Positive Impact on Poor Neighborhoods in the City of Milwaukee

Poverty for a long time has been one of the major issues affecting the city of Milwaukee. The condition which is characterized by low economic ability has been a significant blockage on the city’s journey of economic prosperity and progress. Milwaukee is among the most segregated cities in the US, and the phenomena have been translated into more significant disparities and low financial standards of most people. The segregation means that most of the people living in poor conditions are incarcerated at a high rate ensuring the continuity of the poverty cycle.

Other implications of discrimination are seen in the poor school conditions in the poor neighborhoods and the extensive lack of jobs which ultimately result in poverty. The poverty levels in the neighborhoods have also affected the family structures as it has led to the incarceration of many heads of the families. The family members are forced to engage in criminal activities like stealing and selling drugs to provide for their families. Many programs for example neighborhood watch programs, after-school programs, and provision washing machines in schools have positively impacted the living conditions of the people living in poor neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Watch Programs

The programs have helped in fighting crime and ensuring a safer community. The programs are formed by interested neighbors who come together in the efforts to fight and reduce the high levels of crime in the neighborhoods. The groups which work closely with law enforcement agencies including the Milwaukee police department officers who help them understand the common crimes affecting the neighborhood, and the best ways to handle them (Haynes, 10). The groups also meet regularly to help which aid in the interaction between neighbors to help them know more about each other. The groups organize neighborhood activities; for example, they conduct neighborhood patrols together with the police officers and assessing the vulnerabilities of homes and businesses to help the owners set the necessary security measure. The groups host regular crime prevention training sessions for members of the community who play a great role in eradicating crime in the neighborhoods. The groups have emergency lines of communication that offer emergency help to victims of crimes which are efficient in the mitigation or complete prevention of the wrongdoing. The programs also detect and report suspicious people and activities to the police, therefore, enabling the city’s police department stop crimes early enough.

The programs also create awareness among the people living in the neighborhoods. The programs help in keeping the neighbors alert of their surroundings and ultimately safe. The environment is also improved and makes neighborhoods more welcoming and comfortable. The neighbors learn and know their neighbors’ schedules and are therefore able to keep an eye on their premises and detect unusual activities when they are not at home. The homes of people who go to work are possible targets of criminals during the day (Hegerty,1107).

Therefore, the neighbor’s knowledge of the owner’s schedule is of great importance in the detecting and prevention of the activities of these individuals. The programs are also instrumental in the fostering of good relationship in the community which helps them solve problems together. The good relationship between neighbors helps them perform tasks, for example, collect mail and watch children for each other when one is away. The programs, therefore, help in the attraction of more people to the neighborhood which improve its economic production reducing the poverty levels significantly.

Also, the programs help in shedding light on other critical issues facing the poor neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Issues like animal control, vehicle safety concerns and community relations are discussed in meetings organized by the programs. The different methods of community development are also discussed like the provision of backpacks for poor school children. The programs also hold neighborhood cleaning campaigns which help the community keep the streets clean and improve the sanitation levels. The programs also provide help to the adversely poor members of the community and provide them with assistance for example food, clothing, and health care. The programs also help in the development of good neighborhood spirit as the people discuss and solve the issues facing them together and each member contribute equally to solving the problem. The programs are also useful in the promotion of the sense of responsibility among the people living in the neighborhoods as they are engaged in ensuring the community’s wellbeing.

After School Programs

After schools’ programs help improve the academic performance of the children from poor neighborhoods. The programs improve the student’s behavior in and out of the classroom. The programs which include tuition for the kids help them improve in the areas they are weak academically. Therefore, the children are to improve in the areas from the additional learning which is translated in their performance in school. In a study conducted on the Milwaukee afterschool programs, a big percentage of the children attending afterschool programs improved their grades in subjects, for example, math and reading (Carnoy, 12).

Those that attended the programs more regularly stood a chance of gaining more as they were able to improve consistently becoming better students in the end. The students attending the programs also receive academic motivation from both the tutors and guests who frequently visit the programs to volunteer as both mentors and teachers for the children. The success of the individuals shows the kids the importance of education and motivate them to work hard in school which ultimately improves their grades. The programs also reduce the number of drop out cases as the students are taught the importance of education and are constantly surrounded by individuals who are successful and who value education.

The programs also reduce the likelihood of students engaging in destructive behaviors. The after-school programs provide the students with a wide range of activities that keep students occupied after school. The activities which include dancing, playing chess, basketball among others draw the youth to the program and reduces their exposure to destructive groups for example gangs, and bad company. The afterschool programs offer safe and peaceful environments for the youth to concentrate on school work and personal development. The programs are also estimated to help over 15000 children from poor neighborhoods every afternoon.

The programs are associated with reduced drug abuse among youths in Milwaukeean neighborhoods. They are also praised for the reduction of the crime rates in the neighborhoods as more youths are engaged after school and motivated to focus on their dreams instead of engaging in crime. The programs also encourage participation in physical activities and the application of healthy diet habits. The two have improved the health conditions of the children from a poor background in Milwaukee

The programs provide a conducive and safe environment for the children before their parents come back from work. The after-school programs in Milwaukee offer a temporally holding space for kids from the time they leave school in the afternoon to when their parents get home in the evening. The parents, therefore, worry less about the safety of their children and can put more hours in their work generating more income. A study showed that Milwaukeean parents in the poor neighborhoods work an additional eight working days a year which help them provide more for their families reducing the poverty levels of their households. The parents are also able to be more efficient and effective as they are not worried that their children will engage in destructive behaviors in their absence. Children are also safe and protected against malicious individuals who might take advantage of them while their parents are not around.

Provision Washing Machines in Schools

The provision of washing machines has increased school attendance by students from poor neighborhoods. Chronic absenteeism is one of the main challenges facing public schools in the city of Milwaukee (Johnson, and Crowe, 14). The absence may be brought about by many issues relating to the poverty levels of the families in the city’s neighborhoods. One of the main causes of the phenomena is the student’s lack of clean clothes to wear to school. The issue forces the students to skip many school days since they are too embarrassed to go to school wearing dirty clothes. Students especially teenagers prefer to stay home than go to school in dirty clothes. The provision of schools with washing machines has come a long way in increasing school attendance by children from poor neighborhoods. The students can now do their laundry in school which adds to the advantages of them going to school. Although some kids are still bound to miss school, the majority of students in the neighborhoods now attend school regularly.

The machines have also positively impacted the academic performance of students in public schools. Their confidence is boosted, and they can participate in class activities actively and freely interact with their peers. Teenagers are embarrassed if they know they are not clean and tend to keep to themselves and avoid group discussions and other helpful academic interactions. The discussions are crucial to their overall academic performance and therefore the presence of these machines the availability of the machines in school, Students can do their laundry and have clean pairs of aid in bettering their overall academic performance. The reduced absenteeism also means that the students maintain full class attendance. Therefore, the students do not miss out on important academic information shared by the teacher in class which ultimately result in good academic performance.

In addition to the above advantages, the machines foster a sense of responsibility and general cleanliness in the students. The students especially teenagers in public schools of Milwaukee do their laundry under the supervision of teachers or other volunteers for example parents. The students learn to do their laundry and do not depend on their parents to maintain their hygiene. The students are taught the importance of cleanliness and are provided with means to maintain their cleanliness. Peer pressure also has a positive impact in this case as it motivates the students to do their laundry since they feel embarrassed to come to school with dirty clothes. The students also learn from quite a young age the importance of cleanliness and how to maintain their hygiene by learning how to do their laundry while still in school. They also feel the need to wear clean clothes to school every day.

Conclusion

The development of neighborhood watch programs, afterschool tuition and engagement programs, together with the provision of washing machines in public schools have positively impacted the lives of the people living in poor neighborhoods of the Milwaukee City. The neighborhood watch programs have in a big way improved the security of the neighborhoods by actively participating in the reduction of crime. The programs have also created awareness in the communities in the neighborhoods and in making the environment more welcoming and comfortable. Neighborhood watch programs have also enabled the community to discuss and handle other issues that affect their wellbeing. The afterschool programs have also contributed much to the community’s wellbeing. The programs have greatly improved the children’s academic performance by offering tuition and other types of motivation.

They have also reduced the engagements of students especially teenagers in criminal and destructive activities like drug and substance abuse. Also, the programs offer a safe environment for the children to temporarily stay as they wait for their parents to come home from work. Provision of machines in public schools has greatly increased the attendance of children from poor neighborhoods which ultimately improved their academic performance. Moreover, the programs have been crucial in instilling the values of cleanliness and responsibility in the student as they strive to wear clean clothes to school every day.