03.25.2015

Volume 12: Issue 10 March 25 - April 7, 2015

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GOING THE DISTANCE: How One Man’s Housing Became His Health Care pgs 4-5

Security and Sanitation Concerns raised by residents of shelters for single adults | pg 7

Impending Welfare Cuts

threaten to strain city’s safety net, advocates say | pg 3

Urban Farming

seeks to improve health in Columbia Heights | pg 9

Street Se vendor nse s celeb ra arrival of Spri te the ng! pg 8

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Waldon Adams prepares for a rainy start to the Rock n’ Roll DC Marathon.

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OUR STORY Street Sense began in August 2003 after Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003. In 2005, Street Sense achieved 501 ( c ) 3 status as a nonprofit organization, formed a board of directors and hired a full-time executive director.

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STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7, 2015

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Housing Vouchers: Good News for Tenants, Landlords

By Emma Holland Editorial Intern As of March 11 The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) can now pay landlords in its Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) more in order to keep up with the increasing rent in the District.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program offers subsidies to qualifying heads of household. On average, the head of household pays 30 percent of their income towards rent in an approved private property.

“Our families have fewer affordable housing options available to them now than they did just a few years ago,” said DCHA Executive Director Adrianne Todman.

DCHA increased the amount HCVP will be able to pay landlords; in order to give the voucher program’s customers more flexibility, landlords may receive up to 130 percent of a rental property’s market price, according to Todman.

“This increase will allow them to have more choice and move to more areas of the city, to different school districts and closer to their jobs,” Todman said.

According to The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the District consists of 53 rental submarkets. DCHA predicts the 130 percent cap in payments to landlords will allow voucher users to live in 26 of these submarkets, up from just 15.

A day after DCHA’s action, DC Fiscal Policy Institute released a report titled “Going, Going, Gone: DC’s Vanishing Affordable Housing” by Wes Rivers, confirming Todman’s statement.

According to their analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s data, the number of apartments in the District that cost less than $800 a month, including utilities, dropped from 58,000 to 33,000 between 2002 and 2013.

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute report claims that families with the lowest income have been hit the hardest. The majority of low-income families spend half or more than half of their income on housing. Families of four with incomes under $32,000 are in this category.

Usually, housing authorities are only allowed to provide landlords with 90 to 110 percent of fair market rent. DCHA was able to increase the amount it can pay landlords to 130 percent because it is a Moving to Work agency.

According to HUD.gov, “Moving to Work is a demonstration program for public housing authorities (PHAs) that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally-designed strategies that use federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient and increase housing choices for low-income families.”

Moving to Work agencies are exempt

from some regulations regarding the use of federal funds.

DCHA’s ability to pay landlords an unusually high amount corresponds to the District’s high increase in rental prices. According to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s report, rent is increasing faster than income is increasing for all renters in the District, especially low-income renters. Almost half of all rentals in the District – 73,000 units – were priced at $1,400 or more in 2013. In 2002, there were only 28,000 at that price.

According to Terri Thompson, DCHA Board of Commissioners chairman, landlords will also benefit from the increased percentage of fair market rent they are allowed to receive from DCHA. “Now they will be able to charge a rent that reflects what they can get in the open rental market,” Thompson said.

DCHA will advertise this new opportunity within HCVP to landlords who haven’t worked with the program before as well as families who could benefit from the prospective increase in affordable housing opportunities.

HCVP Director Ronald McCoy said, “We want to help our clients succeed, so we will tell them about the schools, transportation options and screening criteria for new rental properties to better inform their decisions.”

According to McCoy, streamlining administrative procedures will pay for the possible higher cost to DCHA.

Think Tank Warns 6,000 Families May Be Set Adrift

By Emma Holland Editoral Intern On March 16, DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI) sent an email to Mayor Bowser and Chairman Mendelson asking that they extend the length of time families are allowed to benefit from Temporary Cash Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The email claimed that without an extension--which 44 states have implemented some form of--6,000 families will be cut off in October.

The District’s time limit policy, which was put in place in 2010, limits the length of time a family may be on TANF to 60 months. According to DCFPI’s proposal, it would be unfair and unwise to adhere to this time limit because many families did not receive TANF’s services for up to 11 months after being accepted into the program. The families received funds when they were accepted into the program, but many did not receive employment services till much later.

Department of Human Service (DHS) officials refute these claims.

Kate Coventry, a policy analyst at DCFPI, said that TANF accepts more people than it has the capacity to fund or serve. She also

attributes delays partly to a DHS decision to revamp the services it provides.

“Before these changes, the D.C. TANF program was a one-size-fits-all system.

People with college degrees and people with low skills and education were referred to the same service providers for employment help,” Coventry continued.

Everyone already on TANF was assessed and put into the.

“Like most things, these TANF adjustments took longer to implement than originally planned,” Coventry said.

When the city council and mayor adopted the policy that limits how long TANF recipients may receive benefits, the purpose was to close a budget gap during the recession.

According to Coventry, there are currently 17,487 families receiving TANF. If 6,000 families lose their benefits, the result will be more strain on programs such as food banks, emergency services and shelters.

Families that will continue to receive services have been using TANF for less than 60 months or are in the Program on Work and Employment Responsibility (POWER).

According to DHS’s website, the POWER

program offers specialized services and resources to District residents with disabilities who are receiving TANF benefits.

The mayor is required to submit her proposed budget to the council in the first week of April. If Bowser plans to accept DCFPI’s recommendations, an extended TANF time limit would have to be included in that submission.

The council could also add the extension during their review of the mayor’s proposed budget, but DCFPI would prefer that the mayor include it initially.

“The city council could try to add money when they review and vote on the mayor’s budget, but the mayor has an office that knows the entire budget and a staff of experts on each area that know what money can be moved around,” Coventry said.

DHS reports that it will comply with the law.

“If the Mayor and the Council decide to extend the time limit, then DHS will continue to serve its customers according to the laws of the District,” said Dora Taylor, Public Information Officer at DHS.

Upcoming Conference to End Poverty

By Jacquie Lee Editorial Intern Advocates from around the nation will meet on March 28, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Convention Center to create a dialogue between people experiencing poverty and those who want to help.

“Sometimes people who are not in poverty don’t know how to connect, so people in poverty think that they don’t want to,” A Wider Circle Founder and Executive Director Dr. Mark Bergel said.

The local nonprofit provides job preparedness training, mental health workshops, pregnancy workshops, seasonal veteran’s day programs and a myriad of other social and economic programs to help break the cycle of poverty.

A Wider Circle is hosting the National Conference on Ending Poverty.

“The fact is that all the people in the homelessness arena talk about ending homelessness, but we will never end homelessness unless we end poverty because homelessness is caused by living in poverty,” Michael Stoops, director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless, told Street Sense.

Unlike some homelessness conventions, the National Conference on Ending Poverty will have participants who are actually experiencing homelessness and living in poverty. Their voice by conference organizers as crucial to take action.

According to Stoops, young people from middle school through college and people who are or have experienced homelessness must join forces.

“Those two groups of people working together can be a dynamic, idealistic force to end poverty,” Stoops said. “Unless we attack the root causes of homelessness and poverty in this country we will continue to be volunteering at soup kitchens and shelters 40 years from now.”

The conference will include speakers from non-profits located in all corners of the country. Organizations range from Community Safety Partnership in Los Angeles to Roc the Future in Rochester, New York. Local nonprofits, including So Others Might Eat, D.C. Central Kitchen, Bread for the City and many more, will also attend.

People can register for the Conference online at www.aWiderCircle.org/ncep or at the door on the day of the event. Although there is a registration fee, anyone can waive it by choosing a scholarship fee when they sign up.

“We don’t want to make money, we want to create change,” Bergel said.

Arlington’s Changing Landscape

By Sabrina Caserta Editorial Intern

Arlington’s housing market is booming, with climbing rents and home prices. Over the past decade, the average home sale price in the county increased by over 140 percent; at the same time, the average rent increased by 90 percent.

Thousands of market-rate affordable rental homes have been lost through rent increases, condo conversion, and redevelopment over the past 15 years. The county’s coordinated land use and transportation policies encouraged development near transit lines. The result is that real estate near metro stations is now occupied by new multifamily housing that for many is out of reach.

Arlington County anticipates that between 2010 and 2040, 7,000 low-to-moderate-income households will be added to the population. At the same time, the number of households with a disabled person will increase by nearly 4,000, and 9,200 more households will be headed by a senior.

These forecasts, done by the 2014 Affordable Housing Study of Arlington County, are based on the area’s policy guide and potential for future development.

The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) is the only non-profit affordable housing developer in Arlington County. With 16 properties throughout Arlington, APAH serves over 1,200 low-to-moderate income households.

APAH is spending more than $40 million to redevelop its 27-unit Carlyn Springs Apartments into The Springs, a 104-unit complex less than a half mile from the Ballston Metro Station that is meant to serve low-income individuals and families. APAH broke ground on The Springs on March 11, 2015, with anticipated completion in late 2016.

The building’s five stories will feature on-site resident services programs, underground parking, and an elevator, and will house APAH’s new headquarters.

Overall, the apartment complex will add 98 new affordable housing units to Arlington County, many of which will go to low income workers. “Twenty-seven percent of Arlington County’s city school employees earn less than $40,000 a year,” said Nina Janopaul, CEO of APAH. “Taxi drivers, nurses, teacher’s aides, cafeteria workers--they’re the kind of people who need housing in our community.” In addition, retirees living on

Social Security, as well as individuals who are disabled, homeless, or escaping domestic violence, will be among those living at The Springs.

APAH anticipates that 80 percent of its relocated residents will move back to the property once it is finished. Bank of America donated $550,000 to help make rental units at the Springs affordable.

Asked whether she will move back, Inge Schweiger, a former Carlyn Springs resident who has been moved temporarily to APAH’s Parc Rosslyn location, jokes that “it depends on what the apartments look like.” Schweiger pays a little more than half of the nearly $1,200 listed monthly rent of her unit.

“A typical 60 percent affordable unit is $900 a month. That’s two and a half times a minimum-wage job, so even our housing is expensive for a lot of people,” Kelleher said.

Arlington County has a “double-layer program” when it comes to affordable housing. It allows individuals to apply for a housing grant or housing voucher to help cover the cost of an affordable housing unit. Arlington has not turned down anyone for a housing grant who has fit the criteria, according to Kelleher.

The housing grant program serves renters who are either at least 65 years old or totally and permanently disabled, as well as working families with at least one child under age 18 and individuals who are mental health patients in a county-supported program. Additionally, the program has annual income guidelines contingent on family size.

At 74 years old, Schweiger has been living in Arlington for nearly 30 years, 21 of which have been in affordable housing units. After losing her job as a Navy contractor in 2008, Schweiger has been looking for a job to supplement her Social Security income, to no avail.

“I would go to the mall with my friends here, and we would see homeless women--all year long, every season, carrying bags,” Schweiger said. “It’s one of those things, you know. I’ve been lucky so far, but I’m getting close to that age… I’ve gone through two 401Ks and I’m on my last one. When that’s finished-- probably by the end of the year--I’m one of those ladies with the bags.

“Affordable housing is great, but it’s got to be made more affordable,” Schweiger said. “I can barely afford it.”

Bowser Signs Action Plan at Regional Summit on Homelessness

By Jacquie Lee Editorial Intern On March 17, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser joined regional executives Ike Leggett from Montgomery County, Maryland, and Rushern L. Baker III from Prince George’s County, Maryland, at a Regional Summit on Homelessness.

The leaders decided to collaborate on affordable housing, workforce development, economic development and supportive services to end homelessness in the Metropolitan area.

“We need a comprehensive, regional approach to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring” Bowser tweeted on the day of the meeting.

During the Regional Summit, the three leaders signed a charter outlining the four issues they deem most important. A task force created that day will include representatives from each county, according to Betty Hager-Francis, deputy chief administrative officer for health, human services, and education for Prince George’s County.

The task force is new and it has not been established who will fill the positions, when the group will meet, or whether the meetings will be open to the public, Hager-Francis told Street Sense.

“It’s a real roll up your sleeves job,” she said. “All three jurisdictions will have

their top officials who are working on this issue together.”

The Bowser administration released a plan on March 16 outlining the goals and timelines Bowser hopes to reach to end chronic homelessness in 5 years.

Last month Bowser also announced she will appoint four “housing navigators” to help unhoused District residents navigate the real estate market and obtain stable housing.

“On the local levels, we are making a commitment to prioritize affordable housing & econ opps for our residents,” Bowser tweeted from the summit. “Affordable housing is just one side of the equation. Job training and education is equally important.”

Prince George’s County has a 10-year plan to end homelessness as well, which started in 2012, according to Hager-Francis.

Baker, County Executive of Prince George’s County, also wants to focus on making affordable housing more accessible for county residents.

“He hopes that all of us as a region will deal with the issue in a way that provides affordable housing for all those who are unstably housed...” Hger-Francis said.

“We realized being in a global housing situation determines a lot of other factors in where a person’s life is going.”

The homeless population dropped five

percent in Prince George’s County last year; however; it is unclear whether this trend will continue.

“It’s hard to understand the future of homelessness if you don’t know the future of the economy,” Hager-Francis said.

Montgomery County’s homeless population also dropped about 12 percent last year, but county leaders expect an uptick from 2014-2015, said Patrick Lacefield, director of the Montgomery County Office of Public Information.

Lacefield could not point to one specific cause of the expected rise in homelessness, but hypothesized that it is connected to housing affordability in the county.

“It’s a problem of success in a sense because a lot of people want to live here; therefore, rental and home prices are higher, but the downside is that people can’t afford them,” he said.

Executive Director of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH), Susie Sinclair-Smith, could not confirm there will be a rise in the homeless population this year because the Point-in-Time (PIT) Count data, which is the source of the information, will not be released until May. However, she noted that this year, the number of families in emergency shelters doubled.

She agreed that if the PIT Count shows an increase, the main cause would be the

lack of affordable housing in the area, which is why Montgomery County has focused a lot of energy on creating affordable places for its residents to live.

The county created or preserved 15,000 units of affordable housing in the last 8 years, and is currently moving forward on a plan to create 100,000 new jobs to respond to unemployment in the area.

The new jobs will be focused in hightech and biotechnology and are not likely to have direct impact on the poorest segment of the population. Lacefield pointed out that those jobs will create other opportunities for employment, including food service and transportation jobs.

“People will open restaurants to service increased employment, transportation modes will be expanding to serve those distances [for new jobs], they serve a whole range,” he said.

Montgomery County will also be revamping facilities in the area, including Progress Place, which is located in the building where the Regional Summit was held. The building will be upgraded and services will be expanded. Progress Place currently provides a soup kitchen and some medical care. It functions as an overflow shelter in the winter.

“We’re going to be making it larger and better, and include more services, including health care,” Lacefield said.

STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7, 2015

5

COVER STORY

By: Jennifer Ortiz Editorial Intern Neon colored sneakers and ponchos contrasted the backdrop of a gray sky.

The sound of raindrops and rubber pounding the pavement synchronized to roaring rock and roll music.

Twenty six miles. Five hours and 27 minutes. A familiar feeling of pride and success overcame Waldon Adams as he crossed the finish line. Sweat and rain soaked his body at the completion of his 13th marathon.

It heightens his mood. It wards off his manic depression. Since his HIV transitioned to AIDS in 2008, he runs to “burn off the medicine.” For Adams, the benefits outweigh the possibility of his asthma acting up during a run.

“We all have ways we channel our energy. For Adams, it’s running ... But without housing, you can’t pursue any of that,” Tom Murphy, the director of communication for Miriam’s Kitchen, said.

Adams has experienced many episodes of homelessness in the past 32 years due to his mental and physical illnesses. He said that he had been to “all the psych wards and all the hospitals,” only having a place to spend the night if he was “sick enough.”

For the past six years, however, living in an apartment has helped stabilize Adams’ lifestyle. Friendship Place has provided him with case management and permanent supportive housing. Former Division Manager Jill Carmichael managed the different housing programs and supervised Adams’ case manager. Friendship Place has integrated permanent supportive housing since August 2008, according to Carmichael.

“Permanent supportive housing is the best intervention for the most vulnerably chronic homeless individuals in our city,” Carmichael explained. “It provides safe and stable housing with intensive case management ...which we know is cheaper than leaving them on the street.”

In fact, providing permanent supportive housing costs almost half of the cost of providing emergency services. Chronically homeless individuals live on the streets and may use emergency shelters and other emergency services such as emergency room visits, ambulance rides, hospitalization etc. This can cost up to $40,843 per person a year, according to a 2014 report from the Advisory Board Company. Permanent supportive housing, where people can be safe from the elements and use less emergency services, has a price tag of $22,500 per person a year.

The District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) plans to spend more money on permanent housing in its efforts to end chronic homelessness by the end of 2017. At a public discussion on the ICH’s

plans for 2015-2020, Kristy Greenwalt, the director of ICH, said that because it is spending a lot of money on emergency shelters, ICH wants to increase the effectiveness of permanent supportive housing.

This will reduce the need for emergency shelters, according to Greenwalt.

Adams has plugged in to the community through the housing and case management services he receives at Friendship Place.

He was asked to speak at an event at Miriam’s Kitchen, where they kept in touch and reached out to him with a job opportunity. Adams now works as an advocacy fellow for Miriam’s Kitchen.

“I’m manic, and sometimes I can’t stay on topic. As time went on, I was asked to speak more and more,” Adams said the job offer came as a surprise.. “I guess I was speaking on their talking points, because they offered me a job.”

The Advocacy Fellow Program at Miriam’s Kitchen began in January 2015. Adams is making history as an inaugural fellow.

Through his new job, Adams has several speaking engagements lined up. He has been learning about the different housing options, the legislative process on housing and how the city council works. It’s a temporary position, but for Adams, it’s the first time he’s been offered a job.

Adams has injuries from an explosion he experienced in the Navy which led to the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder. He was honorably discharged because of his psychiatric disorders.

“I don’t have a resume. I’ve never kept a job. It’s hard to get a job when you’re homeless,” Adams said. “I’ve worked long and hard to find housing and support, which is probably harder than a regular job since you’re trying to survive on the streets.”

Adams has had a history of mental disorders since childhood. He went to college to study computer science, but he dropped out due to his social phobia.

Shortly after, Adams was accidentally hit by a car and broke a rib. Unable to work, he became homeless and was first introduced to crack cocaine out in the streets.

“That’s when it went downhill,” Adams recalled. “Mania exasperates your addictions or even anything you experiment with. I just couldn’t stop.”

Adams wandered with just the clothes on his back because he knew he would throw his belongings if his manic episodes acted up. Violence surrounded Adams on the streets. He explained that he has experienced having his head split open, his face cut open twice, his jaw broken twice, and assault with baseball bats several times.

Waldon Adams |PHOTO BY JANE CAVE “All I could do was beg for my life,” Adams said.

Other times he felt quite differently.

Adams remembers planning to commit suicide at a hotel on New York Avenue during one such darker moment.

“Sometimes, I would just wait to die every time I sat outside,” Adams said.

“The only reason I’m alive is because of my mood swings. And running also gave me another effect that made me feel good.”

Before his work with Miriam’s Kitchen, Adams didn’t understand how all his health and behavioral issues factored into his housing situation.

“Now I know that I’m in permanent supportive housing. I was considered chronically homeless. I understand now that chronic homelessness is when you have mental illness, substance abuse, and physical illness. I had all three,” Adams said.

“Housing first changed my life.”

The housing first model allows no barriers for attaining housing. Traditional housing approaches require applicants to prove they are ready for housing by achieving sobriety or going through mental health treatment first, according to Jill Carmichael.

“It’s really difficult to get clean and sober when you don’t know where you’re going to sleep that night,” Carmichael said. With the housing first approach, “we house you first and then work on everything else.”

There are about 1,600 people that are considered chronically homeless in the District, according to Kristy Greenwalt.

Without the housing first method in action, many of these individuals would remain in shelters or on the streets, like Adams once did.

The Vulnerability Index Service Prioritization Decision Assessment Tool (VI-SPDAT) informs individuals of which housing intervention will best suit their needs.

Adams hopes that through the work he does at Miriam’s Kitchen he will one day be able to help others through the assessment process. He especially wants to help those who suffer with mental illnesses and HIV/AIDS. “A lot of us get forgotten about. We’re

the people that have it really rough. We’re the people that can’t survive out there,” Adams said. “We’re the ones in the psych ward or being killed in the alleys.”

Adams is training for another upcoming race in two weeks. He says he’s “still lacing up [his] shoes” though he is unsure of the future. Adams is still battling with AIDS. Occasional infections remind him that he is not cured. Sometimes he won’t leave the house because he still struggles with depression.

“I’m scared. I didn’t even expect to be living right now,” Adams said. “I’m lucky to be 54.”

A large part of what keeps Adams going is the runner’s high he gets after training or the completion of a marathon. He is part of “Marathon Maniacs,” a club of runners that sets out to complete several marathons in a certain amount of time.

“Sometimes there are people that are faster than me, but you’re running your own race,” Adams sad. “A lot of times when you’re running a race, you’re running for a personal record—you beat the time that you had before, and you keep on going.”

For Adams, March 31 will mark his new personal record—six years of sobriety.

Homeless Single Adults’ Voices Finally Heard?

By Julie Gallagher Editorial Intern Shelters for single adults in Washington, D.C. are expected to be warm and safe places to stay overnight for the District’s 3,900 homeless individuals not in family units. These low-barrier shelters provide beds, showers, meals, and case management, with security and other staff on hand.

However, many people who use these shelters have raised serious concerns.

They allude to a much a much less helpful, less sanitary, and less friendly environment. As a step towards addressing these concerns, a 5-member panel convened on March 3 at the Wilson Building to discuss some of the problems at shelters for single adults. The panel and audience members discussed treatment of shelter guests by staff, the availability of case management, food quality and sanitation.

So Others Might Eat (SOME) Advocacy Coordinator Samantha Davis moderated the briefing. Davis told Street Sense that many clients of SOME are also clients at low-barrier shelters for single adults. Davis said clients have been bringing up serious concerns for the past year and it is time to start the conversation about these issues.

“Together we decided to move forward in a public way to address shelter conditions,” Davis explained. She noted that it was important to have an issues-briefing early in the year to lay the foundation for educating the public and the councilmembers about the situation, so the remainder of the year can be devoted to creating a solution.

Davis said that there has been a heavy focus on family homelessness in the District recently, but “there are so many single adults who are going through the same kind of conditions or issues, if not worse.” Davis believes that advocates and councilmembers should be “addressing homelessness in general, not just family homelessness or veteran homelessness, just homelessness in general.”

Carol Dostert, a member of the panel and a homeless advocate, was once homeless herself.

“Some staff interactions were appropriate and therapeutic. Others were not,” Dostert said. She recalled being always on guard and not feeling safe.

“It is the lack of respect the general population is feeling,” said Kristi Matthews, Community Engagement Coordinator at So Others Might Eat (SOME) and a panel member. “Some people say they would stay outside if they could.”

When the audience was allowed to address the panel, one man showed photos of shelter employees and security guards sleeping or not working when they were supposed to be.

The man explained that he has written many letters and filed many complaints to Catholic Charities, who oversees multiple low-barrier shelters in Washington, D.C. Catholic Charities’ Director of Homeless and Housing Development, Luis Vasquez, was on the panel and willing to address these concerns. Catholic Charities is not

The lockers where clients can put their belongings at Adam’s Place, a low barrier shelter in Washington, D.C. PHOTO BY JULIE GALLAGHER

the only provider of single adult homeless shelters in Washington D.C, but according to Davis, they were the only shelter provider that accepted the invitation to appear on the panel. Other invited providers included New Ministries and the Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV). Street Sense was also unable to reach CCNV for comment.

Vasquez stressed that Catholic Charities is doing everything they can. He said that some services, such as food and security, are out of their hands because they are contracted to third-parties.

Audience members expressed a concern that case managers are not always available to meet with clients. Vasquez stated that for every case manager, there are at

least 100 clients. At the 801 East Shelter, there are 500 people.

“No one would say that’s a fair ratio,” Vasquez said.

Adam’s Place, run by Catholic Charities, is one of the smallest low-barrier shelters in the District. Case worker shifts there run from 2 - 10 p.m. The time before the shelter opens at 7 p.m. is used for completing paperwork and other tasks.

Adam’s Place’s Senior Program Manager, Robert Walker, noted that the clients at Adam’s Place know the schedule of the case manager. When they are unavailable there is a process in place where the shelter’s coordinator can help.

Another panel member, Street Sense vendor Reginald Black, discussed treatment of shelter guests by employees and alluded to mistreatment he observed during his own stay at many of D.C.’s shelters, including Adam’s Place.

“I think there needs to be some training on how to work with homeless individuals,” Black proposed.

Beyond treatment of clients in the shelters, there were many complaints about sanitation, especially regarding the food.

Responding to speculation that the food is rotten, Walker said he had “never seen anything out of the ordinary.” However, he conceded that the food consistently receives poor marks on the client surveys Adam’s Place issues twice a year.

One Adam’s Place client said the food is often not cooked, under cooked, or

Panel members Samantha Davis, Reginald Black, Luis Vazquez, Kristi Matthews, and Carol Dostert discuss the conditions in single adult, low-barrier shelters on March 3 in the Wilson Building.

PHOTO BY JULIE GALLAGHER

STREET SENSE March 25- 2015

7

NEWS

The beds in Adam’s Place, one of Catholic Charities’ low-barrier shelters.

PHOTO BY JULIE GALLAGHER

ill-prepared. He told Street Sense that the shelter often serves meals that are not appealing, such as spaghetti with no sauce or uncooked rice and beans. Portions are small.

Davis said that a client with a background in food service testified at a Department of Housing Services hearing that the food is dropped off around 3 p.m. and sits in bins until around 7 p.m. when the shelters open for clients. He believes it is during that period that the food goes bad and is unfit for serving.

“The food is contracted by The Community Partnership to DC Central Kitchen, who plans the menu, the preparation, and the delivery,” Catholic Charities Director of Communications Erik Salmi said. “Dinner service within the shelter begins promptly, once delivery of dinner is completed.”

Outside of their contract with DC Central Kitchen, volunteers with Catholic Charities make breakfast bags that contain non-perishable items like fruit cups,

A bag of breakfast items prepared by Catholic Charities volunteers.

PHOTO BY JULIE GALLAGHER

granola bars, and juice boxes for clients to take with them in the morning. In addition, Catholic Charities serves a free hot dinner outside their headquarters across from Martin Luther King Public Library every Wednesday at 4:45 p.m., according to Salmi.

Complaints about sanitation were raised at the briefing and are received throughout the year by the Department of General Services (DGS). Walker noted that maintenance staff from Catholic Charities cleans the facilities every day.

The Department of Human Services Office of Program Review, Monitoring and Investigation releases an annual report discussing conditions, complaints, and an assessment of improvements for the facilities they oversee, including lowbarrier shelters.

In 2013, 17 of the 76 formal complaints DGS received were “health and environmental” complaints. This report also evaluates deficiencies in the shelters. In 2013, 45 percent of the evaluated shelter deficiencies were health and safety issues.

Each Catholic Charities shelter has a box where clients can file grievances.

From these complaints shelter staff determines which concerns they are able to address, according to Salmi.

“There is a D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness subcommittee available if clients prefer to take their complaints to a third-party.” Salmi noted. “Each shelter regularly holds town-hall meetings on a monthly basis to give clients the chance to share concerns or complaints with staff in a public manner.”

Catholic Charities also has a Health and Human Services Client Advisory Council made up of client representatives from all Catholic Charities housing programs.

This council meets every other month to address program concerns.

Any shelter resident may also file complaints to DHS directly at dhs.dc.gov/complaint, by emailing OPRMI@dc.gov, or by

calling the complaint hotline at (202) 6734464. For an investigation to take place, complaints must contain an individual’s name, the date, the time, a narrative description, and the provider being reported. “[Clients] assume that we aren’t going to handle it, but that’s not the case,” Robert Walker said. “Many of the issues can be solved right there.”

Many shelter clients fear retaliation from staff if they speak out about prob-

night, when I went to my bed, they said they gave away my bed, and I had to go to the back of the line.”

He said that night he was placed in a poorly kept room in the shelter, where there is often urine on the floor.

DGS was invited to attend the briefing, but declined. In response to Davis’ summation of client concerns, DGS provided a statement to be distributed at the briefing.

The dining and recreational space at Adam’s Place.

PHOTO BY JULIE GALLAGHER

lems. According to Samantha Davis, the client who presented photos of shelter staff sleeping was kicked out of a shelter the night after the briefing. Davis said that he is not currently allowed back in the shelters and is working with a lawyer to gain re-entry. Davis pointed to this fear of retaliation as a reason why only a handful of shelter clients were present at the briefing.

Another client provided his testimony to Davis for the DHS hearing after experiencing retaliation.

“One time, I came in, and they said ‘hey, we need you in the kitchen!’ When I saw what was going on in the kitchen, I made a complaint and said I couldn’t help them out because of the conditions in the kitchen. I didn’t want to be a part of that,” the client explained. “So that

”It can be difficult to make improvements to the shelters because of the constant need of the facilities. In the context of schools, DGS will occasionally employ a ‘swing space’ option, which allows the everyday user of the building to be temporarily relocated such that more complicated work orders can be closed out.” the statement read. “Given this circumstance, some repairs may require a service to be temporarily off-line during repair, such as a restroom.”

Davis said that it is unclear what the overarching solution would be to efficiently respond to complaints, but wants to continuously work towards one.

“We’d like to see people start putting some action into it,” Davis said. *Clients were kept anonymous for their protection.

Say Hello to Spring

By Jackie Turner, Vendor

As we have survived winter that came late, with snow and arctic cold breaking records, It’s hard to believe that Spring is here.

Just as the winter started slowly and waited until the end to show, The spring will come in slowly And then linger in anticipation for summer.

It is here! It started last Saturday.

When you see the buds of flowers on their way to bloom And grass growing after the rain You know that Spring is here.

The colors of the trees blend with the sun For a bright and colorful day.

But all too soon the glow of Spring Will give way to (the heat of) summer.

I Dream into Spring

By Robert Warren

I dream of things only when it seems my mind is clear of fear of tomorrow And what it may bring, oh Spring days Last night I had a dream of a Spring Day When all the women I see this Spring day Would smile at me and say pleasant things And act as if they would worry me.

But then, she spoke to me, with a smile on her face With the warmth of Spring I smiled and looked away And thought, what a beautiful Spring day This would be the day.

I turned to say, but she was gone What was wrong?

I see people, well-dressed, moving along But where could she be?

I woke up and thought It was only a dream of Spring.

Looking for Brother Rabbit

Spring!

By Henrieese Roberts, Vendor Spring is the sprouting of green buds, pipes finally flowing freely, and birds cheerily chirping. The smell of flowers surrounds us as we walk. Air flows freely as we fling open our long-closed windows. Snapshots of flowers abound. Spring has sprung!

By Angie Whitehurst

I’m looking for that Easter Bunny.

I’m looking for the hare with big ears to open up and hear.

I’m looking for the buds of spring and fragrant tulips ready to rainbow bloom, the colors of spring in hopes of no more winter frost to bear.

I’m looking for the basket full of pastel-colored eggs, candy and treats to savor, left at my door

By Brother Rabbit with care.

The Bunny is a symbol of life’s perils and deeds forgiven, a slate cleansed for evermore.

To commence again, with the pre-lived experience, to live better and enjoy.

I’m looking for that Easter Bunny full of hope and glee and joy.

A basket full of accessible, affordable housing would be just the egg to roll forever more.

Do you hear me, Mr. Bunny?

I’m looking for you to send, ease, and eradicate the existence of home-less-ness and poverty.

Bring on a basket of nest eggs full of housing for all to enjoy!

I see you, Mr. Bunny!

Did you hear me Loud and Clear?

People, housing, caring; cherished words so dear.

Zodiac Flower Signs

By Sasha Williams

If your birthday falls March 21- April 19, your flower is honey suckle “My vines climb to great heights.” You also have a smooth confidence that attracts a wide variety of friends and business partners. Honeysuckle people are strong and determined, weaving their way through any challenge.

You are The Ram (Aries) people are creative, adaptive, and insightful. They may be quick to anger, but don’t take it personally, it’s just their fiery, passionate personalities showing through.

STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7, 2015

9

SPRING FEATURES

Urban Agriculture Takes Root In Columbia Heights

By Sabrina Caserta Editorial Intern Tucked between Washington Hospital, the Soldiers’ Home and McMillan Reservoir in Columbia Heights sits nearly three acres of grass that remained empty for years.

After noticing the property’s potential, it took Josh Singer 5 months to obtain a construction permit. But in 2011, Wangari Gardens was born.

“It was a piece of property that fell through the cracks. There are a lot of properties like this around D.C.,” said Singer, Wangari’s Executive Director.

The property fell under the Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction. They allowed for the community garden’s construction; the land remains public property.

After founding Wangari, Singer got a job with D.C. Parks and Recreation as a Community Garden Specialist--building gardens around the city. Wangari Gardens acts as his testing ground, allowing him to experiment with programming before introducing it to the many other Washington gardens he manages.

Wangari hosts 110 plot-holders that live within a mile and a half of the garden. Priority is given to the neighborhood’s lowincome, long-term residents.

“D.C. has, in my opinion, an expensive range of outlets for foods,” said Alice Mboone, a Wangari gardener.

The 57-year-old native Washingtonian attributes her good health to her diet, rich in fresh produce and grown in her very own garden. A Civil Service worker with Veteran Affairs, Mboone spends her free time nurturing chives, lettuce, tomatoes and squash with her 4-year-old granddaughter.

All of Wangari’s produce is encouraged to be organic and non-GMO (genetically modified organism).

“Organic is so much more expensive, you actually have to pay for people to not put crazy stuff in your food. It’s ridiculous,” said Angela Swayze, Wangari’s communication’s director.

One of the fastest gentrifying areas of the District, according to Swayze, Columbia Heights boasts frozen yogurt shops and fast food joints-a-plenty. However, parts of the neighborhood are still designated “food deserts” due to the lack of supermarkets that offer healthy, fresh foods. The closest “supermarket” is the Walmart located at the Columbia Heights metro station.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Food Access Research Atlas, the area surrounding Wangari has a lack of supermarkets and a surplus of residents without access to vehicles. According to a report by the USDA, about 2.3 million people live more than one mile away from a supermarket and do not own a car.

“This is a pretty poor neighborhood

The Columbia Heights neighborhood surrounding Wangari Gardens.

PHOTOS BY SABRINA CASERTA AND JASMIN PICARIELLO

with a lot of food security issues. I like community gardens. A lot of people think they’re the silver bullet. They’re not the solution, but they definitely supplement,” Singer said.

Research indicates that unhealthy food and toxic environments are two of the biggest drivers behind modern-day disease. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity are long-term illnesses that are preventable, mostly through diet and exercise. Chronic disease is responsible for 60 percent of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Food insecurity—the lack of ready and consistent access to fresh, healthy foods— is directly linked to chronic disease. Nearly 15 percent of households in the U.S. are food insecure. Minority households are more than twice as likely to be food insecure as white households, according to a George Washington University project, “Face the Facts USA.” “[Community Gardens] definitely get a lot of healthy and affordable food into the community. We’re trying to get in as much fresh, healthy and sustainable food as possible,” Singer said.

Lack of healthy food retail can also hinder a community’s economic development. Wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets as poor districts, white neighborhoods contain an average of four times as many supermarkets as predominantly black neighborhoods and grocery stores in black communities are usually smaller and have less selection, according to PolicyLink’s study “The Grocery Gap.” Nearly as important as the nutritional value they offer, Mboone believes urban gardens are also oases of calm, beauty and bounty in areas that don’t have

to grow her very own apple trees.

“Take your little tree around with you and when you finally get a house, plant it.” Mboone said. “Don’t look at what you don’t have, look at what you have or what you’re capable of doing. Grow you some trees. Create some legends.”

People’s choices about what to eat are contingent on the options that are available to them, as well as what they can afford. The overabundance of fast food chains in food deserts sell cheap meat and dairy-based foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, according to the Food Empowerment Project -- a Californiabased “food justice” organization. The organization also finds the most affordable foods in mainstream grocery stores, corner delis and convenience stores are snack cakes, chips and soda. These foods are just as unhealthy.

“Whole Foods, people call it Whole Paycheck. I’ve heard that many times.

It’s expensive and people around here can’t afford it. It all comes down to money,” Swayze said. “This area is slowly being gentrified, so who knows. Whole Foods may end up here in a few years, but we’re not going anywhere. Wangari will be here.”

enough of these life-enhancing qualities.

“I do it for therapy. I’ve read that hands in the soil cleanses and heals the body. I wanted to experiment. I don’t get sick. It makes me feel good,” Mboone said.

Mboone takes advantage of the free yoga and solar cooking workshops Wangari offers. She has also found free gardening classes hosted throughout the District.

In addition to the fenced-in garden, Wangari offers public vegetable and medicinal gardens, a strawberry patch, berry bushes and a fruit orchard which anyone can harvest from. The garden provides free tools, compost and seeds, as well as classes and workshops for gardeners ranging Wangari Gardens’ plot-holder area. from beginners to the most experienced.

“If you looked around, you didn’t see those who could’ve benefited most by it,” Mboone said. “There’s a whole community that’s unaware, unknowledgeable, disinterested.”

Having been raised by her mother, a Miss i s s i p p i g a r d e n e r, Mboone is a strong advocate for homegrown produce. Her latest venture is beginning Wangari Gardens’ public Herb Garden.

COMICS & GAMES

!

ack J w o n K Doesn’t

Food for Thought

By Lawrence Rogers, Vendor

Don’t know if it will work, but it is certainly worth a try. I learned these words in recovery, we’ll see…

There are four things that you cannot recover in life: The Stone……….after it’s thrown, The Word………..after it’s said, The Occasion…. after it’s missed, and The Time………...after it’s gone.

Walking With Clout

By Levester Green, Vendor

Paid a visit to my ailing mother hobbling about, suffering from a bout with gout!

Dropped off my past issues of Street Sense, since it was in route Ended up spending the night, although I had doubts, gathered myself and then left out My brother was running his mouth before I began to shout, #Clout

STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7

11

OPINION

The Farm, a City Place

By Angie Whitehurst Vendor We all know the name and probably some of the long ongoing saga of Barry Farms and many other “Black designated,” neighborhoods, projects and buildings. Some call them, blights, ghettoes or “urban” zip codes. This is a an “unofficial” crypto-name, allegedly used by the marketing, banking and corporate world to quietly without description or designation identify, ethnic, low-income, non-insurable entities and neighborhoods.

Black designated areas have historically been seen as “bad” and undesirable.

Never mind that the initial acquisition or gift of such land, buildings and places were gifted out of political pressure, benevolent philanthropy by some moralistic non-colored folks, who were abolitionist and post slavery politicians seeking votes and truly, a more sincere humane façade in the community. Aside from Barry Farms, Howard University is one of these sites. Initially, it was a stable, watering hole and supply facility for the Union Army during the Civil War. Today, it is a federally university with a great history.

Barry Farms and other places established and institutionalized have one thing in common, which makes me scream whenever the topic comes to mind. They are a roof with with no collateral, supplies or inventory. Human beings who happened to be ethnically stratified—legally and finan-

cially hog-tied—where magically expected to become wealthy and happy. For those who say they don’t understand, or that ‘those people are about nothing and just want hand-outs’, you need to think again.

Getting opportunity, training and collateral to own and start a business and build embracing supportive and self -helpful communities takes more than the land itself and bare minimum food stamps.

The needs, wants and desires for a more stable community is verbalized and visualized during every election cycle.

The attention, the words, the get-outthe-vote dollars spread around, feel good, seem good and a little hope is better than none at all for some.

This time words are not enough. The residents of Barry Farms deserve honesty, planning and follow-through for any change or maintenance of their community.

There is no more Jim Crow or give me your vote because I’m the Head-whatever,. There is just the greed, avariciousness and selfishness of a few. Don’t let them win. Enhance, improve and build a community that encompasses everyone; rather than the elimination, destruction and supplanting of others just for money.

Remember, Housing First is the backbone of building a community.

Developmental Disability Month

By Ken Martin, Vendor It’s National Developmental Disability Month. One disability not only hidden but most frequently overlooked is Selective Mutism.

According to the Smart Center “Selective Mutism is a complex childhood anxiety disorder characterized by a child’s inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social settings.” However, childrens with this disability can speak in comfortable environments. Like mine, at home, with the immediate family where she talked a blue streak.

Until she was five, people believed she was totally mute because she allowed no one to hear her voice. Her grandpa, whom she loved, died never hearing her speak.

“More than 90% of children with Selective Mutism also have social phobia or social anxiety. Children and adolescents with Selective Mutism have an actual FEAR of speaking and of social interactions where there is an expectation to speak.

Many children with Selective Mutism have great difficulty responding or initiating communication in a nonverbal manner.”

Not all children withe the diasbilt-

ity act the same. It can range from being completely mute to communicating with select individuals, from whispering to standing motionless when confronted with conversation.

My 12 year old has suffered with this since birth. Fortunately, today speaking in a classroom setting and some relax social events is doable.

I struggle constantly with the fact that my child cannot speak to potential rescuer in a crisis if her mother were attacked and rendered unconscious, would this child, incapable of ordering a pizza, Mighty kids meal or even movie tickets to tell a 911 operator details of the event? Coping with this is not easy for any parent let alone a homeless one.

Sadly in most cases it goes undiagnosed.

No diagnosis, no demand, no community effort to provide aid to the suffering children. Children, who again, sadly, have no voice.

I cope through constant prayer and the acceptance that being a voice for this one in a thousand kids is my calling.

What’s WITH Mayor Muriel Bowser?

By Jackie Turner, Vendor She has been in office for less than three months. She promised to do her best to improve the living conditions and quality of life (of the district’s residents). Her heart is in it, but the opposition is hard to overcome.

The people of The District are not treated as citizens. We have little to no rights, or say as to what we want. She says she wants “to help the homeless.”

We only have one family shelter in Washington, D.C., and it is not taking in any new families. There is no money for temporary housing. Now the Mayor’s in the hot seat because the news that people are exposing about the living conditions at the family shelter.

When she took office, there was a surplus for the homeless. Now there are reports that there is a debt of millions of

dollars. How did that happen?

On transportation, she wants to improve Metro’s relationship with riders. The safety issue is passive because transportation does not have the money.

“The people of the District are not treated as citizens.”

The job situation is: if you ask for the proposed pay increase, the businesses want to withdraw.

The health problem is: you have to have an assigned doctor to get a referral to obtain medical help.

Now, Muriel Bowser is popular. She is trying, but she just started. Check back in six months and take a new survey!

Playing Big with Homelessness

By Neil J. Donovan, neiljdonovan@comcast.net Washington, D.C. is failing those who are unhoused. Individuals and families alike are living radical expressions of persistent poverty. Despite more than two decades of unsuccessful commitments made by the District’s former mayors to prevent and end homelessness, our city continues to hold fast to a tragically flawed public/ private partnership destined for failure.

The ultimate responsibility for homelessness in the District now rests with Mayor Muriel Bowser, its new chief executive.

With homeless people’s lives and futures in the balance, our citizenry must set clear expectations for those they’ve elected to govern. Furthermore, we should exhibit our genuine hunger for change and communicate the urgency we feel about preventing and ending homelessness.

Mayor Bowser has chosen a capable and experienced group of senior managers to plan, construct and oversee the prevention and ending of homelessness.

Unfortunately, she is allowing The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP) to continue to (mis) manage homeless services for the District, as it has since 1993.

A recent audit of TCP found that it had failed to set clear, consistent and transparent objectives year after year for the many programs it runs and oversees. The audit found that in 2014 alone, more than five million dollars was overbilled to the city through a practice that seems to be in violation of city and federal laws.

Changing the management of homelessness in the District is a commitment to “play big,” a type of challenge that Mayor Bowser has dedicated much of her life to meeting. During the recent past mayoral

race, both of the mayor’s opponents made a commitment to replace The Community Partnership. Then city counselor Muriel Bowser made a campaign promise that if elected she would “conduct a top down review” of TCP and make the difficult choice of whether to make the necessary changes in the management of homeless services for the District.

“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” was one of Nelson Mandela’s fundamentals for changing the world. Mayor Bowser is capable of playing big. She leads this city with passion, making difficult and important decisions in the interest of both those who are most in need and the city at large.

Replacing TCP after more than two decades will be difficult and have a host of challenges, but the conditions are right for change. As the city’s new CEO, Mayor Bowser has an extended tenure allowing for a long period of transition to new management for the District’s homeless services.

As the mayor and members of her senior management team pursue the goal of preventing and ending homelessness, they deserve a capable, accomplished and trustworthy management partner. And people experiencing homelessness deserve public servants with passion, people who play big and settle for nothing less than a life that’s as great as the life they’re capable of living.

Neil J Donovan is CEO of the NJD Group, past president of the National Coalition for the Homeless and senior advisor to the U.S. Interagency for the Homeless.

The Street Sense Writers’ Group is led by writing professionals and meets every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The group’s goal is to develop ideas and collaborate on the next great issue of Street Sense.

Happiness from Within

METRO MATTERS . . . METRO MANNERS: Part 2

By Chon Gotti Vendor

I used to cringe every time I rode the train and saw people with their feet on the poles–poles that are used by standing riders to maintain their balance. Many times I have summoned the nerve and diplomacy to say, “Excuse me Sir or Madam, I mean you no harm or ill will. May I share with you something you probably never considered to merit an affirmative response?”

“The soles of our shoes have trodden all over town and into every substance– bacterial, fecal and worse. But we put

From the beginning of civilization, there has always been a search for happiness.

Some have figured out the link between happiness and success, some are still searching- or in better terms, still on the hunt for it. Some may even think there may be a great job, or some great mate or lover than can really make us happier than life itself. But these are merely excuses we use as scapegoats to explain why we can’t be happy.

At the end of the day, it is you that makes you happy. No one else can make you happy. No one else can force happiness

upon you if you decide you don’t want it.

So, happiness comes down to making a real decision to become happy for your sake.

Trusting in outside influence can give you a boost, but it also has a downside- relying on outside factors.

This can mean the difference between living life versus death. So dig in your heart and bring it up and out of yourself, because that’s really where happiness is: in your heart. For those people who are always hearing, “Why you don’t have a real job?”... this is for you.

I love selling Street Sense. It fulfills me mentally and physically and keeps my bills paid. Moreover, I love what I do. Now, the question is…do you?

By The Anti-Apathetic, Vendor

them on the poles as you have right here.

Now, please consider that when a child rides the train and holds on, the germs are about the same height where children put their fingers.”

The response is usually one like, “I never thought about it and never realized this.” Because they never really did. We need to consider what we do and its effect on others. That’s a major component of community. Please care.

The True Trinity Robert Warren, Vendor\ PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE LOONG/FLICKR

BABY BUSINESS: Growing Up

By Patty Smith Vendor

As man travels to and fro, there’s one question everyone wants to know: Are you a believer - yes or no?

The end of days is near, you know.

Christians say for only they shall see the Son, And in the Afterlife they will be the only ones.

Jews say for they are the Lord’s people and His promise is true.

His light is only to see theme through.

Muslims say mostly to pray, And surely the Lord will give you better days.

For their words tell them all of Judgment Day

When the Lord sees who follows his ways.

Could it be that all three are right and wrong, With the Evil one stringing them along?

The biggest trick he ever played To make each man think his Lord isn’t one in the same.

For if only you could see In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam the true trinity.

For the Lord is One who will always be.

Judaism, His Holy Spirit: all three praising One. And when the true followers meet, the first day greeting will be peace

We were living on McClough Street in Pittsburg, Pa. I was in the 7th or 8th grade.

There were some girls in our school that were trouble-makers. My mother used to oil and press my hair. I had grown up with an Italian lady who knew a lot about hair.

One particular summer these girls would see me in the bathroom and would run a comb through my hair. I told my mother about this one evening. She told me if I would stop them she would beat me. I saw them the next day. One of the girls lunged at me and I fought her. We rolled down the middle school hill.

They came to my house that evening, wanting to make up, “we are here to make up”.

Homeless, Not Broken

By Rachel Higdon, Vendor

Being homeless does not prevent dreams and ambitions. It does not stop me from looking and being clean.

And it does not mean I use drugs and drink alcohol.

Being homeless is devastating. It is a very difficult way to live. But some of us handle it better than others. So, homeless people can accomplish our dreams. We can look nice.

I have a GED, but that is not enough.

One day I will go to college. And I will own a business. Now I enjoy spending my hardearned money on styling my eyelashes and my eyebrows. I love getting my hair done.

I like to look nice, just like everyone else in society.

Most importantly, I have been clean for 10 months. I don’t put any mind-altering substances in my body, and it feels so free!

I love my life. Even though I am homeless, I know I am making the world a more positive place.

STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7, 2015

13

VENDOR WRITING My Katrina, Part 30

By Gerald Anderson, Vendor

By Chris Shaw “Cowboy Poet” Episode 28

Up the River Styx (A Not-So-Lazy River) Jed Harris brushed the dried pigeon crap out of his hair and, as stealthily as a 61-year-old hustler with at least a dozen broken and aching bone configurations could, he tiptoed through the sooty greenery and away from the Departmental Auditorium. He hooked a little detour to the alcove alongside Peoples’ Drugs where Al Hall was blissfully grooming Yaller Dawg.

“G’wan, Al Kay Hall,” Harris rasped in a stagy whisper, “That damn Ferret is on the death trail, and I fears YOU may be right in his sights!”

The ancient road warrior barked out a terse laugh, but blinked a few times, in recognition of the danger. “Y’know, Harry, I thinks you may be on to some’pin’,” Harris said, struggling to form a weak smile as the offbeat pair waddled off. He barely missed Skipper giving Billy Luck a meaningful hug as she handed him a package loosely wrapped in lavender crepe paper.

Billy jumped back, genuinely shocked.

“Cavalier Men’s Shop! Honey, that’s Baad!

It is the True Bomb!” With that, he eased the broad-brimmed “Parson’s Hat,” over his brows, patting the silver-plated bandolero buckled band above the brim with not a bit of pride. “Gotta go, babe!” Billy dashed off, hopping on the Shoppers’ Shuttle down F Street towards Seventh.

Harris cupped his hands just in time to cry out, “Beware, Billy Luck! Danger awaits your butt at the Church Mission hall----” As we spoke, the Hernando Chicken Farms truck was jettisoning its rickety cargo of squawking crate-bound fowls and Anne, Billy’s lost love, was down by the Inner Harbor Terminal Produce Depot. Anne, brushing straw from her thatchy hair and torn flannel shirt and jeans, tied a bandana around her head, adjusted a funky horn-rimmed frame pair of sunglasses, and set out for the Howard Street bus depot, posthaste. “How the Hail am I ever gonna get ahold of that blasted Billy?” she mused aloud to absolutely no one in particular.

Meantime, Billy pushed his way to the front lectern of the Mission of last Resort at 401 New York Avenue, Washington, D.C., USA. Macedonia swayed on the velvet-swagged rostrum, but Billy caught her manfully, moments before she would have plummeted into the tiny orchestra pit. Billy, for all his breathlessness, was brimming with indignation. His rage at the bold effort to uproot and destroy his friends and their timeless, cozy world was all too palpable. “Friends, we have lost our heart and soul in the slaying of Reverend Rand, but believe you me dearly beloveds, Justice is nigh!!”

At this moment, Macedonia quickly handed over the Rev’s last foolish, wrinkled paper bag containing his portion of whiskey. Billy waved it high over the murmuring crowd, then--SMASHED it against the worn oaken railing. “Stand Back, dear ones-- NEVER AGAIN will this foul sauce poison our legacy. And we won’t blame the Reverend for his failings, because LIFE-- as we well understand-- just Ain’t Fair, Is It?!!”

As the ragged but worshipful crowd roared, “Hell, No,” a shrill, demonic voice pierced the din of the sanctuary. “Stand Back, Billy no good LUCK. Now, Prepare to Meet--Your-- DEATH!!”

Ferret, caparisoned in bizarre silk scarves, earrings, and an ill-fitting eye patch, plunged forward, kicking over kneelers and chairs and cushions, pushing Mission clients harshly from one side to the other, and rushed blindly forward. He brandished his longest, ugliest blade--the deadly eight-inch miniature SABER!!

Billy refused to budge, but shoved Macedonia to safety as the frothing, eyebulging psycho reached the pulpit.

“I’m ready, you spawn of Hell. Do your damndest, ‘cause I’m here to stop ya!!” (to be continued)

You Can if You Think You Can

By Leonard C. Hyater, Jr., Vendor

If someone tells you that you cannot accomplish your goal, you tell them, “You can if you think can!” Whenever you feel down and out, say to yourself, “You can if think you can!”

If something that you feel is not right and you think you can’t overcome it, just say, “You can if you think you can.”

PREVIOUSLY: At the airport in D.C., a crowd was cheering “Praise God,” like we was celebrities. We got squashed into busses and driven to an armory. They say there’ll be a gate and that make me think of prison, which make me think, Now is my chance for a new life, if they don’t hold New Orleans against me.

There was more busses taking us to the armory than there are people at the Mardi Gras Zulu parade in New Orleans.

That gotta be a lotta people.

Ah we had fun at Mardi Gras! I can’t leave my hometown story without sayin’ what that like.

Fat Tuesday is the main day of Mardi Gras. There are a lot of parades. At the Zulu parade, my favorite, you get coconuts. Most people that tour come to get the coconuts and take them home for souvenirs to put on their bar.

Mardi Gras was my best part of the year. You could see everyboday you wanna see. Old school friends, old teachers, kids. Everyboday come out.

Me being the type of guy I was in the street, I could tell whether my buddies locked up or dead if I don’t see them for Mardi Gras. They would say the same thing about me. People in the hospital would sneak out, at least I would, to go to Mardi Gras. That’s how much I love it.

You see people getting drunk, sleepin’ on the curb, sleeping in they car, and on they car. You try different liquor. Too much excitement.

When I was around ten, I was curious about the bar where strippers be at. During the day, we could drink T.J. Swann, our favorite cheap wine with flavors like “Stepping Out” and “Magic Moments.” But there be no strippers at the bar during the day. At night we weren’t allowed in, but we could peep through a crack the door, if the bouncer step away.

You can find all kind of different drugs at Mardi Gras. You meet all kind of people. You get fake undercover police acting like they drunk. One Mardi Gras, me and my friends need money for drugs so bad that we not thinking straight.

We meet this guy on the street. He say he from out of town and he trying to cop some weed. I say you got the weed right here, and then I say how much you want?

He say “I want a ounce bag but I’ll spend more than that if it’s good.”

With me bein’ a city slicker, and with me and my friend bein’ so high, we just thinkin’ about the money, we didn‘t think he be a cop. So I went around the corner and pick up a leaf off the ground and tear it up like weed, and I put it in a bag.

I go back and tell him, “I been in prison, I know if I hand it to you it be distribution.

It be better if I put it on the ground here, then it’s only possession.

He said, “Aw man I’m not no cop, I’m just trying to get high. He was wearing Mardi Gras beads, in all different colors, and he really had me fooled. He looked like a Hawaiian guy or Spanish or Creole.

Also, he had a accent which throw me off.

So when he takes out his wallet, and starts pulling out bills, I see nothing but money—twenties, fifties, hundreds. Boy, my eyes went back in my head when I saw all that money.

I say to myself I’m about to get so high now. I got me one. It’s like I got a duck. So I tell him, “You can’t pull the money out here man, the cops will see us.”

“So he say let’s step in the thrift shop.” So we standin’ inside this shop surrounded by silverware, costumes, beads, all kind of stuff.

While we’re in there, I see a lady outside the door shakin’ her head at the guy.

I say to my buddy, “This guy about to be a police. We goin’ to jail.” (to be continued)

Metro, Part 3

By Philip Black, Vendor

Overcoming obstacles is difficult and often wears you down, so whenever that happens, just say, “You can if you think you can!” For example, when I was promoted as supervisor at a telemarketing firm, my job was to motivate the workers to do their jobs successfully. It can be a very stressful job, and I would say to myself, “You can if you think you can.”

Now, Metro want to borrow 200 million.

They already owe 502 million dollars. Where is all that money goes?

It sure isn’t going on track work, or getting new rail cars. But most of that money is going for lawsuits. As of today, metro has

about 300 million cash. So again, what is Metro doing with all this money. Last March, they, a federal board agency, did a review of the billions of dollars Metro has received. I feel the people of DC, Maryland, and Virginia should have more to say of where all the money Metro is getting. We are the ones who’re paying for it.

A REASON TO SMILE: DENTAL CLINICS GEARED TOWARDS CHILDREN • Adventure Dental, 3 locations in the District: 1305 Rhode Island N.E. (202) 269-4746 | 3946 Minnesota Ave N.E. (202) 397-1033 | 3401 Georgia Ave N.W. (202) 829-3457 • Kool Smiles works with adults and children and is located at 1531 Maryland Ave N.E. (202)407-9499

New Plan

Interfaith Prayer Service Prioritizes Ending Homelessness

With a new administration in the Wilson building, the issue of homelessness in the District gets a fresh look. On March 18, 2015, the District of Columbia’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) unveiled the draft of a new 5-year plan to end homelessness in the District. To date, the Bowser administration has repeatedly said that this is an issue the mayor cares about greatly.

The plan calls for a complete overhaul of the homeless services system. It looks to convert the city’s largest shelters to smaller facilities dispersed throughout the District and indicates that the city will have a new daytime service center to assist it’s most vulnerable residents.

This new service center will be an asset, but it must have the cooperation of the community. I particularly like the suggestion to to employ members of our homeless community to work in the daytime service center. There are many ablebodied homeless individuals that want to work. And they would empathize with guests’ needs.

The plan also puts focus on moving people through services faster, drastically reducing the average length of stay in shelters.

The District has a long way to go in an intense effort to provide better services for those who live in poverty. Although many that are close to the ICH’s work feel that the plan is good, others in the homeless community feel their voices are not being heard.

Earlier in the year, Mayor Bowser appointed Laura Zeilinger as the director of the Department of Human Services. With this fresh face comes many new ideas, Zeilinger is often optimistic about the city’s efforts and feels that homelessness is solvable.

“There are things that are working OK,” Zeilinger said at the March 18 presentation. “We are taking steps now. We know what work we have to do.”

Zeilinger said that she is eager to work so hard because the woes of the current state of Washington’s homelessness resonate with her.

“We need to have a system that can respond regardless of the weather,” Zeilinger said referring to the extra emergency services the city provides through the winter hypothermia season only.

By March 31, 2015, the full council ICH will vote on the proposed 5-year plan.

Overall, if the District can reach its benchmarks, it will have a better handle on homelessness. But we will have to wait and see.

Representatives of faith communities throughout the District came together for an interfaith prayer service on Sunday, where they signed a covenant to reduce homelessness in the District.

The covenant outlined that these ministries are to support public efforts as well as play an active role in reaching out to the homeless members of the community. The covenant stated that the coalition’s purpose is to monitor and assure that ending homelessness remains “a high priority in each year of Mayor Bowser’s administration.”

Kristy Greenwalt, director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, spoke at the service as a representative for Mayor Bowser who was unable to attend.

“Government plays a really big role in ending homelessness, but we can’t do it alone,” Greenwalt said. “These are all our challenges and communities to solve.”

One way that the Good Faith Communities Coalition advocates is by writing letters to the mayor and city council, urging them that the budget represents more than a legal document and insisting that sufficient money is put forth to end homelessness. Each year the coalition writes over 3,000 letters according to John Hisle, the executive director of the coalition.

By Reginald Black Vendor, “Da Street Reportin’ Artist”

By Jennifer Ortiz Editorial Intern

ICH Director Kristy Greenwalt represented Mayor Bowser at a March 2 prayer service lead by the Good Faith Communities Coalition. | PHOTO BY JENNIFER ORTIZ “The DC budget is a moral document.

It’s not just a piece of paper,” Hisle said.

“If you’re not giving someone who is in need the money or resources they need, that’s immoral.”

The Good Faith Communities Coalition, founded in 2010, consists of 45 organizations and congregations, according to Hisle. All wards are represented in the coalition as well as many denominations of Christian and Jewish faiths.

“Central to every religion that exists in the world, is the concept of compassion,” Hisle said, quoting a theological writer that examined all the major world religions.

“Compassion is feeling so much for a person that you walk in their shoes. That’s what bonds all people of faith—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, whatever faith.”

Wallace Pearson, now a student at the Washington Baptist Theological Seminary, shared testimony of his experience with homelessness. Faith plays an integral role in his drive to help others now in that experience.

“A lot of people that are out there, homeless, don’t know that there are people praying for them,” Wallace said.

“They won’t know these things unless we keep reaching out.”

A Reason to Smile: Dental Care Options Without Insurance

By Arthur Johnson Volunteer While there has been much focus in recent years on improving people’s access to health care, dental care is an oftenoverlooked aspect of good health. Far too many people receive little or no dental care because they lack dental insurance.

Fortunately, there are many ways to access assistance for dental work. If you have Medicaid or D.C. Health Alliance, there are clinics that will accept those forms of payment.

If you are a parent, you will be happy to know there are many options for your children regardless of your ability to pay. Howard University hosts an annual event in partnership with the District of Columbia Dental Society, the American Dental Association, and the District’s public schools called “Give Kids a Smile Day.” Don’t forget that with Medicaid, if you have children in CHIP--children’s Medicaid--their dental work is covered.

Additionally, several dental clinics in the District are geared specifically to children.

If you do not have any dental insurance and are not enrolled in Medicaid or DC Health Alliance, there are some free dental clinics that will help you. One of

them is operated by Bread for the City (BfC) at 1525 7th Street N.W. At the present time,you must already be a client of BfC’s medical clinic to receive services at their dental clinic. In the future, they will take new dental patients directly. Medical and dental services are free and they are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday,and from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday. The clinic is small and serves 14 patients a day on average. To get medical help and also dental care at their clinics, call them Monday-Thursday at 9am at (202)386-7020 to schedule an appointment as a new patient. So Others Might Eat offers another free dental clinic at 60 O Street, N.W. If you are an early riser and can get there early, their clinic takes in the first three people that are there at 7:45 am for emergency walk in services.

Otherwise, you can call (202) 797-8806 extension 1041 for an appointment.

You may see several prepaid dental plans advertised, but most require you to have the cash available at the time dental work is performed. You then pay a discounted amount for the procedure that has been negotiated in advance.

One option to consider is Encore Dental insurance, which accepts everyone and you pay premiums. Encore provides two

types of plans. One pays 100 percent for basic services in the first year you are covered. Then in the second year, you can get covered 50 percent for major procedures (like fillings, root canals and extractions), and you pay a co-payment and a deductible, with an annual benefit limit of $1,000. With this option you would be fully covered immediately after the payment of your first monthly premium. The other Encore option only covers 50 percent for all services.

Only pursue a dental plan such as Encore if you can afford the premiums, copayments, deductibles, and the amount they will not cover (the other 50 percent).

Otherwise, if you have or qualify for Medicaid or DC Health Alliance you would be wiser to stick with one of those options or a free clinic.

Even though dental insurance is not offered as much as in the past, good dental care is still important. Neglecting your dental health could impact your overall physical health in many ways. Whether you have private insurance, are receiving public health insurance, or have absolutely no insurance of any kind - there are places that can help you. Make sure to take advantage of the opportunity to preserve your smile and good health.

15

STREET SENSE March 25 - April 7, 2015

COMMUNITY SERVICES Housing/Shelter

Food

Clothing

Showers

Outreach

Medical/Healthcare

Transportation

Laundry

Education

Employment Assistance

Legal Assistance

Academy of Hope Public Charter School: 269-6623 | 601 Edgewood St, NE aohdc.org

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

Community of Hope: 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Jobs Have Priority: 544-9128 425 Snd St, NW jobshavepriority.org

Covenant House Washington: 610-9600 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE covenanthousedc.org

John Young Center: 639-8569 119 D Street, NW

Calvary Women’s Services: 678-2341 1217 Good Hope Road, SE calvaryservices.org

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

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

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

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

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

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

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

Community Family Life Services: 347-0511 | 305 E St, NW cflsdc.org

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

Foundry Methodist Church: 332-4010 1500 16th St, NW foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities ID (FRIDAY 9-12 ONLY)

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

Gospel Rescue Ministries: 842-1731 810 5th St, NW grm.org

Martha’s Table: 328-6608 2114 14th St, NW marthastable.org Miriam’s Kitchen: 452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave, NW miriamskitchen.org

My Sister’s Place: 529-5991 (24-hour hotline) mysistersplacedc.org

N Street Village: 939-2060 1333 N Street, NW nstreetvillage.org

New York Ave Shelter: 832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave, NE

Open Door Shelter: 639-8093 425 2nd St, NW newhopeministriesdc.org/id3.html

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

Samaritan Ministries: 1516 Hamilton Street NW | 722-2280 1345 U Street SE | 889-7702 samaritanministry.org

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

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

St. Luke’s Mission Center: 333-4949 3655 Calvert St. NW stlukesmissioncenter.org

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

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

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

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

and Bailey, and Eboni!

CELEBRATING SUCCESS! Barnum

By Sasha Williams, Vendor

• Vendor John Littlejohn obtained housing, having lived in shelters since 2007!

• Vendor Ivory Wilson received a thank you letter from the President and First Lady!

Friday wasn’t the best day for me, but I’m grateful that Eboni enjoyed seeing the Circus at Verizon Center. I wanted to take her to the zoo last month for her birthday, but she woke up with a fever. It was nice to be able to let her see some entertainment, other than DC General Family Shelter. She’s really been a trooper. If it was not for a surprise card and gift card, we would have had a very different night.

Now that she is growing she should still enjoy some moments. We saw a mammoth, llamas, kangaroos, pigs, dogs... and the horses had their own act -riders of the windwith talented performances. The clowns were so cute, dressed up in outfits that reminded me of the Flintstones. Overall I give the show two thumbs up for being GREAT!!!!

WALKING THROUGH FOGGY BOTTOM: FROM

By Chris Shaw, “The Cowboy Poet”

Foggy Bottom began very humbly, as a collection of wooden cottages clustered at the confluence of Rock Creek and the “Patowmack” River. The lowly structures were put up by German immigrants, led by one Jacob Funk. “Funkstown” soon morphed into “Hamburgh.” The village had borrowed the name of Funk’s Old World birthplace, Hamburg. This would have been in the 1750s, just prior to the rising preeminence of Georgetown (on the Maryland shore) and then Alexandria (on the Virginia side), as more substantial river ports.

Flashing forward through the turbulent post-Civil War years of the 19th century, many in our region know well the evolution of the “Foggy Bottom” nickname as growing from the combination of natural low-lying swamp vapors; the steam from the massive Christian Heurich and Abner Drury breweries; and of course the Washington Gas Works, which regularly issued forth a miasmic yellowish cloud!

Here’s the irony: as Foggy boomed in its own industrial outflow, the inflow of people by 1890 to the community was more geared towards the bureaucratic.

Washington Circle, now a proud hub of the newly-consolidated District of Colum-

bia, was anchored by notable civic icons in the South and West: Columbia Hospital for Women and Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church.

The center of the circle sported a major equestrian monument: General Washington astride a proud charger. The sculptor, Clark Mills, had set his achievement squarely on the site of the dusty Camp Fry, upgrading the neighborhood considerably from what had formerly been a holding area for wounded Yankee soldiers!

Filling in the northern reaches of this neighborhood were the ruggedly Romanesque townhouses, designed by a proud architect of German descent, Thomas Franklin Schneider. Schneider would soon create what is D.C.’s tallest tower ever built-- the Hotel Cairo (at 1643 Q Street, N.W.). These houses, known collectively as the “Schneider Triangle”, wore through the ensuing highs and lows of our country’s fortunes. By the 1950’s, these stately dwellings were largely carved up into a warren of cheap rooms for rent. From one, probably 6 Washington Circle, this writer’s own mother purchased a Siamese kitten from a local “kitty farm.”

Luckily, for the rich legacy of our cultural heritage, private money in the 1970s

rescued the Schneider group, hopefully for all time to come. Today, they are a handsomely-restored brick and brownstone gem, to be enjoyed by all who pass them.

In a strange twist of fortune, a brand new building upsurge has hit the K Street corridor, immediately to the east of the Circle itself. Many of the glass, chrome and granite towers have popped up on the site of parking lots and cheap carry-outs.

An exception [or victim?] to the “sticker shock” of large-scale rezoning in the corridor, is the pending loss of what, for over 50 years, has been the headquarters of

the U.S. Renegotiation Board. The structure, svelte in 1959 terms, presents itself as a coy evocation of the jazzy “Mad Men” era, replete with a scalloped-concrete, street-level arcade rounding the corner up 21st Street.

Another highlight we shall surely miss when the wrecking ball swings (by this time next year), is the Mondrian-like bands of multicolored mosaic tile throughout the main elevation of this should-be landmark.

Our Foggy Bottom “walkers” need take note of this spot--while it still stands!

The Umbrella I Was Looking For

By Angie Whitehurst, Vendor

Walking to the bus stop, I kept seeing people with these blue and white teeshirts with the word “One” and “Umbrella” printed on the front. I assumed this was some of the Rock and Roll Marathon fanfare and decided to get to the bus stop and wait for the 2 p.m. bus north. Saturdays are always busy days at McPherson Park, located at 14th and Eye Street, N.W. Then I noticed the tents, the music, and the lines of people. I suggested to another Street Sense vendor that we check out what was going on.

We asked a photographer the who, what, when, and where questions and he replied, “It is One Umbrella,” and di-

rected us to one of the organizers. Mind you, we still did not know what the event was. We were warmly directed to get in line for some food. I’m so glad we did.

The buffet of lasagna, Asian fried rice with wasabi sauce, macaroni salad, donuts, and the best chocolate cake in the world was served. In addition, there was an on-site clothing “T Shop” provided.

There were really nice garments and shoes there for anyone—male, female or child—to select and own. Music, words of spiritual inspiration, and engaging conversation were also right at your fingertips, ears and feet. The coup de grace was the parting gift: a bag lunch and

bottle of life’s most essential libation, H20 (water).

One Umbrella is sponsored by NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College) and NOVA, we were told, organizes events for the poor and homeless about four times a year at McPherson Park. Thank you One Umbrella, Jimmy Malik and Jessica Burns — for doing something that helps, makes a difference, and is ongoing, not just a onetime, feel-good event. You have set the mark and led by example.

March 25 - April 7, 2015 • Volume 12 • Issue 8

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

Permit #568

Remember, buy only from badged vendors and do not give to those panhandling with one paper.

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 15 for more information.

One Umbrella Project gave away clothing, food and services such as haircuts, during a March 14 Event.

PHOTOS BY ONE UMBRELLA PROJECT