A while back, a guy from Portland (thanks David) told me about a book that highlights the story of a Memphis kid who grew up in the face of poverty and went on to become a great football player, with the help of a wealthy family from the suburbs who took him in and basically raised him - you might have heard about it ;)
My friend also mentioned that the kid in the story came from a housing project called "Hurt Village", which immediately made me perk up because "Hurt Village" is the housing project that once stood just blocks from our house in what is now called Uptown. So, I immediately found a copy of the book and went on to discover the inspiring story of a kid who grew up walking the streets that I now see outside my window every day.
Since then, the book has become a movie, and now and Hollywood blockbuster.
I love the story.
I hate that it had to happen the way it did.
The story of Michael Oher in "The Blindside" reminds us that we have reached the point where there are some neighborhoods so neglected that a boy who grows up in one of those neighborhoods must be "rescued" from that neighborhood and placed in another one to thrive.
I think it forces us to ask the question - Should anyone have to be rescued from their own neighborhood to make it in life? To be safe? To be loved?
I'm all for rescue operations, but I like the idea of restoration a whole lot better. A rescue implies that the condition that is left behind isn't any better than it was prior to the rescue. Restoration is the process of transformation. Restoration means creating schools where every child can be nurtured and developed. It means creating structures where families aren't constantly afraid of being the victim of a crime each time they step outside of their house. It means investing in neighborhoods that haven't seen new investment in decades.
I love the story of Michael Oher and the family that took him in, but the reality is that there are thousands of other kids just like Michael Oher walking around Memphis at this very moment. The only difference is that they will never be "adopted" by a wealthy family from across town. They will never be "rescued" from the depths of poverty, crime, and despair - at least not by a single family.
But...what if there was a serious strategy for community restoration? Just imagine what would happen if we decided to give the thousands of "Michael Oher's" walking around Memphis today access to the best education possible, access to affordable housing, a safe place to live, and access to jobs for their families. What would happen if an entire community was equipped to support the growth of a child? I think we would find entire communities of people who no longer need to be rescued in order to survive. This strategy probably wouldn't result in story lines dramatic enough to build a Hollywood blockbuster around, but I'd trade in a good movie for a good community any day.
So, maybe it's time for a new strategy.
I think we're long past time to be relying solely on rescue operations.
