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“There was a feeling of loss for a woman that not many people really knew personally but somehow managed to touch other people’s lives just through her commitment and sense of duty.
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Bridget Sibley, who sells the magazine at a Waitrose in Southsea, Portsmouth, said she was “very, very distressed” at the news.
“For once I am lost for words because there are just no bad words to say about the lady.”
“It seems very quiet and it feels very different,” he said.
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“I remember when the Queen was on tour there. There was train that she travelled on that passed through our town of Halton Hills in Ontario and I remember going up to the train tracks and putting coins on the tracks so they got flattened by the train. It was a souvenir to mark the occasion of her being there.”
“I spoke to one of the rough sleepers I am quite friendly with — he was in the armed forces and served in Afghanistan and he’d actually met the Queen. She did touch a lot of people, particularly in the armed forces because that sense of duty is such an integral aspect of what the armed forces are about.
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“I celebrated the Jubilee earlier this year and I was out selling The Big Issue selling red, white and blue and I was very proud to sell the magazine with William on the cover. I was behind the Queen one million percent. Bless her heart. She’s done a brilliant, brilliant job. She will be very, very difficult to replace. An icon.”
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“People invariably admire that she was the glue that held a lot of things together and I fear that maybe there will be a lot of
Big Issue vendors send their condolences to royal family on news of Queen’s death
LIAM GERAGHTY
She said: “She’s been an icon. What more is there to say? She reminds me of a graceful swan, floating along, full of grace. She has done a brilliant, fantastic job.
Courtesy International Network of Street Papers / The Big Issue UK bigissue.com @BigIssue
“I was never a real fanatic of the royals but I feel a real sense of loss in regards to that stability and how she maintained that duty for so long.”
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Paul Logan, who sells the magazine at Oxford Circus in central London, said there was a sense of quiet about the city as Londoners adjusted to the news.
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 3 NEWS IN BRIEF
Big Issue vendors have shared their thoughts and memories of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family on news of her death at the age of 96.
Simon Gravell, who sells outside the former Topshop building in Norwich city centre, said: “It’s very sad. It wasn’t a surprise but now it’s happened I do believe the Queen was the best asset this country has ever had. She wasn’t just loved by the people of this country, she was loved by the rest of the world by the sounds of it if even somebody like Putin sent a message.
implications that may arise from her death. For many people a lot of the grief that they are experiencing for someone they didn’t know that well taps into their own personal grief. It may help people through that — I like to see that as the last duty of the Queen.”
“The Queen has been an institution for 72 years. There’s a sense of security and stability that goes with that. It’s something very familiar. It’s a sea change and we’re stepping into new territory. For the majority of people the Queen was the only thing they’ve known for a lifetime and things are going to change, our money’s going to change.
He said: “It’s sad news, not only for the royal family but for the people of this country. She was well-liked and will surely be missed. I was glad to have met William earlier this year and to have a royal connection so I feel sad for the royal family right now.”
Queen Elizabeth riding a carriage through London in May, 2019. Photo by Mark de Jong // Unsplash
George Anderson, who sells The Big Issue at Broadcasting House in London’s White City, said there was a “real sense of sadness” around the former BBC headquarters as the news broke on Thursday evening.
Logan grew up in Canada where the Queen was also head of state and he told The Big Issue she was just as revered across the Atlantic.
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“It’s a terrible thing that the Queen has died, I always liked her. She was on the throne for a lot of years, our Queen. It’s going to take people a couple of days to get used to it.”
Eamonn Kelly, who sells the magazine in Trinity Street, Cambridge, said: “I’ve always liked the royal family, particularly William. When I met him earlier in the year and he heard about me selling The Big Issue he wanted to meet me more than I wanted to meet him. He’s a real gentleman.
“She was very, very popular over there,” he added. “You have to remember the large majority of Canadians are immigrants from the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries. There’s a strong calling for the royal family in Canada. They’d identify much more with that than their neighbours in the south.
Big Issue vendor Dave Martin, who sells the magazine at a Tesco in Hammersmith, London, met Prince William earlier this summer as the royal sold the magazine to mark his 40th birthday.
“I think people are missing a big point that she was the only monarch who could strip down a Land Rover engine because she was the first female monarch to see active duty during the Second World War when she was with the ATS [Auxiliary Territorial Service]. People seem to have forgotten about that.
"I asked a policeman why they were taking away my sister and he replied, 'She's mouthy,'" said Elizabeth, whose surname has been withheld to protect her identity.
Mass arrests
In El Salvador, authorities estimate that more than 70,000 people make up the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, its rival Barrio 18, and smaller street gangs, which compete in turf wars to control drug trafficking and extortion rackets.
Bukele declared his war on gangs after the murder rate hit a record high in March, when 62 murders were recorded in a single day across the nation of 6.4 million people.
4 // STREET SENSE MEDIA // SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 NEWS
For Elizabeth and other low-income Salvadorans, the war on gangs has taken a hefty emotional and financial toll, leaving
The national palace of El Salvador. Photo by Mauricio Cuéllar // Unsplash
o
El Salvador's war on gangs leaves poor families reeling
"They told him they were taking him away to be investigated," said Elizabeth, 65, who runs a small shop in a gang-controlled area outside Santa Ana, a city about 40 miles from the capital.
Multiple local surveys show that 70% of Salvadorans support his government's tough measures to reduce gang crime, as did Elizabeth before the arrests began in her family.
During July, no homicides were registered in the country for six consecutive days, he said.
"We were happy when they (the government) said everything was going to change. But we thought gang members and not innocent people would be arrested," said Elizabeth, who like many small business owners paid extortion money to gang members.
NELSON RENTERIA AND ANASTASIA MOLONEY Reuters
His government announced a 30-day state of emergency in March suspending some constitutional rights, a measure which has since been extended five times. Critics say it allows an overly broad dragnet that denies detainees a fair legal process.
In the three months that followed, seven more family members were arrested; her sister, brother and five nephews — innocent victims, she said, of a crackdown on gang violence by President Nayib Bukele that has led to tens of thousands of arrests.
Elizabeth's son used to give her $50 a week to pay for utility bills and his daughter's school expenses, and the family fears losing her sister's house since her arrest because the mortgage has not been paid.
Bukele, who has high popularity ratings, says the crackdown is working and that major gang leaders have been arrested.
ne morning in early May, armed policemen turned up at Elizabeth's modest home in rural El Salvador and arrested her son.
The day her sister was arrested, Elizabeth said she had arrived at her sister's home to find her lying on the ground surrounded by police.
She has also taken in six nephews, who sleep on mats on the floor, joining her two grandchildren and her 80-year-old mother who already lived with her. It is a struggle to make ends meet.
Plaza Gerardo Barrios in San Salvador. Photo by Esau Gonzalez // Unsplash
Since March, security forces have arrested nearly 51,000 people, mostly young men from poor neighborhoods, for allegedly belonging to or collaborating with the Central American nation's notorious gangs. Most are in jail on pretrial detention.
families without breadwinners and children without parents.
Elizabeth's imprisoned 32-year-old son, Pablo, made fireworks for a living and has a teenage daughter, who Elizabeth has been looking after since his arrest.
Police authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bukele said on Twitter in April that "1%" of people captured could be innocent, but added that "in such a big operation, there will always be mistakes to correct."
as a mechanic to buy food and take care of their daughter.
Local human rights groups and London-based Amnesty International have accused Salvadoran authorities of committing "massive human rights violations" in the crackdown, including arbitrary arrests of suspected gang members — sometimes simply on the grounds that they have tattoos.
Since her son's arrest, Milagro — a school secretary — has fallen behind on existing loan repayments and bills, and has had to take on cleaning work to make up for the lost income. Her daughter-in-law quit work, fearing she would be arrested too.
"I ask the president to take into account the pain of mothers... many tears have been shed," said Milagro.
A month later, five government officials said dozens of innocent people had been arrested after superiors forced police officers to meet daily arrest quotas — an accusation denied by a police spokesperson.
Diana relied on the $70 a week he provided from his wages
"I depend on my life partner," said Diana, who now lives with Ernesto's family and earns about $5 per week from parttime work washing clothes.
Elizabeth and other relatives borrowed money from co-workers, the church and money lenders, with 10% monthly interest, to afford a lawyer charging $4,000 in legal fees.
In the past month, both Diana and Elizabeth, along with about 1,000 other people, have sought legal advice at these organizations to get their jailed relatives released.
Courtesy of Reuters / Thomson Reuters Foundation / International Network of Street Papers
Of the 12 people on the soccer field, the police arrested five, she said. She was told Ernesto, 29, had been arrested for alleged terrorism offenses — a charge she rejected.
Adding to their financial difficulties, some families of jailed relatives have taken out loans to hire lawyers.
contributing about $200 a month to bills in the rented home in which they lived in together.
"In the seven years I've been with him, I haven't seen him do anything bad. He's not a gang member ... many innocent people are falling," she said.
"So far I've paid $500 to a lawyer, who's offering us freedom for my relatives that isn't guaranteed," she said.
Sitting next to her, Milagro, 53, a single mother, said she also hoped lawyers could help free her imprisoned son.
In another district near San Salvador, Diana, 30, an unemployed mother of a young daughter, said her partner, Ernesto, had been arrested while out playing soccer with friends.
"I just cry and cry," said Diana, sitting in the SEJES office. "I feel bad because I can't do anything for him."
Police told her he was under arrest for illicit association, which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Her son and daughter-in-law used to sell coffee and snacks in the streets of Zacatecoluca, a municipality about an hour's drive from the capital,
A food vendor preparing a typical meal in El Salvador. Photo by Mauricio Cuéllar // Unsplash
Legal fees
Unable to afford a lawyer, she hopes pro-bono organizations she found on Facebook — the Judicial Workers Union (SEJES) and the National Alliance El Salvador in Peace — which provide legal advice to poor families without gang ties, can help.
Milagro and her 31-yearold son Alexander and his wife were leaving a fast food restaurant in early May when police arrested him in the parking lot.
Families of jailed relatives also have to pay for prison food and hygiene kits costing about $250, an added burden along with travel costs for prison visits.
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 5
They [Black communities] will be affected because it’s already limited resources for them to get abortions. So the fact that there’s more people trying to come to D.C., there won’t
be anything left for the people who’s poor and who can’t get resources because they’re coming in. They’re taking all of it because they’ve got to come to D.C. just to get an abortion. So that’s how I feel about that.
D.C., which protects the right to abortion by law, has for years been a haven for residents travelling from states with more restrictive laws seeking abortion care. This demand is only expected to surge in a post-Roe era, and residents in Wards 7 and 8 fear this will mean only further barriers to care for the Black people seeking reproductive services in the city.
Voices of Wards 7 And 8: The overturn of Roe V. Wade
I don’t like that there is more people coming over here, but I do like that they have more support over here than they do anywhere else. I just feel like if you need your support over here, get your support over here.
n June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, ending nearly five decades of constitutional abortion rights, leaving the future of abortion up to the states.
“Our communities always get the leftovers or are the last to be considered for quality care and information,” says Dionne McDonald. “Wait [and] appointment times in a system that is already slow moving when it comes to caring for our people will only become exacerbated by the influx of people who come here from banned states. It’s the lack of understanding complex familial situations and other underlying health concerns that make this even more dangerous for our people.”
Despite the legal protections afforded to abortion in the city, D.C. has one of the highest Black maternal mortality rates in the country. Black women seeking reproductive care already have to face medical racism, distrust by doctors and often a dearth of adequate healthcare resources compared to residents in whiter, wealthier parts of the city. When it comes to the fall of Roe, residents fear seeking abortion care will be no different.
It’s already hard enough to gain health care, child care, because they’re already hard on Black communities, they don’t support us enough.
They give more respect towards white women and other minorities than they do towards Black women in Black communities…we’re not going to get the same treatment as everybody else. They look at us for shame, and at somebody else like ‘Oh, my goodness, that’s so tough. That’s so hard on you.’ We always get the back end of the stick, the ‘Oh, my goodness. You did what?’ Like, we will get shamed, not only as women, but as Black women.
We have feelings, we’re not like robots. We have feelings. When it comes to abortion stuff and there’s a lot more people coming over here to get it, we understand, because we would not want nobody else that we care about or love going through no type pain like that, especially young of age, you know?
With people coming over and using our resources with abortion it’ll make less resources for the people that already live here, which will cause the living situations to be even worse, because if the resources are taken, then that will force people, especially in Black and brown communities, to have to have those babies or even give them up. And most likely they’re getting an abortion because they already don’t have enough resources in their home to take care of the child.
“We were dying at a faster rate than any other race because they stigmatize us and saying ‘Oh, you know, Black women, we’re strong, we can handle pain, don’t medicate her or she’s complaining,” says Leah Johnson. “When actually, no, every race we’re human, like we hurt the same, bleed the same. And it’s just no one advocating for us.”
Mariah Delbe , Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
DEE DWYER AND COLLEEN GRABLICK DCist
I’m still processing the fact that we even have to have this conversation. No one and no state should have control of our bodies. When it comes to policy, I think it starts with accessing the table at which these policies are being decided. You can’t know what needs should be addressed if you aren’t speaking directly to the source. Black women, Black families need to be heard. There is data, and then there are the people behind that data. I think there is great power in the duality of both together. I’ve been to the forums, and it feels done for show, I want the real deal to have their voices heard.
For this Voices of Wards 7 and 8, DCist spoke with residents about how the fall of Roe will impact the Black community in D.C. Here’s what they had to say. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
I think a community that is already underserved and vastly unsupported will continue to suffer greatly when it comes to accessing the resources needed in order to stay safe. Our communities always get the leftovers or are the last to be considered for quality care and information. Wait times, appointment times in a system that is already slow moving when it comes to caring for our people will only become exacerbated by the influx of people who come here from banned states. It’s the lack of understanding complex familial situations and other underlying health concerns that make this even more dangerous for our people.
6 // STREET SENSE MEDIA // SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 NEWS
Makiya Gross, Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
o
Makiya Gross
With the wards – they’re already overpacked, if you have people coming in using those resources, then there’s not enough because there’s already not enough for the people that’s already here. So, if we have more people coming in, it’s just not going to be enough. And they are already getting the first hand of the resources before the people that live here already, or has been here, which is the natives.
Dionne McDonald , Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
Trinidy Stinnie, Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
Mariah Delbe
Dionne McDonald
Trinidy Stinnie
Leah Johnson, Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
I believe that a woman should have the right to choose what they do, or what we do, with our bodies. And so giving the government the power seems to be diminishing women as a whole in terms of what we can and can’t do. So I believe we’re going back in times, but, you know, history always repeats
Leah Johnson
I’m a Ward 7 resident. I’ve been there about 12-13 years now.The
Joe Little, Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
But everyone doesn’t have that, again, community is the world.
The advocation is what we need. And we’re dying at a faster rate than any other race because they stigmatize us and they’re saying, ‘Oh, you know, Black women, we’re strong, we can handle pain, don’t medicate her or she’s complaining.’ when actually, no, every race we’re human, like we hurt the same, bleed the same. And it’s just no one advocating for us.
And if she’s not from D.C., and then it’s like now she’s got to run here to try to take something from somebody that might have been raped and needs it, this abortion. And now it’s like, ‘Oh nah, we already helped this person and we can’t help you now because our resources are tapped out.’
When we do advocate, it’s like either we’re being too much of something or we’re too loud. And now we’re in a phase or we’re in an environment where I feel like they’re trying to humble the Black woman’s experience or humble us into being quiet. It’s not that we’ve [just] found our voice, it’s just that you all weren’t listening. It’s like, ‘Oh, my God, now we got to keep her quiet.’ We’re battling against that, our own issues within ourselves and everything else. Advocation plays a huge part and so does community.
I just, I don’t like the fact that we’re already struggling – and people get to come from where they are, we’re the minority.
I’m not really with the way that they are banning abortion everywhere. Some women do need help. And I do not, again, like the fact that they’re banning stuff. We’re the only people that do provide the type of resources to help women that actually need it. Okay. For women that actually know ‘I can’t deal with a baby right now’ or ‘I wasn’t ready for this baby.’ Now I’m not against all of that. You are a woman, your choice is yours.
And honestly, right now, at this moment, what we need is unity. It’s going to take a process and we’re working on it as women right now. I guess we’re just supposed to take life as
Joe Little
Antonette Wise
I’ve had an abortion or multiple abortions in terms of when I was young and dumb. Also I was raped. So if it wasn’t legalized in D.C. at that time, I would probably would have had an unwanted pregnancy. I had a mom who was there and I had some knowledge about where to go and things like that.
overturning of Roe v Wade is a horrible, horrendous tragedy. We no longer can go to that promissory note that was given to us that says we have freedoms in our lives, freedom of choice of being one of them. And so whenever you take away a person’s ability to choose, we think that it is considered enslavement.
And so we talk about Ward 7 and Ward 8, mostly Black people, Black female people who are capable of having pregnancies – they’re being more at risk. One, this country has a higher maternal rate, death rate, among Black women. We understand that we’re a higher risk for a lot of things in this country. High blood pressure, diabetes, all of these contributing factors to the leading cause of death among us. But one of those high rates are maternal rates, maternal death rates. And so we think about this when Black people aren’t able, 40% of African-Americans in the country, to get an abortion.
And so for me, when I believe that we’re talking about death with this overturning, there’s going to be an increase in that maternal [death] rate. Who is that going to impact? AfricanAmericans.Idon’tlike for messages to be whitewashed. And I think we get lost and whitewashed messaging that we’ve failed to look at the aspect that our voices are powerful. We shouldn’t have to wait for white people to stand up for us. We should start standing up for ourselves.
it comes, unfortunately.
You know, they’ve already stripped away the needle exchange program. People were dying. That needle exchange program was helping people. So just think about if Republicans come in and they take away that ability for our families to make that ultimate decision. They have to literally make that decision. And so it’s a decision that should be left base up to the person, their husband, spouse, whoever, and their doctor. The federal government should not have a say in anybody’s personal life, and someone else’s religion should not dictate something that is personal.
This article was originally published by DCist.
They’re trying to ban abortions, but Hispanic people and Black people and all other minorities, we produce more children like literally per year, per day. We are producing more kids. They want us to have the babies but not support what we need for them. You’re not allowing somebody that knows that they’re not ready to say, ‘No, I don’t want it.’
Antonette Wise, Washington, D.C. Dee Dwyer // DCist/WAMU
itself.Money
They’re coming over here, they’re taking everything – and then when we need stuff, the people who [live here] actually need things – there’s nothing left. Because they gave it to other people that looked or felt more worthy than the people that are struggling. We have so many people struggling.
And I also feel like it’ll affect a lot of people’s mental health. That could also cause the rates to go up, the mortality rates, of the Black and brown communities which is leading the youth to stealing cars and stuff like that… because they’re already not getting the resources they need at home. So they’re just going out and doing whatever they please in the communities. Most of the time their parents are struggling with addiction or mental health issues themselves. They don’t have the resources there to help them get themselves together so they can get their children together.
plays a part in terms of having access to resources and things like that specifically in Wards 7 and 8 where there is literally nothing happening over there but real estate. That already tells you what the government’s priority is over there – to build up, instead of building its people up. So when we have people coming here, like in terms of immigration, now we have to help others instead of helping ourselves. Those resources will be allocated to others per usual, then we as the community have to figure out how can we help each other or get access to these resources.
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 7
It is an issue that has long concerned advocates like Zeisel. “We in D.C. use [Rapid Rehousing] as a one-size-
Substandard housing
Now, DHS has decided to pause exiting any additional families from the program, which means those who received a letter of intent to exit or a notice of cessation in April and May will remain in the program, at least for now. The termination pause is only for the current fiscal year — which ends on Sept. 30 — and only covers families (not individuals) on RRH, the agency confirmed in an email. Families living in Rapid Rehousing experienced a similar scenario at the end of the last fiscal year when DHS sent out conflicting letters about their status in the program.
The bill would further establish a six-month time limit for DHS to determine whether newly enrolled participants in RRH are eligible for long-term housing vouchers.
Upon introducing the bill, Mendelson tweeted that RRH is “a failed program” desperately in need of the reforms included in his legislation.
Bullet holes from a drive-by shooting. Photos courtesy of Evy Wilkins
PARAS SHAH Street Sense Media
DHS’ decision comes ahead of potentially substantial changes for the beleaguered housing subsidy program.
“The goal with our homeless services is that we either get people placed into subsidized housing or we get them
on the bill is scheduled before the Human Services Committee on Oct. 20.
fits-all program for any family that becomes homeless,” she said.The dynamic can force families into a difficult catch-22. Most people are glad to get out of shelters and into longterm housing, but when the subsidies end, they are suddenly responsible for the full rent — which can put people at risk of eviction, lead them back to abusive relationships, damage their credit scores, or drive them out of D.C., according to Amber Harding, director of policy and advocacy at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.
Such complaints — inspiration for pending reform proposals in the D.C. Council — have long bedeviled one of the District’s key initiatives to assist families experiencing homelessness so that they do not have to rely on emergency shelters or transitional housing.
RRH was developed as a targeted, temporary measure to help people who had lost their jobs and needed a bridge until they found new employment, said Kathy Zeisel, a senior supervising attorney at the Children’s Law Center, a legal nonprofit that advocates for children to access health care and education.
Emails show the same thing happened again that August — when Wilkins also reported that her sink had overflowed with a vibrant electric-blue liquid as a water bug scurried across the surface. When she reached out for help, Wilkins said her case manager told her to shower at a nearby homeless shelter.
In April, nearly 70 housing organizations and experts submitted a letter to the D.C. Council arguing that RRH, as currently implemented, offers a short-term fix without addressing the need for permanent housing.
A January 2022 report from the D.C. Office of the Inspector General found that DHS has contributed to long wait times for RRH case management services because it “focused only on the minimum eligibility criteria” and “seemingly ignored many of the relevant factors listed” in the regulations. The report explained that DHS has created a “two-track approach” within RRH, with some families “who are temporarily homeless and have a strong chance of regaining employment” and others that “have no realistic chance of independently achieving stability in housing.”
DC goverment halts family exits from beleaguered Rapid Rehousing subsidy program until Sept. 30
8 // STREET SENSE MEDIA // SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 NEWS
‘Setting up people for failure’
In April 2021, less than a year after Wilkins moved into her apartment thanks to the RRH subsidy, the bathtub stopped draining and filled with a dark brown sludge, according to emails and photographs Street Sense reviewed.
These types of problems and violations are routine for RRH participants, and that is all the more so because housing inspectors may not be able to document the issues through virtual inspections, according to Zeisel.
But Wilkins’ joy quickly turned into a nightmare. Her apartment was riddled with maintenance problems, she said in an interview, and her landlord was unresponsive when issues arose. On top of that, Wilkins said she received limited assistance from RRH case managers, who frequently turned over and played a limited role in helping her find permanent housing.
“The landlord controls quite a bit of what they actually see in the unit,” she said.
The lack of distinction between the two groups has led DHS to apply “a single set of policies for groups that should have distinctly different goals and a single measure of ‘success’ for groups that should be measured using different criteria,” the inspector general’s report stated.
This fall, the D.C. Council is expected to consider a bill to overhaul RRH. The draft legislation, which D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson introduced in July with the initial backing of eight colleagues, would remove mandatory case management and cap the amount of income that program participants must contribute toward rent at 30% (as opposed to the 40% to 60% currently required in some instances).
E
vy Wilkins was thrilled to move into her apartment on Queen Street NE. As a lowincome D.C. resident, she qualified for a rent subsidy through the District’s Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program.
Earlier this year, in March and April, the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) terminated housing subsidies for 447 families who had remained in the program over 18 months. Meanwhile, DHS matched over 700 RRH families with longer-term housing vouchers through the Targeted Affordable Housing (TAH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs, the agency said in an email to Street Sense Media.
back on their feet. But not that we perpetuate a cycle of homelessness. And Rapid Rehousing, basically as it’s been used, is part of the cycle,” Mendelson told DCist and WAMU.Ahearing
Local D.C. regulations say a family residing in D.C. can qualify for RRH if it “is currently experiencing homelessness” or “is at imminent risk of experiencing homelessness.” However, the regulations also provide 10 “relevant factors” to consider, including a household’s current income, expected future income, rental history, and employment potential based on job skills.
“All the negative outcomes are on the table if you can’t afford your rent,” Harding said. “There is no magic bullet there.”
That month, the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs assessed Wilkins’ landlord over $11,500 in fines and penalties for unsafe and substandard housing conditions such as broken smoke detectors and a missing fire extinguisher, according to Wilkins and a notice of infraction Street Sense reviewed.
Wilkins’ problems continued despite the fines. In October
RRH, a subsidy program that usually pays a portion of a household’s rent for up to one year, has also spawned controversy over when, or whether, to resume enforcing 12-month enrollment time limits that were waived at the start of the pandemic.
Mandatory case management makes people feel like they have no choice over decisions that impact their lives, Zeisel said. In contrast, offering voluntary services — as Children’s Law Center advocates — “respects people as people and their human dignity.”
Sandra and her children temporarily relocated to a hotel
This article was co-published with The DC Line.
2021, she said, the trash in her building’s backyard piled so high that it attracted rats. In November, a drive-by shooting left her walls and windows filled with bullet holes while temperatures dropped below freezing, photographs show.
Meanwhile, Wilkins said she has shifted among four case managers during her two years in the RRH program. For over a year, she had trouble accessing her case file, she said, and much of her paperwork was missing when she eventually obtained it.
Meanwhile, the council’s proposed bill would make case management optional, though the current draft would not establish a right to quality case management or to appeal a subsidy termination due to poor case management — two provisions some advocates had recommended.
But the new apartment was hardly the kind of home she imagined. “I’ve just been having issues from the time I moved in,” Sandra said. The unit had rodents and mold, yet it lacked heating and air conditioning. Sandra said she bought her own space heater to keep her family warm over theThewinter.apartment failed housing inspections three times, Sandra said. “I was told by one of the inspectors that my apartment should have never passed inspection from the beginning.”
Wilkins said she feels stuck in limbo.
Wilkins said her landlord refused to fix the apartment damage for weeks, which forced her to put her possessions into storage and move in with cousins in Baltimore.
She is not alone in her frustrations. Sandra, who asked that her real name not be used to protect her family’s privacy, enrolled in Rapid Rehousing in March 2020. She said she found a one-bedroom apartment on her own, where she and her young daughter lived for over a year before she ever connected with a case manager. When she became pregnant with her son, the case manager found a threebedroom apartment for the growing family, Sandra said.
One issue is that RRH case managers have a limited role, handling tasks like requests to transfer housing but unable to assist in other needed areas such as improving credit, finding employment or teaching financial literacy, according to Zeisel. Another problem, she said, is that RRH has mandatory case management, unlike the voluntary services available via D.C.’s other homelessness services.
“Luck of the draw”
Trash piled in Evy Wilkins’ apartment building. Photos courtesy of Evy Wilkins
as Zeisel.
“Case management has been a real issue throughout the life of Rapid Rehousing,” she said. “There’s a lot of different organizations that do it, and the quality really varies between organizations.”Itcantakemonths for families living in shelters or on the brink of homelessness to meet with case managers. The inspector general’s January 2022 report found that RRH participants who entered the program in fiscal year 2019 waited an average of 70 days before meeting with a case manager — a delay that grew to an average of 169 days after the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
In an email to Street Sense Media, DHS said that it plans to “transform” Rapid Rehousing starting this October, when the new fiscal year begins. Among other reforms, the agency will “directly contract case management services”; introduce a “2-Generation” approach to case management that “focuses on economic mobility and housing stability”; and provide “life skills trainings” for families.
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 9
“A lot of clients describe [case management] as a not very consistently helpful service,” Zeisel said. “Some of the nonprofits are really great, and some of them are not really great — it totally depends on luck of the draw.”
while workers replaced her water heater, which had burst and caused extensive water damage to her walls and floor. The family is now back in the apartment and waiting for permanent housing through a PSH voucher.
Sandra said she has always sought to follow the rules and do everything the right way. She added that policymakers must understand that RRH’s impacts extend far beyond housing issues and manifest in how she cares for her kids, maintains a job, and tries to make ends meet.
“I feel like the system failed me and my children. I feel bad for trusting the system — I really do,” Sandra said. “It was the worst decision I’ve ever made.”
Evy Wilkins’ sink has clogged with an electric blue liquid. Photos courtesy of Evy Wilkins
The bathtub has stopped draining. Photo courtesy of Evy Wilkins
“Rapid Rehousing is acting like, ‘Whatever,’” she said. Shortcomings in how cases are handled account for many of the complaints about RRH, according to advocates such
While she is eligible for a TAH voucher in D.C., Wilkins said it would be too difficult to uproot her son and move again because stability and a set routine help to manage his ADHD and autism. She has to travel back and forth between her cousins’ home in Baltimore and Washington to pick up her son’s medication because his health insurance only covers pharmacies in D.C. and his doctor is located there.
Despite the repairs, Sandra said the poor housing conditions have affected every part of her life. Her children have persistent coughs and breathing problems from mildew and have each visited the emergency room twice in the past week and missed school and day care because they were sick. Sanda had to take time off work to care for them, and her mental health has deteriorated from the strain of dealing with her housing situation.
Trying to disarm citizens is what all tyrants do. And Joe Biden has vowed to ban assault weapons, even though he doesn’t understand that any semi-automatic gun can be
Maurice Spears is a vendor and an artist with Street Sense Media.
I have lived in Washington, D.C., for 15 years. I live across the street from the Green Lantern, sell newspapers at the Farmers Market at Dupont Circle, and my roommate is an atheist. I have many gay customers who despise Joe Biden and are more conservative than right wing evangelical Republicans.
There are problems in the justice system that need to be fixed. Some people can’t afford lawyers, so we need a law firm that can interact with people who need affordable attorneys. Court cases are backed up because of Covid19. We worry about the wrong topics instead of the right
H
I work at a bar with staff of different cultures and ethnicities. I can speak a little Spanish and understand French and Moroccan while learning Mongolian and Afghan culture. My co-workers are my family, and I would tell any right winger to go to hell if they demonize people who just want to better their lives.
I saw the same thing when Hillary ran in 2016. There was no way history would be denied. There is now the same sense of assuredness. But what will happen if they wake up the morning after and MAGA runs D.C.?
I find it amusing that the Democrats who want to cancel the Electoral College, pack the Supreme Court, take away our right to bear arms and remove the filibuster are calling those who oppose them radical and extreme.
I don’t want a revolution, and I will stand in the way against people that want to start one.
They got in trouble, but what are they going to do now in the community? Are they an asset, or are they a liability? Most of the time people come home and become an asset to society. But some become a liability. And so we have a lot of work to do. What do people need to be successful when they walk out? They need living skills, financial literacy and relationship counseling on every level.
When they come home, they have a lot of anger, frustration, and sadness built up. And so we need to talk about anger management, about how to deal with things when people are angry or upset, about what makes you mad, what makes you sad, what makes you depressed. When we start talking about these things, it makes people better. We need to put more counselors in the community. It would lower the fights, the violence, the frustration, and would pretty much make the community safer.
JEFFERY MCNEIL
Leftists accused Trump of being a fascist, but these civically challenged novices can’t specifically name what rights they lost when he was president.
Joe Biden, who ran on unity, has now said that those who support Trump don’t deserve a seat at the table.
I like the Constitution and Bill of Rights, believe in God and screw those who attack me for it. I’m not antiimmigrant, but is it xenophobia to say that maybe we should do a better job policing who or what crosses our border?
he last time Democrats were this angry at Republicans was when Abe Lincoln freed the slaves.
What is compassionate: starving our poor while squandering our resources for people who don’t respect or obey our laws?
Trump is no longer president. Why is there still so much rage?
In 2016, Americans who didn’t carry water for Hillary Clinton were “deplorable.” Today, Democrats have ratcheted up the rhetoric by telling 79 million Americans that their voice doesn’t matter. The views from the Biden White House are correct; if you don’t bend the knee, you’re a fascist.
ow are we going to be able to help our returning citizens come back into society? They’re not bad people. They were taught wrong, or they didn’t have a survival kit. Most of the time when people do bad things, it’s for survival. I look at it like this: Everybody makes a mistake. You can learn from your mistakes to become better.
like to be independent. I don’t want free stuff, I want self sufficiency. This falls on deaf ears for leftists who have a plan to remake America.
To prevent people from being incarcerated, we need to focus on the young. We need to hire more counselors inside the school system, to ask kids how they feel, how their living situation is, how their family is treating them. Kids are taught what they see. A lot of them didn't have relatives they could call on to say, “I’m having a crisis.” They need a mom, a dad, an aunt, a sister, a big brother, to show them theThat’spath. something I didn’t have when I was young: a strong support team. When you have that support, it changes a lot in the community. It can lower the crime rate.
I’m probably more on the liberal than the conservative side. I try to help people but don’t need to brag about it. I
Jail cells in the Alcatraz Island ferry terminal in San Francisco, CA. Photo by Carles Rabada // Unsplash
When Trump was president, Madonna threatened to blow up the White House, though she later said it was a “metaphor.” Robert De Niro wanted to punch him in the face. And who can forget Kathy Griffin holding up a fake severed head?
When people get released, they should go to a federal university for hands-on training for a cooking license or a commercial driver’s license, or to start a business and open a bank account, so that we don’t end up babysitting them when they come out.
turned into a machine gun.
Unfortunately, these leftists who have no clue about the Constitution won’t understand the Second Amendment protects the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment, too.
the midterm elections a few months away, the media is convincing some that there will be no red wave after all.
Jeffery McNeil is a vendor with Street Sense Media.
OPINION 10 // STREET SENSE MEDIA / SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022
Do leftists think you can do this in China or Iran?
But I accept Washington, D.C. I don’t judge what other people do, and I choose not to follow them in their ideologies and lifestyles. I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative; I show loyalty to people who have looked out for me.
What people need to thrive when they leave incarceration
MAURICE SPEARS
T
topics, and so we should do an evaluation of which cases to prioritize so we don’t waste a lot of tax dollars. If a case doesn’t have hard evidence, it needs to be thrown out. You have people locked up for a long period of time, and they have a due date to come back into society; those are the cases we need to be worried about, not petty charges. Also, the judges are quick to judge people, to tell them that they’re dangerous to society, they’re bad people, and we want to lock you up. I don’t think people are bad. When you feed that to them, you make them more aggressive.
I don’t understand all this anger from Biden voters. They got what they wanted. They removed Trump. They have the first Asian American, Black woman as vice president. They have the first Black and openly lesbian woman as press secretary. Americans now have to pay the debt of liberal arts majors.With
Please allow me to be me — I must be at peace with me, I’m my own friend first, you see. I just got to be me, The way I think, then act, then be, I’m a truly good friend to myself you see, I love me as you can tell, My true friendship in me is truly well.
FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor
The sunshine was anemic, but I stared flatly out the curved glass of the wagon’s rear seats trying to recall Mrs. Edith Sheik, a birdlike dame, born around 1882. And the one time she visited our home in D.C., she perched daintily on the tapestried sofa in the parlor, swathed in pleated black-silk widow’s weeds, trimmed in Victorian-style moire lace, and most significantly, atop her bun of yellow-cream hair perched rakishly, a triangular velvet beret. The hat had an iridescence of a shiny crow’s plumage. I think we all sipped tea from dainty bone cups.
My friends, I ride the metro all the time. If you see anything or anyone committing a crime on the Metro system, please report it. If you don’t, something can happen to you. Some people don’t want to get involved, but you should because it can happen to someone you love.
Almost every community in this country has had to prove that they can survive through a struggle. Does that mean that we are strong? I pray to God that this is what makes us great because it makes us resilient.
Cousin Edith
The greatnesslions’
Rising from the bottom to the top
ERIC GLOVER Artist/Vendor
And this reminds me of the way that my people were split up when they first came to this country. My ancestors did not voluntarily come to the United States, they were forced to come here. They were split up and beaten and abused. We are still struggling with this, even after 300 years.
Long before them, there were the Native Americans. They were almost extinguished. They were put into camps, treated poorly and robbed of all their life-sustaining goods.
Gather together with love
The lion is not the largest animal in theTheyjungle.also are not the heaviest animal, or the smartest, or the most intelligent in the jungle Yet, when the lions show up, other animals run away. But remember: Leadership can transform cowards into violent warriors. And that brings up another word: attitude!
But some people make it to this country with their families only to be later separated. This can and does cause trauma. It’s bad. It’s as if people are placed into categories that only the government knows how to distinguish. It seems biased. Hispanic and Latino people often struggle when they come over the border from Mexico into the U.S. The government splits them up and disjoints their families.
Soon, we were all seated on leather folding chairs. Faint organ music tootled from the back of the mortuary. Now Edith lay in repose — with the casket lid thrown back; her profile, though a bit waxy, was quite regal. Her mouth was not drawn tight, but serene and soft.
This event has taken a stand for hours. It seems the numbing jobs of ordering online deliveries will come as you assemble in lines holding on to the quest of laments. The Great Depression has come to be held by all to behold the loving care of the touch of humankind.
The DepressionGreat
VENNIE HILL Artist/Vendor
I met this man after I haven't seen him in about 5 years. He was in the program, just like I was. He's looking good. He changed his life around. He’s married with kids, has a beautiful home, he has two cars, he works two government jobs and I'm sending him all my blessings. I want you to understand that God can change anybody. He is just that great. So, like I always say, stay clean and stay safe.
CARLTON JOHNSON Artist/Vendor
QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE Artist/Vendor
I love me
theforAdviceridingmetro
Now the minuscule mourning procession drew into the turnaround of a craftsman's house-made over into funeral repository. Ahead of us, the immense Cadillac Fleetwood hearse (jet-black, of course), disgorged the mahogany casket.
I drifted off to sleep with a faint whisper of my parents referring one last time to “Dear cousin Edith, last of her line.”
The Eastern DC-6 prop plane was a fitting chariot in March 1965, above the chilly fleece of a late winter morning. First time in my life aloft. Not particularly scared — the Dramamine would factor in later. There was surprisingly no turbulence headed down into Boston Logan, as my clever dad took me by the hand across the sweeping terrazzo concourse to a waiting jitney.
This is what I think makes us strong as a country and in the end, what makes us love America enough to love each other.
JACKIE TURNER Artist/Vendor
PHILLIP BLACK Artist/Vendor
Her hair was up, but no beret, alas. My dad walked me to the coffin’s edge. I knelt and mumbled a brief prayer. The organ music came up, and soon Dad and I were on our way back to the Copley Plaza. The clam chowder resonated on my tongue.
I'm starting this story about a friend that I used to know. I'm not going to say his name but he was a good friend of mine, and he was good to my mom, but he was one of the dirtiest people on the block. He always stayed dirty. He was a crackhead like I used to be. His house, where his father and grandfather lived, was raggedy as hell; the ceiling was falling in when it rained. And, there were rats that would run past. They had to use buckets for the toilet. It was terrible, and it was like that for years, and people were always talking about him, but one thing I can remember about him is that he had a great heart; he was blessed, and he loved the Lord, and he loved us; he looked out for my mom when I wasn't there, and when I got in trouble and couldn't be there for my mom. He used to go to the store for her to get what she needed and kept her company every day. I knew he was a good person. He had cancer, and I have cancer.
Also, if you ever lose your property, you can go to the lost and found. Some people will take things from you without you realizing it, and return it for a reward. It’s very sneaky.
The lion is not the tallest animal in the
To me, the United States is the best place in the world. We have a Constitution that welcomes people of all backgrounds, especially folks who are seeking rights and freedom.
Back in D.C. that night, my parents tucked me into my covers in my bed, and Dad serenely hummed an old World War I lullaby, “There’s a long, long road…”
Although this is the land of the free, it’s still a place where people struggle. In World War II, Japanese American families were split up and put into camps, separated and discriminated against.
He said come to me all of you And I will give you rest to Your Learnsoulofme and I will
The gun L. MORROW Artist/Vendor
To Earth from heaven
went to many more wars.
He gave the word command
To show us how to give To give with joy
Jesus said to live is to gain Jesus came from heaven to Earth
For there is none the better Concealed and now revealed
It’s only a matter of time before the gun travels to the moon. Maybe the next time we land on it?
All creation came forth Without blemish or fail Detailed to the letters
For the labor of those who believe in the Lord’s grace and mercy — one day a trumpet will be blown, and sinners and those who have lost their souls will know. For now, only the Lord knows the time and the date. There will be no escape, and on that day, their hands and feet will testify against them and their Lord. It will tell the truth, and you will know those who lied and those who tried and misled you.
Then again, man is naturally ungrateful. And some are hateful among those who will be disgraced when their deeds of good and evil are weighed. No one shall be wronged down. I believe in the highest God. I believe in this one thing. We are left on Earth for bad times. Mercy, mercy,
The reason for that is: People are people.
I know people will say: "I understand your pain."
She helps us on the hard days. She lets me know her love is unconditional.
The gun is a threat to all of us. The gun has taken control of our Congress, it has taken control of our air waves.
DON GARDNER Artist/Vendor
ROBERT WARREN Artist/Vendor
The gun killed many Native Americans before taking over the new world. The gun then
Give you peace in your heart
Jesus wants us to put him first And then to love one another He took our sins
The gun is in the present, in the year 2022. It goes to schools and malls. It rides in cars. It even has its own show, a gun show.
The master’s plan
That life is a door
The gun moved west in the New World; it almost killed off all of the buffalo. Standing in the gun’s way was the Native American. This time, the gun would be tested.
The master is in us all
Come to me and I will save your soul
Jesus came to Earth
The gun has the nation divided on who can have one and who can’t. The gun traveled to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2022. The gun was coming for democracy, ready to take it down.
People are people
But I know God will be there; I get Her, I understand Her and I feel Her joy.
To understand the reason why we know each other.
She forgives them all, because: People are people.
Jesus came to show us How to die and live again
When the gun came to the New World, it almost killed off the race of people that were here first. The gun enslaved many people in the New World. The gun was at the Boston Tea Party. The gun played a very important part in the American Revolutionary War; it also helped write the constitution of the United States of America. In fact, the gun killed one of my ancestors, the very first Black man to die in that war. His name is Crispus Attucks, and he died in 1776 in the Boston Commons in Massachusetts.
People are people; she knows how to help people.
And punishments on himself From heaven to Earth From Earth to the seas Jesus loves me
Not to see. Not to believe, not to hear the beauty of the true spoken word. Some say the serpent didn’t lie. But where in the word does it say that Eve ever died? And is it a lie that an innocent man should die for your sins?
KYM PARKER Artist/Vendor
To show us how to live Jesus came to Earth
Stretched with open arms
Mercy for me
To do what we do, and to understand why we hate.
The American gun does not discriminate. It takes the lives of the young and the old at any given time. The gun has affected many families across the country. The gun has taken some of the greatest leaders of our nation.
With you and me in mind
The master designed his plan
12 // STREET SENSE MEDIA // SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 ART
He is not a toy
To all who do believe No Howmattergreat or small
Wrapped in love
ROCHELLE WALKER Artists/Vendor
I will miss summer. I will also miss wearing my summer clothes. My cats Whiskers, Tabby and Midnight love to lay out in the early morning sun of summer, stretching their arms while bees buzz overhead and birds chirp. My cats love to drink cold water and they also love their cat food. My point is that fall is coming soon and you should enjoy summer while it lasts.
I know this autumn will be a fascinating time. It will be full of memories, surprise moments and wondrous experiences. I’m so ready for what this season will have in store for us. It’s also the time when the year begins to wrap up. Soon, we’ll be closing the chapter on the year 2022. Doesn’t it seem so soon?
We always ask our customers, “Do you like to see movies too?” And they usually say, “Yes.”
The colors of the fall in the morning are such a delight. I can already see the trees shaking their leaves and rejoicing. Hallelujah. The wind blowing love to each and everyone. The puffy bluegray clouds with moisture filling the air with a cool misty breeze. It is a welcome break from that sunny heat called summer.
Of all things, I mostly enjoyed the weather. It was great for walking and getting some exercise in, soaking in the sun and just enjoying nature. I’m really looking forward to autumn now. It is actually my daughter’s favorite season of the year. She loves the color of the trees and the different kinds of activities that occur during this time of year.
Did you know I've been at Street Sense for at least 10 years? Do you know my girlfriend Sybil and I have been together for at least 10 years? We met a decade ago on 19th St. NW. We both sell Street Sense on 19th St. or 20th St. NW. After we both sell our papers and make good money, we like to go see movies.
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 13
acomingSummertoclose
autumn!Hello,
Let’s enjoy this last month of summer before the leaves fall off from the trees in pretty orange and brown colors. More squirrels have been climbing trees as of late, and more birds have been chirping songs of joy. More importantly, the air is changing. It is not as hot as it was before.
EVELYN NNAM Artist/Vendor
It’s time for fall
BRIANNA BUTLER Artist/Vendor
A scene: A little girl in a lilac raincoat. She spins her fuschia-colored umbrella, laughing, dancing and having an amazing time. Water is dancing under and around her feet, wavering shimmers across the pavement. It sprinkles on her friends.
Suddenly, the water stops and the birds in the trees look around to see if the coast is really clear. They go flitting their wings and soar up to a high rise cliff. The most beautiful bird among them has a head of red feathers, a body of green and a purple underbelly. They are camouflaged on the side of a cliff. The birds chirp with each other after having lunch. They love the cool moisture of autumn. And they are already busy at work, getting ready for the hardships of winter.
If none of these ideas excite you, you can try some exercise. You could go for a brisk walk or a run. Play a sport or just relax in a park.
During this time of year, it’s important we reflect on what our mothers and grandmothers sacrificed during the fall to keep us clothed and warm in winter. We should be thankful for our families and think of them while we work — while raking green, yellow and orange leaves — and give thanks to our blessings. I’m enormously thankful for the fall harvests.
I love spending time with my daughter and seeing her enjoy this season. Autumn is a time of change, yes, I said it, change. It’s a transition to cooler weather, leaves changing, more rainy days. We’ll all need to adjust our clothes to keep ourselves warm on some of these more frigid days and
Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and enjoy the new season as it comes along. So much has happened this year but I am looking forward to autumn and enjoying every moment that comes along with it. I hope you all do too. Thank you for reading.
Summer was an exciting season to experience, wasn’t it? Summer isn’t over yet but we’re in those last few months. I tell ya, this year flew by me. So much went on and I must tell you guys that I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed going to the farmer’s market, buying vegetables and cool, fresh fruit to snack on.
The wharf is also beautiful this time of year. There’s a nice calm breeze that comes off the water, and it has all kinds of nice restaurants.
Let’s enjoy these last weeks of summer. Go out for a swim, head to the beach or an amusement park. Take a walk to the zoo and see the cheerful animals. The zookeeper does an amazing job, by the way.
Here are some recommended songs for your end of summer playlist: “Summer” by the band War and “Summer Madness” by Kool and the Gang.
DANIEL BALL Artist/Vendor
Some of our favorite movies are “New Jack City” and “Boyz in the Hood.” Thank you to Maria and Will for the writer's group. Sybil and I love the work you do.
I’ve been here a long time
SYBIL TAYLOR Artist/Vendor
14 // STREET SENSE MEDIA // SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 FUN GAMES& 9 4 1 7 5 1 6 2 5 4 8 3 7 9 7 2 1 8 6 3 3 2 8 6 8 3 9 7 4 2 5 6 9 1 4 5 Sudoku #4 7 2 6 3 9 1 7 3 4 5 5 1 4 2 1 5 7 8 2 3 9 4 6 2 8 6 3 9 1 4 3 6 2 9 8 4 2 5 3 3 2 6 5 1 4 4 8 5 6 2 8 8 3 9 7 6 6 4 9 5 3 2 1 7 8 7 4 5 1 5 8 9 7 7 1 6 9 7 8 Sudoku6#6 4 1 9 7 2 9 2 7 8 6 1 5 3 1 4 5 7 8 6 3 5 7 8 6 2 1 6 8 7 2 9 4 1 7 3 9 8 1 7 4 5 6 4 8 3 1 8 5 3 4 3 5 7 2 1 9 6 8 4 2 9 3 4 9 1 3 5 2 5 9 4 6 3 8 6 5 2 2 9 7 Sudoku3#86 1 5 4 1 4 9 2 7 6 5 2 1 9 8 1 6 2 5 9 3 4 1 7 2 8 5 9 8 4 1 3 7 2 2 5 6 1 6 3 5 2 4 2 8 9 7 5 8 7 6 3 4 3 8 4 7 9 3 5 6 2 8 3 1 7 4 6 5 9 6 9 7 4 3 8 1 7 9 8 << SOLUTIONPUZZLEEDITION’SLAST DOWN 1. Bread and ____ 2. Spill the ____ 3. Want some ____ with that 9 Down? 4. ____ of the crop 5. ____ of my eye 9. Say ____ (click) 10. Bring home the ____ 12. My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us ____s 14. Sing for your ____ 17. There’s no such thing as a free ____ 18. That was a piece of ____ 19. ____ for thought ACROSS 6 Not my cup of ____ 7 As sour as ____ 8 ____ in the sky 9 Cool as a ____ 11. Fine kettle of ____ 13. Have ____ on your face 14. Variety is the ____ of life 15. Couch ____ 16. Take with a grain of ____ 20. Like two ____ in a pod 21. That’s the way the ____ crumbles 22. Don’t get all ____ up on me THEOUTSIDECIRCLE listenwordsuniongrouppennysquadcorpspartybookstalkteamfoodmeetcrewgamenewsay communicateoverbearingcollaboratefellowshipcoordinatecommunityinclusioninterfacelearningthoughtfriendstroupelordlyconveyreaderwinnercircle by CAPTION CONTEST: submit your entry to bit.ly/huntcomic2022 DC LOCATION: ________________________________ Street Sense Media is partnering with local nonprofit Game Genius in their annual District Hunt. You can play too! One of the characters below betrayed the Commission of Vowels. Think you have what it takes to figure out who did it? Sign up to help solve the mystery. Use checkout code "SSM" to get a 50% discount and send proceeds to Street Sense Media! Go to givebutter.com/districthunt2022
SalazarGenius/RossnellyGameBy By Game Genius/Doug Kent
WilliamsonGenius/PeterGameBy
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/macys-metro
Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.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
All services listed are referral-free
2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE
Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento
Línea
Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., sashabruce.orgSE
Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org
Food Comida Health Care Seguro
D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org
Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal Showers Duchas Laundry Lavandería
Greet and assist customers in your assigned department. Use POS systems, assist inventory checks, ensure floor and fitting rooms are clean.
Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org
Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org
Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/chipotle-penn
Restaurant Team Member
Charlie’s Place // 202-929-0100 1820 Connecticut Ave., NW charliesplacedc.org
Community of Hope // communityofhopedc.org202-540-9857
Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 924 G St., catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelpNW
Bread for the City - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1700 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org
Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org
Last updated May 25, 2022
New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE
Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org
REQUIRED: 16+
Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org
Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org
doméstica
Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 2375marthastable.orgElvansRoad SE
SERVICESCOMMUNITY
Retail Sales Associate
Macy’s // 1201 G St NW
Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org
BOARDJOB
Overnight Grocery Team Member
STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG // 15
Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., samaritaninns.orgNW
So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org
REQUIRED: Must be able to lift 50 pounds.
APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/whole-foods-night
Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., georgetownministrycenter.orgNW
Línea directa violencia 1-800-799-7233
Whitman-Walker Health 1525 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org
HEALTHBEHAVIORALHOTLINE
The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., epiphanydc.org/thewelcometableNW.
Clothing Ropa Transportation Transportación
Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc) 219 Riggs Rd., foodandfriends.orgNE
REQUIRED: Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds.
Church of the Pilgrims // 202-387-6612 2201 P St., NW food (1-1:30 on Sundays only) churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org
directa de alojamiento (202) 399-7093
Stock products, handle invoices and overnight deliveries, provide customer service, maintain clean stations.
Full-time
Whole Foods Market // 101 H St SE
N Street Village // 202-939-2076 1333 N St., nstreetvillage.orgNW
Línea de juventud (202) 547-7777
Education Educación
Case Management Coordinación de Servicios
VIOLENCEDOMESTIC HOTLINE
Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 Eye St., fathermckennacenter.orgNW
Chipotle // 1001 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org
de
My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5261 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org
For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide
HOTLINEYOUTH
1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3946 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place NE, 810 5th Street NW, 850 Deleware Avenue SW, 65 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 4515 Edson Place NE
Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org
Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo
HOTLINESHELTER
Línea de salud del comportamiento 1-888-793-4357
Full-time/Part-time
Full-time
Prepare and cook food, wash dishes, address customer questions.
In 2016, I reached greater heights with my spirituality. I served as an intercessor for an international prayer line and was attending graduate school part-time. I was regularly going to my alma mater at Morgan State University every Saturday to drop off my grandson to a “SEMA” program. The program stands for Science, Engineer, Math and Technology.
If I could stop time
JOHN
At the time, I was working at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The days and nights were sunny and looking back, I feel as though I had attained a sense of peace then like never I had before. From where I am standing now, my future also looks bright.
ALLEY Artist/Vendor
MICHELE ROCHON Artist/Vendor
I would’ve stopped it in 2016. It was when my third grandchild was born. There was just a certain fullness I felt within myself that year. You see, for a long time before then, I felt an emptiness inside me. But during this year, I found a way to fill it.
SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2022 From your vendor, Thank you for reading Street Sense! NO CASH? NO PROBLEM. WE HAVE AN APP! SEARCH “STREET SENSE” IN THE APP STORE
