The new Market Square escort policy highlights how Pittsburgh youth are set up for failure by solutions that mask problems rather than address the source (“Minors need adult supervision in Market Square under new Pittsburgh policy,” May 5, TribLive).
Downtown is home to four high schools. Three — City High, Passport Academy and Urban Pathways — are charter schools, consisting of 86% minority students, and 90% are economically disadvantaged. When you consider these numbers, it draws a clear picture of who it is the city is trying to keep out of Market Square.
Has the mayor’s office visited these schools, sat with the students, listened to staff to try to understand the root of the problem?
Downtown lacks productive after-school activities. What youth need is opportunity to be a part of the sports teams, universities, libraries, parks and museums in Pittsburgh. Let’s see the mayor’s office work with these stakeholders to create programming. We need free opportunities that benefit the underserved community right here in town.
This is not farfetched. In New York, city-funded programs offer meals, STEM and tutoring. In Philadelphia, Community Evening Resource Centers provide free, safe spaces for nightly activities like photography, cooking, yoga and video-gaming classes.
The problems will disappear overnight. After-school activities are one part of a larger picture. This is a place that could meet immediate needs while also helping to break the cycles that keep too many young people from moving forward.
The biggest investment the city can make is in the youth. All of Pittsburgh will benefit if we do.
Sara-Summer Oliphant
South Park