The Solutions

October 7, 2011

The points listed in the Oakland Community Bill of Rights are not inordinately difficult to resolve. Pitt and UPMC have the resources and the ability to end these social injustices against our community. The elderly long-time residents of Oakland are just as significant as the administrators, faculty and students of Pitt and UPMC; and their voices will not be silenced.

Collectively, the problems listed in the Bill of Rights can be resolved through a change of the consciousness of the University administration to one of greater depth of caring for the community, or by replacing current administrators with individuals who display that deeper level of caring. The respect for human dignity and social justice must be the highest priority of the University administration.

In consideration of these many problems, it is astounding that of the more than 4,000 faculty members at the University, no public support or letters of support for our grassroots movement have emerged from this population since our actions began in March 2007. Just as residents fear the retaliation of students, may faculty members fear the actions of the University administration? If so, that fear and any other obstacle to supporting the community must be conquered.

Here are specific solutions to three of the problems in our community:

One solution presented to the University administration helps end the problem of binge drinking and ensures that our elderly residents are not burdened with the fear of calling 911. The Assistant Chancellor of Community Relations should address his lack of support staff and hire a staff to handle this problem. We suggested the Assistant Chancellor hire four staff members to patrol the entirety of Oakland, and to report drinking problems to 911 when necessary. The patrol would be on duty from Thursday to Sunday in the evening hours, the days and hours when the problems are most present and threatening. The Assistant Chancellor has not committed to taking this action. A November 4, 2011 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned that the Board of Trustees’ Property and Facilities Committee approved $153 million in construction and renovation work. Certainly there are ample funds for the hiring of these four staff members.

In 2008, our grassroots movement presented a set of 26 ideas to Pitt and UPMC to help resolve the problems of trash and litter in our residential community. The keystone solution to the litter problem is daily maintenance. We have also proposed to Pitt and UPMC the creation of a program designed to assure continual custodial maintenance of our streets and to provide young Pittsburghers with gainful employment. This program is called: THE SOUL (South Oakland Urban Litter) PROGRAM. We requested support for this program but were told by Pitt officials that they have no money for this program and that they are not responsible for these problems. UPMC also denied our request of $30,000 for seed money for this program. We believe firmly that this is a program in which everyone has something to gain.

Here is a brief summary of THE SOUL PROGRAM:

The SOUL (South Oakland Urban Litter) Program is one that will employ 10 youth workers to assist in the effort to keep the sidewalks and streets of Oakland free of litter. These workers will be employed Monday through Friday, for four hours per day. The salary for each worker would be $10 per hour. For some of these young people, this will be their first employment opportunity; and for all of them, the program will help them develop the social, ethical and personal skills necessary for increasing their opportunities for success in life. All of the streets in Oakland would be serviced by this program.

The employees will work under the direction of a non-profit organization, preferably an Oakland organization.

The mission of The SOUL Program is to create and promote a clean environment in Oakland, while providing its youth workers with an opportunity to be involved in meaningful employment. The program benefits the residents and the landlords of Oakland, as well as businesses and institutions such as UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. It also provides a positive visual enhancement of the neighborhood for the thousands of people who visit and travel through Oakland every year.

The SOUL Program complements the efforts of other organizations engaged in the attempt to eliminate the trash and litter problems in Oakland, organizations such as the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, South Oakland Neighborhood Group, Community Human Services, Peoples Oakland, Oakland Transportation Management Association and the Oakland Business Improvement

We are asking for a 10-year, $1.2 million commitment of $120,000 per year by the University of Pittsburgh for The SOUL Program. This amount will allow the hiring of ten youths at a combined salary of $100,000 per year. The additional amount of $20,000 would go towards beautification projects and other environmental causes in Oakland which our residents, student supporters and community organizations would agree to implement.

The amount of funding requested is equivalent to only $4 (Four dollars) per year of a student's tuition fee at the University of Pittsburgh.

The trash problem in our community can be resolved through strict enforcement of the trash laws of the city of Pittsburgh. We believe the university can easily provide the funding for one city environmental enforcement officer for our neighborhood to make certain the laws are upheld daily by landlords. Also, the university can provide tremendous assistance to the city because administrators of the university know the addresses of where their students live, and can easily contact students to inform them that this kind of egregious behavior will not be tolerated. The Pitt administration refuses to take these actions to resolve this problem.

The long-term solution to the numerous problems facing our residential community and to the building of a new future for our community demands a long-term financial commitment by Pitt and UPMC to our community. As you will see later, very little of the billions of dollars in revenue of these two institutions trickles down to our community.