03 24 2021

VOL. 18 ISSUE 11

$2

MARCH 24 - APRIL 6, 2021

Real Stories

Real People

suggested donation goes directly to your vendor

Real Change

Nadeau: Buy PEP-V hotels and convert them to housing STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

@ STREETSENSEDC

2 // ST REET SENS E ME DI A / / MA RCH 2 4 - A PRIL 6, 2021

BUSINESS MODEL

© STREET SENSE MEDIA 2003 - 2020 1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347 - 2006

info@streetsensemedia.org

How It Works

Street Sense Media publishes the newspaper

Each vendor functions as an independent contractor for Street Sense Media, managing their own business to earn an income and increase stability in their life.

$2.00 YOUR SUGGESTED

$.50 Vendors pay

DONATION

per newspaper copy

goes directly to your vendor, empowering them to overcome homelessness and poverty

NO CASH? NO PROBLEM.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Jeremy Bratt, David Cloe, Clare Krupin, Jennifer Park, Michael Phillips, Dan Schwartz, John Senn, Aaron Stetter, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson, Corrine Yu

Pay vendors with the Street Sense Media app!

S TREET S ENSE M EDIA . ORG /A PP

Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $2.00. I agree not to ask for more than $2.00 or solicit donations for Street Sense Media by any other means.

I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not sell papers to other vendors.

I agree to treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and other vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making a donation, or in engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.

I agree not to distribute copies of Street Sense on metro trains and buses or on private property.

I agree to abide by the Street Sense Media vendor territorial policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes I have with other vendors in a professional manner.

I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media, but an independent contractor.

AVAI LABL E

Brian Carome

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Eric Falquero

I agree to sell no additional goods or products when distributing Street Sense.

DEPUTY EDITOR

8.

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

DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT

9.

I understand that my badge and (if applicable) vest are property of Street Sense Media, and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing Street Sense. I will always display my badge when distributing Street Sense.

10. I agree to support Street Sense Media’s mission statement. In doing so I will work to support the Street Sense community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.

11. I understand that until further notice, all Street Sense Media Vendors are required to wear a face mask and gloves while vending to the public. This Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be provided and replaced as needed.

The Cover

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

D.C. officials are debating how and whether to expand non-congregate shelter programs and eventually convert them to housing.

Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper: They use film, photography, theatre, illustration, and more to share their stories with our community.

Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence. And our in-house case-management services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing.

At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents, and character, not through our housing situation.

JEFF MURRAY www.jeffsamillion.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

7.

INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW

ILLUSTRATION BY

VENDORS Ayub Abdul, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Thomas Benefield, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Laticia Brock, Brianna Butler, Melody Byrd, Anthony Carney, Carlos Carolina, Nysir Carter, Jeffrey Carter, Conrad Cheek, Curtis Clark, Christina Cole, Anthony Crawford, Jermaine Crowell, James Davis, David Denny, Reginald C. Denny, Patricia Donaldson, Ron Dudley, Joshua Faison, Queenie Featherstone, Jemel Fleming, Don Gardner, Chon Gotti, George Gray, Marcus Green, Levester Green, Vennie Hill, Joseph Jackson, Chad Jackson, Fredrick Jewell, Frederic John, Pierre Johnson, Patricia Johnson, Mark Jones, Reggie Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Larry Kelley, Jewel Lewis, John Littlejohn, Marcus McCall, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, L. Morrow, Collins Mukasa, Oscar Nzabarinda, Earl Parker, Aida Peery, Marcellus Phillips, Jacquelyn Portee, Abel Putu, Doris Robinson, Michele Rochon, Rita Sauls, Reginald Scott, Patty Smith, Ronald Smoot, David Snyder, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Julius “Donté” Turner, Joseph Walker, Rochelle Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Sasha Williams, Wendell Williams, Latishia Wynn BOARD OF DIRECTORS

As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow this code of conduct: 1.

streetsensemedia.org

Jake Maher Thomas Ratliff

VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES Aida Peery, Marcellus Phillips, Clifford Samuels

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Darick Brown

CASE MANAGER Charlie Musoff

OPERATIONS MANAGER Raven Neely

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS Doris Warrell

WRITERS GROUP ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE Willie Schatz

OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER) Rachel Brody, Lydia DePillis, Britt Peterson

INTERNS Athiyah Azeem, Matt Gannon, Ben Gutman, Kaela Roeder, Kate Santaliz, Lilly Tanenbaum, Monique Wilson

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS Ryan Bacic, Katie Bemb, Lilah Burke, Lenika Cruz, Kelsey Falquero, Jacqueline Groskaufmanis, Roberta Haber, Moira McAvoy, Nick Shedd, Andrew Siddons, Jenny-lin Smith, Orion Donovan-Smith

VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS Jeff Barger, Haley Gallagher, Kevin Jaatinen, Jacob Kuba, Eva Reeves, Mauricio Reyes

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

EVENTS

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF DC Attorney General sues health care agency for defrauding Medicaid

BY KAELA ROEDER kaela.roeder@streetsensemedia.org

Transform DC Justice Teach-In Series Session 4: Jail Facilities and Services Tuesday, March 30, 6 p.m. / Online

The D.C. Working Families Party, the Council for Court Excellence, and the National ReEntry Network will host this fourth installment of their D.C. Justice Teach In series on jail facilities and services. The series covers 80 recommendations from the D.C. Task Force on Jails & Justice.

Register here: tinyurl.com/wfp-teach-in-event FEB. 26 - APRIL 22

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

Justice Arts Coalition: Inside Out Exhibit

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

Online

Emergency Response and Shelter Operations Committee March 24, 1 p.m.

This inaugural virtual exhibit from the Justice Arts Coalition features the work of over 30 artists, over half of whom are currently incarcerated — the others are formerly incarcerated or teaching art in prisons.

View the exhibits here: tinyurl.com/jac-exhibit

Youth Committee March 25, 10 a.m. ***For call-in information, as well as meeting info for unlisted working groups, contact: ich.info@dc.gov.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24 THURSDAY, MARCH 25

National Summit on Youth Homelessness Online Youth, community service providers, researchers, and policy experts will meet to share their experiences and perspectives on creating systemic change to prevent and end youth homelessness at this summit hosted by the National Network for Youth.

Register at: tinyurl.com/nn4y-summit

Submit your event for publication by emailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Christian Herr

@ScholarNotScore

One of the most compelling pieces I’ve read about schools reopening in D.C. is by Monique Wilson in the current issue of @streetsensedc.

Represents voices that we haven’t heard enough of and really captured for me (as a non-parent) how complex this must be for families.

9:36 AM - MAR 17, 2021

Valerie Lundeen @valerielundeen

For local news + advocacy (emphasis on solutions to homelessness): @streetsensedc can sign up for newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/streetsensemedia/big-newsfrom-street-sense-media 5:26 PM - MAR 12, 2021

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced a lawsuit March 8 against a home health care provider for defrauding the District’s Medicaid program of more than $3 million from 2012 to 2014, in part by preying on people experiencing homelessness.

The Office of the Attorney General alleges the provider, Vizion One, engaged in a scheme of submitting false claims for at-home care that was not necessary, properly authorized or provided.

Vizion One employees recruited recipients by canvassing outside homeless shelters and social service agencies, including D.C. Department of Human Services processing centers and the Department on Disability Services’ offices. Agents bribed District residents to falsely claim a need for care, according to the press release.

If recruited residents did not have a District address, such as people experiencing homelessness, the Vizion One employee would provide them with a D.C. address to qualify for in-home services.

“Vizion One cheated District taxpayers and stole millions of dollars in Medicaid funds that should have gone towards needed medical care for vulnerable members of our community, including disabled seniors, children from low-income families, and pregnant women,” Racine said in the release. “The Office of the Attorney General will not hesitate to sue companies that unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers and vulnerable District residents.”

Vizion One’s D.C. business license expired in 2015 according to D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs records. Vizion One later dissolved in 2016. The company’s website and business phone number are now out of service.

According to a February 2020 snapshot of the website, the company operated in at least seven other states including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Missouri.

Vizion One’s owner, Abdallah Kitwara, did not respond to request for comment. Kitwara previously pleaded guilty to participating in a mortgage fraud scheme throughout 2007 and 2008.

The D.C. Office of the Inspector General found that Vizion One employees offered cash payments of up to $200 every two weeks to sign timesheets falsely stating they received requested care. The provider’s agents coached recipients to lie to medical professionals about their health.

“My office is happy to have investigated and referred this case to the Attorney General’s Office.

We will not sit idle while the District is defrauded,” said D.C. Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas. “The OIG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is dedicated to investigating these cases of fraud and bringing them to a criminal or civil resolution to ensure the District’s Medicaid program can continue to assist those most in need.”

To report suspected fraud against the District’s Medicaid program can make an anonymous report or call (877) 632-2873.

4 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 2 4 - A P RIL 6, 2021

NEWS

Councilmember considers buying hotels to support PEP-V shelter and convert them to housing

BY KATE SANTALIZ AND ATHIYAH AZEEM Editorial Interns

W

ard 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is calling for D.C. to purchase hotels for continued short-term use in the Pandemic Emergency Program for Vulnerable People (PEP-V) and to be converted to permanent supportive housing units for long-term use.

This comes just as President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law March 11, which directs $5 billion dollars to all states and Washington D.C. to obtain stable housing for people experiencing homelessness — including purchasing hotels to convert into permanent housing.

Nadeau included this investment with other proposals for the Fiscal Year 2022 budget that she said “might not be championed by others” in a Feb.17 letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser. The mayor will present her FY22 budget draft on April 22.

Non-congregate shelters, like the District’s PEP-V sites, have proven effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19. The number of positive cases among people experiencing homelessness in D.C. shelters rose rapidly at the start of the pandemic, with 169 residents contracting COVID-19 in April alone. The D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) has not reported a single positive COVID19 case among PEP-V residents after entering the program.

DHS introduced PEP-V on March 17, 2020, to keep people experiencing homelessness whose age or underlying medical conditions make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 out of crowded shelters. Instead, DHS provided them with hotel rooms that now have a maximum of two people per room. The city has leased three hotels to make this possible: two since the program launched in March 2020 and expanding to the third in October to help meet the need.

However, the program was at capacity in February 2021, serving 652 people as of Feb. 17 with another 555 eligible people on the waiting list that week, according to DHS. Cost was an issue for running the program last year. DHS has been relying on FEMA to reimburse just 75% of the costs of running PEP-V since March 2020. However, on Jan. 21, Biden ordered the Federal Emergency Management Administration to begin reimbursing 100% of the cost of running non-congregate shelters through Sept. 30.

Despite the potential new funding, DHS Director Laura Zeilinger has not released any plans to add additional PEP-V sites. Whenever DHS partners and providers ask or advocate to open another PEP-V site, Zeilinger has stated DHS is focusing on vaccinating people in PEP-V and transferring them from PEP-V to housing. Officials from DHS also said not all costs of the program are reimbursable, such as behavioral health services, case management services and general administrative costs.

The department provides these services using other funds.

FEMA confirmed that these support services are not eligible for reimbursement, as they do not fall under “necessary work that lessens immediate threat to lives, public health or safety.” However, in May 2020, FEMA approved the District for the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program, providing D.C. with $2.1 million

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadea attends a 2016 overnight vigil for people who died without a home that year.

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN / MARTINENDEAVORS.COM

to help support state-provided crisis counseling services for residents struggling with stress and anxiety as a result of the pandemic. While this program is separate from non-congregate shelter reimbursement, FEMA told Street Sense Media this funding was approved for the District’s use but could not confirm whether or not the District has utilized these funds.

Street Sense Media asked DHS if they have used the Crisis Counseling funds and if they were used to cover case management and other services for PEP-V. DHS did not initially respond.

How long the expanded FEMA funds for non-congregate shelter will be available is also a concern. Biden’s January order included a Sept. 30 cutoff, the end of the fiscal year.

Setting up a PEP-V site requires a lot of staffing and logistics, Zeilinger said during a Feb. 5 briefing on DHS’s response to COVID-19. “The time horizon in which we are likely to continue to be eligible [for FEMA funding] and the amount of time it takes to stand up a PEP-V program” are limiting. Zeilinger further emphasized that DHS is instead focused on supporting people who are already in PEP-V to move to permanent supportive housing and to continue administering the programs they already have.

How much money will be saved?

A repeated question that DHS’s partners and advocates for the homeless community have asked the department is how much money they may save from the additional FEMA reimbursement. In addition to covering costs through the end of September, Biden’s executive order states that the funds apply retroactively, reimbursing DHS for the initial 25% cost paid.

The D.C. Council Committee on Human Services, which

Nadeau chairs, asked DHS how much the District would save due to applying the FEMA expansion retroactively.

“The District is still processing FEMA reimbursement requests and analyzing previously reimbursed amounts to determine how much the District will save for PEP-V, ISAQ [Isolation and Quarantine], and other FEMAeligible expenditures,” DHS said in a written response.

The question was one of many submitted to DHS as a part of the standard annual performance oversight process that takes place before the next year’s budget is considered.

The committee also asked DHS how much money it would save due to the FEMA expansion moving forward, based on the 25% of costs it had planned to cover in 2021.

The department wrote that it cannot provide these numbers, as it is the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) that makes purchases for the program using the city’s rainy day fund or other available funds before obtaining FEMA reimbursement, and that the city’s application for federal emergency funds are handled centrally. “DHS has not been involved in the budgeting for the match and will not be directing the use of these funds. The Office of Budget and Performance Management [OBPM] is better positioned to respond to these questions,” the department said.

DHS told Street Sense Media that the FEMA funds go into the general District fund, rather than DHS’s budget, which the department says makes it hard to answer direct questions about the future of PEP-V funding.

The OBPM did not respond to multiple requests to clarify the question. The OCP referred Street Sense Media back to DHS to answer questions. DHS did not elaborate on why they were not able to completely answer questions about PEP-V spending. When asked about how much money had been expended on the PEP-V program thus far, DHS said Street Sense Media would have to file a

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Freedom of Information Act request to obtain that information — which we filed on March 10.

Capacity and conversion The American Rescue Plan funds for investing in safe, socially distant housing will be distributed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and will remain available until Sept.

30, 2025. In a summary of the legislation, Senate Democrats wrote that “before the pandemic, there were already an estimated 568,000 individuals and families experiencing homelessness, many of whom have underlying health challenges.”

The goal of this investment is to expand non-congregate housing to ultimately lower the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of families and individuals either at risk of experiencing homelessness or who are currently homeless. The plan adds that ultimately, this investment will help meet the long-term goals of replacing congregate shelters with permanent housing options. This provision was included in the final version of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

Amber Harding, an attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, brought up PEP-V when she testified during DHS’s performance oversight hearing on March 1. She said the clinic expected DHS to expand PEP-V when FEMA first announced they would reimburse 100% of non-congregate shelter costs in December.

“That has not happened. Instead, two more people have died of COVID-19 since that announcement,” Harding said.

“D.C. must expand PEP-V immediately to prevent further loss of life, and to accommodate every high-risk person experiencing homelessness.”

Wes Heppler, a board member for the Legal Clinic, has repeatedly asked DHS to consider opening a new PEP-V site since December, when FEMA first extended their reimbursement period to March 2021. It’s just a capacity issue and the need for more individual rooms, he said.

Heppler pointed out that the goal of PEP-V is to transfer its

eligible residents to Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).

When residents are transferred to PSH, that creates capacity to move residents into PEP-V from the waiting list. This process has been gradual, with DHS placing roughly 15 people per month into PSH. A total of 165 people have moved from PEP-V into PSH in nearly 12 months. There is a limited number of PSH units in the District, approximately 90% of which have been occupied since December.

While it would require significant investment for construction up front, converting current PEP-V sites into long-term housing would save the District money over time in addition to getting people into housing. PEP-V costs the government approximately $12,500 per person per month, while, in 2015, a PSH unit cost $22,500 for a whole year.

The Fair Budget Coalition, which advocates for low-income D.C. residents’ concerns in the annual budget, also recommended buying “struggling” hotels to shelter people experiencing homelessness and converting some units into deeply affordable housing in their FY22 budget platform, published on Feb. 22.

Harding, who contributed to this recommendation, says that due to COVID-19, using hotels to house people experiencing homelessness just makes sense.

“Hotels are really struggling at this point,” Harding said.

“And people are struggling with the lack of affordable housing and the lack of non-congregate shelter space. It feels like a real, natural connection.”

Street Sense Media reached out to the owners of all three current PEP-V sites to ask what they thought of such an arrangement. None responded.

In a similar budget priority letter, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie proposed using $140 million to purchase and convert the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, which closed earlier this year, to

Holiday Inn on Rhode Island Ave. NW is one of three DHS PEP-V sites. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

// 5

provide PSH units along with various levels of affordable housing.

Converting PEP-V hotels into permanent supportive housing raises some logistical challenges, said Kristy Greenwalt, director of the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

“Whether a hotel conversion [to PSH] makes sense can really only be determined on a case-by-case basis,” Greenwalt said.

“Taking into consideration the specific population that is going to be served, the service needs of that population, and therefore the optimum design of the building relative to the existing floor plate of the hotel.”

A key finding in the ICH’s progress report on D.C.’s strategic plan to end homelessness was that more PSH units than expected are needed for single individuals, especially project-based developments where 24-hour onsite services can be offered.

What do PEP-V residents think?

Residents inside current PEP-V programs have mixed feelings about the proposal. Charner Snow has been staying in the PEP-V program at Hotel Arboretum since October, and she believes that these converted PSH units will only be useful for some residents.

“Some people need somebody to look after them, to make sure they’re okay,” Snow said.

“Personally, I’m tryna get out, get my own space, and feel more comfortable in my space.”

Althea Thompson, who has been staying at the PEP-V program at Holiday Inn on Rhode Island Ave. NW since November, also says it could be a good idea as long as DHS wasn’t staffing the program. “I’m in a depressed moment as is,” she said.

Thompson has had repeated issues with getting DHS staff to resolve her problems while staying in PEP-V, and previously at the DHS-run Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter. She told Street Sense Media repeatedly about staff rudeness, verbal abuse, and slow resolution of issues that affect both her current conditions in shelters and her pending case to get housed.

“I’m not surprised by that,” Harding said, referring to multiple clients who have expressed issues with DHS staff.

“Anyone who's coming out of the shelter system and has had really bad experiences in the shelters or in PEP-V with the service staff, it's totally understandable to me that they don't want to continue that forever.”

However, people living in PSH usually do not engage with DHS but with a third-party service provider, according to Harding. So Thompson and any residents who shared her sentiments would not have to continue talking to DHS staff to resolve ongoing issues if the location was converted to PSH. Whether Bowser’s proposed FY22 budget includes funding for the priorities outlined in Nadeau’s letter or not, the D.C. Council will spend the month after its release reviewing, editing, and voting on the final budget before resubmitting it for Bowser’s approval or veto. If the measures to expand PEP-V and convert the hotels to PSH come to be, it will be up to Bowser’s administration to implement that plan.

Changes to PEP-V or PSH are a long way off. But for advocates like Harding, this proposal represents a new vision of what those programs might look like in the future.

“I think the idea is that it would just look like an apartment building,” Harding said, imagining the hotels after being converted to PSH. “They would be renovated, and they would be nice, and they would be all over the city, they wouldn't all be out on New York Avenue.”

PEP-V costs the government approximately $12,500 per person per month, while, in 2015, a PSH unit cost $22,500 for a whole year.

6 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 2 4 - A P RIL 6, 2021

NEWS

LEFT: Youth housing residents and a common room in a SMYAL program RIGHT: A sign explaining SMYAL’s mission in one of their youth houses. PHOTO SCOURTESY OF SMYAL

SMYAL expands services for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness

BY KAELA ROEDER kaela.roeder@streetsensemedia.org

SMYAL, short for Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders, is launching a third Extended Transitional Housing program for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness that will provide residents with up to six years of shelter, mental health support and employment assistance.

The two existing sites offer case management support and shelter for up to two years. The new site will provide longer-term care for LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 who need more time to address individual needs in a trauma-informed, identity-affirming space, according to Sultan Shakir, the executive director of SMYAL. “There’s a really high, uphill climb that so many young people have, even here in the District, to transition from a space of experiencing homelessness to a space of independence,” Shakir said. “That’s really why we’re excited to create this opportunity to allow young people more time to overcome some of those barriers.”

The program will be located at Wayne Place in Southeast D.C. and can support up to 12 people at a time in an apartment-style setup including a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living room. There will be six units in total, with two bedrooms to each unit.

The site will also have case management offices, a common space for residents to build

relationships, and a computer lab. The program will provide services in English and Spanish.

Two residents moved in on March 1, said Jorge Membreño, director of youth housing and clinical services. Additional participants will move in through the city’s “coordinated entry” system for matching people to housing opportunities, he said.

“We’re incredibly excited to be offering this service to the most vulnerable youth in the city,” Membreño said. “And we look forward to seeing our housing programs grow and seeing our youth thrive in an environment that’s going to care for them for all of this time, and then going forward.”

Harmony Giovanni, a previous resident of a two-year SMYAL residence, said the longterm program gave her hope and support.

Giovanni, 25, sought out SMYAL after her grandmother had to move due to mental health challenges. Giovanni moved into the residence in October 2019 and lived there for 15 months.

The program gave her a “pivot moment” to pursue an independent and healthy future, she said.

“Being able to have a housing program like that where people can actually have some level of security for their life … is a huge, huge, life-changing moment,” Giovanni said.

The six-year time frame of the new program

is intended to help those who need more time to process trauma and gain sustainable independence, Membreño said. Tackling trauma is very difficult while you are still experiencing it. Providing a stable shelter with resources can help, he said.

There are many programs for LGBTQ youth, but they often “intentionally or unintentionally don’t support someone’s full self,” Shakir said. This can be seen in not using correct pronouns or microaggressions.

SMYAL’s creation of these housing spaces is working against that reality.

“Having a place where the person can walk in from day one, and have a community that gets them and understands them, and doesn’t require them to explain themselves is really helpful and affirming to young people,” Shakir said.

Giovanni said SMYAL succeeded in this effort and provided her with a supportive, safe environment with room to grow personally and professionally.

“I think they are doing phenomenal philanthropy work at-large,” she said. “There’s so many things that other organizations that want to learn how to help people stabilize themselves and recover from trauma can learn from them.”

These programs are created as a disproportionate amount of youth experiencing h o meles s n es s id en tif y a s L G B T Q .

Locally, nearly 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are LGBTQ according to the most recent count.

Nationally, between 20% and 45% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, according to a 2020 report by the UCLA Williams Institute of Law. This is a result of stigma, discrimination, and limited state and federal protections for the LGBTQ population, according to the study.

In a 2019 study, The Trevor Project found LGBTQ youth experiencing housing instability consider suicide at twice the rate of those not experiencing housing instability. In

addition, attempted suicide was at more than three times the rate of LGBTQ youth in stable housing, the study found.

The D.C. Office of Human Rights found 48% of employers appeared to prefer at least one less-qualified applicant perceived as cisgender over a more-qualified applicant perceived as transgender in a 2015 study on hiring discrimination. Discrimination in employment, which leads to housing insecurity, is a prevalent problem in the District, Shakir said.

“In really progressive jurisdiction like D.C. that has an incredibly high rate of LGBTQ people in the area, there’s still an unacceptable amount of discrimination against the young people that we work with,” Shakir said.

The increasingly expensive housing market contributes to housing insecurity in the District, Membreño said. LGBTQ youth specifically often lose housing because of relatives’ lack of acceptance, too.

“Housing, in any capacity, is a life-saving intervention,” he said. “The right to have housing cuts across every identity, but it’s especially important for LGBTQ youth, even more so LGBTQ [youth] of color.”

Other organizations in the area are providing similar long-term shelter and care. The Wanda Alston Foundation provides 18-month and 6-year program options for LGBTQ youth who’ve experienced homelessness and housing instability.

SMYAL also offers programming and training, which is currently virtual, on a multitude of topics like LGBTQ inclusive sexual health, gender expression, and diet culture. Identity-centered chat rooms and community spaces are also offered. There are about 14 programs offered weekly on average.

“We work with some really amazing and hardworking queer and trans youth who have so many barriers ahead of them,” Shakir said.

“Having more support will only help them become more successful.”

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 7

AT A GLANCE

Brookland Manor redevelopment proceeds after appeals court rejects community lawsuit relocate them during construction. The existing property has 535 total units, 373 Section 8 units, and many others being paid for with housing vouchers, according to the court ruling.

What qualifies as “affordable” housing in an increasingly This story was first published by DCist on March 5. unaffordable city is one issue at the crux of the dispute. Per the court’s ruling, in its approval of the first stage of the MidCity he D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled against a development, the D.C. Zoning Commission “explained it only legal challenge to a developer’s plans to revamp considered the existing 373 Section 8 project-based apartments Brookland Manor in Northeast D.C. in Brookland Manor to be ‘affordable,’” excluding the remaining The appeal, which challenged the D.C. Zoning units because they were rented at market rate (despite the fact Commission’s approval of the second stage of that the people renting them are mostly using housing vouchers). the larger project to develop Brookland Manor MidCity executive vice president Stephanie Liotta-Atkinson by the developer MidCity Financial, came from said the project’s commitment to renewing the 373 Section local residents and advocacy organizations who have been 8 units was “really historic in terms of the preservation of fighting against the project for years. affordable housing.”

Minnie Elliott, the 83-year-old president of the Brookland In challenging the second stage of the project, Elliot argued Manor / Brentwood Village Residents Association who brought that MidCity’s plans didn’t live up to its commitment in the the lawsuit, says MidCity’s plans will still push out low-income first-stage approval of the project to ensure housing voucher Black and Latinx residents, in particular because the new holders would be able to live in the new development. units don’t include 4- and 5-bedroom apartments suitable for But the court found that the zoning commission recognized multigenerational families living on modest incomes.

MidCity’s “general commitment” to a right to return for “It’s the haves and the have-nots,” she says. “That’s current residents in its original approval, what D.C. is becoming. It’s not about but didn’t require a guarantee, and “thus people of color, brown or Black people necessarily did not require Mid-City to or where they should live.” ensure that voucher holders could afford The residents also brought up what to pay, with the assistance of their subsidy, the court ruling characterizes as “alleged the market-rate rent.” actions taken by MidCity to force current Advocates have long worried that residents to leave Brookland Manor setting aside senior-only units at before the commencement of the project.”

Brookland Manor might force older Previous reporting from The Washington adults to choose between living in seniorPost in 2016 found a pattern of predatory designated housing and living with their eviction filings at MidCity. families elsewhere.

But the three-judge panel wrote in its Many seniors, who are classified as decision Thursday that it was “sympathetic” Minnie Elliott people 65 or older, live with younger to residents’ underlying concerns about displacement but ultimately “unpersuaded Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village family members who would not be able to live with them in housing designated that the Commission’s thorough assessment Residents Association for seniors, Elliot says. of MidCity’s plans according to the process Organizers plan on continuing to advocate for affordable set forth in the Zoning Regulations was materially deficient.” housing that would be able to accommodate families in the The news was first reported by Washington Business Journal. new development. More than 115 people gathered virtually In a statement Thursday, MidCity president John Wall said earlier this week to protest Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan the company is supportive of affordable housing goals.

McDuffie’s silence on the development project.

“The Court’s decision today affirms MidCity’s development plan “We’re not trying to stop them from building or developing. and the robust commitments we made to the community regarding We just want to make sure people of color will be able to live the preservation of affordable housing,” Wall said. “We are ready on this property,” Elliot says. “We won’t go to sleep on it.” to deliver on our commitments and will do so expeditiously by The story of Brookland Manor, Elliott says, is the story of commencing construction on our first two buildings at RIA.” many communities in rapidly-gentrifying D.C. The place is near The issue in question is MidCity’s plan to construct two the bustling Rhode Island Ave Metro station and shopping center. affordable housing apartment buildings, including a 200“Please look closely at Brookland Manor; we are a bellwether unit building exclusively for seniors, in Block 7, a part of for how the District develops and deals with the displacement Brookland Manor. of its low- and moderate-income Black and Brown people,” That construction would be a part of MidCity’s Rhode Island Elliott argued in a recent op-ed in The Washington Post.

Avenue project, which would replace the Brookland Manor Liotta-Atkinson said some current residents are supportive Apartments with a “mixed-income, mixed-use destination of the project. And she said she was “sympathetic to the idea featuring 1,760 apartments and 181,000 square feet of that communications need to improve [with residents] as the commercial space, including a full-service grocery store, groundproject progresses.” floor retail, and a 3-acre public park and plaza,” according to “I understand emotions are running high right now,” she said. a press release from MidCity. The project already received The D.C. Zoning Commission has pledged to “monitor first-stage, broad approval from the zoning commission, and is the possibility of displacement carefully” and might “impose expected to receive a significant tax subsidy from the District. additional obligations on MidCity to minimize displacement The redevelopment, according to the MidCity plan, would should that become a concern,” per the court ruling. include 373 Section 8 apartments, which the developer says Construction on the Block 7 piece of the development project will be adequate to accommodate current residents at the old is expected to begin in early 2022 and be completed in 2023. property. MidCity also said it would work with tenants to

BY MARGARET BARTHEL AND DEBBIE TRUONG DCist/WAMU

T

“We’re not trying to stop them from building or developing. We just want to make sure people of color will be able to live on this property.”

PHOTOS BY WENDELL WILLIAMS

Artist/Vendor Wendell Williams is continuing to document the many creative masks people wear out of kindness to others. To see the entire collection of 1000 masks and learn how you can help visit www.1000masksofcovid-19.com

BIRTHDAYS Joseph Jackson March 24 ARTIST/VENDOR

Charles Armstrong March 26 VENDOR

COUNTDOWN TO WEEKLY! The Street Sense Media newspaper will soon be published twice as often. A new edition will begin circulating every Wednesday, starting April 14.

Learn more: StreetSenseMedia.org/weekly

8 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 2 4 - A P RIL 6, 2021

NEWS

IRS to send any unclaimed stimulus checks upon 2020 tax filing

BY MATT GANNON matt.gannon@streetsensemedia.org

In order to claim the $1400 stimulus payment owed to residents with low incomes through the American Rescue Plan, eligible people experiencing homelessness should file their 2020 taxes as soon as possible, according to IRS officials. Tax assistance resources available to people with low incomes in the D.C. area are listed at tinyurl.com/2021stimulus-tax-clinics.

Since the $1.9 trillion package was signed into law on March 11, the IRS has sent out 90 million economic impact payments through direct deposit, mailed checks, and IRS-issued debit cards. Anyone making less than $75,000 per year is eligible for the $1400 checks, meaning that half of the projected 160 million payments have been completed.

As was the case for the first two rounds of economic impact payments, stemming from the CARES Act passed last March and the COVID relief package passed in late December, the latest checks were automatically sent to most recipients. People who have filed their 2019 or 2020 tax returns and people who receive certain federal benefits — including Social Security retirement payments, survivor or disability benefits, Railroad Retirement

goDCgo.com info@goDCgo.com 202.299.2186

benefits, Supplemental Security Income, or Veterans Affairs benefits — should not have to take additional steps to receive the third payment, referred to as “EIP3.”

But many people experiencing homelessness who are eligible for a stimulus check have not received it because they neither receive benefits nor earn enough annually to be required to file taxes and are largely unknown to the IRS; to access the $1400 they are owed, they should file a 2020 tax return, even if nothing is owed.

In a previous interview with Street Sense Media, Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, the CEO and executive director of Capital Area Asset Builders, noted that many people experiencing homelessness do not file income taxes due to the common misconception that a permanent address and a yearly income are both required to do so. On the contrary, he said, would-be filers with little-to-no income are encouraged to use the address of a trusted non-profit or shelter and complete their tax forms — enabling them to access thousands of dollars in stimulus payments and tax credits that will otherwise go unclaimed.

Filing a 2020 tax return is especially important, stressed IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in his testimony to the Ways and

Means Committee on March 18, as filers can recover the previous two rounds of stimulus payments through the Recovery Rebate Credit, can claim the third payment, and can access typical low-income tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. The disbursement of these funds is “trigger[ed] off of the filing of a return,” he said, “so we need to get folks to actually file the returns.” Deacon Jim Shanahan, director of the Financial Stability Network at Catholic Charities D.C., added that for non-filers who have children, “the added benefit of filing a 2020 tax return is that the IRS will know where to send the new monthly Child Tax Credit checks this summer.”

[Disclosure: Jim Shanahan of Catholic Charities and this reporter are members of the same Catholic parish in Maryland.]

People making less than $56,000 per year can access filing help at a series of low-income tax clinics throughout the D.C. region. Virtual appointments, limited drop-off and pick-up services, and very limited in-person assistance opportunities are available throughout the filing season. The materials required to use these services include a social security number, a government-issued photo ID card, and necessary tax documents. If you do not

have a social security number or photo ID, it is recommended that you contact a VITA site to speak with a tax professional.

For people making less than $72,000 a year, the IRS also offers the Free File Tool, which can be used to quickly file tax forms online.

Unlike the previous two rounds of economic stimulus, the IRS is not offering a non-filer tool on its website. IRS officials underscored the need for would-be recipients to file their 2020 taxes immediately in order to access their checks.

Mike Littman, a volunteer tax preparer at Catholic Charities VITA, stressed that “if you did not file in 2019, filing in 2020 [as soon as possible] is the best way … both to recoup what you didn’t get last year and to get the new EIP this year.” He also noted that, while they are no longer available at the IRS online portal, some non-filing options are available to those who seek assistance at VITA programs.

The tax filing season opened on Feb. 12 and will remain open through the recently extended deadline of May 17. Littman and other tax professionals urged those who are eligible to receive EIP3 to seek assistance at low-income tax clinics and file their taxes as soon as possible.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 9

Community organizations face difficulties providing vulnerable children with wellness support

BY MONIQUE WILSON monique.wilson@streetsensemedia.org

D

PHOTO COURTESY OF XAVIER DONAT / FLICKR.COM

uring the COVID-19 pandemic, impoverished and homeless children are in disproportionate need of wellness support. Without access to in-person learning, child development can be stunted, leaving students of color, homeless students, and those with learning disabilities more at risk of adverse effects of online learning

than others.

In D.C., where 47% of students are identified as “at risk” — including homeless children, those in the foster care system, and students who qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the problem is especially acute. For many in that demographic, schools provide wellness support and socialization opportunities that they may not have access to otherwise.

D.C. nonprofit leaders have been trying to fill in the gap to provide educational and child developmental resources to those in need, in some cases expanding on work they’d been doing since before the pandemic. However, their ability to keep children engaged in order to maintain their wellness has been limited by the virtual space and coronavirus restrictions.

For Brittany Washington, the transition to remote schools was a challenge for her and her 3 year old girl.

“Take potty training for her. When she was at school, all the kids would go to the bathroom,” Washington said. “But when she was at home, it was like she didn’t have anybody to, you know, do those things with her.”

While Washington doesn’t believe her child is experiencing any mental health illnesses, she insinuated that the lack of teacher and peer expectations that come from a school environment delayed her daughter’s development.

“It was kind of hard because school had just shut down,” Washington said. “And with this being my first child, it’s the developmental stage for her. We were home 24/7 together. She [does] better when she’s around other kids as far as learning.”

A few weeks ago, Washington was given the choice to keep her child enrolled in grade school online or send her to in-person daycare. She chose daycare to ensure the proper socialization and growth development for her child.

“One of the things that virtual learning has made very difficult is if you are a child who is experiencing homelessness and you are popping out of schools,” said Marla Dean, director of D.C. nonprofit Bright Beginnings. “If you’re coming to a new school, your ability to develop relationships with your peers and your teachers in a virtual space is very difficult.

One of the crucial things you must do with children that are

marginalized, vulnerable, and experiencing homelessness is to make sure you develop strong relationships with them.”

Bright Beginnings provides children and families experiencing homelessness with counseling, a home-visiting program, and development centers for minors. According to Dean, a large number of families connected to the organization are survivors of intimate partner violence, which can have dire effects on learning capabilities and development, further compounding the impacts of virtual learning.

“If your brain is traumatized, then you cannot learn,” Dean said. “You can’t be in fight and flight and be able to learn at the same time. So it evidences itself in developmental delays — it evidences itself in [...] cognitive developmental delay, physical developmental delay, socioemotional developmental delays.”

These are problems that the pandemic has exacerbated.

“What we saw over time was deterioration, mental health deterioration, and increased home domestic violence,” Dean said. “Those types of things we knew were going on in the home, so we really beefed up and did a lot of support groups around mental health.”

Virtual learning has also deprived many D.C. children of everyday social interaction, which is key for childhood speech and language development. With D.C. schools mainly operating online, child advocates are concerned about delayed progress being seen in some children.

“We’re seeing a lot of speech delays,” Dean said. “Children are [dependent] on seeing people’s mouths to develop language, and with everyone having on a mask, that’s also impacting the development of language. And then you add that with trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and we’re definitely seeing speech delay in our children.”

Schools are not only places for students to learn, but also providers of valuable resources for all students and especially homeless children. Schools offer nutritious food, a safe environment, and support from teachers and staff that students lack under pandemic conditions. Without schools, impoverished children are left with minimal resources for learning, nutrition, and safety in their home environments.

“In Ward 7 and Ward 8, two of our wards in the District of Columbia that needed child development services the most, there were limited child development services,” said Sandra Jackson, CEO of House of Ruth, an organization that provides housing, financial, and trauma support for survivors of intimate partner violence. “So what does that mean? That means that parents who were trying to work, or needed to work, or were working, were leaving their children in very unsafe

environments. They had no choice.”

Before the pandemic, House of Ruth fundraised $7 million to renovate a childcare center in Ward 7. In September of 2020, the organization opened the brand new building to serve families that needed it the most during the pandemic.

This center provides therapeutic counseling and childcare for families in need within one of the most impoverished areas in the District.

The scarcity of resources for children and families in wards 7 and 8, areas composed of mostly Black D.C. residents, illustrates the economic disparities that research suggests the pandemic has exacerbated.

Child Trends, a research organization focused on vulnerable children, published an article suggesting that the pandemic has intensified the lack of access to early intervention and affordable treatment services for poor children and children of color. For instance, from July 2020 to December 2020, Black D.C. adults’ access to medical care decreased while non-Hispanic white residents’ access increased. A parent’s circumstances can have great consequences for their children because children are dependent on the adults in their lives for adequate care and resources.

“These are not well-to-do families,” Jackson said. “These are families that are east of the river, that they themselves have experienced disparities across the board.” These families have to leave their communities and travel far distances to access resources for themselves and their children.

Washington is a client of House of Ruth and said that she is doing better than most seeing as she is employed and can provide for her child. She has benefited from the organization’s services throughout the pandemic.

“In the beginning, they were doing diaper drives — where you can pick up diapers and stuff like that. Just this past weekend, they had another grocery pickup. So they do those periodically, when they do have the resources, they do a program that will come to the school and give a full trunk of groceries.”

Families like Washington’s are forced to get creative in order to ensure their children develop at a normal rate under abnormal circumstances, and nonprofit organizations are under pressure to provide opportunities and access for children’s wellness.

“I know people who are in different situations, and thankfully, we’re not,” Washington said. “I feel like the support we’ve had from the schools and the community [...] we’ve been utilizing those.”

1 0 // S T REET SENSE ME DI A / / MA RCH 2 4 - A PRIL 6, 2021

OPINION

Will fear be the future face of America?

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JOSEPH YOUNG

I was on the National Mall when tens of thousands of Donald Trump supporters rallied on Jan. 6. They stood to watch a lineup of right-wing speakers, including Trump, urging them on shamelessly, claiming that Trump won the 2020 presidential election.

A woman speared me in the neck with a flag pole bearing the Stars and Stripes. I wasn’t physically injured, but shaken up. She then walked towards me and picked up the flag pole with a toothy grin on her face. I was sure that the incident was an accident, until she walked away and disappeared into the massive crowd without offering an apology.

Still the optimist, I searched the white faces of the group of onlookers, hoping to find one that was filled with outrage over the incident.

To my disappointment, there were none.

I then wandered throughout the crowd taking portraits. I saw few Black people, other than myself. The rally felt like history repeating itself in front of my eyes, a reminder of when Black people were lynched with impunity throughout the country, particularly in the South, where it all began for me.

The Equal Justice Initiative documented 4,440 lynchings in the U.S. between 1877, the end of post-Civil War reconstruction, through 1950. Domestic terrorists such as the Ku Klux Klan used lynching as an instrument of fear to dominate and control Black people.

America’s history of lynching is largely ignored. This indifference contributed to the deaths of African Americans today at the hands of police.

The deaths of Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and thousands of others could have been prevented if the country had raced swiftly to put an end to racial bigotry.

Floyd gasped for air and called out to his dead mother while a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Before he died, Floyd pleaded repeatedly to the officers, “Please, I can’t breathe.” Former police officer Derek Chauvin faces murder charges in the death of Floyd last Memorial Day. In the much anticipated trial, the jury selection has begun.

Three other former officers on the scene in Floyd’s death were charged with aiding and abetting murder. Their trial is set for August.

Those former officers are described by some

as the bad apples in the barrow. The bad apple theory blames a few officers for police brutality, and defends the many as good cops. But what if policing in America is akin to the lynch mob?

There is a double standard in law enforcement. Take, for example, the halfhearted response of the Capitol Police to the mostly white Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol. It stood in stark contrast to the way in which law enforcement treated Black Lives Matter protesters last summer.

Not surprisingly, hundreds of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 to prevent a vote certifying Joseph Biden’s Electoral College victory. They set up a gallows and hangman’s noose near the Capitol grounds, and hunted for lawmakers to attack throughout the halls of Congress. They chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” Lawmakers and their staffs, some with family members, huddled together in fear behind makeshift barricades made of office furniture.

The trauma of waiting for help seemed endless, some recounted.

Violent extremism and white supremacy have been brewing in this country for centuries.

When the mob attacked the very seat of power, lawmakers acted surprised. Any Black person in the country could have warned them that the Capitol riot was bound to happen.

A quote from Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 Letter From a Birmingham Jail where he discussed the interrelatedness of all mankind: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Lawmakers apparently didn’t heed King’s insight. As long as the lynchings were directed at Black people, my countrymen pretended not to see that the lynching victims needed help.

Imagine that the country had rooted out racial violence and bigotry long ago. We would be the better for it today.

House Democrats introduced a single article of impeachment charging Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors for inciting the marauders who assaulted the Capitol.

Trump’s impeachment trial was important, if for no other reason than the historical record it will produce. It might also serve as a lost opportunity for the American people to engage

Trump supporters on the National Mall during the “March to Save America” rally on Jan. 6. Visit tinyurl.com/ssm-capitolopinion to see more photos.

in a national town hall-style dialogue that takes a deeper dive into what happened that day.

Trump exploits a white electorate’s fear of loss for his own political self-interest. His brand of racist, political messaging is meant to incite fear and anger toward immigrants and Muslims as well as Black, Latino, and Asian Americans.

Trump’s labeling of the coronavirus pandemic as the “China virus” makes some people blame Chinese Americans for the spread of the virus. In the Atlanta area, a gunman shot and killed eight people at massage parlors, including six women of Asian descent.

The advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate documented nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents in the past year.

Trump’s appeals ring true to white voters who see increasing diversity — and the loss of white privilege — as a threat.

Trump isn’t the first to use this tactic. The Tea Party movement came before him. Both wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the unexpected election of President Barack Obama. Obama’s rise to the White House stirred nothing but fear in the group’s membership — especially the non-college educated, working class white men. The Tea Party consistently opposed Obama’s policy agenda, including Obamacare, even though much of it would have helped poorer white Americans as well.

Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan conjures up an idealized past when minorities and women were kept in their place, and the white man reigned supreme.

The angry white man is experiencing unease about his place in the future of America. The changing face of this country is looking back at him with a facial expression that says change hasn’t come fast enough.

The prospect of the loss of status increases his frustration. So he turns to extremist groups, spouts conspiracy theories, and blames minorities for his troubles.

But there are ways to lessen this feeling of disenfranchisement. Countering violent extremism and white supremacy requires solving the legitimate challenges facing this group of people. For example, opioid abuse is still a pandemic, particularly in rural America.

Unemployment, poverty, isolation, low education attainment, and lack of access to healthcare in those rural areas all make people more likely to turn to illicit substances. Real wages haven’t increased in this country for decades, and the income gap between the rich and working class continues to widen.

The Capitol riot highlights the country’s economic inequality. A minimum wage hike, jobs, and infrastructure program won’t solve all the problems, but that’s a good start. The country can no longer afford to turn a blind

eye to these problems.

America is being divided by political puppet masters who exploit division for their own ends. Biden and Congress must find ways to unite the country.

This photo essay captures portraits of Trump supporters on the National Mall during the March to Save America rally on Jan. 6.

The atmosphere felt eerily similar to an anti-civil rights protest of the 1960s. Trump supporters carried the American flag and Trump 2020 flags, and more sinister symbols of white supremacy and violence extremism. One man held the Confederate battle flag. Some wore apparel with the bold letter Q, the symbol for the QAnon conspiracy theory, which alleges that famous Democrats belong to a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles. Members of the far-right group Proud Boys flashed “OK” hand gestures, a symbol of white power.

After the neck-spearing incident, I plowed through the herd of Trump supporters, looking for subjects to photograph. Of course, I felt leery that something else bad would happen to me. As a photographer, though, I’d learned to soldier on when I was having a bad day. My apprehension soon eased, because I was accomplishing what I set out to do. The subjects of my photographs also helped to lift my spirits, because they appeared happy to be photographed. I approached them in a friendly manner and was up front about who I was and what I was doing. A few of my subjects had disarming smiles. They made me feel unexpectedly at ease, with less suspicion that they might be racist.

Most photographers were capturing shots of Trump supporters on the Mall. I know that it is difficult to see past the white supremacy regalia, but my goal was to make portraits of the individual. I made close up shots because I wanted the viewer to see their humanity. These are candid portraits with enough background to add meaning. I didn’t ask them to pose. They are presented here as they wanted to be seen.

There is more to life than the perceptions that are fed to us by the puppet masters. And with that realization comes the opportunity for the shackles to fall off, and for our mind and body to be renewed.

Joseph Young is an award-winning journalist living in Washington, DC. His photography has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, Washington Times, Washington Afro Newspaper and Washington Informer. He earned a bachelor degree in art from the University of the District of Columbia, with a focus on photography, as well as a bachelor degree in English. He is also the grant recipient from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities for his photography series about people experiencing homelessness in the nation’s capital. The most recent museum acquisition of his work was by the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum.

streetsensemedia.org

/ / 11

ART

Independence and teamwork

BY MARCELLUS PHILLIPS Artist/Vendor

Choices

BY REGINALD SCOTT Artist/Vendor

So as days escape into the future whom shall all people be choosing in time of disrobing the world and our head on collision nexus?

To assisting the confusion, if life was built on mandatory goals of achievement then our goals would be automatically completed before entering Earth and the exposure of life receiving.

Albeit choices come from within, always remember whom the one be to succor you to be actually free for the beyond, and focus on life and its charms of living life.

I became an independent contractor for Street Sense Media five or six years ago because of my housing instability and my disability. My situation resulted in me sleeping on floors and not being able to keep a full-time job without it affecting my health and life. I started selling the paper, Vendor 619, with the initial goal of earning extra money to go on job interviews or to purchase my medicine. But selling the paper is just the start and first step in assisting with ending homelessness and helping those that are willing and ready to help themselves.

I was unaware of the other opportunities and benefits available to vendors. I decided to take advantage of their resources by explaining my current situation and discussing details to find out how they could assist me. After teaming up with the case manager to get housing and networking through selling the paper, I have started the journey to success.

While selling the paper you never know who you may run into and what they may be able to assist you with. After I started selling the paper, I met Reed of Second Story Cards, who is also a former Street Sense Media board member. I began creating unique greeting cards that I get paid for,

and a percentage of my profits is donated to the foundation of my choice. I also met Tom Pollack of D.C. Tutoring & Mentoring, and he has helped me with a work-from-home opportunity doing data entry when they have extra work.

My entire life has always been built off of the 9-to-5 mentality, which my disability doesn’t allow for. I always saw myself going in the same circle and same routine that seemed to result in failure. My mindset changed once I started selling the paper and I began to get a better understanding of America's currency and the way the world deals with money. Now that I’m focused on living a better life, my goal is to help others build the same. I have created my own course to help guide others in the right direction by following the blueprint that will lead them to the next level in life. I will be starting a vlog channel, webinar series, and online class to assist with providing information for others to build a new life.

Street Sense Media continues to point me in the proper direction of success. They have helped me get a lawyer for my disability case and helped provide contractor and part-time income. Now I will build opportunities and help those that are willing and ready to help themselves. Please continue to support vendors that are working for themselves.

Challenges

BY MARCUS MCCALL // Artist/Vendor

To the strong Black woman

BY PIERRE JOHNSON Artist/Vendor

To the strong Black Woman, the Mama of earth It was a strong Black Woman that gave me birth It was the Queen of the planet and her lap was the thrown That supported me like a Prince until I was grown It was the replica of Isis and the Warrior Queen That was the symbol of the Black Woman’s self-esteem And every day I thank Allah that my mother is one She gave birth to a Prince and she loves her son It was the Mother of Civilization that kept me strong A strong Black Woman taught me right from wrong To the strong Black Woman, I respect you so much You make me feel like a King with your tender touch I’ll go to war for the Black Queen until I am dead And if someone disrespects her, then, off with their head I feel the presence of a Queen when I see you coming I propose a toast to the strong Black woman.

Can you dig it?!

The biggest challenges I face right now are communicating with my parole officer and with other services.

Why? Because I have no mobile device. I had a phone from Metro PCS, which was stolen from me while sleeping at the 801 East men’s shelter on the St. Elizabeths campus in Southeast.

My challenges bring me hope knowing that there is something I need to be doing. My hope is it’s not too late to get it done. And it’s not. My needs are very simple: call my PO and make sure I see my clinical social worker for mental health. Without a phone to call them, I try to communicate by email. But again, without a personal device, that depends on which places that provide computer access are open during the pandemic.

Communicating is always key! But it is even more important now.

Believe

BY ROBERT WARREN // Artist/Vendor

For sometimes a stump shall be a seed, a Holy Seed, and the kings of Israel will not prevail against it when the heart’s of the people will be moved as leaves blown by the winds.

All in the Lord’s time, for Damascus too will be broken right before our eyes; it is no longer a people.

And it has been said the Lord cares not; If you believe, surely you shall be counted among the righteous.

For this Life is nothing but a test, for even Eve and Adam were tested Therefore the Universe has given us many signs from our Lord that the Lord says for a thing to be and it is, like a son born to a virgin.

To lead many of man of the straight path to

choose the Good over the evil man do.

Why has Egypt and the rivers of Egypt been forgotten? And when will that day come for it to be a place of range where oxen and sheep roam?

For many men have invaded the land and imprisoned the people therein; While the inhabitants seek not their Lord but seek the dead on behalf of the living; As if they can forgive their father’s sin like a man doesn’t have a mother who are created and only the Lord can forgive her son’s sins.

And maybe the Lord will answer her prayers and a seed of wisdom will grow from a trump of a man For that beautiful Mother who believes and the sons who remember her in his prayer, for GOD is with us, closer than you would ever Believe.

1 2 // s t reet sense me di a / / ma rCH 2 4 - a PriL 6, 2021

ART

CONFESSIONS I, PART 3:

Pimping, penance, and poverty

BY JEFF TAYLOR Artist/Vendor

PREVIOUSLY: Jeff Taylor told readers about how he struggled to find intimacy and love as a “semi-closeted gay male” in D.C. after moving from Peoria, Illinois.

In Part Two, he confessed to not feeling sympathy for people experiencing homelessness and told the story of losing his job at a church after embezzling money from a small church to pay for prostitutes. When the story left off, Jeff was explaining how he had just found a new job...

As I’ve said throughout this series, I like to think I’m a good person and I want to make sure I’m not BS-ing myself about that. I know I’m far from perfect. Like, really far, as you’ve seen. But when it comes to trying to live by the golden rule (and not without a few major stumbles along the way), I’d give myself a solid B, maybe B+. That leaves room for improvement and I’m willing, by the grace of the greater universe, to work harder at being an a**hole even less of the time. To that end, my confession continues.

I was a pimp There was a time during the very slow off-season when I decided to try managing my own male escort agency, Centaur Male Entertainment. I envisioned a business where clients and escorts would flourish when treated decently and fairly by myself and by each other. It was a whole golden rule kinda thing.

It was an interesting experiment. There were good and bad clients and escorts alike. Although there was a snake or two to deal with, most of them were really good guys: clients who just needed a little affection and intimacy; escorts who were happy to provide a valued service. As for the snakes, they were generally escorts who simply weren’t cut out for the job. They wanted the money while providing as little service as possible.

It was mostly fun while it lasted, but when my regular job kicked into high season it was too much to manage the agency as well. All it took was being too out of touch with clients and escorts who were desperate for d*** and dough and they went around me, cutting me out completely. It was frustrating.

I did my part. I spent hours and hours creating and continually updating the website, posting ads, managing the emails, answering the phone calls… ugh, the phone calls! But that’s what ultimately killed the business, the inability to immediately respond to phone calls and messages. My regular job simply wouldn’t allow it. And since the agency didn’t bring in more than enough to be considered a hobby, it wasn’t too difficult to decide which one had to go.

Oh well, like I said, fun while it lasted.

My penance I’ve written extensively in the past about my friend Alice Carter so I won’t spend a great deal of time writing about her now, only as it is relevant to my own story.

I’ve written extensively in the past about my friend Alice Carter, so I won’t spend a great deal of time writing about her now, only as it is relevant to my own story.

I rode one hell of a roller coaster with my friend Alice Carter. I’ve yet to figure out if my sticking by Alice had more to do with the compassion I felt on hearing her story or with a sense of obligation to give continued second chances because I’ve been given continued second chances.

The more I got to know Alice and have a pretty good understanding of what it must be like to live her rough and dangerous life, my already shaky faith finally collapsed. I eventually evolved into a devout atheist. I just couldn’t reconcile that concept of an all-loving God in light of Alice’s torment. Or that of my grandma Taylor who had Alzheimer’s. Or each and every defenseless child who suffers any manner of abuse. Bless all the dear children indeed!

Now don’t get it twisted just because I gave up on God. I didn’t give up on Alice. I risked and lost one job and my housing twice out of love for her. I gave up on God but not the teachings of Christ, at least not where Alice was concerned.

Alice had moments when the only thing I knew what to do with her was to put her out of the apartment. Never in rain, never in the freezing cold, but yes, out the door when she got to be too much to handle. But she always came back and I always welcomed her back in with a hug.

She would get high on cough medicine. I witnessed her having conversations with invisible people, talking about killing me and taking over my apartment. Yet night after night I laid down to sleep next to her.

She once threw a large ceramic vase at me. She snuck people into the apartment while I was at work who stole stuff. It wasn’t all bad living with Alice Carter but it certainly had its challenges.

neighborhood CVS and Whole Foods.

Having Alice in my life had seemed like penance enough for the pain I caused the people of that little church. But there was so much more to come. I really didn’t want to be homeless. It was my greatest fear. I decided to contact my two last resorts first to give them a decent heads up. My last resorts were my parents and my best friend, Betty Hicks, a former co-worker from Lenscrafters.

I met Betty the first day I walked into Lenscrafters. I hadn’t even stepped into the office for my job interview yet and I sensed she was special. I learned so much about life and more accepting worldviews from her and her four beautiful, free-spirited daughters.

While I met Betty in Peoria, she was originally from the upper peninsula of Michigan. After retiring from Lenscrafters, she returned to Iron River, Michigan. When I went online to find her number, it came up. But so did another piece of information: the word “deceased.”

I was in shock. My best friend was dead and I had had no idea. The last time we talked was probably 2004 or so at something like 2 a.m.

She drunk dialed me. She was in her mid-70s. And boy could she tell a good dirty joke. I miss her.

On to my last resort. Mom and Dad were very leary, to say the very least, at the idea of my coming to their home. Though I had no intention of bringing Alice along, Mom and Dad didn’t want to take any chances she’d somehow manage to follow me. I thought that was pretty absurd and I said so. It was a conversation between my mother and me that would have blown over as I came to better understand their concerns. But Dad had to butt his d*** nose in it and it became a whole thing. I wasn’t able to talk to my mom for nearly a year. At any rate, my last resort was a no-go.

I had gotten behind on the rent before living in the pricey Logan Circle neighborhood but always managed to get caught up. My landlord had apparently either grown accustomed to that and therefore trusted I would catch up, or they had really bad lawyers. I managed to live there rent-free for an entire year before the day in late April of 2013 when all that I couldn’t pack in two suitcases and a shoulder bag was left on the curb for neighbors to anxiously scavenge. I ain’t gonna lie, I had some nice stuff; well worth scavenging.

So I was then officially homeless. It was a new chapter in my life and Alice was still very much a part of it. Much more can and will be written about this former middleclass, conservative, Midwestern kid who came to the big city and was nearly eaten alive by it.

I've yet to figure out if my sticking by Alice had more to do with the compassion I felt on hearing her story or with a sense of obligation to give continued second chances because I've been given continued second chances.

Becoming homeless Living with Alice took a bit of a toll on me psychologically.

It stressed me out dealing with her, worrying about her.

I took time off to look after my own mental health. But when I felt ready to go back to work, my employer had decided I was no longer needed. My position was to be dissolved soon anyway. There’s more to be told on that specific issue, but they wouldn’t be my confessions to reveal. At any rate, I was then officially jobless.

I kept the phone/internet and cable until the money I had saved from not paying rent ran out. I got a food stamp card but used it to get cheap-a** filtered cigars at the corner store. I ate by boosting food from the

This concludes “Confessions I” by Jeff Taylor.

streetsensemedia.org

// 13

My Home

BY CARLOS CAROLINA-BEY // Artist/Vendor

Washington, D.C. has always been the nation’s capital.

Be an example

BY AYUB ABDUL Artist/Vendor

The icy rain bouncing off the walls of Trees so slippery and there’s things To be done. You’re The one that’s been chosen and Sometimes we must do the things we Don’t want to do, but that’s life. Things Need to be done. In order to show Someone how to do it, you must first do it Yourself. If you lead you must lead by Example. Upon making an attempt, it Might not be that hard after all.

You will never know, unless you try.

Home of the Nationals Home of the D.C. United And home of the homeless.

We don’t wanna be, But tents is what yall see when you Walk down some streets.

I’m not trying to take aim Or point blame My people just tired of playing homeless games, Because when you are homeless, it’s not a game.

Living day to day, with no place to stay, You feel irate when they throw it in Your face. Please don’t break, just have Grace. Try to have faith and everything will be OK. Y’all great — Just wait…

And pray...

You’ll laugh at how I got the COVID-19 shot

BY QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE Artist/Vendor

Well, I was able to get the first dose of the vaccine. I arrived on time to my appointment and sat patiently for the pharmacist to arrive in the room and administer the shot to me. As she entered, I became a nervous wreck.

You see, when I saw pictures of people’s arms being shot with the COVID-19 vaccine, it appeared to be a fiveinch-plus needle! Knowing I was about to be stuck with this giant needle in my skin, I thought my head would fall off or my arm would fall off from some side effect.

But she just sat on my left side, opened up the alcohol swab to rub on my left arm, and said, “Here we go.”

Dear reader, I didn’t go quietly. Crying, screaming, and hollering, I was like a big fat baby with no self-

composure at all. Thirty minutes later, I was still crazy out of my mind reacting to my fears. The pharmacist came back to me in the room to say the COVID-19 shot only took about 5 seconds. “It’s been over,” she said.

I felt foolish and even had to laugh at myself. When she said a second shot would have to be administered, there I went again crying, screaming, hollering.

“Please, Miss Q,” she said to me. “It will be the same way and the same five seconds.”

So I left dancing with bells and whistles. Because that shot wasn’t bad at all. I can sure repeat it. Please everyone, take the COVID-19 shot for your and everyone else’s health and safety.

Transportation during COVID

BY RITA SAULS Artist/Vendor

Getting around the city during COVID can be a hazard, especially when you are using public transportation. So look out. Get ready for the dirty looks, bad language, the “don’t sit by me” attitude, and a possible fight to the left or the right.

The know-it-alls on the Metro will lecture you

on mask use and disposal as if they were Dr. Fauci himself. Personally, I’ve decided not to use mass transportation. I’ve resorted to old reliable — the bike.

However, when the circumstance presents itself, such as a “free ride” or “no charge,” then I climb aboard and prepare for an all out war.

PHoto BY tHomas ratLiFF

Broken back, still standing

BY GERALD ANDERSON // Artist/Vendor

Hello! Want to tell my friends and all my supporters I’m sending this message out to y’all because I know y’all concerned about what’s going on with me. I’m in the hospital right now, fighting for my strength to come back. I’m halfway paralyzed. I broke my neck, my back and my spinal cord. But don’t get worried about it. Just like my book says, I’m gonna stand. I am walking again a little bit.

My average walking is about a 7 now. I’d like to get out the chair and walk, but they don’t let me walk except in rehab 5 days a week.

I can’t really use my hands. Making progress. I’ve gotten to where I can hold my spoon a little bit. I dictated this story over the phone. I know this is gonna make you laugh, but I do get to eat my chicken. I’m still eatin’ a lot of chicken!

To give y’all a little bit about what happened, I went on 7th Street and had a little misunderstanding there. I jumped on my bike and ran into a wall. Hit my face, and I broke my back and I broke my spinal column. I stayed on the ground about an hour in the cold. I survived though. So don’t let it worry you because God got another way for me to come out. I’m going to get that. And I am going to get back. I’m gonna see you all again.

Me and Thomas been chatting on the phone now about my new book, “Treading the Water,” based on the latest series of mine you’ve been reading in the paper. You know I told you all about the new book. Don’t think nothing stopped about that. Things still moving. We’re trying to put this book out by Sept. 7. That’s my birthday. And I don’t know how y’all’s schedule may look, what your plan is with COVID, but I’m trying to let my book be released that day and to get another author talk at the Martin Luther King Memorial Library. It’s like a new library with all the renovations, so I’d like to go in there when my book first opens. And after that, let me know if you’d like to get with me. I love dealing with the schools to share with the kids about how to keep your life going forward not backward.

Some people might want to get in contact with me, want to call me. I want to let y’all know I got a phone, you can call me at (202) 706-9898. I’ll be glad to hear from you. Reach out, talk to me. I can’t say when I’ll be released from the hospital. Maybe a month or two. Ain’t rushin’ to get out, but I know y’all miss me just as much as I miss y’all. For a while there it was killing me to be in here. It was really rough. But I am breathing, so it can’t be too rough. And I’m feeling much better. I’m still in a little pain, but not too much pain.

Everything alright. I thank y’all for all y’all support. Especially Thomas, Ms. Melissa, and Mr. Robert. They’ve been coming out to see me. If you wanna come out and see me, just gotta give me a call and I’ll tell ya how to do it. I’ll be glad to see new faces.

Like I say, I’m going to breathe again. I can’t sit here and cry.

Hope to see y’all soon. Everyone take care. God bless, y’all.

8 7 2 5 3 9 1 7 5 1 46 7 4 1 8 4

5

8

5

2

4

3

7

FUN & 1 GAMES 6

1 4 9

8

Sudoku #8 5 8

4

8

4

1

7

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

3

9

7

8 1

3

3

1

4 9 8 2

5 3 7

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

1 8 9 7 2 5 6 3 4

8

SUDoKU: Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and 8 each 3-by-3 block 2 contain all of the digits 1-9.

LASt EDItIon’S PUZZLE SoLUtIon >>

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

1

3

4

3

5

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

6 5 2 6

9 4

1 5 3 6 7

8 4 3 2

scratch area

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

9

7

7

6

2 4

9

3 1

6

7

7

6

5 9 3 1 8

2

8

2

5 9

4

© 2013 KrazyDad.com

6 8 2 9 7 7

4

5

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

2

1 5

4

4 1

3 9 8 6

5 6 7 3 2 9

Want to help me pay my Internet bill?

You can make a donation at http://krazydad.com Or by mail: Krazydad, P.O. Box 303 Sun Valley, CA 91353 USA Thank you!

7

6 1

6 8 4 9 3 8 4 7 3 9 2 5 1 9 3 2 5 4 6 8 7 Tough Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 1 1 6 3 8 5 7 4 2 7 5 6 4 2 1 3 9 3 2 9 1 7 8 6 5 6 9 8 2 1 5 7 4 5 8 4 7 3 9 1 6 4 1 5 9 6 3 2 8 2

5

9

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

8

5

7

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

6, 2021

Sudoku #4

2

5 3 9 7 6

// st reet sen s e

7 9 1 3 4 5 2 6 8 8 2 3 1 7 6 9 5 4 5 7 4 2 8 9 1 3 6 me di a / / ma rCH 2 4 - aPriL 1 6 9 4 5 3 8 7 2

No. 12: Down in the Snake’s Throat

BY SAUL TEA Artist/Vendor

This is page 12 of a 13-part song book accompanying the “Hell’s Bottom Congress Of Puppets” folk opera, created by Saul Aroha Nui Tea. The song is loosely inspired by “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (composed by Harold Arlen for The Wizard of Oz) and “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.

Look for the rest of the opera in future editions of Street Sense and find music videos made with puppets of the characters, along with more information about the project, at congressofpuppets.blogspot.com.

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 - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org

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

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

2375 Elvans Road SE 2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

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

My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.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 D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org

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

Behavioral Health Hotline Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-800-799-7233

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

// 15

1-888-793-4357 Laundry Lavandería

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

JOB BOARD Peer navigator Unity Health Care Full-time The peer navigator will serve as a role model, mentor, advocate and motivator to recovering individuals in the D.C. Jail in order to help prevent relapse and promote long-term recovery.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED. Two years’ work experience related to behavioral health/addiction or as a community health worker or peer recovery specialist.

Being actively in recovery is preferred.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/peer-navigator-job

Peer support specialist Pathways to Housing D.C. // Brentwood Full-time

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

Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699 1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW

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

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

From a perspective based on his or her personal experience with mental illness and/ or co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance abuse, the Peer Specialist provides and coordinates a broad range of services for clients who have histories of homelessness, psychiatric disability, substance abuse, criminal justice, and other trauma.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED and peer specialist certification. Must be a self-identified person currently or previously receiving mental health or co-occurring behavioral health services. Preference given to individuals with life experiences of homelessness and/or mental illness.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/peer-support-specialist-job

Education and training coordinator National Coalition for the Homeless // Temporarily remote Part-time The engagement and training coordinator will manage the NCH’s program of people who have experienced homelessness giving speeches to churches, corporations, school children and college students. They will train and assist speakers and coordinate with organizations contracting them.

REQUIRED: Three years experience working with unhoused people. Previous experience of homelessness is an asset.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/nch-coordinator-job

Barback Intercontinental Hotels// Downtown

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

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

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

May be required to work nights, weekends and holidays

This position is responsible for stocking and maintaining beverage supplies to assist the bartender.

REQUIRED: None listed.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/barback-job

Wedding anniversary

BY SYBIL TAYLOR Artist/Vendor

A wedding memory I’ve never forgotten: My parents got married on March 12, 1960. It was a true love never forgotten, a joyous love and memory of my mom and dad joined together on a beautiful spring morning. They met in homeroom class at Cardozo High School where my dad was an honor roll student and a musician. He went into the Army and saved money up for the future of him and mom and us his children. He was the youngest paperboy for the Washington Daily News back in the early ‘40s.

Him and my mom both were very quiet people.

My dad chose my mom to be his wife. True love sparked a flame. They both fell in love. He would take my mom out to dinner dates to the movies, shopping and live motown shows. She went to her first British show, The Beatles. He treated her like pure diamond and pearls and a world of silver and gold. Be brought her lovely flowers.

He was staying with my mom’s parents over by Potomac Avenue during the early ‘60s .He brought the engagement ring. My dad came home and surprised my mom with a wedding ring and she presented him with a wedding band. They made plans and got married. As they tied the knot my mom said it was a beautiful, heartfelt wedding day. When I hear about it I often cry of joy and laughter. I get emotional. She was telling me how they had their first dance. These are the playlist songs she shared with me: a wedding never forgotten, ever.

Alw a

oving M ys

Wedding songs playlist

COLLAGE ART BY SYBIL TAYLOR

1) "Dream Come True" by The Temptations

4) “Yes I'm Ready” by Barbara Mason

2) “I Do Love You” by Billy Stewart

5) “Baby I’m Glad That Things Worked Out So Well”

by Marvin Gaye

3) “Our Day Will Come” by Ruby & The Romantic's

Listen to these songs at streetsensemedia.org/wedding-playlist

Spring

COUNTDOWN TO WEEKLY!

BY DARLESHA JOYNER Artist/Vendor

I am excited for the new weather coming forward. Yummy ice cream, blooming flowers, my kids swinging at the park on the sliding board, hop scotch, bubbles, and especially the amusement park and the swimming pool.

The Street Sense Media newspaper will be published twice as often, every Wednesday, starting April 14.

Learn more: StreetSenseMedia.org/weekly

Thank you for reading Street Sense!

From your vendor MARCH 24 - APRIL 6 | VOLUME 18 ISSUE 11

WWW.INSP.NGO

BY SASHA WILLIAMS Artist/Vendor

4 million

The past is behind My past is in my mind The present is here My present new year The future is near My future I create I am of my past, present and future I am a falling star from the sky.....

READERS

9,000

Illustration by Sasha Williams

VENDORS

PHOTO BY XU_RAY / PIXABAY.COM

100+

STREET PAPERS

35

COUNTRIES

24

LANGUAGES