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NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 3
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RE-ELECTIONS
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❑ James M. De Leon ❑ Thomas F. Gehret ❑ Nazario Jimenez Jr. ❑ William A. Meehan Jr. Bradley K. Moss ❑ David C. Shuter ❑ Karen Y. Simmons Joyce O. Webb Eubanks Marvin L. Williams Philadelphia District Common Pleas Superior Court Re-election Vote Commonwealth Court Ballot Questions (1 PA & Philadelphia) ARE YOU VOTING FOR?
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The District Attorney must be a U.S. citizen, a Philadelphia resident for at least one year and an attorney for at least two years. He or she serves a four-year term with no term limits.
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❑ Beth Grossman (R) ❑ Lawrence “Larry” Krasner (D) OFFICE OF THE CITY CONTROLLER
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❑ Rebecca Rhynhart (D) ❑ Mike Tomlinson (R) PHILADELPHIA MUNICIPAL COURT
4 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017 PENNSYLVANIA VOTER'S GUIDE
The Courts of Common Pleas are Pennsylvania’s courts of general trial jurisdiction. They have existed since the colonial charter of Pennsylvania, and are incorporated in the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas currently consists of 90 judges who are assigned as follows: Trial Division, 67; Family Court Division, 20; and Orphans’ Court Division, 3. The Court of Common Pleas is supervised by a President Judge who is elected for a five-year term by the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. Candidates for seats on the Court of Common Pleas must be residents of their districts for at least one year and members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Bar at the time of filing nomination petitions for office. Terms are for 10 years and the mandatory retirement age is 75. Deborah Canty (D) Deborah Cianfrani (D) Lucretia C. Clemons (D) Mark B. Cohen (D) Vincent Furlong (D/R) Shanese Johnson (D) Vikki Kristiansson (D) Zac Shaffer (D) Stella Tsai (D) 6 Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judges (Vote YES or NO) for another 10-year term. Linda A. Carpenter Ellen H. Ceisler Michael E. Erdos Shelley Robins New Rosalyn K. Robinson Teresa M. Sarmina
The City Controller is the chief auditor of Philadelphia's financial affairs. Philadelphia's Home Rule Charter requires the Controller to conduct annual audits of every city office and agency, including the School District, and it authorizes him or her to offer recommendations for improving the efficiency and economy of City government.
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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s salary was $175,572 in 2016.
PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY
PHILADELPHIA COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
WHAT
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The controller serves a four-year term with no term limits. He or she must be a U.S. citizen, at least 25 years of age and be a Philadelphia resident for three years. The office of the City Controller has an annual budget of $9 million and had a staff of 138 in 2016. The controller’s salary was $133,596 in 2016.
The Philadelphia Municipal Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, with 25 law-trained judges, and is responsible for trying criminal offenses carrying maximum sentences of incarceration of five years or less; civil cases in which the amount is $10,000 or less for Small Claims; unlimited dollar amounts in Landlord and Tenant cases; and $15,000 in real-estate and school-tax cases. The Municipal Court has initial jurisdiction in processing every adult criminal arrest in Philadelphia, and conducts preliminary hearings for most adult felony cases. Candidates for seats on the Municipal Court must be residents of their districts for at least one year and members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Bar at the time of filing nomination petitions for office. Terms are for six years and the mandatory retirement age is 75. Marissa Brumbach (D) ❑ Matt Wolf (R) RE-ELECTIONS — 9 Philadelphia Municipal Court Judges (Vote YES or NO) for another 10-year term.
Judges 6 Re-election Votes ❑ 2 Municipal Court Judges 9 Re-election Votes ❑ 1 PA Supreme Court Judge 2 Re-election Votes ❑ 4 PA
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The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the country, serving more than 1.5 million people in the City and County of Philadelphia. The District Attorney’s staff investigates and prosecutes violations of city and state law within Philadelphia (some 75,000 cases yearly). The office has an annual budget of $38 million and a staff of nearly 600 people, including lawyers, detectives and support staff.
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PHILADELPHIA ELECTIONS: ❑ 1
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Of course, jurisdictions choosing to take advantage of the Homestead Exclusion Amendment would have to replace all or part of the funds collected in property taxes with other taxes (on income and/or sales, for instance). This proposed constitutional amendment does not address this issue.
Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED SEVENTYTWO MILLION DOLLARS ($172,000,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?
PENNSYLVANIA STATE-WIDE ELECTIONS:
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 5 ELECTION DAY: NOVEMBER 7, 2017, 7AM-8PM
• Direct appeals from a lower court’s decision, including when a death sentence is issued; and
• Appeals in criminal and most civil cases from the Courts of Common Pleas; and • Appeals on matters involving children and families. Terms are 10 years and the mandatory retirement age is 75.
COMMONWEALTH COURT Established in 1968, the Commonwealth Court is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts, meaning cases heard in lower courts (e.g. Court of Common Pleas) can be heard again in the Commonwealth Court on appeal. It is responsible for:
BALLOT QUESTIONS: HOMESTEAD PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT EXCLUSION (STATEWIDE) PHILADELPHIA CITY BOND QUESTION
This measure—the Homestead Exclusion Amendment—would change Section 2(b)(vi) of Article VIII of the state constitution to enable the state legislature to pass a law allowing local school boards, municipalities and counties to exclude the entire assessed value of each primary residence (homestead or farmstead) in their jurisdictions from taxation if they chose to do so. This would significantly reduce—and in some cases eliminate--- residential property taxes in those jurisdictions. Local taxing bodies have been able to exclude up to 50 percent of the median assessed valuation of all properties in their jurisdictions since 1997, but few have done so.
This ballot question will determine whether Philadelphia will increase its indebtedness by $172,000,000 in order to fund municipal capital initiatives.“Capital” expenditures, generally, are those that will result in something of value with a useful life to the City of more than five years, for example, acquisitions of real estate, or construction of or improvements to buildings, property or streets.
❑ Emil Giordano (R) ❑ Wade Kagarise (R) ❑ Debra Kunselman (D) ❑ Jules Mermelstein (Green) ❑ Maria McLaughlin (D) ❑ Geoffrey Moulton Jr. (D) ❑ Mary Murray (R) ❑ Carolyn Nichols (D) ❑ Craig Stedman (R)
RE-ELECTIONS SUPERIOR COURT (VOTE YES OR NO) FOR ANOTHER 10-YEAR TERM: ❑ Jacqueline Shogan (R), Served since 2008.
Learn more about the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania before voting, by reviewing the 2017 candidate ratings produced by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission. Every voter, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for up to FOUR (4) Superior Court candidates.
❑ Chief Justice Thomas Saylor (R), Served since 1998. ❑ Justice Debra Todd (D), Served since 2008.
Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to permit the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 100 percent of the assessed value of each homestead property within a local taxing jurisdiction, rather than limit the exclusion to one-half of the median assessed value of all homestead property, which is the existing law?
• Requests to intervene in a lower court’s Termsproceedings.arefor 10 years and the mandatory retirement age is 75. Every voter, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for ONE (1) Supreme Court candidate.
Money borrowed through the bond issue will be spent by the city---if the measure is approved by voters---for five purposes identified in a City Council bill (Bill No. 170623) that passed in September. Here’s how it’s apportioned:Transit:$4,767,309StreetsandSanitation: $ 23,997,918 Municipal Buildings: $ 95,666,840 Parks, Recreation and Museums: $ 32,325,872 Economic and Community Development: $ 15,242,061
If approved by the voters, enabling legislation would have to pass the General Assembly and be signed by the governor before the Homestead Exclusion Act could go into effect, and local jurisdictions proposing it would have to approve it as well.
SUPERIOR COURT Established in 1895, the Superior Court is one of two statewide intermediate appellate courts, meaning cases heard in lower courts (e.g. Commonwealth Court) can be heard again in the Superior Court on appeal. It is responsible for:
• Matters involving state and local governments and regulatory agencies; and • Handling trials where lawsuits are filed against the Commonwealth. Terms are for 10 years and the mandatory retirement age is 75. Before voting, review the 2017 candidate ratings produced by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission. Every voter, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for up to TWO (2) Commonwealth Court candidates. (No incumbent Commonwealth Court judges face retention elections in 2017.)
• Requests for discretionary appeals from the Commonwealth Court and Superior Court;
❑ Sallie Updyke Mundy (R) ❑ Dwayne Woodruff (D) RE-ELECTIONS 2 Supreme Court (Vote YES or NO) for another 10-year term.
❑ Christine Fizzano Cannon (R) ❑ Ellen Ceisler (D) ❑ Irene McLaughlin Clark (D) ❑ Paul N. Lalley (R)
SUPREME COURT Established in 1722, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth and the oldest appellate court in the nation. Its responsibilities include handling:
In Pennsylvania: The Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) helps provide an alternative address to use in certain situations where your address could become a “public record” and found by your abuser. Learn more at paacp.pa.gov.
BARRIERS TO VOTING:
6 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017 VOTING RIGHTS ACCESS
REGISTRATION
Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking often want to keep their new home address safe from their perpetrator, and may refrain from voting.
CRIMINAL CONVICTION Voting rights for convicted criminals vary substantially from state to state. In the vast majority of states, convicted criminals cannot vote while they are incarcerated, but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.
VOTER ID LAWS
To learn more about Pennsylvania Voting Rights and Elections visit the Committee of Seventy at Seventy.org.
❑ A resident of Pennsylvania and the election district in which you want to register and vote for at least 30 days before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.
a. Broad Street Ministry’s mail services offer voter registration: 315 S Broad Street
PROTECTING VOTERS: AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION (AVR) LITERACY & READABILITY
To register to vote in Pennsylvania, you must be:
32 of these voter identification laws are in force in 2017. West Virginia’s law, signed on April 1, 2016, and Iowa’s law, signed on May 5, 2017, will go into effect in 2018.
❑ A citizen of the United States for at least one month before the next primary, special, municipal, or general election.
❑ At least 18 years of age on or before the day of the next primary, special, municipal, or general election. Once you have registered to vote, you are not required to register again unless you change your residence, name, or political party affiliation.
1. You can list a shelter address or where you receive mail.
The remaining 18 states use other methods to verify the identity of voters. Most frequently, other identifying information provided at the polling place, such as a signature, is checked against information on file. See NCSL’s Voter Verification Without ID Documents.
In Pennsylvania: “House Bill 193” was introduced in January 2017, and would automatically register citizens in PA through the Department of Transportation (DMV), Department of Human Services (DHS), and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (VA), unless they “opt-out.”
HOUSING INSECURITY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
In the United States: PA Democratic Representative Robert Brady introduced H.R.2876 the “Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017” in the House of Representatives on June 12, 2017. The same bill was introduced by VT Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy on June 14, 2017 in the Senate under S.1353. The bill outlined contributing state and federal agencies, including public and higher education agencies receiving federal funds, firearm regulators, criminal justice departments, Social Security Administration, Department of Labor, and Medicare & Medicaid Services. For a full list visit Congress.gov. Unless waived by the Commission, the Act will begin January 1, 2019.
As of June 5, 2017 a total of 34 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls.
An April 2013 study by the Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can’t read. Nationally, 19% of high school graduates can’t read, and 21% of adults read below a 5th grade level. Philadelphia’s average reading level is 6th grade. Yet the most widely used measure of reading — the Flesch-Kincaid readability scale — rated the current PA Homestead ballot question a 30 — as in 30 grade levels, or the equivalent of a Ph.D. If we want a fair and informed democratic process, we need to increase accessibility and readability during elections. While the District Attorney is required to provide a plain text version of the ballot question, that is not the one listed on the November 7 ballot. Collectively we need to advocate for greater access to democracy for all citizens.
In Pennsylvania: Since Pennsylvania’s 2012 strict voter ID law was struck down by the courts in 2014, there are currently no identification requirements for voters in the state.
Registering to vote can be hard for people without stable housing. Most states require you to reside for 30 days or more before the Election Day in the state or county. However, you can still register and vote in all 50 states if you are homeless.Whataddress can you use?
2. You can list a street corner or park, in lieu of a traditional home address.
In Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania is one of 14 states (plus Washington, D.C.) in which voting rights are restored to a convicted criminal immediately upon completion of his or her prison sentence. If you are incarcerated on Election Day as a result of a felony conviction, you are not entitled to vote. Your voting rights are automatically restored upon release from incarceration (that is, not in prison). You should re-register to vote if you were incarcerated for a long period of time. Check your registration status at votesPA. com/status.
In 2017, ten states and D.C. approved automatic voter registration, and 32 states have introduced AVR proposals this year. AVR would register eligible voters automatically when they work with a federal institution. Currently, voters must register to vote once they turn 18 years old. This new reform, would automatically register people, unless they “opt out.” These registrants would be electronically transferred to state election officials, a more secure and affordable process then the current paper forms in use according to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU.
On the 10th of October, 1871, one such human, Octavius Catto, was shot to death in broad daylight on Election Day, here on the streets of Philadelphia. Catto was recently honored with a memorial and statue of the south side of City Hall.
You would do well to honor those who died in order that you might exercise this right; and you may as well enjoy the intrinsic right to jeer or cheer the results of an election.
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 7
Voting habits must be instilled and installed in these generation(s) to come, because it seems that “civics” is not being taught in our schools anymore (I hope that I am wrong about this), and the prospect of generations of powerless Americans frightens me like I have never been frightened before.
There are many, many names of forthright and courageous people who were beaten, abused, and murdered right here in America throughout its history because they wanted to “stand up and be counted”—too damn many for me to ever think of staying home or doing anything else when it comes time to vote.
WHY MY VOTER ID CARD IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CARD IN MY WALLET
IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE MOST TERRIFYING ENEMY THAT A POOR POLITICAL SYSTEM WILL EVER FACE IS AN EDUCATED VOTER GET OUT AND VOTE!
Those humans who gave their very lives for the vote must be honored!
BY: JEFF GREENE
Please go for a visit and take some young people with you—all people should go visit and learn just what it means to stand up for your rights as a human being.
Whatever you may feel about the issues, or candidates, or about politics in general, it is vitally important to express your concerns in the voting booth.
I am aware these days that it's not really required to have such a card for most elections, but this card has become a symbol of my visibility as a fully solid human being as well as a readily producible fact of my citizenship of these “Unique" States of America.
I absolutely welcomed the opportunity to interview the fine candidates for the office of District Attorney for our October newspaper. Thanks to all of my teammates for their efforts. I hope that Philadelphia's voters will honor us by turning out in record numbers for this important election. You see—for me—the most important card in my wallet is my voter registration card.
Philadelphia can do much better than it has been known to do in elections past. I am not chiding Philly or bragging about my participation in the election process, but my best friend and I were willing to drag our “Senior Citizen” butts into an area called the “Badlands” here in Philly and actually knock on doors at our peril to get people out to vote.
During the time that I was homeless, I had none of the documents that most people need to easily and successfully navigate the thing we call “daily life.” Well, these days, I have my State-issued ID card, my Social Security card, my Birth Certificate and that Voter Registration card... Why is it so important, you might ask? Because human blood was sacrificed to gain the right for people who look like me to see the inside of a voting booth.
CITIES& IMMIGRATION
Opponents of sanctuary cities have focused their arguments around public safety, drawing attention to cases where undocumented immigrants committed violent crimes. However, it’s not clear that an aggressive approach to enforcing immigration law actually makes anyone safer. Supporters of sanctuary cities argue that these policies build trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities—trust that is crucial for reporting, solving, and ultimately reducing violent crimes. In fact, the Mayor’s Office points out, crime in Philadelphia is the lowest it has been in 40 years, and has continued to decline since sanctuary policies were enacted.
INTRODUCTION Cities around the country have been fighting to retain their “sanctuary city” status despite recent efforts from the federal government to penalize them for doing so. The City of Philadelphia—with 12.7% of its residents born outside the United States (U.S. Census Bureau data)—has been a central voice in this sanctuary movement. While the federal government has set an October 27 deadline for sanctuary cities to show that their policies are in line with federal immigration law, the City is pressing forward with a lawsuit against the Department of Justice that it hopes will prove these federal demands unconstitutional.
WHAT IS ICE? ICE stands for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which operates as a part of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE officials are responsible for detention and deportation of individuals that they find in violation of immigration law. Immigration statutes are federal laws, and therefor ICE — a federal agency — is meant to enforce them.
WHY DO POLICIESCITIES’MATTER?
In addition to the moral and practical arguments, Philadelphia has a legal justification for its status: It will not turn over a detainee to ICE unless they have a warrant. The City argues that holding anyone, regardless of immigrant status without a warrant is unlawful. This stance has been upheld in federal court.
WHAT IS A SANCTUARY CITY?
While there is no standard legal definition for “sanctuary city,” all of the cities that have been given this label refuse to comply with certain federal requests to detain individuals or turn individuals in to federal authorities based on their immigration status. This doesn’t mean that they are totally non-cooperative with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). According to a statement by Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the City “works with our federal partners on anti-terrorism and drug trafficking, and [it] also do[es] not stop ICE from arresting Philadelphians whom they believe are undocumented.” However, sanctuary cities believe that local police should not be required to do the work of federal agencies, or share information that could be harmful to residents of their cities.
8 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017 SANCTUARY
While ICE has the funding and the federal mandate to arrest and detain individuals for crimes related to immigration, most people are first detained by local authorities. When someone is brought into custody and ICE wants to interrogate them or pursue further action, they may issue a “detainer” asking the local authorities to hold the person in custody longer. While many jurisdictions comply with these detainers, sanctuary cities have challenged them, and have found a legal basis to do so: The Immigration Legal Resource Center reports that — since this detainer is not a legal warrant — federal courts in both Pennsylvania and Oregon have determined that holding someone in custody with an ICE detainer alone is unlawful arrest.
According to Philadelphia’s Office of the Mayor and Office of Immigrant Affairs, Philadelphia’s sanctuary policies uphold the American value of treating all people equally and fairly: “Blaming an entire group of people for our country’s problems and violating their right to due process isn’t constitutional and it isn’t American.
Philadelphia treats immigrants as we would any other resident under our criminal justice system.”
WHY PROVIDE SANCTUARY?
JUNE201627:
Photo Credits (by page): 8: Mural Arts Program James Burns’ “Sanctuary” grows out of the Community Wellness Project, designed to raise awareness about mental and emotional health and to inspire conversation about what constitutes community health. Based on the Enso circle, a form of active meditation that involves clarity of mind and movement of the hand, Burns’ design incorporates a number of natural elements, as well as striking imagery created by participants in workshops at Broad Street Ministry and around the city. Photo by Steve Weinik.
APRIL 25: California Federal Judge William Orrick blocked Trump’s executive order on sanctuary cities. He wrote: “Federal funding that bears no meaningful relationship to immigration enforcement cannot be threatened merely because a jurisdiction chooses an immigrationenforcement strategy of which the president disapproves.”
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 9 APRIL2014
P.A. Senator Pat Toomey introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities. Citing public safety concerns, Toomey named his bill “Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act.” In response, a spokesperson for Mayor Kenney stated, “If immigrants don’t report crimes or cooperate in investigations because they’re afraid of being deported, we are far less safe.” The bill stalled in the Senate.
16: Philadelphia became a sanctuary city. Mayor Nutter signed an executive order which 1) prevented local police from holding someone in custody longer than they otherwise would, solely because of their non-citizen status, and 2) limited the amount of information shared with the Department of Homeland Security about individuals released from custody, unless they were violent felons or the federal government had issued a warrant. While this order was briefly rescinded during Nutter’s last two weeks in office, Mayor Kenney reinstated it on the day of his inauguration, January 4, 2016, reaffirming Philadelphia’s sanctuary status.
FEBRUARY 7: Pennsylvania Senate Bill 10 passed in the State Senate. It was sent to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where it has yet to be voted on.
AUGUST 30: The City of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Sessions in federal court. In order to receive a $1.67 million federal grant, Sessions had required that Philadelphia (and other sanctuary cities) allow ICE agents to question immigrants held in any detention facility, and that they be willing to provide notice two days before releasing an undocumented person from custody. The City argued that these requirements are “contrary to law, unconstitutional, and arbitrary and capricious.” This lawsuit is still ongoing.
10: Javier pictured with his wife and family on the day of his release. Photo by Jim Irby.
DELPHIAPHILA
JANUARY2017
SEPTEMBER 5: Attorney General Sessions announced the end of DACA The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was a 2012 policy of the Obama administration, which protected about 800,000 individuals who had immigrated to the U.S. as minors from deportation. Sessions announced the suspension of new applications and gave Congress a six month window to act to replace it.
OCTOBER 11: The federal government issued a warning to sanctuary cities, requiring them to demonstrate their compliance with federal immigration law by October 27. The City of Philadelphia continued to press forward with its lawsuit.
SEPTEMBER 29: ICE announced that it had detained 498 people over 4 days in 10 sanctuary cities in “Operation Safe City.” 107 people were arrested in Philadelphia, more than in any other city.
PROTECTIONSCHALLENGES&
25: In his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order cutting federal funding to sanctuary cities. On the same day, Pennsylvania Senate Bill 10, which would cut all state grant funding to cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law was first considered in the Senate.
OCTOBER 27: The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 1885, an anti-sanctuary bill with 136 votes for and 55 against. Organizers at the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia Spoke out against this bill, calling attention to the inherent racial profiling in its requirement that police report the immigration of status anytime there is “reasonable cause to believe” a person could be undocumented. The bill stalled in the Senate.
9: The Arch Street United Methodist Church, where Javier took refuge for 11 months, while awaiting his fate with immigration. Photo by Jim Irby.
APRIL 3: Pennsylvania House Bill 28 was introduced, again seeking to cut funding for sanctuary cities and make police nondisclosure policies illegal. It has yet to come to a vote.
JULY 21: Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a speech in Philadelphia, in which he called on sanctuary cities to cooperate with federal authorities on issues of immigration. Mayor Kenney responded, arguing that sanctuary policies keep Philadelphia safer: “If victims and witnesses of crimes don’t report those crimes to the police because they fear deportation, that allows the real bad guys to stay on the streets.”
SEEKING SANCTUARY
While the Washington Post reports a 43% increase in immigration enforcement arrests since Trump took office, the number of deportations has not increased. One significant reason for this is that advocacy groups and legal organizations have seen a huge influx in funding since the 2016 election. Supporting those who can fight these cases in court can slow and even prevent deportations.
RELEASE On October 11, after almost eleven months in Sanctuary, Javier took his first steps outside of the building—with his family—as the crowd that had gathered on North Broad Street chanted “Sí se pudo!” (“Yes we did it!”). After an application process that began in 2015, Javier was finally granted permission to stay in the United States.
at the hands of two violent criminals who stabbed him multiple times. His cooperation with police led to the arrest and prosecution of these two individuals. While he qualified for the visa, his previous deportations required him to file a waiver. The waiver had been denied twice, but on the third appeal, he was promised the U-visa, which once he receives, he can file for residency.
Javier’s victory represents the strength of both his personal will and that of his family, and yet, many others had an important part to play. Javier offered gratitude for his lawyer, Brennan Gian-Grasso, who filed the legal appeals which ultimately won him his U-visa. Persistent organizing also played a role. His family started organizing with Juntos, an advocacy group for Latinx immigrants, in September of 2015. When Pope Francis visited that month, he saw the sign that Javier’s stepdaughter, Adamaris, had made —“Please Help Us” — and offered her a blessing. Adamaris and Javier’s wife Alma also led demonstrators at the Democratic National Committee in July of 2016. Erika Almiron, Executive Director of Juntos described what it took to win: “Victories like this are won when you’re working in conjunction with community and having a legal strategy. And I think it’s with that that the power is built.”
Asked what the first thing he’ll do when he gets home, Javier replies, “I would like to be able to run and play with my children.”
Javier qualified for a U-visa, a specific type of visa granted to individuals who were victimized in certain crimes and who cooperate with law enforcement to solve and prosecute those crimes. In 2004, Javier sustained serious injuries YOU CAN
10 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017
While sanctuary cities offer important protections, for Javier Flores Garcia, further action was needed. Javier took refuge in the basement of Arch Street United Methodist Church last November so that he could stay in the United States with his family. An arborist who first moved to the United States in 1997, he — along with his two sons, his stepdaughter, and his wife, Alma — had come to call Philadelphia home. Having faced past deportations, he repeatedly returned to the United States to be with his family. In 2016, he explained to New York Times reporters, “I’ve never brought drugs, I’ve never helped anybody else cross the border — my only crime is coming back…I came here for the love of my children.”
UNITEDREFAMILYA WHAT
Outside the church for the first time in nearly a year, Javier addressed the crowd, “This has been a difficult journey, but it’s also the wonderful situation where you can tell people that if you keep on fighting that you can win. After the storm comes the calm.”
JOIN OR ADVOCATE FOR CONGREGATIONSSANCTUARY SanctuaryPhiladelphia.org lists twenty Sanctuary Congregations around the city that are actively standing up for immigrant justice. Support these congregations, or work with your own faith-based or community organization to connect with the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia.
ORGANIZE Real, sustainable victories are won by those building movements on the ground. Join or support organizations who have a vision for immigrant justice and commitment to making change in the lives of Philadelphians. Local organizations include: Juntos, 1Love Movement, Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, New Sanctuary Movement, Welcoming Center for New Philadelphians, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Esperanza, and many more.
WHAT IT TOOK TO WIN
Finally, the church played an important role by offering not just a symbol of refuge, but real protection for a vulnerable community member. Reverend Robin Hynicka, described his vision for the power of sanctuary. When he was traveling with one of Javier’s sons, “every time we were in the van and we’d come across a church steeple,” said Hynicka “[Javier’s son] would look up and point. And he’d say “Mi papa!” Because every steeple represented a place where his father was…If every house of worship and community center of conscious could really be that symbol for our young people…what a powerful statement that would make, and what justice could be done in this world.”
REFUGE& RELEASE
In 2015, he was detained by ICE agents and held for 16 months. He was released from detention with a brief window to receive the papers he had applied for before again facing deportation. Unable to fill the requirements in time, rather than report for deportation, he asked Arch Street United Methodist Church to take him in. The church, which had been part of the New Sanctuary Movement since 2011, agreed to provide him housing indefinitely. Churches provide “sanctuary,” where people can stay without risk of deportation, because ICE agents make a policy of not making arrests in places of worship. While in sanctuary, Javier could not leave the building, or he risked being separated from his family once again. “It’s very very hard to be in sanctuary, but it’s something I had to do for my children and for my family...Every day is the same. You’re in the same place, but you have to stay focused and remember your final goal.”
ORGANIZATIONSLEGALSUPPORTDODEFENSE
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 11 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUYOU. HAVE A HEARDYOUANDTOAVOICE.PLATFORMSPEAK.NOWCANBE. PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY SO WE GROW!CAN ONLINE: WWW.OSAPHILLY.ORG MAIL: ONE STEP AWAY P.O. BOX 63703 PHILADELPHIA, PA 19147 EMAIL: OSA@RHD.ORG SOCIAL: @OSAPHILLY
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7Why do you buy the One Step Away paper? (Select all that apply) To employ individuals who are homeless To support the One Step Away program To donate to charity To support a social enterprise To learn more about homelessness & poverty in my community support independent media & gain a different perspective on the To read about first-person experiences with poverty & homelessness
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11What is your familiarity with One Step Away? (Select all that apply) I support vendors on the street I donate to the One Step Away organization I read the newspaper I visit the website I volunteer with the organization I am subscribed to the e-newsletter I follow on social media (Facebook, Twitter, I attend OSA events
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us why you choose to support our organization: PROGRAM 10I would describe One Step Away vendors as: (Please check each option)
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4From whom do you typically receive your paper? ❑ This is my first paper ❑ I have a paper or electronic subscription ❑ I am a vendor ❑ I buy from any vendor ❑ I buy from a few select vendors ❑ I buy from my vendor only, Vendor’s Name:
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12 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017 ❑ In the newspaper ❑ E-mail link ❑ On the OneStepAway website ❑ Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) ❑ From a Vendor, Name: 9If you donate more than $1, how much do you give? ❑ I only pay $1 ❑ $2 ❑ $3 ❑ $4 ❑ $5 ❑ $6 ❑ $7 ❑ $8 ❑ $9 ❑ $10 ❑ $20 5How often did you buy the One Step Away paper? ❑ This is my first paper ❑ Once a day ❑ Once a week ❑ Every time a new issue comes out ❑ Every few months Always Often Rarely Never Professional ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Polite and friendly ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Knowledgeable about the program ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Informed about the newspaper content ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Rude or aggressive ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Misleading about the program ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ 3When were you first introduced to One Step Away? ❑ This is my first paper ❑ Less than 1 year ago ❑ 1 year ago ❑ 2 years ago ❑ 3 years ago ❑ 4 years ago ❑ 5 years ago ❑ 6 years ago ❑ 7 years ago
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12How familiar are you with our organization's mission? Extremely familiar Very familiar Somewhat Not so Not at all
❑ I pay $1 and take the paper ❑ I donate more than $1 and take the paper ❑ I donate money without taking the paper ❑ I buy one paper then donate the rest of the month ❑ I buy multiple papers at a time 1How did you find out about this survey? ❑ Saw a vendor on the street ❑ Word of mouth ❑ Through Philly.com blog ❑ Other media stories (The Inquirer, Daily News, KYW, CBS, Fox, Generocity) ❑ At a One Step Away event ❑ From an OSA staff member ❑ Another nonprofit organization ❑ From Resources for Human Development (RHD) ❑ 2Where did you first hear about One Step Away? 6What would make you more likely to buy the One Step Away paper?
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NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 13 Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Relevant ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Informative ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Community focused/driven ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Reputable news source ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Quality journalism ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Unique content ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Biased reporting ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ 14How much of an impact do you feel supporting One Step Away makes? ❑ A great deal ❑ A lot ❑ A moderate amount ❑ A little ❑ None at all 15Would you advocate for the homeless by liking, following, and sharing One Step Away on Facebook, Twitter, and/ or Instagram at @OSAphilly? ❑ Yes! ❑ No, thank you. ❑ I do not use social media 16How often do you think One Step Away should publish? ❑ Monthly ❑ Every 3 weeks ❑ Every 2 weeks ❑ Every week ❑ Television ❑ Radio ❑ Print Media ❑ Online ❑ Social Media ❑ Left-winged biased ❑ Neutral ❑ Right-winged biased ❑ Cover to cover ❑ I read half of the articles ❑ I glance through it and read what I like ❑ I do not read it ❑ Yes ❑ No why? 18If you had one piece of advice for One Step Away, what would it be? 22What would make you read One Step Away more? EDITORIAL & NEWSPAPER 19Where do you currently get your news? (Select all that apply) 24I would best describe One Step Away's content as: 20How do you read the One Step Away paper? 21How long do you spend reading the One Step Away paper? (in minutes)17Would you still purchase One Step Away if the newspaper cost $2? (So each paper sale vendors would keep $1.50.) 23How would you describe the One Step Away newspaper?
14 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017 ❑ Vendor profiles ❑ Vendor submitted pieces ❑ Philadelphia specific news ❑ International stories ❑ Homelessness and housing articles ❑ Nonprofit spotlights ❑ Social justice articles beyond homelessness ❑ Art features and photo spreads ❑ Community events ❑ Celebrity profiles ❑ Articles unrelated to social justice ❑ Currently a student ❑ Some high school ❑ High graduate/GEDschool ❑ VocationalTechnical/ certification ❑ Associate's Degree ❑ Bachelor's Degree ❑ Master's Degree ❑ DegreeProfessional ❑ Doctoral Degree 29Where do you live? ❑ Philadelphia ❑ Suburb of Philadelphia (Montgomery, Chester, Bucks, Delaware County) ❑ Pennsylvania ❑ New Jersey ❑ Delaware ❑ Other State/Country: ❑ 17 or younger ❑ 18-20 ❑ 21-29 ❑ 30-39 ❑ 40-49 ❑ 50-59 ❑ 60-69 ❑ 70+ 31What is your age? ❑ Less than $18,000 ❑ $18,000 - 29,000 ❑ $30,000 - 40,000 ❑ $41,000 - 65,000 ❑ $66,000 - 85,000 ❑ $86,000 - 100,000 ❑ $101,000 - 200,000 ❑ More than $200,000 37What is your household income? ❑ Once a week or more ❑ A few times a month ❑ Once a month ❑ A few times a year ❑ Less frequently than that 38How often do you want to hear from our organization? ❑ Organizational updates ❑ Vendor updates ❑ Volunteer opportunities ❑ How to donate ❑ Advertisement options ❑ Business sponsorships ❑ Subscriptions ❑ Events ❑ Information to become a vendor ❑ How to be an employment partner ❑ Other, please specify: 39What would you like to hear from our organization? (Select all that apply) ❑ The newspaper ❑ Social media ❑ E-mail ❑ Phone ❑ Mail 40I'd like to learn more about One Step Away through: (Select all that apply) ❑ Male ❑ Female ❑ Transgender 32What is your gender? 33What best describes your level of formal education? ❑ Employed, working full-time ❑ Employed, working part-time ❑ Not employed, looking for work ❑ Not employed, NOT looking for work ❑ Retired ❑ Disabled, not able to work 34What best describes your employment status?25Which topics do you prefer reading? (Select all that apply). 30In what ZIP code do you live? 35InZIPwhatcode do you work or attend school? 36What industry do you work in? ❑ Multiple page articles ❑ Single page articles ❑ Brief articles (shorter than a page) ❑ A variety of lengths 26What other content would you like to see in One Step Away's newspaper? HELP US GET TO KNOW YOU! 27What length of articles do you prefer? 28On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend One Step Away to a friend or colleague? Phone:Email:ZIP:State:City:Address:Name:41Contact Information
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 15
Food Insecure 1 in 4 Philadelphians are
on Feeding America’s top 10 hungriest counties, behind Tarrant (Fort Worth), TX; Wayne (Detroit), MI; San Diego, CA; Dallas, TX; Maricopa (Phoenix), AZ; Cook (Chicago), IL; Harris (Houston), TX; New York, NY; and ranked first, Los Angeles, CA. In 2005, Drexel University’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities began Children’s HealthWatch, a network of pediatricians and public health researchers who monitor the health and well-being of children under the age of four. One of five cities involved, the Philadelphia site is located in St. Christopher’s Hospital in North Philadelphia, and has interviewed more than 10,000 caregivers. HealthWatch provides the most current and largest information about food security and development of very young children living in poverty.
In 2016, Children’s HealthWatch Philadelphia found 1in 4 families reported household food insecurity, with 1 in 8 families reporting food insecurity among children. Their study showed that over the past ten years household food insecurity nearly doubled, while child food insecurity has tripled.
Food insecurity exists in every county in America, but differs based on communities and regions. Feeding America’s findings show that county food insecurity varies by geographic region and metropolitan status as well. Counties in the South have the highest average foodinsecurity rate in the country (16.1%) relative to regional county averages in the West (13.7%), Midwest (12.1%), and Northeast (11.8%) regions. Federal nutrition assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), serve as the first line of defense against hunger. But these programs use income to determine eligibility and not everyone who is food insecure is income-eligible to receive assistance. Using 2015 data from the USDA, Feeding America estimates that 26% of foodinsecure individuals earn too much to qualify for most federal nutrition assistance programs, and 20% of food-insecure children live in ineligible households.
According to Feeding America’s 2017 “Map the Meal Gap” project, more than 1.6 million people in Pennsylvania suffer from food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Introduced in 2006 by the USDA, “food insecurity” attempted to distinguish “hunger,” as defined by Merriam-Webster, as a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient, from the inability to consistently access or afford adequate food.
THE CYCLE OF INSECURITY: FOOD — ENERGY — HOUSING
HealthWatch’s research shows young children who live in households experiencing food insecurity are more likely to: be in poor or fair health; experience problems with cognitive development; and exhibit behavioral and emotional problems. In addition to lacking food, 1 in 3 families reported energy insecurity, or the lack of consistent access to sufficient heating or electricity to ensure healthy and safe conditions in the home. Without energy, families cannot store food in a refrigerator, or heat up food in the microwave or on a stove. Furthermore, Philadelphia HealthWatch studies showed that over 1 in 3 families experienced some form of housing insecurity, ranging from living in a crowded home to moving multiple times in one year. Housing conditions have a strong association with the health and wellbeing of families. Children living in substandard housing face increased exposure to lead and allergens, causing decreased health, and unforeseen expenses from doctors’ visits or missed work and school.
AmericaFeedingofcourtesyMap
Pennsylvania’s food insecurity rate is 13.1%. Of the state’s 67 counties, three have a higher overall food insecurity rate: Forrest, Fayette, and Philadelphia.
1.6 MILLION PENNSYLVANIANS ARE FOOD INSECURE
Annually, the USDA estimates that food insecurity affects 42 million people, 13 million who are children. This means that 1 in 8 individuals, and 1 in 6 children live in households without consistent access to adequate food.
ARE FOOD INSECURE PA’s largest food insecure county is Philadelphia, with a rate of 21% or 325,940 people — meaning roughly 1 in 4 Philadelphians suffer from food insecurity. Philadelphia ranks 10th
325,940 PHILADELPHIANS
2. Encourage employers to provide living wages and family-oriented labor policies.
Combined, 96.7% of Philadelphia County school students were enrolled in either free or reduced lunch totaling more than 180,000 students from Prekindergarten to twelfth grade. Philabundance, local hunger relief organization, estimated that 6 of 7 children can go hungry during the summer or when school is not in session. And while government programs such as the National School Lunch Program, The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants & Children (WIC), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), offer nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families, it is not enough.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Recently Drexel University, Vetri Community Partnership, and the West Philadelphia community opened EAT (Everyone At the Table) Café on 38th Street & Lancaster Avenue, with a pay what you can model. Additionally, their Witness to Hunger project which documents real families experiencing hunger and poverty, reports four key ways to help.
4. Demand a culture of respect and accountability in the human services sector so people can safely ask for help.
96.7% of Philadelphia County Students Are Enrolled for Free and Reduced Lunch
According to the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania Department of Education, in 273 of the 306 Philadelphia County schools, 100% of the students were enrolled in free school lunches.
1. Create a comprehensive national plan to end hunger — involving government, corporations, and the public.
3. Advocate to restructure government assistance programs to prevent people from cliff effect (being cut off of benefits too soon right after getting an increase in wages), allowing families to truly transition to self-sufficiency.
16 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017
But Drexel University’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities and Children’s HealthWatch data still show large amounts of food insecurity throughout the region, with detrimental effects on children and development.
To address local hunger issues organizations run food help lines, 1-800-319-FOOD for Philabundance and 215-430-0556 for The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.
Five Policy Interventions to Solve the Problem of College Affordability
5. Congress should pass legislation to improve consumer information and transparency, giving students the information they need to make affordable choices.
University of California, led by its president Janet Napolitano, surveyed its 150,000 undergraduates, and found that 26% of students were skipping meals to save money.
Food insecurity is prevalent across college campuses, but until recently, was rarely discussed. On March 20, 2017, the United States Government Accountability Office announced that it would undertake the first-ever federal review of food insecurity in higher education. Past studies on nutrition and cognitive achievement measured middle or high school children, yet higher education was often overlooked.
2. States should strengthen direct investment in public colleges and need-based 3.programs.Colleges should manage institutional costs to concentrate expenditure on 4.students.Colleges with wealth at their disposal – either in the form of large endowments or company profits – should keep prices low for needy students.
1. Federal policy-makers should protect and strengthen the Pell Grant.
Tuition costs, room and board, textbooks, food. If you ask a student currently enrolled in college, or looking to make that next step, these are life necessities. They are requirements to get a diploma — that piece of paper that says you made it. However, with increased tuition rates, that piece of paper is costlier, and harder to obtain. Combine rising tuition rates, state disinvestment in tuition costs, and student loan debt; and college is unattainable for most Americans. The Institute for Higher Education Policy in March 2017, found that students from low- and moderateincome households could afford to pay for just 1 to 5% of colleges in the United States. The Federal Pell Grant, which in the past covered the full cost of attending community college, now covers about 60%. Unlike loans, the Pell Grant does not have to be repaid, except under certain circumstances such as withdrawing early from the program for which the grant was given, changing your enrollment status, or receiving outside scholarships or grants. The U.S. Department of Education awards Pell Grants to qualifying students, and amounts can change yearly. For 2017-18 the maximum Pell Grant award is $5,920. Yet, students still aspire for further education. As they should, since 65% of the 55 million jobs produced in the coming decade will require some higher education or training, according to a 2013 Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce study.
Even more alarming, half of community college students indicate insecure living arrangements, with 35% of students reporting housing unaffordability and instability, and 14% of students reporting outright homelessness.
Tuition, Textbooks, or Food? The Cost of American Education
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 17 2 in 3 are Food Insecure College Students
2 in 3 College Students are Food Insecure Even if you overcome most of these challenges and attend college, according to a recent report by the Wisconsin HOPE Lab surveying 33,000 students at 70 community colleges, over half (56%) of students identified as food insecure. In a 2010-11 study at the City University of New York forty percent of students reported having been hungry in the past 12 months. In 2012 and 2014, The
18 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017
It also always surpassed the minimum proportion of purchases set for family agriculture, she said. In 2016, 34 per cent of the purchases were from small-scale farmers. This aspect has only recently been recognized as key to food security.“Thisintegration between education and family agriculture benefits society as a whole, it’s fantastic. I will try to do it in my town,” said Mario Chang, director of education in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala.
“The visit gave me new ideas,” said Rosa Cascante, director of Equality Programmes in Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Education.Thechallenge, she said, “will be to adapt Brazil’s local purchases system” to her country, where all supplies for public institutions go through the state National Production Council.
FARM TO LUNCH TABLE
“I am going back to Panama with many ideas,” said Gilda Montenegro, a nutritionist with the Panamanian Education Ministry, after getting to know the school meals system in the city of Vitoria, in central-eastern Brazil. She said she was impressed with how organized it is, the resources available to each school and “the role played by nutritionists in direct contact with the lunchrooms, training the cooks in hygiene and nutrition, educating everyone while fulfilling a key educational function.”
“This decentralization favours local producers and students gain in better-quality, fresh food at a lower cost. It promotes cooperatives and stimulates the local economy, through small-scale farming, while benefiting the environment by reducing transportation time,” said Najla Veloso, the regional project coordinator for FAO.
A campaign against the waste of food is an innovation created by students in the Eunice Pereira da Silveira Municipal Primary School. In 2015, the losses amounted to 50 kilos a week. This has been reduced to just seven or eight kilos, according to the school’s authorities.Studentsare served three meals a day at the full-time school, whose 322 students attend from 7 am to 5 pm.
Vitoria, the capital of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, was chosen to receive technicians and authorities from 13 countries because of “its strong implementation of the PNAE, its organized team, and because it has been a pioneer in this area,” explained Veloso.Before the new law went into effect in 2008, Vitoria already prioritized healthy food produced by small-scale local farmers, said Marcia Moreira Pinto, coordinator of the School Food and Nutrition Sector in the Municipal Secretariat of Education.
“They provide 80 per cent of the food for four schools, but they have not been able to expand, because of the system of purchases by tendering process, and are almost limited to producing for their own consumption,” lamented the Panamanian nutritionist. More school purchases could “rescue their traditional methods of harvesting and preserving their typical products,” she said.
“Families adopt our habits, even though we only eat dinner at home. Now we eat more vegetables at home. I used to be fat, but I lost weight doing sports and eating food with less calories, and today I have my health under control,” the teenager told IPS. But it is “in the acceptance of healthy foods where we need more effort, in light of an international scenario of increasingly industrialized products which offer great convenience,” said Moreira Pinto. Most of the fruits and vegetables served in schools in Vitoria come from Santa Maria de Jetibá, a hilly municipality 90 km away, populated by Pomeranians, a European ethnic group that used to occupy parts of Germany and Poland, who scattered at the end of World War PomeranianII. immigration to Brazil occurred mainly in the late 19th century, to Espírito Santo, where they maintained their rural customs and their language in a number of municipalities where there are big communities.
A new generation of school feeding programmes is emerging in the region, combining healthy nutrition, public purchases, family agriculture and social integration.
“The school feeding programme in Vitoria´s metropolitan region is our main market,” said Maicon Koehler, an agricultural technician for CAF. Greater Vitoria has a total population of nearly twoWithmillion.102municipal schools, the city buys nearly 20 tons of meat and 6.3 tons of beans a month to feed its almost 500,000 students, estimated the coordinator of the sector, who explained that the amounts of fruits and vegetables vary, depending on the season.
Brazil Drives New School Meal Model
The PNAE was first launched in 1955. But the significant impact it has had in terms of food security, nutrition and social participation has been seen since a 2009 law established that at least 30 percent of the funds received by each school had to be devoted to buying food produced by local family farms.
“Of nearly 40,000 inhabitants, 72 per cent are still rural,” allowing the municipality to occupy first place in agricultural production in the state of Espírito Santo and eleventh in Brazil, and the second leading national producer of eggs: nine million a day, said the mayor.The220-member Cooperative of Family Farmers of the Serrana Region (CAF) is the biggest supplier of food to schools.
“In most of the municipalities, the suppliers are parents of the students,” which help forge closer ties between local families and the schools and improves the quality of the food. All of this constitutes an important help for keeping people in rural areas,” Veloso told IPS. Buying local could rekindle the ancestral agricultural knowledge of the Ngäbe and Buglé people, who live in western Panama, said Montenegro. Since 1997, the two ethnic groups have shared an indigenous county with a population of about 155,000.
By Mario Osava, Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo
Montenegro and 22 other visitors from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean met with Brazilian representatives in the city of Vitoria, for a tour through schools and centres of production and distribution of food that supply the municipal schools.TheMay 16-18 technical visit was organized by the Strengthening School Feeding Programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean programme implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as part of a cooperation agreement signed with the Brazilian government in 2008.The aim was a first-hand look at the implementation in Vitoria of the Brazilian National School Feeding Programme (PNAE), which has become a model replicated in a number of countries around the world. The programme serves 43 million students in public preschools and primary schools, which are municipal, and secondary schools, which are the responsibility of the states.
The technical visits organized by FAO “show successful experiences for building knowledge in other countries, stimulating innovation,” said Veloso.
The campaign started with a few students under the guidance of teachers. They monitored the food wasted in the school kitchen, carried out surveys on nutrition, and talked with other students and the cooks to adapt the meals in order to make them tastier and reduce waste. Besides cutting economic losses and boosting a healthier diet in schools, with more salads and lower fat, the campaign is helping to improve family habits, said 14-year-old Marcos Rodrigues, one of the campaign’s leaders.
“Santa Maria is the most Pomeranian municipality in Brazil and perhaps in the world,” according to Mayor Hilario Roepke, due to both the number of inhabitants as well as the preservation of a culture that has disappeared or has changed a lot even in their native land.
STATUES, SYMBOLS, AND HEROES
Hey everybody. If you’re reading this it means we are now in November. For those who indulged in the festivities of Halloween, I certainly hope it was enjoyable.
Humor, in fact, is one of the very few things that helps me keep it together in this world that we live in today.Oneof my favorite comedians of all time would be George Carlin. I’ve always enjoyed his insights on subjects such as politics, religion, and about people in general. Another one of my favorites is Denis Leary. He had a few things to say about the pharmaceutical industry. You know those commercials where a new drug is introduced to the world saying it will cure one problem and could possibly have a multitude of side effects including death? Another comedian I can always depend on to take the edge off is Adam Sandler; some of his movies — such as “Happy Gilmore” and “Waterboy” — are amongst my favorite movies of all time. Well today I’m going to take a stab at comedy. After you read these jokes you’ll probably shake your head and think to yourself, “Charles, don’t quit your day job!” But I would appreciate it if you would give it a read anyway. In fact, I was once told these jokes were so bad that they’re actually good. Hopefully you’ll feel the same.
I’m writing this just a few days after the Eagles defeated Carolina, making their record 5-1 and placing them alone atop the NFC East Division. Now I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself and make any outrageous predictions. All I’m going to say is that it’s nice to see them back on the right track again, and hopefully their success will continue. There are many things to be thankful for during this time of year, but the thing for which I am most thankful—that I am addressing today—is humor. That’s right. Humor. I truly do believe that laughter is indeed the best medicine. I seriously think if more people had a sense of humor and didn’t take life so seriously, this world would be a much more pleasant place.
2. What is green and fuzzy, has four legs and would probably kill you if it fell out of a tree?
Similarly, I discussed several months ago in my article the World War II high-ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich who was assassinated in 1942 by Czech partisans. According to medieval Czech folklore whosoever enters historic Prague Castle and dons the crowns of ancient king unworthily — which supposedly Heydrich did — will met his death in one years’ time, which he also did. Therefore, metaphorically and symbolically, it didn’t matter whether he actually put on that crown or not. He assumed the authority of the ancient kings, and in effect put on the crown of kings of Bohemia, thus he fulfilled that prophecy. Needless to say, you probably won’t find statues of Heydrich the Hangman in Prague today.
The late Fidel Castro reportedly ordered that no statues, monuments, or public places be named in his memory. It remains to be seen whether the current government will honor that request.
4. What did the buffalo say to his son when he sent him off to college?
7. If you can hold 5 beers in one hand and 5 beers in the other hand what would you have?
P.S. I was only kidding about making you all wait until next month for the answers. I wouldn’t want to leave you all hanging. The answers are as follows:1.Because he couldn’t see that well A pool table An elephant Bison Seven C’s walk hands
That for which I am Most Thankful
3. What is grey and not so fuzzy, has four legs and would probably kill you if it fell out of a tree?
8. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
4.
8. A fsh
6. What do you call a fly without wings?
On the south side of Philadelphia’s City Hall stands the statue of President McKinley titled “Soldier, Statesman, Man, Martyr.” Few will recall that President McKinley’s assassin was apprehended by James Benjamin Parker, who happened to be black. When the Republic of Sudan obtained its independence in 1955, the statue of British General Charles Gordon came down the same day, according to one account. Obviously, when governments change, sometimes laws and statutes change as well.
5. What did the pirate student get on his report card?
7. Big
9. One more? Okay. A minister, a priest, and a rabbi all walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “What is this, a joke?”
– AND JAMES BENJAMIN PARKER
By Zachary Caldwell · Statues should be seen in their proper historical context. Statues are not necessarily statutes. Because of the recent interest and controversy regarding statues of prominent historical figures I decided to chime in and offer some commentary. Physical statues are expressions of popular will erected to recognize prominent individuals or national or religious causes — like the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument. A legal statute is a code or regulation designed to uphold broader federal or local laws. Physical statues are put up according to the political climate and cultural or social enjoyment. In this country, one would be hard pressed to find any statues of King George of England — who was overthrown in the American Revolution of 1776 — except possibly in a museum. Symbols and statuary heroes are frequently and sometimes inseparably intertwined. They overlap or overlay one another, for better or for worse. For instance, there are few if any statues that I am aware of John Brown of Harpers Ferry fame. In fact, John Brown was considered martyr and hero to some, while a villain to others, depending more or less on which side of the Mason Dixon one stood in 1859 or 1865.
ABOUT THE WRITER Please don’t hesitate to email me at casrzn8005@yahoo.com for a future edition of Charles’ Q&A. As always questions, comments and even constructive criticism are always welcome. Hope to see and hear from you soon!
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· By Charles Sarazin ·
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ABOUT THE WRITER Zachary is a One Step Away vendor & writer who studied history at Temple University.
1. Why did the blind man fall into the well?
I was always intrigued by a famous portrait of John Brown bending over and kissing a black child held up by its mother while being emoted under armed guard to the hang man’s noose. I have come to the conclusion that it does not matter whether this portrait is based upon fact or not, because more than likely this is what he would have done.
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6. A
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NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 19 Uncovered Issues
Well that’s all I have for this edition of One Step Away. The answers to the riddles will be in next month’s edition. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone! casrzn8005@yahoo.comAufwiedersehen,Charles
TheyTocomeDeathCalledHallucinated,IWithdungeonIIAgainstface.PressedHangmanHotTheAndoffTheyTheyThenTheyISo,AOnwagon.TheyNobodynobodyFromIDizzyToToTakeTakeYouShenow—NobodyYouYouForprince,SheYouYoudaughter?SleepHowdareYou,HeBigAlmostBow-leggedridiculous:Itrembling.werethoughthelookedbaldbelliedscreamed.youuuu,howyou?!dareyouwithmypieceofshit!pieceofshit!ismeantforaaking!pieceofshit!pieceofshit!willtakehercarriesyourchild.pieceofshit!himaway.himBastola.Bastola.andfrightenedunderstood.thatplacereturns,returns.putmeinamyheadblackhoodIwon’tbeknown.feltthesun.drove.westopped.tookmeout.tookthehoodofme,thenInoticedmaskofbronze,ashell.itagainstmymyface,screamed.awakenedlayinginaaburntface.trembledwithfever,toher.Iprayedtocome.fedmethrough a Everythinghole. is burned in HOPEme. HAS DIED AS TwoWELLmonths later— I think PerhapsMaybetwo—more,EVEN more. I do not know… I knew my face was Inew.was a human being no Onlymore,themask of Ibronze.became a face of Abronze,facethat shows no Ismile.wanted to die, To die. In the end I got used to it. I ate when I had food, Slept when I could. I was shit underneath the mask of bronze, Then I started writing On the wall in the I’dWithgloomblood.scratchmy finger on the mask, And then write Word by word, Word by word. I do not know why it mattered to me, But persistently I’d Daywriteafter day. My miserable life, Sadness caught me Thensometimes.allday curled up I’d pantsHefriend.MousePersistently.onIImouse.AndIHeChirpItToPlainawindowThroughMoan.moan.asmallabovesparrowcame.sparrow,singseemedtome.chirp.becamemyfriend;fedhim,thencamethegavethemnames.keptwritinginbloodthewallisagoodcrawlsintomylegandlaysrest
theThenForgotten.it,IyellingAllstairs.TheyICheered!Everyonethere’sHowHuge!TheAndAllTheOfAndmyI’vefreedom,NowfreedomNowtheAsfreedom.ToIcarried!Hey,Ime.Theychains.TheytheTheSmilesBloody.Theydoor.ThenI’veStraightened.IBreakingbyBreakingcoming,ThenechoedTheGuns.cannons—heardwholecityandIheardthemdoorsoneone,everything.straightened,beenwaiting.theybrokemyweredirty,theywore,prettiestsmilesinworld.brokethewantedtocarrysaid,Iwon’tbewantmylegstakemetoIwalkeddownhall,theoneoftheoneofmybeenthinkingofchildHer.myheart.tearsranalong.thenwegotout.sunissohuge,coulditbesomuchlight?cheered,cried.ledmeuptheweregreetingandmyname.hadalmostforgottentheybroughtking,
The people went AndWaiting.Waiting,silent.then it went Carrieddown, by the power of my final loss. There was no return. The head rolled. The people shouted, FromWhoops!Whoops!the corpse the blood was gushing, one leg
HOPE! (PART 1 OF 3: HOW MY HEART DIED) · By Slobodon Mrkojevic · POETRY October'S PUZZLE SOLUTIONS Word Search Solution Soduko Solution One Step Away is a community newspaper, accepting submissions from anyone who would like to lend their voice to the conversation. Submit Your Articles to One Step Away at osa@rhd.org 7 6 9 1 5 3 4 2 8 8 3 2 4 9 7 5 6 1 4 1 5 8 2 6 9 3 7 3 7 8 6 4 9 1 5 2 9 5 1 2 7 8 3 4 6 6 2 4 3 1 5 7 8 9 1 4 3 7 8 2 6 9 5 2 9 7 5 6 4 8 1 3 5 8 6 9 3 1 2 7 4
IAndHe’sthere.smart.sparrow.alwaysthought of AboutHer— our baby Whethergrowing, it is a boy or a Thengirl. I
Coming.Son,Flying.AsIwide,AlwaysJasmine.Jasmine,HeadingIbronze.AllKissestears,Crying,Wipesme,AnICrying.Shoutingapart,PeopleDown.IIAHeGoIToShaking,shaking,shaking.theclosingeyessaidaftermyson.needsamother,mother.puttheaxeaway.headeddown,weremovingmyname,keptwalking.oldwomanstopsmytears.wipesmymeovermyfaceofkeepwalking,totherivergreenandenter,seeaseagullhe’sflying,I’mcoming,
Even uglier than Andbefore,now so small. In tears, he begged for mercy. To the stump they brought him, To the stump. They bowed him holding his hands, Thenhands.the hangman stepped up, Swung the axe, The axe. Far behind him The blade flashed in the Thesun.people went TheItsilent.felloff.head rolled, And the people OneWhoops!Whoops!shouted.kicked the head to a big
HowtoAresecret.IAAShebronze.SheIsmyIhatefulSheIIhope.ApproachedITheyIHerFinally,ThenFelloff,Again,Draggedqueen,TheywhoopsPeopleaftercorpseAndEveryonecrate.applauded.theytooktheandthrewitit,shoutedagain.broughtouttheher.theheadfelloff.theyoungking.theybroughtout.raisedmyhand.allwentsilent.approachedHer,fullofwillsaveherlife.stillloveher.lookedatmewitheyes.askedher,Where’schild?itaboyoragirl?spatinmyfaceofspatandsaid,sonitwas,son.gavebirthtohiminyounotashamedaskmethat?couldyoudo this to me? You piece of shit, Piece of shit. I’m a princess. I gave birth to your Canson. you see what your words had You’vedone? made them Mybeasts.mother was Thebeheaded.woman was Youbeheaded.called your book YourHope,shitty book. Again, she spat. You’re not a poet, You’re a piece of shit, Piece of shit. A son. Just so you Iknow,hadput him in a Andbasket,in the basket, Irocks.threw him to the WhomYourSunk.HeJasmine.Jasmine.river.justsunk.son,youwanted to name Hope. She spat again. I nodded my head, Theyhead. took her To the stump. I came to acrossTheAndPutStepped,TheTookhangman,thetheaxe,axe,ithigh,swung.sunflashedit.
20 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017
ABOUT THE WRITER Slobodan is a One Step Away vendor and poet. A book of his poems was published and distributed for free in his home town of Slatana, Croatia. He jumped off the Screamingthrone my name. His lips
Out here playing my cards right, but this is not even a game.
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 21 POETRY It’s here It’s there
This is natural for most to do when times get rough.
Business as usual, everybody knows my name: DEVIL BANG BANG! Going in the dark tunnel mentally stable, and well prepared.
The older you get the more you realize that you have zero tolerance for stress, drama, and unnecessary fret. You want and crave happy people doing positive things and trying to enjoy the best of life. True friends try and always keep you in the light and in the loop of love. Today I will sing in the shower. I will not procrastinate over small things. I will admit that I don’t know everything, Try to start a good book, and pray. I will set new goals for myself, Reward myself, exercise, get a massage, and pamper myself. I will set tasks, do hard things first, Laugh more, try to make others smile and laugh, start a diary, think positive. Give thanks to God! ABOUT THE WRITER Howie is a One Step Away vendor and writer. You can find Howie with his dog Hazel throughout Center City.
HOPE · By Juanita Jones
ABOUT THE WRITER Brian Belcher is a One Step Away vendor, who recently decided to use writing to express himself.
· By Joseph Albater ·
Maybe in a situation where you don’t feel very safe.
·
There is a lot of things to handle that you didn’t believe. Yes, plenty of stuff, but even knowing better ways than to quit so you strive. Not a handbook involved, or even a guide. Surely, it’s a fact that you’re a strong person that won’t quit until you capitalize.
· By Howie Ellis ·
Most are afraid and unaware Misunderstood in every way Whoever could imagine it would happen this way?
Some stand and stare
When life’s problems seem to get much more than you can stand The best thing to do is put it in God’s hand. Even when times seem too much for you to bear You’d be amazed what can happen when you approach God in prayer. I’m not saying that all of your problems will fade away, But surely with God’s blessing you will find your way. And if you continue to live life according to God’s will He’ll make sure you have strength to climb any hill.
Tell me how it feels when you’re caught between a rock, and a hard place
It has no picks, it is a shame Sad and true, homelessness is to blame SO PLEASE, RISE UP AND CHANGE THE GAME!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Knowing it’s going to be some struggles while you’re in there. Now you’re going through feeling like you’re on the rise. No time for playing catch up, and you’re in for a big surprise. You’re at the end—there’s a light. So, you win. The whole time you knew, All you had to do was capitalize.
UPDATE · By William Powell ·
Hello and hi, this is William. And how are you this month, my friends and supporters? We are making progress with the legal services: I have another legal hand helping me out — one of my supporters in Center City. He’s an awesome supporter of mine and so are all the rest of you. Sometimes you just have to wait and be patient, and things will start coming along. All of my supporting hands out there are just waiting for things to happen. They just can’t wait — I see the expressions on their faces. They are just wondering, Did things clear up about that illegal lockout yet? I said to them that we are still working on it. Just be patient, it will be a little while. So, I want all of you to enjoy yourselves — you know we have the holidays coming in — and I will see you next month. Have a nice day and a Happy Thanksgiving! ABOUT THE WRITER William is a One Step Away vendor who served in the military for six years. He likes to keep his readers updated on his current situation.
Capitalize · By Brian Belcher
Keith is a poet and regular One Step Away contributor. His poetry draws from the good times and the struggles.
THE OLDER YOU GET...
THE BAD BOY OF POETRY · By Keith Barbour · In my early years as a young boy, I grew up in the streets and barely played with toys, Birthdays and holidays were when I was having fun, But after they were over back to the streets I would run, I was in a gang by the age of nine, Gang warring and fighting and cursing was how I spent my time, By the time I turned eleven I was drinking and smoking weed, Not knowing in a couple of years I’d be doing speed, now I’m 14 and pills have came into play, Valiums and Quaaludes made me forget what I did that day, 15 + 16 damn I’m almost a man, Running through the night with a snub nose 32 in my hand, Now too many of my friends we’re getting killed and hurt, And I’m going to so many funerals and watching them getting buried in the dirt, I met a pimp when I was seventeen, And I looked at him he was shining and clean, And he put me down on how to make that green, Now I’m buying and selling weed in large amounts, And investing and building a bank account, In the Limelight here I stood With the shadiest of characters that was no good, Pimps, hustlers, gangsters and criminals of all types, Killers and thugs, and all with a gripe, Life in the Fast Lane was sort of fun, But I don’t want to live my life on the run, So I stopped everything but I still want it more, So I joined the army and went on tour, And that only enhanced what I already knew, Violence and pain it only grew.
ABOUT THE WRITER Joseph is a One Step Away vendor and writer. You can often find Joseph at 15th & JFK.
·
DO THINGS GOD’S WAY
The defense mechanism, being the wall, pops up.
Once you’ve had the chance to read the aforementioned articles, I’m sure you will be browsing through different qualifying organizations to donate your hard-earned money. With all that is going on in the world, and so many worthy causes out there, deciding who to give to can often cause an inner conflict. One solution is to keep your donations local. One Step Away is a qualifying organization, it’s local, and you can see where your money is going. Not only could more donations to the paper help us bring you a new edition more often, but as you watch each vendor grow and succeed you’ll know your donations brought about such positive change. Even though you cannot deduct what you donate to an individual vendor, you can still benefit from supporting us. You see us in the stores you also shop in, buying everyday necessities. You’ve seen us in Wawa and 7–11, buying food and coffee. Some 55% of vendors are off the street because of One Step Away, paying rent to local realtors, and using the same electric companies you do. As the money you donate to individual vendors is spent in the same community, that community grows with us. As your community grows, a positive chain reaction is initiated, and you prosper too. So not only does One Step Away end homelessness without raising taxes, it’s also the paper that gives back.
22 One Step Away ● NOVEMBER 2017
“Choose carefully,” she says — not all organizations qualify as a deduction on your tax return, and you cannot deduct money that you gave to individuals. “Pay attention to the calendar” — donations must be made or mailed out by December 31st, which is New Year’s Eve (a holiday), so my suggestion is to mail it out by the 30th to be sure it is post-marked for the 2017 tax year. “Pay attention to incentives” — if you donate $29.95 to an organization, and receive a tote bag worth $9.95, you would only be able to claim $20.00. “Consider donating appreciated assets” — say you donated an office to One Step Away, “not only can you deduct the fair market value of the property, you avoid paying capital gains tax.” “Get a receipt” — it is always best to keep your tax records in order. And always remember that “limits may
Kelly Phillips Erb — staff writer for Forbes —wrote in her online article entitled 11 Tips for Making Your Charitable Donation Count On Your Taxes, “Making a charitable donation is not only a chance to make a difference: it’s also an excellent way to reduce your tax burden for the year.” As the old saying goes, “you have to give to receive.”
Americans donated over $358 billion to charities in the 2014 tax year. When you pass the menagerie of seekers vying for your help, however, there are some things to keep in mind while you indulge in the “season of giving.” According to Erb, not all donations count on your tax return. Certain rules apply. I highlight a few specifics from her article here, but I highly suggest you read her entire piece of work to get the most out of your donations.
The first thing Erb says to do is “itemize.” You can only claim charitable deductions if you itemize deductions on your tax return.
· By Tammy Mitchell · THE MOST OUT OF
GET
Well, it’s that time of year again: The air grows crisp with the scent of winter, the holiday season is fast approaching, and the frugal-minded are looking for ways to better their financial situation for 2018. One way to do this is to donate to your favorite charity.
GIVINGHOLIDAYYOURTHISSEASON
ABOUT THE WRITER Tammy is a One Step Away vendor, writer, and journalist. Pictured with Office of Homeless Services Director Liz Hersh at the Mayor’s “Show You Care...But Not Right Here” press conference. Tammy was asked to speak at the event to discuss how One Step Away is a positive alternative to panhandling.
“You often reduce your tax bill a quarter or so for every dollar you donate,” according to Trent Hamm in Charity and Your Tax Bill. Hamm shows you how taxes are actually calculated, and how deductions factor in. He also says that “sometimes a donation will drop you into a lower tax bracket.”
NOVEMBER 2017 ● One Step Away 23 J K H J C Z X B I G P I N K B B R A J A I D N A L T R O P N B A W P O W E L L S C S F I A L L T S I L C Y C S G Z A Y N A C H T V C O U C H R R S X W Z D O E R K W W B O A E B E I E U R E R O S E S X L R R T L R B N L O E B E E A P E A R L S F E D G E G A H K J G D I A K Z O D L A D C T T L A Y P M D O I M R T M S B T O Y V C E V R O D X A T R O P N A V I T B N E O X E D I S N R U B T T T N N W O T D L O Q V R O Y E I N W W R A C T E E R T S M H SearchWord 1 8 5 7 2 6 7 3 1 8 5 7 8 6 3 1 7 4 3 9 1 4 6 2SEEPUZZLESUDOKUOctober’s issue FOR ANSWERS TO THE Word Search AND SUdOKU PUZZLECOMICSAbout the artist: Douglas Pope Wilson, resident of the city of Wilmington, Delaware, and self taught artist, has illustrated for a variety of publications. His interests are world events, classic films, British comedy, science fiction, jazz, manga and good books. Presently Douglas is writing and illustrating a graphic novel. The artist is currently blessed to be a part of the One Step Away family! COMICS The object of a Sudoku puzzle is to fill in the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Good luck! CONTRIBUTED BY street roots rootsstreetBYCONTRIBUTED BridgesBradyBlazersBigpinkBelmont HalesCyclistCouchBurnsideBudclark PearlOldtownMounttaborMaxHawthorne RosegardenRipcityRainPowellsPortlandia VoodooVanportStreetcarSteelRoses WillametteWeekly
WEOFBECAUSEYOU:HAVE A VOICE AND A HEARDCANNOWTOPLATFORMSPEAK,WEBE.