South Oakland Update:
July 2009

(Sent to political representatives, media, community organizations, concerned individuals.)

Our grassroots movement wants to extend its gratitude to the non-profit organization YouthPlaces and to Lori Schaller, its executive director. YouthPlaces is now conducting a cleanup of South Oakland streets Monday through Friday, four hours a day and employing 12 at risk youths to do this cleanup. The cleanup began at the beginning of July and will be concluded at the end of July with the possibility of it extending another week or two.

The funding for this cleanup was acquired by Ms. Schaller for our community. This organization is first-class in every way - from its executive leadership to its supervisors to its youth workers. They certainly deserve the support of all of us.

It is now time for the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to make a long-term commitment to The SOUL Program and to our community. Is the leadership of Pitt and UPMC willing to embarrass themselves and our city to world leaders and the world media by not granting any support for such a program?

As you know, while Pitt administrators have said to our community “we have no money” for such a program, scam artists have stolen $65 million dollars from Pitt. If only $1 million of that money had been invested in our community, then we could have hired 10 at risk youth workers for 10 years to create a clean and healthy environment for Oakland.

Our movement also wants to thank those politicians who expressed support for our cause by saying that Pitt and UPMC should do more for our community. We understand their frustration when they tell us that they cannot force Pitt and UPMC to do more.

When universities and corporations do not fulfill their civic responsibilities then perhaps new laws have to be created on a city, state or federal level. Perhaps an IMPACT AID Law is needed whereby institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center would be legally required to provide greater support to the communities which they affect. Should resistance from Pitt and UPMC continue, then it is time to initiate such a law for our community and others like us.

Pitt has recently announced that it is raising tuition this coming year by $512 for in-state undergraduates and by $562 for out-of-state students in Oakland. Tuition will increase to $13,344 and $23,042 a year respectively. There are nearly 30,000 students at Pitt. If only $4 (Four Dollars) of that tuition was given to our community, then we could hire 10 at risk youth workers to pick up litter on our sidewalks and streets for an entire year, with an additional $20,000 for beautification projects.

Pitt and UPMC don’t need us to tell them where funding can be found to give more support to our community. This issue has always been about more than just money. It has been about caring more deeply for a community and having individuals take greater responsibility for their actions and the consequences of their actions.

Carlino Giampolo