September 2005
STREETVIBES Day Laborer for a Day by John Lavelle photos by Jimmy Heath It’s 4:30 in the morning, and I’m cutting through Washington Park on my way up to the corner of Liberty and Elm. Most people up at this hour in Over-the-Rhine are not going for a morning jog, dressed in their monochromatic American Eagle sweatsuit with matching headband. I am no exception to the norm, sporting my finest blue jeans, flannel, and horribly mismatched brown plastic bag from Kroger. Like many homeless individuals in Cincinnati, I have gotten up this early to try to find work at one of the many temp agencies in the city, all for the purpose of better understanding what it is like to be homeless and have to work day labor. Day labor and temp agencies offer anyone who shows up to their labor halls a chance at performing unskilled labor for a daily check. The work is generally the dirtiest, most dangerous, most arduous, and most undesirable work there is. For a person experiencing homelessness, this is often the only option for solid work. Unfortunately, as one of the new civil rights advocates for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, I have heard I return at a quarter till noon to find a sizable group already numerous accounts of the civil rights and labor violations enacted by some huddled in the shade around the locked up labor hall. It’s the hottest day of these agencies. I figure that the next best thing to talking to day of the year so far, with the temperature in the middle nineties; I didn’t laborers is being one myself, if only for a day. So today I seek my fortune bring any water with me, and I’m really starting to worry about the fact at one of the most controversial labor halls: One Force/Labor Solutions. that there is no water fountain in the waiting area. I arrive at the labor hall a little after 4:30am and join the handful of A half-hour later two guys open up the place, and I repeat the people sitting on the curb by the building, waiting for the hall to be morning’s sign up routine. Another hour and a half of sitting and waiting opened. At 5:00am, a middle aged woman arrives and opens up the goes by before I notice one of the supervisors looking at me. “Hey place. We enter and put our names down on the sign in sheet, then sitting Archie, come here,” he says. “Let me see your ID.” I’ve been called a and waiting in what looks like seating ripped out of an old movie theater. lot of names in my day, but this is a first for “Archie.” I comply, showing The inside looks like a converted body shop, with two large him my driver’s license and waiting patiently. After a few minutes, he garage doors and a front counter that is six feet off the ground, placing the hands it back to me. “You wanna go to Crisco?” I have no clue what exactly he’s talking about, but I decide to play it cool: “Yeah, sure. I can supervisors in a significant position of power. There is no water fountain do that.” He pauses a second and responds simply, “Okay, we’ll see.” and the bathroom is locked up tight. I don’t inquire about a key. On the As I sit down, I can’t help but wonder why I, a new guy, was singled out back wall is a list of shelters and food pantries. The agency is obviously from the relatively large group of around thirty people. Racism is a aware that most of their workers are homeless. common complaint of day labor and temp agencies; I look around and Over the next hour and a half, more workers trickle in; many of notice that I am one of two white guys in the waiting area. them have return tickets from the day before, meaning that they are the Finally at 2:35pm, almost three hours after I arrived at the labor first picked for work. The rest of us are to be picked on a first-comehall, one of the supervisors calls out a list of names. Miraculously, my first-served basis, or so I think. Several buses come by around 6:15 and 6:30, and a list of names is called out for work assignments. Yours truly is name is called. We line up to go through the dispatch office, where we submit ourselves to a mandatory breathalyzer test and are given safety not called. The chosen ones are dispatched on the buses to their sites. equipment: a hard hat, safety By 7:00am, almost goggles, rubber steel-toed boots, everyone is gone from the waiting Kevlar gloves, and an orange vest. area, save those of us who had As I get on what very well shown up first at 4:30. When Jesus could have been the same school said that the last shall be first and bus I rode in elementary school, I the first shall be last, I don’t think realize that I hadn’t inquired as to that this was what he had in mind. where I was going. Day laborers I ask the lady in charge, and she are rarely told of their work says that there’s no more work; I assignments or how much they will should try back at noon for the next be paid; from what I understand, shift. asking doesn’t usually get you It is not uncommon for day much of an answer, anyway. laborers to wait two or three hours My answer comes when and not get any work. Those with the bus pulls into the Rumke return tickets get first crack at the Recyling Plant on Spring Grove ongoing jobs, and preferential Road in St. Bernard: I will be treatment seems to be the norm One of many Temp Labor operations in downtown Cincinnati picking through trash. We arrive among many labor hall supervisors. around 3:00pm and spend an hour in a dingy break room waiting for our Also, the word on the street is that One Force/Labor Solutions has been shift to start. There is a men’s and a women’s restroom – although both particularly dicey with their clients, so they’ve been losing contracts left and right. This means fewer jobs for those that show up. My morning has are flooded – as well as two water fountains. The city has declared a heat emergency, so I hydrate myself as best as possible. been wasted, and I am no closer to gaining work or a paycheck. I guess I’ll just come back at noon.
“LABOR” Cont. on Page 8
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Streetvibes Streetvibes, the TriState’s alternative news source, is a newspaper written by, for, and about the homeless and contains relevant discussions of social justice, and poverty issues. It is published once a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Becoming a Streetvibes Vendor is a great way for homeless and other low-income people to get back on (or stay on) their feet. Streetvibes Vendors are given an orientation and sign a code of conduct before being given a Streetvibes Vendor badge. Vendors are private contractors who DO NOT work for, or represent, the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homleess. All profits go directly to the vendor. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a group of shelters, agencies and individuals committed to ending homelessness in Cincinnati through coordinating services, educating the public and grassroots organizing. GCCH Staff Georgine Getty - Executive Director Allison Leeuw - Administrative Coordinator Monique Little - Education Coordinator Kelly Carr - VISTA Andy Lawrence - AHA Coordinator John Lavelle - VISTA Mary Gaffney - Reception Melvin Williams - Reception Susan Smith - Volunteer Streetvibes Jimmy Heath, Editor Photographer Jimmy Heath Cover Day labor office on Liberty and Race street, Over-the-Rhine Streetvibes accepts letters, poems, stories, essays, original graphics, and photos. We will give preference to those who are homeless or vendors. Subscriptions to Streetvibes, delivered to your home each month, can be purchased for $25 per year. Address mail to: Streetvibes Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 421-7803 e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com web: http://cincihomeless.org
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Connections by Monique Solanki Human equality is probably something most of us generally agree on. Many societies and religions are based on these principles. After all, irrespective of the age, sexual orientation, race, or socio-economic status of a person, we all share the same basic human qualities - we breathe air, eat food, and have dreams and feelings. Talk to most people and they will agree that all people are equal. But how many of us really abide by these principles? Many times, people forget this idea of equality. One place where this is perhaps most evident is by the way homeless people are alienated in our society. They are people with their own personalities and individuality, their own beliefs and likings, and yet they are so often looked upon as dirty and the scum of society. The truth is that most of us choose to ignore the very existence of homeless people instead of realizing that they could really use our help. How many people like to go out of their way to give extra change to a person who would consider those few coins a necessity? Who knows, those few quarters could buy a coffee. Better yet, a hash brown. A few quarters under the backseat of your car might mean nothing to you, but they could go a long way toward quenching someone’s thirst or feeding someone’s hunger. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I traveled with three bighearted people to prepare lunches and share them with the homeless. We used the lunches as an excuse to reach out to those in need - to hear their stories. One man we spoke with named Charles turned out to be a very interesting and wise person. We handed Charles a lunch and he accepted it thankfully, shifting his alcohol to hold onto his blankets and lunch, while standing in a green Billabong sweatshirt.
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Initially, he appeared skeptical with our questions. He seemed a little distrustful and a bit hesitant to answer, perhaps thinking there must certainly be some hidden motive behind this act of charity and friendliness. Soon, he let his guard down when we casually asked him, “What makes you happy?” The expression on his face seemed to say, “These people really do care.” What I realized when speaking with Charles is that homeless people are used to being ignored. They live life everyday being smirked at. To them, it’s just a fact of life and nothing more; but it obviously is hurtful. Probably as a homeless person, Charles, like so many others, is used to being treated with indifference; he is used to being stereotyped, ignored, objectified, and unseen. No one likes to be looked at as an unwanted being, but social differences have a way of highlighting it repeatedly. At first, Charles said nothing makes him happy- a knee-jerk pessimistic reaction I thought. Perhaps he was being a little cautious about opening himself up to strangers. As our conversation with him began to take on a more friendly demeanor, he changed his mind and said, “God makes me happy, because God gives knowledge.” After maybe 20 or 30 minutes of chatting, it occurred to me that Charles was not just some man on the street. He wasn’t just some bum. He was both an artist and a clever, insightful man. Just as some of us have hobbies, like collecting or playing basketball, Charles has his own hobby, or more so, a gift. He passionately spoke to us about his drawing and sketching skills. However his deteriorating eyesight prevented him from pursuing his ardor. He told us how he spent time with learned artists - guys that went to college and studied art in depth. But they all admitted their art didn’t come When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor. Basil the Great
close to the art of Charles. “They drew from the head; they’d draw what they see,” he said; “My art comes from the heart.” When we asked him where his art was, he told us it was in a gallery and said that his drawings would “blow you away;” drawings of slaves, children, and themes of prisons. They even amaze him. He can’t believe that he had created pieces so moving. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to check out the gallery. He told us more about his artistic abilities and at one point he added that he only drew when he was on drugs. We asked him if he had tried drawing without the influence of drugs, and he shook his head saying that he was “too distracted with the stuff on the streets to draw well.” It generally takes some kind of an incident, meeting, or event to take place before a person really understands equality. When the subject is brought up, many people think of race or sex; but rarely do they think of status, when really that’s one of the most important issues, especially in big cities like San Francisco. Luckily for those on the streets, San Francisco is at least a little more accommodative toward the homeless in contrast to Beverley Hills, which shuns homelessness. Not everyone has reached that understanding, and frankly, many people probably won’t. But it just takes a small amount of people to make a difference in someone’s life. Charles was probably relieved, if not happy, that regular people took the time to talk to him, shake his hand, and listen to him (as well as offer him lunch). This experience was not just about giving out lunches, but also about understanding another person on a personal and equal level.
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Homeless News Digest
Compiled by Jimmy Heath According to recent news from Washington DC, that “vagrant” in the subway may not really be a homeless person. The government says he may be a terrorist in disguise. An e-mail message from the U-S Attorney’s Office in Washington warns that some terrorists may be posing as street people to conduct surveillance of buildings and mass transit stations for future attacks. The e-mail stresses that there is no known threat of an attack. However, the message says homeless people tend to go unnoticed, particularly in mass transit systems. Police, fire and emergency personnel are advised to be aware of any vagrants who look unfamiliar or out of place — in a recent case in Somerville, Massachusetts, a police officer in became suspicious about someone dressed as a street person and discovered a passport from the Middle East or South Asia and a checkbook with a questionable address.
McMahon, Community Human Services’ outreach coordinator. In Williamsburg, VA, from January to May, 85 homeless people asked Williamsburg-area organizations for help finding a place to stay, according to a census released last month by the Salvation Army’s Williamsburg chapter. That doesn’t include women and children who may have stayed at the battered women’s shelter Avalon, said Salvation Army Capt. Greg Shannon. He is working with United Way of Greater Williamsburg and Avalon to compare records of people requesting help, which may raise the total number of homeless people, he said. Of the 85 people already counted, more than a third - 34 were single males. Children age 18 and younger accounted for the nexthighest number, 32. There were 19 adults with children and 17 single women who requested help, according to the census.
Indianapolis police last month were investigating the Eastside shooting death of a Community leaders homeless man. concerned about the number of Andre White, 45, was homeless people on Pittsburgh pronounced dead last month at streets are urging the city to Wishard Memorial Hospital. Police establish an “engagement said White was one of several people center,” a concept that has who were fighting about in the 3300 reduced homelessness in Philadelphia, Columbus, Ohio, and block of East Michigan Street. other cities. Police in Muskegon are The engagement center, investigating the death of a where homeless people could be homeless man. housed and receive medical care, The man’s body was found social services and other assistance, last month, behind a shed in the 900 is proposed as part of Allegheny block of Spring Street, in Grand County’s 10-year plan for ending Rapids, Michigan. chronic homelessness. Police say 48 year-old Homeless shelters already Wilmer Martin had several injuries, exist, of course, but those shelters which lead them to believe he was don’t address all of the needs of killed, though they won’t be sure until street people. an autopsy is completed. Many homeless people, especially those who have mental In Long Beach, CA illnesses or abuse alcohol or drugs, downtown business owners want avoid staying in the shelters, feeling police to do something about the they are unsafe or have too many rules, said Bill McBride, an outreach homeless population. “I’m frustrated,” said Dr. case manager for Community Human Erwin Burke, who runs a chiropractic Services, an Oakland social service office on Central Avenue. agency. “We’ve been begging and Besides developing the pleading for 10 years and nothing center, advocates hope to move homeless people quickly into housing, happened,” he said. “It affects my with appropriate case management or business.” Burke voiced his concerns other services. They also want to during a Downtown Business improve coordination of outreach teams and compile better data about Improvement Area meeting at the Tracy Community Center. people living on the street, said Mac
Joining Burke in his cry for help were other merchants who said that homeless people hanging around town scare away their customers. “We have merchants that have been dealing with it for years,” said Shawn Perry, manager of The Great Plate Bar & Grill on Central Avenue. “It’s doubled, if not quadrupled, in seven years.” Some DTBIA members said that homeless people should be arrested for loitering, but city officials disagree. “Standing around a half-hour talking isn’t loitering,” said Ellen Gripp, city housing and redevelopment manager. She said a person would have to be committing another crime, such as drinking in public or panhandling, to get arrested. Some merchants were upset that representatives from the Tracy Police Department, who had been invited, did not attend the meeting. In a later interview, Police Capt. Mike Maciel agreed with Gripp. “There are homeless people downtown,” said Maciel. “Is there a homeless crime problem? No. “They’re not accosting people. We can’t attribute thefts or vandalism to them. The crime may be drinking in public at times or perhaps trespassing.” Maciel said police would beef up their downtown presence. “We can and will step up activities and have the (Volunteers In Police Service) go down there more frequently,” he said. Gripp admitted that the problem would not be resolved overnight, but she said the merchants were taking their first steps toward a resolution. Jim Decker, downtown revitalization coordinator for the city, told the attendees to work with code enforcement and police. Decker said he’s found from talking to homeless people downtown that many enjoy their lifestyle of drugs and alcohol and being on the streets. Many of those who call the streets and alleyways of downtown their home are often seen hanging around the outside of Westside Market on Central Avenue. The store has become a gathering place for the homeless and a popular place to purchase alcohol. “The issue is not the people, it’s the lifestyle,” Decker said. “They need to know the lifestyle is not acceptable downtown.” Homeless people could not be found downtown an hour after the early-morning meeting. However, on Grant Line Road near the shopping centers, a homeless man was holding a sign that read ‘Please Help! Homeless & Hungry. Willing to Work!’
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Michael, a 36-year-old former auto mechanic, said that although he spends his day standing at the street exit of Wal-Mart holding a sign asking for money, he would rather be working. “The majority that do this are on drugs and alcohol,” he said. “I’ve got friends like that… but I don’t drink. I don’t use dope.” Michael, who has worked off and on the last three years, said he once earned $38 an hour. Now he lives on handouts from passing motorists. In Atlanta last month about 200 people crowded into a City Council meeting on a proposed panhandling ban after homeless people and dozens of their advocates spent the night on the steps of City Hall to show their opposition. Lisa Borders, the City Council president, had to shush the crowd to start several hours of public comment on a resolution that would make it illegal to beg for money near downtown hotels or tourist sites. Among the first to speak was Elisabeth Omilami, who spent the night outside She pleaded tearfully for the council not to pass the ban. ‘’The ability to ask for alms is a Godgiven ability. You can pass laws to protect trees, but what about human beings? God help us!” Omilami said. Although there were some supporters of the ban, most of those who attended the hearing were from groups of activists for the homeless and civil rights organizations who appeared at previous meetings to oppose the measure. A vote on the proposal was delayed last month after a contentious meeting that included shouting matches and hissing from critics. The council was to debate the issue later yesterday, but it was unclear when the panel would vote on it. William Fox, 57, who is homeless, said before the session began that he never panhandled, but that ‘’forcing people not to panhandle is taking away their rights. It’s not American.” Downtown business owners say aggressive beggars are keeping people away from the central business district. Last month, Home Depot cofounder Bernie Marcus, who is bankrolling the $200 million Georgia Aquarium being built downtown, threw his support behind the ban, saying the success of the attraction depends on it. But advocates for the homeless are instead pushing for affordable housing and a living wage for the city’s homeless population, saying people who cannot care for themselves have a right to ask for charity and should not be criminalized.
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Youths sought in beating of homeless man
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by Christine McConville, Police have launched a search for a group of youths who, they say, beat and seriously injured a homeless man last month in South Boston. ‘’We don’t know who did this,” said Lyndia Downie, executive director of the Pine Street Inn, the shelter in the South End. ‘’But until these people are found, we want people to be especially careful,” Downie said. The injured man, whom police would not identify because he was a victim of a violent crime, was taken to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. He was upgraded to serious condition, said Officer Michael McCarthy of the Boston Police Department. Word of the assault spread quickly among the homeless, who have been on alert after several recent beating deaths in the community. A 32-year-old homeless man who was outside the Pine Street Inn said violence is a fact of life among the homeless. Downie agreed. ‘’It’s a violent life on the streets,” she said. As police searched for the attackers, officers said that one of the city’s most violent homeless men, Dennis Connolly, was probably not involved. Connolly is known as ‘’The Stomper” by police and the homeless because of his alcohol-fueled assaults. ‘’There’s no connection,” McCarthy said. Connolly has spent most of the past year behind bars. He went to jail in October after Kenny Kane, 48 and homeless, was savagely beaten in a public alley between Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Kane died from his injuries, but police were able to gather only enough evidence to charge Connolly with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, his foot. Connolly was jailed until late July, when he pleaded guilty to that charge in Boston Municipal Court. Prosecutors requested a 2 1/2-year sentence, but the judge sentenced Connolly to nine months, the time he had spent in jail waiting for his trial. He was set free. A few weeks later, on Aug 13, Steven Neiber, another homeless man, was found dead outside St. Anthony’s Shrine in downtown Boston.. McCarthy said police have not established any link between Neiber’s death and Connolly, but they are still investigating.
It’s Time to Say Goodbye by Kate McManus When I signed up for my year of service through AmeriCorps, I remember thinking, “A whole year… I’m going to be in Cincinnati for a long time and I’m going to learn and accomplish so much while I’m there.” Well, I was right about learning and accomplishing a lot, but a year ended up not being much time at all. I cannot believe that a year has passed so quickly. I feel like I’ve only been at the Coalition for a couple months at the most. But unfortunately, it has been my time at the Coalition has come to an end. I’ll be starting orientation for law school at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law a mere three days after my final day at the Coalition. Over the next three years, as I continue my education, I hope to continue volunteering in one of the shelters in Cleveland or doing pro bono legal work. My eventual goal is to focus on public interest and civil rights in my career as a lawyer. This
Adieu
has always been what I wanted to do, but my time working at the Coalition has only reinforced my passion for social justice and my desire to use a law degree to work against injustice. This year at the Coalition has been one of the most enlightening and interesting years of my life so far. I lived in a pretty homogenous suburb between Cleveland and Akron for most Kate McManus of my life. I say it was homogenous because almost everyone who lived there was white and upper middle to upper class. I had very little exposure to poverty or homelessness. In the limited instances when I did encounter homeless individuals, I was so ignorant about homelessness that unfortunately, I probably tried to ignore the situation. Looking back, I
their current situation, they would demand and expect nothing less than the utmost respect, as they should. by Rachel Lawson Unfortunately, just because “sometimes/when i wake up/in the morning/and see all the faces/i just you demand to be treated the same as others, does not mean that the rest can’t/breathe” (*Nikki Giovanni). of society feels the same way. I A year ago, I entered the learned how hard it is to receive a doors of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, unaware job, even if you only have a felony and you served your time 20 years that I would meet individuals who would not only change my outlook on prior. To the rest of the world, my own life, but change my housing proprieties, and job sites, that perspective of Cincinnati politics, felony is all that matters. I suburbanites, drug learned that even if you dealers, case once owned multiple managers, etc. houses and cars legally, if To sum it up, you have a drug addiction I received a reality that disables you, the rest check. From the of the world is not silent warriors at the sympathetic to whom you Drop Inn Center to once were. the individuals under Rachel Lawson Fortunately, I had my the bridge who are share of positive and reassuring quite content to hang out under the stories that encouraged me, even on clear sky, one cannot help but to respect and understand that there is a the most depressing days. Such as world most Cincinnatians’ have never the elderly gentleman that was barred from every shelter, who one winter heard or even thought of. day basically ran to the welcoming It’s very easy to lump arms of the PATH Team and is now homelessness into one ugly category sitting watching television in his own and avoid eye contact with the apartment. panhandler in Clifton or call up your Then there is the loyal local shelter because you want redhead who encountered major someone to come and pick up the fumbles throughout her life but who is items you’ve deemed worthy of now standing strong and determined donation. It’s extremely difficult to look to reach almost two years of sobriety. In a way the individuals that I individuals directly in their face, and have encountered have been role empathize with their situation, and at the same time, provide a voice to the models for me, teaching me patience and determination. voiceless. The most education I Threw these experiences I learned while working at the have gained an even greater Homeless Coalition came from the appreciation for those that have not individuals who took the time to sit and a regret for those that have. To down and let me enter their worlds have sometimes means that you don’t with the understanding that despite
wish I had known more and had realized that I was no different than the person before me. In college, I gained more exposure to homelessness and learned more about the realities of homelessness. It was this that led me to a year of service and the Coalition. My time at the Coalition has allowed me to talk and interact with a wide variety of people on a daily basis. Our afternoon receptionist, Melvin, might refer to me as “Quiet,” but I’ve had plenty of conversations in the office, out in Washington Park, and everywhere in between with many individuals. Through research, discussions, and these conversations, I have learned about myself, homelessness, major issues homeless individuals face on a daily basis, the politics of Cincinnati, and all the agencies and individuals who work hard every day to help the homeless and low-income individuals in
Cincinnati. It’s been a lot to absorb, even over a whole year, but I’m so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to talk to me or explained something that was going on in the City. And I know it’s cheesy, but I just want to let everyone know that this past year has meant so much to me and I’ve learned so much from all of you. Keep fighting the good fight and I know you will accomplish so much. I’ll work hard in law school so I can rejoin the fight stronger than ever. Thank you all for everything and I hope I’ll see you all in the future. To the rest of the Firecats: You guys are great and I’m so glad you let me join up and use my superpowers for good rather than evil. I’ll miss you and all the good times, big projects, heated discussions about blogs and Council, and, yes, even fundraising Wednesdays. Keep on keeping on and don’t forget to keep me in the loop about what’s going on in Cincinnati and with all of you. And one final thing – Extreme HoCo: It goes there…
understand “why everyone doesn’t just get a job” or that you assume all panhandlers are homeless. I wouldn’t trade this year and the experiences I have had for the world. Even on the days that I stood in Washington Park and it seemed that the only guarantee in some individuals’ lives was homelessness, I learned to “breathe” and think that if that appeared to be the only guarantee, I would simply have to ignore that and look for another option.
(Although the purpose of this article is to say “goodbye”, I will be starting graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, so I will be basically right around the corner and I look forward to seeing and hearing from everyone in the future.) * For further information about Nikki Giovanni or to read more of her writings please visit http:// members.tripod.com/~Raincloud771/ htm/nikki.htm.
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Our City’s Janitors Deserve Respect Cincinnati Financial Corporation: Tell Jancoa to respect janitors As support grows for Justice for Janitors throughout Cincinnati with janitors and the community, one janitorial contractor remains opposed to change Jancoa Inc. Recently, Jancoa Inc has gone as far as replacing 18 janitors at Cincinnati Financial Corporation because they participated in a delegation and a legal unfair labor practices protest. Jancoa’s actions are not isolated. Throughout the year,
Jancoa has faced: 4 pending Unfair Labor Practices charges under the National Labor Relations Board for firing union activists, threatening newly hired employees who participate in Justice for Janitors, not permitting a female janitor active in the campaign to return to work from her maternity leave, and threatening to change workers into independent contractors in a effort to skirt labor & safety regulations. 6 Department of Labor charges for failure to pay overtime $5,000 in OSHA safety fines Says Marisol Morales, a janitor at CinFin for three years,
“I’ve been proud to clean the Cincinnati Financial Corporation building. All I want is to be treated with respect, like a human being. But Jancoa would not do that and when we spoke out, they kicked everyone out. This is the real Jancoa. This is why Justice for Janitors is so needed.” Cincinnati should not be a place where people are punished for exercising their rights. Get active and urge Cincinnati Financial Corporation to address Jancoa’s actions. Visit http:// www.cincijanitors.org and learn about The Problem with Jancoa.
Fast-Food Chains More Common Around Schools Do Fast-Food Chains Cluster Around Schools?” A Harvard School of Public Health study of 2002 data on 613 fast-food restaurants and 1,292 public and private schools in Chicago showed that nearly 80 percent of the city’s schools had at least one fast-food restaurant within a half mile of them.
The number of fast-food outlets less than a mile from schools was at least three times what would be expected from a random distribution of fast-food restaurants. Previous research has shown that on a typical day, about one third of young Americans eat fast food, consuming more calories, fats and
The End of Summer Brings Hope by Ms. Mary Gaffney And to the people who Greetings to my homeless purchase the paper each month friends and especially to the patrons from our vendors, thank you and who purchase papers from our may God forever bless you. Streetvibes vendors each month. Without you the paper would not I hope you have exist and my friends had a happy and would be deprived of blessed summer with the financial help they vacations and family. receive as a vendor. To my homeless As it was said, “the friends and vendors of birds have their nests, Streetvibes, I know that the fox has its den, you are doing the best but the son of man Miss Mary Gaffney that you can. And as has no place to lay his the leafs begin to fall head.” and the squirrels begin to prepare Remember, God loves you for their winter homes, my prayers regardless of your condition the each day are for my friends. problems you may have had in your There are only three months life or what you are now going left to the year! through. Don’t give up; the sun is coming up over the hill.
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read and are interested in by Linda Corey Streetvibes. God bless the vendors Money isn’t everything. I of Streetvibes, the editor and all of have no money, but I am still happy. the readers and writers. I have money to pay my bills and the dollar does not go very far. The bible says that money is the root of all evil. I remember holding a sign and being homeless; money was very hard to get. I now sell Streetvibes. I have met a lot of people who have Linda Corey
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sugars than when they do not eat fast food. McDonald’s Corp. spokesman Walt Riker said McDonald’s locates its restaurants “in high-traffic areas like every other business, to serve customers. It has nothing to do with schools.” The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/ 9053465/
Harry’s Story Harry was 19 years old and seemed to have it all. He was a commodities clerk for an internationally-known financial services provider. He rubbed shoulders with high-level traders on Wall Street. The generous pay helped fund Harry’s college education. Then some of Harry’s friends started cutting classes to drink. Drinking soon led to smoking pot. When a downturn in the stock market caused Harry’s job to be eliminated, he started taking more and increasingly powerful drugs to escape his disappointment. “I can’t explain it because I have a good family, I’m somewhat educated and I’m a man of reason.” Harry said. “I had a tough battle to come to terms with the fact that I was out of control.” Harry ended up working for the New York City Human Resources Administration in the shelter system. When his drug habit became too powerful to manage, he entered a residential treatment program in Harlem. But he left after six months to move in with a woman he met there. They found an apartment and she continued to get high, while Harry struggled to stay clean. “We really didn’t know who God was. We just wanted to do things on our own,” Harry said. “Out of white-knuckling it, I stayed sober for a year and eight months.” Then he succumbed to temptation and started getting high again. “It came to the point where God
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allowed me to go down so I could humble myself so I could really hear Him,” Harry said. “So I started getting high and I eventually lost everything.” Harry ended up living in the city shelters while he was also working there. “There’s no real help there,” Harry concluded. “They’ll let you fend for yourself.” At some of the shelters, he said, there are 1,200 beds on a single floor. It’s crowded, noisy and the homeless are treated like numbers, not humans. Through the city shelter system, Harry found out about The Bowery Mission Transitional Center on Avenue D. He entered the residential program there but found out he wasn’t ready yet. Harry started taking drugs again and was eventually asked to leave the program. But he couldn’t forget a conversation he had with a staff security person there. Finally Harry concluded, “I need God. There’s no other way of doing it. I’ve tried everything else.” When he surrendered himself to God, Harry decided to go to The Bowery Mission, where he knew he could tackle the root of his problem, which was spiritual. “The drugs and alcohol were just manifestations of the deeper problems that I had,” he said. His long-range goal is to combine his management and counseling experience to find a job. But he wants to make sure he has a solid foundation before he makes a decision about a career. “I need God. There’s no other way of doing it,” Harry said. “There’s no other way. I’ve tried everything else.”
Know Your Rights Brochure Available!
Over-the-Rhine resident Berta Lambert (left) and fellow protester from Australia. Both traveled a nuclear protest walk from Oak Ridge TN to New York City. (750 Miles plus)
The Know Your Rights Brochure is now available at the Coalition’s office. The brochure is a legal guide for Cincinnati’s homeless and covers a person’s basic rights when interacting with the police, as well as some local laws that might be of interest to the homeless population. If you are a homeless person or if you work with homeless people and would like to obtain free copies of the brochure for yourself or your agency, please call 421-7803, or stop by the Coalition office and pick one up.
Healthier School Lunches Compete with Junk Food in School Vending in à la carte lines, with baked goods, services division for the Vista Machines and Stores Health Movement Has School Cafeterias in a Food Fight Chicago is one of many school districts that started replacing high calorie foods and drinks in vending machines and cafeteria à la carte lines. Washington, D.C. students will see good-for-you foods in vending machines for the first time this fall. But other schools still offer
sugar-loaded vending in addition to cookies and candy sold at school stores by school fundraising groups. A Pennsylvania State University study of 228 schoolfood service directors in that state showed that high school students are surrounded by fattening and sugary foods, and not just from vending machines. The study found hamburgers, pizzas, and sandwiches to be the most popular
french fries, and salty snacks close to the top as well. Some school administrators fear losing income from vending machines that supports many students’ activities. However, when Philadelphia schools instituted a nosoda policy in July 2004, it hardly affected revenues from vending, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools received an increase of $400,000 by selling water, milk, juices, and healthier snacks. Enid Hohn, director of the nutrition
Unified School District in San Diego County, says “it is ridiculous” that she serves healthy food in the school lunch program and 10 feet away the school is selling unhealthy food. But she forecasts that in 10 years schools will look back and say: “Can you believe we used to sell that junk to our students?” http://www.usatoday.com/news/ health/2005-08-21-junk-foodcover_x.htm
1,100 Affordable Housing Units Created in Boston by Jill Furumoto In Boston, nearly 1,100 units of affordable housing have been produced since the city began its second major housing initiative two years ago, according to a City Hall report. More than $13.9 million had also been raised for new affordable housing developments. The initiative, Leading the Way II, aims to preserve 2,100 units of affordable housing and raise $25 million by June 2007. Around 1,400 families and individuals who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless have also been housed. “The Leading the Way II strategy is so important because we need to continue to address the cities housing needs by building more housing and preserving what we have,” Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement. “We need to keep moving forward so that working families, the elderly and other residents have access to housing they can afford.” According to the report, 5,400 total units of housing had been permitted as of June 30, putting the
city over 400 units ahead of schedule to meet its 10,000-unit target in two years. A prior plan, also named Leading the Way, permitted 7,900 units of housing over three years. “[The program is] not just about creation and preservation; it’s also keeping people in their homes and working to steer people away from predatory loans so they can keep their homes,” said DeWayne Lehman, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development (DND). Leading the Way II followed the original housing strategy put forth by the mayor in 2000. The first plan called for the city’s housing agencies – including DND, the Boston Housing Authority and the Department of Inspectional Services – to create the new housing and increase the supply of affordable housing. Following the plan’s completion, the second was launched in 2003. “This is the first time the city has set very clear plans and goals to work on housing issues,” Lehman said. “The [first] Leading the Way
plan was the mayor’s way of keeping the agency focused on the goal of housing. The second one was launched to keep that focus. It is a motivator to keep everyone’s nose to the grindstone. You won’t see this kind of work in a lot of other cities.” Despite the achievements of Menino’s plans, some advocates for the homeless state that recent federal cutbacks have worsened the housing situation in Boston. “The problem with subsidized housing is that there is not enough of it,” Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless Associate Director Leslie Lawrence said. “There is a need for more federal funding for public housing, which serves the lowestincome people.” According to other advocates, there are no easy solutions. Boston Housing Authority spokesperson Lydia Agro said in an interview that “the subsidized housing system is a very complicated system. There are many types of housing that receive funding from different sources. The federal funds for
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Section 8 vouchers are frozen, and it looks like they will not be re-instated in the foreseeable future.” The waiting list for public housing re-opened on July 11 and will remained open until July 29,” Agro added. “During this time, all names [were ] put into a pool and a random lottery will determine their placement on a waiting list.” There are many different eligibility requirements and prioritizing factors that determine where someone is placed on a list. Meanwhile, in an interview with Boston’s Spare Change Street newspaper, a Section 8 recipient who wished to remain anonymous said his wait for housing was too long. “I am an elderly and disabled individual, and I eventually connected with the HomeStart agency, which helped me find housing,” the person said. “The wait was long, but I am happy to have a place to live and no longer be homeless.” Reprinted from Spare Change News. © Street News Service: www.street-papers.org
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“LABOR” Cont. from Page 1 By the time our shift starts at 4:00pm, I have waited well over four hours for the opportunity to be on the clock. I am assigned to the paper line with Tasha (her name changed for this article), where I stand beside a conveyer belt, picking out cans, bottles, plastic bags, and foreign objects from the tons of paper products that drift by. The work is dirty and smelly, despite the gloves and the industrial fans at our station. Mounds of cardboard caked in mud and Godonly-knows-what are the most prominent hazard, along with broken glass bottles and heaps of unused Arby’s coupons. After two hours of work on the paper line, I’m starting to feel a little faint, not so much from the odiferous fumes of wet, decomposing paper products so much as from dehydration. The work is not incredibly taxing, but the hot and humid weather has left me sweating buckets. To my relief, we take a break a little after 6:00pm. All the workers congregate in the break room, where we are given free bottles of Gatorade by the Rumke staff. I load up on Gatorade and water before we resume work after a fifteen minute rest. Once back on the line, we get barraged by a particularly nasty load, leaving my arms coated with a fine, black layer of dirt, dust, and glass particles. Tasha and I converse a bit, and I learn that she has worked temp labor at Rumke on and off for six years; for that reason she is often put in charge of new workers and special projects. That doesn’t sound like temporary work to me. Interestingly enough, we spend much of our time working alongside permanent employees of Rumke. The day and temp laborers, however, do not enjoy their higher wages and health benefits, despite the fact that they often engage in the same work. While sweeping up before the shift ends at 9:00pm, a few of the workers ask me if I plan on coming back tomorrow. I say, “We’ll see,” knowing full well that I’ll resume my normal day-to-day projects with the Coalition come morning. They just laugh and remark, “Yeah, we know what that
means.” I feel the privilege that I was born with burn inside of me. It hurts more than usual as we file out at 9:00pm. The bus is surprisingly on time – definitely not the norm from the comments of those around me – and we make our way back to Over-the-Rhine as the sun disappears. Checks are distributed during the ride, causing spirits to lift a little. “Man oh man,” remarks a guy sitting next to me, “that break was one for the record books.” I ask him: “Why’s that? With the free Gatorade and all?” “No,” he replies, “we ain’t never got no break before.” I get back to my apartment a little before 10:00pm, exhausted and dirty. I’m the last one off the bus, except for a guy who is continuing to the One Force/Labor Solutions Covington office to work the third shift. I had been at “work” for ten hours, but only engaged in five official hours of paid labor. Such is the nature of day and temp labor. For my efforts, I was paid $32.50, or $6.50 an hour – not bad by day labor standards. Minus $3.17 for taxes – I kept as much as I could for myself – puts me at $29.33. But here’s the kicker: they take out $5.00 to pay for my transportation to and from the work site. That docks me down to my final paycheck total of $24.33 for five hours of labor (in which I invested five additional hours just to have the “opportunity” to work). But wait, there’s more! It is One Force/Labor Solutions policy to deduct for safety equipment rental that should have cost me an additional $3-4. For some reason I wasn’t charged, perhaps because one of the supervisors liked me or felt bad about calling me “Archie.” I should also factor in the fact that most day and temp laborers do not have bank accounts and must cash their checks at places that charge at least a dollar or two. Many labor halls cash checks, but charge outrageous fees. It is also not uncommon for labor agencies to provide a lunch to workers and charge – again, sometimes OVERcharge – for that meal. Realistically, my final pay could have just as easily been well
below $20. That’s for ten hours of my time, not including the time I had spent fruitlessly waiting for work in the early morning. Many of these pay deductions, conditions, and overall practices are illegal in some states. Legal or illegal, they still prey on vulnerable populations and expedite the cycles of poverty and homelessness. These types of work with these types of conditions and these types of wages are not a sustainable way of living. No one can support themselves, let alone a family, on so little money for so much time and effort. And even if there was enough affordable housing in Cincinnati – there is a severe shortage in Cincinnati and Hamilton
National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project (NHCROP) 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 homelesscivilrights@yahoo.com Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (513) 421-7803 Page 8
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County – working day and temp labor would not even pay for it. The time has come to change this. Stay tuned. Keep your eyes on future Streetvibes for more information and developments on day and temp labor, as well as how anyone can take action. Interested in getting involved in improving day and temp labor conditions? Do you work day labor and wish to file a grievance or help organize? Contact the Cincinnati Fair Day Labor Advocates: Don Sherman @ Cincinnati Interfaith Center for Worker Justice (513)621-4336 or John Lavelle @ GCCH (513)4217803.
y gn b enport i s e v D a Da i n o T
Visit the Greater Cincinnati Coaltion for the Homeless website at - http://www.cincihomeless.org Visit the Streevibes archives at - http:// www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes.html Streetvibes
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Our first effort is focused on September 11. Many students can remember where they were on that sad day. by Steve Sunderland This year, an interfaith The summer is rapidly group, Jewish, Catholic, expanding to its last few days. I hope Moslem, Unitarian you have had a chance to recharge faiths, will be holding a your batteries. I am still savoring special meeting to discuss what we can do each day and feeling that just a little longer is necessary. to “build bridges of The Peace Village enters hope and another year with you. I am so understanding” in the Dr. Steve Sunderland wake of September 11 pleased to be continuing to offer and all that has peace programs that open doors for mosque to UC, with stops at religious happened. On September 10th, our community. I expect that my institutions and the fire house along move to the College of Education will Saturday, we will be meeting at the the way. add some joy to our work. This year Clifton mosque for a discussion at It would be great for you and 7pm and then moving to the Clifton the Peace Village continues to work your students to attend any and all of on “Peace and Hunger” programs, United Methodist Church for a these events. There is no charge; you continuation of our discussion, “Interfaith understanding” programs can stay as long as you like, and you 8:30pm-10pm. Then, On Sunday, and on tsunami relief efforts in can call me at 513.919.2538 for any September 11, starting at 1pm at the questions. We expect to have Indonesia. I am open to work with Clifton mosque, we will be having our university students and faculty as well all of you on these and related programs. third annual Peace Walk from the as others interested in thinking about
The Peace Village
and healing from the legacy of September 11. I am working on the final details of a Peace Certificate program for students and faculty involved in service education and reflection activities. I will be back to you with the final version later this Summer. I look forward to seeing you in this important year of peace and justice. In peace and gratitude... Dr. Steve Sunderland, professor of Social Work at the University of Cincinnati, is the Director of The Peace Village, a group of individuals from the national and international community committed to examining all issues of Peace in the world. Dr. Sunderland also heads up Posters-for-Peace which engages people in expressing their visions of Peace, in their own words through the creation of posters.
FRAC Food and Hunger Report Food Stamp Ban for Certain ExOffenders Contribute to Recidivism (“US Churches Try to Help Exprisoners Stay Straight,” alertnet.org, August 8, 2005) According to the Department of Justice, of the 600,000 Americans released from prison each year, two-thirds return to confinement within three years after their release, which costs the country billions of dollars. Supported by President Bush and federal dollars, state and local authorities have increasingly relied on churches in dealing with this problem. One Washington, DC faithbased program for former prisoners has not yet resulted in decreasing recidivism. Other factors make it even harder for ex-felons to stay out of trouble than in previous years. For instance, the 1996 welfare law banned anyone convicted for buying or selling drugs from receiving food stamps or cash assistance for life.
Tania’s story As far back as I can remember, I wanted to leave home. Eventually, I left when I was 14. Ever since then I have looked after myself and paid my own way. I am determined my baby son will have a better start than that. For the past six years, since I was 19, I have had sole custody of my sister, who was eight when she came to live with me. Often looking after her has been tough in many ways - including financially. When I contacted Hanover, I
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In Indiana an Editorial Says Cuts in Number of Social Service Sites Will Hurt LowIncome People (“Don’t Sacrifice Service,” southbendtribune.com, August 7, 2005) Indiana FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob plans to reduce the number of state employees working at Medicaid, food stamps and cash welfare application centers from 2,500 to 500 and keep open between 18 and 40 centers out of an existing 107. The Secretary reasons that regional FSSA offices will be supplemented by intake processors at health care clinics and other service providers. This editorial says that Roob’s plans might harm low-income people. “The neediest people . . . are the ones with the greatest mobility limitations. . . . [For food stamps,] it will be accessibility rather than eligibility that determines whether some people get needed nutritional help.” While supporting measures to improve social service efficiency, the paper says accessibility to help had just moved back to Melbourne and was staying with my sister and her three children. Two families living in a small house was really difficult and I knew I had to move, but I had no idea where to go. Luckily, Hanover helped me move into a transitional house and I am now on the waiting list for an Office of Housing property. It is a relief to know that when I get stuck the staff at Hanover will always help me. For instance, when I first moved into this house I had no money and my case
for those in needs must not be sacrificed. In the District of Columbia Combined Application for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Cash Assistance Offered (“DHS Streamlines Eligibility for Medical, Food, and Cash Assistance,” dchunger.org, August 5, 2005) The Department of Human Services released a new, simplified “Combined Application for Medical, Food Stamp, and Cash Assistance” to make it easier and faster for Washington, DC residents to apply for these services. The new application is available in English and Spanish, with the cover page also featuring messages in Amharic, Chinese, and Vietnamese. The new form also grants DC residents the right to self-declare bank assets less than $1000 instead of imposing a requirement to obtain a bank statement, for which banks charge a fee. Here in Ohio, School Uniforms and Supplies Too Costly for practitioner, Louise, gave me money so I could buy food. Another time, when I urgently needed clothes, Louise organized a small loan for me, which I have now paid back. Hanover was also really helpful with my sister. They paid for some of her school textbooks, which I couldn’t afford, and another time they helped with some transport costs for her. I don’t think she would still be at school if Hanover hadn’t helped. I have always hated to ask for help, but at the moment there is just no other way.
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Students (“Basic School Supplies too Costly for Many Northeast Ohio Students,” cleveland.com, August 7, 2005) Some Ohio kids will go back to school in designer clothes and with new laptops, but not the children of Northeast Ohio parents who live at or near the poverty line. Shoes and Clothes for Kids, a local nonprofit that helps disadvantaged families with school supplies and uniforms, reports that they have never received so many requests for aid. Nancy Stroman of East Cleveland Neighborhood Center says, “I have families with both parents working and they’re still struggling.” Families who don’t get aid may end up going without new uniforms, and their children risk being suspended for not adhering to the dress code. Prepared by Food Research and Action Center, 1875 Conn. Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009; 202-986-2200; www.frac.org Let us plant dates even though those who plant them will never eat them. We must live by the love of what we will never see. This is the secret discipline. It is a refusal to let the creative act be dissolved away in immediate sense experience, and a stubborn commitment to the future of our grandchildren. Such disciplined love is what has given prophets, revolutionaries, and saints the courage to die for the future they envisaged . They make their own bodies the seed of their highest hope. Ruben Alves, Tomorrow’s Child
Speaking Truth to Roberts
absolute right to do so. The belief line on critical votes. But if they that a president can do whatever he by Paul Rogat Loeb really demanded moderate chooses links this nomination, the From the moment the John appointments, or stood firm against Downing Street Memo and Roberts nomination was the “nuclear option” power grab Plamegate in a common matrix of announced, the media called it a unaccountable power. done deal. NPR and the New York that threatens to end the filibuster, Roberts could certainly be Roberts is also disturbingly Times gushed over his humility, defeated. Whatever the final vote, loyal to dubious corporate interests, humor, and congeniality. With offering a critical perspective gives or at least to principles that allow Roberts’s belief system barely us the chance to help frame how these interests to run roughshod mentioned, you’d think Bush had Americans view this administration over ordinary citizens and just nominated Mister Rogers. and what we can expect from future communities. He argued that In the wake of this media lifetime appointments to a court private individuals could not sue the love fest, I keep encountering that’s our final arbiter of rights and federal government for violations of people who oppose everything governmental power. Settling for environmental regulations like the Roberts has stood for, but see no removal of mountaintops by West use in trying to stop what seems his an appointment as regressive as Virginia mining companies. He inevitable confirmation. But we can Roberts invites Bush to nominate someone still worse for next round. supported the rights of developers make a powerful impact by raising to ignore the Endangered Species the discomforting truth that Roberts Challenging him draws a line and invites our fellow citizens to stand Act. He denied the rights of may be closer to a smiling Antonin up in other ways to this immensely workers injured over time as part of Scalia. However the Senators their jobs, supported criminal vote—and it’s not foreordained, the destructive presidency. How has a seemingly nice contempt fines to force the end of a more we raise key issues and man like Roberts supported a strike, and helped a major car principles, the more they’ll echo politics of contempt for the voice of manufacturer avoid a recall of down the line around future anyone but the wealthy and dangerous seatbelts. nominations and policies. powerful? In a time when the Bush Then there’s Roe vs. Wade. Roberts is being hailed as administration acts as if granted the People of goodwill can disagree the brilliant Harvard lawyer who divine right of kings, it’s troubling about abortion, but overturning that gets along with everyone. He’s that Roberts defended Cheney’s decision would devastate the lives conservative, but reasonable. He right to refuse to name the of women forced to bear unwanted doesn’t froth at the mouth. He corporate participants in his secret children. Roberts has already barely barks. Unlike Bush’s three energy policy meeting. He advised argued, as Deputy Solicitor most recent Appeals Court Jeb Bush on the 2000 election, and General, that “Roe was wrongly appointees, he hasn’t led a right wing ideological charge. He’s being denied being a member of the ultra- decided and should be overruled.” conservative Federalist Society, Pat Robertson endorsed him as one praised as a nomination Bush then turned up on the Society’s of his top favored choices. In the should be proud of. Washington steering committee. words of Tony Perkins of the ultraWe need to tell a different conservative Family Research story, and do our best to get it into He’s argued that the Voting Rights Council, Bush “promised to the media, the arguments raised by Act can only be violated by nominate someone along the lines of our elected representatives, and the intentional discrimination, saying laws that incidentally discriminate a Scalia or a Thomas and that is awareness of our fellow citizens. are ok. Most damning, Roberts exactly what he has done.” The actual outcome will probably just ruled that if this administration It’s tempting to decide that depend on a small group of Republican “moderates,” who tend wishes to exempt someone from the Roberts is the best we can get, so Geneva Convention and we should simply accept him, lest to briefly question about Bush’s international law, they have the we get someone worse. But that policies and choices, then toe the
traps us in a continuous cycle of lowered expectations, until we accept anyone short of Attila the Hun. I’m not expecting Bush to nominate the next Thurgood Marshall. Even Sandra O’Connor, who everyone now praises, helped put Bush in office to begin with in a decision blasted by legal scholars for its contempt for constitutional precedents, including claims of the participating justices to support states rights. Given the Republicans’ current power, another O’Connor may be the most we can expect, but we have no obligation to accept a candidate as problematic as Roberts. Instead of caving to fatalistic acceptance, we need to approach this nomination as an exercise in truth telling. We can talk, to whomever we have access, about what Roberts represents, and what a court in his image would mean for America. We can lobby our Senators to draw the line, knowing that the more they do, the more the media will question. We can hold up a vision of how America could be, while describing how profoundly our heritage of liberty and justice is being attacked. And then we can keep on, whatever the immediate result, so that we will not be faced with another Justice Roberts ten years down the line. Paul Loeb is the author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen’s Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, named the #3 political book of fall 2004 by the History Channel and the American Book Association, and of Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time See www.paulloeb.org
What Price is Marriage in the Welfare Law? by Vera Zlatkin, written as representative of Contact Center, Cincinnati Welfare Rights Coalition
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money could be better spent on other programs for the poor; programs such as jobs, housing, or child care for poor parents who are working or in school. We also fear that women living in abusive relationships will be coerced into marriage by significant financial incentive making it even less likely that she will be able to leave her abuser. 60% of women living in poverty have been subjected to domestic violence as adults. For these women and their children, marriage may not be the best solution to economic insecurity. ee
factor in determining the eligibility of a person or family to receive federal assistance. More than thirty years ago, the Supreme Court held that discrimination against unmarried families is an unconstitutional denial of the equal protection of the laws. (New Jersey Welfare Rights Organization v. Cahill, 411 U.S. 619 (1973)) We are also concerned about the cost, especially at this time when our economy is in such dire straits. The budget bill that cleared the Senate includes $593 million in direct federal aid to the District of Columbia. S. 1446 sets aside $1.5 million a year for marriage development accounts. In addition, the federal government is already spending over $100 million overall on unproven marriage promotion programs. We feel that in this time of deficits and budget cuts, this
Str
The bill, S1446, introduced by Senator Sam Brownback, which includes a “Marriage Development and Improvement” program for the District of Columbia, we believe, discriminates against single parent families. This program would create Marriage development accounts to low income couples who set up savings accounts to buy a home, send a child to college, or start a business. The government would provide a lifetime payment of $9,000 per couple, which they would have to withdraw within three years and they would have to be married by that time. Single, childless residents of the District of Columbia, who have undergone job, education, and
financial counseling, and are between 16 and 22 years of age, may also receive a federal payment of up to $4,500. Single people with children, however, are totally exempt from this program. I am wary that once Marriage Development Accounts are established in the District of Columbia, they will “spread” to other states. Indeed the Federal government is sending a “go light” to marriage promotion policies in the federal welfare law currently being debated in Congress. Some states, such as West Virginia, already financially reward single moms if they get married. Though we are in favor of assistance for low- income parents, we strongly feel that low- income families which are headed by single parents should not be discriminated against by the Federal Government. Marital status should not be a
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Streetvibes Vendor Code of Conduct About the Greater Cincinnati All Vendors Sign and Agree to a Code of Conduct Coalition for the Homeless and Report Any Violations to GCCH - 421-7803 Streetvibes.... 1. Streetvibes will be distributed Vendors must not tell customers earned. This program has helped for a $1 voluntary donation. If a customer donates more than $1 for a paper, vendors are allowed to keep that donation. However, vendors must never ask for more than $1 when selling Streetvibes. 2. Each paper purchased from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) costs 30 cents. Papers will not be given out on credit. Old papers can not be traded in for new papers. 3. Streetvibes may only be purchased from GCCH. Never buy papers from, or sell papers to other vendors. 4. Vendors must not panhandle or sell other items at the same time they are selling Streetvibes. 5. Vendors must treat all other vendors, customers, and GCCH personnel with respect. 6. Vendors must not sell Streetvibes while under the influence. 7. Vendors must not give a “hard sell” or intimidate anyone into purchasing Streetvibes. This includes following customers or continuing to solicit sales after customers have said no. Vendors must also never sell Streetvibes door-to-door. 8. Vendors must not deceive customers while selling Streetvibes. Vendors must be honest in stating that all profits go to the individual vendor.
that the money they receive will go to GCCH or any other organization or charity. Also, vendors must not say that they are collecting for “the homeless” in general. 9. Vendors must not sell papers without their badge. Vendors must present their badge when purchasing papers from GCCH. Lost badges cost $2.00 to replace. Broken or worn badges will be replaced for free, but only if the old badge is returned to GCCH. 10. Streetvibes vendor meetings are held on the first weekday of the month at 1pm. The month’s paper will be released at this meeting. If a vendor cannot attend the meeting, he or she should let us know in advance. If a vendor does not call in advance and does not show up, that vendor will not be allowed to purchase papers on the day of the meeting or the following day. Five free papers will be given to those who do attend. 11. Failure to comply with the Code of Conduct may result in termination from the Streetvibes vendor program. GCCH reserves the right to terminate any vendor at any time as deemed appropriate. Badges and Streetvibes papers are property of GCCH, and must be surrendered upon demand.
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The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) was formed in May of 1984 for one purpose: the eradication of homelessness in Cincinnati. What started out as a coalition of 15 volunteers meeting weekly in an unheated church basement has since grown into a Coalition of over 45 agencies and hundreds of volunteers dedicated to improving services for homeless individuals, educating the public about homelessness and empowering homeless individuals to advocate for their civil rights and housing needs. Streetvibes is a tool of GCCH used to help us achieve our goal of ending homelessness. On the one hand it is a selfsufficiency program geared towards the homeless and marginally housed individuals who are our vendors. Streetvibes vendors buy the paper for 30 cents per copy and sell it for a suggested one-dollar donation, keeping the profit that they have
hundreds of people find and maintain housing. The vendors also sign a code of conduct stating that they will behave responsibly and professionally and they proudly display their official Streetvibes badge while selling the paper. Our vendors put a face on “the homeless” of Cincinnati and form lasting friendships with their customers. On the other hand, Streetvibes is an award-winning alternative newspaper and part of the international street newspaper movement. Focusing on homelessness and social justice issues, Streetvibes reports the often-invisible story of poverty in our community. Streetvibes is also proud to include creative writing, poetry, articles, photography and interviews written by homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Streetvibes enjoys a loyal reader base that respects the honest portrayal of the joys, sorrows, and challenges facing the people of Cincinnati.
Streetvibes is a member of the:
The International Network of Street Papers (INSP) unites street papers sold by homeless and people living in poverty from all over the world. INSP is an umbrella organisation, which provides a consultancy service for its partner papers and advises on the setting up of new street papers and support initiatives for marginalised people.
Where Your Dollar Goes... The Streetvibes program maintains a minimal overhead cost so that our vendors can keep as much of the proceeds as possible. Please call our office at 421-7803 for more information about the program. Many thanks for your support.
Streetvibes
Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are. In every child who is born, no matter what circumstances, and of no matter what parents, the potentiality of the human race is born again: and in him, too, once more, and of each of us, our terrific responsibility toward human life; toward the utmost idea of goodness, of the horror of terror, and of God.
Cincinnati and Other Cities Tackle Chemical Transportation Security Fears over a train tanker leak combined with anger last month when Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken revealed a dangerous, leaking train tanker had been parked along the tracks for nine months. “There is a scenario where there [was a possibility of] an explosion and a dangerous chemical called styrene would be released,” Luken said after spending the morning at the scene with officials. The chemical’s smell lingered over a large part of the city’s east side. But simply smelling the styrene, which was leaking from the tanker, won’t harm you, EPA officials said. “You can smell styrene at one part per million. So, you’re going to smell it before it has any health effects,” said EPA official Heather Lauer. The tanker car, which caught fire last month, had apparently been parked along the tracks for about nine months. A spokesperson for Ohio Citizen Action pledged to investigate the incident. A spokesperson for Westlake Styrene, the Texas-based company that owns the chemical inside the tanker, said that he didn’t know the tanker was sitting on the tracks for so long. “There is a system in place and it’s somewhat dependent upon
the rail lines that transport this material,” he said. The material was supposed to be taken to Queen-City Terminal where it would have been “offloaded” and stored for future use, the spokesperson said. When a freight train accident took eight lives in South Carolina earlier this year because of unsafe and uninspected train cars carrying toxic materials, it heightened concerns about chemical security in our trains and trucks. Cities across the nation have begun addressing serious deficiencies on this so-called “homeland security” issue because the federal government has done little. Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, and Baltimore are all considering legislation to mitigate the risks of shipping hazardous materials through their heavily populated centers. In 2004, the District of Columbia became the first U.S. city to pass legislation banning hazardous shipments passing through its city limits destined for other locales. The DC Court of Appeals has since stayed the DC ordinance, following a challenge by the Bush administration and the rail industry that argued the legislation violated constitutional provisions dealing with interstate commerce. The Department of Justice asserted that rail security is the responsibility of the federal government and that local
Another Vendor Attacked by Carrie Briffett Early in the morning on Christmas Day 1999 a Big Issue street paper vendor was sleeping on some steps when four drug addicts, armed with hammers, smashed in his skull. They had hoped he would have plenty of money on him from Christmas sales of the magazine. They got away with £4.50. (less than $15.00 dollars US) The vendor in question managed to crawl covered in blood onto a main street, where CCTV cameras picked him up, before losing consciousness. Miraculously he survived and is now speaking out about his ordeal. It was however a long, tough recovery. “Part of my skull splintered into my brain and damaged my cerebral cortex [which in part controls movement and sensory functions]. It took me nine months of speech therapy and physiotherapy to walk and talk again because my brain was so badly damaged,” he says. “When the camera picked me up an ambulance and the police turned up right away but I didn’t regain consciousness for 10 days. I had to have 56 operations on my brain to repair it.”
His movement is still affected. “My legs are knackered and my circulation is messed up – one arm is cold while the other is hot. I have to stretch all the time to get my legs to work properly. It takes 20 minutes to get them to work in the mornings after I wake up so I can support myself and I have to do exercises that I have been shown,” he explains. The street culture is one of not ‘grassing’ and to do so can mean being ostracized. Consequently the vendor did not press charges against his attackers. And since that time he has been a victim of more attacks. Three years ago he was sleeping in the side doorway of a church and one Sunday morning three drunken students poured petrol on him and his friend, and set him alight causing third degree burns to his chest and back. “They were only arrested for common assault,” he says. “It took me six weeks in hospital to recover. The police arrested them with a jerry can in their hands and they had video evidence. The church was well funded and had cameras set up.” “Someone attacked me only last week – I was kicked in the ribs and they tried to rob me,” adds the vendor, who has been homeless since he was 16 and is now in his mid-
government has no authority in the matter. The DC government is appealing the court ruling. Despite the court decision, several cities are moving forward with their own chemical security legislation. In Baltimore, City Councilman Kenneth Harris sponsored legislation very similar to the DC ban. On May 9 in Cleveland, City Councilman Matthew Zone, introduced an ordinance, which would prohibit rail shipments of hazardous materials through the city unless the fire chief issued a special permit. Several years ago Cleveland adopted restrictions on truck shipments of hazardous chemicals. A Chicago Alderman, Ed Smith introduced legislation to reroute hazardous material shipments around the city. However, the measure was defeated in the Transportation and Health Committee due to opposition from rail corporations. After fear surrounding the London train bombings, the bill was re-introduced and is back in committee, with city officials optimistic about the legislation’s chances for passage. In Boston, City Councilmembers Stephen Murphy and Jerry McDermott recently cited federal inaction and the availability of alternative routes as key factors for submitting chemical transportation legislation. Their bill would prohibit
hazardous material shipments within a 2.5 mile radius of Copley Square, a central urban location in Boston. The ordinance is now being considered by the city’s Government Operations Committee, whose members include both Murphy and McDermott. Local safety officials have repeatedly expressed safety concerns resulting from hazardous materials passing through transit systems. These concerns garnered national attention this year when two freight trains carrying hazardous chemicals collided in Graniteville, South Carolina. The resulting spill, which killed nine and injured some 250 others, was the nation’s worst from a train crash since 1978. In the South Carolina incident, a manual track switch was left in the wrong position causing a moving train that was supposed to stay on a main line to collide with a parked train on a sideline. The 11,500 pounds of chlorine released by the collision created a gaseous cloud that hovered over the city through nightfall. Residents used towels and blankets to seal off doors and windows and prevent the greenish-yellow gas from entering their homes. Official clean-up efforts focused on the chlorine release, due to its potentially deadly effects on respiratory and nervous system function; however, the hazardous chemicals cresol and sodium
thirties. “Members of the public were walking past and shouted at him and he ran off.” Despite all that he has been through he still has compassion and sympathy for the victims of the Brazil attacks and murders. “What do their government stand for?” he asks. “To allow that is just brutal.”
If you see good in people, you radiate a harmonious loving energy which uplifts those who are around you. If you can maintain this habit, this energy will turn into a steady flow of love
“Don “Don’’t Leave Home W ithout IIt...” t...”
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Forgiven Sins On State Avenue by Mike Henson At the corner, near the Mexican store, I see a poor, staggering prostitute. (I do not call her that but that is what people call her.) She has just stumbled out of some maniac’s car and her body is bent leftward in a stumbling, distorted manner like a bow or an arc bent perhasps by the moons of heroin or by the prodding of crack cocaine or by the distortions of her labor serving men in the cramped front seats of cars. She has a name, tatooed at her neck like a shackle and her teeth are gone clouded and gray and there is to her something so twisted and damaged and childlike and holy and pitiable that I cannot understand how any man would want to have her. But the men do have her. Again and again I see them leave her on the street near the Mexicn store in her little shackled body bent and staggering as if one side drives her perpetually forward and the other drags back like a child tugged down the street by an impatient hand.
by George E. Herrell I had rubies, diamonds, pearls and yet I felt that I was poor for knowing not my Fathers love I felt I needed something more
HOMELESS He sits alone, covered in dirt. Begging for help, as people walk by like he’s not even there. He replied back to the ones who did notice. I had dreams once too, but lost them in a flash. I was once like you, thought I new it all, thought I was on my way to success, but everything went wrong fast, before I could stop it. But the people just stared and laughed. But in spite of all the nasty comments, he just answered back as gentle as can be, and said, you judge me now, but on day you will be judge too, and said a pray for the ones who judge.
One day and old man dressed in rags had asked me for a meal I held on tightly to my bags for fear my treasures he would steal I gave the poor man food and clothes and a coat to keep him warm I looked into his smiling eyes then saw he wore a Crown of Thorns! He held out wounded, bleeding hands and said, “child lay your burdens down” Take off your shoes and walk with me for now you stand on Holy Ground I learned a valuable lesson then as he led me thorough the Pearly Gates ask forgiveness for your sins if you heart is true it’s not too late!
The homeless by Don Foran Ten men clamber out of the creaking van, Their sweaty bodies meeting a kiss Of cool night air. They drift, silently, sullenly Toward the darkened church. Mattresses lie, two or three to a room, Along walls decorated with children’s Drawings and almost casual crucifixions. Carl, Eddie, Jake and the others Throw their worn packs and bags Onto the makeshift beds, and John, It’s always John, is first to ask If he can have his sack lunch now, Not in the morning as we had planned. “Sure,” I say, almost as anxious as he To assuage this remediable hunger. Several echo John, and soon all Are feasting on pb and j; apples, celery, And other healthy fare remains on the table, But they’re happier now, even communicative. One thanks me for setting a new pair of white socks On each mattress. Another offers a juice cup To a friend. “Lights out!” Rick calls at ten, And no one argues, no one hesitates. Sleep Knits once more the raveled sleeve of care, Obliterates the hurt, soothes the jangled nerves. Tomorrow will be another day, Another cheerless day embroidered With small triumphs, fragile dreams.
Homeless by Octavia I am hungry and cold I wonder will I get a home I hear my family laughing I see food on the table I want a nice little home I am hungry and cold I pretend to sleep in a bed I feel warm covers I touch the bed I lie in I worry will I ever get a home I cry because I don’t have a home I am hungry and cold I understand I don’t have a home I say I will get a home I dream to have a home I cry because I have don’t have a home I try to visualize a home I hope I get a home I am hungry and cold
He’s Sweet, I Know by Robert Manassa There’s no money in this world that can compare To all of the things he is willing to do do your burdens will Isn’t He (God) amazing In what He can do? Whatever He has done for others, He will do for me and you You may be rich and you may be poor Whatever the case may be His love, His kindness and mercy He will always’s show Thanks be to God for what ho has done for me I was once blind, but now I see A walk with God, I’m sure you’d like to see
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Writers! Submit your Poetry to STREETVIBES email your writing to Streetvibes@juno.com
Streetvibes
by William Moore “DEAR JUDGE” ORDER IN THE COURT, I’VE BEEN ORDERED TO COME TO COURT IT’S THE 3RD TIME, I’M BOUND TO DO SOMETIME FOR AN OPEN CANTAINER, SLEEPING IN THE PARK AFTER DARK. AN OPEN - CANTAINER A HUNDRED AND SOMETHING DOLLARS ”DEAR JUDGE” HOW CAN I PAY THIS WHEN I DONT HAVE NO JOB”? BOY, WHOS THE ONE GETTING ROBBED?
One check away by James Chionsini twinkling stars can’t keep you warm when you’re sleeping in the park till he break of dawn newspaper pillow and a plastic tarp watching for he pigs that come out after dark lost your job got jacked and robbed your landlord said that’s not my prob doctor bills kill you can’t afford the pills now you’re shaking heart breaking drink as much as you spill
THE PLACE WHERE I LIVE!!!! I wake up every morning to a new day. I wonder will I ever find my way. My daughter will be four on the next day. I wonder will we have a place to stay.
waiting on the first to quench your thirst alleviate the discomfort of an asphalt earth trying to find a shelter to get some rest but nowhere seems safe without a knife proof vest
The notice to vacate came the other day. It says we have to leave by monday. I don’t know what to do or what to say. I want to live here, I want to stay.
if you could just get back to square one start to heal the disease that’s got you on the run feeling invisible going insane scowls and nightsticks fall like rain
I’m tired lord of being without. My children need a home no doubt. A notice to vacate, disconnection on the phone here and the lights. I just want to scream and fight. Why is life so hard to live? Why do people take and not give? Why is it so hard to keep the place where I live? For what ever wrong I’ve done please lord forgive!
Ground Zero
As you certainly know by now, public awareness of the issues behind the war and the political corruption in this country is becoming mainstream. Last month, 1600+ cities held candlelight vigils in support of Mrs. Cindy Sheehan’s “ground zero” camp outside the President’s ranch in Texas. (For two weeks while he was on vacation, the President declined
photo by (c) 2005, Sam A. Marshall her request to meet with him and Worthington — was pretty explain the contradictions behind the substantial, with about 150-200 Iraq invasion. But during his people in attendance. Although all four corners were full of people, I vacation, he had two hours of free time to ride his bike with bicycling could of course only get three corners champion Lance Armstrong. into the frame at any one time. But all four were pretty evenly distributed. Anyway, as I was in Columbus all week for work, I had And the reaction from passing the opportunity to attend one of nine motorists — lots of honking and vigils, and I took a few photos waving — showed strong support for myself. As you can see, this one — this gathering. in the north Columbus suburb of Sam A Marshall
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357-4602
Formed in 1984, The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a membership organization. Our member groups serve the homeless through emergency shelter, transitional living facilities, permanent housing, medical services, social services, soup kitchens, and mental health/addiction services. The Coalition also consists of individual citizens who want to take an active role in ensuring that Cincinnati is an inclusive community, meeting the needs of all of its citizens. Join the fight to end homelessness; contact the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at (513) 421-7803, 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
SHELTER: Both Anthony House (Youth)
SHELTER: Men City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Garden St. House 241-0490 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 St. Francis/St.Joseph House 381-4941 Mt. Airy Center 661-4620 Volunteers of Amer. 381-1954
SHELTERS: Women and Children YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 (Toll Free) 1-888-872-9259 Bethany House 557-2873 Salvation Army 762-5660 Welcome Hse. 859-431-8717 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335
If you need help or would like to help please call one of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless members listed below.
OTHER SERVICES: AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati 421-2437 Appalachian Identity Center 621-5991 Beech Acres 231-6630 Center for Independent Living Options 241-2600 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Cincinnati Health Network 961-0600 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 Emanuel Center 241-2563
TREATMENT: Both N.A. Hopeline 820-2947 A.A. Hotline 351-0422 C.C.A.T. 381-6672 Talbert House 684-7956 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 DIC Live-In Program 721-0643
TREATMENT: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 Prospect House 921-1613 Starting Over 961-2256
TREATMENT: Women First Step Home 961-4663 Full Circle Program 721-0643
HOUSING: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 Miami Purchase 241-0504 OTR Housing Net. 369-0004 ReSTOC 381-1171 Tender Mercies 721-8666 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services, Inc 751-9797
Caracole (AIDS) 761-1480 Friars Club 381-5432 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Haven House 863-8866 Interfaith Hospitality 471-1100 Lighthouse Youth Center (Teens) 961-4080 St. John’s Housing 651-6446
Need Help or Want to Help?
MIDDLETOWN/HAMILTON (Butler County) St. Raphaels (Food Bank/Soup Kitchen) 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 New Life Baptist Mission (Soup Kitchen) 896-9800 Hope House (Homeless Families/Singles) 423-4673
Freestore/ Foodbank 241-1064 Fransiscan Haircuts 651-6468 Goodwill Industries 771-4800 Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 Hamilton Co. Mental Health Board 946-8600 Mental Health Access Point 558-8888 Hamilton Co. TB Control 632-7186 Health Rsrc. Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 House of Refuge Mission 221-5491 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Madisonville Ed. & Assis. Center 271-5501 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 Project Connect Homeless Kids 357-5720 St. Vincent De Paul 562-8841 The Emergency Food Center 471-4357 Travelers Aid 721-7660 United Way 721-7900 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 Women Helping Women 872-9259
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