01 21 2009

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January 21 - February 3, 2009

Where the poor and homeless January 21 to February 3, 2009

earn and give their two cents

D STE GE ON G S U N AT I DO

Volume 6 Issue 6

A Cinderella Story Homelessness is all over, even on the Riviera Page 8

Vendor Joann Jackson worries about closure of a mental health clinic Page 7

Ten homeless women step out at the People’s Inaugural Ball, page 5

Students try their hands at being vendors for a day Page 14

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January 21 to February 3, 2009

1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 347–2006 Fax: (202) 347–2166 info@streetsense.org www.streetsense.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS Kristal DeKleer Ted Henson Mary Lynn Jones Sommer Mathis Brad Scriber John Snellgrove Michael Stoops David Walker Kathy Whelpley EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Laura Thompson Osuri EDITOR–IN–CHIEF Mary Otto VENDOR MANAGER Lindsey Clark ASSOCIATE EDITOR David S. Hammond (volunteer) VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Sherry Antoine, Laura Arico, Robert Basler, Robert Blair, Cliff Carle, Jane Cave, Rebecca Curry, Rick Dahnke, Andy Freeze, Jessica Gaitan, Cassandra Good, Joanne Goodwin, Roberta Haber, Carol Hannaford, Justin Herman, Annie Hill, Dan Horner, Phillip Hoying, Kayne Karnbach, Michael Kelly, MauriceKing, Geof Koss, Brenda K. LeeWilson, Gregory Martin, Starlett McNeill, Kim O’Connor, Gabriel Okolski, Robert Orifici, Swinitha Osuri, Michael O’Neill, Jon Pattee, Katinka Podmankzy, Sarah Pope, Cara Schmidt, Jamie Schuman, Jesse Smith, Matthew Taylor, Robert Trautman, Francine Triplett, Eugene Versluysen, Jerry W., Linda Wang, Denise Wilkins, Marian Wiseman, Corrine Yu VENDORS Garrett Acket, Jake Ashford, Daniel Ball, Kenneth Belkosky, Tommy Bennett, Reginald Black, Corey Bridges, Bobby Buggs, Cliff Carle, Conrad Cheek Jr., Louise Davenport, James Davis, Bernard Dean, Muriel Dixon, Randy Evans, Christina Ferguson, Tanya Franklin, Barron Hall, David Harris, Patricia Henry, Sean Herring, Phillip Howard, Jo Ann Jackson, Patricia Jefferson, Carlton Johnson, Jewell Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Brenda Karyl Lee-Wilson, James Lott, Robert McCray, Gregory Martin, Charles Mayfield, Lee Mayse, Jennifer Mclaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Virginia Moore, L. Morrow, Charles Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Thomas Queen, Raymond Ragland, Kevin Robinson, Tyrone Rogers, Veda Simpson, Franklin Sterling, Garland Stroman, Sybil Taylor, Francine Triplett, Carl Turner, Jerry W., Martin Walker, Lawless Watson, Ivory Wison

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Our Mission

Street Sense aims to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

The Story of Street Sense

Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C. A street paper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to the homeless individuals who sell it. About 25 street papers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and dozens more exist throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies. For the next three years the paper published on a monthly basis and greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network.

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a

project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space. In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 status, becoming a nonprofit organization.

In October 2005 Street Sense formed a full board of directors, and in November the organization hired its first employee, a fulltime executive director.

A year later in November 2006 , the organization hired its first vendor coordinator, and began partnering with several service providers.

In February 2007, the paper started publishing twice a month and to support the increased production, Street Sense brought on its first fulltime editor–in–chief in April.

As of January 2009 the paper has 80 active vendors and prints about 30,000 issues a month.

Do you want to continue to support Street Sense throughout the year?

Order a subscription today!

Not only will you receive 26 issues packed with all our latest news, poetry and photography, you will also help raise awareness about poverty in the D.C. area. ___ YES! I want to subscribe to Street Sense for just $40 a year for 26 issues. ___ YES! I want to give half of the cost of a subscription to my favorite vendor: ________________________________ Name: _______________________________ Address: ______________________________ _____________________________________ City:__________________________________ State:__________________ Zip: __________ Phone: _______________________________ E-mail: _______________________________ Please make checks payable to: Street Sense.

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Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Street Sense by any other means.

I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense staff and will not sell papers to other vendors (outside of the office volunteers).

I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, other vendors – respectfully, and I will not “hard sell,” threaten or pressure customers.

I agree to stay off private property when selling Street Sense.

I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well–being and income.

I agree to sell no additional goods or products when selling the paper.

I will not sell Street Sense under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

I agree to stay a block away from another vendor and respect the space of all vendors.

I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge when selling papers.

I understand that Street Sense strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

Last Month’s Donors Fahah Ashraf Dean DiDomenico A. Fields Robin Goracke Lara Thornely Hall Susan Harmon Jarroda Kelsaw

Michael Mavretic Melani McAlister Karl Northover Jane Pettit Premi Rathan Raj Peter Rient Dolores C Schafer

Thank You!

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January 21 - February 3, 2009

IN OTHER NEWS Compiled by Dan Horner

Fire safety inspections lagged at Texas shelter where blaze killed 5 Investigators probing a fatal fire at a Paris, Texas homeless shelter have been unable to find evidence it was inspected for fire safety in recent years, according to local officials.

While still early in the investigation into the Jan. 5 fire that ripped through the aging building, killing five, records indicate it was last inspected in 2004, fire chief Ronnie Grooms told The Associated Press.

Homeless shelters in Texas aren't licensed by the state, so regular fire inspections are not required.

Grooms said his small department, which has only two inspectors, focuses mostly on state-licensed facilities where inspections are mandated.

"Sometimes things fall through the cracks," he said.

"That's no excuse, really. That's just the way it is."

The five victims were among 28 men sleeping in cubicles in the warehouse-like building, which has long served as both a homeless shelter and a collection point for donated clothes and other items.

Investigators have determined the shelter had no sprinkler system, fire alarms or smoke detectors, Grooms said.

The facility is owned and operated by a local nonprofit group, Seed Sowers Christians in Action. The group's founder, Don Walker, declined comment on issues relating to building codes or inspections.

"All I know is I tried to take care of people," he said.

The Paris fire is the latest of at least a dozen at homeless shelters across the U.S. in the last two years, according to news accounts.

Conditions at homeless shelters have improved dramatically over the last 20 years, but some remain inadequate for housing people overnight, said Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Because city ordinances are the only form of oversight for most shelters, it's critical that they be inspected regularly, he said. (Associated Press) Outbreak of rare disease hits Winnipeg homeless An outbreak of potentially deadly flesh-eating disease erupted among Winnipeg’s homeless last year, infecting 12 people with an invasive bacterium that spreads rapidly and causes severe pain and disfiguration.

Winnipeg health officials did not publicly disclose that a cluster of cases was reported in the city between April and October 2008 until questioned by the Winnipeg Free Press this month.

Dr. Pierre Plourde, a Winnipeg medical officer of health, said inner-city shelters were alerted about the spike in cases and told to watch for anyone with wounds or sore throats who might be at an increased risk of developing the infection.

He said there were four or five strains of flesheating disease that were reported and there was no evidence that anyone infected transmitted the disease person.

Nine of the 12 people had recently suffered major injuries, including one person who was severely burned in a fire. Plourde said none of those infected died of flesh-eating disease.

Manitoba province’s chief medical examiner Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra confirmed that a total of five people died from flesh-eating disease in 2008, including one death in August, October and November

— the same time the outbreak occurred in downtown Winnipeg.

Plourde said the bacteria can infect anyone, but people who have weakened immune systems, open wounds, or who have recently undergone surgery are more at risk.

He said the city’s homeless population tends to delay seeking medical treatment until they’re in dire need, and that some patients had severe tissue damage and needed immediate surgery.

Plourde could not confirm how many patients might have had limbs amputated.

Flesh-eating disease is caused by a bacterium that quickly destroys tissue and muscles. It is the same bacterium that causes strep throat.

In flesh-eating disease, it can cause death in as little as 12 to 24 hours, but can be treated with heavy antibiotics and surgery to remove the disease-ridden tissue. Often, afflicted limbs are amputated to save someone’s life. (Winnipeg Free Press) Judge orders trial in slaying of two Calif. men A California judge ordered two men to trial on charges they killed a homeless man during a mugging in 2007.

Bobby Dee Dozier, 23, and Marlon Reese, 26, are candidates for capital punishment in the Aug. 25, 2007, death of 42-year-old Oscar Alejandre because prosecutors allege that the killing occurred during a robbery.

Alejandre was shot to death near a homeless camp in North Richmond, Calif. Prosecutors say the two defendants had been robbing people there and that Alejandre was shot in the back as he was running from the pair. Both defendants are alleged to have fired shots. (Contra Costa Times)

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Street Sense is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20005.

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In Kind Donations Neeeded * Messenger and tote bags and backpacks for vendors

* Laptop computers with at least Windows 2000

* Bottled water to hand out to vendors

and 10 GB of storage space

* Food for vendor meetings

* Laser color printer

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January 21 to February 3, 2009

Obama Urged to Stem Rise in Homelessness

By Robert Blair As President Obama’s economic advisors and Congress finish work on the multi-billion dollar stimulus package, the recession’s growing impact on homeless Americans still attracts scant attention. So far, the Administration’s housing efforts aim mainly at providing aid to distressed homeowners.

Federal interventions such as mortgage restructuring, refinancing assistance, foreclosure moratoriums, bankruptcy reform and tax credits have the highest priority. But measures that could help stem the growth of homelessness, and provide badly-needed resources for the longer-term effort to end it are being proposed by concerned advocacy groups.

“Increasing foreclosures and growing unemployment are threatening more and more Americans with homelessness,” warns Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP), “and shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries across the country are reporting surges in demand for help.”

In late November, NLCHP and more than a dozen other national homeless advocacy organizations sent a letter to the presidential transition team urging then President-elect Obama to embrace six key policy recommendations to demonstrate his Administration’s commitment to ending homelessness.

A mid-January report by another of the co-signing organizations, the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), documented significant progress in reducing the numbers of America’s homeless individuals between January 2005 and January 2007.

But the report also noted that the current recession, with its increases in unemployment, poverty, housing foreclosures and credit constraints, would undoubtedly lead to increases in the number of homeless households and households at risk of homelessness.

That report, “Homelessness Counts: Changes in Homelessness from 2005 to 2007,” analyzes data collected by communities from across the country during the bi-annual, late January, point-in-time counts of sheltered and unsheltered homeless populations.

NAEH’s Homeless Research Institute found that changes recorded in 2005 and 2007 indicated a roughly 10% decline in the number of homeless men and women over that period (from 744,313 to 671,859), with even larger percentage declines for persons in homeless families (an 18% decline) and chronically homeless adults (a 28% decline).

Increasing foreclosures and growing umployment are threatening more and more Americans with homelessness.

Shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries across the country are reporting surges in demand for help.

But the good news came with an important qualification. The progress documented in “Homelessness Counts” occurred during a period of relative economic stability and increased activism by states and local communities. The current economic crisis, the report warns, threatens to reduce the resources available to local governments and nonprofits just when the demand for homeless services is increasing.

“The count report shows that we’ve started to figure out some things that work,” observed Nan Roman, president and CEO of NAEH. “Sadly, we’re now looking at increases. We need to take what we’ve learned and apply it to this new problem.”

Seeking a Commitment The recommendations urged on the Obama team by the 15 national advocacy groups that authored the November letter began with a request that the new president demonstrate his commitment to ending homelessness by convening a White House conference at which a federal, inter-agency plan – one with specific goals and timetables – would be presented.

“I don’t think homelessness was a big issue in the presidential campaigns on either side,” Roman remarked. “It didn’t come up very much except with respect to veterans.” So the idea of a White House Conference on Homelessness is seen as a way of bringing attention to the issue, and encouraging greater interagency commitment and collaboration.

President Bush’s U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness concentrated on working with state and local groups to help create 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness and to implement rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing initiatives. “But,” Roman pointed out, “there’s no 10-year plan for the federal government. We need to start a planning effort.”

“A lot of groups feel that there’s a need to get the federal agencies together,” she added. Such collaboration is seen as essential to assuring effective policy and adequate resource allocation.

Proposals Beyond greater planning for and resources available for the elimination of homelessness, the 15 advocacy organizations recommended specific policy priorities such as increased funding for 150,000 new housing vouchers each year; creating and sustaining 90,000 additional units of permanent housing; ensuring adequate incomes through public income assistance, tax credits, and wage policies; expanding access to health services; ensuring educational services for homeless children and youth; and protecting homeless people from discrimination on voting rights, utilization of public facilities, and access to government buildings. (The full text is available at www.nchv.org.)

On Jan. 8, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), released its report on the increase in homeless families in various areas around the nation in 2008. That report, entitled “Number of Homeless Families Climbing Due to Recession,” was accompanied by estimates of the probable future increases in homeless families, and a recommendation that Congress include one-time funding for 200,000 new, non-renewable housing vouchers in its forthcoming economic stimulus package.

According to the CBPP report, those additional

new vouchers, plus a substantial increase for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Shelter Grant program, will be needed to prevent an additional several hundred thousand families from becoming homeless during the recession. (The full report is available at www.cbpp.org.)

Short-run and Long-run Just days after releasing its “Homeless Count” report, NAEH also made available a 6-page briefing paper addressing the new problems likely to result from the housing-lead recession. That Jan. 15 paper, “Homelessness Looms as Potential Outcome of Recession,” made the following points: An estimated 1.5 million additional Americans could become homeless over the next two years absent effective intervention; Many communities have already begun to experience significant increases in their local homeless population; Unemployment, poverty, and “deep poverty” (income below one-half the poverty level) could increase to levels not seen in decades and create overwhelming pressures on existing local assistance programs; and $2 billion in funding for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing, plus 400,000 in additional housing vouchers, and a substantial increase in the National Housing Trust Fund will be needed to prevent those 1.5 million people from becoming homeless.

In a Jan. 16 letter that NAEH sent to the Obama transition team, Roman divided the group’s recommendations between relatively short-term emergency measures aimed at addressing the immediate economic crisis, and longer-term measures aimed at making continued progress toward the goal of ending homelessness.

Rather than relying on the creation of more shelter beds and soup kitchens, NEAH urges the Obama team to ensure the crisis is met with significantly increased homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing efforts.

NEAH also called for $10 billion in economic stimulus funding for the National Housing Trust Fund to acquire, rehabilitate and subsidize tenancy – targeted to aid those at highest risk of homelessness, and advocated $2 billion in additional funding for HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grant program for use by communities to provide short-term housing assistance, relocation funding, security and utility deposits, mortgage and rent payments, and case management assistance.

Finally, NAEH is urged the funding of 400,000 vouchers to provide housing for at-risk individual and families.

For the longer, post-recession effort, NAEH asked that the Administration pay special attention to homeless veterans – a commitment that Obama economic revitalization plan already mentions. Veterans, NAEH reports, make up nearly one-fourth of America’s homeless population.

The organization also encouraged giving priority to investment in rapid re-housing efforts for homeless families. The goal is to ensure that every child has a home.

And, finally, to keep the movement to end homelessness on track, President Obama is urged to fund the creation of an additional 90,000 housing units for the chronically homeless. .

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January 21 - February 3, 2009

Ten Homeless Women Step Out to the People’s Inaugural Ball

By Mary Otto Once upon a time (actually just two years ago) Cinderella – also known as Elaine Webber – sat at the bus stop at 11th and M streets, NW, feeling hopeless.

The jobs she got never lasted. Her family and friends had given up on her. And she had given up on herself.

“I was desperate, homeless, and alcoholic,” she says. “Every day was bad.”

But one day, she stopped into a nearby women’s shelter, N Street Village. She gathered her courage and asked for help, and she got into a recovery program for her drinking.

Jane Cave

Jane Cave

An N Street Village woman shows off her fineries. - Jane Cave photos

Now Webber is sober, and she has renewed her ties with her loved ones. She stays at N Street Village and helps run the shelter’s dental clinic, making sure other women get the care they need.

Elaine Webber has her dignity back. And if that weren’t enough, now she, and nine other Cinderellas from N Street Village, have invitations to the ball.

The People’s Inaugural Ball, to be exact.

When Webber got word she was invited, she cried.

As this newspaper goes to press on Jan. 20, Webber and her N Street friends will be donning gowns and slippers and stepping out into the sparkling ballroom of the JW Marriott to celebrate with nearly 1,000 other guests.

“Can you imagine? That’s the Cinderella story,” says Webber, shaking her head with disbelief as she thinks back to her old life. “There is hope for anyone.”

And that’s also the message of the People’s Inaugural Ball, the brainchild of Earl W. Stafford, the son of a Baptist minister who grew up to found a successful technology company, Unitech. Stafford, who hasn’t forgotten his humble roots, got the idea of hosting a celebration open not only to the wealthy but also to the disadvantaged and overlooked.

Through his private Stafford Foundation, he spent $1 million to rent the Marriott hotel overlooking the inaugural parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue.

Working with charities across the country the foundation gathered guests including wounded veterans, challenged youths and homeless women.

“The People’s Inaugural Project offers the underprivileged in our society a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come to our nation’s capital and join in the inauguration of President-elect Obama,” said Stafford.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, Webber and the other women from N Street Village were welcomed to the hotel to choose finery for inauguration night.

A large room was set aside, sparkling like a magic cave with hundreds of gowns of black and gold, magenta and mint, lavender and rose, some with tiny straps, others with sequined jackets – and tables of elegant shoes and purses and earrings to match.

There were tuxedoes too for the men, along with all the accessories.

The clothing was all donated, and attendees will be able to keep their outfits, said an organizer, Barbara Anderson. Some donors tucked special notes of good wishes into the items they gave, she said.

“People have been absolutely wonderful,’ said Anderson. Ball goers will also get manicures, and help with makeup and hairstyling, she explained amid the whirl. All around her, women were shyly, anxiously, raptly leafing through the racks of shimmering dresses.

Quiet Mary Abe, who came to N Street during a battle with cancer, and now remains there working at N Street’s Wellness Center, quickly found the perfect outfit, an elegant silver grey suit. She held it up proudly.

“It was the first one I tried,” she said. “I love it.”

Emily Miller, also of N Street, took a deep pink gown with a matching stole from the rack and gathered it up lovingly.

“I’m done,” she said. “It’s gonna fit.”

Jane Cave

N Street Village Cinderellas Ready for Ball

Can you imagine? That’s the Cinderella story,” says Webber, shaking her head with disbelief as she thinks back to her old life. “There is hope for anyone.

And she was right. When she stepped from the dressing room and pirouetted, beaming, the dress flowed like it was made for her.

But Webber was having trouble. She tried dress after dress, but nothing seemed right.

“I’m not feeling it,” she said, sounding bewildered, as she once again returned to search through the racks. Then she spotted an outfit she had not noticed before, a silk top with delicate flowers, worked in beads of silver and bronze and mahogany and a long silk skirt, a dark and lustrous brown.

The worry started to lift from her face. The dress worked.

Now for shoes. They needed to be comfortable.

“We are supposed to be dancing until 1 a.m.,” she said. But she would be needed at the dental clinic the next morning, she added with a smile.

“I have to work on Wednesday. They are expecting me there at 9 o’clock.”

A pair of satiny brown Bruno Maglis with heels not too high and gold beads on the toes just called her name. And a little evening purse.

Laurie Williams, N Street’s food service manager looked Webber over from head to toe. She cocked a critical eye. Adjusted a seam here and there. And finally nodded approvingly.

Webber sighed.

“I’m ready.”

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January 21 to February 3, 2009

StreetPolitics By David Hammond

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.—Presidential oath of office, Article II, Section 1, United States Constitution

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Historic ...

America is ready to turn a lot of corners – political, social, and generational – and the Street Sense vendors know it too. Many of them, like so many other Americans, say history is being made in this presidential transition.

It has captured their attention and their imagination, and excitement has been running high. ... But the same basic challenges remain The excitement, though, doesn’t change the basic needs people still face: food and shelter, health care, a way to earn a living, somewhere to live.

And while homeless people might get lost in the shuffle of both the inauguration and the crisis facing the middle class, they’ll be looking to find their way out the same way as ever, looking for opportunity in the private sector, while hoping the public sector can come through with the emergency help they need.

The President’s “To-Do” List, and Congress’s Since last fall, a lot of concerns have been pushed aside by the economic crisis and plans for a federal economic stimulus package. Others have been rolled into the drive for comprehensive relief legislation.

So when Congress convened earlier this month, the leadership’s agenda was both less focused, and more ambitious, than the “to-do” lists they brought in two years ago. That’s a result of the economic crisis, and of Democratic control of two branches of government.

Unfinished business gets a second chance: SCHIP and the dental benefit for children One specific item that’s been talked about for a few years now is expanding SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. President Bush vetoed an expansion in 2007, but last week the newly seated House of Representatives voted again to expand the program, including provisions for dental care, and then sent the measure across Capitol Hill where it was approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

SCHIP pays for health care for children whose family income falls between Medicaid eligibility, and the ability to afford private-market care. The measure the House just approved would expand the dental care available to children covered under the program, including preventive, restorative, and emergency care, as well as opportunities for community health centers to deliver care from private dentists funded through Medicaid and SCHIP. The dental care provisions are notable because this part of health care has not always gotten the attention it deserves.

But plenty of poor people are walking around with broken teeth – it’s that simple, and that bad. Some of them haven’t seen a dentist in years, and some of them grew up without ever seeing a dentist. Bad teeth can be dangerous just like chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, because they have a way of getting worse if left untreated.

The dental care provision in the House expansion of SCHIP is just further evidence of a growing recognition of that fact at every level of government.

And the recent votes set the stage for the Senate and the new president to approve growth in the federal SCHIP program.

This is the kind of incremental gain in publicly supported health care that has attracted growing interest since the all-at-once push for universal care failed 15 years ago.

And expanding SCHIP – one specific step in expanding health care – is getting back on the agenda even as widespread economic misery, and the Democratic ascendancy, bring back to people’s minds the old push for universal care.

But whatever happens, and on whatever scale, dental care expansions can deliver important help to the people who need it the most – at least as long as the economy, the cost of dental care, and personal circumstances put privately paid-for care out of reach.

ON THE HILL

Inauguration Follows Tradition

By Street Sense staff

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were sworn in as the 44th President and Vice President of the United States during our nation’s 56th inaugural ceremony. The ceremony itself is little changed from the first inauguration of George Washington in New York City in 1789. The day is full of traditions which signify both the renewal of leadership and the continuity of government.

With the exception of eleven Presidents – most notably Lyndon B. Johnson, who was sworn in aboard Air Force One after President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 – all inaugural ceremonies have been held in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. Although all but four of the last 21 ceremonies were held on January 20th, before Franklin Roosevelt’s first swearing-in Inauguration Day in the United States was held consistently on March 4th or 5th.

The continuity, however, is simply a matter of tradition. According to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural

Ceremonies, made up of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, beyond describing the electoral process and specifying the oath of office, “the Constitution says nothing about the Inaugural ceremony” itself.

Historically, the day begins with a church service and procession to the Capitol where the official swearing-in occurs.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court traditionally administers the oath of office to the President-elect, who is joined by his family, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, cabinet members, Justices of the Supreme Court, former presidents and other dignitaries. After an Inaugural Address from the new President, there is a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The evening is filled with balls, and this year was no exception – with dozens planned for January 20th and the weekend before.

Despite the strong traditions running throughout the ceremony, this year’s inauguration broke all records with the number spectators who came to Washington for the historic event.

Help Bring the Homeless in from the Cold

CALL THE

Shelter Hotline 1 800 535-7252 Adrian M. Fenty, Mayor, Government of the District of Columbia

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January 21 - February 3, 2009

Street News Service

Ticket Blitz: Vancouver Police Crack Down on “Street Disorder” How am I going to pay a $100 ticket when I’m on social assistance,” asked David Napio, who said he received two tickets for jaywalking and one for spitting in the past week. “There wasn’t a car on the street [when I jaywalked].

I’m not that stupid.

The cops need to use some. discretion. ?By Sean Condon Over the past month, Vancouver police officers have been cracking down on street disorder in the Downtown Eastside by handing out tickets for everything from illegal vending and riding a bicycle on the sidewalk to jaywalking and spitting.

The normally chaotic makeshift market that takes up a half-block at the corner of East Hastings and Carrall has been deserted as police officers hand out tickets and arrest vendors with outstanding warrants.

Downtown Eastside residents and bottle binners often use the block to sell found goods. Drug dealers also operate in the dense crowd. Many of the vendors feel the ticket blitz is vindictive.

“I’m just trying to feed myself,” said Dawn, who was selling random hair care products on a blanket and received a ticket for “displaying mer-

“The real solution is to create a that the police must enforce the law chandise on the sidewalk.” community that provides adequate “It’s better than robbing people. I regardless of a person’s income.

“We can’t do an economic assess- affordable housing, detox facilities, found this stuff in the dumpster and I’m trying to do something positive. ment of everybody we’re giving a mental health services and job opBut the cops are a bunch of vultures ticket to,” said Fanning. “If we went by portunities in the DTES and across [that] logic, we’d only give tickets to the city,” Robertson wrote in an email who keep harassing us all the time.”

Vancouver Police Department people who were driving Mercedes.” response. “We can’t ticket our way out Still, many in the neighborhood see of our problems.” spokesperson Const. Tim Fanning confirmed that the police are focus- the crackdown as part of an escalation Robertson said he and Vision couning their resources on street disorder against Downtown Eastside residents cillor George Chow are looking into in the neighborhood in order to make in the lead up to the Olympics. This the idea of starting an organization past summer, police handed out tick- like Cheapskates in the Downtown the “community more liveable.”

“Often we warn people before we ets to homeless people for camping in Eastside where “reusable goods that give a ticket out,” said Fanning, who Oppenheimer Park and have intermit- are retrieved can be cleaned, repaired could not say how many tickets had tently given out tickets to vendors and and be sold or exchanged in the combeen handed out. “Anybody that has homeless people around Hastings and munity.” ever got a ticket for street vending Carrall—either locking up people’s beUnited We Can executive director has probably got at least one warning longings or throwing them in a dump Ken Lyotier had floated the idea of a before. I’d say we’re very good that truck.

Binner’s Market in the past. RobertGregor Robertson, who became son said police could easily regulate way.”

However, many in the neighbor- Vancouver’s mayor and chair of the the market to ensure there aren’t any hood complain that they can’t afford police board earlier this month, said stolen goods. the bylaw fines, which range from he plans to “send a strong signal” to $100 for jaywalking and riding a bicy- the VPD that officers should focus on Reprinted from Megaphone cle on the sidewalk to $250 for vend- violent crime and the hard drug trade, Magazine through the Street News and not jaywalking and spitting. ing without a business license.

Service, www.street-papers.org.

“How am I going to pay a $100 ticket when I’m on social Now Providing Quality Dental Services for D.C. assistance,” asked Medically underserved and homeless persons David Napio, who ….We treat you well said he received A Reconciling two tickets for jayCongregation walking and one for spitting in the Invites you to join us in past week. “There worship on Sundays wasn’t a car on the at 9:30 and 11:00 AM street [when I jaywalked]. I’m not Homeless Outreach that stupid. The Hospitality: cops need to use Fridays 9:00 AM some discretion.”

Foundry United But Fanning said Methodist Church street disorder is 1500 16th Street, NW the “thin edge of Washington, DC 20036 t h e we d g e,” a n d For one of Unity Health Care’s Medical (202) 332-4010 if the police alwww.foundryumc.org Homeless Service Sites Call (202) 255-3469 low bylaw infractions to continue it could escalate into For an appointment at any of our Community Health Centers Call 1(866) 388388-6489 a “mess.” He added

FOUNDRY

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January 21 to February 3, 2009

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Homeless In Paradise Some 4,000 miles east of DC lies Nice, the jewel of the French Riviera. An ancient city that traces its origins to Phoenicians, it is also the playground of the jet-setting rich. Even in winter the climate is mostly balmy. Like everywhere else the rich like to flaunt their richness; rain or shine, fur coats abound among Sunday strollers and the city’s harbor is packed with luxury yachts. Tied in serried ranks along the dock hundreds of millions of dollars of boats await their super-rich owners to jet down for a leisurely cruise on the Mediterranean. It is their land of milk and honey, their paradise.

Even so, poverty is never far away. Just like in our fair city, it is often rubbing shoulders with wealth. Across the quays from the super yachts, huddling in the archway in front of a church, there are clusters of homeless women and men.

They don’t have far to go; they needn’t ‘jet in’. All their worldly possessions are scattered around them. Their luck, in a manner of speaking, is that the weather is mostly clement and that, in a truly French way, togetherness breeds camaraderie.

More often than not, breakfast consists of a bottle of cheap red wine and a baguette, shared with others. At least the wine – a staple in each French household, rich or poor – is cheap. So is the bread, which is among the world’s best.

But beyond the camaraderie and the wine and bread, there is something else that distinguishes France’s homeless from their peers in other countries. All over France, in whichever city, most homeless people have at least one dog, sometimes two, and even a cat or two. The pets offer comfort, company, and friendship; ‘someone’ to care for.

Perhaps they bring some joy and laughter, something to look forward to when waking up in the shadow of super yachts.

Photos and essay by Eugene Versluysen and Jane Cave.

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January 21 - February 3, 2009

Cyberspace Love Affair The phenomenon fiber optical intertwining space,

two souls,

two minds, with the realm of wordplay.

The awesome conclusion insight, eternal compassion for manipulating, keys under masterful control, vision with mind, heart and soul.

Upon the climax creativity, leverage of intensity.

"Cyberspace love affair" The struggling to satisfy heart, mind, and soul.

The totality that craves within me more.

The simplicity within my psychology boldness to overcoming all boundaries within mind, body, and soul.

All for poetry. "Cyberspace love affair."

- Carlton "InkFlow" Johnson

Who Do It (Man)

It was a cold night in the hood.

My homies and I was going down to the Local bar to hang out a little while when we saw two people in the alley.

One was a light skinned dude from the fourth ward on Washington Street, He had lost his cup of soda, or maybe someone took it.

“Who do it, man, who do it?”

That dude began to yell, “Police, Police!” but they only asked, “Who do it, man, who do it?”

It was D-Sweet man he was running down the street, cup in hand.

Maybe, maybe we will never know Who do it, man, who do it.

- James Fetherson

What What’s up world?

Where’s my girl?

I don’t know.

She didn’t show.

I am homeless.

She is not.

It hurts so much when we can’t be together.

She sticks with me, through all types of weather.

She sells this paper, so do I. Hopefully, this is not the highest we can fly!

- Shawn Herring

Dedicated to my wife and friend, Ms. Margaret J. Jenkins, my fellow Street Sense vendor.

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January 21 to February 3, 2009

JUICE JUMP JOIN JOINT JAR JUNK JUG JUNIOR

gREGORY’S gREAT gAME Vendor Gregory Martin loves to create seek-and-find puzzles and drive the Street Sense staff crazy trying to find the answers. Below is his latest puzzle. Good Luck!

The Letter J

JUST JAM JANUARY JUNE JULY JOKE JUSTICE JELLY

JUGGLE JIGGLE JINGLE JUSTIFY JAZZ JOKER JURY

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Street Sense apologizes for the missing lines in the “January in DC” puzzle which appeared in the January 7-January 20 issue of the paper. Here are the answers to a revised version of the puzzle, sorry for any inconvience..

street suduko: Puzzle 7

6 8 4

7

1

2 4 9 2 5 7 3 1

Difficulty

5

level:

3 7 9 6 4 1 2 3 5 3 7

hard

The Scope

By Carlton Johnson

7 9 2

Puzzle by websudoku.com

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS

3 1 9 8 5 4 7 6 2

5 4 2 6 7 9 8 3 1

6 8 7 2 1 3 5 9 4

9 2 5 1 4 7 6 8 3

1 7 6 9 3 8 2 4 5

4 3 8 5 6 2 1 7 9

7 9 1 4 2 6 3 5 8

8 5 3 7 9 1 4 2 6

2 6 4 3 8 5 9 1 7

Puzzle by websudoku.com

In the month and the new year of historical events, the year of new beginnings are in front of us. Remember to keep your Street Sense of humor-today is your special day. Spoiling yourself is a must.

Now is not the time to compromise, move ahead no matter of the hard times to come. Make all decisions with profitable importance in mind. Avoid wasting your time. Spear head your way and you’ll accomplish much in the coming months.

Remember: If you are not on top of your game, the game will be on top of you.

Today’s predictions, there are none for you and yours recognizing that you influence lots of people with your ideas, your leadership, and your opinions. Do relax and use your imagination. Don’t overwhelm yourself with domestic drains and drama. May your special day be the best day ever. Don’t forget to do something bigger than life by helping someone in need.

S treetS ense.org

January 21,- February 3, 2009

Will write for food: Writer’s Group Writer’s Group meets Wednesdays 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Street Sense office. A poetry after party is 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Pop

Article Exercise

The recent scandal of the alleged attempt to sell a Senate seat by the Illinois Governor ...

Deliverance

By Cara J. Schmidt

I have never, in all my years that I have been conscious of the political process, been so excited about a president. The feeling of fresh air after 8 years of W is like a 7-year-overdue spring, But admid all my excitement over what Obama can do in the next 4 years, it seems like the rest of the world is crumbling. For months there has been endless coverage on the crashing economy, the crumbling of companies that once seemed invincible, and now one more scandal to throw on top of the pile of disgraced politicians.

I have so much hope for what our new president can do, but so much disappointment in what has become of the country he has promised to lead. The old saying that I have heard since I was a child “absolute power corrupts absolutely” seems only to be proven true time and time again. Can Obama, the man I have already personally invested so much in, really be different? This scandal seems to hit a little closer to him, and it really makes me wonder. Obama is not best friends with the governor, but there was a time when he was not above using the govenor for his own political gain. They were at one point political allies. I wonder if he could have known back then what the governor was like, and even more disheartening, I wonder if he turned a blind eye. There is no solid proof either way at the moment, and so for now I am not ready to give up my faith in the man who is my deliverance from the Bush administration. I only hope that he will prove the old saying wrong and be worth my faith and hope.

Cara has been volunteering with WG for about nine months.

America for Sale, Cheap!

by Jerry W.

by Jerry W. Pop is what they call soda, where some are from Pop goes the trunk, when it used to be Porsches Hip Hop is the music I sometimes like Pop pop pop goes the sound in my neighborhood, later to find out firecrackers used by gangs to test response and intimidate Pop goes the sound when walking by a car with guys I don’t recognize, maybe a gun or backfire?

Pop goes the weapons at Tech, from a guy I probably met days before, but didn’t realize Pop goes the attitude when they tell you to be positive, but have nothing to look forward to, and a past they don’t want to hear Pop goes the bubble when asked to speak in an audience that may not understand nor care Pop goes the weasel, as they tell the kids Pop, why the hell they calling me pop? oh, I’m 45 and they are first time college students.

Here’s to Archie’s 65th

by Patty Smith

Is he going away or ain’t he? Those girls ever since they were little tykes(Betty and Veronica) were fighting over Archie. Curly haired,fair skinned boy. He runs on to tell the news that his father has a promotion in a new city. He runs into Josie and the Pussycats, they said that they will be sad to see him leave.

He sees Sabrina, the teenage witch and she says the same thing. He eventually gets to Pop’s diner, the hang out spot, everyone has heard the news. He is surprised at this information. They explain that Betty and Veronica’s mother saw each other and the rumor got around, like some wild fire. They all agree to have a going away party for Archie. When he enters Pops diner the next day, they yell surprise. He tells them that he is not going away after all, and they say that we can still celebrate because it is your 65th Anniversary.

Patty is Vendor number 4, and an early WG participant.

Reggie’s Reflections: a premonition

by Reginald Black

Turns out Nader is a Harvard lawyer too, and said Obama’s got to choose between being Uncle Sam - that ‘We Want You’ character seen on old military posters, or Uncle Tom, a literary racist image of servitude, and other times hopefully past.

But maybe Obama was helped by more than just Oprah, young people, Internet grassroots campaigns, churches, the Obama Girl and Republican failures over the last 8 years?

Turns out America is for sale, really, really cheap, not just to corporations, lobbyists, PACS, and foreign investors, outsourcing and wholesale to oil interests, but to incumbent individuals. Most state secrets go for less than $20k, but a high paying Congressional seat costs more than $400k, before book deals, speaking engagements, etc...

I t ’s a g o v e r n m e n t j o b , i n a c o l d N o r t h e r n t o w n , n e a r D e troit, and the Auto Bailout Capital of the World, with mob conn e c t i o n s p re f e r re d , s o s h o u l d n’t b e m u c h o f a N I M B Y i s s u e. . .

All else fails, the after Inauguration/ Xmas sale, jobs in government, no SF 171 required, and maybe just a Congressional confirmations to deal with today’s issues, to be posted on EBay.com. Apply today. Good benefits. Please check that they are authorized incumbent vendors, no stinking badges required...

Jerry, a formerly homeless disabled person, volunteers with WG by playing the role of a Jewish Mother.

The messages still lingered in my mind. i remember feeling anger at first. I didn’t understand anything at this point. I flirted daily, and the new her only left voice mails. I guess the two worlds I lived in did not coexist. They were separate and the void of emotional distress loomed like an ominous cloud. I called the voice mails back when i could but got limited answers. I started to feel like I couldn’t continue in my endeavors. I used to her just shutting the world out. It happened whenever she couldn’t reach me. While the entire time I blatantly flirted i perused only two for myself again I hit a question mark. How do I decide which girl to ultimately choose? I weighed the pros and cons. I found more similarity than difference between the two. comparing the two didn’t go well as I expected the woman I desired split into two one from where I lived the other from another state and city. I could follow my heart but what happens when your heart is divided in to two equal parts. What was it about me and the other men different from those who are in happy relationships? Time after time I watched as people I knew cheated constantly. This disturbed me and I also began to question was this my fate.

Reggie puts the new spin on Sarah Jessica Parker’this side of the Anacostia. email: roninworrior@yahoo.com

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January 21,- February 3, 2009

This Wasn’t the “Cosby Show”

By Jeffery McNeil

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e all have battles to fight and demons to slay, and we can be hurt and mangled from their ferocity. I can tell endless stories about the times I thought it was my time to die, only to wake up the next morning.

However the hardest battle I am facing is baring my soul and telling people about the memories of my childhood with my brother.

One of the toughest things about writing is deciding whether to print what actually happened. My life story is so powerful to me that I hope people who have been in my situation can speak out and let their pain go. This article will be my hardest to write, because for the first time all my family and friends will know what makes me go.

I am 41 going on five, because that’s how long I’ve been on my own. I held this pain all my life because I was so ashamed to share. Because of this inner selfishness, I could never be the leader of my relatives that was my birthright, and I lost a relative that was brutally murdered. I have to bear this cross. I deprived myself of the inner beauty I had because of the lack of love my parents never gave me or understood.

My parents weren’t bad people. They parented the way they were raised and tried to give me and my brother a good life.

I grew up as a country boy who would rather be drinking my Icehouse beer, shooting ducks or fishing for catfish. My roots are in Zanesville, Ohio. I was born at Good Samaritan hospital on May 7, 1967. My father, Bishop T. McNeil, was a firstborn McNeil who had six siblings. My grandmother, whose name was Mary Massey, was the typical black woman of those days — she was old–school, from Kentucky, and the family was the centerpiece. In her young days she was very attractive.

My paternal grandmother was the polar opposite from my mom’s side of the family. She didn’t spoil you but when she gave you praise you knew it meant something. She wasn’t a scolder or punisher. My memories of her were how she loved collards, beans, corn bread and oxtails, ham hocks and chitlins. Thank God they always had dogs, yuk yuk. I guess that’s why I am very skinny for I ended up liking calzones and strombolis.

I am just starting to learn my dad’s side of the family and I will see them soon at a family reunion in Philadelphia.

My mom’s roots started with my grandfather, Frank Newsom, who was one of the first African–Americans to enlist in World War II. He traveled across the country and eventually met the woman would become his mother– in–law, my great–grandmother Wynona Scott, who ran a brothel in New Orleans. Her husband, my great–grandfather George Scott, was typical of the family structure in the South in those days. He was strict, abusive mentally and physically, and my great–grandma

knew this was her lot in life.

Wynona had a sixteen–year–old daughter named Gloria, who was a light–skinned Creole and very attractive. The New Orleans of the 1940’s was deep in Jim Crow and there weren’t many opportunities for black women besides prostitution and motherhood and domestic work. Wynona knew my grandpa was a good man and arranged for him and Gloria to be married. Frank and Gloria settled in a small town in Ohio called Barnesville, which was nothing but farming country, and eventually moved to Cambridge, Ohio.

The couple eventually settled in a house which was part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. My mom, Gloria Jean, was born in 1946 shortly after World War II. Eventually my grandma gave birth to seven children in Cambridge. Cambridge was rough in those days; they weren’t big on integration and the many stories I’ve heard from my aunts tell the scars they felt from racism. In due course my dad, who was from Zanesville, Ohio, met my mother, who was from Cambridge. They got married and I was born in 1967 in Zanesville.

My earliest memories were how proud my grandparents were of me.

They loved to tickle me and squeeze my cheeks and I was their pride and joy. I was spoiled by Grandpa and Grandma.

My grandpa taught us how to live off the land by hunting and fishing.

He also taught us how to protect ourselves. There were many times we had to pick up a rifle to protect ourselves.

I remember one time racists posted a

Michael Belkosky, My Father

By Kenneth Belkosky

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his is a story about my f a t h e r. Hi s name is Michael Belkosky; he was born on October 6th, 1902.

He served his country in two ways. He was in the U. S. Army, and he was a federal police officer here in Washington, D.C. When I was born on January

17th, my dad was 63 years old. My dad I would call a saint because he took care of me until he died about 18 years ago.

When I was growing up, we were moving around a lot. We ended up in Ohio.

We lived in a city called Cuyahoga Falls.

I lived there for about 13 years. People thought my dad was my grandfather when they saw us together.

Kenneth Belkosky has been a vendor for four months and he loves to listen to police scanners.

sign on our house saying “Niggers Go Home.”

We had a loving family but there was friction between my youngest uncle and me. We were only five years apart and he was extremely jealous of the attention I got. As early as I could remember when they left me unsupervised with my uncle, he was a total terror. He was huge and strong and he could hold me down and fart on me. It is funny now but when I was young I dreaded him.

My brother, Virgil Todd, was born in 1971 and I wish I could say I was a good brother. But I became like my uncle and bullied my little brother. I hated him getting the attention I once got.

My life became tragic in 1971. My grandpa was dying from leukemia and my mom was there until he eventually passed. That was my earliest memory about my mom’s character. She had a sense of loyalty and compassion I truly miss.

The second tragedy was the death of my cousin T Anne. She died when I was four and I can’t help but wonder how life would have been if she stayed alive.

I would have had a female cousin who I could talk to.

Part Two will appear in the next issue of Street Sense: My family moves East, and my journey through life takes unexpected detours. I am seeking any further information about the whereabouts of my father Bishop T. McNeil, nicknamed Junior, and my brother, Virgil Todd.

Jeffery McNeil regularly puts on a suit to sell Street Sense. E–mail him at jeffery_mcneil2000@yahoo.com.

Blanket Worries

By Charles Carson

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he grey blankets distributed by the hypothermia hotline, the Salvation Army and other organizations help save the lives of homeless people in cold weather.

But there is no place to store them, so it can be hard to keep them. They get swiped by other homeless people, they get thrown away or confiscated if the homeless person goes to the hospital. Good citizens will find them and put them in the trash can. Some of the cleanup people will throw them away because they don’t like us. The police will do it for security reasons.

There are a lot of ways of losing your blanket. But if you lose your blanket, you still need a blanket.

The city has a U–Lock–It for the Inauguration. But if you put your blanket in there, you can’t get it out until Wednesday. The homeless who are staying out downtown are being urged to go into the shelters during the festivities. But if the shelters are overcrowded, where do you sleep? That’s a good equation to die.

Charles Carson has been a vendor for two months and came to D.C. as a Hurricane Katrina evacuee.

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January 21,- February 3, 2009

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Please Say No To Closure of the Mental Health Clinic at 35 K Street, N.E.

By Jo Ann Jackson As part of a move to privatize its delivery of outpatient mental health services over the next year, District officials say they plan to close the city’s Department of Mental Health Clinic on K Street Northeast.

Officials say that the shift to private agencies would allow the city to serve more people, expand services and save money. But some users of the current system are concerned about the change. Street Sense vendor Jo Ann Jackson is among them.

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he very first institution I was admitted to was St. Elizabeth’s.

After spending six months there, I was sent to New Endeavors by Women. This is a transitional house to help women get a new start with their lives. They help with education, saving money, finding housing and help receiving psychological assistance if needed.

After I left New Endeavors by Women, I was enrolled in DC General’s mental health clinic, then transferred to D.C. Department of Mental Health’s clinic at 35 K Street, N.E. , where I’ve been coming ever since 1996. To whomever had the great idea of closing this clinic, it is a big mistake.

First of all, you are not taking the patient’s well being into consideration.

Maybe you will understand after reading my short story. For me, like most people with mental health problems, it is hard to talk about my problems with anyone.

I would talk a little but only with my psychiatrist. I wouldn’t even talk to my family. And when it came to my case manager, I wouldn’t talk at all because I just didn’t trust anyone. It’s hard, very hard to talk about being sexually molested from ages ten to eighteen by your uncle.

Since coming to the clinic, I’ve been with this group of loving, concerned and caring individuals from the doctors down to the receptionists.

To be moved someplace else after all these years would cause a major problem for me and I’m sure it would for

others, too.

People with mental illness, we look forward to our monthly clinic visits. I don’t want to be shipped somewhere else where patients will be treated like a herd of cattle, where people who work there only think of making eight hours regardless of their patients’ well being.

Please, for my sake and the sake of many others, don’t close 35 K Street, N.E. It’s like a second home rather than a mental health clinic.The clinic has given me my life back in more ways than one. Have heart and find something else to pick on.

Jo Ann Jackson is a Street Sense vendor and proud grandmother.

Open Letters to President Barack Obama Mr. President, I would like to thank you for being the first black President.

I made a big mistake during the primary and voted for Mrs. Clinton. When you won the general vote and became the President, I was glad and proud that history was made.

If you can, sir, please help this paper and the Pay It Forward Project.

The paper I write for is a street paper called Street Sense. I know you are great person who wants to help people.

Please Mr. President, end the war in Iraq and still go after Bin Laden, the jerk who attacked us on 9/11. We need to find him and kill him. He hurt us real, real bad .

Sincerely, Kenneth Belkosky

Your thoughts and editorials are welcome.

Please e–mail content to editor@streetsense.org or mail to 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005.

Dear President Obama, Back on July 23, 2007, in the “CNN– You Tube Debate” for the 2008 Democratic primary, Pennsylvania citizens Cecilia Smith and Ashanti Wilkins asked the candidates if they would be willing to work for minimum wage if elected President. Nearly all of the candidates, with Senator Christopher Dodd being the only exception, answered in the affirmative. At that time, you responded, “We can afford to work for minimum wage because most folks on this stage have a lot of money. We don’t have Mitt Romney money,” you continued, “but we could afford to do it for a few years.”

President Obama, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) asks you to stand by your word and conviction by working for the federal minimum wage during your time in office.

The current federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour, a rate insufficient to ensure that working individuals

and families can afford decent housing. Meanwhile, the foreclosure crisis continues to increase the number of homeless and precariously–housed Americans, and recent estimates indicate that the unemployment rate will reach over 9% by 2010.

Historically, you would not be the first American president to turn down his salary. George Washington donated his earnings back to the state, believing that helping the public was payment enough. John F. Kennedy, too, turned down his salary, choosing instead to donate the money to private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and the United Negro College Fund.

The NCH believes that such an act of philanthropy would be consistent with your message of change, and would inspire many other Americans to act selflessly and in the name of the public good. The current economic crisis has highlighted and exacerbated the challenges faced by low–income Americans, and this action would be a fitting expression of solidarity and concern.

NCH, founded in 1982, is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists, advocates, service providers, and others committed to a single mission: to end homelessness. Toward this end, NCH engages in public education, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

President Obama, NCH asks you to stand by your word and conviction by working for the federal minimum wage during your time in office.

We ask you take time and careful consideration to this proposed action.

It is, we at NCH believe, an unprecedented opportunity for you to establish a new foundation of public good that Americans can build upon. With your help, the nation will be more likely to bring an end to homelessness, reduce the number of Americans living in poverty, and provide health care to the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

T h a n k yo u f o r yo u r t i m e a n d thought. We are happy to provide you with further information on the subject as you design your agenda.

Sincerely, Aaron Gaide, NCH Intern, Dartmouth ’11 Michael Stoops, NCH Executive Director

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January 21,- February 3, 2009

The Student Vendor Experience

By Chris Maves

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Vendors Carlton Johnson, Reggie Black and Jeffery McNeil get ready to go out with a group of student from St. Andrews.

During winter and spring breaks, Street Sense hosts several student groups through its Vendor for a Day program. The students spend about 30 minutes learning about Street Sense and then spend about 90 minutes trying to sell Street Sense with a vendor or two.

The comments below are from a group of students from St. Andrews Episcopal School just before Christmas.

By Anne Mercer

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oday in Service Learning we went to help sell Street Sense. Our job was to go on a street corner and sell the newspaper. I really enjoyed this trip and learned a lot.

When we first were in our two–person groups I was with Victoria and we were very nervous asking people to buy our merchandise. We would start talking but it would be very quiet so no one could hear us.

As this approach did not work, we started to say it louder and we developed a routine. I would start off by saying, “Would you like to help the homeless?” and then Victoria would say, “It’s only one dollar.” When we said this we realized that people were actually listening and some people were interested. As this went on we started having a really good time and sometimes we would even dance! As we became more and more friendly, more and more people would stop and buy what we had to sell.

Before we started I was worried people would be really mean to us. But there was only one time when I was nervous. That was when a group of guys were saying things to us that we would have rather they not say.

I thought this trip was a good way to help our community and I had so much fun while doing it. Not only did I have fun but I learned a lot. I learned that the people who are willing to donate are not the ones that look so rich. I also found that saying “No, we are not interested” is much better than saying “no” or just walking away. From now on I am never going to walk by someone who is talking to me and not acknowledge that they exist. I think that when I have a chance I will volunteer there again!

By Tommy Finton

O

n Wednesday our class went to downtown D.C. to sell newspapers for Street Sense. I was excited for the trip because I pictured myself dancing around and screaming, telling people to buy the paper. When we finally got there we went inside the church where the Street Sense headquarters were and we talked a bit about the newspaper. Once we got our newspapers and our Street Sense vests we headed out to the street. A Street Sense vendor, a homeless person, stationed people,including myself, on the D.C. street corners.

As I said before, I thought it would be easy to sell the papers. I was wrong. I was so nervous to sell the newspapers to people. Everyone on the streets seemed like they were extremely busy and had no time for anything. It took me about ten minutes to finally bottle up the courage to ask a person if they wanted to buy the newspapers. Just as I expected, they said, “No, thank you,” and kept on walking. My first sell came when I went up to an old person and asked him if he wanted to learn about the homeless.

He said nothing to me, gave me a dollar, took the paper, and kept on walking. I was very pleased that I sold a newspaper.

My second sale came when a man walked out of the Corner Bakery. He asked me when the bus was going to come. I noticed his Spanish accent, so I told him in Spanish. I am a very good Spanish speaker so we started to talk in Spanish. We kept on talking about Street Sense, how much Spanish I knew, and my school. I think I made him really happy by talking in Spanish.

When the bus finally came I asked him if he wanted a paper. He was very sincere and gave me a dollar and took a paper. After about five more minutes we went back to the church and turned in our gear and money. We then left the church and went back to school.

This was by far my favorite trip in this course. We went on the streets and talked with people. We raised awareness of homelessness and we got money as well. I hope that next trimester’s class can do this as well. I loved it.

oday the Service Learning class visited the offices of Street Sense and helped sell papers with the vendors. When we arrived at the Street Sense headquarters we found out it is the same place we stayed for our YSOP ( Youth Service Opportunity Project) trip last year. After we entered the church we passed through the same locked doors and went straight into a small conference room. There we were briefed on the rules and got a few tips on how to sell the papers.

The tips that were really helpful were the ones we learned from the vendors.

In the beginning of the briefing there was only one vendor, but as we left the room they were able to round up another vendor, who turned out to be our supervisor.

We then headed out in our bright yellowish green vests and completely fitted with a guide, a group, and a stack of papers. My group headed off towards Metro Center but eventually stopped around the Warner Theatre. Fortunately, I did not have to become familiar with the area, because it was near my mom’s office and my sister danced The Nutcracker there every year for the past three years. The only thing I had to get used to was walking up to strangers and trying to strike up a conversation.

This was not as hard as I thought it would be. It was almost like asking someone to dance at a school dance. After a few rejections I got used to it, and started focusing on the buys, like our supervisor had told us.

Part way through the time we were selling, another street vendor came up but he was not selling papers. He was trying to promote and raise donations for a non–violence basketball tournament. He was very nice and showed me a little more about working the streets.

One of the things he most emphasized was how this training for talking to complete strangers would help us talk to other people later in life. He added a little bit of comedy to my work time. He would ask a woman if she would help his cause, and if she denied him he would ask for her phone number.

The reactions of the people he approached were priceless.

I believe that if you become comfortable and bolder, selling the papers becomes easier. When our shift ended, Justin, Adam, and I had made more than $23 as a team. Justin and I both think we will be coming back to Street Sense and volunteering for more community service hours.

S treetS ense.org WASHINGTON, D.C. SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 928 5th Street, NW (202) 783–6651 www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118 www.missiondc.org CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 users.erols.com/ccnv/ Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356 www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Ave SE (202) 610–9600 www.covenanthousedc.org Housing, education, job prep Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731 www.grm.org John Young Center (Women) 117 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469 www,catholiccharitiesdc.org My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596 Washington, DC 20017 office (202) 529-5261 24-hour hotline (202)-529-5991 shelter and other services for domestic violence victims N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 www.nstreetvillage.org 801 East, St. Elizabeths Hospital (Men) 2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561–4014 New York Ave Shelter (Men) 1355–57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832–2359 Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW (202) 639–8093

FOOD Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplace Church of the Pilgrims 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612

January 21,- February 3, 2009 www.churchofthepilgrims.org

mental health services

Dinner Program for Homeless Women AND the “9:30 Club” Breakfast 309 E Street, NW (202) 737–9311 www.dphw.org

Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675–9050 www.friendshiphouse.net counseling, mentoring, education, youth services, clothing

Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842–1112

Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338–8301 www.georgetownministrycenter. org laundry, counseling, psych care

Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277 www.foodandfriends.org Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8926 www.miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635 http://www.epiphanydc.org/ ministry/welcometbl.htm

MEDICAL RESOURCES Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100 www.christhouse.org Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300 www.unityhealthcare.org Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500; www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERS Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587 www.breadforthecity.org food pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419; www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job counseling Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 http://www.nstreetvillage.org meals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treatment Green Door (202) 464–9200 1221 Taylor Street NW www.greendoor.org housing, job training, supportive

Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328–6608 www.marthastable.org dinner, education, recreation, clothing, child and family services Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682–1005 http://www.ccdsd.org/howorwc. php hygiene, laundry, lunch, phone and mail, clothing, social events Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340 www.sashabruce.org counseling, housing, family services So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797–8806; www.some.org lunch, medical and dental, job and housing counseling

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood St NE 202-269-6623 www.aohdc.org Bright Beginnings Inc. 128 M Street NW, Suite 150 Washington DC 20001 (202) 842–9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.org Child care, family services Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300 www.ccs–dc.org umbrella for a variety of services D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (202) 347–8870; www.dccfh.org housing, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance

www.cflsdc.org housing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010 www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/ services/ meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (202) 544–9126 www.jobshavepriority.org training and employment Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW (202) 667–8970 www.jubileejobs.org job preparation and placement National Coalition for the Homeless 2201 P Street, NW (202) 462–4822 www.nationalhomeless.org activists, speakers bureau

SHELTER Comm. Ministry of Montgomery Co. 114 W. Montgomery Avenue, Rockville (301) 762–8682 www.communityministrymc. org The Samaritan Group P.O. Box 934, Chestertown (443) 480–3564 Warm Night Shelter 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org

FOOD

Mobile Medical Care, Inc. 9309 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda (301) 493–8553 www.mobilemedicalcare.org

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 1514 15th Street, NW (202) 667–4394 http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling

Catholic Charities, Maryland 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring (301) 942–1790 www.catholiccharitiesdc.org shelter, substance abuse treatment, variety of other services

Wash. Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328–5500 www.legalclinic.org

Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347–0511

MARYLAND

Carpenter’s Shelter 930 N. Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org Arlington–Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless 3103 Ninth Road North, Arlington (703) 525–7177 www.aachhomeless.org

Our Daily Bread 10777 Main Street, Ste. 320, Fairfax (703) 273–8829 www.our–daily–bread.org

Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202)889–7702 www.samaritanministry.org HIV support, employment, drug/ alcohol addiction, healthcare

DC Food Finder Interactive online map of free and low cost resources. www.dcfoodfinder.org

Alexandria Community Shelter 2355 B Mill Road, Alexandria (703) 838–4239

Community Place Café 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES

Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Mass. Avenue, NE (202) 371–1937 www.travelersaid.org/ta/ dc.html emergency travel assistance

SHELTER

FOOD

National Student Partnerships (NSP) 128 M Street NW, Suite 320 (202) 289–2525 washingtondc@nspnet.org Job resource and referral agency

St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (202) 347–3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene

VIRGINIA

Bethesda Cares 7728 Woodmont Church, Bethesda (301) 907–9244 www.bethesdacares.com

Manna Food Center 614–618 Lofstrand Lane, Rockville (301) 424–1130 www.mannafood.org

Community Clinic, Inc. 8210 Colonial Lane, ilver Spring (301) 585–1250 www.cciweb.org

15

Alive, Inc. 2723 King Street, Alexandria (703) 836–2723; www.alive–inc. org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Arlington Free Clinic 3833 N Fairfax Drive, #400, Arlington (703) 979–1400 www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Mission of Love 6180 Old Central Avenue Capitol Heights (301)333–4440 www.molinc.org life skills classes, clothing, housewares Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless 600–B East Gude Dri Rockville (301) 217–0314; www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportiveservices

Abundant Life Christian Outreach, 5154 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria (703) 823–4100 www.anchor–of–hope.net food, clothing, youth development, and medicines David’s Place Day Shelter 930 North Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org laundry, shower, workshops, hypothermia shelter Legal Services of Northern Virginia 6066 Leesburg Pike, Ste. 500 (703) 778–6800; www.lsnv.org civil legal services

Shelter Hotline: 1–800–535–7252

January 21,- February 3, 2009

Vendor Profile

Miles Keller

By Roberta Haber Miles Keller grew up in Queens, NY. He finished high school in Queens and then attended John Jay College in Manhattan, graduating with a major in forensic psychology. He plans to go to law school.

Times were tough in New York. Both of Miles’ parents became ill and moved into nursing homes.

The apartment where they lived in Queens was empty, there was no electricity, and it was time to leave, so about six weeks ago he decided to come to DC and look for opportunity.

The hardest thing about the move was leaving his friends in the neighborhood. A few weeks after Miles arrived here he learned about Street Sense from a vender he met at a shelter on Georgia Ave.

What is your favorite music?

I like Elvis, ‘80s rock and roll, Van Halen.

Favorite food?

Tuna fish with butter and mayonnaise.

Favorite movie?

The Wizard of Oz. Star Wars is another good movie.

S treetS ense.org THe Last Word

By James Fetherson

Peace For Vets

A

n amazing event? I never would have dreamed it! “It is a time for change,” said Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president.

The country is hoping for better times ahead. In the meantime, God only knows what is taking place on earth. Israel is attacking Gaza, bad weather, days of hard rain, young African American men killing each other.

However, it will be an Obama–Jam at the capital this month, with all the big names, Oprah and all the other stars.

Hopefully there will be local change also. A former U.S. Army Green Beret, a war veteran awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart found himself homeless. He was an African American, facing unemployment with bad times and trouble adjusting back home.

Living on the streets of Washington, D.C. two blocks from the White House, the flashbacks are gone but the tough times are still here. So with this new Administration that calls for change, let’s hope that this combat vet will find peace. And we as a people will find the Promised Land.

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It was a matter of circumstances. A plan fell through. I need to have a job before I can get an apartment.

caramel