OUR STORY
NEWSROOM
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n 2017, we began hosting different workshops aimed at helping our vendors develop skills beyond writing for our newspaper. On any given day, our vendors are illustrating, painting, recording podcasts, taking photos, rehearsing plays, organizing advocacy groups and coming together as a community.
THE TEAM
THE TEAM
VENDORS
A. M., Abel Putu, Abraham Aly, Aida Peery, Akindele Akerejah, Amia Walker, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Archie Thomas, Beverly Sutton, Brian Holsten, Brianna Butler, Cameé Lee, Carlos Carolina, Carlton Johnson, Charles Armstrong, Charles Woods, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Darlesha
Joyner, Daniel Ball, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Degnon Dovonou, Dominique Anthony, Don Gardner, Donald Davis, Donte Turner, Drake Brensul, Earl Parker, Elizebeth Bowes, Eric Thompson-Bey, Erica Downing, Evelyn Nnam, Faith Winkler, Floyd Carter, Frederic John, Frederick Walker, Gerald Anderson, George Gray, Gracias Garcias, Greta Christian, Henrieese Roberts, Henry
Johnson, Invisible Prophet, Ibn Hipps, Ivory Wilson, Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacques Collier, James Davis, James Hughes, James Lyles III, Jay B. Williams, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jenkins Dalton, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Littlejohn, Josie Brown, Juliene Kengnie, Kenneth Middleton, Kym Parker, L.Q.
Peterson, Laticia Brock, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Marc Grier, Marcus McCall, Maurice Carter, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Melveon Harp, Micheal Pennycook, Michele Modica, Morgan Jones, Nathanial Piscitelli, Nikila Smith, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Peggy Jackson Whitley, Phillip Black, Qaadir El-Amin, Queenie Featherstone, Rachelle Ellison, Randall
COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIST HOUSE, COVER DESIGN BY ANNEMARIE CUCCIA
Smith, Rashawn Bowser, Reginald Black, Reginald Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Rita Sauls, Robert Vaughn, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker, Ron Dudley, Ronnell Wilson, S. M., S. Smith, Sasha Williams, Saul Presa, Shawn Fenwick, Sheila White, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Sureyakanti Behera, Susan Wilshusen, Sybil Taylor, Tasha Savoy, Tim Holt, T.K. Hancock, Tony Bond, Tonya Williams, Vennie
Hill, Vincent Watts, Warren Stevens, Wayne Hall, Wendell Williams, Wendy Brown, William Mack, William Young, Willie Futrelle
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ashley McMaster, Blake Androff, Clare Krupin, Chris Curry, Cole Ingraham, Jonquilyn Hill, Matt Perra, Michael Vaughan Cherubin, Michael Phillips, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu, Stanley Keeve
The Cover
The Cover
COVER ART BY NIKILA SMITH, DESIGN BY ANNEMARIE CUCCIA
REFLECTIONS ON BLACK HISTORY MONTH
History
NIKILA SMITH
Artist/Vendor
History stills your smile and dries out your heart. How do you stand when you are always being kicked, but you are starting to succumb to being kicked? We can’t even lay down. We are going through a lot to stand, with pain pumping through our veins.
It’s hard to love with hurt all around.
The history before me is leaving my job every day and seeing people freezing for hours for a cot. I want to know when history will change. If you don’t know love, you will always be attracted to hurt. Every time I turn around, there is another drug being created. History has tracked from start to finish. It was meant to tear one race apart, but a couple had to take one for the team. Why do we hold on, just to have our beauty stolen and pictures taken of another version of who we really are? Those pictures will be a big part of history, burying the truth of history just to rewrite it again to say “Black people are lazy and worthless and always looking for a handout.” Due to what those pictures show, it will take forever to figure out it’s the system causing damage.
Back in the day, if you loved someone who wasn’t your race, death came. Now people will die to experience love, even with the hate.
Pride
JACQUELINE TURNER
Artist/Vendor
There are so many people to be proud of for helping the Black community survive. Moms. Dads. Sisters. Brothers.
Politicians such as Barack Obama showed us a person of color can become president. Doctors without money work two jobs to get through medical school. Scientists who know they want our community to keep going. Teachers who want to share with all rather than just some. Actors playing roles of powerful kings like Black Panther and actresses playing fierce woman warriors. Black people have survived and thrived. And we always will. I am proud to be a member of that community.
But don’t forget that we still struggle.
George Washington Carver (1864-1943)
CHRISTOPHER WADE
Artist/Vendor
Every time I think of a Black historical figure, it’s always George Washington Carver.
For years — more likely decades — I was under the distinct impression, as taught to me in school, that he was THE inventor of peanut butter. But this is not the case because, over time, several different people developed the food.
Carver, however, was a leading proponent of peanuts and peanut farming. His knowledge and agricultural studies led to hundreds of products from multiple crops, such as plastics, dyes, and fuels. The man overcame tremendous odds to achieve the success he enjoyed in his life. Born enslaved, he would thrive in his studies as an agronomist to become a widely respected scientist, inventor, and educator.
Carver’s resolve and success still serve as a model for other people to rise above less-than-desirable circumstances and ascend to a comfortable station in life. His legacy is chock-full of hardship and success, oppression and education, and has stood the test of time as a prime example of achieving the often-mythical American Dream.
BIRTHDAYS
Chris Cole
March 8
ARTIST/VENDOR
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brian Carome
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Darick Brown
DIRECTOR OF VENDOR
EMPLOYMENT
Thomas Ratliff
VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES
Aida Peery, Chon Gotti, Nikila Smith
VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS Ann Herzog, Beverly Brown, Madeleine McCollough, Roberta Haber
Tasha Savoy March 11
ARTIST/VENDOR
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Annemarie Cuccia
DEPUTY EDITOR Donte Kirby
EDITORIAL INTERNS
Vendor accomplishments are back!!!
Let us know your triaumphs in housing, community, and life. We want to celebrate your successess and milestones. Accomplishments featured will recive ten free papers. Submit accomplishments to editor@streetsensemedia.org
EVENTS AT SSM
ANNOUNCEMENTS
□ The February vendor meeting is Friday, Feb. 28, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Come for pizza, business and fellowship!
□ Photography workshop is every Thursday at 12:30 p.m.. Come work on those photography skills.
□ Theater workshop is every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. Help build the next Street Sense Media performance piece!
□ Sales is a skill. Come build it up at Workplace workshop every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Talk shop and earn 10 papers.
□ Is the office closed for a holiday or bad weather? Street Sense follows the federal government (opm.gov/status). You can call the front desk (x101), check your texts or emails, or go to streetsensemedia.org/ vendor-info.
VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT
Read this democratically elected code of conduct, by vendors, for vendors!
1. I will support Street Sense Media’s mission statement and in so doing will work to support the Street Sense Media community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.
2. I will treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and fellow vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making donations, or engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.
3. I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media but an independent contractor.
4. While distributing the Street Sense newspaper, I will not ask for more than $3 per issue or solicit donations by any other means.
5. I will only purchase the newspaper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not distribute newspapers to other vendors.
Cara Halford, Ella Mitchell, Fiona Riley, Franziska Wild, Gabriel Zakaib, Katherine Wilkison, Madi Koesler
ARTISTS-INRESIDENCE
WEB INTERN Zachi Elias
SOCIAL MEDIA INTERNS Matt Corpuz
GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERN Josh Hong
Alexandra Silverthorne (Photography), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Leslie Jacobson (Theater), Roy Barber (Theater), Willie Schatz (Writing)
EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS
Abigail Chang, Andrew Chow, Anne Eigeman, Benjamin Litoff, Cari Shane, Emily Blumburg, Jack Walker, Josh Axelrod, Loren Kimmel, Mark Rose, Micah Levey, Ryan Bacic, Taylor Nichols, Zach Montellaro
6. I will not distribute copies of “Street Sense” on metro trains and buses or on private property.
7. I will abide by the Street Sense Media Vendor Territory Policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes with other vendors in a professional manner.
8. I will not sell additional goods or products while distributing “Street Sense.”
9. I will not distribute “Street Sense” under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
10. I understand that my badge and vest are property of Street Sense Media and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing “Street Sense” and will always display my badge when distributing “Street Sense.”
‘It’s no longer about reception’ D.C. Office of Migrant Services closes all but one shelter
FRANZISKA WILD Editorial Intern
teadying the stroller bearing her twoyear-old daughter with one hand, Liliana gestured up at the fourth migrant shelter she’s lived in the District. Since her arrival in the city over a year ago, she’s sought both work and permanent housing, finding neither. In the meantime, she witnessed D.C. close one temporary migrant shelter after another, until she found herself living at the Harbor Light Center, the only still-operating migrant shelter in the city.
SLiliana, whom Street Sense is identifying only by her first name due to her immigration status, is one of the nearly 13,000 migrants bussed to D.C. starting in April 2022. That year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott began sending migrants who arrived at the southern border to sanctuary cities throughout the U.S.
Although this move was largely a political stunt meant to condemn Democrats and the Biden administration for their border and immigration policies, it left cities like D.C. to grapple with a drastic influx of people in need of social services, chief among them housing. In response, D.C. created the Office of Migrant Services (OMS), which provides temporary housing and case management to arriving migrants.
In 2022, OMS opened three temporary migrant shelters in hotels — a Days Inn, Quality Inn, and Hampton Inn — located along a two-mile stretch of New York Avenue in Northeast D.C. At maximum capacity, in April 2023, these hotels housed over 1,200 people, according to reporting by the Washington Post. Now, OMS is at an inflection point as the need and political willingness to help migrants have waned. The office began scaling back its services in March 2024, and closed all three hotel shelters by the end of 2024. As the programs and infrastructure built to help and house migrants have shut down, the question of where migrants went, and if the majority of them found permanent housing, remains unanswered.
The Days Inn was the first shelter to close, as first reported by the Washington Post. It was followed by the Hampton Inn, which closed on July 15, and the Quality Inn, which closed on Oct. 11, according to D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS), under which OMS is housed. Neither of these closures have been previously reported, and DHS declined to provide Street Sense any data on how many families remained in either hotel at the time of their closure. The agency said it did not track where families went after the shelters closed.
“All families had exited to their permanent destination outside of OMS-assisted support before closure. A few remaining cases that needed extra time were moved to another OMS-run facility,” a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email to Street Sense.
It’s unclear how many families make up those remaining cases, but Liliana’s is one. She experienced the cascade of closures firsthand, but she did not exit to a “permanent destination.”
“I was at the [Days Inn] for a while, then at the Hampton, then at the Quality Inn, then they moved us here,” she said, pointing in the direction of each shelter when she mentioned its name.
Liliana now lives at the Harbor Light Center, the only facility that remains open. It is operated by SAMU First Response.
“OMS is an imperfect system that tried to address a very specific need,” Abel Nuñez, director of Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), which offered support to migrants in the hotels, explained. “The hotels were a necessary thing at the moment, but eventually it became a burden.”
When Street Sense visited the hotels, it found they had all been
recently renovated and were now open to the public. Managers at each of the hotels said the hotels were no longer operating as shelters, and DHS confirmed that all three hotels were closed.
The closures were likely due to decreasing need as the arrival of new migrants drastically slowed beginning in 2023. In a PowerPoint presentation shared at a meeting of the Interagency Council on Homelessness in April 2024, OMS announced that starting in fiscal year 2025, it would only maintain two facilities. These facilities would be the Harbor Light Center and “overflow accommodations for up to 130 families at one hotel.” DHS did not provide any information as to why the overflow shelter does not exist.
When Street Sense asked DHS a second time about how many families lived in the hotels at the time of their closure, a spokesperson wrote: “The District has successfully scaled temporary shelter options to a single site due to successful exits of families from the program. We work closely to support all families to develop their personal plan. Through this work, families identify future housing options. The information on final destination is voluntary, and DHS does not track the families after they have been exited.”
However, when Street Sense visited the Harbor Light Center, reporters spoke with a number of migrants, who all said they knew at least one person who had previously lived in the hotels and was now at the facility. SAMU First Response confirmed the current population at the respite center is made up of new arrivals as well as people who had been living in the hotels.
According to OMS resettlement data obtained by Street Sense, 51 families resettled in September and October 2024. The data does not include the number of families that remained in OMS shelters at the end of each month, nor does it include the number of families that lived in the hotels upon closure. It was collected via a voluntary exit survey, and does not necessarily reflect where families actually settled.
Alexander Seville, who arrived in D.C. three months ago and is currently living in the Harbor Light Center, said he knows people who are staying at the respite center from the hotels, and that once someone leaves the shelters, assistance is limited.
“They take them out of the hotels, and that’s it, they don’t get anything. They are in the street,” he said. This summer, D.C. closed an encampment of over 30 people, most of whom were migrants and some of whom told Street Sense they had either stayed in the New York Avenue hotels for a period or tried unsuccessfully to access the OMS shelters.
Sierra Barnedo, who is a rapid rehousing program manager and manages the Latinx outreach program at SMYAL, has noticed a similar gap. In her opinion, it’s “unethical” and “absurd” that families in the OMS system don’t have access to the broader family shelter system in D.C.
“It has been said by District government that if you’re connected to OMS, you’re diverted away from Virginia Williams and family services,” she said. “And that to me is just like blatant racism because if I have a D.C. ID, children in D.C. schools, children born in the United States, have lived in D.C. over six months, why am I not a District resident?
When OMS was established, the law that determined eligibility for assistance from the office also amended the definition of “District resident” to exclude people who entered the United States after April 2022 and have ongoing immigration proceedings. Newly arrived migrants are thus not eligible for the city’s family shelter system or many other resources other
homeless residents can access.
Barnedo questions the premise of defining OMS as separate from the continuum of care when so many families remain in the OMS system. In her estimate, about half the families who’ve exited OMS have been able to find permanent housing.
“You have families that are broken up because it’s almost impossible to find a resource together,” she said.
“We have so many families that have been, for so long, kind of cheated out of family system services, because we don’t have District residents in limbo in hotels,” Barnedo said. “But, how can we expect hundreds of people to just self resolve?”
While OMS cannot refer migrants to the shelter system, it has offered them assistance in traveling elsewhere. Seville told Street Sense that when he first arrived in D.C., he was offered a bus ticket to another destination or back to where he came from. But it’s not clear how many families left the hotels using this option.
“I don’t know, honestly, they rent rooms, they go elsewhere, some to Maryland or Virginia,” Liliana said. Maryland, in particular Prince George’s County, was a popular destination for migrants moving out of the hotels, according to Nuñez.
For Liliana, the primary barrier to moving out of the shelters has been her inability to find work. Not only is finding a job a challenge, even obtaining work authorization can be difficult.
“ One of the greatest challenges is that this is a population that did not have familial ties to the region,” Nuñez said. When migrants were bussed to D.C., many had no ties to the region nor a sense of where exactly they were going.
“ Our system of integration is really based on family and friends. You come to a particular area, because someone gives you a couch,” Nuñez continued. “An immigrant, how do they get a job? It’s because whoever is hosting them has a job, right?
At the hotels, CARECEN, a social services organization that helps Latin American immigrants adjust to life in the United States, attempted to fill the role family plays for many of the migrants, providing financial literacy and other kinds of education intended to help acclimate them to life in D.C.
CARECEN also offered a program to train people on how to be health care providers, and once participants had attended enough classes and achieved certification, they would receive a stipend. The stipend wasn’t earmarked for housing, but Nuñez explained CARECEN encouraged families to use the stipend to pay the deposit on a permanent rental.
“I think we helped 13 families move out, and they use it as a down payment,” Nuñez said. He noted that the OMS shelters were always intended to be temporary housing and that the decision to close them was due to both the lack of funding for them but also the lack of need. The number of arriving migrants has dropped tremendously since Biden restricted immigration in the summer of 2024, and Trump has only further prevented it.
“The actual influx of people has passed, so now it’s about ensuring that they land as best they can,” Nuñez told Street Sense. “And focus on how to make sure that they can stay and thrive. So it’s no longer about reception.”
But many migrants still face barriers to permanent housing. So, some of them, like Liliana, will continue to live in shelter.
“Right now, I’m waiting for all this to happen so that I can rent a room for me and my daughter,” she said. “But the truth is, it is very difficult to live here. It’s uglier to live here.”
Editor’s Note: Some of the quotes in this article have been translated from Spanish. Graham Krewinghaus contributed reporting.
DCHA ‘pulled’ 20,000 people from the voucher waitlist in 2024. What does that mean?
DONTE KIRBY Deputy Editor
Since 2013, nearly 40,000 low-income D.C. residents have been on a waitlist for federal housing vouchers. In 2024, almost half of those people were finally “pulled” from the list, but thus far, only a fraction of them have actually moved into housing.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal assistance program that helps Washingtonians who struggle to afford housing by providing a subsidy they can put towards rent. Over the last decade, the need for housing assistance has become far higher than the supply, and so few people have come off the waitlist and into housing. Advocates and voucher holders blame the low conversion rate from being on the waitlist to moving into housing on outdated information, communication issues, and a lack of support throughout the application and housing search process.
2024 was the first full calendar year on the job for Keith Pettigrew, the new executive director of the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), which manages both the list and the vouchers. After Pettigrew took over, DCHA “pulled” about 20,000 names from the federal housing voucher waitlist, contacting the families who asked for help years ago to see if they were still interested.
As of January, just under 600 families have moved into housing. In all, 4,527 people have been pulled and put on the road to housing, according to the numbers DCHA provided to Street Sense.
Between December 2023 and Jan. 8, 2025, DCHA contacted 19,563 people on the waitlist, sending each applicant two separate pieces of mail in the post. This contact deems families and individuals “pulled” from the waitlist, according to a DCHA spokesperson. The outreach notified applicants their names had come up on the waitlist and provided the next steps to determine eligibility.
Only about one-third of people responded to this initial step, according to a DCHA spokesperson.
Of those 19,563 “pulled” applicants, mail to 3,405 was returned undeliverable, and 9,829 had no response — as in, the notification was delivered, but the applicant did not respond. Given many of the applicants first signed up for the waitlist years ago, it is possible they moved, and the notification went to an old address.
Lakisha Mooney, who received her voucher eight years ago, would have been in that “delivered but no response” category. Her name was up on the waitlist for years, but she didn’t know it because the programs she was in and DCHA didn’t communicate with each other.
Mooney, 49, disabled in a mobility chair, was on the voucher waitlist for 19 years. She remembers her daughter was two years old when she first signed up for the waitlist. She’s 29 now. During those years, Mooney was in Rapid Rehousing (RRH). She rented a home for over two years, became homeless again, went back into the shelter system, and then lived in a Motel 6 on Georgia Avenue NW through RRH again for five years before finally getting a federal voucher.
But, as she’d later learn, during those five years at Motel 6, Mooney’s name had been pulled from the federal voucher waitlist. Through happenstance, as she was working through housing issues within the RRH program, she ended up at the desk of a DCHA worker who’d been looking for her for five years. The DCHA worker had every address she’d ever lived at. He said he’d been to Motel 6 looking for Mooney multiple times and was told Mooney had moved out. In some of those cases, she had only moved hotel rooms.
DCHA’s official stance is that it’s the applicant’s responsibility to update the agency with their current address. For the time being, the 13,234 people DCHA has reached out to but has gotten no response from won’t lose their place in line and can contact DCHA to apply for a voucher years later. People who think their names may have been pulled from the waitlist can contact the DCHA’s customer call center at 202-535-1000.
Of the fewer than 6,000 people who did respond, just one-third of the total number contacted, 1,801 had their application deemed ineligible or denied. Applicants have been waiting on the list for years, so they could have seen a change of income, marital status, or even moved to a new state, which results in denial of an application.
Another 1,789 families had an incomplete application, which was returned to them to complete. This could mean they failed to answer a question or attach a supporting document, like a pay stub. Another 436 people have an application in progress, and 563 applicants are eligible and just need to attend a voucher briefing to officially receive their voucher. Just 9% of those contacted, 1,740 people, have received vouchers so far.
But the voucher isn’t the end of the road. Of the 1,740 people who have received vouchers, 978 are looking for an apartment; 165 had their voucher expire because they couldn’t find housing within the required 180-day period; and 597, or 3% of all those contacted, have moved into homes or apartments.
This is partially because voucher holders often feel like they get little support in finding an apartment, Daniel del Pielago, the housing director for the advocacy group Empower DC, said. The organization helps residents, specifically low-income residents, organize and create community coalitions and campaigns around issues such as environmental justice, housing justice, and combatting gentrification. Through del Pielago’s work, he often meets with federal voucher holders and those on the waitlist to hear their issues with DCHA, organizing to seek change around common issues, including the difficulty of finding housing with a low barrier to entry and the process of finding housing before a voucher expires.
Voucher holders may have to deal with illegal source-of-income discrimination when landlords refuse to rent to voucher holders. DCHA also has to approve the rent of the unit, so if an individual finds a good place but the rent is too high, they have to start over.
“There’s a briefing that happens when people get their voucher,” del Pielago said. “But after that briefing, people feel like they’re left to their own devices.”
An expired voucher doesn’t necessarily dash a family’s dreams of housing, but it does mean a voucher holder needs to ask DCHA for an extension and cite a viable reason, like a medical emergency or the landlord filling the unit as a voucher holder was going through the application process.
In addition to those still in the housing process, another 18,000 people on the waitlist have yet to be contacted. As of December 2023, the waitlist had 38,622 applicants, according to DCHA. The agency has modeled how the prioritization of 1,300 families exiting the Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program for federal housing vouchers will impact those still on the waitlist, and staff said in July projections they predict the agency will begin addressing people on the waitlist again in early 2025.
Being “pulled” from the Housing Choice Voucher Program waitlist can mean many things. But by the numbers, more often than not, it doesn’t mean moving into housing. For five years, Mooney was considered pulled from the waitlist. Her case begs the question: where are the 13,000 people DCHA hasn’t heard back from, and are they still struggling to find affordable housing? Have they, like Mooney, been going back and forth between Rapid Rehousing and homeless shelters?
“How did I get Rapid Rehousing when I have a federal voucher waiting for me in your office?” Mooney asked. “How?”
‘I’m coming back for them’: Nikkie Smith secures housing voucher, expands outreach
ELLA MITCHELL Editorial Intern
After waiting three years for a housing voucher, Nikkie Smith had a vision for her apartment — namely, that it had a light color palette and was a place to call her own. In the green and white front room, Smith arranged her carefully selected furnishings: a beanbag she can come home and relax in and a futon for when she hosts guests. For the back room, she picked out a black bed frame with glowing lights underneath.
“It doesn’t make up for the time I spent on the street, but it’s very beautiful,” Smith, who is a Street Sense vendor and vendor program associate, said.
Smith’s new space marks the latest step in her journey out of homelessness. The 47-year-old moved into her Takoma-area apartment soon after receiving her housing voucher on Nov. 1.
But the road to secure the voucher was far from easy. In fact, Smith said the three-year-long wait to get a voucher was tumultuous. Confusion plagued the process, including miscommunications with the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA) and social workers. So did delays, such as DCHA taking weeks to approve housing documents. On average, it takes people 241 days to move into housing after being matched to a voucher, and many wait for years before that match happens.
“My case managers lied to me for a year, had me waiting, thinking this is the end of this madness,” Smith said. “They embarrassed me.”
Smith said her case manager mixed up the types of vouchers Smith was eligible for, giving her the wrong information for over a year. When Smith asked about potential support to eventually purchase a house, she said case workers made fun of her, telling her to get a job without knowing that she already worked.
Smith said she felt embarrassed when she found out she had been operating based on incorrect information, and frustrated the people who were supposed to be helping were talking down to her.
“I was myself getting embarrassed about the wrong information that they gave me, and then I said something like, ‘Well, how can I get to a house?’” Smith said. “You know, I don’t want to die in an apartment.”
So when Smith finally moved into her apartment, she said the moment wasn’t all happy; the idea that everything could be taken away from her still flitted in the back of her mind.
“I know I should have been, like, really giddy after that,” Smith said. “But it was, like, I was happy, not like I usually would have been. I don’t know, things change.”
With the high cost of utilities and rent and an income that falls below half of the area’s median, Smith said her new home doesn’t always feel permanent. Voucher holders have to dedicate at least 30% of their income towards rent, and may still be responsible for utilities and other fees.
“I feel like, ‘Oh, I got the voucher, but soon enough it’s going to be snatched back,’” Smith said. “Because there’s all these rules now that I have the voucher. Rent is extremely high. The utilities are extremely high. I’m not allowed to make a certain amount of money or they’ll take the voucher. That’s the part that really irritates me.”
One of Smith’s main concerns is a looming benefits cliff, which means a small increase in earnings can result in a sudden loss of public benefits. Smith worries about nearing the income limit while working, because while she then wouldn’t qualify for benefits, her income also wouldn’t be sufficient to cover the cost of living in D.C.
Most forms of public assistance, such as food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or housing vouchers, are income-dependent. The maximum gross monthly income to qualify for SNAP, for example, is $1,632.
“I want to make more money. I want to go to school. I am going to go to Howard so I can be a case manager,” Smith said. “But if I make too much money, then I’m going to lose my voucher. That’s not fair.”
The more money a person makes, the less public assistance programs contribute. But sometimes the rise in wages doesn’t keep up with the increase in expenses due to lack of public assistance, cutting off residents from benefits as their salaries rise. For a person earning $65,000 a year, this gap in coverage can stall their spending power at nearly oneeighth of their actual salary, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta found.
In 2024, the Council for Community and Economic Research found D.C. has the ninthhighest cost of living out of any city in the nation, resulting in a disparity between eligibility for benefits and the cost of living in the District.
“It’s weird. Wouldn’t you want people to grow?” Smith said. Growth — for both herself and others — is what Smith strives toward. Despite her worries, Smith plans to become a case manager through the city’s Peer Case Management Institute, which trains individuals with lived experience of homelessness to be case managers.
Last year, the D.C. Department of Human Services, in collaboration with the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, Pathways to Housing DC, and Howard’s School of Social Work, launched the institute. The program includes seven weeks of classroom instruction and four weeks of field training, teaching skills like motivational interviewing, conflict de-escalation, and using lived experiences to connect with clients on a deeper level, according to the program’s website.
Smith is already doing a lot of that work. She conducts outreach work with the nonprofit People for Fairness Coalition, where she co-leads the Rhonda Whitaker Streets to Life Initiative, helping women experiencing homelessness become involved in advocacy.
Smith also does outreach on her own, supporting others experiencing homelessness when she can.
“People need a cool pair of sneaks, phone, tablet — it doesn’t matter what you need,” Smith said. “I spend my money and I get it. So I did my own outreach, and I collaborate with other organizations. I don’t like to hear no. I don’t like to wait.”
Smith’s ambitions don’t stop at securing her apartment and working as a case manager. Next, she has set her sights on owning a house, one her kids may be able to live in one day. She’ll keep writing poetry about her life and experiences — all of which will contribute to the book she’s working on.
And through it all, Smith will continue helping others experiencing homelessness.
“I’m coming back for them,” Smith said.
Nikkie Smith stands outside of the Church of Epiphany, where Street Sense’s offices are located.
Photo by Gabriel Zakaib
‘Dancing man’ missed in Dupont Circle
GABRIEL ZAKAIB Editorial Intern
On the sidewalk of one of Washington D.C.’s busiest neighborhoods, a grieving woman stood.
Through teary eyes, she remembered Dominique Ratiff. Ratiff lived as a vibrant staple of the Dupont Circle street community, dancing daily outside the circle’s CVS. Ratiff was stabbed and killed in Dupont on Dec. 30, according to a police report. He was 36 years old.
“He was a beautiful young man,” Dana Silva recounted, standing outside the CVS where Ratiff also panhandled while experiencing homelessness and housing instability. “Not a blood relative, but Dominique was part of my family.”
Silva, who said she met Ratiff when she herself was homeless, watched as suit-lined crowds bustled past her.
“I just want to give a message,” Silva said, her warm breath visible in Dupont’s cold afternoon air. “This corner will never be the same.”
Born in the District, Ratiff grew up in the city to live a vibrant and energetic life, those closest to him recount. Ratiff was talented and generous, dedicating much of his time to helping a community hidden behind the city’s hustle and bustle. Ratiff’s death plunged the circle’s homeless and courier populations into a somber quiet.
Ratiff was known among the street community as a talented dancer. Nearly every afternoon, he spent time performing outside the Dupont Circle CVS.
“He loved dancing. He loved his God. He loved helping people,” Ratiff’s cousin Sean Thomas said. He believes Ratiff was born with his gift for spirited dancing.
After growing up in the District, Ratiff moved to Florida for several years. There, he tried to make a career out of dance, Thomas said. Ratiff then returned to the District, where he danced in street performances outside of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
“You would think these kids were about to fight, but they would just start dancing,” Thomas said, speaking of the performances. “It was cool.”
On top of his dance, Ratiff spent his time volunteering at Charlie’s Place, a Dupont-area homelessness resource center run out of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. It provides food, clothes, and case management services.
After Ratiff first visited Charlie’s Place for hot meals in 2016, the center brought Ratiff onboard as a regular volunteer. Ratiff worked in the kitchen and cut guests’ hair. Eventually, Ratiff
transitioned to managing kitchen operations, Charlie’s Place Program Director Reggie Cox said.
“Whenever I would come up to him, he was always having a good conversation with people,” Cox said.
Ratiff recruited his cousin, Thomas, then homeless, to join Charlie’s Place around the same time he began volunteering there. “He’s the reason I started working here,” Thomas said, noting he currently works as the assistant floor manager and cuts hair as his cousin once did.
Ratiff spent years living without a stable home, Cox said. He had an apartment in Southeast Washington at the time of his death, the police report and Cox suggested. Still, Ratiff often spent his time on the streets of Dupont Circle or at Charlie’s Place, Cox said.
“A lot of people go back to the streets because that’s what they know – that’s what drives them,” Cox said.
Many people experiencing homelessness who obtain housing through government assistance programs continue to spend time on the street, Cox said. Adjusting to a housed environment can spur a host of issues for previously homeless individuals, who have to break old ways of thinking and adopt new patterns of life. It’s an especially taxing transition when an individual’s social circle remains on the street. Like Ratiff, many guests at Charlie’s Place are housed but remain active in the program and on the street, Cox said, noting the draw of familiar habits and people.
“Just because people are panhandling, it doesn’t make them beneath someone else. It’s about community,” Silva said.
On the streets of Dupont Circle, Silva called out to the constant flow of mid-day traffic, thinking of Ratiff: “When the baby grows up, where does the village go?” Standing in the same place where Ratiff used to spend his afternoons, Silva asked the people around her again, this time, with tears, “When the baby becomes a man, where does the village go?”
Ratiff had brothers, sisters, and a mother that loved him, Thomas said, though they could not be reached for this story. Ratiff also had a second family – that of the street. Their love for Ratiff is abundant. Ask for him in Dupont Circle to find ears perking up. Ask for him at Charlie’s Place to uncover a community that loved him.
Why Ratiff danced, none of his friends knew. But Silva, standing on Ratiff’s spot outside the Dupont CVS, offered an explanation.
“His dancing – he was praising the Lord.”
Dominique Ratiff at Charlie’s Place. Photo courtesy of Charlie’s Place
Sean Thomas stands with his partner Dana Silva in the clothing room of Charlie’s Place Photo by Gabriel Zakaib
November 21, 2024 – Two contracted bridge maintenance workers walk through Eric’s encampment at the Anacostia River Walk Trail and DDOT underpass at 1700 M St. SE. This site was closed following the clean-up.
October 24, 2024 – Cyria Knight, a case manager from Miriam’s Kitchen, watches Virgil Martin and two other workers bring a scooter and shopping cart full of items up from an encampment underneath K St. NW. This engagement was a “Full Clean-up/Closure.”
October 3, 2024 – DMHHS uses a Cat 299D3 Compact Track Loader to move tents and surrounding foliage/trees into a dumpster at the 1280 Union St. NE at a “Full Clean-up/Closure.”
October 2, 2024 – Leon used shopping carts to move his things from his encampment outside the Exxon at 16th and New York Ave. NE across the street before the space’s scheduled clean-up.
December 10, 2024 – A DPW worker mans the garbage truck compacting a tent while smoking a cigarette at the “Full Clean-up/Closure” at 111 K St. NE.
October 2, 2024 – The final results from DMHHS’ cleanup at Leon’s encampment before he moved his belongs back to the area. Cardboard, paper scraps, and food were left behind.
Cigars, clean-ups, and closures: What do encampment “engagements” look like?
MADI KOESLER Editorial Intern
As public space grows increasingly rare in the District, encampment engagements significantly increased in 2024, displacing over 100 people, based on Street Sense’s reporting. Encampment residents consistently voice anxiety surrounding site closures and continuous relocation. A lack of accessible information adds to this anxiety. Signage placed in advance at engagements, the contours of which can vary widely, does not say what residents can expect the day of.
The 2019 Encampment Protocol defines one primary category of engagements: “standard dispositions.” When conducting standard dispositions, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS), which houses the encampment team, gives residents 14 days’ notice before cleaning the area and removing any belongings, according to the protocol.
In practice, however, DMHHS more commonly uses the terms encampment site closure, full cleanup, and trash-only or bulk trash removal actions. These terms are unmentioned in the 2019 protocol but can be found on the yearly engagement summary documents DMHHS publishes. Closure, while not expressly defined in the protocol, is typically used by DMHHS to designate encampments where residents cannot return to the location after an engagement.
As part of D.C. Council oversight hearings, DMHHS recently outlined additional guidelines regarding these terms. These guidelines provide some details on how trash and hazardous materials are removed during cleanup engagements, saying DMHHS works with D.C.’s Department of Human Services,
the biohazard team, and D.C.’s Department of Public Works to remove bulk trash, hazardous materials, and remaining items. But what these protocols look like varies. Part of this is because the size of encampments can range from one shopping cart to multiple tents. Based on engagements Street Sense has attended, the larger an encampment is, the more likely DMHHS is to contract more workers or equipment.
Because engagements aren’t standardized, it can be difficult for residents to know what to expect until the day of the cleanup. Oftentimes the job of explaining what clean-ups and closures are falls onto the backs of outreach workers.
“If the goal is we need to complete this work, this type of city maintenance work, at this site — would it not be in the best interest... to have everyone that is living there understand as much as possible what is happening that day and why?” Abigail McNaughton, a case manager at Miriam’s Kitchen, said.
McNaughton and residents said the lack of definitions on signage leads to confusion. Residents aren’t always aware when they are allowed to move back to spaces, and described the process as a “cat and mouse game.”
During clean-ups, Street Sense witnessed officials operate heavy machinery while smoking cigars and cigarettes, kick and throw items into piles, and crack jokes.
Last year, DMHHS initiated 62 “full cleanups,” fully closing 32 of these encampments, a 77% increase from 2023.
But this increase doesn’t correspond with equivalent increases in housing opportunities like vouchers and shelter beds. Residents
describe this lack of options as a feeling of “oppression.”
“DMHHS has been weaponizing increased proof of homelessness, targeting encampments, and throwing away oftentimes every item an individual owns,” Joshua Drumming from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless said during a recent DMHHS oversight hearing.
DMHHS’ bulk trash removal ranges from removing trees and tents with heavy machinery to offering residents trash bags, based on clean-ups Street Sense has attended.
While DMHHS removes items, many clean-ups don’t consist of thorough cleaning. Street Sense reporters have witnessed items such as food trash, condom wrappers, cardboard signs, and bars of soap left behind. Biohazard engineer Virgil Martin typically sprays Spic and Span and removes health hazards, but the space isn’t necessarily prepared for public use.
Damage to surrounding nature is also common when heavy machinery is involved. During some of the 2024 cleanups, DMHHS removed small trees and foliage using Cat Compact Track Loaders, including at the closure at 1280 Union St. NE. When clean-ups accompany closures, the main difference in protocol is the restriction of the space after the cleanup. Sometimes additional signage, locks, or fences are added with the help of the District Department of Transportation. Residents typically return to encampment spaces after cleanups when sites aren’t closed, which DMHHS is aware of.
Visit streetsensemedia.org for the continued multimedia essay.
October 9, 2024 – An encampment resident, who asked to remain unnamed, poses with his belongings in a Target shopping cart before moving everything back under the bridge at New York Ave. and Montana Ave. NE following a “Full Clean-up.” All photography by Madi Koesler
D.C. homeless services must listen to the public
REGINALD BLACK
On Dec. 10, 2024, the Full Council of the Interagency Council on Homelessness met at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Library.
The council meets on a quarterly schedule and discusses various topics that pertain to homeless services and the coordinated community response to the plight of those experiencing homelessness. There are many stories in this meeting, but not all of them are highlighted.
Public comments brought an untold story. First, a woman named Jamiylah, who is currently unhoused and has been for about one year, highlighted the complaint process within the shelter system. Jamiylah said the shelter has postings about how to make a complaint but said no postings say how long each phase of a complaint should take.
Jamiylah shared she filed at least three complaints and only got one resolution, which wasn’t sufficient, while the other two are still pending. She asked how long she was supposed to wait.
Jamiylah also shared her frustration with the housing process.
“I don’t want to be at a shelter next year,” Jamiylah said. “How does LSRP [the Local Rent Supplement Program] work?” Jamiylah also spoke about employment, saying agencies “are not helping with employment.”
Next in the line to speak was Robert Warren of People for Fairness Coalition. He highlighted section one, line one of the bylaws for the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and called
It could happen here
DANIEL KINGERY
Reading the Jan. 29 feature by Franziska Wild about what the Trump administration’s impact could be on those experiencing homelessness, those he thinks are eyesores, reminded me of reports and stories about how Hitler tried to make Germany great again.
Hitler started with just one or two groups, sorta like the U.S. passing and enforcing unconstitutional laws such as no sleeping in public, no sleeping in your vehicle, or no camping on public lands in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass
Every one of those laws violates the Constitution, the Ninth Amendment, and the rights retained by the people. The right to sleep. The right to camp. Each being violated with political restrictions not authorized by the Constitution. These and many other unconstitutional laws criminalize innocent people in order to meet privatized jail and prison quotas.
The Trump plan resembles the Hitler concentration camps. Do you recall what happened when his plan got too successful? Think gas chambers.
In modern times, think computer chips. Chips that can act like OFF switches for the human machine. Load your list of “political undesirables” into a computer, then press the execute button.
People say, “Things like that could never happen in these united States of America.” I’ll bet that is what the people of Germany thought — until it started happening among them.
Homeless people are people who possess the exact same list of rights as any president or billionaire (Donald Trump or Elon Musk). Hiding “the problem” only makes it worse. Shipping “the problem” to other political jurisdictions only PASSES the buck and makes other places all the worse, as well as proving the incompetence of the politicians shipping their problems to others.
In previous articles, I outlined several solutions that neither pass the buck nor hide the homeless and do not violate their rights by FORCING THEM to live where they do not want to go. To not violate the Constitution, Trump needs someone who can identify the present redundant waste as well as the proposed and present benefits when it comes to helping homeless people.
Readers; you can advance your cause to help the homeless in much greater scale by presenting me to Trump to fill the head of his Department of Homeless Solutions. Thank you.
Daniel Kingery owns and runs CleanHonestGov.Com.
for a subsidized voucher for those with a low-income status. Warren criticized the council for not doing a good job of budgeting and providing equity.
Then Rachel White from DC Action shared about the plight of youth experiencing homelessness and said that for three months, providers have not been getting paid by the D.C. government.
As a full council member, I have to take these comments with weight because I am a lived experience representative. There are untold stories in each full council meeting and the public comments of this meeting were no exception. The public comments highlight the great need for quality services no matter the population level.
Constituents’ voices need to be heard and they should not be taken lightly. These voices need to be respected, fully represented, and used to improve outcomes for people. This is why we should be having public comments. These public comments should carry great weight so unhoused people have a say in decisions impacting their lives. We take what they have to say to heart and tailor our responses to make sure we are fully addressing their pain. What constituents have to say is valid and we need to do more to immediately solve their issues. The pain and anguish are real and these hurting people will never trust a system that devalues them. They are fighting for their lives and we need to make sure we support them.
Rubin Museum (Sacred symbols)
INVISIBLE PROPHET
When I visited the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York, there was an exhibit of Hindu shrines, arts, and culture. The celebration began on Diwali, which is beautiful if you have not seen it.
At the time of my visit (free entry), I learned so much about Diwali and the deities with swastikas in their palms as mudras, or symbols. I felt anger come over me with disdain. I needed to calm down before asking questions.
At that moment, I walked around to find a curator who could educate me on the anger I felt. To my surprise, the curator already knew what I was going to ask with a polite smile. They said, “This is the place to learn, ask questions, and be curious at any age.”
As stated by the curator, Hitler used the swastika for evil and harmful intent. The swastika has been used for over 5,000 years as a symbol of peace. I felt relieved by their words and my brain began to be curious about all the exhibits.
The Buddhist shrines were amazing, and the sound of healing just vibrated through my soul. I sat for about 30 minutes, meditated, and began to view the art pieces with more swastikas. There were educational pieces discussing the meaning of a swastika. In Sanskrit, the word swastika means “conducive to well-being,” “su” means “good,” and “asti” means “to be,” according to the BBC’s piece on the history of the Hindu swastika.
The direction of a swastika also dictated a different meaning before it was co-opted by Nazis. The rightfacing swastika symbolizes the sun, prosperity, and good luck, and the left-facing swastika is called sauvastika and symbolizes night or tantric aspects of Kali, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
Hindus adorn their thresholds with the swastika, especially during Diwali. The symbol would also be used on clay lamps, pots, shrines, art, or others as an ancient teaching of peace. Of course, there is a historical fight to protect this sacred symbol from the misguided use of it for hate by the Neo-Nazis and Hitler.
The sacred truth is the limbs have a variety of meanings that are symbolic in Hindu scripture. These are core to the four Vedas (Rig, Yakur, Sama, Atharva). They can also be seen as the four goals of life: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha (right action, worldly prosperity, worldly enjoyment, and spiritual liberation). The limbs can also represent the four seasons, the four directions, and the four yugas, or epochs (Satya, Treta, Dvapara, Kali), according to a piece published by the Hindu American Foundation.
In Buddhism, the swastika signifies Buddha’s footprints and heart. For Jains, it’s a symbol for the seventh Tirthankara (one of the liberated souls showing the way of others). The arms represent one of four places where a soul is reborn as a cycle of birth and death, according to the same piece.
India’s belief in the ancient sacred symbol is positive. The right-facing swastika (clockwise) is an auspicious sign that’s drawn on doorsteps, vehicles, and during festive occasions. Swastikas with dots are a variation that is believed to increase its spiritual power for those of the Hindu belief.
The deity Lord Ganesh sometimes has a swastika on his right palm, and when I saw it, I was baffled at first. However, I realized it was important to address my ignorance of a taught behavior to ask questions and become educated on something that is used for hate.
Invisible Prophet is an artist/vendor with Street Sense Media.
Reginald Black is an artist/vendor and member of the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Just when I thought I could say I have my own... My journey through public housing thus far
LEVESTER GREEN Artist/Vendor
”Well by now you should know it was just my luck
The bailiff of the station was a neighborhood cluck I looked him straight in the eye and said what’s up And said let’s make a deal, you know I’ll do you up Now back on the streets and my records are clean”
Those old Eazy E lyrics have been ringing so true as of late. They often haunted me out of pure concern for how the system could be jimmied under the right circumstances.
It’s how the Baltimore incident happened, where a guard got impregnated by an inmate. Now, there are countless different versions of the same story. The world turns, evolves, and develops. I never ever thought to count on the system for housing. It seemed to be the theme back in the ‘80s, the way everything was just way out in the open and messy. Well, at least according to the iconic D.C. movie “Good to Go,” now known as “Short Fuse.” As well as the Basquiat Documentary, in which the theme would be addicts gone. So the old schoolers who survived would be more familiar and have memories and flashbacks of how they were living back then, from the famed Maury show host making his way to Marion Barry being shot protesting in a public building. The documentary shed light on it best for me, though...
Cuz I ain’t doing none of that!
That’s right! I was able to gain stability enough to publish three books! It’s been a long-term goal of mine since my youth! Not only did I finally put my own poetical words into existence in a book collection, but I’ve also brought forth a mighty contribution to the literary world with my autobiography, if I do say so myself! There were plans to do several more, and that’s where this story opens up.
The literary agent I was assigned for my fourth book kept inquiring about whether my book was copyrighted and then started having trouble following directions. Things ended up getting tricky and dicey, as she took to taking chances on the details of my massive and best book project as of yet. I also then had the added pressure of nosey neighbors trying to talk and call my name through the walls. I knew then my conspiracy theory was still on, and it had grown. Now they knew my address where I lived, in a vouchered apartment, which is, quiet as it’s kept, how most of your or those parents acquired and grew theirs! All of these methodologies strike me as quite old school! The judge from my unfair housing case said, “You get what you pay for,” meaning the no windows, no vents room I had out there for three years before I got evicted. That caused it. I ended up getting my truck from my family inheritance, which got me off of the streets and the block overnights. It was a win and fix to me, but I did start to see vehicle attacks once I relocated to the District... Long story short, they broke my concentration from the inside out. Not to mention the rap reverberations I was hearing. Echoes, so to speak. It got back over here on this end because now they were in my ears. As I have mentioned before, I was into West Coast rap music pretty heavily. They were familiar voices to me that should not have been planted into my eardrums or ear range to hinder rather than help me out.
This is the deepfake era, baby. Who will keep their integrity in these times of change, revolution, and cutting edge!? This is mental anguish for an intellectual! I was in very deep thought about the chance and change of a lifetime when I was rudely interrupted by curses bombarded upon my ears. It’s an understatement to say that I was disturbed. Right in the middle of very intricate work!? What could this be about in this spy town of mine?
I’ve avoided a life of crime for them to be perpetrating like I dropped a dime. Yeah, maybe, but that was in Vibe Magazine, and it was more than wholeheartedly about MY RHYMES! Just as I was accepted by Schomburg Black Research at the Malcolm X Library in New York! Their address is my Street Sense badge number! I claim it all as my destiny, ya know!? Me and Smoot walked into Street Sense at the very same time on the very same day as both recommendations of our Tenleytown division mentor, Charles Davis! Rest in peace.
Even as I entered my apartment, I thought it looked awry in that the wood paneling stood out to me as it remained unpainted. Not to mention, I made it into the room on the very last day of my voucher! I was happy to have a home, no doubt! Even if it wasn’t the brand-new luxury apartment I had been guaranteed up on Connecticut Avenue. The counselor was on a bike and couldn’t make the last-minute travel, so I settled and accepted what was given. No front desk and easily accessible mailboxes for easy break-ins. I could peep it all out. I manifested into my new persona of Percy, for in my insight, I have Perceived!
I suppose the only thing that did slow them down was the fact that I had also sent in “I of the Beholder” to the publishers, which I had written and copyrighted many years ago in my youth. In their greed, they gobbled it all up as they presented me with a conglomerate of my work rather than my cleverly and craftily created portions of presentation. I had included my very own personal
collection of article clippings, in addition to Street Sense having an online record of what was published.
Let me tell you, at every new apartment I was finding, and boy, were they good and golden gems, I kept getting rejected. Those were some boss-man apartments I hunted out, and it makes me even more mad about this conspiracy, for one of the apartments was a loft! Newly added and renovated as to make me say surely this is for me! It was suite 15! Hey, that’s me! Brand new! My only drawback was the remote key! Oddly enough, my newly acquired apartment I received in this new year also has a remote lock. It could be a cruel, sick joke with everyone in my business! I mean, finally, I found a spacious, worthy one-bedroom. Quiet as kept and on the low. This spot was on no one’s radar. Just how I like it, and yet again with the sudden disappointment. So how can I surely or truly ever be ready and prepared to move ahead when they remove my peace with all of this unnecessary hecticness!? The landlord even purposely blew the building inspection just to issue a reason for vacating. Now he, the government, and my governing agency are all seesawing and titillating whilst my concentration has been brought to a standstill. I’m bombarded by naysayers and thought pirates with soo-saying powers that cut to the marrow, indeed. So I have made my best stance! Still had way more to go, but this is local government, the federal government, and us in the middle, reporting and calling the shots, so to speak! If I thought of my being homeless as the “Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown,” then this leg of my life journey would be the fight for my soul and very existence as well as control of this very powerful capital city.
There were a couple of times when I had to speak about the intrusions in my apartment, which are not allowed under my contract. So they’re playing it accordingly, as a lawyer would, or something to try and circumvent the system. They’ve been doing this for years. Landlord says he hasn’t changed the locks since the late ‘70s. That must be why my lock change request went unmet! The guy and the lady maintenance workers would make intrusions with the lamest of excuses, such as, there’s a leak, but yet no water running. Oh, naw, I just brought your package in, Any ole thing. Then the woman would leave my door wide open, letting gnats in, only to say, “Oh, must be the season.”
Disgusting! I hung and banged through all of those disparaging things. I believe she may even have intruded whilst I was napping butt-naked one afternoon. She even showed up with my old UPS delivery driver, and neither said a word as if to see what I’d say or if I’d recognize and remember the fella. Anyway, taking advantage of folks already at a disadvantage!? If I wanted this sort of drama, my book content would take on a whole new version of street stories and tales rather than the uppity upbeat side of it all of persevering. It would be filled with the sex tales of my life as a strong-willed poem such as LOVE MAKER BY LOVESTAR would suggest! And it’s peculiar I’ve reached out across the nation via the Internet and Instagram, only to be misled and held at bay within the walls. It’s the housing policy to an extent but also professional jealousy, as well in them being railroaded out of their preferences and into settling... a technique I already pointed out in this story. Now it’s the practice not to put things in real-time, as the recent father-son duo who killed the famed Philly rapper PnB, who resided in Los Angeles, served to highlight. Things like that are known for happening out that way, but me not having wayward thinking, I never saw it as a national pandemic. However, mass shootings are! It was already out of my hands by me not personally being able to afford luxurious things due to lack of proper support and procedure, and now in comes the round of thieves hounding and playing me close, all while moving, which is self-explanatory in that I can’t be in two places at the same time guarding everything all on my own. Aww hell, I’ve even been having to move everything on my own from moving in that first apartment, with which I only received assistance with the actual move, from Friendship Place, who actually rented the vehicle and physically joined me in lugging all of those bags into the van and unloading them out in front of that building and the rest being on my own! As well as putting these bags up upon my back and taking the bus to move in my clothes, folding chair, two stools, a mini table, computers in need of repair, and documents! Who can you trust? Why else would I still be hearing the same old voices, even after my move, thus defeating the point and purpose of the move? But hey, I like the incentives and amenities I’ve finally acquired! Still no helping hands, only hurting voices, and it’s deeper than just the whispers! There is a spiritual remnant to it all. I did explain it was sometimes very much an inspiration to the point that I’d just write and pen what was coming in through the pipeline, so to speak! Reinforcing and fulfilling unto the meaning more than the one I’m giving and standing upon!
So, in summary, the landlord forfeited by not doing anything until the last possible moment, then he used an unregistered guy who was not at all reliable for such an important deadline, but it went against the whole property, so I’m not quite so sure as to where our agreement and arrangement is at nowadays exactly as we are in transition now. It seems constantly in need of repair, and with the recent D.C. water notices and construction all about, I’d say there’s lead in the water, and I’ve been drinking tea with the tap water. Just started drinking tea, too! You can’t boil lead out of the water...
Snow
SURYAKANTI BEHERA Artist/Vendor
It’s a magical moment seeing snow for the first time. It can feel like a dream come true. It is beautiful, pure white, gentle, quiet, and peaceful. It was a moment of pure joy and excitement. Snowfall covered the landscape in a picturesque white blanket. Walking through thick layers of snow and hearing the sound of ice breaking under my boots. Stumbling around in the wrong shoes, getting excited, and touching every tree I pass. Snowfall helped me feel calm and peaceful. I had a sense of mental and emotional well-being. It can be a moment of pure enchantment, feeling like I’m deeply connected to nature and filled with a sense of newness and excitement. New perspectives, friendship, and unforgettable memories.
D.C. politics
FREDERICK WALKER
Artist/Vendor
To D.C. Councilmember Robert White and the D.C. Council:
Thank you for helping the homeless people in the District. I loved meeting Robert White with Street Sense Media. We need to discuss Mayor Muriel Bowser and White getting together and having a meeting with Street Sense.
There’s a warming bus at the Eastern Market Metro station in southeast D.C. that really helps the homeless stay warm. We should have more of those for the homeless who have so few places to stay out of the cold.
Honesty
GODFIDENCE
RON DUDLEY Artist/Vendor
God gave me this confidence
Then God gave me common sense
Then God gave me the gift of life, you see, God has made me gifted twice
God gave me eyes to see
God’s been bringing out the best in me
God gave me a way to escape from the evils of this world with a quake
While the world was shaking, I was inside praying
When I woke up, it was a true awaking
God gave me this confidence
Then gave me common sense
God gave me the peace I need
He gave me breath when I couldn’t breathe
Gave me strength when I couldn’t walk
Gave me a voice when I wouldn’t talk
God must have heard me praying
God must have heard me praying
So I’mma keep praying
Forget what they saying
If they always told me yes
Then I wouldn’t be the best
So sometimes when they tell me no
It’s in order for me to grow
God gave me this confidence
Then gave me common sense
God gave me eyes to see
God’s been bringing out the best in me
God gave me the gift of life
See, God made me gifted twice
I have learned how to be honest with myself and others about having HIV. I have been on YouTube and podcasts where I tell my story. I let the world know about HIV stigma and about being a person who’s lived with the virus since 2005.
I learned to be honest a long time ago, and I’ve learned how to tell people I have the virus. You can live a normal life with HIV.
I used to not be honest with people, but I have done some serious self-growth. I’ve learned honesty is best when it comes to my HIV status, especially with someone I’m dating.
I’ve learned karma is a motherfucker and I don’t want to be in jail or want anyone to be hurt. So, I tell the world what I have and educate them about HIV. We have to fight the stigma around HIV.
I’ve learned how to educate my community and teach women that it’s ok to be HIVpositive. It’s not the end of the world. You can still be a mother with the virus and still give birth to an HIV-negative child.
I’ve learned to accept the truth and learned to heal us from HIV stigma.
Let us remember
JAY B. WILLIAMS Artist/Vendor
Now that we are married
Side by side
In love
We stand
Two hearts as one
Let us remember a priest
St. Valentine
A man
Who lived his faith
And didn’t forget the vows he knew
St. Valentine, with courage so pure
Defied the law to make love endure
In secret, he married young lovers similar to us
He gave his life with a martyr’s grace
As lovers or defenders of love
Let us remember a priest
As we love on the shoulders of those who’ve fought
For faith, for love, and all it has brought
Let us remember a priest
Now that we are married side by side
In love
We stand
Two hearts as one
Some things need to be addressed
WENDY BROWN Artist/Vendor
Street Sense is the best defense against the cold winter months: reading a new issue, thinking about others, and catching a good meal. I want to get something accomplished this year with my goals. There are so many opportunities and I hope I can utilize each one of them. This is the most desirable alternative to being otherwise unemployed. I want to now take the opportunity to thank Shepherd’s Table for their ongoing help and care. Thank you. This organization helps people year-round to eat every day, and they do a great job. Unfortunately, there is sometimes bad news or publicity associated with food kitchens. We have to remember to be safe and look out for ourselves and others. Our own circumstances should help us to understand and empathize with people striving for better. Is the food quality at food banks up for conversation? I like to talk to the other clients to see how they feel about the services. It helps for everyone to get along well. Last, I want to touch base on Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). PSH has been life-changing for me. Thanks to this program, I have a home. However, PSH needs to address issues such as needs for transportation, daily expenses, and permanent supported employment.
DOMINIQUE ANTHONY Artist/Vendor
We have had ENOUGH
ANGIE WHITEHURST
Artist/Vendor
If I could scream, I would
I have been told and have
Heard what you said
I have read it
I have written about it
Repeated the same
To others’ ears
And heard another version
The next line is repeated
Different from what was said
And written and believed to be
The solemnly sworn truth
If life depended on spoken
Words, actions, practices
Not congruent, parallel
Accepted as the same
We would all be Dead
Consensus, agreeable, blended
Terms are hard to reach
Bias does not let
An intersection occur
No coming together
The words fly away
The arms lift up high
The hands hold the signs
Symbols and sayings cut short
The mouth finishes
The message in unison
The extreme, moderate, indecisive
Factions do not stop
They continue until
Fatigue, hunger
And thirst dehydrate
Silencing the voice, throat, and tongue
The body drops
And sleeps to rest
All for….what?
Freedom
Peaceful co-existence
Until the next time
The back-and-forth
Swinging and flailing
Must halt
No one wins
Cutting off limbs and arms
Of money does not help
The green of economics
Has no value in conflict
The words are triggers
To spur action
Back and forth we go
Not knowing when
To cease the fire
Fundraising, appropriating
Designating treaty-sharing arms
Fuel the revolution
Those arms cannot
Think, navigate, or harm
To end the wars
of words, beliefs, philosophies
Everyone Must STOP.
A journey inside Marvin Gaye Park
BRIAN HOLSTEN Artist/Vendor
New Year’s Day for a newcomer inside any American community may be challenging. What may a lone onlooker want to see? Eventbrite offered me an opportunity to visit a greenway park in the District’s northeast, an area once known as “Needle Park” because of heroin and other syringe-needle drug usage due to undervalued drug prevention education.
The local community strove against the materialism from illicit drug usage. The winding park named after the legendary singer murdered four decades ago by his father became an inspirational greenway. The city’s longest municipal park (1.6 miles) was restored when these far northeast communities mobilized against the illicit drug and sex trades.
When I arrived in the Deanwood community, it was brisk, cold, and windy. I went through the entry point and walked past multi-colored poles affixed around an oval-shaped gathering point, perhaps for an audience to enjoy poetry, dance, and acting. I then came to a winding brook surrounded by fallen timber covered with snow. Water birds that don’t hibernate were swimming.
Then I came to the statue of Marvin Gaye holding a microphone. While breathing the cold air, I was amazed at how this park had changed and is a wonderful place to find peace with nature.
What is love?
ANDRE BRINSON Artist/Vendor
“Love.” SMH. I’ve noticed people throw that word around so easily. “Love” is about action, not the word. So, to all my customers and my friends, I truly appreciate your support during my trying times. Thanks always.
I loved my mother, who passed away eight months ago. She’s my love, as are my children. The system is trying to break me. But NO, NO, NO; I will not be broken for anyone
Love makes me feel good, but it also hurts. Nevertheless, peace and love to everyone who lets love wash over them.
Happy belated Valentine’s Day!
The birds speak
DEGNON DOVONOU Artist/Vendor
It’s morning that Wednesday.
I was about to go to my writing group.
While sitting down at the edge of my tent, I was eating my banana as usual. That morning, there were two bananas. They would probably be the only food I’d have to eat all day. I was quietly eating my morning fruit when a little bird descended in front of me.
It watched me carefully and with full attention.
We both made eye contact for a while without moving.
In the eyes of the little bird, I read the tears of a child who has nothing the eat.
Nothing to eat because his parents have nothing to give.
The passers-by walked in the lane, but this little bird, without fear, refused to move, staring at me with the same sad and orphaned eyes. I took great pity on him and understood the message conveyed in those shining, tearful eyes.
To this little bird, I threw a portion of this delicious banana that was not even enough for me. Upon dropping the piece of food, the bird picked it up and ran away.
I can feel the same need for food I used to have and my children have through that little bird. Sometimes, I’m starving like a little bird, and I don’t really have anything to eat. Homelessness is not a joke. I’m for real. I hope, one day, things will be alright.
(Tears)
FUN & GAMES
1. Performs like Macklemore
5. Havana’s José ____ International Airport
10. Muslim pilgrim
14. Monthly util. bill (abbr.)
15. Half-and-half half
16. Word between eggs and easy, or mind and matter
17. Gillette razor brand introduced in 1977
18. Enjoyed immensely (2 wds.) (3,2)
19. “Behold!” (“Voila!” alternative) (2 wds.) (2,2)
20. Hard to believe
22. Clicks on the box authorizing a retailer to email new product info, say (2 wds,) (4,2) (POINTS anagram)
24. “___ out!”
25. Multigenerational baseball family name
26. Obviously surprised
29. Going up, as costs of living or mountaineers
33. “Kate & ___” (popular 80s TV sitcom)
34. ____ Nemo or ____ Kangaroo (abbr.)
35. A dove or pigeon murmur
36. Plungers and snakes (2 wds.) (8,7)
40. “Norma ___” (movie featuring Sally Field’s Oscar-winning title character portrayal)
41. “Did you ever ____ dream walking?” (2 wds.) (3,1) (EASE anagram)
42. “Golden Boy” playwright Clifford 43. Beholden, as for a financial loan or other favor
46. Digital dough (1-4) (incls. abbr.)
47. Estrada of “CHiPs”
48. The Monkees’ “___ Believer” (2 wds.) (2,1)
49. Mass confusion (BLAMED anagram)
52. Subtle component, which is also contained in the answers to 20-, 29-, 36amd 43-Across (3 wds.) (1,6,1) (LEAN BITS anagram)
57. About, on a memo (2 wds.) (2,2) (incls abbr.)
58. The A in “CAT scan”
60. Hawaiian island most recently suffering devastating damage from wildfires.
61. Old Russian autocrat title
62. NBC morning show
63. Chip in chips
64. Farm females
65. Board meeting big shots
66. Soup du ____ Down
1. Digest written material
2. A chorus line?
3. Big copper exporter
4. Sign of healing
5. Big name in computer anti-virus software
6. Classical concert pianist Rubinstein
7. Country dance or casting device
8. ___ lepton (physics particle)
9. Ill-mannered
10. Jacuzzi (2 wds.) (3,3)
11. Actresses Duvernay and Gardner
12. “Star Wars” knight 13. Farsi-speaking land
21. Laid-back
23. When repeated, a cheerleading accessory
25. Top dog
26. Poe’s middle name
27. Attached, in a way
28. Order between “ready” and “fire”
29. Checked out a bank robbery target beforehand, say
30. Slushy Slurpee-like drinks
31. Civil War side
32. Porter J. ____ (CIA director from 2004 - 2006)
33. Day of the year when “Gotcha!”s abound (incls. abbr. & Rom. num.)
34. Small wadable stream
37. Cost or time-required prediction that’s typically accompanied by several caveats
38. Non-stop : the Express :: all-stops : the ____
39. Holding someone’s hand or a hand-held organizer, briefly (abbr./initialism)
44. Fishermen with pots
45. Word with nursing or training
46. ____ List (popular political fundraising PAC supporting women candidates)
48. Asimov, Newton or Hayes
49. Popular brand of pens, lighters and razors
50. ____ Ferrari, Italian automaker (ZONE anagram)
51. You might do this to or with a straw
52. Campaign worker
53. Key of Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” and Taylor Swift’s “Anti Hero” (2 wds.) (1,3) (incls. abbr.)
54. Prefix meaning one-billionth (i.e., more micro than micro-)
55. Ballet wear that sounds like it might be (but is not) related to a onesie
56. Bavarian brew. or casket support
59. Tic-tac-toe loser or affectionate sign-off
This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre. It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Washington. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews.org and insp. ngo.
CROSSWORD
“Mac” McIntyre
ILLUSTRATION
MAURICE CARTER
Artist/Vendor
COMMUNITY SERVICES
Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento Case Management Coordinación de Servicios
Academy of Hope Public Charter School
202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Pl. NE
202-373-0246 // 421 Alabama Ave. SE aohdc.org
Bread for the City 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 1700 Marion Barry Ave., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org
Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Marion Barry Ave., SE calvaryservices.org
Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp
Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org
Charlie’s Place // 202-929-0100 1830 Connecticut Ave., NW charliesplacedc.org
Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org
Church of the Pilgrims // 202-387-6612 2201 P St., NW (1-1:30 on Sundays only) churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach
Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org
Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 4 Atlantic St., NW communityofhopedc.org
Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org
D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org
Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 North Capitol St., NW fathermckennacenter.org
Food and Friends // 202-269-2277
(home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc) 219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org
Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW foundryumc.org/idministry
Identification services
Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org
Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org
Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9096 1526 Pennslyvania Ave., SE jobshavepriority.org
Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.org
Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Rd, SE
2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE
Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org
My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org
N Street Village // 202-939-2076 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org
New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE
Patricia Handy Place for Women 202-733-5378 // 810 5th St., NW
Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., NW samaritaninns.org
Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org
Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org
So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org
St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-363-4900 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org
Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org
Unity Health Care unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699
1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 850 Delaware Ave., SW, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 1151 Bladensburg Rd., NE, 4515 Edson Pl., NE
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org
The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable
Whitman-Walker Health 1525 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 1201 Sycamore Dr., SE whitman-walker.org
Woodley House // 202-830-3508 2711 Connecticut Ave., NW
For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide
D.C. Barista
Chobani // Chinatown
Full-time
The barista brings La Colombe to life by creating a world-class coffee experience. Seek opportunities to learn more about our coffee, company, and the La Colombe mission. Takes pride in being part of our team and embodies all of the company’s One Dove principles: kindness, respect, deliciousness, efficiency, and cleanliness.
REQUIRED: Able to lift 40 lbs or more and able to stand for long periods.
APPLY: tinyurl.com/DCBarista
Dishwasher at The Delegate
Thompson Hospitality // 901 L St. NW
Part-time
The job requires maintaining kitchen work areas, equipment, or utensils in clean and orderly condition. Tasks may include washing dishes, stocking supplies, sweeping floors, loading and unloading trucks. Looking for someone teamoriented, reliable, punctual, with a strong attention to detail.
REQUIRED: N/A
APPLY: tinyurl.com/DishwasherTheDelegate
In-school Prep Cook
Red Rabbit // Washington, D.C.
Full-time
The In-school Prep Cook is an integral part of a 3-5 person team helping to prepare healthy made-from-scratch meals for hundreds of children in their school every day. The role offers stable hours, day hours and weekends and holidays off.
REQUIRED: 2+ years experience. ServeSafe certificate required within 90 day of hiring. Must be able to lift 50 lbs on a regular basis.
APPLY: tinyurl.com/RedRabbitPrepCook
Misbegotten casting
FREDERIC
JOHN
Artist/Vendor
I could go on and on about the movies I “starred” in (as an extra): “Raging Bull,” “All That Jazz,” four Woody Allen extravaganzas, and “The Cotton Club.” Mr. Bob Fosse, the “All That Jazz” director, even phoned me on my dinky little landline in the 56th Street apartment where I camped; “Sorry, Jon. My fault we didn’t give you name credit for that extraordinary “Backwards Dance Step” from the intro. But, sadly, we were really crunched in post-production. It really was a great piece, though, Jon. Best of luck to you, eh?”
“Thank you, Mr. Fosse, see ya round…”
Well, actually, I never saw this exceptional actor-writerchoreographer/dancer-director ever again. But here’s the strange twist: Mr. Fosse was in downtown Washington, outside the National Theatre, where he and his longtime collaborator and former wife Gwen Verden discussed the upcoming tryout for the revival of “Sweet Charity,” and boom. Fosse collapsed on the sidewalk that day in 1987, dead of sudden cardiac arrest!
Odd — films I absolutely obsessed over because of the chances of “getting discovered” out of the extra pool were often the ones for which I had no chance to work on set. It wasn’t for lack of trying, though.
On one occasion, within my first year of putting down stakes in Manhatten, I saw Faye Dunaway, who dwelled in the same art deco tower as the “nice” media star family that by chance I was babysitting for (in the summer of ‘77). Faye was the principal in a steamy thriller, “Eyes of Laura Mars.” Several movie scenes were set to roll in Columbus Circle, at the foot of Central Park West. The picture, “Eyes of Laura Mars,” had a murky plot about Dunaway’s character being trailed by a psycho posing as a gumshoe detective. At the time, I was nearly in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and already in the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). However, I was still a “greenhorn,” so a production assistant chased me out of the Columbus Fountain area just as Faye came into the frame in dazzling tortoiseshell trim shades.
“You’re not on the roster, Jay! Scram!” yelled the production assistant. “B-but I just wanted to see Laura Mars’ eyes,” I sputtered.
Trips in search of funky glory
My two most ambitious “research” trips for trying to obtain work on set out of town were in 1979 for “The Blues Brothers” and 1981 for “Ragtime” (that’s too vast to cover here). In the case of BB, the city of broad shoulders — Chicago — was a shooting stage all over town. I
caught up with the crew down in Lincoln Park. A wizened “rail rider,” probably in his 70s, blew harmonica duo with me on a park bench. We swapped headshots, and I kept his mini-snapshot in my wallet for ages.
My host in Chi-town, Vincent Cibell, was Koko Taylor’s drummer and showed me around the Loop. We dropped into “Killer’s Disco,” danced with some local talent, and ended at the Kingston Mines blues club. We witnessed the powerful Mighty Joe Young re-create his previous movie cameo, “Turning Point,” from Michael Mann’s masterwork, “Thief.”
But we jumped into Vince’s 1978 Eldorado and cruised back to our pal Lefty’s crib to listen to some righteous vinyl. There is no establishing shot for us this time. When “Blues Bros” came out in ‘80, I watched the premiere at the immense, baroque Chicago Theatre on Michigan Avenue.
Never have I shared a frame of film with the resilient Al Pacino. I did stow away in an elevator car with Al to the upper reaches of 1750 Broadway, then the east coast seat of the Screen Actors Guild. Since the 1968 “Panic in Needle Park” low-budget smash, the star was a fullfledged SAG member. Moi, only since Valentine’s Day, 1978. That’s the morning when my beloved Dad (AKA Moose) cleared a check to the guild, which legitimized my beauteous love Givi and myself as paid-up “actors” under the New York branch’s aegis.
All for the princely sum of about $500 — which, as we all know, was big filthy lucre in ‘78! That little blue cardboard ticket would serve my lady love and me well as we graced the sets of “Raging Bull,” Woody Allen productions, including “Manhatten” and “Zelig,” “All That Jazz,” and “The Cotton Club” (six weeks on set in the Astoria Studios!)
So when did I ride up to the 25th floor of SAG HQ? With Mr. Pacino? As far as I could divine, the titan of New York portrayals and I rode to the same suite to pay our current dues. Happily, no squeaky request for a Pacino autograph evaporated from my mouth. Just a fraternal exchange of a silent nod, perhaps accompanied by a terse grant of recognition.
Once it’s gone, where did it go? I have been holding on for so long, Will I ever catch on if I let go? Will I think fast if I fall slow? I don’t know. I hope.
Illustration by Frederic John
SHAWN FENWICK Artist/Vendor
CARLOS CAROLINA Artist/Vendor