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Where the poor and homeless

March 3 - March 16, 2010

March 3 - March 16, 2010

earn and give their two cents

D STE GE ON G I S U N AT DO

Volume 7 Issue 9

65 cents for the Vendor

35 cents for production of the paper

The Cost of Rising Rent See Page 5

A soup rush occurs at Miriam’s Kitchen, with more than just soup Page 4

Festival builds community through poetry and art Page 6

Street Sense revamps the office with help from a few trusty volunteers Page 14

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March 3 - March 16, 2010

Our Mission 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 347–2006 Fax: (202) 347–2166 info@streetsense.org www.streetsense.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kristal DeKleer Lisa Estrada Ted Henson Mary Lynn Jones Sommer Mathis Brad Scriber John Snellgrove Michael Stoops Martin Walker David Walker Kathy Whelpley EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Abby Strunk EDITOR–IN–CHIEF Lisa Gillespie VENDOR MANAGER Gregory Martin INTERNS Jozie Sands, Sonja Doty & Mary Krulia Founders Ted Henson & Laura Thompson Osuri VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Robert Basler, Robert Blair, Jane Cave, Katie Edson, Robert Fulton, Jane Goforth, Cassandra Good, Joanne Goodwin, Roberta Haber, Erica Hall, Annie Hill, Dan Horner, Phillip Hoying, Maurice King, Brenda K. Lee-Wilson, Kim O’Connor, Gabriel Okolski, Michael O’Neill,, Katinka Podmanickzy, Sarah Birnie, Diane Rusignola, Jesse Smith, Denise Wilkins, Marian Wiseman

VENDORS Jake Ashford, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Donna Barber, Cyril Belk, Kenneth Belkosky, Tommy Bennett, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Corey Bridges, Melody Byrd, Cliff Carle, Peggy Cash, Conrad Cheek, Aaron Conner, Anthony Crawford, Louise Davenport, Charles Davis, James Davis, Jeffery Dennis, David Denny, Ricardo Dickerson, Muriel Dixon, Alvin Dixon-El, Roger Dove, Charles Eatmon, Deanna Elder, Richard Embden, James Featherson, Craig Fleming, Tanya Franklin, Roger Garner, David Ger, Barron Hall, Dwight Harris, Patricia Henry, Shakaye Henry, Shawn Herring, Phillip Howard, James Hughes, Patricia Jefferson, Margaret Jenkins, Donald Johnson, Jewell Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Clinton Kilpatrick, Brenda Lee-Wilson, James Lott, Michael Lyons, Jonnie Malloy, Kina Mathis, John Matthews, John C. Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Herman Mayse, Robert McCray, Marvin McFadden, Davie McInally, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Frank Mearns, Kenneth Middleton, Virginia Moore, L. Morrow, Tyrone Murray, Lester Myers, Charles Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Evelyn Nnam, Charity Ogbonnaya, Moyo Onibuje, Franklin Payne, Gregory Phillips, Tracey Powell, Ash-Shaheed Rabbil, Raymond Ragland, Jeanette Richardson, Sean-Christopher Riley, Lawrence Rogers, Ed Ross, Melania Scott, Chris Shaw, Ronald Simms, Veda Simpson, Gerald Smith, Patty Smith, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, Leroy Studevant, Beverly Sutton, Paul Taylor, Sybil Taylor, Eric Thompson, Larissa Thompson, Deborah Tibbs, Carl Turner, Joseph Walker, Robert Warren, Lawless Watson, Paul Watson, Edna Williams, Howard Williams, Brian Wills, Ivory Wilson, Charles Woods.

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.

The Story of Street Sense

Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C. A street paper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to the homeless individuals who sell it. About 28 street papers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and dozens more exist throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies. For the next three years the paper published on a monthly basis and greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network.

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a

project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space. In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 status, becoming a nonprofit organization.

In October 2005 Street Sense formed a full board of directors, and in November the organization hired its first employee, a full-time executive director.

A year later in November 2006, the organization hired its first vendor coordinator and began partnering with several service providers.

In February 2007, the paper started publishing twice a month and to support the increased production brought on its first full-time editor– in–chief in April.

As of January 2010 the paper had 72 active ven-

We are proud members of: North American Street Newspaper Association

International Network of Street Papers

dors and prints about 30,000 issues a month.

Vendor Code of Conduct

Do you want to continue to support Street Sense throughout the year?

Order a subscription today!

Not only will you receive 26 issues packed with all our latest news, poetry and photography, you will also help raise awareness about poverty in the D.C. area.

___ YES! I want to subscribe to Street Sense for just $40 a year for 26 issues. ___ YES! I want to give half of the cost of a subscription to my favorite vendor: ______________________________ Name:_________________________ Address:_______________________ City:____________State:__________ Zip: ___________________________ Phone: ________________________ E-mail: ________________________

1. Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Street Sense by any other means.

2. I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense staff and will not sell papers to other vendors (outside of the office volunteers).

3. I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, other vendors – respectfully, and I will not “hard sell,” threaten or pressure customers.

4. I agree to stay off private property when selling Street Sense.

5. I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well–being and income.

6. I agree to sell no additional goods or products when selling the paper.

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

8. I agree to stay a block away from another vendor and respect the space of all vendors. I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. 9. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge and wear my vest when selling papers.

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

Last Month’s Donors

See page 14

Please make checks payable to: Street Sense.

Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Thank You!

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March 3 - March 16, 2010

Bon Jovi will visit homeless shelters while on tour Jon Bon Jovi’s new tour, in support of his album “The Circle," will include visits to homeless shelters as a fact-finding mission of sorts for the singer’s charity, the Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.

The Philadelphia-based charity helps build affordable housing and establishes community soup kitchens, BusinessWeek reports. The organization has built more than 150 units of affordable housing in seven cities since its inception in 2006.

"I've spent the last quarter of a century touring, going from arena-stadium to hotel back to arena-stadium-hotel," Bon Jovi said. "This time, because of my foundation's work over the last six years building affordable housing, on my days off and when the opportunity arises ... I will go to shelters and try to learn more about the issue and how to combat it."

Students come up with plan to distribute lunchroom leftovers to homeless Highland School of Technology in Gastonia, N.C., used to throw out about 35 meals a week, but thanks to students like junior Clay Hackney, the leftovers are getting put

to good use, The Gaston Gazette reports.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot of food on a day-to-day basis, but when you add it all up it really became substantial,” Hackney told the Gazette.

The project was started by North Carolina State University freshman Amanda Wilkins, who began in her senior year and handed the project off to Hackney.

In mid-February, cafeteria workers began packaging up the food that would have gone to the Dumpster into storage containers to donate to As One Ministries, a Gastonia nonprofit that provides services for the homeless. The food items are picked up three times per week.

As One Ministries Director Angela Dreher Barnett says the extra food has helped the non-profit get by during a difficult economy.

“It’s been a blessing,” Dreher Barnett said. “We’ve had days when we haven’t had anything.”

Olympic tent village helps homeless during Winter Games While most of Vancouver, British Columbia, was busy celebrating the Winter Olympics, Dave Diewert was busy setting up a tent away from the bustle of the event.

Diewert, who runs a group called Streams

of Justice and teaches part time, told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that he wanted to create a spot for homeless people who have been displaced by the games.

Diewert’s village consists of roughly 150 tents spread out over a developer’s vacant lot and is just four blocks from Canada Hockey Place.

The tent village has received some resistance from the local community, some as strong as posting signs that read “Build Resumes, Not Tents.”

“I hear people repeat this mantra, about how ‘homelessness is a result of addiction and mental illness,’” Diewert said. “That’s just crazy. That’s ignorant. The fact is, when you have income levels set so low, and you let the market push housing prices so high, then you create homelessness.

“You know, I’m hearing some of the people here saying this is the best place they’ve had to live in a long time,” he said. “Maybe that’s the saddest thing about this place.”

Miami considers restrictions on feeding the homeless The Miami City Commission will consider a proposal in March that would stop unauthorized people or groups from feeding the homeless, Fox News reports. Proponents say the ban will help cut down

on litter and also ensure the safety of the food.

If the ordinance passes, persons who want to help feed homeless individuals will have to go through training, which would include two parts: how to ensure food safety and proper clean-up procedures. Anyone who breaks the potential ordinance would face a fine of $300 for repeat offenses.

More than 1,500 homeless in Chicago-area county A new report shows that more than 1,500 residents in DuPage County, an area near Chicago, were homeless last year, including 368 under the age of 18 and 169 under 5, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

But those figures may be inaccurate, according to Carol Simler, of the DuPage County Homeless Continuum of Care, since they only reflect the number of homeless who used shelters, not those who had to stay with friends or family.

"They are a somewhat invisible population," she said.

About 22 percent of the homeless seeking shelter in 2008 were doing so for the first time, the Sun-Times reports.

Compiled by Dianna Heitz, from previously published reports.

Every homeless person has a name, a story and a hope for something better.

Sybil, a lifelong Washingtonian, became homeless when she lost her job. While panhandling on the street, she ran into a Street Sense vendor who encouraged her to sell the paper. Sybil attributes the positive changes she’s made in her life to Street Sense. Sybil, who now has housing and a permanent smile on her face, hopes to start her own business in five years.

I want to donate:

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Help Street Sense help people like Sybil restore their dignity, get back to work and improve their lives.

My information:

____ $60

With a $60 donation, we can provide food for six Writer’s Group meetings.

Name: __________________________________

____ $100

With a $100 donation, we can provide office supplies for one month.

Address: ________________________________

____ $300

With a $300 donation, we can buy vendor badges for six months.

City, State, Zip: ___________________________

____ $500

With a $500 donation, we can make significant improvements to the paper.

Phone: _________________________________

____ $1,000

With a $1,000 donation, we can have the space needed for vendor training.

Email: __________________________________

____ $1,500

With a $1,500 donation, we can print four issues of the paper.

____ $5,000

With a $5,000 donation, we can build significant organizational capacity.

Another amount of _________ to support what Street Sense needs most.

Please make your check payable to “Street Sense” and mail to: 1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

The amount of _________ to go directly to vendor ____________________.

Donate online at www.streetsense.org

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March 3 - March 16, 2010

New Program at Miriam’s Kitchen Offers More Than a Meal For more than 17 years, the basement of a church in Foggy Bottom has been the goto place for breakfast, lunch, case management, art and writing classes for thousands of men and women.

Miriam’s Kitchen routinely feeds 180 diners a day before 9 a.m., helped by an army of volunteers, orchestrated by chefs and supported by a steady flow of food and cash donations. Beginning last month, Miriam’s expanded its operations to include dinner—an endeavor requiring a second chef, more food and a whole slew of new volunteers. So far, with the new chef training new volunteers to uphold the restaurant-quality standards, things have been running smoothly.

“The food here has always been good,” said Howard, a long-time guest, as he ate a dinner of turkey, collard greens, salad, potatoes and dessert. “It’s much more like going to a restaurant than other dinner programs. If it wasn’t for this place, I really wouldn’t be able to eat.”

Howard and the rest of the guests don’t just eat, they eat well. Miriam’s prides itself on the food.

John Murphy, assistant director of kitchen operations, is a fresh-faced 23-year-old.

He came to Miriam’s with much experience in the restaurant business despite his age.

He found, not surprisingly, some significant differences between working for a dinner program and working at a restaurant.

Few in the restaurant business could imagine making dinner for 100 people with a completely different—and often inexperienced—kitchen staff every night with a menu that changes daily.

“It’s working with volunteer corps,” Murphy said. “You’re not really working with professionals. You’re working with volunteers and not the same ones every night.

They need education and guidance.”

That education was on display during dinner preparation on a Tuesday night.

Volunteers were schooled in properly seasoning eggplant parmesan, dicing red peppers and portioning danish, as well as remembering which sink is for sanitizing solution, hand washing, food waste or vegetable rinsing.

Then there are the menu challenges.

While a restaurant can keep a fixed menu and offer specials, Miriam’s offers “specials” every night—rather, whatever was volunteered that week by Costco, private donors, farmers’ markets and so on. Still, Murphy tries to create themed menus.

Tuesday’s turkey and greens was a nod to Southern cooking. Later in the week, he planned a Mexican-themed night with tor-

PHOTO by Dan Seligson

By Dan Seligson

Above, Jessica Culverhouse, part of “third Tuesday” volunteer group that works at Miriam’s Kitchen every month, chops red peppers to prep for a future dinner. Prepping and preparing for future dinners helps keep things running smoothly in the kitchen. Right, John Murphy, assistant director of kitchen operations, heads the dinner program. He keeps a watchful eye on sometimes inexperienced volunteers as he creates and executes a completely different menu every night.

tilla casserole and an Italian night with the aforementioned eggplant parmesan.

What has not been a challenge is finding volunteers. The dinner program, barely a month old, already has a waiting list to help out.

Tracey Adams, a volunteer with a group from the National Environmental Education Foundation, worked for the first time at Miriam’s last week.

During the course of the night, she prepped, served dessert and helped clean up. What most impressed her was the atmosphere in the dining room.

“I don’t know about other programs like this, but I noticed in the dining room everyone talking and laughing and interacting,” she said. “It’s just a real community there.”

For now, the community has ranged in size from the blizzard-low of fewer than 70 per night to a more consistent 100 or so diners each night. The kitchen can handle as many as 200 guests per night.

In addition to meals, Miriam’s offers case management, including mental health, and

legal and medical services. Guests can get assistance in finding shelter, permanent housing and employment, as well as help securing benefits. There is a phone, voicemail system and mailbox for guests, and enrichment programs, including art, yoga, writing, knitting and advocacy.

Albert Townsend, a guest at Miriam’s for more than two years and president of the People for Fairness Coalition, said the experience is unique among the services offered in the city.

“There are a number of programs with food, but this one is structured,” he said.

“The great thing is that the meals are really very balanced. I’m vegetarian mostly, and I can always find something. But they also help people get more than food. They help people get from where they are to selfsufficiency.”

Miriam’s is seeking diners as well as donations. According to Sara Gibson, the development director, the new dinner program has expanded the organization’s budget by nearly $600,000.

For more information about how you can help, call 202-452-8926 or visit www.miriamskitchen.org.

Miriam’s Kitchen is located at 2401 Virginia Ave., NW, in the District.

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Low-Income Families Hit Hardest by Mounting Rents Housing affordability problems due to increases in rents have been especially acute for D.C.’s lowest-income households, most of whom spend half or more of their income on housing, according to a new report by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.

The report attributes the rise in rents from 2000 to 2007 to the housing market boom and the city’s new developmental projects.

One hundred thousand households paid more than 30 percent of their income for housing in 2007, surpassing the federal affordability standard, according to the report. Nearly 50,000 households paid half of their income for housing.

Tim Wallace, 35, resident of Potomac Park Apartments in Northwest D.C., spends half his income on rent.

Wallace has lived at the Potomac Park Apartments for five years, and says he has seen a $150 increase in his rent.

“I work two jobs,” he said. “It’s pretty tough.”

Andrew Stevenson, 27, spends approximately $1,650 a month on rent for his studio apartment at The Savoy in Northwest D.C. Since 2003, the apartment complex has seen a $400 increase in rent, Stevenson said.

Stevenson moved in six months ago and said the apartment is old, though in good condition. “It is not unsafe, unsanitary, or infested.”

According to the report, the combination of rising home prices and the conversion of many rental units to condominiums have caused housing affordability difficulties for D.C.’s residents.

“You had a fairly steady and increasing demand for rental housing and at the same time you have a declining supply of affordable rental housing,” said Danilo Pelletiere, research director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “Hence, older buildings and single-family units were converted to for-sale housing.”

It’s all about affordability, said Tom Dawes, director of the affordable housing preservation for the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights. “Though there is not enough land available for affordability. It’s either high-end condominiums or its multi-family high-end rentals.”

Dawes said major developments are emerging in D.C. “When real estate markets are being enhanced by other major developments, property values go up.”

PHOto by Shivan sarna

By Shivan Sarna

Residents of the Potomac Park Apartments are just one of many suffering from apartments hiking up rents over the past five years in the District.

The city, with its goal of increasing its population and making certain neighborhoods more popular, is applying increased pressure on lower-income families who would like to stay in those neighborhoods, said Ed Lazere, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Rents have increased in Columbia Heights, Dawes said. “You’ve had major development with the Metro coming in 1999, and then you had DCUSA, the commercial boom of high-end condominiums and rental units,” he said.

“Developers were eager to find places to create hubs like Columbia Heights, and they did,” Lazere said. “Though they need to think about what they can do to preserve affordable housing when consciously

working on developing neighborhoods.”

Homes in D.C. with a value of under $250,000 totaled 58,000 in 2000, though by 2007, only 19,000 owner-occupied homes had a value this low, according to the report.

“It needs to be ensured some of the public lands that the city disposes for development purposes are set aside for affordable housing,” Lazere said.

“We should support tenants who want to purchase a building, as when a neighborhood becomes popular, landlords want to sell the building and turn them into condominiums,” Lazere said.

“Helping tenants who want to stay by providing that assistance can help the affordable housing that’s there.”

Public support for housing has come to a halt. “Since 2008, there has been limited support for acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, leaving many projects stalled,” according to the report.

Lazere said affordable housing needs to be prioritized, especially as the city goes through rounds of budget-cutting in the next few months.

According to the report, rents in D.C. increased more than in New York, Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles among others.

From 1955 to 1995, the District experienced the loss of its middle-class tax base.

In 1997, the city’s pension liability for federal workers who became city employees rocketed to $4.5 billion, from $300 million in 1974.

The District was then taken over by a federal financial control board. The national recession of the 1990s further weakened D.C.’s economy.

“The city was in many ways demoralized,” Lazere said. “Though, we had a strong recovery as the finances improved, and faith in the city improved.”

D.C. has always been one of the better places to get a job, and is always going to be a desired place to live, Lazere said.

“Housing prices here will rise faster than in other places particularly coming off the real downfall that the city experienced.”

Since 2008, the District’s funding for low-income housing has diminished, falling from $123 million in 2008 to $64 million in 2010, according to the report titled “Nowhere to Go: As D.C. Housing Costs Rise, Residents Are Left with Fewer Affordable Housing Options.”

Lazere attributed the cuts to the city’s tight finances.

Housing programs funded by locally raised revenues have been affected by both the recession and the economy, said Angelita Colon-Francia, senior publications director for the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).

“During a recession government resources sink due to declining tax revenue,” Colon-Francia said.

“At the same time demand for some programs and services increase and that’s what we are seeing.”

DHCD and other organizations are trying to offset revenue loss with the federal stimulus money, Colon-Francia said.

“The combination of more population and more jobs, without more housing is bound to put pressure on both rents and for-sale price,” Lazere said.

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March 3 - March 16, 2010

Poetry Festival Promotes Social Change The man sitting at the table, unshaven but proud, holds up pieces of paper scrawled with poetry and doodles about war, knowledge and prayer. With words, he says, people at Miriam’s Studio can learn to think for themselves and with each other.

“What I'm seeking is knowledge, pure knowledge: good, bad, indifferent,” James Morris, 61, says. “With poetry, you're much freer to express yourself.”

On March 12, writers and contributors from Miriam’s Studio will present the case for poetry workshops building community at the Split This Rock Poetry Festival. From March 10 to 13, the festival will ask that people consider the benefits of poetry.

“People have been dehumanized in some profound ways that affect daily functioning,” said Kate Baasch, art therapist at Miriam’s Kitchen. “The studio is a safe place to be.”

The Studio, an art outreach program of Miriam’s Kitchen, has had a writing program for over 15 years. Originally called the After-Breakfast Program, the name changed on January 18 with the addition of the Evening Program.

Split This Rock Poetry Festival was first introduced in 2008, as a way of celebrating poetry used for social change, according to Sarah Browning, co-director of the festival.

“We wanted to praise these unsung heroes who are restoring vitality to our language,” she said.

Featuring 36 panels, with multiple panelists at each, the festival focuses on topics ranging from effecting political change to the place of black LGBTQ poets in the field. Catherine Crum, Deputy Director at Miriam’s, will be paneling “Poetry Workshops as Communities” on Friday with other studio writers.

“I just sit there and let the pen roll out,” said Morris, a poet at Miriam’s Studio.

Morris, who said he had been attending the program since December, praised it for its relaxing atmosphere and comfort level.

In other places they have to “march in and march out,” he said, but at Miriam’s Studio they can “come in here and chill out.”

The Studio offers options besides poetry, including drawing, beadwork, and dramatic readings.

Crum said that she's heard people say they come to the facility specifically for studio time, during which they interact with each other and develop their talents. Morris displayed his artwork proudly, while Paul Lee Taylor, 46, writes both poetry and prose, as well as participates in the drama.

“You see people start to open up and relate to each other more,” Taylor said on the newcomers to poetry. “To be able to communicate more with each other.”

Crum is proud of the expansion of what she calls “therapeutic groups” since the outreach began, in meeting the people’s need.

“Our groups correspond to what people ask for,” Crum said. “Writing and art groups are a way to get

PHOTOs by Sonja Doty

By Sonja Doty

Above, James Morris shows one of his works on knowledge and creativity. Right, a stack of poetry and art from poets at Miriam’s Kitchen studio, where they find new expression in poetry workshops.

what's on the inside out, which is great.”

Browning, in the organization of the festival, said that she wanted to honor those who reach out to the socially slighted. “[Those who are] helping us imagine alternatives to the status quo; who are bringing the sustenance of poetry to prisons and homeless shelters and after-school programs in low-income neighborhoods,” she said. “We wanted to bring them together to learn from one another and draw support.”

Socially-aware poets will provide readings at the festival each night, in an effort to bring the necessary “creative vision” that, according to Browning, is needed to lift citizens out of their despair.

Despite the change in administration since the first festival in 2008, said Browning, people still facing the same problems in health care, hunger, unemployment, and war.

“This is in part a crisis of imagination,” she argued. “We need our most creative citizens, our poets.”

Taylor and Morris both agree on the power of poetry to lift you up.

“I thought I had control, but I didn’t,” Taylor admitted in referring to his life before the studio.

“Art helps people think and create,” said Morris. “Take the evil of psychiatry and turn it into something good,” he joked.

Miriam’s Studio takes place from 8 to 9:45 on weekday mornings for creative writing and art therapy, and from 2:30 to 4:30 on weekday afternoons.

Taylor had one final comment on the studio and the effect of poetry: “When you’re here, it’s like a paradise world.”

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March 3 - March 16, 2010

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At the Bherabhenge children’s education centres such as the one above, kids do their homework and learn basic skills. The Berabhenge centres, currently numbering 22 across the state, are alternative education providers, operated by the Durbar Women’s Collaborative Committee, popularly known as the Durbar (“The Indomitable”).

Indian School Aims to Help Children of Sex Workers

By Manipadma Jena KOLKATA, India - “May I come in, Miss?” asks seven-year-old Ajmiri Khatun, her face beaming with her radiant smile. Her teacher, Pujo Roy, gladly welcomes her into the eightsquare-foot educational facility designed for Indian children like her.

“Thank you, Miss,” says Ajmiri, as she enters the Kidderpore ‘Berabhenge’ centre, sits cross-legged on the floor and starts doing her homework.

Every day, from her school, Ajmiri proceeds to the centre where she waits for her mother, a commercial sex worker (CSW), to return from her work. Home for her and her family is a dilapidated shanty by the Sealdah railway in Kolkata city, where the stench of urine and garbage never goes away.

Ajmiri is also a student at the Loreto Day School, a 153-year-old private English medium school in Sealdah, a throbbing commercial hub in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal in eastern India.

She is proud of this opportunity to be able to go to one of the finest schools in Kolkata, and this she owes to the ‘Berabhenge’ (translated as ‘break the barriers of stigma’) children’s education centres, run by a network of CSWs across West Bengal.

Roy, 26, a teacher, friend and mentor to Khatun and other children like her, is herself the daughter of a CSW. After completing high school, she got married and then decided to devote her life to serving as a teacher to CSW children.

The Berabhenge centres, currently numbering 22 across the state, are alternative education providers, op-

erated by the Durbar Women’s Collaborative Committee, popularly known as the Durbar (“The Indomitable”).

The Durbar is a network of 65,000 CSWs in West Bengal. Its main office is in Sonagachi, considered one of Asia’s largest red light districts. The non- government organisation was organised in 1995 as part of a public health initiative to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

The Berabhenge centres that the Durbar operates are designed specifically for CSW children and are funded by local and international donor agencies, which cover, among others, the salaries of teachers like Roy. The centres’ services, which are offered for free, include vocational training courses such as embroidery, basic cosmetology and playing musical instruments. There children like Khatun and even young adults, can safely and comfortably wait for their mothers, usually out from 4 to 10 p.m., as they eke out a living on and off the streets, usually in brothels.

Muhammud Sahalam, a 19-yearold gangly Class eight dropout, earns 100 rupees (2.5 U.S. dollars) a day as a perfume salesman but is training to become a beautician at the Kidderpore ‘Berabhenge’ centre.

Others who go to any one of the Berabhenge centres aim to become electricians, television and radio repairmen or photographers.

Sixteen-year-old Rani Khatun (no relation to Ajmiri), who is learning to bead dresses at the Kidderpore centre, is eagre to earn so she could wean her mother away from the flesh trade.

The Berabhenge centres are the Durbar’s answer to the Indian apex court’s controversial proposal to lega-

lise prostitution in order to solve the proliferation of trafficking and the sex trade in the state. In a December 2009 public interest litigation against child trafficking for commercial sex trade, the court said, “if you (central government) cannot handle it, legalise it.”

Today there are more than 900 children of CSWs in the Berabhenge centres in West Bengal. About 700 of them go to formal schools while 75 are in residential or boarding schools, which function more like orphanages.

Tanjila Khatun, 15, has found a second home in the Berabhenge centre where she goes.

At home Tanjila, who also bears no relation with Ajmiri, says she tried to escape feelings of being trapped in a cramped space by reading her schoolbooks while in an adjoining cubicle, separated only by a ply board, her mother entertains drunken, foulmouthed men.

“It can drive you to do insane things,” she says. The centre gives her the space she needs and more. But beyond its walls, she faces constant discrimination, as do many children of CSWs like her.

Tanjila, who loves to dance, says no dance group in the city was willing to take her into its fold simply because she was from Sonagachi. So she and her friends – all children of CSWs – formed ‘Komal Gandhar’ (loosely translated as the performing arts), a cultural group that performs across the country. Lead performers transgender Sambhu Das, 21, and Nitai Giri, 41, tell their stories as CSWs in their performances.

“Our theatre pieces are most popular with the public; we present stories of our own everyday experience that we alone can best tell,” says Giri.

Tanjila and the others lead the ‘Amra Padatik’ (or foot soldiers) – an army of children of CSWs who spread awareness about children’s rights, exploitation and child labour to communities.

One feature of the Durbar is its peer educator programme. Selected CSWs are informed about HIV/AIDS, STDs and the use of condoms before they are sent to the homes of other CSWs as peer educators. The resulting camaraderie and deep solidarity among them has led to unprecedented campaigns in the state for the rights of CSWs and their children, including legalisation of commercial sex and access to education.

“We realised that we needed to take control of ourselves to counter the everyday harassment (inflicted on us by society) and lead a life of respect and dignity,” says Puspa Sarkar, a peer educator.

Besides being witness to constant violence at home and on the streets, the children of CSWs are constantly at risk of harm from police and goons.

“The police themselves are involved in atrocities, and lodging complaints against them becomes impossible.

During regular brothel raids, they take away the children (found with their CSW mothers) and bring them to shelters, only to be brought back after the mothers pay hefty bribes to the police officials,” says Oishik Sircar, a human rights lawyer who interned with Durbar. “The cycle of violence continues.”

C o u r t e s y o f In t e r Pre s s Se r v i c e © Street News Service: www.streetpapers.org

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An eviction in progress in Silver Spring. Photos by Lawrence Howard, volunteer.

Pandora

By David Denny

Love’s Struggles

By Robert Warren

Pandora hands so light and free Unable to discern what the gods could see

The life of love struggles

One touch to curse all mortality

That two people share

Forever abounds all iniquity

All the pain and joy of the ups and downs

Never to enjoy the supreme grace

The living of the hearts in love and love

All mortal souls has lost his face

The times of love when needs are always being fulfilled

Gods retreat in solemn disdain

The years you try holding on to love

Despair in unrelenting pain

Not wanting to say I loved before

Impetuous hands that move haste

Seeking to be in love hoping for love’s pains no more

Despair and unrelenting waste

Always thinking how to love

Never again will mortals be free

What else is to live but love when you have loved

The world is a sad sad place to be

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Metal Mirror

By David Denny

Through the metal mirror that has no gleam Stares a hazy countenance and a broken dream Vestiges of the things that were A face wrought with tears And all things that once were loved fading with the years

Photos of activity about town. Taken by Lawrence Howard, volunteer.

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A’s Word Puzzle, by Patrick Azrius Wrote Wrote Wrote Wrote Wrote

the the the the the

play The play The play The play The play The

Feast at Solhaug American Clock Knight of the Burning Pestle Shoemakers’ Holiday Island Princess

A. Arthur Miller B. Henrick Ibsen C. John Fletcher D. Francis Beaumont E. Thomas Dekker

The Jackass Who Thought He Was a Thoroughbred

By Jeffrey McNeil There once was a farmer who was trying to sell his wheat on a small farm.

As he was driving to the mill, he came upon what appeared to be a small horse, eating saw grass and tumbleweeds and looking pale and thin from being dehydrated by the hot summer sun.

As he passed, the animal called out, in a weary voice, "Can you help me? I am hungry and thirsty; I have nowhere to go, because my owner said I am just an ass. I am an ass, but I am not worthless. So I told him you could kiss this ass goodbye!"

The farmer felt sorry for this pitiful ass.

He started thinking: my daughter always wanted a show pony, maybe she won’t know the difference. So the farmer took him home, fed him oats, and gave him a large trough of cool water to drink out of.

The ass now had a place to lay his head and blankets to keep him warm.

The farmer now wanted to surprise his daughter with a gift. He said to her, “Close your eyes and count to three.”

When she opened her eyes, she could not believe what she saw. "A pony!" she squealed, "Thank you, daddy!"

“What are you going to call him?” asked her father.

"How about Jack?”she said.

"That's a perfect name," replied her father.

Every day she would ride Jack the ass around and show him off to her friends.

She would wash him and brush him. And

Jack the ass enjoyed all the attention. He enjoyed being treated like a prized pony for awhile, but then one day he complained to the farmer. "I am tired of eating oats, I don’t like lipstick! Why don’t I have shoes like the other horses? I’m not even branded. Why do you still treat me like an ass?"

The farmer listened to this jackass whine and complain, and soon became offended. "You ungrateful ass!" the farmer screamed. "I took you out of the wastelands of the plains where you were eating cactus and tumbleweeds. You’ll never be a real horse because you have long ears and bad manners. You’re not majestic like the mustang or fast like the thoroughbred."

The farmer got tired of putting up with Jack the ass and decided to sell him cheap.

He staked him out in corner of the field by the road where a passing horse trainer spotted him. The trainer thought a jackass in his stable might calm his racehorses.

But instead of calming the horses, the ass pranced around, his mane flowing in the air, acting like one of them. The horses were greatly annoyed and took it out on the trainer.

The trainer realized this ass was getting his goat, and said "Hit the road, Jack!"

The jackass finally realized he had squandered his chance to live a better life, all because he forgot where he came from.

The moral is: Don’t be a jackass; be grateful for your blessings.

Help Bring the Homeless in from the Cold

THE CALLthe Call

Shelter Hotline 1 800 535-7252 o r C a l l 3 11

Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor, Government of the District of Columbia

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Will Write For Food:

Writer’s Group

March 3 - 16, 2010

meets every Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Street Sense office.

The Writer's Group needs laptops; email: info@streetsense.org if you can help.

Spiritual Drought As We enter the Lenten season, more and more we are finding lost souls. Their spirit dry, like a desert. Take a drink from our oasis and end your spiritual drought.

True and Good

by Robert Warren Acorns falling from a tree, in a place in a life where many years have go by.

Still the shape of the buildings tell you it’s no different than it was a long time ago.

A place that brought roads you traveled with the demons you fought and still the struggle goes on. It’s said when god calls you’ll feel like is has been a minute, and it all was a dream.

And all the faces you see say '' peace love '' to see you. Yes, if only it was all true. And for the God I believe in, the unseen are just a dream of a life.

That now it pains your soul as we grow older. Not like our mothers and fathers before us. Who knew how to grow old.

Reggie’s Reflections-Friendly Offer.....

By Reginald Black I was desperate alone and also completely homeless. The neighborhood started to be a hostile enviorment. I didn’t understand why did the past events occur. My hideout was invaded, and now there was no way to get in.

I thought that this night I was going to die. I went over to the office, chatting the whole way. My crush wasn’t there, becoming bored and not wanting to alert the room to my troubles, I worked hard all day and thought about what was I going to do. But alast, all great things come to an end. Dreading closing time, I watched the clock. '' A plan, a plan '' I thought as the minutes ticked by. I left the office and went to sell. I knew when I was done I would have to find a place nearby. It ended up being a back alley. '' Is this is it? '' I wondered.

I returned to the corner to wait till all died down. A friend of mine for the neighborhood caught up with me on his break. I proceeded to tell him what had transpired the day before. Feeling like he could help he offered his home to me, but would I take this offer? I agreed that if I could stay that I would pay rent, but was my homelessness over? And if so, what happens with my intrest?

I didn’t know, but I was eager to discover where my head might lay.

Reggie hosts The Writer's Group Meeting Contact: Rblackstreetreporter@gmail. com.

Fading Light

by Joaquin Turley Another time was the ‘50’s and the ‘60’s The ‘Boomers’ and the ‘Love Child’ There once was a light that shined in my soul. were born. 40 years our time then those who marched with King will be Until I found the world to be too cold. No one cares enough to help me escape the gone? Oh, the dream to live on to the day when peace and love lives on. The cold drift. That prevents me to be able to exist in a state of bliss. dream of Dr. King for our grand children will forever live on.

Watching the sights, looking at the countless droves of people traveling new and old. Trying to live their lives, trying to be bold.

All on an acorn falling out a tree, GOD knows everything that we sleep and dream. Even then, will the dream be filled with God’s love? When will we go I sought to find this light but it was too dim for my black heart to see. My pain home to dream forevermore? colored my heart. A darker shade of pain.

And all your dreams come true. Yes, GOD knows all the dreams you struggle The light flickered and I became broken blending into the worlds dark mold. I was for in this life. Andthere is no more struggle in this life than the next. For only once joyful with a grin ears wide. But now I have placed my happiness to the side. a King’s dream that is true and good.

Because with this smile on my face. I am living a lie. I actually sit home in my black room and cry. Cry out to all the lost souls, because soon I know I will fit into the Robert is a member of The People for Fairness Coalition. Contact: droves. I will soon run and hide.

Robertwarren47@yahoo.com.

LeaderShip

by Reginald Black

The fore front.

The front line A call to action A state of mind When you rewind the clock, you’ll find a drive that won’t stop.

A push, a desire to be at the top.

Not a flop, more of a stroll.

A long walk with the lord.

Destined for a postion, the most important of all.

Shoes no one can fill.

It’s not a deal or no deal, it is why jesus confronted the devil on that hill.

I feel that it’s his will.

Moving through my spirit saying ''Son be still. you must be ready to heed my call. you must lead by me and you will stand tall with your leadership. ''

Into the darkness that really sustains my morbid soul, My light no longer burns bright in the world’s chaos. No more giggles, smiles or things of this nature, because my light has faded into the world’s dark rapture. This is me here, now and there after.

Joaquin also attends Morgan State University. Contact: Joaquin.Turley@yahoo.com.

The Promise to Life

by David Ger Something exists more dangerous, Than viruses and bacteria, Their existance is ubiquitous, Unknown in medical criteria, Diseases caused are serious, prions be the aria, To be known in US, God exists without amnesia.

David volunteers and is writing his own novel. Contact: stonepotts2000@yahoo.com.

PRODUCTION, HOSTING, LAYOUT AND SUPPORT: Patty Smith, Reginald Black

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National Prayer Breakfast Features Obama, Tebow

By Reginald Black On Feb. 4, powers from all across the globe gathered to attend the National Prayer Breakfast.

On the first Thursday of February each year, the breakfast opens at 7:30 am.

There were solemn looks all around as Mary Kay Messenger sang “God Bless America”. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said “Be open to advice.” Todd Akon (RMo.) called it the best hour of the week. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, prime minister of Spain, said, “Freedom is the foundation of hope.”

Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a prayer for all the leaders of the world. Mullen went on to say that a free man has a choice to the extent that he is rational.

“Let’s take the time to ask, ‘What am I doing,

what am I not doing, and how can I make up the difference?’” he said.

The keynote speaker was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Faith without work won’t work,” she said. “We are all seekers.”

Following Hillary was none other than current President Barack Obama. The president called out the leaders of the world by saying that civility is not a sign of weakness.

“Let us be guided by our faith,” he said. He also stated that progress comes when we open our hearts.

The event closed with the University of Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow delivering the closing prayer, saying that “we don’t know the future, but we know who owns it.”

For a native Washingtonian, this event was new and breathtaking. The world can only improve itself by taking the words of these great leaders and showing them examples of each. It is then that the entire globe will truly come together in prayer and in deeds.

From The Outside: Some Cold Criticism for Mayor

From, Your hopeless homeless

photo By Sonja Doty

To the Mayor of D.C.: So, election time is coming soon, which means we may have a new mayor. I just hope and pray that Mayor Fenty does not get re-elected. There are many reasons why I don’t want Mayor Fenty to continue to represent the District.

How could the mayor let a city of D.C.’s stature come to a standstill because of a few feet of snow?

Snow warnings were issued days in advance: why didn’t the mayor and his team take the precautionary steps? Instead, they decided to do nothing, which resulted in the city losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Where does the average Joe like me find money—as if the economy isn’t bad enough?

Another example: how can the mayor make the decision to disallow any more homeless people into shelters?

Recently, the mayor told the manager of 1401 New York Avenue, NW, that homeless people can no longer sleep there.

There are 7,000 homeless individuals in D.C. and 2,400 beds available.

(EDITORIAL NOTE: the building manager was unavailable for comment, but the person tending the desk denied knowledge of mayoral involvement and said it was a private-property issue. Homeless persons involved still main- 1401 New York Ave NW, with its shops and offices, formerly played home to the tents of the homeless tain Fenty’s interference.) under its overhang.

In that case, Mr. Fenty, where are we supposed to sleep?

Is it alright if we sleep in your front garden? How about in your garage? I suggest this, as it seems all you are doing is shutting down shelters and providing your friends with large contracts. How do you suppose you’ll get re-elected, when all you do is sit in your pretty office, detached from the struggling people in your city?

I would like to say, Mr. Fenty, that homeless people are just like everybody else. We may not be as lucky as you, but that doesn’t mean you can disrespect us, treating us like animals. Have a heart, and please re-open the shelters you closed. Better yet, why don’t you try sleeping on the streets for 48 hours? I bet you’ll refuse to even consider the option.

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March 3 - 16, 2010

Thank you, donors!

To our February donors: you keep Street Sense running. You help us buy our pens, print our newspaper, keep our computers running and empower the District’s homeless. We thank you.

David Martin-McCormick David Sheridan Dorothy Jean Black Gregory Chronister Helen Rogers Jennie Gibson Josh Willis Julie E. Coles Julie Preis

Karen Pence Lisa Estrada Maja Dragnic-Krivosic Nancy L. Sloss SF Hill Sharyn Meister The Kiplinger Foundation Victoria Jones Willie Schatz

FOUNDRY A Reconciling Congregation Invites you to join us in worship on Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00 AM Homeless Outreach Hospitality: Fridays 9:00 AM

Foundry United Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 332-4010

www.foundryumc.org

Potomac River Running Street Sense Day ->ÌÕÀ`>ÞÊUÊ >ÀV Ê£Î]ÊÓä£ä

= R P = eland Clev Park

Potomac River Running, a familyowned running & walking specialty store, is teaming up with Street Sense to support DCÕs homeless community. Visit =PR= Cleveland Park store at 3513 Connecticut Avenue on Saturday, March 13 for Street Sense Day when 10% of

I am

all sales will go to Street Sense to support its mission to empower the homeless and educate the public.

www.potomacriverrunning.com

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

Follow us on

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acebook : www.facebook.com/streetsense : www.youtube.com/streetsensedc and witter : streetsensedc ...and, as always, find us online at www.streetsense.org.

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V E N D O R N EW S

The Happy Hippie Gets Housing

By Tommy Bennett It’s been a long road, but the happy hippie got his housing. The road was so long: I was with Street Sense when I first started, and Street Sense helped me to get my life back together. By God’s grace, I got my housing.

Sometimes we have to wait a long time for the things we want. We have to be patient. I was at 801 East Shelter for two years and three months before Veterans Affairs finally gave me my apartment.

When I got discouraged, I still kept my faith and my patience. Sometimes people don’t want to wait for stuff, they want to move on. But if you keep faith in God, He will be your strength to keep on.

Since I moved into my new place, everything seems different. Now I can focus more on school, more on other things I've wanted to do. But I got to remember to take it one day at a time. I can’t rush.

On May 27th I will be seven years clean. The AA program did a lot to help keep me focused. I also talked to a lot of people who gave me strength to go on — you can’t do this thing alone. You always got to have someone to give you strength, and I had a friend: she gave me heart, love, and strength too and told me “never give up.” I never did, because I always had the faith.

I ask God why sometimes things are so hard, but I know He does things in His time. So we all have to be patient, even when we don’t want to. At the end of it, I’m blessed for today but I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

Above, the Street Sense office after the painting and cleaning. The new look has given Street Sense staff and volunteers a new sense of purpose in work.

Street Sense Gets a Shot of Botox The Street Sense offices received a recent touch-up, complete with a new coat of paint. Walls changed from stained off-white to Easter egg green and dark tan, thanks to the generous donation from Ace Hardware Tenleytown. Also a big thank you to interns working at the White House who volunteered for the job, and Project Manager Frank Mearns for leading the way.

Above, Frank Mearns, Street Sense volunteer and vendor, heads up the painting project.

Right, the office before painting.

Since Street Sense moved into the offices at the Church of the Epiphany, the walls had not been painted.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 110 Maryland Ave, 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 CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 users.erols.com/ccnv/ Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356 www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Ave SE (202) 610–9600 www.covenanthousedc.org Housing, education, job prep John Young Center (Women) 119 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469 www,catholiccharitiesdc.org My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596 Washington, DC 20017 office (202) 529-5261 24-hour hotline (202)-529-5991 shelter and other services for domestic violence victims N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 www.nstreetvillage.org 801 East, St. Elizabeths Hospital (Men) 2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561–4014 New York Ave Shelter (Men 18+) 1355–57 New York Ave, NE (202) 832–2359 Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW (202) 639–8093

FOOD Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Ave, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplace Church of the Pilgrims (Sundays only) 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612

March 3 - 16, 2010 www.churchofthepilgrims.org Dinner Program for Homeless Women; “9:30 Club” Breakfast Club (breakfast Mon-Fri, 9:3011, all are welcome/dinner for women and children, Mon-Fri, 3-6 pm); and Thrive DC St. Stephens Parish Church 1625 Newton Street, NW (202) 737–9311 www.dphw.org Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277 www.foodandfriends.org Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8089 www.miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635 http://www.epiphanydc.org/ ministry/welcometbl.htm

MEDICAL RESOURCES 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 Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587 www.breadforthecity.org food pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419; www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job counseling Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 http://www.nstreetvillage.org meals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treatment Father McKenna Center 19 I Street, NW (202) 842–1112

Green Door (202) 464–9200 1221 Taylor Street, NW www.greendoor.org housing, job training, supportive mental health services Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675–9050 www.friendshiphouse.net counseling, mentoring, education, youth services, clothing Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW (202) 338–8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org laundry, counseling, psych care Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328–6608 www.marthastable.org dinner, education, recreation, clothing, child and family services Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682–1005 http://www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php hygiene, laundry, lunch, phone and mail, clothing, social events Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340 www.sashabruce.org counseling, housing, family services So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797–8806; www.some.org lunch, medical and dental, job and housing counseling

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood St NE 202-269-6623 www.aohdc.org Bright Beginnings Inc. 128 M Street NW, Suite 150 (202) 842–9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.org Child care, family services Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300 www.ccs–dc.org umbrella for a variety of services D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Ave, NW

(202) 347–8870 www.dccfh.org housing, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance DC Food Finder Interactive map of free and low cost resources. www.dcfoodfinder.org Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347–0511 www.cflsdc.org housing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010 www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs Gospel Rescue Ministries 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731 www.grm.org drug, alcohol program (Men) Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/ services/ meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Ave, SE (202) 544–9126 www.jobshavepriority.org training and employment Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW (202) 667–8970 www.jubileejobs.org job preparation and placement National Coalition for the Homeless 2201 P Street, NW (202) 462–4822 www.nationalhomeless.org activists, speakers bureau National Student Partnerships (NSP) 128 M Street NW, Suite 320 (202) 289–2525 washingtondc@nspnet.org Job resource and referral agency Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202)889–7702 www.samaritanministry.org HIV support, employment, drug/alcohol addiction, healthcare

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 1514 15th Street, NW (202) 667–4394 http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Ave, NW (202) 347–3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Massachusetts Ave, NE (202) 371–1937 www.travelersaid.org/ta/ dc.html emergency travel assistance Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328–5500 www.legalclinic.org

MARYLAND SHELTER Comm. Ministry of Montgomery Co. 114 W. Montgomery Avenue, Rockville (301) 762–8682 www.communityministrymc. org The Samaritan Group Inc. P.O. Box 934, Chestertown (443) 480–3564 Warm Night Shelter 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org

FOOD Bethesda Cares 7728 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda (301) 907–9244 www.bethesdacares.com Community Place Café 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org Manna Food Center 614–618 Lofstrand Lane, Rockville (301) 424–1130 www.mannafood.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Community Clinic, Inc. 8210 Colonial Lane, Silver Spring (301) 585–1250 www.cciweb.org Mobile Medical Care, Inc. 9309 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda (301) 493–2400

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www.mobilemedicalcare.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Catholic Charities, Maryland 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring (301) 942–1790 www.catholiccharitiesdc.org shelter, substance abuse treatment, variety of other services Mission of Love 6180 Old Central Avenue, Capitol Heights (301)333–4440 www.molinc.org life skills classes, clothing, housewares Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless 600–B East Gude Drive, Rockville (301) 217–0314; www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services

VIRGINIA SHELTER

Alexandria Community Shelter 2355 B-Mill Road, Alexandria (703) 838–4239 Carpenter’s Shelter 930 N. Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org The Arlington–Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless 3103 9th Road, North, Arlington (703) 525–7177 www.aachhomeless.org

FOOD ALIVE!, Inc. 2723 King Street, Alexandria (703) 836–2723 www.alive–inc.org Our Daily Bread 10777 Main Street #320, Fairfax (703) 273–8829 www.our–daily–bread.org Legal Services of Northern Virginia 6066 Leesburg Pike, Suite 500, Falls Church (703) 778–6800; www.lsnv.org civil legal services only

Shelter Hotline: 1–800– 535–7252

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Vendor Profile

Edward Ross

The intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road, NW, is the best place in D.C. for your car to break down or to have a flat tire. No, there is not an auto repair shop or a fleet of tow trucks waiting nearby to help you. Instead, there is a man who will generally stop what he is doing and come to your aid.

Ed Ross, a retired Marine, was born at an unexpected time and place when his mother was on a trip to visit her adoptive mother in New York City: the back of a bus on 42nd Street. So, he knows a thing or two about being helped out of a tough spot. After he lost his wife and mother to a house fire, however, Ed was forced to deal with the shock of the tragedy alone. With no extended family to lean on, the trauma took a huge toll, and he eventually found himself homeless and in despair.

However, if you’re lucky enough to meet Ed on the street, you will quickly realize that he is a man who has left despair behind. In his daily grind at 18th and Columbia, he works not just to sell copies of Street Sense, but to lift the spirits of the people that walk by him—whether they buy a paper from him or try to avoid making eye contact. Whether he’s imploring a passerby to have a wonderful day or joyfully asking why someone isn’t smiling, there are few people who don’t show even a reserved smile after passing him.

Years of selling Street Sense papers have given him the opportunity to get to know the people who walk by him daily. Some of them are the most generous pedestrians in the District, and they know him as the

THe Last Word My time at Street Sense has been enlightening. I have learned a lot about homeless people, the city and myself. I came here looking for an experience, and I definitely got one.

One of the most important things I have learned is that I should not look down on anyone because they don’t have a house key in their pocket.

Just because someone doesn’t have a key doesn’t make them unworthy of a voice. A particular kind of wisdom grows out of living on the streets. I’m only one month into my semester at Street Sense, and the people who know the city best are showing me around.

During the second week of my internship I was talking to Reggie, one of the vendors, about living with five roommates in a two-bedroom apartment. I told him I hardly get alone time living in a space with more peo-

ple than rooms. Reggie suggested that I visit the Botanical Gardens. “It’s the only place in this city where you can truly be alone, and it’s warm,” he said.

Since I attend school in West Texas, warmth and peace were both tempting.

Sure enough, Reggie knew what he was talking about. The conservatory at the gardens was warm, quiet and beautiful. I wandered through the huge indoor garden, looking at thousands of plants and soaking in the sun’s rays. I spent a couple of hours enjoying just being by myself.

I was introduced to a part of the city that I probably would not have discovered on my own. My co-workers at Street Sense may not have a key to a house, but they have shared their keys to the city with me.

Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | man on the corner selling newspapers | Eat |and Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | Shop giving inspiration and humor to all who cross his path. When asked what message Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | E

By Jozie Sands, Editorial Intern he would like to share with people who | miDCity haven’t experienced homelessness or who | Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | Explore may stigmatize homeless individuals, Ed City | Shop | Eat | Explore | miDCity | Shop | Eat | Explore | miD says, “We’re not that different.

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