We’re listening to the conversations going on around St. Louis.
The Listening Project reaches into the community to discuss the recommendations coming out of a study known as For the Sake of All. It provides research on health, education and economic disparities between the African American and white communities in St. Louis city and county.
As part of this effort, we talked recently with participants in Connections to Success, an organization dedicated to helping residents "break the cycle of poverty through hope, resources and a plan." We talked to participants who were taking a class called Personal Professional Development to prepare for employment.
Craig Sleet lives in what has come to be called a “food desert." He has to take a bus to the store from his residence in north St. Louis, which requires him to spend extra money.
Sleet elaborates:
Quincy Sistrunk’s neighborhood in north city was a lot different when he was growing up. He remembers people gathering on the playgrounds of neighborhood schools on warm summer evenings, kids playing pick up games at community centers and neighbors watching out for each others’ kids.
Sistrunk’s neighborhood is a lot quieter now:
India Brown has had challenges gaining access to community centers. She talks with others in the group about wanting programs that bring people together, and provide resources. It’s not that they don’t exist, but they come at a price that is out of reach for many.
She and others in the group elaborate:
If your group would like to convene a discussion of the research and recommendations of For Sake of All, please email us at: listeningproject@stllpublicradio.org
