04 04 2018 by Street Sense Media

VOL. 15 ISSUE 11

APRIL 4 - 17, 2018

Real Stories

Real People

suggested donation goes directly to your vendor

Real Change

Discrimination against homeless people is rampant in D.C.

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VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct. 1. Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $2.00, I agree not to ask for more than $2.00 or solicit donations for Street Sense Media by any other means. 2. I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not sell papers to other vendors. 3. I agree to treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and other vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making a donation, or in engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices. 4. I agree not to distribute copies of Street Sense on metro trains and buses or on private property. 5. I agree to abide by the Street Sense Media vendor territorial policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes I have with other vendors in a professional manner.

6. I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media. but an independent contractor. 7. I agree to sell no additional goods or products when distributing Street Sense. 8. I will not distribute Street Sense under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 9. I understand that my badge and (if applicable) vest are property of Street Sense Media. and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing Street Sense. I will always display my badge when distributing Street Sense. 10. I agree to support Street Sense Media’s mission statement. In doing so I will work to support the Street Sense community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.

INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW

The Cover Over the month that we investigated the Michael A. Stoops Antidescrimination bill, we also asked vendors to reflect on their own experiences with discrimination. BY DWIGHT HARRIS // ARTIST/VENDOR

VENDORS Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Wanda Alexander, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Charlton Battle, Lester Benjamin, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Melanie Black, Phillip Black Jr., Clarence Branch, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Laticia Brock, Kanon Brown, Donald Brown, Lawrence Brown, Elizabeth Bryant, Matthew Burn, Brianna Butler, Dwayne Butler, Melody Byrd, Antoinette Calloway, Anthony Carney, Conrad Cheek, Michael Craig, Anthony Crawford, Kwayera Dakari, Louise Davenport, James Davis, Clifton Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, Reginald Denny, Dennis Diggs, Alvin Dixon-El, Ron Dudley, Joshua El, Joel Empleo, Betty Everett, Jemel Fleming, Johnnie Ford, Cornell Ford, Duane Foster, Samuel Fullwood, James Gatrell, Anthony Gist El, Chon Gotti, Latishia Graham, Marcus Green, Levester Green, Barron Hall, Tyrone Hall, Mildred Hall, Tawanda Hall, Dwight Harris, Danell Harris, Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Derian Hickman, Ray Hicks, Vennie Hill, James Hughes, Leonard Hyater, Joseph Jackson, Chad Jackson, David James, Frederick Jewell, Morgan Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Larry Kelley, Juliene Kengnie, Jewell Lean, John Littlejohn, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, William Mack, Ken Martin, Kina Mathis, Authertimer Matthews, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Amy Modica, L. Morrow, Collins Mukasa, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Earl Parker, William Parkins, Aida Peery, Marcellus Phillips, Barbara Pollard, Jacquelyn Portee, Angela Pounds, Henrieese Roberts, Doris Robinson, Rita Sauls, Chris Shaw, Patty Smith, Gwynette Smith, Sharon Smith, David Snyder, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, James Stewart, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Eric ThompsonBey, Harold Tisdale, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Martin Walker, Joseph Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Sheila White, Angie Whitehurst, William Whitsett, Wendell Williams, Sasha Williams, Robert Williams, Clarence Williams, Edward Williams, Ivory Wilson, Christine Wong, Charles Woods

The Street Sense Story, #MoreThanANewspaper Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper — they use film, photography, theatre, illustration and more to share their stories with our community. Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence, and our in-house casemanagement services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing. At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents and character, not through our housing situation.

Jeremy Bratt, Margaret Jenny, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Dan Schwartz, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Aaron Stetter, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson

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Annie Albright, Colleen Grablick, Jake Maher, Olivia Richter

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Miya Abdul, Bill Butz, Jane Cave, Emma Cronenwethe, Pete Clark, Orion Donovan-Smith, Maria Esposito, Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Bill Magrath, Alec Merkle, Nick Nowlan, Sarah O’Connell, Leonie Peterkin, Eugene Versluysen, Natalia Warburton

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EVENTS

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NEWS Drop-in center quietly re-opens in Georgetown

Music, Storytelling, Food & Free Books Saturday, April 14 // 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Community Family Life Services // 305 E St NW, Washington, DC 20001 A fun-filled celebration to promote literacy and family reading during National Child Abuse Prevention Month. CFLS has partnered with multiple vendors and organizations to offer food, music, story time, free books and pajamas, and DIY bookshelves all in one family-friendly space! Free and open to the public.

THURSDAY, APRIL 5

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

NEAR Act 101

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Covenant Baptist United 3845 S Capitol Street SW What is the NEAR Act and why is it necessary? Join Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Del McFadden and Marcus Ellis of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement and community members to discuss concerns about violence in our community and a promising opportunity to reduce it.

Housing Solutions Committee April 04, 1:30 pm // 1800 MLK Ave SE Executive Committee April 10, 1:30 pm // 441 4th St NW Street Outreach Work Group (WG) April 11, 2:30 pm // TBD Shelter Conditions Work Group April 12, 10:30 am // TBD Medicaid Work Group April 18, 2 pm // TBD

Submit your event for publication by e-mailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Woodley House

@WoodleyHouseDC

We are inspired by all of the poets who contribute to @streetsensedc! #StoryTellingSavesLives 10:30 AM - 31 MAR 2018

There is a running joke at Georgetown Ministry Center that the five-month closure of its daytime program, starting last October, can be blamed on the shower. Nestled under Grace Episcopal Church on Wisconsin Avenue, with its entrance down the alley, GMC’s drop-in center has provided an anchor for the local homeless community for 13 years, including a gathering space, meals, and resources for health, hygiene, communication and more. Due to its historic designation, the church property is exempt from accessibility guidelines usually required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, yet GMC’s leadership wanted the facilities to be as inclusive and accommodating as possible. Once this simple modification was considered, the organization began to dream big about how to best serve their guests. Minutes before a March 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony, three frequent guests toured the new space for the first time and each independently uttered the same phrase. “It’s beautiful,” said Ricardo, who had started coming to GMC a few months before the renovation. In the interim, he has been going across town to So Others Might Eat to meet his basic needs. But having a program closer to where he sleeps and spending time with the other regulars makes him feel connected with the community. An architect was consulted and the intimate reception area was turned into an open floor plan sporting a new coat of light-green paint. The laundry room was expanded and fit with two additional machines, doubling previous capacity. And the immaculate new shower is spacious and wheelchair-accessible with no barriers on the floor and an easy-to-use hand-sprayer. It is connected to a brand new water heater, increasing the capacity for warm showers. “It’s brighter, it looks like they squeezed and opened up more-space, that’s good” observed Mike, who’s been coming to Georgetown Ministry Center almost daily for the past year. “There’s more space over there,” said Tony, an artist who has been utilizing the center for eight years. “Yeah, that was a tight spot,” Mike agreed. He compared seeing the new facilities to returning to your parents house after going away to college, and finding that your room has been fixed up. “It’s familiar,” he said, adding, “For a lot of people, this is home.” Until the weather became too cold in December, GMC staff and volunteers operated a table in the alley to maintain meal and mail distribution. The organization’s street outreach program, separate from the drop-in center services, continued uninterrupted. As temperatures dropped and renovations continued, the church allowed the drop-in center operations to move into the sanctuary for six hours per day. Other churches also opened their facilities to provide replacement shower and laundry options for the community. “Grace Church has been so good to us in

New executive director Lissa Ramsepaul holds a ribbon as Mike, a frequent guest, prepares to cut it and offiically re-open Georgetown Ministry Center’s newly renovated drop-in program facilities. PHOTO COUTESY OF GEORGETOWN MINISTRY CENTER

letting us go in and reconfigure their space,” said Alex Bullock, a volunteer, donor and former board member who has supported GMC since the mid-90s. He described being continuously impressed by the usage statistics of the shower, laundry machines and computers over the years. “You recognize the need and the difference that it makes. We always laugh and say it’s because the shower needed to be re-done that started this whole thing. But you realize that the showers and the laundry are really important.” Mike said these basic resources are the small things people with housing take for granted. As a former anthropology professor, he recommended anyone that wants to understand the homeless experience start by not showering or washing their clothes for two-weeks straight. He said the lack of access to these services can impact how you are perceived by yourself and others. The sense of belonging and community that is fostered at GMC helps counteract those feelings. “The volunteers make this place. Me and the staff and the other guys, we always fuss about the coffee.” Mike laughed and said, ”You can’t mess up the coffee, or God is not pleased!” Rev. Sarah Motley of Grace Church kicked off the brief ceremony with a prayer and a blessing. She was followed by GMC Board President Jerry Cassidy, who welcomed everyone back, including new executive director Lissa Ramsepaul, and outlined the organization’s plans to increase outreach to serve more community members. Mike was given the honor of cutting the ribbon before the small crowd rushed inside to warm up and share breakfast. “It’s a resource for all those things people need,” Mike said of the drop-in center. “It’s a church, it’s a hospital. On cold freezing winter days, you come in, sit down and get warm. You need help getting your birth certificate, they help you with ID. You need to a shower, you take a shower. Then you go out and you face the world. It doesn’t change the world, but it makes it easier.” —ericf@streetsensemedia.org

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NEWS

One percent of the D.C. budget is more than enough to end chronic homelessness, advocates say BY ERIC FALQUERO // ericf@streetsensemedia.org

ore than a hundred activists had gathered by 8:30 a.m. for the “March to Make Chronic Homelessness History.” Some had woken up in their own homes; others had slept in shelters or outdoors. It was a brisk morning, with wind gusts predicted to reach as high as 21 miles per hour. Volunteers for the Way Home Campaign signed in participants for a rally at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and welcomed them to grab hot breakfast and coffee, including some for the road. The campaign, which is sponsored by the nonprofit Miriam’s Kitchen and lists 96 partner organizations and businesses on its website, had identified several homeless and formerly homeless individuals to share their experiences and motivate the crowd to call on city leaders for large investments to end chronic homelessness. The city and federal government define someone as chronically homeless if they have a physical or mental disability, are sleeping outside or in a shelter, and have either been consistently homeless for more than one year or repeatedly homeless at least four times within three years. This applies to families if the head of household fits the same description. In 2015, the Bowser administration put forth an ambitious five-year strategic plan to end homelessness, which included a goal to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2017. The

plan anticipated that, as of this year, anyone who had been chronically homeless would be housed and everyone newly homeless would receive assistance before homelessness became a chronic episode. According to the 2017 homeless census, D.C. has seen the greatest reduction of chronically homeless single adults in the region between 2013 and 2017, a decrease of 294 people over four years. However, 1,470 individuals (excluding families) remained chronically homeless at the time of that count. The plan’s strategies are working, but the resources behind it have not scaled to meet the need. “Homelessness doesn’t just affect your physical body. It affects you mentally and emotionally,” Qaadir El-Amin said to the crowd. He described having a job most of the time but never having a high enough income to afford a place of his own. “I became very uncomfortable around people and in social situations. Having social skills is important in a work environment. Without them, I had trouble finding a job. It was painful. You see, everything is connected — fair-paying jobs, affordable housing, mental and physical health care and education. Without one, the others suffer.” Each speaker at the March 8 event urged attendees to demand investment in permanent supportive housing, a voucher that never expires and includes “wrap-around” services tailored to support each recipient’s individual needs, such as case management, health care or career counseling. This is the most

George (right) of the People for Fairness Coalition shared his experience with homelessness in D.C. at the rally in New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He read most of his remarks in Spanish and allowed them to be repeated in English by a translator. George also led a bilingual call and response chant: “¿Que es lo que queremos? ¡Casas!” “What do we want? Houses!” PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

Sydney Acuff (center) and Angela Curry (right) participate in the March to End Chronic Homelessness and help to carry paper people symbolizing the many people in need of housing. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

expensive “housing intervention” around. Yet, for people who have suffered homelessness chronically, it has proved time and again to be more cost-effective than leaving a person on the street, where they must rely on emergency rooms, shelters and other services. The Way Home Campaign also called for investment in the rapid re-housing program, a time-limited voucher with fewer services attached to it, for people that can thrive with less assistance. In total, the campaign calculated $50 million dollars — or one half of one percent of the city’s $14 billion budget — would be enough to honor this benchmark in the mayor’s plan to make all homelessness “rare, brief and non-recurring” in the District. One of the speakers, Miss Eaton, described becoming homeless after suffering permanent neck and back injuries in a car wreck. She was separated from her children over a three-month period, spanning the Christmas holiday, while they waited for placement in the city’s former family shelter, D.C. Village. They eventually received cots in an overflow room. The stress and stigma led to difficulty in school. The family’s case manager was overwhelmed with too many clients and could not move them past shelter. Eaton became connected to Permanent Supportive Housing by “trial and error,” working independently to learn about and connect with other service providers and other mothers in the shelter. “There’s not enough support, so you feel lost, ” Eaton said. She described going through other housing programs before having a mental breakdown. Her voice wavered at the memory and she pressed on through tears. “I’ve worked since I was about 16 years old. Paid my taxes. Still couldn’t get housing.” Eaton has been housed for 13 years and said she has been working as an advocate with Capitol Hill Group Ministry to “pay it forward” for people experiencing homelessness. From her perspective, the level

of care and assistance provided for the city’s poor has not changed much since she was lost and alone all those years ago. “With all of the money in D.C., I don’t want to see another person homeless,” she said, which was met with applause. “I’ve pledged to assist those in need of any and every way I possibly can. What about you?” The demonstration was strategically scheduled during what many advocates refer to as “budget season,” when D.C. Council assesses the performance of city agencies and revises the mayor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, before sending it back to the mayor for final approval. By the end of the rally, as some attendees left to get to work on time, the crowd had swelled to nearly 200 participants. Printed outlines of human figures on colored paper were given to marchers as a representation of the individuals Miriam’s Kitchen estimates are in need of Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-Housing. Then the crowd was led in a series of chants as they trekked down 14th Street NW, blocking traffic with the help of MPD, to visit the offices of Mayor Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. “We are here today because the next 13 days are critical for showing the mayor that D.C. residents care about housing our homeless residents,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, an advocacy specialist with Miriam’s Kitchen, to kick off the march. “If we’re committed to addressing racial inequity in our city, if we’re committed to ending homelessness, then we need bold leadership and robust funding to get D.C. back on track.” When they arrived at the Wilson Building, another group of demonstrators was present, chalking statistics on the sidewalk about how many homeless women experience sexual assault, domestic violence and other trauma, citing a recent report from the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

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OPINION

Women are human, treat them as such BY ANGIE WHITEHURST Artist/Vendor

Dawn Dalton, Leanne Brotsky and Andrea Gleaves of the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence wrote statistics about domestic violence and homelessness in chalk for city leaders to see before attending a D.C. Council performance oversight hearing of the Department for Human Services. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

One more native Washingtonian who had survived years on the streets spoke to the crowd before they filed through security and into the Wilson Building. “We only have to stand here for a few minutes,” Anthony Hunter said, commenting on the cold weather. “They have to live here. If we do not do this, we will lose lives. People’s mental stability will change rapidly, I know. Those with homes have comfort, you can wake up ready to conquer the world. On the street, you get depressed, anxious.” Neither Bowser nor Mendelson met with the group, but staff members from each office thanked them for their input and accepted the 1,620 paper people symbolizing their chronically homeless constituents. Sydney Acuff, one of the only marchers under 18, skipped an AP Government class to take part in the civic engagement. Noting the irony, she said she was not thrilled Mayor Bowser would not meet with the group. But she was not discouraged, describing the demonstration as a well-organized campaign and a beautiful sight to see so many people come together for one common goal. “We cannot advance as a society or as a community if people’s basic needs aren’t being met,” Acuff said in an interview. “And I think young people play a really huge role in that. Obviously, as we’ve seen with the March for Our Lives movement and all of that, young people can have a really big impact.” Her mother works for Pathways to Housing and she has interned with the Street Sense Media intergenerational theater program. That morning, Acuff marched next to Angela Curry, who had driven more than 140 miles from western Maryland to support the same call to action. Though she left the District after she retired from the State Department in 2015, Curry remains connected to the city. She and her husband have been helping a man experiencing homelessness in

D.C. pursue housing since October, and the process taught them just how complex poverty can be. Curry joined the Way Home Campaign to also support strategic, big-picture solutions. “It’s so much more than someone losing their housing. It’s a legal issue, a medical issue. I’m looking for how to help fill in the gaps,” Curry said in an interview. She also worked for the U.S. Air Force and the National Security Agency. “All my life I’ve served, whether in the uniform or for the government. This is just a continuation. There are enough [retired] people like me, what are you doing with your time?” Two weeks later, the mayor’s budget proposal was released. It included millions of dollars for affordable housing and homeless services, but met less than half of the investments recommended by the Way Home Campaign for ending chronic homelessness. The various D.C. Council committees have begun holding hearings to review the portions of the proposal that affect the agencies they oversee. This process will continue until the first of full council hearings to review the budget on April 27. Several marchers stayed behind at the Wilson Building for an oversight hearing focused on the performance of the Department of Human Services that stretched on until 5 p.m. “Homelessness is a justice issue, a faith issue and a dignity issue. When part of the body suffers, we all suffer” Ginger GainesCirelli said in an interview. The senior pastor at Foundry United Methodist Church, an official Way Home Campaign partner, said she marched to represent her congregation. James Staton a native Washingtonian who has been homeless for more than four years, saw things more plainly: “We’re homeless. Give us more money for housing.” The full schedule of D.C. Council public committee hearings regarding the FY2019 budget draft is available at https://dccouncil.us

I saw them, at the District Building, saw the posters and thought, “That is me, too, and I should be there in line with them.” It was March 8, International Women’s Day, and the D.C. Coalition against Domestic Violence raised awareness about the issue by inscribing messages on the sidewalk before a Department of Human Services Oversight hearing. Its platform for fiscal year 2019 proposes expanding city schools’ programs on violence prevention, expanding housing options for those facing domestic violence, and expanding targeted services for survivors of different cultural backgrounds. The cause of women’s safety and rights as human beings stretches back to the beginning of time. And yes, we have survived and made great strides. It is now critical to pay attention and make unquestionably necessary changes to both laws and societal norms. It is not okay to physically abuse, rape or sexually harass a woman. Anywhere! This includes home, school, work, church and out elsewhere in public. Words are not bullying tools of violence against women. We must change this. Love, of any human being, is not shown through sex. Love is caring, and if you care, you then respect and, ergo, would never, ever harm a female. We all need to change our mind-sets and eradicate the thoughts and actions that erode our society as humans worldwide. Let us go to work today. We are treasures. We are human. We carry, birth and nurture all human life. OPINION

OPINION

The one percent

Subsidies are important to afford housing

BY KEN MARTIN Artist/Vendor

BY REGINALD BLACK “Da Street Reportin’ Artist”/Vendor

The Way Home Campaign calls for roughly one percent of the city budget to be applied toward “ending homelessness in D.C.” They organized a great march last month to get their point across. What I am left wondering is, “Where were 1 percent of the homeless services provider staff, 1 percent of the people that want homelessness to go away from their neighborhood or 1 percent of the politicians running for office? (I did see Council Chairman hopeful Ed Lazere and my councilmember, Ward 1 incumbent Brianne Nadeau) Uniting 175 marchers may seem like a lot, but it is dwarfed by the more than 7,000 people experiencing homelessness or the 700,000 people that now live here. We spend millions of dollars on countless programs, which employ many people, to ostensibly help our mostvulnerable neighbors. Maybe I should be asking, “Were these the only folks who really care?

Subsidies are important. To afford housing, some people just need a little help. We have planned for such events. The mayor’s strategic plan, Homeward D.C., led to the creation of an intervention called targeted affordable housing. I have been homeless for a number of years and could benefit greatly from a subsidy. Right now, we only have 360 slots of this needed intervention. I should have this kind of subsidy, because my problem is affordability. Having a way to pay for housing seems more feasible than just languishing in shelters. Shelters are for emergencies, and everyone should have a right to a home. Affordability was a problem for at least 129,000 people in the District last year, according to census data. The official poverty line is an income of $12,140 for individuals and $25,100 for a family of four. I want to ask you to start the dialogue about funding targeted affordable housing. The mayor’s budget proposal for the next year is about to be released. Call her office. Call your councilmember. The D.C. Council has been holding oversight hearings for the past month to learn how our city services, including interventions to end homelessness, are performing. I conveyed this same message to the council during one of those hearings. Targeted affordable housing is a good way to help seniors on a fixed income and people like me, an awe-inspiring entrepreneur.

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Young D.C.-area woman publishes children’s book to spread messages of positivity BY OLIVIA RICHTER // olivia.richter@streetsense.org

t 19 years old, A’dora Willis of Greenbelt, Maryland, just published her first children’s book. She is a full-time student at Bowie State University, helps her mother run a home daycare, volunteers with the youth organization D.C. SCORES and teaches kids at a martial-arts studio. Yet Willis wanted to do more to help children. “He and Me” aims to educate kids on the importance of having a strong spiritual foundation. “Even if people are of different religions or not part of a particular religion, I want [the book] to be something that we can all gather around together,” Willis said. “There are too many things that young people have to worry about that they shouldn’t even be worried about.” Willis began writing in third grade as part of D.C. SCORES, a nonprofit after-school program for kids in need that combines writing, soccer and service-learning. Soccer is what first drew Willis to the organization, but the required weekly writing workshops helped her realize her passion for poetry. “I never really knew that I could write,” Willis said. “When they introduced that to me I was like, ‘wow this is amazing,’ and I stuck with it.” The book, “He and Me: Little Nuggets for Bright Futures,” was inspired by the children who surround Willis daily, including her two little sisters. She originally wanted to create a children’s cartoon for television, but her mother advised writing a book first. Willis hopes this, and her future books, will someday be developed into an animated series. The vibrant illustrations she designed with her mother depict children of all colors and with a multitude of features and backgrounds. The characters, ranging from pink to brown, have glasses, gaps between teeth — inspired by her mother’s own gap — freckles, dreadlocks, afro puffs and even polka-dotted hair. “I wanted the characters to be different and I didn’t just want people of color,” Willis said. “I wanted it to be a vast array of children to reach different audiences. They’re all just unique, and I wanted them to represent different children at different points in their lives.” As a D.C. SCORES alumna, Willis tries to provide the same support and care to current participants that she received when she was young. “Being with them, I see so much potential,” Willis said of the kids in D.C. SCORES. “I don’t know if other people saw that in me and that’s why they invested so much time in me. But seeing that light in them, it was beautiful. And I want to help them in any way I can.” Willis stopped writing in sixth grade because her middle school did not have a D.C. SCORES program and she didn’t know any other kids that wrote poetry. She said she doesn’t want the stress that school, problems at home or bullying can bring to lead other kids to stop pursuing their passions. She hopes her book can provide comfort to kids who are struggling. “We all go through things, but at least if we have some sort of foundation, it’s easier,” Willis said. She described situations when children would arrive at their daycare in tears. “’Oh my gosh I didn’t see my

“I never really knew that I could write. When they introduced that to me I was like ‘wow, this is amazing,’ and I stuck with it. ” A’dora Willis

Mommy last night,’ or ‘Oh my gosh I was out all night, I didn’t get anything to eat.’ I said, ‘Well, things happen.’” Katrina Owens, chief of staff at D.C. SCORES, praised Willis’s leadership and growth from a student in the organization to an accomplished alumna. “We love A’dora,” Owens said. “I have this vivid memory of her performing at Arts and Technology Academy, and what an amazing kid and performer she was. I can see how far she’s come now, and she’s really become a leader for our current participants.” Willis is grateful for the continued support of D.C. SCORES and described the organization as a part of her family. The praise and gratitude Willis is receiving from readers of “He and Me” has motivated her to write more books. She aims to spread messages of positivity to readers of all ages and to encourage young readers to keep doing what they love, regardless of external pressure, stress and worry. “I want the kids to realize that it’s okay,” Willis said. “It’s okay to be a poet. It’s okay to like to draw, it’s okay to be artistic. If you want to sew, so be it! If you want to play soccer and everyone else at your school is playing hockey, play soccer! Just do it.” ”

PHOTO COURTSY OF D.C. SCORES

Bravery BY UNIYAH CAMPBELL D.C. SCORES Poet/Athlete

It is the best thing I know. It helps you stay confident when you’re down and sad. Bravery helps you believe in yourself, when nobody else will. Having bravery will not allow you to give up, or have any letdowns. Bravery allows you to finish up, through difficult challenges, like playing the entire soccer game, without coming out for a break. Bravery is never saying what you cannot do. Do you all know that having bravery will allow you all to have the desire to be whatever you want to be life. This is why I’m brave. I know I’m short, but I know I have something special inside of me that allows me to be brave. To me, playing soccer for the first time shows have brave I’m really am. Do you all know that Harriet Tubman showed bravery by leading people through an underground railroad? So everyone, stand up, put a fist in the air, and show everyone how brave we are.

Uniyah Campbell is 10 years old and attends Miner Elementary School. Through this partnership, Street Sense Media aims to bring you a poetic perspective of our city from the future generation being shaped by it. D.C. SCORES creates neighborhood teams for kids in need by giving them the skills and confidence to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and in life. It accomplishes this for 2,500 kids at 59 D.C. elementary and middle schools by combining poetry and spoken word, soccer, and service-learning in an innovative after-school program.To learn more or support: www. DCSCORES.org.

A’dora Willis smiles with a copy of her book, “He and Me: Little Nuggets for Bright Futures”. PHOTO BY OLIVIA RICHTER

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AT A GLANCE

Jubliee Housing Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Martin Mellett leads a hard-hat tour at the Maycroft Apartments in Columbia Heights. Here he is showing off the future site of the teen leadership program on the ground level. PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

How one nonprofit developer is helping low-income families stay in rapidly-developing neighborhoods BY JAKE MAHER jake.maher@streetsensemeida.org

onprofit developer Jubilee Housing is on track to create a major source of affordable housing in Columbia Heights, a neighborhood that was ranked among the fastest-gentrifying neighborhoods in the country in 2012. Construction is under way on 64 units of affordable housing at the Maycroft Apartment complex, two blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro station. There will also be a variety of nonprofit food and education services operating on the first floor. It is expected to be completed by September of this year. Fifteen of the units will be for two- and three-person occupancy, and the remaining units will be one-bedrooms and efficiencies. All of the apartments will be reserved for people who earn 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), the standard for determining renters’ eligibility for affordable housing, according to Martin Mellett, vice president of strategic initiatives for Jubilee Housing. What is most unusual is that a majority of units will be reserved for people who earn less than thirty percent of the AMI. The apartments will be for “regular workers who can’t get by in this market,” Mellett said during a hard-hat tour of the property. “There’s a building right next door that’s selling condos for $600,000. That’s the market we’re looking at.” Myra Peabody Gossen, Jubilee board chair, was quick to differentiate the developer’s concept of affordable housing from the policy definition of the term. “When we talk about the 30 percent AMI, we don’t ever say the phrase ‘affordable housing,’ because most of affordable housing policy at the federal end and at the local level is about 60 percent AMI,” she said. “What we’re doing is different … We’re really trying to keep the lowest of the low-income people in their communities.” The organization calls this “justice housing,” according to Rebecca Ely, the vice president of institutional advancement. It includes “connecting people to the city’s prosperity through high-quality and attainable homes, with easy access to programs and services, in resource-rich neighborhoods where all residents are valued equally,” she wrote in an email. To that end, Jubilee Housing will open a family resource center on the first floor of the building, including a Teen Renaissance program to help young people develop leadership skills. Nonprofit organization Martha’s Table will offer early childhood education programs, prepare the meals for their McKenna’s Wagon food truck service, and host fresh food markets. Mellett and Peabody Gossen hope these services will be in place by July 2018. Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau was supportive of

Jeff McNeil, back at the Street Sense Media office. PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

the project and said it will provide stability for her constituents. “Unless we preserve and build new affordable housing, the District’s growth will come at the expense of pushing out low-income families and people of color, particularly the communities that have made Ward 1 so vibrant and resilient,” she wrote in a statement. “I fought hard for this project because it will make a real difference to so many families in Ward 1.” The process of developing the property has been difficult since Jubilee Housing bought the land in 2011, according to Mellett. The tenants association that represented the building’s 15 residents at the time signed their Tenant Opportunity to Purchase rights over to Jubilee Housing, giving them the exclusive right to develop the property. However, in 2015 and 2016, Jubilee Housing faced a challenge from a predatory developer who established an “illegitimate” tenants association and attempted to sign their TOPA rights to a different developer for profit, slowing down Jubilee’s plans in court. Mellett added that all 15 original residents will be able to return to their home and pay a similar affordable rent after the construction. Joseph’s House, a hospice for homeless men and women with AIDS, partnered with Jubilee to house some of its patients in the Maycroft. Ten clients of Joseph’s House lived there and will return after the construction is finished, according to Ely. Jubilee Housing is already looking past the Maycroft Apartments for its next development opportunities. On Feb. 15, the organization announced in a press release the creation of a new development committee, a group of volunteers who will analyze future potential projects from a construction and a financial perspective and “do what any developer would do,” according to Mellett. Jubilee Housing Executive Director Jim Knight was quoted in the release saying that “Jubilee hopes to enlarge the community of stakeholders who care about justice housing … to expand justice housing, we need financial resources, and to raise financial resources, we need human resources.” Peabody Gossen, the Jubilee Board chair, acknowledged that constantly looking ahead is crucial to keep up with the demand for affordable housing in D.C. She cited as an example that the last time Jubilee Housing offered available units, around 400 people lined up around the block and slept on the sidewalk to apply for a chance at one of 27 units. “When we announce that we’re going to have 35 or 40 units, whatever we end up with, and we’re celebrating that — it’s time to buy another building,” Peabody Gossen said. “It’s time to do more. It’s time to try to stay ahead of this tide.” Henrieese Roberts contributed to this report.

During a second meeting at The White House, Vendor Jeff McNeil was presented a framed copy of one of his articles, signed by the president. “I talked about how Street Sense helped me. My story. How Street Sense reconnected me with my family.” Jeff McNeil // Artist/Vendor

BIRTHDAYS Marcus Green April 7 AUTHOR/VENDOR

Our stories, straight to your inbox Street Sense Media provides a vehicle through which all of us can learn about homelessness from those who have experienced it. Sign up for our newsletter to get our vendors' stories in your inbox.

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8 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / A P R I L 4 - 1 7 , 2018, 2018

NEWS

As discrimination remains a barrier to escaping homelessness, anti-discrimination bill stalls in D.C. Council Legislation would expand legal protections under D.C. Human Rights Act BY ORION DONOVAN-SMITH Volunteer

Sasha Williams and her two daughters in the “Chill Lounge” at their apartment building. PHOTO BY ORION DONOVANSMITH

he home Sasha Williams has shared with her two young daughters since January didn’t come easy. It seemed like every time she scraped together the money the leasing agent asked for, they tacked on another fee. The modern apartment building stands in stark contrast to the century-old rowhouses that surround it. Speakers embedded in the awning that juts out from its angular façade play the kind of not-quite-mainstream pop music you might hear in one of the new cafes nearby A year ago, after more than a decade in and out of shelters to escape domestic violence, Williams had found an apartment in Southeast Washington that accepted her housing voucher, part of the Department of Human Services’ Permanent Supportive Housing program. “I’ve been working on my independence since I was 18,” said the D.C.-area native, now 32. But gun violence was frequent in the area. With one child and a new baby on the way, Williams wanted to relocate to a safer neighborhood. “I didn’t want nobody telling me and my girls that we don’t deserve to enjoy ourselves and walk outside without thinking ‘I’m about to get shot,’” she recalled. But moving to a more secure home for her young family proved difficult. Despite having a reliable source of income in the form of a government voucher, Williams faced a series of barriers in her applications for three apartment complexes in the H Street Corridor and Navy Yard areas. Vouchers do not cover the $500 “convenience fees” or standard application fees, ranging from $75 to $125, she had to pay at each location. The D.C. Human Rights Act outlaws discrimination

on the basis of income source for housing, employment and education. When Williams was initially rejected from the building where she now lives, she reached out to the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. After an attorney informed the management company of the Human Rights Act’s anti-discrimination protections, Williams reapplied and was approved to move in. “I want to be able to just live — I want peace and happiness,” Williams said, cradling her youngest while her 5-year-old daughter bounced around what the building’s website calls the Chill Lounge. The Human Rights Act’s protections helped Williams to break the cycle of instability and poverty for herself and her children, according to her social worker, Julie Turner. “Sasha’s life got delayed,” Turner said, “now the fun part can start.”

Legislation stalls in D.C. Council Williams is one of hundreds of District residents forced to rely on these protections each year. Statistics on the number of cases resolved informally, like hers, are not available. However, in the past three fiscal years for which data are public, the D.C. Office of Human Rights docketed 664, 633, and 504 cases respectively alleging unlawful discrimination. Yet advocates for the homeless community say many unhoused people don’t make a good enough match with the list of protected traits, such as place of residence, source of income and personal appearance, and they remain unprotected. Several local and national homeless rights organizations

have lobbied in recent years to add a new protected trait to the Human Rights Act, “homeless status.” The effort drew on a 2014 report from the National Coalition for the Homeless and George Washington University, which found widespread discrimination against homeless individuals surveyed in the nation’s capital. This led At-large Councilmember David Grosso to co-introduce the Michael A. Stoops Anti-Discrimination Amendment Act last July. The legislation, named for a leading advocate of the bill who died just weeks before its introduction, was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety and has seen no action for the past nine months. There are currently 20 protected traits under the law, the most recent a prohibition against employment discrimination based on credit information, added last October. Housing discrimination based on credit remains lawful in D.C. Proponents of the bill argue that while existing protections can respond to some discrimination against unhoused people, a specific prohibition of homelessnessbased discrimination is needed. In anti-discrimination lawsuits, “source of income and other categories are often proxies for what the real category of discrimination is,” explained Lori Leibowitz, a staff attorney who coordinates the Right to Housing Initiative at the Neighborhood Legal Services Program in D.C. “At this moment it is perfectly legal for someone to decide ‘I don’t want to hire this person’ or ‘I don’t want to rent to this person’ because they’re homeless.” The existing protected traits are rarely used in any Human Rights Act complaints, according to Ann

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Marie Staudenmaier, a staff attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, “despite the fact that discrimination against persons experiencing homelessness in D.C. is rampant.” Of the 664 cases docketed with the Office of Human Rights in fiscal year 2016, the most recent period for which data are available, only 20 cited source of income, 15 cited personal appearance, and just a single case cited place of residence. The committee’s chair, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, has not publicly addressed the bill. According to advocates who have discussed the matter with his staff, Allen believes the existing protections are sufficient and is concerned the legislation could increase the already heavy caseload at the Office of Human Rights. After more than a month of requests for an interview with Councilmember Allen to discuss the bill’s nuances and potential implications, his staff provided a short statement: “Councilmember Allen agrees with the bill’s intent to reduce barriers for individuals experiencing homelessness in housing, employment, public accommodations and educational institutions but does not have a hearing scheduled on this proposal at this time.” The bill was co-introduced or co-sponsored by seven councilmembers, including three of the five that sit on the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, a committee member who also co-introduced the bill, reiterated her support in a statement to Street Sense Media: “Residents experiencing homelessness routinely face discrimination when working to obtain housing, in seeking medical care, and in securing employment — all circumstances which can help an individual escape chronic homelessness and drastically improve one’s safety and health.” However, according to Grosso’s communications director, Allen “has sole discretion over what gets brought up for consideration by the committee.” Other councilmembers, when reached for comment, also referred Street Sense Media to Allen’s office. Despite apparent majority support in D.C. Council and within the committee itself, Allen could choose to let the bill languish until the current council period ends January 2, 2019. According to Josh Gibson, the Council’s public information officer, the fate of a bill in committee could depend on several factors, including perceived ease of passage, its number of co-sponsors, media attention and the timeliness of the issue. “Committees only have so much time to do work,” Gibson explained, “so they need to make decisions on what to examine and when. But only the committee chairs would know how that decision is made for each bill.” The legislation that added credit information as a protected trait last year took a year and a half to pass a council vote, after being introduced in the summer of 2015. Unlike the Stoops bill, it received a public hearing the January following its introduction. Other items have moved more quickly. For example, Councilmember Robert W h i t e ’s O ff i c e t o Affordable Housing Task Force bill was introduced last May and passed a final vote in the council March 6. Allen’s reticence on the bill could be related to the upcoming June 19 Democratic primary, where he faces a challenge from Lisa Hunter, who has staked out a position to his left on homelessness issues. “I fully support immediate passage of [the Stoops bill],” Hunter told Street Sense Media, “and would like to see the law expanded to include explicit protections against encampment sweeps and discriminatory application of loitering laws.” Meanwhile, Councilmember Grosso has been swamped in his role as Education Committee chair amid INFOGRAPHIC BY ORION DONOVAN-SMITH

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the recent series of scandals that has beset D.C. public schools. This may explain his own apparent inaction on the bill he introduced.

Local bill comes amid nationwide push to enshrine homeless rights When this amendment was introduced last summer, it came amid a wave of homeless rights legislation throughout the United States. Puerto Rico passed a homeless bill of rights in 2007, and Rhode Island became the first state to pass such a bill in 2012, followed the next year by Illinois and Connecticut. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in six more states. The D.C. bill is unique because it seeks to amend an existing antidiscrimination statute and utilize an established enforcement mechanism, the complaint process within the Office of Human Rights. One reason for building on an established administrative complaint system is to empower homeless people to represent themselves in a process outside of a courtroom, according to Tristia Bauman, a senior attorney at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. “This is an easy legislative remedy to a critical, pervasive, systemic problem,” she said. Bauman, who advocated for the bill’s introduction, recalls that opponents expressed concern the bill could “open the floodgates” for litigation and overburden the Office of Human Rights. She argues that a potential spike in cases would simply illustrate the need for the amendment. Passage of homeless bills of rights elsewhere in the U.S. has only led to a single ongoing lawsuit, the case of a homeless couple suing the City of Chicago for repeatedly destroying the tents where they live. Stephanie Franklin, Director of Policy and Communications at the Office of Human Rights, emphasized that while the office takes no position on legislation to expand its mandate, “anything that advances inclusion of all groups within the District is something we would want to uphold.” She acknowledged a recent spike in the agency’s caseload, which she attributed to increased awareness of the services OHR provides and new laws it must enforce, but insisted, “We are vigorously enforcing the law and getting those cases in and out as fast as we can.” “D.C. is well positioned to do something about the discrimination that homeless people face in multiple categories,” Bauman said. She views the amendment as smart policy and a great opportunity for the nation’s capital to set an important precedent. For her part, Allen’s constituent, Sasha Williams, is watching the council’s process skeptically. “I don’t want to judge someone until I meet them,” she said of her representative, “but it’s like, ‘Do you care or not?’”

ART

Feeling Bad about Being Me

The mental and emotional toll of discrimination BY GWYNETTE SMITH Artist/Vendor

I used to be homeless for a while, in Los Angeles and in another city. One day I was standing on Broadway in Los Angeles when a man came by, looked at me and spat in front of me. I was shocked and could not figure out the reason he behaved that way. Later, thinking about it, I realized he was telling me he didn't like homeless people with bags being downtown around Broadway. Here in Washington, many people think I could be homeless because I sell a street newspaper. In fact, I am elderly with a limited income. Most people are friendly, but some do not want to sit beside me on the bus. I think they have seen me selling the paper, because I usually sell in a wellpopulated area. Clerks in stores near where I am a vendor sometimes rush me to hurry up when I buy something. I must quickly get the money and count the change. They watch me on occasion if I am at a self-serve purchase machine during peak selling periods, such as at the end of the work day in that area. They come to help me along, so that their regular customers can get their items and do not have to wait in line with me. The actions of these people make me feel as if I am worthless while others are my "betters." Mostly, though, people who know me are warm and kind or at least indifferent to my presence. So, most of the time, I feel just as good as anyone else.

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OPINION LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Keep the McNeil Coming BY JANET AMMERMAN

I am a longtime reader of Street Sense, which I always find informative and thought-provoking. The periodic columns by your conservative writer, Jeffery McNeil, provide a fresh voice and a different perspective than what one might expect. I strongly disagree with those who have written to you suggesting that Mr. McNeil’s columns should be censored or eliminated because they do not agree with him. Whether one agrees with Mr. McNeil’s worldview or not, he has a right to express his opinions, and it is a credit to your editorial staff that you allow a diversity of viewpoints to be expressed in your pages. Please continue to stand up for freedom of speech and diversity of ideas.

MOVING UP:

Trump's insulting Food Stamp Plan BY KEN MARTIN

I can only speak for myself, but I have a BIG problem with implementing a Blue Apron-type food delivery substitute for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, as the Trump administration has proposed. Permit struggling folks the dignity and limited flexibility of planning and purchasing their own meal items. How dare they even consider this! F r a n k l y, I f i n d i t d i s t u r b i n g t h a t Tr u m p supports cutting poverty services to provide balance for tax cuts for the wealthy. That alone sets back many citizens that are struggling t o r e m a i n h e a l t h y. Economic vulnerability is an injury, and someone who knows nothing of my tastes selecting my entrees is an insult. Ken Martin is a Street Sense Media vendor.

Why Trump’s food stamp move is bad BY ARTHUR JOHNSON

The latest move by President Trump to attack the poor hits an area that affect millions of people: food stamps. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been a sore spot for Republicans, who are frustrated with the increased enrollment numbers from the recession. Two months ago Trump proposed a shift in the SNAP program so that about half of the monthly benefits would be delivered in the form of a food box containing items such as pasta, cereals, peanut butter, beans, canned meat, canned fruits and vegetables, and to drink, things like juice and powdered milk. There are so many problems with this proposal. The first thing is that there are tens of millions of people who receive SNAP benefits and this plan is a cookie cutter method that assumes all the recipients are the same. It does not factor in that many SNAP recipients might need to specific foods because of medical issues that require strict dietary changes. There are other people whose diets may be totally different because of cultural or religious customs. One of the things I find most disturbing about this proposal is that the GOP has always preached about families making better choices than the government. That argument usually is the centerpiece when they propose tax cuts so that people can spend their own money. There may be some logic to that argument, but why doesn't the principle apply to those struggling to put food on the table? One of the main purposes of this proposal -- which is unlikely to become law and has been ignored by members of Congress -- is to scare away recipients who are currently receiving benefits and to discourage eligible citizens from applying. During the recession, enrollment skyrocketed as people

struggled to find work and many were only finding jobs with lower wages and fewer hours, which resulted in many people needing assistance to pay for food. The increased number of recipients increased the budget for SNAP and Republicans have been trying to come up with ways to reduce the amount spent. Proposals like this one and the work requirements and drug testing are maneuvers that are aimed to frighten recipients by imposing new hurdles in the hopes that people will become frustrated and give up. If the concern was actually about the nutritional content about the SNAP purchases, there are much more logical and humane ways to address that issue without subjecting everyone to a standard assortment of food chosen by someone based on assumptions on what food is best for them. The effects on the retail food industry also are frightening. Walmart and other retailers such as Target, Aldi, and Kroger would suffer sales drops of billions over the next decade from the reduction in SNAP benefits to its consumers. There are definitely better ways to get SNAP recipients more nutritious food than what you might find in a SNAP recipient’s shopping cart. One is to increase promotion and marketing of the programs that encourage use of benefits at farmers markets by doubling the value spent there. This allows the consumers to purchase fruits and vegetables and helps relieve skeptical politicians who feel that the tax dollars that fund the SNAP program are funding the purchase of unhealthy junk food. Arthur Johnson is a columnist for Street Sense Media. Any questions or comments can be emailed to ajohnson@streetsensemedia.org.

Janet Ammerman is a Street Sense Media reader.

McNeil Derangement Syndrome is real BY JEFFERY MCNEIL

I must be doing something right if the opinion page of Street Sense has become the most popular feature of the newspaper. Recently, there's been a wave of angry letters to the editor demanding I be removed from the page. I have created a stir by using inflammatory language such as "liberal," "hater" and "snowflake." Another vendor wrote that I play for a team that doesn't want me. Well, I've been invited to the White House twice. I have been retweeted by Mark Cuban. I play for a team that helped me get two jobs and a roof over my head, so I'd rather be on that team than a team that would evidently leave me broke and destitute. Sometimes I think about selling out and joining the resistance. I’m sure if I said something positive about Regressives I would be nominated for a Pulitzer. However, I believe I’m doing the lord's work, so I would like to thank the trolls and haters for making my opinions more widely read and popular. If you're getting triggered or bent out of shape by a comment in the opinion section of a homeless newspaper, maybe you need to get a life. The First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This means you have a right to be offensive as well as to question authority. I have the right to promote Trump's policies and Street Sense has the right to offend people by publishing me! There’s nothing in the First Amendment that says I have to be a cheerleader for the Regressive movement. What isn't protected under the First Amendment is speech that is threatening or dangerous towards anyone. There are too many people in Washington suffering from McNeil Derangement Syndrome. Their hatred for Trump and his deplorables has made them a bunch of hate-filled intolerant Regressives. Jeffery McNeil is a Street Sense vendor and columnist.

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Parents should stop leaving their guns lying around BY PHILLIP BLACK

Guns and our lives: A letter to the open-minded BY WENDELL WILLIAMS

Many thanks to my friends concerned about continued school shootings. It's about time common sense won over this insane "debate." But there is more to be done. Just imagine how the African-American and Hispanic communities must feel about all the years of cheap handguns like "Saturday Night Specials" that killed our loved ones. The top cause of death for young Black men is murder. Yet these deaths have seemed to go unnoticed or uncared about by the country as a whole. Any talk or bargain concerning assault weapons should also include handguns. There should be no deal without both in play. Nobody is hunting with a .357 canon or a high-capacity 9mm with 16 shots. Many of these wind up on inner city streets after being sold and resold or stolen. The result? Seventy-three teens were shot dead in the first 37 days after the Parkland massacre. So, my friends of good will, if you settle for half of a solution or applaud any deal that doesn’t save all children, then you are practicing the worst kind of racism! While the school shootings are sad, so is the nightly news that reports the number of people killed each day by handguns. For many, this problem is not new. The losses don’t just stretch back to the tragedies at Sandy Hook or Columbine. As several of the young speakers at the March for Our Lives said, gun violence in Black and brown communities has been overlooked, even normalized. It doesn’t make the front page, but it decimates our communities. Putting controls on assault-style weapons without reigning in handguns would only point out how some lives have more value than others, just like the country's response to the "Opioid Crisis." Black Lives Matter! So many righteous people are convinced we can’t get guns off of the street because there are so many of them, more than 300 million in the U.S. But I can remember when the same thing was said about assault weapons, before this rash of suburban school murders over the last decade or so. This disparity in attitude is inherently racist. Just the other day a Black policeman in Minnesota was charged with murder in the shooting death of a White women. Yet time after time, White policemen are completely cleared of killing unarmed black and brown men. Remember Rodney King? Even video and audio recordings have not been able to convict a single one of those policemen. Now imagine how that looks

to those of us who are of color? Different groups of people, with the same sentencing points used by prosecutors, have received vastly different sentences for the exact same crimes. Why? Because the judges have come up in a system that sees one type of person as more redeemable than others. Most people are not aware of their white supremacist views because that’s how things have been presented to them since birth. It’s the lens through which they can’t help but see the world; there are some things they just don’t have to be concerned with. It’s not their fault, per se, but some open-minded people must take a critical look at that privilege without seeing it as a personal attack. It’s hard and painful work, and I am proud to say I have many such open-minded people as friends and supporters. It is refreshing to hear them speak on these matters. And it takes speaking out on these matters, to family, friends and elected officials alike, to create change. The number of gun deaths correlates directly with the number of guns available. Yet, two years after Congress passed a 10-year assault weapons ban in the 1990s, our own Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention were blocked from studying gun violence. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can’t even build a database to trace where stolen guns end up. All this, no doubt, thanks to the National Rifle Association’s influence. And even when we broaden the scope to include all gun violence, that only makes up one third of gunrelated deaths. Access to a gun, any gun, makes a suicidal attempt by someone in mental anguish almost guaranteed to be fatal. And it makes accidental home shootings possible. These young people marching last month won’t have any of it. Many of them boasted about their ability to vote in the next election. And ralliers chanted the refrain, “Vote them out!”After my 68 years on this Earth, this growing movement of young people gives me great hope that our struggles in the 1960s weren’t wasted. Easy access to guns in America has us all living in a dirty, violent room. Why clean just one corner when, with courage, we can clean the whole room?

Putting controls on assault-style weapons without reigning in handguns would only point out how some lives have more value than others.

Wendell Williams is a vendor with Street Sense Media who usually writes about random acts of kindness.

Most of these kids are carrying guns that belong to their parents. Most people will leave guns around their kids, thinking their kids won’t take a gun. They need to keep guns in a safe place or lock them away. In most cases, parents are the last to know that their children have gotten their hands on a gun or taken one to school. When it comes to kids and guns, it all starts at home. Phillip Black is a Street Sense vendor.

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ART The intangibles of life BY LEVESTER GREEN Artist/Vendor

I’ve found and stated before: Street Sense Media workshops are therapeutic in providing a voice or release for all of the negative energy and attitudes vendors receive out and about, every day. We vendors don’t have to respond negatively, because two wrongs don’t make a right. But we can give a different viewpoint, which is so important in a majority-wins democracy. We can share our skills, talents, opinions and poems to enlighten, delight and invite our readers to get to know us better as the human beings we all are. Not enough people comprehend the intangibles of life, such as integrity, charity, mercy, good will, honor and trust. So let us continue to go about the task of helping out, uplifting, encouraging and caring for those of us who are in need of all of those things within this earthly life experience. ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARA POLLARD

Scufflin' and Swingin' BY MICHAEL CRAIG Artist/Vendor

Beuteus Don’t tu feel al oon or versis I made, who mayest lade.

BY FRANKLIN STERLING Artist/Vendor

The monkeys were at the bar. All the people in the restaurant were enchanted, singing and dancing, hanging on every note. But these two monkeys threw the party off. They got into a verbal confrontation, which evolved into physical conflict. They were falling on people's tables, knocking over people's drinks and dinners. Everything was awry. Both had had too much banana wine, obviously. Neither could keep their balance. They were both swinging and missing each other. Their heads were down, swinging again and again, hitting nothing but thin air. Each would grab the other to keep from falling. Neither wanted to fall, because when you fall in a fight, that's it. Their feet were sliding all over the place, scufflin' back and forth. In hard shoes, suits and all that — it almost looked like they were doing the tango. Eventually, they realized neither one of them was going to win. Nobody

got knocked out. But they both got thrown out, by a coupl'a gorillas . They were embarrassed and quickly realized how stupid they were. Walking home in the freezing cold and ice, they ended up leaning on each other — relying on one another. They walked home together in peace. They realized that the only reason they went to the bar in the first place was because they had so much on their minds. They couldn't handle their personal issues, which happens a lot. The financial pressures of our society have everybody scufflin' and fightin'. We put so much anxiety on each other. Everybody does, there's no escaping it. But that doesn't mean we can't be peaceful with one another. Handle your own conflicts and confrontations, don't impose them on other people. Because in the end, all we've got is each other.

What the Lord has done for me while homeless

Standing on faith

About two and half years ago I had everything -- good job and a nice apartment -- until one day I lost my job as account representative for a company called Arrow Financial. I worked there for about two years before they went out of business. I kept looking for a job and then I fell behind on the rent; it was pretty rough for me. I ended up losing my apartment, and then I became homeless. I just want to say this has nothing to do with lack of education. I did finish high school and two years of business college, and I took some computer courses. I ended up in the shelter and I thank God for that.Then someone in

Sometimes we allow our circumstances to negatively affect our faith. Things can seem out of control, and we find ourselves worrying about how things are going to work out. God's word reminds us that He will never fail us and He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Our trust in God increases our faith. So aim for the rooftop. God shall elevate you if you aim higher. He will promote you according to your faith and desire. Stand on the word of God, and He will put you above what you can't even begin to imagine.

BY LEONARD HYATER // Artist/Vendor

the shelter told me about Street Sense newspaper and I felt that was beneath me, until one day I had a talk with God and he has talking some sense in me, saying “Who are you to say what is beneath you when you don’t have a pot to piss in and a window to throw it out?” That’s when I come to Street Sense newspaper. I have been here for about two years now and I have learned a lot. The one thing my folks would say to me is that work is work as long you earned it and it is honest. I just want to say anyone can become homeless and it can happen to you. The one thing I can say is I thank the Lord for keeping me and providing a shelter over my head.

BY CHON GOTTI // Artist/Vendor

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Put Down the Guns BY RON DUDLEY, A.K.A. “POOKANU” // Artist/vendor

Put down the guns, pick up a book. He picked up a gun and became a crook. Put down the guns, put down the guns.

PHOTO BY SHEILA WHITE

A mess at the March for Our Lives BY SHEILA WHITE Artist/Vendor

On March 24, there was a huge protest scheduled on D.C. streets for new gun control laws. I atteded the march, but quickly seemed to be the only person of color to attend this event. As I was taking a pictures of this great demonstration, I was called every name except the child of God. I felt so nervous that I left, fearing that they would attack me next. I believe in the same system that Whites do. It wasn’t a Black man who did the shooting. Every time a White person gets hurt, they blame Blacks for it.Put the blame where it belongs, in your own backyards. Every mass-shooting was done by a White guy. This rally, I thought, was to show Congress we stand together to demand stiffer gun laws..I am very supportive of these laws. Peeople need not judge a person of my color. Congress is made up of more Whites than Blacks. White men run this country and, as usual, aren’t doing anything to respond to these tragedies. Why do people wait until it happens over and over before they do something about it? I am for gun control, not against it. When will we see gun laws change?

Tenley takes action!

PHOTO ESSAY BY KEN MARTIN // Artist/Vendor

It's somethin’ ’bout the spirit of the people. On the land in a world full of evil. Yesterday I saw my county on the news. Kids killin’ kids, dying in our schools. When the kids stop learnin’, I get nervous. I got two daughters and a son I must encourage. I tell them that a bullet ain't got no name. He was in gym playing a game. She was at school on the computer. Never ever thought another student would shoot her. He was in class studying math. She was eatin’ lunch when they heard the first blast. The teacher said, "Duck, don't nobody move. "Everybody be quiet, silence in the room." Seen the killer walk past, shootin’ everything in sight. He missed them by an inch, he was blinded by the sunlight. Now who do you blame when a kid can kill another kid at point-blank range. Do we blame it on the mom, do we blame it on the dad, Do we blame on the system ’cause the system made him mad. Do we blame it on the music, do we blame the movies. Do we blame the NRA for all the rifles, all the Uzis Do we blame Twitter, do we blame Instagram. Don't nobody want the blame, let's just blame Uncle Sam Put down the guns, pick up a book. He picked up a gun and became a crook. Put down the guns, put down the guns. They say guns don't kill, people kill. I say get rid of the guns and see who lives. I say getting rid of the problem is the solution. No guns, no bullets, no more shootin’. Mass shootings everywhere in my country. Either kids dying over bullets or they’re hungry. Not just Black lives matter, all lives matter. Bullets, they don't discriminate when they scatter. He was too young to die over shoes, and she was too young to die on the news. I wish I had an answer for all the dead babies, it's crazy. It's all in my head. We can blame it on Obama or blame it on Trump America, America, is this what you want? They say guns don't kill, people kill. I say get rid of the guns and see who lives. I say getting rid of the problem is the solution No more bullets, no more guns, no more shootin’. Put down the guns, pick up a book. He picked up a gun and became a crook. Put down the guns, put down the guns.

1 4 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // A P R I L 4 - 1 7, 2018, 2018

FUN & GAMES

Name:

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The expenditure of funds is critical -- engineers and scientists should not be permitted to authorize any purchase. -- Richard F. Moore

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LAST EDITION’S CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS

April is National Poetry Month!

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Created with TheTeachersCorner.net Crossword Puzzle Generator

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Author Gene Weingarten is a college dropout and a nationally syndicated humor columnist for The Washington Post. Author Dan Weingarten is a former college dropout and a current college student majoring in information technology. Many thanks to Gene Weingarten and The Washington Post Writers Group for allowing Street Sense to run Barney & Clyde.

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APRIL 4 - 17, 2018 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 11

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