01 24 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE 6

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JAN. 24 - FEB. 6, 2018

Real Stories

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2 // ST REET SENS E ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B . 6, 2018

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The Cover Street Sense Media Vendor Morgan Jones shakes hands with D.C. Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia after their interview.

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

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.

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EVENTS

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF Bowser announces plan to close D.C. General family shelter by year’s end Construction continues on smaller short-term shelters

BY OLIVIA RICHTER // olivia.richter@streetsensemedia.org

International street paper #VendorWeek 2018

www.streetsensemedia.org/vendor-week // @streetsensedc // #VendorWeek

Every year, members of the International Network of Street Papers take a week to celebrate the hard work of the people who sell and contribute to our papers. The vendors are the heart of each of our organizations. The street paper is a tool to help people help themselves and connect with you.This is their job. Their stories matter.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4

UPDATED INFO AT ICH.DC.GOV

A.C.T.O.R (A Continuing Talk on Race)

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

5 p.m.

Busboys & Poets // 2021 14th St NW

Strategic Planning Committee Jan. 23, 1:00pm // 441 4th Street NW Tenant Barriers Work Group Jan. 24, 10:00am // 441 4th Street NW Emergency Response Committee Jan. 24, 1:00pm // 441 4th Street NW Youth Work Group Jan. 25, 10:00am // 441 4th Street NW Coordinated Assessment WG Feb. 6, 1:00pm // TBD Housing Solutions Committee Feb. 7, 1:30pm // TBD

A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) is an open discussion series hosted by Busboys and Poets providing the opportunity for community members to come together and speak openly about issues of race. It is free and open to all.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6

D.C. Council At-Large Candidate Forum 6 p.m.

1526 New Hampshire Ave NW The Women’s National Democratic Club is hosting a candidate forum for at-large candidates in the Democratic Primary. Candidates Jeremiah Lowery, Marcus Goodwin, and Aaron Holmes are confirmed. Councilmember Anita Bonds and candidates Justin A. Green, Sr. and Sharece Crawford have been invited.

Keep up with community events at StreetSenseMedia.org/calendar

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Rachel Dungan @REDungan

Reflecting on bright spots from 2017: grateful for the hard work and warm welcome of the @streetsensedc community. Truly enjoyed meeting everyone, while volunteering...

7:59 PM - 28 DEC 2017

The Church of the Epiphany @EpiphanyDC

Vendors from our community partner Street Sense Media share their stories of homelessness and perseverance with the U.S. Senate. #ActNow #EndHomelessness 9:10 AM - 19 JAN 2018

The Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser announced plans to begin demolition of D.C. General family shelter in April in a press release on Sunday, Jan. 21.

D.C. General shelters approximately 250 families experiencing homelessness per day. The converted hospital has been widely criticized by District residents for being unsafe, dirty and too far removed from services that shelter residents need to become selfsufficient. The facility came under further scrutiny in 2014 when 8-year-old Relisha Rudd disappeared with an employee. Rudd remains missing.

The closing of D.C. General was a Bowser campaign promise. A year into her term, Bowser rolled out a plan to close the shelter this year and replace its capacity with smaller short-term housing facilities in each ward.

After pushback from D.C. Council on the deals for development of the replacement facilities, the timeline of the project was extended through 2020.

According to the press release, construction is already in progress on housing facilities in wards 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, and recent approval was granted for the last short-term housing site in Ward 1. However, the construction of all facilities will not be completed by the time D.C. General closes, the Washington Post reports.

A letter distributed to D.C. General residents promised “access to appropriate shelter” to anyone who has not secured housing by the end of 2018. If there are not enough landlords willing to accept residents with temporary housing vouchers, the city would need to expand its use of motels to house displaced residents of D.C. General following its closure.

Bowser received backlash for lack of community involvement during the planning process for the new housing facilities, as well as for their proposed locations. In 2016, residents of Ward 5 raised concerns about the proximity of that ward’s proposed new shelter to several nightclubs, a bus depot and a trashmanagement facility. Despite this, many D.C. General residents are said to be looking forward to moving out of the shelter and hopeful that the smaller facilities will bring improved living conditions. 28-year-old Jessica Odom, a mother and resident of D.C. General, told Current Newspapers in 2017 that the prospect of having a police station nearby to a new shelter in Ward 3 would make her feel safer than she does living at D.C. General.

Each new housing facility will provide “safe, clean, and private shelter for up to 50 families who are experiencing homelessness,” according to the release.

“We know we can and must do better than D.C. General,” Bowser said in a statement, “and with the new, smaller short-term family housing we will be able to get more of our most vulnerable families connected to the services they need to get back on their feet and into permanent housing.”

Follow more headlines at StreetSenseMedia.org/news

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NEWS

D.C. rapid re-housing: In need of improvement, or the end of the road?

BY LILIAH BURKE Editorial Intern

R

obin Hall hopped back and forth between emergency shelters, rental-assistance programs, transitional housing and the D.C. General family shelter for five years after she first became homeless in 2006. In 2011, she entered the District’s rapid re-housing

program.

The program is meant to allow homeless families and individuals time to stabilize in an apartment or house, instead of in shelter, while they address the crises that led them to homelessness. The residents pay 60 percent of their income to the landlord for rent, and the rest is covered by the government. The initial subsidy lasts up to one year, but many families stay in the program for longer if they appeal for extended funding.

When the D.C. Department of Human Services terminated Hall from the program, she was responsible for paying the full rent and utilities for her unit — and found she was unable to. “For almost a year, I went back and forth from eviction court, trying to cover the bills,” she testified before D.C. Council at a Dec. 14 public-oversight roundtable on the program. “I eventually got evicted. I stayed in a hotel for one month and then stayed with family and friends for one year.” In 2016, Hall’s son was assaulted, and she entered shelter again.

The Department of Human Services reports that the rapid re-housing program’s success rate is 85 percent, meaning that 85 percent of recipients do not return to shelter over the following year. Hall is considered one of these success stories because it took her over one year to return to shelter.

“Rapid re-housing is a great idea in theory,” Lori Leibowitz, a housing staff attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services, said at the roundtable. “Living in an apartment is better than living in shelter and should promote stability, but rapid re-housing is not working that way.”

Trayon White is the D.C. councilmember for Ward 8, where most of the rapid re-housing recipients have been placed. “The culture among the residents there is that they don’t even want to go into rapid re-housing,” he said. White had proposed amending a recent homeless-services bill to extend the maximum possible time in the rapid re-housing program to two years. The amendment was voted down by D.C. Council. Rapid re-housing is one of the District’s most criticized homeless-services programs. Witnesses testified to D.C. Council for over six hours at the public-oversight roundtable in December. As the city’s affordable-housing crisis intensifies, the debate over the program is reaching a head between those who think it has been wrongly maligned and those who think it has failed.

Rapid re-housing is one of the District’s most criticized homeless-services programs. Witnesses testified to D.C. Council for over six hours at the public-oversight roundtable in December. As the city’s affordable-housing crisis intensifies, the debate over the program is reaching a head between those who think it has been wrongly maligned and those who think it has failed.

a job paying $12 per hour, her rent payments more than doubled, from $250 to $600 dollars per month. “I ended up going to eviction court with the property manager because the rent was unmanageable, and I was ultimately evicted after spending about six months in that apartment,” she testified at the roundtable.

By October 2016, one in eight families in shelter had gone through rapid re-housing at least once, according to the Legal Clinic report.

As a result of the tendency of rapid re-housing recipients to falter when they become responsible for the full market rent, some landlords are reluctant to rent to them, according to Korber, of the Legal Aid society. Tipping’s report agreed and also provided anecdotes claiming that some landlords “The families in the D.C. rapid re-housing program have had raised the price for rapid re-housing renters, knowing been set up to fail,” attorney Max Tipping wrote in a May that the government will be footing the bill.

2017 Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless report.

Once a family moves in, housing conditions may be When he testified at the Dec. 14 roundtable, he referred to unclean or unsafe. Landlords have less incentive to maintain the housing instability of recipients as an “open secret.” the premises when the Department of Human Services is Tipping went on to describe one of the families he had far removed and paying for the unit. “Almost 20 percent met through his research. “Their income is not enough to of the housing-conditions cases pediatricians and medical cover the market rent, and as a result, they now owe the professionals have referred to us since October 2016 are for landlord nearly $9,000. They haven’t left the unit because clients living in units funded by rapid re-housing, largely they have nowhere else to go,” he said in his testimony. in Wards 7 and 8,” testified attorney Diana Sisson, of the “The sense of being trapped, that eviction and a return to Children’s Law Center, which represents tenants whose homelessness are inevitable, hangs over them like a fog children have been threatened by housing conditions. of anxiety and depression. So, too, does the debt, which “The housing conditions cases involving rapid re-housing will remain on their credit indefinitely, undermining their programs have been some of the worst housing conditions chances of securing another apartment.” He said this family we see.” nonetheless is counted as another rapid re-housing “success The Children’s Law Center has seen at least two families story,” part of that official 85 percent success rate living in units that are too small to be legally occupied “Data is meaningless, or downright misleading, if you by the number of tenants in the family under the D.C. don’t ask the right question,” Tipping said.

Housing Code, or that do not qualify as a legal standalone Recipients of rapid re-housing assistance sign a lease unit. The rapid re-housing program approved the spaces and then pay 60 percent of their income toward rent. for them to live in anyhow. Sisson said that in one rapid The government pays the rest, until it doesn’t. When the re-housing unit, the bedroom wall collapsed because of government subsidy for rehousing ends after one year, severe mold and moisture. The family continued to live tenants become legally responsible for the full rent, often there for months. double what they had been paying before.

Some supporters of the program believe that the focus of The average monthly income for a family in the the conversation has been derailed and the original design program is $500, but the average of the program overlooked. full rent for a rapid re-housing unit The administration emphasizes is $1,200 per month, according to that the program is meant as Tipping’s report. Only 10 percent a temporary tool and not the of families in the program were permanent housing support able to increase their income in some would like it to be. fiscal year 2016. According to the “There are many things rapid Department of Human Services re-housing cannot be expected information obtained by Tipping, to do,” testified James Burden only 22 percent of families who of Community of Hope, a exited the program in fiscal year nonprofit that provides rapid 2016 no longer needed assistance. re-housing case management.

Many families who can’t afford “It cannot insulate families the rent are evicted or stay in against all other possible their unit after the landlord cuts housing instability. It cannot off utilities. For some, this leads be expected to lift families to a ruined credit record and the out of poverty. It cannot be inability to get approved for a lease the answer to the District’s in the future. affordable-housing demands.

“Eviction is a cause, not just If the homeless-assistance a condition, of poverty,” said program is expected to be James Burden // Community of Hope Amanda Korber, of the Legal Aid responsible for more than Society of the District of Columbia. moving people from shelter “We hear regularly from tenants who wish they had never into safe housing, stabilizing them and connecting them gone into the rapid re-housing program.” to resources, then it will be viewed as unsuccessful.”

Evictions, Korber added, can be traumatizing for parents Kally Canfield, division director at Friendship Place, and children, who lose the time and money they invested which is contracted by the Department of Human Services in setting down roots. to administer a rapid re-housing program, emphasized that Keisha MacDonald entered rapid re-housing in 2013 the program can be a good fit for many people. “While with her three kids after living in shelter. Once she found long-term supports are essential for some, the majority of

“It cannot insulate families against all other possible housing instability. It cannot be expected to lift families out of poverty. It cannot be the answer to the District’s affordablehousing demands.”

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

people are able to succeed with the shorter-term, cost-effective rapid re-housing, allowing more people to receive services and become housed,” she said at the oversight roundtable.

Naomi Saforo is one true success story.

Saforo entered the rapid re-housing program in February 2015, when she lost her childcare support and, subsequently, her job. Nearly three years later, she is stable in her Northeast apartment, where she lives with her three kids. Because of her credit history, she doesn’t think she would have been able to find housing without the program. Through the case managers and the employment specialist at Community of Hope, she was able to reexamine her interests and find a job in food service, which she knew she would enjoy. Community of Hope helped her learn budgeting skills so that she was able to save her money and have a safety net for the future. Saforo is now a location supervisor at Starbucks and says she feels optimistic about the future. “It’s been one of the best experiences of my life,” she said. “It changed my life for the better. I don’t know where I would be without that program.”

Still, proposed improvements to the rapid re-housing program have been wide-ranging.

Tipping noted in his report that rapid re-housing programs in other jurisdictions use stringent screening to select recipients who are most likely to be able to raise their income enough to afford rent without assistance. He contrasts this with D.C.’s “one-sizefits-all” use of the program.

However, better targeting could result in stratification of services based on class, where those with a college degree, who are more likely to raise their income quickly, are placed in apartments and those with fewer job skills placed in shelter.

The most divisive issue among service providers and advocates has been the time-sensitive nature of the program. Critics say that cutting off a rental subsidy only on the basis of time is cruel and irrational.

“A family should not be terminated from rapid re-housing unless there is a plan for the family to be able to cover rent either with a longer-term subsidy or a job that pays enough to cover their rent,” Leibowitz, of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program, said at the roundtable.

But proponents of time limits emphasize the number of people in need of assistance.

“If we could give 40,000 families a voucher, a permanent voucher, that would be wonderful, and I think most of us would be in favor of that,” Burden, of Community of Hope, said in an interview. “But that’s a multibillion-dollar solution to the problem.” Burden said that with the current funding, a program with no time restrictions would serve some families very well and leave others with no help.

At-Large Councilmember Robert White acknowledged that the administration’s position is that eliminating time limits on subsidies would be prohibitively expensive.

Leibowitz suggested that recipients should pay 20 percent of their income in rent instead of 50 to 60 percent and enter a joint lease with the housing authority and landlord. A threeway contract could give the department more leverage with landlords to maintain conditions, and families would not be held liable for the department’s portion of the rent. The nonprofit also recommended that housing units be inspected to meet the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s quality standards.

“Right now, the D.C. government is paying for my clients to live in apartments that are making them sick and putting them at risk of freezing

or fire. That simply doesn’t make sense,” Leibowitz said at the hearing.

Tipping suggested that the District focus its efforts instead on permanent supportive housing. “Given the serious limitations of the rapid re-housing model when used in the District, policymakers should scale back their reliance on this program and refocus on funding long-term, deeply affordable housing programs in a manner that matches the need in the community,” he testified.

Councilmember David Grosso said in an interview that he believes more resources could go toward D.C. housing programs.

“It’s frustrating to me as an at-large councilmember in the District of Columbia that we use the excuse that we don’t have enough money in this city,” Grosso said. “At the same time that we’re narrowing the door into our homeless-services program, we did a $36 million giveaway to developers in Union Market, which is certainly not going to be a place where the poor always feel welcome.”

Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development suggest that longer-term housing vouchers may indeed work better than rapid re-housing. A department study released in 2015 showed not only that families with vouchers typically fared better than those offered other assistance, but that vouchers were comparable in price or cheaper to provide than other forms of assistance.

The most extreme recommendation came from a representative of the Legal Aid Society.

“The Council needs to begin the process of abandoning rapid re-housing as a program altogether and make greater investments in permanent housing subsidies,” Damon King said. “[The program] is only a dilemma if you accept the premise that it has to exist.”

// 5

House passes bill allowing the District to renovate Franklin Square Park

BY OLIVIA RICHTER olivia.richter@streetsensemedia.org

PHOTO BY JEROME DINEEN

On Jan. 16, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton’s bill to allow the District to work with the National Park Service to maintain and operate NPS properties, including Franklin Square Park, passed the House of Representatives. Mayor Bowser had previously set aside $13.9 million to build new facilities in the poorly maintained 5-acre park located between K and I Streets NW, including public restrooms, a cafe, and a playground. Homeless community members who rely on the park for shelter may face displacement during renovations.

A spaceship, representing the upward mobility and potenial that may be associated with stable housing, is depicted with a person being ejected midflight. This illustration was drawn by Reginald Black, a Street Sense Media vendor and artist who went through the rapid re-housing program several years ago and currently resides in the 801 East men’s shelter.

“They didn’t offer me any job support. That’s one of the problems. No job support. None.” Black said of the program at the time he went through it “[The Department of Human Services] can crank out all the money it wants to for rapid re-housing, but if you don’t have a strong employment piece, then you’re going to fail every time, period.”

ILLUSTRATION BY REGINALD BLACK

6 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B . 6 , 2018

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY 12th annual MLK Peace Walk and Parade ends at Barry Farm

BY REGINALD BLACK Artist/Vendor

On Jan. 15, the nation marked the 89th birthday of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The celebratory parade in Southeast D.C. reflected many of the changes that occurred in 2017. It started at Anacostia Park and finished in the embattled neighborhood of Barry Farm, an area that has needed investment since the 1980s. Public housing and its status as a historic site make the area prime real estate, and longtime residents are currently in court over its redevelopment. It is said that the land sale of Barry Farm financially contributed to the creation of Howard University. ďżź With many people discussing gentrification and its ramifications, the District government decided to honor a bright spot from Barry Farm: The Junkyard Band started in the neighborhood as youths, creating their instruments from objects they found, and rose to become among the best known Go Go bands. Both young and old partied to the band and another local group, the Backyard Band.

The intense financial interest in this neighborhood may mean this parade was the last time Barry Farm will have a celebration.

The community hopes the future of its inhabitants will be at the forefront of any development that occurs at Barry Farm.

Annapolis holds its 18th annual MLK Day parade PHOTOS BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS // Artist/Vendor

Two trucks were used as mobile stages for the MLK Day parade in D.C. One held Councilmembers Robert White Jr. (center), Trayon White (right), other speakers and their supporters. Both were used as a stage for the bands.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT WARREN

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 7

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

REVIEW: “I Have a Dream”

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS // Artist/Vendor

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

“I Have a Dream” is a gospel musical about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The major events of the Civil Rights Movement, depictions of King’s love for his family, his sense of humor, and the incredible sacrifices he and others made in the fight for racial equality are showcased. The two-act musical was performed Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Key Auditorium of St. John’s College, in Annapolis, Maryland.

The text of King’s speeches, sermons and writings are shaped into 28 musical numbers that carry us through his life.

The time period of the musical starts with the bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama, and ends with King’s death at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968. He was 39 years old when he died, having worked in the Civil Rights Movement since he was 26.

To most African Americans, King is a beloved leader, and the musical gives clarity as to why he was effective.

He asserted that he would not turn back; there would be no “waiting.” He committed to his cause to the death.

Coretta Scott King is also beloved, and her adoration at least partly stems from the way she continued her husband’s cause, especially her leading the March in Memphis immediately after his death.

Here at Street Sense Media, we as a team have remarkable moments as, every year, we confer to discuss how to write about this great leader.

I was not at the rally he led in my hometown, Winona,

A birthday party for Dr. King

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS // Artist/Vendor

On Saturday, Jan. 13, Annapolis’s Banneker-Douglass Museum, named for Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass, hosted a event to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy, with an interactive civil rights-themed show, crafts and a performance by the artist Culture Queen.

We were asked to stand, clap and move to the beat as Culture Queen began to tell us the history of African Americans. As I was leaving, Culture Queen was chatting about the book “Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,”

by Doreen Rappaport.

Rappaport’s book begins with Dr. King seeing “Whites Only” signs throughout his hometown as a child. Culture Queen discussed conversations that Dr. King had with his mother about the signs.

Our bodies moved as Culture Queen shared historical moments of Dr. King’’s life, and we were delightfully immersed in affectionate warmth, lots of us with smiling faces. What a blessing! We even got much-needed exercise! I passed a pretty lady dressed in African garb as I walked home. It was a memorable day at our beloved museum here in Annapolis, the capital of Maryland!

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

Mississippi, in 1968, where he called the eight or so of us who had integrated the white school “8 Raisins in a Glass of White Milk.”

Willard Hotel is jutting on the corner across from the Wilson Building as I wait for the bus home from Street Sense Media. I see this place so often, sometimes I shoot birds with my camera, yet I linger on thoughts of King. I have heard so much about his raucous behavior at the Willard Hotel and the fetching of Dorothy Height to run and instill civilization within him and his team.

The most remarkable moments of all are Street Sense Media Vendor Angie Whitehurst being prodded by Junior to tell us what happened to her when she integrated schools here in D.C. In her reenactment, he is sitting in the last row in the room, being taught jitneys and how to jig at her demanding white teachers’ request. Junior insists she performs them for us as she was taught by her white teachers. She does.

The musical “I Have a Dream” showcases snapshots of events that an enslaved people of African descent plodded through and ahead of to be free. One can more easily see aspects of life in that period by the singing, utterances of words and the movement of the musical’s cast. Painful moments were twisted into a fun one for us here in Annapolis.

We relish our history, glorify in our sufferings, as we seek to be free.

A card designed by Levester.

SECONDSTORYCARDS.COM

“Just wanted to say thanks to Second Story Cards! I really enjoy the prestige of having my very own signature line of greeting cards!”

Levester Green

BIRTHDAYS Larry Kelly Jan 12 ARTIST/VENDOR

David Snyder Jan 14 ARTIST/VENDOR

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Eric Thompson-Bey passed the test for his food handler’s certification ARTIST/VENDOR

Gerald Anderson held a well-attended talk for his book “Still Standing,” available on Amazon.com ARTIST/VENDOR

8 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B . 6 , 2018

From one filmmaker to another: Franklin Garcia breaks

BY MORGAN JONES AND ERIC FALQUERO

L

ast year, Street Sense Media Vendor Morgan Jones happened to meet D.C. Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia at a DCTV graduation ceremony. Both are members of the station and each was attending the ceremony to support a friend. Jones told Garcia about a show he is producing with the Street Sense Filmakers Co-op and Garcia, an award-winning producer, offered to share some tips. “The first [episode] is always the more challenging,” according to Garcia. “After you get the format down, then it’s a lot easier to do it recurring. With that first one, you have to get your lighting, get the stories, the editing part, all that.”

Garcia was flattered to learn that Jones had already seen one of his shows, “DC Statehood Today.” As part of the District’s nonvoting shadow delegation, Garcia’s job is to push the city’s agenda for achieving statehood forward in whichever way he and his colleagues deem most useful. Like Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, shadow senators and representatives cannot participate in votes on the House or Senate floor. Unlike Norton, they also cannot participate in committee votes. The delegation represents the people of D.C., a larger population than Wyoming or Vermont, but it is limited to influencing other members of Congress and the public through conversation, statements and other means.

When he ran for office in 2015, applying his media savvy to informing more people about the importance of statehood was part of Garcia’s platform. Several weeks after they met, Garcia agreed to an interview with Jones to discuss this in greater detail.

Street Sense Media: What would change for the average District resident if we became a state?

Garcia: For [statehood] to really become interesting to D.C. folks, it has to become relevant to them. D.C. Statehood is not only about voting rights in Congress. If you looked at Venezuela right now, or Honduras — they’re in turmoil, right? You can see the difference of not having a true democracy. In D.C., you don’t have that issue. So we, in many ways, have to make it relevant to get people on board.

Our judiciary is, for the most part, nonexistent in D.C. Of course we don’t want anyone to be committing crimes, but should you be going into the system, don’t you want to have your own people taking care of you, instead of somewhere else in the federal web like Texas or Wyoming?

Another tragic example is the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s. D.C. had one of the worst rates of the whole country. We had a lot of people dying. So our legislators implemented a needle-exchange program. But Congress said, “You can’t do it,” so the program stopped, and it took a decade to get back to it. We found out later that we could have prevented so much infection from taking place if we kept that program. So, when you have legislature that is subject to intervention by people who have nothing to do with you and have no idea how you manage your affairs locally, that’s a big

deal. We’ve seen it with the abortion issue, we’ve seen it with the gun laws, we’ve seen it with the marijuana issue. So, when you can see that the meddling in our affairs by national legislature affects us in real ways, it will change people. *All laws passed by the city must be sent to Congress for a 30-day review period before becoming law. A joint resolution may be enacted by both houses to disapprove any law.

And [statehood] would mean getting senators so our citizens can get the correct allocation of funding and can have a voice nationally. It would be very beneficial to have our citizens know that they have a seat at the table when major events like the Cabinet appointments in the Senate take place.

Then there is our budget. We have budget autonomy, but we’re not sure how much of it we have. It’s not very clear. The way we are treated in D.C. is as if we were a government agency.

During the recent shutdown, the mayor had a public meeting to tell the people that the government will remain open, just like we did with the Obama shutdown. I think then-Mayor Gray was the first person to take a stab at saying, ‘No, we’re not going to shut down.’ And I think it worked out rather well. A lot of it had to do with the robust economy — the city has the rainy-day fund, about two billion dollars, so we were able to subsidize all these monies to maintain operation of local government.

We don’t have anybody at the table during those negotiations in Congress. Our delegate was there, but she has a very, very limited role; we all do. D.C. doesn’t really have anything when it comes to helping resolve a shutdown or determine how long it

Morgan Jones and Franklin Garcia stand in front of the digital display that tracks the amount of money D.C. residents have paid in federal tax dollars without voting representation in Congress.

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

continues. But in terms of the leadership of our city, the mayor was there to say that we will continue operations as usual.

How do you fight for statehood?

Garcia: I’ve been working a lot to get the exposure and visibility for statehood, within an international scope. I had worked at the World Bank back in the day, and I have a lot of networks in the international community. I’ve met with the president of the Dominican Republic.

I’ve worked with international organizations like the Unrepresented Nations People’s Organization. And I recently met with the Puerto Rico shadow congressional delegation. Their population is a lot larger, so they have five shadow representatives and two shadow senators. Puerto Rico elected the equivalent of our delegate, and it’s a Republican woman who used to be the chair of the Republican Party in Puerto Rico. She talked about the potential for D.C. and Puerto Rico to come together [so that votes from both parties would be added to Congress if statehood were granted to both districts].

The last time we did was 1959. I don’t know that we’ll be able to sell that to Congress. But right now we’re willing to do anything to further the statehood cause. The only problem with D.C. is that it’s all Democrats. D.C. statehood is rejected by most Republicans.

In fact, the Republican Party platform, which was released over a year ago, it actually rejected statehood. And the local Republican Party tried, not to get statehood added, but to remove the language against it. And [the national party] wouldn’t do it.

I’ve also gone to many different states where I’ve been able to speak to universities and political groups. We need to bring the

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PHOTOS BY ERIC FALQUERO

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

s down D.C. Statehood, television production and community support message outside of the city. We have created chapters in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Iowa and elsewhere that are very, very useful.

The other thing that I thought I could bring to the table is that I am good with technology, especially media. I started the “D.C. Statehood TV show” through DCTV once a month. I’ve also been working within social media to reach more people in D.C. I’m constructing websites and using video, audio, photos to deliver the message.

What are you most proud of accomplishing for D.C. residents?

Garcia: When I started on the job, I was very eager to meet members of Congress and get them to be co-sponsors of the statehood bill. And I actually got a lot of co-sponsors added to our statehood bill. I think that’s key, because at the end of the day, it’s up to Congress if we achieve statehood. You have to have a bill pass in both houses, and you do that by getting more co-sponsors. What happens is, the bill expires every two years, and you have to introduce a new bill. But once someone understands our plight for statehood and becomes a co-sponsor, it becomes very easy to go back and knock on their door when the next bill Is introduced.

What is your motivation behind the two shows you produce?

Garcia: The format of “D.C. Statehood Today” is very straightforward. Every time the show starts, we let people

know how many co-sponsors we have in the House and in the Senate. And then it moves on to the summaries of where all has D.C. statehood been (meetings and media attention, etc).

And then the culminating part is the interviews, folks talking about statehood.

The “DCiReporter” I started when I was the head of communications for The D.C. Democratic State Committee. What I did then is I would get reporting from representatives of each of the eight wards that were members of our organization. And I would compile that reporting in a newsletter once a month. And basically, that newsletter became the show. “DCiReporter” talks about the sense of community. We have over 122 neighborhoods in the District of Columbia that are foreign to a lot of people who do not realize that this is not just the national capital. I go to all different communities — the LGBTQ community, the African American community, veterans, Latinos, immigrants — and I try to highlight that this is just a community like any other state has.

It’s local reporting, so you can see a report on something like the Women’s March, a national event that took place in D.C., but you also can see Family Day in Ward 7, which is very very local. The idea was to pursue this notion that we are a very local community with lots of neighborhoods and very community-oriented things that people need to be exposed to.

Why do you do this work?

Garcia: I’m as much of a Washingtonian as you can be without physically being born here. I’ve been in Washington since

1980. I’ve visited other places but I’ve really never lived anywhere else. It was here that I bought my first house. It was here that I went to GW and AU. I love the city and the area very much.

Do you have personal experience with homelessness?

Garcia: Thank God, I have not gone through that personally.

But certainly I’ve had enough friends exposed to difficulties in life and a couple of friends who have ended up on the streets for a short time. I work wherever I can to help ensure that we don’t forget that community. I used to be a board member of the United Planning Organization (UPO), and one of the main things that we do is ensure that we look out for the homeless population and try to reduce the number of people that end up homeless. I’ve always been very committed to that cause. We have to just continue at it, because there’s so many different challenges. There’s so much need and so many other issues related to homelessness. Really, nobody should end up homeless in a nation like ours, with our level of wealth. It’s incomprehensible. Sometimes, I can’t image how not only as a city, but as a nation, how these things take place.

This interview has been edited and condensed for readability. Rep. Garcia was reached by phone to weigh-in on the recent shutdown of the federal government and his visit with the Puerto Rico shadow delegation.

Pro tips from city leadership

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS // Artist/Vendor

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

At the request of our colleague, Morgan Jones, D.C. Shadow Representative Franklin Garcia stopped by the Street Sense Media film co-op after Christmas with gifts and food — what a treat! We had real fun as he discussed with us how to run a successful TV show at DCTV. He produces two of his own award-winning programs, “DCiReporter” and “DC Statehood Today.”

Garcia shared some paperwork to outline the steps and timelines that he follows, as an example we can use when developing our own shows. On a laptop computer he showed us the software he uses, then gave the computer (and software) to our co-op, along with a digital camera!

Wow, just the help we needed to develop programs at DCTV for our community! The equipment gift inspired us to plan out how we could edit some of our footage. Soon we will bring this work to you, our community, with the help of DCTV and Representative Garcia’s gifts! Thank you for supporting our community!

PHOTOS BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

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OPINION

Vacant to Vibrant?

What is Up With Metro?

In a fast-changing city like Washington, D.C., many issue come to mind such as income inequality and discriminatory housing practices. One of the major issues, however, is what to do with the many vacant properties owned by the city government. For instance, At-Large Councilmember Robert White Jr. introduced a bill last year to help convert vacant office buildings into affordable housing.

In December, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new program to help the city transform vacant spaces into various uses: Vacant to Vibrant DC. The city has begun holding information sessions about the plan.

At one of these sessions held on Jan. 16, Polly Donaldson, the director of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), said “Our mission is to produce housing, preserve housing and sustain housing. The department is now in the process of disposing of property that it owns.

In March we will have all of the property DHCD owns in disposition.”

She went on to describe the steps in the plan. First, DHCD will hold an online auction.

The agency anticipates that the properties will be bid on and awarded for development, which is to produce about 50 units out of 35 sites of workforce housing. Next, the properties will be put up for a second auction for certified business enterprises (CBEs) to work with the developer to develop eight properties. These units will be set aside for CBEs to bid on.

The department is also looking to build housing through the District of Columbia

BY REGINALD BLACK

BY VENNIE HILL

So what is up with Metro today? They still are not complying with the rules. The restrooms, escalators, and elevators are always out of order. Isn’t that why we pay too much, to be able to ride conveniently? They’ve been taking our money for years and yet the service is still not satisfactory.

I feel betrayed and disappointed. This is my only means to get around, like a lot of others. I am trying to make a stand for us. As hard workers, trying to get to work on time, sometimes we run so hard that we forget to use the restroom, so you depend on getting to the train and being able to relieve yourself only to hear that the bathroom is closed down. Stop Metro, have some compassion for the people who ride that train every day to make it to work on time. The ones who pay you.

I worked selling the Express Paper for a few months at the New Carrollton stop. The first day, at 6:00 a.m., I went to the booth and asked if I could use the restroom. The man told me that it was being cleaned. After four hours of work I went back and he told me the same thing. I left and had to get off at another stop. The next day he told me the same thing. I called my boss, and he told me to let him know if the Metro employee said that again. I didn’t want to start any trouble. At the end of the day, he finally let me use the restroom. The first time I figured, OK he has other things to do in this station and he might be using the restroom himself. But on the second day, he did the same thing. I knew right then and there he was just a jerk.

What I’m trying to say is: Metro, buckle down on your employees.

Vennie Hill is a Street Sense Media vendor and occasional contributor.

Being a Black Conservative

BY JEFFERY MCNEIL

I love how President Donald Trump is ruffling up people’s feathers, but his comments about immigrants are idiotic. What upset me about his sh*thole comment is that many people from those “sh*thole” countries have put their lives and bodies on the line to defend America. Trump used his daddy's connections to get deferments from the military, yet he continually demonizes immigrants as criminals and rapists when many immigrants work hard and are productive citizens.

As a black Trump supporter, I can love Trump, but I don't have to take his crap.

There are times when you have to let these white Trump supporters know this isn't their damn country! There are lot of trifling white folks who have “a who's gonna take care of me” mindset. Instead of taking personal responsibility, poor white folks want to blame Mexicans, Muslims and immigrants for why their lives are miserable. Yes the black and Latino communities have problems, but the same could be said about the white working class. If white people are so smart and superior, why are so many white kids living at home with their parents, strung out on dope? Whose fault is it their job disappeared?

Why didn't they go back to school and retrain themselves for the new economy? They want to complain about Chicago and Baltimore, what about Kansas and Oklahoma? Forget the coal mines, why do the rest of us have to live in a filthy planet while white people sit around with their syringes and shotguns blaming colored people for everything?

I’m very disappointed with Black Republicans. As a black Republican I want to be remembered like Frederick Douglass, a Republican who liberated black people and stood up to whites. Kudos to Mia Love and Tim Scott who work with Trump while at the same time calling him out when he’s wrong.

I’m disappointed in people like Larry Elder, Herman Cain and video bloggers Diamond

and Silk, who have a platform but still defend the indefensible. Racism and the Confederacy are wrong, period, end of story! As black conservatives, let’s be better humans than our black progressive counterparts who invoke Martin Luther King, Jr., while disrespecting his legacy by complaining about racism all the time. We as black people need to focus on creating wealth for ourselves.

I wish blacks would quit griping about racism and focus on the opportunities presented to them.

Racism never stopped blacks from dominating sports or entertainment, but these progressives tell you you're not smart enough to figure out how to create wealth, produce factories or rebuild your communities. Forgo progressive nonsense and learn how to read the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily or Black Enterprise. Ignore politics and watch CNBC and Bloomberg. You'll find out financiers are not listening to any Trump collusion nonsense or having vapors because Trump said sh*thole.

While you're running around protesting, smart men are pooling their money buying assets.

I never heard Trump say the stock or bond markets are for whites only. If a black man can dominate sports, why can’t he dominate buying land? If you're smart enough to flip dope, why not parlay that into buying property?

Although the Trump supporters and I have disagreements, there's a right and a wrong way to settle our differences. If you run into Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh, do you think your insults do any damage to them? The best way to beat a bad argument is with a good argument.

Yes, Donald Trump has said and done inflammatory things. But I’d rather deal with him than these white liberals who swear they love you while they keep you trapped in sh*thole neighborhoods.

Jeffrey McNeil is a Street Sense Media vendor and frequent columnist.

Housing Finance Agency’s (DCHFA) housing investment platform, to transform two sites into housing for government employees. On hand at the event was Todd A. Lee, executive director of DCHFA. “We want to be more holistic in our approach to housing,” Lee said. “DCHFA is also expanding its single family residential program, which invests in partnerships with local and emerging developers interested in producing workforce housing. DHCD also plans to increase green space and create a demonstration project of a tiny home.

Some people left with the notion that this program might not be for them because of the conditions tied to winning a property. Other participants called the process unfair. They felt that properties were not affordable to people who were working.

The Vacant to Vibrant initiative could pit these would-be homebuyers against developers and investors with way more income. Residents in Ward 8, for instance, are typically workforce residents who may need the property that DHCD owns. They feel that they should have more stake in the neighborhood. Many left the meeting discouraged that they may not be able to purchase any of the property.

The community does need new investment, but it also wants to be involved.

Reginald Black is Street Sense Media vendor and writer. He is also involved with several local advocacy organizations.

The Meaning of Respect

BY CHARLTON BATTLE

Even without caring, respect goes a long way. If not for yourself, definitely for others. If you don’t respect others or yourself, you are either in jail or dead by now.

Most of us are living by the rules when it comes to respect, even when it means staying away and respecting what someone is doing without supporting their point of view or their way of life.

If we weren’t living by the rules as a society, a lot more people would be fighting and killing for no reason. People demand respect and speak out for it, whether it hurts or not.

Do I respect a man walking around with his pants down, showing everyone his privates?

Whether he’s mentally sick, on drugs, or whatever, he is definitely disrespecting me. But to respect him, I have to figure a way to talk to him about his problem without anger. He needs someone to care enough to help him. But “help” does not mean “reward.” I see that approach too often. It makes that person feel that doing this disrespectful act is a way to get attention and love.

It is an act of respect to show this person the impact of what he is doing, and offer support in how to change that behavior. Love comes from providing information to help and not hurt people. I’d greet this man with kindness every day if he started to wear his pants up.

So, before you react, think, “How does the Creator feel about me reacting without him?”

I’m not trying to teach or preach, just trying to reach myself to a level that can treat me with the rewards of the righteous, which is you all that reach out from the heart!

May the peace be upon you.

Charlton Battle is a Street Sense Media vendor and artist.

Join the conversation, share your views - Have an opinion about how homelessness is being addressed in our community?

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

Street Sense Media has maintained an open submission policy since our founding. We aim to elevate voices from across the housing spectrum and foster healthy debate.

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Thank You, N Street Village

BY CHRISTINE WONG Artist/Vendor

For all the times we complained...

I want to say thanks instead.

You wouldn't know kindness till you saw Tifereth-Israel Temple feeding our camp on Christmas Day Turkey, stuffing, trimmings, Even wrapped gifts.

What a surprise!

And, I thought They didn't believe!

In what?

Goodness, love, agape, are universal virtues.

I Love the Sound

God's Gift

BY ROBERT WARREN Artist/Vendor

BY PATTY SMITH Artist/Vendor

I love the sound of her playing on that old piano for sale. She needs the money for her husband who is in jail. She used to give lessons to anyone with a dollar or a dime, one hour at a time. They lived across the street. He used to punch on these kids with a beat. Hooray, Hooray, it won't happen today.

I hear her playing song before she goes to sleep, only to rise early.

She seems to always have a teardrop falling from her eyes, only to fall on the piano's lonely keys. My I love the sound of her playing that old piano, now for sale and the neighbors say Hooray, Hooray.

Angels are there to watch over us.

They sit in the night at our bedside.

I saw a movie In which a man was in his car And the angels stopped him From being in harm's way.

Angels in real life Are there to protect us.

God sends his Angels In our time of need.

Where’d the love go, where’s the peace sign?

He love the hood till the ghetto made his niece blind Where the hood at, where the love go?

They wanna blame it on the children of the ghetto Shaneka got a baby, I know she going crazy Shakneka’s just a baby, our babies having babies He was only ten, smoking space cadet His first puff, first pull, was his last breath

Rest in peace, Tim They killed for your car.

You suppose’ to be a star I still miss you bra But these streets ain’t change since your death I been through a lot of since you left In the ghetto, love just don’t live here know mo’ In the ghetto, in the ghetto, in the ghetto, in the ghetto Yeah, the block hot, but streets is colder ‘Cause there ain’t no respect amongst thieves and soldiers Shot his head off his shoulder ‘cause he wore the wrong color Cain and Abel’s why we disrespect each other

Our Customers: David

BY CHON GOTTIE // Artist/Vendor

Happy New year to you all!

I hope this year will be better than 2017 with regard to people being able to secure housing. Living wages and affordable housing are a must.

After all, if you don’t have a good paying job, you can’t find housing.

Hopefully, as time goes by, everything is going to be okay.

I pray fewer people will be addicted to drugs and alcohol and for domestic violence tol come to a standstill. I pray that little children will be happy, older people more secure about their future and little pets will stay warm and healthy.

May God bless my customers and everyone I come in contact with.

Stay warm. See y’all next time!

Artist/Vendor

Now it’s yellow tape and a crime scene Everybody saw it but nobody saw a thing In the ghetto where we live at Where the streets will never say who did that

So this 2018, I'll try to: Stop feeling ashamed Stop noticing insults Stop being afraid And start taking the Spirit of Christmas and sharing it gracefully year-round.

BY BETTY EVERETT Artist/Vendor

BY RON DUDLEY, a.k.a. “POOKANU”

I tried to teach him right, somebody taught him wrong Told him who God was, but the devil is strong He tried to tell me yes, I tried to tell him no I told him don’t go, he wouldn’t listen tho’

I haven't been able to believe in Christmas, either, for such a long time coming.

Hopes and prayers for 2018

In the ghetto

PHOTO BY CHON GOTTIE

David is a graduate student at the University of the District of Columbia , with a focus on school counseling. He loves playing one-minute super-speed chess in Dupont Circle and loves being around positive people (like me!).

He describes himself as “a true survivor of life” and believes in playing the hand that life deals. “If I do, it might get better!” David said.

My Customers

BY GWYNETTE SMITH // Artist/Vendor

For the most part, my customers are thoughtful. They usually smile when we see each other. And if we have missed one another for a while, some will ask me how I have been.

We know very little about the other. But a few have asked me if I have somewhere to stay, and I do. One person asked me if I had enough clothes when the weather began to cool.

Their positive attitude just makes me feel good seeing them. I have some customers who take a few minutes to chat with me. I enjoy

their company and we often end up laughing about something.

On special holidays, some give me a couple of extra dollars.

A couple now use the Street Sense Media App and feel it is a convenient way to pay vendors.

Recently, two customers each gave me a loaded gift card from a wellknown coffee shop. I can get a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

Some say they buy the paper often because they enjoy reading it. I appreciate them and hope God will bless them.

For the love of the hood, I seen real people die I seen real people ride for their piece of the pie I seen stick-up boys that’a rob you for nothing Then turn around and kill to rob you for something Life is like a jay puff, pull fast and it’s gone in a day So every day, wherever I lay, I just pray to God to see another day I just see a smile upside down Ain’t no love in the ghetto part of town I seen young girls die tryna; set somebody up Over greed, over lust, or over the bucks.

I seen preacher’s sin, I saw the devil grin I seen a brother die for choosing money over friends I seen the ghetto come, I seen the ghetto go I seen the ghetto die, cause love don’t live there no mo’ Pookanu is a local musician. You can here his work at Pookanu.com

PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE // CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

ART

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1 2 // S T REET SENSE ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B . 6, 2018

ART

Random acts of kindness, reggae-style

BY WENDELL WILLIAMS // Artist/Vendor

A

couple of weeks ago I was blessed to have the opportunity to go to the island of Jamaica as an ecotourist for virtually no cost. A friend of mine's niece, who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was sent to Jamaica for one month by her job, which provided her a villa to stay and work in that slept 10 people.

She invited us to experience the often-ignored side of the island. On the flight, I was full of anticipation. I had not been to the Jamaica since 1983 and was not sure what to expect.

I did assume that things would be different, better than before.

As we neared the island, it appeared green and lush as we as we landed in the city of Montego Bay on Jamaica's north coast, which is the hub of most of the island's tourism.

When we landed around 10 p.m. local time, the Montego Bay airport appeared much as I had remembered.. It was dark and we couldn't see a lot around us as we traveled the roads heading out of the airport towards the Treasure Coast, which is located on the southwest corner of Jamaica ,far away from the established tourist areas. There is no nightlife on the Treasure Coast: no casinos or resorts. It is the breadbasket of Jamaica, mainly farmland. There are very beautiful beaches on the Treasure Coast but virtually none of them are swimmable because of the rocks and dangerous currents. There has been little to no development here, compared to other areas of the island or the Caribbean, which is both a blessing and a curse.

This is where regular Jamaicans live, with a few villas sprinkled along the cliffs for treatment centers, yoga groups and various religious groups like the Rubes Buddhists and the Rastafarians. On the beach, there are a few areas where fishermen are able to launch their boats. One of the first things I noticed on the three-and-a-half-hour ride from the Montego Bay airport was the condition of the roads. The were some of the poorest roads I've ever ridden on anywhere. It was really dangerous to drive on them at all, let alone to experience the horror of riding on them as people flew by at breakneck speed on what to me is the wrong side of the road. Only on the return trip to the airport in daylight was I able to see just how dangerous the trip was.

By the time we got to the villa it was 1:30 a.m. and pitch black because the roads and most of the houses along the way had no lights. As I set out in the morning with our driver Richard, the things I saw broke my heart.

The next morning, we visited some of the local areas and saw abject poverty all around us. Not much of anything was growing in this farmland and all along the roads were littered with roadside

Richard, our driver and hero.

PHOTOS BY WENDELL WILLIAMS

stands. As we passed, you could see the desperate look on the workers’ faces that said “please stop and check out my goods.”

We saw houses that were shacks built out of plywood with plastic tarps on the roofs to protect them from the rain. We saw people dressed in rags, which is a not what you see as in the more tourist-friendly areas of Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril.

We visited Black River, the longest navigable river in Jamaica, where, historically, slaves were brought in to Jamaica and goods like sugar sailed out. A lot of what the natives suffer from today are the vestiges of slavery and colonialism. The number of people who seemed to be barricaded in their own homes made me ask questions of others that I came in contact with. They all talked about the lawlessness in Jamaica and said there is actually no police presence in most of the rural parts of the country. I was told that most of the police stations didn't even have police vehicles. Middle-class people had their homes fenced of like fortresses, with bars on every window. I was warned not to hurt myself while on the trip too, because there are no hospitals where most of the natives live. Most of the folks I spoke with were 55 or older. They told that some of the hospitals don't even have a doctor on duty and social services have really changed for the worse since Cuba pulled out of the island after the ‘70s.

Most older Jamaicans reminisce fondly about the things that the Cubans had done for them to better their lives and most of them spoke highly and affectionately about Fidel Castro. Despite the pervasive poverty, most people I came in contact with seemed peaceful, happy and optimistic about life and Jamaica’s future.

Some of the spots I got to visit were breathtaking, like YS Falls, which has seven tiers. It took us hours to get there from Calabash Bay where our villa was located. With advice from the locals, we also drove more than two hours along more terrifying roads to the top of a mountain where, legend has it, two young slaves jumped off the 2000-foot cliff into the sea. They were very much in love, but the plantation owner coveted the young and beautiful female slave and had the young male slave sold off to another plantation. But the male slave escaped and made his way back to the plantation to see the woman he loved, at the plantation in the cliffs above the water. They made arrangements through the female slave’s brother to meet that night at the cliffs and escape to freedom, but the young woman's brother told on them to gain favor with the slave master and when they met that night, they were cornered by a search party. Instead of surrendering, the couple chose death over bondage, ran toward the cliff and jumped hand in hand.

After visiting all the villages and sites that we could see in the Black River area for several days, we headed back to Montego Bay for the flight home. On the road back, we stopped several times for things like gas, something to drink and to take pictures and talk to people.

Richard pulled up to the airport and we began to unload out gear.

We had made it a point to pack lightly so we didn't have much to unload. While saying our goodbyes to Richard and thanking him for his trusted service as a driver and a guide, my companion noticed that she could not find her cell phone. We searched the car inside and out like a border patrol agent. We pulled out everything and looked in every nook and cranny. Unfortunately, we could not find her phone. As we all know in today's day and age, some people have so many pictures, contacts and business data on their phones that

the thought of not being able to find the device is something that they cannot fathom. My friend was frantic and after realizing that the phone was not in the car. She became upset and depressed as we walked through the airport. I talked to her about accepting that the phone was lost in another country and the possibility of getting the phone back was close to zero. She was not in the mood to talk or reminisce about the trip or anything.

We got on the plane took off and headed back to Miami. The look on my friend’s face was heartbreaking. We changed planes to get back to Washington, D.C. The next day, we talked about how to get another phone, how the information could possibly be saved in the cloud and blah blah blah. It took her a couple days to surrender to the fact that the phone was really gone and everything on it would be lost forever. A day or so later is when the miracle happened.

Somehow, someway, somebody from our villa contacted me on WhatsApp. I had exchanged numbers with several people there, one of them being a family member of another visitor who stayed our villa. That person sent the message and said that Richard, our driver, had traced every stop of our route all the way back to Calabasas Bay, instead of driving straight through. Even the places where we stopped to take pictures. He discovered that a person who worked in a gas station where we had stopped at the beginning of the trip to Montego Bay had discovered the phone left on a counter and held onto it until Richard came by a few days later. Richard drove the phone back to the villa and gave it to the person who messaged me. Having something mailed or shipped from Jamaica to the United States is fairly prohibitive.

But by making the effort to get the phone to our villa, one of the people we had befriended took it and sent it along with their aunt who was flying to Miami in another few days. Then she was kind enough to FedEx the phone next day after arriving Stateside.

I did not initially tell my friend about the Whatsapp message because I wanted it to be a surprise. but I just couldn't hold on until the phone arrived and I told her that the phone was coming.

Her whole mood immediately changed and she brightened up and was so happy just knowing that her precious phone would be returned. So all's well that ends well, even in Jamaica.

So, if we review the chain of custody for this phone, the person that worked in the gas station performed the first random act of kindness by holding onto it for Richard to find. And you have to remember that people in Jamaica are very poor. Finding a phone of that quality could represent hundreds of US dollars to them. Then, the second random of kindness was that Richard doubled his return trip to stop at each place we had been to look for the phone, then drove extremely out of his way in the opposite direction to return the phone to the villa. The third random act was that the visitor who knew us was willing to take possession of the phone and pass it to a relative who was flying to Miami in a few days. Then, in a fourth and final act of kindness, that relative, a complete stranger to us, paid to ship the phone back to Washington, D.C.and everything ended up "Irie" as they say in Jamaica. Random acts of kindness, reggae-style.

For more photos of Wendell’s journey, in color, visit StreetSenseMedia.org/random-acts-Jamaica

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

OUR PAPER, OUR COMMUNITY:

My interview with Volunteer Miriam Urquhart

// 13

The battle has just begun

BY MARCELLUS PHILLIPS // Artist/Vendor

BY ANGIE WHITEHURST Artist/Vendor

How did you hear about Street Sense Media?

I am a native of Silver Spring, MD, and I heard about it when I was in high school. My youth group did a volunteer trip with the organization. I didn’t get to go, but I remember thinking that a newspaper written and sold by people experiencing homelessness was the coolest thing ever, like a window into a world that was everywhere I went, but that I knew so little about. It was from that moment that I knew I would always keep the organization in the back of my head and try to buy a copy any time I got the chance.

How did you become a volunteer?

After I graduated from Penn State this past May, I finally had the privilege of volunteering with Street Sense Media. I was having a hard time finding a job when I moved back to D.C., so I had a ton of free time on my hands. I figured I might as well do something good instead of staying home all day. I decided it would be the perfect opportunity in my life to connect with an organization that I’ve been a fan of for so long, and so I just went on the website, filled out the volunteer form, and I got an email from your amazing managers the next day!

What was your assignment?

I would come in whenever Maysa needed me to, usually two or three shifts per week, and sell the paper to the vendors. I also got to help at the annual celebration and at a photography show.

Who did you interact with?

My favorite interactions by far were with the vendors as they came in to purchase the paper. As I kept coming in to do shifts, I started to recognize more and more people. I loved building those relationships and getting to hear people’s stories. I usually didn’t ask too much about what each person had been through because I wanted to respect privacy, but when the vendors would open up to me about their stories and experiences it was so inspiring. Everyone was mostly very friendly, and I feel like I became a part of this wonderful community.

What did you learn from them?

I learned from the vendors that when you give people opportunities to learn skills, build relationships, and find a sense of autonomy, amazing things can happen. It is so important to be kind to everyone you encounter, because each person is fighting a battle that you cannot even imagine, and I was just grateful to be able to help a little bit.

Is Street Sense Media important to our community, nation and world?

Yes. In D.C., homelessness is so prominent. You can rarely get from one place to another without encountering at least one person who is struggling, and yet so many people act like they’re invisible!

We need to make noise, increase visibility, and stop acting like there is nothing we can do. Street Sense Media and other organizations like it all over the country have started an incredible movement of sharing stories and making the homeless population heard!

I think people do want to help, but they need a structured way to do it. Volunteering with Street Sense Media was a perfect way for someone like me to get involved.

What makes Street Sense invaluable r e g a r d l e s s o f r a c e , c o l o r, c r e e d , gender and other societal fault lines yet to be formulated?

Stories and art help us to empathize with others and help us see past stereotypes to the soul underneath.

When I talk to people who aren’t very familiar with issues surrounding homelessness, I often hear awful things like “they’re all just lazy, why can’t they just get jobs” or “if you give them money they’ll just use it to buy drugs,” or my favorite, “a lot of them are in that situation by choice.”

It makes me so angry. I just think, “these are your fellow human beings you’re referring to.” I believe that this paper can change those perspectives and help humanize a group of people that are going through more than I could ever imagine.

Any advice or suggestions?

I think it would be amazing if Street Sense Media could open up multiple offices or paper sales stations so that more people who need the paper for a source of income could have easier access to it if they are located far away from the G Street NW office.

Will your experience at Street Sense Media help you with your new job?

I started working for an organization called Hillel International this past November as the executive assistant to their chief operations officer and the human resources department. The customer service skills I learned at Street Sense will help me in almost every aspect of my job because I have to interact with so many people every day, and Street Sense Media has helped me to learn how to treat each and every person with the same level of respect and kindness that I expect for myself.

Would you recommend that other people volunteer or intern at our organization?

Yes, it was a wonderful place to volunteer because it helped me to see D.C. in a whole new light. It’s so cool when I run into a vendor I know selling the paper. It’s like I know people all over the city now! Like I mentioned before, so many people act like they don’t even see the people struggling around them. This helped me to make connections with the people who I encounter every day. Street Sense Media is helping to unify our city in the coolest way possible.

ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC THOMPSON-BEY

In 2017 I faced a war in life that I have conquered with the help of Street Sense Media. At the end of 2016 I became homeless when I could no longer work due to health issues that I cannot control. I have a small family, and those I turned to also have serious issues of their own. I don’t like bothering people for help unless I absolutely have to. Because of my condition I sometimes have no choice. I slept on my sister’s floor for over a year.

Now that I accomplished the goal of a place to live,I have numerous other challenges that many don’t understand. Yes, I’m now blessed with a roof over my head and food in my refrigerator, so I can't complain about anything in life right now.

But now it's time to build off the platform I have created for myself and my life.

I have two major goals for 2018: to stay healthy and be responsible with my living situation. To do this, I have to keep my circle small because the people around you affect your life more than you know. I have also made the wise choice of no longer smoking cigarettes, and I encourage others to do the same.

My next chapter in life is full of positive energy and I look forward to nothing but success. Continue to donate to Street Sense as I continue to write to help me become successful with all goals.

The Great Disconnect

BY FREDERIC JOHN // Artist/Vendor

Under our creator's eye no matter how we try to pass him by If a tooth comes loose or we lose our youth the fire remains burning

Do you plan to stay connected with us?

Absolutely. I can’t do the paper sales anymore because it conflicts with my work schedule. But I still buy the paper whenever I get the chance — shout out to John Littlejohn, who distributes copies right down the block from where I work!

And I still want to keep helping out at events. It was truly a blessing to be able to get involved with this organization and I’m so excited for its future.

IMAGE COURTESY OF PEXELS.COM

1 4 // ST REET SEN S E ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B. 6, 2018

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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.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

COMMUNITY SERVICES

SHELTER HOTLINE Línea directa de alojamiento

(202) 399-7093

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(202) 547-7777

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

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Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo

Transportation Transportación

Showers Duchas

All services listed are referral-free Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 2114 14th St., NW marthastable.org

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

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

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

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

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

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

(202) 749-8000

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

1-888-793-4357 Laundry Lavandería

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unity Health Care // 202-745-4300 3020 14th St., NW unityhealthcare.org

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

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

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

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

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

// 15

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

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

JOB BOARD Line Cook/Prep Cook

Central Union Mission // 65 Mass. Ave., NW Full-time Evangelical Church/faith-based organization, looking for a Christian, dependable, positive, hospitality-oriented cook to assist with the preparation, cooking and serving of food in a rescue-mission environment. The cook is responsible for preparing healthy, nutritious meals for shelter residents and staff.

REQUIRED: Previous cooking experience.

Certified Food Handler preferred but not required; will train. Ability and interest in working with those who are homeless and to be aware of their needs. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. One-year experience as line cook.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/lineprepcook

Animal Care & Adoption Associate Animal Welfare League of Alexandria Full-time, with benefits Responsible for daily cleaning, feeding and provision of any medical treatments to the animals in our care. Employees will also be expected to perform euthanasia, assist staff and the public with handling animals, and keep the non-administrative areas of the shelter clean. Employees will also be trained in the adoptions functions of the shelter and will be expected to assist at the front desk if the need arises. REQUIRED: High school diploma or equivalent. Proven ability to handle multiple tasks in a busy workplace environment. Ability to accurately perform basic mathematical calculation. Understanding of humane care and treatment of animals. Ability to obtain certification as a euthanasia technician within the first six months of employment. Valid driver’s license. Fluent in English.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/animalcareadoption

Housekeeper

Stoddard Baptist Global Care// Northeast D.C. Full-time or part-time, with benefits The housekeeper helps maintain the cleanliness, appearance and general safety of the community. They work with a minimum of supervision to ensure all areas are maintained in a sanitary, orderly and attractive condition by performing various tasks using the necessary equipment and supplies, which includes cleaning all common areas (corridors, elevators, guest areas, service areas, restrooms, linen closets, grounds, etc.) and resident rooms as assigned. REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED preferred. One year of relevant experience preferred. Knowledge of commercial cleaning methods and tools/ products, including experience in handling conventional and high-speed machinery.

Safety- and customer-service-oriented.

Reliable, dependable and able to work without direct supervision. Able to bend, kneel, squat, stand and lift heavy objects as needed.

Able to work a flexible schedule, which may include working days, evenings, weekends and holidays. Handle hazardous chemical(s), infectious waste and electrical equipment.

Ability to comply with SBCG established policies and procedure.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/sbgchousekeeper

1 6 // ST REET SEN S E ME DI A / / JA N. 2 4 - FE B. 6, 2018

February 5-11, 2018

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