There Are No Children Here Essay Research — страница 2

the police for guidance, but at the same time did not trust them. Residents of the homes felt stuck in the middle between the drug gangs and the police. The cops came and went, but the gang members were there 24 hours a day. Few residents would call 911 for fear that the gangs would discovered that they snitched. The older children had gotten into trouble with the police, and the oldest boy had served time. The oldest girl worked on and off as a prostitute when she needed the money. The family was almost relieved when the oldest boy; Terence was sentence to prison because he was deeply involved with the gangs, and prison would at least keep him off the street, and hopefully save his life. Kotlowitz wants people to know how devastating life is in the ghetto. With that sentiment in

mind he quotes a presidential commission as saying; ?The sheer scale of such projects…is stultifying to the human spirit. Administration is heavy handed. The child caught in such a social environment is living almost in a concentration camp from which he has little chance of escape? (p259) These poor living conditions do not go unnoticed, however little is done to improve their conditions. A person in authority really has to care to turn things around. Then when a person of authority finally did care, the money was not there to provide the services necessary. Vincent Lane was appointed the new chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority. He decided to reclaim the buildings. With the help of 60 Chicago policemen, officials went from building to building looking for drugs and

weapons. The problem was that Lane was only one person, and could not change the projects overnight, but he gave the people a reason to hope. I could not even imagine how hard a life these people live. You cannot help but feel you want to help the boys out, and yet, not enough people seem to care when there are so many others in the same position as Pharaoh and Lafayette. Yet all these hardships and obstacle we are left with the tumultuous question of what can we do that will work. Inevitably there is no single answer but many small ones to a huge problem dealing with America?s youth. This book shows great significance in dealing with the youth of America, how can you expect a kid to grow to be an upstanding citizen when all he sees his entire life is everything but an upstanding

citizen. Even if his will and personality are strong enough to get him by without a positive role model, then what resources do we provide for him in a place filled with abandoned buildings and gunfire. 33b