One Book One Philadelphia is always on point for me and the longitudinal documentary that i am producing on various issues and concerns affecting our society and international communities. “Orphan Train” wow, you never really know how huge the most vulnerable community is until a great series like One Book One Philadelphia sheds so much light on unspoken concerns. concerns, buried and now become issues.
Issues that could have been avoided if Spartan mentality did not exist in our reality. My eyes shut instantly and swell with tears when you label human life as throw away. ghost ghost ghost town is what Strawberry Mansion is turning into. seems the entire community is being thrown away and yet i have hope and inspiration for my community. sad we had to lose so much.
Culture, what culture? my search is to grow understanding for diverse culture. as life unfolds i understand that some in our society are stuck on power structures that benefit them and neglects others. i am so happy to meet citizens i see myself in like Ann Marie Kirk co-founder of Arts for Justice. Ann Marie mission began in 1995 when she met Charles Lawson co- founder Arts for Justice, via his paintings that raise awareness about the prison industry and rape of culture.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 a panel discussion was held on “Fostering a Sense of Family” i listen to young citizens who have been through or are currently in foster care and would stood out the most is the pain and uncertainty that those young citizens experience daily. These citizens don’t want pity parties, they need extra support because their family culture broke apart. Please do not stigmatize citizens coming out of foster care, life has placed a stigma on these citizens much like the stigma returning citizen carry with them. my heart began to ache as i thought of the closing of Germantown high school whose population was largely homeless. i asked if state budget cuts had any effect on their well being. the reply was yes and in several ways. before the cuts citizens aging out of foster care were automatically giving housing via Philadelphia housing authority, now they are on waiting list for affordable housing. Also school is the one constant in some of these citizens lives, cuts to support services and activities affects the culture these young citizens are looking to define for themselves.
“ I listen to Mr. Sorenson and nod politely as he talks, but it’s hard to concentrate. I feel myself retreating to someplace deep inside. It is a pitiful kind of childhood, to know that no one loves you or is taking care of you, to always be on the outside lookin in. I feel a decade older than my years. I know too much: I have seen people at their worst, at their most desperate and selfish, and this knowledge makes me wary. So I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside”. pg112
“ As a newcomer Molly had liked the distance her persona created, the wariness and mistrust she saw in the eyes of her peers. But though she’s loath to admit it, lately that persona has begun to feel restrictive. It takes ages to get the look right every morning, and rituals once freighted with meaning-dyeing her hair jet-black accented with purple or white streaks, rimming her eyes with kohl, applying foundation several shades lighter than her skin tone, adjusting and fastening various pieces of uncomfortable clothing-now make her impatient. She feels like a circus clown who wakes up one morning and no longer wants to glue on the red rubber nose. Most people don’t have to exert so much effort to stay in character. Why should she? She fantasizes that the next place she goes-because there’s always a next place, another foster home, a new school-she’ll start over with a new, easier-to-maintain look. Grunge? Sex kitten? pg5
I look over at Dutchy, and he looks back at me. Mrs. Scatcherd knows as little as we do about whether we’ll be chosen by people who will treat us with kindness. We are headed toward the unknown, and we have no choice but to sit quietly in our hard seats and let ourselves be taken there. pg45
And in that moment, with bravado borrowed from Jack, it is okay. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Molly learned long ago that a lot of the heartbreak and betrayal that other people fear their entire lives, she has already faced. Father dead. Mother off the deep end. Shuttled around and rejected time and time again. And still she breathes and sleeps and grows taller. she wakes up every morning and puts on clothes. So when she says it’s okay, what she means is that she knows she can survive just about anything. And now, for the first time since she can remember, she has someone looking out for. (What’s his problem anyway?) pg10
But I am skeptical. I know all too well how it is when the beautiful visions you’ve been fed don’t match up with reality. pg31
“Orphan Train” Christina Baker Kline
i asked why do they have to move around so much, the answer was DHS hadn’t been doing a good job with preparing and screening foster homes, but DHS is under a major transformation and care is getting better.
i have hope because we have Pope Francis and The Meeting of Families coming to Philadelphia September 2015. Like Dr. Maria Montessori, Pope Francis reaches out to the most vulnerable in our society and encourages them to be the best they can be. in no way am i a religious person, i just see Pope Francis as the coolest Pope ever
i was looking to host host some family conference this year because i’m tired of protesting when i can be the change i want to see. the so called powers that be didn’t want to join me and i can’t get the help i would like so i decided to put the conference off for now. still exploring!!
if you would like to assist and address the concern and issues of foster care please visit these links:
Department of Human Services
Juvenile Law Center
Valley Youth House
Youth Services Inc
Covenant House
LGBTQ Youth
The Colours Inc.
http://www.coloursorganization.org/
Mazzoni Center
Cyndi Lauper
Our True Colors
Become a foster youth advocate
DHS Community Umbrella Agency List
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