20/20 Camden (Mount Ephraim: hospital, school, art)

[mike0421]

Originally Posted by njkate

In a word in your particular case and as a mother myself....NO!!
Camden is rough for even the most street smart urban kid

I agree Kate. As a father of two, I'd let someone else's children fall prey to some social experiment. Some of those who are most idealistic from a societal standpoint are the same parents who personally wouldn't let their children within a mile radius of the boundary of Camden.

[njkate]

Originally Posted by mike0421

I agree Kate. As a father of two, I'd let someone else's children fall prey to some social experiment. Some of those who are most idealistic from a societal standpoint are the same parents who personally wouldn't let their children within a mile radius of the boundary of Camden.

When my oldest was in HS he was selected for peer counseling with inner city kids at a camp in Blairstown. The kids were from Jersey City..I allowed it because it was not actually in Jersey City and also because even though we lived in Morris County my son had wide exposure to Jersey City as that is where I was from and still had relations & friends living there.....wasn't a culture shock to him

[I'mSoPhilly]

Originally Posted by roogie

My kids have a chance to go with a group to work for the week at Urban Promises. We live on a small island on the opposite coast and they have not been exposed to urban envirnoments. I lived in NJ a LONG time ago, and am getting varying information about Camden. Would let your child work there for a week? If so, any advice on how to prepare them?
Thanks SO much!

i don't see what the harm would be in allowing your children to take part in a wonderful opportunity such as this. i'm pretty sure your children will not be left alone to fend for themselves in the city... they'll be supervised and guarded. i think it'll be good for your children to see how other people who are less fortunate than they are live, help open their minds... maybe they'll have an even greater appreciation what they have. go to the urban promises website and read up on others who have volunteered for the program.

[cyntmac]

Dude,
JBrown or whoever you are. That was totally uncalled for. I lived in JC in 1997 and was in that area for almost my entire adult life up to that point. But you can post whatever you wish. That was off topic and uncalled for. My family living outside of the northeast has nothing to do with this topic. I think you lack common sense in every sense of the word.

And no that did not clear anything up.

What kind of group it is would obviously make the difference. Any responsible parent would know all about that before considering this, right?

[cyntmac]

Oh and by the way- I have recently moved again and it is none of your business where. I posted that information on a thread where it was appropriate. It would not be appropriate here.

You can say you currently live in the east but it might be false and there is no way to check up. This is just a web board.

Posters who give personal info on every thread are suspect. Many posters here claim to live in Camden, JC, Harlem, Newark, etc and most are certainly trolls. There is no way to know for sure in any case. These threads frequently contain false info- which IS checkable to be sure. There seems to be more false info posted on this forum than on any of the other state forums I have visited. I doubt many of the OP's are for real but people on here are nice enough to respond anyway. Keep that it mind.

[jerseycity79]

Originally Posted by cyntmac

Oh and by the way- I have recently moved again and it is none of your business where. I posted that information on a thread where it was appropriate. It would not be appropriate here.

You can say you currently live in the east but it might be false and there is no way to check up. This is just a web board.

Posters who give personal info on every thread are suspect. Many posters here claim to live in Camden, JC, Harlem, Newark, etc and most are certainly trolls. There is no way to know for sure in any case. These threads frequently contain false info- which IS checkable to be sure. There seems to be more false info posted on this forum than on any of the other state forums I have visited. I doubt many of the OP's are for real but people on here are nice enough to respond anyway. Keep that it mind.

I'm not too sure if this is a suggestion that I was not honest in my post. But, if more information is needed, I worked at DUE Season Charter School in Camden, 1000 Atlantic Ave. Right off Mount Ephraim Ave attached to Virtua Hospital.

[cyntmac]

I was responding to the other poster but you should think twice about posting too much personal info here. Even if your motivation is pure it is a double edged sword.
That is off topic again for this thread but just thought I'd mention that.
If you know this is a great group go ahead and post about it here.

[cyntmac]

I don't believe in social experiments for the most part either. I think they are frequently attempts at keeping the populace in their place all the while pretending to be a helping hand. That is the angle I look at first because motivation/mission is usually camoflaged in some form.

On the other hand sometimes you can ignore the big picture when people are really needing help. At least for the short term.

[jerseycity79]

Originally Posted by cyntmac

I don't believe in social experiments for the most part either. I think they are frequently attempts at keeping the populace in their place all the while pretending to be a helping hand. That is the angle I look at first because motivation/mission is usually camoflaged in some form.

On the other hand sometimes you can ignore the big picture when people are really needing help. At least for the short term.

Absolutely, there are many that just need some extra help. But, the problems in Camden are deeper than just that. There is so much money being poured into this community. Part of the problem is that the money is not reaching the right people due to corruption. But, I do agree with what you stated above.

[cyntmac]

I don't usually use the word corruption because it is like a sort of "go-to" word and can mean different things. People who are native to the northeast especially tend to like that word and use it to cover all bases instead of articulating what they actually mean.

People sometimes knowingly participate in those "corrupt" practices for short-term gain. It is our system at work. That they can be looked at as victims of corruption is sometimes questionable for that reason. We inherit circumstances and we are victims of that as much as "corruption" which people on all rungs of the economic ladder participate in to some degree or another.