11 15 2003

$1 November 15 - December 15, 2003

Volume 1, Issue1

Home Base for the Homeless

An Inside Look at McPherson Square

By Jennifer Cetta

By L. Scott Tillett To some, McPherson Square is simply the name of a Metro station. To others, McPherson Square is a lifeline.

Many commuters who scurry daily along the crisscrossing sidewalks of the square probably don’t realize that each weeknight at 5 p.m. McPherson Square transforms into an outdoor help center for the homeless — part soup kitchen, part emergency room, part social club.

The activities at McPherson Square might seem to the casual observer to be little more than a Band-Aid solution: a simple case of sandwiches, blankets and medical treatment to sustain the homeless so that they might live to be homeless another day. But some recipients of the free aid delivered nightly see the services as a source of hope.

“For someone who wants to rise, he can take advantage of everything that’s here,” says Nathaniel Washington, an extroverted 51-year-old with a honeyrich baritone voice.

Washington is a McPherson Square regular and a self-proclaimed poet who recites lengthy original works at the drop of a

Women from Living Water Ministry of Washington, D.C., cut the hair of homeless men and women in McPherson Square.

hat. He says he has had steady jobs before, working as a bus driver and for a utilities company.

But following what he describes as a “betrayal,” he spent time in prison and at a mental hospital.

He has been on and off the streets for the past five years, working temporary jobs from

time to time while continuing to seek steady employment, he says.

But to Washington, his current life on the street appears to be a hopeful one. “’Tis adversity that makes us strong,” he says, smiling as he recites a line of poetry.

If adversity makes Washington and those in similar situations

strong, the free services offered each night at McPherson Square no doubt help them keep their strength up. Food is plentiful.

Soup, sandwiches, and even desserts are handed out freely from

see MCPHERSON p. 5

Family Crunch at CCNV

By Laura Thompson

It’s Thursday night at the Community for Creative NonViolence (CCNV) and a halfdozen children from ages four to 12 are wrapping up their weekly tutoring session. They are scattered throughout a living room/ conference area, which at all other times of the week is reserved for the shelter’s staff.

A 10-year-old girl plays Trouble with her mentor; an eight-year-old boy runs around

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Homeless Legislation Hits Congress

shirtless, arm stretched like an airplane; and another boy, reads to his mentor the Dr. Seuss favorite, “Are You My Mother?”

Once they leave this space — the only area in the warehousesize shelter where they can truly play once a week — they will go upstairs to their homes. These homes, or “cubes,” which they share with the rest of their family and perhaps another, are just big enough for six beds and one or two bookcases, with just a thin curtain separating them from their neighbors.

Though these crowded, bleak accommodations were clearly never meant for children and technically illegal under D.C. law, they have turned into the last resort for homeless families in Washington.

With the number of families seeking shelter last year reaching record numbers, surpassing 2,000, the city’s homeless services are turning to CCNV. The city has started referring mothers there, despite the Department of Human Services’ outrage and removal of families from this shel-

NEWS

NEWS

Hypothermia Season is Nov. 1 - March 31.

D.C. has new Winter Plan, p. 4

Faces of the Homeless: Homeless Veterans Profile POETRY, pp. 8-9

ter three-and-a-half years ago.

Now CCNV’s family space is constantly at maximum capacity; it currently has 13 mothers and 30 children.

Advocates agree that the city is doing little to improve the situation for these children, and not nearly enough to get these families into appropriate transitional or permanent housing. But until the District takes action, CCNV’s director Terri Bishop says she will do what she can for families.

For nearly 3.5 million Americans, high rents, lowpaying jobs and health care in short supply add up to life on the streets or in homeless shelters. But a bill moving through Congress aims to change that.

Supporters of the Bringing America Home Act (BAHA) seek to end homelessness by tackling many of the problems confronting America’s homeless and working poor.

The legislation, H.R. 2897, would provide affordable housing, job training, civil rights protections, childcare vouchers, public transportation and increased health care, among other fixes.

Reps. Julia Carson, D-Ind., and John Conyers, D-Mich., co-sponsors of the bill, worked with social service providers, academics and homeless advocates for more than a year to craft a legislative solution to the plight of the homeless.

“The current economy places more and more Americans one paycheck away from homelessness,” Carson said during a recently rally in support of the bill. “Nowhere in the country can an individual earning minimum wage afford housing at fair market rent.”

Conyers echoed Carson’s statements, noting that “the fastest-growing homeless

see BAHA p. 12

see CCNV p. 7 BOOK REVIEWS, RECIPES, p. 10 EDITORIALS, p. 11 DIRECTORY OF SERVICES, pp. 14-15

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, p. 6

Page 4

D.C. NEWS

Street Sense November 2003

D.C. Lays Out New Winter Plan for the Homeless

By Muata Langley Hypothermia season is here, and the District government is hoping that its new plan will help prevent hypothermia-related deaths on frigid Washington, D.C. nights this winter.

The 2003-2004 Winter Plan for Preventing Hypothermia was introduced in September and updated Nov. 5 and looks a lot like the one last winter. Like last year the plan focuses on providing 24-hour access to shelter, street outreach, van shuttles to shelters, and the delivery of food and blankets to those who refuse shelter.

A 24-hour hypothermia hotline has also again been put in place for people needing shelter to call (800 535-7252) so they can be directed to a facility. The District and homeless service providers are also urging the public to call the hotline on behalf of people that might be at risk of hypothermia.

The plan also calls for local government agencies, as well as service providers, businesses, churches, community organizations to promote hypothermia awareness and shelter information.

Last winter the Shelter Hotline recorded 10,321 calls and logged 6,013 trips to shelters, according to the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, the organization that oversees the District’s shelter system.

One man froze to death in D.C. last winter and two homeles women had their

feet amuptated due to the cold, according to Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

“The media campaign of the past year was very effective at informing the public about how to access hotline and shelter services, said Ricardo Lyles, head of the Family Services Administration.

Hypothermia occurs when the normal core body temperature (98.8 F to 99.9 F) is lowered to less than or equal to 95 F. Signs include a gradual loss of mental and physical ability. Untreated hypothermia can lead to a dramatic drop in blood pressure, cessation of breathing, irregular heartbeat and A homeless man huddles in a mover’s blanket to stay warm. death.

Since 1998 the District has been required Heights, Franklin School located down- $1.5 million, which is about $500,000 more by law to provide shelter on demand when town, and Emory on Lincoln Road in than last year. (An additional $880,000 will Northeast are other shelters in the net- go to a year-round Shelter Hotline and outtemperatures fall below 32 degrees. reach groups.)

To fulfill the demand this year during the work.

Advocates expressed concern over the This jump in costs is in part to cover District’s 151-day hypothermia calendar, which officially began Nov. 1, seasonal shel- District’s plan to move most shelter ser- increased demands on its homeless serters will open. Overflow shelters will also vices to the outskirts of the city when vices system, including emergency shelter. open when hypothermia conditions exist most of the homeless are reliant on pub- Like most other cities, Washington has and when alerts are issued by the city’s lic transportation or walking. Chet Grey seen an increase in homelessness parallel of the Business Improvement District to the downturn in the economy.

Emergency Management Agency.

In 2002 it is estimated that 17,340 Overall, the Winter Plan will yield more said that having shelter services accesthan 1,100 shelter-beds for adults and fami- sible for homeless in central areas, such people were homeless and used the city’s lies within the network of shelters. With the as downtown, is essential to servicing services, according to the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homeclose of the Gale School Shelter, the main their needs.

“This is where they are, where their less. Between 2000 and 2002, the number emergency shelter will be the 150-200-bed capacity facility at 1355-1357 New York networks and support systems are,” he of families that had used its services more than doubled, to 2,613. In the same peAve., N.E. The John Young Center, D.C. said.

The cost of this year’s shelter and riod, shelter use rose by 9% for men and Village in southwest, La Casa in Columbia transportation operations to the city is 22% for women.

National Coalition for the Homeless Mission Founded in 1984, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is a national network of persons who are or have been homeless, advocates, service providers, and others committed to a single goal ending homelessness.

Yes, I want to do more to prevent and end homelessness in our nation by partnering with NCH and others committed to this goal.

Name: _______________________________________ Address: _____________________________________ City: ________________________________________ State:: __________________ Zip: _________________ Organization: _________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________ Fax: _________________________________________ Email: _______________________________________

- We take as our first principle of practice that people who have experienced homelessness must be actively involved in all aspects of our work.

- We are committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes necessary to end homelessness - We work to meet the urgent needs of persons who are presently _____ homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. _____ _____ _____ Organization _____

$0 Currently Homeless $15 Student Membership $50 Student Organization $65 Organization Membership $35 Individual Membership

Contribution: The NCH Board of Directors is composed primarily of service providers, ____ $50 ____ $100 ____$250 ____ $500____ Other activists, researchers, and people who have experienced homelessness.

Currently, there are 52 members representing 36 states, Puerto Rico, and the Please make your tax deductible check out to NCH. NCH is a 501(c)(3) District of Columbia. organization; contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extend NCH is committed to maintaining diversity and the active involvement of allowed b the law. persons who are or have been homeless in its governance. At present, 40% Our F-EIN is 52-1517415, CFC # 2960 of our board are people of color and 34% are persons who have experienced homelessness.

National Coalition for the Homeless We use four strategies to accomplish our mission of ending homelessness: 1012 14th St. NW Suite 600 Policy analysis and advocacy, public education, grassroots organizing, and Washington, DC 20005 technical assistance. In addition, we focus our work in the following four Tel: 202-737-6444 areas: housing justice, economic justice, health care justice, and civil rights.

Fax: 202-737-6445 Visit us on the internet at www.nationalhomeless.org.

Street Sense November 2003

D.C. NEWS

Men and women line up for food from volunteers at McPherson Square.

MCPHERSON from p. 1 the backs of vans, with no one turned away.

“Can I get two more of those soups please?” asks a man as he walks up to a van dispatched by Martha’s Table, one of several organizations that provide free food to the D.C. homeless. “They’re so good.”

Student volunteers from Gonzaga College High School hand the man a container of soup from the back of the van.

“I appreciate that. Thank you, guys,” says the man as he takes it.

The students wish him a good day.

“You do the same,” he says.

The neighborly, almost small-town exchange seems out of place amid the rushhour hustle on the nearby sidewalk. But the neighborliness is an important part of the McPherson Square scene. A sense of community is key here.

More than food ...

“They don’t really need to be fed. They need a smile. They need a handshake,” says Patrick Nazer, a French citizen who volunteers for Martha’s Table. “They just want to have a chat with me.” Nazer, who drives the Martha’s Table van and oversees the food distribution, says that the homeless he sees each week often ask about his life.

And, knowing he is from France, they even occasionally bring him newspaper ads about travel deals to his home country.

From Nazer’s perspective, the social exchange is more nourishing than the food.

“I think I give away much more this way,” he says.

Nazer, an art director for a national magazine, has been volunteering with Martha’s Table for the past three years, and he said he believes he’s seen the atmosphere of the square improve. “Now we don’t have any more kids in the streets,” he said. “Three years ago, there were kids in the streets, high on crack, begging for food.”

While some street conditions seem to have improved, the number of people seeking help appears to have grown. “It’s worse,” says Greg West, driver and utility person for Unity Health Care, a nonprofit agency that operates a mobile medicaloutreach service in D.C. “More people are out here than ever, and there seem to be

more and more. The homeless population is just growing.”

The van that West drives carries two medical assistants who see patients with “anything from a mild cold to gangrene.”

The outreach staff also focuses on HIV education, he says.

The medical van draws a crowd quickly.

A quiet line forms at the door while others poke their heads in from time to time to request free blankets.

Van workers see many problems but cannot treat everything they see. So workers often can do little more than diagnose and educate. “We can assess. If somebody needs to get to an emergency room, we’ll get them there or we’ll dial 9-1-1,” West says.

Challenges…

Finding services like those offered by the organizations that frequent McPherson Square is not necessarily an easy thing.

Some homeless in D.C. are recently homeless, or they are just passing through town as they look for work. So knowing what services are available — and where to get them — can prove a challenge.

A man who identifies himself as “George or Jorge” says he has been in D.C. for about a month. Donned in a red floppy hat and a colorful fleece jacket, he seems almost too festively hip to be homeless.

For him, homelessness must be temporary. “This is not my life. Trust me,” he says.

George, 27, says he did word-of-mouth research on available services and opportunities before traveling to D.C. from Baltimore. He says to get to D.C. he walked along the railroad tracks from Baltimore, where he had spent two and a half weeks in jail. He continues to gather information on D.C. services, keeping a personal list of resources for the homeless.

Mark, a homeless man who says he hails “from all over,” says he’d like to see more resources for the poor and homeless offered in D.C.— particularly those that offer work opportunities.

With a bike trailer in tow, he cycled to the city recently from Hagerstown, Md., and has been trying to find work helping couriers and delivery people. However, finding people who will pay him for his help has been a challenge, says Mark, a

Page 5

soft-spoken middle-aged man who rolls his own cigarettes.

“I’m not good at panhandling, so I gotta — I’ll go to work,” he says, explaining that he sometimes seeks work through Labor Ready, Inc., a temporary-employment firm.

In D.C., those who volunteer their time admit that more resources and planning at McPherson would be helpful. Nazer, the Martha’s Table volunteer, says there are plenty of people donating their time to help with homeless issues. “My feeling is that we have enough volunteers. What we need is resources,” he says, explaining that organizations like his turn to restaurants and grocery stores to help provide food.

“And we need money to make this sort of thing work.”

Nazer says he also might like to see mental-health support offered at McPherson Square.

Better coordination among the charity groups would be good too, he says, explaining that on occasion his van has returned to Martha’s Table with trays of untouched food – because visitors to the square had already been fed by another charity.

Uncertainties ...

And indeed, despite the routine that goes on at McPherson Square, there is a great deal of unpredictability here. As the sun sets, a pony-tailed woman in an SUV pulls up along the square. She opens the back of her vehicle and, with a cigarette dangling casually from her mouth, begins handing out clothes, blankets and other necessities to whoever wants them.

She says she is with no particular charity. She has come on her own, and she says she visits the square about once a month.

For her, funds are not a big issue. Many of the items she has collected have come from dumpsters — other people’s trash.

She gives her name as Cathie and says she has visited about six dumpsters to collect the items on this night. “It’s unbelievable, the waste,” she says.

One regular points out that, ironically, many of the items that people give to the homeless end up being thrown away again, scattered around the park by them as they no longer need the items. Still, he admits that the items fill immediate needs.

Among the most sought items are socks, soap, belts, underwear and bags, Cathie says. A McPherson Square visitor elaborates on the needs of the homeless, explaining that people especially want shoes, shirts and hoodies before offering up a pair of khaki pants out of the back of Cathie’s SUV. (The pants are frayed at the cuffs but are otherwise fine.)

Cathie says she regularly visits the square because she went through a period of unemployment a couple of years ago and came to realize that she could have wound up on the streets. “This could be me,” she says.

Nazer of Martha’s Table has a similar view. He says for him, volunteering is almost like an investment. “It is so easy in America to step on the wrong side of the line,” Nazer says. “You never know what’s going to happen in your life.”

We at the Homeless Voice in Florida wish STREET SENSE all the luck in the world! www.homelessvoice.org www.searchandhelpus.org

Coming soon: Search via www.searchandhelpus.org on the web and you will help the homeless at the same time not costing one cent. 954-925-6466

Page 6

INTERVIEW

Street Sense November 2003

Rep. Norton Speaks Out on Housing, Employment and Homlessness Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) is a fourth-generation Washingtonian.

She is serving her seventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Nationally recognized as a civil rights leader and tenured professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, she was educated in District of Columbia public schools. Norton successfully led the effort to free legendary Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer from jail, was an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, chair of the New York Commission on Human Rights, and chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Jimmy Carter. Congresswoman Norton has received numerous honors and awards for her public service.

Street Sense spoke with Congresswoman Norton about homelessness in America at her office. Muata Jordan Langley conducted the interview.

goes up at a time like this when joblessness goes up. People who can’t pay their rent are put out in the street. Extended families are not available in the way they were– in the same location to take care of people. Therefore, we allow people to fall through the cracks or fall through the holes.

We seem not to care.

SS: The U.S. Conference of Mayors (December 2002) reported that cities are facing “high housing costs and a weakening economy,” which have contributed to increased shelter and food assistance demands and inadequate homeless assis-

all gathered here in the Congress to scream out against that, and most of that money got put back in. That shows you where housing is in the priorities of this administration, and, for that matter, of this Congress.

SS: Speaking of cities, “quality of life” ordinances passed and enforced by local governments and private business districts are re-emerging – violating homeless persons rights and removing or preventing them from entering public spaces, even criminalizing their actions. Are we headed backwards in public policy for homelessness?

Street Sense: Thank you for granting this interview, Representative Norton.

Eleanor Holmes Norton: Let me first congratulate you on the work of establishing a homeless newspaper in this city– and I am especially pleased that homeless people will be vendors. A problem for homeless people is income in order to pay for affordable housing. I think you educate us at a time when we are greatly in need of it.

SS: Homelessness has not disappeared in the U.S., the world’s richest and most powerful nation. In fact, it appears to have increased. Why have poverty and homelessness persisted in a nation with such enormous wealth?

Norton: The appearance of homelessness in the western world when that was not a phenomenon before is very troubling. There are a large number of people on the street who can’t take care of themselves. That’s one whole large group. But frankly, the major cause in our country is the lack of government support for affordable housing. You can’t expect the private sector to develop affordable housing. They are in the profitmaking business. The Bush budget had a huge reduction in government support for affordable housing. The government is directly responsible for ending homelessness. Very frankly, it is not on the agenda much up here. Of all the great issues: healthcare, also off the agenda.

Only prescription drugs are on the agenda.

SS: Studies show that at least 2.3 million, and perhaps up to 3.5 million, people experience homelessness at some point during an average year.

How does one explain such startling numbers?

Norton: Some of those numbers come simply from joblessness. Most of it comes from the fact that if for some reason you no longer have access to affordable housing, you will have a very hard time getting into any kind of affordable housing.

Thirty-nine percent of these people were families - that means people with children. This is outrageous. Single occupancy has disappeared. Homelessness

“ I hold this administration absolutely responsible -directly responsible- for the very large increase in homeless people,” Norton says. tance services. With the shortage of jobs and escalating housing costs, is this a perfect recipe for “accelerated homelessness?”

Norton: Of course it is, and that’s what we’re getting. We’re getting quite accelerated homelessness. This is what the Bush economy is giving us - joblessness. Loss of 3 million jobs; imagine, we’re losing jobs.

We don’t know when we’ve ever seen that.

The economy is losing jobs at a breakneck speed. Piled on top of that are the other problems of society and of affordable housing. So we really see homelessness increasing at a galloping pace. Yet without the pressure, I must tell you, the Congress of the United States won’t do much about it.

The problem is: When is the last time I’ve seen a bill come to the floor to deal with affordable housing? They, of course, do deal with their requisite Section 8 and we do fund public housing. In the Bush budget, when it first came out, it had a huge reduction in funds for public housing. We

Norton: We may well be and we’ve got to do – I’ll give you an example in a National Park Service park. I got a call to my home from a constituent [who lived in a neighborhood] where children play in the park. And they were complaining that they’d called Park Service to talk about how homeless people defecated in the park and had essentially taken over the park. Well, see what you’ve got to do in that case; you can’t say, well, I’m sorry, this is a public space so anybody can go in here. You’ve got to recognize a park is for children– and yet if homeless people have no place to go, what are they supposed to do?

I believe we’ve got to send into that kind of space personnel to help homeless people deal with their homelessness. I do not say that homeless people should be allowed to set up housing in a park where children play and where families gather.

But I think we have an actual obligation to send the medical personnel, the social service personnel into that park to help

homeless people find a place where they can in fact go.

And I think you can’t just say get the homeless out of this public space. Nor can you require that the public space be turned into a homeless shelter. And yet we are not dealing with the fact that we have a clash of important sectors in the society. Instead you have, increasingly, regulations and laws that don’t deal with the problem at all but simply move it around.

SS: There are visibly many homeless in the nation’s capital. What effect does this have, if any on tourism?

Norton: From the point of view of being the nation’s capital, it ought to be the last place where homeless people are.

As for tourism, homeless people can only have a negative effect on tourism because they obviously beg anyone they can find.

They look unkempt, and therefore it doesn’t help tourism. People are going to come to the District anyway because you can’t see the monuments or the Capitol any other way. But we have an obligation — a very special obligation — to in fact eliminate homelessness.

SS: In the mid-1990s, there was a vision for the District of Columbia as a showcase for homeless assistance services. Can DC, the nation’s capital, be the future model for homeless services and programs?

Norton: I think it could for two special reasons. One has to do with the size of the city. It is not like dealing with homelessness in New York or Chicago, where you have a very huge population.

Two, it is the nation’s capital, so there ought to be interest beyond ourselves. There ought to be interest by the federal government. Twenty million people come here a year– many of them are the constituents of my colleagues, who have an interest or should have an interest right along with me.

SS: The Bush Administration has sought increased defense spending and a budget of $87 billion for Iraq while pushing back domestic programs for vulnerable people. What does the Bush report card look like for homelessness?

Norton: He hasn’t shown up for class for homelessness. He doesn’t even pretend on homelessness. I hold this administration absolutely responsible – directly responsible– for the very large increase of homeless people.

SS: Are there solutions we can draw from the past in order to eliminate homelessness as we know it?

Norton: There are lots of solutions out there– they just lack funding. We got this big shelter on D Street. We got that shelter on D Street because there was a huge need. There was no place for all of these people to go. We learned over the last twenty years that as important as shelters

Continued on the next page

Street Sense November 2003

NORTON From previous page are, the most important thing you can do is provide a transition to a home. Many homeless people in shelters and in transition facilities need services, not just a place to lay down their head to rest. There are just countless success stories about people who went through that kind of transition.

Otherwise, we are not even dealing with the problem of homelessness when we put somebody in a shelter and we think we’ve done enough.

In my own way in the Congress, I have tried to deal with housing. I recognized that Congress was not going to subsidize affordable housing. I was able to get a tax credit and $5,000 homebuyer credit absolutely up and down the income scale. You can imagine what it means to low-income mothers. But it also helped middle-income people to buy houses, and we need middleincome people in the city in order to help us deal with homeless people - with the taxes it takes to deal with poorer people in our cities. So, the $5,000 homebuyer credit has been great and is a very popular program here– and completely funded. It is federal income tax.

Not only I, but also Democrats, who tend to care most about this issue, have had almost no success with this president.

We were able to get Hope VI. We’re a little more concerned about whether those housing units have been replaced unit for unit, however, which is the notion of Hope VI. Not making ghettos of people who needed affordable housing, particularly poor people, but integrating them with the larger community seems just to make sense.

As you put mixed-income on line you’ve got to make sure that somewhere you are replacing the housing that poor people were in.

SS: As Congressional Representative and advocate for the District, are there solutions you would offer to end homelessness in America?

Norton: There are things we can do, but we don’t want to do them. We don’t put the priority on homelessness. We see the homeless. We’re very sorry about it but other priorities go – that is the way in which this society works.

One of the most important things that people who are advocating on behalf of the homeless could do would be to organize them. Homeless people have to make a big show of organizing the homeless so that people in the Congress and people in local and state legislatures see that – “Watch out, they’re organizing these folks now, they are going to see that they get to the ballot box. The next time that X, Y or Z comes up I ought to look more closely at it”. Rich people’s votes aren’t worth any more than mine– or the vote of the homeless man on the corner. When they go to count they don’t count the rich from the poor; they don’t say the rich one counts for twice as much as the poor one.

Registering homeless people to vote. Doing what other people do - having a march on the Capitol. Having a march in your local hometown of homeless people and their allies. You get labor people, you get working people, and you get many people.

We have got to be with them. In very real sense, many of them are less able to simply do it. We must help them to become a visible constituency to improve services in this country.

D.C. NEWS

Family Shelter: Supply vs. Demand

- Families that Applied for Homeless Services - Families that Received Homeless Services Source: Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness

CCNV from p. 1 “The only thing we can do is to give them a bed,” she said. “We are trying to help them get out as soon as they can, but there are so many barriers on the outside.”

Bishop said that mothers who come to CCNV are increasingly referred there by the city’s central intake office for homeless families – known as “25 M” because of its location in Southwest – but some still come on their own. Generally, these families have an immediate need for shelter, she said, and many of them are either not D.C. residents or have recently been in the shelter system, making them ineligible for services.

One of these mothers, Ramona Hawkins, came to CCNV in the spring of 2002 with her 11-year-old daughter, Chaz, after their home in Prince George’s County burned down. She said that during the first night in the shelter her “knees were knocking,” as she lay in the dark listening to the other women and children just a few beds away. “I didn’t like it and I wanted nothing to do with it,” she said.

Hawkins said that when she arrived, the shelter had absolutely nothing for children in the way of play space, games or even a quiet place in which to do homework. Since June, mentors from a program through Project Northstar have been coming to CCNV on Thursday nights to tutor and play with the children, but when they leave, their books and games go along with them.

But the lack of entertainment for children was nothing compared to the living conditions, according to another mother, Demetria Reeves. She came to CCNV shortly before Hawkins, after she lost her apartment when it flooded. She arrived with two sons, ages nine and 12, a sevenyear-old daughter, and one on the way.

“Honestly, I was happy they took me in, but after a while the living conditions were not good,” she said. “Worms came out of the sink; the toilets always look like somebody defecated on them; and there was foul smell of leftover trash.”

She said not only were the conditions bad, so was the company. At CCNV it was an everyday occurrence for children to hear adults curse and see them fight, and occasionally the children would be on the receiving end.

“There was a lot of women who just didn’t like kids and weren’t afraid to let them know,” Reeves said.

Both Reeves and Hawkins and their children moved into homes of their own a few months ago after more than a year each in the shelter. Mothers currently in the shelter declined to be interviewed.

While these mothers and children at CCNV make up only a small portion of total number of families in shelter system, their presence is startling because this shelter was never meant to house families. CCNV, which takes up the majority of the space in the Federal City Shelter building near Judiciary Square, was established in 1984 for single adults. But according to Bishop, the first families started showing up about seven years ago.

In February 2000, when women and children were becoming a regular presence at the shelter, the D.C. government decided to enforce its contract with CCNV that specified that the shelter was only for adults. The Department of Human Services (DHS) shipped all the families out of CCNV to D.C. Village, its largest family shelter. The contract was eventually changed to include children on a temporary basis, but conditions at the shelter changed little.

And it is still technically illegal for families to stay at CCNV, since an outdated law requires families in shelters to have apartment-style housing.

Nevertheless, soon after the District’s crackdown, a new batch of women and children came knocking on Bishop’s door, and she created CCNV’s first official space for women with children in a wing that also housed single women. Though it was not until the last year that families really started flooding CCNV, Bishop said.

She admits that CCNV is no place for children but said that she would try her best to accommodate any family that shows up there. Bishop said that she is adamant about enforcing the no swearing and fighting rules, and that she has tried to get the children play space in another part of the Federal City building, only to have it taken over by the city for another shelter.

“I don’t want children here. This is an adult shelter,” she said. “But if they don’t have somewhere else for them to go, I’m not going to send them back onto the street if I can do something about it.”

Szcerina Perot, staff attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said that Bishop has little choice but to take in these families. She added, however, that the District, through 25 M, should not be referring mothers to a place that breaks the law and has substandard conditions.

In addition to CCNV’s failure to meet outdated apartment-style shelter law, its basic conditions are not up to the District’s standards for children. The shelter space is incredibly unsanitary, Perot

Page 7 said, and far from what the Child and Family Services Agency, according to its guidelines for child neglect, would consider an appropriate and safe living environment.

“There are mininum health and safety standards you want to provide your kids, and D.C. should not be encouraging people to bring their kids in this rat- and roachinfested place,” said Perot.

So why is the city referring families to a place that does not even come close to its own standards?

Debra Daniels, spokeswoman for DHS, said that that CCNV is not part of its shelter network and should take in families, but that since Bishop has accepted families, DHS will let them go there when there are no other options.

In 2002, 2,278 families, including 5,183 children, applied for emergency shelter in Washington, according to the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness’s latest statistics. And of these families, less than half – 1,064 – received emergency shelter over the course of the year.

This is up 10% from 2001 and has increased by an astonishing 130% since 2000, according to the Community Partnership, the organization that supervises the shelter system in D.C. Though the Community Partnership anticipates that this number will grow by at least 5% in 2003, Bishop and others said that the District has done little to find more transitional housing space or to move the women out of the shelters system faster.

In fact, though CCNV, like all other shelters, is, in theory, temporary housing, Bishop said it is not uncommon for families to stay there for more than a year.

As for housing programs, DHS provides financial assistance, couseling, and case management services to help families avoid homelessness through the Community Care Grant, according to Daniels. Daniels added that DHS is constantly looking for new shelter space, and wants all families out of emergency shelters.

However, Steve Cleghorn, the Community Partnership’s deputy executive director, said finding more District-sponsored family shelters or transitional housing buildings is unlikely.

“There is a bit of a problem opening up a new emergency shelter for families,” he said. “Not only are there funding issues, but it has just gotten to the point where it’s very difficult to open multi-unit facilities for homeless families. Those days are behind us.”

PLACE YOUR AD HERE! call 202-737-6444 ext. 17 or e-mail: streetsense@nationalhomeless.org

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

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POETRY FROM THE HOMELESS

Street Sense November 2003

For Cush Giles (R.I.P.) For so long he stumbled through the streets still his journey is far from completed much too soon he appears to be burdened and old yet every passerby was cheerfully greeted. . .

As you pass him on your way to work believe me he knows that you pretended as you went upon your merry way that you didn’t see his hand extended

Untitled Oh Lord I ask again and again what made this aspiring mind regress why do his shoulders hunch in true surrender why do his eyes plead no contest No one knows the hurt he feels inside no one knows the pain I felt around his neck he wore a sign which read Cold, Hungry, Homeless please help

© Pierre Valdez Lewis

Is life waking up each day to find no shoes to adorn my feet to starve myself incessantly just to watch my children eat Is life always so punitive a pain with no redress I know you gave but one life to live but I’ve died a thousand deaths My youngest passed the other day her stomach was swollen fat if you grant one wish and I am the one to chose I would not wish to bring her back I suppose her sins accompanied birth her life was bleak and hard she found no joy in being the wretched of the earth so she prayed to an unseen God

Bringing America Home We are strangers in this universe no one knows the language we speak our belongings are ever at our side abandoned dwellings are where we sleep

The bible spoke of great famine our wounds are fresh and raw I pray again to ask if you will lend a miracle to Ethiopia. © Pierre Valdez Lewis

When it rains we huddle under plastic please relieve this degrading shame there’s no affordable houses here now tell me, whose to blame I’ve named my child America for might and power shown but this country turned its back on me please bring America home © Pierre Valdez Lewis

Pierre Valdez Lewis is a native Washingtonian who developed a thirst for writing while incarcerated in 1978. He quickly developed his own style and writing has become his forte.

Street Sense November 2003

POETRY FROM THE HOMELESS

Service with a Smile The sandwiches are made of cardboard and withered leather; yet they’re delivered with a smile made of spun-gold sunlight.

In the leafy park, a white van parks before a hundred hungry souls, neatly queued.

A nameless volunteer hands out sandwiches, two by two, limp squares of nothing much; the smile she beams into each blank face casts a spell of sudden warmth on this blustery gray-sky day.

The mind behind the smile teems with calculus and Chaucer, and with climbing tendrils of romance with a suntanned boy in his high-school football jacket.

The soul behind the smile has escaped a somber grid of suburban streets where cookie-cutter houses are scenes of bitter combat over heavily-laden dinner tables.

Behind the smile are memories of Panama City Spring Break nights laced with sweaty lust and chilled tequila shots.

The eyes behind the smile peer at the rugged reality of the park where spent men on benches cradle forty ounces of winter, where tattered notes of ten and twenty change hands among the penniless for purchase and sale of tiny packets of empty solace.

The hungry men furtively admire warm, firm curves behind the smile; the volunteer secretly dreams of her football jock.

When sandwiches are gone, the white van departs, with the smile and night descends bringing the men and the volunteer hours of lonely solitude.

-- David Harris

The Least Among Us Look at the faces of the least among usthree bright-eyed girls skipping rope behind a chainlink fence on a field sown with rusted needles and shards of bottles A young mother kneeling with a scrub brush washing away years of grime a stooped old man trudging a grocery cart bearing all the artifacts of a full and turbulent life, swollen feet bursting out of rotting shoes.

Look at the faces of all these mothers, sons, wives, grandfathers.

Do not offer scraps of moldy bread or threadbare garments worn by six generations of bodies; do not offer pockets full of spare change or tears of leftover pity.

Look at the faces of the least among us, see how they mirror yoursyou who are a sister, daughter, cousin, son, friend to someone just like those who wander deserts, looking for a drop to quench their thirst.

-- David Harris

David Harris is a native Washingtonian and has been a writer off and on for 20 years. He is active in Miriam’s Poets.

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Page 10

FEATURES

Book Reviews Nickeled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich Hoping to find some “hidden economies” in the lives of low-wage laborers, historian Barbara Ehrenreich spent two years trying to eke out an existence as a member of the working poor. In her book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, she details her struggles, along with those of others who are trying to survive on $6 to $7 an hour, focusing on the particular drudgery of the work that women do in disproportionate numbers.

Many reviewers have taken issue with what they deem to be Ehrenreich’s elitist removal from her subject.

Ehrenreich is an academic, and her interest in the power of discourse, and the discourse of power, comes across Owl Books 2002 in Nickel and Dimed. One of the book’s most disturbing subjects is the way in which so many of these workers, robbed of energy and resources, start to feel dehumanized.

Ehrenreich presents her experiences by recognizing that the only way to honestly portray her subjects is to self-consciously acknowledge her own subjective limitations.

In a revealing aside, Ehrenreich explains that, despite the combined pressures of maintaining both a busy career and a personal life, she cannot bring herself to employ a domestic laborer. “This is just not the kind of relationship I want to have with another human being,” she writes.

Instead of coming across as condescending to those who must labor in other people’s houses anyway, this choice reflects a practical humanism.

Ehrenreich also reminds her readers again and again that she has, indeed, led a privileged life, and she highlights the tension between her own comfortable experiences and those of her co-workers, making it clear that their plights are far worse, and far more real, than hers is. What she does assume is that all people, regardless of gender, race or income, want and need to be treated as feeling and reactive beings capable of making their own choices. -- Annie Hill

Flat Broke With Children by Sharon Hayes Between 1996, the year in which the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was implemented, and 2001 welfare enrollment dropped by more than half.

This statistic has been widely trumpeted as evidence of the success of welfare “reform.” Sharon Hays, a University of Virginia professor, asks what happened to these recipients, who were overwhelmingly single mothers, in Flat Broke With Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform.

Hays spent three years in two American cities observing measures that required recipients to work a minimum of 30 hours a week, regardless of how many deOxford Press 2003 pendents they had, and limited each recipient to five years’ worth of assistance. She describes the practicalities of the laws and their application in these cities, which she calls “Sunbelt City” and “Arbordale” in order to protect the anonymity of both the welfare agents and their clients, in a measured tone that, at first, contradicts the frustration felt by both groups.

Hays separates the competing discourses of the act into two sections; the “work plan” reverberates with a liberal American ethos of individualism and “self-sufficiency,” while the “family plan” attempts to channel women into family units in which the state is replaced by a male breadwinner.

What Hays discovers is that the law effectively polices women out of the safety net, humbling the welfare applicants with an odd merger of the public and private sphere.

Women must accept blame for their circumstances; they are told that their immoral choices have led them into poverty and that the only way out is hard work and sacrifice.

Untenable work requirements make it clear to these women that not only is there no agency or institution on whom they can rely, but that they will be punished for moral failure if they leave the unreliable, and often abusive, fathers of their children. As Hays points out, it should not take long for a woman to figure out that her only option is to find a man for support, as recommended by the congressional authors who stress the importance of the traditional family unit.

What emerges as a particularly egregious injustice in Flat Broke With Children is ow today’s welfare and labor laws erode women’s ability to make their own choices. While the rhetoric of personal responsibility and choice are laid solely at the doorstep of these women, there is no regulation of the employers who pay such dismal wages for such arduous work. It is hard not to ask, like the Arbordale welfare childcare supervisor, “Who is gonna make the general public wake up and understand that it is not acceptable to do this to an entire population in our culture?” - Annie Hill

Street Sense November 2003

Cook’s Corner This recipe comes from Adam Haas at the Brethren Nutrition Program at the Church of the Brethren. Haas, who is a cook there, said that the kitchen often makes the recipes and it gets great reviews. He added that shepherd’s pie is a fairly easy meal to prepare, particularly when serving to a large group of people.

Shepherd’s Pie Serves 100, but can be divided for smaller groups 25 lbs. ground beef 50 c. (about 10 regular bags) frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans) 35 – 40 lbs. (about 100 cups) mashed potatoes 4 c. butter ½ gallon milk Powdered garlic, pepper and salt First, start the meal by cooking the meat. It can be spread out on large cooking sheets or in pans and baked in the oven. Set the oven at 350 degrees and let it cook for about 20 minutes (or until it is cooked completely through).

Take the meat out and put it into six-inch deep pans.

Cover the meat with about an inch and a half of veggies.

The mashed potatoes can be prepared with either fresh potatoes or instant potato mix. If you use fresh potatoes you must boil the potatoes until soft and then mash them all together. If you use an instant mix, then you must boil water and then slowly mix in the instant potatoes.

Once the mashed potatoes are ready, mix in butter, milk, garlic, salt and pepper to your liking. The mashed potatoes should then be placed over the mixed veggies about an inch and a half to two inches deep.

Cover the pans and place them in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour and a half.

Pull the pans out of the oven and let the cool until the Shepherd’s Pie is ready to serve.

The Brethren Nutrition Program is a soup kitchen located in the Southeast at 4th Street and North Carolina Ave. It feeds between 90 and 160 people a day, Monday through Friday. The doors open at 11:30 a.m. and food is served at noon until 1:30 p.m. The kitchen always serves bread, soup, a dessert, a main course, and many times a side. The program is heavily supported by area churches and run by volunteers.

Street Sense’s HOW TO...

This month: HOW T O...SLEEP TO...SLEEP ON THE STREETS Where you sleep on the streets, whether in a park, on a bench, in an alleyway or under a closed business awning, depends on the type of weather and the temperature.

When it’s cold outside, the best place to sleep is on a steam grate. But when you can’t find one of these locations, the average sidewalk will do.

If you make your bed directly on the sidewalk, you should start off by using cardboard as a mattress. You can find cardboard in most big dumpsters. Lay the cardboard flat on the ground where you are going to sleep. It separates you from the cold concrete and helps prevent you from getting hypothermia or pneumonia.

Always put a blanket over the cardboard so that it covers it and serves as a thin mattress. And always have another blanket or heavy coat for your bed quilt. Use a bag that has a few pieces of clothing in it and feels comfortable and snug for a bed pillow. Also put into this bag any personal belongings such as important papers, money and anything else that is valuable to you.

Shoes can go under the pillow, and now you are ready to go to sleep. As you lay down in bed for the night, you need to remember to keep an eye and ear out for trouble. Good night!

George Siletti is originally from Long Island, N.Y., and lived previously in Florida before moving to Washingto.n.

He has been homeless off and on for 25 years.

Street Sense November 2003

EDITORIAL

“Bumfights” Sequel: Cause for Alarm In front of a camera, they beat each other for food, beer and money. One bloodied homeless man pummels his foe in a public toilet. Another tears out his teeth with pliers and rocks. Billed as the star and formidable antihero is “Rufus the Stunt Bum,” who voluntarily rams his head into fast-food restaurant signs and breaks his best friend’s leg in a brawl.

These degrading and blatantly exploitive sequences make up the 60minute shockfest, “Bumfights: A Cause for Concern,” which was released in 2002. After four misdemeanor convictions, seven felony charges, three civil lawsuits, and condemnation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Las Vegas producers Ray Laticia and Ty Beeson released a sequel to the controversial video this fall.

Already banned in some countries, many will consider this sequel just as alarming as its predecessor.

But what is even more alarming is that that violence against homeless people is getting worse — and now more people are videotaping it.

Last August, in Chicago, four teenagers videotaped themselves beating up and urinating on homeless people. The same month in Cleveland, teenagers videotaped each other taking turns shocking homeless men in their genitals with stun guns. The tapes have yet to be released to the media, but Sgt. Ray Burner, who led the investigation in Cleveland, says, “I’ve never seen anything like it in 18 years, except on T.V. Did you ever see the movie ‘Jackass?’ Well, that’s essentially what we’re talking about.”

Some say that today’s youth can’t separate reality and fiction.

A scene of a homeless man getting punched in the new “Bumfights” sequel.

This video isn’t fiction. Its premise is brutal and straightforward. Kids get the idea that this harassment is O.K., older teens realize they probably won’t get caught, and 20-year-olds concoct projects in which they too can make money from similar exploitation.

There is a new video from Canada, complete with a flashy bumfights.com-like website, called “Crazy Pricks.” This video includes scenes of twentysomething men driving around in their sport utility vehicles asking homeless men for directions, punching them, and then driving away, laughing. This isn’t about raising the level of “political correctness;” this is about protecting a struggling class of our society.

Incidents like these leave us to wonder: How deep does this run?

The answer is not an easy one.

Homeless people don’t have cell phones to use to call 911, and many are not

considered reasonable witnesses because they suffer from alcoholism or mental illness. Police don’t specifically track hate crimes against those experiencing homelessness, and, all the while, municipalities across the country are passing anti-vagrancy/homeless laws, pushing the most vulnerable population into the shadows– and into isolated situations.

These careworn people have no place to go, and are more and more vulnerable to people who think it’s amusing to degrade homeless people and catch it on video.

— Christopher Herring For more information on how the video was made, legal proceedings, and press reports, please visit http://www.nationalhomeless.or g/ civilrights/hatecrimes.html.

A Call for a Universal Living Wage There are three reasons why homelessness is a persistent problem: lack of affordable housing, lack of health care, and the federal minimum wage.

The government tells us that 42% of America’s homeless population is actually working. The problem is that many of these people are earning only the minimum $5.15 per hour. We don’t need the U.S. Conference of Mayors to tell us – though it has in a recent report – that $10,300 per year is not enough money to live on. Some employers might pay as much as $8.00 per hour, but even that is not enough to get or keep most folks in housing.

Some advocates say that this problem can be resolved by raising the minimum wage to as much as $10.00 per hour. Again, that would not afford any minimum-wage worker an efficiency apartment in Washington, D.C. or other major cities. However, at the same time, that flat wage would burden small businesses all across America in cities like Biloxi, Miss., or Harlingen, Texas. In fact, this is Congress’s biggest problem: One wage size no longer fits all.

What does fit, however, is the Universal Living Wage formula, which ensures

that anyone working a 40-hour week Based on federal government statistics, will be able to afford basic rental housit is conservatively estimated that, with ing (i.e., an efficiency apartment) wherimplementation of the Universal Living ever that work Wage formula, over is done throughout the one million homeless United States. people will be able to A Universal Living Wage Using governwork themselves off formula ensures that ment guidethe streets. This would lines, the living also likely decrease anyone working a 40wage for an costly turnover, repetihour week will be able to area is what a tive retraining costs, business would high absenteeism, and afford basic rent. have to pay per internal theft.. hour to emFinally, enacting this ployees so that formula will create a if the employee true economic stimulus worked 40 hours a week, 30% of that in- package and would prevent economiccome would equal the Department of based homelessness for all 10.1 million Housing and Urban Development fair minimum-wage workers. market rent in the area.

The Universal Living Wage formula is based on the moral premise that anyone -- Richard Troxell Chairman, ULW Campaign working 40 hours a week should be able to afford basic rental housing. To this end, the national Universal Living Wage cam- For more information on the Universal Living paign was formed, and it has garnered wide Wage campaign, go to www. spread support across the United States.

UniversalLivingWage.org

Page 11

SOWHAT? Personally I have never advocated panhandling — a euphemism for begging.

I get up at 4 a.m. to make my daily trek to a day-labor facility located in Virginia.

Mind you, day-labor companies are often perceived as being scams due to some of their seemingly unscrupulous practices.

However, day-labor companies do provide a tangible semblance of structure and opportunity for society’s disenfranchised by providing employment — a valid alternative to panhandling.

Employment is also conducive to motivation and a sense of self-esteem, both of which are essential in the uphill climb to stability.

But, as we all know, there are two sides to every coin, and there are as many negatives surrounding day-labor facilities as there are positives. Namely, day-labor companies exploit a labor force discarded by mainstream society. They offer no healthcare, no life insurance, no upward mobility, no living wage, and thus, no light at the end of the tunnel. Daylabor companies are merely Band-aids for the economic and social ills of an ailing society.

Since they are in the business of making money, it is not surprising that they skim a portion of your wages and charge you for everything from gloves to safety glasses.

Also a company that uses, a day-labor establishment for employees cannot hire one these temporary workers directly unless the day-labor establishment is compensated. Thus, by working for a daylabor company, even though they provide you with no benefits, stability or steady income, you become “their property.”

And, while many companies insist that all applicants submit to a urinalysis prior to employment, day-labor facilities only demand a specimen if a person is injured on the job. Of course, the ramification is that if your urine or blood sample shows evidence of alcohol or drug use, the day-labor company is absolved of all its responsibility for medical care, including ambulatory ser vices and workman’s compensation.

While I refuse to be as ignorant as some and assume that everyone that worked through a day-labor company is either and alcohol or drug abuser, I can’t help wondering if permanent employees are subjected to the same scrutiny when injured.

But who am I to imply that there is a disparity in workplace treatment between the haves and the have –nots?

– Pierre Valdez Lewis

Please send all editorial submissions to: STREET SENSE c/o: National Coalition for the Homeless 1012 14st. NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20005

Page 12

LEGISLATION

Street Sense November 2003

BAHA: Health Care and Civil Rights for the Homeless The Bringing America Home Act’s health care provisions include the following:

D.C. Council Considers Homeless Rights

By T.J. Sutcliffe The District of Columbia has not reformed its law governing publicly funded homeless services in more than a decade, despite significant differences that have developed between the evolving services for homeless residents and the legal framework to deliver them.

However, legislation now before the D.C. Council seeks to remedy the situation, and amend the city’s laws to better reflect current services and best practices.

The Homeless Services Reform Act of 2003 (Bill 15-241), which was introduced last April, grew out of efforts from the D.C. Department of Human Services, service providers, homeless residents, pro bono attorneys and advocates. Representatives of these groups came together in October 2000, charged by the city’s Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders to find ways to update and improve the current homeless services laws.

Throughout its process, this new workgroup actively sought participation and input from homeless residents, and even held focus groups with homeless individuals and families at more than 30 shelters across the District. Shelter residents repeatedly emphasized that their needs vary widely. They asked for more consistency within the service system, and wanted to be able to obtain open and equal access to services.

These men and women also wanted reasonable and fair requirements and limitations on services and the autonomy to choose when and how to access them.

With this input, the workgroup then spent a nearly two years drafting legislation to reflect the homeless residents’ concerns, as well as those from service providers and the local government.

In early 2003, Councilmember Sandra Allen, chair of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Human Services, agreed to sponsor the legislation before the Council. At the bill’s introduction, seven other council members signed on as co-sponsors, including Kevin Chavous (Ward 7), Jack Evans (Ward 2), Adrian Fenty (Ward 4), Jim Graham (Ward 1), Phil Mendelson (At Large), Vincent Orange (Ward 5), Kathy Patterson (Ward 3).

As introduced, the Homeless Services Reform Act will control the operations of all city-funded homeless services. Specifically, the bill seeks to: - Create an Interagency Council on Homelessness to facilitate coordination within and between government agencies and service providers.

- Provide legal authorization for many of the city’s shelter services that currently lack such authorization.

- Affirm the basic rights of homeless individuals to be treated with dignity, to be free from abuse and discrimination, and to have shelter in cold weather.

- Establish minimum standards for services at and monitoring of publicly funded shelters.

- Ensure due process protections and procedures for participants in publicly funded services.

To date, 251 D.C. residents and concerned individuals and 57 social service, faith, and advocacy organizations have formally endorsed a statement of principles in support of the legislation. With eight out of 13 members of the D.C. Council cosponsoring the bill, supporters hope to see it approved quickly.

However, like all local legislation, Bill 15-241 must be reviewed by the committee of jurisdiction – in this case, the Committee on Human Services – and then approved by two votes of the full D.C. Council.

The Committee on Human Services will begin its formal consideration of the Homeless Services Reform Act with a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003. The hearing will be at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in the Council’s Chambers on the 5th floor. Witnesses can sign up to testify by calling (202) 724-8170.

After the hearing, the Committee on Human Services will set a date to amend the Reform Act and vote on whether to refer the bill to the full D.C. Council for approval.

•

Strengthening of mainstream addiction and mental health services programs. The bill would prioritize services for people experiencing homelessness, avert patient discharge into homelessness, and establish a federal plan on addiction, mental illness and homelessness.

•

Reauthorization of the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness and grants for the Benefit of Homeless Individuals programs. These targeted programs provide mental health, addiction and other services to people experiencing homelessness, but do not meet the growing need. BAHA’s health provisions would expand these services and would also increase the spending authorization levels of these programs.

•

Strengthening of services provided by the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act (RWCA) to people experiencing homelessness. The legislation would also establish a federal plan addressing HIV/AIDS and homelessness to ensure that homeless persons have access to RWCA programs and receive appropriate care.

BAHA also proposes civil rights provisions, including the following: •

Cities receiving federal funds would be prohibited from passing ordinances that have a disparate impact on homeless people or that punish homeless persons for carrying out life-sustaining practices in public spaces when no alternative public spaces are available. Under this provision, cities also would be banned from imposing curfews that would lead to homeless youths being adjudicated delinquent.

•

Cities receiving certain federal funds would be prohibited from passing zoning ordinances or issuing zoning restrictions that have the effect of preventing the siting of facilities designed to serve homeless or lowincome people.

•

The U.S. Postal Service would be required to provide free post office boxes, subject to availability, to homeless persons within the zip code area of the location to which they regularly return.

BAHA from p. 1 population … is the working homeless comprised of families and employed men and women who are forced to live in shelters, on the streets and in hotels because they cannot afford a place to live.”

Among the resources the legislation proposes is a National Housing Trust Fund that would finance the construction of 1.5 million affordable housing units during the next decade. In addition, the bill calls for increased spending authorization for the housing programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, Veterans’ Administration and Housing and Urban Development as well as a reintegration program for homeless veterans. Emergency rent relief also would be established for tenants facing eviction.

The civil rights component of the bill would call upon the General Accounting Office to investigate crimes against the homeless population as hate crimes. The bill also would require communities that receive federal funding for the homeless

to certify that they are not enacting antihomeless ordinances.

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, called the legislation “crucial” because of its comprehensive approach and necessary to stem the “worst form of poverty in the richest nation in the world.”

According to the Coalition, more than a million children live without housing in the United States. In addition, many of the nation’s homeless citizens have served in the armed forces. (See story on page 3.)

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, as well as dozens of municipalities across the country, has passed local resolutions endorsing the federal legislation.

The legislation has been referred to various committees within the U.S. House of Representatives. It is uncertain whether the legislation will head to the House floor for a vote by the end of the year.

If the House passes the bill, it will move next to the Senate for approval.

For more information go to www.BringingAmericaHome.org.

Street Sense November 2003

NEWS

NATION

. . .FROM AROUND THE NATION

NYC Overpaid for Dilapidated Shelters NEW YORK -- An audit of New York City’s homeless service programs found that the city often misspent millions while supplying substandard living options.

In 2002, the city spent $96 million to get more than 4,000 people off the streets, often into homes that were overpriced and/or infested with rats and roaches, according to the Office of the New York City Comptroller, as reported in the Cybercast News Service (CNSNews.com). Some of the homes that were barely above tenement standards - not only infestations, but also peeling paint and mold - yet cost as much as $3,000 a month.

Much of the blame for the city’s poor use of money rests at the feet of a 2000 court order that requires the city to provide same-day shelter for anyone who needs it by 10 p.m. on any given night; landlords could then charge whatever prices they wanted as the city was under court-order to find an immediate placement.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to change the system to require hotel contractors to bid competitively on shelter and housing contracts. With this new system, landlords will no longer be able to hold the city hostage to high prices while offering only sub-standard housing options.

Homeless Village Near Groundbreaking BERKLEY, Calif. -- A self-sufficient village for homeless people is slowly creeping toward becoming a reality for the city’s growing population of homeless families.

The latest hurdle for the Ursula Sherman Village was a pair of underground storage tanks that posed an environmental hazard and had to be removed, according to the Berkeley Daily Planet (www.berkeleydaily.org). This after the site was almost shut down completely because of potential air quality risks due to the proximity of industrial centers in West Berkeley.

Yet even though Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency hasn’t even broken ground on a project conceived more than four years ago, the non-profit continues to remain optimistic about the plan for a self-contained village for 40 homeless families and 80 individuals. They already have the money to build the first phase of the project, two homes that would house about 35 families, which they hope to start building in January. A planned community center near the site remains unfunded.

Concealed Weapon Defense Fails for Homeless CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The fear inherent with living on the streets can legally protect a man who’s caught carrying a loaded gun in an airport. So went an argument in defense of Robert Igoe, a homeless man whose lawyers used an Ohio concealed-weapons statute that says fear of being attacked while doing legal business is a legitimate defense even if you are carrying a weapon under “dangerous cirmcumstances.”

Ioge’s fear was legitimate because, as a homeless person, he is constantly subject to harassment and the threat of bodily harm; his “legal business” was a trip he was making to get a copy of his transcript to continue his college studies. Yet the jury rejected the defense of Ioge, who was arrested while carrying a loaded semiautomatic handgun at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (www.cleveland.com).

“Sleeping on Public Square, OK, I can give you that - you might have reason to fear,” one juror told the Plain Dealer. “But in an airport, post-9/11? There’s no justification.”

Page 13

HUNGER AND HOMELESS AWARENESS WEEK: November 16-22 This week is co-sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness.

Each year, one week before Thanksgiving, a number of schools, communities and cities take part in a nationwide effort to bring greater awareness to the problems of hunger and homelessness. To locate events or find out how your group can organize an event go to www.nationalhomeless.org/awareness.html

Career Expo and Job Fair When: Nov. 20, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Community Service Center, 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE What: Community members are invited to attend the third annual Career Expo and Job Fair. The event will be hosted by Covenant House Washington.

Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless Walkathon When: Nov. 22, 9 a.m. (on site registration begins at 7 a.m.)

Where: National Mall, between 7th and 14th streets What: Thousands of people will walk through downtown D.C. to support 170 organization that work to prevent and end homelessness in the Washington area. These organizations receive money from walkers who register on their behalf and through corporate sponsorships. During the past 15 years the walkathon has raised nearly $34 million for more than 220 organizations. There are also community walks in towns around D.C. Info: To find out more and register for the walkathon or the four community walks go to www.helpthehomelessdc.org or call 1-877-walk-hth

Be a vendor for Street Sense!

Are you homeless or formerly homeless and do you want to work for D.C.’s newspaper for the homeless?

Then write, call or stop by Street Sense!

Phone: 202-737-6444 ext. 17 E-mail: streetsense@nationalhomeless.org

Stories courtesy of Street News Service http://www.alternet.org/sns/

Address: National Coalition for the Homeless 1012 14th St., NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20005

Page 14

SERVICE PROVIDERS AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

SHELTERS Calvary Women’s Center 928 5th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 783-6651 Hours: 8:30am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Housing, meals, storage, showers, laundry facilities, case management, psychiatric care, substance abuse services, life skills program, supported employment program Restrictions: Wait list begins at 7:00pm daily Central Union Mission 1350 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 745-7118 www.missiondc.org Hours: 24/7, check-in time 3:30pm Services: Shelter, supper breakfast, clothing, social, legal, medical and pastoral counseling, GED tutoring, literacy training, computer learning center, family services, women’s ministry and Hispanic ministry Christ House 17 Columbia Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-1100 www.christhouse.org Hours: 24/7 Services: Nursing care for homeless in need of recovery, social services, clothing, housing placement, meals Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347-8870 www.dccfh.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Residential transitional housing, emergency shelter, substance abuse counseling, employment services, Spanish/English staff Community for Creative Nonviolence 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 783-3254 www.erols.com/ccnv Hours: Shelter 24/7; Office 9:00am5:00pm (M-F) Services: Shelter, clothing, dinner (for residents only), medical and dental care, psychiatrist, 32-bed infirmary, legal aid, veterans’ services, social services, counseling, job assistance, drug and alcohol program Dorothy Day Catholic Worker 503 Rock Creek Church Road, NW Washington, DC 20010 (202) 882-9649 Hours: 24/7 Services: Shelter for families or moms and kids, bed capacity 5 families Restrictions: No TV, no violence Gospel Rescue Ministries 810 5th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 842-1731 www.grm.org Hours: 24/7; check-in 3:00pm-9:30pm Services: Food, shelters, clothing, showers, chapel services (if desired), Transforming Lives Recovery Ministries Restrictions: Shelter is reserved for Samaritan’s overnight guests.

House of Imagene Shelters 214 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 518-8488 Hours: 24/7 Services: Bed capacity: 10 Restrictions: Call first; no walk-ins House of Ruth: Madison Emergency Shelter 615 10th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 547-2600 www.houseofruth.org Hours: 24/7; intake at 4:30pm Services: Bed capacity: 64; Spanish/English staff, comprehensive social services Luther Place Night Shelter 1333 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 939-2060 Hours: 4:00pm-7:30pm (daily) Services: Shelter, evening meal, breakfast, counseling, social services, dental care, eye exams, art classes, case management Restrictions: Intake is done on weekdays only at Bethany Day Center Community of Hope 1417 Belmont Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-9091 www.communityofhopedc.org Hours: Shelter 24/7; Office: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: 90-day shelter, medical services, counseling, supportive services, homework, tutoring, career planning, clothing Restrictions: Community Partnership referrals required for housing N Street Village 1333 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20002 (202) 939-2060 New Endeavors by Women 611 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 682-5825 Hours: 24/7; Office: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Bed capacity: 38; case management, education, job training, employment referrals, budgeting and savings requirement, support for recovery, housing assistance Restrictions: Only women over 21 SOUP KITCHENS Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-3066 www.saint-margarets.org/charlies Hours: 6:30am-9:30am (Tu & F) Services: Hot breakfast, social service, art and language classes (ESL & Spanish), speakers’ bureau and bread delivery service Church of the Pilgrims 2201 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 (202) 387-6612 www.churchofthepilgrims.org Hours: Feeding Program 1:15pm-2:00pm; Outreach worker 11:30am-1:30pm (Tu);

Shelter program during the winter (1- to 2week stay for families) Services: Social services, counseling Dinner Program for Homeless Women 945 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 736-9311 Hours: 4:00pm-7:30pm Services: Nutritional meals, clothing, support services, case management services, legal assistance, employment training, emergency referrals and computer workshop McKenna’s Wagon 2114 14th Street Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-6608 Hours: 8:00am-8:00pm Services: Mobile soup kitchen at various locations in NW Washington Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Ave, NW Washington, DC 20037 (202) 452-8926 www.miriamskitchen.org Hours: Breakfast 6:30am-8:00am (M-F and by appointment) Services: Breakfast, counseling and legal assistance weekly, social worker available MF, 6:30am-8:00am and by appointment So Others Might Eat 71 O Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20001 Phone: 202-797-8806 Hours: 7:30am -4pm (M-F) www.some.org Services: Meals, hot showers, clean clothing, comprehensive medical and dental care, residential employment programs; a therapeutic day center for the mentally ill, counseling and case management for alcohol and drug addictions, affordable housing for homeless people Washington City Church of the Brethren 337 North Carolina Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-5924 www.brethren.org Hours: 12:00pm- 1:30pm Services: Hot meals, legal services, 12:15pm (W); African American, 12:00pm (Tu); medical assistance, consultations and prescription help, 12:00pm (Th)

Street Sense November 2003 Washington, DC 20032 (202) 610-9630 www.covenanthousedc.org Hours: 8:30am-8:00pm (M-F) Services: Food, clothing, education, assessment, life skills, recreation, health and fitness, legal services, pastoral care, residential resources, case management, job training, youth opportunity center Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 842-1112 Hours: 8:00am-2:00pm (M-F) Services: Emergency food baskets, clothing for men, night shelter (8 beds Nov. 1April 1) Restrictions: Proof of residency required for food assistance Food and Friends 58 L Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 488-8278 www.foodandfriends.org Hours: 8:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Home-delivered meals for people with AIDS and cancer, affected families and nutritional counseling for HIV/ PLWAs Restrictions: Referrals preferred MEDICAL RESOURCES Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 745-4300 Hours: Project Office, 9:00am-5:00pm (MF); On-site clinic hours, 8:00am-5:00pm (M, Tu, Th, F); 10:30 am- 7:30pm (W) Services: Medical Clinics at Federal City Shelter, Christ House, House of Ruth, Emry Shelter, Upper Cardozo Clinic, Bethlehem Clinic, Woodland Terrace Clinic, HIV Day Center, Central Union Mission, Blair Shelter, East of the River Clinic (F)

Zacchaeus Community Kitchen 10th and G Streets, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 393-9144 Hours: 9:30am-11:30am (M-Sat)

Whitman-Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 797-3500 www.wwc.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F); HIV/STD testing after hours by appointment Special Services: Sliding fee scale insurance, Medicare and Medicaid accepted; uninsured or underinsured individuals may still access services. No one is turned away because of an inability to pay for services.

Restrictions: Referrals from social workers or medical professionals necessary

EMERGENCY FOOD

OUTREACH CENTERS

Bread for the City 4275 4th Street, SE Washington, DC 20032 (202) 561-5941 www.breadforthecity.org Hours: 9:00am-12:30 and 1:30pm-3:45pm (M ,W, Th, F); 9:00am-12:30 and 1:30pm2:45pm (Tu) Services: 3-day supplemental food bag, clothing, social services on request Restrictions: Must live in SE/SW DC

Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 939-2060 Hours: 7:30am-4:00pm (M-F); 9:00am4:00pm (Sat-Sun) Services: Day shelter, breakfast, lunch, snack, activity programs, crafts, laundry, showers, clothing, counseling, referrals for other services, mental health, and substance abuse referrals

Covenant House of Washington 3400 Martin Luther Ave., SE

Street Sense November 2003 Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW Washington, DC 20007 (202) 338-8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org Hours: 10:00am-1:00pm (M-F); walkins accepted Services: Information and referrals for a variety of services; winter shelter from Nov. 1-April 1 Restrictions: Shelter requires screening Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-6608 www.marthastable.org Hours: 8:00am-8:00pm (M-F); Children’s Program 9:00am-2:00pm (M-F) Services: Mobile soup kitchen and children’s program Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 328-4073 Hours: 7:00am-4:00pm (M, W, Th, F); 7:00am-3:00pm (Tu); 9:00am-3:00pm (Sat); NA meetings 10:00am (M-Sat) Services: Day shelter, breakfast, lunch, crisis counseling, case management, street outreach, referrals, support and education group, legal clinic, 12-step program, showers and laundry facilities

SERVICE PROVIDERS and VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Sasha Bruce Youth Work 741 8th Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 675-9340 Hours: 9:00am-5:30pm (M-F) Population: Troubled, runaway, and homeless teenagers (ages 11-24) Services: Shelter, social services, individual and family counseling, job assistance, tutoring, transitional living program for older homeless adolescents and clothing; reunites families whenever possible or works to find a stable living situation Friendship House 619 D Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 675-9050 www.friendshiphouse.net Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm Services: Emergency food, clothing bank, employment services, crisis intervention, ABE/GED services available Restrictions: ID and proof of residency required; referrals from social service agencies preferred ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Capital Area Food Bank 645 Taylor Street, NE Washington, DC 20017

(202) 526-5344 x223 www.capitalareafoodbank.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Face hunger, hunger awareness class, Brown Bag Program, monthly supplemental food distribution to lowincome senior citizens, Kids Café (afterschool meal program) Restrictions: Must be a 501c3 agency providing meals or food Catholic Charities Homeless Services of Washington, DC 924 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 772-4300 www.catholicchariitiesdc.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Providing permanent, transitional and emergency housing, work and educational opportunities for men, women and families Restrictions: Referrals appreciated; proof of residency and photo ID required Catholic Charities Northeast Community Services 1438 Rhode Island Ave., NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 526-4100 www.catholiccharities.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Case management, intake and

Page 15 assessment, referrals and information Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness 801 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 543-5298 www.community-partnership.org Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Coordinating agency or the District’s public funded homeless services JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20003 (202) 544-5300 jfarberjhp@netzero.net Hours: 8:30am-5:00pm (M-F) Services: Help the homeless or are at risk for becoming homeless seek, obtain and retain employment and secure permanent housing

This is by no means a complete list of service providers. If you want your organization to be included, please send all applicable information to streetsense@nationalhomeless.org.

PROVIDER PROFILE: N Street Village

By Lisa Jones Since 1973, N Street Village has been “welcoming the stranger” by providing choices for homeless women and lowincome families of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds in Washington, DC. What began as a ministry outreach for Luther Place Memorial Church in Thomas Circle is now a $1.4 million nonprofit institution serving 700 homeless women a year. And the services have expanded to include about a dozen different houses and service centers throughout the city.

“Our goal, first and foremost, is to serve as a healing refuge for women,” said Pascale-Emmanuelle Nouama, N Street’s director of development.

Its main healing component is the Wellness Center, which emphasizes the women’s roles in their personal healing.

The center provides services such as yoga, acupuncture, dance classes, women’s health, stress management, massage and many others to low-income women. There is also a dental and eye clinic for the women, and these and all others services are offered free to the women in N Street’s other programs.

N Street’s center for everyday basic need services is the Bethany Women’s Center, which is open every day of the year. This center provides meals, clothing, showers, mail, telephones and other services needed by homelessness

people.

As for shelter and housing through N Street, Luther Place Night Shelter provides free shelter for up to 30 women. For women with addiction problems or mental illness, N Street has the Harriet Tubman House, the Sarah House, and the Sojourner Truth House.

The family services N Street offers include the Eden House, which provides low-income rental housing to qualifying families, and the Early Childhood Development Center, which is a collaboration between N Street Village and United Planning Organization.

The Luther Place Memorial Church created N Street Village after the riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill.

The mission of the project was to extend hospitality to all in a place that brings mutual blessing to both guests and hosts.

And Nouma said that the mission is still true today as N Street Villages tries to provide the basic skills and services necessary to give women hope and the ability to move out of or prevent homelessness.

“We want them to feel safe when they come to us. Of course, because our philosophy is not to put a Band-Aid on the problem,” Nouma said. “We want to

go to the core of the problem and get them off of the streets so they are able to reclaim their lives.”

N Street Village relies on the 1,500 volunteers a year who provide the backbone of the organization. Volunteer opportunities are available every day and at all times at all shelters. Particular needs are for overnight and dinner volunteers at Luther Place, and for

people to help with lunch atBethany’s women center.

N Street Village 1333 N St., NW Washington, DC 20002 202-939-2060 www.nstreetvillage.org

Gates to the N Street Village at 1333 N St., NW

Street Sense Vendor Code of Conduct 1) Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree to not ask for more than $1. I understand that I keep 70 cents of each dollar collected.

2) Street Sense can only be purchased from Street Sense staff (at the National Coalition for the Homeless).

3) I agree to treat all others—customers, staff, other vendors—respectfully.

4) I will not give a “hard sell” or make someone feel threatened or pressured.

5) I agree that I will not ask for additional donations and will not vend after midnight.

6) I agree to only sell Street Sense and no additional goods or products as a vendor.

7) I will not sell Street Sense under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

8) There are no territories among vendors. I will respect the space of other vendors, particularly the space of vendors who have been in a spot for a longer period of time. I will stay off of private property.

9) I will always present my badge when purchasing papers and display my badge while selling papers to the public.

10)I understand that Street Sense strives to be a selfsustaining paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of money for the homeless. As a result, I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

Where your dollar donation goes:

$0.70 To the Vendor!

$0.30 For printer/ production costs

Homelessness on the Rise People who have used D.C. homeless services

Vendor Profile: Fred Anderson

In 1989, Anderson, who is formerly homeless, became an AmeriCorps Vista outreach worker at Miriam’s Kitchen’s for eleven months. There he developed a knack for working with homeless people. In March 2000 he became director of the nutrition program at the Washington City Church of the Brethren. For 23 months at the nutrition program, Anderson reached out to families and homeless individuals in the community , and helped them develop management skills and other life skills to prevent homelessness. He is currently working as a security guard at Miriam’s Kitchen and as the vendor coordinator with Street Sense.

What about homeless outreach do you enjoy?

What I enjoy about homeless outreach is the fact that I am able to reach out to people in need and establish relationships that are lifelong lasting. I find it meaningful that I am able to shed a little bit of hope on some people’s situations.

Do you have one experience in particular as an outreach worker that sticks out in your mind?

Simply being remembered by an individual that I’ve forgotten about because of the past workload of helping people. Walking down the street and having people come to you and reminding you of the help that you’ve given them, even when I’m not able to remember helping them, that’s fulfilling.

Why do you think there are so many homeless people in D.C.?

I can spend two days answering that question. Mental health issues and economics are two of the main reasons.

Do you have a favorite movie?

“The Matrix” because Neo and I have the same namesake (Anderson…). But really “Cooley High” because I love the music and that Motown sound.

What’s your favorite sports team?

Washington Redskins cause they don’t know when to give up.

FFrr ed rreminds eminds you to only bbuy uy STREET SENSE fr om vvendors endors with a from oper badg pr proper badgee and ID.