After an amazing week with the high school group from Valley Springs Presbyterian Church in Roseville, I am reminded how great it is to have extra volunteers to love and play with children in Deep East Oakland.  If you are 16 or over and are interested in spending an afternoon (really just 12-3) at the Shalom Community Center, give me a shout!  You'll have a great time.  The summer will be over soon. 
 
Block Party! 07/27/2009
 

We had an amazing Block Party in our neighborhood on Saturday.  Our NCPC (Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council) for Police Beat 27X is called Melrose High Hopes.  It was our seventh annual Block Party, and my first.  Kayla helped me collect signatures from neighbors to get clearance from the City of Oakland to block off the street from traffic.  We met some wonderful and eclectic neighbors for the first time.  Our Block Party had live R&B and Hip Hop Music, hundreds of hot dogs and sodas, face painting, the bug people, ideas for green living, arts and crafts booths and much more. Damon Snyder contributed at the bike booth by repairing a series of bikes owned by children and adults.  It was great to see people come together for a good cause, for our neighborhood.  We'll post pictures soon.

 
 

There have been some intriguing articles in the Oakland Tribune and SF Chronicle recently regarding Deep East Oakland.  This article asks where the public outrage is for the innocent 16 year old who was shot while being dropped off at his house by some friends.  They got caught up in a sideshow and shots were fired into their vehicle.  The comments on these kinds of articles are fascinating.  Who do we blame?  The shooter seems to be an obvious target, but there's always the Deep East in general to blame, the family, the police, the sideshow, poverty, school system, etc.  In any case, this article  does make me question why I wasn't outraged and stunned when I read the original story on the shooting.  Do you just get numb to it when it is the reality around you?  Are there ways to cope while staying passionate about peace and safety for our young people?