StreetSense_forWeb_6.9.10

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

Where the poor and homeless June 9 - 22, 2010

earn and give their two cents

D STE GE ON G I S U N AT DO

Volume 7 Issue 16

The Prophet of the BubbleBurst

65 cents for the Vendor

35 cents for production of the paper

The Annual Homeless Count Results Suprise Page 4

See page 6

Street Sense Reviews “Land of the Lost Souls�

Page 12

See Page 4

H20 Program Integrates Homeless Children Page 10

2

June 9 - 22, 2010

Our Mission

S treetS ense.org

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

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

Order a subscription today!

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

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

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

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

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

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space.

In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 status, becoming a nonprofit organization.

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

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

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

As of January 2010 the paper had 72 active vendors and prints about 30,000 issues a month.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. I agree to stay a block away from another vendor and respect the space of all vendors.

9. I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge and wear my vest when selling papers.

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

1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 347–2006 Fax: (202) 347–2166 info@streetsense.org www.streetsense.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lisa Estrada Ted Henson Brad Scriber Michael Stoops Manas Mohaptra Sommer Mathis Kristal DeKleer Robin Heller Jeffery McNeil Jordan Rummel John Snellgrove Dameon Philpotts EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Abby Strunk EDITOR–IN–CHIEF Mary Otto ONLINE/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Lisa V. Gillespie VENDOR MANAGER Gregory Martin INTERNS Mary Yost, Jon Howell, Eric Falquero Founders Ted Henson & Laura Thompson Osuri

We are proud members of:

North American Street Newspaper Association

International Network of Street Papers

VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Robert Basler, Robert Blair, Jane Cave, Katie Edson, Robert Fulton, Jane Goforth, Cassandra Good, Joanne Goodwin, Roberta Haber, Erica Hall, Annie Hill, Dan Horner, Phillip Hoying, Maurice King, Brenda K. Lee-Wilson, Kim O’Connor, Gabriel Okolski, Michael O’Neill,, Katinka Podmanickzy, Sarah Birnie, Diane Rusignola, Jesse Smith, Denise Wilkins, Marian Wiseman

VENDORS Charles Armstrong, Jake Ashford, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Donna Barber, Cyril Belk, Kenneth Belkosky, Tommy Bennett, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Emily Bowe, Andre Brinson, Melody Byrd, Cliff Carle, Percy Carter, Peggy Cash, Conrad Cheek, Virginia Clegg, Aaron Conner, Anthony Crawford, Louise Davenport, Charles Davis, James Davis, David Denny, Ricardo Dickerson, Muriel Dixon, Alvin Dixon-El, Roger Dove, Charles Eatmon, Deanna Elder, Richard Embden, James Featherson, Craig Fleming, Samuel Fullwood, Roger Garner, David Ger, Barron Hall, Dwight Harris, John Harrison, Patricia Henry, Shakaye Henry, Phillip Howard, James Hughes, Richard Hutson, Margaret Jenkins, Carlton Johnson, Donald Johnson, Alicia Jones, Mark Jones, Clinton Kilpatrick, Hope Lasister, Brenda Lee-Wilson, Michael Lyons, Jonnie Malloy, Kina Mathis, John Matthews, John C. Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Herman Mayse, Robert McCray, Marvin McFadden, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Kenneth Middleton, L. Morrow, Tyrone Murray, Charles Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Franklin Payne, Edward Perry, Gregory Phillips, Tracey Powell, Ash-Shaheed Rabbil, Ed Ross, Melania Scott, Chris Shaw, Ronald Simms, Veda Simpson, Patty Smith, Gwynette Smith, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, James Stewart, Garland Stroman, Leroy Studevant, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Paul Taylor, Steve Thomas, Larissa Thompson, Deborah Tibbs, Carl Turner, Christopher Walker, Jeanette Walker, Joseph Walker, Martin Walker, Robert Warren, Lawless Watson, Paul Watson, Gregory Wells, Michael Welsh, Edna Williams, Wendell Williams, Susan Wilshusen, Ivory Wilson, and Charles Woods, and Tina Wright.

S treetS ense.org Salvation Army Homeless Shelter Celebrates 20th Anniversary A shelter run through the Salvation Army in Fort Worth, Texas, is ringing in its 20th anniversary this month, the Star-Telegram reports.

The Mabee Center serves as a shelter for both men and women and offers financial assistance programs, a food pantry and transitional programs. Annually, it gives more than 2,500 people a place to sleep and serves 165,000 meals.

To commemorate the milestone, Gen. Shaw Clifton, who is based in London and oversees the Salvation Army’s work in 121 countries, will join National Cmdr.

Israel Gaither for a ceremony.

“It is a privilege and a special honor to have these gentlemen join us,” said Pat Patey, a Salvation Army spokesman, to the Star-Telegram.

World Cup Host City Braces for Surge in Homelessness Social workers in South Africa worry that those flocking to the country with the hope of getting a temporary job from the World Cup facilities may wind up homeless, news.sky.com reports.

“It’s already happening,” said Richard Dala, manager of the Haven Shelter for the homeless in Cape Town.

“People are coming even before the World Cup starts to try to find jobs.”

There are 90 beds in the Haven Shelter, most of which

June 9 - 22, 2010 are already full. The World Cup surge of unemployed men and women highlights the larger issue of poverty and homelessness in the region.

“We’re going to have to put mattresses on the floor soon,” Dala said.

Now, those that have spent months, or even years, searching for stable housing and employment are finding it even more difficult with the influx of people.

Hawaii’s Plan to Reduce Homelessness Includes One-Way Ticket Hawaiian officials are pondering a controversial plan to help decrease homelessness on the island. The plan would provide homeless individuals with a one-way ticket back to their home state to be reunited with family, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports.

“I think it’s good for those who want to go back home,” said David O’Brien, a Texas native. But O’Brien added that he likes living in Hawaii and fears that the prospects of a job in his home state are no better. “I don’t have the slightest answer to what you do with someone who does not want to go to any other place than this beach.”

The one-way ticket plan, among other plans to reduce homelessness, has been proposed before.

Number of Homeless Individuals Increases in Flint, Mich.

The number of homeless individuals in Flint, Mich., jumped 37 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to

WHTC radio. Almost 3,000 people were homeless in Flint in 2009, up about 800 from the prior year.

Two nonprofit agencies said the number may be attributed to more outreach efforts and better accounting of homeless men and women.

NYC Drops Plan to Charge Shelter Residents Rent New York City has abandoned a plan to charge the working homeless rent at area shelters, the New York Times reports.

Slated to begin in September, working residents will be required to set aside part of their income into a savings account that they can access once they move out of the shelter.

“This plan will make it easier for homeless families to move into permanent housing with savings in the bank,” said State Senator Daniel L. Squadron to the New York Times.

Under a 1997 state law, the city had the right to charge rent to homeless families, but it wasn’t until last spring that the city began enforcing it. The decision was attacked by homeless advocates who said that during a recession and a time of high unemployment was not the time to enforce this. Advocates say they are pleased with the new savings account plan.

Compiled by Dianna Heitz from previously published reports.

3

4

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

The Count Marches On Report indicates that attention needs to be given to chronic and unsheltered homeless individuals

By Mary Yost, editorial intern Photo by Jon Howell

High housing costs and the increasing unemployment rate caused experts to predict that the number of homeless individuals in the metropolitan area would have increased in 2009. A report about the annual point-in-time enumeration found that the number of homeless individuals decreased by 1.7 percent from 2009 in the D.C. region.

“On January 27, the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness called us and asked us how many people are in our shelters and our longer-term program for homeless youth to obtain the information about the number of children our organization serves,” said Jim Beck, development director at Sasha Bruce Youthwork.

The numbers from this organization and other nonprofits throughout the metropolitan area, including nine counties in Virginia, Maryland and the District, were compiled and placed in the report issued by the Metropolitan Council of Governments on May 12. These numbers provide the public and policymakers with a one-‐day “snapshot” of the region’s homeless population.

“We’re counting people who are in shelters, transitional programs and other programs that are specifically dedicated to providing services to the homeless,” said Michael Ferrell, chairman of the Homeless Service Committee and executive director of the D.C. Coalition for the Homeless.

Those living in permanent, supportive housing are not counted as currently homeless in the enumeration.

“We also attempt to count the unsheltered homeless, which is the most challenging aspect of the enumeration,” Ferrell said. “We have hundreds of volunteers go to places that we know people who are homeless frequent, but we cannot count who we cannot see or who we are not aware of.”

The report stated that D.C. experienced an increase in the number of homeless individuals, counting 6,228 people as homeless, including 800 families.

Unlike the District, the metropolitan area saw a decline in the number of homeless individuals counted in 2010 from 2009, counting 11,774 people as homeless. “People are generally of the mind that the numbers might have increased, but there are a couple of primary reasons why we did not see an increase,” Ferrell said. “The Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), a federal stimulus fund, was used for prevention efforts, which helped curb the potential increase in the number of homeless individuals.”

HUD spokesperson Brian Sullivan said Congress created HPRP to provide HUD with the resources to focus on preventing homelessness.

The Department of Community Development and the Department of Human Services are using

the $7.5 million that the District received to provide financial assistance, housing counseling and legal services to the District’s residents who are struggling to afford housing costs. A total of $1.04 million is dedicated to homelessness prevention and $2.4 million is dedicated to providing rapid rehousing services. The report states that the District utilized HPRP funds to rehouse 25 homeless individuals and families and to prevent 200 individuals and families from becoming homeless.

“HPRP funds are intended to provide a resource that will get people over the hump that is in their way of stable housing,” Sullivan said.

The HPRP funds may have contributed to the slight decrease of homeless individuals counted in the metropolitan area, Sullivan said. “We like to think that this program is making a real difference on the streets across America.” The full extent of the program’s impact cannot be determined until the three-year program expires.

Another factor that may have contributed to the decrease of homeless individuals in the metropolitan area is that more permanent, supportive housing units were created. In the region, 6,739 formerly homeless individuals live in these units, which is a 30 percent increase from 2009, Ferrell said. These individuals are not counted as currently homeless in the enumeration.

The enumeration revealed that more attention should be given to unsheltered and chronically homeless individuals, according to David Pirtle, a

recipient of a Section 8 housing voucher. Pirtle, 35, became homeless at age 29 when he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a disease that made it difficult for him to maintain a job and afford rent.

There are 2,097 chronically homeless individuals in the District, including 347 individuals who are unsheltered and 1,710 individuals who live in emergency and winter shelters. The report also counted 457 “literally homeless” individuals, who

Continue on Page 5

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

Continued from page 4 live on the streets.

“If we are focused on housing while the numbers of unsheltered and chronically homeless individuals are increasing, then that should be a red flag that there is a problem,” Pirtle said.

As of March 31, 2010, the District has only spent 7.75 percent, or $580,284, of their HPRP grant, below the national average of 18 percent. Pirtle thinks the District should use the remainder of this grant in a balanced manner to both prevent homelessness and address immediate needs of homeless individuals.

“You cannot only focus on housing,” he said.

“There also needs to be a focus on prevention because, if there is only a focus on housing, for every one person helped, another two will need to receive assistance. It’s a three-legged stool. You need to simultaneously focus on prevention, housing needs and emergency shelter to address homelessness.”

The Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee recommends that each of the region’s Continua of Care jurisdictions discern how to sustain their funds once federal funds expire so services can be maintained.

It is especially important to discern how to maintain funding for these programs because the scope of homelessness is larger than the report says it is, Pirtle said. “The point-in-time counts are always very low,” he said. “It is hard to count the literally homeless because their mission is to not be found by people. This year I was lucky because I found a homeless man who helped us find other homeless individuals on the night of the count.”

Pirtle was an unsheltered homeless individual during the first few years of his homelessness. He traveled from Arizona to New York City in hopes of having his needs met by the services provided there. “I didn’t know what to do when I got to New York City,” Pirtle said. “There’s no starter’s manual for homelessness.”

While there, he slept outside an abandoned building because he disliked spending time in a shelter with large numbers of people. One night while he was asleep, Pirtle was attacked by a group of teenagers with a bat. “This type of violence happens a lot to homeless people,” Pirtle said. “Teenagers sometimes do it just for the fun of it.”

After spending six months in New York City, Pirtle hopped on a train bound for Washington, D.C., where he found there was less space and resources

We cannot count who we cannot see or who we are not aware of.

-Jim Beck, development direct, Asha Bruce Youthwork

allocated to deal with homelessness than in New York.

“I became all of the stereotypes that accompany the word ‘homeless,’” Pirtle said. “I would walk on the other side of the street from me.”

Pirtle lived on the streets for one year until he was arrested for stealing candy bars from museums on the National Mall. “I was lucky that I got arrested,” Pirtle said. “For the first time, someone noticed that I needed help.”

Pirtle received help in December 2006 when he was one of 25 applicants who received a Section 8 housing voucher that allows him to pay one-third of his income for rent while the government pays the rest. Pirtle can move to any location where the landlord will accept his voucher.

“I was lucky to receive a voucher because over 6,000 people applied,” Pirtle said. He now resides in a city-subsidized housing unit in Southeast D.C., and advocates for the rights of homeless individuals with the National Coalition for the Homeless. He also volunteers his time to serve homeless individ-

D.C. residents interested in accessing HPRP funds should contact one of the following partner organizations to determine their eligibility: Catholic Charities Southeast Family Center 220 Highway Place, SE 202-574-3472 Community of Hope 413 Girard Street, NW 202-232-7356 1616 7th Street, NW 202-232-0538 Housing Counseling Services 2410 17th Street, NW 202-667-7007 Virginia Williams Family Resource Center 920 Rhode Island Avenue, NW 202-479-2845 uals and participates in the annual point-in-time enumeration.

“When I was a teenager, I had some stereotypes about homeless individuals,” Pirtle said. “I don’t want you to find out the hard way, like I did, that these stereotypes are not true. I want you to remember that there is someone like me on the inside of every homeless individual that needs a little help.”

5

6

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

Baking Up Answers

By Ted Henson, board member Economist Dean Baker is co-founder and co-director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic Policy Research, a progressive think tank dedicated to the study of economic and social problems and to the education of the public about issues at the center of major policy debates. Baker is the author of several books including “Taking Economics Seriously” (MIT Press) and his analyses have appeared in numerous major publications. Recently, Street Sense co-founder Ted Henson met Baker for an interview about everything from the impact of the nation’s mortgage crisis to the dilemma of homelessness to the long journey out of the recession. Here is a sampling of that interview.

Street Sense: When Street Sense began in 2003, homeless individuals were marginalized in many ways and not covered in the daily press. The foreclosure crisis has changed that.

On May 31, the New York Times had an article on people who stopped paying their mortgages, which are worth way more than the actual value of their home, and decided to instead spend their money on their businesses, making ends meet, etc. What would you say to people who are facing foreclosure or who are underwater in their mortgages, and the bank is unwilling to work with them on modifying their loan or lowering their rate?

Should they stop paying their mortgage and walk away?

Baker: People do have to recognize that there is a cost if you do decide to walk away because it hurts your credit rating if you want to buy a home again in three or four years. It’s going to be hard to buy a car or to

borrow money to get a car. There’s definitely going to be a cost to that. So I wouldn’t suggest that people be cavalier on it. On the one hand, you have this moral worldview that we should honor our contracts.

At the same time, you have this business worldview. Now, the businesses are playing by the business worldview.

I think people should approach their mortgages as a business proposition. What the contract says is that if you don’t pay the mortgage, they get the house. If you are following the law and the law is that if you don’t pay your mortgage, they can go to court and say that they are taking the house back from you, then you’ve followed through on the terms of the contract. In many circumstances, what you might be paying on the mortgage far exceeds what you’d pay in rent for a comparable place.

If you owe much more than what the house is worth or might be worth in the foreseeable future, then it might very well make sense to walk away from it.

Street Sense: You have been advocating for some time now on passing legislation that would allow people facing foreclosure the right to rent their house from the bank at a fair market value. Could you describe how this strategy is better than forcing banks to modify loans through lower interest rates or lowering the principal amounts, as is being encouraged through the Making Homes Affordable program?

Baker: That strategy is not better in any and all cases. I don’t think that all loan modification programs are bad. But the issues you have to look at are who is getting the money at the end of the day, what it looks like for the homeowner and what it looks like for the bank. If you have a modi-

fication where the homeowner is still paying more on their mortgage than they pay to rent a comparable unit and they’re not likely to end up with equity in their home, then whatever the government has put up there really is money to the bank and not to the homeowner. If, on the other hand, you are getting a real principal write-down, the person has a reasonable hope of having equity and they are paying something comparable to what they’d pay to rent a similar unit, then that’s a good thing.

In terms of the right to rent, there are a few things that it does. Right away, it gives people housing security. There is the presumption that you have to be able to pay market rent, but in many of the areas there is a huge difference between what people might be paying on a mortgage and what would be the market rent for a comparable unit.

The right to rent is also a great bargaining chip because you’ve immediately handed a great stick to the homeowner that says the bank cannot just throw them out on the street. For the bank, foreclosure is now a much less attractive option.

Finally, the right to rent prevents the downward spiral that we see in many communities where you get vacancies that bring down the property values because they aren’t kept up, are drug houses or whatever it might be. The programs helps to keep the homes occupied, which is something that is very valuable. So, I think that it’s a way of doing three very useful things immediately. If you change the law, it can help everyone in the jurisdiction. It can be done at the state level and a lot of states are already considering it.

Street Sense: So much of this conversation has been focused on how to help homeowners. Have we gone too far down

the road of pushing homeownership at the expense of housing policies, i.e. rent control or affordable housing?

Baker: Yes, absolutely. People keep saying that it’s the American Dream. That’s fine if people have that dream, but I think that the policy should be focused on giving people good housing and recognize that we are going to have a lot of renters. If you look through this whole bubble period, we started back in the early 1990’s with about 64 percent ownership rates and we peaked in 2006 at around 69.7 percent. So, even at the peak, we had over 30 percent of households who were renters. Going from 64 percent to 69 percent was a big change in the scheme of things. But, you still had more than 30 percent being renters. So, if we have a policy that says “if you are a renter you are no one,” that’s a large chunk of the population that we are writing off. So, I think what we have to do is recognize that we’re always going to have a large number of renters.

For a lot of people, it makes sense to rent because they are in unstable family situations or unstable employment situations.

Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to spend all of the money associated with buying a home because of all the transactions costs, the closing fees, etc...and then, you know, to be in a situation where you might be selling two or three years later. That’s just a waste. So it makes perfect sense for these people to be renters. And we should make it so that renting is a good housing option and not “you’re a second class citizen.”

Street Sense: As an economist, what are the main causal factors that you see behind the growing epidemic of homelessness?

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

7

PHOTOs by jon howell

Economist Dean Baker shares thoughts on what went wrong & how to fix it

Baker: I think that there are two major factors going on. One is on the income side.

You’ve had a deterioration in income for people with less education. They haven’t exclusively suffered, but basically people without college degrees have been falling behind for the last 30 years. They are much less likely to have substantial savings. Even during the years that they are working, they are unlikely to have substantial savings.

So, if they get a setback, such as an illness that keeps them from working, or they get laid off, they are much more vulnerable because they don’t have money sitting in the bank. It’s a family situation, too. They’re less likely to have a friend or relative who can lend them money because the people they hang out with are also going to be in the same situation. So, I think that you have a lot more people living much closer to the edge.

The other part of the story is that you’ve had a run up, which is particularly true in the bubble years, in housing prices. In many areas in inner cities, land has become much more valuable. So the idea of using it for transitional housing, something that would be a relatively low-valued commercial proposition, it’s much less appealing.

You have developers who are going to want to fight and say, “No, we want this land to put up condos.” That’s certainly been the story in D.C. where you have seen that.

You’ve had a lot of areas that might have offered relatively low-cost housing options but are now empty. But they are still very expensive condos, or at least they are trying to sell them for very high prices.

Street Sense: It seems like there could be more policy solutions to bring in affordable housing if that’s really what we valued.

Baker: Right. People talk about this being the market. Let’s say that you have someone who is in the 33 percent tax bracket and they have a million-dollar home and an $800,000 mortgage on it. Say they are paying 6 percent a year interest. So, you’re paying almost $50,000 a year in interest and you are writing off $17,000 a year on your taxes.

So, imagine we had an idea where we wanted the government to subsidize lowincome units at the rate of $17,000 a unit,.

People would go nuts. But how about onetenth of that? The idea that maybe we should have some subsidy here shouldn’t be so outrageous. But when it gets thrown out there politically, people just jump up and down because the subsidies for higher-end housing are less transparent - or at least people don’t realize that they are there - but they are very,very real.

Street Sense: In past periods of great economic turmoil, leaders have often promoted sweeping progressive reforms and legislation. During the Great Depression, the New Deal gave rise to massive public works projects, labor reform that lead to a dramatic increase in unionization, Social Security and other reforms.

In the 1960’s was the Great Society, which led to Medicare and Medicaid, and most notably, the War on Poverty, which spawned many programs, including food stamps, Head Start, Job Corps and the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). Over the past two years we have seen a collapse in the financial system.

The housing bubble has decimated individual wealth and sent millions of homes into foreclosure.

State and local budgets are hemorrhaging which is resulting in a severe contraction in social safety net spending. Why

have we not seen a similar scope of sweeping reform as we saw in the ‘30s and the ‘60s—even though Democrats have had huge majorities in Congress—particularly on jobs, labor reform, a public option in the health care bill and continuation of the stimulus? Have we moved too far to the right?

Baker: It is interesting. I often wonder what would have happened had McCain been elected rather than Obama because I think Obama has been a force stemming more action from the left. I think part of it is that there really is disarray on the left side of the spectrum in the sense that…I don’t think that many people feel confident that we know what to do. You go back to the ‘30s, and…I think labor was better positioned going into that that.

And you had the Communist Party which was an important force in a lot of these movements, especially union organizing. So you still had that tradition.

Whereas right now I think that there is this real kind of disarray, like, “What is the progressive position?” I think there’s a lack of three things. One, a lack of organization.

Two, not a clear idea of where we want to be going because I don’t think that there’s any type of consensus. And three, the whole lack of confidence.

Street Sense: What do you see as our most pressing policy priorities to continue our trek out of the recession?

Baker: Getting back to something close to full employment really should be the first priority. My personal favoriteis the workshare program because it is successful and relatively cheap in the scheme of things. Germany and the Netherlands have effective workshare programs.

The idea is that if we can’t increase output enough to fully employ people, at least not quickly, then why don’t we have everyone work fewer hours so that everyone can be working. The joke I make about this is that here in the United States we’re experiencing the downturn with double digit unemployment, and in Germany they are experiencing it with shorter work weeks and longer vacations. You can talk about having a society where your income isn’t dependent on employment, but realistically we’re not there and we’re not likely to be there any time soon. People are dependent on their jobs for their income, and in many cases, their self-respect or their self-esteem. Again, maybe they shouldn’t be, but they are. So I think that whatever we can do to get back to full employment quickly should be the top priority.

Street Sense: You predicted the housing bubble in 2002. Why did so many other economists miss it?

Baker: I think that it’s a few things. One is that there is remarkably little independent thought among economists. There are very few people who feel confident enough in their views to sort of say, “Oh, here’s something out in the world that’s a big deal,” because they are looking at what the other person, who they think is very well respected, is saying.

They don’t want to say something that’s very different from what that person is saying. I’m sure that happens in every profession, but I think that clearly happens a great deal among economists.

8

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

Above: Blown Glass by Dale Chihuly

Kennedy Center entrance Photo by: Jon Howell

Photo by: Jon Howell

China Disabled Peoples Performing Art Troupe Photo Courtesy of the Artist

S treetS ense.org

Above: Dagipoli Dance Company

June 9 - 22, 2010

Photo Courtesy of Artist

Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company Photo Courtesy of the Artist

This week the Kennedy Center is featuring the 6th annual International VSA Festival. The VSA is the International Organization on Arts and Disability, and has encouraged interaction between disabled individuals and the arts for 35 years. I had the good fortune on Sunday of sitting in on a few performances by the disabled artists featured in this year’s festival, thanks to VSA communications and outreach manager, Laura Broom. In between performances Broom was gracious enough to speak with me about the festival.

“Their disabilities describe them (the artists),” said Broom, “but they do not define them.” She went on to say that when people view the art and performances by these extraordinary individuals there is often an “ah-ha moment” when the viewer discovers that the artist is disabled.

I have to say that I am a very open minded person when it comes to disabilities, but I too had several “ah-ha moments” during my visit to the Kennedy Center. The upstairs visual arts exhibit blew me away the most. The photographs and sculptures were brilliant by any standards, and when I read the captions and discovered that the exhibit was created by the visually impaired I was shocked. As a photographer I know what it takes to put together a successful image and these artists where producing phenomenal images with little to no sight at all. For art lovers this event is a must see and will continue through Saturday the 12th. Best of all, it’s free.

9

10

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

photos by jon Howell

H20 Program: Striving to Quench Social Disparity Top right, program director David Curtis passes out snacks during an afternoon program at the Boys and Girls club of the greater D.C. area.

Top, during scheduled free time, Rayquon Blakeney lines up to hit the cue ball while playing pool with some friends at the Boys and Girls club.

Program offers low-income youth opportunities for fun activities

By J. Deveaux, volunteer In spite of financial problems of its own, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington are pressing forward with new efforts to help poor children with the Hope to Opportunity Program (H2O).

“It helps gives the kids a sense of belonging,” said David Curtis, program director for the clubs. “It shows them that people care about them.”

Monica Phillips, Department Regional Director of BGCGW on Benning Road, said H2O helps homeless children integrate into a population of their peers. “Our programs help give the kids a structure so that no one feels alienated,” Phillips said. “Our programs focus on helping the kids build self -confidence and have fun with kids their own age.”

A busing program helps bring kids from Hyde Park Junior High to the Benning Road location where a learning center with new computers donated by Microsoft is currently under construction.

In addition to helping children, the H2O initiative

also offers help to parents trying to work their way out of homelessness, said Eric Liley, BGCGW’s vice president of marketing and communications.

“The Boys and Girls Club offers enrichment classes for H20 participants’ parents,” Liley said. “The kids are provided healthy snacks and play activities, freeing up their parents time to look for betterment.”

According to Liley, most of the programs that the boys and girls participate in run from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., Wednesday through Friday. Along with that, BGCGW has a summer sleepover program named Camp Brown, which provides all the same facilities and programs that are a part of BGCGW. “The five core values of the Boys and Girls Club are character and leadership, education and career, health and life skills, sport fitness recreation and the arts,” Phillips said. All of the programs in BGCGW help emphasize some area of these core values.

Last year, BGCGW, which has a long history of helping poor children, was facing the closure and sale of clubhouses and staff layoffs in the face of a $7 million deficit.

Under a purchase agreement finalized earlier this year, the District helped keep the endangered youth clubs open and running. These clubs serve over 15,000 young people and adults.

Inclusion is not spelled out in the five areas of focus that Phillips notes, but it is a part of everyday life for the children that use the facilities of BGCGW on Benning Road.

S treetS ense.org

Will Write For Food Writers’ Group

June 9 - 22, 2010

meets every Wednesday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Street Sense office.

Reggie’s Reflections

By Reginald Black

In our lives there are people we hold to the highest regard. While reading these pieces, try thinking of people who have been a fatherly influence in your life.

My Father Smile

by Robert Warren

My father smile, I keep smiling all the time. My father smile, l keep thinking when will I see that smile of minds. My father smile, I keep seeing it in my little girl's smiling eyes. My father smile, I keep a smile that says, “I love you.” My father smile, I know some would say nonchalantly this is true. My father smile, l keep trying to save the world with a smile if it will help you. My father smile, I keep believing in the Lord’s plan to see me through. My father smile, l keep a picture in my mind every time I think of you. My father smile, l keep remembering the wild juvenile I used to be gazing at the stars, walking the streets looking, for my father’s smile to see.

My father smile, I keep leaving behind the big wall where my father used to be. My father smile, I kept it as he smiled at me, telling me I'm tough and tough boys don't cry. My father smile, l keep smiling at his funeral as I close my eyes never shed a tear, tough boys don't cry. My father smile, I keep hoping he with the Lord smiling down on me. My father smile as l keep living to go home one day to see.

Robert is a member of The People for Fairness Coalition.

Contact: Robertwarren47@yahoo.com.

Drosselmeyer

by David Rubin

Father’s day reminds of a horse, Pose for the Belmont triple crown, Sown by the father the enthusiast, Drosselmeyer the winner being sown, New Amsterdam is synonymous to immigration profess, Where father's own life drawn.

David volunteers and is writing his own novel.

Contact: stonepotts2000@yahoo.com.

Learn good writing fromLee McAuliffe Rambo. 35 years as a print and broadcast journalist working for media outlets in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and the District.

I was really feeling like a star. Who would have thought a homeless person would be asked for his autograph?

I was still reeling off my night of stardom when I encountered the manager again. She needed help that day. Being fairly new, she was unsure of exactly what she was expected to do. She asked the questions and I answered. We hung out for a little while longer and she took me to McDonald’s before dropping me off at a nearby metro station. I couldn’t help but think about her. My mind was a total wreck. I wanted one after another. There were female customers and co-workers, but no one I could really date. Was this normal? I thought. I felt as if my heart was floating. Did that make me a floater? More importantly what was a floater? If there was such a classification where there more people out there feeling the same way? The answer still puzzles me till this day.

Reggie hosts the Writer's Goup Meetings.

Contact: Rblackstreetreporter@gmail.com

His Servant

by Reginald Black

As I look I see him struggle.

He must love me, because he praises me with all his muscle.

I will catch him if he should stumble.

I love his ways which are most humble.

Giving away my word about the poor.

Doing what he can and much much more.

I need him at my back.

Look at him, so strong with his worship.

I love how he loves me; keep my teachings holy.

I will never forsake him, for he strives to get to know me.

The Writers’ Group is preparing to recite original poetry for at least one church group this fall. If you’re interested, join us at our weekly meeting, Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Active participation in the group is a requirement for performing.

Production, Hosting, Layout and Support: Patty Smith, Reginald Black The Writer's Group needs laptops; email: info@streetsense.org if you can help

11

12

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

BOOK REVIEW

Cadillac Man Welcomes You Into His World

By Lisa Leone, volunteer I fell into this book -- fell flat on my face onto the sidewalks of New York City.

Each page was a step alongside Cadillac Man as he introduced me to his friends, showed me the "street" way and relayed tales by people he had met. On occasion, he even told me a little bit about how he got where he was.

The emotion in this book is raw. Cadillac Man's earnestness in sharing his sorrow, joy, shame, pride, grief and love makes the book impossible to put down even as you wish you could look away.

The unapologetically vivid stories and emotions are conveyed through pages of dialogue and moments when Cadillac Man directly addresses the reader.

“There in your world, you’ve got a lot of restrictions," Cadillac Man tells the reader, whose life situation he contrasts with the freedom of homeless life. "You need a job to stay inside, otherwise you come and join me out here. ...You got to answer to somebody, right? ... Not that I’m trying to glamorize homelessness, because it does have its bad points, but to me the beauty is there were no pressures.”

Cadillac Man, Caddy to friends, is a "good man": Honest and caring, he appreciates his street family and does what he can to protect them. It seems to be his way of atoning for what he could not provide his family before his life on the streets. He talks to these comrades in a way he could never talk to his wife.

In a particularly self-aware observation during one of the closing chapters of the book, Cadillac Man posits that communication with friends and people around him might have prevented him from reaching the streets.

“Part of the problem back then, I really didn’t have anybody to talk to besides my wife. If I had maybe one other person come over to me and say, 'hey,

you need to snap out of this shit,' to give me one word of encouragement, maybe things would be different.” The pressure of not living up to what his wife wanted, and what he wanted to be, was one of the forces driving Cadillac Man’s move to the streets.

His story is a lot like many we have heard and seen: he was on the right track, providing for his family, but then he got laid off from a great job unexpectedly.

His subsequent jobs did not seem to be enough and they too ended, leaving him with few alternatives.

But Cadillac Man was far from lazy.

Every day on the streets he worked to take care of himself and his street family, scouring neighborhoods for recyclables and redeeming cans for cash. He even went back to working for a while before that fell apart. He confesses, “After so many disappointments, how much can you take before you break? 'That’s it,' I said, 'enough is enough.'”

Cadillac Man comes across the pages as a person who will hold you while you cry but threaten you with an ice pick if you start trouble. He is fiercely loyal and willing to sacrifice himself for the happiness of those he loves. “Word is bond,” he says, and he always follows through. A long, heartfelt chapter explores Cadillac Man’s relationship with, and mentorship of, a young girl new to the streets, and is the heart of the book.

It shows that someone so weathered can still be gentle. He also dedicates a chapter to Old Man, who he knows is

hurting and hopeless. After Cadillac Man helps Old Man get back on his feet after a bout of despair, Old Man thanks Cadillac Man and says he feels a lot better. “But his eyes were saying, 'I want to go home, where we all want to be, to a place that will accept us for what we are, our home in the Land of Lost Souls,” Cadillac Man observes. This is not just a book about feelings. It is about the hardships and the harsh realities facing all homeless people, from abuse to mental health issues to death on freezing nights.

The book occasionally can be confusing, as it is written in a stream-of-consciousness style and does not observe a chronological timeline, instead highlighting important times in Cadillac Man's life. The stream-of-consciousness style suits the material, however; and despite the introduction's warning that the reader might find misspellings or nonsensical passages, this is not the case.

The book reads as it should –– as an honest and soul-baring account of one life that has impacted many, as we all hope our lives will do. As difficult as it can be to face the realities of homeless life presented in "Land of the Lost Souls: My Life on the Streets," its lessons about humanity cannot be ignored.

Cadillac Man (2009). Land of the Lost Souls: My Life on the Streets. Bloomsbury USA. 17 March 2009. ISBN 978-159691-406-3

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

1

8

2

1

9 2 3

7

3

4

8 2

2

5

9 8

7

9

5

5

6

6

8

9

1

3

2

2

5

7

4

1

9

2 1 5 7 4 6 8 3

3 1 7 4 5 9 8 2 6

5 8 2 3 6 1 7 9 4

4 6 9 7 2 8 1 3 5

1 7 4 2 3 5 9 6 8

6 9 8 1 4 7 3 5 2

2 5 3 9 8 6 4 1 7 Photo by Lawrence Howard

4

3

9

Two great Danes enjoy a spring day near Chinatown.

8

Street Sense Photo of the Week

7

Sometimes Ya Feel Like a Nut, Sometimes Ya Don’t

7

Answers

9

13

14

S treetS ense.org

June 9 - 22, 2010

Vendor Profile

Creating a Bridge for Himself

By Mandy Toomey, volunteer “When you’re down and out When you’re on the street When evening falls so hard I will comfort you.”

These words from the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” originally performed

by Simon and Garfunkel, provide comfort to Roger Dove, a D.C. native. Dove h a s s e e n t h e c i t y m ov e through the gentrification process, pushing poor people of all races into the suburbs, onto the streets or crammed into multiple family housing situations.

In November 2009, Dove felt his life beginning to unravel because he faced a series of hardships including the destruction of his laptop, which was the hub of his income generation, and a difficult relationship with his wife. “I felt a

deep sense of hurt and pain,” Dove said. “This song reaches through that pain and soothes me.”

Street Sense fostered hope in these troubled times for Dove.

“Street Sense has been a life-line for me,” he said. Dove discovered the newspaper when he went downtown to apply for a job. At that time, Dove was filled with a sense of hopelessness when he saw more than 40 people in front of him also vying for one of 20 open positions.

Dove had no luck finding work that day. As he waited for the bus, he saw a Street Sense vendor selling papers from a nearby corner. He felt inspired in seeing this and looked up Street Sense on the internet. The next day he attended a vendor training and began selling papers so he could earn a muchneeded income.

A trained computer programmer who saw the demand for main frame programmers diminish after Y2K, Dove is interested in applying

Roger Dove

his skills to new technologies. He is branching into Internet programming and is taking an A+ Certification course at Byte Back, a community computer training center in Northeast D.C While selling Street Sense, Dove has learned the importance of building and maintaining bridges with others. “When someone makes a contribution, it is helping me out financially, emotionally, and spiritually,” he said.

Dove wants those who buy Street Sense to know that they are a bridge over troubled water for him. “I hope not to disappoint any of my readers,” he said. “I want them to know that I am trying to move forward with my life.”

He has many moments to be proud of in his life. One of the Dove’s fondest memories was when his first daughter was born in 1989. “It’s like being connected to God or the universe,” Dove said. “Here is a new person who’s never been negatively affected by the world.”

What lies on the other side of the bridge guiding Dove over these troubled waters? Five years from now, he would like to have a home in a quiet suburb far from the traffic noises and the sounds of the city.

Street Sense congratulates Martin Walker, vendor #49, on completing Prince George’s County educational program, where he’s obtained his high school diploma.

Look for pictures and a word from Martin in the next issue...

S treetS ense.org

The District SHELTER

Calvary Women’s Services 110 Maryland Ave, NE (202) 289-0596 (office) (202) 289-2111 (shelter) www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118 www.missiondc.org CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 users.erols.com/ccnv/ Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356 www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Ave SE (202) 610–9600 www.covenanthousedc.org Housing, education, job prep

June 9 - 22, 2010 9:30-11, all welcome/dinner for women and children, Mon-Fri, 3-6 pm) St. Stephens Parish Church 1525 Newton St, NW (202) 737–9311 www.thrivedc.org Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277 www.foodandfriends.org Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8089 www.miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635 http://www.epiphanydc.org/ ministry/welcometbl.htm

MEDICAL RESOURCES Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100 www.christhouse.org

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

Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300 www.unityhealthcare.org

My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596 Washington, DC 20017 office (202) 529-5261 24-hour hotline (202)-529-5991 shelter and other services for domestic violence victims

Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500; www.wwc.org

N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 www.nstreetvillage.org 801 East, St. Elizabeths Hospital (Men) 2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561–4014 New York Ave Shelter (Men 18+) 1355–57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832–2359 Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW (202) 639–8093

FOOD Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplace Church of the Pilgrims (Sundays only) 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612 www.churchofthepilgrims.org Thrive DC (breakfast Mon-Fri,

OUTREACH CENTERS Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587 www.breadforthecity.org food pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419; www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job counseling Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 http://www.nstreetvillage.org meals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treatment Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842–1112 Green Door (202) 464–9200 1221 Taylor Street NW www.greendoor.org

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

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood St NE 202-269-6623 www.aohdc.org Bright Beginnings Inc. 128 M Street NW, Suite 150 (202) 842–9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.org Child care, family services Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300 www.ccs–dc.org umbrella for a variety of services D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (202) 347–8870; www.dccfh.org housing, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance DC Food Finder Interactive online map of free and low cost resources. www.dcfoodfinder.org Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW

(202) 347–0511 www.cflsdc.org housing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010 www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs Gospel Rescue Ministries drug, alcohol program (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731; www.grm.org Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/services/ meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (202) 544–9126 www.jobshavepriority.org training and employment Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW (202) 667–8970 www.jubileejobs.org job preparation and placement National Coalition for the Homeless 2201 P Street, NW (202) 462–4822 www.nationalhomeless.org activists, speakers bureau National Student Partnerships (NSP) 128 M Street NW, Suite 320 (202) 289–2525 washingtondc@nspnet.org Job resource and referral agency Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202)889–7702 www.samaritanministry.org HIV support, employment, drug/ alcohol addiction, healthcare St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 1514 15th Street, NW (202) 667–4394 http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (202) 347–3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE (202) 371–1937 www.travelersaid.org/ta/dc.html emergency travel assistance Washington Legal Clinic for the

Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328–5500 www.legalclinic.org

WVSA Literacy for Life 1100 16th Street, NW (202) 296-9100 www.wvsarts.org GED preparation and work force education

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

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

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

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Catholic Charities, Maryland 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring (301) 942–1790 www.catholiccharitiesdc.org shelter, substance abuse treatment, variety of other services Mission of Love 6180 Old Central Avenue, Capitol Heights (301)333–4440

15

www.molinc.org life skills classes, clothing, housewares Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless 600–B East Gude Drive, Rockville (301) 217–0314; www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services

VIRGINIA SHELTER

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

FOOD ALIVE!, Inc. 2723 King Street, Alexandria (703) 836–2723 www.alive–inc.org Our Daily Bread 10777 Main Street #320, Fairfax (703) 273–8829 www.our–daily–bread.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Arlington Free Clinic 2921 11th Street South Arlington (703) 979–1400 www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Abundant Life Christian Outreach, 5154 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria (703) 823–4100 www.anchor–of–hope.net food, clothing, youth development, and medicines David’s Place Day Shelter 930 North Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org laundry, shower, workshops, hypothermia shelter

Shelter Hotline: 1–800– 535–7252

June 9 - 22, 2010

Back with a Bigger View

By Mary Otto, editor-in-chief On Wednesday, I walked up the stairs to Street Sense again to find a handmade sign taped to the door reading, “Welcome Back, Mary!” I was so grateful for those words, the hugs and to be returning to my job, friends and colleagues here.

I was also anxious to see if I could use some of the insights gleaned over the past academic year as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. The fellowship, funded chiefly by an endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, annually chooses 10 to 12 journalists from all over the world to spend a year on the campuses of Harvard and MIT. There, the fellows deepen their understanding of science, technology, medicine or the environment.

Among my wonderful class of fellows was Marcin from Poland, who studied ocean science, Rowan from South Africa, who took courses in astrophysics, and Daniela from Uruguay, who deepened her knowledge of psychology. I was there to study public health topics, such as epidemiology and medical and dental anthropology. As a reporter, I have covered many health-related stories, about everything from mental illness to dental decay. I’ve always struggled to understand the complexities of the science at the heart of them and explain it accurately. But I never had the luxury of pondering the larger and more profound connections.

I was filled with a sense of disbelief every time I crossed the Harvard campus to sit in a lecture hall listening to Paul Farmer, the Harvard physician and medical anthropologist who spoke about the great epidemiological divide between prosperous healthy places and poor diseased ones, or when I handled

THE lAST wORDS

ancient jawbones in a class on evolutionary biology.

I kept expecting to get turned away as a fraud or impostor each time I held up my Harvard library card to enter the Countway or the Tozzer Library. However, the guards kept letting me in and I continued to bury myself in books and journals as I explored the bonds between histories and environments, health and illness.

I must admit that sometimes I envied the Harvard and MIT researchers who had written the words I was reading, who taught my classes or who came to offer the fellows bi-weekly seminars that focused on their fields of study, from robotics, to astrophysics, to genetics to environmental science. By comparison, journalism might seem a poor choice of careers - so rushed and improvisational compared to the elegant discipline of scientific inquiry. Currently, journalism is uncertain in more prosaic ways as well. A majority of the 11 fellows who enjoyed this fellowship alongside me are returning to freelance work, not to secure jobs with benefits and paid vacations.

We fellows all joked among ourselves that when May ended and the fellowship was over, we would simply refuse to leave and stay for another year. There were more than a few tears when we finally did say goodbye.

In my last weeks at the fellowship, I read a few books for my personal enjoyment. They were written by people who I hoped would help me find my way back up the stairs to our office here. Thank you to George Orwell, Robert Coles and Dorothy Day for your guidance. And thank you, Street Sense friends, for waiting for me.

If you are a federal or state employee please consider supporting Street Sense through the Combined Federal Campaign today.

CFC# 28233 June 9 - 22, 2010 • Volume 7 • Issue 16

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Mail

Roger Dove reminds customers to only buy from badged vendors and not to give to those panhandling with one paper.

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC Permit #568

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 2 for more information.

S treetS ense.org

Going Off the Page

By Lisa Gillespie, online editor Men and women stand at every corner in neon green vests, holding folded newspapers, shouting the latest headline. People run by on their way to work, but because they need to have the latest news in poverty and inequality, they drop a buck in the “newsies” hand and read it on the subway or over coffee.

This is my vision for Street Sense. It’s a slightly different reality than the current reality. Sometimes I meet people who, when they find out I work for Street Sense, tell me they buy the paper, but sometimes they don’t read it. They ask me what we really cover. I imagine that most buyers of Street Sense buy it because they feel bad for our vendors, and it’s a valid feeling to be had.

Most of our vendors are homeless. They stay in shelters, on the street or in transitional housing. Some have apartments from saved up money. Most do not have a savings account. But pity does fuel empowerment, which is why I am so excited for my new role as online/multimedia editor and the return of Mary Otto.

With Otto’s return as editor, we now have two positions to focus on editorial

content and my hope is that our content will become stronger and more in-depth than before. I want vendors to be proud of the product they sell. My goal as web editor is to increase web content and our presence as a player in D.C.’s local media world. And this, in turn, will strengthen our vendor’s sense of empowerment. If they are proud of selling a product, and not themselves, they will really be empowered.

As I move in the role of online/multimedia editor, I am excited to develop Street Sense as a media brand that more people recognize along the ranks of The Washington Post, DCist and Washington City Paper. If I can add to the journey of Street Sense, it’ll be a job well done.

This is my vision for Street Sense. It’s a slightly different reality than the current reality.