Lehigh Valley Gallery

This is a photo of a child clenching his fist in front of a playground. It represents the violence that kids partake in on and off the playground and how it starts even at a young age. The playground is meant to be a place of friendship and fun, but often shows that conflict and aggression starts from an early age. Many of the kids at my site quickly turn their emotions into punches and grabs. If a child makes a comment they don’t like, they get frustrated and can escalate to brutality. This is because of a cycle that comes from their parents and their grandparents. One child at my site told me that his father said “if they hit you, hit them back”. Children trust and respect their parents and end up hitting other children for ‘an eye for an eye’. This continues the cycle of violence. It also worsens when they turn to violence even when not hit, simply provoked. They escalate altercations by hitting or pushing instead of using their words or walking away from the situation. Starting at this early of an age is scary for their future. Right now all they have is their hands, but as they get older they may turn to more dangerous forms of violence. This is something we can change. We can try to fix this by educating parents and children on de-escalation tactics. Understanding that violence should not be the answer is the first step. They also need to learn that communication and simply removing yourself from the situation can stop the dispute before anyone gets hurt. Violence should not be an inevitable part of childhood. By putting more energy into education and violence prevention, we can help children develop healthier ways to resolve conflict and ultimately break the cycle of violence for future generations.  

This is a photo of glass shards that spell out “kids” and a child standing near it. The photo shows the concern of safety at Alliance Hall Summer Program’s playground, but also in general the safety of children at playgrounds located in the middle of the city. The shards of glass are from a bottle that was broken overnight on the school grounds. This is very concerning because children shouldn’t be exposed to dangerous materials at their school playground. What this photo doesn’t show is that this area is the only open area for children in this program. So many of the children are currently using the playground while the glass is still on it. In fact, what inspired me to use this photo was an experience I had with a little boy who brought me a handful of glass as “cool rocks”. This was very dangerous because the kid could potentially get cut by the glass, which isn't clean, so there is a huge factor of disease transmission. The larger structural issue that is presented here is the safety of a city for children. Cities are often dangerous due to violence that can be caused by many factors such as food insecurity, drugs, violent environments, etc. As a community, we need to work to protect our children from this danger as much as we can. Additionally, no one was available to clean up the area quickly. The glass was there for a week, and there was no broom for us counselors to clean up. We had to pick up the glass by hand which presented a risk to us counselors.  

I hope that this image shows the lack of safety for children in the city environment. My intention of spelling the word “kids" was to show that the glass directly affects the children at the school but also that the glass was handled and played with by the children. The kid’s shoes in the corner show the proximity of the glass and how hard it is to prevent the kids from being near it when it is in their play space. I hope that the messages portrayed in this image can educate the viewers about the safety problem at this playground, but also get the viewer to feel the shock I felt when a little boy handed me a handful of glass that he was playing with. 

The image accompanying this journal entry is of a church building, which actually acts as a central hub for the unhoused and those dealing with substance abuse disorders in the city of Allentown. Known as “Daybreak,” this renovated church offers short term housing, 3 square meals, and social services beyond its doors. An invaluable resource to those that are suffering from the daily struggles of substance misuse and homelessness, but also a hindrance. Though this building is a massive support to those that need it, it is also a domain that is used as a crutch for the community. Local rehab centers will utilize Daybreak’s “central hub” moniker literally and assume this is where they can drop off (abandon) their clients after just 3 days of rehabilitation (3 days is the max amount of rehab the local centers can offer, but this is sadly not enough), returning these people back into the environment that facilitated and bolstered their drug misuse/dangerous habits at the peak of their withdraw period where the cravings are high and the physical effects are massive. Due to its mistaken identity as a full social support system/center of continuity for rehabilitation (which it is not; it is only a facility to aid community members in a very short term capacity with daily needs), almost all the designated rehab centers will mistakenly assume that this is a safe spot for their clients to continue their road to sobriety. This essentially destroys the hard work these people have done to try and get clean. What is not shown in the image is the intersection of 5th and Allen where this building is located. Known as one of the most dangerous areas in Allentown, this intersection has seen gun violence and drug dealing for years. Obviously this is a massive issue, because it creates a dangerous environment for the unhoused and drug misusers, pushing them to become repeat victims to their own environment. With the population of Daybreak well known throughout Allentown, drug dealers, violent perpetrators, and even cops will take advantage of this knowledge and victimize these people, utilizing their unfortunate circumstances against them to further abuse and take advantage of their fellow community members. This abusive environment further pushes these people down a road of feeling unsupported and drives them further into ostracization, which continuously perpetuates their drug misuse habits and need to no longer push to be a part of society (i.e. stay homeless). For these people, the homeless camps and drug using camps are safer and more supporting most of the time. With sharing this image, I hope to push the idea to lawmakers/rehab centers that although these people have a place to find food and shelter for short period of time, they are not safe and are not getting better. They need more support, we cannot just rely on this one building and the great people inside of it to carry the weight of our city’s inaction alone. We need help.  

This image shows the food share table at Alliance Hall, a free summer day camp for Allentown school district students ages 7-13. This share table is utilized so that children who do not want parts of their breakfast or lunch can provide additional unopened snacks and drinks to another child’s meal if they are still hungry after the rationed meal they were given. It also allows this food not to go to waste. At first glance, the share table just looks like a solution to reduce food waste. However, it also reflects the reality of children in the community.  

This particular picture fails to show how this is the aftermath of multiple students running and grabbing off the table prior to having the opportunity to eat their food. The picture fails to show how kids watch the table closely throughout the day and why some kids get excited when extra food is available. It doesn’t show that some of these kids are already in a race to grab their next source of food that they can bring home or even share with family members later. It does not show the food insecurity these children and their families are facing, along with the uncertainty of where their next meal will come from. And finally, it does not capture the financial hardships faced by these children and families with limited access to nutritious foods. While each camper is guaranteed a free breakfast and lunch through the Allentown Health Bureau and school district, the necessity of these meals far exceeds the four-day camp week.  

The structural issues backing this image include poverty, increasing food costs, and economic inequality, leading to the lack of nutritious meals for children and families in the Allentown school district. When living in underserved communities, many families are prone to barriers such as low wages, limited transportation, and a lack of close-by grocery stores that provide healthy and affordable options. Each of these issues is a result of the social and economic systems that make it challenging for families to meet these basic needs.  

I hope that this image can better educate and inform decision makers to look beyond the surface and invest in programs addressing food insecurity, expanding access to healthy meals, and supporting the local school and families in the community year-round, rather than only during school months. By identifying the structural causes behind this photo, higher-ups can make better-informed decisions regarding opportunity, health, and equity for children and families in the community.