Hard knock life - and death

I came upon this shrine a block away from my assignment covering the Meadow Green Community Center, just east of the Anacostia River in Southeast DC. In my view, this shrine is ringing testament as to why effective neighborhood drop-in facilities like Meadow Green are so critically needed for the health and safety of the city's young people.

I know nothing more about the identity and circumstances of this shrine other than it was erected to a shooting victim. That's all I could get out of anybody. I talked to some pretty rough-looking young men in the 'hood, but could glean no more information. Usually, I find people open to sharinng memories, stories, reflections. This time, nobody wanted to appear to be a snitch.

And so - another piteous marker is left to publicly reveal the grievous secret failings of the human heart.