03.29.2023

How It Works

Each vendor functions as an independent contractor for Street Sense Media, managing their own business to earn an income and increase stability in their life.

Street Sense Media publishes the newspaper

YOUR SUGGESTED

per newspaper

NO CASH? NO PROBLEM.

VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT

$2.00 DONATION goes directly to your vendor, empowering them to overcome homelessness and poverty

As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct.

1. I will support Street Sense Media’s mission statement and in so doing will work to support the Street Sense Media community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.

2. I will treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and fellow vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making donations, or engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.

3. I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media but an independent contractor.

4. While distributing the Street Sense newspaper, I will not ask for more than $2 per issue or solicit donations by any other means.

5. I will only purchase the newspaper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not distribute newspapers to other vendors.

6. “I will not distribute copies of “Street Sense” on metro trains and buses or on private property.”

7. I will abide by the Street Sense Media Vendor Territory Policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes with other vendors in a professional manner.

8. I will not sell additional goods or products while distributing “Street Sense.”

9. I will not distribute “Street Sense” under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

10. I understand that my badge and vest are property of Street Sense Media and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing “Street Sense” and will always display my badge when distributing “Street Sense.”

INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

ATHIYAH AZEEM

Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper: They use film, photography, theatre, illustration, and more to share their stories with our community.

Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence. And our in-house case-management services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing.

At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents, and character, not through our housing situation.

1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347 - 2006 streetsensemedia.org

info@streetsensemedia.org

VENDORS

Abel Putu, Aida Peery, Akindele Akerejah, Amia Walker, Amina Washington, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Archie Thomas, August Mallory, Beverly Sutton, Brianna Butler, Carlos Carolina, Carlton Johnson, Carol Motley, Charles Armstrong, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Chon Gotti, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Daniel Ball, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Degnon (Gigi) Dovonou, Don Gardner, Donté Turner, Doris Robinson, Earl Parker, Eric Thompson-Bey, Erica Downing, Evelyn Nnam, Floyd Carter, Franklin Sterling, Frederic John, Freedom, Gerald Anderson, Greta Christian, John Alley, Henry Johnson, Ivory Wilson, Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacquelyn Portee, James Davis, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jenkins Daltton, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jermale McKnight, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Alley, John Littlejohn, Josie Brown, Juliene Kengnie, Katrina Anige, Kenneth Middleton, Khadijah Chapman, Kym Parker, L. Morrow, Laura Smith, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Mango Redbook, Marcus McCall, Mark Jones, Marc Grier, Mars, Martin Walker, Mary Sellman, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Michael Craig, Michael Warner, Michele Modica, Michele Rochon, Morgan Jones, Nikila Smith, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Phillip Black, Queenie Featherstone, Rashawn Bowser, Reggie Jones, Reginald Black, Reginald C. Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Rita Sauls, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker, Ron Dudley, Ronald Smoot, Sasha Williams, Sheila White, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Susan Westmoreland, Susan Wilshusen, Sybil Taylor, Vennie Hill, Warren Stevens, Wendell Williams, William Mack

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu, Jonquilyn Hill, Stanley Keeve, Clare Krupin, Ashley McMaster, Matt Perra, Michael Phillips, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson, Corrine Yu

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Brian Carome

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Doris Warrell

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS

Darick Brown

DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT

Thomas Ratliff

VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES

Aida Peery, Clifford Samuels, Chon Gotti

VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS

Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Madeleine McCollough, Dylan Onderdonksnow, Amelia Stemple, Tyler Bruno

MANAGER OF ARTISTIC WORKSHOPS

Maria Lares

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Will Schick

DEPUTY EDITOR

Kaela Roeder

PRODUCTION EDITOR

Athiyah Azeem

STAFF REPORTER

Annemarie Cuccia

EDITORIAL INTERN

Alexia Partouche

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

Ariane Mohseni (Film), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Lalita Clozel (Film), Willie Schatz (Writing), Leslie Jacobson (Theater), Roy Barber (Theater)

ARTS EDITOR (VOLUNTEER)

Austine Model

OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)

Rebecca Koenig, Emily Kopp, Bill Meincke, Candace Montague

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

Josh Axelrod, Ryan Bacic, Katie Bemb, Lilah Burke, Chelsea Ciruzzo, Lenika Cruz, Alison Henry, Kathryn Owens, Nick Shedd, Andrew Siddons, Jenny-lin Smith, Rebecca Stekol

D.C. BUDGET

HEARING. PHOTO BY ANNEMARIE CUCCIA, DESIGN BY

VERY SERIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT

Street Sense to become Street Scents

Each issue to feature a different fragrance

CORNELIUS FEATHERBOTTOM

Street Scents Media

Beginning April 1, the publication known as Street Sense will be known as Street Scents. Street Sense Media, the broader organizational name for the D.C.-based nonprofit will also be known as Street Scents Media. The decision to change the name of the weekly newspaper comes as a surprise to many vendors and readers who have supported the paper for nearly 20 years.

The publication made a name for itself in D.C. by producing hard-hitting, solutions-oriented stories about poverty and homelessness. In recent years, Street Sense has received recognition and numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Yet, with the advent of the internet and web-based news applications, the paper has continued to reckon with a difficult news environment. It has found it hard to compete with other print publications and emerging news websites and applications such as TikTok.

The editor-in-chief, Will Schick, proposed the name change at an impromptu meeting with the Street Sense Media CEO, Brian Carome, three days ago.

“What do you think of the name Street Scents or Street Scents Media?” Schick asked.

“What do you mean?” Carome asked.

“I like this name for our publication and organization,” Schick said.

“Of course. I do too,” Carome said.

It remains unclear whether Carome understands the full scope of the name change or whether he understood the initial question.

When asked, Schick said he felt compelled to develop a new way to connect with audiences by offering scratch-and-sniff versions of every article.

“I got this idea after I lit a scented candle after a particularly stressful day of editing,” he said. Scratch below for a scented version of this article.

SSM FAMILY UPDATES

• The March winners of the 20th Anniversary Sell-a-Thon will be announced in the admin office Wednesday, April 5, at 10 a.m.! The competition continues until then. Remember to pick up Customer Kudos flyers in the admin office.

• Street Sense Media has lots of events coming up, including a Poetry Slam in April! Check out the poster in the admin office.

• Receive extra newspapers for referring someone you know to new vendor orientation. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 p.m.

• Vendors continue to receive free papers for proof of vaccination.

BIRTHDAYS

Michele Rochon March 30 ARTIST/VENDOR

The Street Sense Media 20th Anniversary

SELL-A-THON MARCH LEADERBOARD

HIGHEST SELLERS OF THE MONTH

A new month, a new leaderboard! The Sell-a-Thon challenges vendors to sell as many Street Sense newspapers they can in one month. The highest and most improved sellers are awarded $50 at the end of February. We will update this leaderboard for each category every week. You can boost your favorite vendor’s numbers by giving them a “customer kudos” — ask a vendor to learn more!

M OST IMPROVED SELLERS OF THE MONTH

Street Sense to go daily

FREDDIE KROEDER Street Scents Media

Beginning April 1, Street Sense — soon to be Street Scents — the award-winning weekly newspaper covering poverty and homelessness issues, will become the city’s second daily.

The move comes as news outlets across the country struggle to adapt to the changing media landscape. In recent years, several newspapers, including The Washington Post’s Express paper and the city’s alt-weekly Washington City Paper halted their print operations locally.

Established in 2003 as a monthly newspaper, Street Sense shifted to bi-weekly production four years later in 2007. Then, in 2021, it shifted to weekly production.

Will Schick, the editor-in-chief for Street Sense — soon to be Street Scents — says he believes the move to daily production will provide its readers with much-needed extensive coverage of poverty and homelessness issues.

As a result of the shift to daily production, all Street Sense vendors will be required to exchange papers daily between 1 and 3 a.m. All copies of the paper will be considered invalid after midnight on the day they are printed.

National Guard sells F-22 Raptor to help end homelessness in DC

TYRANNA SAURUS Street Scents Media

The recent sale of a single F-22 raptor has provided the D.C. government with enough money to end chronic homelessness for thousands of people.

Based in Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the D.C. Air National Guard is a modest sized force composed of one squadron of fighter jets, one squadron of cargo aircraft, another maintenance squadron and weather crew. The unit cost of one F-22 Raptor, a stealth fighter jet, is $141 million, more than quadruple the amount the D.C. government has allocated to programs meant to end homelessness.

The funding is meant to fund permanent extensions to rapid re-housing and emergency rental assistance and provide thousands of permanent housing vouchers for people who need them.

However, sources close to the D.C. government say that it is likely that three-quarters of the funds will actually be used to conduct program assessments and years-long feasibility studies. An additional $50 million of the funds will also be used to provide longawaited incentive pay raises and bonuses for senior staff members from the D.C. Housing Authority and the Department of Human Services. Both agencies oversee the management of locally administered housing vouchers.

Photo by Timothy Holmes // Unsplash.com

Texture by Susan Wilkinson // Unsplash.com

Photo by Luis Villasmil // Unsplash.com

Texture by Susan Wilkinson // Unsplash.com

Scratch the image for a scented version of this article.

DC Fiscal Policy Institute explores how statehood can affect homeless crisis

ALEXIA PARTOUCHE Editorial Intern

The District is missing out on over $3 billion in annual tax revenue due to its continual classification as a federal district, according to a recent report released by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). The report says that this revenue could go towards funding human services programs, including efforts to house residents experiencing homelessness.

Not only that, but D.C.'s status as a city is also keeping it from running its own prison system. Without a locally administered prison system, convicted felons from D.C. serve time in prisons across the country, where they may not have access to programs and tools that can prevent them from experiencing homelessness after release.

Over 50% of individuals experiencing homelessness in D.C. reported that incarceration was a cause of their homelessness, according to a 2020 report by the DCFPI. Citizens returning to the District after being incarcerated may contend with unemployment, a lack of savings, discrimination in the housing market and weakened family bonds, all of which can contribute to homelessness.

Re-entry programming is one major way prisons can work to prevent homelessness for felons after they are released,

said Kate Coventry, the DCFPI's deputy director of legislative strategy. But since D.C.'s felons are spread out across the country, Coventry said the District has no way of controlling the programming they receive.

"What happens now is, people are in prisons across the country, and some of them have access to programming and some don't," said Kate Coventry, the DCFPI's deputy director of legislative strategy. "It's just really uneven."

If D.C. had its own prison system, it would be able to implement re-entry programs, which could range from job trainings to signing up an inmate for disability benefits, said Emily Cassometus, the director of government and external affairs at the D.C. Justice Lab.

It would also allow D.C. inmates to serve their sentences closer to home, which would make it easier to stay connected with their family and friends who could support them once they are released.

"People are coming back from hundreds or thousands of miles away, many of whom haven't had contact with anyone in the District for years or decades," Cassometus said. "It can be very difficult to come back and reconnect with family or other people who would help you to find resources."

Besides re-entry programming, D.C. could also have

complete control over what happens to their inmates, including the amount of education they receive, the mental and physical health support they have access to and how long they are kept in solitary confinement.

But Cassometus warned that having a D.C. prison would only be the first step, noting that there would first need to be a "complete overhaul of the conditions and of the culture" at the D.C. Department of Corrections before it would be able to successfully run a prison.

Jails run by the department, which would be responsible for running the D.C. prison system should one be established, have already faced allegations of poor conditions. A 2021 U.S. Marshals Service inspection found that two of the District's facilities did not meet minimum standards of confinement and led to the relocation of over 400 detainees.

"We definitely need a facility, and one that's physically safe and that's a healthier environment, but the building in and of itself won't fix things," Cassometus said. "We absolutely need to change the physical conditions, the progaming, and the culture all in tandem to get something that's actually going to make our city safer."

Photo by Will Schick

Councilmember introduces bill to remove barriers to homeownership

ALEXIA PARTOUCHE Editorial Intern

Abill introduced to the D.C. Council in February could increase homeownership for low income families.

Known as the “Community Land Trust's Access and Homeowner Support Amendment Act of 2023,” the bill, if passed, would allow community nonprofit groups early access to purchase multi-family and single-family homes.

Community land trusts (CLTs) are nonprofit, communitycontrolled models for permanent affordable housing that function by separating the cost of the land from the cost of the residence on the land.

In other words, these organizations are community-run, managed by a board of directors made up of residents, community members and industry professionals. They rely on homeowners who agree to sell their homes for a restricted price in order to keep them affordable. The result is permanently affordable housing and retail space, which are then developed to fit the needs of the community.

For example, in 2019, tenants of Savannah Apartments collaborated with the Douglass Community Land Trust in D.C.

to buy and renovate the apartment block, rather than sell it to private developers.

Advocates for affordable housing have been pushing for the expansion of CLTs in the District since 2016, when the 11th Street Bridge Park developers began considering a CLT as a way to avoid pricing people out of the neighborhoods surrounding the elevated park. The movement has only expanded since then, with grassroot organizations like SW D.C. Action rallying in favor of expanding the Douglass CLT into Ward 6.

The legislation would incorporate CLTs into the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Assistance Act (TOPA), a law that requires tenant groups to have the first opportunity to buy the building they live in. Under this structure, CLTs would be third in line to purchase TOPA-eligible properties, most of which are multi-family homes, after tenants and the District, according to the bill.

The legislation would also give CLTs early access to purchase properties on the tax sale list before they become available to private buyers.

Although proponents for CLTs like Coy McKinney are

optimistic about the bill, they worry that it doesn't address the most important needs of CLTs. The biggest issue facing CLTs wasn't access to more land, but funds, said McKinney, a representative on the board of the Douglass CLT and a lead organizer for SW D.C. Action.

"The bill is great, but it doesn't address the bigger issue of how would a community land trust then have the funds to acquire these properties," McKinney said.

McKinney also expressed concern that the bill's definition of a CLT is too loose and may allow for-profit developers to benefit and use the bill to acquire more property under the guise of being a CLT, even if "their heart really isn't in what a community land trust is about." This could present a threat to other CLTs, like the Douglass CLT, as the model works best when it doesn't have to compete for already scarce resources.

Despite this, McKinney said he was hopeful about the bill and that it's a step in the right direction for CLTs.

"If people really want to put some meat behind the saying that housing should be a right, then this allows us to do this, allows housing to be treated as a right," McKinney said.

A collage of photos taken at an event outside Savannah Apartments, which were bought in collaboration with the Douglass Community Land Trust in 2019. Photo courtesy of Coy McKinney

VENDOR PROFILE

Always beating the odds, a Q&A with Andre Brinson

WILL SCHICK Editor-in-Chief

Andre Brinson, 54, an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media, never imagined he would ever grow up without having a place to live. He lived a relatively comfortable life, working jobs where he made enough money for what he needed. It was not until he reached his early twenties that he would experience homelessness for the first time, sleeping out on the streets in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., on a frigid Christmas Eve.

“When I woke up, I couldn’t feel my legs,” he said. “I’m surprised I woke up, really, I probably almost froze to death.”

He spent the following 30 years wrestling on and off with homelessness. In 2010, he met another vendor, Phillip Black, aka “Cat in the Hat,” who encouraged him to sell papers with Street Sense Media. Over the years, Brinson has worked as a cook and delivery driver while writing for and selling the paper. This past November, he moved into an apartment and has been adjusting to his new routine.

Street Sense recently caught up with Brinson, who wanted to relate his thoughts about homelessness and his experience with it to readers.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell us about yourself?

Well, I’m 54 years old. And I’ve been experiencing homelessness for a little while, almost 20 years. But while I was homeless, I worked while I was living on the streets, you know? I worked temporary jobs and stuff like that. Besides that, I have a nice family and I don’t impose on them too much.

Years ago, I had a drinking problem from being on the streets even though I’m not really a drinker. Actually, I started drinking just because it was cold. I was told “Man, drink some of this, it will help you get through the night.” So that’s how basically I was managing the cold.

Sometimes, people will say all homeless people are either on drugs or drinking or whatever. But let me put it this way —if you was out there, dealing with a situation like that, you gonna do something. Because there’s people out there who have regular jobs, and they have to get their little drink on after work.

It sounds like you’re saying that having a drinking problem has nothing to do with homelessness. Is that right?

No. But see, that’s the first thing people will automatically think when they see a homeless person. They’re automatically thinking, “Oh, they out here because they on drugs and this and that.” And that’s not totally correct. Well, they might have developed something while they’ve been out there, but everybody has their own little issues. Now, some people say, people choose to be outside and to be homeless. I can’t really get that through my mind, this idea that someone chooses to live on the streets. I don’t think so.

You said you never thought you’d ever experience homelessness. Can you tell us why?

Well, I was a pretty decent dude when I was younger. You know, I grew up in the hood. And I ain’t saying that just because you grew up in the hood, you’re going to deal in certain things. But that’s what I knew. I knew how to maneuver. I knew how to deal this and deal that. And anyhow, I was living pretty good. I had a three story house, I had cars and all that. But I lost it all. I eventually did time [in prison].

But at the same time, I do have skills. I have cooking skills, I have maintenance skills, because I went to Job Corps. Job Corps really is something because Job Corps really saved my life.

What is Job Corps?

Job Corps is a program to help youth that’s having problems in school. You go there for two years, but that’s if you can make it to two years. You might have all kinds of issues such as anger problems, but they don’t allow that.

I always beat the odds. People always had this thing about me. I was always like the black sheep. And they always give me the odds of “Nah, he ain’t ever gonna make it.” But I always beat the odds. When I first got into this program, they said, “He’s not gonna make it, not even a month.” I did the whole two years.

When did you get connected with Street Sense? You were one of the

I’m almost like one of the originals. I’m next to the originals. Cat in the Hat [Vendor and artist Phillip Black] is the one who told me about Street Sense. He used to see me all up and down Wisconsin Avenue, I would just be doing my little hustling thing. And throughout the day, I would make nice little change.

But Cat in the Hat was the one who was like, “Dre, Why don’t you get into Street Sense?” So I was like, “Why not? I’ll do it.” After I got to Street Sense, I helped them grow. Eight or nine people that’s doing Street Sense right now is because of me. After I started doing it, I started putting them on it.

What’s the benefit of working at a place

Everyone has a story. I always say that if you living, you have a story. It could be good and bad, whatever. But at the same time you have a choice to tell your story. And I enjoy telling my story. In fact, I’m writing a book and my book is definitely going to be a movie someday.

After some of the things that happened in my life, I’m surprised I’m sitting in this room talking to you now. Every day is a blessing for me because I already know that I really, probably, shouldn’t even be here right now. I’ve been in some rough, rough situations. And I also did things to myself. But I also always come through.

What kind of advice do you have for people that are going

Don’t give up. You see, when people give up, they give up mentally. I know that some people have mental illnesses. But some people will just give up . You know, actually I did. That’s why I stayed out there [on the streets] so long. I got so used to being out on the streets. Or let’s put it this way, I adapted. But you have to think, “This is not how my life is supposed to be. I ain’t supposed to be living on no streets.”

Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?

Truthfully, I don’t have to be selling newspapers. Selling these papers keeps me humble. You know, despite the looks and whatever people might think because I’m selling the paper or dealing with homelessness. It really keeps me humble. I could be out here making some money the wrong way. I could do it real fast. It’s just a phone call away. But I don’t because I already done experienced too much trauma. I done been in too many terrible situations. Here I can just be selling worry about the

through a rough time right

Mayor’s proposed budget is a reversal from years of increased funding for vouchers

ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Staff Reporter

In a major reversal from recent years, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget slashes funding for eviction prevention and includes few increases for homeless services and housing. The biggest win, advocates say, is funding for non-congregate shelters.

The draft budget, which Bowser submitted to the D.C. Council on March 22, is the first the mayor has proposed that does not include new housing vouchers. Housing advocates and councilmembers have roundly decried the proposed budget for falling short of advancing the mayor’s stated goal to end chronic homelessness in D.C.

“What I think is we’re going to find a lot of people with nowhere to go,” At-large Councilmember Robert White, who chairs the Housing Committee, said at a March 24 hearing on the budget.

Bowser’s proposed budget also does not fund the implementation of two bills covered by Street Sense and The DC Line in the past year. One sought increased funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the other granted labor protections to domestic workers.

Homeless services are far from the only programs to see a reduction in Bowser’s proposed budget. Due to rising costs, high inflation, reduced local revenue and the end of pandemicera federal funding, D.C. faced the prospect of a $1.7 billion budget gap over the four-year financial plan that Bowser’s team had to close to present a balanced budget.

“I haven’t seen these types of circumstances since I was a young councilmember following the last recession,” Bowser said as she introduced the budget on March 22. “It means that our resources are shrinking while at the same time, our fixed costs are increasing.”

To balance the budget, Bowser is suggesting D.C. tap into its “financial stabilization reserve,” cut vacant positions across the government, reduce spending in various programs to pre-pandemic levels and leave out a proposed free bus fare

program. Her $19.7 billion budget also relies on anticipated fines from new traffic cameras.

The mayor’s introduction is the first of many steps to approval of the District’s next budget. Over the next few weeks, the D.C. Council will hold hearings on agency proposals, with testimony on the entire budget slated for April 14. Committees will then propose their changes and Chairman Phil Mendelson will present his proposal, all leading up to a first vote on May 16.

No new local vouchers

The mayor’s proposed budget provides no new vouchers for people currently experiencing homelessness. The proposed budget cuts $25 million in funding for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers, which subsidize housing for people who have experienced homelessness. However, the cuts are largely administrative and will not decrease the number of people served, Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Laura Zeilinger said at a March 28 briefing.

Over the past few years, D.C. has substantially increased the number of PSH vouchers but has struggled to use them all due to staffing shortages and a lengthy application process. As of March 15, just 907 people had moved into apartments using the 2,400 new vouchers that became available at the start of fiscal year 2022. D.C. funded another 500 new PSH vouchers for individuals in 2023, none of which have been used as of yet.

Bowser attributed her decision to withhold any expansion of the PSH program to this backlog, which both she and agency officials estimate will take D.C. through fiscal year 2024 to clear. But homeless services organizations take issue with the decision, saying the city should instead address the logjam by speeding up the process of getting people into housing

“No one thinks we are done needing vouchers,” said Kate Coventry, deputy director of legislative strategy at the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute. If the flat funding stands, she anticipates

the city will need to fund a large PSH increase two years from now.

The budget includes $2.5 million for a recruitment and retention fund for hard-to-hire D.C. government positions, which could include social workers implementing PSH vouchers, though Zeilinger would have to apply for the money, which she said she has not made a decision about.

Another housing subsidy program, Rapid Rehousing (RRH), will see a $42 million investment of one-time federal funding. This will maintain the budget for the program, which provides time-limited housing aid to families, and allow DHS to make improvements to widely known program shortfalls. The funding will also allow families to stay in RRH for 18 months, instead of 12. There’s also a one-time $17 million investment in Career MAP — which some families in RRH use to keep their benefits as they seek higher-paying jobs — to maintain the 600 families already in the program.

Slashed eviction prevention services

DHS shocked some housing advocates and lawmakers earlier this month when it announced D.C. would stop taking applications for its Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) because funds were running out, six months before the end of the fiscal year. The abrupt announcement led many local homeless services and housing nonprofits to call for substantially increased ERAP funding in a supplemental 2023 budget as well as in 2024.

Instead, Bowser proposed cutting the annual funding for ERAP from $43 million to $8 million, linking the increased spending on rental assistance in recent years to the spike in unemployment early in the COVID-19 public health emergency. White and Mendelson are among the councilmembers who have already said they want to boost funding for ERAP.

“The current demand is double the $43 million we have this year and is not showing any signs of slowing down,”

Mayor Muriel Bowser presents her proposed fiscal year 2024 budget to the D.C. Council on March 24. Photo by Annemarie Cuccia

Mendelson said at the March 24 hearing, pointing out that 37,000 households in the District are severely rent-burdened.

Bowser, on the other hand, argued during her budget presentation that with the pandemic coming to a close, there is no longer the same need for a large ERAP fund, despite the number of applications for assistance — over 15,000 by the time DHS cuff off applications for 2023.

“We have to get back to the spending that we saw prepandemic,” she said. “In some ways, we think it matches the true need.” Advocates contend, however, that even before the pandemic, ERAP was not funded at a high enough level, with the program regularly running out of money months early.

Mendelson also said Bowser’s proposed budget jeopardizes additional eviction protections, with a 50% cut to the Access to Justice Initiative, which helps low-income residents navigate the justice system. In fiscal year 2023, when calls for help from tenants more than doubled compared to past years, half of the program’s $31 million budget went toward legal representation for people in eviction cases. Clients who worked with the initiative were able to avoid 65% of scheduled evictions.

“The elimination of these two successful tools to avoid eviction may save money in the short term but will cost far more in the long term,” Mendelson said at the March 24 hearing.

Mixed messages on homelessness services

While Bowser’s proposed budget makes some new investments in outreach services and shelters, it also cuts money

for DHS employees and public restrooms, the expansion of which was a long-standing demand of the People for Fairness Coalition, an advocacy group consisting of people who have experienced homelessness.

The budget proposes to use local dollars to offset the loss of federal funds for outreach and youth services, and adds $1.7 million to create a new program led by the Department of Behavioral Health to provide case management for people on housing subsidies across the city.

While the city declined to use local funding to continue the Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Individuals (PEP-V), it will use remaining COVID-19 relief funds to acquire two sites that will be used for non-congregate shelter for 245 people, City Administrator Kevin Donahue said at a budget briefing. DHS hopes to have at least one of these facilities online before PEP-V closes, and will allow people of different genders to share a room, which would reduce the barrier to shelter for couples.

While many see this as a win for the city’s shelter system, it’s not yet clear if DHS will have enough funding to maintain 24/7 shelter operations, Zeilinger said. The city began providing round-the-clock shelter due to the pandemic, which can make shelter more accessible. There’s no set-aside budget for 24/7 operations, but Zeilinger said the agency plans to try to continue the schedule. “We don’t want to have to cut it,” she said.

Bowser’s budget for DHS and the D.C. Housing Authority also proposes reductions in the housing subsidy for seniors ($2.2 million), homelessness prevention ($764,000), domestic violence services ($750,000), and a queer youth work force program ($667,000). Some of the agency cuts come from the

elimination of 112 of 211 unfilled positions, which White predicted would result in increased caseloads.

White said he sees at least three potential repercussions from leaving the agency short-staffed. “I’m worried one, that there aren’t going to be enough people to manage the programs; two, that the folks there are going to burn out and leave; and three, that the work just won’t be done to their satisfaction or ours,” he said.

Zeilinger said DHS is working through what the decrease in positions would mean for DHS.

Bowser’s proposed budget also removed $1.7 million slated for public restrooms across the city’s six-year Capital Improvement Plan. Public restrooms can be an asset to people experiencing homelessness, who generally don’t have easy access to a bathroom. The city initially funded the project in 2019, and a working group presented a list of suggested locations.

“When [the Department of General Services] provided us what the cost would be per constructed public restroom, I did not think it was supportable given how tight the budget was,” Donahue said when asked about the decision to remove funding.

Modest increases for public housing, affordable housing

After last year’s scathing federal audit of the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), which found public housing units unused and in poor condition, White called for D.C. to fund repairs to the tune of $500 million over five years.

Instead, Bowser proposed $115 million over two years, with most of the funding going toward rehabilitation, HVAC, plumbing and roofing projects. This investment is just a $16 million increase over what was previously allocated to repairs at the authority over the next two years.

DCHA Executive Director Brenda Donald has previously insisted the roadblock to repairs is staffing, not funding, but advocates and councilmembers disagree. At the budget presentation, White described the $115 million investment as far too low to tackle the urgently needed repairs. A previous DCHA executive director estimated the total need at $2.2 billion, though the agency has made some repairs since. Bowser also proposed adding $31 million to the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF), through which the city contributes to the development of affordable housing. When combined with projected revenue from deed and recordation taxes, this would bring the HPTF up to her long-standing goal of $100 million. However, it represents a dramatic decrease from the last few years when federal relief funding allowed annual spending of up to $500 million. Nonetheless, she told the council, the spending should prove sufficient to realize her administration’s 2019 goal of 12,000 new affordable housing units by 2025 given the number of projects already in the pipeline. As of February, the city had met 59% of the target, with 7,025 new units, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

Meanwhile, Bowser is proposing to enhance incentives for construction of housing downtown as a way to enliven the area, which she and others describe as an economic engine for the District. The budget proposes spending up to $41 million over the next five years on tax breaks for developers who convert unused office space into housing, a substantial increase from last year’s $7 million. The program was authorized by the D.C. Council last year, but Bowser officials say changes — including reduced affordability requirements — are necessary to make projects profitable enough for developers to pursue.

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

The 12-step recovery programs aren’t for everyone — but they work and can help end homelessness

WENDELL WILLIAMS Artist/Vendor

Iheld my brother's hand as he took his last breath. Looking into his eyes I could see the results of his being exposed to recovery and not embracing it.

I was told by a friend on a recent morning, "12-step recovery doesn't work for everyone.” This was my response.

Of course, it's not for everyone and it's not supposed to be. It only works for those who want it. That's what people, even professionals, don't get right. It's like "The Secret," a self-help book about the law of attraction, which I practice and only about 2 to 3% of people actually get. I am blessed to count myself among the small number who do. In 12-step recovery, only about 10% succeed at first. But many people who keep trying do it the next time or after many attempts (like me) triumph — if they live through the madness, which is not guaranteed.

Life-changing programs or philosophies require the kind of honesty that very few people are willing to exercise or even are capable of until the point of physical or spiritual death. The only people who can't get 12-step recovery are people

incapable of being honest with themselves. Who wants to look themselves right in the eye and talk about then work on their faults and shortcomings? So no, it's not supposed to work for all who need it. It just works for those who badly want what we have. That's freedom from self and self-destructive behavior and thinking.

All that said, 12-step recovery has been getting people clean and sober since 1936 with millions worldwide saving themselves as it saved me. It may not be the only way to recovery but it does offer most people the best chance of success.

No human power could stop my wild ride to oblivion, so many people tried. But finding God in an alley and 12-step recovery did work. Those who have felt the grace and mercy of the almighty know without a doubt they are blessed to have found 12-step recovery because I've never spent one day unhoused since I got sober.

Every day at the end of our meetings we lift up prayers for the success of those who still suffer from thinking they have to find another way.

Does a non-citizen vote nullify a DC voter’s right to autonomy?

JEFFERY MCNEIL Artist/Vendor

For decades D.C. statehood advocates have argued that Congress shouldn’t usurp D.C. residents’ power to self-govern. Yet Congress cleared a non-citizens voting bill to undermine D.C. residents’ ability to govern themselves.

In front of the state capital, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said in response to D.C.’s latest crime bill, “What is happening in Congress is undemocratic. None of the 435 voting members of Congress were elected by D.C. residents; none are accountable to D.C. residents. Yet if they vote in favor of the disapproval resolution … they will choose to govern D.C. without its consent.”

Can someone explain to me why it’s wrong for Congress to prevent laws that are not only insane but unconstitutional, such as the non-citizens voting bill, or proposed legislative measures that put residents’ life, liberty, and property at risk, such as the D.C. Crime Bill?

While activists argue that non-citizens pay taxes and serve in the military, the only requirement to vote in D.C. is to be a

U.S. citizen, 18 years old by the time of the general election, live in D.C. for at least 30 days before the election, and not claim voting residence in any U.S. state or U.S. territory. In other words, if you live here legally for 30 days according to D.C. statutes, you could qualify for the same benefits as people who have been sleeping in tents in the city for several years.

The leaders on the left don’t see the absurdity of having non-citizens and 30-day residents voting in our local politics. It’s insane that someone who is a transient, unemployed person could use a church or a PO Box to claim residency and bump off a long-time homeowner vote if a thin margin decided the election.

I didn’t vote for Mayor Muriel Bowser, Norton, or anyone serving on the D.C. Council. For me, getting rid of a Democrat for a Socialist is wasted energy.

A better strategy is using the Constitution and our wallets to do what Americans did to Washington, D.C., in the 90s. All the people that had money to move out of the nation’s capital fled,

and no businesses wanted to invest. The only people left in the city couldn’t afford to pay taxes to the town and, eventually, the local politicians that made the city unruly to reign in their mismanagement.

I don’t understand blue state politics, but if you want D.C. statehood while claiming you have no representation out of 700,000 residents, you are wrong. Norton and Bowser are the voices elected by Washington, D.C. residents and they’re the representatives they have chosen to make its case for statehood. Residents should elect people that push policies that create a sound economic environment — a place that is businessfriendly not racially divisive. People should elect someone to Congress that can be taken seriously. Bowser and Norton are not taken seriously, and the people you’re trying to convince have no interest in giving statehood.

Wendell Williams is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media

Jeffery McNeil is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media

Photo by Wendell Williams

The lil’ klepto

CHRIS COLE

Artist/Vendor

I have seen some wild stuff happen on the train over the last couple of decades. Most of them were very scary situations, but this is the funniest D.C. train memory I can recall.

I had just gotten off work and was commuting from the Navy Yard station into Virginia. It was winter and very cold, so everyone had on their jackets, coats, scarves and gloves. Early on in the ride, a father and son, who was about 4 or 5 got on, arguing. They were disagreeing so passionately — I had to take off my headphones and listen.

The father was cussing this little boy up and down. He was berating the child, saying how bad he was. “I can’t take your little clown ass anywhere. I knew I should have left you with your momma. When we get home I’m going to beat your little ass real good. Just you wait!” The father sounded like Samuel L. Jackson. Cussed like him, too!

The father was firmly holding the young boy by his shoulder and looking down at him straight in the eyes. The boy was matching his stare and had his arms crossed defiantly with a nonchalant look on his little face. This continued for some time until a woman passenger decided to intervene. She approached the pair. “Sir, you really shouldn’t be talking to him like that,” she said. “This is borderline child abuse.”

Everything stopped, except for the train. Everyone stopped conversing. All the passengers turned to look to see what would happen. The tension was high.

Well, he let her have it! “Lady, you need to mind your own business. But, since you’re so interested, why don’t take his lil’ klepto ass home and raise him!” The father now turns to the son. “Show the nosy bitch what you did. Show her!”

The son smirks and refuses. The father quickly zips down his son’s puffy coat and…I swear, y’all…about 100 Lego pieces fell out! Turns out they had been at the Lego store and the lil’ boy stole a whole rack of Legos!

Oh my goodness, it was hilarious! He had more Legos up his shirt, down his pants and even in the hood of his sweatshirt. I was mighty impressed with that child’s ingenuity. But now I understood the cussing father’s sentiment.

Most of the passengers laughed as the boy hurried to pick up his stolen toys. The concerned woman went back to her seat, shaking her head in disbelief. And we all watched as the father and son exited the train, the father still yelling.

The last thing I heard him say was “I know you learned that bullshit from ya mama. But we don’t steal.”

This memory still makes me laugh. I wish I could see them now, so many years later. I’m sure the father whipped that boy into a great young man … who no longer steals. Ha!

Old soul, young spirit

ERICA DOWNING

Artist/Vendor

“Wise beyond your years” is a misnomer for those who have a heightened awareness of the world we live in. What are perceived as acts of wisdom are actually acts of fearlessness and courage. Courage to face the unknown. Unknown experiences, destinations, people, skills and knowledge that cause growth, development and change, scare the majority but excite the minority. Living and thriving on pushing the boundaries, raising the bar for themselves and everyone around them. “An old soul, with a young spirit” leads the way for innovation and progress for families generation after generation, cultures and countries with their thirst for knowledge and achievement — through a never-ending boundless ambition and a vision only clear to them. That is who was chosen. Old souls with young spirits are not the only anointed ones but are duly elected as such.

Holding your hope of dreams

CARLTON JOHNSON Artist/Vendor

Dreams are like the doors of hope, to find the light of paradise, of your love and hope for life under the pressure of the daily light of morning after the night, holding on to the life of dreams to behold paradise’s freedom to the doors of hope for long life.

Plum and cherry trees are here

BRIANNA BUTLER

Artist/Vendor

Pink and white blossoms in our nation’s capital, flowing soft petals all across the sidewalks and streets. Some emit a light and pleasant perfume that will make you smile. The others have no scent but still can make you sneeze. People from all across the world come to see these lovely trees. We celebrate them with picture-taking while telling stories with others about how beautiful they are. These trees represent peace and happiness to one another.

Some of them blossomed early this year, even right now. Grab a jacket, a sweater and your phone camera and join me in this fun event. I know you will like it just as much as I do.

You might even dance, too!

BRIANNA BUTLER Artist/Vendor

ART Staff coffee

FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor

To the quirkiest, sweetest boss; the oddest best job ever!

Hypo is Greek for “below, under.” So saith the etymologist. Well, I fell into the unique situation of ‘house emannensis’ for the NGA Film Program quite serendipitously. For a few years leading up to 2014, my better half and I had discovered the arcane pleasures of a gelato (and maybe a small slab of broiled bird-skin on) in the Cascades Cafe, and then further partaking in the auditorium of film fare like “Itaxan,” “A King in a New York,” “Scorpio Rising,” and “Il Gattopardo.”

Yes, these aspects of the National Gallery’s East Wing were truly hypo. Below ground and under the radar a laughing cluster of fountains set deep into a massive plate-glass windowbox gave Cascades its sparkle; the snacks and drinks therein were pricey but tasty. No such charge for the theatre, the films were all taxpayer funded and free!

And babe and I were drawn by the elan of our “Emcee,” Frieda Fox, who ran the movie studies division with a relaxed grip. Her pixelated but truly authoritative mastery of classic movie lore proved irresistible to us – to the point of Babe composing a fairly concise resume and low-key outro letter to place into Frieda’s hands by Valentine’s Day 2014.

I got a surprise call from Frieda the following Monday, with an invite to join her for “staff coffee” in the Cascades the next afternoon.

“You have an impressive grasp of cinema love, John… and I enjoyed the cadences of your cover letter, as well. Growing up in Utica, syntax mattered, y’know…” She paused and elicited a goofy but charming grin.

I murmured, “My cohort actually helped frame the letter — as for movie lore, I was “CINEMAN,” horse movie critic for my college paper the Montgomery Excalibur! We even covered the Kennedy Center screenings of technicolor pioneering works La Cucaracha (1934) and Marlene Dietrich (1936)!

Much to my shock, following a call back — sundown with Frieda and I relaxing al fresco around the lanai at the old Childe Harold (Frieda, big goblet of Riesling, moi, huge tumbler of filtered water), she rose, whispering “There’s little or no pay involved, but you’ll have your own desk and telephone. Landline of course.”

This led me to showing up four days a week adjoining Frieda’s massive and cluttered workstation and sitting in the back row, in the dark, munching on Junior Mints (verboten: no food allowed, technically). One Sunday, the ‘mistress’ paid me (out of her pocket) $25 to fill in for an AWOL pianist, to play the ragtime dances “Smokey Mokes” and “Sounds of Africa” during a French 1923 fantasy silent called “Seashell and the Clergyman.” This led to a private audience with legendary British film maven Kevin Bronlow.

I’mwhole

SASHA WILLIAMS

Artist/Vendor

I'm whole

I am free from all the pain...

I am free...

I am free to let go of the hurt...

I forgive myself for holding on to stress and worries and fear...

I forgive the pain and the hurt and how it affected me...

I forgive what the pain and hurt did to me...

I am free

I am forgiving

Every day I try to vibrate higher and love

It ain't easy but it's the right process...

It helps with the journey of healing

It all growth...

I was supposed to be here

I am stronger through it all...

Working hard

PHILLIP BLACK

Artist/Vendor

Working hard

I love work

I hate work

I love lunch

I hate brunch

I work too much

Making such a fuss

I hate work

I hate work

In my kitchen

MELODY BYRD Artist/Vendor

I like to cook on my own, it soothes my soul. I’ve been cooking since I was 10 years old. My favorite is spaghetti and meatballs. It’s very nutritious. I like to cook it from scratch and sometimes get it from a restaurant. I love to eat it with bread and butter.

FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor

Feeling felicitous and depleted in 2007

MICHELE ROCHON

Artist/Vendor

In April 2007, I felt all washed up.

I was standing in the Shoppers Food Warehouse in District Heights, Md., thinking, “I can’t take no more. I am so tired, so exhausted. I will be glad when this is over.”

It was high time for me professionally because I had completed an accelerated two-year program in 12 months, including writing a 60-plus page thesis about the leadership principles of public housing directors. I wasn’t getting much sleep, working a 35-hour-a-week job, spending every Saturday at the Spaulding Library and occasionally going to the Library of Congress on Sundays. So it felt great to have completed a rigorous, accelerated academic program. It restored my confidence and elevated my mind.

How do you balance mixed emotions in your life?

Doing that is like watching your grandchild say “Grandmother, I’ll be with you in a minute. Right now I’m online playing a game with my friends.” You’re happy to see and experience someone else’s growth, but you cling to the past: “I recall holding you all day when you were a baby. Now…you don’t need me.”

Water

MICHELE ROCHON

Artist/Vendor

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, I drank water.

Mexicans are picked up at the border.

Hearing rain sounds helps me to sleep.

Arriving early at events helps me to get a seat.

Thunderstorms can be relaxing because of their sound.

Repacking your skills helps you sometimes to rebound.

My pet search

GRETA CHRISTIAN Artist/Vendor

Super Bowl LVII

RONALD SMOOT Artist/Vendor

I told everybody the Kansas City Chiefs would win Super Bowl 57. Had I bet on that team, I would have won a lot of money because a lot of people liked the Philadelphia Eagles.

Philadelphia played a great game. In the first half the Eagles scored so often and had such a big lead I thought they would win. But the Chiefs tightened their defense and quarterback Patrick Mahomes started finding ways to score. I think it helped him to have played in a Super Bowl and learn from that experience about reacting when your team is losing, something Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts didn’t have because it was his first. And Mahomes was hurt late in the game, but he ignored his pain to lead the Chiefs on the game-clinching drive.

I think Patrick will win more Super Bowls. But he won’t catch Tom Brady, the best ever. He won seven Super Bowls. When I watched Kansas City against Tampa Bay, Brady’s team, earlier in the season Brady told Mahomes to keep doing what he was doing. Brady also said he likes Mahomes because he’s smart and knows how to manage the game. Mahomes then said Brady is his idol and has the greatness that you try to match. (Brady started his career when Mahomes was a five-year-old!) With Brady retired, Mahomes is probably the NFL’s best quarterback. The 27-year-old has won two Super Bowls, was voted Most Valuable Player in each, and has a very bright future. The fans don’t think he will stop there. Neither do I.

Self-awareness

VENNIE HILL Artist/Vendor

Today I feel I am stronger than I have ever been. I try my best to engage in activities that keep me energized, and keep me fulfilling what I need and want in life. My recovery comes first. I also believe that there is one thing in this world that I can never give up knowing or believing in — that's my higher power Jesus Christ, my God. Thank God I got someone in my life that keeps the laughter going and makes me happy at all times especially when I'm sad, and that's my husband.

When I discovered treatment, I open up a new world for myself. I spend most of my time listening and growing and learning more about my recovery and what I want to gain out of it. To me, recovery is everything I've ever wanted to be, it is something I want to grow in for the rest of my life. I also have an inspiration in my life — that's my niece Egypt — she made her dreams come true and as far as I know, she's pretty happy. She does something that she's great at and enjoys. She's my hero.

I am not good at staying in the present moment. I feel as though I am still stuck in yesterday. My to-do list today is to stay clean. My best friend would describe me as a loving and giving person. Yesterday I was just a loving child growing in my mom's womb, and today I am a grown woman trying to be someone that's a good citizen in life, going with the times and moving forward to dreams.

A warm bed

ANDRE BRINSON Artist/Vendor

I’m looking for a dog. Can anybody help me get one? I love dogs and cats! When you have a dog, it helps you along. Dogs are smart. They listen to you. They help you when you get in trouble.

I don’t own a dog or a cat yet. But I need one of each. I like cats because they follow you around the house. They cuddle with you when you sleep. They play with you sometimes. They’re good companions.

This is a very cold month. Let’s all give someone on the streets experiencing homelessness a hot meal or hot coffee.

I finally got my place, a warm place to lay my head. But at the same time, I still worry about people who are still going through homelessness. I truly feel for the people that are dealing with this cold weather. God bless us all.

Let’s deal with mental illness first. Why? Because I know two close friends who died in their apartments because of mental illness. The government should provide a program to help people with their mental illness and let them know there is a safe, warm home waiting for them when they complete it.

Give them something to look forward to. A warm bed to sleep in and a safe place to live.

God bless us all.

FUN & GAMES

Across

1. Word repeated in the Spanish language welcoming phrase: “Mi ____ su ____”

5. Feature shared by flowers and wine glasses

10. Domestic hamster’s habitat

14. Any one of five Norwegian kings

15. Superman’s birth name (3-2)

16. “Eat ____ Love” (Best-seller and blockbuster Julia Roberts film)

17. Financial status of Donald Trump [according to him] (2 wds.) (4,11)

20. Gas-X rival

21. The “L” of XXL

22. “Washboards” molded in gyms, briefly (abbr./ acron.)

23. Blasting stuff or cable channel (abbr./acron.)

25. Bailed-out insurance giant of 2008 (abbr./ initialism)

27. During WWII, the so called “Allies” in general, or the French Underground, in particular (2 wds.) (4-6,5)

36. Alt. spelling (dict. abbr.)

37. Great buy

38. Kind of yoga that means “force”

39. Score after deuce (2 wds.) (2,2)

41. With “the,” A-listers

43. Avoid like the plague

44. Biblical mount in the middle of an identicallynamed peninsula in modern-day Egypt

46. African antelope

48. Prior to, per Poe and his poet pals

49. Support group for full-figured ladies? (4 wds.) (6,1,4,4) (DESIRABLE SPRITZ anagram).

52. 8/ (abbr.)

53. Harry Potter’s Hogwarts pet Hedwig was one

54. Place for sweaters that’s not cold?

57. Town where “what goes on in ...” it “stays in...” it, briefly

61. Premature

65. Where to find the creatures ‘hidden’ in 17-, 27-, and 49-Across (3 wds.) 8,3,4)

68. What “Me? I’ve never ever even fibbed about anything” obviously is (2 wds.) (1,3)

69. Neon ____ (brightly colored aquarium fish)

70. Head start or a leg up

71. Word that may follow Taco or precede pepper

72. Hit the ____ (begin to decline or deteriorate, slangily)

73. Swami Down

1. Useful item that many people are happy to part with?

2. On the safe side, at sea

3. Long tale

4. 1972 Jack Lemmon comedy whose title is the Italian word for “onward”

5. Go downhill fast?

6. Like tales that are short on facts, ironically

7. Jazz’s Fitzgerald

8. Former Israeli prime minister Golda who said “Don’t be humble...you’re not that great”

9. “Just do it!”, e.g.

10. Busy bee in Apr. (abbr./acron.)

11. Diva’s song

12. Apparel

13. What the colon denotes in ( : > \ )

18. Water pipes at a head shop

19. [“I vote no on these oats!”]

24. Head of Haiti? (Fr.)

26. Mardi ___ (French holiday celebration literally meaning Fat Tuesday)

27. “____ me hearties. Scupper that, or I’ll be a-crushin’ ye barnacles!” (common pirate phrase)

28. Low point

29. Late singer-guitarist Lopez with hits on “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree”

30. Took on the Head Honcho role again (ELDER anagram)

31. Sends something using so-called “Forever” stamps

32. Mountain range where China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia meet

33. Catchall category

34. Lieutenant ____ (woman on the original “Star Trek” bridge)

35. Glazier’s items

40. California wine valley

42. Automaker Ferrari (ZONE anagram)

45. Candy Valentines heart words (1,3,1) (incls. textese)

47. Like the morning grass in Spring (sounds like a Jeff Bridges “The Big Lebowski” character)

50. Gets rid of, in medicalspeak

51. “What in ____?!” (‘fiery’ reaction)

54. Sign of healing

55. Laundry basketful

56. Seed cover

58. ____ Squad (Best Buy tech support grp.)

59. Word often heard before “Spumante” that refers to an area of Italy

60. Reddish-brown gem

62. Teased mercilessly

63. Pricey theater seating option

64. Belgian river

66. Animated cartoon collectible

67. “Illmatic” rapper

*This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre. It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Wa. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews. org and insp.ngo.

Illustration of the Week

LORI SMITH Artist/Vendor

Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

Bread for the City - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org

Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org

Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org

Charlie’s Place // 202-232-3066 1830 Connecticut Ave., NW charliesplacedc.org

Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org

Church of the Pilgrims // 202-387-6612 2201 P St., NW food (1-1:30 on Sundays only) churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach

Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org

Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org

Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 Eye St., NW fathermckennacenter.org

Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc)

219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org

Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW ID (Friday 9am–12pm only) foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities

Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org

Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org

Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9128 425 2nd St., NW jobshavepriority.org

Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.org

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE

2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org

My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org

N Street Village // 202-939-2060 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org

New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE

Patricia Handy Place for Women 202-733-5378 // 810 5th St., NW

Samaritan Inns // 202-667-8831 2523 14th St., NW samaritaninns.org

Samaritan Ministry

202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org

So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org

St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-333-4949 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org

Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org

Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org

- Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500

- Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699

1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW

Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org

The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable

Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org

PM Housekeeper

Residence Inn by Marriott // 801 New Hampshire Avenue NW

Full-time

Respond promptly to requests from guests and other departments and clean rooms.

REQUIRED: N/A

APPLY: tinyurl.com/residenceinn-housekeeper

Team Member

Joe & The Juice // 1500 K Street NW

Part-time

Operate the cash register, take orders and offer high quality customer service.

REQUIRED: N/A

APPLY: tinyurl.com/joejuice-member

Cashier

Andy’s Pizza // 2016 9th St NW

Full-time / Part-time

Greet guests, operate the cash register and collaborate with coworkers.

REQUIRED: N/A

APPLY: tinyurl.com/andys-pizza

For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide

Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

All services listed are referral-free

NIKILA SMITH Artist/Vendor

I was living on the streets, holding on to my sense, and bumped into Street Sense.

I'm glad I didn't leave, I was talked into staying, and Street Sense gives me a sense of being.

I can do anything I want to do, but Street Sense is where I want to learn, what I'm supposed to do.

Just because people who work here haven't experienced some of the things a lot of the vendors go through doesn’t mean they don't understand.

I personally don't want

anyone to go through some of the things I have been through, when life kicks your ass you don't kick someone else — you learn, well, you're supposed to nothing or no one person is perfect. Perfect is not even something you can portray yourself to be.

Every day is an adventure, I have good teachers in my life, and right now, I smile every day no matter what, I have enough for me and you, the force is strong in this one. By that I mean my faith.

I'm learning I have so much to give.

This is just what I need, I have always been a people person, helper, go-getter, teacher, and willing to learn, and I have a tendency

to forget about myself sometimes. Sometimes I want to be selfish, to see what it's like, let me tell you it's not in me. This is another reason my Street Sense family works out for me. Forgiveness is in the air. I really hope they don't ever file for divorce, I will never sign those papers, this is survival of the fittest, and I'm strong. So I will survive.

NIKILA SMITH Artist/Vendor