Social Analysis of Kensington, Philadelphia

Jesus said, “The poor will be with you always.” And in parts of Philadelphia, this has been confirmed time and time again. In the rough neighborhood of Kensington, off of Delaware Ave, one steadfast and compassionate group has remained the community’s pillar of love and hope. Kensington Area Ministry (KAM) is a collection of eight United Methodist Churches who have come together to support the community members of this area and through after school programs, picnics, food drives and community events, have devoted over 20 years of service to the people of Kensington. A small organization made up of entirely volunteers, KAM relies on the support of donations and grants to keep their operation running. The area of Kensington is not an easy place to live, work or worship and an analysis of the social and community life in this neighborhood shows the struggles residents there face and what is needed to help.

Kensington is located in North Philadelphia, immediately north of Center City. In past decades, North Philadelphia was hit hard by white flight and economic decline. The majority of North Philadelphia's residents are poor African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Despite its wealth of history, schools, cultural sites, parkland, architecture, and other holdovers from more prosperous times, high crime and unfettered poverty have earned North Philadelphia a reputation as a slum. At the same time, some would counter that it is far more diverse an area, and thus too large to stereotype. From the Puerto Rican communities in Hunting Park, West Kensington, and Fairhill to the middle class African American neighborhoods around the Oak Lanes to the poor ghettos that typify much of its core to newly-gentrifying Brewerytown, a large portion of Philadelphians call this section home. Recent developments have given North Philadelphia a brighter future, as several neighborhoods begin to overcome some of their problems (Wikipedia).

Philadelphia has changed drastically in the past century, due to advances in technology, better healthcare and communication and increasing trends caused by globalization. Since the end of the Cold War, the world and everyone in it, like it or not, has been affected by globalization- and quickly. It has taken over politics, commerce, and international relations within virtually every country in the world. Those who have not been fast enough to keep up with the pace of globalization have been left behind, unemployed, bitter and isolated.

In Kensington, there were those who depended on factory and industrial jobs to feed their families, but after industry moved out of the area, they were left jobless and impoverished. What were once vibrant, productive neighborhoods are now full of abandoned homes, burnt out buildings, and bankrupt businesses due to all the low-skill jobs moving overseas or to the suburbs. Welfare laws, low wages and the death of communities have all resulted in the restructuring of homes, usually to the disadvantage of those involved. With public transportation declining and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the city, many fathers were forced to leave the home in order for their family to apply for welfare. This lead to high rates of single-parent homes and less supervision and stimulating activities for children, resulting in higher delinquency and school drop-out rates. In homes with parents earning minimum wage jobs, all energy is put into earning enough to survive and without the support of a caring community, life can become unbearable.

After a community is lost, the memory of it also fades. People become isolated and depressed. Without a core family at home, they will find another one on the streets or in prisons. And the values learnt on the streets are not usually ones to be taken into the home. This leads to higher crime and violent behavior, substance addiction and lack of role models for children growing up in the neighborhood. In Kensington, the drug trade is alive and thriving. Now, gentrification has begun creeping into Kensington and the surrounding neighborhoods and developers will turn the neighborhood into an attractive, high-rent district, with the poor will be forced to move elsewhere.

In Philadelphia, the average annual salary of $38,768. While Philly may be more inexpensive to live in when compared to New York, the cost of living is 27% above the national average. The US Bureau of Census determined that 26% of the population was living below the poverty level and that out of the top 25 largest cities in the country, Philadelphia had the 12th highest poverty level.

Many problems contribute to this, including low wages and high living costs. When someone earns the PA minimum wage of $5.15 an hour (2000) and works 40 hours a week, the amount of money they earn before taxes equals $11,440. Take away 30% for taxes and you’re bringing home $8000. Is it possible to live in Philadelphia on $8000 a year?

The average cost of rent for two people is $890. That accounts for a one bedroom apartment, with approximately 600 square feet of space. Rent alone will cost $10,680 a year. One person alone can not afford to live on their own when working for minimum wage. Even with two incomes combined, rent will account for almost 75% of living expenses. Of course, you can find housing for less than $890, but the location will leave much to be desired. You can also apply for section 8 housing through HUD or the Philadelphia Housing Authority. With a waiting list of almost 16,000, the Housing Authority serves 80,000 Philadelphia residents. In order to be eligible for this program, you must earn less than $34,000 for a family of four and many in the program earn minimum wages.

For those who do not want to rent for their entire life, ownership is near impossible. The median cost of buying a house in Philadelphia is $110,500 and although this varies from area to area, home ownership among the poor has declined steadily over the past decade. Although nearly 60% of Philadelphians own their home, this number too has dropped in the last 10 years. According to Kevin Gillen at the University of Pennsylvania, housing prices have increased 123% in the past 10 years. In 1996, the average cost of renting in Philadelphia was $690, but now over 100,000 households struggle to pay rent and in several neighborhoods, more than 40% of residents live in poverty (Brookings Institute, 2000).

With an unemployment rate of 7.1%, this means that only 56% of working age adults were employed or actively seeking work. As jobs move out to the suburbs, inner-city residents are left with few options for employment. Only 18% of residents hold a college degree and only 30% of jobs in the entire Philadelphia region are located in the center city.

The overall goal of community organizing is to improve the standard of living and quality of life, by producing assets and bringing residents together. Quality of life ideas are seen as social justice, political efficacy and economic vitality. If the quality of life is raised, the community will become a better place to live. Health and safety risks will be reduced, residents will be connected to more opportunities, housing and investments will become stabilized and the community will partner with government and other institutions of power to ensure that the neighborhood is taken care of appropriately and accordingly. By empowering individuals in the neighborhood to bring about these changes, the result will be long-lasting pride and care in the community.

A holistic approach brings together all aspects of life- social, intellectual, physical, financial, spiritual and political assets. In order for a community development and organizing program to be successful, it must have support from all angles, including residents, government, community leaders, churches and local non-profits. You can’t force a program on people who do not want it in the first place.

To gain the support you need from the rest of society, you must rise above the stereotypes and beliefs of the general public. A common misconception in the United States is that there is enough wealth and opportunity for someone to raise from the depths of any situation and make something of themselves. A person’s status at birth largely determines the future. Americans base most of their success on the fact that they worked hard and achieved great things despite the odds. They do not realize that most of their success is due in part to the level of the economic stratosphere in which they were born. They have no empathy for those who are at the bottom of the food chain, because those people are looked at as lazy and as if it is their own fault that they are poor. If a person is not faced with problems that don’t concern them, they find it difficult to care.

Poverty is not only the lack of money; it is also powerlessness and alienation from the key institutions of society. These institutions are described in the book as politics, religion, economics, family, education and recreation. In Kensington, the poor are greatly missing out on all of these things. They are underrepresented politically because they do not vote and therefore politicians do not care about their welfare. From an economic standpoint, those with no steady paycheck have no need for banks or stocks, important institutions that keep our economy afloat. Because they do not contribute to these things, they do not receive the financial education that is important for people to have in order to make smart decisions with their finances. What little money they do have is almost always in cash form and is rarely saved. With all these odds against them, it’s easy to see how inner city residents can become downtrodden, miserable and skeptical of the programs trying to help them.

By empowering the residents of the community, they will begin to grow and thrive on their own. When people feel involved and connected to a project, they are more likely to put everything they have into it and feel a sense of pride when it’s completed. Instead of depending on assistance from the government or the organization, they will look for ways to do it themselves and continue to grow and improve. In Kensington, the residents need to feel as if they have a say in their policies and governing, have the resources to enable other community members or business to expand and watch the streets become safer and neighbors more trustworthy. It’s very important to be able to complete a project and pull out of the community and know that they will continue prospering. That’s the only way you know a job has truly been completed.