Yes, from some news reports, one can get the impression that the people living there condone the lifestyles of those who grab the spotlight away from all of the attributes this community has to offer. Homewood has many resources other communities can only hope for. There are restaurants that serve everything from a great breakfast to BBQ, small grocery stores that are stocked with merchandise such as bread and milk people often need but do not wish to have to catch a jitney, private owner cab or bus to get to the big supermarkets to purchase them. There is the Alma Ellery Health Center, the Homewood campus of Community College of Allegheny County, and the African American Music Institute, many within walking distance of the residents who use these facilities.
Businessman Sarouk Salik, 75, who has owned a hardware store in Homewood for more than 30 years, also had another store in the East Hills area that is now closed. When asked how he felt about Homewood being labeled as one of the most dangerous paces to live in the city with one of the highest homicide rates, Salik said, “I do not feel very good about hearing that.”
He said that he once lived in New York City and finds the people in Homewood are much friendlier than there. “Even the young people here are friendly,” he said.
Then there are the churches. It would seem that there are houses of worship on every other corner. Many of the churches not only supply their parishioners with spiritual guidance but also with other services such as the Homewood Salvation Army’s Social Services and Career Center to Shiloh Baptist Church Tuesday and Thursday feeding program. The churches in Homewood have always been a staple and heart of the community.
There was a time when there was every type of business you could think of in Homewood: shoe repair and flower shops, high-end clothing stores as well as a G.C. Murphy’s and John’s Bargain Stores. And, two grocery stores, including a Giant Eagle on each end of the neighborhood, allowed the residents of Homewood to work and shop in their own backyards.
When asked if the violence has affected his life or business, Salik said, “It has not affected me personally; however, it may cause other people to not come into the neighborhood to shop because of the reputation Homewood has.”
Salik, who employs three people, says he is keeping his business in Homewood and intends to pass the business on to his children.
However, the early 1980s layoffs caused by the steel mills closing, where many of the men worked, the young well-educated graduating from college— many of which were the first of their families to do so—and moving to the suburbs, and the introduction of crack cocaine dealing as a way of earning income, the neighborhood went from a work economy to a drug sales one.
Seemingly forgotten by city government, the neighborhood is littered with empty lots, abandoned buildings and shuttered storefronts. Many of the community members say promises made to them by Mayor Bill Peduto, city Councilman Ricky Burgess and state Rep Ed Gainey is the same old tired rhetoric.
An Aug. 15 community meeting hosted by Rashad Byrdsong, 66, CEO of the Community Empowerment Association was attended by many concerned residents.
Jerome Jackson, 53, who has worked at Operation Better Block as its executive director for five years, raised the issue of how to improve community safety. He believes that should be at the forefront of any conversation concerning Homewood.
“We need to work together to make the community safe for everyone,” Jackson said. “No one is going to make our community safe but us.”
Jackson said that one way to keep the children safe is by having adults on every street corner to keep them safe while they go to and from school. “People do it in other communities in other neighborhoods. We can do it here,” he said.
However, Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, 58, who also attended the meeting with several other officers, believes that moving the Zone 5 Police Station, which serves Homewood as well as the surrounding communities,” which was once located in East Liberty but was moved to its current location on Washington Boulevard in 2008, will help. It is one of several stations McLay wants to move back to the neighborhoods. Homewood is on his list of possible station sites. “In my ideal world, many of the stations would be in the business district of the neighborhoods they serve,” he said.
He would like to have a community room in the station for meetings and other community activities. McLay is also making efforts to reach the young people in Pittsburgh in order to improve their relationships with the officers in their community. “There are always meetings with middle-age people talking about the issue many communities face; however, we need to engage the youth of the city because they often know the answers to the communities’ problems better than we do,” he said. He hopes to develop youth advisory councils throughout the city in order for them to have their voices heard.
So how do the youth feel about living in this neighborhood? Is it really as bad as it has been portrayed to be? Some of the students of Homewood’s Westinghouse Academy do not think so.
Tory Conyers, 14, who is in the eighth grade said, “If you just stay out of the way and are not in a gang you can survive, but if you are in a gang, nine out of 10 times (you) will not.” He said that he knows people who are in gangs but he has never been approached to join one.
When asked what he wants to do in the future, Tory said, “I want to go to college.”
However, Lashay Wagner who lives in East Liberty but attends Westinghouse High School has a different view of the school environment. “There are fights there every day,” she said. “I hate that school.”
Tyil Turner, 14, who lives in Homewood but goes to Clayton High School on the North Side, said he has been around violence all his life. “But it really makes me feel bad,” Tyil said.
He said he is not afraid to walk the streets at night. When asked about his future, he mentioned he would like to go to the NFL or start his own business.
Tayvion Adams, also 14, goes to South Hills Middle School, and he echoes the feelings his friends have about the neighborhood. “I am not afraid to live in Homewood. It is fine with me,” the young man who wants to play college football and make money said.
Tory is resigned to the environment in this community as a whole. “I cannot change it. I can only change myself. It is what it is,” he said.
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