"Poorest of the Poor"

My real reason for joining this online community -- other than unabashed nosiness -- is my interest in the challenges that confront inner city youngsters and other kids categorized among the "poorest of the poor" when enrolled in the Milt or other residential facilities.

At various points in a checkered career, I was a teacher, administrator and consultant in private school settings catering to children with special needs. Since retiring five years ago, I've worked part-time in juvenile prisons and alternative schools. Recently I served, along with my wife, for three years as a foster parent to a fine young man who, at the time he joined our family, was considered at-risk. Each of those experiences, in its own way, was among the most rewarding of my life. None, however, left an impression as indelible as having been a Homeboy more than half a century ago.

Of course, the "Home" I knew in the '40s and '50s was a far cry from today's "Milt." But so, after all, was the world of Ike Eisenhower from the world of George Dubya Bush. Back in "the day," the chocolate factory and Hershey Estates were the only games in town. When my schoolmates and I send mandatory letters to our guardians each week, they were written on Hershey Industrial School stationery that trumpeted "a free school for normal, white orphan boys." The lucky ones among us -- those with somewhere to go -- were granted a total of two weeks off campus each year. There was no fence around Hershey Park, and no entrance fee. Blue collar jobs were the backbone of the Middle Class, and many still looked upon college degrees as the province of the elite.

Now that there are relatively few demands on my time, I devote a chunk of it to advocating for boys and girls who all too often have no one on their side. It pleases me enormously that my alms mater does the same thing, and that it counts among its current student body so many worthy young people whose plight, not very long ago, would have been willfully ignored.

A lot of Milts, I know, feel the same way. At the same time, I know a lot of genuinely concerned folks, both grads and nongrads, who fret about the inevitable culture clash that occurs when a child from, say, the slums of Pittsburgh or the most dangerous "hoods" of Philadelphia, wakes up in traditionally ultra-conservative Central Pennsylvania.

Ultimately, I'm convinced, the experience will be good for all concerned. Meanwhile, the road remains bumpy. Thoughtful counsel is sought to make the ride smoother.

What do YOU think?