Thursday, September 1, 2011

Ivanhoe Possible Directions

After meeting with Dina and discussing the situation(s) of the Ivanhoe community it seemed that there wasn't much luster in the neighborhood anymore. On the walk of taking pictures, a couple of us ran into the pastor of the area. One thing he said stuck with me. He said, "Helping the community starts with the people. It's not making it a pretty place by helping the sidewalks or painting a house. It's about starting with the people."

This has someone controlled where I'm going in my three possible directions for this semester long project.

DIRECTIONS
1. How can you bring a group of people together? Starting with younger generations and their trouble to stay in school, I propose a way to get younger generations in volved. A lot of kids come and go in this community but making a person feel welcome may make them want to stay. Being a kid is rough, especially in a community that has some violence. I'm not sure if bullying is an issue but if it is, a way to try to work against it.

2. Making a first impression is important. Focusing on the incoming families, I want to know what has brought them there and what makes people stay. What makes people leave? Maybe this answer can be solved by picking one of the three other choices.

3. The lack of community shops and togetherness of the neighborhood. Religion brings a lot of people together and many people fund their place of belief. The idea behind this is that folks and start with funding for a building maybe the church has money to buy. Once the property is brought, people can sell made goods and offer services in a collective area. One may be home repair, the other may be making and fixing clothing. Through this, the idea of money becomes 'someone irrelevant' and the idea of trade comes on stronger. This can also create bonds and great experiences to rely on one another – giving them a support system.

4. The lack of cars, cellphones, and use of technology isn't kept up. Where most people have the privilege of owning them, a lot of people in the community do not. Creating a campaign for the best ways around that or creating a way to solve that. Possibly by promoting that things that seem to cost a lot doesn't always mean that they actually do. Inventing affordable cellphone plans, kind of like a EBT card works may be a possible solution – or it may lead to a dead end.

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