The moment you speak with Harve (silent "e") Nichols, you immediately sense something different about his voice. It’s deep and resonating, with the lilt of someone well bred. A gentle, soft-spoken baritone that would be best utilized on late-night radio, telling listeners to love one another.
And that seems to be the theme of Nichols’ life: Love. Pure and simple.
Nichols is the author of a self-published book of poetry, She Comes to Me in Dreams, a career job counselor and a community activist reaching out to people in need.
Born in South Philadelphia and raised in Southwest, Nichols, 37, is regarded as a teacher among his neighbors and peers.
His mother, known as "Miss Bitty," has owned Trott’s beauty salon at 1242 S. 16th St. for more than 40 years. Nichols lives on the block.
"Everyone knows my parents," he says. "I can’t go anywhere in South Philly without someone knowing my mom and dad. My father was a bit of a socialite."
Moving out …
Nichols is a product not only of his local roots, but of all of his experiences.
As a ninth-grader, Nichols received a full four-year boarding scholarship to the Westtown School in West Chester. The Quaker prep school was a far reach from his Baptist roots.
"Meeting for worship was definitely different," Nichols exclaims. "It was enlightening for me to see the Quaker family values play out in daily life. I still carry them with me today in all my endeavors."
After graduation, he moved on to the University of Pennsylvania. Lacking scholarships or financial aid, Nichols worked part-time jobs to pay his tuition and received a political science degree in 1992.
"What I really wanted to do was go to law school," he says. However, an American Government in Business class changed his mind. At that time, Nichols believed the legal system to be too corrupt, but now says he may want to go back to school and pursue his original dream.
"If you’re not a part of the system, you can’t change the system," he reasons.
Giving back …
Being raised by a single mother after age 7 motivated Nichols to help children in the same situation.
"My community raised me," he says.
Nichols tries help local kids by recruiting them to attend Westtown, the school that he says gave him such a good start. Nichols serves on the school’s board.
He hopes he can be the pivotal person to make a difference in a child’s life.
"I remember my coach when I played [baseball]," Nichols says. "He was a true constant in my life. Always there. I wanted to give back and help some kids just like he helped me."
He knows what happens to some kids when they don’t have that type of support growing up. He saw it firsthand among the young men in his neighborhood.
Some of them "got caught up in gangs and bad things," Nichols says. "Many were killed."
Moving West …
Nichols decided to move to Pittsburgh in 1996 for career advancement. He remained there for six years.
"Pittsburgh is different. It’s a city that feels more like a country town," he says. "Life is slower there. People say ‘good morning.’"
Nichols worked at a social-service agency as a business development supervisor, helping residents find jobs.
Where did the poetry and the writing blend into his social work?
"I’ve been writing since I was 14," he says. "I had never looked at myself as a good writer.
"Someone would comment on my written reports at work and tell me how good they were. I just thought that was the way everyone wrote," Nichols says with a chuckle.
He cowrote a book that drew on his career called R�sum� Writing Without Paid Work Experience.
"People have no idea how their non-work skills might connect in the outside world," the author explains. "It’s like Love Connection, making someone marketable in the work force without actual work experience."
This book, available through the South Philadelphia CareerLink Center at 930 Washington Ave. and Barnes and Noble bookstores, instructs individuals how to respond to interviewers’ questions, how to dress professionally and generally what to expect from the job-seeking process.
"There are a number of good men in our community with a wealth of talent just looking for an opportunity to employ that talent in a number of different facets, whether that be work or just in the community," he says.
Coming home …
"Two years ago, my father got sick and my sister thought it was time I came home, so I did," Nichols says.
The transition gave him an opportunity to reflect on the complex bond he shared with his dad, now 84.
"It took a while for me to understand our relationship," he says.
Now Nichols knows and admires his father enough to want to emulate his persona, but says it wasn’t always that way.
"It’s hard as a child to know when it’s OK to call and ask for help," he says. "My father was larger than life. I wrote a poem about being just like him."
Aside from writing, Nichols now dedicates his time to working as executive director for the People’s Unified Resource Center, 1700 Tasker St. He doesn’t get paid for his efforts, but says they are fulfilling nonetheless.
"My heart is in the right place; my thing is working with my neighbors, bringing them together," he says.
Minister Anthony Stevenson started the center several years ago after losing two brothers and a nephew to street violence.
The multipurpose facility offers church services Friday nights at 7 and Sundays at noon, but there is much more to it, Nichols says.
"The focus was not to start a church," he says. "The notion was to connect people together and have a starting point for a better community. We believe that South Philly may have lost a bit of its connection with one another. We want to re-implement that sense of brotherhood."
The center is seeking funding from the city and area businesses. Its services include parenting programs for dads as well as moms.
"No matter what your social and economic background, you still need to learn how to be a good father," Nichols says. "Our program teaches men it’s OK to love, to let down their guard, to feel vulnerable, even if they’ve been hurt before."
Also available are nutrition classes for seniors, r�sum� preparation and homework/tutoring programs.
Not surprisingly, Nichols worked a poetry workshop into the offerings.
"I am glad that I can utilize my skills and talent as a writer with my neighbors," he says.
Words to live by …
One of Nichols’ poems, The Good Man You Prayed For, has become his signature piece. He is asked to recite it at most of his poetry readings and hopes it eventually will spawn a novel.
The poem, which begins "I’m the good man you prayed for … what God intended for me to be," can offer hope to listeners, he says.
"It looks at the love thing," Nichols explains. "I wrote it for a friend of mine going through a rough time, searching in vain for love, even though it was right in front of her."
He hopes his words also will have a healing effect on his neighborhood, which has been plagued by crime and other problems. Sometimes, he says, "it just feels like Iraq is right here in my backyard."
"My father used to say that South Philadelphia was like God’s country. Everyone knew one another, there was little crime, the community reached out to each other and lent a helping hand," Nichols says. "We need to reinvest in our community. We want South Philadelphia to go back to the way it used to be. Back to God’s country."
The writer has faith the area has what it needs to bloom again.
"There is more to life than fast money," he says. "I know there is humanity left."
