SENIOR CITIZEN PROFILE

Tom Timmons, a 76 year old man, who resides in Harlem had a lot to share with me, when I asked him about Harlem back in the time of his youth. He said Harlem has changed a lot since then. "Change is the only thing that's permanent. There's nothing you can do about it, the population shifts. Years ago the blacks moved more uptown. After WWI they came to Harlem,"he said.

In his youth, Tom lived on 161 street, which he says used to be an Irish and Jewish neighborhood. It has definitely changed since then. Now, he says, there is a more mixed crowd in Harlem. Tom absolutely loves Harlem. He says that he couldn't imagine living anywhere else. "Harlem is home," he said. However he does notice a few problems with the community. Tom says, "We want less police brutality, less racial profiling, and want to see more kids getting an education."

"When I was coming up, you were trained for a professional carpenter, or something. I am a construction worker and a tailor. It's harder for teenagers today it seems than it used to be. There are so many distractions now, like drugs. They all seem to have fun rather than get an education. Everybody's not gonna be a basketball player or rapper, and if they do get the opportunity of becoming ones, the money that they will earn, they need to learn how to hold on to it, because other people may take it from them."

Tim went on, "Nowadays you got babies having babies. Kids get pregnant at 15-16 years of age, and they don't have a foundation built."

Tim remembers, "Things were cheaper before such as rents. You've got more homeless families now. I haven't seen so many young people homeless. The rents will be raised because of the big businesses moving to Harlem. The businesses will provide jobs, but they're low level jobs. Maybe the manager makes the highest salary. Businesses such as Old Navy gives young people jobs and training in the working market, but they need to stay in school and move onto bigger better positions. If you make a few hundred dollars a week, you can't support yourself with the high rents. You have to get a profession."

The conversation took a bit depressing lead, in the fact that there are a lot of problems with the community of Harlem now. However, first step in fixing the problems is recognizing the problems and the root that's causing them. We're past that stage, and something must be done to improve the community.

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