East/West

Today I discovered that the Elmwood Village is sort of sandwiched between two very poor and forgotten neighborhoods known as the East and West sides of Buffalo. The West side needs lots of attention and growth and seems to be headed that way. People are investing in homes and making them beautiful, starting block clubs, opening businesses. I believe change is already happening there.

The East side, though, is far worse. It's hidden behind Broadway, the area where countless people flock to in search of Easter goodies, unaware that such poor neighborhoods are close by. Shootings are frequent and the front doors of houses have marks of break-in attempts. I am not exagerating when I say this - almost every OTHER house is boarded up and spray painted as unsafe. These houses are forgotten by the city, but still look lived in by the homeless. On these streets, it's hard to distinguish what I see from pictures I saw after Katrina hit.



When there is this much need, it is daunting to even think of how to begin to help. All I know is that the way they are living is not okay. They deserve much more than they have. Maybe we could start by opening doors.