This afternoon, I had a chance to take a look at the Pittsburgh-based blog, Love Front Porch. - http://lovefrontporch.com/
The photos and the personal stories of Vanessa German are indeed heart-wrenching, and heart warming. Homewood isn't exactly a part of the city I find myself in on purpose, given its propensity for violence and blight.
Ms. German does posit several reassuring qualities of the borough, and the personal stories she tells, compels the reader to have compassion and empathy for the plight of the neighborhood.
Sadly, however, Ms. German paints an unrealistic portrait of the impact of art in the area. While, yes, her contributions to the area are very real, and they certainly do change the lives of young people who could fall pratfalls to the culture of violence in the area, she does come up with a wild-eyed fantastic scenario about art replacing the Department of Defense.
The other problem I have with the site, is that it doesn't tell me why I should care about these kids. As someone who doesn't live in the borough, I need to know why I need to care about and donate my resources to these kids instead of other kids, perhaps ones more closer to my part of the city, or share a similar cultural background to me.
