August 2020 Recovery Newsletter

3rd Street Beat

Produced by Clients of The Recovery Center 8 east 3rd Street 10003 #9 August 2020

RISE, NY! we are here

Cover art by Steven McGlothlin

YO󰈖 󰉑󰉚󰈯 P󰈤E󰈍󰉋N󰈜 󰈭󰈍ER󰉍󰈮󰈟󰉈 DE󰉝󰈜󰈿S As󰈔 󰇿or 󰈝󰈀󰈘󰈢xo󰈝󰈩 󰉄r󰇽i󰈝󰈎󰈞g & 󰈔i󰉄s, fe󰈝󰉄󰈀n󰉘󰈘 t󰇵󰈻󰉄 s󰉃󰈹ip󰈻 󰈀󰉄 T󰈤󰉎 1

The 3rd Street Beat Mission Statement The Third Street Beat is a newsletter written by and created for people with addiction. Our mission is to validate that experience so people know that they are not alone, and to emphasize the many unique roads that we take to recovery. This is an opportunity to share our experiences to creatively support each other. We are non-political, non-denominational, multi-racial, and gender neutral. Our mission is one of recovery and harm reduction, and all experiences are welcome. All the viewpoints herein are personal in nature and related specifically to our contributors’ recovery.

The 3rd Street Beat Editorial Team Shams, Adam K, Johnny Jungle, Stephen M., and Noyes. The 3rd Street Beat is produced by The Recovery Center community with assistance from the occupational therapy team. xoxoxo

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURES The Hate that Hate Produced by Shams p. 3 POETRY & PROSE Shark by J p. 4 Pandemonium

by Johnny Jungle p. 5 We Was Free by Shams p. 7 Roar by Johnny Jungle p. 9 ART Cover by Steven McGlothlin THE USUAL Sudoku p. 2 Word Search p. 4 Memes p. 6 Sudoku Solution p. 6 Schedule p. 10 Contact p. 10

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SUDOKU (solution p. 6)

@recoverycenternyc

The rules of the game are simple: each of the nine blocks has to contain all the numbers 1-9 within its squares. Each number can only appear once in a row, column or box.

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THE HATE THAT HATE PRODUCED

By Da Homeless Hero I write with the spirit of someone who is well-acquainted with the deeply rooted racism that is still embedded in the minds and hearts of some people. Despite all of the calls for systemic changes that would eradicate the obvious disadvantages experienced by those who are Black and Brown, there are among us people who still harbor unwarranted hatred for people who appear to be different from them.

As a descendant of slaves and the recipient of a legacy of overt and covert oppression I know first-hand what racism looks like when I see and experience it.

Before I continue let’s get into some definitions of the word’s “racism” and “hate” so we’re clear as to what I’m speaking on. According to the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) the word racism refers to: “the marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people.”

Wikipedia indicates that: “Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism against other people because they are of a different race or ethnicity.”

The Dictionary, that is Merriam Webster defines the word racism as follows: “A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”

...Continued on page 8

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I AM A SHARK. A great white shark...always on the move...if I stop moving, i die...always on the hunt...if I stop hunting, i starve...always alone...i fly solo...always misunderstood...an absolute mystery...feared by most...loved by few...i swim deep...my misdeeds are glorified...my good behavior goes unnoticed...really, i just want to be left alone...i do what I have to do to survive...but when you come into my world...its just that… you’re in MY world...I have no regrets, no remorse for anything that happens in my world,,,that’s on you...so it’s best to just stay out of my way and let me swim.

By J

“Summer Fun” Word Search

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PARADE OF MEMES!

SUDOKU solution 6

WE WAS FREE

by SHAMS At the beginning Them days where we go way back Before AIDS, flat top fades And the Era of Crack I’m talkin’ bout when I was young When life was fun, and we were so innocent Back when being behind the ropes Made me significant At the Jam, Mario gave the okay Rahiem passed me the mic Sometimes It’ll be Mr. Freeze Or my other Soundview Fam, Master Ice Or one of my other mentors From the Mark V, Master T While on the set was DJ Cool B, and with me On the mic Billie D and Robbie D Or DJ Kevie Kev Rockwell and my cousin Cool T Them were the days, when When We Was Free We made history, In the parks, clubs and school yards, We called ourselves Zulus And carried ourselves like Gods Don’t you dare be fooled,

Art by BTPHOTO

Art from mvula drae

And don’t be misled, We’re the offspring of Black Panthers, That rose from the dead If J Edgar had his way You would never have heard of us He preferred for us to be Ashes to ashes And dust to dust But despite Cointelpro The Movement gave birth to Black Spades We going back now, Before the Era of Crack And epidemic of Aids With Benign Neglect The tried to leave us in ruins Created a wasteland, flood us with drugs, Yeah, that’s what they were doing I grew up in them times When they were messing up our minds But we took control Started jamming in the parks and kickin’ rhymes Inspired by our ancestors The griots from out history We developed what you call Hip Hop Yes, cause back then, We Was Free 7

Merriam Webster defines the word hate as follows: “Intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or a sense of injury.”

Now before I get into my subject, let me share a quote from Malcolm X: “If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” – Malcolm X On July 27th of this year 2020, I and many of my fellow residents of Project Renewal’s shelters who were housed at another hotel began arriving at a new hotel called the Lucerne. We were the first to arrive and in the coming days we were joined by others from the two shelters we originally came from. I was very much aware that our arrival would be a blessing to some and a nightmare to others. I warned of this beforehand. What I didn’t expect was the backlash from the community which took place from the moment we arrived up until this very writing. After discovering that the community was informed only several days prior to our arrival I could understand much of their anger and frustration.

The first week or two were intense with many of us experiencing the pressure from members of the community who obviously didn’t want us here. That did, however, conflict with others who took the initiative to welcome us to the community. With us caught in between this community “beef” the reality of our existence has become stressful. We have become the victims of a hatred that we have never seen in this manner before. Sure, we’ve seen hatred and experienced racism but it’s different when you’re in your most vulnerable state. It’s like kicking a person when they’re down. Well that is, in essence, the way racism works. The magnitude of anger and hostility directed towards us without any justifiable cause other than us being homeless and at the mercy of a broken and tremendously flawed system, is something that has led to considerable amounts of relapses and increased substance usage as well as the triggering of mental health issues that we are not being treated for to the degree necessary to combat our personal issues.

While many would argue that “you should be grateful for the free ride in a plush hotel”, and I get that point because I am grateful for the space and ability to protect myself from the virus, but I must also admit that this so-called “free ride” is bitter sweet in that I’m still traumatized to walk outside and be greeted by reporters who are painting all of us here as “criminals”, “vagrants”, “pedophiles”, “drunks”, “addicts”, “beggars”, “thieves”, and that list goes on. Notice I used quotes because those are words used to describe us in newspapers like The New York Post and other forms of media. The depiction of us as such is traumatizing to say the least.

My biggest issue goes back to those who are charged with providing us with services. Why did you go about things in this manner without considering the negative impact it would have not just on the community you’re placing us in but also those of us who are your residents? How do you think we who suffer from substance use disorder and in some cases have mental health issues are processing and internalizing all of this hatred and exploitation that we’re now subjected to? What’s worse is that your response doesn’t seem to paint us as humans as I would expect. We have been dehumanized in this experience and the trauma may last for years to come. Some staff members have started to reflect this “vibe” because they are now under pressure to “contain” us residents. So now this underlying racism that you say you fight against has led to The Hate That Hate Produced.

Don’t let these words fall on deaf ears. I’ve asked for a seat at the table, a voice in the discussion and have yet to be called upon. You, DHS and Project Renewal, have the power to empower and collectively we can get this right. No longer should you be reactive instead of proactive in your dealings with us. If nothing else, please, think of us as humans, not just numbers or a bed. We have feelings, emotions, we think and we desire. We desire more for ourselves. The drug use and mental health issues can be dealt with. Homelessness can be eradicated if we eliminate The Hate That Hate Produced.

The End 8

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Recovery Center Weekly Schedule for August-September 2020

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newsletter, we hope you enjoy it!

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If you would like to submit a piece of art, your recovery story, or other work, see OT in the Recovery Center or attend the Newsletter Meeting at 2:00 pm on 10 Thursday afternoons.

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