04 10 2013 by Street Sense Media

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Volume 10: Issue 11 April 10 - 23, 2013

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Street Sense aims to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

Thompson-Bey 11 Eric on changing rivalries

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in college basketball. The ups and downs of life by Victoria Beaumont. Continued fiction by Gwynette Smith and Chris “The Cowboy Poet” Shaw.

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COVER ART Clients line up outside of Thrive DC in Columbia Heights. PHOTO BY LANIE RIVERA

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OUR STORY Street Sense began in August 2003 after Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003. In 2005, Street Sense achieved 501 ( c ) 3 status as a nonprofit organization, formed a board of directors and hired a full-time executive director. Today, Street Sense is published every two weeks through the efforts of four salaried employees, more than 100 active vendors, and dozens of volunteers. Nearly 30,000 copies are in circulation each month.

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STREET SENSE April 10 - 23, 2013

D.C.’s Sacred Heart Broken

By Reginald Black Vendor, Da’ Street Reportin’ Artist With the coming of spring you can really feel change coming to Washington. The cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom and warmer days are in our midst. But there is a dark side to the change in seasons too. With the end of hypothermia season on April 1, the extra cold weather shelter beds are annually put into storage until November. In addition, it will be harder this spring for homeless people to find a place in the day to relax. On Friday March 29, the Hermano Pedro day shelter at Sacred Heart Church closed. The place offered a welcome refuge

from the streets for many. It was originally slated to close in December 2012, but thanks to the efforts of the Shelter Housing and Respectful Change (SHARC) advocacy group, the program was able to finish the season. But now it’s gone. Between the old La Casa shelter and Hermano Pedro, the homeless of Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan used to have places to go both night and day. La Casa’s bi-lingual emergency shelter closed in the fall of 2010. Ground was only just broken in October for La Casa’s replacement facility, which will provide permanent supportive housing for homeless men. Now Hermano has served its last meal and offered its last day of services. What does this mean as we move into the summer? Both Hermano Pedro and La Casa grew in response to the presence of those without a place to call home. Folks came from all over the city came to attend Pedro’s last meal. As Luis Vasquez who founded the program said “this is a sad day”. He mentioned that God had called him to start Hermano Pedro and reflected upon the stories of the program’s life and times.

Thrive Coping With Influx from Hermano Pedro Closure Lanie Rivera Editorial Intern As one door closes, the saying goes, another door sometimes opens. And with the closing of the Hermano Pedro Day Center on Friday, March 29, dozens of clients began seeking out the door of a nearby homeless day program for meals and help. Wednesday, April 3 found that neighboring program, Thrive DC, bustling. Within 15 minutes of opening for breakfast, 84 clients were on hand, up from the typical morning crowd of between 50 and 60 visitors. Staffers at Thrive DC had already been coping with an increase of clients before Hermano Pedro closed. Now, in spite of weeks of preparation, they remain concerned about meeting the additional needs.

“While we will work hard to accommodate the increase, it is sure to stretch our resources to dangerous limits, which could ultimately jeopardize the longevity, effectiveness and efficiency of all of our services,” said Alicia Horton, Thrive DC’s executive director. The closing of Hermano Pedro came as no surprise. Due to the ending of a five-year, $2 million contract with the city Department of Mental Health (DMH), Hermano Pedro was set to close twice, once in August 2012 and again in November. Both dates were extended due to weather circumstances, but in anticipation of Hermano Pedro’s final day, the executive teams of Thrive and Hermano Pedro began regularly in No-

NEWS

You could feel the emotions of the clients as they thanked the staff of Hermano for all the work they have done for the last ten years. With the La Casa shelter closing there was one less place for people to go at night. Now, with Hermano Pedro becoming a memory, there will be one fewer place for people be able to relax during the daylight hours. How will Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan residents deal with once again seeing the homeless outside? Some say that the area will once again begin to look like it did back before LaCasa and Hermano Pedro opened. Now that these two social services are gone how will the District government respond? These questions Top to Bottom Hermano Pedro, and Members of the have yet to be answered. community partake in Hermano’s Last Meal. PHOTOS BY REGINALD BLACK

vember to transfer Hermano Pedro’s caseload to Thrive. According to Horton, Thrive expects to see 10-15 percent more clients now. She believes the additional clients will push Thrive to full capacity. Thrive coordinators and volunteers said the full effect of Hermano Pedro’s termination has not yet been seen, and it will not be clear until the end of the month. Typically, such programs serve a smaller number of clients in the beginning of the month because that’s when social security and welfare checks are issued so clients have the funds to buy their meals. The numbers increase as the month goes on. Horton and others at Thrive DC have made efforts to prepare for the flood of clients. Aside from the meetings to accommodate Hermano Pedro clients, Horton said she has worked to bridge the expected gap in services, but she says she continues to worry that without help from the city she will not be able to stretch resources enough to meet all the needs.

“Thrive DC will continue to advocate to stabilize the offering of consistent and effective services in this community in order to insure that our most vulnerable members have access to the kind of programming that can help them regain their stability and self sufficiency,” Horton said. Carl Smith-Hunnicut, Thrive’s volunteer and community relations coordinator said more volunteers and more space might be needed in the future, but that so far the team at Thrive has not had to turn anyone away. Ultimately, Horton believes that Thrive DC will grow to accommodate those in need by increasing the organization’s offerings in many ways. “With the closing of Hermano Pedro, Thrive DC’s goals are to expand our services to include more operational hours, more therapeutic programming, more employment training and assistance and more case managers as we work to accomplish our mission of ending and preventing homelessness.”

The Beauregard area in Alexandria, VA renovation sketch. PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHERINE PUSKAR OF WALSH, COLUCCI, LUBELEY, EMRICH & WALSH, P.C.

Luxury Development to Displace 10,000 By Mark Rose Volunteer Residents of the vast garden apartment community known as the Beauregard are witnessing the end of an era. And many of them are finding it intensely unsettling. For decades, the acres of modest brick apartments have provided a haven of low-cost housing in upscale Alexandria, VA. Then, last year, the city council approved a plan allowing the developers who own 5,000 of the apartments to tear down half of them and replace them with 6,600 luxury condominiums. The project will also include retail shops, hotels, restaurants and a baseball field. The project, which is expected to displace 10,000 current residents, holds the promise of 800 units of replacement affordable housing, part of a deal with developers crafted by the city. The work is scheduled to begin in 2015, with most of the affected moderate-income garden apartments slated for demolition in 2020.

But some longtime residents have already begun moving out. And others have begun hopping from one apartment to another in an attempt to cope with rent increases that they say are being imposed in their community’s waning days. Kelly Merrill and her family have moved three times to dodge rent hikes. Merrill, 41, said she cannot afford to pay any more because a chronic disease prevents her from working. And she is angry at the landlord, JBG Properties, which purchased the group of apartment complexes in 2005. She believes the rent hikes are meant to force people out. “JBG’s already taken these insidious measures to make sure these people have made their mass exodus,” Merrill said in an interview. She said many of her neighbors left the apartments in December 2010 and January 2011 after the the rent, which includes utilities, rose to $325 per month. In the wake of the increases, tenants formed the Beauregard Tenants’ Association and protested at the JBG offices.

The BTA represents 10,000 residents in Beauregard, Latinos, blacks, Asians and whites. Many share the sense that JBG is favoring richer people at their expense, filtering out the lower-end residents. The landlord defended its action saying the hikes were necessary. The association did win one concession. JBG agreed to cap utilities. But for Merrill, the unsettled feeling remains. “After a family moves three times you’re no longer vested in the community,” Merrill noted. “A sense of community is why people want to stay.” Then there is also the fear of the unknown. Merrill said nobody in the area to be redeveloped, known locally as the “red zone,” knows what they will do after being kicked out. “They’re going to decide the future of my family,” said Hector Pineda, president of the BTA and a resident of a “red zone” apartment with his wife and four children. They have lived in Beauregard 10 years, moving twice as rents have been raised, trying to make ends meet on the $25,000 to $30,000 that

Pineda and his wife earn each year in their self-run home-cleaning business. “This area was my home; a great place for my family,” said Pineda. “Now they’re shaking all that up.” The Beauregard Plan took another step forward on April 2 when the Alexandria Planning Commission voted unanimously at a well-attended hearing to recommend increasing the zoning density needed to move forward with the project. The increased density would allow for five and six-story buildings to be built where two and three-story buildings currently sit. Officials noted that rent control laws do not protect tenants in Beauregard or anywhere else in Alexandria, but they acknowledged the importance of preserving affordable housing. As one member of the planning commission said at the hearing, salaries in the area have not kept pace with the cost of living, and the gap is widening. The number of affordable housing units in the city slid from 18,000 in 2000 to 5,600 in 2012, according to city statistics. The commission voted to encourage

STREET SENSE April 10 - April 24, 2012

NEWS

the city to make the 800 proposed “committed” affordable rental units available sooner than the planned 2020 date. If the increased zoning density is approved by the Alexandria City Council April 13, the Beauregard developers will be legally bound to the city to build the amenities they offered to add for free, city officials said. But affected Beauregard residents who spoke at the commission’s hearing pleaded with city officials to remember the impact the project would have on poor and working poor residents. “I’m scared of where we’re going to go,” said Pineda. “Not just my family, but everybody else in the community.” His children are also having a hard time thinking about the future. “This community is my life, my everything,” said his son, Edward, 13, a middle school student. “If it gets destroyed it destroys my life.” In the face of such fears, city officials and the project’s main developer, JBG, have attempted to offer reassurances. Alexandria Deputy Director of Housing Helen McIvaine said that without the city’s planning work, affordable housing would be disappearing at an even faster rate. “We agree the 800 (units) may not be able to accommodate everybody; this is what we were able to get,” McIlvaine said. “We’re trying to provide for the people who are the most impacted. “In lean economic times, she portrayed the city’s efforts as important. This is “more than we could do if we didn’t have a plan,” she said.

The 800 affordable units the city officials say will be available in 2020 are being purchased with public money and set aside for people such as the Pinedas. Half of them will be reserved for low-income tenants earning $40,000 or less. The rest will be available to renters with higher incomes but do not earn enough to afford housing at the full market rate. JBG spokesman Charles Maier said in an interview that Alexandria officials drove a hard bargain in crafting the city agreement with the developer. “The city worked a tough bargain. They extracted (millions of dollars to pay for affordable housing) from the developers; that was pretty good bargaining on the city’s part.” Maier said there is misinformation in the public sphere about JBG’s intentions. “When people hear they are going to be forced out and their places demolished, that certainly does scare people.” he acknowledged, adding, “JBG doesn’t want to lose any of the residents,” he emphasized. “We want to keep the neighbors there who are there.” Maier offered a message to Pineda and other members of the BTA. “Please don’t tell your neighbors and friends they’re going to lose their homes any time soon. It will happen slowly, over many years, and you will be offered an alternative within the community that (you) can afford.” He went on to say, “we don’t want to lose anybody in the neighborhood; we count on them as being part of this community.”

Residents of the Mark Center of the Beauregard Apartments in Alexandria, VA, have been facing rent hikes and possible redevelopment by JBG properties. PHOTO BY ZOE KING

The Pinedas have moved twice in the Mark Center of the Beauregard Apartments in Alexandria, VA to dodge landlord hikes. PHOTOS BY ZOE KING

Lolita Chávez Ixacquic: The Fight For Rights Shonette Reed Editorial Intern The indigenous people of Guatemala should have a say in the environmental decisions that deeply affect their lives. This is the plea of activist Lolita Chávez Ixacquic. Chávez is a spokesperson for the K’iche’ People’s Council, an organization that represents 87 Mayan communities in the department of Quiché, Guatemala. What started off as a Canadian tour turned into a recent visit to Washington D.C. where she discussed her community’s struggle for self-determination and land rights. She said activists, particularly women, have faced violence and intimidation for speaking out against multinational companies at work in her country. “No one is consulting us. It’s almost like being slaves to these businesses. No one is asking us what we want,” said Chávez, while on a speaking tour hosted by the grassroots Guatemalan Human Rights Commission (GHRC). Human rights and environmental activists are particularly concerned about mining operations moving forward in the country. Late in March four indigenous Xinca leaders reportedly were abducted while returning from a community referendum on the Escobal mining project in San Rafael Las Flores. One of those abducted was found dead the next day, human rights advocates reported. The country has a bloody history of repression. As Chávez spoke in D.C., a trial in her home country continued to explore genocide and committed against the Mayan people during the military dictatorship of General Efrain Rios Montt. A 36-year civil war there claimed more than 200,000 lives a United Nations truth commission concluded. The war, which pitted the rightist

military-controlled government against left-wing insurgents, was fought largely Lolita Chávez Ixacquic advocating for Guatemalan land rights. in the country- PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GUATEMALAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION side homeland of the Mayan people. Because the Mayans advocacy coordinator. were seen as allies of the insurgents, Chávez said Guatemalans, parentire villages were destroyed. ticularly the indigenous people, have The trial of Montt has been hailed by a different concept of the world that some as a sign of the larger transfordeserves respect. mation of Guatemala’s justice system. “It may not be perfect, it may not Yet the threat to be the only way of those who speak seeing the world out against powerand it may not be ful interests in the the best but it’s our country remains, way,” she said. She said GHRC director explained that a Kelsey Alford-Jones. respect for nature “Despite the fear pervades traditional of repression, comGuatemalan society munities are again and that humans are organizing,” she said. seen as bound to the Chávez and her natural world and to hosts said much work remains to be one another. She summed up the world done to give the indigenous Mayan view in two guiding principles: taking people a voice, and the power to live safe and healthy lives. “What we stand up for is their right to demand those things and not to be attacked for it — or not be arrested for it,” said Kathryn Johnson, the group’s development and

only from the earth what is needed and the reciprocity between people, the sense that “I am You. You are Me.”

STREET SENSE April 10 - 23, 2013

NEWS

Cuts Lead to Turnaways at Youth Shelter By Shonette Reed Editorial Intern Advocates at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, the nonprofit that runs the District’s only youth shelter, say that they have been turning away two to three homeless and runaway young people each day. They say they have had no choice but to close 11 of the 16 beds at the youth shelter in Northwest D.C. after city funds were reduced. Sasha Bruce executive director Deborah Shore described the loss of funding as a “tsunami for our homeless youth,” in her testimony at a recent hearing on the city’s human services budget for the coming fiscal year. The emergency shelter serves youth ages 11 to 17 by providing a safe place to stay and intensive counseling services. The shelter which was founded in 1974 as the Streetwork Project, has grown into the organization now known as Sasha Bruce Youthwork to provide services reaching nearly 15,000 at-risk youth. Independent Living Program (ILP)

participant Shameka Swinton said the loss of funding was a “bad decision that will not make the situation for the homeless any better.” City officials say that agencies are working on many fronts to help shelter and protect runaway and homeless young people and that city funding provided to Sasha Bruce is now going to other programs. Department of Human Services spokesman Reggie Sanders said that September 2012 marked the end of a $500,000 Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) grant to Sasha Bruce for respite and family intervention services. He said the grant was intended to provide short term help and counseling for families coping with troubled teens.“The grant was not intended to fund a shelter for homeless youth,” Sanders said. “CFSA extended the grant through December to make an assessment of the program and the review revealed that fewer than 20 families with any CFSA involvement were served each year,” said Sanders. Officials decided that a

Department of Human Services program known as Parent and Adolescent Support Services (PASS) could meet the need for family counseling and supportive services, along with contract support from existing providers on an as needed basis. “As a result-and with agreement from Sasha Bruce--DHS and CFSA recently signed an agreement transferring $130,000 in funding to DHS to serve the families and youth that otherwise would use the respite services provided in the former Sasha Bruce program,” Sanders said. “The Mayor and administration officials all recognize that youth homelessness is an issue that requires attention and we are working to address increasing needs in this area on numerous fronts. For example, DHS provides about just over $3 million annually for specific youth homeless services. These numbers do not include the services that youth receive when they use the District’s adult and family system,” said Sanders. Sanders noted that about 30 percent of the families served at the city fam-

ily shelter at the former DC General hospital are headed by parents under the age of 24. He added that in fiscal year 2013, his department has dedicated $2.4 million for services to unaccompanied youth. In addition, the district’s Child and Family Services Agency spends about $1 million a year in its rapid rehousing program to prevent homelessness for youth aging out of foster care. He said an additional $500,000 will fund an expansion of those existing programs. “The bottom line,” said Sanders, “is that our funding of these kinds of services is growing and not being cut.” James Beck, development director for Sasha Bruce Youthwork said the loss of funding threatens the basic missions of his organization, which strives to provide emergency shelter, independent living and street outreach. “This city historically has appreciated the need to offer shelter to younger people,” Beck said.

“a secondary food system for the poor.” The film tells us that there are enough calories in the United States, but they are largely the wrong type of calories. One in three children born in the year 2000 will develope Type 2 diabetes. High blood pressure, developmental delays, asthma, emotional problems and other health problems escalate the cost of hunger in America. The U.S. economy spends $167 billion per year addressing hunger and food insecurity. Nutrition policy expert, Marion Nestle, explains, “we are spending $20 billion a year on agricultural subsidies for the wrong food.” Then there are the food deserts, areas where healthy food is unavailable. The film shows Rhee driving 45 minutes from her small town in Mississippi to reach a fully stocked grocery store, and Barbie taking the bus over an hour each way to do the same. Low wage earning working mothers make these choices simply to find healthier food choices,

like fruits and vegetables, for their families. The corner stores in their neighborhoods and the bags of food donated by food banks tend to offer high sugar, high fat, high salt products. The relative price of fresh fruits and vegetables has gone up by 40 percent since 1980 when the obesity epidemic first began. The relative price of processed foods has declined by about 40 percent. In addition to making the story of hunger in America more personal and palpable “A Place at the Table,” makes the solution something each of us can reach toward. The film recalls the story of the 1960s push to end childhood hunger that resulted in free breakfast and lunch programs, senior meal programs, and the expansion of food stamps. The problem was largely curtailed by the late 1970s. “A Place at the Table” includes a companion website that allows social action and advocacy. The address is http://www.takepart.com/place-atthe-table.

Recent Film Shows Hunger as a Policy Issue By Ferris Garel Volunteer Nationally, 50 million people in the United States do not always know where they will find their next meal, antihunger activists say. Locally, more than 12 percent of households in Washington, DC have experienced food insecurity. Film directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine what they see as a growing issue of hunger in America in a new documentary called “A Place at the Table.” Their project tells the stories of hunger that lie behind the numbers. Viewers meet Barbie who is a single mother with two kids living in Philadelphia. She wants to keep her kids

healthy, but it is difficult for her to earn a living wage. Then there is Rosie, a Colorado fifth grader who says she is often very hungry. She has difficulty focusing in school. Tremonica is a second grader living in Mississippi whose health problems are made worse by the empty calories she consumes. The cheapest food is all her hard-working mother says she can afford. According to Hunger in America, a campaign run by the hunger-relief charity Feeding America, people who experience food insecurity suffer in many ways. They not only experience empty stomachs but nausea, headaches, and inability to focus that Rosie faces in the film. They may also feel anxiety, fear, and shame. “A Place at the Table” explores the toll hunger takes on individuals and also raises questions about the causes of hunger. It looks at the food distribution system, social support programs, and even the charitable organizations that have become what “Sweet Charity?” author Janet Poppendieck calls,

Children Support Lawsuit to Keep Schools Open

By Zoe King Editorial Intern

The community organizing group Emcity in hopes of halting the closure of 15 public schools, stating that the closings violate the U.S. Constitution and city and federal laws. A crowd gathered outside of the H. Carl Moultrie courthouse on the morning of March 29 as attorneys and parents spoke out against Mayor Vincent C. Gray and DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson for the proposed plan. The closures will disproportionately impact low-income, disabled and minority students, according to Empower DC. “Closing schools is an integral part of destabilizing and displacing low-income communities,” said Empower D.C.’s executive director Parisa Norouzi.

Cheerleaders from Ferebee-Hope Elementary School performed at the March 29 rally to protest the closing of their school. PHOTO BY ZOE KING

15 under-enrolled public schools in the city’s southeastern quadrant in January in hopes of consolidating resources schools are set to close at the end of this year, and the last two schools will close at the end of 2014. Of the 2,700 students that will be affected by the closures, 94 percent are African-American and 96 percent are low-income according to attorney Mary Levy. Only two white students in total will be affected, according to the data. “All you have to do is look at the numbers and its pretty clear that this is an injustice,” said Norouzi. “Certain people are being treated very differently than others.” Lead attorney Johnny Barnes stated that the city is denying certain students equal opportunity for education in favor of another group. Most of the school closings are to occur in neighborhoods east of Rock Creek Park, which are comprised of mostly minority students, according to Barnes. “They haven’t done this in other parts of the city; that’s the crux of the case,” he said. “You can’t treat one class of people differently than you treat another class of people. “ Students from Ferebee-Hope Elementary school in Ward 8, one of the 15 schools set to close, attended the rally. Children donned pins that read “Mayor Gray stop closing our schools” as the

school’s cheerleading team chanted “Shame on Mayor Gray, don’t take public schools away,” in protest. Ferebee-Hope parent of two, Shannon Smith, said that as a result of the closures, her son will have to walk through unsafe neighborhoods to get to school. “Right now he just goes out the front door and crosses the street,” she said. “Now he’ll have to go down through the drug dealers. There could be guns out there.” School closings will also have an adverse affect on the city’s severely disabled students. Twenty-seven percent of the students affected by the closings are among the city’s severely disabled, according to Levy. Parent Andree Harris, who has two special needs children attending Sharpe Health School in Ward 4, was would be transferred to River Terrace Elementary School. “Sharpe Health was built for children with special needs and now she’s being

transferred,” Harris said. “I feel like they are the back burner babies, and the forgotten children; the parents and the children ought to have a say too.” Empower DC has had experience advocating for educational equality in the in 2008 by Chancellor Michelle Rhee, the organization worked with affected communities, trying to gain city support to help boost enrollment. The group also worked on a campaign called “The People’s Property Campaign” in protest of the city giving away public property, including schools, to high-end housing developers. “We’ve worked with communities that had their schools closed decades ago and are still trying to have them reopened,” she said. This case is unique in that Empower DC does not usually file lawsuits, according to Norouzi. The group usually

relies on the organization of the community to enact change, but in this case, it wasn’t enough. “The mayor and the city council were ignoring the concerns and outcries of the community so we were forced to take a legal approach,” she said. Norouzi noted that schools in Ward 3, the city’s wealthiest ward, have experienced under enrollment in the past, but were not shut down. She is hoping that instead of closing schools, the city can “They found innovative ways to make sure those schools were attractive to the community, and that’s what we’re asking for our lower income communities as well,” she said. The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in Federal Court on May 10 by Judge James Boasberg, a former D.C. Superior Court Judge. An emergency hearing in the D.C. Superior Court originally scheduled for April 4 was cancelled after the city exercised its right to have the case moved to federal court. A decision is expected before May 22 when the D.C. year budget, according to Empower DC. We have a rich history here of being fair and treating our citizens equally when it comes to education opportunity,” said Barnes. “We have reclaimed that you can’t have one city unless you have one standard.”

STREET SENSE April 10 - 23 , 2013

FEATURE

Homeless Vet Bides his Time, Tends his Garden been Joseph’s strong conviction in serving God that has provided his bedrock in prevailing against the unbeatable odds of homelessness (long cold winter months and hot unbearable summer

Joseph Johnson says nature helps keep him grounded. PHOTO BY CYNTHIA MEWBORN

Cynthia Mewborn Vendor, “C=MB” Well this is a true story about a homeless man named Joseph Johnson. On one fall day several months ago I started chatting to Joseph and he explained he’s been homeless for more than four years. He spoke of his military service and his faith, saying he “hasn’t lost compassion for Christ.” It’s

Joseph working in the many gardens which he has planted throughout the community. He continues to garden in spite of being diagnosed with a terminal illness. His love of nature keeps him grounded. His Irish, Norwegian, British and Scottish heritage is something in which he takes great pride but he lets you know that above all he believes in God and believes Jesus Christ is the Greatest Teacher. You can see one of Joseph’s gardens on the corner of O and 13th streets next to Rite Aid. In his gardens he grows tulips, daffodils, zinnias, mums, rose bushes. There is a Granny Smith apple tree, peach, mulberry and plum trees, grape vines, strawberry plants as well as vegetables. He creates his own compost or natural mulches and grows his own seeds. Joseph has stated to me he’s the “happiest men on the planet” and his

happiness comes directly from doing the work of the Lord Jesus Christ three hunfour hours a day! In addition, he’s a cerhe trims his own trees when needed. He spends most of his own money on buying planting materials and does not drink or do drugs. He also enjoys art and plans to put a sculpture in one of his gardens. He says he has two degrees in theology and thinks of himself as both a priest and a minister. Joseph believes that we are all made in the image of God and that we are all God’s children. He believes everybody should “do the work of the Lord Jesus Christ by giving to the poor and keeping the Sabbath day holy.” Though he is homeless, he donates to charity and believes God blesses him a

the compassion to keep giving all you have for the love of God. Now that’s a beautiful thing! I know for certain I’ve learned a lot from meeting Joseph and hope that we can all turn our rainy days, gloomy days, unbelievable days, days into to sunny days so that tomorrow can be a brighter day for us all! By what we all do next today…….! One thing that continues to trouble me about Joseph is the fact that he said he was a military veteran. He served defended and protected this country. Yet where is the help for him, who has given

words to me were that he loves “the beauty of nature, every form of Mother Nature” as well as the beauty of women and the total creation of God. Wow! It’s hard to imagine losing all worldly possessions and yet still having

CHILDREN’S ART: DAISYS FOR NATURE MONTH

By Children under 5 at DC General There are 1,880 children experiencing homelessness in the District. The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project visits 6 different transitional housing and emergency shelter programs to provide weekly activities, healthy snacks, and opportunities to play and learn to as many children as possible.

Joseph Johnson works hard to improve the neighborhood he lives in. At his own PHOTO BY CYNTHIA MEWBORN

COMICS & GAMES

TERRON’S GAME: STREET INVENTORS By Terron Solomon, Vendor

ia Isototp5 par

By Ibn Hipps, Vendor In a city like Isotopia, where life is more difficult than you can ever imagine, Josh gives a long talk to all five children and Melissa about keeping the baby’s whereabouts a secret. He tells the kids, “No one shall know about this special child. Because in a city like Isotopia, we don’t need no attention on this family. You hear me now kids? You hear me? That goes for you too, honey.” The kids reply, “Yes Dad — we promise.” “Now kids, goodnight,” says Josh. As the children go back upstairs to their rooms, Sharon and Susan look back and see their mom rocking the humanlike child in her arms with a motherly smile on her face. “Goodnight Moms,” they say.

“Don’t even think about it,” Josh jokes “Boy please,” says Melissa. “I get whatever I want, you should know that by now honey!” “Boy you had me worried crazy - you usually be in by 1 o’clock,” Melissa says. “But I ran into a little trouble,” Josh replies. “It’s nothing important.” Now Melissa is smiling, “Baby look at that dot on his forehead — it look like it’s going to start glowing any minute now.” By now Melissa had already named the baby Meliki. Josh tells Melissa that when he approached the baby in the alley, he felt a wave of worry-free relief. It was an unexplainable feeling— since he’d just had a dangerous altercation with the evil of Isotopia. (To be continued)

Street Inventors

INVENTOR

INVENTION

Eli Whitney

Cotton Gin

Goodyear

Rubber

Henry Ford

Model T

Robert Fulton

Steamboat

Patent

Trademark *Two other hidden inventors

S: s! NU O tor B n * e v n In e d Hid

STREET SENSE April 10 - 23, 2013

OPINION Justice Isn’t For All

From Another Angle By Jeff McNeil Vendor I was watching the “Melissa HarrisPerry” show on MSNBC. The segment aired a while back but it has stuck in my mind. It was called “Why Americans Hate Welfare” and as the show progressed, one of her guests suggested that the welfare system needed to change. Harris-Perry became enraged. She started hyperventilating and accused her guest of being a racist. When the show ended I was disgusted. Who appointed the Harris-Perrys, Michael Eric Dysons and the Al Sharptons as representatives for black America? Whenever there is a welfare controversy, these poverty pimps come out accusing all who challenge the system of being Uncle Toms or racists. When folks like Ben Carson, Bill Cosby and J.C. Watts preach self-help as an alternative to public assistance, the MSNBC crowd goes into full defense rebutting anyone who says work your way out of poverty. Even moderates such as Colin Powell and Michael Steele, are considered turncoats and race traitors because they don’t support the victim view of these self-anointed black leaders. The black left has ingrained in the poor that anyone who opposes public assistance is an enemy of the black race. I am poor and so are my neighbors and roommates. There are many gov-

ernment programs we qualify for, but instead we choose alternatives to public assistance such as temporary agencies and day labor. I live with one roommate who lost his job and looks for work every day. Because he is behind on his rent he asked for rental assistance. Still, I have never once heard him say, “I don’t want to work because Uncle Sam will pay my rent.” None of us believe we’re victims like the MSNBC crowd claims we are. We do not need crusaders for our cause. We dream of upward mobility instead of pity and defeat. However, we are not anti-government either. We know and understand that jobs are scarce and situations happen. We are all one check away from public assistance. We are frustrated but don’t see ourselves as held down. The truth is more minorities agree with conservatives like Cosby and Carson than the MSNBC crowd may understand. We know structural forces can lead people to poverty. We must acknowledge minorities got a raw deal. Our ancestors were slaves, lynched and exploited, and the government has never repaired the wounds of bigotry. We are likely to end up in jail, unemployed and sick at a faster rate than other segments of society. Until Uncle Sam has squared up its obligations by all means, we should fight for what was granted for all Americans: to be treated equally

Despite the odds, we dream of the upward lift, a piece of the capitalist dream, not one of public assistance but a livable wage. I agree with Ben Carson that liberals destroy initiative among the poor and do a great disservice by planting the seeds of inferiority instead of a quest for excellence. Martin Luther King’s message throughout his life was self-reliance. Here is a quote from Dr. King: “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Malcolm X also preached self-help and personal responsibility: “I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.” Truth is, those on MSNBC disrespect the King legacy by painting him as a defender of public assistance. It does a great disservice to the young viewers who do not understand this great man’s message of personal responsibility and self-help. My advice to MSNBC is that instead of devoting segments to victimhood, your programming should be more devoted to self-help and hard work. Your viewers would be better for it.

Georgetown-Syracuse: The Rivalry By Eric Thompson-Bey Vendor One of college basketball’s biggest rivalries will be cut short when Syracuse leaves the Big East conference and becomes a member of the Atlantic Coast Confrence. Georgetown will leave the Big East with six other catholic schools to form their own league, in which they will take the Big East name with them. The Big East was formed in 1979 and Georgetown and Syracuse were two of the original schools along with five other schools. In 1984 Georgetown became the first Big East basketball team to win the NCAA Championship game. Syracuse won the championship in 2003. Georgetown has been to the championship four times and Syracuse three. The

two schools have a total of nine Final Four appearances, Georgetown five, Syracuse four. Syracuse leads the overall series with 49 wins to Georgetown’s 41 wins. These two teams first played each other February 15, 1930 with Syracuse winning 40 to 18. When the teams first played as members of the Big East, Syracuse played their home games at the Manley Field house. In 1980 Georgetown won the last game there. After the win, Coach John Thompson Jr. was quoted

111

as saying, “Manley Field House is officially closed.” Since then Syracuse has moved to the Carrier Dome and Georgetown from McDonalds Gym to the Verizon Center. This year Georgetown beat Syracuse in both regular season games including the last Big East game at the Carrier Dome. Georgetown also won the Big East regular season title, but Syracuse beat Georgetown in the Big East Semifinal game to advance to the championship game. So after 35 years in the Big East the two teams will go their separate ways, but not without leaving us with so many great games and championships. Yes, I’m a big Georgetown fan, but I wish Syracuse good luck in the ACC, and thank both schools for the memories.

By Aida Basnight-Peery Vendor Justice for poor Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Chinese and other races in Washington D.C. don’t have a chance from the police, prosecutors and judges. A witness as young as 13 to 100 years old can fabricate a boldface story and send an innocent person to prison when the victim can say until he or she is blue in the face a crime did not happen as a witness/police says it did. The police and the witness both can have two different stories about the victim. You wonder why that wasn’t taken into consideration. There is no evidence to show that the defendant committed a crime against the victim but the prosecutor and the Judge is standing by the witness and the police officer who both gave two different stories about the victim. I am just baffled how badly the judiciary system treats poor people of all races in Washington D.C. that can’t afford high profile lawyers. How can a man be sentenced for time he already served for 30 years that the prosecutor to bring it back into another case that has nothing to do with what he did at the age 19. The defendant is now in the year of 2013 is 54 years of age and is 100 percent compliance of his parole to be sentence for 60 days in jail for a crime that the defendant and victim says she/he did not commit. The prosecutors are that desperate to go through those lengths to dredge up the past of someone? And I bet if the defendant didn’t have a past crime record they would go through lengths to find something on the victim to send the defendant to jail anyway. The defendant and the victim don’t have money for high profile lawyers so prosecutors and judges can do whatever they want to do because they are poor. To think we have a first black president and family in a two term office of the White House doesn’t mean that the Judiciary System and society as a whole for poor people, who don’t or have past records with time served for years, don’t have chance for justice at all in America. I wonder how these judges and prosecutors sleep at night after they know that witnesses aren’t credible but do a sentencing anyway on a man or woman because they are poor and can’t afford a high profile lawyer.

The Street Sense Writers’ Group is led by two writing professionals and meets every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The group’s goal is to develop ideas and collaborate on the next great issue of Street Sense.

How do I Speak

The Roller Coaster of My Life Victoria Beaumont, Vendor Well my loyal Street Sense readers, happy new issue to you all. As my loyal readers know, my life in the past years had more up and downs than the best roller coaster at Six Flags. Sometimes the people who claim to help you end up hurting you. The one friend who claimed to help me ended up stalking me, invading my privacy and causing me stress, paranoia and anxiety. He went through my phone, texted my friends in Los Angeles, and now they won’t speak to me anymore. This has put my idea of creating my own version of Street Sense, called The Boulevard, in Los Angeles in limbo. The past few weeks have been especially difficult. On March 11, my purse was stolen in Dupont while I was selling Street Sense, just as I was finishing up

Welcome, Tourists Phillip Black , Vendor, “Cat in the Hat” I was selling Street Sense in front of a Starbucks on 11th Street recently when a group of tourists visiting from Chicago asked me if I knew where a Starbucks was. I said, “Yeah, you’re standing right in front of it!” They laughed, and asked me what I was doing in a Cat in the Hat outfit. I

My Story John Branges Vendor My personal motto is: “Don’t let anyone say you can’t, when you truly will. Empower yourself instead! I am John B., or “Slim,” a new Street Sense vendor. Here’s the story of what brought me to Street Sense. I have resided in the Washington, DC area almost all my life. I hail from New York state originally, via New Jersey. I came to the suburban Maryland/DC area

for the day. I put my bag down for a second to take off my badge and my vest, and it was gone. My bag held my mobile phone, my Social Security card, my bank cards, my driver’s license, and all the cash I had from selling papers. Because I am currently without a permanent home, I have to carry all my important documents with me all the time. And when you are floating around, residence free, staying on friends’ couches, trying to get your cards and ID back is a total nightmare. First I had to go online to figure out how to get a new copy of my birth certificate. Since my wallet had been stolen, I had to sell some copies of Street Sense so I could buy a prepaid Visa card so that I could order my new birth certificate online. After I finally got the birth certificate, I had to go to the Social Security office to get a new copy of my card. I had to find

friends who would be willing to let me use their mailing address so I could actually get a new card. Then I had to beg a friend to drive me to Pennsylvania so I could get a new driver’s license. And during all of this, I could not get Verizon to deactivate my stolen cell phone because I had no ID to prove that I was the person who owned the cell phone in the first place! Then last week I was in the emergency room on Thursday and Friday after I stubbed my toe and it became infected. Then I was on antibiotics, which made me nauseous and unable to leave my house. So my loyal readers, I’m not doing too well these days. I’m sorry for complaining. Also, April 24 will be the 16th anniversary of my 21st birthday. So I’m kinda depressed right now. My furry little friend hasn’t been around in a while. We really missed you guys!

struck up a conversation, and explained to them what Street Sense is all about. They were very interested. About half of them bought a paper. They were on their way to Ford’s Theater, so I walked with them around the corner. There were so many tourists in line! They were from all over the world, here to visit Washington, D.C. They asked me for directions to McDonalds, CVS and Chinatown. It felt really good helping them. I must have posed for about 50 pictures with them. This also happens at East-

ern Market, the second-best flea market in the world. There are so many tourists visiting. It is so much fun to talk to them, to meet so many people from around the country, and to help them out as well. But what made me the most happy is that they will be taking a Street Sense home with them. Street Sense has so much to offer, not only to me, but to other people.

at age 9 due to my parents’ permanent job transfer. They worked in the private/ government related sectors. But fate came upon me in the recent past. Finding independent housing has been a futile effort, due to very great barriers and obstacles in the nature of “legal circumstances.” These were bestowed upon me very, very truly unjustifiably, during travel in another area of the US. I am working to rectify such matters now, and perhaps I can elaborate more on this in the future. My mental health states have hindered me from more “traditional” forms of employment. Therefore, finding and coming to Street Sense has become a real godsend. It is a job program that has a low-barrier to be accepted into the program. That is just exactly what

I needed! I was able to train as a new vendor very quickly. I have high hopes about making the very best of my involvement here. I hope and plan to, as much as possible, partake of many if not all the available active facets of the newspaper program, and also work with the local college and university interns, as well as the community mentors. I want to deeply thank those individuals of the local general public who have graciously donated and/or bought the newspaper from me since I started as a vendor-trainee. I do encourage all the Washington, DC area citizens to follow my progress, either in the newspaper or by asking me personally when you see me selling papers. I am truly hoping for a promising, great return, and I

Robert Warren Vendor How do I speak with other voices that have words that are not my own? How will I say these words to a people so close to me yet so far away? How can I let them know that I want to hear their voices speak truth to what lies with power? How can I find the right time to talk of our voices raising us up together, to bring on that what we know to be just? Oh, how do I help organize those who the powers that be would seek to disenfranchise, and the poor with faith no more? How, how, how? If I only knew. They say Obama was an advocate, a community organizer. He didn’t even get through. One’s voice for the angels, they record everything you say and do. I have to keep speaking to give my voice to a people. And the angels who never tire of voicing the Lord’s praise.

wish you the best in your own personal financial efforts. Lastly, I do plan to write more regularly in the paper. Please look forward to my contributions. I am very excited about some fresh ideas. I do hope and think that you will be as well! I very much appreciate your personal monetary donations and the street-level personal interactions. I’ve met some great and quite giving people out there! With your continued support, I will help this important program in Washington, DC grow stronger every day. Please consider that, too. Thank you, again, so very much. Sincerely, John B. PS: Have a pleasant and productive day, week, month and even year! See you all very soon! :-)

STREET SENSE April 10 - April 23, 2013

11 33

NEWS

Fulfillment, Part 2 Gwynette Smith Vendor After arriving in New York, they checked into the Pierre. The men shared a room, and Gayle had her own. After unpacking, they met on the terrace for lunch and a bottle of Crystal. The terrace was a beautiful oasis in the city that was so quiet that the water fountain could be heard. They discussed their itinerary and decided the guys could visit people they knew while Gayle went to the spa. They’d hear some jazz, go shopping, visit Brooklyn Heights, Noho, Soho. They would only walk about a mile or two. Also, they’d take the Circle line around Manhattan and ride the Staten Island Ferry. They hugged and laughed, enjoying the trip in only the way good friends can enjoy each other. Gayle was 62, but felt so young when she was with them.

At the end of seven days, Gayle said, “Before you can go to law school, you will have to go to some college. Let’s go to my alma mater and you can get an idea of college life.” The men agreed it was a good idea. They checked out the next day and headed for Gayle’s college. They took the bus since it was the most convenient way to get there. On arrival, they registered at the Lion’s Inn, the college-owned hotel. It was beautiful and had been recently rebuilt after years of wear. It was plush and had a lifeguard-attended pool. Gayle’s purpose for being there was to give a check to the alumni office to help fund emergency loans for students. Later, they had an early dinner and then toured the campus. They walked around the lower campus and took a shuttle around the upper campus. The upper campus was new to Gayle. Summer school students sparsely dotted the terrain. Plans for the next day consisted of the young men going off on their own

for a while, and Gayle delivering the check. Later, they’d see the nightlife, and pack and leave the following day. They’d take a bus to a nearby city, and then catch a flight to LA. The guys looked forward to seeing a little more about college life. Gayle went to the alumni office as planned, and gavethe check to a grateful officer. She had a great sense of fulfillment, knowing that her act would help some students. She left the office on the lower campus and started to cross the street, near the hotel. Just then she saw a prominent graduate that she had not really liked when they were there. She seemed to frown with her haughty nose in the air was, rush past Gayle, and enter the alumni office. At the Rathskellar that night people seemed to watch them. Because of his age, John could not drink, so they decided to leave and get some dinner. Finally, the time came to check-out and take the bus. They were hardly seated when John started to talk animatedly and nervously. A cop had stopped

BEFORE THE RAIN PT 18: BU-BU BURAS, VOU-DOU HARASSING BURAS Chris Shaw “The Cowboy Poet” How they got to the beat down village of Buras was anyone’s guess. Loomishad blanked awake in time to spy the smacking of dat immense gator’s tail on da water, but Frankie Daro’s son had tossed not one but TWO live chickens ‘out da wey’ to distract the leviathan as they pulled outa Destrehan. Lydsey kept referring to DAT dreary burg as “DestrayHamm,” but believe you me, DAT was just plain dumb on her part. Me Loomis, I am thinkin’ we coulda WALKED on down to here, but maybe not a good idea. As Daro gave his party of three a gentle shoving out of the feathercraft (read “Air-Boat,”once ‘dey, ‘wuz’,”up upon higher ground, read ‘drier and yallerer MUD, y’all,”) Loomis stomped around a bit, getting his”sea legs” back, as he put it. With Lyndsey merely gazed somewhat admiringly at this gawky dude. Then she sighed and spoke. “What makes you think we’ll find some satisfaction in this weird little place, Loomis?” As far as they could spot, up and

down the crepuscular, Spanish mossstrewn main drag of Buras,nothing was stirring, not even a mad dog. “I..er, sort of mis-encalculated that there might be living kin of mine laying around... “Now, I see, dear Lyn, that I may well have been wrong--DEAD wrong about any such connections in dis here community. Know what I’m sayin’?” Lyndsey just nodded, as if she understood this man’s tortuous train of thought. Even she, the insightful and welltested social worker, really wasn’t sure. Then a massive, freckled and goateed face, shaded by a chewed-up straw sun hat, blocked Loomis’ view of his new love. “Doctor Peter Harkelius at your service, monsieur. Come. Come tis way, please.” Harkelius led the two neophytes into a low, unpainted and ancient slat bungalow. Brown leghorn roosters, at least three of ‘em, were pecking at the dirt around the burlap-flap protected doorway. In the distance, Daro and his son’s hydro-craft whirred their adieu and gone!

Loomis rubbed his eyes roughly. “Don’t you peeps believe in HARDWARE around here?” Inside the hut, Loomis couldn’t grasp the strangeness of the scene. A sound system played a continual ominous LAUGH, a sort of “HOOOWHOOHAHAWHOORAHAAHAHAHA,” perhaps like Screamin’ Jay, who knows. LYNDSEY LAUGHED AND SNUGGLED UP TO THE STUFFED ANTHROMORPHIC CROCA-GATOR WITH THE TULLE SKIRT AND SCARLET GLASS BEAD applique. Loomis was not amused, neither by the neat litttle crystal dishes set evenly spaced about the straw-matted floor of the dim main room, containing a dark sticky purplish liquid. What could THAT be mayhap? “Lyndsey, babe. Snap outa yore trance!” Doctor Peter barked sharply for “SEELONCE!” Loomis snapped to attention, ready for a fight. Funny- he couldn’t move, all of a sudden. And where had his girl gone? This was getting creepier and creepier. Things started to darken and darken, and darker still— (To be continued)

them, grilled them, asked for ID, asked if they were foreigners, and if so, if they were legal. They wanted to know about Gayle, too. Paul explained that a professor had been arrested and was awaiting trial on pedophile charges that had the whole community in shock. It had put a blight on the name of the school, and already a professor and the college president had been forced to retire. Rumors were everywhere. It appeared the the discrepancy in Gayle and the young men’s ages had caused the police to be notified in fear that the problem there was an epidemic. John’s ID confirmed that he was grown. The plane descended and eventually the three stepped out to get their taxies. The men took one headed toward the eastern part of the city, and Gayle’s was going to the Baldwin Hills area. Inside the cab, the bright sun made Gayle feel hot and sweaty. It was a typical LA summer, and she thought, the smog had never looked better.

Left Behind John “Mick” Matthews Vendor A six-year-old boy Left behind by his father Outcast by half his blood For being his mother’s son. As he grew older His mother found new pursuits Ensconced in her basement apartment And he could only sit and watch. And older still he grew Emotionally torn by his mother’s mother Who forced him on the path, against his will From which life threw her off of. So when he grew to manhood And thought that he found his love most true When his seed in her belly planted She bolted with his son unborn. And now this boy turned man Abandoned by all who should be there Stands ‘lone ‘mongst the shards of a shattered life Terrified to find someone, yet miserable alone.

Earth Day

Earth Day By Evelyn Nnam Vendor Earth: the planet that we live on and the only planet in the solar system known to harbor any life form. Earth Day is the largest, most widely celebrated international environmental event. Earth Day helps celebrate Earth’s unique place in the universe. It is the only planet in our solar system teeming with incredible biodiversity. Learning about and protecting this biodiversity is what Earth Day is all about. People all over the world celebrate our efforts to protect plants and animals, and clean up the world we live in. Most people celebrate Earth Day on April 22 each year. In some countries, it is celebrated a month earlier on the vernal equinox. Earth Day reminds us we all share the same planet. Sharing Earth means taking responsibility for what we use and how we use it. It is a day to think of the environmen-

tal challenges we face and how to solve them. Protecting Earth is every person’s and every country’s responsibility. Many people traditionally celebrate Earth Day with the ringing of bells, often bells of peace. There are many different things each of us can do to help protect species, keep Earth clean and fix damage that has been done. For example using fewer natural resources will help make sure there are enough resources to go around. It will also help make sure that future generations won’t run out of the things we all need, like clean water, air and soil. When we don’t use resources in a responsible way, we may create pollution that can damage water, soil, air and other parts of the environment. For instance, certain types of air pollution have already created a hole in the planet’s ozone layer. The ozone layer is part of the atmosphere. It is made up of a special gas called ozone. The ozone layer helps keep us safe from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

Most scientists believe that as more air pollution is made, the ozone layer will become thinner and more holes will develop. This will allow even more ultraviolet rays to reach Earth. A thinner ozone layer may result in harm to people, animals and plants. Along with pollution, things such as habitat destruction and poaching are causing some species to become endangered. Finding ways to protect and save endangered species is a primary goal of conservation groups. Earth Day celebrations are a great opportunity for these groups to teach us all about the planet and how every person can make a difference. Earth Day shouldn’t just be a day where people can finally decide to clean up their environment on the 22nd of April, Earth day should be every day. We recycle and we clean up the planet Earth. We all thank God for what he has done, creating an Earth that gives us the ability to have life. Vendor Chris Shaw documented the DisThank you. trict’s blooming trees this spring. PHOTOS BY CHRIS SHAW

Whiskas By Sybil Taylor Vendor My little kitty who is now a full grown cat I raised her up as a kitten last year around April 2012 She had kittens herself March 5th on Tuesday. Around 6 a.m. She gave birth to three kittens She was so happy about, she showed me her babies. I said, how nice. She had had a hard delivery when she gave birth to her kittens.

Due to sadness on Wednesday morning she lost all three babies, she was very upset and emotionally crying. She showed me her baby by carrying her by the mouth she or he was dead. I cried and cried. She went in circles around her babies. I calmed her down her down it will be OK. The cause of death was unknown. Maybe they were born sick, my heart goes out to Whiskas, one day she’ll have more kittens and won't lose them. She strong now and a little happy. Thanks for my cheering her up.

Sybil and her two cats, both named Whiskas mourn the loss of Whiskas’ recent kittens. PHOTOS BY SYBIL TAYLOR

By Franklin Sterling Vendor

Woe is Me Bad wine upon us porez. Whoo ever knows thiss tale? I have come to know quite welle this find. Moods hold nawght a nail. Desire es just a tunme meant well, me elle early flyht its spell.

Whoo passes thrughe this way, bide, for now, mye gaestic tree. Look ‘pon mee and see, fellows, gif one lik me waes near hye. A rood and naills one, two, thre, bind me well end hoong me. Fro speru in wiþ all myn side to my heort, I am thez woynds. John Grimestone The Commonplace Book 1372

Mayth

Meridian H

Quyet the heart, yhon embarass anny whyell contemplate tho redy act up on yt. Ye prime roos wreast from stem.

A fountain thet it is of plashes even to dissolve. Touery limbs wyynd o nend hemm doeth sink ond it be bend. The live sweg at an ydel baloonee to disagree.

Service Spotlight: Samaritan Ministry’s Burial Assitance By Lanie Rivera, Editorial Intern Samaritan Ministry offers housing and employment search guidance, job assistance and referrals to other service providers, but the most unusual service they offer is probably the Burial Assistance program. The Burial Assistance program has a very specific, targeted client profile for the deceased, who must meet the following requirements: a low-income individual who had less than $800 in liquid assets, resided in the District and tested positive for HIV/AIDS. If the deceased meets these qualifications, Samaritan Ministry will work directly with the family’s chosen funeral home to provide the proper funding. Following the funeral, the ministry will refund a portion of the cost directly to the funeral home. The service began in 2000 and was funded by a Ryan White grant, named after a young man who

Calvary Women’s Services 678-2341 (shelter) 1217 Good Hope Road, SE calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission 745-7118 1350 R Street, NW missiondc.org Open Door Shelter 639-8093 425 2nd St, NW newhopeministriesdc.org/id3.html Community of Hope 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington 610-9600 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE covenanthousedc.org John Young Center 639-8569 119 D Street, NW My Sister’s Place 529-5991 (24-hour hotline) mysistersplacedc.org N Street Village 939-2060 1333 N Street, NW nstreetvillage.org Samaritan Inns 667-8831 2523 14th St, NW samaritaninns.org

passed away due to HIV/AIDS transmitted through contaminated blood treatment. Now funded by the D.C. Department of Health, the coordinators of the burial assistance program wish to continue their work with those in need. Last year, 49 families were assisted in funeral homes throughout the District. And as of early March 2013, Samaritan Ministry aided 15 families this year. Adrian Vaughn, lead caseworker and burial assistance coordinator, said the staff at Samaritan Ministry strives to help clients beyond mere funding assistance. “We are the arms, so to speak,” she said. “I’ve seen people cry and consoled them … I meet many people who haven’t been hit by the grieving process yet.” Samaritan Ministry has offices in Northwest DC (202.722.2280), Southeast DC (202.889.7702) and Northern Virginia (703.271.0938).

New York Ave Shelter 832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave, NE Catholic Charities 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp Charlie’s Place 232-3066 1830 Connecticut Ave, NW charliesplacedc.org Church of the Pilgrims 387-6612 2201 P St, NW churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach food (1 - 1:30 on Sundays only) Thrive DC 737-9311 1525 Newton St, NW thrivedc.org Food and Friends 269-2277 219 Riggs Rd, NE foodandfriends.org (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc) Miriam’s Kitchen 452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave, NW miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table 347-2635 1317 G St, NW epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable Unity Health Care 745-4300 3020 14th St, NW unityhealthcare.org

STREET SENSE April 10 - 23, 2013

COMMUNITY SERVICES Housing/Shelter

Clothing

Outreach

Transportation

Education

Legal Assistance

Food

Showers

Medical/Healthcare

Laundry

Employment Assistance

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS HOTLINE 1-888-7WE HELP (1-888-793-4357)

SHELTER HOTLINE: 1–800–535–7252

Christ House 328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd, NW christhouse.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork 675-9340 741 8th St, SE sashabruce.org

Whitman-Walker whitman-walker.org 1701 14th St, NW | 745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave, SE | 797-3567

So Others Might Eat (SOME) 797-8806 71 O St, NW some.org

Bread for the City 265-2400 (NW) 561-8587 (SE) 1525 Seventh St, NW | 1640 Good Hope Rd, SE breadforthecity.org

Academy of Hope 269-6623 601 Edgewood St, NE aohdc.org

Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave, NW cchfp.org Father McKenna Center 842-1112 19 Eye St, NW fathermckennacenter.org Georgetown Ministry Center 338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW georgetownministrycenter.org Martha’s Table 328-6608 2114 14th St, NW marthastable.org Rachel’s Women’s Center 682-1005 1222 11th St, NW rachaels.org

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 347-8870 1234 Massachusetts Ave, NW dccfh.org Community Family Life Services 347-0511 305 E St, NW cflsdc.org Foundry Methodist Church 332-4010 1500 16th St, NW foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities ID (FRIDAY 9-12 ONLY) Gospel Rescue Ministries 8421731 810 5th St, NW grm.org Jobs Have Priority 544-9128 425 Snd St, NW jobshavepriority.org

LAST WORD: IF GOD WAS HOMELESS WOULD YOU

VENDOR PROFILE: JAMES DAVIS

HELP HIM?

Lanie Rivera Vendor

By Veda Simpson, Vendor

As an electronics mechanic for the WMATA silver line, vendor James Davis knows what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to travel to a destination with a few stops along the way as he has transitioned out of homelessness. And that is a metaphorical path for the direction his life has taken. Davis became homeless in 2003, but it was only one stop on his journey. As a self-proclaimed workaholic, Davis knows that he has to slow down sometimes, but that he canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ever stop moving altogether. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The reason I became homeless was because â&#x20AC;Ś I was a workaholic, I did a lot of traveling for my job,â&#x20AC;? he said. By 2001, his hard work had already earned him two degrees in electronic technology and computer sciences from the DeVry Institute in Atlanta, GA. He was working at the Allied Signal Corporation and Tracor Inc. as an engineering technician until September 11 of that year. His career overwhelmed his time and he eventually found his home life falling apart despite his professional success. Davis suffered a nervous breakdown and became depressed because his parents both passed away within a six-month period, which led to even more stress from work. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I never really gave myself time to grieve for my parents because I threw myself even more into my work,â&#x20AC;? he said. He said his marriage suffered from his emotional state, and he and his wife went through a divorce. Soon af-

ter, he lost his security clearance at his government job, was laid off from work, which spurred his â&#x20AC;&#x153;downward spiral into homelessness.â&#x20AC;? Although some may see homelessness as near impossible to overcome, Davis immediately began to work toward a better future. While he was at the Central Union Mission menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emergency shelter in 2003, he heard about Street Sense and he became a vendor. On the same day, he joined the National Coalition for the Homeless. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of his membership with both programs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to thank all those people who supported me and who stuck by the paper and supported it,â&#x20AC;? he said. Because of his strong work ethic, Davis found himself seeking deeper involvement with both organizations. He is now wears many hats with Street Sense and has traveled all over the nation speaking on behalf of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Davis is a member of the vendor advisory team, where he often mentors and trains other vendors and individuals experiencing homelessness. He said he feels his work has helped others as well as himself. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to look at it as what have I done for people coming to Street Sense because I like to use it as a vehicle to motivate myself,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was suffering from depression and so it helped me not worry so much about my depression â&#x20AC;Ś itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a therapeutic tool for me but it was more about me helping others in similar situations to get out of their homeless situation.â&#x20AC;?

When things are going bad and this light is getting dim Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standing on the corner with no idea where to go, Feeling at his worst, feeling very low In the cold rain, needing a coat or hat It would be very nice to give him an invitation to your welcome mat A little food would be helpful, a kind word or a pleasant smile I know he hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had that I know, its been awhile Being though that God has wealth and bless you day by day Do you ever think to look up at not down on an image of his self to say â&#x20AC;&#x153;may I help you in a very special way.â&#x20AC;? So now I ask you if God was homeless would you help him, It just might be YOU one day hanging out on that same limb.

Perpetuum Mobile By Viktor Blokhine, Vendor Nobody remembers who first talked about the idea of perpetuum mobile (Latinum). The English translation is perpetual motion. For a long time people were sure that this was impossible, but today very many people work on this idea. I sent my thoughts to people in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Finland. The best answer came from Norway. I am sure that this idea will have a very good future.

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Thursday Âˇ June 6 Âˇ 2013 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

April 10 - 23, 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ Volume 10 â&#x20AC;˘ Issue 11

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Judging at 7:00 PM - Awards at 8:00 PM at

The Historic Oxon Hill Manor

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

6901 Oxon Hill Road Oxon Hill, MD

Permit #568

Things you will experience at Grill, Grapes & Jazz

Remember, buy only from badged vendors and do not give to those panhandling with one paper. Donations:

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 3 for more information.

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Tickets may be purchased online at

www.thehrsource.com/events Tickets will not be sold at the event Tickets will not be sold after May 31st

For more information call 301-459-3133