June, 2004
STREETVIBES Mother’s Day Luncheon kicks off a week of awareness-raising events Cincinnati’s Mayor Luken proclaims May 9 – 15 “Homeless Awareness Week” by Andy Erickson Education Coordinator Last month, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and its member agencies held a week’s worth of events during the officially proclaimed “Homeless Awareness Week” in Cincinnati.
from the Lee Chapel Praise Dancers. A lot of work went into this event, and all of it was donated. GCCH absolutely must take some space to thank Concordia Lutheran Church for donating the space, and the nearly 30 volunteers from Adath Israel Congregation, Summit Country Day School, and Caracole who helped the event run so smoothly. A very special thank-you goes out to
The week was kicked off on May 9 with a Mother’s Day Luncheon for some of the families residing in our local shelters. About 100 people attended the event. Guests were treated to a lasagna dinner from Betta’s Italian Oven, gift bags, door prizes, free family portraits, and a performance
the anonymous donor who paid the entire bill for the caterers and the gift bags. The Mother’s Day Luncheon coincided with a similar luncheon held by the Columbus Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. While the celebration of Mother’s Day was certainly the main point of
these events, the two events were held at the same time in each city to make another point: that homelessness is a significant problem for families in our area and across the nation. Nationally, families have become the fastest growing segment in the homeless population. According to Homeless in Cincinnati, a study conducted by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) and AIR, Inc., nearly 6,000 families experienced homelessness during the year 2000. Because of the large number of homeless families in Cincinnati, the number of homeless youth is also high. According the study, 8,000 children experienced homelessness during the same year. On May 10, GCCH showed Dark Days, an awardwinning documentary about people living in abandoned train tunnels in New York City. The film gives a truthful and often very personal presentation of homelessness and the living conditions these people must endure. Though the film in itself is quite good, the story that surrounds the making of the film is also interesting.
The film’s director, Marc Singer, had never made a film, nor even used a camera before he made Dark Days. Because he had little money, the film’s subjects agreed to double as the crew, creating lighting by “borrowing” electricity from the city, working the sound, and even fashioning carts that could move along the railroad tracks in order to provide the film’s moving camera shots. Briefly, Singer ran out of money and ended up living in the camp himself. The film does end on a happy note, though, thanks in part to the New York City Coalition for the Homeless. The film won several awards at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, including best cinematography and the audience choice award. Over 15 people participated in “Panhandling for Justice” on May 11, the third event in our Homeless Awareness Week. Panhandling for Justice took place downtown during lunchtime. Participants educated the lunch crowds while carrying cardboard signs that stated facts about homelessness like,“1300 people will be homeless in Cincinnati tonight,” and “Ohio is number four in hate crimes against the homeless.” Participants also passed out literature informing the public about the decision of
Homeless Awareness... Cont. on page 10
Cincinnati City Council Votes To Extend Panhandling Registration by Jimmy Heath Last month Cincinnati City Council voted 5-4 to extend a law that requires people to register and get a license to panhandle in the City of Cincinnati. The law was intended to curb aggressive panhandling and create an image of a friendlier and safe downtown Cincinnati for would-be shoppers, workers and tourists. In a survey of downtown visitors and workers nuisance begging tied with parking as the number one complaint. The renewal of the law, first enacted a year ago, was
supported for extension by Council members Jim Tarbell, David Pepper, Sam Malone, Pat DeWine and David Crowley. “It’s hard to find a good reason to be against it,” said Council member DeWine, saying that the law has discouraged panhandling. “Let’s not change something that works.” Council members Laketa Cole, Christopher Smitherman, John Cranley and Alicia Reece voted against the renewal. Council member Chris Smitherman said he viewed the law as an infringement upon freedom of speech rights.
The city had the option to include an outreach component in the ordinance when the law was first enacted a year ago. Mayor Charlie Luken said at the time that he would veto the ordinance if it included outreach because he felt enough money is already given to social services in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Panhandling License outreach money was removed from the original Panhandling Registration proposal and the law passed Cont. on page 3 with strict rules for
Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless