There Are No Children Here

When one feels like the whole world is against them, how can one succeed?  Coming out on top and being successful is a very difficult thing to achieve when one lives in the projects and has kids.  The book, THERE ARE NO CHILDREN HERE, focuses on the challenges a mom has to surpass while living in the projects and raising her children in that environment.  These projects, did not always begin as such, the neighborhood began as a nice community to having criminal activity such as gangs.

When Lajoe Rivers and her family moved into the Henry Horner Homes, they were very well maintained.  The Henry Horner Homes were known for their clean hallways, crisp painted walls, and even had flowers outside the building.  The community was also thriving.  There were new playgrounds, well kept baseball fields, and girl scouts going door to door.  As time progressed, the quality of life in the area sharply declined.  The building was not being maintained, tenants were breaking into each other’s apartments, elevators were broken, hallways were dirty, pipes were frozen, and grass outside was non-existent.  The garbage would constantly overflow due to the overcrowding that was present in the Henry Horner Homes.  All of these factors combined led to an increase of violence in the community.  

Raising children in this environment adds multiple challenges in their upbringing.  Children that are raised in the projects only see this way of life and often times have no other role models.  Due to this, these children aspire for this way of life and to be like the gangs   In There Are No Children Here, Lafayette’s friend Bird Leg joined a gang. The kids in these communities often admire the gangs for their ability to survive, and they soon realize that if they want to survive themselves, they need to grow up fast.  These children often times adapt to their surroundings, and in the projects that results in a life filled with crime and violence.  One prime example of this adaptation occurred on Lafayette’s birthday.  Pharaoh was walking back from school when gunfire erupted right next to him.  Pharaoh took the initiative of stopping to take the time and acknowledge where the gunfire was coming from before running away.  If he would not have done that he would have ran towards the gunfire and probably have gotten shot.  I know if I was in that situation I would have just ran and would have no idea what to do.

that surround them.

Those individuals living in the projects do not even feel safe in their own homes.  The presence of gunfire and bullets is one that they know all to well and is something that should not be considered ordinary.  Raising kids in the projects is very difficult since more often than not, they fall victims to violence.  Drop out rates in the projects are extremely high because most of the children stop going to school in order to sell drugs or join gangs.

The gang violence has changed significantly over the years.  I feel as if gangs back in the day originated in an effort to contribute to their communities.  The Latin Kings and the Gangster Disciples both began with hopes of protecting their people.  They were very well structured organizations that would help out those in their community that were in need. I feel as if the street gangs that are originating in present time do not follo  Due to this, these street gangs have many foot soldiers fighting over turf on a daily basis as to not lose their control.  This is one of the main reasons why the projects are over run by so much violence.  These gang members fight against each other and hurt people in the community.  They also commit acts that indirectly hurt their communities.  One common example is with business owners in these neighborhoods.  These storeowners are often charged a fee by the gangs in order for ‘protection,’ this ‘protection’ simply allows these owners to keep their businesses operating. One of the more interesting facts I believe is how Professor Weffer stated that most gang members in today’s times have college degrees.  I believe this is interesting because you would expect many of these operations to be more organized.  Although, I could see many of the older organizations as well as the cartels requiring individuals to have college degrees to further their business.

w the same rules and are not as well structured as the older gangs once were. Many of these street gangs are motivated by money and power.

In all, these neighborhoods where gang activity is present, is nowhere to raise children much less live.  These neighborhoods present individuals with more difficulties when trying to be successful.