Cambridge's Area Four: Poverty Tinged With Hope

From their vartage point in Harvard Square, many would consider Cambridge a city of affluence and majesty.

Cambridge is home to the nation's two most prestigious universities. It is moving into the 21st century as the home to dozens of fledgling biotechnology companies. Pedestrians walking along Brattle Street would soon find themselves among million-dollar homes complete with automatic lawn sprinklers and personal security units.

But just beyond the gates of Harvard, past the view of the Square and closer to the heart of Cambridge, one would see a much different scene.

A 10-minute walk down Mass. Ave. toward Central Square would place a pedestrian in Area Four, the poorest neighborhood in Cambridge.

Area Four's unemployment is double that of the rest of the city. Its median family income is about 70 percent the city's average. Minorities comprise 52 percent of the population, as compared to Cambridge's 18 percent overall.

But statistics often fail to paint an accurate picture of life. A visitor to Area Four would soon discover an area whose residents are full of pride, optimistic about the future and eager to make their mark on the world.

Many residents complain about common stereotypes of this lower-income neighborhood which are perpetuated by individuals who have never toured Area Four themselves.

Within Area Four, several groups and organizations have sprung up to rekindle the sense of community which residents say is implicit in the neighborhood's tradition.

"It makes poverty even worse that there's these huge class differences," says Lili Allen, director of the Cambridge Community Services (CCS) which serves Area Four.

"But on the other hand," Allen says, "education is highly valued in the American Dream, and education can transcend inner-city violence, guns, substance abuse and single-parent families."

From music and drama courses to SAT preparation classes, from family dinners to weekend retreats and summer camps, organizations in Area Four seek to expose residents to the opportunities they might pursue in life.

"After school, they don't have the Girl Scouts, the voice and piano lessons to go to, because the parents just can't afford it," says Moacir C. Barbosa, director of the Area Four Youth Center. "So here's a good place to give them that exposure."

Barbosa's Youth Center

Barbosa, whose youth center is located on Prospect Street, looks out at the neighborhood surrounding him.

After grassroots campaign, the Cambridge City Council in 1993 allocated $2.9 million to construct the center, which serves neighborhood children from nine to 19 years of age.

The center's bright yellow banisters and red framed windows contrast with some of the unkempt homes in Area Four. The center's facilities include a computer room, kitchen, indoor gym, game room, study room and outdoor basketball courts.

Before the center was built, Barbosa remembers the site as an empty park.

"There wasn't anywhere for kids to go and so it was easy to see why they were hanging out in the street," says Barbosa, who is affectionately called "Mo" by local children.

Aside from offering basketball leagues, preparation for the SATs, resume workshops and educational courses, the center teaches students how to cope with problems such as racism, drug use and health-related issues.

Young women convene each Monday for "Ladies' Night" activities. About 100 children use the center during the winter each day, while good summer weather cuts daily attendance to 60 to 80.

Barbosa, who was hired as director in November, says the center's mission is to involve students in different things and to keep them off the streets.

Area Four's population is largely Haitian, Latino, Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean, according to Barbosa. Eastern European immigrants, especially from the Czech Republic, have also begun moving to Area Four recently.

In an area where over 30 percent of children live in single-parent families, the center takes on the role of parent by sponsoring Friday night dinners.

"We realized that kids weren't eating on Friday nights because their mom and dad were either out or working and the kids just accepted that as normal," Barbosa says. "That's just ridiculous."

The youth center, Barbosa says, helps students cope with problems of poor self-esteem, neglect and emotional or behavioral problems.

Area Four has the highest unemployment rate in Cambridge, 10.8 percent according to 1990 census data, and one of the lowest median family incomes of about $27,000.

A six year-old child bursts into Barbosa's office, complaining about one of the older children bothering him. "Call him in," Barbosa says.

A minute later, a wiry 13 year-old strolls into the office and leans on Barbosa's desk, ready to accept whatever sermon Barbosa metes out.

"So you're 13 years old; you have to take some responsibility," Barbosa says to the embarrassed youngster. "C'mon, I know you can do it," he adds with a smile.

Turning back to the guest, Barbosa remarks that the disruptive teenager is very interested in chess. He did well in the last tournament the center sponsored and is expected to do well once again in next week's tournament.

"He had watched chess before but never really played," Barbosa said. "And here, he discovered that he was really good at it. I guess that's what we're trying to do here."

"It's as they say, 'If you can't bring Moses to the mountain, bring the mountain to Moses,'" he says.

Correia: A Future Filmmaker

Marlon Correia, 16, is a junior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School who started visiting the center because he knew Barbosa.

"I hang out here a lot," Correia says. "There's many problems out there so I'm usually here to stay out of trouble, like [having] someone pick a fight with you."

Sitting in the back of the youth center's kitchen, munching on chips and drinking soda to the music of "Pocahontas" playing on the TV in the front, Correia talks about working on his latest project at the center.

Barbosa picked Correia and three others to produce an anti-drug education video. Correia says he has been taking classes at the center on how to use the equipment.

"I took some classes in my freshman year at Rindge and Latin High School," says Correia. "But I forgot everything because they didn't let us use the equipment. Here they do."

Correia speaks excitedly about including footage of different scenes around the neighborhood and interviewing Rindge and Latin basketball players, too. At the suggestion to include some background music, Correia nods but adds, "I have to check with the other people I am working with; I can't just go ahead and add the music."

Correia is thinking about attending college after his senior year of high school. His choice, he says, is the result of exposure to the college counseling resources available at the youth center.

"I can always ask for help here," he says.

The Margaret Fuller House

On the corner of School and Cherry Streets, just a short walk from the Central Square subway station, sits the 95 year-old Margaret Fuller House.

Frances J. Smith Pierce, a member of the house's board of directors, proudly recalls that the neighborhood's rich history is reflected in the community center, where Malcolm X and Martin Luther King once visited and spoke.

Before becoming the community youth center, the house was the headquarters for a chapter of the Black Panther Party, according to Iona S. Nze, executive director of a neighborhood housing corporation.

Posters of African-American luminaries like artist Paul Robeson and cancer researcher Shirley Ann Jackson now grace the building's walls to inspire youths.

Virginia Gold, a director of CCS programs and an employee at the Fuller House, says the house caters to "kids of the African diaspora." Payments for day care are adjusted according to financial need.

The afterschool program lasts from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. each weekday and includes an evening meal.

Under the tutelage of students from the Academics for Changing Times Corps (ACT), youngsters boisterously engage in stimulating hands-on projects.

The Fuller House projects a homey atmosphere. When people walk into the foyer, they encounter a large water container filled with pennies for an equipment fundraiser.

Students talk eagerly of asking their parents for pennies or finding pennies on the walk home so they can contribute their part. Every small copper coin now takes on profound significance.

Radiating the feel and noise of any other daycare center, the children are teasingly playful to each other and to the ACT teaching volunteers.

Children complete homework, play with drums and tear around the room. Then five minutes later, they change their minds for some other activity that they have deemed more exciting.

But sometimes the children get too excited. After ignoring repeated pleas by Tamika, the self-appointed leader of the ACT Corps volunteers, to put away their homework and to stop dawdling at the chalkboard, her voice takes on a harsher tone.

"Now I know I said this in English, but if you guys are having trouble understanding...." Tamika lets her voice trail off and puts up her hands with a combination of attitude and nonchalance.

After some semblance of order reappears in the room, Tamika explains the afternoon's project: growing sensitivity plants in small egg-carton containers. Tamika explains that each child can take his sensitivity plant home if it sprouts into fruition.

"It is up to you how your plant grows," she says.

When Tamika explains that the sensitivity plant is so named because it closes when you touch it, one young child cries out, "That's phat!" combining her childish wonder with hip street slang.

Students discuss how to care for their plants and collect money for the penny drive. Then the tantalizing aroma of macaroni and cheese wafts up the stairs and the children eagerly line up for dinner downstairs.

Nze says the children mainly come from working and single-parent families. Parents want their children to partake of the center's musical and dancing classes, she says.

Because most of the families are near the poverty level, some of their fees are subsidized, according to Nze.

Noting that an increasing number of residents are immigrants, Nze stresses their desires for upward mobility.

"When you come here from another country, you have great appreciation for everything," she says. "The emphasis is on getting the best, and that means Harvard, that means MIT. For Cambridge families, it definitely means attending one of the two big schools."

Lili Allen: Counselor

Lili Allen, the director and spokesperson of the non-profit CCS, works with many of Cambridge's less fortunate residents every day.

Allen informs residents about the social services available in Cambridge. She also writes grant proposals and directs youth employment and education programs.

She is especially proud of the school-to-work partnership she has established with Rindge and Latin High School.

Because many students speak languages in addition to English, they are attractive candidates for interpreters. The Cambridge Hospital Network also hires many students for laboratory work.

Because the program helps students understand a connection between education and the real world, Allen says she believes it is a "tremendous success."

"We have a student in the program who didn't think she'd go to college and now she is," Allen says. "Then we have a student who's already been accepted to MIT."

But not every case is successful. Allen relates with sorrow the tale of a teenage boy who had to take two jobs to help his linguistically-impaired parents pay living expenses.

The sleep-deprived youngster's grades soon slipped. When the teacher called home to express concern about the tendency to sleep during class, his parents beat him for bringing shame upon the family, she says.

Kovacev: Self-Sufficiency

Jo Anne E. Kovacev, director of Cambridge's Parent to Parent program, focuses on helping disadvantaged residents and immigrants.

Parent to Parent matches Cambridge residents with their disadvantaged neighbors, helping them adjust to life in a suburban residential setting.

Mentors might invite the family out for social gatherings, or simply tell them where the nearest laundromat or the best bagel store is located, according to Kovacev.

The partnership is designed to last one year, but some residents feel confident enough to leave the program after six months, she says.

Kovacev says further assistance could be provided by addressing affordable housing, welfare reform and welfare-to-work transitional assistance.

She says her goal is to help families become self-sufficient by finding employment and housing in the city.

"Working with the homeless has really opened my eyes to realize that many people are just a paycheck away from being homeless, too," she says.

But despite the obstacles faced by many residents of Area Four, Kovacev praises them for their resilient and upbeat attitude.

It would be easy to give up. But in keeping with Area Four's character, many residents have dealt with their setbacks, bounced back and kept on moving.

"Cambridge has more community resources than most other cities," Kovacev says. "And its needy families have a lot of coping skills and work hard to keep their families together."

The Economics of CambridgeArea Four is a mere 10 minutes from Harvard Square, yet economic demographics reflect a wider disparity. These statistics represent the median family income, percentage of families below the poverty level and the percentage of labor force unemployed in Area Four and throughout Cambridge.Jenny M. Fu, Joshua J. SchankerCrimsonCity  Income  Poverty  UnemploymentEast Cambridge  $37,013  2.8%  6.0%MIT/Area 2  25,000  13.0  3.2Wellington-Herrington  32,615  8.6  6.5Area 4  26,836  18.6  10.8Cambridgeport  32,432  6.9  5.7Mid-Cambridge  50,272  3.5  3.7Riverside  32,746  9.9  4.4Agassiz  55,407  1.1  4.0Area 9  52,721  4.8  5.0Area 10  73,300  2.7  2.6North Cambridge  37,236  9.7  6.1Highlands  43,214  0.0  4.6Straw. Hill/Mt. Auburn  35,357  7.9  7.3Average for Cambridge  39,990  7.2  5.2Source: Cambridge Community Development Departmen

Barbosa's Youth Center

Barbosa, whose youth center is located on Prospect Street, looks out at the neighborhood surrounding him.

After grassroots campaign, the Cambridge City Council in 1993 allocated $2.9 million to construct the center, which serves neighborhood children from nine to 19 years of age.

The center's bright yellow banisters and red framed windows contrast with some of the unkempt homes in Area Four. The center's facilities include a computer room, kitchen, indoor gym, game room, study room and outdoor basketball courts.

Before the center was built, Barbosa remembers the site as an empty park.

"There wasn't anywhere for kids to go and so it was easy to see why they were hanging out in the street," says Barbosa, who is affectionately called "Mo" by local children.

Aside from offering basketball leagues, preparation for the SATs, resume workshops and educational courses, the center teaches students how to cope with problems such as racism, drug use and health-related issues.

Young women convene each Monday for "Ladies' Night" activities. About 100 children use the center during the winter each day, while good summer weather cuts daily attendance to 60 to 80.

Barbosa, who was hired as director in November, says the center's mission is to involve students in different things and to keep them off the streets.

Area Four's population is largely Haitian, Latino, Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean, according to Barbosa. Eastern European immigrants, especially from the Czech Republic, have also begun moving to Area Four recently.

In an area where over 30 percent of children live in single-parent families, the center takes on the role of parent by sponsoring Friday night dinners.

"We realized that kids weren't eating on Friday nights because their mom and dad were either out or working and the kids just accepted that as normal," Barbosa says. "That's just ridiculous."

The youth center, Barbosa says, helps students cope with problems of poor self-esteem, neglect and emotional or behavioral problems.

Area Four has the highest unemployment rate in Cambridge, 10.8 percent according to 1990 census data, and one of the lowest median family incomes of about $27,000.

A six year-old child bursts into Barbosa's office, complaining about one of the older children bothering him. "Call him in," Barbosa says.

A minute later, a wiry 13 year-old strolls into the office and leans on Barbosa's desk, ready to accept whatever sermon Barbosa metes out.

"So you're 13 years old; you have to take some responsibility," Barbosa says to the embarrassed youngster. "C'mon, I know you can do it," he adds with a smile.

Turning back to the guest, Barbosa remarks that the disruptive teenager is very interested in chess. He did well in the last tournament the center sponsored and is expected to do well once again in next week's tournament.

"He had watched chess before but never really played," Barbosa said. "And here, he discovered that he was really good at it. I guess that's what we're trying to do here."

"It's as they say, 'If you can't bring Moses to the mountain, bring the mountain to Moses,'" he says.

Correia: A Future Filmmaker

Marlon Correia, 16, is a junior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School who started visiting the center because he knew Barbosa.

"I hang out here a lot," Correia says. "There's many problems out there so I'm usually here to stay out of trouble, like [having] someone pick a fight with you."

Sitting in the back of the youth center's kitchen, munching on chips and drinking soda to the music of "Pocahontas" playing on the TV in the front, Correia talks about working on his latest project at the center.

Barbosa picked Correia and three others to produce an anti-drug education video. Correia says he has been taking classes at the center on how to use the equipment.

"I took some classes in my freshman year at Rindge and Latin High School," says Correia. "But I forgot everything because they didn't let us use the equipment. Here they do."

Correia speaks excitedly about including footage of different scenes around the neighborhood and interviewing Rindge and Latin basketball players, too. At the suggestion to include some background music, Correia nods but adds, "I have to check with the other people I am working with; I can't just go ahead and add the music."

Correia is thinking about attending college after his senior year of high school. His choice, he says, is the result of exposure to the college counseling resources available at the youth center.

"I can always ask for help here," he says.

The Margaret Fuller House

On the corner of School and Cherry Streets, just a short walk from the Central Square subway station, sits the 95 year-old Margaret Fuller House.

Frances J. Smith Pierce, a member of the house's board of directors, proudly recalls that the neighborhood's rich history is reflected in the community center, where Malcolm X and Martin Luther King once visited and spoke.

Before becoming the community youth center, the house was the headquarters for a chapter of the Black Panther Party, according to Iona S. Nze, executive director of a neighborhood housing corporation.

Posters of African-American luminaries like artist Paul Robeson and cancer researcher Shirley Ann Jackson now grace the building's walls to inspire youths.

Virginia Gold, a director of CCS programs and an employee at the Fuller House, says the house caters to "kids of the African diaspora." Payments for day care are adjusted according to financial need.

The afterschool program lasts from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. each weekday and includes an evening meal.

Under the tutelage of students from the Academics for Changing Times Corps (ACT), youngsters boisterously engage in stimulating hands-on projects.

The Fuller House projects a homey atmosphere. When people walk into the foyer, they encounter a large water container filled with pennies for an equipment fundraiser.

Students talk eagerly of asking their parents for pennies or finding pennies on the walk home so they can contribute their part. Every small copper coin now takes on profound significance.

Radiating the feel and noise of any other daycare center, the children are teasingly playful to each other and to the ACT teaching volunteers.

Children complete homework, play with drums and tear around the room. Then five minutes later, they change their minds for some other activity that they have deemed more exciting.

But sometimes the children get too excited. After ignoring repeated pleas by Tamika, the self-appointed leader of the ACT Corps volunteers, to put away their homework and to stop dawdling at the chalkboard, her voice takes on a harsher tone.

"Now I know I said this in English, but if you guys are having trouble understanding...." Tamika lets her voice trail off and puts up her hands with a combination of attitude and nonchalance.

After some semblance of order reappears in the room, Tamika explains the afternoon's project: growing sensitivity plants in small egg-carton containers. Tamika explains that each child can take his sensitivity plant home if it sprouts into fruition.

"It is up to you how your plant grows," she says.

When Tamika explains that the sensitivity plant is so named because it closes when you touch it, one young child cries out, "That's phat!" combining her childish wonder with hip street slang.

Students discuss how to care for their plants and collect money for the penny drive. Then the tantalizing aroma of macaroni and cheese wafts up the stairs and the children eagerly line up for dinner downstairs.

Nze says the children mainly come from working and single-parent families. Parents want their children to partake of the center's musical and dancing classes, she says.

Because most of the families are near the poverty level, some of their fees are subsidized, according to Nze.

Noting that an increasing number of residents are immigrants, Nze stresses their desires for upward mobility.

"When you come here from another country, you have great appreciation for everything," she says. "The emphasis is on getting the best, and that means Harvard, that means MIT. For Cambridge families, it definitely means attending one of the two big schools."

Lili Allen: Counselor

Lili Allen, the director and spokesperson of the non-profit CCS, works with many of Cambridge's less fortunate residents every day.

Allen informs residents about the social services available in Cambridge. She also writes grant proposals and directs youth employment and education programs.

She is especially proud of the school-to-work partnership she has established with Rindge and Latin High School.

Because many students speak languages in addition to English, they are attractive candidates for interpreters. The Cambridge Hospital Network also hires many students for laboratory work.

Because the program helps students understand a connection between education and the real world, Allen says she believes it is a "tremendous success."

"We have a student in the program who didn't think she'd go to college and now she is," Allen says. "Then we have a student who's already been accepted to MIT."

But not every case is successful. Allen relates with sorrow the tale of a teenage boy who had to take two jobs to help his linguistically-impaired parents pay living expenses.

The sleep-deprived youngster's grades soon slipped. When the teacher called home to express concern about the tendency to sleep during class, his parents beat him for bringing shame upon the family, she says.

Kovacev: Self-Sufficiency

Jo Anne E. Kovacev, director of Cambridge's Parent to Parent program, focuses on helping disadvantaged residents and immigrants.

Parent to Parent matches Cambridge residents with their disadvantaged neighbors, helping them adjust to life in a suburban residential setting.

Mentors might invite the family out for social gatherings, or simply tell them where the nearest laundromat or the best bagel store is located, according to Kovacev.

The partnership is designed to last one year, but some residents feel confident enough to leave the program after six months, she says.

Kovacev says further assistance could be provided by addressing affordable housing, welfare reform and welfare-to-work transitional assistance.

She says her goal is to help families become self-sufficient by finding employment and housing in the city.

"Working with the homeless has really opened my eyes to realize that many people are just a paycheck away from being homeless, too," she says.

But despite the obstacles faced by many residents of Area Four, Kovacev praises them for their resilient and upbeat attitude.

It would be easy to give up. But in keeping with Area Four's character, many residents have dealt with their setbacks, bounced back and kept on moving.

"Cambridge has more community resources than most other cities," Kovacev says. "And its needy families have a lot of coping skills and work hard to keep their families together."

The Economics of CambridgeArea Four is a mere 10 minutes from Harvard Square, yet economic demographics reflect a wider disparity. These statistics represent the median family income, percentage of families below the poverty level and the percentage of labor force unemployed in Area Four and throughout Cambridge.Jenny M. Fu, Joshua J. SchankerCrimsonCity  Income  Poverty  UnemploymentEast Cambridge  $37,013  2.8%  6.0%MIT/Area 2  25,000  13.0  3.2Wellington-Herrington  32,615  8.6  6.5Area 4  26,836  18.6  10.8Cambridgeport  32,432  6.9  5.7Mid-Cambridge  50,272  3.5  3.7Riverside  32,746  9.9  4.4Agassiz  55,407  1.1  4.0Area 9  52,721  4.8  5.0Area 10  73,300  2.7  2.6North Cambridge  37,236  9.7  6.1Highlands  43,214  0.0  4.6Straw. Hill/Mt. Auburn  35,357  7.9  7.3Average for Cambridge  39,990  7.2  5.2Source: Cambridge Community Development Departmen