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If you get a sense of deprivation, the end of Richmond, Virginia pint. But look closer and see the change

The east end of Richmond, Virginia, is a community rich in men, but unfortunately the poor otherwise. It's like any other inland city in the United States. It is very similar to the poor section of Jersey City, where he was born and raised. As in the days of Jim Crow racial segregation and class is real these days is amplified by gentrification disguised as "reconstruction", with the white pieces to take over the eastern part abandoned because theft of the 1960 White .

public schools here are woefully underfunded and in disrepair. There are several schools of grammar, but only a high school, suggesting that most of these children have no real opportunity for the university, let alone high school. Bags of violence, crime and garbage disposal dominate the population, which has the highest concentration of social housing south of the city of New York.

of Jackson, Mississippi, at the end of the Richmond is also the largest social housing in the United States, with some families in its fifth generation in public housing. The average income of people living in social housing with names like Mosby Court is just over $ 8,000 per year. A community tour reveals the city jail, the courthouse and jail grouped under one entry in the eastern end. In this neighborhood the other way, you pass a cemetery and a landfill. Brutal reminders that children from the front face is, if a training plan for their lives.

There is only one grocery store, but an excess of grocery stores, fast food chains, liquor stores and push their products. "Food Desert" has been used to describe areas such as the end of Richmond. No wonder diabetes, hypertension and other diseases dominate this community, too.

In one afternoon, Monday to Friday, does not lie in the corners, on the steps, many unemployed or underemployed, unemployed, save up some low-skilled labor, here or there. Drugs are rampant, and other criminal activities related to economic distress are the norm. Only 45% of adults over 25 have a high school diploma or equivalent and the unemployment rate in the East End is 40%, four times the national average.

I was struck by the integrity of staff, board members and donors, and the fact that some of them are Democrats, Republicans, some poor some super-rich, some black and white, united by a common cause here in Virginia, once an important place in Confederation. Peter Paul speaks to the best of who we are as Americans, and what is possible if there was less talk and more action, if it is less finger pointing and more problem solving.
The center serves children, families and seniors through a variety of comprehensive programs. I witnessed students who receive their daily meals and tutoring for various subjects. I witnessed the love and respect of these children are often absent from the brightest, the most famous of which have much bigger budgets and the attention of President Obama. However, many do not have what Peter Paul, a soul, I believe, a long-term commitment to our children - with or without the revolving door to the attention of celebrities and supporters of big money.