Author Archives: tleverett@fullsail.edu

Manayunk Businesses feel the Effects of Winter Storms in the Summer Heat

The winter of 2013 brought record-breaking snowfall to Philadelphia, and with each storm the woes of local business owners rose as high as the snow banks.

Several business owners in Manayunk, a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia expressed concern about how lost revenue in the winter would impact business for the remainder of the year. Now that summer has arrived, the true effects of the record snowfall are being felt on Main Street, the major thoroughfare of the neighborhood, with several businesses shutting down for good.

Bella Trattoria, once a mainstay for Italian cuisine in Manayunk, was one of the businesses that did not survive the financial ramifications of the winter storms. The restaurant closed in late July after a twenty-five year legacy in the neighborhood.

Bella Trattoria Restaurant Closed down after long neighborhood history.

Residents reacted to the closure with disappointment, but as the summer progresses and businesses continue to close, for sale signs and shuttered windows may become the new normal for the neighborhood.

Mother and Son Join Forces to Battle Teen Depression

Mother and Son Join Forces to Battle Teen Depression from Tieast Leverett on Vimeo.

In a crowded Panera in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, a bedroom community of Philadelphia, Tracy “Tre” Scott checks the time on his phone frequently…even though he always makes time to talk about his passion; he is also on a mission.

As the founder of Kick Teen Depression, an organization dedicated to using music and the arts to address depression in youth, teen and young adults, Scott draws heavily upon his own experience with mental illness as the motivation behind his organization.

According to the National Institutes of Mental Heath, (NIMH) about 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18. In the African American community, depression and other mental health issues are so stigmatized that they are often hidden, which leads to large portions of the community left with untreated conditions.

When depression is not addressed, it can ultimately lead to suicide, an act that is slowly trending upward in the African American community.
Scott has partnered with his mother, Dana Scott-Twine to build an organization focused on ending teen depression once and for all. Scott-Twine, a mental-health parent coach, and the founder of Kick Teen Depression’s sister organization Parents Win, has also battled depression, and believes if parents are knowledgeable about what to look for, they can initiate much needed intervention before it is too late.

FICA Philadelphia Brings Brazilian Culture to the City

FICA Philadelphia Brings Brazilian Culture to the City from Tieast Leverett on Vimeo.

The practice of capoeira Angola reaches all the way back to Africa; the movements, songs, instruments and way of life are all taken from the countries of origin of the slaves brought to Brazil from central Africa.

Often described as a “way of life” the practice combines physical, spiritual and artistic components in a way that over time has meant many different things. At first it was a means for African slaves to continue their cultural practices during slavery in South America, but it soon became a method of resistance to oppression; at which time those in power forbade it.

Fundaçao Internacional de Capoeira Angola (FICA) Philadelphia chapter is a local group that practices and promotes capoeira, and uses the practice to communicate unity and cultural awareness. The group has introduced capoeira to a diverse community, and as a result, has carried out the intentions of those who practiced it so long ago.

Manayunk Property Rebuilds Again After Flood

Manayunk Property Rebuilds Again After Flood from Tieast Leverett on Vimeo.

Last week, the residents of Venice Lofts, an apartment and townhouse community in Northwest Philadelphia had a much greater appreciation of the city for which their community was named.

As torrential rains moved through the area, residents were warned about potential flooding, but when the waters rose, no one was fully prepared.

Many residents lost their cars and experienced significant damage to their properties, and management says it will take months to get back to normal.

“Although we have the elevator back running, the rest of our lobby won’t be fully restored until July,” said Shannon Carlson, Venice Lofts rental agent.

The property has flooded three times since 2009, and each time requests to the city to construct a simple floodwall around the property have been ignored.

Gentrification in Northern Liberties: A Tale of Two Cities

In the 1960s, when Philadelphia residents talked about Northern Liberties, a neighborhood in the lower northeast corner of the city, the conversation centered around labor laws, unions, and production lines.

The neighborhood, once known as the “Workplace of the World” was the home to a multitude of factories, mills, tanneries and distilleries. The industrial trend continued here until the late 1970s when a number of failed urban planning efforts and economic shifts left the area’s factories shuttered and the community blighted.

However, the community is changing again.

Today, when Philadelphia residents talk about Northern Liberties, their conversations are centered on which area restaurant has the highest Zagat rating, which painting a local artist will feature, or which microbrew tasting event to attend.

As a result of the changing economic base and evolving cultural composition of the area, Northern Liberties is a true urban dichotomy; a neighborhood that boasts of being a desirable location for entrepreneurs and start-ups, yet has elementary schools with some of the lowest test scores in the city.

It is nearly impossible to escape the sounds of construction projects and residential development throughout the neighborhood, and rising housing prices are a stark reflection of this. Rent prices have risen as high as 10% over the past 3 years, and while that is a sign of a strengthening economy; many residents do not have access to improved housing.

As young professionals, artists and restaurateurs move into the area, the longtime residents and former laborers are often trapped in the pockets of underdevelopment that remain.

From a Small Town to the Global Pitch

York, a small city located in central Pennsylvania, has a history of racial tension and economic challenges. The residents of this city, in particular, the African American residents are faced with the challenges of finding opportunities to provide for their families amidst dwindling opportunities and increasing crime.

For some however, sports have provided a unique opportunity to leave the confines of the city, and to take advantages of opportunities that may not have been realized through any other means. While African American males are often stereotypically categorized as basketball players or football players; soccer is slowly growing a following amongst African American youth. William Thornton, a York native, is a living example of how this sport can present opportunities far beyond the city limits.

From A Small Town to the Global Pitch from Tieast Leverett on Vimeo.

Manayunk Weather Halts Local Business

In Manayunk, a trendy neighborhood in the Northwest corner of Philadelphia, a walk down Main Street, is usually colored with the sights and sounds of busy restaurants, lively bars and boutique shopping.

However this winter, with record-breaking snowfall, extreme low temperatures and rampant power outages, a walk down the main thoroughfare is more like walking through a deserted town. Potential customers are staying indoors, and local businesses are feeling the effects of nature’s fury.

Today, four Manayunk business owners share their own experiences with this winter’s weather, and give some insight on how the climate affects their bottom line.

A Day With Asperger’s

Asperger’s Syndrome, often called “The Hidden Autism” is a condition that primarily impairs the emotional response and social interactions of the individuals it affects. While people with Asperger’s are usually of above average intelligence, they often suffer a lifetime of difficulties communicating with others, maintaining friends and understanding the “social rules” that the world lives by. Although most people with this condition lead relatively normal adult lives, children with Asperger’s face unique challenges as they learn to live with their condition.

Jeremiah E., an eleven-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome spends his days learning how to navigate many worlds; the demanding social environments at school and home, and the confusing one in his mind. This condition causes decreased non-verbal communication skills, limited empathy with peers and clumsiness in physical activities.

“Usually at recess I play by myself because other kids call me weird,” he says. Asperger’s children usually have difficulty maintaining friendships with peers because of the unique socialization challenges the condition presents.

Due to funding challenges rampant in the Philadelphia Public School System, there are not many programs available at his school to address his condition, so his parents have looked outside of the school district for treatment resources.

“When I am at home, I play with my Legos or read, I don’t like playing with my sister because she is annoying.” As part of his therapy, Jeremiah uses Legos to help satisfy his need to engage in highly structured activities.

“I want to own a hotel when I grow up, and have a few resorts in cool places.” Jeremiah is academically gifted, but has challenges with interpersonal relationships. However, with treatment, he is likely to lead a normal adult life.
T. Leverett 2014

Health Disparities: Race and Prematurity in Philadelphia

In different parts of Philadelphia, two women of the same age receive news they’ve been anxiously awaiting…they are pregnant.

They both dream about baby names, nursery decorations, tiny outfits and stylish diaper bags as they progress through their pregnancies.

Nine months later, one mother gives birth to a healthy, thriving baby girl. The other mother continues on her daily trudge to the intensive care nursery to visit her baby; born three months premature.

The only difference between these women is their race; one is white and the other is African-American.

This dichotomy occurs repeatedly throughout the country and unfortunately racial differences continue to have a major impact on pregnancy outcomes. According to the March of Dimes, African-American women are three times more likely to give birth to a premature baby than white women.

Premature birth results in a multitude of medical and financial challenges for the families in which it occurs. Children who are born premature often experience cardiovascular challenges, respiratory problems, issues with digestion and developmental delays, which often require years of specialized therapy and treatments. The financial ramifications of premature birth are just as overwhelming. The Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation at the University of Michigan reports that the average charge per discharge for premature birth and low birth weight was $119,389 in the U.S., and families are often responsible for a large portion of those fees, as well as fees incurred from the continued care for the premature child.

Preterm Birth Philadelphia 2010

*Data taken from Philadelphia Department of Vital Statistics

This issue is further compounded in the African-American community by the fact that many mothers in this demographic are considered lower-income, and have limited access to quality prenatal healthcare. In Philadelphia, where the African-American population is around 44%, this disparity results in substantially increased rates of premature birth in the community, in fact the rate of African-American babies born prematurely has continued at a rate of 40% higher than whites in the city. In addition, African-American women are almost 50% less likely to have adequate prenatal care, and are twice as likely to deliver a low birth-weight baby.

Low Birth Weight Philly

*Data taken from Philadelphia Department of Vital Statistics

Several organizations are engaged in researching this disparity, most notably, the March of Dimes. Dolores Smith, the Program Director for the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the organization says that there are two main areas where racial differences are clearly manifested in prenatal care and childbirth; the biological differences between African-American and white mothers and the socioeconomic differences that exist between the two groups.

“When talking about the biological factors or genetic factors, we know that African Americans have higher rates of certain diseases like hypertension, cardiac disease, and diabetes. Just like the heart, the uterus is a muscle and is affected by these conditions too, and even more so during pregnancy. This is one reason why we see a higher rate of prematurity in the African-American community” She says.

Smith also recognizes the impact that socioeconomic differences have on premature birth.

“We’ve understood for a while that African-American mothers have disproportionately lower access to prenatal healthcare, and we continue to work to change that disparity. However, there is a considerable amount of research out now that postulates about how the stress of racism and discrimination can result in negative birth outcomes as well,” she says.

In a recent study conducted jointly between Northwestern University and Children’s Memorial Hospital, researchers found that women who experienced discrimination were more than two times as likely to deliver a premature baby. While the mechanisms that cause the premature birth after discrimination are varied, it is clear from the study that simply providing adequate prenatal care is not enough to solve the problem of prematurity in the African-American community.

Rachel Thompson, a former patient at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital’s Prematurity prevention program believes improvement in prematurity disparity is possible.

She says, “I had my first baby when I was seventeen and he came two months early, but when I had my second baby a few years ago, I was enrolled in the prematurity program at the hospital. She was born just a few weeks early, but I was prepared for that already. I felt like I had a group of people who really cared about me and the baby and I was not so alone. There are so many other women I know who needed a program like that and didn’t get it. I wonder what happened to them.”

Born in the USA: Could Mean Higher Survival Rates for Premature Babies

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), although the rate of premature birth may be on an overall decline, this is not the case for most developing countries. The organization estimates that over 15 million babies are born prematurely (before 37 weeks gestation) annually, and this number is slowly increasing.

While the factors causing the increase in prematurity are varied, equally disparate are the survivability rates for premature infants around the globe.

A recent article published in The Guardian Online illustrates this point clearly. The article describes findings uncovered in a joint study between the US March of Dimes, the Partnership for Maternal newborn and Child Health, Save the Children and the World Health Organization which indicate that in “rich countries over 90% of babies born at [or after] 28 weeks survive, in poor countries only 10% do.”

In addition to the parents of premature babies in developing countries, no one more clearly witnesses the disparity in premature infant survival rates than healthcare researchers. Kyshia Robertson, a contract researcher for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has worked on several infant mortality projects that study Latin American and African countries comparatively to the United States. Robertson believes that there is a widening gap in pre and post-natal healthcare options for prematurity between wealthy and developing countries.

“It is amazing to see what is available in the United States versus a place like West Africa where the levels of intervention for premature births are very limited. Unfortunately it does not look like this will change anytime soon. There are many factors; like public policy practices, political climate and economic stability that have a huge impact on how these babies will do when they come so early. We continue to see how the differences in these areas have a huge impact on whether a baby lives or dies.”

A part of Robertson’s research is centered on the impact of the early intervention practices employed immediately prior to and immediately following the birth of a premature baby. For example, in a country like the United States when a premature birth is inevitable, low-cost steroid shots are often given to the mother, which stimulate the production of lung surfactant in the fetus prior to birth. The administration of these steroids can substantially increase the survivability rate in preterm birth.

Survival Rates/Steroid Intervention Graph from NIH Data T. Leverett 2014

Survival Rates/Steroid Intervention Data from NIH data
T. Leverett 2014

Unfortunately, while these shots are readily available in the United States, they are not always available in developing countries, and Robertson believes that fixing this would be a good place to start.

“We can never expect to go from almost nothing to a high level intensive care nursery overnight, but we can work towards incremental improvements to care, like these shots, to hopefully give some of these kids a fighting chance,” she says.