Two professional agencies will be directly competing to service Allentown's poor, courtesy of the Allentown School District. Promise Neighborhoods, supposed violence reduction specialists, will work out of the new Hays Elementary School. Community Action of Lehigh Valley, with their experience in attracting poverty, will be dispensing out of the former Cleveland Elementary School, which they purchased. Both will operate food banks... Who will have the better menu remains to be seen. Enterprising patrons will need motorized shopping carts to make the rounds.
I followed Community Action for many years, their staff made a career out of poverty. It appears as if Promise Neighborhoods may want to make a career out of violence. I can appreciate that my view on these agencies may appear dark. I do realize that there are families in poverty with very legitimate food needs. I respect traditional faith based small food banks...My issue is with growth-oriented, grant seeking, arm bending agencies profiting from society's problems.
If the above sounds cynical, you may request a refund on your subscription to this periodical.
artwork/Mark Beyer
You are correct, poverty is big business and jobs for those who may be otherwise unemployable.
ReplyDeleteIn Allentown cynicism is warranted based on experience, and wise in light that of the fact the dynamic of corruption, self serves, and arrogant ineptitude continues unabated. All facilitated by the stupidly smug voters of the city.
ReplyDeleteGreat observations, as always, MM. Allentown has been "Poverty for Profit" for far too long, and your comments highlight the emerging "Violence for Profit" quite succinctly. Our once great town is circling the drain and getting flushed! I would suggest to our non policing police, get off your collective duffs and do the job you're paid to do. Imagine if traffic, noise and nuisance laws were enforced (fairly!!!) this city could be in the black in no time PLUS people just might return while the deadbeats depart... witness Bethlehem and to a much lesser degree, Easton. Allentown seems to garner all the riff-raff, next Easton and the least Bethlehem... could it be due to the manner the police operate??? Just askin' for a friend...
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to believe that moving from Allentown to rural Northampton County 26 years ago was one of the smartest decisions I ever made.
ReplyDeleteViolence is as violence does. You will see. It is inevitable. Crime is BIG business. Without it there would be no Promise Neighborhood grant generating machine. But, tell me really, has the Promise Neighborhood, EVER lived up to it's promise. Or perhaps the solution lies just around the corner through the next grant. Breitling watches for everyone.
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