Dawn Turner Trice is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune that I read everyday because she speaks to many of the issues I am concerned about. A few days ago she wrote a column titled, "Community's Woes May Not Be Matter Of Class". She pointed out that in the Austin neighborhood to the west of Garfield Park, 41.4% of the residents are middle class, with household incomes of more than $40,000. That is surprising considering the median income in East Garfield Park is $24,216. It seems that although more than a third of the residents are middle class there are enough residents whose income is very low that it brings the median income down. I noticed that Austin's median income is $33,663, which is still pretty low, but not as low as East Garfield Park's.
I think most significantly her point is that in even the most impoverished communities in Chicago, there is a significant portion of the residents who are not poor. This confirms Breakthrough's philosophy of ministry which involves bringing community residents in East Garfield Park together to support one another and to provide role models for the kids.
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