(originally written for INtake weekly - 10/15/2007)

Kudos to Indianapolis Star reporter Matthew Tully for his piece on the Phoenix (formerly the Meadows) Apartments. I came across this piece the other day, and it gave me something to think about. I didn't really know too much about this apartment complex until reading his article. I did, however, know that areas like this exist in our city. It's kind of sad how used to them or blind to them we've all become.

So what do we do about something like this? The comments on Tully's article are chock full of suggestions, one of which is just to close/burn down/get rid of the apartment complex, forcing the tenants to go somewhere else. I guess the thinking behind this is that it will cause them to look for some higher quality of life. Um, yeah - I don't see that happening. Likely what then happens is the people living there will simply find their way elsewhere, and the crime will find it's way elsewhere... whether it's to another neighborhood, someone else's house, or even to the street. I've seen people living on the street that are content living there, because life is about survival for them. And that's where they know how to survive.

I think the biggest obstacle to the people that live in the Phoenix getting out of there or getting into a different lifestyle is themselves. They've grown up there, likely - amidst crime and poverty, where the goal is simply to survive. What do you think happens when a young unwed mother that doesn't really know how to take care of a baby has one? That baby grows up not knowing any other way of life either, and the situation perpetuates itself, just like any other. Just get through life, any way that you can - whether you need drugs, prostitution, or some other dangerous "aid" to do that. These are the aids that are readily available.

So what's the solution to the problem? We have crime running rampant in this part of our city. Do we just sit back and let it happen? Do we try to make it go away by kicking these people out of their homes and hoping they "fix it" for themselves? (All the while knowing/ignoring the fact that that really isn't all that likely.) I don't think the solution is an easy one, or a fast one. In fact, I think it's a "one person at a time" type of solution. Changing people's attitudes about their lives isn't something that happens just like that. There's no quick fix to the problem.

The only way for the situation to really change in the long run is for people to make different choices about their lives. And with support, some people will do that. Others never will. But that doesn't mean they get abandoned to rot in their crime and poverty - because that won't ever solve anything. The city (as a system and as individuals) needs to stop glossing over problems like this and take them on instead - one step at a time, whether that means revitalizing the neighborhood, cracking down on the crime there instead of fearing it, or just paying more attention to the people there in general. Because they are people - same as those that live in the suburbs. And as people, I believe we all have a duty to look out for each other. Because really - that's all we've got.