I met a friend of a friend who, like me, was from the Boston area.
When I told him I was from Chelsea, his instant response both said it all and exposed a flaw in our collective thinking about moving up in life.
“I never met anyone who made it out of Chelsea.”
One on hand, it spoke to how intractable the poverty and challenges seem in this town just over the Tobin Bridge, which separates the prosperity and potential of Boston from this small area that generation after generation seems to be left behind.
But on the other, it also showed a bias we have in how people make it. We make it out of someplace, instead of being able to make it in the place we call home.
Jay Z once said, “I’m not who I am in spite of where I grew up, I’m who I am BECAUSE of where I grew up.”
I didn’t want to leave Chelsea — to say goodbye to my friends, family, teachers and my memories. While growing up there laid the foundation for who I am, there is also no doubt that my life would be different had I stayed. How different? Better in some ways, worse in others — I will never know.
It is really hard to fix “broken places” but it can be equally hard to leave them. A fact, I think, many fail to appreciate.
Often our solutions emphasize “flight,” sending kids away from their homes and neighborhoods to find opportunity. Yet increasingly we can point to programs that are fighting to make opportunities right at home.
One such program, ROCA, is creating success story after success story right in my hometown of Chelsea. It helps the most at risk youth make it in Chelsea, not make it out. Their tag line says it all, “Less Jail, More Future.”
Take two minutes and watch this animated video to see what it takes to help someone find opportunity at home. And pay special attention to the first 10-15 seconds as it speaks directly to what we’ve been saying about “moving up” all along.