09 15 2021

Vol. 18 Issue 33

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Sept. 15 - 21, 2021

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Real Stories Real People Real Change

DC will shut down long-term NoMa encampments as part of a pilot program streetsensemedia.org

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The Cover Spray paint on the sidewalk near an encampment on L Street NE in NoMA reads “Please No Tents!”

PHOTO BY

SPENCER DONOVAN spencer.donovan@ streetsensemedia.org

The Street Sense Media 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 case-management 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.

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Willie Schatz

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EVENTS

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF Families in Rapid Rehousing still unsure of their future

PHOTO BY GORDON CHAFFIN

Supportive Housing Working Group 1:00 p.m.

Virtual Meeting

D.C.’s Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development organizes a working group about supporting housing. The goal: strengthen the capacity of members to develop and operate supportive housing and improving District processes. This working group meeting is now virtual. For alerts and meeting registration, please join the working group mailing list. https://tinyurl.com/CNHED-email-form UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings Housing Solutions Committee Sept 20, 3:00 p.m. // Webex Emergency Response and Shelter Operations Committee Sept 22, 1:00 p.m. // Webex Youth Committee Sept 23, 10:00 a.m // Webex ***For call-in information, as well as meeting info for unlisted working groups, contact: ich.dmhhs@dc.gov

Submit your event for publication by emailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Sabel Harris @sabelharris

This is a cruel joke. I’m not sure who decided to add glue into the outlet outside of the Reeves Center (2000 14th St NW), but this is just absolutely ridiculous. This glue needs to be removed @311DCgov @DCDGS

Some families who were notified last month that their rapid rehousing subsidies will be terminated

by Oct. 31 still have not received a correction letter from the Department of Human Services (DHS).

According to DHS, approximately 20 families were sent notices dated Aug. 17 informing them of their impending termination from the program. The notices contradicted an earlier Aug. 12 assertion

by DHS Director Laura Zeilinger stating that all families staying in rapid rehousing — including the more than 1,000 that stayed beyond their initial end date due to the pandemic and associated eviction moratorium — will receive a six-month notice prior to having their housing subsidy cut off.

According to a spokesperson for the department, new notices were sent out at the beginning of September to all who received the incorrect termination date. However, only one of the families in contact with Street Sense Media has received an updated letter so far.

Another, Megan Smith, received a Sept. 14 email notice from her landlord informing her that they have been notified her subsidy will in fact end on Oct. 31. Her landlord said they are tracking her STAY D.C. application to cover rent through the end of the year. Smith, a single mother, said her case manager told her there are no extensions for families in rapid re-housing, but said she would help Smith try and obtain another long-term voucher.

During a Sept. 2 briefing on the ongoing health crisis that DHS held for its community partners, an attendee asked Zeilinger for more information confirming the six-month extension for subsidy recipients whose time was already up. Instead, a DHS staff member said the department was working on a plan to “hopefully” give rapid rehousing participants “about 6 months” of time to figure out what to do next. When asked if this answer meant families should still expect to receive a six-month extension, a DHS spokesperson said in a Sept. 3 email that it did.

DHS will be holding a private Customer Advisory Group meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 15, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. to discuss plans for a town hall event to advise families in rapid rehousing about the future of the program.

—Will Schick, will@streetsensemedia.org

Follow more headlines at StreetSenseMedia.org/news

8:04 PM · SEPT 10, 2021

DC Dept of General Services @DCDGS

@sabelharris @311DCgov DGS Electricians responded and replaced the vandalized outlet with a tamper proof cover.

7:59 PM · SEPT 11, 2021

CORRECTIONS City program employs homeless people to help promote vaccinations in shelters and on the streets” from the Aug. 11 edition of Street Sense has been updated online with the correct spelling of Dana Relue’s last name.

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NEWS

Meet the first Democrat seeking to unseat Bowser next year

BY WILL SCHICK

IMAGES COURTESY OF JAMES BUTLER

will@streetsensemedia.org

A

t 26, James Butler found himself over his head.

The Ohio transplant was running a law firm specializing in criminal and civil litigation with 25 staff members. It had long been a dream of his to work in civil rights and help people. But, despite his youthful ambition, he fell short in fulfilling the sudden surge of responsibilities, he says now.

Within a few years, Butler would no longer run the firm. And he would be forced to give up his license to practice law.

A disciplinary hearing committee report from the D.C. Bar details what happened in 2009. The findings, which Butler did not dispute, were severe. He led a team of lawyers and staff that regularly failed to represent the interests of their clients, many of whom were incarcerated. The hearing committee report describes the details of complaints that spanned from fraud and malpractice to a persistent lack of follow-through for clients: “In a typical case, Respondent would take many of the following actions: obtain a retainer from a client and then fail to speak with them about their case when they called; hand the matter over to an associate and provide the associate with little or no guidance on how to run the case; file improper documents on behalf of clients; fail to file documents on behalf of clients … .”

Butler — the first and only Democrat to register as a mayoral candidate in the June 2022 primary — would eventually consent to disbarment and give up his license. In a recent interview with Street Sense Media and The DC Line, he described his young self as “cavalier.” He said that led to oversights in his role as a partner supervising other lawyers at his firm, which in turn caused him to inadvertently harm a number of clients. In 2017, the D.C. Bar rejected Butler’s request to reinstate his license, saying that he “failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is entitled to reinstatement.”

The experience prompted Butler to reflect on how he would approach the work he has been doing in civil rights advocacy and to alter the way he approaches problems. It also shaped his approach to complex political issues and formulating his platform as he prepares to run his second citywide campaign.

“I think it has made me a stronger person, a more introspective person, a person with greater foresight,” he said.

The lessons came with a hefty burden that Butler said he still carries 20 years later.

“I’m very deeply sorry about my clients that were hurt in the process. Even after all of these years, I'm very sad about those claims that were heard,” he explained.

After forfeiting his legal license, Butler said he continued to help community members navigate administrative hearings held by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the D.C. Commission on Human Rights. Butler said he has been able to appear before both boards over the years, even without an active law license.

A practicing D.C. attorney who spoke on background for this article confirmed that a person could work in administrative litigation without a license but said the ethics and legality of doing so would likely depend on how they portrayed themselves to clients — as a practicing lawyer, or just as someone knowledgeable about administrative practices. They also said it would depend on the nature of the work involved in front of such boards. A spokesperson for the D.C. Bar also confirmed that a person could generally work in this capacity without a license unless specifically prohibited by the court’s disbarment order.

Several years after Butler lost his law practice, he moved from Columbia Heights into the Trinidad neighborhood. Once there, he soon found himself knocking on doors and running for advisory neighborhood commissioner. He eventually won the seat, ANC5D. And in 2018, Butler entered another political race — this time as one of two challengers in the Democratic mayoral primary running against incumbent Muriel Bowser.

A long shot candidate, Butler finished second with 7,905 votes, or just over 10% — trailing Bowser by about 54,000 votes. His campaign raised approximately $20,000, according to financial disclosures, two digits short of the over $2 million raised by the winning campaign. Bowser — who has hinted that she will seek a third term in 2022 but has not formally announced her candidacy — went on to win the 2018 general election with 76% of the vote, just shy of her 80% finish in the primary.

In this year’s race, Butler is not using public financing under the Fair Elections Act, which became law in May 2018 and was first implemented in the 2020 elections. The law prohibits him from participating in the program since he formed an exploratory committee. The Office of Campaign Finance said in a statement to Street Sense Media and The DC Line that the “act does not provide a period for testing the waters of a possible candidacy, which is the stated purpose for establishing an exploratory committee. Therefore, one cannot have an exploratory committee and then become a candidate in the Fair Elections Program.” Butler estimates he has already raised as much as he did last time — between $15,000 and $20,000.

In Butler’s view, the District has to make some drastic changes to stymie what he says is a disturbing trend of displacement that disproportionately impacts Black people and other people of color. A 2019 study conducted by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that D.C. had the highest rate of gentrification and cultural displacement among comparable cities across the country from 2000 to 2013. In a 2020 follow-up, which examined the years between 2013 and 2017, D.C. ranked 13th overall among all cities in the country.

If elected, Butler said he would implement two major changes to reverse housing inequality, a phenomenon he believes is the direct result of current policies.

First, he would overhaul the way the District implements rent control. Rent control only applies to buildings constructed before 1976, something Butler believes needs to change to include newer housing. “We know that most of the desirable buildings that people want to actually live in were built after 1979,” he said.

Second, Butler would seek to adjust the way the city calculates median family income (MFI), a metric that is used to assess housing affordability. Currently, the District uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formula, which is a regionwide metric. Thus, the income levels of four of the most affluent counties in the U.S. factor into the calculation of MFI (also known as AMI, or area median income).

“What that does is artificially inflates what becomes affordable in D.C.,” Butler said, pointing out that there’s a wide disparity even within the District, particularly between neighborhoods on either side of the Anacostia River.

Butler proposes adopting a local formula for calculating MFI so that developers who promise to provide affordable housing will have to ensure units are really affordable for low-income District residents.

“Nothing in the law prohibits us right now, literally right

now, from creating a localized formula, abandoning HUD’s formula,” Butler said.

New developments have often marketed “affordable housing” at properties targeted for people with wide-ranging incomes from 30% to 80% of MFI, or $27,100 to $72,250 for an individual in 2021. This has been the subject of heated discussion within the Zoning Commission and at the D.C. Council, where legislators and housing advocates alike have criticized it as being too wide a range. By adopting a localized version of this formula, Butler said he believes the city can hold developers more accountable for providing housing that is realistically affordable.

In addition to tackling the soaring cost of housing in the city, Butler also aims to change how the District handles crime.

Since the onset of the pandemic, homicides have been on the rise in the city. As of Sept. 14, 20 more violent crimes had been committed in the District this year than at the same point last year, with a 12% rise in homicides, according to MPD data.

Butler advocates a two-pronged approach to eradicating crime. The strategy involves first reintroducing strict antiloitering laws that would prevent large groups from gathering in one place at a time without a particular reason. Courts struck down many such laws decades ago as overly broad and unconstitutional.

While he acknowledges that anti-loitering laws have in the past had an outsize impact on Black men who were wrongfully arrested for loitering, he says getting rid of these laws has hampered anti-crime efforts.

“The logic was, we'll get rid of the no loitering law — period — and then you won't have anyone’s civil rights being violated,” Butler said.

He contends that if the city were to reimplement its past anti-loitering laws, it would immediately reduce crime. But he added that enforcement of any future anti-loitering laws would require vigorous oversight to ensure the law is applied equally, though critics say it would be impossible to avoid discriminatory practices while authorizing police officers to use discretion.

The second part of Butler’s strategy involves close partnerships between the police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to aggressively remove illegal guns from District streets. As part of this proposal, Butler advocates creating an additional interdiction unit of about 20 to 40 officers with some independent oversight that would work specifically to intercept guns. The team would work in tandem with the District’s gun recovery unit based within the Metropolitan Police Department and closely partner with the ATF. Looking at the campaign ahead, Butler acknowledges that the race for mayor in 2022 will be a challenge — one that he believes he can win. While it’s widely expected that Bowser will seek reelection, it’s less clear whether any well-known D.C. politicians would seek to unseat her if she does. But Butler is running either way.

“I lost a tough race in 2018. But I didn't go away. I lost my law practice. But I didn't go away. I got staying power,” he said. “I'm committed to this thing.”

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 5

AT A GLANCE

DC Council chair and mayor point fingers as nearly 300 households face eviction during the pandemic

BY ALLY SCHWEITZER DCist

This article was first published ons Sept. 9 by DCist.

As D.C.’s eviction moratorium begins to unwind, a battle is brewing between D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration over who will take the blame when residents begin to lose their homes.

Mendelson sent a letter to Bowser Wednesday evening, blasting her administration for failing to prevent more than 70 evictions scheduled to take place next week. The chairman accused the mayor’s $352 million federally funded STAY D.C. rental assistance program of being “not nimble enough to issue payments before these evictions occur,” despite recently updated federal guidelines that grant governments more flexibility to make payments faster.

Mendelson backed legislation to wind down the city’s eviction moratorium beginning in August, under the assumption that STAY D.C. funds would prevent most evictions related to nonpayment during the pandemic. The Chairman also made an earlier attempt to pull back the moratorium, but he was voted down by his colleagues. Evictions are now beginning to be scheduled for households whose cases began before the health crisis shuttered D.C. Superior Court between March and July of last year.

Two hundred and ninety evictions were scheduled to take place between Sept. 13 and the end of October, according to D.C.’s Office of the Tenant Advocate.

In his letter, the chairman went on to allege that D.C.’s Department of Human Services, which is overseeing the rent assistance program, is “unable or unwilling” to meet with him to discuss solutions to the problem. (When asked to comment, a spokesperson for DHS referred DCist/WAMU to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, which co-oversees STAY D.C. along with DHS and two other city agencies.)

D.C.’s Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, John Falcicchio, responded in a letter that says, in essence, that the chairman is confused. Because evictions scheduled to resume next week are holdovers from before the pandemic, Falcicchio wrote, STAY D.C. funds alone wouldn’t prevent them anyway. The federally funded rent relief can only pay back rent accrued after April 2020.

Chairman Mendelson did not immediately respond to a voicemail and text message seeking comment.

The deputy mayor added that the city is still able to intervene in other ways, including by supplying Emergency Rental Assistance (ERAP) funds as quickly as possible. Tenants have the right to pay their full balance up until the day of a scheduled eviction, in order to avoid losing their homes.

“While the STAY D.C. program is a critical component to the District’s ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not, nor is it intended to be, the one and only eviction prevention resource,” Falcicchio wrote.

The DMPED chief added that Housing Counseling Services — a nonprofit that receives city funding to assist at-risk tenants — will immediately begin working with DHS to provide quickturnaround relief funds to households with pending evictions that have been in contact with the organization, allowing HCS to “squash the eviction.” (The letter does not mention that only

a judge can do that.)

Beth Mellen with D.C. Legal Aid says DMPED’s response to Mendelson’s letter is misleading. Chiefly, it assumes incorrectly that families with old eviction cases aren’t eligible for STAY D.C. funds. In fact, some are, the housing attorney says.

“Tenants may owe a combination of balances from before the pandemic, and during the pandemic,” the attorney says.

Mellen says some tenants facing eviction have already received ERAP funding to cover their old balances. The missing piece of the puzzle is money from STAY D.C..

“The challenge I think Mendelson was trying to highlight in his letter is that when you apply to STAY D.C., it takes anywhere from 45 days to longer to get a response back,” Mellen says. That means tenants may be accruing even more rent debt while waiting for STAY D.C. funds to come through — and that debt gets wrapped into their old case. She says STAY D.C. is not equipped to deal with those kinds of add-on debts in a timely manner. (According to DMPED, waiting times for STAY D.C. funds have decreased to an average of 26 days.)

Falcicchio tells DCist/WAMU that individuals with a combination of late balances should immediately apply for STAY D.C. funds, if they have not already, and avail themselves of other assistance available to tenants with old cases. But he acknowledged that tenants applying so close to the date of their eviction “are in a tough predicament,” and should contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate for guidance.

Renters who were sued for eviction before the pandemic don’t have the same rights under the law as those facing eviction for debts they racked up during the crisis, Mellen says. A pending application to STAY D.C. is enough to put off an eviction for tenants whose cases stem from pandemic debt, but not those whose debt accrued both before and during the pandemic.

“They need to pay their full balance to avoid eviction,” Mellen says.

An estimated 32,000 adults in D.C. are not current on rent or mortgage payments, according to the Census’ most recent Household Pulse Survey.

After Chairman Mendelson posted his letter to Bowser on Twitter, critics seized upon it, accusing Mendelson of blaming the Bowser administration for evictions that he has a role in enabling, given his support for ending the moratorium. But Mellen says the Bowser administration isn’t blameless. The city could still do more to prevent a flood of evictions, she says, including using some federal dollars to cover tenants’ costs that add up while they’re awaiting rent relief from STAY D.C.. The city could route that money to providers who are able to process it more quickly, she says.

The Bowser administration has touted its STAY D.C. program as one of the country’s most efficient rent relief programs created during the pandemic. But landlords raised ongoing issues with the program in a recent public roundtable, saying money is still taking too long to get out the door.

“We need to figure out a way to make STAY D.C. more nimble so that it matches up to the legal process,” Mellen says.

“Because the alternative is we will distribute millions of dollars in rental assistance, and families will still face eviction.”

Antoinette Calloway

BIRTHDAYS Antoinette Calloway Sept. 15 ARTIST/VENDOR

Antoinette Calloway Sept. 21 ARTIST/VENDOR

VENDOR PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS • Anthony Crawford’s memorial service will be held in the Church of the Epiphany on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m.

• The next Vendor Meeting will be Friday, Sept. 24, at 2 p.m.

• Out of caution and concern for the health and wellbeing of our community, Street Sense Media will no longer be hosting an in-person Celebration event on Oct. 14. We are considering other options to showcase the artistic work of our vendor/artists and celebrate the work we are doing for a future where no one is without a home.

• Moving forward, there will be a 2-day delay on all Vendor App payouts.

• Vendors can bring in a complete CDC vaccination card for 15 papers.

‫‪6 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 1 5 - 2 1 , 2021‬‬

‫‪NEWS‬‬

‫ایاالت متحده پناهجویان را در منطقه واشنگتن دی‬ ‫سی مستقر نمیکند زیرا باش گران است‪.‬‬ ‫‪ ، )Times‬حداقل ‪ ۲۰۰۸‬متقاضی ویزای خاص (‪ )SIV‬در ماه گذشته وارد‬ ‫ایاالت متحده شده اند‪ .‬با این حال ‪ ،‬تا جنوری ‪ ، ۲۰۲۱‬تعداد بیش از ‪۱۷۰۰۰‬‬ ‫متقاضی وجود داشت‪.‬‬ ‫اگرچه روند ورود آنها به ایاالت متحده متفاوت به نظر می رسد ‪ ،‬اما‬ ‫دارندگان ویزای خاص (‪ )SIV‬به انواع کمک هایی که به همه پناهندگان‬ ‫داده می شود دسترسی دارند‪ .‬با توجه به مصارف باالی اسکان مجدد در‬ ‫منطقه جدید ‪ ،‬میزان حمایت زیاد نیست‪ .‬وزارت امور خارجه پرداخت های‬ ‫یکبار ‪ ۱۲۰۰‬دالر برای هر نفر را ارائه میدهد ‪ ،‬که بسیاری از سازمان‬ ‫های غیرانتفاعی محلی برای پرداخت اجاره بها در منطقه واشنگتن کافی‬ ‫نیستند‪ .‬پرداخت بدون توجه به محل اقامت خانواده پناهنده یکسان است‪ .‬دفتر‬ ‫اسکان مجدد پناهندگان در وزارت صحت و خدمات انسانی ایاالت متحده با‬ ‫‪ ۹‬آژانس در سراسر کشور برای کمک به توزیع وجوه قرارداد می بندد‪ .‬این‬ ‫آژانس های غیرانتفاعی همچنین به اسباب و اثاثیه منزل برای پناهندگان و‬ ‫پشتیبانی مدیریت پرونده کمک می کند‪ .‬در حالی که دیپارتمنت خدمات انسانی‬ ‫به خودی خود در اسکان مجدد مشارکت ندارد ‪ ،‬به پناهندگان برای ساکن آن‬ ‫کمک می کند و به آنها در ارتباط با مزایای اجتماعی از جمله دسترسی به‬ ‫مراقبت های صحی و برنامه پرداخت نقدی محلی کمک های موقت برای‬ ‫خانواده های نیازمند کمک می کند‪ .‬برنامه کمک های موقت برای خانواده‬ ‫های نیازمند ؛ یک فرد می تواند تا ‪ ۴۱۴‬دالر در ماه به صورت پرداخت‬ ‫ثابت به مدت هشت ماه دریافت کند‪.‬‬ ‫آژانس های اسکان مجدد در منطقه واشنگتن مانند موسسات خیریه‬ ‫کاتولیک ‪ ،‬کمیته نجات بین المللی و شورای توسعه جامعه اتیوپی نیز در‬ ‫انجام وظایفی مانند درخواست کارت های تامین اجتماعی ‪ ،‬ثبت نام فرزندان‬ ‫خود در مدرسه و افتتاح حساب های بانکی به خانواده ها کمک می کنند‪.‬‬ ‫پرداخت یکباره نقدی و خدمات پشتیبانی اولیه به این معنی است که پناهندگان‬ ‫را در سه ماه اول اقامت خود در کشور حمایه می کنند‪ .‬با این حال ‪ ،‬از نظر‬ ‫لیا ‪ ،‬این جدول زمانی غیر واقعی است‪ .‬لیا می گوید‪“ :‬ایده خودکفایی دائما در‬ ‫آژانس های اسکان مجدد مورد بحث قرار می گیرد‪“ ”.‬اما آیا واقعا ً پس از سه‬ ‫ماه اقامت در یک کشور خودکفا هستید؟ خیر‪.‬‬

‫یی هدش دلوت نا رد هک روشک نطو کرت درد‬ ‫حکمت الله لطیفی در ماه فبروری ‪ ۲۰۱۶‬همراه با همسر ‪ ،‬دو پسر و دو‬ ‫دختر خود پس از سالها کار کردن در اداره توسعه بین المللی ایاالت متحده‬ ‫و سفارت آمریکا در کابل ‪ ،‬افغانستان را ترک کرد‪ .‬آنها ابتدا در الیسیندیرا‬ ‫ساکن شدند و سپس به آرلینگتون رفتند‬ ‫لطیفی هرگز نخواسته بود کشور خود را ترک کند اما احساس می کرد با‬ ‫توجه به تهدیدهای خانواده اش دیگر نمی تواند بماند‪ .‬این خطر ناشی از شغل‬ ‫لطیفی در حمایت از ایاالت متحده برای پروژه های توسعه بود ‪ ،‬که شامل‬ ‫سفرهای مکرر به مناطق اغلب دور افتاده افغانستان برای مالقات با رهبران‬ ‫جامعه و بزرگان روستا بود‬ ‫حتی با توجه به اینکه لطیفی می دانست کار خطرناک است او معتقد بود‬ ‫که کار درستی است‬ ‫“من گفتم خوب این کشور من است [و] افرادی از ‪ ۱۲۰۰۰‬مایل دورتر‬ ‫آمدند ‪...‬و اینجا آنها می خواهند به مردم من کمک کنند‪ .‬من باید بخشی از این‬

‫متمرکز بمانند‪.‬‬ ‫بیرون شدن از افغانستان تنها اولین چالشی است که پناهجویانی که موفق‬ ‫به ورود به ایاالت متحده میشوند باید آن فائق آیند‪ .‬موانع دیگری میتواند شامل‬ ‫یادگیری لسان جدید‪ ،‬سازگاری با فرهنگ جدید‪ ،‬یافتن شغل مناسب و تأمین‬ ‫خانه باشد‪ .‬در منطقه ایالت واشنگتن‪ ،‬مسکن متواند سخترین این موانع باشد‬ ‫زیرا هزینه اجاره آن بسیار زیاد است‪. .‬‬

‫هچ هب اما ‪:‬ترجاهم و یگدنهانپ صاخ یازیو‬ ‫‪.‬دشاب یم لکش‬ ‫به دلیل هزینه باالی مسکن‪ ،‬وزارت خارجه به طور کلی پناهندگان را در‬ ‫منطقه کلمبیا اسکان نمی دهد‪ .‬مصارف متوسط​​یک آپارتمان دو خوابه مطابق‬ ‫لیست نرخ ا‌ٰپارتمان به مقدار ‪ ۳۴۲۷‬دالر می باشد‪ .‬در حالی که در واشنگتن‬ ‫مسکن گروه قابل توجهی از افغان های آمریکایی است ‪ ،‬وزارت امور خارجه‬ ‫اخیرا ً اعالم کرد که بر اسکان مجدد پناهجویان از افغانستان در مناطق‬ ‫دیگر در سراسر کشور ‪ ،‬از جمله‬ ‫بالتیمور ‪ ،‬فیالدلفیا و آتالنتا تمرکز خواهد کرد‪.‬‬ ‫هنگام انتخاب منطقه اسکان مجدد ‪ ،‬مقامات عواملی مانند مصارف مسکن‬ ‫‪ ،‬چشم انداز اشتغال و در دسترس بودن منابع فرهنگی و اجتماعی برای تازه‬ ‫واردان را در نظر می گیرند‪ .‬وزارت امور خارجه همچنین ارتباط افراد با‬ ‫منطقه ای را هنگام قرار دادن آنها در یک منطقه خاص در نظر می گیرد‪.‬‬ ‫سایر عوامل در این زمینه شامل سیاست های دولت است‪.‬‬ ‫به عنوان مثال ‪ ،‬در ویرجینیا ‪ ،‬پناهندگان باید دارای ارتباط خانوادگی‬ ‫شخصی با فردی باشند که قبالً در این ایالت زندگی می کرده است‪.‬‬ ‫دانا لیا ‪ ،‬یکی از اعضای هیئت مدیره پناهندگان غیرانتفاعی‪ :‬او گفت که‬ ‫مریلند محدودیت مشابهی ندارد در عوض پذیرش پناهندگان بدون در نظر‬ ‫گرفتن ارتباط آنها با دولت میباشد ‪ .‬حتی با وجود این تفاوت در سیاست ‪،‬‬ ‫بسیاری از پناهندگان از افغانستان در ویرجینیا اسکان یافته اند‪ .‬اخیرا ً سه‬ ‫پایگاه نظامی در این ایالت پذیرای هزاران افغان و خانواده های آنها بوده‬ ‫است‪.‬‬ ‫بسیاری از پناهندگانی که به ایاالت متحده می آیند دارای ویزای مهاجرتی‬ ‫خاص هستند که از طریق برنامه ای که در سال ‪ ۲۰۰۶‬امضا شده است ‪،‬‬ ‫ارائه این برنامه شده اند‪ .‬این ویزا به مترجمان افغان و عراقی که با ارتش‬ ‫ایاالت متحده کار می کردند یک راه قانونی برای مهاجرت به ایاالت متحده‬ ‫می دهد‪ .‬بعدا ً دولت صالحیت را برای افغانها و عراقی هایی که در کشور‬ ‫میزبان خود کار می کردند و در فعالیتهایی که از تالشهای ناتو حمایت می‬ ‫کرد ‪ ،‬مشغول کرده و گسترش داد‪ .‬اما همانطور که لیا ‪ -‬که هفت سال است‬ ‫در اسکان پناهندگان مشارکت دارد ‪ -‬اشاره کرد ‪ ،‬دارندگان ویزای خاص‬ ‫(‪ )SIV‬لزوما ً مانند سایر پناهندگان به ایاالت متحده نمی آیند‪ .‬با در دست‬ ‫داشتن ویزا ‪ ،‬آنها همیشه به دولت ایاالت متحده تکیه نمی کنند تا سفر خود را‬ ‫به خارج از کشورشان برنامه ریزی کند‪ .‬لیا می گوید‪“ :‬به دلیل دریافت این‬ ‫ویزا ‪ ،‬می توانند تکت پرواز خود را خریداری کرده و فقط به ایاالت متحده‬ ‫بیایند‪ ”.‬قبل از تصرف اخیر افغانستان توسط طالبان ‪ ،‬بسیاری از دارندگان‬ ‫ویزای خاص (‪ )SIV‬افغان با پرداخت و مصرف شخصی در پروازهای‬ ‫تجاری به ایاالت متحده آمدند‪ .‬به گفته خبرگذاری میلتری تایمز (‪Military‬‬

‫توسط ویل شیک‬ ‫‪will@streetsensemedia.org‬‬ ‫سه روز قبل از خروج ایاالت متحده از افغانستان‪ ،‬یک خواهر و برادر‬ ‫(سلطان و ایمان نعیم) کارت های شاخص را به معترضانی که در میدان‬ ‫الفایت تجمع کرده بودند‪ ،‬ارسال کردند‪ .‬این کارت ها شامل فهرستی از‬ ‫خواسته های اساسی چون تخلیه افغان های در معرض خطر‪ ،‬افزایش‬ ‫سهمیه های ایاالت متحده برای پناهجویان و ارائه کمک های بشردوستانه به‬ ‫بازماندگان بود‪ .‬در طرف دیگر این کارت های شعار های افغانستان آزاد‪،‬‬ ‫آزاد!‪ ،‬سیاه‪ ،‬سرخ و سبز ما فریاد شما را میشنویم! چاپ شده بود که در طول‬ ‫روز برای راهنمایی معترضان کمک مینمود‪.‬‬ ‫در پی اعتراضات ‪ ۲۸‬آگوست و راهپیمایی های بعدی به سمت کنگره‬ ‫برای نعیم و بسیاری دیگر که شرکت کرده بودند‪ ،‬با توجه به اینکه زمان‬ ‫خروج آمریکا از افغانستان نهایی نشده بود‪ ،‬برخی ها امیدوار بودند که دولت‬ ‫ایاالت متحده زمان تخلیه را تمدید کند‪.‬‬ ‫برخی از معترضان در دهه های ‪ ۸۰‬و ‪ ۹۰‬به عنوان پناهنده به آمریکا‬ ‫آمده بودند‪ .‬دیگران نیز مانند خانواده نعیم که در همان زمان مهاجر شده‬ ‫بودند‪ .‬سربازان اسبق نیز در میان جمعیت بودند‪ .‬همه در تالش بودند تا‬ ‫مطمئن شوند که دولت باید و عموم مردم آمریکا صدای بازماندگان در‬ ‫افغانستان را شنیده اند‪.‬‬ ‫برخی از معترضان در دهه های ‪ ۸۰‬و ‪ ۹۰‬به عنوان پناهنده به آمریکا‬ ‫آمدند‪ .‬دیگران ‪ ،‬مانند ناییمز ‪ ،‬والدینی داشتند که در همان دوران آمده بودند‪.‬‬ ‫جانبازان نیز در میان جمعیت بودند‪ .‬همه در تالش بودند تا مطمئن شوند که‬ ‫دولت بایدن و عموم مردم آمریکا صدای بازماندگان را شنیده اند‪.‬‬ ‫تهمینه اچکزی میگوید؛ من هنوز هم اقارب و دوستان زیادی در آنجا دارم‬ ‫که همه در تالش بیرون شدن از آنجا هستند‪ .‬اچکزی یکی از ده ها داوطلب‬ ‫میباشد که برای راهنمایی تظاهرکننده گان کمک میکند‪ .‬وی داستان های‬ ‫استریت سنز مدیا و دی سی‪ .‬الین را در مورد عزیزانی که به دلیل خروج‬ ‫آمریکا‪ ،‬آنها در حال حاضر در معرض خطر قرار دارند‪ ،‬بازگو میکند‪.‬‬ ‫در حاشیه این گردهمایی‪ ،‬نینا عزیز‪ ،‬نسل اول آمریکایی افغان تبار که‬ ‫پدرش در دهه ‪ 90‬به امریکا مهاجر شده بود‪ ،‬میگوید که وی میداند که افرادی‬ ‫که تحت تسلط اخیر طالبان اند چگونه تحت تاثیر قرار گرفته اند‪.‬‬ ‫نینا میگوید؛ من چندین دوست های خانوادگی ام را میشناسم که طفل سه‬ ‫ساله آنه توسط طالبان اختطاف شده است‪.‬‬ ‫با توجه به اینکه هزاران مهاجر افغان در ماه های آینده وارد ایاالت متحده‬ ‫میشوند‪ ،‬وی امیدوار است تا شاهد فشار های گسترده ای بر کنگره و کاخ‬ ‫سفید برای پذیرش پناهجویان بیشتر و گسترش حمایت از آنها باشد‪ .‬تعداد‬ ‫پناهجویان ایاالت متحده هر سال قبل از شروع سال مالی بعدی در اول اکتبر‬ ‫تعیین میگردد‪ .‬پس از مستقر شدن ‪ ۲۷‬پناهجو افغان در سال مالی ‪،۲۰۱۶‬‬ ‫ایاالت متحده فقط ‪ ۴۹۴‬پناهجو را در ‪ ۹‬ماه اول سال مالی ‪ ۲۰۲۱‬مستقر کرد‪.‬‬ ‫بر اساس داده های ‪ CBS NEWS‬در حالی که محدودیت کلی در سال‬ ‫‪ ۲۰۲۱‬حدود ‪ ۱۵۰۰۰‬پناهجو بود‪ ،‬دولت فدرال اکنون انتظار دارد بیش از‬ ‫‪ ۵۰۰۰۰‬تخلیه شده گان از افغانستان تخمین شده است‪ ،‬از جمله بسیاری از‬ ‫افرادی که به عنوان پناهنده طبقه بندی نشده و فاقد ویزای مهاجرتی خاص‬ ‫میباشند در اینجا مستقر میشوند‪ .‬با کاهش تعداد در سالهای اخیر‪ ،‬عزیز اظهار‬ ‫امیدواری کرد که مردم حتی پس از محو شدن خروج روی این موضوع‬

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‫‪STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG‬‬

‫گروپ با اجناس که برای مهاجرین افغان اهدا شده است اشغال گردیده است‪.‬‬ ‫داوطلبان آن مشغول هماهنگی کمک ها و انجام تنظیمات خانه برای افرادی‬ ‫هستند که در منطقه اسکان داده میشوند‪ .‬وی افزود‪ ،‬هنگامی که موضوع‬ ‫فوری حل گردد‪ ،‬آنها امیدوارند توجه خویش را به رشد برنامه توانمندسازی‬ ‫صنعتگران معطوف کنند‪.‬‬ ‫امروزه چندین سازمان محلی از جمله موسسات خیریه کاتولیک یا‬ ‫(‪ ،)Catholic Charities‬شورای توسعه جامعه اتیوپی(‪Ethiopian‬‬ ‫‪ ، )Community Development Council‬کمیته نجات بین‬ ‫المللی(‪ ،)International Rescue Committee‬خدمات مهاجرت پناهجویی‬ ‫لوتر (‪)Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service‬و غیره سازمانها‬ ‫دیگر از داوطلبان خواسته اند تا از خدمات مترجمی و مشورتی گرفته تا‬ ‫کمک ها‪ ،‬جمع آوری ومرتب سازی کمک ها‪ ،‬همه کار ها را انجام دهند‪.‬‬

‫مدرم رذگدوز هجوت زا ینارگن‬ ‫در سال ‪ ،1982‬هنگامی که قشون شوروی افغانستان را در محاصره قرار‬ ‫داده بود‪ ،‬پسر ‪ 17‬ساله بنام حبیب مرزی در شهر نیویورک از هواپیما پیاده‬ ‫شد‪ .‬چهار دهه بدینسو‪ ،‬مرزی تا هنوز نتوانسته درد آن تجربه را به فراموشی‬ ‫بسپارد‪ .‬مرزی از جنگی که جان برادر بزرگترش را گرفته بود فرار کرد‪،‬‬ ‫احساس میکرد وقتی وارد زندگی تازه یی شد قلبش پاره پاره میگردد‪.‬‬ ‫مرزی میگوید این تنها چیزی نیست که میتوانید‪ ۴۱ ،‬سال بعد‪ ،‬هنوز هم با‬ ‫وجود غلبه بر خاطرات سخت من آن درد ها و غم ها را احساس میکنم‪.‬‬ ‫بالفاصله پس از ورود به ایاالت متحده‪ ،‬مرزی در کلیسا فالز مستقر‬ ‫شد‪ ،‬در آنجا دوره مکتب را به پایان رسانید‪ .‬وی هنوز کمک های یکی از‬ ‫اساتیدش را به خاطر دارد که وی ترمیم موتر آموخت‪ .‬استادش از راه خود‬ ‫کنار رفت تا مرزی را یاری رساند که در ترمیم موتر ها را به پیش گیرد‪.‬‬ ‫امروز وی مالک یک فروشگاه اتومبیل در منطقه واشنگتن دی سی در جاده‬ ‫مینی سوتا ‪ NE‬میباشد‪.‬‬ ‫وی اضافه کرد زمانی که در ایاالت متحده آمدم دست به کار شدم و همه‬ ‫چیز را حاصل کردم‪ ،‬اما رسیدن به آنجا دو سالی کاری را دربر گرفت تا‬ ‫آشنایی به لسان انگلیسی پیدا کردم‪ ،‬عالوه بر چالش های سازگاری با یک‬ ‫کشور و فرهنگ جدید و در مقایسه با همه چالش ها چیزی که هنوز وی آن‬ ‫را از همه دشوارتر میداند اینستا‪،‬‬ ‫“سخت ترین بخش آن اینست که از کشورت‪ ،‬جای که تولد شدی‪ ،‬از‬ ‫اقارب‪ ،‬دوستان و همه چیزی را که در ‪ 17‬سال با آن شناخت داشتی دور‬ ‫شوی و بعد‪ ،‬در یک چشم برهم زدن همه ازبین برود‪”.‬‬ ‫در ‪ ۲۸‬آگوست‪ ،‬مرزی در میان جمعیتی که مقابل کاخ سفید تجمع کرده‬ ‫بودند ایستاد و در کنار صدها نفر دیگر به سمت کنگره آمریکا راهپیمایی‬ ‫کردند و خواستار این شدند که کشور که وی را پناه داده است کسانی را که‬ ‫در سرزمین مادریش‪ ،‬جایکه دوباره وارد یک جنگی وحشیانه همه جانبه‬ ‫میشود‪ ،‬به جا مانده است فراموش نکند‪ .‬مرزی قول داد که هرگز کسانی را‬ ‫که در افغانستان هستند فراموش نکند و برای کمک به آنها هرچه در توان‬ ‫دارد انجام میدهد‪.‬‬ ‫این که آیا ایاالت متحده به طور کلی تمرکز مشابه را حفظ خواهد کرد‪،‬‬ ‫نگرانی عمده ای برای استرادا‪ ،‬گروشل‪ ،‬تامپ سن اوسوری و دیگران است‬ ‫که برای این مقاله مصاحبه شده اند‪ .‬در حالی که چندین سازمان غیرانتفاعی‬ ‫محلی شاهد افزایش حمایت ها و کمک های در هفته های اخیر بوده اند که‬ ‫ناشی از تمرکز زیاد بر خروج ایاالت متحده است‪ ،‬سازمان دهندگان امیدوار‬ ‫اند مردم متعهد به کمک به پناهجویان در آینده باقی بمانند‪.‬‬ ‫این که آیا ایاالت متحده به طور کلی تمرکز مشابهی را حفظ خواهد کرد ‪،‬‬ ‫نگرانی عمده ای برای استرادا ‪ ،‬گروشل ‪ ،‬تامپسون اوسوری و دیگران است‬ ‫که برای این مقاله مصاحبه شده اند‪ .‬در حالی که چندین سازمان غیرانتفاعی‬ ‫محلی شاهد افزایش حمایت ها و کمک های مالی در هفته های اخیر بوده‬ ‫اند که ناشی از تمرکز زیاد بر خروج ایاالت متحده است ‪ ،‬سازمان دهندگان‬ ‫امیدوارند مردم متعهد به کمک به پناهندگان در آینده باقی بمانند‪.‬‬ ‫تامپ سن اوسوری میگوید ویزای مهاجرت های خاص موضوع داغ در‬ ‫حال حاضر است‪ ،‬بنابراین ما میخواهیم مردم را عالقمند نگه داریم زیرا این‬ ‫مشکلی نیست که در طی یک ماه حل گردد‪.‬‬

‫مستقر سازی تعداد زیاد از پناهجویان‪ ،‬آنچه مادر شوهر گروشل آنرا‬ ‫کارهای پیش پا افتاده و غیر شخصی میپنداشت میچرد‪ ،‬مانند اشتغالزایی‪،‬‬ ‫درخواست اسناد دولتی یا افتتاح حساب بانکی‪ .‬اما چای در باغچه حاال این‬ ‫یک چیزی عادی بود‪ .‬گروشل و مادر شوهرش متعقدند که زندگی باید بر‬ ‫بگونه عادی ساخته شوند نه فرآیند های تجاری که مستقر در یک کشور‬ ‫خارجی باشد‪.‬‬ ‫گروشل بخاطر می آورد‪ “ :‬داشتن یک ارتباط معمولی که قابل معامله‬ ‫نیست باید بسیار خوب باشد‪“ ،”.‬و من فکر کردم‪ ”،‬میدانید‪ ،‬من در منطقه‬ ‫واشنگتن دی سی زندگی میکنم‪ ،‬باید جمع از پناهجویان سوریه یی نیز اینجا‬ ‫باشند‪ .‬گروشل گفت من تا هنوز آنها را ندیده ام‪.‬‬ ‫گروشل پس از تماس با هرشخصی که فکرش را میکرد‪ ،‬از فرصتی‬ ‫برای حمایت از یک خانواده سوری مطلع شد‪ ،‬که آنها مدت چند هفته در‬ ‫خانه گروشل اقامت داشتن و او را با دیگر پناهجویان و داوطلبان سوری قیام‬ ‫کردند‪.‬‬ ‫دیری نگذشته بود که او و سایر داوطلبان شروع به شناسایی کمبودهای‬ ‫کردند که خانواده های پناهجو از سازمان های اسکان مجدد دریافت میکردند‪.‬‬ ‫به گونه مثال‪ ،‬بسیاری از خانم های که به آنها کمک میکردند‪ ،‬به دلیل عدم‬ ‫دسترسی به مراقبت از کودکان شان نمیتانستند از خانه بیرون شوند تا در‬ ‫صنوف درسی زبان انگلیسی شرکت کنند‪.‬‬ ‫گروشل اضافه کرد‪ :‬آنها بیشتر از همیش در حالت منزوی قرار میگیرند‪.‬‬ ‫گروشل با بسیاری از زنانی که وی با اشتیاق اجتماعی روبرو شده بودند‪،‬‬ ‫تیمی را با همکاری دیگر داوطلبان‪ ،‬که میزبانی صنوف لسان انگلیسی بود‪،‬‬ ‫را در فضاهای اجتماعی که در فاصله نزدیک از خانه شرکت کنندگان قرار‬ ‫داشتند ‪ ،‬آغاز کردند‪.‬‬ ‫گروشل اضافه کرد‪ :‬وقتی برای اولین بار صنف اولی مان را در یکی از‬ ‫شاخه های کتابخانه دایر کردیم‪ ،‬گروه از خانم ها توسط شوهر یکی از آنها به‬ ‫آنجا رسیدند‪ ،‬از پارکینگ آنجا با ما به تماس شدند و پرسیدند که آیا آنها اجازه‬ ‫داخل شدن به کتابخانه را دارند؟‬ ‫قرار گفته های گروشل پناهجویان سوری حتی این را نمیدانستند که‬ ‫کتابخانه برای عامه باز میباشد‪.‬‬ ‫در سال ‪ ۲۰۱۷‬میالدی حمایت گروشل تبدیل به یک سازمان جدید بنام‬ ‫‪ Solutions in Hometown Connections‬شد که این سازمان در‬ ‫جایی کمک رسانی مینماید که موسسات اسکان مجدد پناهندگی در کمک به‬ ‫پناهجویان جدید در یافتن اجتماع کوتاهی میکند‪.‬‬ ‫بحران پناهجوی سوری الهام بخش بسیاری از افراد محلی دیگر بود که با‬ ‫اهداف مشابه به فعالیت های غیر انتفاعی خویش بپردازند‪ .‬یکی از موسسین‬ ‫استریت سنز مدیا ‪ Street Sense Media‬لورا تامپسون اوسوری‪ ،‬در سال‬ ‫‪ ۲۰۱۷‬میالدی برنامه تحت عنوان ‪ Homes Not Borders‬یا ( خانه ها‬ ‫مرز ندارند) درست زمانیکه بحران در اوج خود بود‪ ،‬را راه اندازی نمود‪.‬‬ ‫تامپ سن اوسوری با اشاره به نیازمندی راهنمایی و حمایت از اشتغال‬ ‫زایی برای پناهجویان که قصد دارند در صنایع مورد عالقه خویش شامل‬ ‫شوند اظهار داشت که ما میخواستیم به جنبه شغلی بپردازیم‪.‬‬ ‫از جمله پیشنهادات گروه‪ ،‬یک کارگاه نجاری در محل آن در شهر لندور‬ ‫در ایالت مریلند‪ ،‬برای افرادی که آرزوی ساختن مبالت و فرنیچر را دارند‪،‬‬ ‫میباشد‪ .‬با این حال‪ ،‬تامپ سن اوسوری گفت که اخیرا ً ساحه کاری این‬

‫‪Translation courtesy of Abdul Hakeem Amir,‬‬ ‫‪Rohullah Alijani, Ainuddin Anwari, and Sarah Watson.‬‬ ‫‪This article, “The U.S. doesn’t settle refugees in D.C.‬‬ ‫‪because the cost of housing is so high,” appeared in‬‬ ‫‪English in last week’s edition. It has been treprinted‬‬ ‫‪here in Dari. Read it online in either language at‬‬ ‫‪StreetSenseMedia.org/2021-refugee-dari‬‬

‫‪Karim Hashimi (left) says he doesn't understand why the US‬‬ ‫‪would negotiate with terrorists like the Taliban. He stands next to‬‬ ‫‪his sons Adam and Jacob. PHOTO BY WILL SCHICK‬‬

‫موضوع باشم ”لطیفی گفت‬ ‫اما با گذشت زمان تهدیدهایی که لطیفی دریافت کرد نه تنها به او بلکه به‬ ‫همسر و فرزندانش نیز توجه داشت‪ .‬این تغییر انتخاب او را در مورد ماندن‬ ‫در کشوری که او آنقدر دوست داشت و می خواست به او کمک کند پیچیده‬ ‫کرد‬ ‫لطیفی گفت‪“ :‬من آماده بودم تا آنجا باشم و با تمام عواقب آن روبرو شوم‬ ‫‪ ،‬اما نمی توانم آن چالش ها و پیامدهای فرزندانم را بپذیرم‬ ‫لطیفی اگر تصمیم به ماندن می گرفت ‪ ،‬می دانست که طالبان به دنبال‬ ‫خانواده اش می روند‪ .‬لطیفی با حمایت رئیس کار خود می دانست که برای‬ ‫محافظت از خانواده اش باید افغانستان را ترک کند‬ ‫وقتی لطیفی وارد ایاالت متحده شد ‪ ،‬بسیاری از چیزهای تکان دهنده‬ ‫فرهنگی را تجربه کرد ‪ ،‬که برای هر کسی که به مکان جدیدی نقل مکان می‬ ‫کند طبیعی است‪ .‬او گفت که به یاد می آورد که آمریکایی ها در مقایسه با‬ ‫مردم شهر خود چقدر محتاط تر و بسته تر بودند ‪ -‬به عنوان مثال ‪ ،‬در مورد‬ ‫نحوه صحبت آنها در مورد مسائل سیاسی یا سایر موضوعات حساس‪ .‬اما‬ ‫لطیفی گفت که او و خانواده اش به زودی سازگار شدند یا عادت کردن‬ ‫“می دانید بچه ها مانند پرندگان هستند‪ .‬در مدت دو ماه آنها به زبان‬ ‫انگلیسی مسلط شدن‪” .‬لطیفی در توضیح گفت اینکه چگونه فرزندانش که از‬ ‫‪ ۹‬تا ‪ ۱۸‬سال سن دارند با شیوه زندگی آمریکایی سازگار شدند‬ ‫به نظر وی ‪ ،‬بزرگترین چالش برای پناهندگان و دیگر مهاجران ‪ ،‬تأمین‬ ‫مسکن پایدار است‬ ‫او گفت که به خصوص برای کسانی که تازه وارد شده اند ‪ ،‬مسکن می‬ ‫تواند مسیر زندگی آنها را تغییر دهد‪ .‬و این می تواند به آنها اعتماد به نفس و‬ ‫انگیزه بدهد که نگران آینده خود نباشن‬ ‫لطیفی ‪ ،‬با موسسات خیریه کاتولیک یکجا شد همکاری می کرد و به یاد‬ ‫می آورد که فکر می کند کار در سازمانی که به خانواده اش کمک می کرد‬ ‫چقدر شگفت انگیز خواهد بود‪ .‬اما لطیفی که دارای مدرک کارشناسی ارشد‬ ‫است‪ ،‬گفت که یافتن شغل مناسب در ابتدا یک چالش بود‪ .‬به گفته وی گرفتن‬ ‫همه تقدیر نامه ها و مجوزهای مناسب برای شروع کار زمان بر است و‬ ‫بستگی به مسلک شخص دارد‬ ‫امروز او در موسسات خیریه کاتولیک به عنوان یک رابط فرهنگی و‬ ‫متخصص اشتغال کار می کند ‪ -‬شغلی که او ابتدا برای اولین بار به این‬ ‫کشور می خواست‬

‫ناکسا زکارم هک هکیماگنه یریذپ تیلوئسم‬ ‫ننکیم یهاتوک ددجم‬ ‫مریت گروشل‪ ،‬مدیر اجرایی و بنیانگذار یک موسسه غیر انتفاعی محلی که‬ ‫به حمایت از پناهجویان مختص شده است‪ ،‬در سال ‪ ۲۰۱۵‬در حال صحبت‬ ‫کردن در تلفون بود که مفکوره در ذهنش خطور کرد که آن اوج بحران‬ ‫آوارگان سوریه یی بود‪ .‬مادر شوهر گروشل که در یک قریه کوچک در‬ ‫آلمان زندگی میکرد و آخیرا ً از هجوم پناهجویان استقبال کرده بود‪ ،‬اظهار‬ ‫داشت که او قصد دارد بعضی ازین خانواده ها را در باغچه خویش برای‬ ‫نوشیدن چای دعوت کند‪.‬‬

8 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 1 5 - 2 1 , 2021

NEWS

The remaining NoMa underpass encampments will be shut down, too Like K Street in January 2020, the underpasses at L Street and M Street NE will be designated as “pedestrian passageways.” Unlike the K Street eviction, DC government says it will expedite housing as part of removing people and their belongings.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 9

FACING PAGE: The “Rain” light installation as seen above tents on M Street NE. ABOVE: Homeless encampments between First and 2nd streets NE along L Street (left) and M Street (right). PHOTOS BY SPENCER DONOVAN

BY SPENCER DONOVAN spencer.donovan@streetsensemedia.org

M

ama J has been living at the NoMa encampments since 2012. She said she has met everyone who lives there, and says she’s comfortable.

In less than two weeks, D.C. plans to permanently bar Mama J, and all other people from living on two District sidewalks.

Approximately 50 people live there.

“I don’t know where I’m going. I’m going to be pushing a cart around on the street. I don’t got no place to go. But that don’t mean I’m going to sell into them. I’m not,” Mama J said. She declined to give her legal name The encampments — which include the L Street NE and M Street NE underpasses near Union Station — are being shut down as part of a D.C. pilot program.

Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage said the pilot focuses on providing housing to people living in encampments and that D.C. government determined the NoMa gatherings pose a threat to public safety and health. The pilot will also close an encampment at E Street NW in Foggy Bottom and an encampment in a park near New Jersey Avenue NW. D.C. is promising to offer all of the encampment residents the chance to receive a permanent supportive housing voucher (PSH). However, the city acknowledges some people may not be eligible and some may refuse it.

Jessica Smith, DMHHS Deputy Chief of Staff explained that some residents may be more or less receptive to help depending on the day. The District’s greatest estimate of individuals refusing housing was less than five, as of Sept. 13. Those who don’t accept the voucher will be forced to move elsewhere.

What will happen on Sept. 27?

On Sept. 27, D.C. will remove any property not stored or moved from the underpasses by 10 a.m., according to a posted notice.

Anyone can request free storage of their property 30 minutes before the scheduled time as long as the property is not “perishable, soiled, wet, infested, illegal, or unsafe or dangerous to handle,” the notice said. The District will provide each resident with up to two 40-gallon containers for storage.

Property left on site during the cleanup may be removed and immediately disposed

of, the notice said. D.C. will store “items of obvious value” if they are in plain sight, including medications, working electronics, or important documents such as IDs or financial records. However, cleanup crews may not be able to find these items, so they could be thrown away.

After the cleanup, the areas will become “pedestrian passageways,” according to a separate posted notice. Any items left blocking the sidewalk in the underpasses could be immediately removed and thrown away.

What resources do residents have?

The goal is to have everybody at the encampments move into housing, Turnage said.

The District is offering residents the opportunity to move into non-congregate housing, rather than shelters. The significant majority of individuals D.C. has encountered at the encampments are eligible for PSH, Turnage said. That program provides permanent housing and social services to recipients for as long as they need it.

To qualify for PSH, an individual or family must have a “disabling condition” and have been continuously unhoused for a year or have had four or more episodes of homelessness in the past three years. If someone doesn’t qualify, Turnage said the District will find them other housing resources.

For those who don’t accept housing, Turnage said there’s nothing the District can do about that. "The government ... has no vehicle to force someone to participate in a program of public benefits. So if a person decides they don't want to participate and accept housing, that is their right,” Turnage said.

Maurice Cook, executive director of Serve Your City D.C. and lead organizer of Ward 6 Mutual Aid, questioned what the District is willing to do to people who refuse the offer for housing.

“Is it illegal to survive on the street? … Is it moral to use law enforcement to manage whose presence? Who is demanding that this woman (Mama J) leave and find somewhere else to go?” Cook said. “Because if you have a person who doesn't have housing, that doesn't trust the system to guarantee them housing, whose mandate is it to do what?”

Why is this happening now?

The first notice advertised a Sept. 20 eviction, before it was pushed back to Sept. 27.

The District chose the city’s three largest encampments to test out the encampment

clearing model, Turnage said.

"The encampments along M Street and L Street have proliferated in numbers such to the point that it is difficult for people to negotiate those underpasses, and it also puts the residents at risk of harm in crowded underpasses,” Turnage said.

D.C. has received complaints about New Jersey and O Street NW that reflect public safety and health issues, Turnage said.

Those complaints influence the District’s decisions to clear some areas over others.

Housed residents also complained to the District about another large encampment at the K Street underpass in NoMa late 2019. It was shut down in January 2020 and served as the first implementation of the city’s pedestrian passageway policy.

The complaints were accompanied by an open letter from NoMa Business Improvement District’s now-former president, Robin-Eve Jasper. Washington City Paper reported that, after Jasper’s letter, more than 30 NoMa residents emailed complaints about the encampment to Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen and to Turnage.

“Encamped residents also said the letter was harsh, coming just days after someone was found dead in a nearby tent,” City Paper reported.

Starting January 2020, NoMa BID worked with The h3 Project to provide individualized outreach to homeless people within the business improvement district. That’s according to Maura Brophy, current NoMa BID president and CEO. She replaced Jasper in February.

After the scheduled closure, the NoMa BID will continue to fund The h3 Project's services for people who remain unhoused in the area.

“The NoMa BID is supportive of any and all efforts to house individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the District,” Brophy said about the District’s pilot program.

Allen’s office acknowledged Street Sense Media’s questions but did not respond before publication.

Drew Courtney, the ANC commissioner representing the area where the L Street and M Street encampments are, expressed support for D.C. finding encampment residents housing but disagreed with shutting down the tent communities.

"I strongly support efforts to increase outreach to encampments and to expedite housing for unhoused people.

But that doesn’t mean we should be creating a no-tent zone in this location. This plan to create a no-tent zone hasn’t had sufficient public input and it shouldn’t be enacted at this time," Courtney said in an email to Street Sense Media.

As for Cook of Serve Your City, he said he supports Mama J’s right to stay in place. “I fully support her … right to stay in place. I support all Black peoples' rights to stay in place in Washington, D.C.,” Cook said.

1 0 // S t r e e t S e n s e M e d i a // S e p t. 1 5 - 2 1 , 2021

Opinion

Violence interruption programs can break the cycle

By Karl A. Racine

Bikes parked at a 2020 D.C. rally against violent crime. Photo by Gordon Chaffin

I

magine growing up in this city and believing with near certainty that you would not live to see your 18th birthday.

Unfortunately, this is how many Washingtonians feel. As a father and life-long resident, I find it deeply troubling that our youth grow up convinced that they won’t make it to attend prom, walk across the stage at graduation, or have a family. As recent high-profile shootings have focused the city’s attention on gun violence, more needs to be done to address it.

To be sure, we cannot break this cycle of violence overnight, especially in communities facing generational violence. And it certainly cannot be broken by one agency, one organization, or one person. It requires an all-hands-on-deck approach and everyone in the city doing their part.

That’s why, back in 2018, my office – the office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia – launched Cure the Streets, a pilot public safety program aimed at reducing gun violence in several neighborhoods that have historically experienced some of the highest rates of gun violence in the city.

The program takes a public health approach to gun violence: treating it as a disease that can be interrupted, treated, and stopped from spreading. By employing local, credible people with deep ties to these neighborhoods, we can detect and mediate conflicts, and prevent shootings.

The Cure Team knows this work is not easy – but they do it because they care about their communities and want to end gun violence.

Take, for example, Michelle Blackwell, one of our program managers at the Congress

Heights Cure site. She’s motivated to do this work because she sees the results of her work in real time. For example, her team brokered a ceasefire between two streets that had been engaged in gun violence for decades. What felt like never-ending violence came to a halt because people in the community were empowered to create change.

And that’s not all.

Last summer, one of our target sites in Washington Highlands went 100 days without gun violence – a period of peace rare before Cure the Streets arrived. And even though the pandemic has limited in-person mediations, our team conducted 82 virtual mediations in the last fiscal year. This ongoing commitment to violence interruption through the COVID19 pandemic likely prevented shootings in the target neighborhoods.

However, violence interruption efforts are one important piece of a much larger effort to stop gun violence. Public safety requires a holistic approach, and this includes support for trauma-reduction services, workforce development, and law enforcement. For those of us – myself included – who didn’t grow up on the streets, it’s difficult to understand how a lack of investment in housing, education, and health care breeds violence. But without stable shelter or access to a quality education, a good job, or a doctor to treat physical, emotional, and mental health needs, many people turn to violence.

When I speak to Cure the Streets workers on the ground about the root causes of crime, I continually hear the same chilling answer – people are just trying to survive. One program manager at the Washington Highlands Cure site, Jovan Davis, described street life –

particularly when you’re homeless – as “survival of the fittest.” Without knowing where you will sleep at night or when you will eat next, some people – as any human being would – become desperate.

Therefore, to defeat gun violence, we must invest in communities that are too often left out of conversations about D.C. For example: • Out of the 49 full-service grocery stores in D.C., only 3 are in Wards 7 and 8. In essence, there are three grocery stores for nearly 160,000 people.

•

At the height of the pandemic (April 2020) the unemployment rate in Wards 5, 7, and 8 reached 14.3%, 16.5%, and 20.7%, respectively. These reflect the highest unemployment rates in the city.

•

There is only one hospital that serves communities east of the river – and it is being forced to close by 2023.

Let me be clear: While a lack of resources is never an excuse for violent crime, failing to acknowledge and address the root causes of why people commit crimes will only lead to more violence. The late author and civil rights activist James Baldwin once described the structure of the inner-city as “a nearly irresistible temptation to criminal activity.” And the statistics above bear out that conclusion.

As I have said before and will continue to say: All of us have a role to play in stopping gun violence and eradicating poverty, trauma, and hopelessness among our most vulnerable. Gun violence is a multi-layered and multi-generational issue that requires our sustained attention – but we must keep at it. Because in this city that we all love, the success of our most vulnerable is tied to the success of everyone.

Karl A. Racine is the D.C. Attorney General. He is also the 2021 President of the National Association of Attorneys General.

Join the conversation, share your views - Have an opinion about how homelessness is being addressed in our community?

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

Street Sense Media has maintained an open submission policy since our founding.

We aim to elevate voices from across the housing spectrum and foster healthy debate.

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

streetsensemedia.org

// 11

Art Some of us still have a sense of righteousness I'm not moving & shaking. I'm sorting because my blessing I take as important. At forefront. On Point by appointment. Applying myself like ointment. Trying 2 make that oink mint! My rhymes aren't borrowed or lent.

Hard work! My effort spent 2 represent this gift here like a present, from me 2 you. Now you tell me from whence was it sent? The Magnificence, is it a chore & expense 2 maintain? It's Excellence due 2 pestilence, but we must persist & go on with it! The wheels are in motion. Can't counterfeit it. Can only counteract it! Going down your list of dastardly deeds. Why don't you just accept all of the change now?! I like the way that it is going down. I'm listing who goin still be ‘round. Kids are the future. Who is going 2 rebound? That kid's heading straight 2 the mound! Giving that Good Grief Just like that Charlie Brown!~

Street Sense Media presents:

Levester Green

New pathways of thinking

By Carlton “inkflow” Johnson Artist/Vendor

What are the new opportunities for a new path every day when looking for a job?

Remembering the times for which you wish to be.

Hope comes when making movements for life’s new pathway for lifelong dreams.

Timing is for the soul's heart, whereas dreams of the past keeps you on the move for moving forward.

These are just some important parts of the list of life for you right now.

WE'RE ALIVE!~

My Friend(s)...

Shouldn't the World be solved or fixed by now?

Ever-changing, ever-lasting, evolving? Oh GOD, what shall we do?! Our hero of the existence we’re living because of gift of life was given! Oh what an amazing thing being this man! Living soul, breathing being in a human shell. Thank God

There's a process called conflict in which iron sharpens iron...

Yes, that is sounding a lot like the saying of “Only the strong survive.” Survival of the fittest...

The #Gifted fit this? It Depends on what your gift is! I'd say it was this life, but you gotta 2 keep gifting/giving!

Crack Monster

By Tony West Artist/Vendor

Crack, Crack, Monster Crack Talks to you like it’s alive People come running like bees to a hive When you are possessed by Monster Crack, God bless your soul, Because the crack will take the rest They want your money, only your money The bill is past for a twenty, But the high don’t last Then you wind up selling your a** What you going to do when the crack takes control of you?

When God reigns

By Rita Sauls Artist/Vendor

The pain often goes unclaimed for the ones who do their own thing, who sing as if they brings Heaven, Earth, and all celestial things into being. But God knows who he chose to tell how the story goes. It’s unbelievable how God’s hand is in everything: storms, hurricanes, floods, all because of the blood of God. When you cheat, steal, and kill, His mighty hand will smash the land and people who challenge his power. Using rain showers (flooding), hurricanes (destruction), and sickness/virus (death), God’s work cannot be reversed. And if you try, you will die way before your time.

No kinfolk of mine is gonna disrespect God at any time.

Thinking (power)

By Rochelle Walker Artist/Vendor

If you think you are powerful then you are not but you are lesser in your group.

If you think you are beaten then you are out of control.

If you like to win but think you can’t, it is a change you won’t be able to influence.

Life’s battles, concerns, and crises are overcome by the one who thinks you can win.

The power is in you, the authority is in us.

The race is not given to the strongest or fastest or coolist or biggest.

But sooner and later,the one who wins it is the one who thinks they can.

They will give their energy to someone who knows they can.

1 2 // S t r e e t S e n s e M e d i a //

S e p t. 1 5 - 2 1, 2021

Art

Sweet Sis’aroo

By Frederic John Artist/Vendor

Dedicated to my beloved Ruthie.

Anthony Crawford in 2017 with some of his handmade greeting cards in the early days of Second Story Cards. Archive photo by Eric falquero

Anthony Crawford: My colleague, my friend

By Aida Peery Artist/Vendor

I’ve known Anthony Crawford since I’ve been a vendor for Street Sense Media. Anthony and I became pretty good friends over the years. He’d relax and tell me some pretty impressive stories about himself.

Anthony, with a beat, every year would go home to visit his family in Seattle, Washington, where he is from — even though he lived here in D.C. Anthony told me he helped Street Sense newspaper to get up and running because he had worked for another street paper in Seattle called “Real Change.” He was impressed that Street Sense wanted to publish stories from vendors that are or previously were homeless.

I remember when Anthony was saving his money for the biggest purchase he had ever made at the time. It was to buy a leather Seahawks jacket! His hometown team. He got it for the next football season to come around.

That was about six or seven years ago!

One day early in the morning he wore it to one of the newspaper deliveries to show it off to everyone. I of course let him know I was proud of him and complemented how beautiful his jacket was. Anthony grinned from left to right.

Then he met up with the love of his life. He

mentioned to me about her and I told him to go for it! He was a bit nervous, like anyone else would be. I knew after she came into his life I would see less of him as a friend. But I saw him during the truck deliveries and he told me about his wonderful new relationship and how it made him happy.

As long as he was happy, I was happy, too.

He would take her to special places and buy her all sorts of things. I want to thank her for giving him his last days of life to live with a smile on his face.

Rest in Heaven, Anthony. I’m going to miss you, too. I loved your stories and how happy you were to be in a relationship with someone so special to you. And how you created and sold so many greeting cards while selling Street Sense papers.

I’m so glad you’re not experiencing any more pain. I know you’re looking over a lot of people today.

I truly will miss you.

A memorial service for Anthony is scheduled for Anthony at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16, in The Church of the Epiphany at 1317 G Street NW. All are welcome. A short reception will follow.

Arooo, arooo, my sweet siste’Ruth!

You were always elegant, even in rough games of play— (“How ya like my Bom-bard-min kick?”)

On the other hand, a true child of Nature, too…

(A coyote’s yowl delivered framed in Revlon Tangerine stick!)

You led the way, (“Want a ‘metal,’ on the chest to pin it?”)

I snapped to attention ‘pon your c’mands Inside of a minute! (“Look both ways, Hudson! Then cross—”) Carefully, I traversed the flagstones, tho’ no traffic Spanned the convalescents’ courtyard…

Sweet Ruthie...

Peace to Michael K. Williams and his family

By Malcolm Scott Jr. Artist/Vendor

He was a Black actor who played Omar on the show “The Wire” that came on HBO. He took his parts real seriously. He was a stick-up boy in real life, that’s why they gave him the part. He said he did one line and got the part. He also played Tupac’s little brother in the movie “Bullet” He played in seven movies and was nominated for three Emmys. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

I watched the BET Awards earlier this year and he was on there honoring DMX. He was 54 years old when he passed away on Sept. 5.

In 1977 he had three kids and a wife and two dogs. He also played college basketball for UMass for one year and was a great gospel singer.

So Rest in Peace to one of my favorite actors.

Actor Michael K. Williams at Harvard University for a November 8, 2010 panel discussion on “The Wire.”

Photo coutesy of Tim Pierce, Wikimedia Commons

streetsensemedia.org

// 1 3

Boardwalk

By Brianna Butler // Artist/Vendor

On the Boardwalk, what a sight to see.

People feasting on fries everywhere, swinging, and enjoying rubber-band ball rides. Doing the wave while roller-coasting through the air. Smiling at people riding and hearing rides making people scream and laugh. Stopping until they drop the kids off to pick out magnificent clothes, gadgets, china, and towels for the beach fun. A bunch of people swimming in that Big Blue ocean. Water makes me come alive feeling joyfulness. We have a blast.

We will like to come again. But next time we want to see you, dear reader, with us on The Boardwalk.

Ocean City, Ocean City in Maryland. Photo courtesy of Chris Hardy on Unsplash.com

Foster care failure

By Patricia Donaldson // Artist/Vendor

At a restaurant in Anywhere, U.S.A. Server: Here are your egg and your pancake.

Little boy: Thank you. Can I get anything else? Can I have a milkshake, Mom? Woman: Sure, honey, one chocolate shake.

Little girl: Please, I want a milkshake, too.

Woman: Rayna, you know your budget is five dollars. You already spent that on your egg. Just one milkshake is fine. I’ll be right back.

Rayna: But how come he get to have pancake and a milkshake but don’t— Woman: I’ve told you that a million times. He is my real son and you are just a foster child. You don’t get the same thing he gets because I am his real mom.

Rayna: Well, where is my real mom? I want to see her. (Sniffles) She told me she’d come back for me one day. Will she come back for me one day?

Woman: Well, she lied. She probably don’t even care about it and you are lucky to have me. But I don’t want to hear another word when the social worker arrives in a few minutes. I will tell her I don’t want you anymore. If I can’t— Rayna: Can I see?

Little boy: Sure.

Woman: Travis, I told you not to give Rayna your iPad. Then she gonna want one, too.

Travis: Sorry, mom.

Rayna: Can I get the iPad? Just for a little bit? I want to play, too.

Travis’s mother: I think you already know the answer to that: No. You know taking care of you is a business. I need to make money off of you. I can’t be buying you expensive things like an iPad. And what if you break it? You don’t have

money to fix it. You don’t have any money at all. Yeah, I don’t think so.

Server: One delicious milkshake. Enjoy!

Travis: Mmm, that is so good.

Rayna: Can I try?

Travis’s mother (laughing): That is for Travis. If he has any left when he’s done, you can have some.

Rayna: But I really want my own milkshakes.

Travis’s mother: You need to be more appreciative, Rayna. My contract for taking care of you is up. When the social worker comes, I’m gonna tell her to place you somewhere else and you’ll end up all alones. Is that what you want?

Rayna (crying): No! I just wanna be with my mom. She said she’d come back for me.

Travis’s mother: She gave you up. And she probably didn’t even love you.

Rayna: That’s not true. My mom loved me so much. I just know it.

Travis’s mother: If that were true, then she’d be here right now, wouldn’t she?

Is she here?

Rayna (sniffling): No. But just as the word left her mouth, Rayna saw her mom step into the restaurant, followed by her social worker.

Rayna’s mom: Oh, I’ve missed you so much!

Rayna: I thought you forgot about me.

Rayna’s mom: Oh sweet, you’re ALL I think about. I’ve come to take you home.

Rayna: Realy?!

Travis’s mother: Just wait a second.

Why did you bring her here? She can’t just take Rayna back after she chose to abandon her.

Social worker: Oh, she’s Rayna’s birth mother. She’s fully entitled to be here.

Rayna’s mom: And for the record, I didn’t just abandon her. I had no choice. You see, Rayna had a very tough childhood. Her father had a big drinking problem. And whenever he had too many drinks, he would get aggressive and hit her for no reason at all. I would try to stop him. But then he would worry about Rayna constantly. I knew it wasn’t safe for her to be there. So one night, I packed Rayna’s things and we left. I took her to foster care. It was the hardest day of my life, saying goodbye to my child.

She sighs heavily.

Rayna’s mom: But I know I had to. I didn’t choose to abandon her. Everything I did was for her. I am so sorry honey, he’s not around anymore. So you can just come in here.

Rayna (sniffling): You don’t have to worry about him. Don’t be sorry. I know you wanted the best for me. I love you so much.

Rayna’s mom sighs again.

Rayna’s mom: I love you, too. OK. Travis’s mother clears her throat.

Travis’s mother: So that was really a sad story. But Rayna is still in my foster care and I have a contract on her. So you can’t just dive in here and take her away from me.

Rayna’s mom: You had a contract. It expired today.

Travis’s mother: Well then, I wanna renew. I need the money from foster care to pay my rent.

Social worker: Right. Look, I’m sorry, but it’s not up to you here.

Travis’s mother: Rayna, I know you wanted that iPad. I’ll get it for you if you choose me.

Rayna (crying): I choose my real mom!

Rayna’s mom: Oh, I love you so much.

Come on, honey, let’s go home.

End scene.

Whiskers.

Photo courtesy of Sybil Taylor

Jazzing up summer with my cats

By Sybil Taylor Artist/Vendor

My cats, Whiskers and Squirrelly Tail, are both girls. They play together in the yard and have their fighting moments. They like sleeping and eating a good cat food meal, whether it’s wet or dry food. They relax in the sunshine and lay on the grass on cool nights, having their cat dreams.

I am fair with them, treating them both alike, and they show me love by licking me, rubbing against my legs, purring, meowing, and showing their paws to me. They love water and are different in many ways. One cries and whines a lot while the other hisses to say “I am hungry!”

I love my cats and they love and enjoy me. Playtime is the right time with my cats.

They’re like my kids.

Here are two fun songs that come to mind when I think about playing with these quirky kitties: 1. “Summertime” by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince 2. “Summer Madness” by Kool and the Gang

Squirrelly Tail.

Photo courtesy of Sybil Taylor

1 4 // S t r e e t S e n s e M e d i a // S e p t. 1 5 - 2 1, 2021

This is the Daily Crossword Puzzle #2 for Sep 10, 2021

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Sudoku #8 5 6 8 4 2 7 3 8 9 4 1 5 4 8 6 1 1 5 9 3 7 3 2 9

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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.

streetsensemedia.org

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Shelter Hotline Línea directa de alojamiento

(202) 399-7093

Youth Hotline Línea de juventud

Domestic Violence Hotline Línea directa de violencia doméstica

(202) 547-7777

1-800-799-7233

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

Case Management Coordinación de Servicios

Food Comida

Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo

Transportation Transportación

Showers Duchas

All services listed are referral-free Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

Bread for the City - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org

Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org

Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc) 219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org

Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW ID (Friday 9am–12pm only) foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities

Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org

Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org

Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org

Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9128 425 2nd St., NW jobshavepriority.org

Charlie’s Place // 202-232-3066 1830 Connecticut Ave., NW charliesplacedc.org

Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org

Church of the Pilgrims // 202-387-6612 2201 P St., NW food (1-1:30 on Sundays only) churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach

Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org

Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org

Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 Eye St., NW fathermckennacenter.org

Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.org

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE 2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org

My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org

N Street Village // 202-939-2060 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org

New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE

Patricia Handy Place for Women 202-733-5378 // 810 5th St., NW

Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., NW samaritaninns.org

// 1 5

Behavioral Health Hotline Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-888-793-4357

Laundry Lavandería

Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org

So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org

JOB BOARD Bartenders, Servers, Security, and Front of House Manager Wunder Garten // 1101 First St. NE Part-time Several positions available at outdoor beer garden in NoMA. APPLY: Send resume and/or summary of qualifications to info@wundergartendc.com

Controller Central Union Mission // 65 Mass. Ave. NW Full-time

St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-333-4949 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org

Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org

Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699 1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW

Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org

The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable

Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org

A motivated, experienced certified public accountant (CPA) to lead overall financial operations for Central Union Mission.

Central Union Mission is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the oldest private social service agency in Washington, DC. In addition to its emergency shelter, the Mission operates a holistic, Christ-centered transformation and workforce development program.

REQUIRED: Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and a certified public accountant (CPA) with current license. 7 years progressive, technical accounting or financial experience.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/Central-UnionMission-CPA

Camp Bennett Maintenance Manager Central Union Mission // 65 Mass. Ave. NW Full-time

Oversee the maintenance needs of Camp

Bennett. Handle general maintenance needs, plan for and implement preventative and long-range maintenance projects and handle emergencies. The Camp Bennett Christian Ministry Center exists to provide an affordable venue for Christian events, camps, retreats and other activities directly related to Christian ministry and Christian purpose. Central Union Mission is a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the oldest private social service agency in Washington, DC. In addition to its emergency shelter, the Mission operates a holistic, Christ-centered transformation and workforce development program.

REQUIRED: High school diploma and five years or more related experience and/or training.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/Central-UnionMission-CPA

For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide

Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

Mixed media memories

by Sasha Williams // Artist/Vendor

Remembering some good moments from 2019.

I don’t remember who took this photo, but it’s Eboni and I at Street Sense Media’s gala in 2017 after having Onyx, my second child, before relocating to Northeast from Southeast. The mask was a gift from her Great Aunt Wynette.

They grow so much.

Photos to cherish.

Thank you for reading Street Sense!

I enjoy touching up my memories with filters. It represents a lot of growth and I am an artist, so effects are mixed media.

From your vendor, Sept 15 - 21, 2021 | Volume 18 Issue 33 No Cash? No problem. We have an app! search “street sense” in the app store

www.insp.ngo

Onyx and Eboni both have huge personalities and they are my blessings and everything

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