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A Long View Through a Short Lens
Short term solutions to long term problems? Let’s view these problems from an alternate perspective . . .
I write this entry regarding the last GCCC meeting with much
apprehension for I am neither a property owner nor a parent. I fear my feedback may be naive and inexperienced, it may be taken the wrong way, but here goes nothing . . .
First I want to commend all the officials who attended: Kevin Jackson, Rita Murphy, Lt. Commander Schiavulli, Alen Gouleard, and most of all Mellisa Dubois. Crime has gone down significantly, and I'm confident that this trend will continue thanks to their efforts and their response to our requests.
There are 178,126 residents in Providence, as of July of 2004, and not just one, but four officials took the time to hear our small group of approximately 30 Mt. Hope residents. To those officials I say “Thank you": you all work hard and listen to many sides of the story. I commend you all for doing jobs that I and many others are not prepared to take on.
The drug problem . . .
Drugs - The commander is right. They're everywhere and they're not going anywhere. If you drink alcohol, coffee, or smoke cigarettes, you do drugs. Legalization does not define a drug. By definition a drug is a chemical substance, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, that affects the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and often addiction. Caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol do just this. I'm guilty.
Illegal drugs are on the other side of Hope street and they're in the wealthiest of neighborhoods in RI. Most of the complaints pertain to the image that has been established in our community b/c of drugs. Hanging out on corners and blatant drug deals that seem to say “screw you, Coppers, you can't get me!” are commonplace. If these individuals started dealing drugs indoors and out of sight many of us 'concerned citizens' would have an alternate opinion with less emphasis on the need to eliminate drugs in our neighborhood.
The generational thing . . .
The most insightful point brought up at the last meeting was the differentiation between generations. Older generations are fostering drug addictions established years ago. All hope is lost here because they are not changing. We see them on the streets but not in the way we see a younger generation just sitting around, doing nothing, dealing without regard for neighbors, and making the neighborhood look bad.
This younger generation is perpetuating an image they hear in music and see on T.V. It's almost comical how bold these young people are to deal drugs in the park when the risk of arrest and incarceration could easily be eliminated by moving their drug dealing inside.
For this reason I feel that maybe out of alienation these youngsters wish to create a community that some of them like to call 'the ghetto' 'the hood' etc. I've heard it referred to this way in the past by many, many times.
More cops = $$. If we're going to get more cops here on Camp we need them on Broad Street, Olneyville, etc. Would we all be broke if more cops were the solution?
:::NEWS FLASH::::
If drug dealers leave this neighborhood, they'll go to the next. When we're all content with the improvements made on Camp St. the trash will move right back to our neighborhood and set up 'camp' (no pun intended) once again.
Who is doing all the graffiti? A younger generation.
Who is littering? A younger generation.
Who is speeding? A younger generation.
Based on the community meeting, the solution was to pay someone to clean up the graffiti, pick up the trash, install speed barriers, and throw repeat offenders in jail time and time again. Not on my dime. No way.
Temporary solutions to permanent problems . . .
These are temporary solutions to permanent problems. With these solutions kids will continue to litter, deface property, and drive recklessly. Our taxes will pay for these solutions until the day we die, as they have in the past, and the problems will still be there!
The permanent solution is to embrace a younger generation and to start a snowball effect of proper behavior. Example.... take a young individual from a broken home that hates the community he/she lives in and fights it with 'tagging', littering, violence, drugs, and crappy lifestyles that he/she tries to emulate from T.V. and rap music. Instead of incarcerating and shoving these people off to be reprimanded and punished, what would happen if we stopped and actually tried to understand what they need in order to change their poor behavior?
What would Camp Street be like if there was a 'Boys and Girls Club' in place of other useless organizations in the neighborhood? What about a Boy Scout Troop or a Girl Scout Troop that met regularly at the Learning Center or at the Community Ministries? What if they were picking up trash, cleaning up the neighborhood and all the bozos holding down progress had to witness it on a regular basis? Over time we would start to see a change in attitude and quality. I see promise on Hope Street, but it hasn't seemed to make its way 500 feet west to camp Street.
This is a permanent solution to a permanent problem. The older generation will expire and a newer generation will move in with change that will carry on throughout generations, and then our community will be self sufficient as are many 'wealthy' neighborhoods in RI. Believe me, East Greenwich does not have the need for meetings or organizations like the GCCC.
What can we do . . .
This is where I get prickly... Everyone needs to stop expecting our government to fix problems that we don't want to fix ourselves. Stop complaining and do something about it. Get out there on the weekends and pick up some trash. If Cypress is snowed in, take Wickenden to Hope and over to Camp. If you see a younger generation hurting your neighborhood start an after school program.
My impression of the GCCC meeting was that many who had things to complain about are lazy and want solutions handed to them without putting forth an effort or even offering constructive suggestions, myself included. We're spoiled Americans and we expect everything to be done for us. Shame on us.
If you don't like the condition your Mt. Hope neighborhood is in right now, and you're not willing to put five hrs. a week into its betterment, then maybe you should take the time to rethink your position and where you want to live.
I commend home owners who purchase homes and take in responsible tenants. My guess is that the landlords of the 'problem individuals' on Camp St. were not in attendance at the meeting. Maybe we should contact these landlords. Any volunteers? I challenge just one of you to contact these landlords to come to the meetings to hear concerns in the neighborhood and guess what... it's fiscally beneficial for them and all of us if we improve our neighborhood! Let's act on greed and start doing something to increase home values. Landlords are open to this, I'm sure.
Here is a website that offers all public information on properties on camp street: http://providence.univers-clt.com/
Type in the street and you can find out who owns it. Contact them and get them to the next meeting to discuss concerns.
In conclusion we all need to step back and realize how fortunate we are. We are all blessed in so many ways and it's human nature to forget this. Our lifestyles transcend a majority of humans walking the face of the earth and America's reluctance to recognize this has painted us to be an ugly, selfish society. The state of our nation is not Bush's fault. It's our own. We can all learn something from the Pakistani victims.
Here is a website with a list of opportunities to get involved in your state and community: http://www.vcri.org/
Let's not allow Camp St. to fall under the stereotypical image of a desensitized America: let's all step up. Let us make news headlines, let's change our community, and let's demand more of ourselves and of each other.
Thank you for reading this, and thank you for being concerned. Please call me at 401-935-5595 if you would like to speak
further on any of the above issues.
Kevin Kazlauskas
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Posted at November 2, 2005 10:53 AM