Streetvibes vol 18

S e p t. 2 5 t h - O c t. 8 t h , 2 0 1 4 | V o l . 1 8 I s s u e 2 0 ( N o . 2 8 7 )

advocating justice | Building community

The Cincinnati Ballet’s New Works|8

This issue sponsored by Judge (Retired) Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

CAREGIVER SUMMIT| 4

PHANTOM PLUSHES | 7

OCCUPY: THE REBIRTH OF HOPE | 6

TAKE THE JUSTICE WALK | 4

Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition 113 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 12

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The Drop Inn Center’s Women’s Shelter is Moving to a Larger Facility JOSH SPRING

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Executive Director

n Friday, September 19th people gathered for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Drop Inn Center Women’s Shelter located on Reading Road. Those gathered included Drop Inn Center staff and board members as well as social workers, outreach workers, case managers, administrators and directors from various agencies combatting homelessness. Also present were bankers, developers and funders. The speakers line-up included politicians, the President of the Mt. Auburn Community Council, an Ohio Housing Finance Agency representative, and a Continuum of Care representative.

Various press were also there.

There were mixed emotions in the crowd. People are thankful to know that the Drop Inn Center will continue to bring quality service to single women experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

To date, the Drop Inn Center was the first and remains the only shelter in Hamilton County to serve single women who are not necessarily the survivors of domestic violence (the YWCA skillfully operates the areas’ only domestic violence shelter for both single women and women with children). A main reason for mixed emotions is because of the fact that at this point in our history as a city and county, increased space is needed for single women experiencing homelessness.

Just over 30 years ago the Drop Inn Center was actually called the Alcoholic Men’s Drop Inn Center.

The shelter had this name because homelessness was for the most part experienced by men suffering from the disease of addiction and/or mental illness. In fact the Alcoholic Men’s Drop Inn Center operated in a oneroom storefront on Vine Street in the early 1970s and then a small five-room facility on Main Street until January of 1978. In 1978 the Drop Inn Center moved to the former Teamsters Union Hall on 12th, where the men’s shelter currently is. By the 1990s homelessness had grown to the point that the Drop

Inn Center needed to expand and built the cinder-block portion of the existing shelter at the corner of Elm and 12th where it currently is. It was also not until the 1990s that the Drop Inn Center had to expand in order to provide safe shelter for single women, currently operated in the Teamsters portion of the building.

In the mid-1980s through early 1990s when shelters were either being created or significantly expanded to keep people alive during the massive increase in homelessness at that time, those opening or expanding shelters did not intend for them to still exist in 2014 and certainly not to be in need of more space in 2014. Those running shelters at the time believed that by now, massive, systematic homelessness would have ended. They believed that through community organizing, advocacy, policy change, etc. that systematic homelessness would be eliminated.

Angeringly, homelessness is an even greater problem than it was 20 and 30 years ago and is still growing.

Our agencies and organizations have actively organized the community and advocated for policy change that would create low-income affordable housing, good jobs, addictions treatment, mental health treatment, anti-criminalization and more opportunity in general. This work has never paused. The general public and the politicians we elect, have not acted in any major, systematic way to actually end homelessness, despite the fact that the answers to the problem are known and have been stated through a variety of means, many, many times over.

Last winter, the Drop Inn Center staff and board had a tough decision to make: whether or not to take on the major undertaking of operating a new and separate single women’s shelter of which they were not the original organization planned to operate it.

And to do so while also operating a new and larger men’s shelter in another neighborhood. “Decision” may not be the right word because the Drop Inn Center’s mission, passion, heritage

and morality really did not give them any decision but yes.

We all should be thankful to have the Drop Inn Center; an organization that always steps up to the large and difficult tasks required to keep people under a roof and moving forward to housing. The expanded women’s shelter will be run very well. The women who will find respite and assistance there will feel joined in their struggle to exit the systematic problem of homelessness as the women at the current Drop Inn Center do. There, however will be more space for the increasing number of single women experiencing homelessness.

The women’s portion of the current Drop Inn Center has been at or over capacity consistently for the last two years or so. The new shelter will expand the Drop Inn Center’s ability to serve single women experiencing homelessness.

Let’s, however, make a collective commitment. Let’s heed the constant call of Homeless Coalitions’ across this country. Let’s commit to the expansions in shelter that are currently happening in Cincinnati to be our last expansions of shelter. Let’s move our focus to the prevention of homelessness and the quick exit from homelessness. This will be accomplished first by changing our attitudes about homelessness from one of criminalizing people experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness to attitudes of empathy that operate from the truth that we have massive homelessness because we do not have anywhere close to enough affordable housing and living-wage jobs as well as proper addictions treatment and mental health treatment for those who need it. We must cease fighting to keep affordable housing off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. We must cease waging lawsuits and zoning battles to stop affordable housing development. We must stop circumventing democracy and truth to stop affordable housing. Let’s own the fact that homelessness is a systematic problem and in order to end it, we must make massive systematic changes. Let’s work at not needing any more shelter space. Let’s work for the day we will no longer need shelters at all.

-Josh Spring, LSW Executive Director

The Documentary Pay 2 Play Comes To Cincinnati This Week - Features Ohio’s Coin Gate Scandal BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

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he new documentary, “Pay 2 Play: Democracy’s High Stakes,” comes to Cincinnati on Friday September 26th.

Created by film maker John Ennis, “Pay 2 Play” depicts how big money is both corrupting and changing our political system in America. The documentary will be shown at the Esquire Theater, 320 Ludlow Avenue in Clifton from September 26th to October 2nd.

“Pay 2 Play” reveals how “Fat

Cat” donors to political campaigns are rewarded for their large contributions by grateful elected officials who legislate tax cuts and corporate deregulation or award major public contracts. This documentary is of special interest to Ohioans because it features “the Coin Gate” scandal that rocked the Administration of Governor Robert Taft.

Director John Ennis made the following statement after filming sequences of his documentary in Ohio.

“The need to raise the fortune required for your re-election is hanging over you every day, and business interests with greater money at stake will gladly

help to fund that campaign somehow.”

“Pay 2 Play” also focuses on the impact of the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United.

Informal discussions led by representatives from groups such as Common Cause and the League of Women Voters will take place after several of “Pay 2 Play” showings at the Esquire Theater. For further information about these discussions call 381-4994, and for information about showing times call 281-2803.

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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty.

Distributed by individuals experiencing homelessness or on the edge of homelessness, in exchange for a $1.50 Donation. Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati.

113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202 Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813 WEB: www.cincihomeless.org BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Editor: Justin Jeffre Executive Director: Josh Spring Director of Development: Leslie Moorhead Director of Education: Michelle Dillingham Distributor Program Manager: Anna Worpenberg Layout: Jeni Jenkins, Uncaged Bird Design Studio Reception: Chris Fowler, Steve Reams Clarence Daniels Charles Carpenter Maintenance: Pete Roper CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Writers: Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Andrea Kornbluh, Justin Jeffre, Michelle Dillingham, Katy Heins, Jason Haap, Jim Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Steve Sunderland, Sue Wilke, Sonny Williams, Ricardo Taylor, Jerry Davis, Lee McCoy, Willa Denise Jones, Kim Green, Cleo Wombles Photography/Artwork: Justin Jeffre, Jon Hughes, Katy Heins, Kate Gallion, Steve Wuesthoff, Peter Mueller, Aimee Willhotte, Bill Woods Thank You For Reading Streetvibes And Supporting Our Mission To Build Community And Advocate Justice.

Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless do not endorse candidates for public office.

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NO. 287 | S e p t . 2 5 - O c t 8 , 2 0 1 4

Continuing Economic Crisis— Ferguson and Cincinnati

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ANDREA KORNBLUH

Contributing Writer

he August 9th police killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent protests, remind Cincinnatians of the 2001 police killing of the unarmed Timothy Thomas and of the police over-reaction to the protests here. But journalists taking a look at Ferguson have uncovered further parallels between the Queen City and the events in Missouri. Writing in the September 4 New York Times reporter Matthew Goldstein explores the continuing financial crisis and its effects of underwater mortgages foreclosures on and the community. In particular, Goldstein examines the role of a California private equity firm, Raineth Housing, one of the major institutional buyers of distressed homes in the St. Louis area. Raineth, Goldstein notes, has bought “hundreds of homes in Kansas City, Mo., and Cincinnati with the $50 million it raised from investors.”

According to the Hamilton County Auditor’s website, over the last two years Raineth Housing and its various subsidiaries have purchased 238 single-family homes in Cincinnati, paying a typical price of $15,000$20,000 per house. Incorporated in California in 2008, with Ohio subsidiaries added in 20013 and 2014, the limited–liability company describes itself on the website LinkedIn as follows: “Raineth Housing expands the options for lower income home renters by providing free-standing, single family houses as residential options.

Since 2009 Raineth has bought, renovated and leased houses in the Mid-West to lower income families, including many with Section 8 rental assistance.” And Raineth continues, “Investors have found Raineth an attractive way to commit capital to the lower-priced portion of the single

family housing market.” This is so because, Raineth asserts, “Current market conditions have conspired to depress the price of smaller houses in selected markets to levels that are well below 50% of prices paid in the past decade.” All of this promises investors “very attractive current yields while preserving the opportunity for significant capital appreciation.”

Section 8 housing vouchers, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provide housing assistance for “very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.” The families locate their housing, and, provided the housing meets the requirements of the program, the housing subsidy is paid directly to the landlord. So Section 8 would seem to insure a flow of income to investors.

Goldstein reports that two-thirds of Ferguson’s residents are AfricanAmerican and that that 50% of the town’s homeowners are underwater – that is they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

Raineth has purchased 72 houses in Ferguson and more than three times that many 238 houses in Cincinnati.

Ferguson’s population is 21,135, while Cincinnati’s is more than ten times larger, at 296,550 inhabitants, but Raineth sought similar demographics for its Cincinnati purchases. Of the city of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods, Raineth purchased houses in eighteen, as well as seven of the surrounding towns and townships, favoring distressed neighborhoods over affluent ones. While buying scattered houses over a wide geographic area-for example, three in Mt. Auburn, one in Kennedy Heights, seven in Walnut Hills, and eight in Evanston--two

adjacent neighborhoods account for more than half the Raineth purchases — West Price Hill and East Price Hill.

These two neighborhoods, zip codes 45205 and 45204, lead the city’s ranks of distressed neighborhoods in a recent national study. In West Price Hill, 46% of the homes are underwater, in East Price Hill, 43%. In 2013 West Price Hill had 213 homes in default or foreclosure, while East Price Hill had 60. African-Americans and Latinos comprise 48% of the population of West Price Hill, and 37% of East Price Hill. The neighborhoods sound a lot like Ferguson.

This year some of the really big institutional investors such as Blackstone’s Invitation Homes have begun to withdraw from the project of purchasing distressed property for rentals, the profits are no longer so great since property values have increased along with interest rates. Others, like Starwood Waypoint have continued to add single-family homes to their portfolios, noting to a reporter from Real Estate Finance Intelligence, “There are two things that have allowed the industry to emerge — the financial crisis and the emergence of cloud and mobile computing.” Gary Beasley, the CEO explained Starwood Waypoint’s approach: “All of our staff has iPads and we also have our own apps that provide real-time information on the houses in our portfolio. It’s very much like a manufacturing process and we have more than 1,000 processes automated in the system.” Investors typically buy with cash, competing with first-time homeowners trying to get mortgages. In September 2013, according to Forbes, 49% of all home sales in the US were paid for in cash.

In the last several years private equity funds have spent $20 billion in the housing market, purchasing some 200,000 houses to rent.

Seattle Business Magazine explained the process of investing in homes as follows: “The game plan is simple: Investors buy homes at prices below replacement cost, fix them up and rent them out with an eye toward selling them in five to eight years when

3 housing prices recover and there are more buyers with strong credit.” The investors hold the houses for a finite period of time, and then liquidate them to pay back investors. But, as RealtyTrac’s Darren Blomquist recently told the Baltimore Sun, “Acquiring the properties is not hard. The hard part is managing....The verdicts still out on whether they’ve mastered that at this point.”

Unlike some of the largest institutional investors, Raineth is still buying houses. It is not really clear just who the local Raineth agents are, or who is responsible for the rehabbing and maintenance for the property.

The Hamilton County Auditor’s website includes copies of “Residential Rental Property Registration” forms for Raineth IIB Cincinnati LLC listing addresses of houses, the parcel numbers, the year built, and the number of rental units. Two individuals’ names appear on the forms, along with a post office box and a single phone number.

The phone is a landline registered to L. J. Rei, who has no address and no profile on social media. The corporation officer is listed as a David Lo, a resident of New York, and the agent is a Kym Ahern, identified as the AP/ AR at J.L. Rei. It is unclear how many of the 238 houses have been rented

by Raineth, or what the terms of the leases might be.

Few of the Raineth-owned houses are recent constructions, and a number date from the last quarter of the 19th century. These are homes that will need constant care. In Ferguson renters have complaints about getting Raineth to complete necessary repairs. Missouri housing officials, according to Goldstein, “ranked Raineth in ‘the bottom third’ of landlords receiving federal rent subsidies when it comes to basic repairs and renovations.” Whether Cincinnati will follow Ferguson’s experience in this remains to be seen. Surely this pattern of investment will have an effect on Cincinnati neighborhoods. More investigation should reveal the nature of that impact. Stay tuned.

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Federal Court Orders Voting Access for People Jailed the Weekend Before an Election

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JUSTIN JEFFRE

Streetvibes Editor

n September 16th a federal judge ruled that the State of Ohio and its county boards of elections must make provisions for eligible voters to request absentee ballots if they are placed into custody the weekend before an election.

The Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC) filed FEO v Husted in 2012 on behalf of Plaintiffs the AMOS Project, Fair Elections Ohio, and CUREOhio. In registering voters in 2012, workers for the AMOS project fielded questions about what would happen to a registered voter who got arrested just before the election. AMOS and OJPC learned that Ohio law prevented a registered voter from casting a ballot if the voter was arrested the weekend before the election and was unable to pay bail in time to go to the polls on

Election Day. The State of Ohio already has in place a special voting procedure for voters who are hospitalized right before an election, where they can vote through absentee ballot. However, the same opportunity was denied to voters arrested and jailed in those same final pre-election days.

“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental and cherished rights in a free and democratic society,” said David Singleton, Executive Director of OJPC and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. “People arrested the weekend before the election are presumed to be innocent. If they are registered and otherwise qualified to participate in the process, voting is still their right.”

Plaintiffs provided expert evidence that showed that at least 400 voters were denied their right to vote in 2012

David Singleton and Judge (Retired) Mark Painter. Photo: Justin Jeffre as a result of the state’s law and policies.

Federal District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel, in ruling for the Plaintiffs, stated, “The Court sees no value in taking away this fundamental voting right, even for a short period of time.”

The ruling requires the state to extend the opportunity to vote absentee to “late jailed electors” in Ohio.

OJPC is a non-profit, public interest law office that advocates for a

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fair, intelligent, redemptive criminal justice system. In 2004, OJPC sued Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and 22 county boards of elections for illegally disenfranchising people with felony convictions who were no longer incarcerated.

Further information about OJPC is available at www. ohiojpc.org.

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Take the Justice Walk

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MICHELLE DILLINGHAM

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Staff Writer

his fall the Christ Church Cathedral’s Community Issues Forum series is focusing on the theme of “economic inequality”. Each week a different aspect of this theme will be covered by various presenters, including how labor issues, education, and the state budget influence inequality. On September 11th Josh Spring, Director at the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition led a “Justice Walk” in Overthe-Rhine to join in the kick off the series.

The Justice Walk began with a brief talk by Josh at buddy’s Place (1300 Vine Street) where he offered some context for the walk we were about to take. The group then headed out, and was led to various locations in the neighborhood.

The history of the various sites was shared, followed by present-day stories that demonstrated various struggles in the on-going fight to ensure that quality, low-income affordable housing is available in Overthe-Rhine.

Along the walk Josh pointed to buildings that were sites of large-sale displacement of families with lower incomes in the name of re-development. He told of the losses of affordable and subsidized units, which has caused a sig-

nificant shift resulting in less racial and economic diversity.

He also spoke to the legacy of several important non-profit agencies that have been largely ignored, or worse, pushed out due to the re-branding of the neighborhood as “The Gateway Quarter”.

The walk ended back at buddy’s Place with a sobering reminder that the result of the net-loss of so many affordable Photo: Jon Hughes/Photopresse units has directly impacted the number of families experiencing homelessness. That right now Cincinnati’s family shelter system reports they have never seen the need so bad. They are only able to

offer emergency shelter to about 20% of all the families who are calling and asking for shelter.

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition offers walking tours as a part of our education program. There is nothing quite like seeing the issues we educate on - from affordable housing, to criminalization of the homeless, to hate crimes, to mixed-income development solutions – while walking through Overthe-Rhine. And this experience is transferrable, because what is happening in Over-theRhine is also happening in other parts of our city. It is a unique way to learn, and we encourage any individuals or groups to contact us to schedule your tour today, and experience it for yourself.

Photos: Jon Hughes/Photopresse ------------------------

The Caregiver Summit KATY HEINS

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Contributing Writer

urrounded by their art work of value circles, a “learnings” clothes line and a commitment board, over forty caregivers gathered for the Caregivers Summit on Saturday, September 13th (CCC) at Peaslee Neighborhood Center. The Summit, held at Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, culminated a summer of circle meetings held by caregivers exploring solutions to the personal as well as systemic issues that caregivers face.

The Summit integrated poetry, art and activism so participants could learn together and move to action.

During introductions a poem was read, which was developed from the words of members of the circle meetings.

Participants were asked to introduce themselves by reacting to the poem.

This brought out people’s caregiving stories. This exercise impressed State Representative Denise Driehaus so much that, while in front of the whole

group, she told a moving story of her own caregiving experience when her father was sick. She went on to pledge to introduce a resolution to support the caregiver credit in the statehouse during the lame duck session and, if need be, in the next General Assembly.

Representative Driehaus said, “I am moved to be here. So many politicians are out of touch with people. I appreciate you having me and I take this as my push to introduce the Caregiver Credit resolution. We need to get this dialogue started at the state and national level.”

This was only the first 30 minutes of the Summit. Through an interactive “care café” facilitated by CCC’s Katy Heins, participants dug into how to insert a strong sense of gender, race and quality into the caregiver credit, long term care and minimum wage campaigns. The group was also joined via video conference with Barbara Young, National Field Organizer of the Na-

Attendees from the Caregiving Summit. Photo: Katy Heins. tional Domestic Workers Alliance. At the end of the café, people gave ideas to the national campaign. CCC’s Tammy Thomas-Miles and Grassroots Ambassador Pat Youngblood developed the next steps with participants which are to contact everyone by the end of the month, hold a conference call in early October to further develop strategy, and schedule a follow up meeting in mid-November. Also, there will be a

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story bank developed.

The day ended with a closing poem, again composed of the words from the earlier circles, and a ritual of water that symbolized connection, healing and strength. Participants stayed for fellowship, to share a meal, to listen to Terra Azul (a Brazilian-styled band) and to continue discussion.

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NO. 287 | S e p t . 2 5 - O c t 8 , 2 0 1 4

COALITION CLIFFNOTES

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In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.— Jimi Hendrix

Cruel and Unusual Punishment MICHELLE DILLINGHAM

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Staff Writer

his small exchange in the Seinfeld Episode “The Busboy” has us join the character’s conversation midstream...

[Setting: Jerry’s apartment] JERRY: Anywhere in the city?

GEORGE: Anywhere in the city - I’ll tell you the best public toilet.

JERRY: Okay...Fifty-fourth and Sixth?

GEORGE: Sperry Rand Building. 14th floor, Morgan Apparel. Mention my name she’ll give you the key.

JERRY: Alright... Sixty-fifth and Tenth.

GEORGE: (Scoffs) Are you kidding? Lincoln Center.

Alice Tully Hall, the Met! Magnificent facilities!

[Cut away.]

This quick scene humorously captures the character George’s many quirks; the ability to locate the best public toilet from any location in New York City. How well would George Castanza do in downtown Cincinnati?

Not so good. In fact, the lack of restrooms open and accessible to the general public is a problem that has only gotten worse, not better. The problem is most dire for men, women, and children who are experiencing homelessness in our city. It is hard enough to find a free bathroom in the couple hours my family is out and about, kids in tow. It’s hard to imagine having to do this day in and day out, 5-8 times a day.

One of the member agencies of the Homeless Coalition is The Mary Magdalene House in downtown Cin-

cinnati on Main Street. Every morning men and women wait in line to use their shower facilities, brush their teeth, use a toilet, and change into a clean set of clothes. Over the course of a day they serve on average over 200 persons. You may have your water turned off, or had to spend the night where it’s not safe to shower. You may be living in your car or in some other make-shift shelter; the reasons are many that lead one to Mary Magdalene’s door. The credo above the agency’s entryway simply reads: “Dignity is the Beginning of Hope”. They describe their services as “an oasis of hospitality” - an apt metaphor. The elusive “oasis” is a place of rescue and relief, a pleasant contrast. The word’s etymology is from the Coptic wahe or ouahe meaning a “dwelling place”, home. The ability to use a toilet, to clean oneself in privacy is increasingly being taken away by the very way we develop and police public spaces. It is an issue of human dignity, and has recently been called out as a violation of human rights.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the National Coalition for the Homeless, and Southern Legal Council recently issued a report, “Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States of America: A Report to the U.N. Committee Against Torture”. The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition has signed on and endorsed the report.

The first page is titled “Criminalization of Homelessness Constitutes Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment”. The thesis of the report is that laws against those experiencing homelessness impose extreme hardships, and that these laws reinforce a dehumanizing climate and culture of degradation against persons experiencing homelessness.

The United Nations Convention

HOMELESS COALITION EDUCATION AND OUTREACH “BREAKDOWN STEREOTYPES & ERADICATE MISINFORMATION” The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences. The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.

To schedule a speaker, contact Michelle Dillingham at (513) 421.7803 x14

Photo: Michelle Dillingham Against Torture (CAT) has a list of violations that constitutes torture and cruel, inhuman degrading treatment or punishment. The case is made that criminalizing homelessness “and its associated activities when people have nowhere else to go” violates the CAT. It states, “Enforcement of criminalizing ordinances forces an impossible choice: sleep deprivation, hunger, thirst, or denial of access to dignified sanitation... or, criminal punishment for engaging in life-sustaining behavior (p. 1).” Simply put, but making it illegal to sit, sleep, or rest when there is no available housing – or by not providing any public place to urinate or defecate and then in turn arresting people for it, meets the definitions of inhuman degrading treatment or punishment that are defined by the CAT. Case law is cited in the report’s appendix where justice prevailed in cases of criminalizing homelessness, although the point is made these victories are few:

1) Robinson v. California (1962).

This was the first U.S. Supreme Court case where criminalization of an involuntary status was ruled unconstitutional. Mr. Robinson was arrested in 1962 for having “tracks” on his arms after admitting to a police officer he had been using heroin. He was jailed for 90 days since California law had being addicted to narcotics was a misdemeanor. The argument that this was punishment was excessive was won at the Supreme Court, that criminalizing drug addiction was in violation of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights which protects citizens against cruel and unusual punishment. It was the first case that limited government in what they were allowed to criminalize.

2) Pottinger v. City of Miami, 1992.

In Miami, Fl a group of homeless individuals filed a class action lawsuit alleging the city had a policy of harassing homeless persons for sleeping, eating, and other life-sustaining activities in public places. And, that the city routinely seized and destroyed their property. The court ruled in their favor that penalizing people for “performing innocent conduct in public places – in particular, for being in a park or on public streets at a time of day when there is no place where they can lawfully be – most definitely interferes with their right

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under the constitution to be free from cruel and unusual punishment”.

3) Jones v. City of Los Angeles, 2006.

Mr. Jones, a homeless man who lived in LA’s “Skid Row” encampment made the case and won that the enforcement of LA’s anti-loitering law that “No person shall sit, lie or sleep in or upon any street, sidewalk or other public way” violated the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishment clause.

One of the concluding observations listed in the report has to do with discrimination, that homeless persons are “routinely and disproportionately criminalized for essential human functions and behaviors they have no choice but to perform in public due to lack of affordable housing or shelter space...this constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” (p. 6).

Here in Cincinnati advocates are especially concerned when policies are proposed that would further penalize citizens - simply because they are financially poor. The report offers statistics demonstrating the disturbing, rapid upward spike across the country of local ordinances that criminalize those who are financially poor; anti-camping bans, “no homeless” zones, prohibitions against sitting, lying down, bans on sleeping in cars, and begging. Apart from the problems that are then compounded by having a criminal record, there is also a broader concern related to the dehumanizing climate these laws produce.

It is notable that the highest rates of hate crimes perpetrated against the homeless also happen to be the ones with highest rates of criminalization (California and Florida).

It strikes me that if we can invest in public access to bicycle infrastructure (the “Red Bike” bike share program), similarly we can surely support access to safe, sanitary 24-hour toilets. In fact, the primary responsibility of our city government is to assure public health and safety. Until that day when homelessness has been eradicated, we must keep vigilant and advocate that the civil rights for those without homes are upheld. In this case, surely it is not only in the interest of the most vulnerable of our city to have access to this most basic need.

As author Taro Gomi teaches, “Everyone Poops”.

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A Coloring Book For Santanists?

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JASON HAAP

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Contributing Writer

he Satanists now have a children’s coloring book! This isn’t any ordinary coloring book - meant to be purchased by neighborhood families who may dabble in the dark arts. Instead, it is being distributed to public school children in Orange County, Florida.

But before we comment on those details, perhaps some clarifications are in order.

According to a 2007 Gallup poll, about 70% of Americans believe in The Devil. It may come as a surprise to such people that Satanists do not share their belief! Naturally, I’m sure somewhere in the wide world are those who really do worship Satan, and you might even refer to such people as “Satanists” - but when we are talking about The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, or people who are part of “The Official Church of Satan,” we are really talking about hard-core atheists who desire to oppose organized religion to an extreme level, without actually holding any supernatural beliefs.

Here’s a short version of the current controversy: in Orange County, Florida, a Christian group received permission to distribute Bibles to public school children. When an atheist

group decided to do the same, and the school board stopped them, the atheists filed a lawsuit. The school board backed down, decided to allow equal access for all religions, and then the Satanists showed up with their coloring book.

The coloring book itself drips with satire. The caption on one page reads: “Damian is showing his class the way to make an inverted pentagram. Connect the dots to make one yourself.” That name (Damian, or Damien) is perhaps most famous for being the devil-child in the famous 1976 film The Omen.

Are these Satanists serious? Probably not. They are just trying to agitate the Christians - and whatever you think about agitating Christians, we all probably need to agree they have the first amendment right to do just that.

I would personally prefer that we leave all religions out of public schools entirely, but increasingly legislators and courts have moved in a different direction - and when they do, the door opens for groups like the Satanists to do these kinds of things. Recently, Ohio decided that public high school students could receive elective credit for religious study programs. How long until a branch of the Church of

Satan offers online high school credit in Devilology at bargain rates?

When they do, “bringing prayer back to public school” will not be the

answer. That’s what’s making this happen in the first place.

Man? Perhaps only time will tell.

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Occupy: The Rebirth of Hope JIM LUKEN

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Contributing Writer

ou remember the famous red, white and blue 2008 election posters of Obama, right? Those posters, like the Presidenttobe, promised America “Hope” and “Change.” It didn’t take long for many of us progressives to realize that those promises were bogus.

Obama would not bring change.

During the President’s first term, there was a sense, among people of good will on the left, that hope would emerge, that change would occur, only if wethepeople made it happen. Not by voting, but out in the streets, voting — if you will — with our bodies. Well, Dear Readers, we did just that. Or, at very least we started the ball rolling.

We gave ourselves hope. We moved the world toward change.

“How did we do that?” you ask.

We OCCUPIED! We “occupied” Wall Street. We “occupied” Cincinnati. We “occupied” hundreds of cities all over the world. We made the evening news over a long period of time. We scared the living daylights out of the bankers, the highrollers, the politicians, those entities that the Bible describes as the “Principalities and the Powers.”

We were a force to be reckoned with.

Maybe you were a part of it all. If so, happy anniversary.

The editor of this newspaper (who was arrested during our Garfield Park occupation) has asked me to “reflect” on those heady times in the fall of 2011.

As a 70 yearold, lifelong activist, I have tons of good Occupy memories, as well as a few dreadful ones. But make no

mistake, Reader. The Occupy movement was the most powerful demonstration of popular moral will since the Civil Rights Movement. I believe it had more clout than the Vietnam War protests. We were, after all, taking on the corporations, the arms merchants that create the demand for war, and the banks that always fund both sides of every war.

We fought the “System.” We named it the 1%. We made ordinary people realize they were being screwed.

And — more importantly — they came to see that they were not alone. They had likeminded brothers and sisters by the millions.

A Little History

On September 17, 2011, a group calling itself Occupy Wall Street took up residence (in tents) in a place called Zucotti Park, not far from Wall Street in Manhattan.

Although the media avoided the “occupation” for the first few weeks, it grew exponentially to the point where it could no longer be ignored. Other “Occupies” popped up in cities everywhere.

Occupy Cincinnati began in Lytle Park, near the river, on October the 8th. But Lytle was too far from the heart of the city, so the focus of operations moved to Piatt (Garfield) Park, across from the library, where more and more tents went up. Seemingly out of nowhere, an unusual organization called Food Not Bombs which predated the occupation emerged to sup-

Occupy Cincinnati. Photo: Kate Gallion. ply meals to the campers three times a day. As in other cities, donations of money and supplies poured into the new organization. Occupy Cincinnati became a legal entity, with a board of directors and bylaws.

General Assemblies (GAs) were held at various times during the day to deal with issues, problems, and planning. The GAs were carefully organized, following the model in New York, with everyone getting his or her own chance to speak on a particular agenda (“stack”) item. Hand signals were used at all GAs across the country in order to cut down on applause and provide meeting leaders a simple way to read the group’s mood. “Mic Check!” was the familiar cry that brought order when the meetings began.

Regular marches took place, snaking their way through downtown Cincinnati in support of a particular cause, or protesting a particular entity.

I remember a two-story “oilwell” be-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

ing dragged through the streets to Rob Portman’s office on 7th Street.

We did Street Theater at Fountain Square against the banks. On one day in November, many of us went into a downtown 5/3rd Bank office and noisily demanded that they close our accounts. 40,000 people nationwide moved their money into publiclyowned Credit Unions on that day. Some might say this is small potatoes, but the big banks took it very seriously.

Those were heady times. So much energy, so much good will, so much patience (often kindness) surrounded the nightly GAs near the statue of President Garfield. As the old song goes, “Those were the days, my friend/ we thought they’d never end.” But they did end. They ended with more than one hundred arrests here. They ended (on Oct. 20) when our tents were taken down and stolen by the police. They ended when the banks colluded with

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Phantom Flushes

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LOCAL

MICHAEL EARL PATTON

D

Contributing Writer

oes your water and sewage bill stay high no matter how careful you are with your usage? Mine does. It’s almost as if there is a phantom repeatedly flushing my toilet whenever I am not around. Eventually I found out the real cause.

I live by myself, in a house that I own, and my bill has stayed stubbornly high even though I put in a low-flush toilet, bought a front-loading washing machine which saves water, and installed a low-flow shower head. (In case you are wondering, I do shower every day.) I turn off the tap water while I shave, turning it back on to rinse. I am saving water, yet the results hardly show up on my bill. In my case the water comes from the Greater Cincinnati Water Works and the sewage is carried away by the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, often called MSD. The bill combines both. (There is also a separate charge for storm water, which is different than the regular sewer charge. That is another utility and topic altogether and won’t be mentioned further in this article.)

I dug into how my bill is calculated. I found the information on the sewer district’s website, www.msdgc. org. Then I did a search for “rates.” I also talked with MSD personnel. For those who get a bill every 3 months, like I do, the sewage rate for the year is based on the water usage during the winter quarter. This makes sense, because during the winter quarter it is likely that most of the water used goes down a drain which is connected to the sewer system. During the spring, summer, and fall people often are watering their lawns, filling a pool, or washing down the house or car. Most of this water probably doesn’t go into the sewer system but soaks into the ground or evaporates. MSD makes the rough approximation that the water that goes down the sewers is roughly constant through the year. So far so good. This is a far cheaper than installing sewer meters at every house in addition to

OCCUPY

{Continued from page 6} the government and the police to do everything they could to destroy this people’s movement. They ended when we failed to generate the ideas and plans that might — at last — save the world.

Below you will read the thoughts of two of my good friends, two individuals who were deeply involved in many aspects of Occupy Cincinnati. They have my gratitude.

Kate Gallion, artist and activist

The “moment” of Occupy — those months of living publicly — was circus, theatre and spectacle. First lesson learned: there are NO “public spaces” in America, no places to legally assemble in order to exercise our “free” speech. But the horizontal conversation we started is unstoppable, another world is possible, and it’s coming.

Corporate Personhood. Climate Crisis. Casino Capitalism. Too Big To Fail. Privatization of Public Assets.

the water meters.

But it turns out that the usage during the winter isn’t necessarily the minimum usage for which you are charged. MSD charges a minimum, regardless of how little you actually use.

This is confusing because it is not explained on the quarterly bill at all. Instead, your winter usage is given, but the charge may be for a higher amount of usage. It is based on the size of the incoming water pipe, or “connection size,” to your house. For me it is 5/8”.

This means that I am charged for at least 900 cubic feet of sewage use, even if I use less.

In my case I used only 483 cubic feet during the winter quarter. Yet I was charged for almost twice that.

Previous years show a similar pattern.

I have two concerns about this. MSD referred me to the Hamilton County Commissioners as they are the ones who set the rate policy. I explained my concerns as follows: “This is 1) a disincentive to use less water, especially because the sewage rates are far higher than the water rates and 2) an extra burden for those on limited incomes.

What is the county’s justification for such a policy?”

Jeff Aluotto, from the Hamilton County Commissioners’ office, provided the following response: “The MSD rate methodology has been in place for a fairly long time so I cannot provide any information to explain, precisely, why the specific minimum volume level was chosen. The minimum volume on which the base fee is currently prescribed in MSD’s rates is 500 cubic feet per month. This equates to about 123 gallons per day.

There was a long-standing adage in the industry that you should anticipate usage of 100 gallons per day per person. (This sounds like a lot – but if you traced your usage through the day it adds up quickly. EPA says the average family uses more than 300 gpd).

As you are likely aware - times have changed. With the advent and application of low flow appliances and the like the industry as a whole has seen Foreclosure. Wage Slavery. Income Inequality. Dirty Energy. Oil Imperialism. Disaster Capitalism. Citizen’s United. Living Wages. Pay Inequality... all these harsh realities are in the public dialog now, because Occupy took a hard look at the way we had failed at democracy. It connected the dots, and “micchecked” the stark truth of what has gone so morbidly wrong: CAPITALISM HAS FAILED, and there is no plan B. When Occupy, or something like it, reemerges, this should be the agenda: Revoke the corporate charters of all criminal corporations--those who would plunder the planet, those who profiteer war, those who enslave wage workers, who bankrupt our education system, who burden our children with crushing student debt servitude. For those and other corporate predators: Game over, OCCUPIED.

Ben Stockwell, activist and web programmer

We have a lot to learn from Oc-

a decreasing trend in use per person.

You are correct that the minimum volume, or base fee, currently prescribed in MSD’s rates represents an average which, likely, falls above some customers’ average usage levels. But I think it is safe to assume that a majority of households (just about any household with more than one person) are likely to pay more than a minimum bill on a monthly basis – thus allowing for them to benefit from adopting a more conservation-minded approach.

“Largely the rationale for this type of rate structure (base fee) is to ensure revenue consistency and predictability. There is, however, a conflicting dynamic between encouraging conservation (for lower volume users especially) and ensuring that adequate revenues are available to cover fixed costs of the system. This dynamic is becoming more apparent as rates rise in response to the consent decree. Additionally, as volume and number of users trend downward, as is occurring in our system, there is upward pressure on rates to cover the fixed costs of the system.

So any action to reduce rates or total

billings has to be carefully considered as it will, ultimately, entail the need to make up those lost revenues through increases on other rate classes. At the end of the day, this is a system which is built to effectively manage and treat over a thousand pounds of water and waste per person per day. There are a lot of fixed costs related to a system with that capability. I would imagine the Board, through its rate setting authority, will be looking more closely at the issue you have raised in future years. We want to ensure the service remains affordable for all users while ensuring adequate revenues to cover costs. To the degree that would also allow a greater promotion of conservation, that would obviously be beneficial as well.”

I think that there are probably more people affected by this than the commissioners do, but this can be easily investigated by a computerized survey of customers’ bills. I ask the commissioners and the sewer district to consider this matter further.

cupy. It provided a good starting point for how a mass movement might look.

But it also manifested some key examples of how things shouldn’t be run if we want a successful movement, which I would define as a movement that provides a legitimate threat to power.

I think the most important question is that of politics. I’ve heard it brought up that one of the virtues of Occupy was that it didn’t have a set political positions, which helped lead to its galvanization. I think this is far from true. On the contrary, Occupy did have a set of politics which emerged without discussion and tended towards the lowest common denominator, taking the form of a muddied populism.

The lack of a clear political program, and the lack of democratic discussion around such a program, was what ultimately made the movement fail. For all of Occupy’s strengths early on — engagement, open meetings, public politics — the inability of Occupy to grapple with simple questions regarding what we believe in meant it could

never be a lasting movement. Politics will always emerge, and they must be grappled with in an open democratic way. This is the biggest takeaway for me.

Footnote: Even as I am writing and editing this essay (Mon., Sept. 22, 7 PM), I am watching a live stream video from Wall Street, where hundreds of environmental activists are sitting in the street, risking almost certain arrest for “flooding” the financial district in response to Wall Street’s dereliction regarding climate change. This action followed a 400,000 person march and demonstration on Sunday, the 21st. So you see. Occupy lives on. “The people/ united/will never be defeated.” Long live Occupy!

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[Do you want to be inspired (and hopeful)? Google: Blesses Unrest: Paul Hawken (five minutes)] ------------------------

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LOCAL

Cincinnati Passes Resolution to Combat Antibiotic Abuse on Factory Farms

C

JUSTIN JEFFRE

Streetvibes Editor

incinnati is the latest in a string of cities to call for national legislation to curb unnecessary use of antibiotics in livestock.

On September 17th Cincinnati joined the call to curtail the abuse of life-saving antibiotics on factory farms after several decades of insufficient action by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

At the urging of Food & Water Watch, Cincinnati is now one of more than a dozen cities that have passed resolutions in support of national legislation to stop the use of unnecessary antibiotics in livestock – HR 1150, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) and S 1256, the Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act (PARA).

The vast majority of antibiotics sold in the U.S. (80 percent) are used for agriculture, and most of these drugs are routinely fed to animals to compensate for filthy, crowded living conditions on factory farms. In a recent report, the Center for Disease Control

and Prevention estimated that over two million people per year suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections, and at least 23,000 people die from them.

“This afternoon, Cincinnati became the 26th city to call on Congress for and immediate ban on the non-therapuetic use of antibiotics on factory farms.

With the growing threat of antibiotics becoming less and less effective in treating human illnesses, we are running out of time to address the problem. We know the culprits, and we have the answers. As a leader on agricultural issues, Senator Brown should immediately co-sponsor - and champion - the legislation to ban the unnecessary use of antibiotics for livestock that are nor sick,” said Alison Auciello, Ohio organizer for Food & Water Watch.

Adding, “We applaud the Cincinnati City Council for passing a resolution in support of a nation-wide ban of the misuse of antibiotics on factory farms.

The Cincinnati Ballet’s New Works

T

JUSTIN JEFFRE

Streetvibes Editor

he Cincinnati Ballet kicked off its Kaplan New Works series on September 11th.

New Works celebrates original ideas in movement as well as the physical expression of new and unique voices. More recently there has been a focus on female choreographers.

One of their innovative female choreographers is Heather Britt, the Regional Director of the popular Rhythm & Motion Cincinnati. Rhythm & Motion’s dance classes are taught out of the Cincinnati Ballet headquarters as well as classes in Blue Ash. “This

is my sixth year choreographing for New Works. New Works is the series where choreographers have the freedom to try something completely new, experimenting with new ways to express through movement. It is the series where we are encouraged to take risks. This year I am collaborating with 6 vocalists from Vocal Arts Ensemble with a brand new score composed by Gabriel Gaffney Smith.

This is the first time I have worked with live vocalists,” said Britt.

Having been a fan of the New Works series for years I knew that one should expect the unexpected,

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We’re entering an age in which these life-saving medicines are no longer working to treat infections in humans and Congress and the FDA have failed to act adequately to address this public health threat.”

Food & Water Watch considers FDA’s voluntary guidance for nontherapeutic use of antibiotics insufficient, as it will still allow antibiotics to be used in the same manner for disease prevention among factory-farmed livestock. This loophole encourages factory farms to take shortcuts instead of cleaning up their dirty practices, which breed bacterial infections in the first place, and lead to the continued development of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Council Member Chris Seelbach, the resolution’s sponsor said, “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria remains a growing public health crisis. We know the causes, and now is the time for Congress to implement a solution.

We’re calling on Congress to do the right thing, quit stalling, and take action to bring our regulations into line with mainstream scientific opinion.”

Efforts to save antibiotics for medicine have faced resistance from corporate stakeholders. According to Food & Water Watch analysis of data provided by Open Secrets, between 2010 and 2013, organizations and

companies that lobbied against PAMTA spent over $171 million on lobbying.

Pharmaceutical companies and trade associations spent 72 percent of that total, with agriculture and meat interest groups and companies spending the remaining 27 percent.

Cities that have passed resolutions calling for an end to the misuse of antibiotics on factory farms include Red Bank, New Jersey; Providence, Rhode Island; Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Seattle, Washington; Madison, Wisconsin; St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Alexandria, Virginia and more.

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

but along with many other audience members, I was taken by surprise when the Above the Box piece began which features young hip hop dancers.

The Ballet’s New Works series created a bold and unique juxtaposition of top ballet dancers performing in the same arena as Cincinnati’s number one hip-hop company. While all the performances were very well received, the night I attended the audience seemed especially thrilled by this performance which was choreographed by Derrick Burbridge.

Burbridge, a resident choreographer at Elementz, is currently ranked second in the nation and fifth in the world in competitive hip hop dance.

He performed in a Super Bowl Half Time Show with Madonna in 2012, as well as built a career as a competitive dancer via World of Dance, Midwest

Best Dance Crew and America’s Best Dance Crew.

Elementz was founded in 2001 after the riots. It operates under the principle of using hip-hop to help inner-city youth find their creative voices and provide an outlet for that creativity, while encouraging personal growth and life successes. It is a successful program that should be highlighted more often.

I spoke with the Creative Director of Elementz, Abdullah Powell, who told me how the relationship between the two organizations was born.

“The New Works collaboration was preceded by a visit by Ballet CEO Victoria Morgan to Elementz to watch a rehearsal of Elementz Studio Kre8v in 2013, and also by a partnership between Elementz and the Ballet to work on some choreographic elements in the Ballet’s “King Arthur” ballet last winter,” said Powell.

It was exciting to see a collaboration between organizations like the historic Cincinnati Ballet and an edgier organization like Elementz.

Perhaps collaborations like these can help us break down barriers between generations, cultures and economic backgrounds. If nothing else they will thoroughly entertain.

The New Works series never disappoints.

For more information: http:// www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ food/factoryfarms/antibiotics/ ------------------------

-----------------------(Left) Jake Casey, Maizyalet Velázquez, Cervilio Miguel Amador, James Gilmer, Melissa Gelfin. (Top page 9) James Gilmer, Jacqueline Damico, Romel Frometa, Gemma Diaz, Situ Diaz, Sirui Liu (Center page 9) Elementz dancers, (Bottom left page 9) Abigail Morwood with James Cunningham, Khris Santos and Chirs Lingner (Bottom right page 9. ) Grace Shivers & James Cunningham. Photos: Peter Mueller

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NO. 287 | S e p t . 2 5 - O c t 8 , 2 0 1 4

LOCAL

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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WE, TOO, ARE HUMAN:

LOCAL

A RADICAL CANCER SUPPORT PROCESS STEVE SUNDERLAND AND SUE WILKE

Contributing Writers

1. Introduction:

Cancer affects the whole life of a person. There is a need for support at every key stage of learning about your cancer, choosing treatments, having the cancer interventions, and the healing process. At any time, the person/patient may be confused about what is the best step. Some of this confusion may grow out of the lack of clear communication between healthcare staff, family members, and the difficulty of the kind of cancer. Facing the unknown about being diagnosed with cancer is rarely positive without ongoing, trusted, truthful, and strong support. We know that a patient facing cancer with support has a better chance of successful treatment than a person left alone and without support.

(H. Freeman, MD and R. Rodrieguez, MPH(8/1/11). History and Principles of Patient Navigation. Cancer.) We want to introduce a kind of cancer support we call, “radical.” What do we mean by “radical?” It is radical to have patient support for every step of the cancer process. It is radical for the patient to develop an outside system of support to question medical and social conditions facing the patient and to tie this knowledge into future practice. It is radical to have a support team that appears in the doctor’s office prepared to assist in the questioning of ambiguous terms as well as to appear in the hospitals as a group com-

mitted to excellent cancer treatment.

Being treated in a doctor’s office, or a hospital, or a treatment center, is often overwhelming for the patient and may result in a confusion about what is excellent cancer treatment. A support team or a small group of people, committed to following every key aspect of treatment, can make a world of difference, and perhaps even life over death.

Support for the cancer patient needs to happen irrespective of economic class. The poor face a set of barriers that discourage participation by making entry into the health systems so difficult and, often times, too costly. Suspicion about having cancer is no different for poor people. Doctors and hospitals can be thought to be out of the question due to expense.

The priorities of health clinics may not be aligned with cancer patients. The opportunity for screening and testing may be limited and the follow up may be haphazard. Poor people may feel that cancer just has to be lived with no matter what their feelings are about survival. It is not surprising that poor people have a greater mortality from cancer than non-poor; it is unsurprising but an outrage (A. Gawande (2011). The hot spotters: Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care? New Yorker.)

Health professionals have historically minimized any serious systematic treatment of the poor and the result

has been devastating for poor communities in Cincinnati and across the United States. (A. Natale-Perra, K. Enand, L. Nevarez, and L. Jones (2011). The role of Patient Navigation in eliminating health disparities.

Cancer, 117: 3541-3350. doi 10.1002/ cncr 26264; American Cancer Society(2013). Cancer facts and figures for African Americans, 2013-2014. American Cancer Society.)

2. A support system for every patient:

Every cancer patient needs the option of a supportive system that fosters learning about the realities of their cancer throughout their entire experience of living with cancer. The psychological impact of a cancer diagnosis can upset anyone who has to plan their life around fighting cancer and living out their personal responsibilities. Even those patients familiar with hospitals, doctors, and superficial information about cancer, can be totally baffled at every major point in constructing a plan that is realistic, helpful, and optimistic. The communication between patient and doctor may suffer due to cultural barriers.

Patients are unaware of the nuances of cancer as a disease and the potential strategies that could be tried. Patients may have a desire for clarity, for understanding the chances for a limited or full life, and for the steps required for survival. The doctor’s culture may not include the patient’s worries or ignorance of what is facing the patient.

Too often the doctor may resort to suggesting that “everything is alright” without even defining just what this statement really means. The patient’s culture may be suggesting suspicion about what the doctor is suggesting, especially when the patient has

For tickets please call (513) 381-2273 Purchase tickets online at www.cincyshakes.com AD Donated by Mak and Sue Ann Painter season sponsored by the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

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heard of “experimental treatments” or “tests” that have little meaning except to benefit the doctor or the hospital.

Poor patients may feel so frightened by what the doctor is saying or not saying that the courage and necessity for treatment may be undercut.

In order to help the patient overcome the barriers to diagnosis and treatment, a support system needs to be in place within the hospital and, where possible, for each patient through some form of patient navigation. The hospital’s support system may include a volunteer at the “Welcome Desk” that gives materials about cancer to the patient, and a navigator that can connect the patient to some medical/nursing part of the hospital.

This support system might include a commitment to help the patient with pressing and critical social needs, i.e., transportation costs, day care, costs for medical treatment. The navigator might also suggest a person that could be a mentor for the patient, a cancer survivor, and the navigator might also suggest that the patient needs her/his own support team. Everyone needs a roadmap on the first trip to the hospital or clinic and poor patients may need a guide for their experience.

Without support at the hospital or the clinic, the chance of the patient making the necessary choices for good health are vastly limited. With support, both from the hospital and personal resources, the patient can enter the cancer journey with the knowledge that a caring process is at work for and with them. (J. Lunstead-Holt, T. Smith, and J. Layton(2010). Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-Analysis Review. PLoS Med 7(7): e1000316 Qo1:10. 1371/Journal. pmed. 1000316))

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Letter to the Editor

LOCAL

I was at the opening statements of Judge Tracy Hunter’s trial on September 10th in Judge Nadel’s courtroom when Judge Hunter’s attorney asked for a change of venue that was denied by Judge Nadel. This was after the leading prosecutor (Joe Deters) made unfounded allegations against Judge Hunter.

The prosecutor ordered the Enquirer reporter Kimball Perry to testify and attorney Clyde Bennent objected. Judge Nadel overruled his objection to Perry’s hostile articles about Judge Tracy Hunter. Judge Hunter requested that Judge Nadel remove himself from her trial because of bias and that request was also denied by Judge Nadel. I noticed 11 white jurors and 1 black juror, which I feel is not her peers.

Respectfully, Sonny Williams Former Streetvibes Distributor Clifton

WE, TOO, ARE HUMAN

{Continued from page 10}

3. The group support system:

Groups of friends, family, and mentors can make a powerful difference in the life of the cancer patient. Both of the authors of this article have participated in the cancer support process and one of us has survived colon cancer. Creating a group of friends to watch every major step, reflect with the cancer patient on options, keep a medical journal, document progress, and provide vital support, has made a powerful difference in cancer survival. Here is part of a journal by one of us on the starting of a cancer support group.

The name of the patient has been changed. “Barbara called us together for lunch at her house for a conversation about what she hoped and needed from us during the bone marrow transplant.

We talked about how the support circle would work. Our conversation ended with agreement to cover much of Barbara’s stay in shifts, and we mapped out a schedule for the first month of her stay. We would not be there during the late evening hours but the rest of the

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day was covered. We wanted our eyes and ears there for Barbara...How would we keep Barbara aware of what was happening knowing that there would be times when she might not be conscious was a major question. We decided to create a large board where we could post our weekly schedule so that she would always know who would be with her...We also know it was important to schedule time for us to meet as a group to talk about how things were going and how we were feeling personally...

We wanted to understand more about what to expect, what we could do and not do. We also wanted the nursing staff to understand how we hoped to support their care of Barbara and watch over our friend...Barbara experienced a remarkable recovery during two of her transplants, leaving the staff somewhat surprised and us very grateful. We were told many times by the medical staff how important our presence had been to Barbara’s recovery...” (S. Wilke, personal journal.)

This kind of group provides a model of what is possible for any patient who can either facilitate a group and/or seek assistance

in putting together such a group.

Clearly, the group provided support to the patient and may even have had positive affect on the treatment process. At minimum, a group of compassionate people had joined in making sure that the cancer process was carefully understood and supported.

4. Conclusion: Taking steps toward support. All cancer hospitals have accreditation requirements coming up next year. One important standard focuses on patient navigation. Just what processes will arise in each of Cincinnati’s hospitals is still being worked on.

The administrative obstacles facing each hospital are large and the more cancer patients come into the systems, the more resources for support may be stretched to levels that underserve the whole cancer population. Yet cancer hospitals have a commitment to outstanding quality healthcare for every patient. Will hospitals do more than a bare minimum? Or, will every patient enter into a compassionate culture of support? with the threat of black competition.

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Member Agency Spotlight Joseph House

1526 Republic Street PO Box 14608 | Cincinnati, OH 45250 (513) 241-2965 Joseph House’s mission is to meet the needs of the homeless veterans of our community.

Services are available to men and women. They provide outreach to homeless veterans through its main location, and through collaboration with other agencies in the local HUD Continuum of Care.

Transitional housing in a safe, supportive, abstinence-based recovery environment is available after completion of the halfway house program. Residents working a recovery program may reside on campus for as long as they need to achieve economic stability and permanent housing. They also provide permanent housing for disabled veterans who have completed our program, are in recovery, and need a long-term safe and structured environment.

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NOW HIRING Check out these openings! Visit their webpages for more info.

Caracole- www.caracole.org - Social Work Supervisor Center for Chemical Addictions Treatment- www.CCATsober.org - Accepting ongoing applications Center for Respite Care centerforrespitecare.org - Accepting ongoing applications Cincinnati Union Bethel www.cinunionbethel.org -Head Start/Early Childhood Education Teachers (Pre-K, 3-5 years of age) City Gospel Mission citygospelmission.org -Volunteer Development Coach - Discipleship Coordinator - Special Events/Public Relations Intern - Youth Ministry Coach Joseph House- www.josephhouse.com -Chemical Dependency Counselor Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati- www.lascinti.org -Staff Attorney Lighthouse Youth Services- www.lys. org -Junior Application Developer (Fulltime) -Senior Accountant (Full-Time) -Chemical Dependency Therapist (Pat-time) -Wrap Around Services -Individual Aides (Part-time/PRN) -Resident Manager -Case Manager (Part-time/PRN) -Licensed Social Worker or -Processional Counselor (Full-time) -Licensed Social Work or -Professional Counselor (Part-Time/PRN) -Youth Care Worker (Part-time) National Church Residences nationalchurchresidences.org - Service Coordinator (2) Society of St. Vincent DePaul of Cincinnati- www.svdpcincinnati.org -Assistant Store Managers -Cashiers -Clothes Hangers and Shelf Stockers -Donation Door Attendants and Floor Associates Tender Mercies www.tendermerciesinc.org - Accepting ongoing applications YWCA of Greater Cincinnati www.ywca.org - Workforce Development Educator - Grants Manager - Grant Outcome & - Evaluation Specialist - Payroll & Grant Billing Specialist

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STREET VOICE

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Street Life: From The Beginning RICARDO TAYLOR

A

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

kin to the beginning of life, we often find ourselves at a new start. Not quite sure how, what, or why we find ourselves in this particular predicament, yet we are here! That is to say, somehow we allow ourselves to be discombobulated and lost, at least, as the norm is concerned. Reviewing one’s life we realize that far too often we commit the same blunders, as well as successes, and as with most endeavors, we miss the fine points which most effect our lives. Living in the easy lane you might say, is the place where we stop being as mindful as we were in getting into that space of comfort, we then tend to take so much for granted, according to the position in which we find ourselves, so much so, that we forget how we got there and before long we find ourselves in some sort of paradox from which we have no immediate resolve! All the ‘where did I go wrong’, becomes the giant we wrestle with! Our dilemma starts with the oh, so sorry me and if allowed turns into self-pity. Oh sorry me, why does this have to happen to ME? Well, just think of it this way, “what in the world,” and instantly you realize that it’s on oneself! The forwarding objective is not to look for all those reasons, but to search for that resolve. Those

steps, or path which will allows us to move forward and keep the past at bay, as well as, continue on a journey towards relief.

It is here where the reconsigning begins! Learning to accept one’s short comings and then to use those lessons in a positive direction becomes the key to renewed success. It is this attitude which turns any failure into success, of course with a bit of selfactualizing and fortitude we can conquer the roadblocks that are so often our nemesis. Now this may seem odd coming from a guy who has bounded, then failed and then bounded again, but the real is in the bounding!

For most of us, or at least a great many this may not be such great advice however I am convinced that if one keeps looking for the future then sooner or later one will be realized!

Yes, the struggle is long and at times seemingly hopeless, but without the struggle it so. It is easy to feel hopeless and helpless yet that is only the more reason to continue the struggle!

Hardships I have known my entire life, yet never have I just thrown up my hands and said “it is what it is”!

If I accept that, then there will never be a sense of relief from my struggles.

I would find myself at wits end with no direction to turn and that is not a

Why Register to Vote?

JERRY DAVIS

T

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

his year marks the 50th anniversary of the murder of James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner. Three young men whose story was told in the 1988 movie Mississippi Burning. They were

murdered by the Ku Klux Klan for the “crime” of registering black voters.

I’ve heard many people say, “It doesn’t matter who I vote for nothing changes”. But ask yourself why the Ku Klux Klan was so afraid of African

Where do they do that at?

LEE MCCOY

T

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

his is the second part of an article I wrote. I’ll give you a helping hand into what this is all about. I sell Streetvibes and have sold them since 2009. If I say so, I am quite good at it and I do say so. I have even won an award for selling the most Streetvibes in a year.

I sold 6,600 copies. I also won the Distributor of the Year award.

In the day time I sell on Court Street from 9-5. In the evening you can catch me at 12th and Vine as well as up and down Vine St. sometimes.

I’m always polite. If you buy one that is fine and if you don’t that’s your choice. I’ll always respect your choice because I truly feel the next person will.

Now that I have got that out of the way let me give you the meat and potatoes of this article. I have been arrested 3 times by Cincinnati police for selling too close to an ATM machine.

On 3 occasions the Judge has looked at the police like ‘did you really bring

this in my court room’. The cases have been dismissed 3 different times.

Now, after 5 years of being on Court St. the Hamilton County Sheriffs decided to target me. If you’ve ever been down on Court St. looking for parking you know you can circle that block time after time after time.

Here I might stop you to let you know there’s a space opening up now. Let me remind you I have been doing this for 5 years and there’s been no problem from the Hamilton County Sheriff until July 15th. They ran my name and found I have a probation violation so click, off to jail I go. I have no problem with that.

It took 3 Sheriff’s officers to figure out what they were going to charge me with. They decided to give me a jay walking ticket. But guess what. I never walked across the street in the first place. Now follow me on this.

There are two Sheriff’s officers at this point. One has me handcuffed and the other has my bag. The one who

Riccardo Taylor. Photo: Aimee Willhoite. place to begin!

In the beginning there is the self without any comfort, and in fact only desire. The only way to realize the both is through sacrifice and sometimes a little head banging, yet by applying oneself and accepting the circumstance there is that possibility of overcoming any adversity. It is therefore, that by keeping one’s head in a positive frame, continuing on the road that is in front of oneself that new beginning can materialize and in

fact sustain itself. Living with and accepting our shortcomings will lead us into new beginnings, only one has to be willing to accept the negative and positive with equal weight!

Recently I had a great setback for which this piece is attributed I do not wish here to rely the details of such but rest assured I have had my new beginning and will continue in the exact direction I here suggest.

Americans voting that they were willing to kill people to stop them from voting.

One of the other things I hear people say is, “I have a felony so I can’t vote”. In the state of Ohio anyone can vote as long as they aren’t currently incarcerated. Many people don’t know where they are supposed to go to vote.

If you are currently registered you can request an absentee ballot. An absentee ballot will be mailed to your mail-

ing address. This enables you to vote without going to the poll and standing in line.

Currently we are registering voters as well as giving out absentee voter requests. Come to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 117 East 12th Street between 9am-5pm Monday through Friday. For more information stop in or call 513-4217803.

has me cuffed tells the other to scan my bag through the metal detector.

Then about 5-10 minutes later when he brings up my bag all of the sudden there is a crack pipe in my bag. Did I mention all of this time I’m handcuffed to a bench. If he ran my bag through the scanner then how come he didn’t know it was in there?

If you are anything like me something didn’t smell right. Can you smell it now? I do. I spent four day in the Justice (Just-us) Center and the head Sheriff gives me an early release with the promise of coming back to court. I go back to Court St. to sell my papers and you already know what happens.

Here comes the Hamilton County Sheriff’s just because I told a lady she has 52 minutes on the meter and she give me the change. The Sheriff - who was 30 feet away - has no idea why this lady gave me the change. He gives me an improper solicitation charge and a criminal trespassing charge so off to jail I go again. Am I being targeted or what?

Several other members of the Homeless Coalition and I have a meeting with the major of the Hamilton County Sheriff department and

Josh Spring tells them their behavior is unacceptable and that I have every right to sell my papers. Now when I go to court my lawyer gets a plea deal, they drop all the charges except the probation violation and I agree with that, cause for real that is the only thing I’m guilty of anyway. The judge gives me 30 days, credits me with 5 days and after 4 days the Sheriff gives me an early release.

But as always there’s got to be a catch. I get 5 days of work detail. Did I mention that I am also disabled? I can’t walk around with my bad knees.

They barely support my own weight.

I tell them the problem with this plan and they give me a detail to wash the Sheriff cars. After one day my knee was so bad I couldn’t do anything.

I got 2 out 5 days – which is court costs and will go to a collection agency which I’ll deal with one day.

Now by the time you read this article I’ll be in South Carolina somewhere. I needed me some time off because basically I am tired of where they do that at. I’ll miss you for about 60 days. Maybe.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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STREET VOICE

NO. 287 | S e p t . 2 5 - O c t 8 , 2 0 1 4

MOVING ON UP

OFF THE OLD STREET ON TO A BRAND NEW STREET FOR THE ANNA LOUISE INN OFF FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE CITY INTO THE MIDDLE SO WE CAN SEE WHERE WE’VE BEEN THE ANNA LOUISE INN LOOSING THEIR FUNDS, NO WHERE TO TURN 103 YEARS OF HISTORY LOST IN TODAY’S MESS I PRAY THAT THIS WILL BE A NEW HORIZON THAT WILL WIDEN IN ORDER TO KEEP HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED AND THAT NO ONE EVER HAS TO GO THROUGH THESE EXTREMES PROTESTING ETC. IN ORDER TO LIVE PLEASE BELEIVE ME FOR I KNOW AS A PEOPLE WE ALL HAVE DECISIONS WHICH MEANS WE ALL HAVE MANY CHOICES TO MAKE WHETHER TO LIVE, TO DIE OR TO SURVIVE MAYBE MAKE CHANGES IN OUR LIFE SOME CHANGES CAN BE GOOD FOR GOD’S SAKE WE ALL REGRET TO LEAVE OUR OLD STOMPING GROUND NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD BUT TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE A CHANGE MAKE A DECISION TO LIKE OR DISLIKE IS FOR THE BOLD I HAD LOST MY BELEIF IN MANY THINGS AFTER MY MAN LEFT ME AND PASSED AWAY UNTIL I WALKED INTO THE OFF THE STREET PROGRAM IN THE ANNA LOUISE INN I LEARNED TO LIVE, LOVE AND TO PRAY NOW TODAY I LOOK BACK AND GIVE ALL PRAISES TO ALMIGHTY GOD FOR SO MANY BLESSINGS PRAISES FOR THE ANNA LOUISE INN, THE OFF THE STREET PROGRAM AND SO MANY LESSONS SO WHETHER YOU ARE ONE THAT AGREES, DISAGREES, CONFUSED, UNDECIDED OR JUST DON’T KNOW PLEASE BELEIVE THAT GOD HAS HIS HAND IN THIS WORLD RICH OR POOR WITH FAITH IS HOW WE LEARN TO GROW!!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

YOGI’S THEME “IT’S DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN!” Déjà vu Congressmen - déjà vu.

This expression so exactly fits you.

To our Prez you are always sneering, While holding a new Benghazi hearing.

Do you wonder why we wear a frown, Expecting a government shutdown?

Will you please signal us with a flare If you ever stop bashing health care.

So- déjà vu Congressmen - déjà vu.

Nothing new, déjà vu, déjà vu.

BILL WOODS

DEEP SEA There’s a story to be told about the deep sea and the ocean’s roar Many treasures were lost in the sea far down below the ocean’s floor Where there is no sun just water below the surface of the ground But traveling deeper it is green and brown If you listen to the underground below You can hear the waves as they roll Are their mermaids in the ocean’s sea Or maybe an old wife’s tale let not to go free You have to travel deep when you’re in the sea Just be prepared for what you might see

KIM GREEN

Contributing Writer

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

MY DAY OF REMEMBRANCE My first daughter died at the age of 19 months. I was young at that age.

The whole time I went to see her every day. The doctor gave me false hopes that she would come home. This broke my heart. In despair I sought God in prayer. This is one of my days of remembrance that I will always cherish and care.

CLEO WOMBLES

Streetvibes Distributor & Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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PUZZLES

S e p t .25 - O c t 8 , 2014 | N O . 28 7

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 52 Across 1. Book of maps 6. Deity 9. Stumble 13. Muscle spasm 14. Fuss 15. Give rise to 16. Watercourse 17. Part of a journey 18. Expel from a country 19. Give forth 21. Seafarer 23. Perish 24. Yawn 25. Was seated 28. Metal fastener 30. Bicycle for two 35. Ship’s company 37. Halt 39. Stage prior to metamorphosis 40. Ice crystals forming a white deposit 41. Spooky 43. A secret look 44. Savory jelly 46. Manufacturing plant 47. British peer between Viscount and Marquess 48. Fuel 50. Bitter quarrel 52. Staining substance 53. Infant 55. Lacking in light 57. Medical care 61. Dedicated 65. Competitor 66. The sheltered side 68. Wear away 69. Proficient 70. Wonderment 71. Scope 72. Saucy 73. Married 74. Slumber

Down 1. Unit of area 2. Tidy 3. Volcanic rock 4. Make better 5. Painful joint injury 6. Strong wind 7. Poem 8. Tenet 9. Cab 10. Delapidation 11. Small island 12. Look searchingly 15. Breakfast food 20. Offer and withdraw 22. Pertinent 24. Extol 25. Remnant 26. Originate 27. Lure 29. Part of a list 31. Part of the neck 32. Apprehension 33. Each and all 34. Type of tree 36. Low dam 38. Heap 42. Circumvent 45. Metallic element 49. Circuit 51. Underwater workers 54. Local authority regulation 56. Ethical 57. Snare 58. Conceal 59. At any time 60. Engrossed 61. Exploit 62. Quality of a sound 63. Boundary of a surface 64. Oceanic abyss 67. Female sheep

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 16- MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 286 CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 51

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 15- MEDIUM

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com

RESOURCES

NO. 287 | S e p t . 2 5 - O c t 8 , 2 0 1 4

Shelter: Women and Children

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Central Access Point Bethany House

381-SAFE 557-2873

St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside

535-2719 591-2246

Grace Place Catholic Worker House

681-2365

FreeStore/FoodBank

241-1064

Mercy Franciscan at St. John

981-5800

Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center

271-5501

Salvation Army

762-5660

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter

872-9259

St. Vincent de Paul

562-8841

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission

1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Mt. Airy Shelter

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House

241-5525

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Caracole (HIV/AIDS)

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

Drop Inn Center

217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

661-4620

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Starting Over

CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing

114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

569-9500 761-1480 721-0643

721-4580 632-7149 381-1171

Tender Mercies 721-8666

27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907

961-4555 381-1954

300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Food/Clothing

Lord’s Pantry Mercy Franciscan at St. John

621-5300 981-5800

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry

961-1983

Our Daily Bread

621-6364

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

961-2256

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Women

Interfaith Hospitality Network 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o) 3330 Jefferson Ave Cincinnati, OH 45220 961-4080

Housing:

784-1853

Prospect House 921-1613

Shelter: Both

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o) 2522 Highland Ave Cincinnati, OH 45219

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

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First Step Home

2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

961-4663

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both AA Hotline CCAT

351-0422 381-6672

Joseph House (Veterans)

241-2965

830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board 946-8000 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300

Advocacy

Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center

421-3131 569-1840 381-4242

Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless

721-4700 421-7803

Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS

579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Health

Center for Respite Care

621-1868

Cincinnati Health Network

961-0600

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Crossroad Health Center

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

381-2247

Health Resource Center 357-4602 McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile Medical Van 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 352-6364 McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti 352-6363 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Mercy Franciscan at St. John 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach

Other Resources

351-3500 977-4489

Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center

241-2600 241-2563

Peaslee Neighborhood Center

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart

381-0111

Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House

771-4800 751-0600 721-4811

People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place Talbert House United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets

351-7921 631-1114 751-7747 211 977-5541 421-5211

1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry

Northern Kentucky

981-4200 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276

Brighton Center

859-491-8303

ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY

859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717

Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless

859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

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S e p t .25 - O c t 8 , 2014 | N O . 28 7

S

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 50 cents per copy and sell it for a $1.50 donation, keeping the profit they have earned. Becoming a Distributor is a great way for individuals who are financially poor to get back on (or stay on) their feet. This program provides supplemental income for those unable to secure other employment. Money earned helps meet basic housing, food and health care needs. The program is a hand up for people who are often in a place of getting only a hand out, or even no hand at all. All Distributors wear a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

ALMA SIMS SINCE 5/2014

ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003

ASRES AYENAW SINCE 2012

BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997

BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008

CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003

CRAIG SMITH SINCE 5/2014

CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004

DEBORAH POINDEXTER SINCE 9/2012

DONALD YOUNG

ELMORE MORRIS SINCE 5/2014

GINA MARTIN

GRADY COOK SINCE 1997

GLENDA CANTRELL

GREGORY WILSON SINCE 1/2012

JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009

JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003

JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011

JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001

JONATHAN SLATER SINCE 5/2014

JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009

JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006

JOHNNY KERNS SINCE 9/2012

JOHN HORN

JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008

J’TORI TYMAN SINCE 5/2014

W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009

KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008

KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011

KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010

LARRY FILES SINCE 6/2012

LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007

LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009

LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005

LOTTIE MANNER

MARK SHEARS SINCE 12/2007

MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005

MAT HUFF SINCE 10/2010

MAURICE GOLSBY

MEACO WAITE

MICHAEL BEHYMER

RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009

QUEENACELESTINE

LEVY

RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008

RICCARDO TAYLOR SINCE 2001

RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009

SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006

TARA HILL SINCE 4/2014

TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007

TODD HANLEY SINCE 5/2014

TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005

VICTOR MUMPHRY

WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010

WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009

WILLIAM SIMMS SINCE 4/2014

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED