Streetvibes September 2007 Edition

Streetvibes

STREETVIBES Page 1

Cincinnati Homeless Man Shot to Death for Panhandling

by Streetvibes Staff On monday night August 7, Donald Francis was shot for asking for a quarter, resulting in Cincinnati’s first documented homeless hate crime in two years.

According to District One Police, Donald Francis was asking for money outside the Marathon station at Eight and Linn Streets on that Monday night. Geraldine Beasley became so annoyed when

hate crimes against homeless people, with 189 of those resulting in death. This year has again shown that homeless people continue to be the victims of hate crimes.

Homeless individuals and advocates point out how dangerous it is to live on the streets. In addition to facing hate crimes and the threat of violence, many homeless individuals must do their living out in the open, exposed to society and the weather. Another “This crime is a tragedy h o m e l e s s and absolutely appalling” individual, Glen Watson, died last -Georgine Getty, Executive month as a result Director of the Greater Cincinnati of heat exposure.

Coalition for the Homeless In an effort to asked for a quarter that she prevent another weather allegedly shot and killed him. related death, the Greater “This crime is a tragedy Cincinnati Coalition for the and absolutely appalling,” says Homeless is collecting bottles Georgine Getty, Executive of water and sports drinks so Director of the Greater that outreach workers, Cincinnati Coalition for the shelters, and the police can Homeless. “Unfortunately, it’s distribute them to those all too common that homeless people who need them the people are the victims of most; people without homes. crime.”

Those interested in According to the National donating are welcome to drop Coalition for the Homeless’ off water bottles to the report, “Hate, Violence, and Greater Cincinnati Coalition Death on Main Street USA,” for the Homeless, 117 E. 12th there were 142 reported Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks on the homeless 45202 (9:00am – 5:00pm, nationwide in 2006.

Monday through Friday) or to This included 5 rapes, 6 the Cincinnati Police people set on fire, and 20 Department, District One, murders. The amount of 310 Ezzard Charles Drive, attacks in 2006 was up 65% Cincinnati, Ohio 45214. from those reported in 2005.

Thanks to all those who From 1999 through 2006, already donated water. there were 614 documented

A Clean Victory for Cincinnati Janitors

by Greg Olkhovsky smiling. appointed to a four hour Justice for Janitors, a The first issue evening shift will soon obtain a nationwide campaign started by addressed was an increase in seven hour shift in the first two the Service Employees higher wages. Currently, and a half years. Over the next International Union, unites to janitorial wages are set at $6.85 five years most janitors will end poverty wages and the lack an hour, equivalent to the Ohio acquire an estimated 129 of healthcare that is affordable. state minimum wage. Over the percent increase in their income SEIU works to create jobs for next five years, six raises have as a result of these three extra the working class the hours per shift. Overall, provide dignified living “Cincinnati won big today. workers currently and healthcare for receiving the minimum They said we couldn’t do themselves and their $6.85 an hour will families. They also work it but we stood strong with ultimately see a 150 towards better wages and percent income increase. our families, our more hours.

Janitors will supporters, and our On July 28th, now be able to afford Cincinnati’s janitors were neighborhoods. I’m proud health insurance as a result successful in winning of the new contract. At to say we won a better higher wages, more work $20 a month janitors may future for hard-working hours, and health opt for individual health th people in our city.”- Linda insurance. In the 11 hour insurance. A family insurance is also available representatives for nearly Watson, Cincinnati janitor in Price Hill at a cost of $198 a month.

1,200 Greater Cincinnati janitors and the city’s eight been implemented. The first These affordable health largest cleaning companies one occurring on October 1, insurance benefits will become (ABM, Jancoa, Professional 2007 as workers will receive CONT. ON PAGE 5 Maintenance of Cincinnati, $7.05 an hour. next Aetna Building Maintenance, The Scioto Corp, NSG, One increases are Source, and GSF) agreed to set for $7.55 on terms with area cleaning firms January 1, for the very first city-wide union 2008, $8.15 on January 1, contract.

This monumental 2009, $8.35, achievement prevented a January 1, metropolitan area strike. Linda 2010, $8.85 Watson, Cincinnati janitor in January 1, Price Hill said, “Cincinnati won 2011, and lastly big today. They said we couldn’t $9.80 an hour do it but we stood strong with on January 1, our families, our supporters, and 2012.

Increased our neighborhoods. I’m proud to say we won a better future hours are the for hard-working people in our second benefit city.” Four critical focal points that janitors will were addressed in the union r e c e i v e . contract leaving local janitors W o r k e r s

Drop Inn Center Secures New Transitional Housing Location

by Pat Clifford Three years ago, August of 2004, Cincinnati Public Schools expressed interest in acquiring our four transitional buildings at 12th and Elm Streets for the relocated SCPA. Since then, the Drop Inn Center has been looking for creative ways to both accommodate the needs of the new school and at the same time to find ways to use the occasion to preserve and improve services for our homeless residents.

As a result, the Drop Inn Center is partnering with the City of Cincinnati and OTR Community Housing to relocate our Transitional Housing Program to a new site on McMicken St. in Over-theRhine. Why are we doing this?

In order to preserve and improve services for our residents in recovery. In addition, this relocation will accommodate the SCPA’s interest in using that corner as part of their new campus.

How will this project benefit the neighborhood? It will renovate a run-down, vacated property with no on-site support into a newly renovated, attractive facility with full-time counseling staff.

The new site will feature: 12 newly renovated apartments, a single secure point of entry in rear of building, an on-site counseling office, a laundry facility, security cameras and courtyard/garden access. We would like to thank the Model

Group for all their assistance in this effort.

The Drop Inn Center and our supporters feel that this cooperative step can be an example of neighborhood collaboration — where injustice and miscommunication has often been the practice.

We also believe that those who experience homelessness should be welcomed back into the community and supportive services are often an essential component.

We also acknowledge that there are current and future lowincome and middle-class residents who need development that is affordable to them and further encourage City and private funds being used to help residents maintain and obtain housing not only new ownership options which are out of their reach.

Published by The Greater Cincinnati Coaltion for the Homeless

For more information contact the Drop Inn Center at 721.0643.

STREETVIBES Page 2

STREETVIBES, Greater Cincinnati’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 lowincome 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. 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 John Lavelle - Administrative Coordinator Andy Freeze - Education Coordinator Lynne Ausman - Civil Rights Coordinator Greg Olkhovsky - Civil Rights Coordinator Kenneth Cheruiyot - AHA Coordinator Melvin Williams - Receptionist Linda Pittman - Receptionist Susan Smith - Volunteer Leigh Tami - Intern

Streetvibes Jimmy Heath, Editor, Layout and Design

Vendor Code of Conduct 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for one dollar ($1).

I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Streetvibes by any other means. If a customer donates more than $1 for a paper, I am allowed to keep the donation.

2. I will only purchase papers from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH).

Each paper can be purchased for a cost of 25 cents.

I will always show my badge when buying papers and if I do not have my badge I cannot buy papers.

3. I will never buy papers from and/or sell papers to other vendors.

4. I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, and other vendors – respectfully. I will not use abusive language or force someone to buy a paper. I will not give a “hard sell,” be aggressive, continue to ask after a person has verbally or non-verbally said no or make someone feel threatened.

5. I agree to stay off private property when selling Streetvibes. I will not sell Streetvibes door to door.

6. I understand that I am not an employee of Streetvibes or GCCH but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income.

7. I agree not to sell additional goods or products when selling Streetvibes.

8. I will not sell Streetvibes or purchase Streetvibes under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

9. There are no territories among vendors. I will respect the space of other vendors, particularly the space of vendors who have been at a spot longer.

10. I understand that my badge is the property of Streetvibes and I will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing papers and display my badge when selling papers. If I lose my badge I will pay three dollars ($3) for a new one. If my badge

becomes ruined because of weather or use, I will get a new badge for one dollar ($1).

11. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of income for the homeless.

I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

12. I will not deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a nonprofit charity or that I am collecting for the “homeless” in general. I will be honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes go to me. I will not use the word “donation.”

13. There are special rules for selling at Findlay Market. Only two vendors may sell at Findlay Market at a time. Other rules as established by Streetvibes and Findlay Market.

14. I will attend monthly meetings. Monthly meetings will occur on the first weekday of the month. The month’s paper will be released at this meeting. Anyone who cannot make the meeting must meet with Andy, the Education Coordinator, before selling Streetvibes for that month. Ten papers will be given to those who attend the meeting.

15. It is the responsibility of each vendor to police fellow vendors or former vendors. I will report violators of the rules to GCCH. The value of the paper depends on keeping it credible.

16. I understand that any infraction of the above mentioned rules will result in suspension of my privilege to sell Streetvibes and possible termination from the program. Badges and Streetvibes papers are property of GCCH and must be surrendered upon demand.

Where your Dollar Goes

Photographers Andy Freeze, Jimmy Heath, John Lavelle, Lynne Ausman, Cat Shim, Rafiquar Rahman Cover Marchers show support for local Janitors who are fighting for better wages, more hours, and health care benefits.

Streetvibes accepts letters, poems, stories, essays, original graphics, and photos. We will give preference to those who are homeless or are vendors.Subscriptions to Streetvibes, delivered to your home each month, can be purchased for $35 per year.

Address mail to: Streetvibes 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 421-7803 e-mail: streetvibes@juno.com web: www.cincihomeless.org Member of:

International Network of Street Papers

North American Street Newspaper Assn.

75 Cents Goes Directly to Your Vendor

Streetvibes is a program of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

25 Cents Pays for Production

Streetvibes Vendor

Phone: (513) 421-7803 Streetvibes vendors purchase their papers for 25 cents per copy, then sell them for a $1.00 donation, keeping the 75 cent profit. The money used to purchase the paper goes to the individual vendor. GCCH does not profit from the sale of Streetvibes. Vendors are not fundraising for the Coalition for the Homeless.

ANDY

Buy Streetvibes From Badged Vendors ONLY

STREETVIBES Page 3

Orlando, FL – Mayor Dyer is handling this all wrong, says a group of homeless activists. Instead of arresting do-gooders who are chanting about the homeless feeding laws, the mayor could begin both a private and a public dialogue with the activists and come out smelling like a rose. Instead, he has the people arrested and even orders police to take away a big cauldron of stew. They say the Mayor has botched this public discourse and looks like a fat cat politician.

The activists say they’ll continue to beat the drums on this one — except, of course, that their drums are at the police station.

Copenhagen, Denmark - Some 500 footballers from 48 nations set out on a great adventure last month when the UEFA-backed Homeless World Cup began in Copenhagen.

The competition takes place in Copenhagen’s City Hall Square until August 4th. Players who are currently homeless are being given a wonderful opportunity to represent their country and change their lives, in a perfect example of football’s power to act as a unifying social force.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeles. It also supports and inspires grassroots football projects around the world, working with homeless and excluded people throughout the year.

HRH the Crown Prince of Denmark will be watching the tournament as an extremely interested fan, and will attend the Homeless World Cup final on 4 August.

Bradenton, FL - The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into claims that two Bradenton Police officers beat up a homeless man and dumped him in a ditch.

Jose del Angel says the officers warned him to stay out of the city. The man flagged down a Manatee County deputy after the alleged beating and told his story. The deputy brought the accusations to the Bradenton Police and they promised an internal investigation. But two weeks later, one hasn’t been launched. Authorities there say they plan to begin investigating the claims next week.

Bradenton has taken steps to remove the homeless from its streets, including passing an ordinance to ban public sleeping.

Miami, FL - The Umoja Village activists came one step closer last month to persuading the city of Miami to give them the land where their Liberty City shantytown once stood so they can develop it with a nonprofit partner as housing for the homeless.

But the no-bid deal — which would shut out all other nonprofits from submitting proposals for the land — is opposed by the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. That could delay or derail the project when it’s expected to come up for a vote before the Miami City Commission.

A preliminary proposal calls for a mixed-use development with supportive housing for the homeless.

The ground floor would include some commercial

space for small community-owned businesses and for social service agencies.

Anchorage, AK. - Judith Lewis has delivered food to Anchorage’s homeless for years, but it wasn’t until a black bear smashed into her soup van to munch on pilot bread and Capri Sun pouches that her mobile ministry was shut down.

“The bear had a old big party,” said Lewis, who spent Monday cleaning urine-sopped carpets, cracker smears and juice packets from the teal minivan from which the downtown destitute load up on free soup or sandwiches on Friday nights. The Hillside ransacking more than a week ago came while Lewis was out of state. She had parked the Ford Wind Star outside her home near Goldenview Drive, and the bear ripped off the big vent window she’d left ajar to prevent overheating.

The bear clawed open 80 Capri Suns, some ramen noodles and many boxes of Sailor Boy pilot bread, the bland cracker wheels many Alaskans love.

“He’s a real Alaskan bear,” Lewis said.

Newspaper delivery man Bill Ohlmacher saw the bear July 20, just after he dropped Lewis’ newspaper into its tube. The bear popped its head out the car window, just feet away.

Cedar Rapids, IA - They can barely afford food and clothing, let alone glue sticks or binders. But the school year is fast approaching and hundreds of homeless children can’t afford to go back.

A program in Cedar Rapids provides school supplies to needy children but time is running out and there aren’t enough supplies to go around.

Right now, the Homeless Liaison for the Cedar Rapids School District, Slayton Thompson, has enough school supplies for about 150 underprivileged children but it’s hardly enough. “This year we have identified 702 children that are in need,” says Thompson. “We have children in this school district that go home to Jeffersonville, IN - A Southern Indiana homeless nothing. They sleep on floors.” shelter is scrambling to pay a $400,000 tax bill to remain That’s where Thompson comes in. He provides homeless students with school supplies. He says, “They open.

The non-profit Haven House owes to the money may not get the $200 shoes but they’ll get shoes that to the Internal Revenue Service for payroll taxes. work for school.”

Shelter officials may have to sell some property to keep it open in Jeffersonville.

Haven House shelters about 60 homeless people Madison, WI - The death of a homeless man a day from Clark, Floyd, Harrison and other counties, earlier last month in Brittingham Park is focusing neighbors’ attention on a stone shelter overlooking as well as some from Louisville.

Monona Bay, which they say is a focus for alcohol and drug abuse by those who hang out there.

Although park regulars say they are making peaceful use of a public place, the man’s death on a summer evening has alarmed many in the neighborhood.

They are calling for the city to take action — perhaps fencing the shelter, increasing the enforcement of the alcohol ban or encouraging other users to take control of the park.

Arthur Smith, 55, was discovered without a pulse under a tree on July 18, according to Madison police.

“It appears he died from natural causes. Nothing suspicious,” said Lt. Melissa Schiferl.

Emerson, who lives across from the park on Brittingham Place, said Smith’s death could be due to alcohol consumption, given that she saw him drinking “high octane” beer at 8:40 a.m. the day he died. She called police to report it, in fact, because alcohol is not allowed in the park.

That evening, at about 6:45 p.m., Emerson and a friend were walking by the shelter when they saw a large group of people huddled around someone on the ground. It was Smith. Her friend made the 911 call.

Enforcement is inconsistent at best, a resident said.

“The people who receive citations either ignore them or discard them and then return to drinking, often the very same day.”

Hempstead, NY - The body of a homeless man was found last month in the rear yard of a Hempstead, Long Island auto repair shop.

Hempstead Village Police got the call about an unconscious man at the Village Auto Repair Clinic on Henry Street. Officers say they found 45-year-old Ireneusz Moraida dead.

His body was taken to the county medical examiner’s office for autopsy. Nassau County homicide detectives and the Hempstead Village police are investigating.

Phoenix, AZ - An event to assist the homeless and determine how many homeless people are in Muskogee will be held 8 to 11 a.m. Sept. 8 at the Phoenix Plaza at Second and Court streets.

The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness finalized plans for the event at its meeting Thursday.

Under the plan, the Homeless Connection will offer blankets, winter clothing, new undergarments and socks and food for the homeless of Muskogee.

A number of social service agencies will be set up at the event to offer assistance to those participating.

Mayor Wren Stratton said she hopes civic groups and individuals will help with donation of goods needed for distribution.

Volunteers also are needed to help at the event, she said.

Scranton, PA - A homeless man who witnessed a murder was put in the Lackawanna County jail for just over four weeks and now is in a house arrest program.

Randy Barr didn’t commit any crime. Officials said they’re trying to ensure his safety and participation in court proceedings.

Barr is the only witness to the July 6th murder of James Leepier. He said he called 911 after LEepier’s throat was slashed during an argument with another homeless man, Harvey Hoover.

Barr is being held under a little-used Pennsylvanai criminal procedure rule that allows witnesses to be jailed if a judge believes they will not show up when subpoenaed for court and cannot make bail.

Barr was fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. He is allowed outside in the yard two hours per day. He’s banned from using alcohol or durgs, must check in with house arrest officials once a week, submit to random drug tests and pay $10 a day for the program.

STREETVIBES Page 4

Ashamed For Us

neighborhoods. A prominent city

by Jimmy Heath The Cincinnati neighborhood of councilman, who claims to be OTR’s Over-the-Rhine, with its turn of the ambassador said that there are more century three and four story Italianate than sixty social service agencies and he believes that poor style buildings, proximity to people need to be downtown and easy access eyed with suspicion. to the suburbs and They just waste their universities has created a money buying lottery discord between lowtickets, beer, and income residents, city hall, cigarettes. A majority new outside developers and are criminals. They upscale urbanites. need to get out.

The City sees the future This kindhearted of OTR, with an improved councilman owns tax base through the property in OTR. development of million There are a lot of dollar condo’s and street Jimmy Heath empty storefronts level entertainment, helping and buildings in OTR, ready and waiting to fuel the coffers.

For many years, the focus has been for developers to purchase cheaply at development of an entertainment district auctions. But racism and fear slow the focused on Main Street. But current process of creating any kind of lowplans may now include the whole income housing.

From an editorial response written neighborhood with our old buildings to the Enquirer on the death of Nathaniel being converted to upscale condos.

The low-income residents in OTR Jones’s struggle with six Cincinnati police do not create enough tax money. And officers in a White Castle parking lot; local politicians claim that residents use “Cincinnati Police, keep up the good a lot of public services. The Hamilton work. It is only the “squeaky wheel” County Sheriff made a claim that there African-Americans that are turning this are over 100 social service agencies in city into the urinal of the state of Ohio.”

“How many times in the past few OTR. In reality there are less than years have we heard the same outcry twenty, unless you count the churches, YMCA’s and senior services - over a person of color losing his life institutions that are included in all during the commission of a crime? The

black community has lost all credibility forced to pack up and leave their home when it supports these lawbreakers.” that has been hers for years. Imagine The racism, hidden behind a shroud of the child who counts on grandma taking fear, of a statement like this reflects the care of her while the parents work. standing attitude of suburban whites Imagine the underpaid men and women toward poor inner city blacks. who struggle with menial jobs in order And the wackiness continues. A to support their family in the sort of “housing debacle” began here in the late environment that scares the willies out 1960s with the lure of money from a of most white people. You can’t be federal Housing and Urban naïve either, but city policies have let the Development grant, the city councilman neighborhood decline with a purpose. says. It became more lucrative for For decades the neighborhood has property owners to create low-income, been home to thousands of low-income project-based Section 8 housing than to families who have been, or will be continue hosting commercial or retail moved out by rising rents and restless tenants. The new housing attracted landlords waiting to remodel the waves of lowbuildings for i n c o m e upscale rental Imagine the underpaid men p e o p l e and condo’s. dependent on and women who struggle with Recently a welfare. At menial jobs in order to support homeless man one time the was asking for a their family in the sort of vast majority quarter from a environment that scares the were white. woman in a People from willies out of most white parking lot. the hills down She shot him to south were people. death. And no coming to the one makes the industrial city of Cincinnati and OTR for race distinction when crimes involve jobs and security. white people. Why is that? Decades Nowadays, Over-the-Rhine of racism live on. I’m so sick of it and residents, the vast majority of whom are embarrassed that as a smart and black and live on less than $10,000 a sophisticated species we hold on to a year, are eager for opportunity, jobs, notion that should never have been there security and safe places to raise their in the first place. Contact Jimmy families.

Heath at jimmyheath@yahoo.com Imagine a low-income senior citizen

First Amendment Abridged at Fountain Square

by Michael Earl Patton The Cincinnati Beacon While the recent petition for putting the sales tax increase to a public referendum was being circulated, the No Jail Tax PAC heard reports that some petitioners were prevented by the police from gathering signatures on Fountain Square. Some others, including myself, had been left alone.

Then in the last few days of the campaign a petitioner came forward with full details, including the name of the police officer who had stopped her.

I called Bill Donabedian of 3CDC, who is responsible for the management of the square. He explained that gathering signatures on the square while a scheduled event was in progress was considered interference with that event and the petitioner should move to the sidewalk.

To my specific question as to whether I could gather signatures on one corner of the square while a permitted event was going on in the far corner, Mr. Donabedian repeated that the petitioning should be on the sidewalk. He noted that not interfering with a permitted event is one of the rules listed at the Fountain Square website.

True, such a rule is there, but it doesn’t state that asking someone for a signature on a petition is considered to be interference.

And this has a striking parallel to

a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case involving First Amendment rights in Cincinnati, Coates v. City of Cincinnati. In that case a student, Coates, was arrested in a demonstration for the crime of “annoying” behavior. As the Supreme Court ruled: “We are thus relegated, at best, to the words of the ordinance itself. If three or more people meet together on a sidewalk or street corner, they must conduct themselves so as not to annoy any police officer or other person who should happen to pass by.

In our opinion this ordinance is unconstitutionally vague because it subjects the exercise of the right of assembly to an unascertainable standard, and unconstitutionally broad because it authorizes the punishment of constitutionally protected conduct.

“Conduct that annoys some people does not annoy others. Thus, the ordinance is vague, not in the sense that it requires a person to conform his conduct to an imprecise but comprehensible normative standard, but rather in the sense that no standard of conduct is specified at all.”

Both the right of assembly and the right to petition the government are First Amendment rights. “Interfere” is not the same as “annoy,” but in some ways it is even more vague. Does asking someone for the time or for directions “interfere?” What about asking someone to move so you can

Do you have rights on Fountain Square? Petitioners are often pushed off the square in leiu of their first amendemnt rights. pass by? What about criticizing karaoke? Can the police ask you to leave if you boo a scheduled political speech? (I presume that they won’t ask you to leave if you applaud.) Keep in mind that none of these examples rise to the level of actually trying to drown out or shut down the event itself. Petitioners know that if someone is indeed paying rapt attention to an event that it’s more productive to ask

someone who is not paying attention.

But according to Mr. Donabedian’s interpretation, asking anyone on the square is considered interference.

I called the Cincinnati Police Department for their policy on petitioning activities on Fountain Square and was told to call something called “Downtown Services.”

Repeated phone calls were not returned.

STREETVIBES Page 5

“Victory” Cont.

From Page 1 available on January 1, 2010.

The fourth benefit incorporated in the new contract includes paid holidays and vacation time. For individuals in the working world, paid holidays and vacation time is often viewed as an automatic given perk. Hopefully the news of this janitorial success story will remind those in the working world to be thankful and humble for their paid holidays and vacation time because nothing in this life is a “given.” Six paid holidays per year for janitors have been granted in the new contract.

The janitors’ victory is still being felt in the Greater Cincinnati area. In fact both the cleaning firms and the representatives for the janitors and the city’s eight largest cleaning companies realize the true significance of the contract. The two parties cordially agreed to continue working together in hopes that this agreement may serve as a model for improving worker and corporate leader relations elsewhere and in the near future.

Already, the impact of this agreement has found its way to Columbus and Indianapolis where janitors in these cities are seeking an improvement in employee benefits, specifically with wage increase and affordable healthcare.

Jimmy’s Motorcycle Adventures

Sister Jean

“Only Hoodlums Drive Motorcycles....”

From a historical perspective, this new union contract is the largest income increase ever won in the Justice for Janitors Campaign on a national level. The lives of 1,200 Cincinnati janitors and their families will forever be changed.

This agreement has the capability to lift families out of poverty and lead them into the direction of a more secured lifestyle. Cincinnati janitors have every

reason to rave in victory. Cincinnati janitor Lauressie “Dee Dee” Tillman joyously stated “This is a huge victory for our families and for our neighborhoods. I’m proud of what we have accomplished, not just for us and our families, but for all of the workers in this city who are paid so little. We showed what can be donewhat must be done-to make Cincinnati a better city to live in.”

Project Connect Collaborates With Feed The Children

by Andy Freeze This fall as kids go back to school, children and parents find themselves spending money to prepare for school. Every child loves going to the store to pick out new crayons and markers, new folders, and to check out the latest and greatest pens and pencils. Yet, some children do not have the opportunity to get new school supplies.

Homeless children already feel different when they are in school. When their family can’t afford new school supplies and hygiene items, the begin to lose confidence.

In 2004, the Cincinnati School District had 16,875 children between the ages of 5 and 17 living in poverty. That is a staggering thirty percent of students living in poverty.

Children living in poverty do not get the opportunity to go shopping for new school Volunteers help unload backpacks donated by Feed The Children supplies. Children in poverty do not get the Project connect in collaboration with Feed the from local schools collect the backpacks their opportunity to get new clothes for the school year. students need.

Children, a national organization that delivers Children in poverty worry about where their next Children in poverty need the food, clothing, and meal is coming from and where they are going to other necessities to This year kids with a new education. It might be the only thing that sleep. get them out of the poverty cycle. children and backpack, new supplies, can Education is needed to keep kids safe. families living in and hygiene items will go Education is needed to teach kids to poverty was able to provide 1700 to school more prepared, read. Being unprepared only sets kids Cincinnati children more excited, and ready to farther back. This year kids with a new backpack, new supplies, and hygiene with new back learn items will go to school more prepared, packs this year. more excited, and ready to learn.

On August 14, representatives from various schools where close to 100% of the students are on free lunch, were Project Connect Homeless able to pick up back packs filled with school Children’s Fund keeps children supplies, hygiene items, and food. The back experiencing homelessness packs were filled with Mac and Cheese, folders, connected to their education by notebooks, coloring books, pencils, highlighters, providing supplies, transportation, erasers, toothpaste, comb, ruler, crayons, uniforms, and enrichment opportoothbrush, shampoo, pencil sharpener, pencil tunities in summer, after-school, bag, scissors and glue. Supplies and hygiene and shelter tutoring programs. items that children living in poverty need to be For more information call able to learn at school.

513.363.1060 “This is a real community effort,” Elissa Pogue from Project Connect says as she helps teachers

STREETVIBES Page 6

Peace Bowl Comes to Halt at the Sound of Gun Shots

by Brian Garry saw no struggle, no fighting, no On Sunday, August 12 I went to pushing. No one seemed angry.

Rev. Mingo’s church for worship.

Without knowing, I would M y f r i e n d D e r o n S m i t h w a s venture to say that money had speaking. Afterwards we went to the something to do with it.

Peace Bowl.

Without knowing, I would As I was standing outside, venture to say that, for this young waiting to go in, man, Earnest, I heard what If we are serious about the the American Dream was not sounded like issue of crime then we within his fireworks. No reach. one screamed. must become serious Without No one ran about addressing the issue knowing, I away, except a of poverty. few guys who would venture to say that slowly jogged by. I walked over to see a young neither he nor his killers had a real man laying dead, half on the opportunity to go to college.

Further I would venture that sidewalk, his torso in the street. His eyes were open. A trail of blood was Earnest’s parents had not had a real streaming down the street from his opportunity, a real shot at the head.

American Dream.

No, I would venture that they all It seemed like forever before the police and fire squad came. They suffer from poverty, a lack of higher tried futilely to revive him by doing learning, and a lack of opportunity CPR. His eyes were wide open but to escape from the cycle that he was he was gone. His pants halfway born into.

We all have the ability to rise down around his yellow boxers. I

above, but being born into a life of poverty can be an extreme disadvantage.

I can’t help but to believe that were Earnest white, were he affluent he would still be alive.

If we are serious about the issue of crime then we must become serious about addressing the issue of poverty. If we solve the poverty issue, we will certainly have far less drug dealing, robberies, prostitution and theft.

Our City dollars need to spent on prevention, treatment and focusing on raising up the lowest rung on the economic ladder.

The drug dealing and violence are not the problem, they are a symptom of a disease called poverty. These young people need

our support. A nurturing community of people around them I think we can come up with some answers. I also think we can give some people some hope. Some ways out. Someway the American dream can be brought within their grasp.

We have to pick up some of the slack a s a c o m m u n i t y.

Finding it within ourselves to delegate it to the community, not the police or social service programs but to the community. Some way to have deep relationships.

I didn’t want to see a dead man named Earnest laying in our streets.

I didn’t want to see honesty, sincerity and determination shot on our street.

Brazen and it could possibly be.

It was an act of murder. No one yelled. No struggle. It was premeditated. We have to go to the place where we prevent it.

How many more young people need to die?

Atlanta’s Only Public Hospital Might Close its Doors

by Leigh Tami homelessness, instead of looking at the Atlanta, Georgia is a city notorious roots of the problem and trying to treat for mistreating the poor and marginalizing the infection. its homeless population. Through Although it has seemed for a gentrification of downtown and other long time like conditions for the poor formerly racially/economically diverse could not get too much worse in Atlanta, areas, Atlanta is not-so-slowly, but recent circumstances have proved definitely surely, making an attempt to otherwise. The historic Grady Hospital hide, ignore, has recently and push its announced that poor out of it is running out sight and out of funding, of mind. which may A lack of force it to close p u b l i c its doors or restrooms drastically makes it easy change the way for police to that it does a r r e s t Grady Memorial Hospital business. homeless G r a d y individuals on charges of “public Hospital is the only Level 1 Trauma indecency,” simply because their bodies center in Atlanta, and the city’s only need to perform the same functions that public hospital. Being the city’s only ours do, with or without access to a toilet. public hospital, “Grady,” as it is often Implementation of various “Quality called, has been able to treat a large of Life” ordinances has effectively proportion of low-income patients. Poor criminalized any form of begging, asking or uninsured patients can receive free for help, or panhandling and solicitation care, and it is more likely to offer of the homeless in the majority of the relatively unprofitable medical services downtown area. than its private, non-profit counterparts.

The threat of jail time for homeless Grady has time and time again been people charged for these decidedly petty the medical savior of the poor. crimes reveals a not-so-subtle truth: Unfortunately, because it is receiving Atlanta, like many other major cities in inadequate government funding, this the United States including Cincinnati, historic institution has been losing roughly is trying to put a band-aid over the $8 million per month. festering wound of poverty and If no urgent action is taken, this

place of refuge will be shut down before buildings are being built up and homeless the end of the year. If Grady is shut people are being swept and pushed out down, one of two things will happen. to increase the aesthetic appeal of the Either the city. Is this beginning estimated to sound familiar?

“It seems that local 90,000 lowSimilar actions legislators are more income patients have been taken in concerned with covering will flood other Cincinnati. Bench h o s p i t a l removal has taken up the problems of emergency precedence poverty and homelessness financial rooms (causing over desperately urgent care than actually dealing with needed funding for across the board human services. The them at their source” to decline highly unpopular because there will be too many people term “affordable housing” is associated to treat and too little money and with crime, and any kind of low-income resources to do it), or lack of medical housing is quickly being replaced with care will turn into a death sentence for gentrified apartments and luxury lofts. the poor.

The conditions of Day Labor pools Meanwhile, like in Cincinnati, are despicable, and it seems that local Atlanta seems to have other spending legislators are more concerned with priorities. In the area of Buckhead, for covering up the problems of poverty and example, an entire police force has been homelessness than actually dealing with added to “increase foot patrol” around them at their source. parks and shops- in the history of police These patterns of spending action, this usually entails removing the across the nation reveal a horrifying truth homeless so that no one has to leave the about our state of compassion toward comfortable world of Louis Vuitton our fellow human beings, and sense of purses and Tiffany jewelry to come face justice. It is a sad world we live in, where to face with the real issues of poverty in buildings, benches, and boutiques are this city. repeatedly taking financial priority over Section 8 and affordable housing are the conditions of our fellow human becoming scarce- people are being given beings. It is high time that we bring back pieces of paper instead of houses so that values of truth and justice instead of the city can build luxury housing that is letting greed and corporate interest now not selling, because literally no one dictate the policy making of our nation. can afford it. Fancy parks and new

STREETVIBES Page 7

Cincinnati Middle School Student Collects Socks for the Homeless

by Catherine Shim Did you know that over the course of a year 25,000 people will experience homelessness here in Cincinnati? This means that about 1300 people go homeless each night. I am a 13 year old 8th grader at Queen of Angels Montessori School (QAMS).

I decided to get my school involved in helping the homeless population in Cincinnati for my trimester Change Project. The goal of the project was to make a positive change in Cincinnati. I decided to have a donation drive where I collect something for the local homeless population. I also wanted to change young people’s often false and stereotypical views about homelessness in hopes of decreasing homelessness in the future.

After researching and visiting the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), I found that socks are one of the most needed articles of clothing by the homeless. This is something that most people don’t think of donating because to us it is something we don’t think about needing.

I held a QAMS sock drive, where over 180 pairs of socks were collected!

I also surveyed 4th - 8th graders asking them why they thought people were

homeless. What I found was that many of the students had false and stereotypical views about the homeless.

Answers included that the homeless are too lazy to get a job, or that they will only use donated money for the wrong things such as drugs and alcohol.

To help change their views, I researched the real reasons for homelessness, and put together a presentation that I presented to this same group of students. I informed them that the real reasons for homelessness are the loss of employment, and therefore income, and the lack of affordable housing. Another reason is the high cost of medical care and other living expenses.

Most homeless people want jobs, but because they have no address, and because only 5% of them have a college education, it makes it very hard for them to find employment and stay employed.

I also learned that rather than giving homeless people money, offering to buy them food, or talking to them can Catherine Shim collected over 180 paids of socks for the homeless as brighten someone’s day. part of a class project.

I learned about homelessness, but also that YOU can make a difference. make a difference to help make many views about homelessness and has Our school is very small with a little over someone’s life better and more inspired them to get involved to help 175 students. Imagine if my project was enjoyable. My project has changed improve the lives of the less fortunate. continued at a bigger school. You can

Social Enterprises Aim to Make a Difference in Community

by Elizabeth Whitton It’s easy to talk about the problems of poverty and homelessness, and why they exist. But viable solutions are not so easy to come by, to gain political support for, or to implement on a large scale. The idea of social enterprise is one viable option for addressing some of the root causes of poverty and allowing people to learn skills that will propel them toward greater selfsufficiency. While the idea of social enterprise has been used in various forms for a long time, it is only recently that it is gaining in popularity, viability, and mainstream recognition.

A social enterprise is essentially a business venture undertaken by a nonprofit organization in order to better assist the people it serves. What a win/ win, since the “business” provides a product or service that people want or need, and the individuals who work for the venture usually receive valuable life and job training as well as a fair wage for their work.

In Cincinnati, there are a number of social enterprises now in existence.

Venice on Vine, for example, is a pizza place that comes out of the West End Employment program of Power Inspires Progress. This eatery offers good Italian fair, while providing its employees with on-the-job training and experience that will qualify them for full-time employment at other businesses when they leave the program.

Clovernook Center for the Blind has provides meaningful employment for manufacturing plants both here in individuals who might otherwise have Cincinnati, and in Memphis Tenn., where trouble finding jobs, while manufacturing high quality products for customers across the country.

Building Value provides hands-on job t r a i n i n g opportunities for individuals with disadvantages and disabilities s e e k i n g employment in construction and retail, so that they can achieve a higher quality of life through self-sufficiency.

Plus, Building Value offers an excellent service to our community with i t s Venice on Vine provides paid on the job training to deconstruction people that might otherwise be considered unemployable. s e r v i c e s , reusable building they employ more than 140 people who materials center, and product are visually impaired in printing, reconstruction from recycled materials. producing paper products, and contract They have saved literally tons of usable manufacturing. In this way, Clovernook building materials from landfills, while

benefiting individuals in need.

Sarah Center’s mission is “Helping Women Help Themselves.” Their services promote the development of skills that enhance the lives of the women they serve, and their families, while also meeting their immediate needs. They offer jewelry and quilting programs, card making, painting, and business classes that encourage women to take on entrepreneurial endeavors. The jewelry and crafts that the women make are sold at consignment or art shows, as well as their annual Christmas sale.

Cincinnati consumers can add to the success of our local social enterprises by seeking out their products and services, and asking local retailers to offer their products.

Buying Fair Trade is another way of supporting social enterprises from other countries. Not all Fair Trade merchandise is a social enterprise, in the strictest sense, but a lot of it is. The Fair Trade label does mean that farmers and workers are treated and paid fairly for their work. A lot of Fair Trade organizations also seek to offer further benefits to their workers.

Elizabeth Whitton is passionate about natural, conscious, and compassionate living. She resides with her family in Price Hill, and works downtown at local retailer Park + Vine.

STREETVIBES Page 8

by Lynne Ausman The next big movement among advocates for homeless and impoverished individuals is to end predatory lending. We all know them – the payday lenders we see on every corner of every low income neighborhood in Ohio. In fact, there are more payday lenders than there are McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King’s in Ohio, COMBINED! They are strategically placed near day labor halls and other low-income employers and it seems like every other commercial on television is saying you can get a $200 payday advance and only pay $203 in return. Sounds like a great deal, until it is time to pay back that loan.

A $300 loan can take two years to pay off!

But what if there was a responsible lender that refused to take advantage of people in poverty? What if there was a lender that did not require collateral?

Good news – There is!

In 1974, Muhammad Yunus’ native Bangladesh suffered a terrible famine, causing thousands to starve to death.

The Vanderbilt University educated doctor of economics felt inspired instead of defeated. Yunus started small, with $27 (American dollars) loans to 42 families and a firm belief that this would be a cost effective and empowering way to fight poverty in rural Bangladesh.

The only requirement: that the family

REUTERS/Rafiquar Rahman

The Grameen Bank: Combating Poverty through Microfinance

WOMAN WAITS TO RETURN BANK LOAN INSTALMENT IN VILLAGE OF BASTA. Banesa Khatun (L), a user of Grameen Bank’s microcredit scheme, says the microcredit scheme Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus introduced in Bangladesh 30 years ago lifted her from the poorest of the poor to a respectable, self-dependent woman. repays the loan when they can and it is used for self-employment. And with this small amount of money, the Grameen Bank was born, based on the idea of microfinance lending.

Yunus went even further than giving loans with no collateral – he gave loans to women, an unheard of concept in Bangladesh even in the 21st century.

97% of loans are to women, and even

PROFESSOR MOHAMMAD YUNUS speaks to Reuters in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka January 19, 2004. Yunus, 63, is the founder of Grameen Bank, which has made more than $4 billion in tiny loans to poor Bangladeshis, providing a lifeline for millions and a banking model that has been copied in more than 100 nations from the United States to Uganda.

more impressive, 98% of loans are repaid.

More than half of borrowers have risen from poverty. The Grameen Bank measures this by a set of standards including: having education for all school-aged children, three meals a day for each household member, a sanitary toilet, a rainproof house, clean drinking water, and the ability to repay 300 taka (Bangladesh currency) a week – roughly $8 US dollars.

The Grameen Bank started in Bangladesh, a small country in South Asia, but its program has reached to the

far corners of the earth. The Grameen Bank has programs in China, East Timor, India, Cameroon, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, El Salvador, Mexico, Haiti, and the United States. In the United States, the Partner microfinance institutions are Project Enterprise in New York City and The PLAN Fund in Dallas, Texas.

In October 2006, the Grameen Bank and founder Muhammad Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”

For more information go to: http://www.grameenfoundation.org http://www.grameen-info.org

REUTERS/Rafiquar Rahman

From the Front Desk

by Linda Pittman Wow! Did we ever have Dog Days of Summer or what? Thank goodness for air conditioning at the Coalition and our clients were grateful for a place to cool off and get some good ice cold water – and coffee; yes, the coffee consumption has not dwindled that much with the heat.

I guess we true coffeeholics will drink it under any conditions. And thanks to a couple of donations (please keep them coming, we always need coffee supplies), we have been able to accommodate everyone.

I just do not tolerate the heat well, and it seemed as though it was much hotter in Over the Rhine than the suburbs.

The heat has been nasty to the homeless and those outside this summer. Many people are feeling the effects the hot days and high humidity. This summer has proved to me that the summer is just as hard as the winter to be homeless.

I would also like to thank our volunteer, Susan Smith, for bringing in materials, including ice, to make iced tea when it was so hot. Everyone enjoyed her hospitality.

Just to let you know, I will be on a medical leave beginning in September.

I’m having a total knee replacement done and I am not looking forward to it, but hopefully the end result will be worth it.

I will be at home recuperating with the Coalition’s mascot, Sparky, for about 68 weeks. I will have a temporary replacement so the front lobby will be open.

STREETVIBES Page 9

NASNA Sparks Reader Survey

by Andy Freeze I had the opportunity to attend the North American Street Newspaper Association from July 26 – July 29. The conference was held in Portland, Oregon and saw over 17 street newspapers in attendance. The goal of the conference was to network, get feedback, and provide technical assistance to papers.

I had the opportunity to sit in various workshops covering layout and design, fundraising strategies, guerilla journalism, and various reporting techniques. One thing that I took away from the conference was some amazing contacts with people who have been working with street newspapers for decades. Their advice and guidance is invaluable.

We, Streetvibes, hope that we can continue to improve our paper and continue to report on the often overlooked stories of homelessness and poverty here in our community.

But we need your continued support to bring you these stories. That is why we are doing a reader survey to better understand who is reading Streetvibes and how we can report on activities that you want to read. Please take our reader survey by visiting our website and following the link.

Our website is www.cincihomeless.org.

Thank you for taking our survey and for your continued support of the vendors and the Streetvibes Program.

Please Take Our Readers Survey @ cincihomeless.org

More Information About the Drop Inn Center’s Move

by Jessie Rose Berne Downtown Cincinnati is proving more and more to be a positive example of how working together can create the best kind of environment; one where everybody thrives. In a recent decision between the School for Creative and Performing Arts and the Drop Inn Center, two organizations show an earnest determination to help not only each other, but the community as a whole.

The SCPA has offered the Drop Inn Center a chance to create their ideal space for a new transitional housing facility in exchange for their buildings at 12th

and Elm Streets, in order that the school can remain in one location. This collaboration is especially appropriate as both music and homeless awareness are endangered topics within school programs and diminishing in importance to the public consciousness. This convergence will spark new potential for both institutions and ultimately help to preserve and improve the quality services for the homeless that the Drop Inn Center has been well-known for providing, such as; three daily meals, sleeping quarters, laundry, rehabilitation counseling, and an overall welcoming environment for anyone in need.

The new site will be located on McMicken Street in Over-the-Rhine and will be a complete renovation of a vacated property, with a full-time counseling staff, laundry facility, security cameras, and courtyard access to the community garden.

This union brings a win win excitement for a new start towards a society where injustice and miscommunication will be overthrown by an artistic Renaissance and a prevailing human compassion that will continue to demand that the basic needs of all are equally important and provided for in this land of plenty.

STREETVIBES Page 10

Housing Ex-Offenders: Identifying Barriers & Proposing Solutions Friday, October 12, 2007 10am-4pm YWCA of Columbus’ Huntington Hall 65 S. Fourth Street Columbus, Ohio A conference to discuss the barriers ex-offenders face when trying to find housing, the tools necessary to overcome these barriers and strategies for getting clients out of the shelter system and into permanent housing.

Keynote Speakers: • ODRC Reentry Administrator Angi Lee • University of the Sciences in Philadelphia Assistant Professor Stephen Metraux For more information contact Lynne at 513/421-7803 x11.

Registration available at http://www.columbushomeless.org/ The Ohio Coalition of Homeless Advocates’ (OCHA) mission is to eradicate homelessness by promoting collaboration and advocacy within the State of Ohio among local coalitions. The group represents five regions in Ohio to coordinate statewide advocacy, exchange information and idas and develop statewide projects that benefit homeless individuals.

Current OCHA members include: the Appalachian Rural Coalition for the Homeless in Ohio, Inc (Southeast Ohio)., the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the Northeast Ohio Coaliton for the Homeless, the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, and The Other Place (Dayton).

STREETVIBES Page 11

The Difficulty of Living the Story Michael Henson is author of Ransack, A Small Room with Trouble on My Mind, The Tao of Longing, and Crow Call. This column is part of a monthly series on poverty and addiction Tell someone you are a substance abuse counselor, and you are likely to hear something on the order of, “Oh, that must be so hard.” Or, “That must be so stressful.”

But I get paid to listen to people tell me their stories.

How hard is that? Sometimes, I have to tease some of the story out and it takes some skill and a few tricks that you learn over the years. But the fact is, this is not a hard job: I sit at a desk in a comfortable office and people tell me their stories. I have some paperwork and some meetings, but I have a nice comfortable office with a nice desk and a nice comfortable chair. It beats the hell out of the seat of a forklift. I’ve had that job too, and I was nearly cut in half one shift by another forklift whose driver wasn’t paying attention.

I made it out of that one by jumping ship. I haven’t had to jump out of my office chair once.

So this is an easy job; I listen to stories.

Three Little Pigs What’s hard is living the stories. But that is for the person on the other side of the desk.

Some of the stories I hear are humorous. A young man just told me his version of the Three Little Pigs, —ghetto style— in which the pigs are crack heads and the wolf is a dealer with a Cadillac and gold teeth who —as in the fairy tale— comes to a bad end. But the man’s own tormented story, which he tells me in a jokey rapid-fire clip, involves a constant hustle to stay one step ahead of the police and his own demons. It appears he’s not ready to stop living that story, but living it must be very hard. Small wonder that he seeks to dull the pain with alcohol or whatever else is available. But he has survived in part because he is a good entertainer. He makes it easy to hear his story.

Other stories will simply break your heart.

Courts I hope I will break no one’s anonymity in telling this story, but it was a long time ago and most of it was in the papers and on the news.

A man was living in a garage in Over-the-Rhine with his five children. Someone had let him stay in the

garage because he had nowhere else to go. I forget given all that was stacked against him. The court could the ages, but I believe the oldest of the children was order any number of things, but the court could not only ten or twelve. It was night-time and he left them order a change in how we treat addicts and their alone to go for something for them all to eat. It seemed families in poverty. like the right thing to do. They were all in their makeshift If you sentence a man or woman to prison, you beds, so he went out to sentence their families as well.

Kroger’s and swore he would man or woman who goes to If you sentence a man or The be right back. prison suffers —I hear their I forget exactly how it woman to prison, you stories every working day— but happened or what season it does the family back at home. sentence their families so was. It might have been winter Two years without a mother, and he was heating the garage as well three years without a father, what with a kerosene stove. Or it happens to a child left behind? might have been summer and the wiring was faulty. I What happens to the wife or husband left behind? only remember that the garage was the only place he There is a whole social apparatus for the rehabilitation could go with the children and that he had to go get of the person who is convicted. That system is groceries and that he was alone with the children notoriously inefficient, ineffective, discriminatory, and because his wife was in court-ordered treatment. destructive of its own goals, but it does sometimes Somehow, while he was fetching those groceries work the way it is supposed to work and the convicted for those children, the garage caught fire and went up one has at least a place to live, health care (more or in flames. It went up quickly and burned so thoroughly less), a chance to go to school (sometimes), therapy that there was no hope of saving the children. The for what brought them there, and some guidance on people who came to watch had to hold him back to how to avoid crime in the future. keep him from going into the flames, No one could But the family gets nothing of the sort and the save them and all five died. children are left without a parent and the spouses are A week or so later, I saw the mother in a meeting. left to battle for themselves a way to survive.

She had other women in support around her, and she Please pardon my rant. spoke briefly, with a calm voice, about her feelings.

Hope for Hope I was glad to see her there, and I was glad she This is a story from ten or fifteen years ago. I was still in recovery. But I can only imagine what she know nothing more of the man or the woman. I can must have felt that day. I can only imagine what she only hope they are doing well. But could such a wound feels now. ever heal? Who would blame her if the pain becomes What I feel, though, is anger. too great and she relapses? Who is going to fault the The court could order the woman away into man if the guilt and pain become too much and he treatment, but the court could not order the man a weakens when the dope boy says, “I got something decent place to live with his children. The court could for you?” order the woman to stay thirty or sixty days in a facility, I hope they haven’t taken that path. I pray they but the court could not order some help for the man don’t. with his five children. The court could consider child But I do not know how I would live with such a endangerment charges for the man (though I believe story. the charges were considered but never filed). But the court need not consider how the man was to manage

UN Deploys Peacekeeping Troops

by Lynne Ausman In the July issue of Streetvibes, we covered the increasing turmoil in the Darfur region of the Sudan; highlighting the conflict and the lack of international cooperation and collaboration.

Until recently, the United Nations (UN) have not been able to determine if the conflict is truly a genocide because the fighting is so severe that crossing the border is too risky for humanitarian aide volunteers and peace keepers.

In addition, the Sudanese government has prohibited the UN from entering the country. The result was that the only peace keeping force allowed to enter was the African Union (AU).

The AU force is small and inexperienced and – along with the rest of the international community – is begging for the UN to become more involved.

However, the UN has found a way to enter the region. The Security

Council voted unanimously to establish a hybrid force of both UN and AU troops. The hybrid force will be under AU command. The Sudanese government agreed to a larger peacekeeping force due to international pressure.

In addition to a new, larger, hybrid peacekeeping force, the Security Council will also allow the use of force to defend troops, civilians and aid workers. The new hybrid force is expected to be deployed within sixty days. This mission will add 26,000 new UN peacekeepers to the previous 7,000 AU peacekeepers.

There is hope for this new force; however, cooperation from the Sudanese government is not likely. Aid agencies feel that the government is impeding their efforts by allowing the Janjaweed (a government-allied militia) to attack aid workers and food convoys.

Iraq War Realities Mental Illness As many as 1 out of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror has been evacuated to the Army’s biggest hospital in Europe for mental problems.

Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, have been treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had “psychiatric or behavioral health issues,” according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.

That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems.

The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital.

The Cost of War In Iraq $449,721,800,182 as of August, 07 7,793,721 - Public school teacheres could have been hired for one year 4,049,317 Additional housing unites could have been built 59,565,741 - Children could have attended Head Start for a year 269,294,277 - Children could have been insured for a year 21,801,510 - Students who could have received four year scholarships at public universities

STREETVIBES Page 12

Street Soccer World Cup Kicks Off in Denmark

by Laura Thompson Osuri, Street News Service Five hundred homeless and formerly homeless individuals from 48 countries ascended on Copenhagen, Denmark, in early August for the Fifth Annual Homeless World Cup. Players competed to become the world’s champion team in street soccer. For many of them, the tournament will also represent a huge step toward improving their lives.

“The Homeless World Cup is an event that can change the life of anyone, not simply to help them become a professional footballer,” said Didier Drogba, a supporter of the tournament who plays professional soccer with England’s Chelsea Football Club.

After last year’s Homeless World Cup, a survey showed that nearly three-quarters of the 368 players said their lives changed for the better.

More than a third secured regular employment and nearly half the players improved their housing situation.

Many of the national teams this year already have inspiring stories to tell. The Liberian team helped give war-torn orphans a reason to live. The Indian team used football to move young people away from drugs and the slums. England’s team trained with the legendary Manchester United soccer club.

Street soccer has also started changing the lives of U.S. players.

Most notably, seven out of the eight players have found housing over the last year.

One example is Pop Miller, 24, who was homeless for 18 months before joining the street soccer

program. Miller just moved into a place of his own. He credits soccer as the positive outlet that has kept him away from selling drugs and other activities that got him in trouble in the past.

The U.S. national street soccer team has been practicing all year in Charlotte, N.C., under the guidance of the Urban Ministries Center. The players and coaches were confident they can beat their 46th out of 48 ranking from last year’s Homeless World Cup. “Our results in Copenhagen are not as important as the positive changes that have occurred in the players’ lives,” said Lawrence Cann, who coaches the U.S. national street soccer team. “But I am excited about the leadership on the team and I definitely expect us to do better than previous years.”

The Homeless World Cup concept evolved out of a 2001 bet between Harald Schmied, editor of the Austrian street paper, Megaphon, and Mel Young, co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland. The first Homeless World Cup was held in Graz, Austria, in 2003, with annual tournaments ever since. Participation has grown every year.

The tournament consists of a series of 4-on-4 soccer matches played on a walled field the size of a tennis court.

This year, the Crown Prince of Denmark attended the final match. As of this writing the games were in progress so there are no scores to report.

Reprinted from Street Sense © Street News Service www.streetnewsserivce.org

The US Team at the Homeless World Cup.

Missed a copy of Streetvibes? Check out the Streetvibes archive on the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless’ website at http://www.cincihomeless.org/content/streetvibes.html

Stupid Iraq Quotes “My answer is bring ‘em on.” President George W. Bush “I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.” - Vice President Dick Cheney.

Freedom’s untidy and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.” – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“We found the weapons of mass destruction.” - President Bush, in an interview with Polish television, May 29, 2003.

“Oh, no, we’re not going to have any casualties.” - President Bush, discussing the Iraq war with Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson.

“It’s a slam-dunk case!” - CIA Director George Tenet, discussing WMD and the case for war.

STREETVIBES Page 13

How the President Ended Poverty: A True Story of the Future

by Michael Stoops On Inauguration Day, I, President (fill in the blank), hereby proclaim that I will no longer accept homelessness and poverty in this rich country.

I, like Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson before me, declare poverty to be one of the biggest issues facing America. One in eight Americans lives in poverty and the numbers are rising. Let’s call it an adjustment of American priorities that will take place not in 10 years, but in my first term in office.

We will end our legacy of imperialism and use the money to address our new priority of eliminating poverty at home.

The First 24 Hours of My Presidency After finishing my rather long Inaugural speech, I will return to the White House lawn where I will pitch a tent and live outside until we achieve the goal of ending poverty in America.

I’ll take along my cell phone and a laptop, so I can conduct the country’s business. The First Spouse will join me as well.

The First 100 Days of My Presidency I will forego my $400,000 annual salary and instead will work as your president at minimum wage.

In other words, I will be making $7 an hour, as per the established federal minimum wage regulations. If I work at least 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, I will earn about $379,616 less than my predecessor.

I will not move back inside until every American is permanently housed.

I will then start to pay rent like any other American, 30% of my minimum-wage salary.

I will invite my closest neighbors, the homeless people living across the street in Lafayette Park, to stay in the various unused bedrooms in the White House in what can only be called the “best public housing in the country.”

Emergency Measures I will order every government building to stay open at night so it can function as an emergency night shelter. I will ask churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques to do the same.

Homeless emergency shelters will function like the emergency rooms of hospitals where you can stay as long as you need.

Children, who make up 25% of the total h o m e l e s s population, will be the first ones to get help so they do not become the homeless adults of the future.

All local, state and federal elected officials will be required to spend a week living on the streets in the largest city of their respective home states until every American is housed.

They will receive food stamps and the same health care benefits as the poorest among us.

We will ask Congress to reduce the salary of every federal elected official and every executive branch official to the same monthly amount received by those on Social Security disability. This will keep the officeholders in touch with the almost 40 million Americans who live below the poverty line.

I will ask Congress to pass legislation making it illegal for cities to adopt laws targeting homeless people for acts such as sleeping, camping, sitting or panhandling.

All homeless persons who so desire will receive a donated laptop computer so they can connect with the rest of the world and use the Internet to help them get out of their homelessness and low-income status.

Long-Term Solutions I will restore the federal lowincome housing budget to what it was back in 1979 – $83 billion compared to $33.6 billion today.

I will work with the mayors of American cities to create a federal housing policy.

The countless abandoned buildings that plague our inner cities will be turned over to nonprofits or municipalities, which will provide resources and training for homeless or lowincome people to repair these homes. This will be a 21st-century version of the Homestead Act of 1860.

People released from prison or mental health and alcohol treatment centers will be guaranteed admission to halfway houses with employment, case management and counseling services. This will end the established practice of releasing them to the streets without support, setting them up for failure.

I will come up with a 21st-century version of President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps programs. My inspiration for this approach comes from the late President Ronald Reagan, who said, “I think the best possible social program is a job.”

The minimum wage will henceforth be replaced by a universal living wage.

At that time, I will make my salary the living wage.

Health insurance will be free or lowcost if you are homeless or low-income and expensive if you happen to be rich.

For homeless and low-income

people with disabilities, I declare these citizens are entitled to treatment on demand for mental health and substance abuse issues.

State and federal voting laws will be liberalized, making it easier for homeless and low-income people to vote. No photo ID or mailing address may be required.

As commander in chief, I make a commitment that no persons who serve their country in our armed forces shall be allowed to become homeless.

Victims of domestic violence, a leading cause of homelessness among women, will no longer be forced to flee their homes and wind up on the streets or in shelters. Rather, the victims will stay put and the batterers will be sent to jail or to shelters designed for them.

Eliminating Root Causes I will ask Congress to adopt the right to housing and health care for all our citizens, even if they cannot afford it, like in many other countries around the world.

I will make two- or four-year college education free to young people in exchange for national service. An education is the best way to break out of poverty.

I will build a “Museum on Poverty” on the Mall in the nations capital to remind Americans how poverty remained unchecked in the last century and for the first 10 years of this new one.

Poverty will be something of our past, not of the present, or our future.

The inspiration for this pledge to end poverty in 21st-century America comes from Upton Sinclair’s “I, Governor of California and How I Ended Poverty, A True Story of the Future, 1934.” Part I of this story was published in June 2007.

Michael Stoops is the acting executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless.

Reprinted from Street Sense © Street News Service: www.street-papers.org

New Civil Rights Advocate Begins Work at Coalition

by Greg Olkhovsky After graduating from Xavier University in May 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degraee in English and Organizational Communication, I am the new Civil Rights advocate at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

For the next year, I will participate in the ongoing mission of eradicating homelessness while serving as an Americorps VISTA. This is a new phase in my life in which I am very excited about.

Born and raised in the District of Columbia metropolitan area, I moved to Cincinnati in pursuit of a college education. Being born the son of two teachers and the brother of another,

education, dedication, and commitment have been instilled in my upbringing. It is my sister ’s selflessness and compassion towards others that have influenced my desire and enhanced my moral obligation to give back to communities in need.

During my years in D.C., I was active in my church’s youth group. I participated in numerous acts of service to the homeless such as serving in soup kitchens, volunteering at homeless shelters and organizing various food drives.

I continued this interest in service work throughout my time at Xavier. My most memorable experience with volunteering occurred in March 2007. With twelve other people, I traveled to New Orleans to assist in cleaning up the unimaginable debris that Hurricane Katrina left behind.

For a week straight we worked at gutting and cleaning houses that were at the mercy of Katrina.

We successfully gutted four houses during this week. Although “only” four houses may seem like a minimal achievement to some, we knew

that our work meant the world to the owners of the houses and also meant the world to ourselves.

It was this service trip to New Orleans earlier this year that solidified my calling in providing service work to society. I have grown fond of helping those in need in anyway possible. I am excited at the opportunity of working to improve Over-The-Rhine. Even though we may be faced with some challenges along the way, it is my ambition and desire to see improvement in this community that gives me the strength to succeed in this fabulous journey. I am privileged to serve as the new Civil Rights advocate for the Homeless Coalition.

STREETVIBES Page 14 Mercy A poem for voices

by Stan Burriss less than you know ... when I was a child, I knew less around and around, I was happy and laughed. Day followed day, when my mother would feed me, and raise me and tell me the stories of Jesus, or home — He had no home! where He lived with the goats and the children.

With others.

With the other children in your mother’s arms, you learned the stories.

You ate the soup, the breakfast food.

You learned the stories you were being told at home, and at church, and now, you’re old enough to know to each, his own! Her own.

You eat food, draw more thoughts with the words you’ve learnedmake money, if money is around - or shorn or square! Anywhere in-between with your name in-between ... ... and choose your own church.

Sunday is the day, if you work, you know.

God! You eat well enough. You know well enough, that you are a child of the church.

You eat well enough.

You work for your money (that hourly wage and the Word, God’s Word, are enough, bye-and-bye!)

Enough, given help from your brother, hungry or less ...

ALL: MERCY! MERCY! MERCY! (Money...) - MERCY!!

MERCY! MERCY! MERCY! (Money...) - MERCY!!

Patriotic Duty Cabin Fever

by Virginia Conn I’m freezing, so I tack flannel sheets under the blinds, discovering the frost has resurrected the finger oils of someone named Linda. Twice the precise lettering appears, well out of reach of a child’s hand.

The window overlooks the street.

I’ve stood there, impatient for mail or visitors, yet this is the first I’ve heard from her. I scan my studio for other traces, blaming her for the erratic nails, especially one eye level screw, dead center, that no painting hangs from comfortably.

I start to attribute other mischief to her; misplaced keys and night knocks, then fear she may be trapped, the bitter cold compelling her to contact me. ”I never got out. It never warmed up.”

I keep checking the pane for further word.

by Reneene Robertson “This is my patriotic duty for today” read the simple handmade sign on his chest.

He looked of an age to have served in ‘Nam. Without the sign you would not have looked twice at him. May have even tried to avoid looking once at him. Even though he looked clean, he appeared to have been living on the streets for a while. He had an air of selfsufficiency that had been cultivated for a long time.

When the police vehicles began moving toward the peaceful group assembled in front of the King County Jail, he stepped to the front of the crowd to line up with the others who chose positions on the outer flank. Volunteering for the front line. Again.

“This is my patriotic duty for today” his sign stated.

And he performed his duty with shoulders back, head high, and a fierce glow of pride on his face. Perhaps society had thrown him away, but he was still willing to put his body on the line to protect the Constitution of this fair country. To guarantee other peaceful citizens the right to express their views, regardless of violent, repressive moves by the police, he would once again fight the good fight by not fighting at all. His presence was enough.

“This is my patriotic duty for today” Your duty was well done, friend. Thank you.

I remind myself: It is winter everywhere.

Outside, Buffalo trudges past, layered in clothes like shuck on corn. Like that screw, an act of defiance, Linda versus concrete, in relief of the wide white wall.

Deception

by Jessie Rose The light of deception Blinds the soul from sympathy For it knows not how to change What it does not see That There are so many Desperate and trying Is no matter to deceit Or the minds drugged with its treat For all that they give to eat is adreadful defeat

Hallucinated daydreams

by Sara Lynne Tucker The line between fantasy and reality fades as I dance upon it.

I am a dancer A dreamer.

A hoper.

A clinger.

To false hope and hallucinated daydreams.

Fantasies and fairy tales are brought on by the imaginations of beautiful minds.

Just a mere fabrication of what could happen If playing pretend was brought to life.

Box forts become war zones.

Regions of the backyard become kingdoms.

Ragged old playclothes turned to icons of elegance.

Why not leave it at pretend?

Let the imagination work And create wondrous fairy tales and fantasies for dreamers.

La Isla

Giving Her the Eye

by Barney Egan A beauty stood on a balcony high, Sneezed and lost her blue glass eye.

A young man walking down The Strand Caught the flashing eye-ball one hand.

Invited up to receive her thanks He drooled on her features, figure, flanks.

While dining on champagne and chicken These strangers felt their heart beats quicken, Gazed into each others eyes, imperfections indiscernible, Including the eye-ball that proved to be returnable.

Over croissants and coffee in the morning The young man felt suspicion dawning, Said, “Would you do this for just any passerby?”

“Oh no!” she said, “He’d have to catch my eye”.

by Jose Ornelas He would run barefoot down Paisano St. toward La Isla where the grey cinderblock houses didn’t have running water but alma y corazon were plentiful. The river surrounded his neighborhood on three sides, just like a big American hug, welcoming and promising.

There, mama would be making tortillas by the glare of a bare lightbulb. The side to side slap of the dough would continue to be a welcome rhythm of childhood memory. A few years later the new projects in the second barrio seemed like a dream, residents could borrow the lawn mower once a week! Here the sidewalks were not broken, there was a real lawn and street lights. The best part of course was that Marcelino, his best friend, lived down the hall.

Time and again a new roof would signal a new start. Until the American dream became a reality in the suburbs; his very own lawnmower now occupied the other spot in the two car garage. But no matter where he ever was, the barrio, in the barracks, or on Main Street, it was never home until the tortillas came off the flame, hot, crispy and familiar.

STREETVIBES Page 15 Spaghetti

by Wendy Nakashima First we make the dough for the noodles.

Then we run it through the pasta cutter; it makes long noodles.

Then the sauce: Sauce bubbles singing sauce, sauce...

Peppers settle in for a long hot bath.

Mushrooms simmer and begin to float...

Onion cries Too hot! Too hot!

Garlic says more of me...

Meat and cheese begin to fight NO me! No me!

Newsies

by Paul von Kempf, JR. Can you hear our call Echo Down through the corridors of time. ”EXTRA, EXTRA, read all about it; Stock market crashes, thousands out of work”.

Society how can we buy your products now? mom in a store your child is a small shopper.

What does your small shopper buy.

Writers!

Submit your Poetry to Streetvibes - email your writing to Streetvibes@juno.com Stories and Poetry Are Due The Second Friday Of The Month

Sitting

by Wendy Nakashima We set around the table talking with people we know...

We watch the creativity flow...

We are aware that one person refuses to ask for help for fear of not being accepted We become aware that one person has the feeling of despair Why Because cash money is much better than welfare...

When you don’t know me it might be hard to see I am not interested in keeping up with the Joneses That’s just not me...

Sotally Tober

by David Hudgins Starkle starkle little twink who the heck you are I think I’m not under what you call the alcofluence of incohol I’m just a little slort of sheep I’m not drunk like tinkle peep I don’t know who is me yet but the drunker I stand here the longer I get Just give me one more drink to fill me cup ‘cuz I got all day sober to Sunday up.

The Sonata of the Lucky Homeless

by Susan Osterman man standing catatonic lace and barbarism shopping bag man no longer tried to be charming the emphasis is on survival not looks or charm who can charm rich tourists he says or rich new yorkers the street is my home not my mating ground first dates are a luxury went right by me i didn’t even notice it let alone regret or miss it my family didn’t bother to put me in an institution or was i deinstitutionalized is that like depersonalized all these big words i’m entirely dependent on the kindness of strangers

Violent Eye

by Jimmy Heath The curb has an edge, an angry, filthy boundry, that begs for your head.

“Would you like a good stompin’?”

Where face and soul meet stone?

Or would you rather beg to die another way?

Knees bent on dirty asphalt.

The avenue bends in sorrow, baking in the sun.

Making the children cry, and drag their tiny feet through broken glass.

And trash, and cans, and urine, and blood.

Sent What is poetry to me?

by Wes Browning Your head, an orange, a pencil up my nose.

A lost weekend, found in my pants.

Chocolate cake, vanilla snake.

The passing fancy, the staying plain.

X marks the spot.

Anybody got an eraser?

by Heather Gearhardten sing a song of violation equivocation demarcation supplication tribulation and truncation sing a song of subterfuge a deadly ruse loving abuse and splitting in twos and no way to choose sing a song of fighting free a warrior’s creed survival fees ptsd and healing mes.

by Kenneth Churchill Snoring...on the city steps, boots used as a pillow, arms folded...

Dream a Homeless man, fifties-like never to be young again, sedated by sleep...

Rest, in freedom from smoke and noise Safe, unless some sets him on fire.

Oblivion.

Head, yet empty of bullets, but composed for machete-hack job, waiting...

Or, nose tickled by feather of child, orphan from parent.

Body members still intact...

Oblivious...Oblivious dreams of kingdom, warmth, love, safety.

Mind, soulfully soaring about the Planet, touches, wonderful flowers, in ever changing fields of vision, and permissible escape from humans, thunder, and rain.

Held up, by the bricks, walked on by me ants, skin, burned by the Sun. Glanced at, by the strangers of the city.

Long, from the place of cornfield and bean.

Sold out, by family and Nation to me place of no Home.

Unknown.

He spins, on a PLANET IN SPACE, WITH ENORMOUS TRIBES AND UNIVERSE. Cold, from the deepest heat, warm from the fall of snow, out of place above water, unwanted in view.

Left, by me womb of escape and addiction, in a nasty world...a very nasty world...

With plenty of time eternal.

Creation...

Exist by death, unto the place of Spirit and Peace.

Lost, from the folds of industry...

Tried, by the Judgment of Life.

Run down, by the horses of fear.

Lost, by the measure of man.

Loved, by the Man of me Cross....

Hides not, the Homeless being....

Walks not, the tired man.

Beats on...the pulse of life, waiting for the dreamer, Inside the dreamer near.

Boots used as a pillow sleep.

Doorway...

Building...

Homeless man.