Source of the Problem

In our groups final trip to Nicetown to get the remaining footage for our final group project on the revitalization of the community, our group came face to face with what may be holding the community back from thriving.

As we walked through the streets off of the main commercial corridor on Germantown Ave. around noon on a Friday, we approached several residents outside of their homes to see if they'd be willing to speak to us. For each resident we approached for the first, however, they each declined for the same reason: drug use.

From two neighbors who sat on the stoop in front of their home on Gratz Street preparing to smoke a blunt the size of a small child's baseball bat, to a woman who sat passively on a porch with two small packets of crack-cocaine next to her morning coffee, the real problem within the community became clear.
While we spoke to people about what needed to be done in order to revitalize the community, the themes remained consistent: better quality of life, affordable house and jobs.

In order to be able to establish and keep these initiatives, however, one must first find a way to combat the overwhelming drug supply in communities such as these. That much became clear as we walked through these streets throughout the semester.

Andrew Holland, Grace Reed, Brittney Barrett