Streetvibes March 2005 Edition

March, 2005

STREETVIBES Vacant Lot Development Could Help The Homeless

Lot for proposed transitional housing development, Liberty and Race Street, Over-the-Rhine class of outcasts. The Homeless Two summers ago, a group Coalition and other advocate groups of homeless individuals caught the talks and meets with homeless attention of the City for weeks by individuals on an ongoing basis and taking a stand under one of Cincinnati’s bridges. (see Streetvibes has often advocated with them for shelter and housing rights.

August, 2003) While it stemmed There has already been a loss from a horrible situation, the of SRO (single room occupancy) controversy generated a lot of positive results - homeless individuals permanent housing in downtown last year - 75 units at the Fort became empowered, services were mobilized, police communication and Washington Hotel and over 100 units lost at the YMCA, relations improved.

The Drop Inn Center However, the question remains… what, besides a bridge, is reported at the last Homeless Coalition monthly meeting about an a permanent solution for bridge exciting project that would attempt to dwellers and for others that HUD provide a permanent home and terms the “chronic homeless.”

People who are homeless for hospitality for these individuals. The project would be part of a relocation long periods of time are familiar with sought by Cincinnati Public Schools the systems that are out there. They are often first hand witness to the of the Drop Inn Center’s current failures and cracks in the systems too housing project (not the shelter) at the corner of 12th and Elm Streets - educational, economic and mental near Washington Park in Over-thehealth services, etc. Often, the Rhine. The Homeless Coalition barriers put up by the systems member agencies were very themselves create this permanent

Washington Park, Over-the-Rhine

receptive to this concept and voted to endorse the collaboration. (See GCCH member agencies resolution on page 6).

The proposed plan for the relocation of the Drop Inn Center’s Transitional Housing included developing a lot at Liberty and Race Streets in Over-the-Rhine for permanent housing.

Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Center City Development Committee (3CDC) was not as receptive and, as of the printing of this story, was unwilling to support the idea of Permanent Supportive Housing in the areas for which they are making their own plans. Sources of funding for 3CDC development projects in the Washington Park area of Over-theRhine are still not certain.

While we debate the politics, many other cities, including Columbus and Cleveland, have successfully used Permanent Supportive Housing in inner-city development plans.

The shelter system of Cincinnati is very successful in moving thousands of people from emergency shelters to permanent housing each year. However, there remains a segment of the homeless population who, for myriad reasons, cannot or will not utilize the shelter system.

What has been demonstrated in Columbus’ system is that when these people, the so-called “chronically homeless” are provided with safe, stable housing, it allows them to create positive changes in their lives, including but not limited to employment, mental health counseling and drug and alcohol treatment.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota the Family Housing Fund assists supportive housing projects by pooling its funds with other subsidies so that housing providers can meet their costs while charging low rents that residents vulnerable to homelessness can afford. In addition

to its contributions to the financing of supportive housing, the Fund works to improve the supportive housing system through advocacy.

Since 1980, the Fund has invested $24 million to assist 113 projects, which have provided over 2,900 units of supportive housing, as well as rent subsidies to 1,200 households.

In New York, the Corporation for Supportive Housing makes loans and grants to supportive housing sponsors from a pool of funds drawn from both public and private sectors.

In Cincinnati, ReSTOC, a low-income housing provider also working in the Washington Park area of Over-the-Rhine, has created a proactive development permanent housing plan which was praised by some at 3CDC, however funding is still a critical issue.

The Cincinnati community, especially 3CDC, could benefit from any collaboration, and especially lowincome housing providers who have access to unique public funding sources, but developers are skeptical about including room for permanent supportive housing in their areas of planning.

The raw housing stock and vacant lots in Over-the-Rhine remain open for development. Meanwhile, the barriers to housing still exist for Cincinnati’s chronic homeless population.

Said a homeless person who preferred not to be named, “If I had a place to stay, where I could get some help and call it my own, I could get back on my feet and be proud of it. I wouldn’t need the shelter and I could get back to work.”

It is ironic, that for all their promises to OTR, 3CDC is content to let an empty lot remain just that, while hundreds of homeless men, women and children flood our streets.

Drop Inn Center transitional housing at 12th and Elm Street, the site of a proposed new public school

Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless

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 Andy Erickson - Education Coordinator Rachel Lawson - Civil Rights VISTA Kate McManus - Civil Rights VISTA Mary Gaffney - Receptionist Streetvibes Jimmy Heath, Editor Photographers Jimmy Heath, Kevin C. McHugh Cover Race and Liberty Street lot location of proposed homeless permanent housing development Jimmy Heath photo 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

Page 2

What’s Really Going On?

by Rachel Lawson An important part of having pride in yourself, is being able to acknowledge, with pleasure, where you came from and where you are headed. The same statement can be said about the city of Cincinnati.

What does Cincinnati stand for?

What do the residents represent?

Most importantly, where are we headed?

What does Cincinnati stand for? Originally our gracious Mayor proposed cutting Human Services completely, but in December of 2004, City Council only cut more than half of the general fund that was once set aside for human services for the past 20 years. (Let us not digress to the day when City Council cared because we have to focus on what we currently stand for).

I’m not sure if anyone else understands that Cincinnati voted to cut services for HUMANS! Who else is the city supposed to be helping? Of course, one could suggest that perhaps City Council decided human services was too much of a responsibility. In turn that’s why the city has continued to work so diligently on race relations. The first step was to build The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and fly in notables such as Oprah Winfrey and Angela Basset.

care. I personally am trying to become numb of the local news I really enjoyed being able to because I every time I turn on my attend that wonderful event with the television I hear about the newest many other citizens of Cincinnati, fight between the police and Roger from my television at home. As well, Owensby’s family.

I cannot really comment on the actual I completely understand that Freedom Fund Museum because I legally Patrick Caton has every right do not have the freedom to spend to attempt to gain back his job. As $12 (of course you can’t forget the well a jury of his peers was dollar you pay there and back by deadlocked on finding him guilty of bus.) involuntary manslaughter of Roger However, I did enjoy the Owensby Jr. (Ironically, in 1955, a website and its notable stories about jury also found Roy Bryant and J.W. the various individuals who have Milam not guilty of the brutal murder fought for freedom in some way. of Emmett Till.) While the liberal However, I was confused once again news broadcasters continue to air when I kept finding pictures of every images of Roger Owensby’s father day White individuals and the fighting, I don’t remember hearing wonderful things they have done for anything about the Human Service Black people. Is that an attempt at Cuts. race relations? Last time I checked It’s almost as if we are in this you shouldn’t attempt to heal a third time warp where images of racism degree burn by placing a Flintstone and ignorance keep flashing across band-aid on the wound. So basically the screen and there are no other Cincinnati does NOT stand for images. It also appears that the helping to provide Human Services lovely citizens of Cincinnati have and we also stand for building remained ignorant of the activities in museums and inviting rich people here their own city. However, although it rather than dealing with the real issue seems as if we are headed in this such as race relations, lack of jobs, continued cycle of numbness, it and the lack of homes and shelters. doesn’t mean we have to actual stay The next question to ponder in that direction. After all, in on is: where are we headed? I November I will be headed for the honestly have no idea where we are voting polls. I will educate myself on headed. We could become a city those individuals running for City that became so numb to our Council. I will remember what the surroundings that we basically do not current members voted for as I vote.

Michael Stoops Appointed Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless Washington D.C.: The National Coalition for the Homeless has reorganized by appointing Michael Stoops as acting Executive Director and moving its offices into the Church of the Pilgrims in Downtown Washington, DC. Molly Neck will support Stoops as the Director of Programs for the agency. Along with the other support staff this team will keep the doors open and maintain public education, community organizing activities and above all a strong advocacy presence to end homelessness for the estimated 3.5 million homeless in the United States.

The geographically diverse Board of Directors remains a strong, active, working board that will continue with the core mission of ending homelessness in the United States. Activists from across the nation are members of the NCH Board and work to change the dialogue at the national level to illuminate the injustices of homelessness.

Michael Stoops has been a part of the National Coalition for the Homeless since its inception in the early 1980’s. Stoops previously served as the Director of Community

Organizing for NCH. He has thirty years of experience on voting rights, anti-discrimination campaigns, and defending homeless people against hate crimes/violence.

Molly Neck previously worked on NCH’s National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project. In 2003, she was the editor of our two annual reports on the criminalization of homelessness and hate crimes/violence against homeless people. In 2004, she was NCH’s Director of Development.

Founded in 1984, the National Coalition for the Homeless is the oldest national advocacy group with a focus on homelessness. NCH has refocused its talents and energies around a few core issues. NCH will continue to be a leader in the protection of the civil rights of homeless people by publishing research as well as, organizing local and statewide coalitions. The staff will continue to put a “face” on homelessness through its national Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau. With a great deal of support from the NCH Board of Directors, the organization intends to focus attention on local, state, and federal policies as well as funding allocations

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to ensure that homelessness is ended.

The centerpiece of this campaign is the reintroduction of the Bringing America Home Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that would end homelessness in the United States.

This Act is scheduled to be reintroduced in Congress within several weeks.

Writers!

Submit your Poetry to STREETVIBES email your writing to Streetvibes@juno.com

Correction There was an error in the article “Morning Battle” in the February Issue of Streetvibes.

The correct spelling of the two employees of the Drop Inn Center is Bobby Lyles and Tom Lee. We regret the error.

In Phoenix, AR Ahwatukee Foothills church says its neighbors have nothing to fear.

Mountain View Lutheran Church says it will turn its campus classrooms into temporary bedrooms for homeless families so they’ll have a warm, clean and safe place to sleep.

However, safety concerns of Ahwatukee Foothills residents concerned about homeless people posing a danger has prompted a meeting Tuesday of the homeowners association.

Word surfaced in December that the church was exploring joining 17 churches in Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix and Litchfield Park.

Each church plays host about once per quarter, providing housing, hot meals, sack lunches, recreational opportunities and moral support.

ee tvib es

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to party. That’s a frightening situation for these people, some of who are mentally ill. We’re just trying to provide them a safe refuge, someplace to go.”

Someplace nearby, but yet far, far away from the aura of the Super Bowl. We can debate the city’s purity of intentions all we want, but those sleeping on mats inside the shelter don’t really care. They just want to come in out of the rain - even if it is for just two weeks.

If the end result of all this Super Bowl hype and hoopla is that they get a temporary home and a glint of hope, they’re OK with that. There may not be any chilled Cristal Champagne here as this Super Bowl get-together, but there is something just as valuable: A hot shower.

“This place has been a godsend,” says Michael, an ex-con from New Orleans. “Sometimes, you just need a place to clean up and warm up so you can sort out your life.”

Says James, a former postal worker who drank away his wife, his kids and his job: “I don’t have any Super Bowl tickets, but I have a bed and some food. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Meanwhile, at a Super Bowl party the other night at the swanky Sawgrass Country Club, revelers were heard complaining because the boiled shrimp wasn’t peeled and the line at the chocolate fondue fountain was too long.

If only they knew.

Str

set for the live bands that provided background music. The hosts and hostesses were ready to make every guest feel like royalty for a day.

It was time for the Feast of Plenty, a 25-year tradition at Fort Lauderdale’s First Baptist Church.

The homeless were the guests of Compiled by Jimmy Heath four separate grants. One grant, for honor at last month’s event, but In Toronto after a day-long $929,376, will be used to implement everyone was welcomed. debate and a flurry of suggested a new program aimed at chronic Dignity, the organizers said, changes by critics and supporters, homelessness, assisting those who are was the main item on the menu. city council last month endorsed disabled and have been homeless for “We treat our guests like Mayor David Miller’s at least a year, said Dan Williams, the what they are: our neighbors, and a controversial plan to help those coalition’s executive director. part of this community, just like us,” living on the streets find Each disabled person will be said Mike Jeffries, associate to the permanent housing. given housing along with other senior pastor. “For us, they are more “I see this as a victory for services to address the disability. than our guests. They are the guests people living on the street,” said Mr. Williams said he hopes they’ll have of Jesus. So they will be treated and Miller, after council voted 28 to 9 to the program up and running by this respected as such.” approve his plan with few major summer.

Jeffries stressed that the event changes. “It gives them a real chance A $105,000 grant will help was opened to anyone who could and that is what Torontonians want.” the coalition create a homeless benefit from it, regardless of whether After the vote, Cathy Crowe, management information system that they have a roof over their heads. a street nurse with the Toronto will help local officials collect the Disaster Relief Committee, said, “I’m demographic information the federal In Jacksonville, Fl last very disappointed. We are not government requires in tracking month on the riverfront, a talking about a blueprint to end homeless populations. The grant will beautiful woman with blond hair homelessness.” be in concert with the recent count and an older man in a blue blazer Yesterday’s debate, watched the agency made of the area’s step off a $5 million yacht. They by advocates for the homeless and by homeless on Jan. 25, Williams said. walk across the street to a high-rise others in the public gallery, went off A third grant for $390,117 hotel, where the rooms are going for without a rowdy protest like the one will be used to operate 15 Place, the $500 a night and the scalpers are during a previous meeting when homeless center on St. Francis Street working the lobby, selling Super housing activists briefly stormed the in downtown Mobile.

Bowl tickets for $3,000 apiece. council chamber.

A fourth grant for $156,240 Meanwhile, a couple miles The $18.4-million plan will be used to provide substance away, Tom, a drug addict from includes hiring additional outreach abuse treatment for women through Roanoke, Va., is standing in the cold workers to assist the homeless, a Franklin Primary Health Center. rain outside a homeless shelter with promise to build 1,000 units a year of All of the local grants are part an old cowboy boot on one foot, a affordable housing and a prohibition of $1.4 billion in HUD funds that will discarded tennis shoe on the other. on sleeping in Nathan Phillips Square. be used nationwide to fight “If I had a Super Bowl ticket, Mr. Miller reiterated that no homelessness.

I’d sell it and buy myself a good pair one will be forcibly removed from “This unprecedented level of of waterproof boots,” Tom says, Nathan Phillips Square. funds will go directly to those on the shaking his head and taking a drag Instead, with the outreach front lines, who work tirelessly every from a cigarette butt he picked up off workers and other measures, the day to bring an end to chronic the street. “But they don’t want me mayor says the intent of the new homelessness and who provide anywhere near the Super Bowl. They bylaw is to offer services to those services to the many individuals and don’t want the undesirables mingling living on the street to help them find families without a home of their own,” with the beautiful people.” permanent housing and receive HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson Welcome to the Super Bowl counselling and other support. said in a released statement. homeless shelter - a temporary Councilor Sylvia Watson said sanctuary for the down-and-out while it is far more cost-effective to find In Iowa City, Iowa a the uppercrust invades Jacksonville. permanent housing, with supports, for homeless man was sentenced to The shelter, in an old shuddered-up the hard-to-serve, than to warehouse 20 years in prison last month for a brick building, is only open for the them in overnight hostels. killing last spring. two weeks leading up to the Super “Instead, you can give them Prosecutors said Stephen Bowl. their own roof over their heads, Moore beat John Stewart to death as Although Jacksonville officials which is what we want and what they the two men fought under a bridge. claim this impermanent haven is here want, and you can do it at half the Moore pleaded guilty in Johnson for the good of the homeless, is there cost,” she said.

County to voluntary manslaughter and any question it is also for the image of second-degree robbery. Judge the city? When you spend $3 million Douglas Russell ordered Moore to to illuminate the bridges for the Super In Birmingham AL, The pay restitution to Stewart’s family.

Bowl, you don’t want beggars and Homeless Coalition of the Gulf Moore’s attorney said his client will bag ladies sleeping under them, right?

Coast Inc. recently received $2.8 not appeal.

“We’ve been accused of million in grants from the U.S. trying to get the homeless out of sight Department of Housing and In Ft. Lauderdale, FL the during Super Bowl week,” says Urban Development.

First Baptist Church of Fort Wanda Lanier, executive director of The funds will be distributed Lauderdale hosted a community the Homeless Coalition of to nine local organizations, all of feast, with homeless people as Jacksonville, “but that’s not our which work with the homeless, said guests of honor. intention at all.”

Cindy Yarbrough, field office director The preparations started at “These people live on the of HUD’s state office in Birmingham. midnight the day before. Tables were streets of downtown, and their home The coalition itself received set up al fresco and dressed with is being taken away from them by $1.58 million of those funds through elegant tablecloths. The stage was 100,000 people who are coming here

Homeless News Digest

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If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin. ~Charles Darwin Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~Norman Vincent Peale It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them. ~Bill Vaughan A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money. ~W.C. Fields The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time. ~Willem de Kooning Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit. ~Eli Khamarov, Lives of the Cognoscenti Poverty is taking your children to the hospital and spending the whole day waiting with no one even taking your name—and then coming back the next day, and the next, until they finally get around to you. ~Janice Bradshaw

The Homeless

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By Linda Corey The homeless are human beings. The Mayor, Charlie Luken, says “homeless go home.” We have this money to send space shuttles to look at the moon and the nine planets, but we can’t help the homeless! The labels are really cruel: bums, tramps, beggars. We have talents. We are writers, salesmen, singers, guitarists. People can be so mean, I think they forget where they came from. I pray for a change on this ongoing homeless issue. I pray we don’t lose any more people.

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How To Really Help The Homeless What should you do if a homeless guy asks you for money? A scan of a article in last month’s Minneapolis Star Tribune’s “Mindworks” section - a showcase for school-age writers - suggests that many young Minnesotans think it’s only right to be wary. Why, the students wonder, don’t these scruffy characters find work? And if a giver hands over cash, how can one know it will be well-used? Such skepticism is only natural coming from young minds, though it underscores how little most Minnesotans — young and old — really know about homelessness.

They probably do not know, for instance, that most of Minnesota’s “scruffy people” are actually very sick — with mental illness, with addiction, with other medical or learning impairments. Their disabilities make ordinary self-care a challenge and regular employment a nearimpossibility. They are people almost anyone would agree deserve government help — but even those who qualify for assistance lack the knowledge and perseverance to obtain it. And while a few outreach

workers make a point of keeping these lost men and women from freezing or starving, the government has long shown little concern for their plight.

Until now. Though much can be assailed in the Bush administration’s proposed housing budget — the plan envisions a nearly $4 billion cut (a 12 percent drop from current spending) for already strapped public housing programs — the White House is at least offering help to the long-neglected homeless.

Its new budget calls for 8.5 percent more than was spent last year on accelerating federal attempts to lure America’s unsheltered off the streets.

Other spending hikes are also proposed: The Bush budget would boost the VA’s program to assure health care for homeless vets, increase unsheltered citizens’ access to health care and to addiction treatment, and seek to avert homelessness among ex-cons by investing more money in prisondischarge planning.

This is the sort of communitybuilding venture Americans should expect from their government: It

shows sensitivity to the immutable needs of society’s least able — even as it curbs the astonishing costs of overlooking homelessness. If such initiatives did not come at the cost of harsh cuts to other housing efforts, citizens could applaud without compunction.

So perhaps they should cheer instead for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Housing Commissioner Tim Marx, who are continuing to swim upstream in their quest to end homelessness. Turned down by the Legislature on a bonding-bill bid last session, the two have returned with a more ambitious plan than before.

Their goal? To move the thousands of Minnesotans who now sleep outside or on shelter floors into longterm “supportive housing” — an environment that keeps vulnerable people happily at home by making sure they get the monitoring and assistance they need.

This session Pawlenty and Marx are aiming not just for $20 million in bonding to kick-start construction of needed housing for the homeless. They’re also seeking many new millions: $4 million for the

The Opportunity For All Campaign OMB Watch The Bush Administration released a 237 page report late Friday, February 11, detailing the programs slated for elimination or substantial cuts in their FY 2006 budget proposal. The report is available at http:// www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/ fy2006/pdf/savings.pdf The report provides rationales for the Administration’s decisions to eliminate 99 programs providing services such as vocational education, literacy training, training programs for migrants and youthful offenders, juvenile justice programs, and certain medical services for children, and to greatly reduce funding for 55 programs, including adult education, housing for people with disabilities, substance abuse and mental health treatment, job training, and other juvenile justice programs.

The Administration says that these cuts were made because of poor evaluations. But in many instances, the evaluations make criticisms of program operations that do not justify eliminating the services. For example, the $437 million Safe and Drug Free Schools grant program is eliminated,

because its funding was judged to be spread too thin. If that is an accurate criticism, surely a more appropriate response would be to revise the criteria for grant-making, giving larger grants to fewer localities. Instead, the Administration does away with the grants, and adds only $83 million to the related Safe and Drug Free Schools National Program reducing the funds available by $354 million.

Over and over in this new document, the Administration opts neither to fix programs that it sees as underperforming nor to fund adequately replacement programs that would address the same need.

It either eliminates programs altogether or slashes them, sometimes starting up something new to address a similar need always with less money than before.

An example: the Administration cuts $2.17 billion in high school programs, and replaces them with a $1.5 billion high school initiative, of which $250 million is for high school assessments (similar to assessments called for in the Leave No Child Behind act for elementary school students).

Because the funding for assessments is new, there is only $1.25 billion for vocational and

other high school programs previously funded at $2.17 billion a $920 million cut.

In addition, the Administration cuts some programs that were not rated ineffective.

Substance abuse and mental health programs of regional and national significance were cut by $53 million - down from $891 million in FY 2005 to the President’s proposal of $838 million for FY 2006. These programs were rated adequate by the Administration. The evaluation did suggest moving funds from one part of this set of programs to another. The Administration did not transfer the funds, but removed them. The budget also cuts many programs for which no evaluation was available. In this case, no news was bad news.

This new volume also details troubling structural changes to certain programs. It again seeks to carry out cuts in rental vouchers by choosing not to keep pace with rising housing costs. Instead of providing housing authorities with the funds necessary to support a certain number of vouchers, they will be given an allotment of funds instead. To live within the funds allocated, housing authorities would be given the authority to place time limits on tenants’ use of rental

Streetvibes exists as a forum for the expression of the views and opinions of our readers and supporters. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Streetvibes staff or the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless

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state’s Housing Trust Fund and, with help from Human Services Commissioner Kevin Goodno, $10 million for his department’s new “flexible service fund” — to finance the social services that provide the “support” in supportive housing.

This is just the start of a multiyear quest, and no one should expect all homeless citizens to move inside any time soon. Though Marx’s Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has already used some of his department’s discretionary funds to move several hundred homeless families indoors, ending homelessness altogether will require many millions of dollars and many years of dedication. Ultimately, it will demand an infrastructure and a social-service approach designed especially to welcome society’s unluckiest citizens in from the cold. That offering such a welcome is less costly than withholding it almost beside the point.

What should matter — to gradeschoolers and grownups, to the archest of conservatives and the most brazen of liberals — is not that ending homelessness is thrifty, but that it is right.

vouchers or to ask tenants to pay a greater share of their income for rent. The report also describes Medicaid restrictions aimed at reducing the federal reimbursements paid to states.

Several members of the Coalition on Human Needs have produced excellent analyses of the President’s budget. The CHN website links to many of these (www.chn.org/issues/budget/ index.html) OMB Watch has produced a number of pieces analyzing the President’s budget and they are available on the OMB Watch website: President’ Bush’s FY 06 Budget: An Overview. OMB Watch promises to update these articles where necessary to reflect the report released by the White House.

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The Firecat Review

Resolution of the member agencies of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless Whereas, there are many individuals residing in our Emergency Shelters for very long periods of time, stuck living on the street, unable to access permanent housing because of multiple barriers.

Whereas, many other cities have been successful with Supportive Housing for the Chronically Homeless as well as “Housing First” programs and Cincinnati currently lacks any of these programs.

Whereas Supportive Housing has a proven track record of helping those most difficult to serve and fits in with national, statewide and local goals of addressing the “chronically homeless.”

Whereas, homeless individuals need to be located within walking distance of jobs, education and services.

Whereas drug and alcohol addiction is proven to be a significant barrier to finding and maintaining housing making it more difficult for some homeless individuals to find a stable environment in which to seek treatment when they are ready.

Whereas it is an accepted standard of quality outreach that people be “met where they are at” and given hospitality and easy access to services.

Therefore, the 45 member agencies of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless fully supports the Drop Inn Center’s plans to create Permanent Supportive Housing with rich social services as well as arts programming on site on the corner of Liberty and Race.

Unanimously Approved on February 17, 2005.

Firecat Magenta – I like the ones with the what’s-it stuff in the batter – sprinkles.

Firecat Blue – Firecat Black made perfect cupcakes and they didn’t get all crazy.

Firecat Red – This is kinda’ sexy in a way (dipping mangled cupcake in frosting) - don’t look at me like that!

Firecat Orange – I like chocolate cupcakes – the icing is so good (eating cupcake)

fight and even die just so that I

by Rachel Lawson could do something as simple as I was “dining in” at a local restaurant and an older white eating at a restaurant, I am still being called “colored.” gentleman approached our table with a smile so big you could not Originally I kept assuring myself that it was simply an older help smiling back. He went on to invite my family to visit his church. gentleman who was raised during a time when it was okay to use those In any other situation, I terms. Yet, I keep would have possibly thinking about how taken him up on the every time he said offer, however this invitation was very “colored,” he would stutter “black” special. As this afterwards, in an seemingly innocent man went on to tell us about attempt to correct his faux pas. Who knows, his church, he kept referring to us as it may have honestly Rachel Lawson been innocent and he “colored.” may have not been trying to hurt As a result, all the praises that he gave of his church were anyone’s feelings. What I do know is that the label “colored” was used falling on deaf ears, because all I heard him say was that one word. to dictate where African Americans The irony of the situation amazed could use the bathroom, eat, and even drink water. I do know the me because here I was, during Black History Month eating in a word “colored” is recognized in restaurant that years ago I would Marriam Webster’s dictionary as not have been allowed to think being “offensive.” Most of all, I know it’s not okay to call someone about.

After all the men and colored and it’s not okay to be ignorant. women who were determined to

Firecat Red – So it’s about the cupcakes.

Firecat Orange – There were only a few black people in this section of the theater at Kenwood.

Firecat Blue – It does look bad.

Firecat Clear, are you there, any thoughts?

Firecat Clear – um, no.

Firecat Red - What was the deal with his swollen eye, his horrible face?

Firecat Orange – It was some kind of allergic reaction.

Firecat Red – Crabs?

Firecat Black – Just don’t do that in front of Firecat Red…

Firecat Orange – I don’t think it was crabs.

Firecat Red – What the hell is with this pan? (catching self, clearly lying) It’s cool!

Firecat Orange – What is everyone doing for Presidents Day? I’m going to visit my gramdma and her clogged toilet.

Firecat Clear – You should give the recipe and the last step should be “shake pan vigorously.”

Firecat Orange – This is like a mess!

It’s Not Just A Word

Page 6

Firecat Blue- Here are some cupcakes, but they exploded in the pan which, embarrassingly, has my name engraved in it. They are kind of messed up.

Firecat Orange – We should do a review of the movie “Hitch.”

Firecat Magenta – You’re the only one who has seen it!

Firecat Red – It looks awful…

Firecat Blue – My great-grandma always baked a cherry pie – in honor of George Washington.

Firecat Magenta – Are we seriously reviewing Presidents Day? Firecat Clear – Are you seriously going to unclog your Grandma’s toilet?

Firecat Orange – No, we are going to go to the gym – you have to hold it…

Firecat Black – I like Will Smith.

Firecat Orange – He’s sexy.

Firecat Blue – You know I cannot tell a lie - remember the cherry tree?

Remembering Bill Kashersky Known by many for his sensitive photography, by others for his activism as a homeless advocate, by others for his carpentry skills, by yet others for his love of family, and by all for his generous spirit, Bill Kashersky passed on January 23 by his own hand.

Bill became active in the struggle to end homelessness in the late seventies after he came through the Drop Inn Center. He was known as a very quiet person who spoke with a stutter, but he gained a voice through the camera, which he used to document the struggle for justice in Over-the-Rhine. Many will recall his

Streetvibes

presence at major events for justice at that time.

In the nineties, Bill lived a different life with his wife Becky and a loving extended family. His nieces and nephews recall him as a fond uncle and his Mulberry Street neighbors recall him as a helpful friend.

He continued to struggle with alcoholism to the end, however. At a memorial held Monday, February 7 at Nast Trinity United Methodist Church, it was his skill as a craftsman, his loving nature, and his many kindnesses that the neighbors, family members, and friends chose to remember.

A Letter to Mayor Luken Regarding Tasers indeed, could be, and so would tasers be also. The Black Fist warned Council that tasers would In December 2003, City be disproportionately used on Council paid $1 million of taxpayer African-Americans, thereby causing money to equip every police officer a further rift in police/community with a taser. As a rationale for this relations. I personally warned that, expenditure of public funds, Council without a proper use of force policy marketed this decision to the regarding tasers, we would all be community as a non-lethal means sitting in the same mess that lead to by which Police Officers would the implementation of tasers on the defend themselves in cases where force in the first place. they would otherwise use deadly Those warnings were in force. vain. For today we find ourselves Tasers were supposed to be in a situation where approximately an alternative to the force used 80% of police taser incidents during the Nate Jones arrest, force involve African-Americans. Many, that ultimately took Mr. Jones’ life. if not all, taser incidents lack any Tasers, it would seem, would save threat of harm to the officers lives. Or at least, that’s how concerned or of anyone else within Councilman Crowley billed it in his the perimeter. The city faces statement to a Cincinnati Enquirer possible financial liability due to reporter on December 8, 2003 lawsuits that have been filed as a when he said, “I’m for anything result of police use of tasers. that’s reasonable that will give us Police are, obviously, no less options so that we don’t have to inclined to use deadly force (as use lethal force or even the kind of seen in this most recent case response that we saw on those involving Officer Orlando Smith and tapes at the White Castle … I think 19-year-old Devon Price), and, to the mayor’s right that we should make matters worse, it seems move as soon as we can. I think tasers are not so non-lethal after all. we should move to prevent any The fact is: the US Consumer more death while people are being Product Safety Commission has not arrested or in custody.” tested this product since the The Coalition for a Just 1970’s.

Cincinnati warned Council that Recently a Grand Jury in tasers were not the solution to the Las Vegas ruled that tasers played a issue at hand. The CJC mentioned role in the February 2004 death of that the clubs used by police during William Lomax. Mr. Lomax was the Nate Jones incident weren’t zapped seven times in about ten themselves deadly weapons but minutes, and subsequently died of when wielded by uncaring, cardiac arrest. Less than four days irresponsible, racist police they, ago, 41-year-old Jeff Turner of

by Amanda E. Mayes - Co-chair, Coalition for a Just Cincinnati

Toledo was killed in a Lucas County jail minutes after having been tased a number of times by police. According to Amnesty International, at least 74 people have died in the U.S. and Canada in the past four years after being tased (sixteen of which were in the year 2003 alone), and human rights organizations around the nation, including the ACLU urge that taser use be severely restricted if not discontinued all together. Five states have banned the use of tasers for civilians as well as police (Michigan, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Massachusetts).

Three cities have done the same (Washington D.C., Baltimore and Annapolis).

There are still many cities that still welcome tasers. In these cities, not only has death resulted subsequent to taser use, but also tasers are frequently deployed against children and the elderly; the very populations most at risk for fatal injury. In Tucson, AZ public outcry began after police stunned a 9-year-old girl. In Kansas City, MO people were outraged at the tazing of a 66-year-old woman.

More recently, a 75-year-old woman was tased by police in her South Carolina nursing home …. and so on and so on.

People, I think it’s time that we take a serious look at our situation and do an in-depth analysis of what needs to occur in order to rectify our current problems and prevent possible future disasters from taking place.

The system that we currently have is insufficient. Standing policies are inadequate and allow for too much discretion when it comes to police use of force. More specifically, current procedures regarding taser use are dangerous and irresponsible given the information that we have about the link between tasers and death. With all of the non-lethal options available to Cincinnati Police, tasers should be reserved only in place of a gun.

Furthermore, policy should require that non-lethal force be the only option available to officers unless there is a clear and present deadly threat – rather than a perceived threat of danger.

Moreover, city leaders need to be asking Chief Streicher why, after sacrificing $1 million dollars of the city budget toward the purchase of these tasers, are police unwilling to use them in the place of deadly force.

It will not be until the proper changes are made that we will be able to honestly say that tragedies like the death of Roger Owensby, Nate Jones, Timothy Thomas, etc were not in vain but were, instead, a catalyst for change that would create a more just, more tolerant Cincinnati. Unless, you have resigned yourself to the idea that instances such as the shooting of 19-year-old Devon Price (in a case of mistaken identity) are acceptable, you must enforce change. Otherwise, prepare yourself for the fire next time.

A focus on women’s issues

by Kate McManus

The performance was emotionally charged and empowering.

Valentine’s Day is the Some monologues made me commercial celebration of romantic laugh uncontrollably, others moved love. But at the University of Dayton me to tears, and one in particular gave the weekend before Valentine’s Day me chills. and the week This is the following was a third annual celebration of performance at the women and a focus University as a part on women’s issues. of Women’s Week, On February 11, formerly known as 12, and 13, V Week. members of Studio Black and Theatre and SAFE pink were the and women at the colors of the night, University came Kate McManus with costumes, together to perform lighting and the the Vagina Black Box – where the performance Monologues by Eve Ensler, a took place – all fitting the scheme. collection of monologues based on The University of Dayton’s interviews with women of all ages performance of the Vagina from all walks of life. Monologues Monologues was amazing and raised range from hilarious to heart money and awareness for women’s wrenching. issues and agencies in Dayton. It is a The actors made the tradition I hope will continue for years monologues their own and put to come. everything into their performances.

“Don “Don’’t Leave Home W ithout IIt...” t...”

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Congressional Hunger Center celebrates 10 years On Wednesday, February 9th, dignitaries, former Hunger Fellows and staff gathered at the US Botanic Garden in Washington DC

for a reception to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the founding of the Congressional Hunger Center (CHC).

From the House Select Committee on Hunger founded in 1983, to the creation of the CHC and its fellowship programs in 1994, these projects have become a recognized platform for shaping and influencing current and future hunger leaders and social advocates in the US and around the world.

The evening was dedicated to the Hunger Fellows, past and present, the founders and friends, advocates in Congress, and its board members, for having the persistence and insight to make the 10 year journey possible. The collective efforts, talent and work have positioned the CHC to be a true leader in the anti-hunger activist Tony Hall, Ambassador to the UN Agen- community.

At the reception, we cies for Food and Agriculture and coheard from the new U.S. founder of the CHC

Secretary of Agriculture, the Honorable Michael Johanns.

Three community servants who have dedicated their lives to the principles of the mission were honored: CHC Founder’s Award was presented to The Honorable Tony P. Hall, Ambassador to the UN Food Agencies in Rome; The Bill Emerson Lifetime National Hunger Leader Award to The Honorable Dan Glickman, President & CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) and former Secretary of Agriculture under the Clinton Administration; and The Mickey Leland Emerging International Hunger Leader Award to The Honorable Elizabeth Dole, US Senator (R-NC). Also honored were four founding CHC board members: Paul Carothers, Vice President Public Affairs, Kraft Foods, Inc.; Al Franken, actor, author and radio talk show host; David Kantor, Victory Wholesale Grocers; and Manly Molpus, President & CEO, Grocery Manufacturers of America.

The Congressional Hunger Center (CHC) is a nonprofit antihunger training organization founded by former Rep. Tony Hall and located in Washington, D.C. Members of Congress, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Rep. James P.

Edinburgh to Host Homeless World Cup The Homeless World Cup, an international street soccer event, is coming to the UK for the first time in its short history. Hosted in Edinburgh from 20th-24th July in Princes Street Gardens, the event will see 32 countries participate in one of the world’s biggest socially inclusive events.

Co-founder, Mel Young President of the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) said “This is a unique event which has attracted significant media interest around the world in its short history.

It has a genuine impact on people’s lives in what has become a global symbol of integration through sport. I am grateful to all our partners in this event – to the Scottish Executive, EventScotland, SportScotland and the City of Edinburgh Council for hosting the 2005 Homeless World Cup. The United Nations has also pledged its support in recognition of the important part the Homeless World Cup plays in the lives of the disenfranchised. The event also attracts support from UEFA and a number of large football clubs including Manchester United and Real Madrid.

He added “There is much excitement amongst participating countries about coming to Edinburgh.

Nations such as Brazil, Cameroon, Ukraine, South Africa, Japan, France this year.”

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The World Cup is an international street soccer event that highlights the positive power of sport by creating a unique setting for homeless people and people in poverty. The concept was developed in 2001 by the International Network of Street Papers (INSP), which works on practical solutions for homelessness and poverty. Founded in 1995 the INSP today provides more than 60 street papers worldwide with a high profile networking opportunity through its headquarters in Glasgow.

Streetvibes is a member of the INSP. In providing excluded people with access to soccer, the Homeless World Cup generates a new social impact for a marginalized target group. The feeling of belonging, challenge of working in a team, the process of regaining a health oriented attitude in life and last but not least the experience of nothing but just fun.

Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said “The Scottish Executive is delighted to support this event. I would like to congratulate The International Network of Street

Papers for establishing the Homeless World Cup and bringing the tournament to Edinburgh this year.

“The social impact of an event such as this is clear and the Homeless World Cup has a strong positive impact on participants. It is also an ideal opportunity to raise awareness and challenge perceptions about what homeless people can achieve.

“Sporting activity of all kinds provides ways in which we can engage with others and improve our physical and mental health and well-being.

I hope this year’s event will help the players to regain lost confidence, build self-esteem and find sustainable solutions to the problems they face.

“Scotland’s renowned place as a host of international events and our progressive approach to homelessness makes Edinburgh an ideal location for the international interest I know there will be in this event. I wish the organizers and all participants every success for July.”

This is the third Homeless World Cup - the first tournament was launched in Graz, Austria, in July

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McGovern (D-MA) are the co-chairs of our Board of Directors and exemplify the bipartisan approach to ending hunger.

The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program is a yearlong leadership development program that trains emerging leaders in the fight against hunger in the U.S. The Bill Emerson Fellows are a living tribute to the late Rep. Bill Emerson, who devoted his energies to assisting the poor and needy. The Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows Program sends talented U.S. citizens to work alongside hungry people in the world’s poorest countries. The program is a memorial to the late Rep. Mickey Leland who led the fight against hunger in the U.S. Congress, and lost his life in Ethiopia on a famine relief mission.

Streetvibes Editor and Former Hunger Fellow Jimmy Heath sidles up to CHC board member Al Franken 2003. Backed by the patronage of the UN and UEFA the event was organized in co-operation with Graz03 Cultural Capital of Europe.

The 2004 event in Gothenburg, Sweden attracted 26 teams and over 40,000 spectators during the tournament. 130 journalists from around the world were accredited, including 35 TV stations and over 600 articles were printed.

Councillor Ricky Henderson, Executive Member for Sport, Culture and Leisure for the City of Edinburgh Council said, “Edinburgh has a great reputation for hosting international events and the 2005 Homeless World Cup is coming to Scotland’s capital knowing they can expect a warm welcome. The event will bring benefits to the city through tourism and will be a fantastic spectator occasion. We’re looking forward to a memorable and successful tournament for everyone who comes to watch and take part.”

David Williams, Chief Executive of EventScotland added; “EventScotland is delighted to be part of the strong partnership developed to secure this event for Edinburgh.

The unique nature of the event, along with the spectacular setting of Princes Street Gardens, provides an excellent opportunity to generate national and international profile and EventScotland is pleased to be supporting this key element of the event.”

The Dismantling of Health Care Safety Net through because the open window of enrollment had already closed. She was already discouraged because her attempt to get on the program had failed the year before. She had 94 million adults in America showed us a letter of DMA denial have no health insurance. In April, that number will rise even higher. The dated Feb. 1, 2003.

Later we learned that after Ohio Empowerment Coalition she had initially been denied DMA in has just learned that Governor Taft plans to completely eliminate February 2003, her health had the Disability Medical Assistance worsened. In April 2003 she had a (DMA) program in Ohio to “save stroke that resulted in an emergency room stay. After that she was in poor money,” starting April 1, 2005. health and was unable to go back to He is not even waiting for the state working. She went on public legislature to weigh in on this assistance (Ohio Works First) and termination. It appears the priority finally received Medicaid. However, for his administration is to save money without regard to saving lives, once her son turned eighteen, she was no longer eligible for cash the lives of very low-income people assistance and the accompanying in Ohio..

Medicaid. Even though her health The DMA program is a safety net of health care for very low- was poor, Saundra went back to applying for Temporary Service jobs. income, medication dependent She would often come to Contact Ohioans who somehow survive on Center and make calls seeking work, only $115 or less in income per in between making calls for the month. They have no dependent Welfare Rights Coalition. children living with them. Their She did not look ill. Saundra children may be grown or they may be childless. Because their income is was not the usual looking “suspect” so low, many of these individuals are for high blood pressure. She was very calm, quiet and mild- mannered. living in homeless shelters. The For the last year Cassandra at medication they are dependent on makes the difference in whether they Contact Center had been helping Saundra with her SSI claim. Finally are able to keep chronic health on August 15, 2004, Saundra conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, under control and be received word that she had won her claim to SSI and Medicaid. She was seen under a doctor’s care. Their very happy about this. Sadly it was health care needs include life-saving too late. We did not realize then that medication. Oftentimes DMA is a her blood pressure was already transition phase while an individual’s skyrocketing & out of control. She SSI claim is processed. Because of the stringency of SSI determination, it said she was having trouble with her may take several years for a claim to vision and needed glasses. We were working with her to get eyeglasses, go through, after being appealed several times. Once SSI is approved, not realizing that a stroke was imminent. the recipient is approved for In late October we received Medicaid. DMA is a state-funded a call from her son at the emergency health program. Medicaid is both room that she was in a coma from a federal and state. stroke. The hospital transferred her Saundra is one person who to Drake Hospital for recovery. She fell through the cracks between waiting for an SSI determination and stayed in a coma. A few days later she had another stroke and was sent trying to get help through the DMA back to University Hospital where program to receive much needed she died. We were appalled at how medication to control hypertension.

Saundra died on November fast the tragedy unfolded. Saundra was a wonderful person and she is 12, 2004 at the age of 55. She was greatly missed at the Contact Center. a regular volunteer at the Contact Although Saundra fell through Center, very dependable, and it the cracks and was not able to shocked us to learn of her death.

When she was not working at actually receive DMA because of the limited enrollment window for this temporary job agencies, she was program, her story tragically points either in church or at the Contact out the crucial need for this health Center. care program to be saved in Ohio Saundra volunteered with us and adequately funded to save the for at least a year before her death. lives of indigent individuals who are She spoke of her need to get medication dependent. medication to control her high blood If Taft’s plan to ax this pressure. She lacked health program is carried out, many more insurance or Medicaid to cover her medication. The temporary jobs did lives of human beings will be on the line. The Ohio Empowerment not provide health insurance, so she Coalition, along with the Family did without. We encouraged her to apply for DMA and helped her apply. Coverage Coalition, is committed to fighting back and saving this program.

Somehow her application did not go

by Lynn Williams Ohio Empowerment Coalition, West Ohio Organizer

Human lives are at stake. Saundra, who accompanied us on many actions to fight for Medicaid coverage, would have been fighting at the forefront on this battle. She will still be with us to fight on in spirit!

We urge you to call Governor Taft to express your displeasure at his plan to eliminate DMA. Call the Governor at 614466-3555. Write: Governor Bob Taft, Vern Riffe Center, 77 S. High St., 30th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6117.

If enough displeased citizens call and write letters to him, surely he will find other ways to save the state money besides throwing indigent human beings off their life-saving medications.

For more information on upcoming Ohio Empowerment Coalition events or for more information call 1-877-862-5179.

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. Mother Teresa Heartfelt positive feelings create far more than a healthy psychological effect. They fortify our internal energy systems and nourish the body right down to the cellular level. For that reason, we like to think of these emotions as “quantum nutrients.” Doc Childre and Howard Martin, The HeartMath Solution If your thoughts are thoughts that draw low-frequency energy current to you, your physical and emotional attitudes will deteriorate, and emotional or physical disease will follow, whereas thoughts that draw high-frequency energy current to you create physical and emotional health. Gary Zukav (as quoted in HeartMath Discovery Program)

Got The Vibe?

This beautiful, original artwork depicts the vibrant role that Streetvibes plays in downtown Cincinnati and neighboring communities. Created by local artist and activist Mary Ann Lederer in collage form, this colorful 18" X 10" reproduction can be yours to own for only $10. Commemorating Streetvibes 100th issue, proceeds from this limited time offer will go to support the Streetvibes Program and Vendors.

To order, call the Homeless Coalition at 421-7803

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The Peace Village

by Steve Sunderland

I realize that these experiences may qualify me as a grief educator even though I have never faced anything similar to what has happened in Indonesia. Over 228,000 people have perished and a substantial number are still missing.

In Banda Aceh province, the place of the epicenter of the earthquake, the following conditions prevail according to reports form the US Indonesian society: “Rebuilding Aceh’s education system is urgent. The

Thanks to a grant to the Ohio University program In Asian Studies from the U.S. State Department, I will be joining a team heading to Indonesia in March for 10 days, starting 3/14. I will be meeting with many of the visitors from Indonesia that I did workshops on peaceful mediation over the past year plus some old friends from the Peace Village in Cincinnati. Rick Kraince, Peace Villager and professor from Ohio University’s South Asian program will be heading the trip.

The stories coming out of Dr. Steve Sunderland Indonesia are chilling.

Children left without Indonesian Embassy reports that 914 parents in large numbers, especially primary schools, 155 middle schools, very young ones. Elders left without 67 high schools, and 15 vocational any family. Food, water and medical schools were destroyed. treatment still vitally needed. The work that may need to be done right Approximately 30,000 students and 1,140 teachers have died or are now is to work with teachers and missing.” What is the competence other professionals who are coping needed to comprehend this state of with massive grief on the part of children and families. I have worked disaster?

And, the relief effort is in co-founding a grief center for massive as well. Billions of dollars, children and their families in aid from so many countries pouring Cincinnati, Fernside, and have into Indonesia, and U.S. armed cooperated in helping to set up support groups for grieving parents in services providing thousands of pounds of food, and water and Cincinnati and nationally, Parents of medical treatment, saving thousands Murdered Children and The of lives each day. (At our tsunami Compassionate Friends.

relief conference last month, we heard a stirring talk by Lt. Col. John Miller, USAF, and a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati, giving some general idea of the vital resources being provided on a daily basis. I hope to print a copy of his remarks in a future newsletter to provide all of us with greater knowledge of just how extensive our relief efforts, via the military, have been. And, they are continuing.)

I hope to bring many puppets for the orphaned children, posters created by schoolchildren in Cincinnati’s Peace Village schools, and grief literature, hopefully translated into Indonesian in time The major work of grieving will take place within the Indonesian culture. I will consult with Indonesian students and others on the kinds of assistance young and older people might need at this time and in a few months. Of course grief is different across cultures, with different age groups, by gender, and by type of death. I have worked in schools where one child has been killed and seen the amazing emotional devastation such an event can have on children and teachers. When the number grows to hundreds and thousands, in a school and a region, I suspect that other dynamics are working.

Your ideas for what might work in helping in the grief support area will be appreciated. It is clear that a support group for those going over will be helpful and a group to reflect on our experience when we return. The first impressions will be very difficult and my anticipation will be keyed to what I am learning right now. Where will children and helping professionals be by mid-March?

I am gathering together some books and articles to send over as well as thinking of having some of these translated in to Indonesian.

Since a lot of my grief work has been with puppets, I would like to bring puppets that can be used to help communicate. Indonesia has a great history of puppetry and some historians feel that puppetry started in Indonesia before recorded time.

More exploration with puppet groups and the puppet organization will occur before I go.

The tsunami shock wave has moved the Peace Village to reveal the compassionate action with our many schools, young people, teachers, staff and educators. Raising money from the sale of thousands of bracelets for relief, like collecting cans for the homeless at the Free Store/Food Bank, puts some of the event in perspective. Moving to sharing feelings through posters, cards, and perhaps videos, increases involvement and permits the touching of a human soul and life. Are there other ways you would like to creatively connect?

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.

Surfing is latest weapon in war against South African homelessness

by Cathryn Scott Homeless street children in South Africa are being helped to find accommodation – through surfing.

A unique project in Durban uses the sport to interact with the children and to encourage them either to return to their homes or to find other ways of addressing their situations.

The surfing scheme is an offshoot of the Umthombo Research And Action project in Durban, which works with street children and is run voluntarily by Enoch, a former street child, who rebuilt his life after finding that surfing gave him something to focus on.

Now, a Swansea-based woman is raising money to buy beginner boards for the children to learn on so that they will no longer have to rely on borrowed boards.

Rachel Bell, who teaches surfing at Llangennith beach on the Gower, says her ultimate aim is to establish a surf school, where money made giving lessons to tourists would be

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used to give free lessons to the children.

Bell, who is travelling to Durban this week to work there voluntarily for four months, said: “Although the surfing project is a small part of the work that they do, it is what attracted me initially.

“There are shelters there but they are not really finding the kids, and the kids don’t always know the shelters are there, so this is a good way of meeting kids and getting them to a point where they can engage with adults.”

She added that the increasing number of children being orphaned

by AIDS, and the resultant breakdown in family networks, had led to an increase in the number of street children. She said: “To survive they get involved in crime. There’s a lot of child prostitution, and glue sniffing is the favourite drug in the area to abuse.”

She added: “The police want to get rid of them, they want them off the streets so they don’t always deal

with them in a way that is constructive to the children.”

She explained that surfing could help the children in several different ways. “They have very little structured activity or structured interaction with adults, so it is a way of adults building trust. It gets rid of excess energy, helps them to relax and is a good way to be chilled and of forgetting what goes on in their everyday lives. It’s also good for selfesteem because they feel good about themselves, that they have learnt a new skill.”

She said that initial work with street children in the area had found that many of them wanted to go home but didn’t know how. She said: “Some of them had a mother or something that they wanted to go back to, but they literally didn’t know how to get there, or they don’t have a phone number.

“It’s amazing how they get into these situations, but with a couple of hours’ work you can sort it out for good. Taking an interest in individual

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kids and listening and finding out their different stories can make a difference.”

Reprinted from The Big Issue Cymru, February 2005. ©Street News Service: www.streetpapers.org “To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feelthe breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds that have swept up and down the surf lines of the continents for untold thousands of year, to see the running of the old eels and the young shad to the sea, is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be.”

“Patience permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord when we are tossed about by suffering as if by surf. When the undertow grasps us we will realize that we are somehow being carried forward even as we tumble. We are actually being helped even as we cry for help.”

What Progressives Should Do

by Eric Weltman & Paul Lachelier In the election’s aftermath, progressives are experiencing a mix of emotions: anger, frustration, and despair. Undoubtedly, some are already applying for Canadian work visas.

But there are a few reasons why progressives should be hopeful.

Even as we face another four years of President Bush, tremendous political shifts can occur. During the 1950s— amidst the repression of McCarthyism—who knew that liberalism, free expression, and protest would flower in the coming decade? Of course, the Bush Administration will continue its pernicious course, but progressives can build compelling alternatives now.

Many of the political decisions that affect our lives are made by state and local governments, where progressives can more easily win office, influence decision-makers, and affect public policy.

The causes for which we stand—economic justice, human rights, and ecology among them—are too important. For those without health care, for those toiling for poverty wages, for our children who will inherit the earth, we cannot give up.

Regardless of our political goals, the work itself provides rewards. Activism nurtures knowledge, connections, good health, and civic skills.

For these reasons we propose five directions for progressive action: 1. Increase understanding and awareness of how social change is made. The history of progressive movements offers a wealth of ideas and inspiration. Other academic

disciplines, like sociology and communications, can help us build powerful progressive movements.

Unfortunately, too much useful research largely circulates within narrow academic circles.

Progressives should build bridges with universities to establish regular dialogues, gain access to research, and engage more teachers and students in their work.

2. Make our organizations more effective. Too many progressive organizations struggle with clunky databases, poorly managed stuff, too few volunteers, or lack of money. Accordingly, progressive groups should seek more people with specific skills or experience in non-profit management, law, fundraising, and information technology. Plenty of people who work for for-profit and government entities would be willing to lend their services part-time and pro-bono to causes in which they believe.

3. Substantially increase our investment in organizing.

Progressives need to spend much more time knocking on doors and less time mobilizing the same crowds for rallies in Washington and New York. We need to bring democracy to people where they are—at their homes, workplaces, malls, churches, and supermarkets. This means hiring more organizers, and keeping them in the movement by providing proper training, salaries, and sane work schedules.

4. With Republicans controlling Washington, we should make left-leaning states and cities showcases for progressive policies.

States have the resources and ability to offer universal health care, require living wages, and provide a good public education to all children. To

help accomplish this, progressives should focus national resources on targeted states, and nurture networks for sharing model policies and effective strategies for instituting these policies.

5. Improve fundraising. To help make these suggestions possible, we need to raise the financial commitment from progressives of all incomes, not just the wealthiest.

Some Americans tithe, giving a percentage of their income to their churches, a concept progressive groups should promote to their most committed supporters. One of the most effective ways to make giving

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easy and habitual is through “sustainership,” whereby supporters automatically donate a fixed amount on a monthly basis.

Progressives can lay the groundwork for building a movement, increasing our organizational capacity, and achieving the progressive promise, showing the nation that it’s a worthy aspiration.

Eric is a New York-based writer and activist. Paul is a Ph.D. candidate in political sociology in Somerville. Comments welcome: Eric@EricWeltman.com.

Reprinted from Whats Up, Boston, MA, January 2005.

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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.

The mission of the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) is to support a street newspaper movement that creates and upholds journalistic and ethical standards while promoting self-help and empowerment among people living in poverty. NASNA papers support homeless and very low-income people in more than 35 cities across the United States and Canada.

Streetvibes Vendor: 70 cents

Printing and Production: 30 cents

Page 12

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

We were so poor my daddy unplugged the clocks when we went to bed.

— Chris Rock My father was a simple man. My mother was a simple woman. You see the result standing in front of you, a simpleton.

— Chic Murray I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka and smoke a cigarette.

— Anthony Hopkins

Political Fictions

by Kody Akhavi On January 29, a Palestinian postal worker boarded a public bus in Jerusalem and detonated an explosive, killing 11 civilians and wounding many more. The bomb, strapped to his person, was packed with metal shards and nails to maximize the damage.

The contained force of the backpack bomb ripped through the interior. The back of the bus was hollowed out as if a massive bullet had shot through it. The seats were bent into a twisted mass of metal. The force of the bomb projected backwards and blasted off half of the roof.

I stood in front of Cambridge City Hall several months later and looked at the gutted remains of Bus 19. A man, sitting on an adjacent park bench, approached me and said, “This is what we Israelis have to deal with everyday.”

He said he was in front of City Hall to protect the bus from Arabs that planned to vandalize the icon. I imagined a barbarian horde brandishing swords and thick beards descending on Massachusetts Avenue.

“All the Arabs?” I asked.

He got the point and said, “Extremist groups.” But the implicit meaning of his statement shook me.

The American media is awash with images of Arab atrocity. In early November, The New York Times published a photo of several masked Palestinian youths brandishing toy guns and knives; the headline above mentioned the recent death of nationalist leader Yassir Arafat. In Tehran, chants of “Death to America” accompanied the 25th anniversary of the Iranian-hostage crisis. In Cambridge, a man picked up a newspaper that displayed an image of a bombed out bus and said to me, “Can you believe this? The Quran says that it’s okay to kill people and cut their heads off.”

Do the remains of Bus 19 represent all the atrocities committed on both sides of the Arab-Israeli

conflict? Does the Palestinian bomber represent every Palestinian? Does he represent every political group in Palestine? Maybe he represents Fatah, or the PLO, or Hamas (which incidentally was once funded by the Israeli government to combat the PLO). Does he represent every Arab? Is every Arab a Muslim? An image can’t ever provide the entire truth, a satisfying answer to any of these questions. But our belief that they do, and the skillful use or nonuse of images by powerful groups, keeps us thinking that we know all we need. And our understanding of the world keeps getting flattened out in the process.

Let’s be honest; many of the images from the Middle East, particularly those dealing with the wars and conflict, are works of political fiction. A recent estimate of the current death toll in Iraq indicated that close to 100,000 Iraqis had died since combat operations began. But you won’t see any indication of the dirty reality of war on television.

Instead, you’ll be treated to a Hollywood bonanza, consisting of the newest and most entertaining technology that the American military machine has to offer. You will quell any inclination to question what those swooping jets are actually shooting down; that they may be grinding the opposition and civilians into flesh and bone.

How does the government espouse legitimacy for the military adventures upon which they embark?

It is expected that the elites of this country would engage in an airtight plan to balk the public’s temptation for the “raw story.” But advanced technology provides the illusion of instant (and therefore uncensored) images and commentary from relevant locations around the world.

What is not seen by the viewer, and noticed just as rarely by the reader, is the extensive preparation for a newscast and the background work that goes into any printed story. With “embedded” journalists getting all their info through a military filter,

the loser in this scenario is the public.

The reality is that the majority of our media outlets engage regulate information, using various tricks in order to create an image of an issue that is most favorable to the receiver.

Most journalism is focused less on truth than “logical fallacy,” an error in logical argument which is independent of the truth of the premises. Utilizing the World Trade Center attacks and the “war on terror” as a justification for invading Iraq, and thereby perpetuating more terrorist activity, defies logic. And that’s just one example.

Recognizing fallacies in practical arguments can be difficult since these arguments are often structured to obscure the logical connections between assertions.

Fallacies also exploit the emotional, intellectual, or psychological weaknesses of the reader. By demonizing the opposition, as the conservative right does to “liberals,” as Osama Bin Laden does to “infidels,” or as George Bush, Jr. does to “freedom haters,” powerful entities can more effectively and more easily achieve their ends. Because images seem to be irrevocably true, they can bolster any argument, however asinine.

Today’s war photography is very tame, almost clean. Past images put it in perspective. In a famous Nick Ut photograph, a naked Vietnamese girl runs down a dirt road crying, her village decimated by an American napalm bomb. In the background, American GIs share cigarettes and walk casually, with no regard to the obliterated space behind them. This is an unedited, unmediated image that spurred protest and public disapproval of the Vietnam War. Although military pundits accused the media of costing them a war they could have easily won, in that case, the media followed public opinion rather than leading it.

Americans witnessed firsthand the blistering images of a miserable,

violent, and controversial war, and decided that they didn’t want anything to do with it.

It is not a surprise then, that during the first Gulf War, George Bush, Sr.’s administration censored photos of dead American soldiers returning home. Instead of publicly honoring them for their service, the president sought to diminish the impact of the loss of American lives.

Perhaps the most memorable image of Bush Jr.’s invasion of Iraq came on the day that American tanks rolled into Baghdad. The cropped image of a statue of Saddam Hussein being destroyed in Fardus Square, to the delight of cheering Iraqis, was broadcast around the world as proof of a massive Iraqi uprising. The original photos from news wires reveal a long-shot view of the square.

It’s empty save for the U.S. marines, the international press, and a small handful of civilians. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, most of the combat images came directly from military sources. If not for the public’s exposure to the Abu Ghraib prison photos, which clearly showed members of the American military abusing Iraqi captives, public disapproval might have remained at a controllable level.

In Palestine, managing the media gets a low priority when faced with humanitarian demands from a population that needs health care, education, and replacement housing among other things. And we don’t see Palestinians as people anymore; only those barbarian hordes who oppose all peace. Without images that reveal their perspective on the ongoing war and occupation, the Western public is left with only Bus 19s.

Kody studies economics and international relations, and usually writes about crappy racist policies and practices of local government for Whats Up. Reprinted from Whats Up, Boston, MA, January 2005.

Car Crash Actual statements from insurance claim forms “A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.”

U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote United States officials were surprised and heartened last month at the size of turnout in South Vietnam’s presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson’s policy of encouraging the growth of

constitutional processes in South Vietnam. The election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in January, 1966, to which President Johnson gave his personal commitment when he met Premier Ky and General Thieu, the chief of state, in Honolulu in February.

The purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy to the Saigon Government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since November, 1963, when President Ngo Dinh Deim was overthrown by a military junta.

“I had been learning to drive with power steering. I turned the wheel to what I thought was enough and found myself in a different direction going the opposite way.”

“Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.”

“I thought my window was down; but found it was up when I put my hand through it.”

“No one was to blame for the accident, but it never would have happened if the other driver had been alert.”

“The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”

“I saw the slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car.”

Streetvibes

Page 13

Elegy: Bill Kashersky SNAKE

This silent carpenter laid down his hammer at the last, the final nail made fast.

Untitled

The whisper of his saw is mute. His level and his square now measure no more care.

by Reggie Grissom United States of America On solid rock it was found Taking land from the Indians Beating our people down

So little left, no way to read the blueprint of his pain.

Only shavings from a plane,

United States of America The land of the free Wearing shackles and chains Some of you can’t see

some chipped and splintered memories, the blue dust from his chalk to tell the true graph of his hell.

Through sawdust and shavings of a lumbered life cut short, we sift for something of a gift.

We know the plumb-line truth is that he loved – the house he framed will stand. His wounded name will live in love, for of such gifting carpentry, my friend, there is no end; there is no end.

February, 2005 Michael Henson

United States of America Home of the Braves Smuggling drugs in Turning people into slaves Heroin and crack Just to name a few Electing the right person One thing we must do He wears a shirt and tie Smiles in your face Lying to the people The entire human race These are some things That go thru my head Not consciously thinking While lying in bed.

Bring Our Children Home

Fear

by Vera Zlatkin

I fear the unknown and I also fear the known.

Why is that? I say.

Is it because I never followed through to see what it could be?

Or is it that I’m so comfortable with just being me?

Whatever it is, I know I have to change, because I’m getting no younger and I’m tired of things being the same.

So until I make that full circle change, I guess I will have to just remain being the same.

Re’Becca Eans 2.3.2005

I’m Thankful

by Robert Manassa Thank you for two eyes to see Thank you for setting me free Thank for the victory For all of this I’m thankful Thank you for the sunshine and the rain Thank you for easing my pain Thank you for everything For all of this I’m thankful Thank you for two ears to hear Thank you for erasing my fear Thank you for always being so near For all of this I’m truly thankful

Page 14

Let me tell you about this girl named Sweet and Petite From heavens above you would think She is a precious gift.

But in reality, she makes me sick.

See, in her mind, she says she’s a witch.

But down on earth we know her as a trick.

Like fire and thunder, she often makes em wonder.

You know, like Stevie Wonder Calling herself Queen Bee But in reality she lied to me.

She’s the devil’s child, running wild makes herself an angel to light You know, smooth, like Dolomite.

But it’s out of date, she’s always late Or, her name might be Gail, she’ll put You in living hell.

Post with no bail.

She’s too fat, she might break her back.

Thinks she goes lovey-dovey, she’ a tell-o-tubby.

She’ll cut you up with her eyes.

You got a date with cake and can’t be late.

No, in reality, she’s just a snake.

Thinking that her heart is made of steel.

That girl needs to chill before somebody breaks her grill.

She’s bad for your health.

Get that poison off your chest and leave her to rest.

Streetvibes

Someone’s heart is broken, Another daughter dies.

Somebody’s father won’t come home; Somewhere a family cries.

Five hundred now and counting.

Today – eleven more.

How many people have to die Before we end this war?

Strangers in a distant land, Our children kill and die Learning hoe to hate and fear, Never knowing why.

Six hundred soon will be the toll; The wounded- many more.

And the number of Iraqi’s killed Is someone keeping score?

A soldier draws his final breath, With comrades standing by.

Along a road a bomb explodes And seven people die.

One expert says, “at least three years”; Another, “nearly ten”.

How long? My God, How Long!

Before We bring them home again?

The Lonely Man

by Reggie Grissom

Elephant at the Zoo

Saying to myself, I’m all alone, Thinking about the things, That I’ve done wrong.

I think in my head of what I would like to be. If I was in the zoo that would be cool.

Freezing cold from the night before, Looking through the holes, On the rotted door Tired and hungry I drop to my knees Covering up the holes, So I won’t freeze.

I would be an elephant because they’re so big and strong. I know that nothing could go wrong.

I would let the children ride on me and hope they don’t get any bruises or cuts. And afterwards they could feed me lots of peanuts.

I would blow water from my trunk way in the air, and see how wet I could get their hair. I would make my elephant noise so that I would sound like one of those toys.

If I was an elephant at the zoo, boy oh boy, that would be cool.

Crawling on the floor, For something to eat, Not able to stand, With sores on my feet.

Re’Becca Eans 2.3.2005

Going through life, Feeling these pains, “Praying to God” Before I go insane.

Remembering Me at Sixteen

The Meanest Thing

Lawrnetta Cain 10.14.04

When I was sixteen, I didn’t do drugs, and was fresh and clean.

In fact I hadn’t had sex or much of anything.

Today it’s just a memory of how it used to be.

Oh how I wish I was that innocent girl at the age of sweet sixteen.

I want to be the meanest animal in the zoo.

Out in the wild where I can run free and give people the meanest look that look at me.

Make them afraid and glad that they’re not out there with me so I can eat them up:

by Kevin C. McHugh

yum yum smack smack I’ll eat up your flesh and spit the bones back.

Lawrnetta Cain 2.3.2005

Reflections on an Image of Judith Holding a Severed Head in the Taft Museum of Art By him being 240 pounds and she was only 105 pounds, she felt he was abusing her. Maybe it had happened before.

So she felt to shoot him would be the only way to stop the abuse.

I had a man. He done drugs. He weighed 230, 6’4’. He used to slap me around, choke me and try to cut my throat.

I only called the police to get away from him. That stopped the abuse with me.

Lawrnetta Cain 10.21.04

While the novelty of the moment is what prompted me to shoot (pardon my use of the word) these critters, thinking about their reasons for their “raiding” the bird feeder just caused me to realize how hard it is for some of “us” (defined as broadly as possible – including these “critters”) just to survive. The snow and cold had driven them from the woods to look for a handout (as it were). The world can be very cold – to state the obvious. And there I was, sitting inside, nice and warm, not worrying about my next meal . . . pretty damned lucky.

Streetvibes

Page 15

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?

If you need help or would like to help please call one of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless members listed below.

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

357-4602

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 SHELTER: Both Anthony House (Youth) 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

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 381-4242 241-2563 Contact Center Emanuel Center

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 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

$1 Donation

March 2005

STREETVIBES

BUY FROM BADGED VENDORS ONLY

Cover Story

Controversy Develops in Empty Lot

Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless