StreetSense_forWeb_9.28.11 by Street Sense Media

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Volume 8: Issue 23 September 28 - October 11, 2011

Street

sense

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

Our v e cons ndors id state er the o Natio f the n pgs 1

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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.

COVER STORY: Government helps a million with housing

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SERVICE INITIATIVES: Local efforts to serve those in need

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CULTURAL HISTORY: From Slavery to Freedom in Adams Morgan

VENDORS PAGES: Street Sense vendors share their poems, short stories and essays SPOOKIE THE COW PONY: A true story by Vendor Ivory Wilson

ADDRESS 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 PHONE (202) 347 - 2006 FAX (202) 347 - 2166 E-MAIL info@streetsense.org WEB streetsense.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lisa Estrada, Ted Henson, Brad Scriber, Michael Stoops, Manas Mohapatra, Sommer Mathis, Kristal Dekleer, Robin Heller, Jeffery McNeil, Yebegashet Alemayehn EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Laura Thompson Osuri EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mary Otto MANAGING EDITOR Eric Falquero VENDOR AND VOLUNTEER MANAGER Allen Hoorn

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Dear friends and supporters of Street Sense,

VENDOR PROFILE: Jake Ashford goes from homeless to the front page

Online Bonus

Cover Collage by currently homeless DC artist, Katt Stone. OBAMA 1, REDWHITENADBLUE | KATT STONE

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

INTERNS Mary Clare Fischer, Sarah Fleishman, Sarah Hogue, Nicole M. Jones, Randy Meza, Hannah Morgan, Anna Katherine Thomas, Hannah Traverse VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Rhonda Brown, Jane Cave, Margaret Chapman, Tracie Ching, James Clarke, Nikki Conyers, Bobby Corrigan, Irene Costigan, Sara Dimmitt, Joe Duffy, Lilly Dymond, Ashley Edwards, Garrett Epps, Rachel Estabrook, Sarah Ficenec, Grace Flaherty, Andrew Gena, Steve Gilberg, Jane Goforth, Jonah Goodman, Roberta Haber, Cherilyn Hansen, Elia Herman, Melissa Hough, Adam Kampe, Maurice King, Trisha Knisely, Vicki Ann Lancaster, Elle Leech-Black, Lisa Leona, Sean Lishansky, Elsie Oldaker, Katinka Podmaniczky, Mike Plunkett, Willie Schatz, Kate Sheppard, Jesse Smith, Lilly Smith, Kelly Stellrecht, Mandy Toomey, Brett Topping, Marian Wiseman VENDORS Michael Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Jake Ashford, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Kenneth Belkosky, Tommy Bennett, Reginald Black, Deana Black, Harmon Bracey, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Floarea Caldaras, Conrad Cheek, Theresa Corbino, Avram Cornel, Anthony Crawford, Kwayera Dakari, Louise Davenport, James Davis, Charles Davis, Devon Dawkins, Michael Dawson, Chino Dean, Daivd Denny, Richardo Dickerson, Alvin Dixon El, Charles Eatmon, Richard Emden, Pieus Ennels, Betty Everett, Joshua Faison, Larry Garner, R. George, David Ger, Marcus Green, Barron Hall, Dwight Harris, Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Shakaye Henry, Derian Hickman, Vennie Hill, Anne Holloway, Phillip Howard, James Hughes, Patricia Jefferson, Carlton Johnson, Donald Johnson, Mark Jones, Evanson Kamau, Mike Leach, Michael Lyons, Johnnie Malloy, Kina Mathis, John C. Matthews, Authertimer Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Robert McGray, Marvin McFadden, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffrey McNeil, Kenneth Middleton, Gary Minter, L. Morrow, Jai Morton, Saleem Muhammad, Tyrone Murray, Darryl Neal, Charles Nelson, James Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Douglas Pangburn, Franklin Payne, Michael Pennycook, Ash-Shaheed Rabbil, Michael Reardon, Chris Shaw, Veda Simpson, J. Simpson, Patty Smith, Gwynette Smith, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, Leroy Sturdevant, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Paul Taylor, Archie Thomas, Larissa Thompson, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Joseph Walker, Martin Walker, Robert Warren, Terry Warren, Lawless Watson, Paul Watson, Wendell Williams, Edna Williams, Sherle Williams, Susan Wilshusen, Ivory Wilson, Mark Wolf,

It’s been a challenging summer at Street Sense. We are actively searching for a new Executive Director. We said goodbye to a wonderful Vendor and Volunteer Manager when he was called to active duty. Renovation to the church where our offices are located has forced us to move to a temporary space. But, through it all, our Street Sense vendors, staff and volunteers have persevered. Every two weeks, without fail, they are producing and distributing a publication that impresses me each time I pick up a copy from one of my favorite vendors in the Farragut Square area. The timely news items inform us about the challenges faced by our poor and homeless neighbors. The poetry, photography and witty commentary of one of our vendors showcase the talents of those often forgotten. The vendor profiles put a name and a face on homelessness. Each issue reminds me of the importance of Street Sense to this community. Each time I encounter one of our vendors, I’m reminded that Street Sense is making a daily difference in the lives of people who are committed to working their way out of poverty and toward a more stable life. I am proud to be associated with such an organization. And I know you feel the same way. Unfortunately, our recent challenges have curtailed our ability to focus on fundraising activities. Our annual Silent Auction – typically our largest and most successful fundraising event – has been delayed. Because of all our challenges, I and other members of the Street Sense Board of Directors have decided to make our typical end-of-year contribution in September. We are challenging our friends and supporters to do the same! By making your contribution a little earlier this year, you will help Street Sense continue to make a difference in the lives of the homeless and poor in our community. We are hoping to make this a September-and October-to Remember! Your donation of $25, $50, $100, $500 or any amount will show our vendors that the Street Sense family is behind them at this critical time. Make your contribution today! Sincerely, Lisa A. Estrada - Chair, Street Sense Board of Directors

Provides office supplies for one month.

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

News

Downtown DC MLK Library Cuts Sunday Hours Faced with budget cuts, as well as added expenses to operate new facilities, the District of Columbia Public Library has announced a plan to suspend Sunday hours. Last year the library partnered with the Downtown Business Improvement District to provide enhanced services to the homeless in DC. While Mayor Vincent Gray’s office is reviewing all options to keep the library open on Sundays during the cold winter months when many of Washington’s homeless use the library as a refuge from the elements, no firm plans have been announced.

The chapter’s current Vice President, Julie Douglas says that the event last year “made people see poverty and homelessness in a different light and made me think twice about the people I was passing on the streets of D.C. and how I can fight to get these people the housing they deserve.” To start the evening, Steve Thomas from the National Coalition for the Homeless Speakers’ Bureau will address the students. Thomas was formerly homeless. “Many people do not know underlying factors of homelessness and poverty and we want them to be able to hear it first hand from someone who has been there,” Douglas said.

-Allen Hoorn, Vendor/Volunteer Manager

-Sarah Fleischman, editorial intern

GWU Promotes Awareness of Homeless with a “Tent City”

Number of Homeless Children in Baltimore Increased by 600 Percent

Fifteen George Washington University students slept in an outdoor plaza on their campus last year in order to experience a small slice of what homeless people encounter. The campus’ chapter of Amnesty International will host the same event on Oct. 11.

The number of homeless students in Baltimore County has increased by more than 1500 between 2001 and 2011 The 1,914 students listed as homeless in Baltimore County in 2010 are among 10,000 homeless students across the state of Maryland. “I think for years,

people thought about homeless people as the person standing on the street corner,” pupil personnel worker Carl Love told Baltimore’s WBAL TV. Love says that the county schools are reaching out in every way they can including through tutoring programs for children living in homeless shelters.

Moscow Authorities Demolish Shelter Founded by Mother Teresa Moscow city authorities say that a shelter founded in 1990 by Mother Teresa’s organization, Missionaries of Charity, was demolished Friday, September 16 because it did not have a permit. “Everybody knows how hard the sisters have worked for the past 20 years. Did their work bother anyone?” said Pavel Pezzi, an Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Moscow. The Russian news source RIA Novosti said that the Russian Orthodox Church attempted to intervene and save the shelter, but failed. “The demolished building was constructed with voluntary donations from people all over the world, and its destruction is a sign of blindness to human grief and contempt for those who help the poorest,” Mis-

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 with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. They saw it as a means of empowering the area’s poor and homeless and decided the paper would cover homelessness and other social issues. After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies. About a dozen vendors sold the first issue of the paper. For the next three years, it was

published monthly as a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless. 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, Street Sense hired its first vendor coordinator and began partnering with several service providers. In February 2007, the paper increased the frequency of publication to twice a month.

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LeeAnn Rimes Puts Homeless Teens in Music Video Singer LeeAnn Rimes profiled Chicago homeless teenagers in her new music video, “Give.” “Not only do these kids not know where they’re going to sleep at night or where their next meal will come from. These kids are lonely, terrified and hurting…deeply,” Rimes said on her website. Rimes partnered with Stand Up For Kids, an organization that assists homeless youth nationwide. She told USA Today that the experience was life changing and that her eyes were opened to the challenges these children face every day. The song is part of her new album “Lady and Gentlemen,” in stores Sept. 27. Compiled by Sarah Fleischman from previously published reports

Vendor Code of Conduct

In order to support the increased production, Street Sense brought on its first full-time editor-in-chief in April. Today, Street Sense has four professionals, more than 100 active vendors and nearly 30,000 copies in circulation each month. The newspaper has become a major source of news for Washingtonians, providing content on issues which often go uncovered by the mainstream media. Street Sense is a member of the National Association of Street Newspapers (NASNA).

YOUR DOLLAR Each vendor makes a personal investment in Street Sense, by purchasing issues at a rate of 35 cents per copy. This Directly money helps cover our production and aids the printing costs for the paper, while still vendor allowing the vendors to sell the paper at a low price and substantial profit.

sionaries of Charity said in a statement released by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Moscow.

35% Supports costs

1. I agree not to ask for more than $1 or to solicit donations for Street Sense by 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 others respectfully. 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 Street Sense. 7. I will not sell Street Sense under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 8. I will stay a block away from another vendor. 9. I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will 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.

By Anna Katherine Thomas Editorial Intern

HPRP assisted William Wheeler (above) to find a job and is helping to find a suitable apartment, providing critical help in stressful times. PHOTO BY ANNA KATHERINE THOMAS

After seven months of moving from couch to couch, William Wheeler finally realized that he did not have a safe place for his two school-age daughters to stay when they came to visit him. “They don’t live with me, but I do get them every weekend. At least I try,” Wheeler said. “Not having a stable place for them to come and comfortably enjoy themselves, that is my biggest issue.” Wheeler is one of one million Americans who have received aid from the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program (HPRP) since its formation in 2009. Under the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), HPRP has provided $1.5 billion dollars to local communities to help struggling families keep a current home or find affordable housing. To put this sum in context, spending $1.5 billion to save one million people from homelessness averages out to about $1,500 per person. Ashley Gammon, a representative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), explained that many of the program’s beneficiaries are struggling homeowners who exhausted all their resources and were on the verge of homelessness when they sought assistance from HPRP. About

a quarter of the people HPRP serves were already on the street or relying on emergency shelters when they entered the program. Along with help finding housing, HPRP provides access to employment specialists for participants looking for a job. After a participant receives a callback, the employment specialist will work with the participant to prepare him or her for the interview, according to Wheeler. “She [the career specialist] makes you feel confident and good about yourself,” Wheeler said. “Your situation isn’t the prettiest when you are dealing with them, because you are homeless, you are unemployed.” Wheeler had been in the program for less than one month when he saw results. Coming off a year and a half without any callbacks from jobs, HPRP helped him arrange to go back

to work towing. He also has an appointment set up at Macy’s to interview for a second job.

[The employment specialist] makes you feel confident and good about yourself. Your situation isn’t the prettiest when you are dealing with them because you are homeless, you are unemployed.

“The latest data shows that fully 94% of people assisted by HPRP successfully found permanent housing and nearly two out of every three of them were homeless

for less than a month,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in his prepared remarks for a September 2011 press conference. In addition to the report about the million Americans they have helped this year, HUD announced that it was awarding $1.6 billion in grants from the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Program to a number of housing facilities, and $216 million to new homelessness facilities, according to Gammon. Robert Rector, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative think tank, believes that the fact that homelessness did not dramatically increase in the face of the current recession is a success story for the Obama administration, but it is only one battle in the ongoing fight against homelessness. “Part of what they did there is an accelerated movement out,” Rector said, “If you look at the data, I think they moved some long-term homeless out of the shelters and into transitional housing. So I think the program seems to have worked pretty well.” According to Rector, when the recession eventually ends, America will still need to address the issue of why people are poor. He suggested that instead of cutting programs that provide aid, those programs should be refined to prevent homelessness in the future.

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Funding in Flux

By Randy Meza Editorial Intern Homeless organizations and other struggling nonprofits were already grimly contemplating the end of Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathons, the last of which is set for November 19. Then came more bad news. Freddie Mac, another troubled mortgage giant which has generously supported housing and homeless causes over the years, announced it would begin winding down its foundation grants starting next year. The final grants will be given in 2015. “Here were two of the largest funding sources for human services organizations in Washington, D.C. who are either stopping or winding down their work,” said Janice Kaplan of the Community Foundation for the Capital Region. “Our community has come to depend upon both of them. It was very alarming. ” But then came a hopeful development: Give to the Max Day. The online regional fundraiser, which is scheduled for November 9, seeks 10,000 people to support a favorite charity. The goal is to garner more than $3 million in donations and grants in a single day. When major funders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were both placed into conservatorship in 2008 as the result of the subprime mortgage crisis, nonprofits began grappling with the challenges of finding new sources of funding, broadening their donor bases and raising public awareness about their causes

-- whether helping homeless families or feeding the hungry or building more affordable housing. Some say Give to the Max Day might be worth a try. “We have to engage a wider audience of citizens,” said Bill Hanbury, president and CEO for United Way of the National Capital Area, which, along with the Community Foundation of the Capital Region, has supported and helped organize the one-day giving marathon. Organizers say they hope Give to the Max day will be an annual event. “This is just not for this day,” said Terri Freeman, president of The Community Foundation of the National Capital Region. Event creator Razoo.com will provide the online platform for individuals and organizations to donate to their nonprofit of choice. In two separate one-day fundraising events in Minneapolis, Razoo.com garnered $25 million. The two nonprofits in the Washington area that raise the most money or get the most individual donors will receive $25,000 awards. Some nonprofit leaders say they are hoping online giving may provide new benefits. “I think it will help increase our online presence to new donors and existing donors. It will also increase donor awareness about our organization through social media,” said Kimberly Lyons-Briley, development manager for Martha’s Table.

Others acknowledge they will miss the camraderie and public awareness generated by the big annual Help the Homeless Walkathon. Since the event got its start in Washington in 1988, it has raised $85 million for homeless service providers, according to Fannie Mae. “The Walkathon was a communitybuilding opportunity that brought the beneficiary organizations that work for our cause together. I’m sad to see it go,” said Emily Fagerholm, communications associate for the Community Council for the Homeless and Friendship Place. Her organization is weighing a decision about participating in Give to the Max Day. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae has said that mini-walks for the homeless will continue after this year, and those smaller events have already emerged as an important source of funding. Last year more than 100,000 people joined in 715 mini-walks across the Washington area, raising $1.5 million. In comparison the big walk on the National Mall drew just 14,000 people and raised less than $1 million. A Freddie Mac spokeswoman stressed that until the remaining Freddie Mac Foundation assets are disbursed in 2015, charities can still look forward to support. “Until then,” she said “we will be giving $25 million a year,” the spokeswoman said.

Representative proposes military spending cuts to help end homelessness Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) implored massive cuts in military spending in order to continue funding for programs aiding the homeless. “The greatness of a country should be measured in the quality of life provided,” Frank said at the McKinneyVento Awards Wednesday. With over $700 billion of military funding, Frank cited the spending as producing “cultural lag” in America.

“We are way over-committed around the world,” Frank said while receiving the Bruce F. Vento award. “I think the American people are ready to move on.” If the military budget cuts were to happen, Rep. Frank promised to direct $1 billion for low-income housing programs. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) hosted the 13th annual McKinney-Vento Awards and honored organizations and indi-

viduals who strive to address homelessness. The NLCHP commended Frank for his role in the passage of the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act and the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act. Rep. Frank was honored along with the U.S. Human Rights Fund, DLA Piper and Rob Robinson.

-Randy Meza, editorial intern

The number of people that are homeless in the United States on any given night. (according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, )

The average amount of money it took to help beneficiaries of the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP) keep their current home or find affordable housing. (according to the US Department of housing and urban development, )

The portion of military spending cuts Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) proposes go to low income housing programs: an amount that, based on these numbers, could end or prevent homelessness on any given night for all but 5,193 Americans. (We Did the math!)

Transforming Lives at N Street Village By Hannah Morgan Editorial Intern It is difficult to explain N Street Village in a few words. But a poster on the wall of this haven for Washington’s homeless women gives it a try. “WE are N Street Village. WE are a community of respect, recovery and hope. We create a safe and welcoming place with our words and actions. We expect kindness and we value honesty and diversity.” On a rainy Thursday morning, the N Street Village women’s center was filled with women cutting out cards, reading Cosmopolitan magazine, visiting the Wellness Center and conversing over hot tea, waiting for a 10 o’clock aerobics class and health appointments upstairs. Outside, women mill in a gated courtyard outside of the center; resting in wheelchairs, on benches, chatting, smoking, thinking and sometimes nodding off. The women come from all walks of life, from Georgia, New York City, Haiti and NE D.C. All are welcome and few, if any, questions are asked. Mere blocks from a Whole Foods, upscale DC eateries and galleries, N Street Village is tucked into a residential neighborhood, across from Luther Place Memorial Church, and between Vermont Avenue and 14th Street NW. The center, which opened in 1972 offers endless services, from supportive housing to cups of coffee for nearly 900 women annually, said Tracy Cecil, the Director of Special Projects. According to the 2010 annual count of D.C.’s homeless population, N Street Village served roughly 46 percent of the adult homeless women in the District last year. Women who stay in emergency shelters or live on the street lack safe places to spend their days. N Street’s Bethany Women’s Center provides a haven to many of them, seven days a week. Women from shelters all over the city are dropped off every morning at N Street and can enroll in classes, eat a hot meal, take a shower, chose new clothes from the clothes closet or and just hang

out in a safe atmosphere; all that is asked of them is that they do a chore. Softspoken Renee Moore, a former resident of Luther Place, a transitional housing program run through N Street Village, volunteers at the clothes closet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She keeps a meticulous record of every item of clothing that comes in and out of the closet. She describes her involvement and experience with Bethany’s and how it changed her life: “I came here, I was scared, confused. I came here with an alcohol addiction and this October, I’ll be four years clean,” she said. While she was living at Luther Place, she earned a CPR license, got dental work taken care of, and took control of her life with the help of a supportive community of women. She volunteers at the clothes closet as a way of giving back to the community that helped heal her. Upstairs from Bethany’s is the N Street Village Wellness Center- affiliated with Unity Healthcare- is staffed by a licensed nurse. The center offers primary care, mental health education, psychotherapy, group therapy, crisis information and psychiatric referral services, as well as classes on stress reduction, yoga and relaxation and relapse prevention. Ilana Krakowski works as the program assistant to the wellness center, and on Thursday mornings, leads a movement and dance class. A group of about ten women stretch to a David Grey song, hugging themselves and rolling their necks in circles. Krakowski shows the women, dressed in tennis shoes, barefoot, jeans, dresses and heels a few simple moves, and they quickly pick up an upbeat dance routine to Lady Gaga’s, “Born This Way.” Members of the kitchen staff and women waiting in the health clinic wander into the room at the sound of laughter and music and join in. During a break, a woman declares, “I haven’t danced in a long time.” The building is open every single day of the year, but closes at 4 pm, even during weather emergencies. However, N Street Village helps find women beds

Renee Moore, a former resident of N Street Village, now returns to volunteert to run the Village’s clothes closet. While living independently, she also still benefits from some of their services. PHOTO by hannah morgan

21 rented beds within a therapeutic in shelters during emergencies. Kate community for women with co-occurAkalonu, Communications and Commuring mental health/addiction histories, nity Engagement Associate, remembers said Cecil. trying to place women into shelters last “Every one of us here brings someyear during the, “Snowpocalypse,” and thing different to the community. This during Hurricane Irene. place is really a wellness center, I get to “N Street Village also provides tempoteach other people, it’s fantastic. I’m rary housing for 94 women in four different waiting for housing, but in the meanprograms,” Cecil said, “Thirty one women time, I can do this,” Parker said. live at Luther Place, located across the street from N Street Village.” The shelter provides dorm living for women involved with the case management program. The program was used by 447 women in 2010, and each received individual case managers who assisted with the self-sufficiency goals of the women, according to the 2010 annual report. These goals ranged from mental, spiritual and physical health recovery to drug treatment and relapse prevention. Robin Offutt, a Luther Place 2011 graduate, now lives in her own home in Northeast. She she used all the help N Street had to offer to get her life back. “I was into everything,” she said. At N Street, “you do have a sense all people are that you are worth something,” said Welcome Barbra Parker, a team leader for the here Wellness Center receptionists and reJoin us in worship on Sundays at nowned crochet teacher at the center. 9:30 am, 11:00 am, 5:30 pm “To lose everything and to come here Homeless Outreach Hospitality Fridays at 9:00 and to realize you can do something _____________________________ positive, in the meantime, [you] don’t Foundry United Methodist Church have to wallow in self-pity.” A Reconciling Congregation Twenty one beds are available on N th 1500 16 Street NW | Washington DC | 20036 202.332.4010 | foundryumc.@foundryumc.org Street for women with mental illnesses www.foundryumc.org and chronic homelessness, an additional 21 rented beds for women in recovery programs looking for full time work and

For information on volunteer opportunities and the briefing on October 21, visit www.100HomesArlingtonVA.org.

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Service Initiatives

100,000 Homes Comes to the DC Metro Area

Local organizations engage the community in a national campaign to help end homelessness By Sarah Fleishman Editorial Intern Two local organizations have recently joined the 100,000 Homes campaign, a national push to house 100,000 homeless people by July 2013. “The neat thing about this campaign is that it is very streamlined. It is effective, it is efficient and generates amazing outcomes,” said Kathy Sibert, the executive director of the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN). The national campaign reaches its goal by working with existing organizations, like A-SPAN in Arlington, VA and the D.C. Department of Human Services. Bethesda Cares, Inc. in Bethesda, Md. joined the campaign on September 22, becoming the 100th organization to join the national campaign. While working with existing organizations in the communities, 100,000 Homes has formal partnerships with organizations such as KNO Clothing, United Way and Pathways to Housing in order to help with funding. A local 100,000 Homes campaign begins with registry week, when volunteers create a name and photographic registry of every homeless person in a given area. The survey employs an assessment tool known as the vulnerability index to determine each person’s level of need, taking into account such factors as age, chronic disease, mental illness, veteran status and age. A-SPAN as well as other leaders and community groups in Arlington County are working towards a goal of ending homelessness in the county within ten years. Although the county is one of the wealthiest in the nation, an estimated 500 homeless people live within its boundaries. “Arlington is not immune from deaths

in the street,” Anita Friedman, a division chief for the county’s Department of Human Services, told The Washington Post. Sibert says that even the surveying process of registry week will be a positive thing for the people. “Most people just pass them by. Nobody looks at them. In some ways, they are grateful that someone is taking the time to spend time with them to talk to them,” she said. John Mendez from Bethesda Cares Inc. says that the Bethesda registry week will be scheduled for early November. Sibert says that the Arlington registry week will have around 150 volunteers. After registry week, the data is processed and shared with the community at a briefing. Arlington’s briefing will be held on October 21. The most vulnerable individuals are housed first. Sibert strongly believes that homeless people should not have to prove themselves in order to get housing. Not having a home makes it extremely difficult to prepare for job interviews and be linked with the mental health and medical facilities they need. Having vulnerable people housed also makes it easier for case managers to check up on them and help them cope with mental illness, addiction, or medical problems. Some are visited by their case manager every day, and some less frequently: depending on the situation and needs of the client. Case manager visits become less frequent as time goes on and the former homeless person becomes more independent. Sibert says that every person A-SPAN has housed in the past three years is still in housing—a 100% success rate.

A volunteer from a previous effort through the campaign interviews a homeless man during the campaigns registry week. Photo by Rudy Salinas, courtesy of 100,000 homes national campaign

PARTNERING FOR SUPPORT:

The 100,000 Homes campaign makes formal funding partnerships to fuel their efforts. When asked, this is what one lesser-known partner, KNO Clothing, had to say about the campaign:

Shelter is one of the greatest needs of U.S. citizens today. Homelessness can affect everyone. Maurice Johnson -- an engineer with two Masters degrees -- was found homeless in Boston this past May. Studies estimate that among the nearly 2 million homeless youths in America, most are only between the ages of 15 and 17 (“Lost in the Shuffle: Culture of Homeless Adolescents”). Famous people from Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Chaplin to Jim Carrey and Halle Berry have also experienced homelessness. TED Global speaker and award-winning journalist Becky Blanton, too. But KNO believes no one should go without a home. The current count of people housed through KNO’s partners stands at 10,864. KNO began by supporting Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg, PA and learned about the 100,000 Homes Campaign a few months later. The campaign’s hope to house 100,000 Americans by July 2013 appealed to KNO and has thus blossomed into a collective dream encompassing the 100+ communities working to end homelessness across the country. On top of housing, nearly 500 articles of clothing have been given to people on the streets -- thanks to KNO Clothing’s “Buy One, Give More” ethic. The idea is that KNO Clothing offers regular people-- anyone who wears a t-shirt, or a dress, or a sweater -- a way to make a dent in the larger mission to end homelessness. Every purchase -- in fact, 50% of every purchase -- is used to help fund our partners’ housing efforts and provide clean clothes to people in need. KNO is looking forward to another great season of new clothing and new successes in ending homelessness.

-Anthony Thomas, KNO Co-Founder

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Cultural History

From Slavery to Freedom in Adams Morgan

- Mary Belcher, Cultural Tourism DC guide

By Sarah Hogue Photojournalism Intern

A tour through Adams Morgan on Saturday, September 24, offered a chance to take a stroll back in time, into the neighborhood’s Civil War past. Participants were handed maps of the neighborhood as it appeared back in those days, a place more far more rural than the urban enclave it is today. They were invited to imagine the estate of John Little, a Civil War-era slave owner, and to listen to the narratives of slavery and escape. inhabitants in what is now known as Walter C. Pierce Community Park. The park, just off Calvert Street NW, is a magnet for modern-day dog-walkers, families, chess-players and community gardeners. But the land was once used as burial ground by The Colored Union Benevolent Association and the Quakers. The park includes 8,428 old graves. Howard University Professor Mark Mack and students have been working since 2006 to survey every inch of the park using non-invasive techniques, locating the graves. They have also found the exposed remains of at least nine individuals, according to Cultural Tourism DC guide Mary Belcher. Belcher used the tour to deliver a message about the fragility of old places teaching tour-goers that cultural sites can be destroyed if they aren’t protected. “We have to raise public consciousness; that’s three-fourths of the battle,” she said. Belcher and members of the Adams Morgan community have been actively involved in making sure that city improvements to the park do not destroy or disturb any of the graves. “We all have a sense of what’s right,” said Belcher, who, together with co-tour guide Eddie Becker encouraged participants to share their own knowledge of Civil War history and to ask questions challenging the historical expertise of the guides. In the process, everyone was given a new appreciation for the overlap of the past and the present, the rural and the urban. What is gone truly lives on under our feet.

Tour guides Mary and Eddie Belcher take visitors through a cultural history of Adams Morgan. ILLUSTRATED MAP BY MARY BELCHER, PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE ARTIST

PHOTOS BY SARAH HOGUE

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Cultural History

From Slavery to Freedom in Adams Morgan

- Mary Belcher, Cultural Tourism DC guide

By Sarah Hogue Photojournalism Intern

Tour guides Mary and Eddie Belcher take visitors through a cultural history of Adams Morgan. ILLUSTRATED MAP BY MARY BELCHER, PRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE ARTIST

PHOTOS BY SARAH HOGUE

Editorials

Interview with Abe By Jeffery McNeil Vendor

presidents in U.S. history. Jeff M: Thank you for coming today.

After a long time trying, I finally caught up with Abe Lincoln and he agreed to give us an exclusive interview. What impressed me with interviewing Abe was his openness and honesty not only about his presidency, but his outspokenness with today’s Republican Party which is why he had the nickname Honest Abe. He is outspoken to the point of contempt with Wall Street and K Street, whose practices have amassed great fortunes while impoverishing many Americans. The similarities between Abe and our current president are striking. Both were lawyers. Both cut their teeth in Illinois politics. Both were senators, and both came into power during a crisis succeeding what historians have ranked as the worst

Abraham: My pleasure. Jeff M: Should I call you Abraham or Abe? Abraham: I prefer Abe. Jeff M: Why did you want to run for president? Abe: You know the Republican Party was built out of opposition to slavery. We were progressive and partisan. I was a champion that all men were created equal, not the belief that only some men were created equal. I am a purist. I ran on the Jeffersonian principles of democracy. The Constitution was written to insure the freedom of the people. One man one vote. While Obama has taken a stand on the immoral institution of capitalism, which has created income disparity, I believed slavery was a moral wrong that should be abolished. Jeff M: How has the party changed? Abe: I was very progressive. I granted

Let Him Die

By Maurice King Editorial Vounteer

federal support for the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Act for expansion, and used tax payer dollars for infrastructure. I was an ardent supporter of the role of government for the good of the people. I believed business and government should not be in bed with each other. It saddens me today that the current republicans sold out to the big businesses and are concerned more about the wealthy than the common man.

The recent televised Republican debate raised a concern that affects us all. Wolf Blitzer’s question regarding a hypothetical young man who opted not to buy health insurance and then suffered a serious health incident was provocative enough. Ron Paul’s response, while typically libertarian, sidestepped the question. More notable was the audience response. When Wolf Blitzer asked Mr. Paul, “Are you saying that society should just let him die?” several members of the audience shouted, “Yeah!” The other candidates onstage made no comment about the outburst. The audience’s response belatedly elicited a response from some of the Republican candidates, who made every effort to distance themselves from it. However, the reality is that the audience’s response represents a segment of the population to be reckoned with. Considering that these people were in the audience for a Republican debate, the chances are good that these people support the Republican Party. Ron Paul’s response paled in comparison to that audience outburst. Sarah Palin’s remark about death panels suddenly becomes reality when such sentiment surfaces. Many homeless people do not have health insurance, so they could easily fall victim

Jeff M: What do you think of the partisan bickering going on in Washington? Abe: While many believe President Obama is dealing with an obstructionist congress, I dealt with a congress so partisan it would make the Tea Party look like Woodstock. The Confederacy was so opposed to me being president,11 states seceded from union and declared war on me. Jeff M: Being a Republican what do you think of Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann? Abe: Rick Perry isn’t a true Republican. He was a southern Democrat who jumped to the Republican Party for political purposes. You know I get sensitive when I hear politicians say secession.

Michele Bachmann’s quote that the Founding Fathers worked tirelessly until slavery was wiped out. What about me and the Emancipation Proclamation. Why does she even call herself a Republican? Jeff M: Many consider you the last decent Republican elected as president. Seeing how your party not only embraces but cultivated Confederate talking points, do you think you could win the nomination today? Abe: I do not think Attila the Hun could get elected with this party. You know I was a progressive Republican. It is unfathomable that I fought a war to preserve democracy and the Tea Party wants to repeal it. It sort of like the Boston Tea party in reverse where people get so angry at government they toss their own property out into the harbor. It was the same in my period also; while 83 percent of the people didn’t own slave s, t he y side d wit h t he wealthy slave owners out of fear and propaganda. Ultimately the gunpowder blew up in their face. Jeff M: Thank you for coming. Abe: My pleasure.

to a society in which such people have control. It is hardly encouraging to know that there is a population that would wield this sort of genocide against people suffering from health disorders who happen to lack health insurance. It is especially hard for me to remain passive after witnessing this behavior, especially after living for more than two decades in a country with universal health care. My experiences would disprove a lot of the myths regarding socialized medicine. For example, recently I had to wait over a month to see a specialist; when I lived abroad, my wait was only until the specialist had office hours, which was usually a matter of days, not weeks and certainly not months. I also tell the true story about my father-in-law, who suffered a stroke and spent a week in the hospital and two and a half months in a live-in rehab facility. His out-of-pocket cost for all that treatment came to around $80, and he came out functioning well. It is hard for me to argue the virtues of health care in the United States in light of that experience. It seems we pay much more and get much less in terms of health care. Now we know there are those who would rather see sick people die than provide badly needed care. It raises some very serious questions about what sort of people would hold such an opinion. Any candidate who would compete in an election and advocate such action would easily be defeated. It must also be an embarrassment for the Republican Party to be associated with that sort of support base. Yet the consistent policies of the Republican Party seem to oppose giving any sort of benefits to the general public, with health care being one of the more obvious ones. As a registered Independent, I belong to neither major party and am not a guaranteed voter for either of them. However, the audience’s response will continue to ring in my ears, as I’m sure it will with many others.

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Vendor Essays The Muted Voice of the American Voter By Susan Wilshusen Vendor What if you lived in a fictitious town where there was an increasing agitation, sadness and hopelessness growing among your fellow residents? What if you all felt disconnected from the instrumentalities of the past when people had to work together to solve their problems? What would you ask of your fellow citizens so you did not lose your democracy, wealth or national sovereignty? What if no one even discussed why things were so bad, why people were feeling ineffectual and unable to summon the will to try to work with each other even though the founders of that town had endowed each of the residents with the right to vote? What if the voters in that town were so near to a solution for all of their problems but were unable to see ob-

jectively where they were in relation to their own problems? What would you ask of them? How would you ask your fellow citizens to change in unprecedented ways in order to save themselves? How would you make the Founding Fathers smile? Is this a dramatic exaggeration of America’s situation? Unfortunately, it is not. Voters in America are agitated and sad. Many have given up on working together because they cannot see how close we are to solving our problems. If only we were able to see objectively. What is causing this? American voters have yet to truly make their voices heard and exercise their collective power for good, but the situation is not hopeless. We can do it. As a citizen in this real town called

We Can’t Prosper Without Peace By Robert Warren Vendor The president’s plans to help the jobless and, so-called, middle class get back to work again serve some important purposes. There are people who still need help who have not yet been reached by federal stimulus dollars. And there are people who could be stopped from falling into poverty. There is a chance that the plan may also help stop America’s steady decline and keep things from getting any worse than they are, God willing. We know those on the right will not support anything the president may propose with the election coming in the next year. They would like nothing more than to keep things just as they are, so they can blame the president for everything that goes wrong. But in truth, how can a world at war suffer anything but decline? Thinking back over the ten years since 9/11/2001, conditions around the world have been going downhill. It may be that as long as the people of the world are in conflict on so many levels with one another it is natural that the standard of living would fall. It may not make a difference what plan we follow, as long as we are a

world at war. With people so divided today and our leaders unable to come together, it seems that all it might take is one more big natural disaster to send us over the edge. Then we have to look at our foreign policy and what might ensue as the United Nations considers the Palestinian bid for statehood. It’s hard to say that after 63 years of Jewish statehood that the Palestinians don’t also deserve the support of the United States. But the question puts the president in a difficult position, with both the left and the right telling him what he should and shouldn’t do. If that were not enough, President Obama also has to deal with the socalled Arab Spring and the possibility of higher gas prices. Some people say we live in a global economy and the president just doesn’t get it. However, maybe it is all of us who just don’t get it. Every American politician likes to say “God bless you and God Bless America.” But as long as we live in a world at war, how can those words ever ever come true?

the United States, I am going to ask something of my fellow citizens before our democracy crumbles into anarchy. We should pass legislation establishing weekly nationwide town hall meetings using the Internet and other technologies through which every citizen will be able to participate. These meetings will be non-partisan and will be attended by all voters in every city in the nation. At these meetings, our elected and appointed officials will report on their progress towards accomplishing specific tasks assigned to them by the voters for each week. If they do not accomplish the tasks they were assigned for the previous week, we can remove them from power with a roll call vote without waiting for the next election to come around.

Using the $330 billion jobs program as an example, we would specify not only the who, what, where, when , why and how of each of the program’s objectives, we would also specify each of the subtasks necessary to accomplish the program’s objectives. We would approve the disbursement of all monies used in all programs in the country for any purpose. We would, of course, have experts to help us with all of this, but, ultimately, we would make the decisions. Does this sound like too much responsibility? Personally, we cannot afford not to participate in our government. Our elected and appointed officials will benefit from our participation and ongoing interaction with them to solve problems in our nation. Bye for now. Susan

Vendor

Conspiracy

Arugula Salad (re-mixed)

By Barron Hall Vendor

By James Davis Vendor

We homeless veterans do not deserve to be pushed aside. I imagine the way I feel is similar to how the first African slaves felt when they were brought to America against their will. They were given what their white masters didn’t want. The little that homeless veterans get is nothing but leftovers. Is it a coincidence that many homeless veterans are black? We are the descendents of African slaves. I am beginning to wonder if there is a conspiracy against my race. I feel like no matter what, there is no change coming for black Americans. White Americans repress us while they live in fear that one day we might want revenge for the atrocities committed against black slaves, against unarmed and peaceful people. Black people, once held as slaves remain in economic captivity, left with no options but to commit crime to survive. God created a world in which every man was to have an equal share, but many people still live like animals. America, with all its inequality, is surely not the world God intended. A lot of African Americans died in Vietnam as a result of lies. Black homeless veterans still get pushed aside in this world of denial.

Give me your filthy rich, your Wall Street brokers, your CEOs Your billionaires and millionaires, your Ponzi schemers, Your jet setters and your high rollers as they sit in the parlor Of their fifth-avenue apartments asking the butler “What wine shall we have with our arugula salad this evening?”

In our country, everybody is in some sort of financial pain: working for tips, paying off loans, buying drugs, using drugs, watching their money dwindle, taking VA benefits or social security. Some take more money than needed, wasting money insensitively, being flamboyant. I think of karma as energy, positive or negative. It is what you project and it is how you are perceived. Economists and accountants work very hard figuring out how much money is projected to come back to the government from wages, sales taxes, etc. However, that negative energy of anger and disappointment will naturally come with it. That will give you a frustrated government that will inevitably inflate prices and tax your products and in some cases, you. I used to say to anyone entering certain professions, “ if you want to stay out of trouble, don’t f—k with Uncle Sam’s money.” But even if it seems like you are just taking what you deserve and getting justice for yourself, it only begins and ends in death. So do the right thing and be positive. Even birds get a meal. Everyday clothes are thrown away. The best things in life are free.

We have different things. So I went to church. I am a member of a church in Georgetown. We forget things sometimes. Each year they celebrate 9/11 which brings back memories. I didn’t know what was really going on when it first happened. I was in school when I heard about it, but it made a big impact in my life. I am a veteran. It made me think of all my friends when I was in Vietnam. And I know what the people are still going through when they lose a loved one when something like that happens. Our lives change. We look at life a different way. But we’ve got to remember—we have to keep God in our lives. If we keep the faith, He will give us strength. I have talked with a lot of my friends about what happened (about 9/11.) Some of them are still afraid and some of them are not. I tell them to be strong, because they say they never know what is going to happen. I tell them not to worry, because God has everybody. Find God now in a way you find a church you love. Go there. It is never too late, and God bless you.

Give me your average Joes, your middle-income earners, your White collar execs, your entrepreneurs, your blue collar workers, Your tea partiers, your businessmen, your small business owners As they contemplate the rising cost of arugula. Give me your homeless, your dirt-poor, your hobos, your Slum dwellers, your welfare recipients, your minimum-wage Earners, your day laborers, your working poor and your Unemployed and jobless as they stand in the unemployment Line asking what the hell is arugula?

ALMOST HAIKU/ On ‘Beauty’ By Chris Shaw Vendor/Cowboy Poet (photo by Chris Shaw)

Bodacious bounty of Oaken beauty, Bowed by both temblor And Ladies Lee and Irene, Swayed but not broken. A lasting reminder of what’s Not here anymore. And This strange wonderment of Time. Ours in which only We can revel.

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Fiction

By Ivory Wilson Vendor

n 1954, I was a nine-year-old boy sitting on a fence in Beaumont, Texas, watching my daddy break in a wild horse. He would say to me, “Pookie, watch this closely.” I would watch him and learn some of the ways of a cowboy. My daddy, Ivory Wilson Jr., was a champion rodeo rider in black rodeos in Texas and Oklahoma, riding saddle broncos, bareback, bull dogging, and sometimes bull riding. He won five saddle bronco trophies and seven bull dogging trophies. He would look up at me to check if I was watching. He would ask me, “Are you watching, Pookie?” I would smile and say, “Yeah, Daddy.” I asked my daddy, “Why’s that horse acting like it’s scared of everything?” My daddy grinned and said, “He’s not scared, he’s just spooky.” Daddy smiled. “I can remember just before you were born. I broke a cow pony and I named her Spookie” he said. “Spookie would act like everything she saw scared her even when I would take her out for a ride. I was working for McFannin’s ranch back then. They let me have Spookie after I saved a herd of cattle from drowning in a hurricane that hit the beaches of highland Galveston and the McFannin ranch.” I got excited and asked Daddy to tell me how he saved all those cattle from drowning.

“The weather started getting really bad, with thick black and gray clouds rolling in, coming from the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. “I was stringing up barbed wire and I had Spookie tied to a tree branch. I looked up at the sky and saw black lightning start flashing. It lit up the sky and the wind blew real hard. I knew I had to get Spookie back to the barn. All those cattle on McFannin’s ranch were on the other side of the highway across from the beach. The water started to rush up from the beach across the highway and into the pasture, flooding it in some spots. “Riding Spookie back to the barn, I could see trucks and trailers leaving the ranch for the big open range pasture where so many cows were in trouble. They were going out there to try to bring the cattle from the lower parts of the pasture. But they were too late and the cattle drowned. There were more cattle on a high, hard piece of ground. Water was building up around the ground fast.” “Fifteen hundred head of cattle were out there,” he said. “At that time, Pookie, colored cowboys like me didn’t mix with white cowboys.” “Why?” I asked. “Sure, I broke their horses, even taught some of their kids how to ride a horse. But when they gave a rodeo on the ranch, I was told not to enter the show. Because I was colored.”

I felt a little sad when he said that, asking myself, “Why do white folks hate us so much?” Daddy stopped talking for a few minutes. I could see he had started to remember some of the hate they had toward him. My eyes were filling with water. Daddy started talking again. He said, “About four hours passed. It was raining so hard you couldn’t see anything.” Daddy said he was in the barn feeding Spookie when the ramrod of the outfit, a cowboy named Butch, dropped up in his pickup truck. “Get out and run into the barn,” Butch said. “McFannin’s going to lose that whole herd out there tonight. Before morning the cows will be underwater. “I asked Butch,” Daddy said,”did the cows get put out there on that high ground in the middle of the pasture?” “Yeah, they made it,” Butch said. “And now they’re stuck on it. They can’t find their way off it.” Daddy said he’d worked so many cows there in that pasture he knew all the soft spots and the deep holes. In some spots out there, a man and horse can go underwater, he said. Daddy said the problem was that the cows were walking behind each other in a single line, out there on a thin, high strip of hard narrow ground. Water covered the way back, so the strip couldn’t be seen. “Cows and horses are scared of fastmoving water,” he said. “Those cows

got scared. Some tried stepping off that hard ground. They went underwater, got scared, and drowned. Seeing all that rushing water coming at them, most could not keep their heads up. “Butch told me they tried to find that hard strip out there on their horses, but couldn’t see it because of all the rising water,” Daddy said. “Butch couldn’t take a chance of losing a man out there on a horse. He said a few cowboys tried but their horses got spooked because they couldn’t see their hooves in the water.” “The horses would stop, wouldn’t go any further. They’d start turning back and they’d buck, throwing the cowboy off,” Daddy said. “I knew that the hard strip of ground was still underfoot. And I knew them cows would walk on it if a man on a horse could show them the way. One cow would start to move; the other cows would see that and all would follow.” “I noticed while riding Spookie back to the barn that, in all that wind, heavy rain and rising water, Spookie seemed to take it calm in some spots,” he said. “She couldn’t see her hooves under that water, but she didn’t get spooked.” “Boy, I wanted Spookie,” Daddy said. “At three years old, she was young but mature. I’ve broke hundreds of horses, but Spookie was special.” TO BE CONTINUED

Comics & Games

Courtesy of Krazydad.com

SOLUTION:

Sudoku

SHAW ON SPORTS:

NEARLY AN END TO BASEBALL By Chris Shaw Vendor/”Cowboy Poet” For now, Michael Shows no re-Morse. His fellows gambol, (Not Gamble!!) And evade the evil Fish or Dodger fielders. What strange mojo allows The dirty leather orb yo, to scamper freely, Toward the out-of-town scoreboard. Anon, we’ll forget OUR flubs. Now please, No navel gazing, dear Nats. Be proud of your stats! In another week the Playoffs Grow fatly in the hands of other deserving clubs.

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison

STREET SENSE September 28 - October 11, 2011

Service Spotlight: Christ House By Mary Clare Fischer Editorial Intern In 1985, one anonymous woman donated $2.5 million to turn an abandoned building into a health care facility for the homeless. Twenty-five years later, Christ House is still changing lives. Christ House patients suffer from a wide range of illnesses, including HIV, cancer, diabetes and frostbite. These men and women receive 24hour medical care from trained doctors and nurses before they see more specialized professionals. Patients are given three meals a day as well as snacks to build up their health and can participate in poetry workshops, game nights, outings to sporting events and much more. Pastors conduct Sunday services, prayers and support groups to provide patients with a spiritual outlet on their roads to recovery. Case managers meet with patients weekly to create step-by-step plans

Department of Mental Health Access Hotline 1-888-7WE HELP (1-888-793-4357) www.dcfoodfinder.org

SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 110 Maryland Avenue, NE (202) 289-0596 (office) (202) 289-2111 (shelter) www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118, www.missiondc.org Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 www.newhopeministriesdc.org/id3.html Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356,www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE (202) 610–9600, www.covenanthousedc.org John Young Center (Women) 119 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469, www.catholiccharitiesdc.org

involving employment, housing, rehabilitation and relationship building. In addition, case managers try to secure birth certificates and other proof of identification while reuniting patients with their families. Since many of the homeless have turned to drugs and alcohol as an escape from their other problems, Christ House offers a 12-week residential recovery program called the New Day Treatment Program. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are also held four times a week. When patients leave Christ House, they have the option of living in Kairos House, a permanent apartment building that houses those who cannot keep a steady job as a result of chronic diseases. Residents participate in volunteer work, both at Christ House and elsewhere, forming a community of similar people in which they can find solace. To contact Christ House, call (202) 328-1100 or visit www.christhouse.org. My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596, Washington, DC 20017 (202) 529-5261 (office) (202) 529-5991 (24-hour hotline)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MEDICAL RESOURCES

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

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

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

FOOD

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

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

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

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

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

Thrive DC Breakfast served Mon.-Fri., 9:30-11 a.m. Dinner for women and children, Mon.-Fri., 3-6 p.m.

Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338–8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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

Shelter Hotline: 1–800–535–7252

Vendor Profile: Jake Ashford

The Last Word: simple compassion

By Randy Meza Editorial intern

By Jaamill Hipps Vendor

Street Sense Vendor Jake Ashford has faced many hardships in his 50 years. But he has a philosophical nature, some victories to claim, and a determination to keep on going, He served in the military back in the 1980’s and even married a German woman, though the marriage ended in divorce. He arrived in Washington a decade ago and his life here has not been easy, what with his troubles with landlords and law enforcement too. But if you ask Ashford, the fault lies with the authorities. “I feel like I’m being provoked to act out,” Ashford said. Ashford became homeless after being evicted due to constant battles with a landlord, over of all things, a toilet. “The toilet stopped two to three times a week, so I stopped paying rent for three months.” His interactions with the police and having his car stolen have also left Ashford with some animosity toward D.C. “It’s a beautiful city but is just an appearance sometimes,” said Ashford. In October 2004, Ashford joined Street Sense. Another vendor, James Davis, suggested he try selling papers instead of panhandling. In fact, Ashford’s career really took off a Street Sense. In 2006, he served as an investigative reporter on a story for the paper about eviction companies that paid homeless workers less than the minimum wage to to throw other people out of their homes. Ashford found one company would only pay $15 for six hours of work. The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio picked up the expose. Ashford’s

For all who care (we at Street Sense know you do because you’re reading this paper): Ask yourselves, honestly, what makes a person homeless in D.C.? There are many reasons, too many to name right here. Homelessness, after all, affects more than the old and the mentally ill. Many youths in D.C. and around the U.S. are homeless, unguided, angry, misled, hungry, and prone to incarceration, disease and death. Several D.C.-based youth building programs support homeless and troubled youth. But are these youth really educated and prepared to return to the community? Are they equipped with the proper tools to play a prominent role in the community when they return? Lack of education and proper role models are key ingredients in creating homeless youth. After a youth is detained or incarcerated, he or she is often released with little more than a certificate or a few words of encouragement? Inadequate education makes it easy to be overwhelmed, especially when one comes from an environment where one “graduates” from group homes to juvenile detention centers to prison and penitentiaries, which amounts to nothing but a vicious revolving door.

face even made the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Since then, there have been happy times as well. In November 2008, Jake’s son, Tyrone, visited from Germany. During the visit, Ashford was able to see his son turn 18. “He is a gift from God,” said Ashford Currently, Ashford is working on a criminal justice degree at Strayer University, and is looking for an apartment that takes section 8 vouchers. Favorite Food: Pork chops, greens, black-eyed peas, and rice Favorite Movies: Snakes on a Plane, Forrest Gump Favorite Hobbies: Riding a Bike Favorite Places in D.C.: Navy Yard Boardwalk, the Wharf

September 28 - October 11, 2011 • Volume 8 • Issue 23 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Washington, DC 20005

Permit #568

Mail To: Remember, only buy from badged

vendors and do not give to those panhandling with one paper. Interested in a subscription? Go to page 14 for more information.

How many of us in urban America wish that we had listened to our mother when we find ourselves 25 or older without a GED, a trade or a career? How many of us don’t have a career, and lack what it takes to be an entrepreneur and end up running in circles in the streets? A wise man once said that insanity is when a person keeps doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. So, are we insane or do we lack the self-confidence, focus, motivation, the knowledge of good work ethic and conversational skills that should have been bestowed upon us as children? Adults who grew up in the same predicament understand; We talk about it all the time. Today’s rambunctious young people lack guidance. Few of us can sit at a table and devise solutions to this problem without thinking of political or financial gain. Fewer still hold the compassion for young human life. Today’s youth are the product of the previous generation. Can we sit at the table and come up with a solution without being blinded by prejudice or hate? Why can’t we educate rather than incarcerate? Or adequately educate during incarceration?If we did such, our economy would not be the disaster it is. Food for thought.

Jane Cave’s Street Shots: