained our situation. The receptionist asked us to take a seat and she'd get someone for us. Minutes later, my friend from City Council, Elaine Spaull came out and greeted us all with a "what are you all doing here?!" Apparently, she knew almost every one of us. That's Elaine!
We chatted for a moment and then she pulled us into a room and gathered folks to help us out. She brought in two of her directors and we talked in detail about what the Center offered and how they could help. If, for example, this young man had come to them, they wouldn't stop at just getting his immediate needs filled. They'd help get him that birth certificate, they'd help him find a place to live, they'd take a fully holistic approach to taking care of his needs. "What if, however, he went first to DSS instead?" I asked. "They'd refer him to us." was the immediate reply. DSS has a relationship with the Center and would get him the help he needed through them.
Not bad, and with 35 minutes to spare! Someone suggested we not rush back, but bask in the glow of our success over a cup of coffee. We all agreed. :)
On returning to Hillside, I ran into another friend, Eric Wheeler. Eric was one of the first speakers at TEDxRochester when he was the curator of the International Center for the History of Electronic Gaming at The Strong. He's moved on since then and was now working at MCC helping returning veterans get their education going.
It turned out he was there for the next portion of our day, the debrief/panel discussion. Similar to last month's panel discussion, this panel was made up of a group of folks who all work in providing services to specific persons with needs. As mentioned, Eric Wheeler spoke about his advocacy for veterans in the upstate NY area. Perhaps the most interesting take away came from him. He explained that the Rochester area is one of the BEST places in the country to be a returning veteran due to the wealth of services offered. Glad to hear!
Also on board were two folks from different senior assistance programs (I misplaced their info and will update this with it later) and Chris Hilderbrant, COO of the Center for Disability Rights. Chris gave a talk about his life that was both moving and entertaining. Suffering a spinal cord injury at the age of 14, he recounted dealing with the lack of accessibility he's faced in his life and how he "accidentally" fell into leading the charge to change things.
The discussion group was interesting, but it was the findings of my class I was most interested in. All of the other teams ended up having to put in a lot more work than we did to get the results they needed. Most remembered to use 211 as a starting point to find services, though. I'm embarrassed that it never even crossed my mind as my wife and I spend a lot of time in local Goodwills, and that ad is constantly running through my head!
I'll spare you all the details, though, as I'm sure you're as exhausted reading all of this as I've become from typing it! The short of it is, if you're in need of accessing one of our social nets, it ain't easy. For example, almost every group expressed having discovered a "secret code word" that would direct them to the right assistance. If you didn't discover that code word, though, you spent a lot of time jumping from person to person explaining and re-explaining your needs and situation. One team member made the point that those in need, should they be in possession of a cell phone, could very quickly exhaust their monthly minutes on just one call into "the system".
So, what did I learn today? Honestly, there were a number of interesting tidbits here and there, but the day pretty much confirmed my view of public assistance and charity. The system is needlessly complex, and I believe that's entirely by design. There are those who believe we shouldn't provide any social assistance to anyone under any circumstances, even if it costs lives. By making the system too complex to navigate, I believe the hope is that those who don't REALLY need assistance will simply give up, get jobs and stop being lazy parasites (their opinions, not mine).
Or, there are those who believe that there are people who genuinely have need of assistance, but the system is too gummed up with people who don't need it and just want to scam the system for "their" money. A lot of the complexity comes from a need to excessively verify, re-verify, confirm, etc to ensure no one gets a single penny they don't need. Unfortunately, all of this additional scrutiny increases complexity which, by its nature, decreases efficiency and increases costs. It's ironic to note these types of people will scream bloody murder if you try to introduce legislation that curtails the illegal activities of businesses because that legislation would decrease their efficiency. An efficiency that was only gained by cutting corners and perhaps causing some people to suffer, mind you, but an efficiency nonetheless.
Certainly no immediate solutions to these problems present themselves, but I certainly wasn't expecting any after being immersed for only one day. I had hoped going into it that things weren't as bad as I thought, so it was disappointing to learn they are. The one positive I did find, though, was the people involved who dedicate their lives to trying to make things better for others, no matter how hard. It's their tireless devotion that's most inspiring!
The day started off early...WAY early! I had to meet up with the class at 5:45am. Did I mention I work the night shift until 10? Eek! But, we needed to meet that early as the first task of the day for each of the teams was to make breakfast for one of the homeless shelters in town. I should start by pointing out that each of our teams was given a list of food to procure not only for our breakfast, but also to ensure the shelters had some extra. I had managed to score two loaves of bread generously donated by Small World Food. (If you see them at the Rochester Public Market, make sure you mention LR gave 'em a shout-out and then buy yourself some of their amazing granola! I LOVE the maple cashew!) But, our class is fortunate to have someone who works at Wegmans and they ended up donating ALL of the food needed by ALL of the teams! (If you see them at the Rochester Public Market, ask them what the heck they're doing there). Way to go Wegmans!
After dispensing all of the food, my team set off for our destination: The Open Door Mission. On arrival, we were given a quick tour of the kitchen and set right to work. Everyone on our team jumped right in and worked their butts off to make a fantastic breakfast for everyone. Sam, who is a fireman, jumped right in to working the grill. The man knows how to feed a large number of men! I, with the help of one of my teammates, made the grits. I've had grits once or twice and like 'em, but I've never made them. I've certainly never made 2 gallons of them! Quite the learning experience for me.
The men started filing in as we were cooking and I was struck by the diversity. I had honestly expected what one would typically picture when you say "homeless man", but that image only matched a small number of those we served. The rest seemed like someone I might work with, or be neighbors with. Some of them were young, in their twenties, some not much older than that. There were a couple with obvious mental issues, that was clear, though. I didn't get the chance to sit and chat with any of them, though, as I was busy tending to my grits. They apparently require constant stirring...
As we were cleaning up breakfast, a fellow came in and sat down. The pots and pans were already away, so I went over and asked if I could make a plate up for him. He thanked me and I went back to the kitchen and started unwrapping. The mission admin, however, told us we couldn't serve him. They had rules, and the men needed to learn to follow them. He was late, he wasn't getting any food. A few minutes later, after speaking to the man, the admin came back in and said he'd explained it to him and he could now have some food. He wasn't going to let the guy go hungry, but wanted to make a point.
And, here's where it gets difficult for me. On one hand, I think I need to share my honest assessment of the day. On the other hand, my honest assessment will only make sense to some folks, and probably enrage the rest. But, if someone from the majority wants to give their assessment, I guess they can do that. I can only view the world through my own eyes and relate what I saw...
Here's my problem: as an atheist, I generally don't have issues with religious charities. Most charities do have some level of a religious background, but most also don't force it on either their guests or the people they serve. Open Door, however, is all about spreading the word of the Bible. Throughout the breakfast, a preacher spoke to them about accepting Jesus into their hearts and how that would make everything all right. Most of the men, though, either ignored him or walked away from him as he was talking. When the admin was explaining about the rules, he did talk about how he had men who'd lived there for 7-8 years. He admitted that was no longer a mission, it was enabling. I have to wonder how much quicker the men would make it out if they were actually provided something they could use here and now, and not simply be proselytized for solutions for the hereafter.
Keep in mind, this disparity only became crystal clear when we met up later in the day to debrief on our experiences. I believe our team was the only one that went to a primarily religious-backed organization, and the one thing that resonated in what they had to say about those other locations was the hope they felt from the people living there. Hope they'd get back on their feet. Hope they'd find a job. Hope they'd get their kids into a home. Hope was ubiquitous elsewhere. It caused me to be taken aback when I first heard someone mention the overwhelming feeling of hope. I experienced none of it at Open Door. Was hope absent because of the religiosity of the place? I guess I can't say with 100% certainty, but it seemed fairly obvious who was offering it and who wasn't.
After serving breakfast (and leaving a LOT of extra food behind), we headed to the Hillside Family of Agencies headquarters. I'd heard of Hillside before, who in Rochester hasn't? I know a couple of folks who have worked there, and have encoutered them regularly in my travels as TEDxRochester licensee. What I'd never done, however, was gone to their campus. And, when I say "campus", I mean CAMPUS! Wow, I never knew all of that was up there! It's like a mini-college campus up on the hill, tucked away out of sight. Promise, I'm done saying "campus" for at least a paragraph or two.
We met in one of the meeting halls to both debrief from our mornings as well as be broken up into new teams for our afternoon assignment which really was the "Who takes care of whom" portion of the day. Each team was given a small piece of paper with a scenario on it, and our job was to get assistance for the imaginary person in the scenario. We were challenged, however, to do so in an hour and fifteen minutes and we weren't allowed to use our smartphones as Internet devices. If we wanted to search, we could go to the library, just like someone who needed public assistance would need to do. You can just hear all the groans THAT limitation caused, can't you?
My team was tasked with a teen who was homeless. His mother had moved in with her aunt, but there wasn't enough room for the boy, so he was drifting around living with friends. The friends had suggested he apply for food stamps to help with food costs, but since he didn't have a permanent address or birth certificate, this would prove difficult. What do you do? What DO you do?
We decided immediately that we should hit the Brighton library first to gather information. But, on the way out, my team mate who was a police officer suggested we stop by The Center For Youth quickly since it was right around the corner. Okay, let's try that! We got there and explained our situation. The receptionist asked us to take a seat and she'd get someone for us. Minutes later, my friend from City Council, Elaine Spaull came out and greeted us all with a "what are you all doing here?!" Apparently, she knew almost every one of us. That's Elaine!
We chatted for a moment and then she pulled us into a room and gathered folks to help us out. She brought in two of her directors and we talked in detail about what the Center offered and how they could help. If, for example, this young man had come to them, they wouldn't stop at just getting his immediate needs filled. They'd help get him that birth certificate, they'd help him find a place to live, they'd take a fully holistic approach to taking care of his needs. "What if, however, he went first to DSS instead?" I asked. "They'd refer him to us." was the immediate reply. DSS has a relationship with the Center and would get him the help he needed through them.
Not bad, and with 35 minutes to spare! Someone suggested we not rush back, but bask in the glow of our success over a cup of coffee. We all agreed. :)
On returning to Hillside, I ran into another friend, Eric Wheeler. Eric was one of the first speakers at TEDxRochester when he was the curator of the International Center for the History of Electronic Gaming at The Strong. He's moved on since then and was now working at MCC helping returning veterans get their education going.
It turned out he was there for the next portion of our day, the debrief/panel discussion. Similar to last month's panel discussion, this panel was made up of a group of folks who all work in providing services to specific persons with needs. As mentioned, Eric Wheeler spoke about his advocacy for veterans in the upstate NY area. Perhaps the most interesting take away came from him. He explained that the Rochester area is one of the BEST places in the country to be a returning veteran due to the wealth of services offered. Glad to hear!
Also on board were two folks from different senior assistance programs (I misplaced their info and will update this with it later) and Chris Hilderbrant, COO of the Center for Disability Rights. Chris gave a talk about his life that was both moving and entertaining. Suffering a spinal cord injury at the age of 14, he recounted dealing with the lack of accessibility he's faced in his life and how he "accidentally" fell into leading the charge to change things.
The discussion group was interesting, but it was the findings of my class I was most interested in. All of the other teams ended up having to put in a lot more work than we did to get the results they needed. Most remembered to use 211 as a starting point to find services, though. I'm embarrassed that it never even crossed my mind as my wife and I spend a lot of time in local Goodwills, and that ad is constantly running through my head!
I'll spare you all the details, though, as I'm sure you're as exhausted reading all of this as I've become from typing it! The short of it is, if you're in need of accessing one of our social nets, it ain't easy. For example, almost every group expressed having discovered a "secret code word" that would direct them to the right assistance. If you didn't discover that code word, though, you spent a lot of time jumping from person to person explaining and re-explaining your needs and situation. One team member made the point that those in need, should they be in possession of a cell phone, could very quickly exhaust their monthly minutes on just one call into "the system".
So, what did I learn today? Honestly, there were a number of interesting tidbits here and there, but the day pretty much confirmed my view of public assistance and charity. The system is needlessly complex, and I believe that's entirely by design. There are those who believe we shouldn't provide any social assistance to anyone under any circumstances, even if it costs lives. By making the system too complex to navigate, I believe the hope is that those who don't REALLY need assistance will simply give up, get jobs and stop being lazy parasites (their opinions, not mine).
Or, there are those who believe that there are people who genuinely have need of assistance, but the system is too gummed up with people who don't need it and just want to scam the system for "their" money. A lot of the complexity comes from a need to excessively verify, re-verify, confirm, etc to ensure no one gets a single penny they don't need. Unfortunately, all of this additional scrutiny increases complexity which, by its nature, decreases efficiency and increases costs. It's ironic to note these types of people will scream bloody murder if you try to introduce legislation that curtails the illegal activities of businesses because that legislation would decrease their efficiency. An efficiency that was only gained by cutting corners and perhaps causing some people to suffer, mind you, but an efficiency nonetheless.
Certainly no immediate solutions to these problems present themselves, but I certainly wasn't expecting any after being immersed for only one day. I had hoped going into it that things weren't as bad as I thought, so it was disappointing to learn they are. The one positive I did find, though, was the people involved who dedicate their lives to trying to make things better for others, no matter how hard. It's their tireless devotion that's most inspiring!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Leadership Rochester: Program Day #1
It's been a while since I've had a chance to really update this blog, and those who know me know why; involved in far too much stuff! Most recently, I've been accepted into the 2013 class of Leadership Rochester. This group takes local leaders and introduces them to not only the problems facing our area in a personal way, but also introduces them to those in the community who are working to make things better. The class is made up of a two day retreat wherein you spend the first day meeting your fellow classmates and then spend the second day participating in a simulated society exercise. After, one day a month is spent engaged in community issues and solutions.
I'm not going to tell anything about that second day of the retreat, as it should remain a surprise to everyone who has the opportunity to attend!
So, instead, I'll tell you about the first program day, Getting Grounded. The class was divided up into multiple teams who each took different routes around the city to get a better picture of our community. My team scored the City's Sectors 4 & 5, which comprise a significant portion of the 19th Ward (where I lived for 15 years) and the entirety of the Inner Loop. We started the day meeting up at the Downtown Presbyterian Church . We were given our driving directions for the day and then let loose onto the City!
Our first task was to stop and check out some new, very expensive homes being built downtown. These homes are located near the Plymouth Avenue area inside the loop and will be going for upwards of $250,000. Not a small chunk of change for the area they're in! The idea, I believe, in pointing these out was to showcase how there is an uptick in the number of people moving back into the City each year. They're not moving into cheap homes, though.
From there, we took a brief driving tour of the Corn Hill section of town. Although I've driven past it a thousand times, and have eaten at the restaurants in Corn Hill Landing dozens of times, I never really took the time to head back behind Nathaniel's to see what was back there. Turns out, that's a shame as there are some truly beautiful streets with amazing and diverse architecture!
Once we'd completed our circuit, we headed back downtown to get to our next stop, the Rundel Library, to meet up with city planner, Tom Hack. I'm ashamed to admit that having lived in Rochester for 18 years, I'd never actually stepped foot into the Rundel. But, then, since I'm a seriously digital-type person, I honestly haven't spent much time in libraries, period, over the last 20-25 years. I'm glad we had to stop in because the Rundel is a beautiful building!
And, what brought us to the library? Well, Tom Hack, as I said! He spent a goodly amount of time chatting with us about plans that are in the pipeline and wishlist for the City. He explained about the "watering" of Broad Street, which would essentially close off that street in a way that pays homage to the fact that it was once part of the Erie Canal. I'd heard about this plan before and always thought it was a stupid idea, but after seeing the full presentation, I'm VERY impressed! It really fits in with the RocCity 2.0 walkable downtown concepts!
Was that the only reason we were meeting up with Tom? Nope. Tom was also there to take us into...the subway tunnels!! For those who don't know, Rochester once had a subway, but it's been abandoned for about 60 years. I'll spare you the background, though. TEDxRochester 2012 speaker, Mike Governdale does a much better job of it on his blog, RochesterSubway.com. I've been wanting to get down into the tunnels for quite some time, so I was stoked when I found out my team would get that opportunity!
It lived up to expectations, too. I know it sounds stupid, but you have to understand that I rode the subway in Philadelphia every day when I was in high school. I never got the opportunity to see anything beyond the platforms and what flashed by as we zipped through the tunnels. I knew it was just going to be a dank, dark hole in the ground, but nonetheless I was glad to have finally gotten the chance. The first thing I noticed? A whole lot bigger than I'd thought! I've seen pics others have taken, but they're typically just of the Broad Street tunnel. There's so much more beyond that, and it was just creepy and cold and oh so neat.
The second thing, which was impossible to overlook, was the graffiti art everywhere. According to Tom, it changes from week to week, yet they've never actually seen anyone in there doing it. Each artist apparently gets a section to work on, and it appears almost as if there's a competition going on down there. Apparently, there's also folks who live in some parts, but we didn't get to meet any of those... :)
After leaving Tom, we continued on our tour. This time, we focused on the 19th Ward. We headed over to the Clara Barton school #2 where we met up with folks from Rochester Roots, a group that works with kids from the schools to farm fresh vegetables which are then sold at the St. Mary's public market. We got a tour of their facilities and greenhouse, but the real point of directing us here was to see the disparity in living conditions between here and Corn Hill just a short jaunt away on the other side of Ford Street. One really gets a sense of what the Occupy movement was about when you get dropped right into the midst of it all.
We then drove to the Boulder Coffee on Genesee Street to meet up with one of the directors of the 19th Ward Community Association. We chatted for a bit about what they're doing to increase the economic potential of that area, including getting the Brooks Landing project approved, funded and built. This has been a great boon to this community as it's driven money into a neighborhood that desperately needed it and the transformation is spectacular. We toured the area around the Staybridge Suites hotel which is just a gorgeous place to spend time.
From there we headed to lunch at Deli Sandros, a new deli representative of the revitalization of that community. Wonderful food, and if you get there an the Buffalo mac & cheese in on the menu that day, do NOT skip it!
At this point, we were WAAAY behind on schedule and so had to zip through the remainder of what we were supposed to see. But, on the whole, I think we got the point...there's a huge disparity in how people live in Rochester, but there's a lot of change happening that should lead to better things. We headed back to the church where we were greeted by a panel of community leaders. Each team then took a few minutes to create a presentation of what they experienced, and every one was so varied from every other. I think the one that was most interesting was the one that headed to Pittsford. Their tour started out visiting a trailer park! In Pittsford!
I learned a lot about our area in that fast-paced day, and have gained further appreciation of the hard working folks who are putting in the effort every day to make a difference in their community. I'm inspired by people like that, I suppose that has something to do with my doing TEDxRochester, and it energizes me to know there's so many people working to make Rochester a better place.
Tomorrow is program day #2: "Who takes care of whom", and about all I know is I'll be at the Open Door Mission at about 6am. So, that means coffee is #1 on the agenda!
I'm not going to tell anything about that second day of the retreat, as it should remain a surprise to everyone who has the opportunity to attend!
So, instead, I'll tell you about the first program day, Getting Grounded. The class was divided up into multiple teams who each took different routes around the city to get a better picture of our community. My team scored the City's Sectors 4 & 5, which comprise a significant portion of the 19th Ward (where I lived for 15 years) and the entirety of the Inner Loop. We started the day meeting up at the Downtown Presbyterian Church . We were given our driving directions for the day and then let loose onto the City!
Our first task was to stop and check out some new, very expensive homes being built downtown. These homes are located near the Plymouth Avenue area inside the loop and will be going for upwards of $250,000. Not a small chunk of change for the area they're in! The idea, I believe, in pointing these out was to showcase how there is an uptick in the number of people moving back into the City each year. They're not moving into cheap homes, though.
From there, we took a brief driving tour of the Corn Hill section of town. Although I've driven past it a thousand times, and have eaten at the restaurants in Corn Hill Landing dozens of times, I never really took the time to head back behind Nathaniel's to see what was back there. Turns out, that's a shame as there are some truly beautiful streets with amazing and diverse architecture!
Once we'd completed our circuit, we headed back downtown to get to our next stop, the Rundel Library, to meet up with city planner, Tom Hack. I'm ashamed to admit that having lived in Rochester for 18 years, I'd never actually stepped foot into the Rundel. But, then, since I'm a seriously digital-type person, I honestly haven't spent much time in libraries, period, over the last 20-25 years. I'm glad we had to stop in because the Rundel is a beautiful building!
And, what brought us to the library? Well, Tom Hack, as I said! He spent a goodly amount of time chatting with us about plans that are in the pipeline and wishlist for the City. He explained about the "watering" of Broad Street, which would essentially close off that street in a way that pays homage to the fact that it was once part of the Erie Canal. I'd heard about this plan before and always thought it was a stupid idea, but after seeing the full presentation, I'm VERY impressed! It really fits in with the RocCity 2.0 walkable downtown concepts!
Was that the only reason we were meeting up with Tom? Nope. Tom was also there to take us into...the subway tunnels!! For those who don't know, Rochester once had a subway, but it's been abandoned for about 60 years. I'll spare you the background, though. TEDxRochester 2012 speaker, Mike Governdale does a much better job of it on his blog, RochesterSubway.com. I've been wanting to get down into the tunnels for quite some time, so I was stoked when I found out my team would get that opportunity!
It lived up to expectations, too. I know it sounds stupid, but you have to understand that I rode the subway in Philadelphia every day when I was in high school. I never got the opportunity to see anything beyond the platforms and what flashed by as we zipped through the tunnels. I knew it was just going to be a dank, dark hole in the ground, but nonetheless I was glad to have finally gotten the chance. The first thing I noticed? A whole lot bigger than I'd thought! I've seen pics others have taken, but they're typically just of the Broad Street tunnel. There's so much more beyond that, and it was just creepy and cold and oh so neat.
The second thing, which was impossible to overlook, was the graffiti art everywhere. According to Tom, it changes from week to week, yet they've never actually seen anyone in there doing it. Each artist apparently gets a section to work on, and it appears almost as if there's a competition going on down there. Apparently, there's also folks who live in some parts, but we didn't get to meet any of those... :)
After leaving Tom, we continued on our tour. This time, we focused on the 19th Ward. We headed over to the Clara Barton school #2 where we met up with folks from Rochester Roots, a group that works with kids from the schools to farm fresh vegetables which are then sold at the St. Mary's public market. We got a tour of their facilities and greenhouse, but the real point of directing us here was to see the disparity in living conditions between here and Corn Hill just a short jaunt away on the other side of Ford Street. One really gets a sense of what the Occupy movement was about when you get dropped right into the midst of it all.
We then drove to the Boulder Coffee on Genesee Street to meet up with one of the directors of the 19th Ward Community Association. We chatted for a bit about what they're doing to increase the economic potential of that area, including getting the Brooks Landing project approved, funded and built. This has been a great boon to this community as it's driven money into a neighborhood that desperately needed it and the transformation is spectacular. We toured the area around the Staybridge Suites hotel which is just a gorgeous place to spend time.
From there we headed to lunch at Deli Sandros, a new deli representative of the revitalization of that community. Wonderful food, and if you get there an the Buffalo mac & cheese in on the menu that day, do NOT skip it!
At this point, we were WAAAY behind on schedule and so had to zip through the remainder of what we were supposed to see. But, on the whole, I think we got the point...there's a huge disparity in how people live in Rochester, but there's a lot of change happening that should lead to better things. We headed back to the church where we were greeted by a panel of community leaders. Each team then took a few minutes to create a presentation of what they experienced, and every one was so varied from every other. I think the one that was most interesting was the one that headed to Pittsford. Their tour started out visiting a trailer park! In Pittsford!
I learned a lot about our area in that fast-paced day, and have gained further appreciation of the hard working folks who are putting in the effort every day to make a difference in their community. I'm inspired by people like that, I suppose that has something to do with my doing TEDxRochester, and it energizes me to know there's so many people working to make Rochester a better place.
Tomorrow is program day #2: "Who takes care of whom", and about all I know is I'll be at the Open Door Mission at about 6am. So, that means coffee is #1 on the agenda!
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