03 07 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE 9

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Real Change

A NEW PUSH TOWARD MLK’S DREAM pg 4

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The Street Sense Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

Organizers of the new Poor People’s Campaign, layeredwith a historic photo of Ressurection City, part of the 1968 campaign.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

INFOGRAPHIC COURTESY OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

HISTORY

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Saturday, March 10

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health sponsors #NWGHAAD to bring organizations and communities together to help women and girls protect themselves from HIV through prevention, testing and treatment. One in four people living with HIV infection in the U.S. is a woman. Most new HIV infections in women are from heterosexual contact (84 percent).

Learn more at www.tinyurl.com/NWGHAAD-2018 THURSDAY, MARCH 8

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

TUESDAY, MARCH 20

The March to Make Chronic Homelessness History

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

8:30 am New York Presbyterian Church 1313 New York Avenue NW

Housing Solutions Committee CANCELLED - next meeting April 4 Family System Re-design March 7, 3:30 pm // 64 NY Ave NE Shelter Conditions Work Group CANCELLED - next meeting TBD Full Council Quarterly Meeting March 13, 2 pm // 1350 Penn Ave NW Street Outreach Work Group March 14, 2:30 pm // 441 4th St NW Medicaid Work Group March 21, 2 pm // 441 4th St NW

D.C. Council reviews proposed changes for the Comprehensive Plan

The Way Home Campaign will host individuals who have experienced homelessness to speak, before marching to the Wilson Building to demand that Mayor Bowser use her budget to end homelessness for 1,620 individuals and 309 families who have experienced chronic homelessness in the District.

2 p.m.

John A. Wilson Building, Room 500 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW The Committee of the Whole will hold a Public Hearing on Bill 22-663, the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2018. Those who wish to testify are asked to email the Committee of the Whole at cow@dccouncil.us, or call Sydney Hawthorne at (202) 724-7130.

Submit your event for publication by e-mailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

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“Empowering people begins with listening to them.”

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I always look forward to Eric Thompson-Bey’s updates, from news of his apartment, to his work on the farm, and now the externship at the Diner. His enthusiasm and determination are so refreshing, I hope all the best for him.

5:26 PM - 23 OCT 2017

7:53 PM - 23 FEB 2018

Marion Barry statue installed at Wilson Building Funded by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities

On March 3, an 8-foot tall bronze statue of the late D.C. mayor and councilmember Marion S. Barry Jr. was installed at the northeast corner of the John A. Wilson building, near the intersection of 13½ Street and Pennsylvania Ave. NW. A photo essay will be in the March 21 edition.

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN // Artist/Vendor

HOUSING

An abandoned apartment complex in Southeast being converted to affordable housing The District government will invest more than $80 million to replace long-vacant apartment buildings near the Congress Heights Metro station with 220 units of affordable housing. Most of the apartments will have two or three bedrooms to accommodate families, according to a Feb. 14 press release from the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Parkway Overlook Apartments housed more than 1,000 low-income residents in 20 buildings until 2007, when the former property owner went bankrupt. The properties have stood vacant for more than a decade.

DHCD partnered with the D.C. Housing Authority, the D.C. Housing Finance Agency, and the Department of Energy and Environment to revitalize the apartments.

The residences will be available to families who earn up to 50 percent of the area median income, and 11 units will be set aside as permanent supportive housing for families making 30 percent of AMI, according to the press release. The new complex will also offer workforce training and after-school activities.

“More families will have safe and affordable housing in the District, as well as community services that support their needs,” said Polly Donaldson, director of DHCD. A solar array installed by DOEE will provide 30 percent of the apartments’ electricity, as part of an effort to provide renewable energy to low-income residents.

Tyrone Garrett, director of DCHFA, was hopeful that the investment would help former tenants return, as well as attract new ones: “Soon we will welcome back some former households of the Parkway Overlook community, as well as many other new families.”

—jake.maher@streetsensemedia.org

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NEWS

After 50 years, organizers reignite MLK’s Poor People’s Campaign

BY COLLEEN GRABLICK colleen.grablick@streetsensemedia.org

F

ifty years after Dr. Martin Luther poverty and racism, that King Jr. envisioned a mass the people are coming movement for economic equality, together and calling for this activists are working to reignite campaign,” she said. “A lot the flame of the movement. of the issues that are affecting Last month, a new iteration people all over the country of the 1968 Poor People’s are particularly pronounced Campaign began a six-week period of national in our nation’s capital.” activism. Demonstrators in more than 30 The attendees discussed states and D.C. met in their capitals on Feb. systemic racism, 5 to call for equality. The campaign went on environmental and to partner with grassroots organizers to lead ecological hazards, and a march in Marks, Mississippi, the town that, an economic system that 50 years ago, inspired Martin Luther King Jr. promotes war — insofar to call for a Poor People’s Campaign when as they affect marginalized he witnessed the poverty the town’s residents groups in D.C. “Until we suffered. The modern movement joined with shift the narrative, until we striking fast-food workers to push for a $15are able to talk about these an-hour minimum wage. issues and come up with Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William solutions to these problems, J. Barber II are leading the campaign to build no real change can on MLK’s work to unite the poor and seek happen,” Theoharis said. justice and equality for disenfranchised and Rev. Terence Mayo, of marginalized people. Meetings have been held Shiloh Baptist Church, spoke in cities across the country since late 2017. In about income inequality in the new year, they began to lead nonviolent D.C. According to a study protests, such as the minimum-wage march published in 2017, the in Mississippi. median family income in On Feb. 19, the campaign held a meeting Ward 7 between 2006-2010 and 2010-2015 at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., went from $34,562 to $31,273, a nearly 10 to discuss public action through testimonies percent drop, while the median income in and speeches by Ward 2 increased by local community almost 65 percent. members. Activists, “As the median organizers and income continues to religious leaders of rise in certain wards diverse backgrounds in D.C., it continues from D.C., Maryland, to decline in others,” and Virginia attended.

Mayo said. “The Theoharis was there in disparity we see person, while Barber continues to widen sent a video message day by day.” that was played for the He asked the audience. audience to take D.C.’s poverty action as a collective and homelessness group against Dr. Rev. Liz Theorharis rates, as well as oppression and its proximity to injustice in D.C. lawmakers, makes it an important location for “Tonight we name the sins of poverty,” the campaign, according to Theoharis.

Mayo said. “Tonight we call for a moral “We want to really highlight, both as a revolution of values to set us back on the nation’s capital and as a place with rampant path to equality of all people. Tonight we

“Until we shift the narrative, until we are able to talk about these issues and come up with solutions to these problems, no real change can happen.”

1968: The Poor People’s Campaign marches on Washington, D.C. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.

2018: The Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign holds a National Call for Moral Rival march. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE PAVEY

welcome you here to resist the systems that have been put in place to keep us marginalized and divided.”

His words echoed the mission statement of the new campaign, officially named Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.

While 2016 legislation put D.C. on track to have a $15 minimum wage by 2020, inequality and lower wages have been a struggle for many District residents.

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the numbers of African Americans leaving the District, as the number of White people moving into the District has increased, according to a study published by Maurice Jackson, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University and first chair of the D.C. Commission on African American Affairs.

This migration is due to lack of jobs, a housing crisis and poor educational attainment, according to Jackson. “So many people were leaving because no one was paying attention to them,” he said in an interview.

According to the study, the annual median income for a White D.C. family is $120,000, while it is $41,000 for Black families.

Jackson said his study illustrates the social and economic issues that African Americans face in the District, and further demonstrates why there is a need for a Poor People’s Campaign in D.C. “What startled me was the absolute neglect of people in need,” he said. “I knew it was bad. I didn’t know it was this bad.”

The new Poor People’s Campaign plans to tour the country in 2018, visiting places such as Flint and Detroit, Michigan, where residents face issues from contaminated water to a housing crisis. The organizers will continue to meet with local activists and grassroots leaders to push towards the end of racial and economic injustices, according to Theoharis.

“We’ve been really inspired by the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign that Dr. King planned for … to finish some of the unfinished business that was left undone from about 50 years ago,” she said.

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D.C. schools expel and suspend poor students more often than their peers

BY OLIVIA RICHTER olivia.richter@streetsensemedia.org

S

uspensions and expulsions in D.C. public and charter schools are disproportionately affecting homeless students, low-income students, Black students and students with disabilities, according to a report from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).

“At-risk” students — those experiencing homelessness, enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or under the care of the Child and Family Services Agency — make up 49.9 percent of all students in the enrolled population, yet they made up 84 percent of expulsions in the 2016-17 school year.

In the same year, 645 students who were identified as homeless received at least one out-of-school suspension.

Those students represent 9 percent of all students receiving suspensions. The report showed that fewer homeless students received suspensions/expulsions in the 2016-17 school year than in the previous year.

“Suspensions and expulsions often deprive students of their right to an education,” At-Large Councilmember David Grosso said in a press release. “Students pushed out of school are more likely to fail academically, to drop out, and to end up involved in the criminal justice system.”

Grosso, who chairs the committee on education, introduced his Student Fair Access to School Act of 2017 last November, in an effort to keep students safe and in the classroom. The bill would limit suspensions in kindergarten through eighth grade to the most severe circumstances and ban suspensions or expulsions in high school for all minor offenses.

Grosso’s committee held a public hearing Jan. 30 to discuss the bill. Jon Valant, an education policy researcher at the Brookings Institution, testified on the effects of implicit bias by school faculty members.

“There is reason to worry that well-intentioned, goodhearted educators do exhibit some form of bias. This can especially affect at-risk students,” Valant said. “At-risk and homeless students have to deal with a lot of challenges that other students don’t have to deal with. In a world where we’re punishing things like uniform violations, it can be very difficult for homeless students, and can really be out of their control.”

Valant explained that although some situations warrant suspensions or expulsions, in many cases these forms of discipline are overused and can begin to snowball for homeless students. Repeated suspensions or expulsions can affect the way students are viewed by peers and teachers as well as how they view themselves.

“Perfectly good students can start to develop an image as a bad student,” Valant said. “It is the school’s responsibility to fight against that.”

Despite the comprehensive OSSE report, there is still a lack of data on homeless students in the district. This is, in part, because of underreporting. It can be hard to know whether a student is homeless if they do not self-report. Consequently, Valant says, much more research needs to be conducted on the challenges homeless students face.

“Education researchers often study how we can serve lowincome students and students of color, but we haven’t spent enough time on homeless students,” Valant said. “That’s a problem because homeless students have very particular challenges that are different from virtually any other student in the school system, and until we really understand their

challenges, I think we are behind in research.”

Jamila Larson, the executive director of Homeless Children’s Playtime Project, also testified at the Jan. 30 hearing. Playtime Project, which serves 650 children per year, provides children living in shelters and transitional housing sites with a place to play. At its four sites in D.C., the organization ensures that kids are receiving one-on-one attention, that social and emotional skills are fostered, and that they are having fun.

Regarding exclusionary discipline, Larson said she rarely sees suspensions or expulsions as being beneficial for any students — especially homeless ones.

“The consequences [of exclusionary discipline] can be more serious for students experiencing homelessness,” Larson said. “They have fewer natural networks of support, and the stakes are much higher for them in regard to the cradle-toprison pipeline.”

“The cradle-to-prison pipeline” is a phrase used by advocates to illustrates how students of color and at-risk students are often pushed out of the education system and into the juvenile or criminal justice systems. Taking students out of the classroom through suspension or expulsion can heighten the potential for apathy or delinquency because it forces the student to fall behind academically, making it less likely that he or she will reach graduation.

To prevent the overuse of suspensions and expulsions, schools must implement alternative disciplinary practices.

Larson explained how some schools across the country use restorative justice practices to discipline students by having them acknowledge the harm they did and develop a strategy to repair it. In this way, the conflict can be resolved constructively without taking the student out of the classroom. Some schools offer one-on-one therapeutic support for students and train teachers on how to more effectively help students who are acting out. However, Larson pointed out, such services require funding and resources to be implemented.

Grosso was quoted in the bill’s press release saying that he plans to increase funding for behavioral-health staff in schools and professional development for faculty in the fiscal year 2019 budget.

“We know how negatively suspensions and expulsions affect the students pushed out of school,” Grosso said. “We need to change our approach to set every student up for academic success.”

The Student Fair Access to School Act of 2017 remains under D.C. Council review, and the Committee on Education will hold a series of Budget Oversight Hearings beginning March 28.

The cradle-to-prison pipeline. ILLUSTRATION BY PHILLIP BLACK JR.

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Crafting a city budget: FY2019 Leading up the release of the mayor’s proposed budget, D.C. Council holds performance oversight hearings to evaluate the services, employees and spending of city agencies over the past fiscal year. After the council receives the mayor’s budget proposal, council members hold a month of budget oversight hearings to inform the markup of the mayor’s proposal.

The first budget vote will be May 15, with a second and final vote on May 29. For more about this process and to view the documents and answers provided by each agency, visit www.DCCouncil.us/pages/budget-oversight-2018

End-of-life care and food justice dominate committee on health hearing

BY ANNIE ALBRIGHT // annie.albright@streetsensemedia.org

District residents, medical-service providers and advocates testified about a range of issues pertaining to the city’s wellbeing at a Feb. 12 hearing of the council’s Committee on Health.

Many witnesses were focused on food injustice, particularly the discrepancy in access to full-service grocery stores and fresh produce between D.C. neighborhoods.

Councilmember Vincent Gray, the committee chair, said early in the hearing, “It’s shameful that we have situations in which on the western side of the city we have grocery stores that are renowned for their commitment to serving people, [whereas] with 150,000 people living collectively in Ward 7 and Ward 8, we have three grocery stores serving the people living in those two wards.”

Several initiatives to address these discrepancies were highlighted during the course of the testimony.

A representative from D.C. Central Kitchen said that in the past year, the Healthy Corners program has grown to include 67 participants.

The D.C. Healthy Corners program is a collaboration between D.C. Central Kitchen and the Department of Health that seeks to improve the ability of D.C. corner stores to provide fresh, healthy produce in areas with few or no full-service grocery stores. Several D.C. residents testified in favor of programs such as Produce Plus and Produce Rx, while asking that funding for the programs be increased. Produce Plus and Produce Rx help individuals purchase fresh produce at farmers’ markets.

D.C. residents and experts spoke about two issues pertaining to elder and end-oflife care. In late 2017, the D.C. Council passed the D.C. Death with Dignity Act, which allows residents with terminal illnesses to seek medical aid in dying. The bill was widely supported by the public and the council, where it passed with an 11-2 majority. Despite some opposition from Congress, federal lawmakers have not yet blocked the law from going into effect, but its implementation has been slow. Advocates testified that since the passage of Death with Dignity, not a single service provider or patient has registered with the Department of Health portal, which is the first step in accessing the law. Several stated that this was due to patients’ lack of knowledge about the

bill. Rev. Charles McNeill of Unity Baptist Church testified that he is “concerned that the patients that need the bill the most do not know about it, and if they do not about it, they do not know how to access it.” He added that many of those who might benefit from the bill are elderly and not adept at accessing the online information needed to register for medical aid in dying.

D.C. assisted-living facilities were thrust into the spotlight by advocates who cited rough handling of fragile patients and neglectful attitudes of staff at these facilities.

Patients and families of patients testified to the poor quality of care at facilities such as Grand Oaks Assisted Living Facility at Sibley Hospital and the Methodist Home.

A representative from the D.C. Long-Term Care Ombudsman said that their office had addressed more than 500 complaints relating to long-term elder care in the past year, and that 93 percent were resolved.

Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, Director of the D.C. Department of Health, gave her office’s take on some of the issues raised by those testifying.

With regard to the Death with Dignity Act, Dr. Nesbitt cited financial constraints preventing a large-scale marketing campaign to inform patients about the benefits of the bill but noted that educational materials are available both online and by mail. Dr. Nesbitt noted that complaints related to long-term care facilities rarely reach her office unless they cannot be resolved by the office of the D.C. Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

Gray questioned Dr. Nesbitt about her involvement as a regulator in the 2017 suspension of obstetrics services at United Medical Center. In 2017, UMC was given 90 days to address issues raised by the Department of Health in response to dangerous medical mistakes made during the delivery of obstetric care. Shortly after, the Board of UMC voted in a closed-door session to shutter obstetrics services at UMC permanently. Chairman Gray stated that the closed-door vote “adds to the already very serious concerns I have about transparency at the hospital.” Nesbitt stated that “United Medical Center acted no differently than any of the other hospitals would have done” by remaining tight-lipped about their plans to shutter the department until the last minute.

D.C. Council reviews efforts to serve aging residents

BY JAKE MAHER jake.maher@streetsensemedia.org

D.C. Council held a Feb. 12 oversight hearing to assess the policies and investments that serve the District’s elderly population. The Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization heard testimony from officials and public witnesses regarding the D.C. Office on Aging, the Age Friendly D.C. Task Force and the D.C. Commission on Aging.

The D.C. Office on Aging currently serves 17,500 of the approximately 108,000 District residents over 60 years of age, according to Carolyn Nicholas, chair of the D.C. Commission on Aging, which monitors the office. Nicholas said the office needs to conduct a city-wide assessment to determine which seniors are unserved or underserved and how to improve service. She said she was pleased that Councilmember Brandon Todd had introduced legislation requiring the office to produce a long-term plan to address these issues.

The committee also heard testimonies from various public witnesses. Susan Sheppard, director of prevention and education for nonprofit Terrific, Inc., talked about challenges faced by adults who are over 60 years old, HIV positive and looking for housing. When Committee Chair Anita Bonds inquired how many requests for service Terrific receives per year, Sheppard said that she had received five referrals that day, including one from a man facing eviction.

Despite room for improvement, the District was recognized by the World Health Organization in 2017 as an age-friendly city, according to Gail Kohn of the Age Friendly D.C. Task Force, which monitors implementation of the city’s Age Friendly Strategic Plan.

The council will use the information gathered at this oversight hearing to inform its review in April of these agencies’ budget proposals for fiscal year 2018.

Improving access to parks, jobs, businesses and education for people with disabilities

BY ANNIE ALBRIGHT annie.albright@streetsensemedia.org

D.C. residents, disability-rights advocates and service providers testified Feb. 14 during the Committee on Human Service’s Performance Oversight Hearing, led by Chairwoman Brianne Nadeau.

Several of those testifying spoke about their dismay with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Education and Reform Act of 2017, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last month and would extend by four months the amount of time business owners have to address ADA compliance issues. Nadeau stated that if the bill is passed, the D.C. council may draft its own legislation to address the potential harm to disabled individuals.

Mathew McCollough, Director of the Office of Disability Rights, testified to the progress the city has made in ensuring that all public facilities are accessible to all D.C. residents. Because many of the District’s

recreational centers were built recently, they are mostly ADA compliant. ADA compliance issues remain, however, with outdoor public facilities. McCollough testified that parks and playgrounds are particularly inaccessible to those who use wheelchairs.

Many of the service providers in attendance emphasized concerns with maintaining a robust workforce in the face of recent policy shifts, including an upcoming minimum-wage increase.

The D.C. Coalition of Disability Service Providers testified that rising labor costs would detract from its ability to hire enough qualified workers and expressed concerns with being compensated by the District for the rising labor costs associated with Medicaid care. Nadeau announced that on March 15 the Council will hold a workinggroup meeting to discuss these DHS workforce development issues.

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AT A GLANCE

OPINION:

All 8 wards must focus on housing

PHOTO BY OLIVIA RICHTER

BUILDING COMMUNITY

BY REGINALD BLACK, A.K.A. “DA STREET REPORTIN’ ARTIST” Artist/Vendor

O

n Jan. 30, the night of President Trump’s first State of the Union address, Ward 3 Democrats held a panel discussion to consider the myriad problems plaguing the city when it comes to affordable housing and homelessness. The ward, where some residents have sued to block the construction of a proposed family shelter, was an important community in which to hold such a discussion.

At-Large Councilmember Robert White noted that being employed does not save low-income residents from the housing crisis. “What we have is a lack of opportunity for people of moderate income,” he said. “They are not becoming homeowners.”

White said the city is investing in programs such as rapid rehousing, targeted affordable housing and permanent supportive housing to help people dealing with homelessness.

However, a significant obstacle with rapid rehousing is that people in shelters are afraid to accept rapid rehousing offers because many who go through the program not only become homeless again but now have an eviction on their record, according to White.

White praised the city for a political climate that has led to more investment in affordable housing than any other jurisdiction in the nation, but did not gloss over the magnitude of the problem.

“While we throw millions at what is a billion-dollar problem, it feels like throwing pebbles and that we are really not hitting the mark,” he said. White has introduced a bill that will turn unused office space into affordable housing.

The city’s Department of Housing and Community Development manages 14 programs and services to help people find housing, according to Deputy Director Allison Ladd.

The Bowser administration has made housing a priority, as evidenced by her unprecedented commitment of $100 million to the local Housing Production Trust Fund, according to Ladd.

“We have been able to produce 1000 units across the city,” Ladd said. “We don’t want to just have the funds available; we want to invest them.” DCHD launched its Vacant to Vibrant D.C. initiative in December to help dispose of vacant property in its inventory.

During the question-and-answer portion of the panel, audience members raised concerns about the closure of D.C. General Family Shelter, which Mayor Bowser recently announced would occur at the end of 2018.

“I used to work at this horrible place as a volunteer called D.C. Village,” a Ward 3 resident said. “It was replaced by an equally horrible place called D.C. General Hospital. And if we’re gonna tear that down, where are we gonna put the families before we build the new shelters?”

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Max Tipping, a panel member and an attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, could not provide an answer but raised his own concerns over the shelter closing before enough replacement housing facilities have been built.

“The whole idea behind closing D.C. General has always been that replacement shelters had to come online before it was closed,” Tipping said. “As of right now, I think by the time they are planning on closing D.C. General, only three of them will be online. I think it is going to put a lot more pressure on the system; there will be more families in motels and families who are routinely denied shelter access when they are lawfully entitled to it.”

The 50-unit shelter in Ward 3 was expected to open in 2019 before the residents’ lawsuit was filed. Bowser’s D.C. General replacement plan called for a new shelter to be built in all eight wards: seven family shelters and one downtown women’s shelter, which opened in 2016.

Hopefully the residents in Ward 3 can see how the decisions that are made in any ward will affect the rest of the city. Ward 3 is an affluent area, and meetings like this are necessary to keep the dialogue about housing at the forefront of the minds of all District of Columbia residents. In time, such events should be able to establish political will to make sure everyone has a safe and stable home.

Olivia Richter contributed reporting.

Frequent writer Jeffery McNeil was invited to the White House.

Read more in his opinion piece on page 10.

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

“My columns are just as influential as any pundit. I’m as influential as Ann Coulter, Dennis Prager, Larry Elder, Rush Limbaugh, Judge Jeanine and Sean Hannity.”

Jeffery McNeil, Artist/Vendor

BIRTHDAYS Charles Davis March 10 ARTIST/VENDOR

Ray Hicks March 11 ARTIST/VENDOR

Lorrie Hayes March 12 ARTIST/VENDOR

Alvin Dixon March 16 ARTIST/VENDOR

Patty Smith March 19 ARTIST/VENDOR

Reginald Black and several other attendees. PHOTO BY OLIVIA RICHTER

8 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 7 - 2 0 , 2018

NEWS

San Francisco, California

In Skid Row, Los Angeles, 6,696 arrests of homeless persons were reported to have been made between 2011 and 2016. Sleeping rough, sitting in public places, panhandling, public urination (in cities that provide almost zero public toilets) and other charges attack the ‘blight’ of homelessness. Infraction notices rapidly turn into misdemeanors, leading to warrants, incarceration, unpayable fines and the stigma of a criminal conviction that in turn virtually prevents subsequent employment and access to most housing.

A community health initi 21,000 patients with free services, overseen by lo

United Nations report: United States has the w

BY ADAM SENNOTT Real Change - Seattle, WA

I

n early December, United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston landed in Los Angeles, the first stop in his tour of extreme poverty in the United States.

It was a Sunday, a day before he was scheduled to begin, but Alston said he had decided to get a head start on his mission. One of the first things he learned was that homeless people in the area have access to few public toilets.

“All of the streets smelled of urine,” Alston said. He soon discovered that “the homelessness situation in California is pretty shocking.”

Over the next two weeks, Alston also visited Alabama, Georgia, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In his report, Alston said he witnessed homeless people who are “barely surviving on Skid Row in Los Angeles”; heard about thousands of people saddled with “unpayable debt” after receiving minor infraction notices; met people who lost their teeth because they did not have access to dental care; and saw sewage-filled yards in states that “don’t consider sanitation facilities to be their responsibility.”

Alston also reported on the extraordinary efforts by municipal officials determined to help the poorest 20 percent of their communities; a church in San Francisco that offers services to the homeless seven days a week; and a community health initiative in Charleston, West Virginia, that offers medical services to 21,000 patients.

When asked why he was exploring extreme poverty in the United States when conditions in other parts of the world are far more dire, Alston said it is important to ensure the wealthiest country in the world is doing its part.

“Every country has human rights obligations, and every country should be doing the best it can,” Alston said. “So, if we had a system where the only human

rights investigations focused on North Korea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a handful of other basket cases, it wouldn’t be a credible system.”

He also noted that while conditions might be worse in other countries, that doesn’t mean the United States doesn’t have its own impoverished populations, and it has a much harder time explaining why that poverty exists in the first place.

“Unlike the really poor countries who can with some legitimacy say, ‘Well we don’t have the money, we can’t afford it,’ the United States is in a position to say, ‘Well we do have the money, but that’s not how we want to spend it,’ ” Alston said. “And that raises pretty direct and obvious questions in terms of really respecting people’s basic human rights.”

In his report, Alston noted the pervasive contrast between private wealth and public squalor.

“American exceptionalism was a constant theme in my conversations,” he wrote. “But instead of realizing its founders’ admirable commitments, today’s United States has proved itself to be exceptional in far more problematic ways that are shockingly at odds with its immense wealth and its founding commitment to human rights.”

There were 55,188 homeless individuals living in Los Angeles in 2017, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Only 25 percent of the city’s homeless population was living in a shelter.

In Skid Row alone, which comprises about 50 square blocks near downtown L.A., there were 4,633 homeless people, according to the city’s 2017 homeless census. Of that group, 2,669 were sheltered and 1,964 were living on the streets.

The U.N. special rapporteur compared the conditions of Skid Row to those in a Syrian refugee camp.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 9

Devastation in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Political rights and poverty are inextricably linked in Puerto Rico. If it were a state, Puerto Rico would be the poorest state in the Union. But it is a territory.

a

iative in Charleston, West Virginia, serves e medical, dental, pharmaceutical and other ocal volunteer physicians, dentists and others.

Puerto Rico

A Catholic church in San Francisco, California, opens its pews to the homeless every day between services.

ALL PHOTOS COUTESY OF THE U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON EXTREME POVERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

wealth to end homelessness and chooses not to Officials in L.A. would describe how much they were doing and the grand plans they had for the years ahead, according to Alston. But when asked whether their efforts would provide reasonable housing for all of the homeless population, those same officials admitted it wouldn’t even come close.

“Even though some money has been mobilized, and there are lots of policies and so on, the basic policy is missing,” Alston said. “And that is to eliminate all but the most hardcore homelessness.”

But it was not just conditions in Skid Row that Alston found alarming.

In Alabama, he investigated cases of hookworm, an intestinal parasite that experts believed had been eradicated from the U.S. in the 1980s. Alston said he was shocked by the lack of urgency from public health officials.

“This is not a problem that is yet affecting the elites, or the well-off,” Alston said, implying that neither the super rich nor the government that represents them is motivated to consider radical changes to the country’s economic system.

“It’s a shame.”

Kelly Miller, an activist who has been homeless for about six years and lives in Washington, D.C., recently traveled to Atlanta to share her personal experiences with Alston at a human-rights conference. Because of scheduling issues, she and 19 others recounted their stories to him by phone. “Basically, I just told [Alston] that I’m a victim of sex-trafficking,” Miller said. “And I told a little bit about the struggles of when I was outside in Kentucky, homeless and fighting, I even had to take a shower in the rain because I didn’t have anywhere to access water.”

Experiencing homelessness in a rural area is more difficult than being homeless in a big city, according to Miller. She contrasted her time in Kentucky with her time in the nation’s capital. “In the rural areas, number one, we don’t

have a bus system, we don’t have churches that assist like they do here in D.C.,” Miller said. “We don’t have organizations that assist. You’re just out of luck.

You’re actually living in the woods.”

She said that while being an activist is harder when you are homeless, it is still possible to make an impact.

Nonetheless, Alston was not optimistic by the end of his tour.

“In a lot of countries that I go to, one gets a sense that there are a number of policies that, if implemented, would really make a difference — and that governments might be prepared to look at those policies,” Alston said. “But in the U.S., the problem is much deeper.”

In the nation’s capital, Alston said he devoted much of his time to meeting with officials from the White House and Congress. He said that the Trump administration’s approach to fighting poverty is to move people from welfare to work.

“It’s based on the assumption that most people who are on welfare could work if they wanted to, and it’s only laziness, or whatever, that prevents them from doing so,” Alston said.

He said that along with members of the Trump administration, he encountered many state governments and politicians who believe deeply that people’s needing government assistance to survive is an aberrational situation and that many who receive benefits are simply scamming the system.

“The reality is that poverty, as I said, I think, in the report, [is] a political decision,” Alston said. “A government can either decide to address it and eliminate it, or can decide that they don’t give a damn.”

This article has been republished courtesy of Real Change and the International Network of Street Papers.

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OPINION

From the crackhouse Why you should care about the new Fed chief to the White House

BY ANGIE WHITEHURST

BY JEFFERY MCNEIL

Jeffery McNeil and Special Assistant to the President Cliff Sims.

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

In the last two editions of Street Sense, I have been criticized by a customer and a fellow vendor for writing so much about Trump. And the paper has been criticized for publishing me. Some say what I write is offensive. Well, homelessness is offensive! I’ve lived an offensive life. Homelessness is grotesque, putrid and ugly.

I slept outside. I was robbed and assaulted. I’ve seen people die on the street.

But today I can honestly say my columns are read from the White House to the crackhouse.

Although I have passed by the White House several times, it may as well have been in China. It was something I knew of, but it was distant. Over the years I’ve written about, and to, several politicians. No one has had the decency to respond to anything I said, until now. Recently a White House communications staffer, Cliff Sims, read one of my columns and invited me to that distant seat of power. He wanted to hear more about my life and accomplishments and said he would pass on the columns I brought with me to President Donald Trump.

I toured the West Wing, the press area and residences.

In the words of Baseball Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean, “If you done it, it isn’t bragging.”

Something changes you when you get invited to the White House. Our democracy is founded on putting aside your differences for the common good.

Results mean more to me then promises, and this administration opened a world to me that was closed by other presidents. For that, I will always be indebted and grateful. I don’t want to be partisan or divisive. I want to listen, help and teach people to see multiple sides of the story.

But I want to be honest. Regressives don’t like dissent, opposition, dialogue and debate. They want total obedience or else.They want to make Street Sense a safe-space newspaper where homelessness is the sole realm of social justice warriors. According to this group of elitists, politics is too sophisticated and complicated for me to digest. I need to defer social policy to academics and experts. They want me to do less yapping about Trump and write uncontroversial and uninteresting columns. I don’t aim to offend, but I don’t care if I do, as long as I get them out of their bunker and break through the echo chamber.

I’m open-minded. I research my columns, and I get along with many Republicans and Democrats. Some people say I forgot where I came from. Quite the opposite, I’m not trying to go back to where I once was. I struggled with addiction, I was homeless, but I did not blame others. I took advantage of my opportunities. You have rights and freedoms in America. No one owes you anything.

Yet it seems to disturb people that I’m not interested in inclusion, nor do I want to be a global citizen. I’m a man, I love the flag and I honor our laws. We all have our own views, I don’t have to conform to yours and you don’t have to read mine. There are other opinions next to it; there’s a news section before it and an art section after it. This paper is a platform for all of us.

As a writer I wish I could get 100 percent adulation and applause. But some things need to be said, even if it makes people uncomfortable. Sometimes you need a sledgehammer as opposed to a feather to wake people up.

Jeffrey McNeil is a vendor for Street Sense Media.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who was sworn in last month, provided three hours of testimony before Congress on Feb. 27, in a hearing titled “Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy.”

“So what?” you might say.

Because the Federal Reserve is an obscure, mysterious body, few of us understand who Powell is or what he does. Well, we should all care. This position, a four-year presidential appointment, leads the Federal Reserve. And the Fed sets interest rates, determining everything from the value of our money to the unemployment rate and the average wage paid to workers.

We all feel the effect of the Fed’s policies if the economy slows down and it becomes harder to apply for a job, get a loan or ask your boss for a raise. The Fed oversees everything from your mortgage interest rate, which it directly controls, to whether banks are loaning in certain neighborhoods where homeowners have lower incomes.

In other words, our financial wherewithal, as individuals, communities and as a nation, is pegged to the terms set by the Federal Reserve.Their actions can, have and still do have an impact on racial and gender discrimination in America.

Fed Up, a national coalition, and local members of SPACES D.C., including myself, showed up in our signature “Full Employment Defender” shirts to attend Powell’s hearing. We are fondly known as the “green shirts” by members of Congress and are recognized for our attendance at many Federal Reserve events, protests, non-violent demonstrations and educational outreach activities.

“When everyday people, low-wage workers, have a presence in the halls of power to demand better jobs and higher wages, it makes a huge impression on economic policymakers,” said Jordan Haedtler, campaign manager for the Fed Up coalition.

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) used his time to ask Powell what unemployment rate he considered to be “full employment” in the United States. Between 3.5 and 5 percent, Powell answered. “6.8 percent seems to be the lowest [Black unemployment] number that I could find since we’ve been keeping numbers,” Green said.

“And for 47 of the last 54 years, it’s always been twice that of White unemployment.”

Powell agreed that this amounted to damaging or hostile discrimination. Green asked, given these facts, what will be done to address inequality in unemployment and lending opportunities between Black and White people.

“That which we will tolerate, we will not change. We have learned to tolerate African American unemployment being twice that of White unemployment. I refuse to tolerate it,” Green said, stressing that not just the Fed but Congressional Democrats and Republicans all need to step up their work to address Black unemployment.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) followed Green’s line of questioning by noting that, according to the United Nations, the United States is on track to be the most unequal country in the world.

“It’s a big, very complicated set of issues, and I’ll just point to a couple of things,” Powell said. “The first is that we’ve seen a stagnation of middle-class, median incomes. And that seems to be closely tied to the flattening out of educational attainment and skills attainment by our workers. And I think we need to have the best trained workforce and the most highly educated workforce.”

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), vice chair of the Committee on Financial Services, challenged the Fed’s internal commitment to diversity. She noted that the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will step down this year and said this is one of the most powerful economic policymaking positions in the country because of proximity to Wall Street and the New York president’s added role as a permanent voting member of a very influential Federal Reserve committee. Waters asked whether Powell would be prepared to use his authority to veto candidates who are too connected with Wall Street or not from a diverse set of race, gender and ethnic backgrounds.

“We have got to do better about diversity, in particular at the highest levels,” Waters said.

Powell said that a firm is hired to seek out candidates and that diverse candidates are given every opportunity to succeed. “I cannot in any individual case guarantee that there will be a diverse outcome,” he said. “But I can guarantee that the process will always be working in that direction.”

Waters said she would follow up to learn which minority financial-services organizations have been contacted by search firms and to refer such groups.

Powell agreed to help.

I’m grateful to our representatives for prioritizing inequality and diversity in leadership. As the new Fed Chair gets to work, I, along with the Fed Up coalition, will be watching.

Angie Whitehouse is a a vendor for Street Sense Media and an activist.. The full testimony is viewable via C-SPAN at https://tinyurl.com/PowellFedUp.

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

ILLUSTRATION BY DERIAN HICKMAN

/ / 11

Inspired by D.C. youth, marching for all our lives

BY KEN MARTIN

Remembering the victims of the Parkland shooting

BY ROBERT WARREN

Sometimes it’s hard to believe this day death and evil did its thing. The bells ring and the nation grieves once again, trying to answer why such a beautiful young soul should be killed, why oh why, even after all the tears we have already cried.

For those who died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High this past Valentine’s Day, there’s no need to say, “Our prayers are with you.” Words cannot describe how heartbroken we are.

Our sons’ and daughters’ faces give us comfort and remind us to love one another and believe in the humanity of man. The bells ring, and people will sing over the Lord’s praise, that our Lord might remove the sadness from our hearts and give us the courage to say NO, we won’t allow a teenager or any person to have a gun. People murder our babies — as if the NRA is God-sent, when it is in the Devil’s evil footprints. For a small piece of gold, many politicians have lost their souls, for our babies’ blood is on their hands.

The Saint Valentine’s Day

massacre has a trail that leads to many broken hearts. When will it stop? O Lord, give guidance and a light to our children. And if they say, “The Devil made me do it,” then who else can it be? Call him evil, pure and plain. For who is really to blame? It is evil to sell children weapons of war. As the saying goes: “Live by the gun, die by the gun.”

Mass shootings every day; there’s never just “one more day.”

This death is built into our past and our Second Amendment right to bear arms to murder our fellow man. What they say at the NRA is pure evil’s way: “We need more guns to keep us safe.” That will be the day when there are no more shootouts in Chicago like the wild, wild West Coast.

People need the Holy Ghost.

Take a walk with the Lord, not with your Glock.

Time and the people’s vote will tell. The NRA and its supporters can all rot in hell.

Robert Warren is a vendor for Street Sense Media.

As I stood selling my papers in Tenleytown, enjoying the jazz that I play through a speaker for passersby, several people carrying signs caught my attention. All were quite intent in reaching their destination. I never even tried to prepare my trusty camera for a picture until, luckily, I caught a glimpse of another from a distance and prepped to stop them.

The young lady was on a mission like the others — to save themselves and the rest of us from those “Right to Kill” folks. The real liberals who like to freely spread their lead.

She and her compatriots, or, more aptly, fellow patriots, were joining AU students, Georgetown Day School students and others in protest of the policies, selfishness and/or ignorance that led to the ending of 17 lives in the recent Parkland, Florida, tragedy and too many before it.

I asked her to indulge me for this picture. It is worth a thousand words to me. It says that the terrorist’s weapons aren’t the guns but the pens. The pens that sign into law the ease with which the guns are obtained by those who would kill their fellow man; the pens that write the lies, er, scripts read by gun lobbyists; PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN the pens that endorse the billions of dollars spent to produce more efficient ways to annihilate our planetary neighbors and the kids down the block. Her sign said 141 American youth have died since the Columbine massacre! And many more Americans have suffered! And continue to suffer.

More importantly, it says (at least to me), and please pardon my grammar, “Me and my peers are gonna clean up this mess you made by callin’ you out, holding your feet to the fire, and making you stop squandering our resources and OUR LIVES on your greedy interests. It is not your country; it’s our country. You aren’t the future of America. We are! And we intend to be around to live it!”

They held their rally and are continuing this honorable pursuit with a March 24 protest march on Washington.

I will be there (expecting my two teens in tow), camera-ready this time. Maybe I’ll play my Jazz. But otherwise, “playtime is over!” It’s time adults stopped acting like children and behaved with maturity like our children do.

Ken Martin is a vendor for Street Sense Media.

Pass Social Security protections

Fighting back for the little people

A very important bill just passed the House on Feb. 5 and is headed to the Senate: House Resolution 4547, the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. This bill was introduced to provide more oversight on the Social Security Administration representative payee program.

That’s when an individual is designated to manage another person’s money that they receive from Social Security. The legislation was created because, in some cases, representative payees have stolen and/or misused funds. People with disabilities have reported abuse and neglect by their payees.

I wrote D.C.’s Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, and heard back from her office that Norton is eager to work with her colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill. These laws are very important to people with disabilities, which includes many people experiencing homelessness.

People in both communities need support. If you need someone to manage your money, it must be someone you can trust, in order to have a healthy, happy life. If you are able, please contact your representative or senator to let them know how important this legislation is.

As the late New York City hotel heiress Leona Helmsley said when she was accused of tax evasion, "Only the little people pay taxes."

Leona was right, but it's time for a change! Our federal tax code is a Frankenstein monster: stitched together by Congress to please every special interest group wanting a tax break and grossly unfair to honest, hard-working taxpayers. "Trickledown" economics failed to help low- and middle-income working people during the Reagan-Bush years. It allowed the wealthy to hoard more money and gain more control over corporations and politicians. President Trump and

BY JENNIFER MCLAUGHLIN

Jennifer McLaughlin is an artist and vendor for Street Sense Media.

BY GARY MINTER

Congress, please bring our troops home and cut off all foreign aid.

Use our tax dollars to help working people and retired workers.

Please follow the KISS principle: "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" "Repeal and replace" the individual income tax, which unfairly places most of the tax burden on working people, with a 1 percent tax on real estate, big-ticket luxuries (like yachts, fancy cars, high-end jewelry and art), stocks, bonds and cash deposits.

It's not so easy to hide real estate and mansions on a small island in the Caribbean or off the coast of England, though I'm sure some tax attorneys will try!

Give retired workers barely surviving on Social Security a retroactive cost of living raise equal to what you have been giving yourselves and highly-paid federal employees all these years, to help us “little people” keep up with inflated housing costs, inflated medical bills and basic survival. At least give us enough to buy a few cups of coffee at McDonald’s!

Congress, you have been sucking up to the rich and powerful too long. You have sold working people down the river — but you can still make it right.

Gary J. Minter is a former Street Sense Media vendor and one of the “little people” who pay taxes.

1 2 // S T REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 7 - 2 0 , 2018

ART A parting prayer

Keeping the faith

BY GWYNETTE SMITH // Artist/Vendor

BY BARRON HALL Artist/Vendor

ILLUSTRATION BY DWIGHT HARRIS

How guns have affected my life

BY JACQUELYN PORTEE // Artist/Vendor

Guns have affected my life in many ways.

Guns tend to put hate, trauma, fear and unforgiveness in the human conscience.

When I was 7 years old, I can remember after a domestic altercation that my stepfather had with my mother, in the early 1970s, he turned and pointed a shotgun at me. I started crying, and somehow my mother had convinced my step-father to not do it.

I had a first cousin named Cory who was killed by a gun, after coming from a nightclub, over a girl that he and another man liked. This had really disturbed me about never wanting a gun, because guns don’t just affect the families of the dead, but the shooter’s family as well.

The murderer can get a life sentence or just the death penalty. A person should be able to legally purchase a gun, but only if they are a responsible and mature adult.

There is a new civil war going on in America. Much of the world is losing faith and trust in us.

The word of God says the new Babylon will fall. It will be cut off from the world and will fall from within. The word of God says there will be crying and gnashing of teeth when this happens.

America is the new Babylon.

Nothing divided like we are can stand for too long. We let the fool get to be our leader. We let him make fools out of us all. God said the nation will reap what it has sown.

The American that some of us have been fooled by is here. The real racists are about to show themselves. These are truly apocalyptic times. I try to keep my faith in God. Anybody can be a Christian, Muslim or whatever — but God loves the believer. The only relief for the poor and homeless is God, and the word says we must be believers to be accepted by Him. We need to embrace God and stop believing in a government full of liars.

How can we still have so many homeless with all these churches?

So many liars.

May the students and their teachers rest in peace

BY CHARLES DAVIS // Artist/Vendor

On Feb. 14, the day of the massacre I was incredibly upset. My heart was broken. But on this loving day, Valentine’s Day, my heart was open to everything, even the love of missing my mother, may she rest in peace.

When I saw the shooting on the news, I thought about my situation and what I am going through. I thought about how long it took me to have a place to live. The students had lives and careers the shooter took away from them. That is why I count my blessings every day and am thankful for what I have, because being homeless for 28 and a half years was a long ride. But I never gave up, thanks to God. I will still always love the blessing God gave me and I dedicate my prayers to the students and faculty who were killed in that terrible Valentine’s Day massacre. May they rest in peace. My prayers also go out to their families. May God bless you. Amen!

Fun, music, laughter People from everywhere Lights brightly dancing Seemed all without a care

All I got is me

BY MARCELLUS PHILLIPS // Artist/Vendor

When I wake up in the morning to start a new day, I never know what lies in front of me.

But I know I must face the battle alone. I live alone, with no girlfriend or kids and a very small family. Some say, "Go and get some friends." But in this age, it's not that simple.

Most people are selfish in their own way — that's a fact, not an opinion.

I was always the odd ball that liked to observe and learn from others' mistakes.

Now, as an adult, I find myself walking down the road of life alone. I'm grateful, and I appreciate life. I just want to enjoy it and stay positive and focused on my goals.

I'm used to having a lot of people around me, or at least that one special person in my life. I don't want a lot of friends or distractions, just someone to enjoy life with.

I find myself alone a lot nowadays. Things and people have changed since I moved into my new place.

I haven't had a lot of friends in years, so I'm cool with that. I prefer that over pretenders who are not true friends and just want something from you. These days, many people spend all day on their phone, wrapped up in social media.

I would prefer to take my valuable time and focus and enjoy "REALITY" instead.

So, for now, I'll keep pursuing my goals and hope that I meet the right kind of people and that special someone.

The cost of cancer

In the past there had been problems People said war was in the air Now the mood seemed different Olympic time was here Skaters racing about Black pride was there One black already a winner After skating only two years Bobsledder going fast Lying, unable to see Hitting an icy wall Harder, maybe, than a tree People, dancing and waving flags And some stumbles from athletes But many their grace gave awe As they got back to their feet Olympics time was here That message even clear To the sister watching And the VP very near Graceful ice dancers Fast ice racers Curling that seemed like fun A time for everyone They’d slide so carefully Over the ice To place in the circle Their stone They gathered Full of pride To wear their medals home

BY CHON GOTTI // Artist/Vendor

Another day of treatment, and yes, it’s true: It takes years to make you feel alive.

Cancer is a very invasive and destructive enemy. Even afterward, attempting to repair and restore the damage caused by the treatment to fight the disease, the body remains broken. It is a very long process. With the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, you will never be 100 percent, because your immune system is weakened. My father was a victim of this aggressive and deadly disease.

Now, I focus on those who take the time to read this message to the end.

In the most difficult moments of life, you

Marching in came the countries Including also the hosts Who ended any mysteries With victories they can boasts

realize who your real friends are or who really cares about and appreciates you.

Unfortunately, most friends will leave you in the middle of a story. They may not even read your message if they see that it’s too long.

I would like to know who I can count on.

Please, in honor of a relative or a friend who has cancer, is in remission and continues to fight cancer, or has died of cancer, repeat the words “Amen, it is done. Let the Almighty God be the Glory.” I wrote this to honor my father and all those who know the struggle. Amen.

For some, A sense of loss For a while They will be alone

IMAGE COUTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

That flame now gone For two more years Joy, all that is left Dotted, with happy tears Now they leave The music, lights, a time to sing But again the flame will light When many make their way to Peking All we could ask As they left there that day: Could the Olympics’ meaning last?

And for that we will all pray

HOW DO YOU SURVIVE THE COLD?

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Thank God it’s Friday

BY RON DUDLEY, A.K.A. “POOKANU” // Artist/Vendor

Thank god it's Friday I can't wait for the weekend I can't wait for the weekend Thank god it's Friday Been working, working, working all week.

Thank god I ain't freeze, yesterday was ten degrees I been working, working, working in the rain Selling newspapers, they say I'm insane I been working, working, working on my smile In the snow, in the heat, I can't let my stomach growl I been working, working, working on myself I'm eating better now, I been working on my health I been working, working, working on my soul People can be so cold, I just pray for self-control I'm saying good morning, when most people snoring If life was too easy, I think it'd be boring I love a challenge, I'm working on balance Don't have to be violent to kill them with silence I love my job, I love what I do I just got one question for ya': What about you?

I ain't being sarcastic, I'm not an NBA draft pick.

I'm a Street Sense vendor, the one you remember With the goggles in the snow, when it's five below Thank god, thank god, that I never froze

Cold Society

BY REGINALD BLACK // Artist/Vendor

Low temperature, chilly, cool: all words we use to describe something low.

Never mind the temperature of humanity; humans are served or consumed of heat, or us, you would say.

"Feel uncomfortable."

Our fears and horrors of causality are an unconscious cry for peace.

We must resolve all fears and look out for our neighbors without a home.

When we ignore people, or give them words like "it's ok,” we are not effecting a change.

To reach our objective we should not be “cool” toward others’ plight.

Do we ever stop to think that we are the ones who can make change The trail, for example, seems no longer fresh or easy to follow.

To be far from finding, or being without preparation, is what keeps a 'low temperature.'

Our viral infection is completely cutting off our humanity.

Don't be cold; we don't need to be consumed by the heat of apathy.

I been working all day but my feet ain't freezin' I got 10 papers left, so I ain't leaving I got on socks, I got on gloves, got a hat and a coat I'm on a block where I get love, so I'm warmer than most I'm on a block where I see peace, instead of the war I'm by the number one store that’s got the craziest door Thank god it's Friday I can't wait for the weekend I can't wait for the weekend Thank god it's Friday

This for the farmers who grow all our food For the cops that protect us from fools For the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, Marines For the scientist, dentist that keep our teeth clean For the security guard that keep our job safe For the people that get to work early, not late This for the dog walkers, the bike riders For the men and women who fight fires For the writers, the actors, the poets that sing For the lawyers and judges that protect us from things Thank god it's Friday I can't wait for the weekend I can't wait for the weekend Thank god it's Friday

Winter's Cold

BY ROBERT WARREN // Artist/Vendor

I say I love it, whatever it is.

This season of breakups and letdowns, people running all around with that fever.

Cabin living is not all it is cracked up to be.

And for the kids who love winter's snow: Let them play for a while.

See how they smile, when the sun shines off the fresh snow.

But us old folks know, it ain't just snow falling.

It's the cold that kills and leaves you, praying for that old guy down the street.

The one who is always there, come Hell or high water, whatever that means.

Old Man Winter has already taken most of his friends.

But still he guards The Block, the best Secret Agent I ever knew.

How he has survived, only the Lord knows.

And maybe the kids he has snowball fights with.

He always seems to let them win.

Could it be the hot tea we give to them, for him.

As he holds down The Post.

ILLUSTRATION BY LEVESTER GREEN

Maybe it's the old Marvin Gaye, songs he plays on his boombox, that warm his soul.

Anyone's guess, where he gets the power from.

This for the teachers, the leaders the doctors the preachers The soldiers that fight everyday for our freedom This for the bus drivers, truck drivers, pilots that fly For the people that open your door and say “hi” This for the dishwasher, bus boy, cashier, the cook This for the optician, now I can see, look.

This for the barber, the waiter, the waitress, the staff For the comedians, ha ha, they make me laugh

// 13

Warmth from within

BY DEB BRANTLEY // Artist/Vendor

Wrap up. That's what people tell me, anyway. Wear layers of clothing, such as sweaters and shirts. Wear exactly three pair of socks. Eat hot soup. Wear long johns if you are male and stockings if you are female. Wear hats — no, wear scarves — no, wear "winter hats." Wear boots. Wear gloves. Wear jackets. Of course, wear tennis sneakers.

And when in doubt or without, sing. It warms your spirit and takes your mind off other things. When I sing and talk to people, they LOVE my treble, my voice. I'm a survivor of liver cancer, complete with carcinoma and liver enzymes, and congestive heart failure, which I have always had in one form or another. Turns out, what I've been through just made my voice more beautiful.

He's so proud, as people walk by and wonder, if he has a home.

And yet he does, in so many people's hearts.

I say I love it — whatever it is — the winter snow.

And I pray for those left out in the cold.

The winter's cold.

So many souls, lost in it.

Yet children play in its snow.

I say, I love it!

Whatever it is.

Winter's Cold.

4 3 6 8 8 6 7 5 1 9 8 1 44 // 9 2 1 3

FUN & 7GAMES

1 9 4 6 7 2 2 8 1 8 6 3 7 1 8 3 2 5 9 3 7 5 4 9 4 5 6

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1. welterweight 2. exclusionary discipline 3. bourgeoisie 4. Marvin Gaye 5. Antebellum 6. Ida Wells 7. social capital

3

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ACROSS

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Terms and topics referenced in this edition:

© 2014 KrazyDad.com

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each Sudoku 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9. #8

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Name:

"A woman telling her true age is like a buyer confiding his final price to an Armenian rug dealer."

-- Mignon McLaughlin

2 8 4 6 1 9 8 9 7 5 5 6 1 6 8 3 3 1 2 7 3 9 2 5 4 4

ST REET SEN S E

2 3 8 6 5 4 3 7 2 ME DI A / / 1 8 9

1

6

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3 9 7 2 5 manner 5 . A perso n who acts as the receiver o f U.S. So cial Security Inco me and financial manager fo r ano ther perso n.

6 . What do es Ro n D. where that will help yo u identify him when he is selling papers in extreme weather?

Health Organizatio n in 20 17?

7 . Where do es Levester G. suggest yo u go to get o ut o f the co ld and stay healthy?

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

YOUTH HOTLINE Línea de juventud

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE Línea directa de violencia doméstica

(202) 547-7777

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

Case Management Coordinación de Servicios

Food Comida

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 Sales Associate

Logan Hardware // 1734 14th Street NW Full-time, Part-time The primary responsibilities of this position are to provide outstanding customer service, generate sales, merchandise product, and support the store management team.

REQUIRED: High School degree preferred unless still in school; Willingness to learn; Sales experience; Must be able to lift 40 pounds frequently to load and unload customer orders; Ability to stand for an extended period of time. APPLY: tinyurl.com/LoganSales

Cashier/Hostess

Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol // 550 C Street SW Rotating Schedule Responsible for greeting guests upon arrival and providing a positive first impression of the restaurant’s friendliness and quality service to guests. Also responsible for maintaining a cash bank and following the cash-handling procedures of the outlet. REQUIRED: Ability to stand for a long period of time; Good oral communication skills; Ability to adhere to all work rules and procedures.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/DCHolidayInnCashier

Program Assistant Catholic Charities // Washington, D.C.

The Program Assistant provides primary support of female clients in residential facility in support of program goals and objectives.

Female residents have access to the shelter 24 hours a day due to low barrier shelter services being provided at this location. Female residents require access to the bathroom facilities during the same times that program assistant staff is maintaining cleanliness and safety of the bathrooms, dormitories and overall facility. Oversees daily shelter activities; enforces program rules and regulations; performs intake process and log entries; Provide a safe and orderly environment; addresses client behavior issues; conducts random urines, and assist with maintaining cleanliness of the facility. REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED; Six months experience in the human service or customer service field, preferably with persons who are homeless; Basic computer skills in MS Office Software, web browsing, and navigation of MS Windows platform; or a willingness to be trained on developing computer skills.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/CCDCprogramAssistant

Assistant Conductor Trainee Amtrak // Washington, D.C.

Full-time, Training rate ($15.75/hour) until training completed, then union rate.

Begins with 7-8 week training course. Works a variety of hours within a 24/7 transportation environment. Assists the Conductor in the safe movement of trains and oversight of all on-train employees. Ensures all revenue documents (cash, credit card receipts, proof of payment) are collected. Ensures safety of passengers and crew. Thinks and functions independently. REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED; Valid driver’s license; Some work experience exhibiting responsibility, initiative, and other leadership characteristics; Satisfactory attendance and safe work record; 2 years of full-time verifiable work history OR 2 years of full-time verifiable college work OR a combination of the two.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/SBY-overnight

Lisa and Jim of the The Bridge street newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee.

PHOTO BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

Lisa’s light shines at the Memphis street paper!

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS // Artist/Vendor

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

My Special Day To all my favorite customers, First, I want to thank you for your generosity. March 12 is my birthday and I want to share it with you. I love you all so much!

For the last six years I have embraced the warm and loving people of Street Sense Media. You can find me at 13th and H streets NW in front of Staples in the morning.

Please come to me and say hello and good morning.

You’ll get a free hug. I look forward to seeing you.

Again, thank you. I love you and I know that you will make me happy with your birthday wishes and cards.

I will be 50-something (because a lady never tells her real age). HA HA HA!!!

Love and smooches,

LORRIE HAYES // Artist/Vendor

MARCH 7 - 20, 2018 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 9

When I traveled to Memphis, Tennessee, for a photography venture, I was lucky enough to stumble across Jim and Lisa — part of the street paper family. They were sitting​, smiling and giving warm greetings to passersby ​at the CooperYoung Community Farmers Market on a Saturday morning, located in a church parking lot.

Lisa was asking people for contributions w ​ ith a greeting very similar to what some of us say while selling our Street Sense papers. “Hi, would you like to support The Bridge?” she asked.

The Bridge was started by two Rhodes College students in 2013 to empower their neighbors facing extreme poverty.

The students saw a street newspaper from another U.S. city and started The Bridge six months later. The paper’s Facebook page indicates that in August 2017, its vending team earned a combined total of $135,000 through the donations they received for copies of The Bridge.

Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college on a 123acre wooded site in Memphis. It has been named the most beautiful college in America.

The Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market was bustling and stays open 52 weeks a year. It had fresh produce, grass-fed meat, homegrown herbs, warm baked goods, artisan gifts, coffee, live music — everything you

might expect. So Jim secured permission to allow The Bridge vendor to have a presence there weekly. The team rotates to share the opportunity to represent The Bridge at the market throughout the year.

Jim purchased a tent, folding table and 3 chairs. He provides weekly refreshments, papers for sale and older editions of The Bridge to give to those not familiar with the paper, with the hope they might buy a copy in the future. He uses rocks to keep the papers from flying away and creates signs made of wood, bottle caps and rope to attract customers.

The Bridge has 70 active vendors and many student volunteers writing, editing and developing the monthly paper. A weekly meeting is held to distribute papers to vendors and collaborate on stories.

It is amazing what people can create together. The street paper movement is truly empowering, through the work opportunities it creates, the community relationships it fosters, and the important content it shares. There are roughly 40 street papers in the United States.I hope more people will establish new papers in cities across the country.

T It was a fun morning in Memphis meeting Jim and Lisa of The Bridge. Jim, Lisa and the community shine a light in Memphis!

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