3/24/2018 0 Comments Final Outing! - Friday (3/23/18)In the morning, we began the day with a trip to the Homefront main center. This space includes the organizational space and the office that organizes all of the operations that Homefront encapsulates. We began with an insightful tour of their office, hearing the history of Homefront’s efforts in the community. We were then led on a tour of the warehouse of the organization, which stocks and takes inventory for further distribution of the donations of furniture, food, and art supplies.
Our main purpose of being at the facility was to volunteer in the Sewing Space, which is similar in operation of the Art Space in the other campus we had explored earlier in the week. This donation-run artistic space serves to allow free expression of any feelings artists may experience. There are also teachers to educate the clients on how to sew, knit, and crochet. This offers endless possibilities with the acquisition of a new skill in a practical art, which often leads to an extra income for the clients, who can now sell their work, also granting a sense of fulfillment. I personally took great pleasure in sorting out donated fabrics while listening to the Lion King soundtrack with my new friends. The other members also noted their newfound tranquility while painting donated chairs. After we completed our service, we also were gifted greeting cards and small mementos as a token of appreciation for our efforts. Later that evening, we took a trip to the Trenton Public Library. This was an amazing opportunity because we were not just looking at books, but actually studying archives of Trenton’s historic past. I was personally marveled by the relics of this city, coming from a city of past industry, myself. My small city called Brownsville, Pennsylvania is strikingly similar in the structure and history of Trenton, so I was very intrigued to see patterns of immigration and the decline of the city’s hustle and bustle. We were shown various genealogy books from Trenton residents, allowing me to truly interpret the immigrant makeup of the city’s past residents, and when they moved around and eventually moved away. I also was astonished at the striking photographs of Trenton’s busiest streets from the 1800s to now, especially in the Roaring Twenties. One would think this was New York City by looking at the photographs and negatives, so this comparison to what we see now has only solidified the effects of gentrification in my view. I was quick to identify the new suburbs and white flight that took place in Trenton just by looking at the aerial photographs, also looking at the new infrastructure being placed throughout the city in order to facilitate the daily commute of the new suburbs. Gentrification is real and evident. It may not be seen in one day or one month, but it is a real phenomenon that is happening and detectable. Personally, this was one of my favorite activities we did. It has only made me want to pursue sociology more, so that I may understand how things like gentrification occur. – Brandon Dunlevy '21
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Trip DescriptionFounded in 1719, the city of Trenton, New Jersey has seen many community shifts throughout its history. These shifts continue today with Pace Center Community Partner In-Residence, Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen, lifting up "Unpacking Gentrification" as the focus for this year's First-Year Breakout Trip. Recent news reports describe gentrification as a dirty word in many urban neighborhoods across the country. This Breakout Trip is focused on learning what gentrification looks like and how it is positively and negatively affecting the Trenton community. Specifically, we aim to garner an understanding on how a sense of community can be maintained as the neighborhoods undergo this change. We look forward to engaging in discussions with government officials, community organizers, and city activists as we learn more about this increasingly prevalent issue. Categories |