Do for ourselves

We have been allowing others to take care of Philadelphia for us, forgetting that this is our home. To make every neighborhood good to live in, we must become active through neighborhood organizations, churches, as individuals, and most of all as families.

Neighborhood organizations can help by organizing groups to clean streets, paint graffiti walls, repair what's needed, and set up Town Watches. They also can gather up the youth to show them what they should do and, together with parents, make sure they stick to it.

Most churches have youth organizations, children's and parents' groups, which also could become active in neighborhood cleanups. It would give children something to do, boost spirits, show everyone what good they can do.

As individuals and family members, we have to take control and assume more of a responsibility to ourselves, our children and our children's children. We must show the way. If children see their own family participate in bettering the community, they'll appreciate things around them, rather than take them for granted.

Margie Fuentes
Feltonville

Promote unity

The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations should take the lead on neighborhoods.

First, it needs to be augmented in staff and given more responsibility to track neighborhoods in transition because that's where the new open-area drug bazaars appear. It should watch neighborhoods that were once all of one race or ethnicity being mixed by new ethnicities or race and where the people who first start to panic and sell their homes.

As this process starts, disunity dissolves the leadership needed to tackle problems. When the big problem - drugs - shows up, you have a bunch of neighbors who don't know each other because they didn't have the courage to make a new friend or acquaintance. When drug dealers sense this, they move in and take over.

Human Relations has the proven track record of dealing with groups of different people and helping to build partnerships in neighborhoods in transition. We need this service from the city administration. We, as a city, are too divided, and unity is the key.

Jose de Leon
Castor Gardens

Focus on housing

Some thoughts on improving Philadelphia's neighborhoods:

Start an active homesteading program, with a minimum of political/city involvement, and no limit on income.

Stop dumping every homeless shelterin Germantown and Penn/Knox.

Get PHA out of Fairmount, and use the money it gets to build new housing in North Philadelphia.

Turn empty acres in North Philadelphia into gated industrial and office parks, so people can walk to work instead of taking the bus to Valley Forge or Fort Washington.

PHA and HUD: Admit past errors and get out of Southwark and Mantua, and let the private sector take over. Turn as many PHA projects into cooperative ownership, and let the tenants feel they have something to gain by keeping their buildings in good condition.

Develop Germantown Avenue's historic structures as a tourist attraction and develop a historic corridor from Germantown to Chestnut Hill.