01 10 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE 5

$2

JAN. 10 - 23, 2018

Real Stories

NEW YEAR, DEEPENING INEQUALITY

Real People

@ STREETSENSEDC

Real Change

Ex-Labor Secretary on ‘Saving Capitalism’ Photos: Sanders, others protest tax bill

A conversation with Senator Cory Booker

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VENDORS Barbara Pollard, Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Melissa Allen, Ollie Alston, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Katrina Arninge, Lawrence Autry, Charlton Battle, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Phillip Black Jr., Melanie Black, Emily Bowe, Clarence Branch, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Valarie Williams, Donald Brown, Lawrence Brown, Elizabeth Bryant, Brianna Butler, Dwayne Butler, Melody Byrd, Reginald Denny, Floyd Carter, Conrad Cheek, Aaron Colbert, Michael Craig, Anthony Crawford, Kwayera Dakari, Louise Davenport, James Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, Ricardo Dickerson, Dennis Diggs, Alvin Dixon-El, Ron Dudley, Joshua El, Joel Empleo, Betty Everett, Jemel Fleming, Johnnie Ford, Cornell Ford, Duane Foster, Samuel Fullwood, Chon Gotti, Latishia Graham, Marcus Green, Levester Green, Barron Hall, Tyrone Hall, Denise Hall, Veana Hanes, Dwight Harris, Danell Harris, Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Derian Hickman, Vennie Hill, Donald Hopkinson, James Hughes, Leonard Hyater, Gedion Iyasu, Joseph Jackson, Chad Jackson, David James, Morgan Jones, Linda Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Larry Kelley, Juliene Kengnie, Jewell Lean, John Littlejohn, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, Mildred Hall, William Mack, Ken Martin, Kina Mathis, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Amy Modica, L. Morrow, Collins Mukasa, Evelyn Nnam, Earl Parker, Aida Peery, Marcellus Phillips, Jacquelyn Portee, Angela Pounds, Jeanette Richardson, Angela Richardson, Henrieese Roberts, Doris Robinson, Raquel Rodriquez, Rita Sauls, Melania Scott, Chris Shaw, Gwynette Smith, Patty Smith, David Snyder, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, James Stewart, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Stephen Thomas, Eric Thompson-Bey, Harold Tisdale, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Ronald Turner, Joseph Walker, Martin Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Glenn Washington, Sheila White, Angie Whitehurst, William Whitsett, Anneka Wickham, Sasha Williams, Robert Williams, Clarence Williams, Wendell Williams, Ivory Wilson, Christine Wong, Charles Woods BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jeremy Bratt, Margaret Jenny, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Dan Schwartz, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Aaron Stetter, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson

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The Cover

Willie Schatz

Street Sense Media Vendor Aida Peery interviewed Senator Cory Booker about health care, employment and more at his office on Capitol HIll. PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE

CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

The Street Sense Story, #MoreThanANewspaper 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 casemanagement 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.

WRITERS GROUP ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)

Rachel Brody, Arthur Delaney, Britt Peterson

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

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EVENTS

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NEWS IN BRIEF HOUSING

Federal judge rules against HUD delay of fair housing policy

MONDAY, JANUARY 15

United Planning Organization day of service 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Petey Greene Community Service Center // 2907 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave. SE Enjoy a meal and a roundtable discussion of programs and resources needed to effectively serve the homeless.

Available health screening, legal consultation, housing training, employment, mental illness and substance abuse counseling. Distribution of free haircuts, manicures, coats, clothing and toiletries.

MONDAY, JANUARY 15

12th Annual MLK, Jr. Peace Walk & Parade 9 a.m. Peace Walk Program starts at United Black Fund, 2500 MLK Avenue, SE and will later meet up with the parade group 10:30 a.m. MLK Parade assembly waits for Peace Walk to merge on Good Hope Road at Anacostia Park and proceeds to Barry Farms 2 p.m. Two-mile parade ends at Barry Farms for health fair and information tables

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings Street Outreach Work Group Jan 10, 2:30pm // 441 4th Street NW Shelter Conditions Work Group Jan 11, 10:30am // TBD Landlord Engagement Work Group Jan 11, 11am // TBD Medicaid Work Group Jan 17, 2pm // TBD Strategic Planning Committee Jan 23 , 2:30 pm // TBD *find updated info at ich.dc.gov

FRIDAY, JANUARY 12

Thrive DC Welcome Warmth Coat Distribution 11 a.m.

St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church Please enter through the sanctuary.

On Jan. 29 and Feb. 1 Thrive DC will be collecting used and new coats, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets, sleeping bags along with new socks, men’s boxers and women’s underwear, and thermals for their Feb. 2 distribution.

On Dec. 23, Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was wrong to postpone implementation of Small Area Fair Market Rent Designations, an Obama-era policy tool aimed at setting the value of housing vouchers based on the cost of rent in specificneighborhoods, as opposed to basing the value on a median number that spans an entire metro area, according to a Washington Post report. In practice, Housing Choice Voucher recipients are often forced to choose low-income neighborhoods, concentrated with other voucher recipients, because their vouchers cannot cover market rent in neighborhoods with more security, amenities or better school districts. Implementation was set to begin in FY2018, on Oct. 1, 2017. Carson issued a notice that would have delayed implementation until October 2019, saying that his administration needed more time to understand the policy.

CIVIL RIGHTS

ACLU-DC action changes D.C. Housing Authority barring notice D.C. Housing Authority barring notices, which can last up to five years, will now feature information for recipients about how to challenge the bar, according to a press release. The change comes after an activist was removed from a board meeting for disrupting the meeting in order to object to a redevelopment measure that would affect her home. The activist, Schyla Pondexter-Moore of Empower DC, sought ACLU-DC’s assistance to lift the ban in order to continue her advocacy work.

Pondexter-Moore’s bar was lifted and, after several months of negotiations, DCHA agreed to amend its paperwork to inform future barring notice recipients of their rights.”Specifically, DCHA residents may file a grievance challenging a bar imposed on a person they wish to invite onto the property as a guest, and anyone, including the barred individual, can request a bar to be temporarily lifted. DCHA also agreed to publish the news about the updated form and the due process rights available to barred individuals in its monthly newsletter,” according to the release.

*CORRECTION*

Keep up with community events at StreetSenseMedia.org/calendar

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Jessica Raven

@TheJessicaRaven

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders @SenatorSanders

I just downloaded this app tonight & can confirm that it makes purchasing @streetsensedc extremely convenient! #SupportLocalNews

You never know what a person experiencing homelessness has been through ... Thankfully organizations like Street Sense Media are there to give a sense of self and power back to the homeless.

8:31 PM - 21 DEC 2017

6:31 AM - 5 JAN 2018

The article “In the face of fear and xenophobia, D.C. agencies and nonprofits reach out to homeless immigrants” that was published in our Dec. 13 edition has been corrected online to reflect that the number of Latinx young people that the Latin American Youth Center serves has fallen from roughly 50 percent of total youth served to 20 percent, due to fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The figure was incorrectly published as having fallen to 10 percent.

Follow more headlines at StreetSenseMedia.org/news

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NEWS The day the GOP tax bills were reconciled by Congress, in photos

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS & ERIC FALQUERO // Staff

Roughly 50 critics of the Republican tax overhaul gathered in the cold outside the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, one hour before the House-Senate Conference Committee was set to meet and reconcile the two versions of the bill. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed by President Donald Trump later that month.

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) told the crowd that there would be very good arguments made against the bill at that meeting but that it would not matter because the bill was already written, without a single hearing for input from the public.

“But on the other hand, 5,000 lobbyists, representing the wealthy and large corporations — they have had major impact on this legislation,” Sanders said. “So here we are, at a moment in American history of massive income and wealth inequality — the rich getting much richer, the middle class is shrinking, 40 million people living in poverty — and what this bill does is give 62 percent of the tax benefits to the top one percent.”

Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) suggested that the bill was pushed through quickly so that the public would not have time to understand everything that it included. This was a complaint made by many senators on Dec. 1, as amendments to the nearly 500-page Senate bill were still being written. It passed a vote hours later.

Doggett went on to speculate that Republicans would use the $1.5 trillion deficit the new tax code is expected to create over the next 10 years as an excuse to undermine welfare programs the party has never supported. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has long been set on entitlement reform. But Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) fear this would be impossible in an election year without bipartisan support, according to a Washington Post report.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) compared the speed with which the tax overhaul was passed to the slow pace to fund health insurance for low-income children and emergency relief for hurricane victims. Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired Sept. 30, and a new long-term appropriation has not yet been made. A week after the Dec. 13 rally, CHIP received a $3 million short-term investment as part of a measure passed to keep the federal government running through March 31. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cannot guarantee that there is enough money for every state to continue its CHIP program beyond Jan. 19. The program currently serves 9 million low-income children.

Lee went on to say that 300,000 homes in Texas were ruined by the recent hurricanes and that she heard it may not be possible to obtain all of the relief funds needed by her constituents. She aligned her state with others facing damage in Florida and Louisiana, and with the many trying to recover without the assistance of electricity in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “Shame if they don’t get us our hurricane relief monies because they’re paying themselves a big check,” Lee said to the crowd.

Leading up to the November midterm elections, proponents of the tax bill are pouring millions into events and campaigns to educate voters about its benefits, according to a CNBC report.

Similarly, critics such as Tax March, the group that organized the Dec. 13 rally, are producing events and campaigns to educate voters about the law’s shortcomings and alternatives.

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, taxes will be reduced, on average, for all income groups. Higher-income households, on average, will receive larger tax cuts. The largest cuts go to the top 5 percent of earners, and the new tax code drastically reduces the number of people for whom charitable giving is incentivized. This could, according to the center, cost the nonprofit sector as much as $20 billion and reduce the services it is able to provide.

Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders.

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

Texas Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee. PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

Illinois Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky.

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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Bridging the wealth gap: Former U.S. Labor Secretary calls for ‘progressive populism’ to tip the scales for the working class

BY ADAM SENNOTT Volunteer

I

n November 1994 Secretary of Labor Robert Reich stood before the Democratic Leadership Council and warned that economic inequality was creating a “twotiered society.” He was worried, he said, that a growing number of angry and disillusioned Americans could be “easily manipulated.”

“Once unbottled, mass resentment can poison the very fabric of society, the moral integrity of a society, replacing ambition with envy, replacing tolerance with hate,” Reich said at the time.

More than two decades later, Donald Trump rode that wave of white workingclass rage into the White House by promising to “make America great again,” referring to undocumented Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” labeling the mainstream press as “fake news” and praising dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Sadly, I predicted it would come about,” Reich said in a recent phone interview with Street Sense Media.

Reich now hopes to help poor and middleclass Americans become more politically engaged and tip the scales away from corporations and wealthy elites.

In November, Netflix released Reich’s documentary “Saving Capitalism,” in which he explains how the wealth gap has continued to grow over the years and more economic power has flowed to a smaller number of wealthy elites. That money, Reich said, is then spent on campaigns, lobbying, lawyers and other ways that policy is influenced.

“Over the past 35 years, most of the economic gains have gone to the top, not to

Robert Reich speaks at Santa Rosa Unitarian Church in 2013.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATIS547 / FLICKR

the middle, and certainly not to the poor,” Reich said. “They spend that money in order to get public policies that help them become even wealthier. It’s a vicious cycle that’s becoming increasingly more vicious, so that the rules of the game, the rules of the economy, increasingly favor people at the top and hurt everybody else.”

As an example, Reich said that Americans spend more for pharmaceuticals than people in any other advanced nation because pharmaceutical companies have used their political capital to make it impossible for people to buy drugs more cheaply from Canada; rigged the rules so it’s impossible to beat their patents for long periods of time; and barred the federal government from using its bargaining power through Medicare and Medicare to lower drug prices.

He also pointed to the since-adopted tax bill as it was making its way through Congress.

“That’s almost entirely they handiwork of big corporations and Wall Street,” Reich said.

“Average working Americans had no part to play at all.”

In order to reverse that trend, he said, “there’s no substitute for American citizens becoming ever more actively involved in our politics.”

One reason for encouragement for Reich?

The support Bernie Sanders received during the Democratic primaries.

“There’s a huge craving in this country for progressive populism, not for Donald Trump’s brand of authoritarian populism.”

Reich said. “All the energy in the Democratic Party is with progressive populism; much of the energy in the Republican party is with authoritarian populism. But if many

working-class Republicans understood what was actually happening and understood how they’re being ripped off, they would become progressive populists.”

Reich said his biggest challenge has been overcoming misinformation produced by Fox News and other conservative news outlets.

“Millions of people are watching Fox News and falling for the venom and lies that Sean Hannity spouts every night, and others like him,” Reich said. “There are right-wing personalities on the radio who continue to spout right-wing propaganda that has no basis in reality.”

Reich also said that while the mainstream media “have done a pretty good job of telling the truth,” he also noted that “they’re easily distracted by the sensation of the day.” Most often, that means a presidential tweet or soundbyte.

But such distractions particularly worry Reich after the passing of tax reform, which has left Medicaid and Medicare cuts up next on many Republicans’ agendas.

“The tax cut will create a huge budget deficit — I mean much larger than they have today — and Republicans will use that increased deficit as an excuse to call for cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and programs for the poor,” Reich said. “This is the bait-and-switch tactic that they have been rehearsing for a long time, and we need to be ready.”

How dire could a lack of preparedness be?

According to Reich: very.

“I think that unless we join together and make out voices heard,” he said, “it’s possible that we’re going to end up without a democracy.”

“

Over the past 35 years, most of the economic gains have gone to the top, not to the middle, and certainly not to the poor. They spend that money in order to get public policies that help them become even wealthier. It’s a vicious cycle that’s becoming increasingly more vicious, so that the rules of the game, the rules of the economy, increasingly favor people at the top and hurt everybody else.

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How inequality became the big issue troubling the world’s top economists

BY STEVE SCHIFFERES // The Conversation US

Every three years, all Nobel Prize winners in economics are invited to gather in the tranquil setting of the German island of Lindau to meet a selection of bright young economists and discuss the state of their profession. But this year such tranquility was challenged by worrying political developments across the globe. Perhaps unexpectedly, one of the central themes of the meeting became what to do about inequality.

While not all laureates would go as far as Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel Prize winner, who said that economic inequality itself is a form of “market failure”, it is clear that the political and social effects of growing inequality are drawing increasing attention from those at the top of the economics profession.

In a panel discussion on inequality, James Heckman, the 2000 Nobel laureate, pointed out that inequality had grown faster in the US and the UK than other Western democracies.

Heckman said that changes to the tax system that favoured the rich had to be a key part of the explanation. He was also worried about the decline in social mobility, particularly for those on low pay.

Heckman also pointed out that the low income of many single-parent families, whose numbers have increased sharply over the last few decades, had also increased inequality. He argued strongly for wage subsidies to boost the income of the working poor, and increased

subsidies for childcare to help more single parents enter the labor market.

Towards a Universal Basic Income Peter Diamond and Sir Christopher Pissarides, who shared the Nobel Prize in 2010 for their work on labor markets, both told me that they now favored a universal basic income (UBI), which would give a minimum basic income to all citizens regardless of their economic status. Pissarides argued that the rapid spread of robots and AI is a threat to large numbers of less-skilled jobs. Without some government intervention, this will widen inequality, he believes. He would support UBI as long as it was carefully calibrated to be below the minimum wage to avoid disrupting the labor market.

Diamond told me that the growing inequality in the US was now as issue that had to be faced. In a recent paper, he demonstrated just how much the US was an outlier across a wide range of measures of inequality, including income, wealth, poverty and social mobility.

Diamond believes that the debate on inequality can help focus discussion on policy failures: from the lack of investment in education, research and infrastructure, to the failure to compensate those who bore the cost

District agencies re-examine efforts to employ homeless people REGINALD BLACK a.k.a. “DA STREET REPORTIN’ ARTIST” Artist/Vendor

The D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness held its last meeting of 2017 on Dec. 12 to discuss employment and homelessness. The Department of Employment Services hosted the meeting and introduced the group to several programs for potential employees.

At the meeting, DOES outlined a number of areas of focus that serve as challenges to employment: overlooked and untapped populations, economic disparity, opportunity, skills gaps, protecting workers’ rights, and financial security.

Officials pointed to several strategies for elevating some of these broader barriers. DOES is implementing transitional employment programs to combat the overlooked and untapped.

The agency is using opportunity to learn and earn as a strategy to combat economic disparity, while using employer-driven training to close the opportunity and subsequent skills gap.

DOES is looking for more inter-agency cooperation to support clients and help with barriers to employment, emphasizing protecting workers’ rights via labor-law enforcement and creating better support systems for injured and laid-off workers.

As it pertains to homelessness, the agency sees a need to better understand its scope, scale and impact on participants in DOES workforce-development programs. Accordingly,

of globalization through job losses in heavy industry. He also argues that direct transfers, including introducing child benefit to everyone who has children and a UBI, would help tackle poverty. While he does not think that the goal of policy should necessarily be focused on redistributing wealth, he believes that the economic challenges in the US require a higher level of government spending, and therefore higher taxation on the better off.

Both Diamond and Pissarides are prepared to consider higher taxes on wealth as part of the policy mix. Focusing on the US, Diamond favors a substantial increase in inheritance tax.

From a UK perspective, Pissarides argues for some increased taxation of housing. He is in favor of taxing the capital gains from the sales of houses, rather than (at present) only taxing housing when it is inherited. He believes this could also have a beneficial effect on house prices, which are becoming unaffordable for many young people.

The paradox of global inequality While much of the meeting focused on inequality in rich countries, the question of inequality in developing countries was not ignored. Eric Maskin, the 2007 Nobel laureate for his work on mechanism design, pointed out the paradox that while global inequality

DHS Director Laura Zeilinger, Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services HyeSook Chung, City Administrator Rashad Young, Mayor Muriel Bowser, ICH Director Kristy Greenwalt.

PHOTO COURTESY OF D.C. ICH // TWITTER

DOES has been working with the ICH and the Department of Human Services to improve its data capture within its programs. Another issue: Only 16.7 percent of single adults experiencing homelessness reported that they were employed in the 2017 point-in-time survey.

DOES says that it has been sending its workforce on wheels van to the Adams Place Daytime Service Center and other targeted locations to connect residents to job-training programs.

D.C. Career Connections reports that 10 percent of its participants are homeless and that 22 percent are experiencing housing insecurity. Meanwhile, DOES is partnering with Capital Area Asset Builders’ matched-savings programs, which allow participants to save money to use for housing. In addition, DOES is now launching single-adult transitional-housing pilot programs to help Project Empowerment participants, 25 percent of whom are homeless and 37 percent of whom are experiencing housing insecurity.

“If I need a place to stay and employment, I need to think about which one comes first,” said Charles Jones, the deputy director of the division of state initiatives. “It is our goal for people to start and three to six months later they have a home.

People having a place to stay, we never tapped into that. It is our goal to help the most vulnerable.”

between countries was narrowing, due to the rapid economic growth of China and India, it was “deeply troubling” that inequality within developing countries was increasing.

Maskin suggested that this was in contradiction to the widely held economics theory of comparative advantage. This is the idea, put forward by economist David Ricardo in the 19th century, that the wages of unskilled workers in poorer countries rise as they enter global markets. Maskin suggested that this no longer holds as we now have an integrated global labor market – not a national one – with global supply chains and communications networks enabling companies to ignore national boundaries.

One of the purposes of the Lindau meeting is to encourage younger economists to think radically about what new areas of research they should focus on. It may be that these discussions will inspire the next generation to develop new policies to tackle the challenge of poverty and inequality.

Economics has often been characterized as the “dismal science” for its failure to engage with real-life issues or prevent crises like the 2008-09 global financial crisis. If this new approach takes hold, this could radically change.

Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngo

Residents like Michael Lee were not swayed by the agency’s optimism. “I’m one of the people under $15,000, $10,000, $5,000 a year,” he said. “It seems like every year 40 people die homeless. Americans should be first. American people need jobs. Homeless people need jobs. Poor people need jobs. It’s very sad.”

Advocate Robert Warren, director of the People for Fairness Coalition, pointed to one primary area where jobs for the homeless should be prioritized: in the public sector.

“I strongly believe every entity that is taking tax dollars should be hiring from the community,” Warren said.

During the main DOES-ICH meeting, Odie Donald II, the director of DOES, presented the agencies’ services and gave updates on progress within the homeless services system.

“We renovated several of our America’s Job Center locations,” Donald said, in addition to coming up with a customer bill of rights. “We just need to do a better job of informing people about what we know, so that we are all on the same team.

“We’re hoping the pilot [transitional-housing program] is highly successful. These opportunities are not homelessspecific. But they are accessible to homeless residents.”

The ICH also in-part discussed the intersection between employment and homelessness with DHS Director Laura Zeilinger, who was leading the dialogue. “We are finally seeing something different. We know that parents are more successful when their children are doing well,” Zeilinger said. “We try to make services accessible and also are going out to where people are.”

Toward the end of the meeting, the council was joined by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Bowser gave thanks to her team — and expressed optimism about addressing homelessness with them going forward.

“We made it a priority three years ago,” she said. “I believe it’s a matter of time and political will.”

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COMMUNITY FEATURES

// 7

VENDOR ACHIEVEMENT

City government hosts social event to promote mental health services

BY REGINALD BLACK // Artist/Vendor

The D.C. Department of Behavioral Health held a festival in September, National Recovery Month, to connect residents to services such as employment and mental health. The event was called Purple Wave and featured a concert with some legends of the District’s homegrown genre, go-go. There was even a children's play area set up on the DBH parking lot.

Sasha Williams and her two children in their new apartment.

PHOTO BY JULIE TURNER

“Housing discrimination is no joke. ... I was not afraid. ... I was just so tired. I don’t know what else to say other than the journey is over.”

Sasha Williams // Artist/Vendor

Christmas at Joseph’s House

BIRTHDAYS

BY KEN MARTIN // Artist/Vendor

Jermale McKnight Jan. 5 ARTIST/VENDOR

Led by Program Director Patty Wudel (foreground), volunteers are performing “Elfin magic” in the kitchen. Producing a Christmas feast fit for Royals… Ah, such mouth-watering aromas! I had not one but two invites. Alas, my diet restrictions forced me to run outta there, lest I cheat!

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

Frederic John Jan. 17 ARTIST/VENDOR

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Sheila White

The most impressive aspect of Joseph House, at least in my humble opinion, is the Love. I see it in everyone I’ve encountered who has been touched by these angels. I’ve met staff volunteers and others there and on the street, and they exude L-O-V-E! I can feel it in these images. How about you?!

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

In front of Joseph’s House, there is a place where community sharing begins, no questions asked and no thanks necessary. Simply because it’s what good neighbors do. And a furry friend can quench a thirst. We should all be such neighbors! PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

Hired as an advocacy fellow by Miriams Kitchen and made the honor roll in her first semester at UDC ARTIST/VENDOR

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Senator Cory Booker being interviewed by Street Sense Media Vendor Aida Peery at Booker’s office on Capitol Hill.

PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE // CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Seeking Justice: Cory Booker talks

housing, environment & employment for all

BY AIDA PEERY & JAMES MARSHALL Street Sense Media Staff

S

ince arriving in Washington in 2013, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has found common ground with some of this most conservative colleagues, including Jeff Sessions and Lindsey Graham.

Despite his reputation as a bipartisan champion, some of Booker’s recent proposals are distinctly progressive. In October, he introduced legislation that addresses environmental injustice such as lead poisoning in lowincome communities, which he characterizes as “environmental racism.” This particular bill, however, lacks Republican support and is not anticipated to reach the Senate floor. Skypos Labs, an artificial-intelligence company that specializes in big data, forecasted a 6 percent chance for Booker’s Environmental Justice Act of 2017 to be enacted.

There have been murmurs of a 2020 presidential campaign swirling around Sen. Booker. While he dodges the question here, his ambition is evident. The senator did stints at Stanford, Oxford, and Yale universities before being elected to Newark, New Jersey’s city council, and he eventually served two terms as that city’s mayor. From here, the presidency would be a logical next step.

In this interview, conducted by Street Sense Media vendor and contributor Aida Peery, the theme of empowering lowincome communities of color arises in each of the issues he speaks most passionately about. Booker calls the criminal justice system “broken,” and its reform is what informs much of his legislative agenda, including a push to legalize marijuana. While he has found cross-aisle cosponsors in bills addressing those issues, it is the senator’s progressive idealism regarding income inequality, criminal justice and health care that shines though in this candid interview.

Last month you introduced the Environmental Justice Act 2017 to protect minority communities from environmental injustice. When my daughter was going to Bernard Elementary School here in Washington, D.C., in the 2000s, I explained to her that she couldn’t drink out of the water fountains at school because we thought there might be lead in the old pipes. How does the bill address issues like these facing working-class communities?

Booker: Most people don’t understand that, Flint, Michigan, is not an anomaly. There are over 3,000 jurisdictions, according to Reuters, that have blood-lead levels twice that of levels found in Flint. This kind of environmental poisoning is going on all over our country, from the water to the air to the soil. I saw it when I was mayor of Newark: from the Superfund site* in our community all the way to when I did urban farming. We turned a city block into a farm for the community, and the state environmental agency wouldn’t let us plant in the soil because they said, “Your soil is toxic,” so we had to use planter boxes.

To me, this bill is really important to give communities the power to fight back. Unfortunately, the communities where you see environmental poisoning are often vulnerable communities, in communities of color. It’s a level of environmental injustice and environmental racism that we should not accept in the United States of America. That’s why I introduced this piece of legislation. *A Superfund site is an area contaminated by hazardous waste that the EPA has designated for cleanup.

In the bill, is there anything about trying to change the pipes?

Booker: I’ve supported a lot of infrastructure bills to give communities the resources to change their pipes. Supporting legislation directly aimed at giving communities the money to replace pipes and prevent the poisoning has been a big effort of mine. This bill will give people the ability to hold folks accountable, to sue folks who have done the poisoning.

I’m looking for work, and I’ve tried very hard to get a good job in my neighborhood. How do we get employers to pay everyone what they’re worth and hire from their local community?

Booker: The reality is simple. We need to be a nation that pays living wages for a hard day’s work. In the 1960s, the minimum wage was set at a level where someone could raise a family and meet their minimum basic needs of housing and health insurance. The American bargain worked. Right now, in America, we haven’t seen the minimum wage keep up with inflation. Jobs, unfortunately, don’t pay what I consider a living wage, which includes sick leave, savings for retirement and

A portrait of Frederick Douglass presides over each meeting in Senator Cory Boo

ultimately a salary where you can afford housing. I’d like to raise it to $15 an hour and peg it to inflation so that we don’t have to continue to have this fight every few years to raise the minimum wage.

This is about getting back, not to handouts, but to saying that if you’re willing to work in America, you should be able to meet your minimum basic needs. I have a very good friend named Natasha Laurel who works at an IHOP. She works a full-time job and catches extra shifts when she can, but she still has to rely on food stamps and public housing. So really, that corporation is outsourcing the cost of their labor on the rest of us, because it’s the public that has to now pick up the minimum needs of that family. Well that’s not fair. That corporation should be paying the full cost of their labor. If we can get to a system like that, I think we’d find a lot more justice.

What about prices? Can’t prices stop rising for a certain amount of years so when the people do get $15 they will be able to catch up?

Booker: Prescription drugs, cost of education, child care, rent.

All these things are going up, but people’s wages are not. We should be taking on the issue of high-cost pharmaceuticals.

I’ve joined with a lot of other Democratic senators on a number of pieces of legislation that could help us drive down the cost of pharmaceuticals. We also need to drive down the cost of childcare. We should, as a government, understand that investments in childcare and early-childhood education

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Street Sense Media Vendor Aida Peery and Senator Cory Booker with some of the momentos in Booker’s office.

PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE // CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

oker’s office. PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE // CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

aren’t giveaways. They’re actually investments in the future of this country.

I have a book club and we just read “Evicted,” which is this incredible book about Milwaukee that talks about the eviction problem. Ultimately, to society, a little bit of money to stabilize a family actually returns so much more in terms of the potential cost for when that family does get evicted, especially what it means to children.

We make very bad economic decisions in this country. We feel so much more comfortable to pay much more on the back end of a problem as opposed to investing in people on the front end, when the costs are so much lower. We see this in medical costs as opposed to investing in preventative care, investing in dealing with people who have chronic illnesses, managing their illnesses. We’d rather pay much more when the problems become far more acute.

We have a lot of homelessness in D.C. What are you and your colleagues going to do about homelessness and building up more housing for all?

Booker: The housing crisis hasn’t recovered since the great recession. When I was mayor of Newark, one of the biggest challenges was getting the resources to create and build more affordable housing. It’s something that our country hasn’t had a commitment to, and we’re doing it at our own detriment.

One of my favorite housing organizations is called Plymouth Housing Group, in Seattle. They did a study where they looked

at 23 homeless people. They found out that despite how expensive supportive housing was, by putting the 23 people in supportive housing, they were saving taxpayers about $1 million. Often when you’re on the streets, things happen: You end up in emergency rooms, which is really expensive, or you have run-ins with police and might end up in a jail, which is awful for both the person that’s in jail and the cost of that is egregious, when the money could be better invested in empowering people.

I saw this in Newark when we started targeting housing for specified populations, whether it was women who were coming out of domestic violence situations, veterans, or families who were struggling with HIV/AIDS. By raising philanthropic dollars to help homeless folks in our community, we were actually getting a win-win. A win for the homeless person that’s in housing, and a win for society as a whole by creating a more just, smarter society that was investing in people on the front end, as opposed to problems on the back end, which often costs more.

As a senator for the past four years, who knows how hard it is, I’ve been fighting to support programs like tax credits that incentivize the building of affordable housing and Section 8 dollars, which are really critical for public housing in urban communities.

What is the government going to do about the parole system? For instance, I’ve known a lot of Black men who have come out of prison but still are on life parole even when they’re doing well. Why would someone have to come out of prison and be on parole for life?

Booker: I’m the only United States senator who lives in an African-American community in the inner city; in fact the median income in my census tract in my neighborhood is about $14,000. So I live in a community that has been severely impacted by a broken, cancerous criminal justice system.

Remember, there’s no difference between Blacks and Whites for drug use or even drug selling, but African-Americans are about four times more likely to be arrested and ground into this system.

You’re right. You [might get] a lifetime sentence, and when you get out of prison, and you’re on probation or parole, 20 or 30 years from now you can’t get a Pell Grant, you can’t get public housing, you can’t get…

You can’t get anything!

Booker: You’re right. And so literally, for the rest of the person’s life, you strip away much of their ability to compete economically in an already tough economic system that already works against you if you’re poor in America.

We all swear an oath to this ideal of liberty and justice for all.

But you and I live in a community where we see clearly that the justice system for people who are poor, often minority, is very

different than the justice system for people of privilege. My friend and hero Brian Stevenson, [a lawyer and social-justice advocate in Alabama,] says that we have a justice system that treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.

Communities of color are bearing the brunt of arrests for things that two of our last three presidents admitted to doing.

Presidents Bush and Obama didn’t just do a little marijuana; they did serious, felony drug use. We’ve got to make sure this system works for everybody and doesn’t do more harm than it does good.

I believe in this ideal of restorative justice, that our justice system should hold people accountable. It should be equal for everybody. Ultimately we do our society a disadvantage when we’re not using those times of incarceration to empower somebody to be better than they were. We do something like stripping away educational opportunities from people in prison, which is a horrendous, self-inflicted wound, because we know that every dollar we spend on helping people get their education while in prison then gets returned to us by their success when they get out.

Back in the ’70s, we used to have the whole health-care package: eye, dental, health. Over the years it’s gotten broken up into many packages. Now it’s the deductibles and copayments. How would you reform Obamacare if you had no resistance?

Booker: I grew up in the system, too. My parents worked for IBM. They didn’t have any limitations on their ability to take my brother and I when we got sick or had an accident. We made this major stride with Obamacare in seeing the rates of uninsured drop in our country. I would very much like to see some kind of public option like Medicare for all, and people would be able to opt out of that system and buy [private insurance] if they have the means.

There are still many people without health insurance.

There are still many people who make tough decisions about whether to afford their prescription medication or afford their rent. We still have an incomplete system. Other countries are looking at us and thinking, “Wait a minute, you guys saddle your businesses with these costs? You guys saddle people with these costs?”

It should be a fundamental right in this country. Fundamental right. You cannot have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness without health care. I look forward to the day when we look back at the system the way it was and think, “How could we have denied our citizenry access to affordable, quality health care?”

Are you going to run for president? I think you’d be a great president.

Booker: I’m going to hug you for saying that!

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OPINION

Is D.C. really curbing homelessness?

BY ERIC SHEPTOCK

D.C. needs public toilets

BY ANGIE WHITEHURST

We need public restroom facilities in our city.

The topic should not have to be discussed. However, it is up before the city council, so they can decide whether they have the decency to address this crisis.

We are a city of people. We are home to a federal government with thousands of employees, who commute by bus, train, bike and car. Visitors and transients The People for Fairness Coalition advocates for D.C. Council to invest in public restrooms at a February 2017 presentation. sometimes need public, free PHOTO BY IAN ERASMUS restroom facilities, and let’s not forget the medically challenged and Americans with disabilities. Only allowing paying clients or customers access is severely cruel and unhealthy for the human body in more ways than one.

Everyone needs access to restrooms, regardless of race, color or creed. It is a human right in a developed society. One’s access should not be dictated by where they live or work.

This is an issue revolving around money and those who have the ease and access because of it!

I hope the council makes D.C. a place for all people, no matter what the situation, and approves public-restroom legislation.

Angie Whitehurst is a Street Sense Media vendor.

Managing your persistent fears, anxieties and stresses

BY STANLEY POPOVICH

Everybody deals with anxiety and depression, however some people have a difficult time in managing it. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their most persistent fears and everyday anxieties.

When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, the first thing you can do is to divide the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success.

Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem.

A person could get some fresh air, listen to some music, or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective.

Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that makes you feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed or frustrated, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking.

Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your depression and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help.

Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods."

Impeach Trump

BY PHILLIP BLACK

Coming into the new year, I fell it is time for the American people and Congress to start the impeachment of Donald J. Trump. He has broken the law so many times. He must feel that he is above the law.

No one is above the law.

Most people in Congress are afraid of him. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is not doing enough to bring this man to justice. People in his own party don’t even like him.

When we get him out of office, it will be a better 2018.

Phillip Black is a Street Sense vendor you may know as "The Cat in the Hat."

The number of homeless people in Washington, D.C., dropped about 10 percent, from 8,350 in January 2016 to 7,473 last year.

But I wouldn’t get too excited about the 2017 decrease until I see proof that we’ve broken out of the glitch pattern that has rendered a net decrease of just 780 homeless people (9.45 percent) from 2004 to 2017.

That’s 60 fewer homeless people per year, which puts us on track to end homelessness by ... 2142.

If we learn in May 2018 that homelessness dropped almost 900 people again, to roughly 6,600 as of this month, then D.C. voters are likely to give Mayor Muriel Bowser high marks.

Bowser’s policies, which gave families greater access to shelter, caused those who needed it during her predecessor's administration to come out of the woodwork and bring the 2016 count slightly above the estimate for 2004. It would be commendable if the city saw successive decreases for the first time in 11 years — and if those decreases totaled over 1,500.

People in general know intuitively

that affordable housing is the solution to homelessness for any able-bodied person, though the issues faced by the disabled and those with employment challenges are more nuanced.

Though I tout the recent decrease, people tell me that they sense an increase in homelessness. It might just be that people from the encampments that Bowser is shutting down are coming into plain sight. Even so, in June ,voters will remember having been inundated with articles about Bowser’s homelessness plan. They’ll learn the results of the count in May and vote in the Democratic primary the following month. They’ll judge her leadership ability by how well she did on her pet project, which makes it imperative for Bowser to consider the perceptions that she is creating and to have the difficult but important conversations about breaking the 13-year-long glitch pattern.

Otherwise, she’ll join the list of D.C. mayors who have lost their reelection bids since I moved here in 2005.

Eric Sheptock is a “homeless homeless advocate” in the District.

Why capitalism brings happiness while progressivism brings misery

BY JEFFERY MCNEIL

I believe the only way to find common ground is to have uncomfortable conversations with people who disagree with you. Unlike the Joy Behars of the world, I speak to the to the black Israelites as well as the white supremacists.

I speak to gays, lesbians and heterosexuals as well as socialists, Muslims, believers and atheists. We all have different views, but I don’t condemn them for not seeing things my way. I speak to them because I when I was abandoned and left homeless, I could have been angry and bitter and raged at society.

God does exist, because for some reason I have no anger or malice about my past.

I never saw people I differ with as evil or wrong, but some progressives make me utterly detest them. Some progressives actually believe cutting taxes or reforming entitlements is the moral equivalent of sending people to concentration camps or incinerators. By calling people “fascist” or “Nazi” they diminish the abhorrence of real fascists and Nazis.

Democrats haven’t been this angry since Abe Lincoln freed the slaves. They went from behaving like a jilted lover to behaving like an obsessed, lovesick stalker who can’t get over being dumped. Progressives have become miserable people, full of bitterness, rage and hate. I admit I rarely watch shows such as “The View.” However, Behar and Ana Navarro recently went to a new level of Trump Derangement by asserting that living under Donald Trump was equivalent to living under autocratic regimes such as those in North Korea and Iran. According to liberal logic, forced labor camps or throwing gays off rooftops is the moral equivalent of entitlement reform or cutting taxes?

Despite progressives’ dire warnings and apocalyptic vision, since Trump’s election,

the world has not ended. All Trump has done since being president is make good on his promise to restore America’s greatness.

The stock market is rising, the economy is growing at a 3 percent rate, trillions of dollars of new wealth are being created, and Black and Latino unemployment rates have declined to 17-year lows.

African-Americans have been so fixated on racism and politics they fail to see the opportunities being created around them.

White liberals such as Mika Brzezinski and Joy Behar have instilled in African-Americans a dependency mindset, a belief that making money is immoral and wrong.

For all the time wasted marching, protesting and crying about racism, African-Americans could have created wealth for themselves by buying stocks, bonds and property to rebuild their own neighborhoods and communities.

Instead, they beg others to help them, then complain when their neighborhoods gentrify.

Identity politics went from having pride and dignity to a dangerous cocktail of low self-esteem, selfishness and narcissism masquerading as social justice.

You’ll find out your circle of friends will diminish when you embrace capitalism and reject being miserable. Progressives don’t see the big picture; it’s all about instant gratification. They see compromise or pragmatism as selling out. Everything to them is purity. They can’t take yes for an answer.

I don’t believe white people owe me, nor do I want anything from them. I don’t want their bowl of porridge, free cell phones or Obamacare. In the words of Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.”

Jeffery McNeil is a Street Sense vendor.

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ART

New Year resolutions & reflections I would like to thank God for another Christmas and another blessed new year.

I would like to change my ways, especially when it comes to my preconceptions and my responsibilities. As CHARLES I get older, I get wiser. I DAVIS think I’ve also gotten more Artist/Vendor competitive when it comes to taking care of my new apartment and my health. Paying my own bills where I live makes me stronger and more independent. And taking care of my health builds a better life for me. I hope and pray for the best in me and my loving family. As my father said, “The family that prays together must stick together.”

May God bless us all. Happy New Year!

Hopefully, I will complete my correspondence courses with Stratford Career Institute and enroll in a four-year college or university, such as George Washington University, American University or University of Maryland.

MILDRED HALL Artist/Vendor

Up against the ropes

BY CHARLTON BATTLE // Artist/Vendor

I recently returned to Street Sense Media as a vendor. But when I worked here previously, I also contributed to the paper as an artist. I have not been able to start writing or drawing as much as I’d like to. As bad as I want to. I have obligations to the courts, including drug classes, and medical needs that fill up my time outside of work each week.

My patience and dedication to responsibility are really being tested. I’m fighting to keep a lot of that tension from turning into depression. Even more, I’m fighting to keep myself from using drugs with the excuse of not being able to handle the pressure.

I’m in good hands with a very good team of people. They at least seem to care enough about their profession to help me. It’s an all-around team: a parole officer, health-care professional, drug classes, my spouse, and a sponsor with Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Street Sense Media and our customers have been there for me too, as I find myself homeless again and in need of income. This paper helped me enough to get back into an apartment last year.

But my slumlord of 18 years promised to pay me $4,000 to move out of that place so that she could sell the building. I agreed, verbally, but that turned into $2,500 when I became incarcerated, and it ended up being $0 by the time I was released. When I got out, I went from counting on a start to having nothing at all, including some of the most important things, like my two cats, Uno and Dos. I looked forward to seeing them and still do. I’m now feeding stray cats when I can.

Anyway, I’m not into a lot of complaining at this point in my life.

I’ve been there and done that. I’m realizing that I don’t need to be rewarded for every little thing that I do. Although I do need to eat.

I’m taking this opportunity to be able to express my feelings and hopefully be able to help someone in the process.

Stay positive, get more involved at Street Sense Media, pay for housing.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHARLTON BATTLE

My biggest goal will be to stop smoking cigarettes.

I know I will need help, because after every meal, I have to have a smoke.

PHILLIP But I’m scared to BLACK JR. get professional Artist/Vendor help, because I don’t want to be judged.

Sometimes I feel pain in my chest, but because I’m homeless, I blame it on being on the streets and not the nicotine. Now that I have insurance, I will go to the doctor and get a physical.

Then the process will begin. I hope, this year, to be a better non-smoker.

Never give up hope

BY CRAIG THOMPSON // Volunteer

I have been homeless in D.C. for three and a half years. I have experienced homelessness off and on since 1997, when I was leaving Hollywood, California.

I owe D.C. a debt of gratitude, for I have been living at the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter at 2nd & D St. NW for the whole time that I have been here. I have eaten for free, like a king about town, while volunteering at the William Thomas Memorial Antinuclear Peace Vigil, which has been manned in silent daily protest outside of the White House for more than 30 years.

Now, thanks to the nonprofits Life Deeds and Miriam’s Kitchen, I have a one-bedroom apartment, which they have fully furnished, valued at $2240 a month. Wow! I am human again.

In the early ’90s, I worked for Westernworld VTC for three years. The first was in the vault, under a boss and friend, Mark Horvath, who later started InvisiblePeople.tv, a video blog with thousands of followers that profiles individuals going through homelessness.

We were both homeless in Los Angeles after losing our jobs at VTC. I am so proud of Mark. He is making a real difference like maybe no other, and has been around the world fighting for homeless people.

I discovered Dupont Circle in 2002 while hitchhiking the East Coast. I fell in love and always wanted to live here. And thanks to the District, now I get to in my old age.

How did I do it? With faith and focus on God. As Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

I have been celibate for nine years or so now, and I study the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I sing in the choir at Church of the Epiphany and attend two other churches. Faith got me where I am today.

I want to tell other people who are in need, to never give up hope and keep trying. Know your Bible, respect all peoples, and have a healthy curiosity, while remaining true to our God. I feel a bit guilty preaching, but I witness long-suffering all over the city and the world. And frankly, I am sick to death of it. But God does not answer the prayers of the disobedient or the two-faced. You can’t actually help those who are not ready to be helped. All we can do is plant the seed, water, fertilize and pray. God bless you and yours.

I want to produce more art, for an income, with our Homeless Filmmakers Cooperative and the other Street Sense Media workshops.

Illustration by Levester Green // Artist/Vendor

Long year, long road

BY SCOTT LOVELL // Artist/Vendor

2017 was not a good year for me. I had a dose of Fentanyl dropped into my drink. I was in a coma from March 1 to March 30 and remained hospitalized until April 19.

God saw me through that. I stayed clean until June, when I started drinking every day up until Dec. 11, when I ended up in the emergency room and learned that I had pancreatitis, which is a very painful thing.

I finally understand the damage alcohol does to your body. But if you trust in God, he will see you through it all. My faith is strong, but my word to all is that alcohol is the enemy and it will take you out.

Get help if you need it. You can’t do it alone. Ask God to help you stop.

I am hoping for a better 2018. Clean and sober. Living clean and sober is easy: Just don’t pick up any alcohol.

Two things I know I’ll be doing this year are attending meetings and going to church.

Mary Taneyhill, my friend and customer, helped me get through this. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY TANEYHILL

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ART Our Customers: Cee Lo Green

Surviving the cold

The Voice’s own Cee Lo Green stopped by to say hello and give his support.

Surviving the cold is hard for homeless people. Homeless people freeze to death because they can’t find shelter and they can’t bundle up outside in the cold all the time.

You can’t find abandoned houses to squat in anymore. But you can stay warm in big boxes and stay covered up with blankets.

There are a good many organizations whose members hit the streets armed with blankets, coats and socks when it is expected to be bitterly cold. When cold, homeless people have to keep a positive attitude and do a lot of thinking about God. When you’re going through it, you have to make goals and stay on the right path to make it off the streets and out of the cold.

— WENDELL WILLIAMS // Artist/Vendor

BY DWAYNE BUTLER // Artist/Vendor

ILLUSTRATION BY LEVESTER GREEN

When you have not other options, thre emergency room becomes necessary to treat many things.

ILLUSTRATION BY REGINALD BLACK

McKinney-Vento 30th Anniversary 2017 Awards Ceremony: Empathy Matters

BY CHRISTINE WONG // Artist/Vendor

The annual McKinney-Vento Awards Ceremony showcases some of the nation's most distinguished advocates and leaders who are taking a stand against the injustice of homelessness and poverty in America. It is also a major fundraising event for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, founded in 1989. This year's McKinneyVento Awards ceremony was held on October 24,2017 at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington, D.C. The McKinney-Vento Awards was created by the National Law Center to pay tribute to Congressman Stewart B. McKinney, who sponsored the bill, and Congressman Bruce F. Vento, who authored it. The McKinneyVento Act was the first of its kind providing comprehensive federal assistance for the variety of homeless victims. Signed into law in 1987, the bill supports programs offering a continuum of care and establishes the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty was founded by lawyer Maria Foscarinis, who left a high-powered career in New York City to begin providing pro bono services for homeless families. Recognizing the need for defending and protecting the benefits promised under the McKinney-Vento Act,

Foscarinis founded the National Law Center in Washington, D.C. As the National Law Center has grown, they have remained vigilant— going to court whenever necessary— and successfully advocating for new protections for people facing homelessness.

In addition to defending the law, the nonprofit organization's programs have grown to include preventing homelessness through training, advocacy, impact litigation, and public education.

At the ceremony, Foscarinis mentioned the positive impact that the McKinney-Vento Act made in the lives of countless homeless children, victims of domestic violence, and homeless individuals since 1987. However, she also described her concern over the increasing attempts by local and state governments to criminalize survival acts typical of homeless people. Criminal charges further reduce homeless people's employment and housing eligibility. This was why the NLCHP recently began the Housing Not Handcuffs campaign.

"Over 600 organizations and individuals have endorsed our campaign. You can too."

Foscarinis enthusiastically told a crowd of attendees and donors.

Sue Vento, the wife of late Congressman Vento, said she wanted to honor her late husband.

"As an educator, I was stunned to see housing insecurity among students and the negative effects," Vento said before presenting the 2017 Bruce F. Vento Award to the Honorable Cory A. Booker, U.S. senator (D-NJ), who delivered an inspiring speech that included concern for the negative way people perceive the homeless.

"So many families are working full-time, struggling, playing by rules, yet are still at risk of homelessness,” Booker said to the crowd. “Too many people in America see homelessness not as a fiscal problem but a moral problem, and that is a disgusting attitude to me, especially living in the community that I do."

He vowed to continue the fight to defend every American's right to economic security, access to healthcare, and a stable, safe, decent home.

The winner of the 2017 Stewart B. McKinney Award was Vernon Davis of the National Football League’s Washington Redskins.

Davis said that his grandmother used to tell him that homeless people were God’s angels, and that stuck with him. He has spearheaded fundraising events to help the homeless, started thie initiative Vernon's Closet to collect

donated goods and establishing the Vernon Davis Foundation for the Arts to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to explore creativity and dream big.

Juanita Rocha, a single homeless mother of five who gave up her job at Walmart to care for her critically-ill father, won the 2017 Personal Achievement Award. In addition to trying to support her family, Rocha wanted her son Raul to stay enrolled at his middle-school.

She reached out to the National Law Center and worked with attorney Israel Reyna of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid to ensure her son was protected by the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Furthermore, Rocha and Reyna successfully convinced the Laredo School District to improve the equal opportunity in education for all homeless students in Laredo.

The last award, the 2017 Pro Bono Counsel Award, went to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for providing countless hours of pro bono service and helping analyze proposed changes to the McKinney-Vento law. Rajib Chandra, a partner, described the challenges that victims of domestic violence encounter when applying for Section 8 vouchers and how important it is to stay familiar with the law.

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A dedication ceremony for the Trinity Dome mosaic at the Bailica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATTHEW BARRICK, RELIGION NEWS SERVICE

America’s largest Catholic church may be complete, but its work with the poor is never over

BY ANGIE WHITEHURST AND JOSH MAXEY Street Sense Media Staff

On Dec. 8, I was invited to attend the historic dedication of the Trinity Dome mosaic at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. More than 4,000 people, including civic and religious leaders from all persuasions filled the Great Upper Church to witness this momentous event. The “National Shrine” as it’s often referred to, laid its cornerstone in 1920, and the Dedication of this new Trinity Dome Mosaic marks the completion of the National Shrine’s original architectural designs.

While aesthetically beautiful, its true impact comes from the meaning of the mosaic. I had the opportunity to speak with both Father Ray Lebrun and Josh Maxey on the significance of the National Shrine and this glorious peace of artwork, not just for Catholics in America, but for our nation.

Aside from regular Sunday mass goers, are there any special communities that the National Shrine serves?

Being “America’s Catholic Church” we have a very unique position. We are not a parish church, i.e., we do not belong to a specific diocese, as we belong to all of American Catholics.

When some think of a regular parish church, they may think of the many programs that most offer for those in need. Many churches often have a social justice ministry that specifically works on issues such as homelessness or housing inequality, or even access to food. Although we are not a parish church, we try our very best at supporting our local brothers and sisters in need. Our biggest outreach program is our annual Christmas Dinner, where we feed over 2,000 needy, poor, homeless, or elderly individuals.

How are you able to fulfill the National Shrine’s work with the poor?

The National Shrine like, most churches relies on donations from parishioners and visitors who can donate to our “Poor Box.” Funds from these donations primarily go towards helping more than 700 families throughout the year. Many of our friends that we help use the funds they receive from us to help supplement food stamps that sometimes run out before the end of the month.

Tell me more about the Trinity Dome Mosaic itself and how it connects to the Universal Church’s call to protect the poor.

The Trinity Dome is filled with more than 14 million pieces of Venetian glass, which is truly as remarkable work of art,

but the essence of the mosaic is what the images in the dome represent. The dome which is surrounded by the words of the Christian Nicene Creed or statement of faith (which was blessed by Pope Francis on his 2015 papal visit), also contains images of the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, and images of a multitude of Saints. These Saints serve as a reminder to those who view them on not only on the Christian’s call to holiness, but also our universal call to serve. Saints depicted in the mosaic are individuals who gave their lives for the poor and lifting up of communities. Saints such as Frances Cabrini; Juan Diego, Katherine Drexel, and Teresa of Calcutta to name a few. The images of these men and women serve as reminders that we too, no matter race, creed or color should strive to be in service of our brothers and sisters; especially those in need.

robbed, beaten, and left for half dead. He is vulnerable and broken, like so many of our impoverished brothers and sisters today. In the story, several people passed by the wounded man without offering assistance, and leaving him alone. Finally a Samaritan stops by and helps the gentlemen by bandaging up his wounds and even paying for his stay at an inn so he could fully recover. We are all called to be Good Samaritans. But being a “Good Samaritan” is not all about giving monetarily.

Yes, this is important, but being a good Samaritan also means offering a “hello” or a “Good morning” on the street when you see someone who is needy, or even offering words of encouragement. When we begin to recognized ALL people as being worthy of respect and dignity, these is how we begin to break down barriers and vanquish stereotypes and prejudices.

Is this call to serve only meant for Catholics or Christians?

What can we all do?

Everyone, no matter Christian, Jew, Muslim, or non-religious has the fundamental responsibility to help those in need. In the Christian tradition, we are reminded of the beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, we hear of a man who was

The Trinity Dome: a magnificent work of art, and our calling to serve those in need, and advocate for the poor, the needy, the homeless, the elderly. Just like the Saints depicted in this mosaic, it is my faith, it is my hope that we all will one day be recognized as one thing, that is a human, deserving of respect, love, and dignity.

Faith and Forgiveness

BY VENNIE HILL // Artist/Vendor

Most of us need some guidance and structure. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m blessed to know my first cousin, Pastor George Gore, who seeks to help the people out there that have no home church and are seeking to find God. Young, old married, single, homeless, wealthy, sinner, or anything else that you can think of, my cousin wants to help them all, including me. He’s truly great.

Today I pray: Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing that I can do to save myself, I confess my complete helplessness to forgive my own sin or to work my way to heaven. At this moment I trust Christ alone as the One who bore my sin when He died on the cross. I believe that he did all that will ever be necessary for me to stand in your holy presence. I thank you that Christ was raised from the dead as a guarantee of my own resurrection. Despite my many sins and failures. Father, I take you at your word. Thank you for the assurance that you will walk with me through the deep valley. Thank you for hearing this prayer. In Jesus Name Amen

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Author Gene Weingarten is a college dropout and a nationally syndicated humor columnist for The Washington Post. Author Dan Weingarten is a former college dropout and a current college student majoring in information technology. Many thanks to Gene Weingarten and The Washington Post Writers Group for allowing Street Sense to run Barney & Clyde.

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