Hello, my name is Samantha Simpson. I am 23 years old. I grew up in East Harlem, and currently live in the Bronx. Except for a couple of years in Norfolk, Virginia, I’ve lived in New York City my whole life. I am a college student. I will be graduating in 2013. I major in Criminal Justice. I am an advocate for poverty eradication.
I became involved in this kind of activism through Fourth World Movement’s Street Library program. When I was 5 and 6 I used to wait for the reading van to come to my aunt’s block, to just read their books and to learn more about them and their involvement with the neighborhood.
Now, I participate in Fourth World Movement’s People’s University, which brings together people from all walks of life to discuss issues related to poverty and our communities. It gives me a chance to speak out and share my experience with others, including people who actually work in the fields we discuss. At the last People’s University we discussed today’s theme: “Sustainable Development: People at the center of inclusive development.” We agreed that people from every neighborhood and walk of life have to be part of the progress if it’s going to have any lasting impact. We discussed the meaning of ‘sustainable development;’ for us, it came down to three major things: health, our environment, and safe, unified communities.
Health may seem very basic to some of you, but in my neighborhood there is very little access to good care, or even healthy food. It’s a downward spiral when people do not have access to healthy food in their communities. When fast food restaurants are the only options available, it can be debilitating to your health. In my neighborhood in Castle Hill, the supermarket is very far and inconvenient. And if you want fresh fruit, all they have is cans! People should realize healthy food represents trade-offs. We don’t always have the opportunity or ability to make healthy choices for our bodies. The obesity rate in my community is very high. With a death rate that’s higher than cancer, that’s a very dangerous and damaging problem!
For me, going to high school in Chelsea changed my life. At the supermarket down there, you can shop for all different types of food, like strawberries. I remember, the first time I went into a grocery store in that neighborhood. I was shocked by how quiet and peaceful it was, and amazed by all the choices. This kind of store simply didn’t exist in my neighborhood. People at school thought I was trying to be someone else and leave my neighborhood behind me. That made it hard, but if being someone else means being a healthy, sensible, knowledgeable person, then I am fine with that, I can live with knowing that I am one step further to being a part of a healthy, wholesome environment.
Obesity and lack of access to good food is only one of the health threats to my community. HIV and AIDS is also a killer, and teen pregnancy is very prevalent. Both of these have been huge issues for people in my life. Yet they are making budget cuts to try and remove these prevention programs. It is not fair to remove these and people still need these provisions. My grandma and friends would also have benefitted. People need to understand that we need programs like this.
Now, usually when people think of the term “sustainability,” the first thing that comes into their heads is the environment. It’s true—having access to a healthy environment is fundamental, but it can be hard to come by in New York City, especially now.
After I moved to the Bronx, it has been a different experience. The projects I live in are dirty. There is broken glass everywhere. It makes people avoid their own neighborhoods and enforces stereotypes. You see, when our neighborhood looks so dirty, it seems like we don’t care about it. And when everything always looks so broken, it’s hard to envision a better community, so the cycle continues.
In speaking to two women who have been living in my building for 40 years, they said things have definitely changed. Things are worse now than before. People do not want to live in a place where it’s not safe for your kids to play.
This need for safety, and a unified community, is the third thing that we discussed at People’s University as a major part of Sustainable Development. Violence continues to divide us. People avoid bringing their friends and family members home because they are afraid of the projects.
There are a lot of police actions and crime in my neighborhood, it’s true. But there is only so much cops can do to help the neighborhood. People in the community need to come together to deal with the problem. We need to have a talk with the Police, and with New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). We need to have confidence that authorities won’t give us the runaround.
This is why I think the theme of today is so important. People should be at the center of development, and it has to be inclusive. The only way that we’ll start true sustainable development is if people can all come together, overcome our stereotypes and fears, and work together. In New York, it feels as if people live in two different worlds, kept apart by perceived differences and mistrust. In my community, for example, those of us living in the projects are judged. People think and say that we are disrespectful, ignorant, and have no goals. That is not true. But some people have lost hope. Personally, there are so many things I want to do, places I want to go. But I can’t, because I feel judged for living in the projects, and I fear anger, disrespect, and violence.
I wish I could tell everyone that there are people in the projects who’ve gone to college, have goals, work hard, are peaceful. We’re not ignorant and dirty. I want to tell people that we’re not all those stereotypes, and you have to get past those and really see us because we have to be a part of inclusive development.
This spirit of working together to move forward has to come from everyone. People have to want be a part of ending poverty. Hope and inspiration get you very far, and people have hope and dreams in common. If you believe poverty is never-ending, then you are part of the problem. We have to stop the cycle of shared hopelessness and continued ignorance. If you live in poverty and you’re tired of being on welfare, stressing about money, and the constant indignities, you should want better. If you see our communities struggling with poverty, and you see the inequality and how our rights are taken away, then you should want better. But I can’t make someone understand unless they’re ready to want better and believe in change. It’s individual.
My community needs non-judgmental support and positive role models. We have to set a goal as a community, and start to work towards it. You have to at least try before you can say you’re a failure. People on our end have to be engaged and take a stance
I knew I wanted better for myself, and I wanted to help others too. I used knowledge, imagination, and determination to find a way out. I try to raise awareness about eradicating poverty, and how this environment can and will be better one day at a time if we just all help any way we can.
10/13 2011
