Each vendor functions as an independent contractor for Street Sense Media, managing their own business to earn an income and increase stability in their life.
NO CASH? NO PROBLEM.
Street Sense Media publishes the newspaper
YOUR
goes directly to your vendor, empowering them to overcome homelessness and poverty
As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct.
1. I will support Street Sense Media’s mission statement and in so doing will work to support the Street Sense Media community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.
2. I will treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and fellow vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making donations, or engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.
3. I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media but an independent contractor.
4. While distributing the Street Sense newspaper, I will not ask for more than $2 per issue or solicit donations by any other means.
5. I will only purchase the newspaper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not distribute newspapers to other vendors.
6. “I will not distribute copies of “Street Sense” on metro trains and buses or on private property.”
7. I will abide by the Street Sense Media Vendor Territory Policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes with other vendors in a professional manner.
8. I will not sell additional goods or products while distributing “Street Sense.”
9. I will not distribute “Street Sense” under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
10. I understand that my badge and vest are property of Street Sense Media and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing “Street Sense” and will always display my badge when distributing “Street Sense.”
INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW
A volunteer team walks toward Union Station, looking for people to survey for the annual Point-inTime Count.
Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper: They use film, photography, theatre, illustration, and more to share their stories with our community.
Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence. And our in-house case-management services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing.
At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents, and character, not through our housing situation.
1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347 - 2006 streetsensemedia.org
info@streetsensemedia.org
VENDORS
Abel Putu, Aida Peery, Amina Washington, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Archie Thomas, August Mallory, Beverly Sutton, Brianna Butler, Carlos Carolina, Carlton Johnson, Carol Motley, Charles Armstrong, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Daniel Ball, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Degnon (Gigi) Dovonou, Don Gardner, Donté Turner, Doris Robinson, Earl Parker, Eric Thompson-Bey, Erica Downing, Evelyn Nnam, Floyd Carter, Franklin Sterling, Frederic John, Freedom, Gerald Anderson, John Alley, Henry Johnson, Ivory Wilson, Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacquelyn Portee, James Davis, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jenkins Daltton, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jermale McKnight, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Littlejohn, Juliene Kengnie, Katrina Anige, Kenneth Middleton, Khadijah Chapman, Kym Parker, L. Morrow, Laura Smith, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Marcus McCall, Mark Jones, Mango Redbook, Marc Grier, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Michael Warner, Michelle Mozee, Michele Rochon, Morgan Jones, Nikila Smith, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Phillip Black, Queenie Featherstone, Reggie Jones, Reginald Black, Reginald C. Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Rita Sauls, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker, Ron Dudley, Ronald Smoot, Sasha Williams, Sheila White, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Susan Westmoreland, Susan Wilshusen, Sybil Taylor, Warren Stevens, Wendell Williams, William Mack
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu, Jonquilyn Hill, Stanley Keeve, Clare Krupin, Ashley McMaster, Matt Perra, Michael Phillips, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson, Corrine Yu
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Brian Carome
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Doris Warrell
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
Darick Brown
DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT
Thomas Ratliff
VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES
Aida Peery, Clifford Samuels, Amina Washington
VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS
Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Madeleine McCollough, Dylan Onderdonksnow, Amelia Stemple
MANAGER OF ARTISTIC WORKSHOPS
Maria Lares
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Will Schick
DEPUTY EDITOR
Kaela Roeder
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Athiyah Azeem
STAFF REPORTER
Annemarie Cuccia
ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
Ariane Mohseni (Film), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Lalita Clozel (Film), Willie Schatz (Writing)
ARTS EDITOR (VOLUNTEER)
Austine Model
OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)
Rebecca Koenig, Emily Kopp, Bill Meincke, Candace Montague
EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS
Josh Axelrod, Ryan Bacic, Katie Bemb, Lilah Burke, Chelsea Ciruzzo, Lenika Cruz, Alison Henry, Kathryn Owens, Nick Shedd, Andrew Siddons, Jenny-lin Smith, Rebecca Stekol
Abill designed to decriminalize street vending was reintroduced on Jan. 25 by Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and Chairman Phil Mendelson. The Street Vendor Advancement Amendment Act of 2023 combines two bills Nadeau introduced previously in 2021 and 2020. The potential legislation would remove criminal penalties for vending without a license, establish zones for vendors to legally operate and waive unpaid citations for vendors who obtain a license.
“Our street vendors contribute to the vibrant atmosphere of Columbia Heights and other parts of the District,” Nadeau said at a press conference on Jan. 31. “Their presence reflects and enriches the diverse culture of our city. For me, it’s part of what makes Ward 1 so energetic and beautiful.”
If passed, D.C. would join New York City and Los Angeles in reforming vendor licensing regulations.
The bill would also make it less expensive and easier to obtain a license.
“It is not the right public policy to have regulations so onerous and burdensome that ordinary people – many of whom are immigrants and people of color – cannot enter this line of work and make a living,” Mendelson said in a press release.
Street vendors often contend with threats, intimidation and harassment in their line of work. For instance, in 2019, 15-yearold Genesis Lemus was confronted by a Metropolitan Police Department officer while selling plantain chips at a cart on 14th Street in Columbia Heights, DCist reported. An officer confronted Lemus for selling without a license and selling as a minor. The officer threatened Lemus with calling the Child and Family Services Agency if she wouldn’t give her mother’s information. Lemus refused. The officer pushed Lemus to the ground, hurting
her knee.
“Street vending should not be a police matter,” Nadeau said at the conference. “If a business owner with a store has an expired license, the police don’t come and threaten them. Why should police be involved in disputes over licenses?”
Under this bill, enforcement would be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
Qaadir El-Amin, a vendor and member of the People For Fairness Coalition, said he’s excited about the bill. El-Amin used to sell essential oils, but now sells jewelry. He hasn’t experienced much harassment from residents or police himself but has witnessed intimidation happening to other street vendors. He hopes the proposed legislation will ease the harassment, he said.
“The harassment has to stop, it’s not a fair opportunity for us,” El-Amin said.
KAELA ROEDER
Deputy Editor
• The 20th Anniversary Vendor Sellathon has started! Sell papers to win prizes. Check out the leaderboard in the admin office.
• The office follows the government for severe weather delays and closures. Search online for “opm.gov/status” or call the main office line.
• Vendors continue to receive free papers for proof of vaccination.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Jan. 24 that would disseminate $1 billion annually in grants to help local governments address homelessness.
The Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act would require cities, counties and tribal communities that receive the funds to build and designate more affordable housing, which would be paired with wraparound services like mental health care, substance abuse treatment, job training and educational opportunities. The bill would authorize funds for five years. It’s cosponsored by Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
“Homelessness remains one of the most intractable problems in our nation. Nearly 600,000 individuals are without a permanent roof over their heads, and more than 170,000 of those are in California. This problem has reached
a crisis level and we must do more to combat it,” Sen. Feinstein said in a press release.
The bill outlines several requirements for grantees, including intensive staff training and mandatory case management, with one case manager for every 20 clients. When serving families with children, services must feature early childhood education, mental, behavioral and nutritional health services and parenting classes.
Even as the grant mandates several requirements, Sen. Feinstein’s office said that it is also flexible. Grantees may use the funds to address what their community most urgently needs. For instance, funds may be used to support building a wide range of housing options including transitional and permanent supportive housing.
The California senator previously introduced a similar bill along with other Democratic senators in 2019 and 2021. Recipients of the grant would be required to provide 25% of the funds received — which is common practice with
federal grants. Those funds can be from the state, local or privately sourced.
Nationally, individual homelessness increased in the United States by about 3% between 2020 and 2022, according to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report. Chronic homelessness increased by 16%.
“One reason homelessness is so difficult to address is that it’s not just a housing issue or a poverty issue, and frequently requires addressing mental health, substance abuse, education, job training, life skills and more,” Feinstein said in a press release. “We must address those root causes for homelessness, which means comprehensive supportive services. This bill does that by requiring that housing be paired with these critical services so we can finally break the cycle of homelessness.”
The Arlington County Board voted unanimously on Jan. 25 to advance a controversial proposal to open up the single-family residential areas of the county to multifamily buildings up to six units, but they eliminated an option to consider seven- and eight-unit buildings from the final policy discussion.
The Missing Middle plan — named after so-called “missing middle” housing, which falls between high-rise apartment buildings and single-family detached homes — now moves to a series of final public meetings and a final vote in March.
If passed, the policy would change zoning restrictions for 75% of the county’s residential areas, which currently only allow single family dwellings (plus accessory dwelling units).
On Jan. 25, following two days of public hearings, the board approved a “request to advertise” the plan, which triggers a final series of meetings and public hearings by the board and the county planning commission.
In the vote to advertise, the county board set the parameters of final discussion and debate on a dozen unresolved areas of the policy, including the significant step of limiting the number of units allowable in missing middle-type buildings at six. (Previous staff proposals and analysis had included buildings
with up to eight units.)
Other edits to the policy options in the request to advertise similarly took the most expansive, unrestricted possibilities off the table, or appeared to be attempts to add more moderate options. The board removed an option that would allow missing middle construction with no additional on-site parking, and added a minimum property size option for construction that would limit five- to six-unit buildings to either sites near transit or sites of more than 12,000 square feet. That would mean many areas of the county would only support construction of two- to four-unit homes.
Both edits split the county board 3-2, with members Matt de Ferranti, Takis Karantonis, and Libby Garvey supporting them.
Board members also split over a proposal regarding a possible annual cap on the number of missing middle units developed per year. The group approved Katie Cristol’s suggestion to increase the proposed cap from 42 to 58 and add a three-year sunset clause to the measure — but ultimately expanded the sunset period to five years, a recommendation from Karantonis, from which Christian Dorsey and Cristol dissented.
In crafting the final policy, board members will only be able to work within those parameters. They could set the number of units allowed in missing middle construction lower than six, but no higher; and similarly, they could ultimately lower the proposed cap number, but can’t expand it past 58.
Other aspects of the request to advertise were much less contentious, including design considerations like garage placement, requirements to preserve or plant trees, regulations
around accessory dwelling units.
“We’re setting the scope. This is the most we can enact in March,” de Ferranti said before the vote. He said the Missing Middle plan represented a needed “change from a hard-andfast sense of ‘we will have density only in the corridors,'” referring to Arlington’s long-standing planning tradition of creating highly dense neighborhoods around transit.
Karantonis also hailed progress towards ending exclusive single family zoning, which he called “a huge drag on our economy and our future.” He also said the advertised policy advanced racial equity and justice goals.
Garvey praised the advertised policy as “sensible and measured change.” She also defended the board’s public process in crafting the policy, which opponents have criticized, and expressed exhaustion and concern over the fierceness of the public debate on the policy. “I’m tired of warring experts,” she said.
Dorsey and Cristol struck a different note after the vote. While both said they remained optimistic heading into the final round of policy discussions, both expressed serious disappointment in their colleagues’ choice to remove larger buildings from final consideration, which they said would take away the most attainable homes deliverable under the policy. Both suggested that the desire to impose the limit came out
of “false hope,” that doing so would calm community outcry over the larger policy, as Cristol called it.
“Despite the extensive analysis that has shown the limited viability of seven- and eight-plexes … we still hear apocalyptic concerns about them on every block, and we’re going to hear it about five- and six-plexes,” Dorsey predicted.
De Ferranti, Garvey, and Karantonis argued back that imposing the six-unit ceiling could help make the final round of community debate more constructive.
“3 board members chopped 8 from MMH, which has the same impact of excluding Black people from owning in modern time,” tweeted Mike Hemminger, president of the Arlington NAACP. “How dare board members say this action begins to right the wrongs of the past. This is de facto segregation and our leaders missed the mark on such a historic vote.”
The group Yes In My Backyard’s (YIMBY) of Northern Virginia said it was “pleased” with the county’s decision to advance the proposal, but warned that limiting the policy could mute its ultimate impact.
“The litmus test for Missing Middle housing’s success or failure will be whether it actually produces new homes,” the group wrote in a statement released Thursday. “Further narrowing of the final Missing Middle housing plan would risk yielding a policy that produces very little new housing.”
Opponents, meanwhile, were far from appeased. Arlingtonians For Our Sustainable Future, one of the groups leading the opposition to the plan, labeled it the “Missing Middle Mess” and called it “hopelessly confusing and inconsistent.”
“MM is a destructive departure from thoughtful planning,” the group said in a Twitter thread. “Because of the County government’s painfully weak civic engagement efforts, many thousands of Arlington residents still have no idea that MM could newly enable 6-plexes next door, across the street, and behind them.”
Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency, another opponent, also took early aim at six-plexes in a tweet response to the request to advertise.
Wednesday’s deliberation and vote was delayed after public comment at the Jan. 21 board meeting ran about six hours, with more than 150 people testifying. The disagreements were dramatic, but the hearing, mostly, was not, with few disruptions to public comment. (People in the room voiced their agreement to speaker comments by raising their hands and wiggling their fingers in silent applause.)
By the spillover public comment period on Tuesday, tensions were higher and louder. Dorsey threatened to throw a man out of the room for disrupting the comments of Jane Green, a founding leader of the YIMBYs of NoVA group.
On both days, opponents — many of them older, longtime homeowners — argued that the Missing Middle plan would not deliver relatively affordable housing or greater socioeconomic and racial diversity. Many said they believed supporters of the plan — “righteous YIMBYs,” as one commenter labeled them — had been misled by the county board, who they accused of pushing zoning reform in pursuit of greater property tax revenues and at the behest of ambitious developers.
In fact, opponents argued, the Missing Middle plan would be a harbinger of displacement, pushing out low- and middleincome residents and seniors and others living on fixed
incomes. (That population is already struggling with existing property tax and rent increases as the value of Arlington’s land continues to rise.) They pointed to the rapid development of the Columbia Pike corridor as an example of the ills development can bring.
about the capacity of the county’s pipes and concerned that added on-street parking from residents in apartment buildings would spoil the character of her neighborhood.
“You’re going to have all these cars on the street where the kids used to be able to get out and get along and play basketball and know each other,” she told WAMU/DCist.
County estimates suggest that the pace of new missing middle housing would be fairly slow, adding around 150 new residents to the county’s single-family, detached neighborhoods each year. As such, county officials have said that they believe the county’s existing infrastructure and plans for growth will accommodate new residents benefitting from this construction.
Many supporters of the Missing Middle plan said the measure would mark the end of decades of racist exclusionary zoning in the county, which priced out families of color. (The county’s legacy of explicitly and implicitly racist housing policy has created “islands of disadvantage” that persist today in otherwise wealthy, healthy, high-opportunity areas, according to a 2021 Virginia Commonwealth University analysis of Northern Virginia census tracts.)
“This is a racist past, and we continue to live in it, and we want out of that system,” said Rev. Ashley Goff, the pastor of Arlington Presbyterian Church, who also owns a home in Green Valley. She was at the hearing Saturday with a large contingent of Arlington clergy and parishioners from local congregations Virginians Organized For Interfaith Community Engagement, a group that advocates with and for low- and middle-income communities.
“We have built tons of new housing, but prices keep rising because development, especially on the Pike, is changing the dynamic of our most affordable areas,” Anne Bodine said at Saturday’s hearing, citing the example of an Iraqi-American resident who worked with the U.S. military abroad — and was pushed out by rising prices in Arlington a few years ago. “Missing Middle will make this worse.”
Bodine and others noted that the Missing Middle plan would not deliver immediately attainable housing — some units, even in multifamily buildings, would cost close to $1 million, when first built — and suggested the county should explore other options for creating truly affordable housing. (We looked in-depth at arguments about the Missing Middle plan and affordability here.)
Supporters, many of them younger, and some of them renters as well as current homeowners, pointed out that land values in Arlington will continue to rise, making it more and more expensive to live there. They argued that the promise of building more dense housing would eventually create a wider array of more affordable options. They also said the Missing Middle plan would be an alternative to teardowns, a trend where builders in Arlington buy a smaller, older home, raze it, and put up a much larger house, some of which sell for close to $2 million.
“Missing Middle housing options will improve overall affordability in the long term, but we can’t get there unless we start now,” Randy Rosso told the board Saturday. Rosso grew up in Arlington and said his childhood home has since been torn down and replaced by a much larger home far out of his price range.
Opponents suggested that added density would create broad problems with parking, stormwater infrastructure, the county’s tree canopy, and school overcrowding. One commenter suggested that denser housing would bring “urban blight” to Arlington’s quiet suburban neighborhoods, and several raised concerns about charm and design.
Kathy Mirro, a longtime homeowner in Westover who owns a local plumbing business, said on Saturday she was worried
Several opponents of the plan, meanwhile, argued that talk of structural racism did not square with their experience of Arlington as a welcoming, inclusive place. They pointed to existing diversity in single-family home neighborhoods as evidence that the effects of exclusionary zoning are no longer relevant to the present day.
“I dislike all this talk about racism in this county because we never had it,” said Mirro, who is white. She remembered how a neighbor called her house “the United Nations” because of the racial diversity of the neighborhood kids always coming in and out.
Other opponents said Arlington’s existing communities of color would be further pushed out by the plan, striking against its promise of ending a racist practice.
Age was another dividing line. Several younger supporters said they loved living in Arlington, but would never be able to afford a home in the county — and they believed the Missing Middle plan could provide at least slightly more attainable homes.
Mirro and several other commenters took issue with the stories told by younger Arlingtonians about their futile search for homeownership opportunities in the county. Their own homeownership successes, they said, were the result of hard work and patience.
“People just didn’t turn 25 and were able to buy a house,” Mirro said. “You saved for it. You lived in other areas until you found that you had the money and the credit to buy a house. Nobody hands you anything. You have to work for it.”
Ashley Archila-Ventura, a 21-year-old community advocate at Casa Mariflor and community college student who grew up in committed affordable housing in the county, took a different view.
“As a young person, I’m just like, ‘Okay, well, like, now where do I go? Like, what do I do with my life?’ If I want to stay in my hometown, I feel like I’m being pushed out of it a little bit.”
This story was originally published by WAMU/DCist
“This is a racist past, and we continue to live in it, and we want out of that system.”
~ Rev. Ashley Goff, pastor of Arlington Presbyterian Church
District lawmakers are considering a bill to provide free school breakfast, lunch and after-school snacks to all students attending public, public charter and participating private schools regardless of their family’s income level.
At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson introduced the Universal Free School Meals Act of 2023 on Jan. 17. It follows the expiration of a federal pandemic-era policy issued by the U.S. Agriculture Department that distributed meal waivers to schools to provide students with free meals.
“The research on the benefits of having access to nutritional school meals is very clear. Food insecurity among children not only has developmental and behavioral implications, but academic ones as well. No student in the District should face a barrier to access to breakfast and lunch at school,” Henderson said in a press release.
As inflation continues to rise, along with food costs, this proposed legislation is meant to ease the financial burden for both families and schools. About three-quarters of students in the District qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Similar programs have been implemented in Colorado, California and Maine, and several other states are considering legislation. Students eat breakfast for free through meal programs already in place in the District.
The program’s implementation would cost approximately $8 million annually, according to the D.C. Food Policy Council.
If passed, the bill would be essential in ending the stigma around food insecurity among students, said LaMonika Jones, the interim director of the advocacy group D.C. Hunger Solutions. In her observations as a high school teacher, students don’t want their
classmates to know they qualify for free or reduced lunch, so oftentimes children will skip meals at school to avoid suspicions.
“Even though they’re hungry, even though they have access to a school meal at a reduced rate or free rate, they choose not to participate because they don’t want anyone to know that they reside in a household that is … low income,” Jones said.
ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Staff Reporter
The National Parks Service (NPS) will close an encampment at McPherson Square on Feb. 15 at the request of D.C., two months earlier than planned.
NPS officials estimate more than 70 people currently live at the encampment, which has grown in recent months amid closures of smaller sites by the city and federal government. NPS initially intended to close and fence off McPherson Square by April 12, giving D.C. government and service providers six months to connect residents to housing after NPS announced the closure in October. The housing process for eligible residents can easily take up to nine months.
However, according to a letter sent by NPS Superintendent Jeffrey Reinbold on Jan. 27, and obtained by Street Sense Media, D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) requested in early January that NPS close the encampment on Feb. 1. The District argued that “high levels of illegal drug activity and other dangerous and unsafe activities significantly impede social services outreach and endanger social services providers.”
According to Reinbold’s letter, the decision to close the encampment sooner was based on reports from service providers who said they felt unsafe working at McPherson Square and could not provide outreach to the large number of residents occupying the space. But after The Washington Post first reported the date change, several social workers pushed back on that claim via social media, arguing that the closure will make ending homelessness harder since it will scatter residents across the city and disconnect them from their case managers.
NPS relies on D.C. and its contracted service providers to connect people living at encampments with housing vouchers ahead of closures. According to NPS, DMHHS has said the new closure date “will not substantially impact the ongoing efforts to move unsheltered individuals into permanent housing,” and that “an additional month of engagement will not
result in a meaningful increase in the number of individuals moved into housing.” The letter also says many residents have refused outreach attempts.
However, residents at McPherson Square consistently told Street Sense Media over the last three months that they rarely see outreach workers, and have no plans for where to go after NPS closes the park. In fact, the overwhelming majority of residents have not been connected to housing vouchers, according to Jesse Rabinowitz, senior manager of policy and advocacy at Miriam’s Kitchen. Some residents of McPherson Square have already moved four or five times, Rabinowitz said.
One man living in the park, who gave his name as Moon, said he’s only been approached about housing once, and no one has helped him apply for a voucher. While he knows shelter overflow sites are available, as Reinbold’s letter points out, he said he’s been repeatedly assaulted in shelters.
The new closure date means people residing in McPherson Square will be forced to search for new places to stay during hypothermia season. Both D.C. and NPS follow encampment engagement guidelines that only allow the city to displace residents in the coldest months in cases of imminent health and safety concerns.
According to NPS, there’s been an increase in crime at McPherson Square in the last month. Reinbold attributed that rise to individuals who moved to McPherson Square from the Scott Circle encampment, which NPS closed in December.
McPherson Square has become a default destination for many people living outside as D.C and the federal government resumed encampment closures after a pause during the pandemic. Since March, D.C. has closed nine encampments, and NPS has closed five. NPS plans to close all encampments on federal land by the end of 2023. D.C. plans to conduct cleanings at another five encampments in the next two weeks, though none will be closed.
The PIT Count is widely recognized as understating the actual number of people experiencing homelessness, a point MuQaddim represents perfectly. Last year, when MuQaddim lived in a tent, she was considered literally homeless — someone who “lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” — and was visible to volunteers. She was included in the PIT Count.
This year, however, MuQaddim is staying at a friend’s house. She’s working with case managers to obtain permanent housing. But because she’s sleeping inside, on a friend’s couch, volunteers would have missed her if she hadn’t asked to be surveyed.
Ayear ago, Dr. Mayaalla MuQaddim Bint Abdullah was nearly asleep when neonvested volunteers approached her tent while conducting an annual census of people experiencing homelessness. They asked how long she’d been sleeping outside, whether she had any health problems, and what help she needed from the city.
One year later, MuQaddim found herself on the other end of the process during the latest Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. Along with a team of volunteers, she helped administer the survey herself, at one point bending under a purple umbrella to speak to a woman sheltering at a bus stop near Union Station.
“It was important to be counted,” MuQaddim said. “I also felt that if a lot more people see people that were in their position as displaced trying to give back and make their situation better, they would open up more and engage more.”
On Jan. 25, outreach workers, volunteers and employees at shelters and day centers worked together to try to speak to every one of the thousands of people experiencing homelessness in the city. Mandated by the federal government as a condition of grant funding, the PIT Count offers a chance for D.C. officials to see what progress the city has made toward ending homelessness — and what resources people who are still living outside and in shelters need.
Small teams set out across the District around 8 p.m., each assigned a few square blocks. They walked every street, stopping to ask people if they were sleeping outside and if they’d be willing to answer a 10-minute survey in exchange for a $20 Visa gift card. Volunteers filled out observational surveys for people who appeared to be sleeping outside but declined to answer questions. Staff at low-barrier shelters and transitional housing programs also administered the surveys to include the experiences of people sleeping inside that night.
“The goal really is not just to count people, but to talk to people,” said Christy Respress, the executive director of local nonprofit Pathways to Housing. “We can determine what resources we need, measure our progress over time: Did we
actually move the needle with all the hundreds and hundreds of vouchers we have in our system?”
The number of people identified by the PIT Count is supposed to represent the potential demands on the homeless services system on any given night, Respress explained — how many people are sleeping in shelters, in tents and in doorways or bus stops. While there is no single measure used to determine how many people cumulatively experience homelessness in D.C. over the course of a year, the PIT Count is often used to track annual trends in homelessness.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office outlined procedural shortcomings with the survey in a report issued in 2020, finding that the PIT Counts across the country underestimate the number of people experiencing homelessness because of poor methodology and varying standards for data collection. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is working to evaluate its methodology and develop more training for organizations conducting the PIT Count.
Still, D.C. uses the data to tailor its housing and human services programs, including determining how much space the city funds in emergency shelters, temporary housing and permanent housing programs. Demographic information from the PIT Count can help the city target services — for instance, responses to questions on gender and sexuality can show if there’s a need for additional male, female or queer-friendly shelter beds.
Last year, the PIT Count identified approximately 4,400 people experiencing homelessness, representing a 14% decline from 2021. District officials say the count — notwithstanding its limitations — shows improvement from past years even though many needs remain unfilled.
“We know that’s not everybody,” At-large Councilmember Robert White said to a group of volunteers gathered at the First Congregational United Church of Christ on the night of the count. “We also recognize that that’s the lowest number since 2001, so we’re making progress.”
While the count is purposefully conducted in January, when the weather makes it dangerous to sleep outside and more people choose to go to a shelter, that danger can also affect the numbers in other ways, some advocates said. If someone can stay at a friend’s or family member’s home only a few times a year, they might use that opportunity when it’s going to be raining all night long, as it was for this year’s PIT Count, said Andy Wassenich, assistant director of outreach at Miriam’s Kitchen.
“A lot of us stay with a friend, find a room somewhere, people rent storage units, but that isn’t fixing the problem,” MuQaddim said. “We’re still displaced at the end of the day.”
Volunteer teams had to make judgment calls when coming across other people who sat on the tenuous line between being officially considered “homeless” or not — people who appeared to be spending the night outside but refused to take the survey, or who said they planned to sleep at a friend or family member’s house. Even if they were not counted, some of these people may be eligible for a variety of services, including case management, if they spend about one-third of their time on the streets or in shelters, Wassenich said.
PIT Count organizers do what they can to close any gaps and work to improve the methodology and execution every year, Respress said. This year, for instance, staff at day centers and breakfast programs surveyed everyone who came in on Jan. 26, the day after the count, if they hadn’t completed a survey the night before. This year’s final report will note the weather on the night of the PIT Count and how it may have affected the results, Respress said.
When referring to the number of people experiencing homelessness in D.C., public officials often refer to the PIT Count. But PIT isn’t the only data D.C. has on the scope of housing instability — there’s also the total number of people who access the homeless services system throughout the year, measured through the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
Compared to the PIT Count, HMIS data routinely captures at least twice as many individuals experiencing homelessness. The widest gap in recent years was in fiscal year 2018, when PIT Count surveyors counted 3,770 people and HMIS counted 12,343. In FY 2021, the last year for which both sets of data are available, the PIT Count reported 3,871 and HMIS
reported 8,325.
While HMIS and PIT statistics on families are normally at least somewhat closer, likely due to the fact that a higher proportion of families stay in shelters and are thus sure to be surveyed, this part of the PIT Count is still lower by hundreds. In FY 2021, the PIT Count identified 405 families experiencing homelessness, while HMIS identified 924.
Both sets of data are valuable, Respress said, depending on what the city is trying to measure. The number of shelter beds needed for any given night? Look at the PIT Count. But the number of slots in permanent or temporary housing programs to add each year? HMIS data.
As for the overall scope of the problem in D.C.? “The number of people in HMIS every year, that is a better indication of what homelessness is like,” Wassenich said.
The PIT Count, however, offers something HMIS data does not — a chance to understand the varying needs of people who are experiencing homelessness. This year’s survey, which volunteers read off their phones to respondents, included 27 base questions about a person’s race, gender, sexuality, age, length of homelessness, physical and mental health, income, and involvement with the foster care or prison system. The electronic form provides each respondent with a tailored list of questions about other household members, past episodes of homelessness, and interactions with other government agencies.
The questions can be very personal, said a man sleeping in
McPherson Square who gave his name as Moon. But he was glad to answer them. “It’s good to know how many people are homeless or have mental illness or health problems, and I think the government should help them,” he said.
The answers to these questions can help D.C. measure the inequities that are replicated in housing instability. Black and queer people experience homelessness at disproportionately high rates in the District, and in 2022, people of color comprised 91% of those counted in the PIT but just 54% of the general population.
At last week’s PIT kickoff event, organizers stressed the importance of collecting data on the number of people managing physical or mental illnesses.
“Enormous health inequalities are found amongst people experiencing homelessness,” said Ceymone Dyce, the vice president of homeless operations at Pathways DC. “Our unhoused neighbors struggle to eat nutritious food, get regular preventative care and manage chronic health conditions.”
The PIT Count can help spur some connections to resources, Respress said. While surveyors didn’t provide case management the night of the PIT Count, the questionnaire included space for volunteers to indicate a person was in need of additional services. In the downtown area, Pathways to Housing planned to have case managers follow up later in the week to connect people to housing resources, according to Respress.
“Collecting data should only be the first step,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, senior manager of policy and advocacy at Miriam’s Kitchen. “We really need this data to drive funding, policy, resources and interventions, so next year we’re collecting fewer people than last year.”
*FY22 only shows PIT data
The results from this year’s count won’t be released until the spring, but Respress said homeless services organizations know that more people are living in tents than last year. Even as the city has funded thousands of vouchers to help people move off the streets, only a fraction of those eligible have moved into housing so far.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, who spoke at the kickoff event, said the PIT numbers will drive policy decisions in the next year. “You know that I’m gonna be there; you know that we’re gonna keep making the investments to live up to our commitment to get all our residents home,” she said.
Moon, the middle-aged man living in McPherson Square park, is hoping he’s one of those residents. He’s experienced homelessness since he was 14 and has lived through years of PIT Counts. The National Park Service has accelerated previous plans to clear the McPherson Square encampment and is now slated to close the park in mid-February. Meanwhile, Moon said no one has helped him apply for a housing voucher.
“These guys are waiting for housing,” he said, gesturing at the dozens of tents around him. “I would like to apply or whatever. Who do I talk to?”
This article was co-published with The DC Line.
Individuals and families served throughout D.C. fiscal years vs. individuals and families surveyed during Point-in-Time (PIT) count (data from The Community Partnership)
Why are the medical clinics even open in the city, especially downtown?
The whole purpose of having a clinic is to let people walk in for services and prevent people from bombarding the emergency room. It doesn’t make much sense to sit in an emergency room for something as minor as a sore throat or a sprained ankle.
But many clinics are open only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Every time I walk by one in downtown D.C. it always seems empty. Nobody is ever sitting inside that clinic. They should have clinics with more extended hours to accomodate people who work during these hours. But it’s not only the limited hours that are frustrating. Oftentimes, you have to book an appointment well in advance.
I pay for a supplemental health insurance plan and I have Medicare. But it seems like every time I need to see a doctor, I’m forced to visit the
emergency room. I’ll find myself sitting there for eight or more hours. I’m there so long I might as well get a paycheck. Supplemental health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid aren’t enough to pay 100% of the emergency services, but they will pay 100% for clinical services. They actually encourage their patients to use clinics instead of the emergency room.
But the thing is that many of these clinics, in my experience, have limited hours and few appointments available for next day service. If I have to see a doctor soon, it’s still faster to go to the emergency room.
And I dislike having to go to the emergency room because it means I can’t go to my job. The clinics should do more to keep people from going to the emergency room. They should have longer hours and more available appointment slots for next day service.
People are always saying that Americans are overweight, or they say “how can you be fat if you are homeless? You don’t look homeless to me.”
They are quick to judge at a glance. If you are not dirty or smelly, they assume you don’t need help. Some people need help with hygiene and some just need counseling. The thing is, there are so many things that can go wrong and you end up out or homeless. People only see the surface of the problems.
My point is homeless people need a lot of help. It’s not just one thing most of the time, it’s a combination of things.
The first thing people say is “Are you hungry? Do you want food?” That’s great, but there’s more to it. Often, homeless people are grateful to get food. Food is essential. To some it becomes a crutch — they eat out of frustration, not thinking about the other problems.
People that sell Street Sense use their donations to buy not just food but other things that are needed. They have needs just like everyone else. Please remember —- help the homeless to help themselves. Sometimes friendship makes a person feel good. When someone gives a smile instead of a bad look, it makes all the difference.
Homeless people also need guidance sometimes because
they have a lot to deal with. They need to feel safe so they can plan and think how to get through their tough situatuons. Clothing is also a big deal. When you look good, you feel good.
Having healthy people around you also helps. That’s not possible in a shelter. Shelters have lots of people with problems. No one is unique, they all have issues or they would not be there. They need to feed the spirit, not the belly.
That’s why you need more than food. As for myself, I ask God for a healthy mind and soul. Food for the spirit.
Artist/Vendor
As we learn to live and strive, we must
Keep hope alive.
Keep hope alive when your friends let you down.
Keep hope alive with a smile, instead of Drowning with a frown.
Keep hope alive, instead of hanging your head down. As I continue to tell you the truth, keep hope alive
When you’re bad and blue
Keep hope alive, because true love never dies. Keep hope alive and guard your heart from Sorrow, never give up, because there’s always Tomorrow.
Keep hope alive, when you bills are due, know that when you keep your head up, there is always something positive to do. Keep hope alive, and thank God for another day. Keep hope alive, keep hope alive, keep hope alive.
JAMES DAVIS
Artist/Vendor
Look at them walking down the street. One white and one black. How ever did they meet? People stop, look and sometimes stare, wondering how they got from here to there.
When did they decide to get together? Did it feel like birds of a feather? Surely, it seems to be quite odd. But who are you to judge? You’re not God. If this were ancient Rome, they’d throw stones and rocks. Erase your mind! It’s just a pair of socks.
The president swears an oath to protect and defend the rights of all U.S. citizens. But my rights have been totally disrespected. I have not received what I have long strived and reached for. I have participated in on-the-job training and I have attended certification courses at the University of the District of Columbia. In spite of my efforts to build a meaningful life for myself, everything has been taken from me: my job, my marriage, my daughter. I’ve never seen anyone stripped of their life as I have. I know I deserve better. I deserve to have more out of my life because I am not a bad person. I do not understand how I got on the wrong side of the road.
JEN MCLAUGHLIN Artist/Vendor
Ward 8 has seen a lot of new developments. Leaders in the local government in charge of development must help D.C. residents who are low-income and living east of the river. A small community pharmacy located on Good Hope Road is closing. D.C. residents throughout the city must have equal access to goods and services no matter where they live.
Roses are red and violets are blue, if I don’t get a sub what about you? So what would I do? I can go with you. The moments we share would always be true, the woman like you, my mama would say, “the girl is a breeze, like a wild flower that’s always in the night. She will always fight to be right at the hour in the middle of the night.”
In the United States of America – a supposedly developed country – women still face discrimination. This topic dominated the agenda of a global women’s leadership summit I attended at Howard University last year. The event was held to promote global engagement and impactful partnerships and also bring people together around the following values: resilience, integrity, service and excellence.
I have noticed a recent surge in fights between women, particularly among writers, associates and co-workers that I’ve known for nearly 40 years. I have even noticed this happening among former clergy.
It is unfortunate when others cannot see your “value” and shape their vision of you based on a former lifestyle or past. Washington, D.C. is a microcosm of ethnic groups. But it has changed for the worse. This area sometimes feels like a prison camp. I feel as though people are constantly probing into my personal business asking about my income, my whereabouts and what I’m doing. I no longer like D.C. and will be glad when I leave. I promise myself I will never, ever live here again. It is a nightmare!
I really dislike it when people try to push their value systems or their agendas on me. I am experienced enough to know what I like. And I refuse to live beneath my means.
NIKILA SMITH Artist/Vendor
Artist/Vendor
It’s the time of new lenses, the beginning of new, the background of it all. To be in the hand of holding something new. Hold on to all your dreams.
Time has its wave. On the streets where I live my life, I am touched by the hand of my creativity. The Lord of Just Being holds onto my soul and heart. I experience the touching of my Lord’s creativity, and the feeling of being with my heart and soul. Life has no end. I’ll see you, Lord, I’m on my way.
I’m the only way to the beginning of it all, living life anew. Time will tell my life’s understanding. The dictionary of my new life is for you to see and behold with no problem. Hold on to my words. We will walk with peace, and soda pops and cook-outs will follow.
FREDERIC JOHN
Artist/Vendor
I ask her for cool water, She gave me – Gasoline –Ooo-ooh, aw-huhh, oh no…
That lyric, originally created and recorded by Tommy Johnson in 1929, caught my ear nearly a half-century later on the Smithsonian Mall. Tommy Johnson was long dead, but a fellow Mississippian (raised near Tunica) perpetuated that classic plaint “Cool Water.” The gentleman in question, Houston Stackhouse, sang it with higher, more mournful howls. “Stack,” as we folk fest ‘ice mules’ knew him, smiled beatifically as we refreshed his sodas and sandwiches, whilst he reclined in an ample canvas director’s chair.
My job as busser and changer of the tape cassettes to Welby Smith’s Norelco recorder was slippin’ into jeopardy on this steamy July afternoon in 1974. I venerated Mister Stack for his close ties with Robert Johnson back in the 1930s, not to mention his bottleneck chops in the manner of the recently departed guitarist Robert Nighthawk. Besides, ‘Stack’ shared a birth month with my musical Mom – Ruth Bessam, she having seen her first light of day May 30, 1910. Mr. Stackhouse passed away in 1980, but he loved my portrait of him, I learned.
RICARDO MERIEDY
Artist/Vendor
What do you do when the police do something wrong to you?
The District attorney is supposed to help you but it seems like no one there wants to talk to me. I was arrested one day before Thanksgiving. I felt violated and still feel vulnerable and confused about what happened. I still don’t understand it.
Maybe our readers can give me some advice. Who am I to turn to? What should I do?
They told me I was arrested for being on private property. But I’d been selling the newspaper there for 11 years, in the Metro Center station. Right outside the station. I know the rules and regulations, I’ve been doing this for 11 years.
They told me I wasn’t supposed to be there. The owner of the building by 12th St. NW exit near McDonald’s. That day, I was told by police officers to move. I was instructed to move to the sidewalk and then I was arrested. I was standing right where people come out of the subway.
I had my vest, my badge and my mask on! And I was just trying to make a living.
I think it was discrimination. Maybe it was discrimination against my age. Maybe it was discrimination against homeless people. Maybe it’s new people who are unfamiliar with the city.
On the day I was arrested, a Black lady I’ve never seen before said I needed to leave and threatened me with the police. She said this to me at the same spot I’d been selling in for years.
In fact, I sell at the same spot now because I like my customers. I’m a businessman.
The police should’ve taken me downtown but they took me three hours to another location. They processed me for an FBI background check and put me in a dirty cell. I had an appointment for my vaccine and I couldn’t get it that day. They also did not give me a ride back to where I was. I had to get on the bus to get back. And by the time I got back, my tablet was broken and I was out $60 to get a new one. I was so mad.
Since that day, I’m constantly worried that the police are coming to get me. In the end, they didn’t press any charges. The district attorney dropped all charges and no papered the case. What should I do now?
QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE
Artist/Vendor
All I can remember is how beautiful my mother was with her dark skin and long hair. (As I said in the last issue, I was only six years old when she died.) On holidays and on her birthday I still grieve and cry. It took many years to comfort myself. If not for the man upstairs, my heavenly father, I would have run myself crazy. So, thank you, Jesus.
Remember, there were nine children. I’m number eight and I have a little brother. He was only a baby when our mother died, so he never had a chance to see her. After her death, my father moved us to Miami, where he was born and where his sister lived. I was 7-years-old. We lived in my aunt’s big house until my father found an apartment across the street. After a year there, we moved back to the District. We had a big house in Southeast D.C., so big I was scared to go into the basement. (Remember: I was only seven and only in second grade). It took a while, but I eventually stopped being scared and went into the basement.
When my father went to work, we would run outside and play (after school, of course). One day, two friends and I were playing by the train tracks. One friend spotted the tunnel, so we decided to go inside. We started counting the lights inside and discovered each was 15 feet away from the other. We counted about 25 lights.
Then we heard a noise like a humming sound. “That’s the train!” we said. I’m telling you we were far inside that tunnel. We started running our fastest. I turned around and saw a little light. The noise got louder and louder. It seemed as though we were never going to get out of there. Then the light grew bigger and brighter and the noise got even louder.
Even though I was the youngest of the three, I was in second place running out of the tunnel. We finally saw the beginning of the tunnel and ran faster and faster. The two of us got out of the tunnel, which was a blessing from God. Our other friend came out just 40 seconds before the train came in. Thank you, Jesus! If we hadn’t escaped, no one would have ever found us.
Full of hopes
Full of dreams
What does it all mean?
Full of laughter
Full of cries
What does it all mean?
It’s all in the library!
Love can be a strange thing, you see. It'll make you dream of better days. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of these things — that every man is created equal, and nobody's better than me just because they learned something in a book. I too can read, you see, reading is fundamental for everyone. We see the signs of our young children living the dream but there's still so much heartache and pain. Life isn’t the same as those days standing up for justice with a king. If you believe every man was created equal and nobody knows the time or the date, you will become a memory in someone's mind. Like brother King said — I tried to help someone with all my imperfections as a Black man who loves the dream that we shall overcome someday, and we as a people will get to the promised land. What will be our final fate on this Earth? We dream of heaven someday to see those who have passed away before us. I smiled at the sun. Some say it's just a giant spinning top and when will it pop and unite with the moon? It can't be too soon — February, March, April, May; I live to see the dream become a reality. Little Black boys and white boys holding hands, free at last, to live in peace, love and blessings and the mercy of the Lord.
KYM PARKER
Artist/Vendor
When I wake up in the morning
It’s the first thing I think about
It brings me, shows me that I care
CHRIS COLE
Artist/Vendor
I am a single hot pink tulip. Period!
I am an old flower, yet I smell brand new. A new shade of pink; not that ole’ familiar hue.
And yet you will take my life before it’s time. Prematurely end my life in its prime
You will probably most surely murder me right where I stand. Cut me down because you really cover my tan.
It’s the beauty of God to know
It’s like starfish and coffee, Things that feel good in your tum, Things that feel good in your soul The things we get out of life
Some people drink tea they are The weaker beans in this life
I love coffee and I love tea
Everybody feels it in their heart
It helps them get through a war
It’s like starfish and coffee,
It’s what God made to make us all feel It makes me and all these people get up and pray
When I feel it in my heart, my soul sings Coffee, tea, the smell of roses, the taste of joy
Who can say no to any of those Love God and everything she has given Know that when it is over, It takes away the pain, coffee.
Rather than save or help me… ‘Twasn’t that your duty?
I would have come back to life, for I am a perennial you see! I would have risen from the ground, the ashes; a phoenix to be!
But you murdered me, when you could have just let me grow, could have just let me go, How selfish of you.
(Rest in peace, George Floyd).
1. W.W. II-ending weapon, for short (1-4) (incls. abbr.)
6. Put an end to something?
9. Not them or those
14. Momma’s mate
15. It’s literally central to self-love gone crazy
16. Eagle’s nest
17. “Baby ____ Your Loving” (The Four Tops’ 1964 break-through classic)
18. One may relate to highway dangers or a search for fugitives (BALD CROOK anagram)
20. “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas,” to name a couple (2 wds.) (8,5)
22. Amy who wrote “The Joy Luck Club”
23. King Kong, e.g.
24. Then-Congresswoman Liz Cheney took one as co-Chair of the January 6 Committee (2 wds.) (10,5)
33. Pretends to accept someone’s tall tales to get along with them, say
34. Arafat’s grp. (abbr./acron.)
35. What the nose knows
36. Poised for some swinging, perhaps (2 wds.) (2,3)
37. J.D. holder (abbr.)
38. Notre Dame coaching legend Rockne
39. Comeuppance Day for Caesar
40. Game console whose name sounds like a pronoun
41. “Lawrence of ____”
42. Site of a violent sectarian conflict of longstanding that saw “Bloody Sunday” in Londonderry and “Bloody Friday” in Belfast (2 wds.) (8.7)
45. Subside
46. Frostiness, as in wintry air
47. Something found in this puzzle’s other
3 long answers that psychologists and psychiatrists say should not be repressed (2 wds.)
54. Something readily made by highly satisfied customers, clients and patients
56. Love, Italian-style
57. Test, as ore
58. Bout enders, for short (abbr./acron.)
59. Noteworthy church group?
60. Feature of some sporty cars (1-4)
61. Merino mother
62. Accord maker
1. ____ in a poke (something purchased without being carefully checked out) (2 wds.)
(1,3)
2. ___ fide (genuine) (Lat.)
3. Sign that may say “CLOSED” when flipped around
4. Downloaded video format (abbr./acron.)
5. Avoid getting off to one! (2 wds.) (3,5)
6. Tranquil
7. Composer Stravinsky or inventor
Sikorsky
8. So much so that it becomes an unattractive quality (3 wds.) (2,1,5)
9. Word with craps or times
10. Big wheel on a ship
11. Love god
12. [not my error]
13. Reaction to a rodent, maybe
19. Alcoholic, slangily (DO SIP anagram)
21. Identifies, in a Facebook post
24. Word that may precede lightning, link or letter
25. Surpass, as a competitor
26. Raw ____ (brownish crayon color officially “retired” in 1990 and placed in the Crayola Hall of Fame)
27. Friars Club tribute event
28. Elect to participate or indulge (2 wds.) (3,2)
29. Having a pitch or key, as a language, or musically (TALON anagram)
30. Emmy-winning Uzo of “Orange is the New Black”
31. Out (2 wds.) (3,2)
32. Common feeling produced by notice of an IRS audit
37. Truck stop device? (2 wds.) (3,5)
38. Cheese or meat-filled deli dumpling sometimes referred to as “Jewish ravioli”
40. Big name in backyard BBQ grills
41. Singer with the album “Voyage to India””
43. Diplomat Kissinger and Fonzie-portrayer Winkler
44. Actually existing, in law (2 wds.) (2,4) (Lat.) (SEES IN anagram)
47. “In that case...” (2 wds.) (2,2)
48. Kind of tide
49. Go with the ____
50. Modest qualifier, online (abbr./initialism)
51. Midnight’s palindromic counterpart
52. Off the ____ (maintaining a low profile; out of circulation)
53. “Buona ___” (Italian greeting)
54. ____ out (snitch on)
55. Playful suffix with “best”
*This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre. It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Wa. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews.org and insp.ngo.
Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org
Bread for the City - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org
Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org
Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp
Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org
Charlie’s Place // 202-232-3066 1830 Connecticut Ave., NW charliesplacedc.org
Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org
Church of the Pilgrims // 202-387-6612 2201 P St., NW food (1-1:30 on Sundays only) churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach
Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org
Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 communityofhopedc.org
Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org
D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org
Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 Eye St., NW fathermckennacenter.org
Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc)
219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org
Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW ID (Friday 9am–12pm only) foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities
Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org
Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org
Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9128 425 2nd St., NW jobshavepriority.org
Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.org
Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE
2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE
Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org
My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org
N Street Village // 202-939-2060 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org
New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE
Patricia Handy Place for Women 202-733-5378 // 810 5th St., NW
Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., NW samaritaninns.org
Samaritan Ministry
202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org
Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org
So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org
St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-333-4949 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org
Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org
Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org
- Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500
- Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699
1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org
The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable
Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org
Food Service Worker
Wegmans // 41 Ridge Sq. NW
Part-time
Provide customer service, stock displays and keep them clean.
REQUIRED: N/A
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/wegmans-fsw
Cashier/Food Service Worker
Chartwells at GWU // 2100 Foxhall Rd NW
Full-time / Part-time
Operate cash register and process purchases, make deposits at the end of shifts, check inventories and restock kitchen and pantry, help prepare food and catering orders, keep stations and sales floor clean.
REQUIRED: N/A
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/chartwells-cashier
Overnight Grocery Team Member
Whole Foods Market // 4530 40th St NW
Full-time
Receive and sort overnight deliveries, stock shelves and keep sales floor clean. Provide customer service when necessary.
REQUIRED: N/A
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/wfm-overnight
For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide
Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org
's Theater Workshop presents
NThrough prose, poetry, song, and music, eight writers/performers share their insights about being houseless and the true meaning of home.
The best way to predict it is to create it. Things don't manifest unless you put some action to it. The hardest thing about change is to not end up making the same choices. Some people think that their pain is motivating, when you could use joy for the same reasons. You could go to bed at the same time every night. But if you change the time for a certain amount of time, it begins to turn into a routine. How do you begin? Use your thinking.
Devised and Directed by Leslie Jacobson Music Direction and Composition by Roy Barber
