Anti-poverty week gets in gear

Civic House volunteers are doing their best to make Penn students aware that there are some Philadelphia residents who are not as fortunate as they are.

Sunday marked the start of Anti-Poverty Action Week, a Civic House-sponsored event which strives to educate Penn students about the economic causes of poverty, as well as the various actions being taken in an attempt to remedy the often-daunting social problem.

The week began with a reality tour of Kensington, an under-resourced and economically stagnant North Philadelphia neighborhood. The tour was led by one of the week's many co-sponsors, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.

The union was founded in April 1991 by six welfare mothers who wanted to improve the quality of life for themselves and their children. Since then, the organization has concentrated on the realization of the most basic economic rights for people living in the United States -- the right to food, clothing, housing and fundamental social protections, such as health care, education, and jobs which offer a living wage.

The union provided approximately 20 Penn students with the opportunity to view poverty-stricken Kensington -- the area in which the organization's headquarters are located and the neighborhood which receives much of its focus.

Now the poorest district of the entire state, Kensington was an industrial center in Philadelphia during the 1920s and 1930s. The area housed mostly working-class families who supported a rapidly-growing economy.

When area-based companies left in search of cheaper labor, however, the job market crashed, leaving a wasteland of poverty and abandoned homes in its wake.

The neighborhood never recovered from its economic crisis and now maintains one of the highest crime rates -- specifically violent crime rates -- in the country. In addition, drugs are prevalent in the dilapidated area, and Kensington is currently acknowledged as the heroin capital of the Northeast.

And the area's problems extend far beyond crime to include homelessness, poor educational systems, a lack of health care facilities and a general unavailability of jobs which pay a suitable amount.

Kensington is just one of many examples of poverty-stricken urban areas throughout the nation. Regardless of its prevalence, little is done to address or even to acknowledge the problem.

"People don't believe poverty exists in the United States," said 1996 Penn graduate and long-time activist Tamzin Chesire. "The image of the United States just doesn't project these conditions."

Civic House hopes to provide students with knowledge about the problem of poverty through its week-long event.

Anti-Poverty Action Week will include fundraisers to benefit charitable organizations, a retreat and a group fast. Speakers will address such topics as welfare reform, homelessness and illiteracy.

The week-long series of events will continue through Sunday, Feb. 24.

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