ONE STEP AWAY VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2 MAYOR'S 2020 PLANS * TECHNOLOGY & MENTAL HEALTH * AMAZON RING NEIGHBORS ONE STEP AWAY IS A PROGRAM OF RESOURCES FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT $ 5 Can Philadelphia balance its growth and its citizens? The Mayor says Pageyes.7 AN FORFUTUREEQUALALL?
In celebration of 10 amazing years, we thank you for investing to create more positive changes in the lives of people in need and our Philadelphia community. Together, we can continue to create opportunities for people to break the cycle of homelessness. We thank you for your support and look forward to many more amazing years. Thanks to you, Kevin was able to use the money he earned distributing One Step Away to rent an apartment, afford food, and pay for his necessities. You helped 35% of our vendors work their way out of homelessness in 2019. Every month, you create meaningful income opportunities for Kevin and over 60 individuals as One Step Away vendors. For 81% of our vendors, distributing One Step Away is their only source of income. Without you, they could not work. Because of you, they do not need to beg for money, and can earn a dignified income like everyone deserves. You give our vendors confidence to build community, overcome hardships, take control of their lives, and support themselves. Thank you for joining One Step Away, together, we can help more people work their way out of homelessness.
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5 PUBLISH A MONTHLY MAGAZINE FOCUSED ON SOLUTIONS BASED JOURNALISM, ADVOCATING FOR THOSE
A VOICE. 6 BUILD COMMUNITIES TO CONNECT WITH YOU AND ALLEVIATE SOCIAL ISOLATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT HOMES. 7 DEVELOPPARTNERSHIPSCOMMUNITY AND EXPAND TO ALL NEIGHBORHOODS.PHILADELPHIA * From our 2019 Vendor Assessment Survey ONE STEP AWAY • PO BOX 63703 • PHILADELPHIA • PA 19147 • OSAPHILLY.ORG
“YOU HELPED CHANGE MY LIFE. THAT’S THE TRUTH. AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU.” — Kevin W. YOU CAN HELP US ACHIEVE Our 2020 Goals CREATE1 JOBS FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY. 2 PROVIDE OUTREACH AND VENDOR MENTORS FOR PEOPLE LIVING ON THE STREETS AND IN SHELTERS. REPRESENTATIVESCREATE3VENDOR WITHIN ONE STEP AWAY SO VENDORS CAN PERSONALLYADVANCEANDPROFESSIONALLY. CREATEADVANCEMENTECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR VENDORS’ GROWTH AS THEY MOVE HOMELESSNESS.BEYOND WITHOUT
OneEmilySincerely,TaylorStepAway, Director
OSAPHILLY.ORG 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS #ICYMI: PHILADELPHIA 4 NEW RENT VOUCHER PROGRAM 5 YOUR HEROES FOR THE HOMELESS 6 AN EQUAL PHILADELPHIA FOR ALL: 7 MAYOR KENNEY SHARES HIS PLANS HOMELESSNESS IN PHILADELPHIA 12 LAS JUVENTUDES HABLAN: SPANISH 13 AMAZON RING: WHO IS WATCHING? 16 10 YEARS OF ONE STEP AWAY 18 TECHNOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS 20 GOOD NIGHT STORIES FOR REBEL GIRLS 23 DIVERSITY IN POLICE DEPARTMENTS 27 UNCOVERED ISSUES 29 PUZZLES 31 THE MAGAZINE VENDORS BUY EACH COPY FOR $1.50 AND DISTRIBUTE THEM FOR $5, KEEPING ALL OF THE PROFITS! Every time you purchase a One Step Away Magazine you create meaningful income and personal growth opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty. JOIN US AND HELP OUR VENDORS WORK THEIR WAY OUT OF HOMELESSNESS. 76 One Step Away is a program of Resources for Human Development (RHD), a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. www.rhd.org We are a member of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), helping 20,500 vendors earn an income each year. www.insp.ngo One Step Away is a proud member of Broke in Philly, a collaborative news initiative among 22 local news organizations to provide in-depth nuanced, solutions-oriented reporting on issues of poverty and push for economic justice in Philadelphia. www.brokeinphilly.org OUR AFFILIATIONS Creating Jobs, Advocating for Social Change 16
On her first day, City Council member, Kendra Brooks, introduced a resolution calling for hearings on rent regulations. Brooks believes that everyone from janitors to teachers to owners of corporations, should be able to afford to live in Philadelphia. It is clear that Brooks is intent on pursuing policy ideas that were not being taken seriously just a few years ago when Councilmember Helen Gym was the only one speaking up about these issues. She noted in her resolution that currently over half of Philly’s renters are cost-burdened and spend over a third of their income on rent. The business community hasn’t welcomed her statements with open arms, though they admitted that they are aware that low-income renters need more aid. Brooks says that she understands the complicated nature of her resolution, but believes that we cannot wait on these issues.
Full article by Brianna Baker, Green Philly.
Full story by Jensen Toussaint, AL DiA News. Yvette Núñez, vice president of civic affairs at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, serves as a representative voice in changing the conversation surrounding the topic of poverty. Growing up in a row-home in a now imploded housing project in Newark, NJ, she has not only noticed the poverty, but also how alcoholism, drug addiction and incarceration impacted those close to her. She is creating a Roadmap for the Chamber’s growth action team, which is focusing on revitalizing neighborhoods, creating jobs, and developing Philly’s workforce. Her biggest message is that “we always talk about poor people, but not with poor people.” She is striving to not just thoughtlessly provide resources like food, clothing, and shelter, but actually get to the root of the problem by having community members in the room. #ICYMI was created by Broke in Philly, a collaborative news initiative among 22 local news organizations to provide in-depth, nuanced, and solutions-oriented reporting on the issues of poverty and the push for economic justice in Philadelphia. This effort is led by Resolve Philadelphia, a new hub for the city’s general interest, community and ethnic news organizations to produce collaborative solutions reporting and community engagement activities that address urgent social challenges. For more details, visit: brokeinphilly.org.
CITY COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS CALLS FOR HEARINGS ON RENT CONTROL
CHANGING HOW WE ADDRESS POVERTY IN PHILADELPHIA
After a traumatic experience, Jose Ferran Jr. fights tirelessly to make Hunting Park cleaner and greener, as well as healthier and kinder. His guiding principle: sustainability and mental health interventions are more connected than you might think. Ferran knows trauma all too well. In 2011, he was shot in the shoulder during a fight. Now, he works for several organizations and campaigns that help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Though the shooting was the most traumatic experience of Ferran’s life, it was also a turning point — a turning point for the better. FROM INCARCERATION TO BARBER Full article by Michaela Winberg, BillyPenn.com.
#ICYMI: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT WITH SO MUCH GOING ON IN THE NEWS, YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED SOME LOCAL STORIES THAT AFFECT OUR COMMUNITIES DIRECTLY. HERE, BROKE IN PHILLY BREAKS DOWN CURRENT POLICIES AND STORIES AFFECTING PHILADELPHIANS.
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Full article by Jake Blumgart, WHYY.org.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR PHILADELPHIA'S DOMESTIC WORKERS?
CLEANING AND GREENING HUNTING PARK TO HEAL TRAUMA
As part of the Pennsylvania Domestic Workers Alliance, three domestic workers combined forces with Councilwoman María Quiñones-Sánchez and other Councilmembers to pass protections for more than 1,600 nannies, housekeepers and caretakers. Once Mayor Jim Kenney signed the bill into law in November, Philly joined nine states as well as the city of Seattle in passing similar labor protections for domestic workers. This legislation will take effect in May of 2020, and it has been recognized by many to be the strongest in the nation. These protections include mandatory meal and rest breaks, anti-discrimination laws, a nine-person board to monitor standards and implementation, and establishing a paid time off system.
Full article by Emily Neil, AL DiA News.
To Norristown native Ron Curtis, good hair is about more than good looks. After four years in prison, and a few more in rehab, he used Barbary as a springboard to lift himself into a successful, flourishing career. Now, he wants to help other people do the same. In late January, he launches Final Touch Barber Academy at 9th and Spring Garden. Set in a former row-home, the school is on a strip that’s bursting with revitalized retail: breweries, restaurants and apartments have all opened there over the past few years. Once they get started, the students will spend nine months learning all the info they’ll need to take Pennsylvania’s barber certification exam. A passing grade will earn them the license required to work as a barber in the state.
Details on this second phase are scant, although it will also have a one-year budget of $2 million.
“These property managers already have to provide the tenant income verification, rent rolls, and other types of reporting to us and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency,” said Heller. “For this program, we are going to review tenant incomes and rent and we are going to carry out inspections on units to make sure that they are compliant with HUD housing quality standards.”
The agency will provide the rent money to the landlord for each eligible subsidized tenant.
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PHILLY EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW RENT VOUCHER AIMED AT KEEPING FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES
By: Jake Blumgart, Plan Philly, Broke in Philadelphia “This is another way to get around the real solution to the problem: lowering rents so that regular Philadelphians can afford to live in this city,” said Emily Black.
A second pilot program will be rolled out later this year to target the unsubsidized housing market in low-income neighborhoods.
Philadelphia is testing a new approach to helping city residents pay their rent.
But given that market-rate landlords do not have previously established relationships with public agencies, the barriers to policing such a program would be higher, perhaps making it more feasible to give money directly to needy renters.
“If this works well, I would like to see it expand to private housing,” said Councilmember Helen Gym, who frequently champions renterfriendly legislation. “If it expands to private housing beyond the subsidized market, it will become very relevant and very necessary to discuss whether subsidies go to tenants or landlords.”
Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez was one of the driving forces behind that deal, and she too will be watching the program closely.“Iwish we were already giving out vouchers in the private market,” said Quiñones-Sánchez. “I’m excited about providing further subsidy to [poorer] people. This program allows us to reach a different constituency.”
A new pilot program will provide monthly rent vouchers of $300 or less to help Philadelphia tenants who are spending more than a third of their income on rent and live in income-restricted properties built or renovated with taxpayer dollars.
Heller said that none of the details are settled about the forthcoming program. It’s not yet clear whether the second tranche of vouchers will go to tenants or landlords.
“Because incomes in Philadelphia are so low, [subsidized] rents are still too high for many renters to afford, and you need additional subsidy to help those families,” said Greg Heller.
“This will help keep a roof over people’s heads,” said Councilmember Helen Gym, who frequently advocates for renter protections. “This is particularly exciting because it’s targeted towards our neediest families, the 12 percent of Philadelphians who live in deep poverty.”
A request for proposals issued on Wednesday seeks applications from property managers or owners of affordable housing developments funded with public subsidies, such as the federal LowIncome Housing Tax Credit program (LIHTC).
The LIHTC program was born when Ronald Reagan was in the White House, in the 1980s, as a market-driven alternative to more direct government subsidy programs like Section 8 vouchers or midcentury public housing. The federal tax credit is now the principal means of funding affordable housing development in the United States. But because it relies on private investors, there is a limit to how deep the affordable subsidies can go. As a result, LIHTC projects often struggle to help those in the greatest need. That’s where the city’s new vouchers will come in. The pilot program will be able to fund about 550 vouchers over the course of the year. Heller said he anticipates most tenants requiring the max of $300 a month, even though vouchers could technically be provided for smaller amounts based on a household’s need. But after being informed of the program, some renter advocates questioned why the vouchers couldn’t simply be provided directly to the needy tenants and criticized what they see as a band-aid approach to rents that outpace many Philadelphians’ incomes.
Heller said Philadelphia officials have reviewed municipal rent subsidy programs in other cities, and that the strategy of providing supports to landlords has a proven track record in other large municipalities like Chicago.
There will also be oversight provided to these landlords, who are already subject to more public sector scrutiny than their unsubsidized counterparts.
The pilot program comes as part of a larger move in city politics to address affordability and a pervasive eviction crisis. Big cities like Philadelphia are increasingly experimenting with housing programs like this one, modeled after a similar program in Chicago, at a time when the federal government is retrenching from social welfare programs.The$2million city-funded program will be administered by the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, a nonprofit group that recently merged with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.
“We surveyed operators of affordable housing projects throughout the city and found pretty universally that a substantial number of their tenants are cost-burdened,” said Greg Heller, senior vice president of community investment at PHDC.
“If used responsibly, shallow subsidies can keep people off the streets, especially in the event of an emergency, and avoiding homelessness is no small feat,” said Emily Black of the Philadelphia Tenants Union, which advocates rent control.
The funding for both voucher programs comes from new monies devoted to the Housing Trust Fund in the wake of a compromise reached between City Council and Jim Kenney’s administration.
Help us spread the word that even in tough times, great things are possible — and they’re happening every day! One Step Away is now accepting nominations for the 10th Annual Steppy Awards, honoring those working to end communityTherehomelessness.aresomanymembers who make the world around them a better place, with little recognition and few thanks. The Steppy Awards are our opportunity to shine the spotlight on those who work tirelessly to assist, inspire, and champion for people in need. But we need your help! We rely on your nominations of coworkers, friends, mentors or just people you notice doing good work in the community who deserve special recognition. This is your opportunity to show Pleaseappreciation.tellus who you think deserves acknowledgmentspecialthis year.
NOMINATE YOUR
6 ONE STEP AWAY NOMINEE FOR HEROES FOR THE HOMELESS: ReasonEmailPhonePositionOrganizationNamefornomination NOMINATED BY: Your Name Your Organization Your Position Your Email Your Phone I’D LIKE TO NOMINATE... OR MAIL THIS SLIP TO: ONE STEP AWAY, P.O. BOX 63703, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19147 HOMELESSHEROESFORTHE NOMINATE YOUR HERO ONLINE: SURVEYMONKEY.COM/R/HEROES2020
OSAPHILLY.ORG 7 AN EQUAL FUTURE FOR PHILADELPHIANS?ALL
“When I became Mayor, my goal was clear — to increase equity and opportunity so all Philadelphians, regardless of their zip code, can reach their full potential,” stated Mayor Kenney. His five priorities attempt to bring everyone to the table and involves stakeholders from all sectors. At the Mayoral Luncheon, Mayor Kenney stressed that no one sector can tackle the intergenerational poverty and issues Philadelphians face alone.
Photo Credits from Cover and Page 3: Philadelphia City Hall. Leo Serrat, Unsplash. From left to right: Page 7: City Hall at Night, Philadelphia, Gibson Hurst, Unsplash. Mayor Kenney Luncheon, February 11, 2020. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Page 8: School Progress Report Celebration, February 10, 2020. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Philadelphia Fashion District Launch, September 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Albert Lee. Page 9: Police Commissioner Outlaw Appointment Press Conference, December 30, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Visit to Rawnhurst School, March 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Page 10: Benjamin Franklin Schoolyard Opening Celebration, February 10, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera. Fishtown Rebuild Ribbon Cutting, July 23, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Page 11: Benjamin Franklin Schoolyard Opening Celebration, February 10, 2019. Copyright City of Philadelphia. Photograph by Samantha Madera.
As Mayor Kenney entered his second term, he laid out plans for Philadelphia’s growth. From education to jobs to biotech — even submitting a big to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Philadelphia — his initiatives cross all sectors and attempt to uplift all Philadelphians.
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Other keynote speakers of the luncheon echoed his sentiments, including: Rob Wonderling, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia; David Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation; Daniel Hilferty, CEO, Independence Health Group, and Chairman, The Chamber’s Board of Directors.
As the Administration looks at the homelessness and housing crises in San Francisco and Seattle, cities that experienced recent and significant economic boosts, Mayor Kenney says he wants to ensure any growth serves the residents of Philadelphia.
On February 11, 2020 Mayor Kenney hosted his fifth annual Mayoral Luncheon for 1,300 members of Greater Philadelphia’s business community. He began: “In 2016, we embarked on a mission to tackle some of Philadelphia’s biggest challenges — a struggling public education system, intergenerational poverty, public health crises, gun violence, an inequitable criminal justice system, and much more.”
The message is clear: we need to come together to move all residents ahead. This inclusive economic growth, as the Mayor calls it, requires the public and private sectors to work together to benefit all Philadelphians. He also recognizes the need for government advocacy: both at the local level and with representatives in Harrisburg.Sohowdoes the Mayor’s Administration plan to move all Philadelphians into the 21st Century and beyond? Through his top five priorities.
Mayor Kenney’s Top Five Priorities:
At the luncheon the Mayor spoke about his second term plans and his Administration’s top priorities. His focuses include spurring economic growth, attracting new businesses and tourists to the city, and moving toward a future in AI, bio-medics, and technology. But unlike other cities investing in the future, Philly’s plan has a twist — to create equality and equity for all Philadelphians.
Mayor Kenney’s Second Term Plans
Quality education for all. In his first term, Mayor Kenney introduced the PHLpreK program providing free, quality pre-K to more than 6,000 kids and their families. Additionally, the City took back local control of the School District from Harrisburg, creating a Philadelphia School Board. His new plans expand on this success by focusing on providing quality education from pre-K to post-secondary schooling for all Philadelphians.“Investinginthe future generation of Philadelphians is the only way we can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and ensure that our employers have a talent pool they can tap into as they grow,” said Mayor Kenney.
“Any life lost to gun violence is one that could have been prevented…”, said the Mayor. “That is why we are moving with urgency to implement our violence prevention strategy — combining proven data-driven and community-informed approaches that have successfully reduced violence in other major cities.”Theplan calls on residents, community organizations, and criminal justice partners to work together to lower gun violence, improve community-police relations, and create a more equitable criminal justice system. Philadelphia’s new Police Commissioner, Danielle Outlaw (pictured above), will lead public safety efforts working with the community, police, businesses, and government. However, the Mayor admits, they cannot solve the issue of public safety on their own. He urged the business community to create the opportunities needed to reduce violence. “As you know, one of the best ways to combat violence is through opportunity — through education, training, and jobs,” Mayor Kenney said. The last piece of the plan is advocating for common-sense gun reform legislation in Harrisburg. His goal, “to get guns, especially assault weapons, off the streets of Philadelphia.”
To do this, the Administration is investing $1.2 billion in school funding over the next five years to grow the PHLpreK program and create 20 Community Schools. As a community, he asks us to change the narrative that Philadelphia has “bad schools” and “be a part of the progress.” This progress to improve public education includes safe facilities, smart investments, and a focus on student success.Thisschool year, six public schools closed due to asbestos, lead, and mold issues. According to WHYY, the School District’s own 2017 study into school building hazards estimated a cost of $5 billion to fully clean-up and modernize Philadelphia’s school buildings — which have an average age of 70 years. Joining with the Chamber of Commerce, the Administration wants to secure funds from Harrisburg for capital improvements to keep schools safe and clean.
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Creating a safer and more just Philadelphia.
The Mayor’s first priority, creating a safer and more just Philadelphia, focuses on lowering violence — especially gun violence.According to Philadelphia Police District data by the end of 2019, Philadelphia experienced 1,435 gun shootings. That year, 355 victims died due to homicide, Philadelphia’s highest number since 2007. As of February 23, 2020, this rate is up 23 percent with 53 homicide victims since the beginning of 2020.
In order to help Philadelphians compete in the job market and gain the credentials and degrees needed to work for businesses in Philadelphia, the Administration is helping more high school students plan for college and allowing more residents to attend Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) tuition-free. With increased resources for books, transportation, and childcare, the Mayor hopes more students can attain a higher education to prepare them for future careers.
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To improve safety on all streets, the Mayor supports the Vision Zero Action Plan, which hopes to eliminate traffic fatalities in Philadelphia by 2030. The plan will accelerate focus on pedestrian and child traffic safety in partnership with Families for Safer Streets of Greater Philadelphia and the National Center for Safe Routes to School.Aspart of the Vision Zero Action Plan, the Administration is committed to creating a high quality bike network. With the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia and City Council, the Administration will work to deliver 40 miles of protected bike lanes by 2025, adding to the 5.2 miles of protected bike lanes the Administration already built.Finally, the Mayor wants to improve transit by supporting SEPTA’s redesign of the bus network. According to the Mayor’s Office, 163 million people ride the bus system each year. Whereas 150 million people ride the trolley, regional rail, and subway lines combined.
Inclusive and resilient neighborhoods
To create inclusive and resilient neighborhoods, the Administration is dedicated to investing in people, places, and businesses. The Chamber’s Neighborhood Growth Project and Roadmap for Growth initiatives will extend economic growth beyond Center City while ensuring increased opportunities for Philadelphians.TheCityiscommitted to providing better customer service for constituents and businesses. As part of their Inclusive Growth Strategy announced last year, the Administration will partner with the Chamber of Commerce to create a sector-based approach to economic development. This approach will support specific industries that are predicted to be in high demand in the future. Kenney stressed his Administration is “pro-growth,” but committed to applying “a lens of inclusion and equity to align this approach with workforce opportunities for our residents who need them most.”
The Administration plans to expand street sweeping to every neighborhood by 2023. Expansion of the program will include looking at parking on alternate sides of the street, utilizing mechanical brooms, and more manual techniques on smaller streets, states the City. Additionally, the Mayor committed to $200 million over six years to repaving and repairing roadways. A third paving crew will be added to pave over 131 miles per year across all neighborhoods by 2023. The Administration is also working to upgrade curb ramps throughout the city to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The City continues to implement changes to make it easier to do business in Philadelphia. The City Council passed sixteen bills to repeal parts of the Philadelphia Code that were outdated and cut down on red tape to help businesses. In addition to attracting national and international companies to Philadelphia, the Administration wants to grow local businesses. They’ve partnered with the United Way expanding current resources to support small businesses and diverse entrepreneurs.
Workforce Development is another key strategy in the Mayor’s plan of creating inclusive and resilient neighborhoods. At the luncheon,
Cleaner and safer streets
“In the second term, we will change the Filthadelphia narrative once and for all,” stated Mayor Kenney.
To improve the daily life of residents and visitors, the Mayor wants to make the bus network reliable, affordable, and attractive. With SEPTA, they plan on decreasing duplicated and excess lines while increasing connection opportunities so riders can get where they need to go faster and more reliably. Over the next four years, the Administration plans to transform the bus network by adding and improving bus priority lanes.
the Mayor called on businesses to increase employee wages to a family living standard. His Quality Jobs Program will launch later this year and will provide grants to employers who provide jobs that pay a family-sustaining wage and include employee benefits like health care.
“Last year...I spoke about how Pennsylvania’s $7.25 minimum wage is the lowest among all neighboring states. Sadly, it still is. For eleven years, it has remained unchanged,” said Mayor Kenney. He urged businesses to commit to a $15 minimum wage, before stating that the City is leading by example guaranteeing a $15 minimum wage to all City workers and contractors by 2023.
Mayor Kenney continued his resolve for a $15 minimum wage: “I also urge you to continue imploring Harrisburg to increase the minimum wage for the entire state — it’s long overdue.” By raising minimum wage, the Mayor hopes to show workers they are valued, help them provide for their families, and help them directly contribute to growing Philadelphia’s economy. Finally, the Mayor believes it is essential to invest in places to drive economic growth. He identifies neighborhood commercial corridors, housing, infrastructure, and public spaces as key areas for investment.TheDepartment
of Commerce has dedicated $2.1 million to improve commercial corridors and $1.6 million for nearly 700 businesses to install security cameras since the start of his first term. The Commerce Department’s International Business Development team is dedicated to increasing Philadelphia’s global connections — elevating our city’s presence around the world to grow our economy. To grow globally and locally, airlines are investing in new flights out of the Philadelphia International Airport.
Diverse, efficient, and effective local government Mayor Kenney wants to continue to move Philadelphia into a new era. To make the city more dynamic and diverse — with a stronger than ever economy. His Administration plans on building on Philadelphia’s current financial stability. They will modernize Philadelphia’s services, already they have updated many of our city’s websites, increased transparency, and worked from a data-driven and informed policy approach. Mayor Kenney wants to prioritize customer service, continue to diversify the City’s workforce and contracts, and build racial equality into all city policies and services. Most importantly, the Mayor wants all of us, regardless of sector or neighborhood, to join together to build Philadelphia. Optimistic for the future, Mayor Kenney concluded the luncheon with these parting words: “Let’s keep building on our successes together. Our neighbors are counting on us, and the prosperity of our city depends onSoit.”it is up to all of us, to join together, to uplift all Philadelphians and move our city forward. Will you join? What do you think of the plan? Let us know @OSAphilly or osa@rhd.org. Learn more at phila.gov.
Locally, the Rebuild Initiative, made possible by the Beverage Tax, is working on 60 projects, investing $120 million in high-need neighborhoods. Rebuild will improve our parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, and libraries. And through innovative public-private partnerships the Administration created Shared Public Spaces and Philly Cares. Philly Cares is a fund supported by businesses and the hospitality industry offering resources to get people off the streets and into housing. Although securing affordable housing is still an issue many Philadelphians face, the Mayor hopes more publicprivate partnerships will be able to address the city’s affordable housing shortage. “We are a great city, and we can be even greater by working collaboratively to address our challenges.”
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Everybody deserves a place to call home.
The Office of Homeless Services (OHS) tracks its progress towards ending homelessness by measuring how many individuals are entering the homeless system for the first time, the length of time an individual experiences homelessness, and the number of individuals who returned to homelessness after exiting the system. The goal of the Office of Homeless Services is to “make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring”. These goals are aligned with the national goals for addressing homelessness established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“The reason we’re able to progress is because of the hard work of our amazing provider community, the dedication of volunteers and workers, the leadership from City Council and the Mayor’s Office, and the collaborative, can-do approach of Philadelphians,” said OHS Director LizTheHersh.June 2019 Point-in-Time Count statistics are referenced above.
The average length of stay in an emergency shelter and safe haven indicates the ability of the homeless system to move people out of homelessness. The Housing First Approach strives to move individuals into housing as quickly as possible by removing barriers necessary to allow households to enter housing assistance projects. The average length of time individuals were enrolled in an emergency shelter, safe haven, or transitional housing in 2019 was 161 days, down from 233 days in 2018.
Together, we’re RHD.
According to OHS, “since 2016, we’ve reduced family homelessness by 25 percent. That’s over 200 families. Simultaneously, and thanks to [PIT] data, we know we’ve reduced the street homeless growth rate by 86 percent over the past three years.”
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The Office of Homeless Services (OHS) reported that Philadelphia's homeless services system reduced family homelessness by 25 percent over the past three years. Homeless services also reduced the city's street homeless by 86 percent since 2016. Based on last year’s national Point-In-Time Count data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ahead of 2020’s count.
Together we’re better.
The Office of Homeless Services’ goals to make homelessness rare begins with aiding households that are at risk of experiencing homelessness by emphasizing prevention and diversion strategies. They also build partnerships with an array of organizations in order to allocate resources effectively. In 2019, 12,651 persons entered a housing assistance project for the first time.
By: Maureen Garafano, One Step Away Every year, with the support of hundreds of volunteers, the Office of Homeless Services (OHS) conducts a Point-In-Time (P-I-T) Count to survey the number of Philadelphians experiencing homelessness on a single night. This count provides the homeless assistance community with the data needed to understand the number and characteristics of people experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia.Theterm unsheltered population refers to individuals sleeping in any location not designed for or ordinarily used as sleeping accommodations for humans — such as on the streets or in SEPTA transportation centers, abandoned buildings, cars, or public parks.
Sheltered population is a term that includes persons experiencing homelessness that are staying in an emergency shelter, transitional housing project, or safe haven. In order for a person to be considered chronically homeless, they must have a disabling condition, and their homeless experience must be at least one year long. An individual can also be considered chronically homeless if they have had at least four occasions of homelessness that is equivalent to one year in length.
One Step Away in 2009 as a voice of advocacy and social justice, and as an innovative way to solve gaps in social services that would help people achieve self-sufficiency. A national human services nonprofit with the broadest possible service mission, RHD supports tens of thousands of people each year in caring and effective services addressing intellectual disabilities, behavioral health, homelessness, addiction recovery and much more.
TOGETHER, WE CAN End homelessness
Find out how you can help at www.rhd.org
In Philadelphia, the P-I-T count occurs in June and January each year. The most recent count was taken on January 22 from 10:30 PM to 4:00 AM the next morning. The data collected will be publicly available and submitted to Washington in April.
ONE STEP AWAY
HOMELESSNESSINPHILADELPHIA
In order to track the community’s progress towards making homelessness non-recurring, the Office of Homeless Services tracks the number of persons who exited to a permanent housing destination, and then re-entered a housing assistance project. In 2019, 85 percent of individuals who exited a project for a permanent housing destination did not return to homelessness.
From shelters and safe havens to supportive housing and nationally-renowned case management services, Resources for Human Development helps people of all abilities attain and maintain their own housing. RHD is a national leader in pioneering innovative strategies to support people as they work to break the cycle of RHDhomelessness.founded
Transformano como los medios de comunicacion muestran a las juventudes
Es momento de cambiar esta realidad. En enero llevamos a cabo nuestra campaña global "No somos un riesgo" para exigir el fin de las narrativas dañinas sobre la juventud en los medios de comunicación. La campaña fue creada por la red mundial de líderes juveniles Youth in Action (YIA) -Juventud en acción- de American Friends Service Committee, quienes trabajan juntos para fortalecer su capacidad de transformar sus respectivas comunidades.
Los participantes de YIA se involucran en capacitaciones centradas en la juventud, basadas en la experiencia y espacios informados para el trauma, que permiten analizar el racismo, el colonialismo y el imperialismo a nivel local y global. Partiendo de esto, crean y diseñan campañas para desmantelar los sistemas de opresión al tiempo que construyen infraestructuras de liberación.
Todos reconocemos cómo los medios de comunicación influyen en las ideas que tenemos sobre nosotros mismos, el mundo y las personas a nuestro alrededor. Los medios pueden ser una herramienta poderosa para comprender y aceptar a personas y lugares que son nuevos para nosotros; pero también tiene el poder de reforzar los estereotipos y prejuicios.Especialmente, las palabras tienen el poder de moldear la forma en que el público ve a las juventudes, por este motivo es alarmante que, en uno de cada tres artículos sobre esta población, el tema principal sea crímenes o comportamiento antisocial, según refiere el estudio mediático realizado por Mori para Young People Now, en este también se plantea que las personas jóvenes solo fueron citadas en el 8% de esas historias. Esto provoca, que palabras como "son riesgo", "vagos" y "pandilleros" se asocien automáticamente con la población joven, especialmente personas racializadas y en situación de pobreza. Es necesario reconocer que estas asociaciones van más allá de simples preguntas retóricas de representación, sino tienen consecuencias reales en las oportunidades de vida y en la capacidad de las juventudes de trascender individual y colectivamente. Influyen desde la falta de oportunidades laborales que paguen un salario digno, hasta en las políticas públicas, prácticas y tratamientos discriminatorios, las juventudes experimentan el impacto de las historias que se cuentan sobre ellas en su vida cotidiana.
Por Sophia Burns y Nia Eubanks-Dixon, American Friends Service Committee. Fotos cortesia de American Friends Service Center.
“Los medios de comunicación son la entidad más poderosa en la tierra. Tienen el poder para hacer al inocente culpable y hacer culpable al inocente, y eso es poder.
#LOCAL: LAS JUVENTUDES HABLAN
OSAPHILLY.ORG 13
Porque controlan las mentes de las masas.” — Malcolm X
Los participantes de la red YIA se convierten en mentores y líderes para la próxima generación de agentes de cambio social en sus comunidades.En2018,losparticipantes de YIA organizamos nuestra primera campaña "No somos un riesgo" para resistir el racismo, el colonialismo y el imperialismo, pidiéndoles a todas las personas que reflexionen sobre la forma en que hablan de las juventudes. La campaña de este año toma ese impulso como punto de partida y se enfoca en desafiar a los medios de comunicación para que permitan a las juventudes contar sus propias historias. A lo largo de la historia, las narraciones sobre poblaciones y colectivos se han utilizado como herramientas para la opresión o la liberación. Una de las tácticas clave del colonialismo es controlar las narrativas, de forma que beneficie sus intereses. Los colonizadores usan el poder de las narrativas para crear historias que deshumanizan a las personas que han colonizado para justificar la continua explotación de recursos de las tierras, la perpetuación de la violencia y el mantenimiento del poder. Del colonialismo surge uno de los métodos más viciosos para mantener el poder sistémico: el racismo. El racismo coloca a las personas en una jerarquía inamovible creada por los europeos para mantenerse en la cima y todas las demás personas en la parte inferior con base en clasificaciones falsas. Para mantener el poder y el control, los colonizadores
• Toma fotografías de tu evento y compártelas en las redes sociales usando #wearenotatrisk #3billionstrong. necesitaban privar a las personas de sus culturas e historias. Al mismo tiempo, elogiaron su propia cultura e historia como "modernas", "correctas", "bellas" y "civilizadas". Estas narraciones funcionan de forma complementaria para perpetuar y justificar la supremacía blanca, el capitalismo y la guerra. Al mismo tiempo, las historias de héroes, legados e impacto de las juventudes locales quedan intencionalmente excluidas e invisibilizadas. Las historias de triunfo, orgullo y resistencia son reemplazadas por historias de delincuencia y crimen para reforzar las jerarquías sociales y culturales.Losmedios de comunicación continúan reproduciendo esta imagen negativa de la juventud, especialmente de las juventudes racializadas, perpetuando historias de racismo y colonialismo. Estas narrativas operan dentro de instituciones como escuelas y juzgados y, en última instancia, afectan la forma en que las juventudes y sus comunidades son tratados por los sistemas representados por estas instituciones. En un momento en que los medios de comunicación juegan un papel tan pronunciado en nuestras vidas, es indispensable pensar profundamente sobre las consecuencias de la representación negativa y parcial. Las comunidades viven desde hace tiempo los impactos que tiene ser representadas como inherentemente violentas, sobresexualizadas, sin educación y perezosas, pero se han resistido a la normalización de estas representaciones. También reconocemos las oportunidades para el cambio a nivel de sistemas que existen al organizarse en torno al cambio narrativo y a través de nuestro movimiento global 2020 “No Somos Un Riesgo”; planeamos retomar estas oportunidades para transformar a través de esfuerzo de organización locales ySeglobales.estima que hay tres mil millones de jóvenes en todo el mundo, con ese número increíble surge un poder significativo para transformar nuestras realidades. Al crear plataformas que permitan a las juventudes expresar sus propias historias y responsabilizar a quienes están en posiciones de poder, exigimos narrativas humanistas, basadas en hechos e informadas por las diversas experiencias de las juventudes. Hoy, las juventudes están contando sus historias, aprovechan el poder del arte y la acción colectiva para iniciar conversaciones con los medios de comunicación sobre quiénes son y las historias que quieren contar. Instamos a los medios de comunicación, periodistas y blogueros a que se comprometan a prestar atención a la forma en que describen a las juventudes en los medios queEsperamoscrean. que te unas a este movimiento global para el cambio de narrativas. Visita nuestro sitio web afsc. org para descubrir cómo puedes apoyar a que los mensajes de los líderes juveniles a través de las redes sociales alcancen a más personas y a respaldar, sus esfuerzos para transformar la forma en que se cuentan sus historias en los medios de comunicación.
About the Authors: Sophia Burns: is AFSC’s Young Leaders for Change fellow. Nia Eubanks-Dixon is the youth program officer for AFSC’s international and U.S. programs.
3. Organiza un evento para recopilar historias con arte visual o historias escritas en tu comunidad: Conversa sobre la campaña “No Somos un Riesgo”.
1. Sigue los hashtags #wearenotatrisk (#nosomosunriesgo) y Twitter(#3milmillonesmasfuertes)#3billionstrongenFacebook,eInstagram.
• Comenta, publica y comparte historias e Cuandoimágenes.compartas una publicación, asegúrate de etiquetar a los medios de comunicación locales (blogs, revistas, canales de televisión, estaciones de radio, periódicos, periodistas, etc.) y motívalos a firmar el compromiso en afsc.org/notatrisk.
Si eres joven, comparte tu propia historia en las redes sociales.
Un paso: @OSAphilly
• Entrega a los asistentes postales en blanco para que pueden completar y enviar a periodistas, blogueros y otros. Como grupo, entreguen postales en medios de comunicación o envíenlas por correo.
2. Contacta a los medios de comunicación locales por correo electrónico, teléfono o redes sociales e invítalos a firmar el compromiso y a utilizar el Marco decolonial – antirracista para hablar y describir a las juventudes.
3 MANERAS EN QUE TODOS PODEMOS SUMARNOS
14 ONE STEP AWAY
for Human Development
OSAPHILLY.ORG 15 See frompotentialeveryangle.
Willis Towers Watson is a proud supporter of One Step Away and Resources
Amazon has sold Ring not just as a deterrent to would-be burglars or to foil Dennis the Menaces, but as a way to record, and therefore catch, package thieves.Andthanks to partnership agreements between Amazon and more than 400 local law enforcement agencies, sheriffs’ offices and municipal police forces have followed suit. The partnership agreements let police request video from a specific time and area—that is, not just footage from individual victims of crimes, but from anyone who might be able to provide evidence of suspects traveling down a particular street at a particular time.
Ring was invented in 2012 as DoorBot and re-branded as Ring in 2014. Amazon bought the company in 2018 and has marketed it as a home security system that’s both inexpensive — Ring doorbells start at $99 and the service costs $100 annually — and easy to use.
Civil liberties advocates have voiced concern about privacy and profiling issues connected with Ring. They’ve also said that Ring and Neighbors are helping to normalize a culture that increasingly encourages people to fear and surveil their neighbors rather than talk to them directly.Andsome advocates — who are concerned about the security risks of Ring — are suing. A federal class-action lawsuit filed at the end of December alleges the company failed to properly secure the system against hackers.
WITH RINGTHIS
According to a map published by The Washington Post with data the paper obtained from Ring, the Beaverton Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, the Oregon City Police Department and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office have all signed agreements with Ring.
This summer, Vice reported extensively on Ring’s history and on the agreements the company has made with four law enforcement agencies in the Portland metropolitan area, while The Oregonian drilled down on an agreement between the Beaverton Police Department and Ring. Philly Voice reported that Amazon has 15 Pennsylvania and six Philadelphia law enforcement partnerships. The six Police Departments Townships in the area with Ring partnerships are: Lower Salford, Hatfield, Lansdale, Nothampton, Lower Gwynedd, and Upper Darby.
The partnership allows officers to log into Ring’s app, Neighbors — which has been described as both an “online neighborhood watch” or a version of the neighborhood-based social network NextDoor, if the latter functioned solely as a way to gather and share information about activities they find suspicious. The latter site itself has been criticized as being a hotbed of racism and vicious sentiments about house-less people.
In one advertisement for Amazon’s Ring surveillance system, a pair of bumbling crooks is frightened off by the mere sight of the Ring doorbell as the homeowner smirks while monitoring the scene from the gym on his phone
Street Roots spoke with Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight for the Future, which has emerged as one of Ring’s sharpest critics. The organization formed in 2011 and has also fought for net neutrality, against facial recognition software and other intrusive forms of technology — and also runs consumer awareness campaigns to help individuals better secure their own phones and computers.
Another ad shows a montage of oddly persistent prepubescent boys ringing the doorbell and running away at various times of day and night, followed by a man hollering, “I know where you live!” and the words, “Ding Dong Ditch RIP.”
Is Amazon’s device sealing an unholy marriage between law enforcement and Big Data? Street Roots learns more about Amazon’s controversial home surveillance system by speaking to Evan Greer, the deputy director of Fight for the Future. His organization is fighting for net neutrality and against the use of intrusive technology, such as facial recognition software, and warns consumers about the risks associated with purchasing Ring surveillance systems.
By: Christen McCurdy, Street Roots, Seattle.
16 ONE STEP AWAY #INSP: TECHNOLOGY IS WATCHING
Courtesy of PhiladelphiaINSP.ngoinformation added by One Step Away staff.
Big Tech companies want us to think that a dystopian surveillance state is inevitable.
RingSafetyWarning.com outlines the dangers associated with Ring devices and encourages members of the public NOT to buy Ring camera devices.
Amazon’s technology encourages racial profiling. Reports document a disproportionate targeting of brown and black communities on Amazon’s Ring Neighbors App and through Amazon’s Recognition software. From RingSafetyWarning.com.
Q: How does Ring differ from another, older security system—such as a store surveillance camera or a webcam I set up on my porch? I mean for both good and bad: what’s more attractive about it and what are the drawbacks people might not think about?
Article Courtesy of Street Roots / INSP.ngo. Edited by One Step Away staff. Photos from Amazon.com.
The following concerns about the Amazon Ring are highlighted on the site: Devices are not secure. Recently, someone hacked into a Ring camera to watch and have conversations with young girls in their bedroom. The hacker introduced himself as “Santa, your best friend.”
Q: For someone who hasn’t heard of Ring, or who maybe who has heard of it but isn’t completely sure what it is, how would you explain it in brief? How was the technology developed?
OSAPHILLY.ORG 17
And worse, they’re convincing us that it’s actually a good thing for us, by selling it as a form of convenience and sense of safety. But we don’t have to live in a world where we are constantly being monitored by governments and corporations.
While surveillance technology is spreading quickly, resistance to it is spreading as well. Dozens of cities across the U.S. have taken steps to limit surveillance technology and corporate data harvesting. There’s growing cross partisan support for policies to restrict facial recognition surveillance and other forms of invasive biometric spying. We’re at a turning point as a society. We can’t sit back and let our rights slip away. We have to fight to ensure that technology is a force for liberty, not tyranny.
Evan Greer: Ring, owned by Amazon, produces and sells home surveillance devices. These devices include doorbell cameras, motion sensors, indoor/outdoor cameras, and an alarm system. Amazon, along with over 700 police partners, promotes these devices as crime fighting tools despite their on-going security breaches and data leaks. Coupled with privacy, civil liberty and racial profiling concerns, Ring devices aren’t safe for people’s homes or their communities.
Q: Talk about the big picture of digital surveillance beyond Ring. It seems like it’s almost impossible to have a full sense of the extent to which we’re being surveilled in various ways by tech companies. Is there any meaningful way to avoid it—or at least reduce it—and still participate in society?
Video footage can be shared without your permission. Representatives for Ring told U.S. lawmakers that police are free to keep videos forever and share them with whomever they’d like. Local police departments currently share camera footage with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist in deportations.
Personal information is exposed. The Neighbors app shares the location of Ring devices, while the Ring device itself has leaked users’ Wi-Fi passwords to the public.
Amazon Ring devices are not secure. People should not buy them. The drawbacks that people should be aware of are [many]. Ring devices connect to the Internet, which makes people vulnerable to hacking, Amazon accessing data for their own agenda, and sharing private, sensitive footage with the government. As cloud connected devices, Ring centralizes around storage owned, maintained, and controlled by Amazon. [There are] reports of Amazon employees accessing and sharing live footage. Amazon Ring’s Neighbor app allows for the proliferation of racial profiling; increasing the targeting and surveillance of brown and black people in the community. In the absence of clear civil liberties and rights-protective policies to govern the technologies and the use of surveillance footage, once collected, stored footage can be used by law enforcement to conduct facial recognition searches, target protesters exercising their First Amendment rights, or be shared with other agencies, like ICE. In light of recent security breaches, Fight for the Future and other groups issued a product warning to inform the public that Amazon Ring cameras are not safe.
Hacking Ring devices is easier than ever. Reports indicate there is a growing black market for software to hack Ring devices, likely being purchased by stalkers, cybercriminals, and those wishing to do harm to children.
Q: When and how did Ring get on activists’ radar as a civil rights issue? What’s being done to push back against Ring’s agreements with law enforcement? We found out about Ring from media reports. In September, Fight for the Future launched a campaign calling on elected officials to end Amazon-police partnerships. As the popularity of the campaign grew, we and over 30 other organizations penned an open letter calling on elected officials to address the partnerships with investigation and legislation. Recently, we—along with 15 other organizations—escalated this call to focus on Congress investigating Amazon’s surveillance empire, technology and practices.
CELEBRATING OSA CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF COMMUNITY AND OPPORTUNITY WITH ONE STEP AWAY CELEBRATING SUCCESS,OPPORTUNITY,AND ACHIEVEMENT
In celebration of 10 amazing years, we recommit ourselves to creating more positive changes in the lives of those experiencing homelessness and the Philadelphia community — we hope you will join us as advocates and supporters as we enter a new decade.Together, we can continue to create opportunities for people to break the cycle of homelessness. We thank you for your support and look forward to many more amazing years.
Together, YOU helped build this community with us. Thank you. You empower people with every interaction. You help people realize their value, boost their self-esteems, and give people who are so down a reason to believe in themselves. People come to One Step Away and feel like they have a chance, they can rebuild their lives, they have a voice – and that gives people hope. You give people hope and the opportunity to change their lives.
As a One Step Away supporter, you help us build community, advocate for social justice, and create income and personal growth opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness. Your support creates opportunities to help more individuals gain the skills, confidence, and income they need to overcome homelessness. You help fill the gap in services between becoming homeless and getting back on your feet. Every time you support One Step Away, you help people bridge the gap, you provide a hand to help people back up. You provide a way for people to begin rebuilding their lives, their self-esteem, and everything else they lost when becoming homeless.
YEARS!AMAZING
THANK YOUFOR
Thank you for 10 amazing years and joining One Step Away and the street paper movement.
Every time, you support a vendor on the street, you break the stereotypes of homelessness and change the way people view and interact with those experiencing homelessness. You provide a platform and a voice to a community often ignored through the One Step Away magazine. Each time you purchase a magazine, you allow OSA vendors to earn an income in a meaningful way — you support a dignified option to begging. You create personal growth opportunities for people experiencing homelessness or poverty through One Step Away. You provide a visibility to the issue of homelessness, breaking the social isolation and invisibility many of our homeless Philadelphians experience. By supporting the magazine, our vendors, and One Step Away, you advocate for viable solutions to address the underlying issues of homelessness and poverty. You are part of the solution.
Director,EmilySincerely,TaylorOne Step Away
20 ONE STEP AWAY #INSP: FROM RECOGNITION TO TRANSFORMATION
Mental illness and technology
As a psychiatrist, I bear witness to a broken system. Mental-health care is chronically underfunded. If a parent has one child with diabetes and one with anxiety or depression and they seek help, the child with diabetes receives world-class care. The child with mental illness is given a sheet of paper and a 12- to 18-month wait.
Encountering blame and shame
Over time, they continue to struggle and things get worse. If they end up in crisis, they might need to seek emergency care.
Javeed Sukhera is an associate professor at Western University.
An example of the power of digital technology to improve health care can be found in pediatric pain research. Led by clinical psychologist, Dr. Christine Chambers, #itdoesnthavetohurt is a science-media partnership that brings evidencebased information about children’s pain directly toDr.parents.Chambers found that numerous eHealth tools for pain assessment and management are developed, yet have a reduced impact because they are rarely made available to patients and families. She and her team targeted their digital strategy directly at caregivers, whom they empowered with knowledge on best practices for managing pediatric pain.
Consider what the experience is like for a young person who seeks mental-health care.
Advances in digital and social media may have the potential to challenge traditional approaches to learning and provide real-time delivery of information to a huge audience. For example, medical journals that leverage social media have a much greater impact than those that do not.
Sharing stigma-reduction tools
They may suffer for a long time before they eventually build up the courage to ask for help. When they share this with a family member or a friend, they may be encouraged to look for help, but encounter a long waiting list for treatment.
Digital technology also makes stigmareduction education freely available to everyone. By putting knowledge about stigma in the hands of patients and caregivers, technology democratizes expertise.
One of the problems with existing stigma reduction education is that it’s delivered through in-class formats that are fairly one-dimensional.
Dr. Chambers’ work is a good example of how including the patient (or, in this case, the caregiver) in the solution can improve results. Digital technologies, including social media platforms, provide opportunities to include people affected by mental health stigma in new solutions to address it.
Research shows that social media is an effective and efficient way to keep health professionals up to date with the latest knowledge to improve the quality of health care for their patients.
As stigma researchers, my team and I recognize the potential value in providing stigma-reducing tools directly to patients and caregivers, as well as to the health professionals those tools are targeting. Bringing those groups together may provide better ways to tackle the stigmatizing practices and policies that still exist in health care.
When those with mental illness experience prejudice and discrimination in the form of stigma, it can make their suffering considerably worse.Spreading awareness and understanding through education is one of the strategies used to tackle the problem. Years of public education campaigns have helped open the conversation. Yet evidence suggests that stigma against people with mental illness remains a problem in our health-care system.
As a stigma researcher, my team and I found that when individuals seek help for their mental illness in settings like hospitals or emergency departments, they frequently encounter blame and shame. We also found that many health professionals stigmatize without even being aware of it. We quickly learned that no matter how wellintentioned health professionals may be, they do not always intend to say what their patients and their families hear. Stigma in health care is automatic. It is embedded within the fabric of the system. Can we really expect training and workshops for health-care workers to solve the problem?
HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CAN REDUCE ILLNESSMENTALSTIGMA
Article courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo. Image by SeanbattyPixabay.from
Hashtag campaigns on social media are another example. Instead of educating people about mental illness in a classroom, a viral social media post can inspire a social movement. Digital tools like social media, blogs and wikis provide knowledge for health professionals who can use this technology to learn about a topic while deepening their engagement and promoting collaboration.
The doctor, nurse or mental health professional they encounter is probably struggling within a challenging system. Health-care professionals work hard with limited resources, soaking up the suffering of others until they begin to detach from their own humanity for self-protection. They might appear rushed. They might seem distant. This can result in the patient feeling dismissed or feeling judged.
OSAPHILLY.ORG 21 Celebrating Purchase tickets or become a sponsor at: OSA philly.org/champions. 10 years! Proceeds support One Step Away ’s mission of creating economic opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty through our monthly street magazine. One Step Away is a program of Resources for Human Development (RHD), a 501(C)3 nonprofit. Overlooking the City of Philadelphia from the 52nd Floor, One Step Away ’s Champions Celebration will feature a silent auction, raffle prizes, awards, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and an open wine & beer bar. Friday, May 15, 2020 6:30 pm Champions Celebration Reception & Dinner 5:30 pm Cocktail Hour COCKTAIL PARTY | SILENT AUCTION | AWARDS CEREMONY | CELEBRATION 1735 Market Street, 52nd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 Join us for an evening of celebration with all of One Step Away’s Champions in honor of our 10th anniversary.
22 ONE STEP AWAY insp.ngo /inspstreetpapers@_INSP 1,850 volunteers support our global movement Over 100 street papers Published in 25 languages Our network in numbers is made up of: Our global network Every month, collectivelyvendorsearn Million$2.78,750 vendors sell street papers at any one time 20,500 vendors earn an income by selling street papers each year Million4.6 readers worldwide in 35 That’scountriesagrand total of $32.4 Million in the pockets of vendors every year 19.4 Million street papers were sold across the world in the past year
OSAPHILLY.ORG 23
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
#INSP:
Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo have a lot in common with the one hundred women featured in their hit book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls : they are tenacious, determined and talented, in addition to being passionate about providing girls with accounts of women who have changed the course of history. Here, they talk about how their book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls has raised public awareness of gender issues, changed the way children’s books are produced and why female empowerment is vitally important. Books
By: Maja Ravanska, Lice v Lice, INSP.NGO
The next girl in the queue, in a shy voice, says that she also wants a sword. The next one says that she would like a sword too.The boy behind them speaks up.
“Well, I want a heart,” he says. Suddenly, the balloon game becomes a lot more exciting. All of the children are running and playing with their balloons. Some pretend that they are flying with their swords; some wear their heart-shaped balloons as a necklace; others throw their balloons into the air and catch them. All of them are smiling.
“It is very important for girls to have female role models,” Elena Favilli says. “It helps them become more confident and to set higher goals for themselves..." STORIES
The creative team behind Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls are both Italian and they met while working in Silicon Valley in the United States, at the center of the world of innovation, technology, entrepreneurship. Their first book, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls has raised public awareness of gender issues, changed the way children’s books are produced and is spearheading a movement that celebrates women as role models. Their first book was published by Ars Lamina and is available in Macedonian, while a second one is currently being readied for publication.
"What balloon do you want—a sword or heart?” The magician“Sword!”asks.The boy responds quickly. The magician quickly makes a few movements and transforms a blue balloon into the shape of a sword. The magician asks every child at the birthday party the same question. The boys, almost as though they have been programmed, choose a sword and the girls likewise choose a heart. The magician makes dozens of blue and green swords and pink and red hearts. Lined up one after the other, each child tells the magician what they want, it seems without even thinking about it. Even the magician starts to make the shapes before he has finished speaking to the children: swords for the boys and hearts for the girls. A girl comes over. “I don’t want a heart: give me a sword!” She shouts with a smile.Themagician opens his eyes wide with delight, makes a huge sword out of a green balloon and hands it to the girl. Then he happily throws his hand up in the air, high, as if he is about to fly upwards.
THE EVOLUTION OF GOOD NIGHT STORIES FOR REBEL GIRLS
“The media tends to represent women in a very narrow sense and it is important to us for art to show that femininity
Women and girls around the world continue to be victims of violence and discrimination. Statistically one in five women will experience physical or sexual violence at the hands of her partner. Outdated narratives — such as those that state that men are heroes, active, and dominant, while women are the “reward”, affectionate, and silent — create gender inequality. These statistics are precisely why, in the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the fifth goal is focused on the issue of gender equality.
THE
More than two million copies of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls have been sold and the first book holds the record for being the most successful title in the history of crowdfunding. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a book for both children and adults that is made up of one hundred accounts about the lives of a hundred women from the past and present, with illustrations created by 60 female artists from around the world. This book inspires girls with tales of the great and powerful women whose works have changed the course of history. It features artists, scientists, dancers, chefs, astronauts, jazz singers, boxers, writers and political leaders; from Cleopatra through to Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth I, Marie Curie, Audrey Hepburn, Serena Williams, and Beyoncé.
24 ONE STEP AWAY
This short story, taken from real life, tells us that it takes only one child going beyond the norm to encourage everyone else to voice their wishes and needs—and to encourage change. This anecdote also tells us a lot about how we teach our children what they should be like from a young age and can often involve falling back on stereotypes. It is gender stereotypes, in particular, that we need to overcome.
Girls are Draw a picture of yourself.
WRITING ACTIVITY HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
OSAPHILLY.ORG 25 can be expressed in many different ways,” the pair said. They explain that they decided to respond to popular tales of princesses whose lifelong achievement is to marry the prince who rides in on a white horse. But what was the main catalyst that led them to engage with the issues of sexism and gender inequality? “It is very important for girls to have female role models,” Elena Favilli says. “It helps them become more confident and to set higher goals for themselves. We are both in our early 30s, we are entrepreneurial, and we know first-hand how difficult it is to succeed, to be taken into account and to be given a chance.”Francesca
“We are bold, fast, and combative,” Cavallo says. “This way, we will continue to disrupt the media industry. Our innovative and fresh approach to publishing will keep us I AM “The media tends to represent women in a very narrow sense and it is important to us for art to show that femininity can be expressed in many different ways,” the pair says.
Cavallo adds that, according to research, it has been found that by the time girls reach elementary school, they already have lower self-esteem than boys. “That is why changing the narrative at an early age is especially important,” she explains. “Parents are offered few resources to tackle this trend and they are particularly concerned about the lack of strong female examples in children’s media. That’s why we decided to create Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.”
YOUNG GIRLS WITH BIG DREAMS BECOME WOMEN WITH GREAT VISIONS
Cavallo explains that their journey started when they moved to Silicon Valley in 2012 and became a part of 500 Startups, an early stage venture fund and seed accelerator program that is one of the largest startup funds out there. “We were the first Italians to become a part of this prestigious program and we were able to raise funds to support our children’s magazine Timbuktu,” Favilli says. The early days were not at all simple. Favilli clarifies that after moving to Los Angeles, despite spending a lot of time developing Timbuktu, she also had to work as a consultant, while Cavallo wrote horror stories in the form of SMS to be able to pay the rent for the small apartment in which they lived.“We also wrote a weekly newsletter, in which we initially tested the stories that would later be published in Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls,” Favilli adds. Their company, Timbuktu Labs, created the first iPad-based children’s magazine, Timbuktu, and the first book in the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls series has gone on to be translated into more than 45 languages in 70 countries around the world. The world media has reported that the pair have shaken up the world of publishing and started a revolution. However, they themselves would say that they have simply done something completely different and that they continue to pioneer and innovate.
I Am a Rebel Girl allows the new “rebel” generation to create appropriate action plans that will continue to move the world forward.“Wewould absolutely do all of this again, if given the chance,” Cavallo smiles. “The feedback we get from our audience proves that these stories had to be told and remind us that girls need real lifeTheheroes.”twoproud founders of Timbuktu Labs say that their innovative company exists to inspire a whole generation.
Translated from Macedonian by Tatijana Kostovska. Courtesy of Lice v Lice / INSP.ngo
A new product that they now also have brought to market is I Am a Rebel Girl: a diary that helps girls train their rebellious spirit, embrace their own potential with joy and determination and become agents of change.
“We wanted to create a tool that would allow girls to find in themselves by identifying the features that they admire in other women, which are included in the book,” says Cavallo. “We believe we did that.”
26 ONE STEP AWAY ahead of everyone else and pave the way for us to change the stories we tell our children.”
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! "We believe that little girls with big dreams become women with great visions and that this is the most powerful engine we have that can change the world."
TAKECAMERA:PHONEOUR2020COMMUNITYENGAGEMENTSURVEY!
The pair outsmarted major corporations and instead of proposing their project to major publishers—who would edit their product to suit their own agenda while taking a large share of the profits— the two women decided to secure their financial backing through crowdfunding.“Fromthebeginning we have embraced and encouraged the raw and irreplaceable energy of girls around the world who have contributed to our products,” Favilli explains. “We wanted to build something community-driven; to tell stories that would allow every little girl to see herself. We believe that little girls with big dreams become women with great visions and that this is the most powerful engine we have that can change the world. We can achieve this only if we work with them at every step towards building something common and great. So crowdfunding was simply something we didn’t think about much and it was an obvious solution. The support we received was overwhelming because we were not working in an isolated way. Our supporters have been — and continue to be — here every step of the way.”
BY SCANNING OUR QR CODE WITH YOUR
“Our product is constantly evolving in order to meet the demands of our community,” Cavallo says. “Be it space-specific games in various settings or a revolutionary book for all ages.”
By Jennifer Cobbina, The Conversation, INSP.ngo
OSAPHILLY.ORG 27 DIVERSITY IN DEPARTMENTSPOLICE THE KEY TO REDUCINGVIOLENCEPOLICE
High-profile cases of officer brutality against black citizens in recent years have caused Americans to question the racial makeup of their police departments. Many advocates believe that diversifying these forces will help reduce police violence against people of color. But will it?
What I heard repeatedly was that hiring more officers of color wasn’t enough. The people I spoke to said issues of structural inequality in society and a problematic police culture were creating the breakdown of trust between communities and police. Citizen distrust of the police can strain police-community relations because officers typically depend on cooperation from the public to solve crimes. Residents are more likely to cooperate when they view the police positively.
The proportion of minority officers has nearly doubled in 30 years, growing from 14 percent to 27 percent between 1987 and 2016. But minority hires still lag behind the general population, where nearly 40 percent of Americans are non-white.
Forces serving fewer than 10,000 people are 87 percent white, while the largest departments are on average around 50 percent white.
Edited by One Step Away staff to include Philadelphia. High-profile cases of officer brutality against black citizens in recent years have caused Americans to question the racial makeup of their police departments. Many advocates believe that diversifying these forces will help reduce police violence against people of color.
Last January, The Philadelphia Tribune reported that police target black drivers are three times more likely than white drivers to be pulled over. Mike Mellon, an attorney working for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, said “people of color and neighborhoods of color are facing this intrusion at much higher rates than white people or white communities.” He went on to say alleged racial profiling, and Philadelphia's former stop-and-frisk policy are systems of a citywide problem.
My research suggests increased representation might not solve the problem. I interviewed nearly 200 protesters and residents of Ferguson and Baltimore cities that saw widespread unrest following the officer-involved deaths of two black men, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray for my book Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.
Police Diversity Racial diversity has long been an issue within U.S. police departments. Of the 701,000 full-time sworn officers working in 2016 — the latest year for which national data is available — just 27 percent were officers of color.
Small departments tend to be less diverse.
In Baltimore
Scholars have offered several explanations as to why there doesn’t appear to be a strong correlation between an officer’s race and how they treat civilians. In Philadelphia The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) is the nation's fourth largest police department, with over 6600 sworn members and 800 civilian personnel. The PPD is the primary law enforcement agency responsible for serving Philadelphia County, extending over 140 square-miles in which approximately 1.5 million reside.
Yet, the Baltimore Police Department was found by the Department of Justice in 2016 to have engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional racially biased policing. This came despite Baltimore making “efforts to attract and promote minority candidates,” as the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division noted in its report.Around a quarter of the people I spoke to in Baltimore and Ferguson said they believe black officers enforced the law more fairly than their white colleagues, and were more courteous andButrespectful.asimilar proportion of those who reported having personal experiences with black officers said they believe non-white officers operate aggressively when they encounter black civilians.
Take Baltimore for example. Just over half of the city’s police are officers of color below the 63 percent of Baltimore residents who are black, but still more diverse than neighboring departments and the national average.
Article courtesy of The Conversation / INSP. ngo. Photo by Troy Spoelma on Unsplash.
Credit: Matt Rourke/Associated Press
Former Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. of the Philadelphia Police Department described some social media posts made by officers as disturbing, and said they tarnished his department’s reputation.
Becoming blue The culture within the police department is often cited. New recruits learn to perform police work by observing the practices of their colleagues, internalizing them, and then executing them. Pressure to conform to a prevailing police culture plays a critical role in shaping behavior and determining how officers treat civilians of different races. Officers of color are not exempt from this process. They may even feel obliged to adopt the values of the department to fit in or advance their careers.
In June of 2019, 72 Philadelphia Officers were benched after the Plain View Project discovered offensive social media posts. The New York Times reported that former Police Commissioner Richard Ross, Jr. said it was the largest single removal of officers from street duty in his roughly 30-year career. Many officers were disciplined, although only some were fired.
In turn, this has affected the type and quality of policing that civilians receive in lowincome areas. So-called “broken windows” policing, in which officers aggressively target minor offenses and social disorder under the assumption that it will reduce serious crime, has had some powerful advocates. But others argue that it has led to distrust and animosity between community and police in economically deprived areas. Addressing the structural inequalities at the root of urban crime will go a long way to reducing police violence.
Sincere efforts by law enforcement to act differently and do better can reveal common ground with communities and facilitate new ways in which both sides can work toward reducing violence. More of this is needed to improve relationships and build trust between civilians and law enforcement.
28 ONE STEP AWAY
Police departments are increasingly turning to implicit bias training as a way to address racism within their ranks.
At the time, Councilman At-Large Isaiah Thomas, questioned how the city got to a place where race is such a problem in Philadelphia's police force. “As a black man who lives in this city,” Mr. Thomas told The New York Times, “I do want to be able to know that the people who are sworn to serve and protect me are doing just that.”
Some like Birmingham, Alabama, are also taking effort to foster reconciliation with minority communities who have lost trust. This trust-building process involves frank engagement between law enforcement and the people they serve to address tensions, grievances and misconceptions.
Evidence suggests that hiring a racially diverse police force on its own will not solve the problems of policing. Some studies have found that hiring more minority officers is not correlated with a reduction in the killing of citizens. Others have shown that the use of lethal force increases with the proportion of black officers. Any long-term solution to excessive police violence needs to address the conditions in which marginalized communities live. Black people in the U.S.. disproportionately live in neighborhoods that are characterized by pervasive inequality, joblessness, poverty and inadequate public services – conditions in which crime has traditionally thrived.
Jennifer Cobbina is an associate professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University.
Reconciling the past But that is a long-term solution requiring a massive effort to address educational and economic inequities. In the interim, some experts have stressed the need to address America’s history of racial injustice within the criminal justice system to rebuild trust.
I’d like to start off by saying a big THANK YOU!!! To all our supporters! Without you One Step Away wouldn’t be possible! You all give us life and the encouragement to keep moving forward. Speaking for myself I can especially say that I love you! You have become the family I never had. You support me and you care for me. Love is required for support and care to exist, so I thank you for loving me, loving us. We just celebrated our ten year anniversary! A wonderful decade of lives being changed because of the people! The everyday people. Many different walks of life, but they all support us! Which is a phenomenal thing! I’ve been along for the ride for 8 years! February 22nd of 2012 is when I signed up to be a One Step Away vendor! Because of One Step Away I received housing last year! Giving stability to me and my daughter Symphony. As we move forward in this new decade of vision, we need your support more than ever! We need you to tell more people about us. About our fight for ourselves! And how you help us to continue fighting to change our lives into one of stability while we maintain our integrity with diligence, hard-work, self-sufficiency and will power. As vendors we stand on the principles of faith, perseverance and determination. We don’t give up because of the hope and optimism you give us! We need you to speak of us in your communities and workspace! Tell all your family and friends about us so that we can expand, grow and continue to represent what it looks like when people help those who want to help themselves! I received housing last year because of all you supporters! You’ve helped me to experience and know what family support, love and care feels like. I never received it as a child, so I subconsciously searched for it my whole life. And 8 years later of being a One Step Away vendor I can honestly say I’ve experienced it now. You’ve been consistent and have never let me down. The support you give me and us vendors is tremendous! You all are such beautiful human beings! A true blessing. Let no one tell you different. I will continue to represent myself with dignity, honesty and integrity. LOL, I sit here trying to think of a name for you all instead of just saying supporters, which, you are but you mean so much more. I will call you my, “OSA Family.” I thank you and love you with all my heart OSA Family. Sincerely Yours, Ram
OSAPHILLY.ORG 29
Myconversation.favorite"me-time" activities are relaxing, cooking, and making jewelry. I enjoy exercise too, but I am usually too busy or too tired by the time I have finished my work and chores. I hope to have my own business one day — a jewelry store. I think I would do well and enjoy it very much. My favorite foods to cook are pineapple cornbread, seared pork loins, and vegetables. I'm always looking for healthy new ways to prepare them. I want to say one more thing. Thank you to all of my customers who are so dedicated and show up regularly to support me. Thanks for caring and thank you One Step
MariaSincerely,Away.James
IT IS A CHANCE FOR THEM TO SHARE THEIR STORIES — AND CONNECT WITH YOU, OUR READERS.
A LETTER TO MY ONE STEP AWAY SUPPORTERS
BY: RICHARD "RAM" RAMSON
UNCOVERED ISSUES GIVES OUR VENDORS AND WRITERS A VOICE.
VENDOR VOICES: UNCOVERED ISSUES
BEING ON MY OWN BY: MARIA JAMES Being on my own is a great experience. I can live the way I want and have freedom. If I make mistakes, it is my mistake, and I can acknowledge and accept it, then fix it too. I'm more responsible and I'm an adult. I am making more decisions and doing more things that make me a better person than I was before.
Sometimes I wish I had more friends, but there really isn't a lot of time for that. So I find myself just chatting with people I meet during the day, when I am working or grocery shopping, or even at the bus stop. Sometimes I exchange numbers if I really enjoy the
IN THE MIX UP BY: BRIAN BELCHER ABOUTAUTHORTHE Brian is a vendor and writer for One Step Away. He uses his writing to express his experiences with homelessness and his life.
ABOUT AUTHORTHE Slobodan
The finger that can call the shots and end someone’s opinion quick. I surely do not intend to end up in the mix! One thing that I’ll applaud is things that people do to end that shit! Even if this takes six days of work with one little bit of day to rest. That’s when hard work really pays off. Then, I know, I must play hard and not be too Thesoft. fact is that when in the mix, one wrong look and you’re lost. Just as fast as a bar closes in minutes, screaming out last call! Last chance, last fall, first of all this is being in the mix of it all. The thing is that things can go with time so fast. So fast that if you don’t think, and move quick, you can for sure once again, find yourself in the mix.
JOVANA BY: SLOBODAN MRKOJEVIC My name is Jovana. I am not a camel, I am Jovana. I am a lonely, ugly woman who gives away love freely and desperately. I am standing in court in front of a jury and to my choice, I have no Andcounsel,donot need it. I plead I am guilty without a doubt. I ask to receive the harshest punishment they are able to give me.
M A R M A L A D E Q O J A Y S B E R L I N C C L O U T D S H P I L N E R A S U R E E I D A S K I D S B M C R A C K E R N Q X N O B D E A H O L E X N A Y F X A L R L U F R E E H S N C A S S U R V I V O R S X O A S L Z C E Y E S S T U O T A K W L D Z S L T P P R V I C S M E H I E I U O E W A S P E I A E A O X C T C C R T S K P S N T L E W X S O T R E A I F U 2 Z A E O F C L A B C M H A F J G R B L M U D D E V O P A O A C M K F C D O O R S T O T O M WORD SEARCH 2 7 8 1 5 9 4 3 6 5 1 4 8 3 6 9 2 7 3 9 6 4 7 2 1 8 5 8 3 7 9 4 5 6 1 2 6 5 1 7 2 3 8 4 9 4 2 9 6 1 8 5 7 3 7 6 3 5 8 4 2 9 1 9 4 2 3 6 1 7 5 8 1 8 5 2 9 7 3 6 4 SUDOKU 1 8 7 2 1 6 4 3 9 5 9 3 1 2 8 5 4 7 6 5 4 6 7 9 3 1 8 2 3 1 8 5 4 6 7 2 9 2 9 5 8 3 7 6 4 1 4 6 7 9 2 1 8 5 3 7 2 9 6 1 8 5 3 4 6 8 3 4 5 2 9 1 7 1 5 4 3 7 9 2 6 8 SUDOKU 2 E D I T R E A M S S P A R R E N O E X C E L P E N N A S H Y G O N N A A R E A P O S T A G E S T A M P S R E M A L A R E P E T H P R O M O M O O T I T H E M A G I P I N O N R U E S D E C A L C O M A N I A S S O N A T A M U S L I M P E E E N T R I E S M A O A S I F E O N M O S T T A L E N T S C O U T P A I S A N O E A R L I E R A B E T T O R A N A L O G Y T A S S E L S M E L A N G E CROSSWORD LAST ISSUE’S PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
is a vendor for One Step Away. He is from Yugoslavia, he’s been available.he’swritingmagazinessellingfor6yearsandlovesthepeopleofthiscity,hesubmitspiecesofwhenmost
The only person who loved me was my mother. Everyone has been looking at me like I'm a monster because I have a harelip, and was born with a hump on my back. As well they all think I'm hideous—and I feel the same way! You're right, I'm Iugly.went to school a lot, I loved to Thenread...through puberty, my hideous form only grew worse—the hump on my back become larger, everyone started to call me a CAMEL. I started to hate school. I stopped going to school. Then I went back there by force. I did not finish anything, only five classes. My mother died. I was left alone without anybody anywhere. I was not brave enough to kill myself, so I continued to live as wretched. Something has to eat. I found a job at the bus terminal restaurant; cleaned the floors, toilets, urinals—in them, I emptied ashtrays. People are strange when drunk, I was often asked whether I would give love to them, which would not have made me. I am a woman. So I became Juca Kamil To love everyone with a big heart. Well, I just could not be alone. Some men were very kind and gentle. One gentleman gave me a gold chain. Here and there it is said: better you than her. I acknowledge that it is nice, down from a ruby tear to my tears. I have friends. I went to school with him. His name is Lalala, always was a good man—he only called me Jovana. Everyone knows him, he lives in that house with a park full of Manybirch. times I sat there with him, telling each other fairy tales. Our dreams. He is like a gemstone, always claimed special. After them, I formed you. He was a sculptor. I know that he is my only friend. At one point I became pregnant. I do not know who the father is! In front of everyone I have to hide while my stomach is growing, clutching him. I did not want to see. I was afraid of what you would say. I was afraid of everything, I was afraid of laughter. Do you know how it hurt? Juca Kamil, and it's all gone. So finally came the day. I gave birth there at the railway terminal, in the bathroom. Then everything came to an end. Baby is crying. Boy, my baby, he kept crying. I covered his mouth with my hand. I put him under a coat to bring him home so no one would see him when I got home. I see that my baby is dead. I killed my baby, my son. I washed it, dressed in clothes that I bought all in pink. I love pink and I thought it would be a girl. I'd bring it to the park and put it under a birch tree. They're so nice. I killed my son. I laid beside him and cried...There is where I was found. I want to die. My name is Lalala, I am a sculptor, I love Jovanarock.was released by court decision on Friday at 6 o'clock in the morning. Immediately went to the tomb of his son. Put the flowers and returned to my garden, hung on birch where we are together. Once upon a time it told a different tale. Then to the grave I put two stone hearts on each one. The magnitude that I asked for a form of life in stone—now I wander the world Thoughalone. knowing my country, they are in power. People, which they named Juca Camel, and destroying Letlove.them. The world is such a whole. My name is La-la-la And I now live closed in the black world in my skull. In a corner collected, scream people with love: Jovana wonderful woman. What a way to hiccup! The top of the morning wakes you up, and just throws you sometimes, doesn’t it? Then, the vulnerable touch goes through you. When that insanity hits that’s when you begin to feel like no one knew you. Pointing that one finger at everybody, the index finger, a powerful finger. You know?
OSAPHILLY.ORG 31 2SUDOKU 1 8 9 6 2 7 2 6 9 3 7 1 8 3 7 2 5 6 9 4 2 3 5 4 6 4 5 9 1 3 9 1 8 4 1SUDOKU 6 4 5 2 6 1 4 1 5 6 8 2 5 7 3 6 3 7 2 5 7 4 3 8 7 9 2 3 WORD SEARCH K O R E A B A R U B A T O G O K L S Y E M E N Z Z O M B A C D Y Y A I H R C U B A N M D H I M R L M A O O S C H X U A I R P I L N O M J M A H N C K N I I A A A J A F T E I I O F A S A S K M O N U Y Y R G L R Y H N P F I I S T O E A E O E I K A A U X S Y R M X Q R M N N F E I P O R T A U P R I N C E I T N T E H R A N N U O J H W I O E E I C I Z N G B O U S A H R W X C A H O N S T R S I R C D A A A L N A I W E Z P L K Y T U N I S B L D P K A E R O ChileChadBonnBanguiArubaApiaAmmanAmericaAccra IraqIranIowaHaitianFrenchDCCubanColomChina OhioNigerNewarkMiamiLisbonLimaLaosKoreaIrish SaigonRomeRomanPrincePort-au-PeruPakistanOsloOlympian TroyTogoTexasTexanTehranSyriaSpainSanaSamoa ZombaYemenYangtzeUtahUSAUKTunis 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! ACROSS 1. Hand-thrown bomb 8. Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor __” 15. Laid back 16. North of New York 18.17.CityConfessingBusinessthat sells 19.onlineKatmandu’s land 20. “___ say!” 22. Cork’s country 23. Smidgen 24. Legislate 26. “Wheel of Fortune” 27.actionBallpoint, e.g. 28. African capital 30. The loneliest number 31. Like some socks 33. Place of religious 35.seclusionCarve in stone 37. Hang loose 38. Roof 42. Desert hallucinogen 46. Software program, briefly 47. Old-fashioned way to store contacts 49. Annoy 50. Loch ___ 52. Happen again 53. Shopping ___ 54. Bleak 55. Admit, with “to” 56. Black and white diving bird 57. “Like A Virgin” singer 60. Portuguese, e.g. 62. Artist’s workshop 63. Ignore 64. Snuggled up 65. Spectacles DOWN 1. Old-timer 2. Devotee 3. Marrying secretly 4. Honorary Muslim title in old India 5. Angle between stem and branch 6. Animal house 7. Trim 8. Battery 9. Appropriate 10. ___ Today 11. Pigpens 12. Asian palm 13. Womb-related 14. More calm 21. Flock member 24. “College” member who votes for president 25. State cop 28. Adjust 29. Glass ingredient 32. “Absolutely!” 34. Cunning 36. Hidden asset 38. Children’s guessing 41.40.39.gameRunProsAlittle, in Spain 43. Female gonads 44. Portico 45. Ranges 48. Tricking 51. Young salmon 53. Rolls in your hair 56. Prefix with phone 58. Goose egg 59. Born, in bios 61. ___ canto CONTRIBUTED BY STREET ROOTS, PORTLAND, OREGON. FOR ANSWERS PICK UP OUR NEXT ISSUE OF ONE STEP AWAY!PUZZLES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 CROSSWORD
32 ONE STEP AWAY 5.15.20
