07.18.2012

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Volume 9: Issue 18 July 18 - 31, 2012

Street

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Read more and get involved at www.streetsense.org | The DC Metro Area Street Newspaper | Please buy from badged vendors

“On Some Level, I am also Homeless�

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama on the meaning of street newspapers

pgs 8-9

Read er Tell u s Survey: s you b why u Sense y Street . pg 3

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

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North American Street Newspaper Association

The D.C. Knights ponder their future ADDRESS 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 PHONE 202.347.2006 FAX 202.347.2166 E-MAIL info@streetsense.org WEB StreetSense.org

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Robert War12 Vendor ren seeks the root of his family tree

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International Network of Street Papers

The Revealing Photos saga continues Vendor Terron Solomon gives up street life for Street Sense

COVER ART

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@streetsensedc /streetsensedc OUR STORY Street Sense began in August 2003 after Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003. In 2005, Street Sense achieved 501 ( c ) 3 status as a nonprofit organization, formed a board of directors and hired a full-time executive director.

Today, Street Sense is published every two weeks through the efforts of four salaried employees, more than 100 active vendors, and dozens of volunteers.

Nearly 30,000 copies are in circulation each month.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mary Otto MANAGING EDITOR Eric Falquero VENDOR/VOLUNTEER MANAGER Allen Hoorn INTERNS Lauren Colegrove, Brandon Cooper, Tatiana Delgado, Natalie Devlin, Mariko Hewer, Brian Jones, Charmaine Miller, Faithful Okoye, Chris Trevino VOLUNTEERS National Press Club Young Members Committee, Rhonda Brown, Kara Brandeisky, Jane Cave, Margaret Chapman, Tracie Ching, James Clarke, Nikki Conyers, Bobby Corrigan, Irene Costigan, Sara Dimmitt, Joe Duffy, Lilly Dymond, Ashley Edwards, Garrett Epps, Rachel Estabrook, Sarah Ficenec, Grace Flaherty, Andrew Gena, Steve Gilberg, Jane Goforth, Jonah Goodman, Roberta Haber, Cherilyn Hansen, Jesse Helfrich, Elia Herman, Melissa Hough, Sarah Anne Hughes, Laura Lindskov Jensen, Adam Kampe, Maurice King, Trisha Knisely, Vicki Ann Lancaster, Elle LeechBlack, Lisa Leona, Sean Lishansky, Elsie Oldaker, Ashley Perkins, David Piper, Katinka Podmaniczky, Mike Plunkett, Willie Schatz, David Sellers, Kate Sheppard, Ernie Smith, Jesse Smith, Lilly Smith, Kelly Stellrecht, Mandy Toomey, Brett Topping, Charlotte Tucker, Marian Wiseman

His Holiness the Dalai Lama poses with issues of several street newspapers.

A new issue comes out every two weeks, but you can stay connected to Street Sense every day!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Yebegashet Alemayehn, Margaret Chapman, Kristal Dekleer, Lisa Estrada, Robin Heller, Sommer Mathis, Manas Mohapatra, Brad Scriber, Michael Stoops

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2012 ANNUAL READERSHIP SURVEY

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Broadway Stars Come to Covenant House expert dance moves, sparkling live music and the trained voices of Ramos and her fellow Broadway star Rita Harvey.

The concert raised roughly $225,000, and during the evening.

Covenant House Washington DC reaches an estimated 150 teens a day.

Beyond crisis services such as food, shelter, and clothing, the organization also offers outreach, educational, and vocational programs.

The local house, started in 1995, is one of 22 locations in five countries.

At the fundraiser, Theodore Leonsis, the founder and owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, was presented with the Covenant House Lizzie Award.

Sophia Ramos performs at “A Night of Broadway Stars.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF COVENANT HOUSE

By Faithful Okoye Editorial Intern Broadway star Sophia Ramos hasn’t always had a glamorous life.

In fact, she could see more than a bit of herself in the homeless teenagers she met on a recent visit to Covenant House here in Washington, D.C. When she was 16, she was kicked out of her home. At 17, she was homeless, trying to sleep on a park bench amid Tent City, a homeless encampment in Manhattan’s Tompkins Square Park.

A homeless man on drugs lunged at her with a knife. A homeless woman named Molly threw herself in front of Sophia and shouted, “No!” “She saved my life,” Ramos said.

Now an acclaimed actress, Ramos likens the way Covenant House saves teens to the way Molly rescued her.

“Angels come in all forms,” Ramos said in an interview. “Although I never had Covenant House, I did have people in my life who showed up to help me and protect me, the way Covenant House does for their kids.”

On June 20, Covenant House hosted Ramos and other celebrities at “ANight of Broadway Stars,” a musical concert featuring Broadway performers from Beauty and the Beast, Phantom of the Opera and Jekyll & Hyde. The show, a fundraiser for Covenant House, blended

ing for an 18-month housing program, the Covenant House Rites of Passage transitional program.

Many teens who seek out Covenant House have not experienced much stability in their lives. More than one-third of youth reported a negative or no relationship with either parents, according to a recent study of teens served by Covenant House in the District.

Half of the young people reported they had been abused either physically, sexually, or both. About 30 percent of the youth had a history of foster care or residential placement and 78 percent of these had entered the system between age five and 15.

“I never knew what normalcy and self-sufficiency looked like. My life skills only included survival.”

The award is named for the homeless girl of the same name, photographed in Times Square in the mid-1970s, when the Covenant House was just getting started in New York. The girl, carrying a backpack and leaning against a trashcan, her head slumped wearily to one side, has for years been used at Covenant House as symbolic of the plight of homeless teens. The award goes to those who have supported the mission of the organization.

But perhaps the biggest stars of the night were the teens of Covenant House, whose stories of struggle and salvation rivaled the one told by Ramos.

“I’m a bit apprehensive about telling my story because I don’t want you to look at me like I’m a charity case,” Marcus Foster, 18, told the crowd at the THEARC theater.

He said he came to Covenant House when he had nowhere else to go. His father was murdered when he was three years old. His mother was legally blind and had a history of alcohol and substance abuse. At one point, the family was evicted. At another, Foster and his stepfather had a physical altercation and the police showed up. He was eventually kicked out of the house, he said, when he failed to get a job.

“I never knew what normalcy and selfsufficiency looked like,” Foster said. “My life skills only included survival.”

Foster has lived at Covenant House for about two months and is apply-

Former foster children are almost twice as likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as U.S. war veterans, according to a report

by Harvard Medical School. Yet there is limited assistance for young adults older than 18, said Daniel Brannen, the executive director of Covenant House DC. More government funding goes to young adults 18 and younger, he said.

Once they turn 18, these young adults are often left to fend for themselves.

Recent studies suggest that individuals continue to develop until the age of 25, Brannen said. “We choose our trajectory in life during those years,” he said. “If we don’t really invest in kids, then we’re gonna lose a lot of them.”

The Lizzie Award was named after this 1970s image of a homeless teen named Lizzie in Times Square. For years, the image has been used at Covenant House as symbolic of the plight of homeless teens.

PHOTO COURTESY OF COVENANT HOUSE

Listen to the performance at streetsense.org

A group of teenagers perform during Covenant House’s “Night of Broadway Stars.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF COVENANT HOUSE

STREET SENSE July 18 - July 31

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NEWS

Homeless fight to keep cool in heat

By Mariko Hewer Editorial Intern

The recent 11-day heat wave that swept the East Coast hit the D.C. metropolitan area particularly hard. An accompanying violent storm on the night of June 29 claimed at least nine lives in the D.C. region. The storm left more than a million local residents without power and thousands without water, making the triple-digit temperatures even harder to bear.

The severe weather impacted everyone in the region. But surviving the intense heat posed special challenges to the homeless. And the city’s system intended to help the city’s poorest and most vulnerable residents survive extreme temperatures may not always address their needs.

Heat has already been blamed for two deaths in the District this summer, and others are under investigation, according to the city medical examiner.

Neither victim appeared to have been homeless. Yet homeless people face special risks during excessive heat. They have limited options in terms of places to go, and may also lack access to drinking water. Many also suffer from chronic illnesses and other medical conditions that can make them more vulnerable to hyperthermia, a condition where extreme heat overtaxes the body’s ability to function.

The city’s 2005 Homeless Services Reform Act, which requires city agencies to provide emergency shelter to the homeless in freezing weather, also stipulates that cooling centers be made available when the “actual or forecasted temperature or heat index reaches 95 degrees.”

The District’s system of cooling centers for the homeless are located in shelters in addition to other public facilities.

They do not offer beds as they do during freezing weather. When a hyperthermia alert is activated, the shelters, which are normally closed from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., are required to reopen.

But getting back to the safety of the shelters to make use of cooling center services during the day can pose a challenge.

Free transportation back to the cooling centers is available, according to one city official, who did not want her name used. Homeless men and women can

call the shelter hotline for a ride. The service, she stressed, is only available as long as the alert in in effect.

The hotline service, which is offered by the United Planning Organization, provides up to six vans during a heat emergency. The shelter hotline number is the same as it is during the winter: 1-800-535-7252, and officials urge anyone who sees a homeless person needing assistance to call.

Yet homeless people waiting for a regularly scheduled bus back to a shelter late one recent afternoon seemed confused about the system and did not mention the hotline service. Neither did workers reached at area shelters.

Tyrone HuLett, who answered the phone at the 801 East Men’s Shelter on a recent hot day, said that if temperatures climb and the government issues a hyperthermia alert during the day, homeless individuals must return on their own or find somewhere else to stay cool.

“It’s sad to say, but it’s not our concern [where the homeless go during the day],” said HuLett.

At the Open Door Shelter, Officer Wanda Banks said women were also on their own.

“The policy is, when the alert comes on, we let the ladies in,” she said. “[But] they come back the same way they leave, on the bus or however they got to where they went.”

Some homeless people just choose to remain outdoors in the heat. Others seek out cool places besides shelters, said Eric Sheptock, a homeless advocate.

“I don’t know of anybody having any trouble getting indoors,” Sheptock said.

“There are places for people to go. The MLK [Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial] Library has been serving as a cooling center. That’s a major homeless hangout.”

In the wake of the widespread outages caused by the June 29 storm, city officials had to broaden their emergency response to help thousands of normally housed residents who were temporarily displaced or left without utilities to cope with the heat.

The District provided boxed lunches at six locations for 10 hours on July 3.

These lunches were not specifically designated for the homeless. Yet such emergency provisions provided one more reminder that a broad sector of the population was getting a temporary taste of

the kind of needs that many homeless people experience every day.

Pools, libraries and other public facilities did double-duty as additional cooling centers for the general public, offering extended hours in an effort to assist.

The D.C. government made information about the cooling centers available. The Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) distributed bilingual fliers.

In some cases, designated cooling centers experienced power failures and officials had to scramble for alternative sites.

“I think they really tried hard to respond, with all this craziness,” said Patricia Mullahy Fugere, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Inc. Louis Whitaker saw the notices with information about swimming pools that were open for extended hours. But he said he considered the information “a waste of time” for a homeless man such as himself.

“The people don’t have transporta-

tion to get to these swimming pools,” Whitaker said.

Even if they could get to the pool, they might not have the proper attire to make use of it.

“When [we’re] going to these swimming pools, we don’t have swimming trunks... the women don’t carry around bathing suits. To me, this doesn’t make sense.” Whitaker said.

Fallen trees caused much of the damage in the District from the derecho.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AP NEWS SERVICE

Stable Care in Unstable Times

By Christina Mele Editorial Intern On the first floor of the Perry School Community Services Center on M Street in Northwest Washington, there is a kindergarten brightness to the pictures on the walls . There are words on the walls, too, including the slogan: “A problem is a chance to do your best.”

The floor is the home of Bright Beginnings, a child and family development center for young homeless children and their families. A goal of the Center is to help homeless children and families find opportunities in the midst of their problems; to live their best lives.

Bright Beginnings, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, offers education, family, therapeutic, health and wellness services and, most recently, evening care services. It is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and serves children six months to five years old, averaging 75 students daily. The center, accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, provides care for the children before they go home to transitional houses and shelters.

“Bright Beginnings believes that every child deserves a bright start, and they’ll get it here,” said Executive Director Dr. Betty Jo Gaines.

“They will get a warm, nurturing environment. Their nutritional needs, health needs and educational needs will be taken care of.”

The transience and stress of homelessness can make it challenging for children to focus on learning. But at Bright Beginnings, programs aim to prepare children so that when they enter kindergarten they are ready to learn at the same level as other children. The center employs a curriculum that is tailored to children’s interests and based on the idea that people learn best through hands-on experience. There are seven classrooms, separated by age group. It is “proven to be effective to children living unsettling lives,” said Gaines.

On a typical day, Gaines said, the children arrive; have a family-style breakfast; participate in a community gathering, which includes singing and talking about their feelings, and then begin their education. “We hope to develop self-confidence and good decision-making while preparing academic skills to prepare them for kindergarten,” Gaines said.

Every child receives a therapeutic and health screening upon enrollment in the program so that needs can be addressed and a plan can be devised for each child. Therapeutic services are provided by social workers, psychologists and occupational therapists who identify developmental delays and disabilities.

According to Gaines, one-third of the children have special needs and are treated with speech, emotional, occupational or physical therapy. But chil-

Children enjoy educational and therapeutic services on a typical day at Bright Beginnings.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA MELE

dren are not separated by their needs.

“We believe in inclusion,” Gaines said. “Our belief is, we want to bring as many resources as we can to ensure the success of these families. If a child doesn’t have a dental or medical home, we will find them one.”

She has had the satisfaction of seeing many children blossom over time as their families are stabilized and their physical and emotional needs are met.

“I’ve seen children be very passive and shy,” Gaines said. “When they begin to feel more comfortable, they’ll call out your name. I’ve seen children grow and develop from infants to the third classroom.”

The children aren’t the only ones growing. “I’ve seen parents grow,” Gaines said. “I’ve seen parents who are angry at the world. I’ve seen them come in and offer respect. We pass no judgment. When you give respect you gain respect.”

Bright Beginnings offers services to families, including parenting classes, a family support group and referrals. The Parent Aide program offers parents the

opportunity to pursue careers in early childhood development. Parents can work at Bright Beginnings part time and receive on-the-job training.

“We have very high parent participation, and I believe that’s because the parents trust us,” Gaines said. “When we have activity, they want to be involved. Parents are often comfortable enough to keep coming for advice even after their kids are no longer here.”

For parents who work or have other obligations in the evening, Bright Beginnings provides an Early Learning Evening Care program that remains open until 11 p.m.

Bright Beginnings is in the process of raising funds to open a new center in Southeast Washington for infants and toddlers.

“I want to emphasize two things,” Gaines said. “First, every child needs a bright start in life. We’re here to ensure that. Second, I believe that every parent loves their child and wants the best for them, regardless of the circumstances they are in.”

STREET SENSE July 18 - July 31, 2012

77

NEWS

New Era for the D.C. Knights A dynamic pair is looking to bring street soccer back to the nation’s capital.

By Chris Trevino Editorial Intern There is nothing remarkable about North College Street in Charlotte, N.C..

It is a plain three lane, one-way route, barely a mile long riding out from downtown. With a hotel, restaurants, a church, bus stops and office buildings, North College is no different from a million other streets in the United States.

Until you get to a place at the very end of the road.

That place is the Urban Ministry Center, a haven for hundreds of the city’s homeless men and women. It is also the place where a movement was born; the place where in 2004, Lawrence Cann founded the first street soccer team in North America. That squad kicked off Street Soccer USA, engendering seven national cups and more than 20 teams across the country.

The sport has touched countless lives since then. And a local team, the D.C. Knights, has played a seminal role in the North American street soccer movement.

Formed in 2006, the Knights enjoyed a successful run, fielding talented players and performing well in tournaments.

They even trained alongside the city’s professional soccer team, D.C. United.

The nation’s capital embraced the team and the street soccer movement. The past four Street Soccer USA Cups have been held in the District.

But this year finds the D.C. Knights in a period of transition. The team will not be journeying to New York City, N.Y. to play for the 2012 Street Soccer USA Cup on July 26 - 29. The Knights’ absence is not due to a shortage of talent, but rather, it’s the lack of a host organization with the infrastructure needed to support the team.

Neither of the nonprofits that helped the Knights get started, the National Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy organization operating out of a church near Dupont Circle, nor the

Neighbors’ Consejo, a bilingual social service program, could provide enough resources, volunteers or clients to sustain the Knights.

Megan Hustings, a former team manager for the Knights and current development director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, believes that in order for the Knights to have a solid future, they need the support of an organization that provides “more stability to participants and players.”

The blueprint may lie in suburban Virginia, where a fledgling team, the Arlington Tigers, is heading to the tournament in New York with the help of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN). Even as they have been helping the Tigers get established, two passionate street soccer supporters have picked up the challenge of reviving the D.C. Knights.

One of them is Sarah Morse, who is a manager of volunteers for A-SPAN, and who will be taking the Tigers to New York to vie for their first Cup. The other is Hannah Smock, an employee at CitiHope International, who met Morse during pickup games with the Knights and who now volunteers at Tigers practices. They believe in the sport and what it creates.

“It is one of the most unique ways to build a community,” said Smock, who has seen total strangers become like brothers. The community acts as a support system, not just for the homeless, but the volunteers as well, she said.

And such support can also save lives, according to players including Milton Marquez, captain of last year’s D.C. Knights cup team.

Marquez emigrated from El Salvador as a child and struggled with poverty, addiction and homelessness into adulthood. Even after he enrolled in a Neighbors’ Consejo substance abuse program,

The D.C. Knights at the 2011 Street Soccer USA Cup. PHOTO COURTESY OF HANNAH SMOCK

he had a hard time freeing himself of his past.

“I never thought I was going to make it,” Marquez said. What saved him, he said, was a coach, Omar Abdul-Baki, the D.C. Knights’ leader, who Marquez now calls his “big brother.” And his team. Marquez, now 33, has been clean for three years, has housing, and found steady work in construction.

“I give a lot of credit to street soccer,” said Marquez. “ I never thought I’d be able to dream again.”

With stories like that in mind, Smock and Morse have banded together to reach out to service providers in the D.C. area and gauge interest for taking on the Knights. They are looking for another place like A-SPAN. “Arlington provides a really good model for the re-launch of D.C.,” Smock said. “In Arlington with A-SPAN you have an excellent organization that is already in the community, has its volunteers, has its staff and has a staff person in Sarah who has a soccer background and a desire to work with the team.

That’s really the most ideal model for a street soccer program is where you are working very closely together with organizations in the community that is connected with its clients.”

With the Cup tournament mere weeks away, Morse has had to temporarily shift her focus and energy on getting the Tigers to New York and making sure the

best possible experiences come out of the trip. The real work will begin once the Tigers return home.

“We are hoping that after the Cup, since that will be under our belts, we will have photos, we will have videos and experiences from that, that we can take to organizations and say ‘Look, this is what we did in a little over a year in Arlington. This is what could happen at your organization,’” explained Morse.

Smock hopes that harnessing the momentum built from the Cup will attract serious interest from programs to host the Knights, so that both the Tigers and the Knights will make the trip to next year’s Street Soccer USA Cup.

Check out Part Two of our coverage on the Arlington Tigers at streetsense.org/tigers2cup

The Dalai Lama : We should keep our International Network of Street Papers www.street-papers.org / INSP

Considered one of the great spiritual leaders of our time, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama travels the world to spread his message of peace and reconciliation. During his recent UK tour themed ‘Be the Change’, the 77year old Dalai Lama gave an exclusive interview to Danielle Batist of the International Network of Street Papers, of which Street Sense a member. For the full version of this interview and a gallery of images donated by photographer Simon Murphy, see www.streetsense.org.

Many of our 12,000 street paper vendors in 40 countries around the world are or have been homeless.

The Buddha was homeless for most of his life. And you, like many of your people, have spent most of your life in exile. What does homelessness mean to you?

For people without a home, it is almost like they have no basis from which to conduct their lives. They have no anchor. That is very sad. But from a larger viewpoint, I would say that this whole planet is our home. The individual may be in a difficult situation, but he is still part of the society of humanity. I think it is innate to human nature that if someone is going through a difficult time, there is some kind of willingness to help out of a sense of concern that we have. So from that viewpoint, for homeless people their direct home is no longer there, but the big home is still there. So people who are homeless should not feel desperate. On some level, I am also homeless. But being homeless sometimes is useful, because you realize that in many places you can find a new home. If you have just one home, in some way you can get stuck in that.

When people fall on such hard times, including in your country, how do you manage not to let feel-

ings of anger, frustration or hatred take over?

Our emotion is a master check through our intelligence. On an intellectual level, we analyze each situation. If a situation is as such that we can overcome it, there is no need to worry. If there is no way to overcome a situation, there also is no use in too much worrying, as usually worry brings frustration and frustration brings anger. It is therefore always better to try not to worry too much. The emotion itself cannot do that, but with the help of human intelligence we can do that. I think whether God-created or nature-created, emotions are sometimes very troublesome. So God or nature also provided us with a kind of counterbalance, which is human intelligence.

When animals face a problem, they almost crash and black-out. But us human beings, because of our intelligence, we have a way to judge and measure our response. That is my view.

In your autobiography ‘Freedom in Exile’ you blame the Chinese state media for misleading the people by grossly misrepresenting the situation in Tibet from the 1950s onwards. How important is the role of independent media in today’s society?

Independent media are extremely important. The media, as I see it, are almost like a third eye. Now, sometimes the third eye itself is a little bit biased [laughs]. That is a problem. If media first objectively analyze and then report and make a story known to people, their role is extremely helpful and very effective.

When I meet media people, I tell them that they should have a long nose and investigate all sides; not just the front side, but also behind. They must undertake thorough investigation to find out what the reality is. People have every right to know the reality, particularly in democratic countries. Media should undertake full investigations, present their findings objectively, without a biased view and then inform the public.

If they work this way, they have a very important and great role to play.

The Dalai Lama reflects on the role of street newspapers during a recent interview.

PHOTO BY SIMON MURPHY, STREET NEWS SERVICE

International Network of Street Papers (INSP) street papers often cover issues that would otherwise go unreported. What stories regarding your own country are the most important ones that need to be told?

As for the Tibetan issue, it is that the very nature of the Tibetan struggle

is strictly non-violent and very much in the spirit of reconciliation. Therefore, our struggle needs worldwide support.

It must succeed, because if it fails, it will encourage those people who carry a different method, including force and violence.

Also, some aspect of the Tibetan story is not just a political matter, but

STREET SENSE July 18 - July 31, 2012

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self-confidence and determination an environmental issue. The Tibetan Plateau [part of the Himalayas] plays a greatly important role in global warming. Nearly all major rivers in that part of the world rise on the Tibetan Plateau, so the preservation of Tibetan ecology is not only in Tibetan people’s interest. More than one billion people’s lives depend on these rivers.

Another top priority is the preservation of Tibetan culture, which is a culture of peace, a culture of non-violence and compassion. It is not only an ancient culture, but also one that is very relevant in today’s world. We live in an increasingly materialistic world, which is all about consumerism. And there are moral problems which sometimes lead to violence, particularly among the youth. Whenever they face problems, the response of some of them has become more violent.

Our street paper vendors around the world face different kinds of social and economic difficulties, but when asked what the hardest thing about their situation is, their answer is often the same: the feeling of loneliness. A search party recognised you as the 14th Dalai Lama when you were two years old; you spent your childhood among adults in monasteries and faced the huge responsibility of protecting your people from foreign invasion and being their spiritual leader at age 15. With your experience of loneliness in your life, what advice would you give to them?

In my own case, if I only think of myself as ‘I am a Tibetan’ or ‘I am Buddhist’ that in itself creates a kind of

distance. So I say to myself: ‘Forget that, I am a human being, one of the seven billion human beings.

By saying that, we immediately become closer. If people put the emphasis on their situation by thinking ‘I am poor’, or ‘I am homeless’ or ‘I am in a difficult situation’ they put too much of an emphasis on a secondary level. I think that this also is a reality, but still another reality is that we all are human being, one of the seven billion human beings on this planet. I know that in a practical sense that might not be of much help, but emotionally, it can be very helpful.

In recent years we have seen within the street paper movement many new people becoming vendors as a result of the global recession. People haven’t got enough money to live on or lose their jobs and end up on the streets. What do you feel about austerity measures introduced by governments to tackle the crisis?

This is a very complicated situation.

Immediately, I think governments have the responsibility for the country as a whole, so sometimes maybe these measures are necessary. But if you take an overall view, the real causes of the present difficulties started with the past governments and some companies. I think, without a proper plan in place, they are simply concerned about immediate profit and are not concerned about the longterm consequences. From that level, of course not seeing it from an individual person, but government or organizations which have the responsibility, the results now are due to their own actions. Only

“If you take an overall view, the real causes of the present difficulties started with the past governments and some companies. I think, without a proper plan in place, they are simply concerned about immediate profit and are not concerned about the long-term consequences.”

PHOTO BY SIMON MURPHY, STREET NEWS SERVICE

now, when difficulties have come, they put some sort of restrictions in place. It is complicated. Either way, for thousands of people, their livelihood is almost zero, which is really very, very sad. Very sad.

But then, how to handle these things, I don’t know.

Two or three years ago, one newspaper, I think in Mexico, reported of one family whom, because of the economic difficulties, had to abandon their dog.

The dog was now truly homeless. There was a picture of the dog and he looked very sad. Now really nobody took care of him. When I saw that picture, I myself almost felt some kind of hopelessness. Taking that to a human level, you can certainly see how life has become more difficult.

However, whenever I meet people who are in a difficult situation, I always share with them, in spite of a lot of difficulties, as a human being you should keep self-confidence and work hard.

Due to certain difficulties, if you completely lost your self-confidence, hope and will, then inevitably difficulty will continue and it will lead to real disaster. So it is very, very essential to keep

hope and determination.”

You have often said about your own situation that it is important to keep hope. In your autobiography you write that as far back as in 1953 you were convinced ‘no matter how bad things become, they will eventually get better.’ Given the current situation in Tibet, how do you succeed in that?

In my own case, at age16 , I lost my freedom. Difficulties had already started. Then, at 24, I lost my own country. Over the last 52 years, there have been a lot of problems. The news from within our own country has mostly been very heart-breaking news, very sad. In the meantime, Tibetans have put their trust in me, trust and hope. I cannot do much, so sometimes I really feel hopeless and desperate. But then, as I mentioned earlier, it is much better to keep my own enthusiasm and optimistic attitude, rather than allowing myself to completely lose hope and demoralise.

That is of no help. So to other people I also say that no matter what difficulties, we should keep our self-confidence and determination.”

COMICS & GAMES

GLARPH THE POSTULATIN’ SHARK #6:

A NIGHT OUT IN NATS PARK

By Chris Shaww “The Cowboy Poet”

COMIC BY CHINO DEAN

STREET SENSE July 18 - July 31, 2012

Tough Love

By Jeffrey McNeil Vendor There are many theories why kids today are so bad. Some say it’s peer pressure. Others blame it on Facebook and Twitter. But, my analysis concludes kids today are bad because they lack discipline. Rather than study, play stickball in the streets and go to church these little suckers swear, wear booty shorts and terrorize neighborhoods.

The lack of tough love and old school methods of raising children has caused poverty and cultural dependency. Instead of raising children who can function as responsible adults, we are raising a generation of children who will never learn to live on their own. Although I am not a parent, I have worked with and mentored young children and believe you might not get your child out of the hood, but you can get the hood out of your child.

The other day I was riding the X2 bus.

It was crowded like normal on this ride from hell. No one showed any respect for the elderly by letting them sit down.

But, what made me really hot were the teenagers. Some had their feet on the seats not allowing other passengers to sit with them. Others wore pants hang-

Flea Market

By David Denny Vendor I wrote this paragraph about Eastern Market a couple of years ago. I recently took it out again as I thought about what may happen to our wonderful flea market.

“Eastern Market is the most interesting hub in the metropolitan area. Its unique meat, produce and flea market treasures create an ambience that keeps happy patrons coming back again and again. The market, which has been around since 1873, consists of a menagerie of independent and individual vendors who come together to make this atmosphere addictive. There is a bubble machine that will transform the most indifferent child into all smiles.

The melodic sounds emanating from the saxophone Kalimba and bongo keep most patrons swaying and bouncing.”

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VIEWS N’ NEWS ing down so you could see their drawers. One was talking about smoking angel dust laced with Viagra. A beautiful light-skinned young woman straight out of the hood spent a half hour yelling “m-effer” into her phone and talking about every sex position known to man.

These buggers don’t know how spoiled they are. They disrespect people, swear, wear skin tight shorts with big butt on both cheeks, and walk around with their pants around their ankles. They are lucky they weren’t from my generation. Parenting was different back then. There were no groundings or timeouts. When you cut up or “showed your ass,” as we called it back then, parents would straighten you out in a hurry. Don’t get me wrong; I am not advocating child abuse in any way. But, it seems to me that some kids today are in need of some GOD-good, old fashioned discipline.

Maybe I am old fashioned, but I am a product of the post-Civil Rights era.

I was born in 1969, BC- before crack.

Back then, you didn’t talk back to your parents, hang out in the streets all night or sleep with your boyfriend in your parents’ house. In the inner city in New Jersey, parents didn’t want their kids hanging out with thugs and wouldn’t stand for their 15-year-old daughters dating some 25-year-old losers.

I think it’s time we brought a little

bit of Joe Clark back into our culture.

Remember the tough-as-nails principal of East Side High in the ‘80’s featured in Lean on Me? His in-your-face style of tough love drove out the drug dealers and forced kids to see the real world consequences for their choices. “If you can’t take care of a baby, don’t make one,” he told the girls at his school.

I believe it takes tough love to mold and shape a child. I lived in a community that disciplined us if we misbehaved .

Parents and adults wouldn’t stand for kids not showing respect. It might not be politically correct, but unless we start teaching our kids how to act like adults rather than wannabe thugs, we will be stuck with generations of 30 year olds sleeping in their moms’ basements playing video games paid for by their minimum wage jobs mopping the floor at McDonald’s.

Views of the Market Photos by David Denny

The flea market section of Eastern Market is now in danger of being closed down and put into the hands of developers that have their own interests in mind. Patrons and other vendors alike have always opened their arms and their hearts to Street Sense vendors.

The Eastern Market family has been there for me over and over again. Even during this heat wave their concern has been remarkable. They kept me with a supply of ice water, juices and this stuff called electrolytes. (smile) The least I can do is advocate for these great people who deserve a lot more than I can offer or give. Street Sense has given me a voice in our newspaper and my voice rings out to all eyes that can see and all ears that can hear:

SAVE OUR FLEA MARKET TODAY!

SAVE OUR FLEA MARKET FOREVER!

Violent crimes against the homeless were the focus of a July 10 briefing on Capitol Hill.

“Protecting some of the most vulnerable people in this nation should be a top priority of this Congress,” said Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Homelessness.

A panel discussion included experts from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, law enforcement officials and a victim of violence.

“Raising awareness is just one component of finding a comprehensive solution that not only protects the homeless from violence, but also reduces the total number of people living on the streets,” Johnson said.

According to the annual “Hate Crimes Against the Homeless” report compiled by the National Coaltion for the Homeless, housed people committed 1,184 acts of violence against homeless people between the years of 1999 and 2010. The attacks resulted in 312 deaths and 872 non-lethal injuries, the report found.

Johnson has authored legislation to include hate crimes against homeless individuals in the uniform hate crimes statistics collected by the Department of Justice. The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Public Forum on P Street

SAVE OUR FLEA MARKET!

SAVE OUR FLEA MARKET TOMORROW!

Homeless Hate Crimes

Vendors ply their wares at the Eastern Market flea market.

PHOTOS BY DAVID DENNY

A July 25 public forum called “Can You Hear Us?” is scheduled to bring stories of homelessness to Shevchenko Park at 23rd and P Streets NW. The 6 p.m. event will feature speakers from the Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau, a program of the National Coalition for the Homeless that encourages currently and formerly homeless men and women to talk personally about their experiences. The bureau’s goal is to raise public awareness about the causes of homelessness and explore ways to end it.

The impact of violent crimes against homeless people is expected to be a highlighted topic.

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

Finding the Time

By Robert Warren Vendor I would like to go on a journey Down the root of a tree that is me.

Going on a long, long walk in time, down the paths Where my forefathers walked and talked About the blessing of God that be.

The Lord willing, in my lifetime I will learn the meaning of some Of the words my ancestors spoke On my journey to better Understand me.

Oh, if I could partake in the feast of foods For thoughts that my great-great grandmothers spoke and cooked I’m sure I would love and appreciate more the hands of older kin That I shook.

I would like to see in my daughter How my fine grand aunties looked And the ways of the Lord their lives took.

Just to go way, way down the rivers Where my cousin of long ago played by the big tree And to lay back and imagine how it used to be.

Identity

By Philip Black Vendor, “The Cat in the Hat” Clark Kent didn’t tell anyone he was Superman. Bruce Wayne didn’t tell anyone he was Batman. They were protecting their identities. They were not hiding their identities; they were protecting them. We as a people must learn how to protect our identities. When people know everything about you, you lose something. Most times you lose who you are.

I feel no one should know everything about you. There should be some mystery.

I don’t mean hiding or sneaking around. But, the only one who should know everything about you is you.

A very close friend of mine was married and had three children. When they were grown and moved on in their lives, his wife left him, and still to this day, he has never recovered. He put his all into his family, which he was supposed to do.

But he lost something. He lost who he was. He lost his identity. He loved his family but forgot about himself.

In our daily lives, sometimes we forget who we are. Your identity is all you have and you must protect it. Some people I know love their families, love their pets, but they like themselves. You can’t do anything for others unless you do it for yourself. Self love is the best love you can have. If you lose that, you lose your identity. It’s so easy to forget about yourself in this world. Just remember…know who you are. And always stay true to yourself, love yourself, and you won’t lose who you are. You won’t lose your identity.

Yes, I would like to trace my roots and hope to find The praise of the Lord shining in my family’s time.

This is the journey I would like to find the time to go on someday.

Down the root of a tree that is me.

A journey for the soul A journey for the sight A journey to remember my life.

Advertise Your Business Here For more information email us at info@streetsense.org or call 202-347-2006.

Before the Rain, Part Two

By Chris Shaw “The Cowboy Poet”

Loomis scratched his left temple, not so much the heat. No, more of a sense memory of bedbugs when he had that plywood lean-to sling bed in a most neglected Magazine Street loft. But that was then, before the nightmares.

“Mister Smith, is you listening to me?”

“Uh, no. I mean yeah. First of all my name is not Smith. It’s Reader!“ “Like you read books?”

“Well actually, I write more than I read nowadays.”

“And just what else do you do, man?”

Loomis stood up from the sizzling metal bench, swaying ever so slightly.

“Is you drunk, man?”

Loomis stammered, “No, at least I don’t think so. I mean I don’t remember drinkin’ anything.In fact, I do a lot of dreaming.”

Her name was Callie. “DREAMIN’?”

STREET SENSE July 18 - July 31, 2012

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PART SEVE N

By Ivory Wilson Vendor The story so far: Nina thought she had put away a notorious gangster, Fitz O’Patrick, but he blackmailed the Mayor and was set free. A pimp named Mick-the-Tick offered Nina some incriminating photos of the Mayor in exchange for help getting out of jail. A teenage prostitute named Penny was beaten up and hospitalized; Penny has asked to talk to Nina.

N

ina is rolling down Ogden Avenue toward the hospital. Her cell phone rings and she sees that Captain Newton is calling. “Hello, Captain. It’s Nina,” she says.

“Hey, Nina,” the captain says. “More bad news. We just found Mitch’s body in a dumpster. He was shot three times.” Mitch was the star witness in the case against Fitz O’Patrick. The captain continues. “I got a call from Tom at the FBI. Their information is that O’Patrick has left the country and gone to Ireland.”

“Who’s cleaning up his loose ends?”

Nina asks.

“Well, what I know is this,” replies the captain. “An Italian lawyer showed up at the D.A.’s office with O’Patrick’s gun permit.”

All Nina can think of is that O’Patrick is getting the support of the Irish mob and the Italian mob. She thanks the captain for the news, hangs up and keeps driving.

At the hospital, Nina walks into Penny

Miles’ room and finds Penny asleep. She stands quietly beside the bed, looking at Penny’s face, seeing the results of a horrendous beating and thinking how Penny is too young to be in this predicament. Nina softly touches Penny’s hand and says, “Hey, Penny. It’s Nina.” Penny’s eyes open and she forces a small smile. “Did Mick do this to you, Penny?”

Nina asks.

Penny shakes her head, no.

“Did Mayor Richard do this to you?”

Penny nods, yes, and Nina’s blue eyes turn as red as hot lava pits.

“At first, I didn’t know he was the Mayor,” Penny explains. “After sex he would sometimes become angry and beat me.”

“Where are your parents?”

“They’re both dead. I was living with my older sister until I ran away.”

“And how long have you been turning tricks for Mick?” Nina asks.

“Since I was 15,” Penny replies, looking away from Nina.

Nina takes a deep breath and explains, “I’m going to need you to testify in a court of law, Penny. That’s the only way we can stop the Mayor. In the meantime, I’ve got to keep you safe and alive. Things aren’t going to be easy for you once this hits the papers and the Mayor turns to his mob friends. I’ll also try to keep Mick alive so I can keep another snitch on the streets.” Nina pauses and looks at Penny. “Is that OK with you? Do you like to travel?”

Penny smiles again and says, “Yes, that’s fine with me, and I love to travel.”

“Good,” Nina says. “I have a girlfriend, Pir Brown, who lives in Detroit.

She’ll protect you with her life, if need be.” Nina gets on her cell phone and calls Pir. When Pir answers, Nina says, “Hey, girl. I need some help. Remember when we would sit around and talk about when we would be detectives and would have a secret to keep safe?”

“Sure do,” Pir answers. “What time do I pick it up?”

Nina smiles and says, “Her name is Penny, and I’m leaving for the airport now. I’ll call with the details when I have them.”

“OK, girl. I’m happy to help,” says Pir. On the way to the airport, Nina calls captain Newton. “Let me fill you in, captain. I’ve got a young girl named Penny Miles with me. She’s been having sex with our honorable Mayor and he’s been beating the living stuff out of her.

I’m on my way to the airport to send her away for a while and keep her safe.

Then I’ll be back in your office so we can figure out what to do.”

When he hangs up, captain Newton takes a moment to mull over this latest news. He picks up the phone and dials D.A. Winston’s office. “Things are really picking up and my detective and I need to meet with you and Judge Andrew as soon as possible about some things that just happened.”

“I’m happy to meet,” says the D.A, “but if you and that firecracker detective of yours have some scheme to get O’Patrick and his gang, don’t forget that Mitch is dead. Why don’t you guys start with me? Then we can see about including the judge.” They hang up after agreeing to meet in the D.A.’s office in an hour.”

Meanwhile, Nina and Penny get to O’Hare Airport and get Penny ticketed for a flight to Detroit that leaves in 45 minutes. Nina calls Pir with the time of arrival and heads back to her car. It is time to start pushing back. Too many people are being hurt, she thinks, and not enough of the bad guys are paying a price.

To be continued...

WASHINGTON, DC

OD

911

HELP PREVENT OVERDOSE DEATHS IN DC

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AFRAID TO CALL 911?

100 people die needlessly every year in DC from accidental drug overdoses. Friends and family are often afraid to call 911 for lifesaving assistance because they fear police involvement.

We are working to save lives by passing DC Council Bill B19-0754, the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Amendment Act of 2012.

This law would protect people from arrest for drug-related offenses when seeking medical assistance for someone who has overdosed.

Please share your overdose story with us to help build support for this urgently needed law that will help save lives in our community.

Call 320-634-6324 to leave a voicemail or email StopODinDC@gmail.com

Supported by the Public Service Grant Commission, a program of The George Washington University’s Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.

Activities

By Evelyn Nnam Vendor

Street Sense vendor David Denny (right) was given a camera for participating in the Seeing Hope project and asked to document a day in his life. As it turned out, the most important thing to Denny was lending the camera to his family so he could see his nephew, Walter Butler Jr. (above) graduate from high school.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DAVID DENNY

Seeing Hope Get to know our vendors at streetsense.org/seeing-hope

Wonderland

By Deana Black

Passin’ time and takin’ care of myself the best I can.

Until the man upstairs decides to take my hand and lead me to a better land.

Man I’m stuck!!!

These people here can’t see or they pretend to not understand.

The concept of treating people the way you want to be treated: is that so hard, man?

No one here believes in sacrifices, no one cares anymore about the other man.

It’s everyone for him or her self; even my so-called own right hand.

If I had the powers, I would create my own land.To be allowed access across the border, you would have to look into the mirror of entrance And if you saw anything other than the qualities of self respect, loyalty and commitment.

Then you would know not to waste your time tryin’ to gain entrance to my land.

Just about face and take your behind back to wonderland.

There are many activities you can do in summer life. For an example, you can go swimming at the beach, sunbathe, go boating or go out of town and catch up with your friends and relatives.

Summer is a good season for most people because you can go to lots of places like the Bahamas and New York, or just relax and enjoy the time you have.

You can make a lot of changes in summer before fall begins, like exercise and lose weight so you can feel good

and finally fit into those jeans you have been fidgeting with. You can also go and explore things in the world - go on safaris in Africa and other fun things like that. You won’t be able to do things in the fall, spring or winter most times.

Summer is not just about the warm weather and the bugs - it’s about having fun and doing lots of great activities.

You can also make money with lemonade stands, garage sales or bake sales.

You should experience lots of things over the summer because it may teach you lots of things in life. You can also be creative and make videos of yourself doing talented things like singing or dancing. These are the different things you can do to spend your summer.

Marvin Hammerman--Mystery part 2

by August Harrington Mallory Vendor 7:40 a.m. Occidental Park., Seattle “Can you spare some change today?

A nickel, a dime, a quarter anything to get a bite to eat,” a lonely homeless man begs. His cries go unheard as many people pass him by, as the cold winds blow and the rain pours in Seattle. A lone figure, wet and ragged is moving the area of Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle. Occidental Park is known for outdoor concerts, movie gatherings, free meal servings, and a host of other things, but not mysterious murders. The lone figure waits and sits in Occidental Park, along with the other homeless men who gather there. There are very few homeless women who come to Occidental Park. Just a half block away is the Bread of Life Mission and across the street is the homeless newspaper Real Change, already open to do business for the day. The lone figure walks to Alaskan Way near the ferry terminal.

In his mental state he does not know that he has killed someone. As he sits near the terminal ramp, the lone figure lets out a long yell, “LUTHER’ WHERE ARE YOU?’” Yet little does this same person know; he killed Luther Johnson a year ago and left his body afloat in the Missouri River.

That crime is still under investigation.

At the King County medical examiner’s office, forensic specialist Adam Henderson is working on some new clues surrounding the death of the most

recent victim. Henderson is pretty sure what killed this person, the question now remains is who killed this person.

Henderson contacts the major crimes division of the Seattle police department, to inform them of his findings.

The specialist has his hands pretty full. There are still a lot questions to be asked. No one is yet sure how many blows the victim received during his attack. Captain William Becker, the lead investigator in the case remains baffled as Henderson reads off his findings.

But Becker comes to a conclusion that he knows of only two people who can solve this case.

The captain calls private investigator Russell Jamison. And Jamison contacts Marvin Hammerman.

Coming up next: Hammerman and Jamison will have to pull out everything

Service Spotlight: Georgetown Ministry Center

By Laura Lindskov Jensen Editorial volunteer Summer is here, and the high temperatures make many long for a shower at the end of the day. For those without a home, that can be hard. There are places to go, though. In an alley on the side of Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, Georgetown Ministry Center provides a variety of services, among them shower facilities. The drop-in-center at 1041 Wisconsin Avenue is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m., and each day up to 20 people can shower.

Also it is possible for five people a day to do laundry. For both laundry and showers, you sign up on the daily list when the center opens.

In addition to shower and laundry facilities, the drop-in-center has caseworkers that help with housing applications, obtaining IDs and birth certificates, among oth-

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

er things. Though the space in the center is scarce, there is room for fun. The drop-in-center has free computers, and each day there are activities such as the knitting class, chess club or the weekly movie showing. A personal trainer has also just begun a weekly exercise class.

The center’s existence can be traced back to 1984 when an elderly homeless man died on the streets of Georgetown from staying outside in the cold. The citizens of Georgetown were moved to search for an appropriate community response and in 1987 the Georgetown Clergy Association and Georgetown University founded the Georgetown Ministry Center. Shortly thereafter, a still ongoing winter shelter and dropin-center was established. Today the neighbors are still caring - not only do many volunteers help out at the center, each day neighbors also bring sandwiches for those that come to the center.

My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596, Washington, DC 20017 (202) 529-5261 (office) (202) 529-5991 (24-hour hotline)

SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 110 Maryland Avenue, NE (202) 289-0596 (office) (202) 289-2111 (shelter) www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118, www.missiondc.org Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 www.newhopeministriesdc.org/id3.html

STREET SENSE July 18- 31, 2012

COMMUNITY SERVICES 3-6 p.m.

St. Stephens Parish Church 1525 Newton St, NW (202) 737–9311, www.thrivedc.org

www.georgetownministrycenter.org Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328–6608, www.marthastable.org

Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277, www.foodandfriends.org

Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682–1005, www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php

Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8089, www.miriamskitchen.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340, www.sashabruce.org

The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635, http://www.epiphanydc. org/ministry/welcometbl.htm

So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797–8806; www.some.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES

Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood Street, NE (202) 269-6623, www.aohdc.org

Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100, www.christhouse.org Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300,www.unityhealthcare.org Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500, www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERS N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060, www.nstreetvillage.org Samaritan Inns 2523 14th St., NW (202) 667 - 8831 http://www.samaritaninns.org/home/ New York Ave Shelter (Men 18+) 1355–57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832–2359

FOOD

15

Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587, www.breadforthecity.org Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419, www.cchfp.org Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060, www.nstreetvillage.org

Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356,www.communityofhopedc.org

Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplac

Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842–1112

Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE (202) 610–9600, www.covenanthousedc.org

Church of the Pilgrims (Sundays only) 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612, www.churchofthepilgrims.org

Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675–9050, www.friendshiphouse.net

John Young Center (Women) 119 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469, www.catholiccharitiesdc.org

Thrive DC Breakfast served Mon.-Fri., 9:30-11 a.m.

Dinner for women and children, Mon.-Fri.,

Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338–8301

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300, www.ccs–dc.org D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW (202) 347–8870, www.dccfh.org Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347–0511, www.cflsdc.org Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010, www.foundryumc.org Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731, www.grm.org Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 www.ccs–dc.org/find/services/ JHP, Inc. 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 544–9126, www.jobshavepriority.org Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202) 889–7702, www.samaritanministry.org

SHELTER HOTLINE: 1–800–535–7252

VENDOR PROFILE: Terron Solomon

By Faithful Okoye Editorial Intern “Environment could shape and mold you to something different,” said Street Sense vendor Terron Solomon, in his gruff voice.

At eight, Solomon looked at the lives of his neighbors in Northeast, D.C. and weighed his own options. There was the elderly lady who had worked at a government job for nearly 20 years.

She lived modestly. Then there were other guys, just about five years older than him, who sold illegal drugs. They had lot of money to spend on expensive luxuries.

The image was imprinted in his young mind. At around the age of 11, Solomon started selling drugs. Solomon said the work paid well, but with it came the habits of taking drugs and drinking alcohol.

Nearly 40 years later, watching his friends as they got high, he couldn’t help but hate what he had become.

“This ain’t really me,” he said. He then asked God to take it piece by piece: the drugs, the alcohol, every-

LAST WORD:

thing. Leaving the well-paying but drugfilled life, he left his neighborhood. He rode the bus from Northeast, D.C. to Chinatown. He started off homeless and on the streets. Two-day stretches of no food tempted him to go back to the life he once lived.

“That’s where I met my man,” Solomon said.

Why can’t we be friends?

“I already had street sense, but now I have the paper.”

While sitting on a bench, Solomon started a conversation with a fellow homeless man.

“Have you ever heard of Street Sense?,” the man asked Solomon. Giving him the contact information of Street Sense, the homeless man also gave him $10 to survive a few days.

“Man, thank God he got me out of that,” Solomon said. “I’m at Street Sense because of this dude.”

Solomon said he has been clean from drug abuse and hasn’t sold drugs for a year now.

“I already had street sense, but now I have the paper.”

He hopes to get a stable job and to get a place of his own. He said that he is still tempted to go back, but he won’t allow that to happen.

“You have no luck with me and drugs,” he said. “I’m so done.”

Anthony Crawford - July 29 July 18 - 31, 2012 • Volume 9 • Issue 18

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

Exchange students from all over Iraq participated in Street Sense’s Vendor for a Day program.

PHOTO BY BRIAN JONES

Veda Simpson Vendor Now I ask: Can we all just get along?

Not just you and I, but the world. I don’t want to get into politics. I’d rather leave that up to Jeffery McNeil. But it seems like if we are not at war with someone, taking advantage of someone, or if people don’t think the way we think, the Republicans can’t rest until they go out and start a fight. They believe in using money for guns and bombs.

On the other hand, the Democrats are more likely to try and solve problems without being at war, respecting the way others think, settling things with understanding. They would rather use the money for poverty, health, helping another man who is less fortunate: I call that thinking and being in God’s Army.

Why am I saying all of this? Because last week, five of my fellow Street Sense vendors and I had the most rewarding experience of a lifetime. We had the opportunity to take students from Iraq to sell papers. I have to tell you, they came in not knowing anything about the paper, not knowing what to expect. But they did great! I would give them an A+.

Each of us had a group of eight students.

I called my group the “Fun Bunch.”

As you know, many Iraqis cover up with heavy clothes. It was sunny and 95 degrees, yet they stood out there for two hours, never complaining. They did not let the 20 “nos” to every one “yes” or any of the negative feedback bother

them. They just smiled and said, “Have a blessed day.” My regular customers were very friendly.

The students were beautiful people. I was so grateful for them helping me but they seemed even more grateful for being able to have the opportunity to help me. They were much more aware of our living than some of us. Before we went out, our vendor manager Allen talked a little about Street Sense and our mission. He asked the group “who knows our first amendment?” Quickly the students answered, “freedom of speech.”

He then asked what they thought the Number One cause of homelessness here might be. Their answers were thoughtful: “Education, lack of jobs, etc.” A lot of U.S. citizens would say “drugs.”

My eyes were opened to a lot of beautiful things about the Iraqi people that day, just the opposite of the things that were said about them in the news. It just goes to show you, it’s better to get things straight from the horse’s mouth.

Really, we are spoiled here, even the poor, compared to them. Those students didn’t seem to value material things as much as love, friendship and loyalty.

That day taught me a real lesson and reminded me that if I can help someone, my living is not in vain. Please continue to pray for me that I will grow stronger everyday in my walk through life.

And just once again I will ask…CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Read about the Iraqi students and see more photos online at streetsense.org