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Show TQin arir wiTrrrtr XZftkWji '"lrirtrtafani Editor's Notebook Why are they poor? Yale psychologist has defined poverty as "a psychological process which A destroys the young before they can live and The aged before they can die. Who are America's poor and why are they that way? It wasn't until the middle 60's that the first adequate census of America's population on public assistance was developed. This census revealed that the welfare rolls - then totaling about 7.3 million people - included only 150.000 males old enough to work, of which 100,000 were incapacitated beyond the ability to work orto be trained. This means that only Appalacians inhabited by a high correlation between malnutrition and mental retardation. "I n many cases, the possibility for improvement not realistically within the power of the poor. In talking and listening to the poor, one is struck by the vicious circles which characterize poverty. Rising from is poverty seems inordinately improve their lots. Of the rest, 2.1 million people were over 65, mostly women; 7 00,000 were either blind or so severely handicapped that they could not work; 3.5 difficult for the ordinary man. We recognize this unconsciously in our strong admiration for those who manage to escape poverty on their own, but we seldom note how few they are. The Commission reached this conclusion: "Many Americans wonder why the poor do not escape from poverty. The answer to this million were children and question 900.000 were mothers. It stands to reason that the numbers have increased since that survey. However, the proportions and percentages remain almost the same. The President's Commission on Income Maintenance, whose investigations of public assistance took members to all sections of usually cannot because most are already doing as much as can reasonably be expected of them to change their condition . . . the simple fact is that most of the poor remain poor because access to income through work is currently beyond their reach . . . Society must aid them or they will remain the country, added these Brochure 50,000 employable males on the welfare lists - or less than of one per cent of the total welfare population - could able-bodie- one-tent- h observations: "These figures, is clear to us: they poor. by themselves, do not convey the barrenness of poverty, or the humanity and diversity of the poor. It is difficult to discuss Available analytically the consequences informative brochure telling which stark poverty imposes on people's lives. "But a visitor feels these consequences in a shack in the Kentucky two-roo- m The Salt Lake Model City agency has published an about the Model City process. It available free from the agency, located at 151 East 21st South, and Bldg. 4, or call 467-941- is 6 we'll mail you a copy. salt lake model neighborhood news Publication of the Model The Model Neighborhood News is a publication of the Salt Neighborhood Lake Model Cities Agency under the supervision of the Joint Board possi ble through a grant from the Department of Housing and of City and County Urban Development. News is made Commissioners with editorial offices located at 151 East 21st South, Building No. 4, Salt Lake City, Utah 841 15. is Publication of the newspaper weekly with a distribution of 20,000 copies. Marlene Marie Young, Editor and Community Information Specialist Distribution by Reliable Courier Kirk Terry, Staff Reporter Roger Taylor, Staff Reporter and Photographer Steve Varley, Staff Reporter and Photographer Joint Board of Commissioners Ralph Y. McClure, Chairman Phillip R. Blomquist Stephen Harmsen CoTUad Harrison Jennings Phillips William E. Dunn . . an unemployed miner, his wife and his seven children; or in seeing the ugly decay of urban tenements. "As one talks to families with small children who have 'water gravey' for breakfast, one is reminded of recent studies showing ditOF frQm y0UF courts sentenced children to hang for stealing. In 1828 New Jersey boy hanged a twelve-year-ol- d convicted of murder. We've come a long way in cases, we found most parents were deeply concerned and very responsible people. Counselors at the Center seem to also present a rather negative image to the youngsters. recognizing that treatment is more effective than punitive Many brag about their drinking ability, wild parties and other measures. We are also beginning to realize that diversion from the "off-hour- " reportedly juvenile justice system affords and betting among the In youth the early 1800's English a better chance for rehabilitation. In an look at the local juvenile court system, including the Salt Lake County Detention Center, we discovered th some startling shortcomings. First of all, a child is held in the Detention Center until a court hearing determines where the child should go - a group home, shelter home, foster home, ranch or State Industrial School. While we agree with the theory of a temporary detaining facility, the Center is, in reality, a jail for youngsters. One can easily imagine the fears and emotional frustrations on the part of both the youngster and hisher parents when a child is placed in detention. Uncertainty about the child's future, not just the immediate future, but the remainder of the child's life hangs over the heads of both the youngster and the parents. Personnel at the Center only add to these feelings. These were some of the observations made at the Center: a young boy of 9 or 10 crying and hanging on to his father, pleading for him not to leave at the end of visiting hours and being told by a young front desk attendant to, "be quiet, there's nothing wrong with you, did little to soothe the boy or his father; parents being treated rudely by Center personnel; inconsistent rules - on one occassion a brother could visit a young boy, the next time, no brothers allowed, this continued on and off through repeated visists over several weeks seeming to depend entirely on who was on duty; one person requesting appropriate books and magazines for the youngsters and when a parent brought several issues of a sport magazine for the Center, he was told "no magazines allowed." There are countless other examples but the major complaint of parents interviewed was the rudeness and impolite attitudes of Center staff. When exploring possible reasons for such attitudes, it was found many counselors had ideas and opinions about parents of "delinquents." Center staff seem to feel the majority of youngsters placed in detention were there because of irresponsible, uncaring parents. While this may be true in some activities. They encourage fighting youngsters, with one counselor making the boys in his section "do tricks" such as push-upetc., for a glass of lemonade. When a parent took homemade cookies to the Center for one of the sections, the counselors ate most of them before giving any to the children. The youngsters come away from a stay at the Detention Center with further bad feelings about "authority" and the s, "justice" system. Similar reports have come in relating to boy's ranches and group homes, complaints of personnel downgrading the parents to the child and refusing visitation privilages without cause. The Division of one year as a weekly community circulation aimed at 20,000 residents of the newspaper with a model neighborhood. Many changes have taken place during our first year. The newspaper started out at 4 pages and grew to an 8 page tabloid. Content changed from general articles on the Model City program to th problems, information on to create a channel of communication between residents and elected officials. Six awards were bestowed on the editor and the newspaper by the during the year and reprints of articles published in the newspaper were Utah Press Women requested by high schools, colleges, universities, other newspapers and television stations. Informal surveys indicated tremendous interest and support of the paper by model neighborhood residents and many living outside the Model City boundaries. Letters are received regularly, detrimental actions. are establishing mental health agency often involve themselves through court appointment and a countless examples have been collected on those departments and their inefficiency, lack of The Juvenile Court personnel often feel frustrated because of the lack of alternatives available for placement of youngsters, particularly those classified as "runaways" and "ungovernables." Industrial School The State in Ogden is referred to by juvenile authorities and educators as a "training school for Point of the Mountain" yet funds continue to keep it in operation. We applaud the efforts of the Juvenile Court judges in their attempts to improve the juvenile justice system and we are encouraged by reports of new funding coming into Utah for juvenile rehabilation programs. But until something is done about the attitudes and behavior of personnel hired to work with these young people, all the money in the world won't save the increasing number of children who are having trouble growing up in our complex, present-da- y society. Cit zen's Advisory Board. Each of the six With our last issue, the Model Neighborhood News celebrated a neighborhood councils will provide a representative to serve on this Board and there will be other residents appointed from the co m m u n i t y a t arge. Hopefully this will insure that we continue to serve the community in a meaningful and valid way. During our first year we were able to hire three part-tim- e staff members to serve as reporters and -- -- 1 Steve Varley, Roger Taylor and Kirk Terry. Their hours of hard work, sense photographers, of responsibility and creative talents have been deeply appreciated. They will be working even harder in our second year to keep you aware, informed and involved in what's happening in our community. Our distribution program has provided jobs for some thirty model neighborhood youngsters and three adult supervisors. We can boast of a high resident employment rate as only two of our entire staff and distribution program are Faron Ith, Model City Task Force Coordinator, foresaw the non-resident- After One Year I I j c services available and an attempt help and in some cases, Services and I studies of community complimenting our efforts. For all of this, we are proud and grateful. But we feel this is a good our work and time to ourselves to the task at hand. To increase citizen participation in the newspaper we Family f 1 s. Model Neighborhood News as a valuable source of information for Model City residents when he developed the idea and initiated the newspaper. When I came aboard July 1, 1971 I felt the same commitment to building an ? I r f j s |