IVANHOE

First, I have to thank Brad for his post. I was happy to see that my message about posting to the blog came across LOUD AND CLEAR and exactly as I had intended it--and with a very flattering photo to boot. Kudos to Brad.

Visiting the Ivanhoe neighborhood was very eye opening. I am impressed by Chris Jehle, Margaret May, and Airick West for the work they are doing in the neighborhood. Some of the social issues seem insurmountable. There are also a lot of economic issues that drive what types of business can survive in the area. Architectually, there is a lot of opportunity in the area.

Chris Jehle talked about trying to gain community involvement to start to effectuate change. To me, an even more basic and fundamental component of society that is lacking in the area is family structure. I don't think communities can be strong unless there is a foundation of family structure. I thought it was interesting how he explained some of the dynamics that affect neighborhood. Grocery stores in the neighborhood face a lot of challenges.

In my opinion, Airick's "Be One" campaing is heading in the right direction. With the lack of family structure, getting adults involved in each young person's life and providing multiple possitive role models is really key. I think it is great that the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council is working to clean up the nieghbor and rehab housing. I am very impressed by the efforts of all those people working and fighting to turn this neighborhood around.