Blog Action Day 08: Poverty in Camden

Back in September, I wrote about how I was signing up to participate in Blog Action Day 08. That day is now upon us. It's a day for people in the blog community to focus their efforts on one significant topic, this year being poverty.

I know that there is horrifying poverty throughout the world, but I wanted to focus today's post on something that I am affected by more personally. Camden, New Jersey. According to the 2006 census reports, 44% of Camden residents live below the poverty line. In 2004 and 2005, it was named the most dangerous city in America. The high school drop out rate is approximately 50%. 22% of families earn less than $10,000 a year.

I live ten miles down the road, and my husband, Rob, is a teacher in the Camden school district.

The stories he shares with me break my heart. He's had a number of students murdered. One girl, an innocent bystander, was shot by a stray bullet just a few weeks prior to graduation. He's also had a number of students arrested for murder. In his first month teaching, the cops came to his classroom to arrest a young man who committed a murder the previous night and had the gun on him in class. He has taught classes of "expectant mothers", ranging from 12th grade all the way down to 6th grade. He has had students in 12th grade that couldn't even write a complete sentence. His high school students were on average at a 4th grade reading level. He had students that he knew were living in their cars. He had one young man come to school with a soaking wet notebook, his only one, because he slept outside in the rain the night before. When giving some of his soccer players a ride home, he drives past drug deals, prostitutes, fights. The school facilities are far from great. There were times Rob didn't have enough desks or enough books. The bathroom's don't have soap. There are roaches. The water isn't drinkable. His soccer team doesn't have goals to shoot into.

I can't even wrap my brain around it. I honestly don't know how he goes to work each day. But he does. And he loves those kids. He strives to be a great role model and show them how important education is. I know that he will stay in this district as long as he can.

Nearly two years ago, 20/20 aired a special on the children of Camden, NJ. It was intense. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you check out this clip to get an idea of what this city is really like.

So what can be done? I'm sure it's complicated. I think raising awareness is the first step. Maybe the next step is donating time and money. Each Christmas, as a gift to each other, Rob and I donate to the Center for Family Services. CFS has 6 office locations, seven youth shelter facilities, Mother Child Residential, the Domestic Violence Safe House and more than 40 programs providing in-home, school and community outreach services. It's a wonderful program that could use the support.

Another fantastic organization in Camden is Urban Promise. It is "a Christian-based organization that seeks to equip Camden's children with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, spiritual growth and leadership."

I know that economic times are tough, but if you happen to have a few spare dollars in your wallet this month, I encourage you to visit these websites and see if either might be an organization to which you'd like to contribute. And please, even if you haven't officially signed up for Blog Action Day 08, maybe you'd like to write a little bit on your own blog, just to spread the word. You don't need to donate money to make a difference, so for more ideas on what one person can do in the fight against poverty, click here.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for taking action.

*The above photos were take by Rob during class field trips.