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The majority of the children involved with EVO are not involved in any other type of structure program. Most of them are African American and come from single parent homes. The parent(s) need to work and often have limited resources to provide quality child-care when school is not in session. The children and youth in the area need a safe place to call their own, learn and have fun. EVO provides this place for them, both with our trained staff and ongoing programs. The population served in all of the targeted communities is perdominantly low to moderate-income levels (LMI). All of the children served come from communities that have been designated Community Redevelopment Areas (CRA). Garfield is an area that has seen a population decline since the 1970's due to the steel mill closings. The result is that 93% of the Garfield population is below poverty level. Lawrenceville is part of the 16:62 Design Zone. Design Zone is a program funded by the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development and in part through the Urban Redevelopment Authority. East Liberty is an area that saw decline over hte last 20 years, specifically when the Sears Corporate Headquarters withdrew from the Penn Circle location and has been designated a Weed and Seed community. Friendship and Bloomfield are surrounded by the three above areas; these neighborhoods are also being impacted by the socio-economic decline of the areas. All of these communities have seen a decline in the educational learning of the children living in the neighborhoods. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette in the August of 2003, Ft. Pitt Elementary, Friendship Academy, Woolslayer Elementary, and Arsenal Middle School had more than 50% of their students score below profieciency level in both reading and math. Statistics indicate that 3 out of 4 African American children are below the national level of proficiency in both reading and math. Other concerns that follow the continual decline in academic progress is that public schools in the area struggle to provide quality, individualized education because of the large class sizes and hte varying academic abilities of hte children. Many families have requested tutoring for their children but because they do not qualify under 'The No Child Left Behind' program nor do they have any economic means of reimbursement, they have not been able to receive the needed support. Additionally, the children also spend a significant amount of time unsupervised while their parent(s) are at work.
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Copyright
© 2006-07 Earthen Vessels Outreach |
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