Barriers Breaking

After more than a week on the job at HCZ, I am really beginning to feel more comfortable here and get a better understanding of the way things work at this place. Despite the slow mornings that we have had since the Health Fair on Saturday, things always pick up in the afternoon when the kids get here. So here's how the TRUCE Fitness and Nutrition Center schedules the time for the kids, just so everyone knows what we're dealing with while we're here...

3:00- kids start to arrive
3:30-4:00- snack is given to all kids, usually consists of apples, oranges, juice and some sort of sugarfree cookies
4:00-5:00- Fitness time (kids are required to take 2 hours of fitness every week, so it's either on M/W or T/R, from 4-5 or 5-6)
5:00-6:00- Team Time (led by two coordinators for each group, the teams consist of all the kids in each grade that come to the program. each team had a different project for the semester, and now that the projects are all completed they do different activities based around health, fitness, and nutrition. Sometimes they do yoga, salsa dance, etc. or sometimes they learn about the food pyramid, learn how/why/where to work out, etc. )
6:00-7:00- most kids leave at 6, but if they need more help with their homework the staff stays until 7 and helps those who need it.
*Sidenote- homework help is also given throughout the day, from 4-7, for those who need it. Also, karate lessons are offered throughout the day, from about 1-after 7pm. more on karate- the instructor, the class, the philosphy behind it, and my own experiences with it, coming soon...

Now that you have an idea of what goes on at TRUCE on a daily basis, I feel more able to explain some of the things I have experienced since being here. First, the entire staff here has been so warm and welcoming to Lindsey and me. Almost everyone that works here is under the age of 30 (with the exception of the Director and a few others), and they are all either in college or recent college graduates. One of the requirements that Geoffrey Canada has of his staff is that they are either currently enrolled in an institute of higher education, or they have completed a college degree. This ensures that the students in the program are surrounded by educated, motivated people and that they see not only the value but also the reality of higher education. Additionally, most staff here grew up as participants in the HCZ programs and have maintained strong ties to the agency and to the community that supports it. Since the moment we walked in the door, the staff here has been incredibly friendly, smilingly enthusiastic and endlessly energetic. The atmosphere in this place is full of optimism and genuine FUN, and it really creates a wonderful environment for us to work and for the kids to learn.

Beyond the initial warm welcome we received, I have started to really get below the surface with a few of the people who work here. Yesterday I began talking with a staff member named Robert who is in charge of the 6th graders at TRUCE. Robert is a huge guy, he's definitly tough and knows how to defend himself, but inside he's just a big kid. He plays dodgeball and weightlifts and does salsa dance or whatever else with the 6th graders nonstop- he really loves to have fun. When Robert found out that I go to Cornell, he started asking questions about where I'm from, what I'm studying and how the parties are at school. I told him the answers, and then started asking questions of my own. Through a long series of events, we started talking about issues of gentrification that his neighborhood has dealt with recently. Robert is from 108th street and Amsterdam, which is now right in the heart of the Columbia University campus. He told me how his neighborhood used to have a lot of burnt out, run-down buildings that have now been taken over by Columbia and started turning the area "nice". When I asked him how he felt about that, his response was, "Sure my street's nice now, but it's not for me...it's not for us." I asked if people were being kicked out of their apartments by the developers who were coming in, and he said that they were mostly taking over abandoned buildings anyways, so it wasn't the fact anyone was loosing their homes that upset him about the gentrification (note- the word "gentrification" never actually came up in the entirety of this conversation). He talked about how they used to have bodegas on every corner where you could get a great sandwhich for cheap, and you knew the owner so if you didn't have enough cash to pay for it on the spot, you could always come back later and pay your tab. Now, "All the mom-and-pop stores are gone- all we got is chain stores, and the cost of everything is real high now." The conversation then ended with Robert telling me that although he's in college in the city, he really wants to leave NYC. When I asked why he didn't, he replied, "I got too much responsibilty here." I don't know if this means he has family he can't leave, or the cost of tuition if he left is too much to afford, or he has a great job going with HCZ and he can't give that up. Either way, it made me realize quickly that for the people living in this neighborhood, life is not as simple and college is nowhere nearly as carefree as it is for most Cornellians, myself included. Robert's openness and honesty with me during this entire conversation was really reassuring. It's easy for people to smile and be friendly and warm when you first meet them, but when you get below the surface and you start really talking about tough issues like gentrification, issues where it would appear that someone like myself would be on opposing sides from someone like Robert, it's hard to cross that race/culture line and really be honest and open. This is just one of a few conversations I've had with staff members here- some black, some Haitian, some Hispanic, some Peruvian, some white- where I've felt like the honesty is there, the open-mindedness is there, and the differences that exist between races and cultures is appreciated and valued rather than looked upon with suspicion and mistrust. My hope is to continue building these relationships and engaging in these conversations as the summer continues.