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The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper
Cecil. 56 years old. Has no permanent housing and was on the street when some men told him about st. Aloyius church’s hypothermia program. He is now a part of that program.
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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EVENTS
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NEWS IN BRIEF At least 117 people died without a home in DC this year BY WILL SCHICK AND ERIC FALQUERO
Christmas Dinner with the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Wednesday, Dec. 25 // 12:15 pm - 2:30 pm The National Shrine Cafeteria, 400 Michigan Avenue, NE
Christmas Day dinner spponsored by the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Home Delivery Requests: 202-526-8300, extension 101 Volunteer as a driver: 202-526-8300
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25
UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV
THURSDAY, JAN. 23
A Christmas meal at Charlie’s Place
D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings
6:30 am - 8:30 am 1820 Connecticut Ave. NW
Full Council Quarterly Meeting) Jan 21, 2 pm // Location TBD* * Likely 441 4th Street NW
Save the date! Second NoMa encampments community town hall
“Those of you who will be celebrating with your families on Christmas morning, know that we’ll be providing a meal for our neighbors who are hungry and homeless. We’re thankful for all the generosity of folks like you who have donated your time and treasure. Merry Christmas!”
Emergency Response Committee Jan 22, 1 pm // Location TBD* * Likely 441 4th Street NW ***List features only committee meetings. For issue-focused working group, contact ich.info@dc.gov.
6:15 pm TBD Our first community conversation on the encampments in the NoMa neighborhood was well attended and many people provided their input and feedback. We’ve been asked to continue the conversation and provide more focus on solutions. More details to come!
Submit your event for publication by emailing editor@streetsensemedia.org
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We did our part to make the holidays extra special by donating 524 hats, gloves, socks, foot & hand warmers to help @streetsensedc vendors during the winter. We also hosted their holiday party!
I just skipped down the block holding hands with the guy who sells @streetsensedc on the corner. How’s your morning going?
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At 5 p.m. on December 19th, an assembly gathered inside of Luther’s Place Church, which is located north of Thomas Circle on 14th St NW, to commemorate the lives of 81 people who died without homes over the past year. In front of the assembled congregation, speakers took turns sharing stories about people they knew who had passed away, and spoke of the need of providing homes to those who need them. Flanked on either side by Christmas trees adorned with white lights, while mourning those whom they lost, the presenters also collectively lamented the injustice and indignity and senselessness of homelessness. Approximately 100 people had gathered in the audience, many of whom would soon carry signs bearing the names of those who lost their lives and march from the church down 14th Street to Freedom Plaza, where an overnight sleep out and vigil was held. While 81 men and women had been reported to the advocates who organized the event, The Washington Post published information it had obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request showing that more than 30 more — at least 117 people presumed to be homeless — had died in 2019. According to the Post, “The [D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner]’s general counsel, Mikelle L. DeVillier, said 52 deaths were classified as ‘accidents,’ including 44 cases of intoxication and three in which people were struck by a vehicle. Twenty-seven deaths were classified as ‘natural,’ including 12 cases of cardiovascular disease and six cases of ‘alcoholism.’” The next day, advocates lobbied city officials for increased investment in housing and homeless services. According to an analysis by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, only 3 percent of the city’s budget is spent on its main housing programs. Among those remembered were former Street Sense Media vendors Alice Carter and Chino Dean and a 67-year-old woman previously quoted in several Street Sense articles who gave her name only as Ms. Bobbie. Detailed coverage of these events will be published in the next edition of Street Sense. Our live social media coverage can be reviewed at www.tinyurl.com/MPMD2019.
‘Expand Public Housing, Don’t Evict,’ advocates say BY REGINALD BLACK
In recent weeks, local advocacy group and service provider Bread for the City held two events focusing on public housing issues. The first was a showing of documentary film Not in My Neighborhood, which highlights issues of gentrification in three areas of the world. The group also held a related rally in front of 14 properties owned by District of Columbia Housing Authority to demand they halt evictions of public housing residents from these properties. Find an expanded version of this article on StreetSenseMedia.org in early January.
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NEWS
People experiencing homelessness can transform homeless services if given the chance BY REGINALD BLACK
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced in partnership with Street Sense Media, a street media paper in Washington, D.C., and is part of “The Right to a Home,” a Community Based News Room (CBNR) series that examines homelessness issues across the United States. CBNR is a project of Law@the Margins, and the eight-part series is supported by a Solutions Journalism Network grant. WASHINGTON, D.C. — The word vulnerability gets thrown around a lot in the homeless community. Nonprofits, advocates and politicians in the District of Columbia use it to make the case that they are helping those who are the most in need. And based on the way people experiencing homelessness are connected to housing in the District, it has become what is said to get someone into housing quicker. In 2008, the District of Columbia began to institute vulnerability surveys in order to enact “housing first,” the policy of providing a housing subsidy without first requiring sobriety, mental health treatment or other similar stipulations. Then those services would be provided. This system assumed that those living outside were more vulnerable. At least that’s who appeared to be receiving more vouchers, to the point that some people would move out of shelters to try and achieve housing quicker. The survey collected demographic information and details such as where a person was staying, and how long they were homeless. It did not ask them to identify what challenges they were facing or how to overcome them. Nor did it speak to the vulnerability of shelter residents, or recommend changes to make shelter a viable option to those experiencing homelessness. More than a decade later, the more complex survey tool used today still does not solicit client recommendations to improve the system. The first step to get in line for various housing programs is to complete an assessment that provides a score on the “vulnerability index.” The higher the number, the more vulnerable you are assumed to be. It’s a triage system. Like an emergency room, the people presumed to have the greatest need come first. It takes into account a person’s history of homelesness, physical and mental health, daily living, and/or substance use. When a resource becomes available, the people with the highest vulnerability are considered for it. To make the final selection, other factors are considered on a caseby-case basis, such as records of past usage of shelters or other services. This system pits people in need against each other, arguing over who is more vulnerable. “People are vulnerable in different ways. You really can’t measure vulnerability,” said Kristy Greenwalt, the director of the District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). “The singles population is an older cohort of people with a lot of medical and complex health needs, but then children are vulnerable in a different way.” Greenwalt has a broad view of the vulnerability of those who are experiencing homelessness in D.C. Her role is to serve as an adviser to the mayor and the D.C. Council, as well as to coordinate the efforts of the many agencies that
are working on housing stability for residents. “We need all the partners around the table,” Greenwalt said. “While the agencies are focused on managing their agency, I’m looking broadly across the system.” Although the vulnerability index assessment has led to many vulnerable people receiving housing, many others are screened out for not being vulnerable enough. Greenwalt may not see a better alternative to the Vulnerability Index-Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT), but her system-wide view has called for a fundamental redesign of city-run shelters. The redesign is unique, and promising, because members of the homeless community articulated the needs. As part of this effort, appointed “consumer representatives” — members of the homeless community — were tasked with conducting listening sessions with shelter residents and those who also are living outside to gain a better foothold on how the city can improve its emergency system. As a result, the first shelter to be redesigned by the District of Columbia, the 801 East Men’s Shelter, which sleeps 317 men in six rooms, will be getting rid of bunk beds and reducing the number of beds per room to increase privacy, reduce the sense of being crowded into a place, and reduce the likelihood of theft and fights. It will be divided up into three wings, one for “low-barrier” emergency shelter, one for “work beds” for people who are employed and can’t abide normal shelter hours due to their jobs, and one for seniors and medical-respite beds. As a new building, it will, of course, be cleaner. But the materials and design have been chosen to make it easier to be kept clean, especially when it comes to bed bugs.
Community activism creates effective housing solutions “Nobody feels safe out here,” said Christopher Hines, a 39-year-old D.C. native. “You cannot feel safe sleeping unprotected under a bridge at night — nobody, I don’t
Michael Harris, a 59-year-old carpenter, has been living around Union Station and K Street for the past six months. PHOTO BY REGINALD BLACK
care what kind of person you are.” Hines doesn’t feel safe outside or in shelters. He has been on various waitlists for housing since 2011. D.C. started piloting its vulnerability assessment tool for single adults in 2014. The company that designed the tool, Orgcode, did not conduct any homeless testing. It only used the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify information gaps the agency wanted to fill. The system didn’t account for stories like Hines’s. “My parents died when I was 21. I went to the streets, drugs, crime, been out here ever since,” Hines said. “I stay on K Street by the old Domino’s give or take about 32 months.” Hines is one of at least 607 unsheltered adults in the District, according to an annual count conducted in January 2019. He has chosen to take his chances sleeping outside after what he experienced in city shelters. “The shelters are not safe due to budget restrictions as far as the security,” Hines said. “The administrators, the level of professional education from the staff, the level of professional [education] from the security guards there is very low. People come in there with drugs, people come in there with all types of illicit stuff. Those environments wasn’t safe for me.” Michael Harris, 59, also has been living around Union Station and K Street for the past six months. A lifelong resident of the District, he has been homeless for 15 years and last stayed in the New York Avenue Men’s Emergency Shelter. He also cited violence as a reason not to return to shelters and described a man who was beat up in the 801 East Men’s Shelter and died several days later. “That lets me know the intensity of the assault,” Harris said. “They didn’t kill him right then and there. He died three days later. There have been shootings, there have been stabbings. I think my chances of survival is better right here.” According to Greenwalt, the ICH director, every city is unique, and a lot of cities on the West Coast do not have hardly any shelters at all and have tremendous amounts of unsheltered homelessness. “In D.C., we have a different sort of challenge,” she said. “We have a right to shelter, but we’ve ended up in these large shelters — 300, 800 people. They’re not always very favorable environments for a lot of people. When they say they don’t want to go into shelter because the shelters aren’t clean or they don’t feel safe, those are very valid concerns.” During the Reagan administration’s overhaul of the mental health system in the 1980s, homelessness increased in the nation’s inner cities. The epidemic caught the attention of advocates like the late, great Mitch Snyder, who conducted a 51-day fast to bring attention to the issue. Synder and his organization, Creative Community for Non-Violence (CCNV), were among the first to get into the shelter business by taking over the unused Federal City College building to provide a safe place for people experiencing homelessness to go. CCNV then pioneered a voter-led ballot initiative to give homeless people a right to shelter in the District of Columbia. D.C. was the first city in the United States to give citizens this right and was the first to repeal it. In 2005, the District of Columbia rewrote the ordinance
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to give further clarity to what it means to provide emergency housing services. The new law named the Homeless Services Reform Act, which was amended in 2017, mandates the types of programs that are for people experiencing homelessness with its most accessible component being low-barrier shelter. These programs do not require identification or sobriety requirements to enter. They were intended to stabilize a person experiencing homelessness for 12 hours and no more. The District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction in the region to do so. Recent data produced by D.C. reports that a significant portion of its homeless population migrate between D.C., Maryland and Virginia when seeking emergency housing services, with a bulk of them only eligible for the low-barrier shelter in the District of Columbia. Yet D.C. still has the highest homeless rate in the region and the country. Districts with a right to shelter other than Washington, D.C., include New York City, and the state of Massachusetts, which only applies the right to children and families. California also considered a right-to-shelter measure in 2019.
Vulnerability is a symptom of poverty Harris described half of the places he’s lived while homeless — shelters, residential areas and on the street — as “red-light districts,” which he defined as areas where drugs are being sold or used. He said holdups, assaults and shootings are going to happen in those kinds of areas. Not all of Harris’s time without stable housing has been spent in shelters or in a tent. He is a carpenter by trade and said he was often allowed to stay in the buildings he was hired to work on. He considered those areas to be safe, but his experience shows otherwise. Harris said shootings have occurred in the apartments or houses he was staying in, to the point that he was included in a crime scene investigation. “I think about the time my cat and me hid in a bathtub to use that steel tub as a barrier from bullets coming through the window, the wall of apartments and/or the house,” Harris recalled. A special report by the U.S. Department of Justice analyzing 2008-2012 data found that people in poor households were twice as likely to be the victims of nonfatal violent crimes than people in high-income households. People in poor households consistently had the highest rates of violent victimization. “Exposure to violent crime damages the health and development of victims, family members, and entire communities,” according to a 2016 HUD report. “Low-income people and racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected.” Hines is faced with an issue that most impoverished citizens in the area have to consider, the idea of moving. “I’m at the point where I’m thinking of relocating out of state because I don’t think it’s actually feasible to stay here in the city with so much money, so much power, so much politics, so much freedom, but yet the simplest thing like a place to stay [is unavailable],” he said. “The smallest things are stepped on.” There are too many hurdles when seeking services, particularly needing to visit various providers just to get the documentation to qualify for the service you need. These long processes result in only helping a few people at a time, which creates a bottleneck where there are more people needing the service. “What prolongs the crisis itself [is] only a few people can get in at a time,” Hines explained. “I feel as though nobody is getting the services that they need because it’s not sufficient. There are services out here, no doubt. They’re not sufficient.” The District of Columbia only spends 3 percent of its overall budget on housing, according to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. While there is a lot more room for investment to help people, those living outside and those residing in shelter do differ in their definition of safety.
Christopher Hines, a 39-year-old D.C. native, currently lives in a tent encampment. PHOTO BY REGINALD BLACK
Bert, a native Washingtonian in his 40s who only gave his first name, said he felt safe in city shelters, though certain things bothered him. “People are always arguing, fighting about something,” he said. “When I got here, my phone got stolen five times. That’s really the only thing I got a problem with.” Bert said he went to a different shelter first, and liked it better, but had a problem with needing to adhere to an earlyafternoon curfew to get a bed. “I would definitely recommend shelters because I wouldn’t want to see anyone sleeping outside in the cold, or something might happen to them.” Every community has to remember that people are not only experiencing housing instability. They also face the many problems that are associated with poverty. Poverty can show up in different ways. For the most part, it impacts transportation to and from places in a region. The lack of resources causes people to take a desperate mindset. These nuances and input are not traditionally asked when producing programs to solve a problem. Usually, think tanks and employees are asked to think of how things can be done better. This leads to gaps in how those who are impacted by the problem are included in solutions.
Homeless-led solutions lead to better opportunities The ICH has proposed a drastic transformation of its shelter system. Its current emergency housing stock is in buildings not meant for the purpose of residences. For example, D.C. General Family Shelter was originally a hospital and converted into a shelter after the hospital was closed. According to Greenwalt, at its peak, D.C. General sheltered about 288 families. During 2014, then-candidate for mayor Muriel Bowser made a campaign promise to close the decrepit D.C. General Family Shelter. At the time, she was one of several councilmembers calling for the closure after many complaints from shelter residents. During that same year, an 8-year-old girl was kidnapped from the shelter by a staff member. Public outrage further called for the facility to be closed. In her first month as mayor, Bowser created a community pledge to end homelessness and expressed interest in overhauling the District’s response to homelessness. Her subsequent strategic plan to end homelessness over five years laid out action steps to redesigning emergency shelter for families and singles. By now, the city has opened five of what it calls “short-term family housing facilities.” With the opening of these new program-oriented family housing sites, the mayor was able to close and begin demolishing D.C. General.
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This is a bold step for the District of Columbia, a place that has laws about sheltering its residents but has never built the facilities to support these programs from the ground up. D.C. has only been able to repurporse buildings not meant for shelter use, including two halfway houses and an office building. While designing shelters for people that include services such as case management on site is a huge step forward from repurposing old buildings, D.C.’s short-term family facilities still lacked input from homeless families. That’s changing as the city works through the early stages of redesigning a singles shelter in Southeast. The facility will replace the shelter where Bert now stays and will be enriched to include the services that the current facility lacks. “We are looking at how we can rebuild our emergency housing stock,” said. “We have some great lessons learned in the family system. We are seeing how the right environment can help stabilize people more quickly.” When the District was relying on D.C. General and motels, the average length of stay was over a year. Now families are averaging a shelter stay of 90 days or less, according to Greenwalt. “Even under the best circumstances, if someone loses their housing and needs to find new housing, we need to make sure there is a safety net in place,” Greenwalt said.
Watch an in-depth interview with ICH Director Kristy Greenwalt at www.TinyUrl.com/LATM-listen
We need a culture shift and a new way of thinking about those who are in need of housing. People who are experiencing homelessness or have experienced it need to be part of policy making. When Orgcode developed the VI-SPDAT assessment, it was based on missing data gaps that appear in every system. Still today, there is no real way to measure how vulnerable a person really is from that person’s standpoint. In D.C., it took a lot of effort just for the homeless community to be a part of the ICH. Now, there are four homeless representatives. Their presence has started to change how we are helping people by asking them what they need directly. Listening to the people that are directly impacted by a problem helps inform D.C.’s homeless services every day because the impact of the problem varies from person to person. These conversations are ongoing. In 2019 , the ICH convened an entire monthly workgroup for homeless community engagement. That group led the process of creating surveys and holding focus groups to bring people experiencing homelessness to the table to inform the 801 East redesign. It also provides an official forum for homeless residents to raise their concerns, which the homeless community representatives can then try to solve. It’s time to change how we measure all of the things that make a person vulnerable. Fifty-four people were known to have died without a home in the District of Columbia in 2018. Washington, D.C., is leading the way on building client leadership into its homeless services system, but there is still a long way to go. The homeless need more influence on oversight. Impoverished or underserved communities must be given avenues to lead this paradigm shift. Lives depend on it. Reginald Black is a native Washingtonian who experienced homelessness on and off from 2008 to mid-2019. He is a reporter and vendor for Street Sense Media and serves as a consumer representative appointed to the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness. He’s also involved with several organizations founded by people experiencing homelessness.
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NEWS
I am one of the 12,000 youth who is homeless in California. One day, I’m going to have my own house. BY JUSTIN JONES
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced in partnership with Street Spirit, a street media paper in Berkeley, California, and is part of “The Right to a Home,” a Community Based News Room (CBNR) series that examines homelessness issues across the United States. CBNR is a project of Law@the Margins, and the eight-part series is supported by a Solutions Journalism Network grant. BERKELEY, California — I became homeless at the age of 8 or 9 after my mom enrolled in a 90-day rehab program. My dad was a part of the problem and wasn’t present after she took the steps to a better life. While she was there, my grandma’s sister moved into our apartment to take care of my older brother and me. But when my mom got back, we moved into a family shelter in Berkeley. After that, we never really stayed anywhere for longer than a year. We stayed in most of the family shelters in Berkeley, such as Sankofa, which was specifically for women with children. After moving through those, we started living with family friends. It’s hard to keep track of how many places I’ve lived. I am one of the homeless youth living in California. The reality is that many young people are fighting the conditions of homelessness when we’re still works in progress. According to the 2019 Point-in-Time count, California is home to 12,396 unaccompanied homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 25 — one- third of the nation’s total. In Berkeley, 225 such youth were counted in 2019. YEAH!, an emergency youth homeless shelter program in Berkeley, reports the demographics: three-quarters male, 54 percent Caucasian, 85 percent local, 73 percent active drug or alcohol users, 36 percent with mental health problems, half are not high school graduates, and 79 percent have no source of income. Couch surfing youth are not counted under the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition of homelessness. Advocates suggest that when accounting for that demographic, the number of unhoused youth in Berkeley hovers around 400. But I am more than a statistic. I graduated from Berkeley High School in the Class of 2015. This moment was a high point for my family. It was exciting for me as well. But despite the people in the crowd at Berkeley’s Greek Theater, clapping and hoping the best for all of the graduates that day, a high school diploma did not change my conditions. Not long after, I moved out on my own. Splitting up was the best financial option left for my mom and me. It was cheaper for each of us to rent a room somewhere than to find a place together. I ended up couch surfing with a friend who lived in foster care in Oakland. Five or six months flew by. I enrolled in the fall semester at Berkeley City College, but I had no clear vision of where I was going. Finally, they notified my friend that she would lose her housing if I didn’t leave. I never intended for
my friend’s housing to be jeopardized, so I knew I had to go. One of the on-site staff members at my friend’s foster care helped me get a bed at a place called Turning Point — a transitional housing program in Berkeley for homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 25. It is one of only three transitional housing programs for youth in Alameda County (Covenant House and East Oakland Community Project are the others). In order to be eligible for the waiting list, I had to prove I had stayed in a shelter before. So I spent a night at a shelter in Oakland. I paid five dollars for an overnight stay, food and a chance to shower. The experience was highly triggering and uncomfortable for me. After growing up in shelters, it didn’t feel great to wind up back in a shelter. I was 18, and everyone else was in their 40s and 50s. It was heartbreaking to see those other people. I was fighting the fear of shelter living becoming a constant in my own life. “There’s lots of trauma and lots of mental health concerns or symptoms that get exacerbated by being homeless,” says Kellie Knox, the project director at the Fred Finch Youth Center, which runs Turning Point. “And also lack of stability. A lot of people have been so many places it’s hard to get your life together when you’re constantly moving around.” I moved into Turning Point in March 2016. It was two or three months before I unpacked my things. In every living situation, I resist unpacking because part of me doesn’t know how long I’m going to be there. Eventually, I did unpack. As a resident, I had access to more than enough resources. I got to see a therapist, a financial adviser, and attend big group meetings. It felt more like a boarding school or a dorm situation than a shelter. I ran into a couple of people that I already knew, which made it a lot more comfortable to be there. And the services did help. All of the meetings were mandatory. They encouraged us to learn how to budget and helped residents set up savings. There was staff who could help you figure out what you wanted to do for work and a bulletin board with job listings in a common area. And my therapist was pretty cool. I finally had the chance to talk to somebody who hadn’t been involved with everything I had been going through since graduating high school. I was not alone in feeling this way. Mary Stackiewicz is another former resident of Turning Point. When she was 18, her parents died, and she moved in with family members. Later on, one of her guardians died. The other kicked her out. At that point, she became homeless. Then, she found her way to Turning Point. “I found the services there very helpful,” recalls Stackiewicz. “I was taking advantage of the housing resource [a weekly meeting where a staff member would pass out applications for subsidized housing].” When Mary’s time Turning Point came to an end, staff helped her navigate Impact Hub, Berkeley’s
I am more than a statistic.
Justin Jones outside his current residence in Berkeley.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STREET SPIRIT / THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS
coordinated entry system for homeless people. Through the Hub, they found her permanent housing. That’s one of the limitations of Turning Point. Residents are only allowed to stay there for up to a year. Even though I always knew it would be temporary, I never got used to the adjustment that this was the next step, and that I would soon have to take control of my own future. That’s the thing about homelessness. Housing services like Turning Point are time-based, and poor people don’t have time for forward-thinking and planning. This is especially hard for youth. I didn’t have a clear definition of myself. Not having a sense of home causes youth dealing with homelessness to get attached to feelings of comfort. You get attached to friends and other people to make up for feeling isolated. If you can’t escape loneliness, you deal by escaping the anxiety of your circumstances. For me, I was skipping class to smoke weed, experiment with mild drugs, and hang out with friends. This is common for homeless youth. Some studies say that up to 81 percent of homeless youth experiencing homelessness use drugs or alcohol. I felt like I had no distinct focus. When I realized I only had six months left at Turning Point, I started to turn my attention to finding housing and a job. Turning Point has a bulletin board of low-cost Craigslist postings for housing. My budget was $500-$600 per month. I ended up trying all the listings on the board. For a long time, I had no luck. I either got no response, a fake response, or was told that the room was taken. This was also a struggle for the other youth at Turning Point. As time went by, people’s time there ran out. The staff did the best they could to check in and ask how the housing search was going, but that didn’t change the fact that they had to rotate the current residents with others in need. Only one or two people secured housing that I knew of. They found a place to rent, or family came around. The other people ended up just going back out to the streets.
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CELEBRATING SUCCESS According to Turning Point, during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the program served 19 youth. Of this group, 82 percent exited to permanent housing situations. Additionally, 60 percent of youth who entered the program with no income exited with some sort of income, and 55 percent of youth who exited left with competitive employment. I got a job at a dog daycare, which was right down the street from the sublet in West Oakland for $825 per month. It was surreal to have my own room and pay rent. But in order to make enough money for rent, I took a step back from school. The shift was strange. It felt as if I was playing tug of war with my future and the choices I had to make to meet immediate needs. The difficulty that I was having was moving forward from what I had been through. The weight of being on my own and building a future for myself was heavy. The definition of what it means to plan for the future never set in for me. Navigating from my first step out of the shelter, as well as wanting to “keep up” with the same people I sat with on graduation day was clashing. Craving some sense of normality made life itself feel like a never-ending race. Many homeless young people share this experience. “Not being able to shower, so you weren’t exactly clean for your job every day. Not being able to eat every day. Having to find places that give out free food and hoping you don’t work during those hours. Finding a way to get on public transportation without paying the full price,” says Stackiewicz, describing the daily struggle of youth homelessness. “[For some people], finding the things they want to do that help them survive, they don’t really have the means to do it. I feel like that’s a huge impact.” I had the opportunity to dictate my life but got comfortable in the short-term accomplishment of having my own room. I didn’t change up what I was giving myself, though, and was reaching burnout. My burnout pushes me toward always wanting to escape where I am at whatever cost. I always get
this pent- up energy, that I wanted something different, but didn’t know the steps it took to get it. At some point, this pent-up energy came to a head, and I quit my job after about a year. I had this idea that I wanted to take a road trip and do a video documentary called “Where Did I Go?” around the U.S. It sounded more fun than working at a dog daycare, but I lacked the overall in- between plan for where I was and how I intended to make it happen. But before I could plan the trip, I got kicked out of my housing for drinking in my room with a friend. I packed a backpack’s worth of stuff and got on a BART train to Berkeley. I slept outside in the hills that night, up by the rose garden. When I woke up in the morning, I had to find a new place to live. For the last two years, I’ve been staying with a friend’s family in Berkeley. I am working and helping them pay rent. It’s hard to figure out where I want to go from here. My brother recently moved in with us, and I took an extra job to pay his portion of the rent, to make sure he doesn’t have to be out on the street or bounce around like we’ve always done. It’s a familiar journey. “I tell them when they get here. This isn’t where you land. This is just where you rest while we figure it out,” said Dwayne, a shelter coordinator at DreamCatcher Youth Services in Oakland, on the organization’s website. “For most, it feels like a landing, and when they leave, it is because that landing was soft enough to let them rest unbruised and unbroken until they were able to start ‘figuring it out.’ “ I am doing my best to figure things out. When I think about the future, it revolves around wanting a house where I can invite my friends and family. It’ll be me achieving the little things, but they will be the greatest achievements from my position. That’s what comes to mind when I think about the future. Justin Jones is a 22-year-old who lives in Berkeley, California. Alastair Boone, edotr of Street Spirit, assisted with the research and writing of this story.
Ron Dudley, better known as Pookanu, celebrated the release of his book on Dec. 18 and continues to sell copies of it. PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO
Aritst and Vendor Ron Dudley published his first book of poetry, “My Science Project,” with the Paris-based nonprofit Fondation IPSEN.
BIRTHDAYS Sybil Taylor Dec. 25 ARTIST/VENDOR
Deborah Brantley Dec. 27 ARTIST/VENDOR
Ricardo Meriedy Jan. 2 ARTIST/VENDOR
Our stories, straight to your inbox Street Sense Media provides a vehicle through which all of us can learn about homelessness from those who have experienced it. Sign up for our newsletter to get our vendors' stories in your inbox. Mary Stackiewicz, a former resident of Turning Point.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STREET SPIRIT / THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS
Bill Bedrossian, executive director of Covenant House California. PHOTO COURTESY OF STREET SPIRIT / THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS
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COVER
The McKenna Center Singers. Front Row: Cortez McDaniel (Director of Services), Roland Winkler, Max Quinn, Gary Dickens. Back Row: Derek Stewart, Danny Dotson. Not Pictured: E.L. Copeland. PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE // CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Men experiencing homelessness lead community in 100-year-old Jesuit tradition STORY BY ALEXANDRA KELLEY PHOTOS BY RODNEY CHOICE Volunteers
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n the refurbished basement of St. Aloysius Church on North Capitol Street, community members and parishioners gather for an intimate holiday dinner prepared by volunteer chefs as a prelude to a prayer service that will commence in the sanctuary upstairs. It is clear this is a special occasion based on the festivities, the chatter, and the attire – but make no prayer and song based on a 101-year-old tradition that began in Cambridge, England. The dean of King’s Chapel there, developed a way for residents from Cambridge University and the city to celebrate Christmas beyond the “standard” liturgy of the Church of England, according to the McKenna Center’s website. “By weaving scripture with song and drawing upon a variety of participants, this service not only became a way for people to begin healing from the recent devastation of World War I, but also, through annual BBC broadcasts, developed into a tradition which many communities adapted for their own Advent and Christmas celebrations.” The evening Advent and Christmas celebration is a traditional ceremony that marries prayer to song for an distinguishes the service at this little church at the edge of the
Gonzaga College High School: the McKenna Singers. This group of homeless and formerly homeless men help sing, compose, and direct the service. The gathering is hosted by the Church and its homeless services program, The Father McKenna Center, whose mission is to accompany and care for individuals experiencing homelessness, educate youth about homeless issues, and address families and seniors experiencing food insecurity in their neighborhood. The service provider has been guided by the Jesuit ethos of helping those in need through service and compassion since it was established in 1983. Take Max Guinn, one of the McKenna Singers, who is a devout Catholic and a resident of the District currently experiencing homelessness. “Homelessness is something that comes from making mistakes,” Guinn says, citing past problems with drugs and alcohol. He is adamant that the McKenna Center’s winter incentive, The Hypothermia Program, is not a shelter, but a program. “We have things we have to do in order to rebuild our life” Guinn is right. The Hypothermia Program is an idea unique to the McKenna enter – it accepts up to 15 men who are discernibly able to end their homelessness and are provided with the resources and case workers to help them. As a member of the Hypothermia Program, Guinn is thriving. “I’m working on rebuilding my life.”
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Guinn excuses himself to get ready for the service. He and the fellow McKenna Singers – a fraternity of men experiencing homelessness who are a part of the McKenna Center – are changing into more formal attire. We meet again in an auditorium adjacent to the McKenna volunteers wait for instruction. The person to give them that instruction is Father Philip Gunir. A priest with a graduate degree in conducting from Notre Dame, Gunir is excited for the forthcoming Lessons and Carols prayer. Despite his enthusiasm and excitement, Gunir asks the McKenna Singers and other choir participants to “lean into the program,” and to think of the Lessons and Carols as a simple prayer service, not a special holiday show. As the musicians rise to take a photo, Father Gunir asks everyone to “casually, imperfectly, walk together as one community” as they head upstairs towards the sanctuary. Filing into the aisle between the pews, the singers face each other and have their backs to the crowd of parishioners. They begin with a Call to Worship, beginning with “O Frondens Virga,” and then “O Come Emmanuel.”
The next hour is made up of a series of admonitions, lessons, and carols. All are essentially biblical, but some are more traditionally spiritual and some are medleys made up underscores a message of hope and self-rejuvenation through a biblical allusion. The closing four verses – not a quatrain, but still poetic – are intended to guide parishioners and singers to a deeper self: For each of us There is a desert to travel, A start to discover, And a being within ourselves to bring to life. This verse in particular coincides perfectly with Dr. Kimberley Cox’s vision for the McKenna Center. As the executive director of the McKenna Center, she understands the degradation and dehumanization often accompanying homelessness. This Advent ceremony, as well as the McKenna Singers program, was something she dreamed of doing when “I dreamed about doing this because I really believe that
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singing together is one of the most uplifting things someone can do,” Cox explains. She also feels “that for people who are homeless, being able to accomplish something and have a feather in your cap” is no small matter; it proves that one is capable of achieving and inspires housing-sensitive people to believe in themselves again.” With the help of Cortex McDaniel, the director of the McKenna Singers, Cox was able to bring this dream to life. McDaniel, who has also experienced homelessness, “knows what it took for him to stop being homeless, so he shaped a As the prayer service concludes with “Joy To The World,” up. People come up to her telling her how much of a success it was. Cox believes them, but knows that the advent service means “This is a real demonstration of the fact that they can do something incredible...and it helps them on their journey,” Cox says, “We’re trying to give them [men experiencing homelessness] a sense of deserving–you’re going to have to work hard–but you deserve more and you can achieve it.”
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OPINION
How I evolved from fundaloon conservative to fire-breathing liberal BY JEFF TAYLOR
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irst off, what the heck is a "fundaloon" anyway? Well, you won't find it in Webster's, but it's a compound word coined on the internet (dailykos.com specifically) that uses the "funda" part of the word "fundamentalist" and the word "loon." A fundamentalist in this context is a religious zealot who rejects science in favor of a literalist view of the Bible. A loon is someone who is crazy. So a fundaloon is a crazy religious zealot. And I was one. A proud unapologetic one. Raised to be one. Long before I had a clue about politics. I was simply raised in a conservative Christian sect that, like so many others, teaches a specific theology that says only they are right and everyone else is wrong. It just so happened that the particular nutty brand of theology I was raised on aligned with conservative politics. Back in the early '80s when I was a young know-it-all in my late teens, I happened to catch a glimpse of a show called PTL Club where they were showing photos of aborted fetuses. And that was when I decided that I was a Republican. And based on that one single issue I stayed a Republican until the run-up to the 2000 election. At that time it was pointed out to me that the next president would pick Supreme Court justices and that would directly affect me at some future point. See, I'm gay, always have been. So, for most of my life, I struggled mightily to reconcile the dogma that had been crammed down my throat with my sexual orientation, over which I had no choice. It was around this same time in my life that I, through my musical talents, became connected with the Presbyterian Church USA. While still a Christian sect, it was
markedly different from the fundaloon tradition in which I was raised. As I became more immersed in the theology of the PCUSA, it became increasingly difficult to see where the Republican Party came anywhere close to aligning with my Christian values. Instead of a party that was representative of so-called Christian values, the GOP, in my plain view, was a party of lies, cruelty, and greed. They weren't at all the party of Christian values. They were the party that knew how to use those "values" to manipulate voters into supporting policies that were not in their interests.
It became increasingly difficult to see where the Republican Party came anywhere close to aligning with my Christian values. My political evolution and my spiritual evolution have been one and the same. I'm a passionate individual with a strong devotion to social justice. The Democratic Party isn't perfect. They've got a few too many folks high up in the establishment who are far too devoted to maintaining the status quo. But for better or worse, the Democrats by light years come closer to representing my values; my "Christian" values than Republicans ever will. Jeff Taylor is a Street Sense Media artist and vendor.
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.
“Reaching New Year.”
IMAGE COURTESY OF MOHAMED MAHMOUD HASSAN / PUBLICDOMAINPICTURES.NET
MOVING UP:
How to plan for a successful 2020 BY ARTHUR JOHNSON
As we come to the end of another year and the end of a decade, this is a good time to build a path towards the goals you have for yourself — or come up with some new goals. It has never been a good idea to just let life happen to you, especially now in a technological age where the world is changing faster than most people could have imagined. You want to approach the New Year with not just an idea about what you want to accomplish, but also a plan on how to get there. Here are some ways to plan for a great 2020. First, stop making New Year’s resolutions. Set New Year’s goals instead. Resolutions are useless. Many people make resolutions every New Year’s — sometimes the same resolutions every year. If you visit a gym in January, you will see many people there that will never set foot in a gym the rest of the year. People don’t take resolutions seriously. After a few weeks, they give up and go back to the habits they were trying to change. When you set a goal, however, you have something specific you really want and you also work at motivating yourself to stay on track to meet your goal. You can work on your goals all year (or until you accomplish them), while most people give up resolutions within a few weeks. Second, do some research on the internet to find examples of people who have accomplished what you are seeking to do. If the individual who has done it before has a blog or YouTube channel, you can subscribe and get motivation and advice. Also, if there are changes in the world that affect what you are trying to do (for instance, changes in the economy), you can learn how to weather those changes and still meet your goals. Third, get a planner. It does not matter if it is an app on your phone or a physical notebook you carry with you — get yourself something you can use not only to plan your day but also to keep track of your tasks and progress on a weekly or monthly basis. Review your goals at the end of March, June, and September to make sure that are on the right path to completing your goals by the end of the year. Hopefully you are motivated now to aim for success in 2020. Have a happy and prosperous New Year! Arthur Johnson is a volunteer writer focusing on finance and economic issues in his column “Moving Up.” Any questions or comments can be emailed to AJohnson@streetsensemedia.org.
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ART
How to eliminate government waste and help people in poverty BY JOHN NICHOLS
For true liberty to exist, people’s attitudes should not be “what can the government do for us” but “we will take responsibility ourselves.” Also, “we will pay for what we use.” The overriding principle of public policy should be “no more free lunches.” A well-run, completely free market system would enable a high standard of living, safety and security, affordable food and housing, and excellent health care for all. Many federal programs are wasteful, fraudulent and abusive. The people should demand that the reckless spending of the U.S. government stop. Government and civil authorities must work to guarantee a stable money supply. Overspending beyond the resources of the government unnecessarily creates inflation, forcing people to work more in order to purchase the same amounts of goods and services. In order to reduce inflation, Congress needs to establish control over the money supply. Reducing inflation improves the general standard of living. It also helps eliminate poverty and sets an example for the rest of the world to follow. The out of control spending can be addressed by reconsidering or even abolishing the following U.S. government departments:
under the condition that it be spent on items or services for their schooling. Another option would be to have part of the money escrowed in investment accounts with the remainder to be spent on current school expenses. Higher education like university level degrees are often a poor investment. Student loan debt is a huge burden on the borrower. A home loan can be a more productive investment than a student loan. We live in a time when the average person has access to vast amounts of information. Thanks to the internet, information is ubiquitous and cheap. Videos are freely available online for educating, training and teaching people skills. Trade skills in plumbing, electricity, carpentry and masonry (for example) often prove to be worth more than a college diploma.
Overspending beyond the resources of the government unnecessarily creates inflation.
Department of Homeland Security DHS was created in response to 9/11. The disaster could have been prevented, but several government agencies charged with defending our borders failed in their responsibilities prior to the attack. Rather than create this new department, Congress and the president should have had better oversight of the agencies that failed. In an ideal world, people treat others with dignity and respect. Economies produce decent living wages for all, resulting in the elimination of poverty and crime. Borders become two-way gates for tourists and business partnerships, not desperate people seeking to escape misery at home by crossing the border illegally. When natural disasters occur, the people rise to the occasion with sufficient private and corporate resources to handle the crises and assist the afflicted.
The Department of Education DOE has an annual budget of around $70 billion. There are approximately 70 million people under the age of 18 in the United States. That represents approximately $1,000 dollars for every child. Those funds could be better invested by giving them directly to the children
The Department of Agriculture
People should eat only safe and healthy food. The free market is the best system to guarantee this. All commercially sold food should be taxed and the funds used to finance safety inspectors and proper labeling. As standards of living increase, eventually assistance programs will become obsolete. All socialist-type programs such as “pay not to farm” subsidies will be phased out. When the DOA was created, the United States was primarily a farming country. But now the economy is primarily service driven so the DOA is much less necessary. And note that a “Department of Services” does not exist!
The Department of Labor Today, the average worker is safer and better paid than when the DOL was created in 1913. In the past, workers had little to no ability to negotiate with their employers. Businesses could lay them off for any reason without concern for their future. Today, employee relations are important to businesses as producing quality goods and services. Corporate and civic associations have benefits that businesses enjoy and standards, regulations and guidelines that they adhere to. These agreements do not involve taxes. The government plays an important role in protecting its citizens, but has many departments, agencies and programs that are wasteful and unnecessary. As government becomes less necessary in a strong economy, its citizens will enjoy a higher standard of living. John Nichols, an Arlington native, has been writing about Christianity, economics, and politics since 1996.
2020 BY DARIAN D. HICKMAN // Artist/Vendor
As the year comes to a close and a new one begins maybe one last time to be with family and friends and prayers to be forgiven for this past year's sins. In 2020 I plan to win, throwing all doubts into the wind.
P.S. Thanks to all the readers and all the supporters of Street Sense Media.
Some people may break some may bend; sometimes it's not how you start or how it ends. Just being able to learn life's lessons is a blessing and I wish you many. So have a stress-free and prosperous 2020.
Treading The Waters Part 23 BY GERALD ANDERSON Artist/Vendor
When we were last with Gerald in his hometown of New Orleans, he was kickin’ it on the streets with his friend Minew who was telling him about an opportunity with a big player, Sam Clayton, also known as Skully... We used to go to Houston’s. Houston’s is a restaurant in the Garden District of New Orleans where they sell all soul food. We over there at lunch time, we go sit up in that joint. All the dope boys, the killers, the whatever, they pop up in there. And Skully had a girl called Muscles. Minew used to always tell me about her. I used to see her and d*** she fine. I see why they call her Muscles. Minew say, “Man, Gerald, man... I’m telling you, man, she trying to holler at me.” I say, “Man, stop fakin.” He say, “Shit… You think I’m fakin? Boy, watch this…”. So Minew says, “Man, come on, we got a 5.0. Come on, you drive. Push.” I push the car. We drive. We get to the restaurant. He say, “Look, there she go right there.” I was like, “Man, you messing with a heavyweight champ girl. That’s money.” He told me, he say, “What, you scared?” He say to her, “Where you going?”
She say, “I’m gong to eat.” He say, “How about when I get in there, I need to talk to my man for a minute.” She say, “You know you got that, baby.” When I heard that, I say, “Oh my gawd” So I say to myself, “Man… .” After a while we stood up in the joint. We ate. I got a well done steak and potato. I looked at Minew, I say, “What the next move?” He say, “I might chill with her for a minute. Lay back, kick back.” So I’m sitting in the restaurant, kicking the bobo. I’m telling Minew, I say, “Man, s***, you got a problem you got her.” See, at the same time I had another big homie called Glen Metz. Glen was a big family dude in New Orleans. He was a big man. He like Sam Skully but he bigger than Sam. So Glen was my man. I liked Glen. Glen was a pretty cool cat with me. But I never knew Glen and Sam had a word, from what the street say. To be continued. Anderson’s first book, “Still Standing: How an Ex-Con Found Salvation in the Floodwaters of Katrina,” is available on Amazon.com.
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ART
Christmas at our home
BY SYBIL TAYLOR Artist/Vendor
My birthday is always holly and jolly, because I share it with Christmas. I get all the blessings, gifts, and joy for both my day and Christ’s day. My parents used to order me a big white sheet cake from Giant with lovely decorations and ice cream on the side. They always left a slice of cake for Santa Claus, along with a few cookies and a glass of milk. They let me cook Christmas breakfast, too. I was 8 years old the first time I picked up a frying pan and cooked eggs and bacon and toast with jam. My sisters and brothers and mom and dad loved my creative cooking! At our house, the holiday was always full of smiles PHOTO COURTESY OF PEXELS.COM and joy and sharing and caring for each other. Each year, we would go into the attic to get all of our Christmas things, including our silver tree and silver and gold ornaments. Then my parents would fix our favorite cookies and milk with a smile. We’d have marshmallows and cocoa and keep the heat up full blast all my Christmases were wonderful. There were always plenty of Christmas gifts (and birthday cards for me) from friends and family. Santa left a million toys the year of 1976! That was the biggest Christmas I had with my brothers and sisters. Back then, D.C. almost always got a snowfall a few days after Christmas. We would all throw snowballs at each other, make snow angels, and just have so much fun. My mom would even take us out to collect fresh snow to make ice cream, It was so good. My parents told me that the day I was born it snowed very high and deep, so much that they had to get a cab from Howard University to Potomac Ave. SE. Mom said I was the cutest Christmas baby and all the hospital staff were fawning over my dimples and curly brown hair. As we all got older, my brothers and sisters and I would still gather at my parents’ house every Christmas Eve and spend the whole day with them. Our final Christmas with my dad was sad for us. We would gather around the bed and talk to him, along with our presents and love. He smiled in good spirits, even though he knew it would be one of his last looks at us. In a way, this was a relief because we knew how bad he hurt by the way he cried in pain on many nights. He would tear up and hold our hands. But it was also incredibly sad. Planning the funeral services was hurtful, especially for my mom. We had a farewell Christmas dinner for him. May all of you have a joyful Christmas holiday and know that any of your loved ones who are gone are home, along with my father, in the paradise of Heaven. There, all sickness and pain is gone and there are plenty of smiles to go around. The are with us. I am happy for another birthday and lots of gifts and cards. I am always out selling my papers with a smile and greeting for the many cheerful people that I meet. I’m grateful for all of you in my community. Merry Christmas to all across the world, with lots of joy and smiles and blessings and kindness!
There is a rumor going around that you are a figment of the human imagination. I know this is not true because I have written you for six decades and, once in a while, you've given me most of what I asked for. If you are not real, why is your likeness plastered on everything from billboards, to soda bottles, to cards and boxes? Further, I’ve seen you before Christmas. In fact, I saw you last night on top of someone’s roof with your sleigh, reindeer, and a huge bag slung over your back with my presents in it. Oh, it was definitely you! Your skin is white, your hair is white, your beard is white. Although, one year I saw you standing outside the grocery store with a bell and a swinging charcoal-black pot. You had clearly been to the beach because you had a really dark sun tan. Don't forget your sunscreen and sunglasses next time! Oh, it was clearly you — you did not fool me. So the question is, are you fake? Someone started a nasty rumor and said you weren't real. Since you and I know you are real, would you give the following gifts to all and prove you are the real deal? The list: • Housing for everyone, all over the globe • Health Care for All: Teeth and brain health included • Food of choice on every table • All inclusive SNAP(food stamps) • No cost taxi, bus, subway fares • Free parking passes It’s a lot to ask. The first and most important thing is to fill your bag up with housing for everyone.If you do this, and I know you will, then the whole world will know you are not fake. Thank you, Santa. I'm counting on you.
ANGIE WHITEHURST Artist/Vendor
LETTER BACKGROUND COURTESY OF PIXABAY.COM
Her Legacy Lives BY MARCUS GREEN // Artist/Vendor
Roberta Bear, my Bobby, died November 24, 2015. The hardest part is not being able to talk to her or touch her. It’s terrible, the things you miss. You’re left with memories, wishing you had one more hour, minute, or second. Life as I know it has changed. The mental state when you’re grieving is really sad and depressing. But things get better and, with your support and prayers, I’ve made it through and my life has evolved. I’m so thankful. God Bless. Photo courtesy of Marcus Green
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Random Acts of Kindness:
Home for the holidays by planes, trains and automobiles, Part 3 BY WENDELL WILLIAMS // Artist/Vendor
PREVIOUSLY: A series of random acts of kindness led Wendell to take his first flight to visit colleges like Oberlin and to not settle for his future. Then, through a similar serendipitous sequence of events, he ended up on the same train as Jeri Davis, a woman that would become his mentor, inspire him to achieve sobriety, and enlist him in “the war for America’s behavioral health...”
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ike most boomers, I caught the car bug when I was heading towards puberty. My dad used to take us to Vista Raceway in PG County. It was a fast and loud dirt track for motorcycle racing. We’d stay all day Sunday from time trials to finals and would come home covered in red dust. My mom would throw a fit because we had school the next day and she’d have to get four boys cleaned up. We had a wringer washer, so washing our clothes was a challenge. Who reading this is old enough to remember those and the labor involved? As the 50s rolled around, America was smitten with the hot rod craze, based on a lot of car and motorcycle films such as “Easy Rider,” “Across the Macon County Line,” and the street-racing classic “Two Lane Blacktop.” I was no exception. I remember my father’s friend, Mr. Gordon, had a souped-up ‘54 Mercury with glasspack mufflers and rear fender skirts to die for. It was loud as hell but had that sound guys loved. Later, the movie “American Graffiti” perfectly chronicled this period and the relationship between young people and cars. Any car for a teenager meant independence and made any average guy popular with the girls. But a hot rod made you cool. I drove for the first time at 13 when my brother’s friend let me learn on a private road. I knew then that, once I could drive legally, having brothers meant just getting the family car for a few hours would be a challenge. Plus, that three-seat station wagon was in no way cool. Lucky for me, the owner of the corner gas station a block from my house, Jack, decided in a random act of kindness to take a chance on a 15-year-old. The job he gave me as a “grease monkey” apprentice allowed me to start saving for my first car. The gas station was the base garage for a group of young street racers that included Jack’s sons, who became my friends. A steady stream of hot cars pulling in and out of the garage made work feel like a custom car show. I got to hang out with local street racing legends and my goal quickly became to join them. It took a year, but I got my wish. Through random acts of kindness by the gas station owner and the Selective Service board, I was given the opportunity to step right into the racing circle when Jack’s youngest son Ronnie was drafted and his ‘65 Valiant with the high-performance package set idle. Jack decided to let me layaway my first car with weekly payments. Like Tom Cruise said in “Top Gun,” I had the need for speed. I soon lived and breathed cars and hung
out at the local speed shops, which are a thing of the past. I was at Big Ed’s Speed Shop in Alexandria so much that I was used in several ads for speed parts. I spent every dime I got on a monster engine build to get ready for the bigtime street-racing scene. What I didn’t count on was who would drive it. I learned the hard way that I wasn’t ready. It was a full race car on the street and I lacked the experience to handle a machine like that. But my ego got in the way. One night, showing off, I tested the limits of my car and it’s brute power. It scared the living $#@+ out of me and things went sideways, literally. I hit six cars with no insurance. (Back then it was optional.) My racing career was over, but my love of cars endured. The times were changing anyway: girls seemed to be moving away from “gearheads” as they went off to college. A friend who stayed home to go to Howard turned me on to campus life where the VW Beetle was king. Girls seemed to love the Bug and it wasn’t fast. Folks were seeing how many people you could stuff in one Beetle (The answer is 11) and playing jokes by picking up the little cars and putting them where they didn’t belong. In an unexpected random act of kindness during the summer of ‘70, my friend Buster decided to help me try to win my girl back by giving me his ‘63 Bug when he bought a ‘65 Karmann Ghia. The catch, he warned, was the Bug was stuck in second gear. My sweetheart was working a summer government job and I still laugh thinking about picking her up each day and on occasional dates with one gear and no reverse. Years later, I was studying at D.C. Teacher’s College when a white ‘65 MGB showed up out of nowhere at the neighborhood used car lot. I had to have it. But how would I get the princely sum of $250? Mom listened to my pitch and agreed to co-sign a loan, partly to help me build credit so I could move out because my family didn’t play the failure to launch game. Thanks to another random act of kindness, l had a $32a-month car note and my first credit purchase. I was thinking this would increase my popularity and my chances of impressing that girl. None of my gearhead friends were impressed at first, but soon one also picked up an MGB, then another brought an Austin Healey 3000, and suddenly sport cars had arrived in my hood. Other people followed our lead but I had the first one in my circle and I threw myself into making it the coolest. I bought all the aftermarket products available to make it go faster. Then,l one day while riding around Adams Morgan, I saw an open garage door and noticed a gem under all the junk inside: a rare MGB GT. I parked and saw the owner of the house, who said he was just moving in and was cleaning up the garage and throwing everything out. He said a relative had stored the car there and never come back for it. One thing led to another and, in a random act of kindness, this stranger sold me a classic for $100. I went right to work making the GT the baddest thing, transferring the entire hopped-up power plant I had added to my ‘65.
For nearly a decade, I drove a Porsche 911. And to this day, I’ve always said if I hit the mega lottery I’d hire a trainer, lose 95 lbs (because I couldn’t fit in one right now) and buy a 911. Unfortunately, not only did I never hit the Mega Million, but I found myself down and out many times in my life’s twists and turns. I struggled with transportation and could no longer afford any car, period. Yet through another random act of kindness, my old friend, mentor, and master mechanic Roberto in Takoma Park, who I met in 1972, got me back on the road. When he saw me clean, he smiled, walked me around the side of his lot, and “sold” me a lime green diesel VW Rabbit for $20! It was the first car I had had in years, followed later by others, as I worked to rebound from my many issues. I still take my car to Roberto’s shop today, now run by his son, who is like a brother to me. He does honest business with truth and compassion, just like his late dad. Starting with Buster’s random act of giving me that VW long ago, I’ve received so much help with transportation. I’ve gotten cars from various nonprofits and individuals free, plus more “sweetheart deals” like Roberto’s than I can list, always right when I needed them. At one point, I got the fever again to go fast and answered a Washington Post ad to test drive a VW Rabbit GTI. I knew I couldn’t afford it, but I went to suburban Baltimore to take a look-see. I just wanted to dream a little. When I got there with my recovery-house roommate, I started to feel bad about that. But it was a Friday night and the owner just gave me the keys and said, “Take it for a spin.” That GTI was fun, everything I heard about them was true. I thanked the owner earnestly when I gave him back the keys, but I also felt the need to apologize. “Sorry to waste your time but I can’t afford your car.” At that point, he shared a glance with his wife and said to me, “let’s talk,” as if we were just a few dollars apart. We sat and he asked me about my life. I was very open about my substance use and road to recovery. He turned and smiled at his wife before sharing that they too were recovering. “Just make an offer,” they encouraged me. I apologized again, saying truthfully “This is all I have.” But they said in unison, “We’ll take it.” So in a random act of kindness by a kind young couple, I rode off into the night in a flaming red GTI and fed my need for speed. And would you believe that 25 years after this, a second couple in recovery gave me a car? In 1991 I helped create six recovery houses for homeless recovering men and women. I became frustrated with not getting the partnership I’d been promised and deserved. I got a call from my mom saying a guy from a radio station was trying to reach me. I loaded up what I was now calling “The Little Hoss” and in two days was off to Detroit for my third act in broadcasting. Then, in the span of a weekend, my life did a 180 through a new set of unpredictable automobile adventures. The GTI was stolen from in front of my building
and never found. I didn’t have full coverage, so I was without a car right as my life began to spiral out of control in the harsh winter of Michigan with a job dependent on having transportation. Years passed and I found myself challenged again and again with transportation concerns of my own making. As I moved towards many horrible bottoms getting and keeping cars became problematic. I’d pick myself up but kept screwing up. Yet, somehow, the random acts of automobile kindness did not slow down. One really sticks out. In 1985, my longtime friend “Chill” drove his ‘75 super Beetle to Norfolk, Virginia, gave me the keys, and turned right around the same afternoon and jumped on the Greyhound back to D.C. “Keep it as long as you need,” he said. He had heard that I was about to lose another radio job after new station owners cancelled my car deal and left me without transportation. Chill also happens to be who introduced me to my love and lifelong friend Valerie in the early 70s, may she rest in peace. He and l are still friends today — he never sold his stock in me, even when it seemingly had no value. He still has that Beetle and every once in a while we go out to his garage and move the junk from around it to have a look at it and talk about our past. For decades we’ve said we’ve planned to restore it to give away. Most recently, because of my sweet brother who I almost never talk to, I was able to switch rolls and perform the first of what I hope will be a string of random automobile acts of kindness to help others. He gave me a clean low-mileage car not knowing that I had one. The first thing I thought was to give back and give it away to someone who needed it. It’s said that charity starts at home, so I re-gifted it to Valerie’s daughter to help in her transition to being independent after her mother’s passing. Home it’s said is where your heart is. I hope we all get home for the holidays whether by Planes, Trains or Automobiles. The end. For more photos from this journey, find the story on www.streetsensemedia.org in January.
Valerie’s daughter, and grandaughter, with the car I gave them. The license plate has been blurred for privacy. PHOTO BY WENDELL WILLIAMS
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FUN & GAMES Sudoku #8
6 4 1 3 9 8 5 2 7 5 2 3 7 6 4 9 1 8 8 1 6 9 5 2 3 7 4 M E D I A / / D E C . 2 4 , 2 0 19 - J A N . 4 7 9 8 1 3 6 5 2
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Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each Sudoku #7column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9. SUDOKU: Fill in 6 7 4 8 2 9 3 1 5 If youthe useblank logic you can solve the puzzle without guesswork. squares 9 5 1 7 3 4 2 8 6 so that each row, Need a little help? The hints page shows a logical order to solve the puzzle. column andsquare you Use iteach to identify the next should 2 8 3solve. 5 use6the9answers 7 4page 1 Or if youeach really3-by-3 get stuck. block 8 4 2 3 6 1 5 9 7 contain all of the
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LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION >>
7, 2020
Sudoku #3 4 1 6 3 8 2 9 7 5 Challenging Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 2 7 5 8 4 6 9 3 2 1 3 2 9 1 7 5 6 4 8 2 4 7 8 5 6 1 3 9 8 6 3 9 1 4 7 5 2 5 9 1 7 2 3 4 8 6 6 7 4 5 9 8 2 1 3 9 3 5 2 4 1 8 6 7 1 8 2 6 3 7 5 9 4
1 7 9 3 6 5 3 7 Sudoku 1 4 #5 6 1 7 8 3 2 4 5 1 432 52 7 6 9 1 9 2 65 6 4 8 84 97 712 9 6 32 89 1 5 48 71 43 7 8 5 6 9 29 7 8 3 8 1 6 5 2 9 6 21 9 7 5 3 6 4
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Sudoku #6 4 6 1 5 3 8 2 3 8 7 9 2 1 4 9 2 5 4 6 7 3 BY QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE 5 4 8 7 3 1 6 Artist/Vendor 7 9 2 1 5 6 8 in pain. 8 She's 1 3 2 4 9 7 Is she in shame? 2 3 6 7 1 5 9 Or is she lame? 5 No 7 matter: 8 3 9 4 6 She speaks. 1 4 9 6 8 2 5
She Will Speak
“Good morning, Hello, Hi.”
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A Lane in the Luxembourg Tournend into a lady who iss now, qwyt fresh ant fine as birds, un her thigh her orbs ar soon, yn hyr earan, mye airs agen... a night par happs, alloon weth heart to answer-in me; arrived unto sweart ending; ma pryvate look te clear. Thus reqwit lives beleft. Som time, dear, mild, radius beam, aroma also, visual sweetnys, farewells bynckt annd faded.
BY FRANKLIN STERLING Artist/Vendor
PHOTO: The Romantic poet Gérard de Nerval, by Félix Nadar.
Author Gene Weingarten is a college dropout and a nationally syndicated humor columnist for The Washington Post. Author Dan Weingarten is a former college dropout and a current college student majoring in information technology. Many thanks to Gene Weingarten and The Washington Post Writers Group for allowing Street Sense to run Barney & Clyde.
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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 202-265-2400 (NW) // 561-8587 (SE) 1525 7th St., NW // 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE breadforthecity.org
Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org
Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp
Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org
Charlie’s Place // 202-232-3066 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
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
Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org
Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9128 425 2nd St., NW jobshavepriority.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
// 15
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento
1-888-793-4357
Laundry Lavandería
New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE
Patricia Handy Place for Women 202-733-5378 // 810 5th St., NW Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., NW samaritaninns.org
Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org
Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org
So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org
St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-333-4949 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org
Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org
Unity Health Care // 202-745-4300 3020 14th St., NW unityhealthcare.org
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
My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org
Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org
N Street Village // 202-939-2060 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org
For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide
HELP! WE’RE LOOKING FOR
volunteers Become a Street Sense Media volunteer and help further our mission to empower people experiencing homelessness. Get to know the vendors and make a difference in their lives and yours! You’ll support hard-working newspaper vendors by volunteering your time, four hours a week, distributing newspapers at the Street Sense Media office. If interested, please contact Gladys Robert gladys@streetsensemedia.org 202-347-2006 (x10)
December 24, 2019 Board of Directors Dear reader,
December 11, 2019
Aaron Stetter, President “Will you be home for the holidays?” Dear reader, Independent Community Bankers America it’s a simple and routine question. It asks about holiday travel plans. As I am sure you For most of us, sit to writethat this, fierce winds temperatures realize, it’s an entirely different question forAs theI individuals Street Sense Mediaand serves. For them, it in the low forties are a harsh reminder of winter’s fast approach. Coming out of the Metro this morning, I ran into Shari Wilson, Vice President begs the question: will you be inside? Will you be warm? Will you be safe?
“Arthur,” a Street Sense Media (SSM) newspaper vendor and talented stage artist
Daniel Webber, Secretary in ahis lateoffifties. “I need to talk to you about Patty help with a housing voucher,” And that’s exactly why I am writing today. As result our donors’ generosity, David, Latisha,getting Edelman “I can’t do this By that,campaigns, he meant spend another winter outside. and 38 other vendor-artists will be home forhe thesaid. holidays this year. Theseanymore.” year-end fundraising “Come in and year. talk Traditionally, to Lissa,” I they replied. “Lissa help you obtain a voucher.” ou when successful, fuel programming throughout the following raise over 25%can of our Dan Schwartz, operating budget. Treasurer When they exceed targets, they turn aspirational strategic goals into realities. Bryan Cave LLP Lissa Ramsepaul is Street Sense Media’s Clinical Director, overseeing our case In the last edition of the paper, I wrote to management tell you about our goal of expanding our case management program. She’s a seasoned social worker who has committed her Mary Coller Albert program to reach more of our neighbors without stabletohousing. This yearpersons that program assistance nce homeless; individuals who’ve career working with whoprovided are chronically Bethesda Group to more thanMedia 60 of our most vulnerable vendor-artists, helping them navigate the complex bureaucracies experienced multiple traumas in their lives. Your support has made it possible for towards the housing, health and mental health they need. We know that with the resources us care to have someone as qualified asright Lissa on our staff to ensure our vendor-artists Jeremy we could Bratt be doing more. But our goals don’t end there. are connected to the services they need. Since it was fully launched in May 2017,
the program has served 111 SSM vendor-artists. David, Sheila, Patty, Levester,
Cameron Unzyou Curtis The newspaper are reading is currently Reggie publishedand bi-weekly, or 26SSM timesvendor a year, resulting ournow safely housed. But we need to 36 other artists in are Association Clinical vendors sellingfor half as many&papers during do the second week of the current publication schedule. In more. With your help we can. Translational 2020, we want Science to take our newspaper to a weekly publication schedule which we project will allow our vendors to increase their income by 60%. Can you imagine what a difference that would make? It Lissa is with us only ten hours a week and, currently, she supervises only one fullBrian has theLeonard potential to bring even more of our vendors home for the holidays next year. This is a big time case manager. Our case management program simply lacks the capacity to Free State and Lost & Found and ambitious goal. It will require expanding our newspaper staff, supplementing our technology, and reach all 130 of our vendor-artists, let alone persons who need our services but are covering the increased cost of printing. Without your support, reader, we simply won’t be able to do it. not yet engaged. Our goal has always been to expand the program to include Jennifer Park outreach to Itpersons driven by desperation into has panhandling and other vulnerable Prince George’s County And let’s be clear about the MD realities of homelessness. kills. Life expectancy for anyone who neighbors who live outside. Ideally, Lissa would be with us full-time. And given the Office of the Public Defender experienced chronic homelessness and prolonged housing instability is more than 20 years shorterr than for complexity of our vendor-artists’ lives, a case manager should limit engagement to persons who are stably housed. Your support of this year-end campaign can, quite literally, save lives. 25 or fewer persons at a time. Our case load in 2019 was over 60. You have the John Senn to make possible and to lives. make a real impact on the lives of our Our readers have always been a critical partpower of our success. Yourthis generosity has changed Whether without housing. i it’s $5 or $500, please consider making a taxneighbors deductible year-end giftstable directly to our organization by using Photographer and vendor Henrieese Roberts. Brian Carome PHOTO BY PHOTO BY NANDO ALVAREZ the reply card below or by going online at www.streetsensemedia.org. We thank you for your ongoing Executive Yourseason. generosity makes possible SSM’s combination of no-barrier employment support and Director wish you the very best this holiday
Sincerely,
Brian Carome Executive Director
opportunities, media arts workshops and a case management program designed to navigate the complex bureaucracies that deliver housing, health and mental health care. Research backs up our model, showing that media arts workshops are instrumental in lowering barriers to engagement in available services. We’ve known that all along. It is obvious to us how these workshops build community and a lasting sense of family for persons who when we meet them are completely From your vendor disconnected and alone.
Thank you for reading Street Sense!
I need you to know that your generosity saves and extends lives. That’s because homelessness kills. Life expectancy for anyone who DEC.has 24,experienced 2019 - JAN. 7, 2020 | VOL. 17 ISSUE 4 chronic homelessness and prolonged housing instability is more than 20 years shorter than for persons who are stably housed. At Street Sense Media, we re-learn that tragic fact every time we are called to plan funerals and memorial services for our vendors who have died young. In my eight Yes, I want to support Street Sense Media! years with the organization, all but a few of the funerals I have attended have been for persons in their fifties. Enclosed is my gift of:
❑$2,000 ❑$1,500 ❑$1,000
❑$500
❑$250
❑$100 ❑$________
Name: Address: City, State Zip: Email: Or Give Online at www.streetsensemedia.org Street Sense Media |1317 G Street, NW | Washington, DC 20005 | 202.347.2006 | www.streetsensemedia.org
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