April 29, 2020: The Contributor

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w w w . t h e c o n t r i b u t o r. o r g

DO NASHVILLE CHILDREN BORN INTO POVERTY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE IT OUT?

Volu m e 14

| Number 10 | April 29 - May 6, 2020

Un estudio realizado por la Universidad de Stanford descubrió que el número de dueños de negocios latinos creció un 34% más que otros dueños de negocios en los Estados Unidos en los últimos 10 años. Los haPor Yuri Cunza llazgos también reve- La Noticia Newspaper Editor in Chief lan que más latinos buscan financiación para lanzar o hacer crecer sus negocios. Además, contribuyeron con un total de $500 mil millones a la economía nacional durante el período de estudio.

"Los empleados, es difícil para ellos.

Ahora mismo. Porque es solo medio tiempo (el que trabajamos) por ahora. Y necesitan conseguir un pequeño trabajo para sobrevivir. Pagar las cuentas y sostenerse ”, dijo Ayala.

MSNBC News informa que las pequeñas empresas propiedad de minorías emplean al menos a 8,7 millones de estadounidenses. Muchas de estas comunidades en todo el país han sido especialmente afectadas debido a COVID-19.

"Según los números nacionales, hay un mayor incidente de víctimas afectadas dentro de las comunidades minoritarias y las comunidades negras e hispanas", dijo Yuri Cunza, CEO de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del área de Nashville.

IN THE ISSUE Este crecimiento y consecuente impacto favorable a nuestra economía, puede ser devastado debido a la amenaza del coronavirus y las restricciones drásticas pero necesarias para ‘aplanar la curva’ impuestas o ‘recomendadas’ por las autoridades.

No sólo el negocio pequeño es afectado por esto, también el público en general.

Mother Jones, una revista estadounidense que se enfoca en noticias, comentarios e informes de investigación sobre temas que incluyen política, medio ambiente, derechos humanos, salud y cultura, compiló datos de todos los estados que desglosan sus casos de coronavirus por raza y etnia. Lo mismo que se está viendo en la ciudad de Nueva York está sucediendo en todo el país: las personas de raza negra y los hispanos se infectan con COVID-19 a tasas alarmantemente más altas y mueren más de lo que cabría esperar en función de su participación en la población.

Con justa razon los dueños de negocios tienen muchas preguntas, problemas que contar y desafíos únicos cuyas respuestas no estan disponibles a pesar de la innumerable cantidad de cobertura periodistica como resultado del proceso. Desde la orden de “permanecer cerrado”, para

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Moy Ayala, Gerente de Las Palmas Nippers Corner habla con Caresse Jackman reportera de WSMV News 4

luego pasar a ser “negocio parcialmente abierto” en caso de ser "esencial", hasta nuevas pautas ahora que el país se abre nuevamente. Lentamente, inevitablemente.

¿Cuánto tiempo pueden las pequeñas empresas continuar operando en las condiciones actuales?

Según la Federación Nacional de Empresas Independientes "aproximadamente la mitad de los pequeños empleadores dicen que pueden sobrevivir por no más de dos meses, y aproximadamente un tercio cree que pueden permanecer operativos durante 3-6 meses.

No es sorprendente que muchos propietarios de pequeñas empresas estén ansiosos para acceder al apoyo financiero a través de la extensión al programa de préstamos para pequeñas empresas que el gobierno considera, para ayudar a aliviar las presiones financieras que se acumulan ".

Hace un par de dias tuve la oportunidad de ser entrevistado por la reportera de investigación Caresse Jackman con WSMV News 4 Nashville, sobre el impacto desproporcionado del COVID19 en las negocios de minorías negras, his-

Conoce tus derechos: ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

por

1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

panas y otras minorías y sobre cómo y que la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del área de Nashville considera necesario comunicar a sus miembros y a todos los negocios esenciales. En vez de aceptar el participar a través de una video llamada, sugerí que nos encontremos en un negocio hispano cercano, Las Palmas Restaurante mexicano, que por ser “esencial” ofrece servicio, aunque limitado, pero no por eso fuera de riesgo, para demostrar todas las precauciones que nuestros negocios pequeños toman para sobrevivir la pandemia. A contiuación el reporte: “El negocio adquiere una forma diferente para Moises Ayala, gerente de Las Palmas en Old Hickory Blvd.

Un vidrio lo separa de sus clientes.

Bloques azules marcados en el piso, ayudando a las personas a pararse a 6 pies de distancia. Es lo que está haciendo para que el negocio fluya de manera fluida y segura.

"Limpieza. Desinfectar Limpiar todos los días y cuidar a mis clientes ”, dijo Ayala.

Ayala dice que la pandemia trae consigo nuevos obstáculos.

Cunza estima que hay al menos 1,500 negocios hispanos en el área, y la Cámara está haciendo todo lo posible para asegurarse de que la comunidad hispana reciba apoyo.

“Necesitamos cuidarnos. Necesitamos estar un paso adelante y proteger a las personas que mantienen el sistema en funcionamiento. Y, desafortunadamente, están en la base de esta pirámide que es la fuerza laboral diaria que se mueve y empuja y que en realidad es responsable de la prosperidad de nuestras comunidades ”, dijo Cunza.

Contributor Board Cathy Jennings, Chair Tom Wills, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Peter Macdonald, Amber DuVentre

Mientras espera que las cosas vuelvan a la normalidad, Ayala está feliz por el apoyo de la cámara y la de sus clientes leales.

"Me siento bien porque los clientes me han brindado un gran apoyo", dijo Ayala.”

Con contenido de reporte televisivo transmitido el miercoles 22 de abril, 2020 cortesía de WSMV Nashville.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

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Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

The Great Outdoors

Moving Pictures

La Noticia + The Contributor

Vendor Writing

We can still go outside safely, so why not plant a home garden that you have no excuse not to tend to?

Political comedian Lee Camp’s new stand-up special, Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp sends-up partisan politics.

La Noticia, one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers in the nation, brings Spanish content to The Contributor.

Vendors write in this issue about the ways they are staying ‘Safer at Home’, and one vendor writes a special thank you.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

Idea y Concepto: John Yandall

Contributors This Issue Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Matt Masters • Hannah Herner • Joe Nolan • Yuri Cunza • Jaime Acosta • Yiming Woo • Tim Cocks • Wendell Roelf • Siphiwe Sibeko • Jason T. • Norma B. • Mr. Mysterio • David “Clinecasso” C. • Vicky B. • Mary B.

Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Patti George • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Nancy Kirkland • Mary Smith • Andrew Smith • Ellen Fletcher • Richard Aberdeen • Shayna Harder Wiggins • Pete MacDonald

Cathy Jennings Executive Director Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Hannah Herner Staff Writer Jesse Call Housing Navigator Barbara Womack Advertising Manager Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors

Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom WIlls Contributor Co-Founders

Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors.

Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed. The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions.

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The New Christian Year Selected by Charles Williams

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden.

Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. This series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

3rd Wednesday after Easter THE scars that remained in Christ's body belong neither to corruption nor defect, but to the greater increase of glory, inasmuch as they are the trophies of His power; and a special comeliness will appear in the places scarred by the wounds.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

HE does not waste a word in talking about immortality, as to whether it actually is; he states what it is, that it is the separation between the just and the unjust.

Kierkegaard: Christian Discourses.

3rd Thursday after Easter I AS often lifted my eyes and he sent me help from his holy place. And herein I found the difference between this and my former state chiefly consisted. I was striving, yea fighting, with all my might under the law, as well as under grace: but then I was sometimes, if not often, conquered; now I was always conqueror.

John Wesley: Journal.

GLORY is perfected in grace.

Echkhart: In Collationibus.

3rd Friday after Easter WE should mark and know of a very truth that all manner of virtue and goodness, and even that Eternal Good which is God himself, can never make a man virtuous, good or happy, so long as it is outside the soul; that is, so long as the man is holding converse with outward things through his senses and reason, and doth not withdraw into himself, and learn to understand his own life who and what he is.

Theologica Germanica.

The Feast of St. Philip and St. James THE Church belongs not to the present, but has existed THE the beginning; the Church which is spiritual is now manifest in the Flesh of Christ.

St Clement: Epistles.

Freely we serve Because we freely love, and in our will To love or not; in this we stand or fall.

Milton: Paradise Lost.

Reluctant dragons, up to who dares fight, That so he may do battle and have praise.

Browning: The Ring and the Book.

Third Sunday after Easter THE names of first or last derogate from it (God's mercy), for first and last are but rags of time, and his mercy hath no relation to time, no limitation in time, it is not the first nor the last but eternal, everlasting. Let the devil make me so far desperate as to conceive a time when there was no mercy, and he hath made me so far an atheist as to conceive a time when there was no God: if I despoil him of his mercy, any one minute, and say, Now God hath no mercy, for that minute I discontinue his very Godhead, and his being . . . As long as there hath been love, and God is love, there hath been mercy.

Donne: Sermons.

4th Monday after Easter WHEN the Kingdom is delivered up to God, even the Father, and all his powers are put down, then perfection begins. Here is hindrance, here weakness even of the perfect; there full protection . . . We then must strive for those things wherein is perfection and wherein is the reality. Here is the shadow, here the symbol; there the reality. Here we walk in the symbol, we see in the symbol; there face to face, where there is full perfection; for all perfection is in the reality.

St Ambrose: De Officiis.

4th Tuesday after Easter IF to obtain the temporal inheritance of his human father, a man must be born of the womb of his mother; to obtain the eternal inheritance of his Heavenly Father, he must be born of the womb of the church.

St Augustine, quoted in St. Thomas: Catena Aurea.

4th Wednesday after Easter THE nobler things are, the commoner they are. Love is noble, because it is universal.

Tauler: Sermons.

I KNOW the power obedience has of making things easy which seem impossible.

St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

3rd Saturday after Easter

4th Thursday after Easter

O LORD Jesus Christ, our Watchman and Keeper, take us to thy care: grant that, our bodies sleeping, our minds may watch in thee, and be made merry by some sight of that celestial and heavenly life, wherein thou art the King and Prince, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, where thy angels and holy souls, keep clean our bodies, that in both we may please thee, sleeping and waking, for ever. Amen.

Christian Prayers, 1566.

GOD must act and the soul must suffer; for him to know and love himself in her, for her to know with his knowledge, love with his love; and since she is far happier in his than hers it follows that her happiness depends upon his work more than on her own.

Eckhart: Sermons and Collations.

WHY comes temptation but for man to meet And master, and make crouch beneath his foot, And so be pedestalled in triumph. Pray 'Lead us into no such temptations, Lord!'

Yea, but, O Thou whose servants are the bold, Lead such temptations by the head and hair,

NOTHING is due to any one, except on account of something already given him gratuitously by God. Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

4th Friday after Easter TOO little doth he love thee who loves anything with thee which he loves not for thee.

St Augustine: Confessions.

IT was not by the dialectic that it pleased God to save his people; "for the kingdom of God consisteth in simplicity of faith, not in worldly contention."

St Ambrose: Of the Faith.

4th Saturday after Easter GOD Almighty, Eternal, Righteous, and Merciful, give to us poor sinners to do for thy sake all that we know of thy will, and to will always what pleases thee, so that inwardly purified, enlightened, and kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit, we may follow in the footprints of thy well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

St Francis of Assisi.

WHAT then is God? That without which nothing is. A thing can no more be without him than he can be without himself.

St Bernard: On Consideration.

LOVE is the divine substance; for John says God is Love . . . Thus substantial love gives accidental love.

St Bernard: On the Song of Songs.

Fourth Sunday after Easter I WAS still under great temptations sometimes, and my inward sufferings were heavy; but I could find none to open my condition to but the Lord alone, unto whom I cried night and day. I went back into Nottinghamshire, and there the Lord shewed me that the natures of those things which were hurtful without, were within, in the hearts and minds of wicked men. I cried to the Lord, saying, "Why should I be thus, seeing I was never addicted to commit those evils?" and the lord answered that it was needful I should have a sense of all conditions, and in this I was the infinite love of God. I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love which flowed over the ocean of darkness. In that also I saw the infinite love of God; and I had great openings.

George Fox: Journal.

5th Monday after Easter GOD impeacheth not Caesar, nor God's due Caesar's right . . . In the high and heavenly work of the preservation of all our lives, persons, estates, and goods, in safety, peace, and quietness, in this his so great and divine benefit, he hath associated Caesar to himself.

Lancelot Andrewes: Sermons.

5th Tuesday after Easter HE does much who loves much.

He does much who does what he has to do well.

He does well who serves the common good rather than his own will.

Thomas à Kempis: Imitation.

UNLESS Moses had been gathering together sheep into the fold he would never have seen Him that was in the bush.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

Sponsored by Matthew Carver, publisher

PAGE 4 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

LOCAL PHOTOS

A ‘Nashville Freedom Rally’ hosted by #FreeTN on Sunday, April 19, 2020, was organized in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s extension of the stay at home order. Lee announced Monday, April 20, 2020, plans to reopen the state in phases. The crowd openly defied both Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines and state orders to enforce social distancing by making shows of giving handshakes and hugs.

Reopen Tennessee Rally Defies Safer At Home Order PHOTOS BY MATT MASTERS

Crowds gathered on either side of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, lining a block of the street between Legislative Plaza to the Motlow Tunnel and scattering across the lawn around the statue of Sam Davis as gray skies brought some light rain into the area on Sunday, April 19, 2020.

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

NASHVILLE HISTORY CORNER

These three columns ran in The Tennessean during the 1918 flu pandemic. Like today, many knew the virus should be taken seriously, but some wrongly thought the oncoming impact was exaggerated.

PAGE 6 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

NEWS

A LOOK AT THE TEMPORARY SHELTER AT FAIRGROUNDS NASHVILLE

BY HANNAH HERNER For some experiencing homelessness in the time of COVID-19, a warehouse at the Fairgrounds Nashville has become the “home” in “stay-at-home.”

When the stay-at-home order went into effect in Nashville on March 22, CEO of Nashville Rescue Mission Glenn Cranfield says the organization’s downtown campus gave shelter to 100 more men than at the same time last year came to the mission. That’s why Cranfield said the organization went to Metro Social Services about an overflow shelter — to get some guests to another location in order to spread out more at the main campus.

With other homeless service providers like Room In The Inn working at bare bones staffing levels, people needing shelter downtown were funneling to Nashville Rescue Mission.

The organization now serves as a gothrough to a temporary shelter at the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds shelter cannot be accessed directly.

Before people are bussed to the fairgrounds shelter, Neighborhood Health is in charge of the pre-screening — taking temperatures and checking for other possible COVID-19 symptoms.

Once the guests get to the fairgrounds, they are under the jurisdiction of Metro Social Services, and St. Thomas takes over on the medical side.

Back at the main campus of Nashville Rescue Mission, the number of men coming to the main campus

has almost negated the extra space opened up by sending some to the fairgrounds, says Cranfield. Still, beds are six feet apart and nobody sleeps in the top bunks, lines for hot meals are spaced out, and chapel and volunteer services are suspended. They’ve invested in the type of cleaning gear used to clean surgical rooms, Cranfield says. In contrast, Nashville Rescue Mission’s Women’s Campus has seen very little growth in the number of guests after the stay-at-home order was put in place.

As of press time, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at any of the three shelters.

“It’s working and it’s not spreading within that homeless shelter, which is a blessing,” says Jay Servais, district chief of the Office of Emergency Management. “We could have an outbreak on our hands, you know? And we’re not because I think we’re being blessed and I think we’re doing something right.”

have to set up a contract or pay any rent for the space, Servais says. In two buildings, one of 35,000 feet and another of 46,000 feet, there is room to maintain social distance between both well people and those who may be sick or are being tested because they have symptoms. Having a larger open space means Metro Social Services had to provide fewer staff to oversee the facility than if they used a facility with individual rooms.

At the end of the day, in the eyes of Metro Nashville and the federal government, the nature of this shelter is that it was set up for an emergency, not a more permanent solution. Plus, it was approved by the Tennessee Department of Health, Servais says.

“We were in an emergency situation needing an emergency shelter and that’s what we put up,” Servais says.

“I didn’t have time to wheel and deal for five or six weeks on a contract for a hotel, not knowing if it’s going to be federally funded or not.”

Why the fairgrounds? Why not somewhere with separate rooms?

Servais, director of the fairgrounds shelter, was in charge of acquiring the space and staffing it. For him, the choice to host this emergency shelter at the fairgrounds came down to money, space, staffing and time.

The Fairgrounds Nashville was already Metro property, so they didn’t

What’s going to happen if people staying at the shelter test positive?

The fairgrounds has designated one “well” building and one “sick” building. In each, every guest has their own roughly 10x10 area. The “sick” building has the capacity to further isolate up to five people in another part of the building should they be confirmed positive for COVID-19. If

the numbers reach more than five and up to 15, that group will be moved to the Coleman Community Center. At 16 or more, the Municipal Auditorium downtown will be opened up.

Test results are taking seven days to process because they’re sent to Memphis: That’s longer than the drive through testing centers stationed throughout Nashville, which has a wait time of about three days, says Servais.

While they await results, people stay in the sick building, socially distanced.

What do Contributor vendors think about it?

At the fairgrounds shelter, guests can get a day pass to leave for work, which some Contributor vendors have utilized. The Nashville Rescue Mission did not respond as of press time to a request for comment on the ability of vendors of The Contributor to leave to sell papers.

Contributor vendor Joey S. has been staying at the Nashville Rescue Mission on and off for around 10 years.

He signed up to have the opportunity to go to the temporary fairgrounds shelter while sheltering in place at the Mission’s main campus, and ended up moving out there. Joey normally works at a movie theater in addition to selling The Contributor. He’s opted to collect unemployment for the time being, which he could do because of his job at the movie theater, or as a

IF WE WANT A GARDEN, WE’RE GONNA HAVE TO SOW THE SEEDS

BY HANNAH HERNER

deners!,” she says. “We love sharing and teaching others. Just through the master gardeners speakers’ bureau alone, we usually reach six or seven hundred people a year. As master gardeners, our whole focus is to educate people on science-based approaches to gardening and horticulture. Everything we present is researched and proven to be effective.”

The March 3 tornado destroyed the TSU garden, and COVID-19 is keeping her in her own yard, but that doesn’t stop Clayton-Davis from planting seeds.

What are container gardens?

Clayton-Davis says to make a container garden, you just have to wash your container of choice thoroughly with dish soap or diluted bleach first, and make sure there’s a hole in the bottom for drainage.

“You can grow in almost any container. In

Who is paying?

Food and laundry services were donated, and any money spent on other resources and staff will be paid by Metro Social Services and the Office of Emergency Management. They expect to be reimbursed by federal emergency funds, Servais says.

Who is involved?

The fairgrounds shelter is a partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank, the Office of Emergency Management, Metro Social Services, Metro Park Police, Rock Solid Security, St. Thomas Emergency Medical Services, Electronic Express, Ferguson Appliance and the Nashville Rescue Mission.

things that you’ll actually use. She likes to grow and dry peppermint leaves for tea, and also has a larger “salsa garden” with tomatoes, peppers and onions necessary for making homemade salsa.

Some other vegetables that work well in containers include cucumbers, sweet peppers, hot peppers, radishes, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, lettuce and onions.

Overall, it’s a good idea to review what plants are native to Middle Tennessee when choosing what to plant as well, she says.

“They’re going to do better,” says Clayton-Davis. “If you want to put something in your yard, the native plants have weathered the elements in this area for centuries.”

The Great Outdoors, Pt. 2

It’s not a good time for many activities right now, but May has always been a good time for planting a garden.

For the second part in a series on getting outside during the pandemic, we asked a Davidson County master gardener for tips on growing a garden at home. Joan Clayton-Davis is a container garden enthusiast, and says a porch, balcony or even just a sunny window is enough to grow a garden.

Throughout the year, Clayton-Davis and her husband — also a master gardener — are usually hosting events and meeting with community groups to teach agricultural skills.

Master gardeners run the free seed exchange at the Nashville Public Libraries. They also tend to a community garden at Tennessee State University College of Agriculture and the Ellington Agricultural Center, among others.

“Oh we are totally addicted to being gar-

self-employed independent contractor for The Contributor.

Joey says this shelter is a step up from the conditions he’s experienced at Nashville Rescue Mission.

“Thank God I am getting unemployment benefits and I am at the fairgrounds,” he says. “So much better. Think about this, we have a pillow and people don’t. Seriously, are you kidding me? The food is 10 times better here. We can sleep in till 6 a.m.

Showers are 10 times better. People in the mission have crap in the floor and in the bathroom. No laundry at the mission. So I’m not scared, but so tired of that place.”

my breakfast room I have a bay window, and in the window I have a basil plant that I use for cooking, and it is in a plastic fish bowl,” she laughs. “Containers are just a fun thing to do.”

Examples of containers to use include a milk carton, a basket, a bucket, water bottle, a kiddie pool, even potatoes in a burlap bag.

She suggests putting pebbles in the bottom and using potting soil to pot the plants.

What to plant?

Clayton-Davis says it’s important to plant

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

Go forth and garden Clayton-Davis’ best advice for novice gardeners is to keep it simple — pick one or two things to try. The main thing you need to make a garden is your hands, she insists.

“Always treat your plants like they’re your children. Just pamper them constantly,” Clayton Davis says. “Check on them so you can take care of any pests early.”

For more information visit mgofdc.org.

Clayton-Davis also recommends resources from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, and the Tennessee State University College of Agriculture.

COVER STORY

THE GEOGRAPHY OF UPWARD MOBILITY IN THE UNITED STATES: AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR CHILDREN WITH PARENTS EARNING $27,000

IT’S HARDER IN DAVIDSON COUNTY TO GET OUT OF GENERATIONAL POVERTY

A

BY HANNAH HERNER child born into poverty in Davidson County has one of the lowest likelihoods in the country to one day make a moderate or high income. In other words, they have a low chance of upward economic mobility.

Davidson County is in the lowest five percent for economic mobility among 2,700 counties in the U.S., according to data cited in the 2019 Community Needs Evaluation put together by Metro Social Services.

This number actually came from a national study done by economist Raj Chetty at Harvard University. Chetty thinks of this economic mobility data as a quantifiable way to look at the American Dream, asking the big question: Do children born into poverty have the opportunity to make it to the top?

Child development expert and equity and inclusion consultant Ingrid Cockhren says there can be a lot standing the way of that.

“It’s an interesting dynamic here in the United States because that’s kind of the motto, the American Dream is that you can become who you want to be,” she says. “But that’s not really true here.

Because we have that ideology about the American Dream, then we as a society often ignore the barriers in place when it comes to what it really looks like to break the chains of poverty.”

A new direction for the evaluation This is the first time the Community Needs Evaluation has dedicated a section to economic mobility.

Abdelghani Barre, director of strategic planning and research for Metro Social Services says that when they first started putting together this report 10 years ago, it was at the heels of the Great Recession, so the focus was on the effects of that. Affordable housing has consistently been a top concern covered in the assessment over the years. But for this report and moving forward, Metro Social Services looks to shift to looking beyond the typical statistics to look at economic well-being.

“In the past we’ve focused on poverty because it’s familiar,” says Barre.

“Those numbers are out there, but I think when you analyze economic and social well-being, you can have this picture of — not all neighborhoods are experiencing things the same way, not all workers are experiencing things the same way.”

The impact of neighborhood The needs report explains that the short answer for overcoming poverty is a quality education that leads to a job that pays a living wage. But access to

these things isn’t equitable — and your chances of getting them are smaller if you’re black and live in a majority black neighborhood.

“When we look at what the Great Recession did to the economy, African Americans were the last group to come out of that,” Barre says. “There is still a hangover in terms of their ability to rebuild the wealth that they lost. And that pointed to one thing, which is the neighborhood that you live in.”

Both Barre and Cockhren brought up the example of the North Nashville area as one that has it particularly hard when it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty. Cockhren credits the high incarceration rate in the historically black neighborhood to over-policing and a racially biased legal system. It’s a racism issue, she says. Incarceration of a family member is traumatic for a child, and that trauma causes changes to the brain, making it harder to break out of poverty.

Schools in these neighborhoods are historically underfunded, too, Cockhren says. The education system can be racist and teacher bias plays a role in any school, she added.

“Even though I’m getting the same education as a white student in this school, doesn’t mean I’m going to have the same outcomes,” Cockhren says.

PAGE 8 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

“Because teacher expectations are huge.

And teachers have just as much impact on children as parents after they get out of that early childhood stage. The achievement gap in Nashville is extreme.

When we don’t put our efforts into those children who have lower academic performance, then we are continuing this intergenerational poverty cycle.”

It’s worse in the South Economic mobility has steadily been declining across the country since the 1940s, but it’s especially bad in the South. Looking back, the South took longer than other parts of the country to develop industries other than agriculture, which further perpetrated slave labor. Redlining practices prevented African American families from being able to buy a home and build wealth.

But even once the economy began to change and industries like car manufacturing plants started to bring jobs here, the South is a hostile environment for unions, so workers don’t get their living wage. Each of these things put the South down a peg when it comes to the chance for economic mobility, Barre says.

“A combination of historical segregation issues, but also a transforming economy that does not create jobs with a living wage has made the South so

COVER STORY

2019 COMMUNITY NEEDS EVALUATION: THE STATE OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELLBEING KEY FINDINGS: • Poverty rose in the most recent year (2018) in Davidson County to its highest level in three years- 103,240 persons and 15.4% of the population.

• Nashville ranks in the bottom 5.9% of U.S. counties for absolute intergenerational mobility of its population – the probability for children to do better economically than their parents as adults.

• Even barring recent developments, unemployment rates in Nashville were twice as high for the Black population as for the White population in 2018 and essentially unchanged for four years.

• Combined effects of lack of opportunity, fixed incomes and other factors, create poor social and economic outcomes for many other older persons, minority communities, persons with disabilities, and others.

• Nearly one in five Nashvillians age 26-44 lacks insurance and more than one in ten persons age 45-65.

distinctive when it comes to not having economic mobility,” he says.

So, what would actually help a person be more successful than their parents?

It’s either leaving the neighborhood to get more resources, or having more resources brought to the neighborhood, the report explains. Section 8 vouchers are an example of a ticket out of the neighborhood, but something is lost when that happens, Barre says.

“Even though these neighborhoods don’t have a lot of opportunity, some studies show that those who move out lose a lot of social capital.” Barre says.

“Even though they were low-income, they have neighbors that they trusted to watch their children while they are going to work. That bond and social capital is something that many families would lose, even if they move to a better, middle class neighborhood.”

So the answer is to invest in these neighborhoods, and look at the systems — education, job market, criminal justice, housing and others — that stand in the way of success for the people who live in them, Cockhren says.

“Jobs and education can only do so much and the reason why is because those jobs and education are dependent on a good system,” she says “And a good system is not racist, or sexist, or ageist. A good system that’s giving you education

for everyone that’s positive — that’s not what we have.”

She added: “You can only be a good decision maker if you have good options.

We can invest in families with young children who are in poverty — they need a lot of support so they can break this chain. And that’s going to look like wrap-around services.”

The Family Center offers classes, family coaching and consulting aimed at breaking these cycles of poverty in a trauma-informed way. CEO Susan Galeas says the old “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” adage doesn’t apply anymore, if it ever did. Studies she’s familiar with are showing that trauma can actually embed itself in a person’s DNA to be passed down to future generations.

“When you look at family histories where there have been high levels of trauma over multiple generations, it is much harder for those children without significant support,” Galeas says. ”It is much harder for them to tap into their innate ability to be successful.”

When asked the big question of whether children born into poverty have the opportunity to make it to the top, she says, “I think that children innately have the opportunity. I think that our familial and environmental structures can hinder that innate ability.”

Q&A WITH BRANDON HILL NASHVILLE SOCCER CLUB’S SENIOR DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TALKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE WITH ECONOMIC MOBILITY

B

BY HANNAH HERNER randon Hill grew up in James Cayce Homes, Nashville’s largest public housing complex. The average income for a household there is around $5,000 and the complex is made up of 90 percent black residents. He was able to experience upward economic mobility in his own life, while many of his peers weren’t.

Hill works doing community engagement for Nashville Soccer Club, and seeks to reach back out to those communities.

We talked to Hill about what made the difference for him.

So tell me about what your childhood was like.

The neighborhood I grew up in was very segregated, a very under-resourced community. I went to a lot of the public schools in the area and of course my family got a lot of the services and public assistance that was available. Typical of what you see in concentrated poverty in inner cities, there’s drugs, there’s crime. And those types of things just become par for the course.

My family eventually moved their way out of the inner city, and further and further out into the suburbs. I ended up in Antioch during my high school years.

What do you think made the difference for you to be able to get out of poverty?

There’s no one situation that’s the same. People might like to think it’s a black and white issue — that there are specific steps you can take, follow the step here, step here, step there, and, you know, “voila,” you’ve made your way out of poverty.

It’s not at all that simple.

I think there’s a combination of things.

Having one parent who had some stable employment — my mother was a nurse, and she worked at what’s now Centennial Medical Center. She had some stable employment for enough of the time to be able to get our family on track. My older brother went to a magnet school down the street. I didn’t go to a magnet school, but I was lucky enough to be able to get some level of decent education, and not everyone gets that.

I had no idea what it looked like to go to college, I had no idea what it looked like to have the type of career that I have now.

And I think one of the big differences for me was the kind of network that I was connected to, even though we lived in a lot of poverty. I went to a church that had individuals who worked in different fields.

I was able to see an example of what it might look like to be a successful African American male. I remember there was a woman at my church who owned her own magazine, and she gave me an internship

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

when I was about 14 years old. That was really important just to be able to see that example. Quite often if you’ve never seen anyone model that behavior, then you don’t really feel comfortable going in that direction.

It definitely has to do with people in relationships, I think is one of the biggest predictors of social mobility.

Tell me about how you got plugged in to your current job.

I was 17 when I started working in nonprofits and started working at the Martha O’Bryan Center, which was the nonprofit in my old backyard. Ever since, I got to work in community settings, a lot of schools and then a lot of youth development work.

And soccer has really been growing in our communities now for the last 10, 15, even 20 years. We’ve had a pretty robust and growing international community. Today, I work with the Nashville Soccer Club. And the goal of our league is to be the most inclusive of the sports leagues. My role today is trying to find out all the ways that we can leverage our game and our clubs to make positive impacts in the community.

When you hear a statistic about how low the rate of economic mobility is here, what’s your reaction?

It really, to me, speaks to the fact that we have to take a look at our systems.

Typically, the way we have tried to improve conditions for people is we focus on individuals. We say, all right, how can one person at a time, pick yourself up by your bootstraps? But when you have such a large segment of people who are not able to make those transitions, whether it’s through employment or whether it’s through education or whatever it may be, to me, it really shows that it’s a structural issue. And we as community workers and people who are practitioners in the community have to focus on our systems.

Anything else you want to add?

It’s still a struggle even for me in terms of trying to find a place in Nashville that’s affordable. There are still issues that route back from my family’s experience that we have to deal with today. I have two brothers.

I have an older brother who had little bit of issues growing up, got in a little bit of trouble, but thankfully is well and able to take care of himself. I have another younger brother who was not able to escape what we call the school-to-prison pipeline. He had gotten in a lot of trouble at school. He’s probably spent over half of his adult life in prison. It just goes to show some of the side effects of poverty and some of the issues that people in those communities deal with, they don’t escape you even when you escape.

COVER STORY

MEDIAN AND MEAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

$87,535

Davidson County, 2018, not inflation adjusted

$82,600 $78,234 $74,479 $65,785 $57,380

$68,363

$64,363

$60,160

$46,359 $46,153 $46,343 $40,652

$41,994

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

$62,766

$64,276 $64,256

$43,616 $43,556 $44,567

2010

2011

MEDIAN INCOME

2012

$67,549

$69,919

$47,150 $47,993

2013

2014

$52,026

2015

$54,855

2016

$58,490

2017

$60,856

2018

MEAN INCOME

Both median and mean household income in Davidson County have increased consistently in nominal terms since the end of the Great Recession in 2010. Mean and median income have risen by the same rate between 2010 and 2018, both at 39.5%. Median household income exceeded $60,000 for the first time in 2018 in Davidson County.

SOURCE: AMERICAN COMMUNIT Y SURVEY, 2018, TABLES B19013 AND S1902, 1-YEAR ESTIMATES

WORKING CLASS FAMILIES ARE PUSHED OUT OF NASHVILLE BY RISING COSTS

BY AMANDA HAGGARD In Nashville, we hear a lot about who is coming to Nashville: At one point, the line was that more than 100 people were moving to the city everyday. What’s lost in that metric is that while the city gains several people coming here for high-paying jobs, we’re losing the working class families who can no longer afford to live here.

In the past three years, a pattern has emerged: At least seven people per day are leaving Nashville for outlying counties, according to Metropolitan Social Services’ annual Community Needs Evaluation. Rising costs of living is considered the greatest factor in people leaving the city.

“Working class families are exiting Nashville and those in poverty find themselves trapped in ever more costly and difficult situations,” the report says.

Native Nashvillian Kennetha Patterson, 37, was forced to make the decision in 2016 to leave the city she grew up in.

Patterson and her husband and five kids were living in an apartment in Edgehill when the complex was sold.

“At first, I watched my other neighbors being pushed out,” Patterson says. “We kinda didn’t know what was going on. We just noticed people’s belongings getting thrown straight in the dumpster.”

Patterson and others started trying to

mediate evictions — the new owners of the complex wanted to create a new layout with more expensive units that she knew she and others could not afford. They had at one point convinced the property owners to replace the units one-for-one rather than build bigger, more expensive units in the complex. She got behind on rent, but the company didn’t want to work with her even when she had the money to get caught up.

Patterson and her husband and their five kids moved to Cheatham County because they couldn’t find anywhere in Nashville they could afford. While the housing was cheaper and they had more room in their home, Patterson was still driving to and from Nashville for work every day in addition to getting her kids to school. She was driving more than 100 miles a day.

“I would go to work and then I went to get the kids from school and then my husband would go to work and come home after we got there,” Patterson says. “It’s just a lot for a family.”

When her family moved out of Nashville, they made $60,000 annually.

“So that seems like enough, but we have five kids, seven in a family, so that’s still poverty, right? It still wasn’t enough in a city like Nashville where it seemed like things got more expensive by the day,” Pat-

terson says. “Making those numbers make sense as far as what people make and what that gets them is something that’s hard to get through to some people.”

Patterson’s family is back in Nashville, but living with her mother right now. They were working with their landlord to purchase the home they were renting, but the landlord decided to sell before they could come up with enough money to buy the home.

“We also had barriers on our credit that kept us from being able to purchase,” Patterson says, adding that many don’t realize that living in a family member’s home is still considered homelessness. Losing their apartment in a neighborhood Patterson was familiar with eventually lost them the ability to live in their own home.

According to the Community Needs Evaluation, the loss of working class families presents a challenge in terms of, “maintaining a distribution of population that resembles the one the city has long experienced.” The influx of singles and childless couples and the loss of families obviously means a totally different makeup of people after a length of time.

Patterson, who has worked in community advocacy, believes the key to making changes is letting the people experiencing

PAGE 10 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

barriers guide and drive the discussion.

This is more than having community meetings in areas that are struggling or providing outreach, it’s involving members of the community in the building of a new structure.

“Just talking to the real people is a step, but it seems like [the government] always does things on this trickle down basis and that never works, giving someone with no experience with poverty the reins won’t work,” Patterson says. “We have to be part of the solution, doing the work.”

Patterson has started an organization called VisionHeirs, which works with people on eviction prevention, particularly large families who aren’t served well by services for people experiencing homelessness. She says a big part of advocacy, and her work personally, is making sure she values every single person in a family and recognizing that keeping these people in the community is important.

“You have to look at the whole family,” Patterson says. “There is always a story and we just have to believe every person is a jewel that’s in the family. And we have to care about bringing forth their purpose and what they’re meant to do. Not everyone has generational wealth, but they all have value to the community.”

COVER STORY

POVERTY IN FIFTY LARGEST U.S. SCHOOL DISTRICTS Highlighted areas for those with higher rate of poverty ages 5 to 17 than Nashville

SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS, SMALL AREA INCOME AND POVERT Y ESTIMATES, 2018

NASHVILLE NINTH WORST IN THE NATION FOR STUDENTS EXPERIENCING POVERTY

BY AMANDA HAGGARD More than 25 percent of the students attending Metro Nashville Public Schools are in poverty, according to Metro Social Services’ Community Needs Evaluation.

Davidson County ranks ninth highest for most students living in poverty among the nation’s 50 largest school districts — more students are in poverty in Nashville than in Los Angeles and Chicago.

In addition to that, more than 3,400 students of those students are experiencing homelessness.

Under the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act, homelessness is defined as a lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. That could mean students living in shelters, cars, public spaces, substandard housing or with other families due to the lack of alternative accommodations or students who live a migratory lifestyle.

Community Achieves, run by Alison McArthur and Catherine Knowles, attempts to use MNPS resources to help students experiencing poverty.

McArthur, the community Achieves

coordinator, says the program has a site coordinator at each of its 22 partner schools.

MacArthur says it was her hope that the program would serve as a means of identifying and providing support around areas of challenge for MNPS students and families through internal programs and community partnerships.

That might look like food insecurity, lack of school clothing or inadequate healthcare, and in some schools, there might be a need for parental empowerment. Community Achieves provides

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

supports for parents and the wider community too by offering GED and ESL courses.

“It varies across the board and schools, and the supports will look different in each community. The schools coordinate lots of events for families so they can come to school and learn about ways to advocate for their students, and then, there are just basic needs for the families, like food boxes, clothing, diapers, hygiene items,” she says.

MOVING PICTURES

Bucking the System POLITICAL COMEDIAN LEE CAMP’S NEW STAND-UP SPECIAL SENDS UP PARTISAN POLITICS

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

Comedian Lee Camp has made a name for himself in progressive political circles as the host of Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp, a political commentary program that’s aired on RT since June, 2014.

Descended from both George Washington and Robert E. Lee — the comedian’s namesake — the Richmond, Va.-native presents himself as a kind of everyman bucking the system.

On his show and in his new stand-up concert, Not Allowed On American TV, Camp skewers the political/corporate/military complex in its entirety with nearly no regard for the shadow puppet games of partisan politics. The fact that Camp only says Donald Trump’s name a few times during his special will give you an idea why he stands-out in a field that’s turned late night talk show television into a wasteland where laughter goes to die with relentless “bad hair” and “orange” jokes since 2016. Camp says Trump, “is a catastrophe,” but, “he’s a symptom, not the cause.”

Camp starts strong sharing some of his personal background to set up a bit about Richmond’s Monument Avenue, which is lined with statuary displays celebrat-

ing Virginian Confederate Army heroes like Jefferson Davis and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as well as Robert E. Lee. Camp cites the 1996 addition of a statue of Richmond native and black tennis star Arthur Ashe to set up his punch line. Lesser comedians might oversimplify the story with the kind of stark dualism that makes for easy, but not-very-impactful zingers. Camp chooses to highlight the unintended consequences and awkward resolutions of erecting the statue. He still scores laughs, but he also demonstrates how complex questions about history, race and cultural representation actually are in the South.

Camp does some of his best work in a George Carlin-esque interrogation of the kind of language used by propagandizing political pundits who give America’s regime-change wars a cerebral spin when they praise the country’s “advanced weaponry” — coloring the conversation about exporting violence with an air of technological enlightenment. Camp also skewers phrases like “secondary targets” — the innocent civilians who’ve done no wrong besides being unlucky enough to be deemed

expendable by the American war machine. This rant also recalls comedian Bill Hicks’ unhinged tirades against the Persian Gulf War. Camp rails about American support of violent strongmen like Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Osama bin Laden before they’re villainized and scapegoated for more foreign targeting

by American imperial violence But it’s not all rage and ranting.

Street Music STORIED HOMELESS ALBUM PROJECT DROPS DIGITAL DEBUT

BY JOE NOLAN What do you get when you cross a handful of homeless and formerly homeless songwriters and a selection of independent Nashville music artists? Streets of Music City is a new digital album release resulting from this unique collaboration, which spotlights the musical talent found in the people who live, create and perform on Nashville’s streets.

The Streets of Music City project began years ago, but the large cast of contributors and various technical issues extended the production time. Now the COVID-19 crisis and social distancing has resulted in the decision to release the project as-is for digital streaming and downloading. Once social distancing is relaxed one final song

Camp also celebrates the progress evinced in changing popular opinions that find most Americans supporting gay marriage and the legalization of cannabis.

“That changed quickly,” says Camp. “When I was a kid they were like ‘Oh my god! Marijuana rots your brain and turns your kids into zombies who try to eat you in their sleep.’” But he also acknowledges that waking up to critical thinking and loosening oneself from the bonds of mainstream consumer propaganda can be a complicated path strewn with dead ends and obscured by the purposeful misdirection of unrelenting media messaging to eat, drink, and buy more. Camp points out the absurdity of a headline promising to sort the 14 healthiest options available at fast food restaurants.

“If you’re going skydiving, and you pull the chute and noth-

will be added to the project and a physical CD package will offer the entire collection.

Streets of Music City has been spearheaded by Richard Aberdeen, whose Freedom Tracks Records is coordinating the recording and release. Aberdeen says the album is a labor of love and not a for-profit project.

“We as a label have invested far more than we expect in return regarding this project and as such, there is no intention to profit off of the backs of the homeless and poor,” says Aberdeen. “Rather, the intention is to bring the plight of the homeless and poor, who as one of the songs says, are often treated as ‘invisible,’ more into general public awareness, hopefully inspiring others to help.”

Razzy Bailey produced the project and the arrangements vary from country-fried

PAGE 12 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

ing happens, at that point, the healthiest choice is to try and hit a car rather than hit the ground directly.”

He points to cannabis to illuminate the nonsensical divisions we create between illegal drugs and prescription medicine, and attacks both law enforcement’s drug war policies and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the opioid crisis in the process.

“One person’s marijuana is a suburban soccer mom’s Ambienand-white-wine mixer, which she calls Mommy’s Happy Time Juice,” scoffs Camp.

Watch Not Allowed on American TV for free at www.leecamp.com

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

hymns to gospel stompers to reggae mellow-downs. “Nowhere We Can Hide” was written by former Contributor vendor Christopher Scott Fieselman and it features one of the best vocals on the project from Guy Harden.

Amy Jean Kenna’s “Unknown Soldiers” is performed by Charlie Baker. The song is an elegy for our neighbors who have lost their lives facing the hardships found living on Nashville’s streets. All the songs in the collection — like many of the stories in this paper — provide perspectives about homelessness in Nashville from the men and women who know it best.

The tracks will all be available for free to stream and download on various platforms, but you can get them now at the Freedom Tracks website.

LA NOTICIA “The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.

“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

L a N ticia 2020

GRATIS

Mayo

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Año 18 - No. 304

Nashville, Tennessee

Negocios minoritarios ‘esenciales’ toman medidas de seguridad para sobrevivir la pandemia

Un estudio realizado por la Universidad de Stanford descubrió que el número de dueños de negocios latinos creció un 34% más que otros dueños de negocios en los Estados Unidos en los últimos 10 años. Los haPor Yuri Cunza llazgos también reve- La Noticia Newspaper Editor in Chief lan que más latinos buscan financiación para lanzar o hacer crecer sus negocios. Además, contribuyeron con un total de $500 mil millones a la economía nacional durante el período de estudio.

Este crecimiento y consecuente impacto favorable a nuestra economía, puede ser devastado debido a la amenaza del coronavirus y las restricciones drásticas pero necesarias para ‘aplanar la curva’ impuestas o ‘recomendadas’ por las autoridades.

No sólo el negocio pequeño es afectado por esto, también el público en general.

Mother Jones, una revista estadounidense que se enfoca en noticias, comentarios e informes de investigación sobre temas que incluyen política, medio ambiente, derechos humanos, salud y cultura, compiló datos de todos los estados que desglosan sus casos de coronavirus por raza y etnia. Lo mismo que se está viendo en la ciudad de Nueva York está sucediendo en todo el país: las personas de raza negra y los hispanos se infectan con COVID-19 a tasas alarmantemente más altas y mueren más de lo que cabría esperar en función de su participación en la población.

Con justa razon los dueños de negocios tienen muchas preguntas, problemas que contar y desafíos únicos cuyas respuestas no estan disponibles a pesar de la innumerable cantidad de cobertura periodistica como resultado del proceso. Desde la orden de “permanecer cerrado”, para

"Los empleados, es difícil para ellos.

Ahora mismo. Porque es solo medio tiempo (el que trabajamos) por ahora. Y necesitan conseguir un pequeño trabajo para sobrevivir. Pagar las cuentas y sostenerse ”, dijo Ayala.

MSNBC News informa que las pequeñas empresas propiedad de minorías emplean al menos a 8,7 millones de estadounidenses. Muchas de estas comunidades en todo el país han sido especialmente afectadas debido a COVID-19.

Moy Ayala, Gerente de Las Palmas Nippers Corner habla con Caresse Jackman reportera de WSMV News 4

luego pasar a ser “negocio parcialmente abierto” en caso de ser "esencial", hasta nuevas pautas ahora que el país se abre nuevamente. Lentamente, inevitablemente. ¿Cuánto tiempo pueden las pequeñas empresas continuar operando en las condiciones actuales?

Según la Federación Nacional de Empresas Independientes "aproximadamente la mitad de los pequeños empleadores dicen que pueden sobrevivir por no más de dos meses, y aproximadamente un tercio cree que pueden permanecer operativos durante 3-6 meses.

No es sorprendente que muchos propietarios de pequeñas empresas estén ansiosos para acceder al apoyo financiero a través de la extensión al programa de préstamos para pequeñas empresas que el gobierno considera, para ayudar a aliviar las presiones financieras que se acumulan ".

Hace un par de dias tuve la oportunidad de ser entrevistado por la reportera de investigación Caresse Jackman con WSMV News 4 Nashville, sobre el impacto desproporcionado del COVID19 en las negocios de minorías negras, his-

panas y otras minorías y sobre cómo y que la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del área de Nashville considera necesario comunicar a sus miembros y a todos los negocios esenciales. En vez de aceptar el participar a través de una video llamada, sugerí que nos encontremos en un negocio hispano cercano, Las Palmas Restaurante mexicano, que por ser “esencial” ofrece servicio, aunque limitado, pero no por eso fuera de riesgo, para demostrar todas las precauciones que nuestros negocios pequeños toman para sobrevivir la pandemia. A contiuación el reporte: “El negocio adquiere una forma diferente para Moises Ayala, gerente de Las Palmas en Old Hickory Blvd.

Un vidrio lo separa de sus clientes.

Bloques azules marcados en el piso, ayudando a las personas a pararse a 6 pies de distancia. Es lo que está haciendo para que el negocio fluya de manera fluida y segura.

"Limpieza. Desinfectar Limpiar todos los días y cuidar a mis clientes ”, dijo Ayala.

Ayala dice que la pandemia trae consigo nuevos obstáculos.

Conoce tus derechos: ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

por

Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

Idea y Concepto: John Yandall

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

"Según los números nacionales, hay un mayor incidente de víctimas afectadas dentro de las comunidades minoritarias y las comunidades negras e hispanas", dijo Yuri Cunza, CEO de la Cámara de Comercio Hispana del área de Nashville.

Cunza estima que hay al menos 1,500 negocios hispanos en el área, y la Cámara está haciendo todo lo posible para asegurarse de que la comunidad hispana reciba apoyo.

“Necesitamos cuidarnos. Necesitamos estar un paso adelante y proteger a las personas que mantienen el sistema en funcionamiento. Y, desafortunadamente, están en la base de esta pirámide que es la fuerza laboral diaria que se mueve y empuja y que en realidad es responsable de la prosperidad de nuestras comunidades ”, dijo Cunza.

Mientras espera que las cosas vuelvan a la normalidad, Ayala está feliz por el apoyo de la cámara y la de sus clientes leales.

"Me siento bien porque los clientes me han brindado un gran apoyo", dijo Ayala.”

Con contenido de reporte televisivo transmitido el miercoles 22 de abril, 2020 cortesía de WSMV Nashville.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

INSP

LEFT: A Colombian soldier wearing a face mask delivers a box of food aid to a poor family, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bogota, Colombia April 17, 2020. Picture taken April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Luis Jaime Acosta | RIGHT: A homeless man looks on at a makeshif t shelter, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the capital, Pretoria, South Africa April 9, 2020. Picture taken April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

HOW COVID-19 AND LOCKDOWN IS IMPACTING POOR PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD These three stories from Reuters look at how the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown and quarantining measures are affecting people who are poor, homeless and living in poverty.

We visit South Africa, France and Colombia.

BY LUIS JAIME ACOSTA, YIMING WOO, TIM COCKS AND WENDELL ROELF Bogota’s poor, homeless get some help amid quarantine hardship

By Luis Jaime Acosta Some of the neediest residents of Colombia’s capital Bogotá have started receiving food donations, while dozens living on the street were given a chance to shower and change clothes, as the city rides out a five-week lockdown to contain the coronavirus.

Residents of the Andean city, home to about seven million, had set tires on fire and blocked roads in isolated Thursday protests to demand help during the quarantine.

The government has budgeted 18 trillion pesos (about $4.43 billion) to shore up an inadequate healthcare system and fund welfare payments during the lockdown that runs until at least April 27.

But many families who get by in informal industries like street selling, construction and recycling are now cut off from work and are scrambling to make ends meet. Many say they have received no aid at all.

Others have been luckier.

On Friday, army soldiers in gloves and masks distributed boxes of rice, beans, sugar, salt, canned meat, toilet paper and bottled water to residents of the Egipto neighbourhood, whose steep streets wind up the skirts of the Andes.

“I’m so grateful to the army because they are the only ones who have gone house to house,” said a tearful

Luz Maria Piraquive, 61. “This arrived just at the moment when we’re lowest on supplies.”

Major Johan Alzate, operations head for the presidential guard, said: “We are coming to a community with many needs ... joining efforts to try to mitigate some of the emergency that we are living.”

Meanwhile, the mayor’s office offered showers, toiletries, changes of clothes and meals to people living on the street — some of whom have been rendered homeless due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’ve been sleeping on the street for seven days,” said 42-year-old Hamilton Mosquera, who lost his job as a club doorman when the government shut down nightlife last month.

The coronavirus has killed nearly 200 people in Colombia and infected over 4,000. Giving people a way to shower and change will prevent them from becoming vectors, city officials said.

“We started these self-care sessions, which is a place where we put in showers, bring clothes, bio-safety supplies like alcohol, antibacterial gel and food,” said Daniel Mora, from the city’s social integration department.

Less money but more attention for the homeless of Paris during lockdown

By Yiming Woo Homeless people in Paris are increasingly relying on charities for

food, clothing and daily necessities as the city’s empty streets during the coronavirus lockdown have meant less alms for those in need.

France has extended its order until May 11 — a virtual lockdown to curb the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 20,000 people.

While most of France’s 67 million people are staying in their homes, the homeless are also trying to respect the rules.

“They (the homeless) are confined to their cardboard boxes, in their corner. They respect, well, the ones we know, they respect the confinement in their own way,” said Celine Mendak at the Goelette charity group.

The French capital has more than 3,600 homeless people.

Since the start of the lockdown a month ago, Goelette’s workers have been collecting food almost daily, loading up trolley bags and then walking through the city centre.

They stop to chat with some of the homeless camping out on the sides of boulevards and offer them necessities.

Erwan, a homeless man who only gave his first name, said that even though the money he received on the streets had halved during the lockdown, he enjoyed the conversations with Parisians.

“I’ve seen people on the street who ignored me and look down their noses, and since the lockdown, they

stop to talk to me and so, it’s really nice,” he said.

Mixed blessing for some, as South Africa shelters homeless in schools, stadiums

By Tim Cocks and Wendell Roelf In South Africa, the coronavirus epidemic is offering an unexpected chance to give those on the streets a roof over their heads.

Thousands are being housed in sports stadiums, schools and other locked-down public spaces, partly to try to stop them contracting or spreading COVID-19, and the government says it wants to ensure they don’t slip back through the cracks once the outbreak ends.

Yet not everyone thinks they will do better in the shelters the state has provided, with some saying what they are being offered is scarcely better than sleeping rough and others concerned the makeshift accommodation could become breeding grounds for infection.

Tsepang Motsepe, however, saw an opportunity to kick the heroin habit that made him homeless a decade ago.

The 31-year-old abandoned his law studies when his sponsor failed to pay the university bill, and then swiftly found that heroin “stabilizes your emotions.”

To feed his addiction, he was breaking into parked cars and sometimes robbing them. For food, “the dustbins were there,” he said outside a set of communal tents at the Lyttelton sports ground on the edge of the capital, Pretoria.

Many of his friends died of overdoses, HIV, or tuberculosis (TB), but Motsepe is now on state-provided methadone, a common heroin substitute. “I see there are aspects of my life I need to change. I want to go back to my studies,” he said.

He is one of around 15,000 people the social development ministry is housing in Gauteng, which covers both Pretoria and Johannesburg. Up to 2,000 others are in shelters in Cape

PAGE 14 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Town.

All had been screened for the coronavirus, authorities said, and Thabiso Hlongwane, ministry spokesman in Gauteng, said the province was rolling out testing. Meanwhile, beds in shelters were being kept one metre (three feet) apart and hundreds of bottles of hand sanitiser had been provided.

Jo Barnes, an epidemiologist Stellenbosch University, warned that, if it took hold, the coronavirus would “spread like wildfire” through any facilities that were not well managed.

‘We want to go home’ Hlongwane said the aim was to keep the homeless off the streets once the epidemic ended.

“Beyond lockdown, the programme will continue. Social workers are on board ... to reunite them with their families,” he said.

Some may leave the programme well before then.

At Strandfontein sports ground in Cape Town, where huge, white tarpaulin marquee tents house around 1,500, some complained last week of cramped conditions and inadequate food.

Police officers broke up a protest as some inside tried to uproot the metal fencing, shouting - somewhat ironically - “We want to go home!”.

“If I have a chance I will run away from this place,” said Marco Brown, 35, one of the people at the camp who used to bivouac under a bridge, adding he had received nothing to eat by 3 p.m.

Cape Town council said that, after some “initial challenges”, services at Strandfontein were improving by the day.

Some homeless in the city want nothing to do with the shelters.

“There are too many people inside. It’s gonna be easy to get sick (there),” said Joseph, sleeping rough in the city park.

Courtesy of Reuters / INSP.ngo

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

VENDOR WRITING

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS PANDEMIC JASON T.

Social Butterfly Has Her Wings Clipped

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

I was told life’s just a race, A game to see who will win.

We fight and scratch to get ahead, And to reach Heaven without our sins.

Life’s measure of success, most will say, Is wealth and status gained.

But in the final end, we all must die, And lose all we have attained.

Why don’t we enjoy the riches we have, God’s oceans, his earth and the sky?

No! In our rushes for fortune and fame, We allow these things to slip on by.

Why can’t we just sit on a misty shore, Listening to the distant thundering waves?

This single trek in search of success, Has made us all its varied slaves!

In the past few weeks life has been anything but “normal.” I’m sure you all can relate to that.

First, there was the tornado on March 3 that ravaged the Hermitage area where I live, which made it difficult for me to get out and about as I normally would.

Just when I was able to reestablish some kind of routine, on April 2, Gov. Bill Lee issued a “Safer at Home” order because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Life, which had already slowed down considerably — spring break began two days early, fewer people were out, etc. — now came to a screeching halt.

For someone like me who thrives on social interactions with others this has been just plain torture!

I’ve often told many of my customers that when their windows come down it’s like being plugged into an electric outlet. I get a sudden surge of energy that gives me a boost, a voice inside that says you can do this, and it’s been proven true time and time

again thanks to all of you!

Now it’s as though someone has cut the cord. I am disconnected, and I feel lost, confused and unable to function. Many times I’m even struggling to remember what day of the week it is. It’s as though a vital lifeline has been severed. It is every bit as crippling and debilitating as my cerebral palsy is.

Compounding the problem, I’m NOT tech savvy and don’t have much of a presence on social media.

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE my family, but I desperately miss “my people” on my corner. They help me provide for my family and myself.

By now, I know you’re probably thinking it’s all about the money, but it’s SO much more than that.

Yes, the money helps the ends meet in the middle, but a hot cup of coffee or a cold bottle of water can be equally satisfying at the right time. Similarly, when I’m hungry and someone comes by with food it really hits the spot.

Or it could be clothes — like gloves

T H E M E : ACROSS 1. “Ali Baba and the Forty ____,” sing.

6. Eureka!

9. Schools of thought 13. Sound of artillery 14. Car nut 15. Without illumination 16. Nosey one 17. Kind of trip?

18. Lasso loop 19. *Little Women’s mom 21. *Tracee Ellis Ross on TV 23. ____ o’ shanter 24. Quitter’s word 25. Like a fiddle?

28. Like Charles Dickens’ Tim 30. Quarantine state 35. *Egyptian goddess of fertility 37. Insane, in Spain 39. Mother or daughter, in Italy 40. *Biblical Rebecca’s son 41. Online reviews 43. Research facil.

44. Fisherman’s decoys 46. Daytime entertainment 47. Furniture wood 48. End of the road, pl.

50. Blatant promotion 52. Swedish shag rug 53. Yours and mine

M O T H E R ’ S

55. Little squirt 57. *Mother’s mom 61. *She fought for Mother’s Day, then against it 64. In advance 65. *Bambi’s mom 67. Fancy tie 69. Less than fernier 70. I have 71. “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” host 72. Fairies 73. Galley equipment 74. Feed the fire DOWN 1. Kitchen meas.

2. Stay out of its way!

3. Pelvic parts 4. Tennis great Chris ____ 5. Particular arrangement 6. Away from wind 7. *Mother’s favorite gift?

8. Ancient marketplace 9. Part of a scheme 10. No neatnik 11. Sushi restaurant soup 12. One-pot meal 15. Like the States 20. *One of the Gilmore girls 22. Hill dweller 24. One-eyed giants

PAGE 16 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

or a hat when it’s cold, or a big floppy sun hat to help protect me from skin cancer, or maybe the clothes are for my daughter or my granddaughter.

Then there’s always the words of care and concern and encouragement “keep up the good work”, or “it’s so nice to see you out here, I’ve been missing you,” or my personal favorite, “how’s the grand babies doing?”

You can’t put a monetary value on things like that. They’re priceless!

Never underestimate the good you do for the vendors, no matter how big or small your gift, they are ALL appreciated!

I look forward to the day when I can once again spread my wings and fly (that is IF I remember how). I can’t wait to stand on my corner and proudly give your paper to you, in person. But that will have to wait until this ‘“Safer at Home” order is lifted. Until then, please know I think of you every day and you’re in my prayers. Until then, Stay Home and Stay Safe.

D A Y

25. *She played Forrest Gump’s mother 26. May edition, e.g.

27. *Worn atop the Queen Mother 29. Denials 31. Nike’s “Just ____ ____” 32. Private 33. “Take it back!”

34. *Mother in KrakÛw 36. Lard cousin 38. October birthstone 42. Plural of sputum 45. Rundown 49. Bottom line 51. Kind of ungulate, pl.

54. Where you’ll find AM 56. Living room centerpiece?

57. Gamecock’s spur 58. *Greek goddess of fertility 59. Bald eagle’s nest 60. *Mums’ mums 61. Opposite of cheer 62. International Civil Aviation Org. 63. Puppet precursor, possibly 66. *Female gametes 68. CafÈ alternative

FUN

HOBOSCOPES TAURUS

I just love Halloween, Taurus. That time of year when you get to wear a mask and pretend to be anybody you want. Wait, a second, isn’t this May? Why is everybody wearing...oh, right! There are other reasons to wear a mask than to fool people, Taurus. You might even wear a mask to keep people safe. Still, it’s a good week to think about all the masks you’ve worn, Taurus. Why did you wear them? Was it for you or for other people? How many masks are you wearing today? Which ones can you take off? (Probably keep the literal one.)

GEMINI

What a weird day, Gemini. What a weird week. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since life was anything but weird. But what’s weird today has a funny way of becoming what’s normal later on. People get used to things. We can’t even help it. And you can’t always pick the circumstances that you’ll eventually normalize. But there are some choices you get to make along the way. You can choose how you respond. Do some of that today, Gemini.

When I was 15, I couldn’t wait to get my drivers license. It seemed to me that driving would be absolute freedom. I could choose the music. I could choose the speed.

I could choose my destination. Even now, Virgo, I could really go anyplace I want. But it feels like there’s no place to go. It’s tough to be present and content and stay put. But I think there’s a lot we can learn in staying still. Be where you’re at, Virgo.

Wait till it gets uncomfortable. Then keep being there a little longer.

LIBRA

I got out and worked in the garden this week, Libra. I pulled up all the weeds and turned the compost. I got the beds ready for the season. But then I stopped. I didn’t plant a single thing. I just left it sitting empty. And maybe, this time, that’s OK. Maybe we don’t always have to be producing to be worthwhile. Maybe this is a season to let the garden alone.

SCORPIO

CANCER

You’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks, Cancer (and I’m not just talking about your Wikipedia rampage about the Spanish Flu of 1918). You’ve learned a lot about what you really need and what’s optional. When the time comes, you may start to add some of those optional things to your life. I hope you’ll go slow, Cancer. Because if you don’t add back all the things you never really needed, you might end up with enough room for the things you really want.

LEO

VIRGO

The most recent ice age ended about 12,000 years ago. You know who hates ice ages?

That’s right, earthworms. Earthworms hate ice ages because they have a hard time surviving them.

In fact, 12,000 years ago, there were no earthworms left in North America. Lucky for them, European settlers brought plants across the ocean and the plants brought European earthworms and thus the re-wormening of America began. This just goes to show, Leo, that no matter how frozen you feel right now, there’s a time coming when hope is gonna be wriggling around you again. Don’t stress. Take the time you’ve got to lay dormant and wait.

Honestly, I kind of like the idea of purgatory. Most ideas about the afterlife are so absolute, but purgatory is refreshingly indefinite. That there would be an in-between place. Some people think purgatory is where you work out the messes you made in life.

Some people think it’s just a bus station where you wait for what’s next. If you find yourself in purgatory, Scorpio, I suggest you make the most of it. Spread out. Think slow. Right some wrongs. Take advantage of the in-between.

SAGITTA R IUS

I just received word that the Council for Health Among Amateur Astrology Professionals (CHAAAP) is loosening some restrictions on non-essential astrological activity. On the one hand, I’m relieved. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to adequately provide a one-onone reading. On the other hand, I’m a little nervous.

What if it’s too early? What if they’re wrong? One thing to remember, Sagittarius, is that just because you’re allowed to do something, doesn’t mean you have to do it. Go easy. Caution is still cool.

CAPRICORN

I’ve never seen the lawns around here look so nice. I feel like my neighbor Bill mows his twice a week. And Sandra, on the other side, is out front with the hedge-clippers again. There’s barely any hedges left. It’s good to stay busy, Capricorn, but when the work is done you may have to just let it be done. It’s not always pleasant, the feelings that sneak in when there’s no more work to do, but you might need to feel those feelings, anyway.

AQUA RIUS

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit. But there’s another trick to it besides just the time, Aquarius. If you trade one habit for another, it’s too easy to just switch between them. I stopped biting my nails for three weeks and when I got done I couldn’t stop cracking my knuckles. Breaking a habit creates a void. Voids tend to fill, so make sure you fill it with something you want to keep.

PISCES

When I was a kid, I had a friend who told me he had super powers. “I know because I drank shampoo and it didn’t kill me.” His logic was not air-tight. You do have super powers, Pisces. You have patience and endurance. You’ve learned to be kind to yourself and others. But it’s still tempting to test yourself. To grab a bottle and see what you can survive. We’re already impressed. There’s no need to put yourself through that just to show us you’re a hero.

ARIES

Well, you know what they say, Aries, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Unless, of course, they just change and change and keep changing and don’t stay the same at all. Which can also happen. In that case, you might have a hard time finding anything familiar to hold on to. If that’s the case, Aries, I’d suggest two things. First, check in with the people who love you. Even if they’ve changed, they’re still on your side. Outside of that, you should check in with yourself. You can be one of those people who love you, too.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, an ordained minister, or a certified sarcasm analyst. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast. Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com. Got a question, just give Mr. M a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

VENDOR WRITING

How I’m Surviving Staying at Home

BY DAVID C., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR I’ve been doing a lot of artwork, constantly. Me and Ellie have also been making cards to give to the healthcare workers.

We’re also making other cards to give away to our friends and family. I’ve been sending snail mail to a lot of different people. Not e-mail, snail mail. Stuff that you put in an envelope, you put a stamp on it, and you mail it. Not many people do that these days.

I have a TV with a bunch of channels. I’m glad I used my income in the past to purchase all kinds of movies on DVD, and I also have a lot of VHS tapes. I’ve been watching a lot of movies. I have all kinds of stuff going in my favor.

I’m glad I’m not homeless. I started with the paper in 2010, August of this year will be the the 10-year anniversary.

I’ve been broke for the past

two and a half months or more, but then again, we have money in the bank. We’ve been getting groceries. I’ve been watching the news and there’s been a lot of cars in line just to get the food boxes. When I saw that, I said, “now they know how the homeless feel.”

I think coming out of this, everybody is going to love each other a whole lot more — a Godly love, an unconditional love. Everybody is going to say, ‘I cannot wait until this social distancing is over.’

I want the readers to know you can go online and buy a subscription in my name and leave a tip. I also accept Venmo. I also want the readers to know this: If you’re not working, stop protesting. You gotta be patient. Sooner or later, this Coronavirus, this pandemic will disappear with the hand of God.

COVID-19: A Blessing I Love My Bus Ladies and a Curse

BY MARY B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

BY VICK Y B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR When the “Safer at Home” order came down from Mayor John Cooper I was able to prepare. My SNAP benefits had just come in, so I was able to buy groceries for the projected two-week shut down period. Grocery shopping was strange. I didn’t get everything I’d normally buy, but instead I got what I could get.

Two days in, I was walking to the refrigerator and I lost my balance. I fell, breaking my hip. Two days later I was in surgery. One week later I was back home. My friend, Karen and my son Paul picked me up from the hospital. Paul was able to stay with me for two and a half weeks.

He never would have been able to stay if it hadn’t been for COVID-19 shutting everything down putting him out of work. If it hadn’t been for the shutdown I would have had to come home alone. Paul took care of my dog Faith while I was in the hospital and is now caring for her because I’m unable to right now.

She doesn’t like the wheelchair and frankly neither do I. A good friend from Florida bought me this wheelchair and it came without footrests.

After making several calls it’s finally being taken care of and hopefully that will take care of the swelling in my feet.

The apartment building I live in is on lock down meaning no visitors, which makes things even more difficult. It’s bad enough with Faith gone and now I’m trying to maneuver around the apartment in a wheelchair, which is even worse not to mention the absence of income during this time. How do I pay the rent, get food and other necessities?

Figuring that out has become a chore all its own. It’s been a struggle to get the help I need. It’s just been one disaster after another.

I sell The Contributor out in Bellevue, so I ride the #5 MTA Bellevue bus. On Sunday mornings, I catch the 9 a.m. line from downtown to Bellevue.

My bus driver is Ms. Martha. I’ve been riding with Ms. Martha for about five years. I met Ms Martha when she was training. Yep, you guessed it, she was training on the Bellevue #5 bus. She was out there for a week training so I became very fond of her.

Back to my Sunday ride with Ms. Martha. Ms. Martaha has a side-kick that rides with her every Sunday. Her name is Ms. Betty, which I call Shorty. Why, you ask? Because Ms. Betty is shorter than me!

Ms. Martha and Ms. Betty are a hoot from the time the bus leaves the terminal. These two are laughing and cutting up. The whole ride to Bellevue these two don’t stop laughing.

They will remind you of high school teenagers.

In your mind you’ll be like what are these two laughing at? And what is so funny? Then they will have you laughing and you will have no clue to

PAGE 18 | April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

what you’re even laughing at.

Personally I truly look forward to my Sunday morning ride with these two. I love you two.

The “Now Normal” of Every Dayy.

What does a “Stay at Home” order look like if your home is under the bridge? How do you experience social distancing if your safety is found in a compressed shelter? How do you find relief if the funding scheduled for your relief is outside the normal process of relief for persons like you? What is the Phase of your restoration?

These are the questions that The Salvation Army in Nashville actively engages daily. Every day we serve meals to those living with us. Nearly every day someone is tested for the virus. Every day meals go out on the mobile canteen for those staying at home in an encampment. Every day we negotiate the funding processes to gather additional resources to serve those following community guidelines. Every day we wonder if one day we will return to the “old days” we romantically remember; People without homes begging on corners, chasing food around the city, and determining whether to participate in the challenging, and too often futile, process of housing. Every day.

If - Together If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs; If you can trust yourself when others doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting; If you can dream; If you can think; If you can find triumph in disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same; And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss; Then tomorrow is yours and everything that’s in it, Then tomorrow is ours and everything that’s in it.

Let’s create tomorrow, TOGETHER. From the IF by Rudyard Kipling | Adapted by Major Ethan Frizzell

Today The Salvation Army fights so that every day can be better than yesterday for our most vulnerable neighbors. Will you join us? Let us show that Hope is also contagious.

Visit SalvationArmyNashville.org to learn more.

April 29 - May 6, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19