04 28 2021

VOL. 18 ISSUE 15

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APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2021

Real Stories

Real People

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Real Change

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VENDORS Ayub Abdul, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Ibrahim Aly, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, 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, Chris 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, Carlton J.M. Johnson, Henry Johnson, Pierre 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, Rita Sauls, Reginald Scott, Patty Smith, Ronald Smoot, David Snyder, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Eric Thompson-Bey, Julius “Donté” Turner, Joseph Walker, Rochelle Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Wendell Williams, Latishia Wynn Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Jeremy Bratt, David Cloe, Clare Krupin, Jennifer Park, Michael Phillips, Dan

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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

Brian Carome

1. 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.

Eric Falquero

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

3. 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 engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.

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

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

The Cover

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

Rodney Stotts, a D.C. native, is one of approximately 30 Black falconers in the United States. He uses his skills to educate local youth.

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.

PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE

www.ChoicePhotography.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR DEPUTY EDITOR Jake Maher

DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT Thomas Ratliff

VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES Aida Peery, Clifford Samuels

DIRECTOR OF VENDOR PROGRAMS Darick Brown

CASE MANAGER Charlie Musoff

OPERATIONS MANAGER Raven Neely

WRITERS GROUP ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE Willie Schatz, Thomas Ratliff

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

INTERNS Athiyah Azeem, Adelle Cheng, Matthew Gannon, Benjamin Gutman, Kaela Roeder, Kate Santaliz, 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

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF

Dear Reader,

MOVING LIVES FORWARD

Despite all the disruption, despite all the uncertainty, Street Sense Media has stood steady alongside the men and women we serve throughout the last year during the pandemic. That would have been impossible were it not for you and other loyal donors. Your generosity is transforming lives and helping our vendors through this challenging time. It has also inspired us to make investments in new services and opportunities aimed at helping more vendors move out of homelessness. We are deeply grateful for your financial support.

When the pandemic began, we made a commitment to do whatever we could to help our vendors through it. In addition to a threat to their health, the pandemic and its impact on the downtown workforce had an enormously negative impact on our vendors’ ability to earn an income. In response, we established an emergency assistance fund to help housed vendors maintain that housing with utilities kept on and helped all vendors get the food and medicine they needed to survive. We kept our offices open to provide our vendors both hospitality and access to needed services. We asked newspaper readers to support their vendor via our mobile payment app. And perhaps most importantly, we doubled the capacity of our case management program to make sure more vendors could get the help they need to secure housing, benefits, and access to health and mental health care.

Given the vulnerability of the people we serve, we continue to be guided by an imperative to be bold in our efforts. With that in mind, I am pleased to report that as of April 14th, our newspaper is being published on a weekly basis (as opposed to the biweekly schedule it has been on since 2007).

Publishing fifty-two times a year has been a strategic goal for us for more than 10 years because of the positive impact it can have on vendor income. Vendors sold about 40% fewer papers during the second week of the biweekly publication schedule. With a new product in hand on a weekly basis, we expect that sales dip to disappear and result in our vendors earning as much as 60% more! This will put more of our vendors on the path to housing and greater stability.

In all, these changes – maintenance of an emergency assistance fund, expanded case management capacity and weekly publication – will cost well over $100,000 annually. We are confident this investment will propel more vendors forward in their lives.

We hope you agree and will show that by making a donation today to support Street Sense Media. Your kindness and generosity may very well save a life. We deeply appreciate your support and wish you and yours the very best of health and all things in this challenging and difficult time.

With gratitude,

Brian Carome Chief Executive Officer

Church of the Epiphany is opening its doors for shelter space through July The Church of the Epiphany will soon be opening up its Parish Hall and Mission Center as a low-barrier shelter space through at least July. The space will be able to host up to 35 individuals and will be open daily from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the District of Columbia saw a rapid spread of the virus throughout all communities, particularly in congregate shelters, in which common spaces are shared and social distancing is a challenge. Despite health concerns, congregate shelters have been “packed,” according to the church’s rector, Rev. Glenna Huber.

At an April 23 briefing, D.C. Department of Human Services officials said 73% of available beds for men and 75% of available beds for women were being consistently utilized. While the city has leased four hotels to provide roughly 800 people with non-congregate beds, the need persists for more safe spaces to socially distance.

[Disclaimer: Street Sense Media rents office space from the church] The Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District (BID), a nonprofit organization that provides capital improvements and resources for downtown D.C. and operates the city’s downtown day services center, approached Epiphany in late February and early March for shelter space.

They had contacted five downtown-area churches to help with the overflow, according to Huber. “Shelter space was really at a premium, and they had run out of space,” she said.

The BID worked with the Department of Human Services throughout March to work out logistics. Huber added that things are “currently on hold because of some funding issues” with the city and that the church hopes to welcome guests in the first week of May. Given the size of the rooms, guests will be able to safely distance themselves at least six feet apart.

The District’s “hypothermia season” ended on March 31, which usually means shelter capacities change as recreation centers that serve as overnight shelters during the winter to guarantee D.C.’s legal right to shelter on cold nights will no longer be used for this purpose.

Many rec centers have been utilized as emergency shelters since the start of the pandemic, defying the typical November - March hypothermia season.

As of April, the Salvation Army and Kennedy Recreation Center are still operating as emergency shelter spaces. However, Mayor Bowser announced that indoor recreation centers can reopen at 50% capacity starting May 1.

As the weather warms, more people receive the vaccine and COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease up, these facilities may become more in demand.

Any form of congregate shelter will continue to pose a risk. A new MIT study published on April 27 found that the time spent in a shared space and the quality of air ventilation and filtration — not distancing by six feet — is what determines the likelihood of transmitting the virus through respiratory droplets exhaled by an infected person. (This data does not include larger droplets involved in coughing or sneezing, and the chance of transmission was still drastically reduced by wearing masks.) Distance does matter, but the study showed the risk is the same at six feet that it is as far as 60 feet away where the air is shared in an enclosed space.

The Department of Human Services has been making vaccines available to shelter residents since the beginning of February and to unsheltered people via pop-up clinics since the end of March.

Epiphany has long provided outreach services for the District’s homeless community through providing meals and necessities at its Sunday “Welcome Table,” holding weekly sessions on empowering the homeless community, and hosting a Street Church event at Franklin Park on Tuesdays. “It’s just part of our mission and our understanding of the gospel message to love your neighbor as yourself,” Huber said, “In downtown D.C., a large group of our neighbors are without shelter.

So how could we not respond to that?”

While the shelter is guaranteed to be open through July, Epiphany has kept open the possibility of running the shelter for longer.

However, Epiphany hopes that in this budget cycle, Mayor Bowser will prioritize housing and shelter, Huber said, so that this space “doesn’t become a necessity.”

—Kate Santaliz, Editorial Intern

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NOTICE TO CLASS MEMBERS OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT A settlement has been proposed in LASHAWN A. v. BOWSER, Civil Action No. 89-1754 (TFH), in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, that may affect the rights of certain District of Columbia residents who were involved in the District’s child welfare system.

The settlement may affect the rights of certain people in the District who were in foster care or known to the District’s child welfare system because of reported abuse or neglect. The settlement is not final. In order for the settlement to be final, the judge in this case, the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan, will hear from different people and decide if the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If this notice applies to you, you will have an opportunity to tell the judge what you think about the settlement before the judge decides whether to approve it.

The LaShawn A. lawsuit was brought in 1989 by a group of people (Plaintiffs) on behalf of a class of children who were in foster care or known to the District’s child welfare system because of reported abuse or neglect. The plaintiffs sued the District of Columbia officials responsible for the operation of the child-welfare and foster-care systems in the District. The people who were sued are called “defendants.” Today, the defendants are the Mayor and the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA).

The plaintiffs and defendants have reached a preliminary “Settlement Agreement.” The settlement is NOT FINAL. The settlement will be final only after the judge approves it after holding a public hearing called a “fairness hearing.” The Settlement Agreement requires the defendants to take several steps designed to improve the child-welfare foster-care systems. The defendants have roughly two years to meet their obligations under the agreement. Unless an enforcement action is filed, the Settlement Agreement will expire 6 months after the filing of CFSA’s final public performance report. The judge will retain jurisdiction over the case to decide any disputes about compliance with the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement contains more detail about the defendants’ commitments and includes an enforcement provision.

PLEASE READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY. The full Notice will help you determine if this notice applies to you, and will contain the key terms of the Settlement Agreement, instructions and key deadlines.

A final fairness hearing will be held virtually on June 1, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of ColumbiaAt the final fairness hearing, the judge will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The judge will consider any objections that were made according to the procedures described in the Notice. Plaintiffs’ and defendants’ lawyers will be available to answer any questions that the judge may have. Details about how to observe the final fairness hearing can be found on CFSA’s website at www.cfsa.dc.gov.

DO NOT CALL THE COURT. THE COURT WILL NOT ACCEPT PHONE CALLS ABOUT THIS.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ADVERTISING IN STREET SENSE, VISIT STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG/ADVERTISE

The full Notice and a copy of the entire Settlement Agreement can be found on CFSA’s website at www.cfsa.dc.gov.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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NEWS

DC continues vaccinating unhoused residents through mobile clinics

BY KAELA ROEDER // Editorial Intern

E

fforts to vaccinate unhoused individuals not in the shelter system in the District have been underway since the end of March, but multiple community advocates have cited incidents of inequity when distributing to marginalized groups.

The D.C. Department of Human Services, partnered with the nonprofit Unity Health Care, hosted pop-up mobile vaccine clinics at multiple locations including Marvin Gaye Park, Miriam’s Kitchen, So Others Might Eat and near the NoMa encampments.

This rollout comes after D.C. distributed COVID-19 vaccines to people experiencing homelessness in low-barrier shelters and at Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Individuals, or PEP-V, centers in February and March.

Earnest Telfair, an outreach worker with Unity Health Care, said “trust is key” when working with people experiencing homelessness, and he’s encountered a lot of vaccine hesitancy while working on the rollout.

“I understand they got fear, they got mistrust,” Telfair said, who previously experienced homelessness in his 20s and 30s.

Multiple factors contribute to this hesitancy, he said. The recent Johnson and Johnson factory mixup in Baltimore has been cited to him as a reason to not get the vaccine. He’s also heard fears of the vaccine being used on marginalized groups as experimentation.

“They wanna know if the white man is here to kill us all,” Telfair said.

This hesitancy is widespread in the United States. Among people of color, it is in part due to the ongoing medical racism and deeply-rooted past and present white supremacy that condoned and informed medically exploitive acts against Black communities. Among white people, it is in part due to a lack of focus on spreading information and answering questions in more rural communities, and partially due to the spread of misinformation by conservative legislators, faith leaders, and media outlets.

A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey found that 28% of white respondents and 25% of Black respondents said they did not plan to get the vaccine.

Telfair has seen less vaccine hesitancy in PEP-V and low-barrier shelters, but more at mobile vaccine clinics. Those outside the shelter system are “less likely to trust the system,” he said.

The single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was used at clinics as available to reduce logistical complications, wrote DHS Program Manager William Kuennen in an email to outreach providers.

Local leaders paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 13 at the recommendation of the CDC and the FDA due to rare but severe blood clots identified in six out of more than 6 million recipients of the vaccine. The CDC and FDA have since lifted the recommended pause in distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Attempts to skip the line People experiencing homelessness were included alongside grocery store workers and critical government employees in the District’s second priority group for vaccine access, following health care workers. At a mobile clinic on April 2 hosted by So Others Might Eat and meant for unhoused District residents, several housed residents attempted to receive a vaccine, according to a homeless services employee based in

the District who asked to remain anonymous for work reasons.

The employee was told by housed residents that an ANC Commissioner told constituents it was a “no questions asked clinic” in an email. Housed residents who came to the clinic were turned away. It is unclear which ANC Commissioner sent the email.

Shannon Clark, a Ph.D. candidate at American University in anthropology and co-founder of Remora House D.C., said she was outraged that an ANC Commissioner encouraged constituents to go to a mobile clinic meant for people experiencing homelessness. But she said she was “unsurprised.”

“I think it would be hard to breach the trust any more than it already is with how housed residents treat their unhoused neighbors,” Clark said.

Maurice Cook, the founder of the nonprofit Serve Your City and lead organizer of Ward 6 Mutual Aid, coordinated with councilmembers, ANC commissioners and local organizations to host a mobile vaccination at Mount Moriah Baptist Church, a historic Black church in the Kingman Park neighborhood, on March 26.

“It was designed to address the disparity between the white and Black people — those who have actually died from COVID-19 — and those who have had very little access to COVID-19 vaccinations.”

While the event was targeted at marginalized communities, ANC 6B Commissioner Denise Krepp forwarded the information and flyer to her full constituent email list of about 500 residents after refusing to help organize the event. Krepp said in an interview she chose not to participate because Cook has previously called her racist.

At the event, about 10-15 white residents made appointments at the clinic beforehand, which were honored, Cook said. Other white residents attempted to walk-up and were turned away.

“She was willing to use the historic Black church for her sick sense of equality,” Cook said.

Krepp said it was “news” to her that the event was meant to address racial disparity in the District and intended to serve people of color. In the planning stages, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen told Krepp about the event and noted a flyer would not be sent out to a mass email list, she said.

“And my response was, ‘if this is an event that is for D.C.’s residents, I'm sending it out to everybody,’” said Krepp, who has been an ANC Commissioner for six and a half years.

“Because quite frankly, disease doesn't care what skin color you are. People are getting it regardless of color.”

The flyer was sent to people on the Mount Moriah email list, which Krepp received and forwarded to her constituents. In the newsletter, recipients were encouraged to spread the word — “If you are a D.C. resident, PLEASE register for this event. Please share with your family members, friends also,” the text read.

Cook said the event was a success for the community but that it’s indicative of a larger issue.

“There are structures that are working against the survival and the thriving of Black and brown people,” Cook said. “And we have to fight those structural conditions.”

Between 2000 and 2016, the District had the highest rate of low-income displacement of any major central city in the U.S., according to a University of Minnesota Law School study.

Ward 6, which includes Mount Moriah, has undergone some of the most intense gentrification, according to the report.

There were other instances of District residents attempting to receive vaccinations meant for vulnerable populations.

Mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic near the NoMa encampments on April 8. BY KAELA ROEDER

In a press briefing with Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt at the beginning of April, Michael Brice-Saddler of The Washington Post asked on Street Sense Media’s behalf if the District administration observed or heard of these instances. But the mayor’s team only referenced distribution in low-barrier shelters in her response, not mobile clinics.

“I would find it challenging to conceive how individuals who are not already engaged in the system and using low barrier shelters would present to those clinics in any number of significance without raising the concern for that vaccine clinical provider,” Nesbitt said at the briefing.

Unhoused residents cite relief after vaccination “My experience was lovely. I feel great,” said Raymond, who received his vaccine at the mobile clinic near the NoMa encampments on April 8. “People just have to come get it.”

At the clinic, other resources and services were available like free HIV testing, bags with hygienic items from Sasha Bruce Youthwork, and a complimentary lunch.

Allen Underwood accompanied his friend to the clinic but had already received his vaccine in March because of his veteran status.

“I felt good,” Underwood said. “I’m not scared of it.”

Joe also came with a friend to get his vaccine at the NoMa clinic. He said he was recruited by an outreach worker from Unity Health Care.

“It’s good for you,” Joe said.

The h3 project, a District-based organization supporting people experiencing homelessness and human trafficking, was also present. Ami Angell, the founder and CEO, brought h3 to the clinic to help connect people to housing and other resources.

In comparison to other states, Angell said the District is “leading the charge” when it comes to vaccine distribution to people experiencing homelessness.

“Other people I’ve spoken to are really impressed,” she said. As of April 27, 20% of all people in the District were fully vaccinated.

CORRECTION NOTICE In our last print edition, the article “As its more comprehensive report on homelessness lags years behind, critics question HUD’s data” stated that HUD did not respond to a request for comment.

However, HUD did respond near press time with a comment saying that it will publish the 2020 AHAR Part 2, which will also include 2019 data, in the fall of 2021; that the delay in that report was the result of switching to a new data collection system and it does not expect a similar delay in the future; and that HUD is “confident” in the data reported in the AHAR. The article was updated before being published to our website.

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NEWS

Council advances Comp Plan amid concerns of racial inequity

BY ATHIYAH AZEEM // athiyah.azeem@streetsensemedia.org

The D.C. Council voted on April 20 to advance the latest revision of the Comprehensive Plan amendment amid confusion over the scope of the document’s influence and concern among councilmembers that it would reinforce racial inequity in housing in the District.

The Comprehensive Plan is D.C.’s largest planning document that guides development of housing in the District. First created in 2006, it was designed to be rewritten every 20 years and was first amended in 2011.

Citing concerns about increasing housing production in the city to match its growing population, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office began amending the plan once more in May 2016, extending the document to a lengthy 1,500 pages.

An outpouring of public comments and grassroots campaigns delayed the amendments for over four years and led to many revisions, mostly focused on the plan’s impact on the displacement of Black and brown residents. D.C. Council is set to vote on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2021 on May 4.

The Committee of the Whole meeting on April 20 served as a “markup session” where councilmembers could ask for clarifications and express further changes they would like to see in the amendment before the official first reading. Leading up to that meeting, Council Chair Phil Mendelosn shared publicly the “committee print” of the bill — a version that highlights all new changes — that he is required to circulate to all councilmembers since he is introducing the amendments on behalf of the mayor.

The committee print included new language designed to create more affordable housing and to consider the impact of development on Black and brown communities in the District. It addresses several prominent concerns raised in testimonies from 140 D.C. residents and numerous nonprofit advocates during a two-day hearing in November. But even as the amendment advances to a vote, councilmembers, the mayor’s office, and advocates are debating whether it goes far enough to stop displacement.

While the council voted 11-0 to advance the draft from the markup session, At-large Councilmember Elissa Silverman and Ward 4 Councilmember Janice Lewis George abstained. They cited a racial equity impact assessment published on April 19 by the newly-established Council Office of Racial Equity (CORE). The office’s director, Brian McClure, determined that the amendments bring significant changes to addressing historic racial inequities in housing in the District but “the Plan's sheer size reduces the impact of the Committee Print's positive changes.”

“I rarely do this,” Silverman said of her choice not to vote for or against the legislation at this time. “But I cannot vote ‘yes’ until I truly understand what is in this immense document.”

What will it actually affect?

The CORE assessment determined that the Comprehensive Plan amendment as written will uphold racial inequity in the District.

“We cannot afford to preserve a status quo that has been displacing thousands of Black and brown D.C. families,” Lewis George said. At least 20,000 Black people were pushed out of the city between 2000 - 2013, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

George specifically pointed to the hotly debated Section 500.5c as a potential cause of displacement, which defines what qualifies as “affordable housing.”

The committee print clarified this definition so all mentions of affordable housing in the plan refer to units for households earning 80% or less of D.C.'s Median Family Income — an upper limit of $100,800 for a family of four and $70,550 for a single person.

This update narrowed the range of who "affordable housing" guided by the plan could be built for, with the mayor's previous version including households that earn up to 120% of the MFI. But many advocates say there is still not enough focus specifically on households that earn 30% or below of the MFI, which are more often families of color. The Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey found that African American households in D.C. had a median income of $41,000, while white households had a median income of $120,000.

Silverman and Lewis George are not alone.

Most of the councilmembers who voted “yes” said they were grateful for the increase in racially equitable language in the committee print but still wanted more dramatic changes to break the status quo.

There was also some confusion near the end of the markup over how much control the Comprehensive Plan exerts over development in the District. At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson asked whether the CORE assessment considered a complete rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan to achieve racial equity, to which Mendelson said the Comprehensive Plan is ultimately just a guiding document, and does not actually implement as much change as legislation would.

Discussion ensued between Henderson, Silverman, and Mendelson on how exactly the Comprehensive Plan affects development in the District. When Silverman said the Plan determines how land may be used, Mendelson said it only “generally determines” what may be built and where.

The Comprehensive Plan itself is not a policy or a law that can be enforced. It speaks very generally about what development the government would like to see in the District.

However, the D.C. Home Rule Act — the federal legislation that grants the District limited self government through the mayor and council — stipulates that development in the District must be “not inconsistent” with the Comprehensive Plan.

This means that the D.C. Zoning Commission can only approve developments that exceed zoning laws, like high-rise apartment buildings in single family home areas, if they are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

“I think it is really clear that all of the councilmembers are confused and unsure about not just the Comp Plan, but land use in general,” said Parisa Norouzi, the founder and director of Empower D.C. and a steering committee member of the D.C. Grassroots Planning Coalition, which has been organizing D.C. residents to comment on the plan and lobby councilmembers for specific changes.

Continued advocacy from opposing sides The Grassroots Planning Coalition was formed in 2017 by Empower D.C., several ANC representatives, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and other organizations.

Since then they have consistently advocated for more definitive language in the plan to increase community input in housing developments in the District, to ask developers to create more “deeply affordable housing” for households with incomes at 0-30% of the MFI, and to address racial inequities in housing access and location.

Norouzi and other Grassroots Planning Coalition members held a briefing the day before the markup session to commend the committee print for adding a significant portion of their advocacy to the language. But they said there are still a wealth of changes to be made before the vote.

“One of our top priorities [now] is just making sure that communities have the leverage to negotiate community benefit agreements that are binding and enforceable,” Norouzi said.

A community benefits agreement is a contract signed by a developer and a community the developer seeks to build in. In the contract, the developer agrees to provide community benefits and in turn, the community will agree to not oppose the project.

The coalition has long advocated against some of the mayor’s amendments to the plan that relaxed or entirely removed language around public involvement in development projects in their community. Major concern centered around the Future Land Use Map (FLUM), which shows how the Office of Planning intends to develop the city, such as adjusting low-density areas zoned for single family homes to allow for higher-density apartment buildings. Developers looking to do so would no longer have to appeal to the Zoning Commission and undergo a Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, during

which developers have until now offered to add more affordable units or other structures for the community, such as parks, in exchange for exceeding the area’s zoning laws.

Critics say this process has allowed groups to hold up production of thousands of units of new housing in court by appealing Zoning Commission decisions when they disagree with the final PUD agreement. Proponents argue that low-income residents are left with no other options to resist high-end development that does not serve people who already live in the community and may lead to them being priced out of their own neighborhoods.

The committee print added some language, such as Section 305.11 in the Land Use element, which tells developers “community engagement and actions shall be undertaken to retain existing residents, particularly communities of color.” In a meeting on April 19, coalition members stated they are pleased with the increase of language that encourages more community engagement, but said the plan still needs more concrete language to require community involvement that residents can fall back on when developers do not comply.

Another Grassroots Planning Coalition member and an attorney at the Legal Clinic, Caitlin Cocilova, said that a rewrite of the Comprehensive Plan would be ideal, but ensuring that the amendments at hand will benefit lower-income communities in D.C. is still important.

“This document is going to be rewritten in five years,” Cocilova said. “It’s very long … it becomes kind of overwhelming for everyone involved, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that can be done to strengthen it and make it better and to not weaken it.”

In contrast, urbanist organizations like the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Greater Greater Washington, who initially advocated for similar goals to the Grassroots Planning Coalition, have been fully backing the Comprehensive Plan amendment as written since April of last year.

Alex Baca, policy manager at Greater Greater Washington explains that PUD processes have been held up in court, waiting for the comprehensive plan to be passed to make a decision. At the moment, 20,000 housing units including 4000 housing units are being debated in PUD cases, waiting for a decision.

On April 14, Baca wrote an article about how the FLUM map will not eliminate community input, saying that building higher density units in low density communities would prompt more Planned Unit Development cases in court, which requires community input.

She maintains the testimony she made in November, urging D.C. Council to pass the amendment as soon as possible and push for a rewrite of the plan to be done by 2022.

“There is no good to be had to draw this [out] further,” Baca told Street Sense Media. “With the [Office of Planning] staff time that has been spent on this...we could have probably had an excellent rewrite by now, and it’s a f***ing shame that we’ve been squabbling over this document for over five years.”

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// 7

AT A GLANCE

‘DC’s richest residents pay lower taxes than everyone else,’ report finds

BY MATT GANNON matt.gannon@streetsensemedia.org

Washington, D.C.’s wealthiest residents pay a lower share Share of total income paid to DC taxes, of their earnings in D.C. taxes than its middle-income separated by each income group residents, a recent report published by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute found.

Policy director Tazra Mitchell and policy associate Danielle Hamer co-authored the tax inequity report, analyzing data gathered by the national nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, which, according to its website, seeks to influence “D.C. budget and policy decisions to reduce poverty and income inequality,” released the report last month, ahead of when Mayor Bowser was expected to release her proposed fiscal year 2022 budget.

Mitchell and Hamer found that D.C. residents with annual incomes over $919,000 pay 9.5% of their earnings in D.C. income, property, and sales taxes. Meanwhile, middleincome residents pay 10.5% of their earnings. Only those making less than $24,000 per year — the bottom 20% of earners — pay smaller shares in taxes than D.C.’s richest 1% of residents. The report also showed that the city’s richest 20% of residents, who pay an average of 9.6% of D.C.’s richest residents pay lower taxes than everyone else, their earnings to the District, pay less in taxes as a share according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic of income than the bottom 80% of residents, who pay an Policy's January 2021 update to its "Who Pays?, 6th edition" report.

DATA VISUALIZATION COURTESY OF THE D.C. FISCAL POLICY INSTITUTE average of 10.1% of their earnings.

“We have multimillionaires paying a tax rate on added earnings that is just slightly higher than the rate for recipe for wider inequity in D.C.” teachers and nurses earning $60,000 a year,” Mitchell said In March’s tax analysis, Mitchell and Hamer argue that the in an interview.

D.C. tax code does not do enough to close the gap in “the The report partly attributes this disparity to the fact that income and wealth inequalities created by systemic racism.” lower-income residents “spend most of their earnings to get Despite the fact that, on average, white households in the by,” accruing more sales and excise taxes District earn more than twice as much as in the process, while wealthier residents Black households, “the share of all D.C. “can afford to save and therefore spend taxes paid by the richest white residents — a relatively small share [of] their income 42% — is basically the same as their share on taxable goods and services.” of overall D.C. income, which is 41.5%.”

Similarly, the report notes that “D.C.’s To address racial inequity in income and lowest-income residents pay a larger wealth, the authors say, D.C. should tax share of their income in property taxes higher-income residents at a much higher than higher-income families … in part rate. Current tax disparities, Mitchell said, because D.C.’s rising rents mean that are “just not living up to the progressive property taxes paid by renters have risen values that D.C. has.” substantially.” Meanwhile, D.C. law allots She added that, ahead of the proposal, financial relief for (generally wealthier) debate, and passage of D.C.’s fiscal year homeowners, including a 10% cap on how 2022 budget, a process that began April much a tax on the value of a house can 22, the role of taxation in addressing racial increase annually. Mitchell and Hamer inequity in D.C. is especially important. conclude that this provides the most relief “We know that the budget is going to be Tazra Mitchell, DCFPI for homeowners in neighborhoods “where one of the most important budgets in D.C.’s home values are rising fastest.” history,” Mitchell said. “This year’s budget choices have the A 2018 report by the D.C. Policy Center stated that potential to address the ongoing damage and suffering caused provisions such as the homestead deduction and property tax by the pandemic and really put D.C. on the path for recovery cap, which give large tax breaks to homeowners in gentrified that addresses longstanding racial inequities exacerbated by the areas but no relief to renters, “result in amplified inequalities pandemic — but only if our leaders seize the opportunity to make which are sharper along racial lines.” A 2019 D.C. Fiscal Policy bold investments.”

Institute report also highlighted property tax differences as an One key part of that opportunity, according to the DCFPI example of racial inequity in D.C.’s tax code, emphasizing report: overhauling a tax code that has long protected wealthy, that “some 56% of D.C. homeowners are white, while 36% predominantly white residents at the expense of everybody else. are Black and 7% are Latinx,” which the think tank attributed “Our leaders should find the resources needed to put us on to D.C.’s long history of redlining, racial covenants, housing the path towards a stronger and more equitable community,” disrimination, and other policies precluding BIPOC residents Mitchell told Street Sense Media. from homeownership.

But such an effort, she added, requires an acknowledgement “Cuts for mansions,” the 2019 report argued, constitute “a that “tax justice is racial justice.”

“We have multimillionaires paying a tax rate on added earnings that is just slightly higher than the rate for teachers and nurses earning $60,000 a year.”

Reginald Denny.

PHOTO BY ROLANDO APARICIO VELASCO

BIRTHDAYS Reginald Denny April 29 AUTHOR/VENDOR

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Vennie Hill

Obtained her driver’s license ARTIST/VENDOR

Amia Walker

Returned to work with Street Sense Media VENDOR

Marcellus Phillips

Performed a selection of his poetry, via video, for our monthly donors ARTIST/VENDOR

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8 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / A P RI L 2 8 - MAY 4, 2021

NEWS

Rodney Stotts uses falconry to reach youth outside the classroom STORY BY MONIQUE WILSON monique.wilson@streetsensemedia.org

R

aised in Southeast D.C. during the crack epidemic, Rodney Stotts, now a 50-year old man, became involved in illegal activities as a young person. But that was another lifetime for Stotts. Now, he is a licensed master falconer — the highest level in the sport — and one of the few Black falconers in the country. Stotts is breaking boundaries by pursuing falconry, a predominantly white field, in order to help those around him.

Approximately an hour’s drive from Washington, D.C., Stotts works with his birds in a former insane asylum down the street from a juvenile detention facility. He joked that people mention they feel the spirits of former asylum patients when they visit his program, but he believes that as long as he keeps to himself, the spirits will do the same.

Sotts now runs Rodney’s Raptors, an organization through which he offers educational programs on raptors, a sanctuary for the birds, training in falconry, and photo opportunities.

As he joked about the location, Stotts was keeping Raven calm by speaking to him in a calm but strict manner. Raven, a 7-year-old red tail hawk, stayed perched on Stotts’s hand and wildly flapped his wings every once in a while. For the average person, this is a frightening sight — but Stotts kept him under control with ease.

He cares for and trains three birds of prey at the institutionturned-sanctuary. They’re like family, and some are named for loved ones who have died. Stotts’s license allows him to trap new juvenile birds each year, releasing them when they reach maturity, more fit from their training with Stotts. While he loves the outdoors and prefers his birds to most people, his dedication to falconry as a profession comes from his commitment to local youth, so more young people may have the chance to work with the magnificent creatures. It was a giant Eurasian eagle owl, Mr. Hoots, the first raptor to perch on Stotts’s arm more than 20 years ago, that changed his life. Mr. Hoots is unreleasable and is in his care today.

During his 20s, in and out of selling drugs, Stotts’s path to birds began with Earth Conservation Corps, where he took a job in order to have a legitimate pay stub when applying for an apartment. The group had just formed to clean up the Anacostia River, mostly recruiting young workers from the Valley Green Community housing project.

The conservation work wasn’t limited to trash cleanup. Stotts helped care for injured birds and was a part of reintroducing bald eagles on the Anacostia, where they can be spotted today.

His supervisor, the founder of Earth Conservation Corps, was a falconer and introduced Stotts to Mr. Hoots. Stotts was hooked and eventually led the raptor portion of the organization’s program, Wings over America, which assigns youth who have been arrested to care for injured birds of prey.

Growing up, Stotts had a natural connection to animals.

While he spent the majority of his youth in an urban neighborhood east of the Anacostia River, he occasionally spent time at his grandmother’s home in rural Virginia that was filled with a variety of creatures. “I knew I was always gonna end up working with some sort of animal. I had animals my whole life — white mice, tree frogs, crayfish, snapping turtles,” Stotts said.

Hollis Wright met Stotts while he was working with the Earth Conservation Corps. It was a life-changing experience for Wright, a 19-year old man at the time who described himself as a “youth on the fringe.”

“It was different. I remember not being really into it,” Wright said. “I’d grown up [as] an inner-city youth — you don’t really experience certain things. Usually, anything dealing with nature was outside-the-box thinking for me.”

Within a year, Wright graduated from the program and continued a lifelong friendship with Stotts. Wright considers Stotts as a family member, referring to him as his uncle.

“By the time I graduated, I saw where the passion came from,” Wright said. “After meeting Rodney and getting to know him and hearing some of his stories … it became apparent that

it wasn’t fake. It was all genuine and pure with him.”

Wright’s experience at high school was “extremely different” than his time with the Earth Conservation Corps. A large influence was the connection he cultivated with Stotts during his time at the program.

“Having someone with a similar background, and having lived certain experiences, and still being able to be a person, to be open and honest and appreciative and loving and caring: It let me know that maybe the road I was on wasn’t the right one,” Wright said.

Ten years ago, Stotts began Rodney’s Raptors. The main motivation for this move was because Stotts felt limited by which groups of young people he interacted with.

“I started Rodney’s Raptors because the program that I worked for was for adjudicated youth,” Stotts said. “So you got 16 and 17-year-olds, never been locked up, and they wanted to learn this, they wanted to join. I had to tell them, ‘Go get locked up. Now come back.’ Which was the stupidest thing in the world.”

Throughout the decade that Rodney's Raptors has been in existence, Stotts and his birds have interacted with hundreds of people across a variety of backgrounds.

The importance of extracurricular learning From the racist history of standardized testing to D.C. public and charter schools disproportionately suspending and expelling low-income students, schools can feel like jail. And while education is primarily expected to occur within school walls, using a pen and paper, this can promote anxiety for some students, which hinders learning and growth. In March, 32% of adults in D.C. lived in a household with children who experienced anxiety, nervousness, or feeling on edge, according to D.C. Kids Count.

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In addition to this, many low-income or homeless children are left with limited access to extracurricular activities, which, according to the Cornell Policy Review, allow children and adolescents to develop an identity and critical socio-behavioral skills that then influence academic success, such as interacting with peers and mentors and working on a team. Children and youth in the Ivy City neighborhood in Northeast, for example, had nowhere to play but in the street until recently, according to Sebrena Rhodes, a community organizer for the grassroots organization Empower D.C. The nonprofit has been organizing residents since at least 2008 in a campaign to turn a boarded up historic schoolhouse in the neighborhood into a recreation center. Community calls for this use of the school began 40 years ago. For years, a member of the organization has provided “the only basketball court in Ivy City” in his yard. And last year, Empower D.C. opened Ivy City Clubhouse, a community-run space for school tutoring and fun activities to keep young people safe and engaged.

The redevelopment plan for the school now includes a recreation center but residents say the restoration is not happening fast enough.

“We just didn't create better extracurricular activities, we provide activities and create community events, food, snacks, toys, books, computers, youth leadership and participation and many other resources that's provided to their families,” Rhodes said. “When our families are healthy, safe, and respected, the children will feel safe and strive to do their best.”

Without adequate neighborhood spaces and resources to foster community, young people can turn to illegal activities or unproductive ways to fill their time. In-depth research published by the Chicago School of Criminology in 1942 identified that weak neighborhood structures like poverty are linked to higher rates of juvenile delinquency — findings that remain widely accepted academically, but unaddressed in many communities.

Now more than ever, outside-the-box educational opportunities are pivotal for student engagement and interaction. The COVID19 pandemic has forced young people to spend an entire summer and school year doing online learning. This results in a lack of daily interaction with teachers and peers, which can result in mental health deterioration and learning delays.

From moving mid-year due to evictions to teenagers under pressure to work and make up lost family income, young people are under tremendous stress. For some, particularly those with existing mental health conditions, minimal socialization can lead to suicide and self harm, which doctors at Chidlren’s National Hospital say is on the rise. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee has acknowledged the growing crisis and agreed to allocate $5 million dollars for training teachers on mental health.

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted the everyday lives of most people around the globe, and Rodney’s Raptors was no exception. As the core of Stotts’s work is interacting with people, social distancing measures made his job difficult.

Throughout the pandemic, Stotts has been able to do small outdoor events for birthday parties, but he has been unable to reach the same amount of people pre-pandemic.

Fortunately, earlier this year 102 people donated nearly $4,000 to a GoFundMe set up by one of Stotts’s supporters to

In 2015, Stotts published a children’s book titled “Lost and Found: Using Nature to Nurture.” COVER IMAGE COURTES OF AMAZON.COM

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ALL PHOTOS BY RODNEY CHOICE www.ChoicePhotography.com

help him purchase a laptop and recording equipment so he can continue his work virtually. He has obtained the equipment and is working on designing the best virtual education experience he can. Stotts said there is no substitute for the in-person experience with his birds, but he will be able to reach hundreds more people, both people isolating during the pandemic and opening up to young people across the country.

In the past year, Stotts and his story have received an enormous amount of attention, buoyed by a documentary of his life, “The Falconer,” directed by Annie Kaempfer. The film explores Stotts’s past and present while bringing attention to racial injustice and environmental racism.

Despite the documentary’s acceptance into the Atlanta Film Festival and such, Rodney’s Raptors remains running entirely on donations.

Helping youth before incarceration instead of responding to it Peter Tatian, a community development expert with the Urban Institute, spoke to Street Sense Media about attending one of Rodney’s programs in 2015.

“I was very impressed with Rodney and his commitment to — and passion about — these birds of prey that he was trying to educate people about,” Tatian said. He recalled the crowd’s enthusiasm and interest and spoke to the importance of role models originating within the community.

“Maybe for some people it would be surprising that there’s somebody like Rodney living in this community that has this interest,” Tatian said.

For his part, Stotts said in a 2015 interview with the George Washington University Hatchet that being seen with his birds is enough of a shock to stop traffic, but not always in a positive way. "I've had police officers pull me over, guns drawn, everything: 'Get out of the car! Lay on the ground.'

Then they read one piece of paper that says 'U.S. Fish and Wildlife federally licensed falconer,' and then it becomes 'Oh my god, you do what?!'"

Tatian said amplifying community voices and changing those individual perceptions is crucial. Stotts is one of roughly 30 Black master falconers in the entire U.S. and overcame significant racism to succeed in his field, but he must still break stereotypes.

“I think that just shows sometimes we don’t all appreciate how much there are these assets in our communities and how there are many people who have a lot to offer, and we just need to give them more opportunities to share what they know and what they’re passionate about.”

Tatian said outside-the-box learning possibilities are significant because different people respond to different approaches to education. “We need to engage with people not only in the classroom but outside in different ways, so that we can really help each person find something that really inspires them and can be a basis for them succeeding in school and in life going forward,” Tatian said For someone like Wright, who now has a family and works in law enforcement, Rodney inspired him to turn his life around and change for the better. They stay in touch and Wright helps Stotts out every once in a while.

Stotts compares the birds he cares for to the young people he works with — many of whom remind him of himself as a youth.

“If someone don’t step in and help them and guide them in a certain way, there’s only one or two options. You either end up in jail or dead,” Stotts said.“So the same way with the birds, if someone, if a falconer didn’t step in and get that bird, catch them, [they would not survive],” Stotts said. The majority of young birds of prey do not make it through their first year of life. “Now come springtime of the next year, [if a falconer cared for it] that bird got an 85-90 percent chance of survival and reproducing.”

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OPINION

What is affordable housing, anyway?

BY LIBBY SOLOMON

This analysis was first published by Greater Greater Washington on March 15. (GGWash.org) It’s hard to pay attention to local issues in the Washington region for long without bumping into the term “affordable housing.”

You may have heard it discussed in relation to the region’s housing shortage, or in soaring housing costs that limit options for all but the wealthiest families.

You may have heard affordable housing used as a pseudonym for public housing, or publicly subsidized housing, or housing set aside for those with low incomes.

But most of the time, when you hear about affordable housing, there isn’t a definition attached, and different people mean different things. So what is affordable housing — and who is it for?

The 30% rule There isn’t one definition of affordable housing, but in the US, most policymakers (and household budget advice columns) start from HUD’s definition: housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s income.

Families who spend more than 30% of their income on housing are designated as cost-burdened — the amount they spend on housing threatens their ability to afford other necessities like food, medicine, clothing, and transportation.

Cost-burdened households are also more likely to face eviction.

The 30% rule, which was born out of early 20th-century public housing policy, is subject to a lot of debate.

Different families have different needs and expenses — an apartment affordable to a healthy person without debt might be out of reach for someone with student loans and medical expenses, for instance.

Having 70% of your income left over is also very different for someone taking home $20,000 and someone taking home $200,000 per year. The former will have just over $1,100 per month to spend on other necessities, while the latter will have $11,000. Even if the higher-income person shops exclusively at Whole Foods, they’re probably not spending an extra $10,000 per month on groceries (if they are, I hope they invite me over for a nice mid-week lobster and caviar dinner).

Despite the clumsiness of the 30% rule, policymakers and researchers use it as a way to assess the overall housing

market — for instance, by determining whether a modest apartment is affordable to someone making the median income — as well as a way to determine how much housing assistance to provide people.

Affordability is a widespread problem Nearly 60% of D.C. residents are renters, according to a Brookings Institution report, and nearly half of those renters are considered cost-burdened.

Low-income families are the most likely to be cost-burdened, and many low-income renters are severely costburdened, spending more than half their income on rent. Black and Latino families are disproportionately affected — according to Brookings, about half of Black renters are cost-burdened in D.C., and more than 20,000 Black households spend more than half their income on rent.

But housing cost burdens affect a wide swath of the region. According to a 2019 Urban Institute report, the lowest income Washington households had the highest share of cost burden in 2015, but even among low-middle income households — those making $54,300 to $70,150 per year — half were paying more than 30% of their income for housing.

The District’s dedicated affordable housing programs — those with subsidies or income restrictions — serve households who earn less than 80% of the Median Family Income, which is higher in the Washington region than in much of the country. In 2020, a single person is eligible for some D.C. housing programs if they make less than $70,550 per year; a family of four can make up to $100,800 and still be eligible.

According to a 2019 housing report from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration, affordability in D.C. is a particular challenge for large lowerincome households of four or more people, particularly as new development in recent years has targeted smaller households.

Where is affordable housing?

Affordable housing isn’t just a question of overall numbers — it’s a question of where those units are located.

In D.C. and the region more broadly affordable units are distributed unequally, tracking closely with the fault lines

Information and visualization courtesy of Mayor Bowser’s 2019 Housing Equity Report.

of decades of discrimination and segregation. The result is that low-income families can’t afford to live in many of the wealthiest neighborhoods of D.C., allowing those patterns of segregation and inequality to stay firmly in place. As a

result, policymakers are paying attention to where affordable housing is being built, making an effort to encourage it in areas that have historically shut it out.

Libby Solomon is a writer and editor for GGWash.

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// 11

To address record overdose fatality rates, DC must establish safe consumption spaces and decriminalize drugs

BY SHANE SULLIVAN

While no one could have predicted the immense grief and loss collectively experienced from this pandemic, it exposed, more tangibly than ever, many existing structural social and health inequities. In D.C., for instance, Black residents died at 6 times the rate of white residents, the highest disparity in the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic also heightened the District’s existing overdose crisis, with a record 408 opioidrelated overdose fatalities in D.C. during 2020. D.C.’s unprecedented overdose death rates in 2020 underscore what happens when social systems of support are abruptly cut off. They also highlight ongoing gaps in D.C.’s overdose prevention response.

When lockdown began in March 2020, HIPS and other organizations serving people who use drugs scrambled to adapt to our new reality. Some service organizations shut down entirely; others, like ours, continued to operate with modified schedules, finding new ways to support clients through methods like increasing targeted outreach to enroll new patients into our treatment program. But the pandemic’s multifaceted impacts, like greater financial insecurity, an increasingly erratic street drug market, and increased use of drugs while alone - a practice harm reduction advocates have always urged against - left people who use drugs more vulnerable than ever.

In December 2018, the District released its “LIVE.LONG. DC” report that mapped out a series of public health strategies designed to ”reduce opioid-related deaths 50% by 2020” and more broadly address citywide substance use issues. That strategic plan is being re-envisioned in a newly released version in the wake of COVID-19’s all-encompassing devastation.

In the 2018 LIVE.LONG.DC report, one small-budget item proposed was to “consider safe injection sites,” which included establishing a working group to map out the details of a potential site in D.C. Also known as safe consumption spaces or overdose prevention sites, they are clinical spaces where people can safely use street drugs under medical supervision, typically with

wraparound services also available on-site like treatment, drug usual support systems evaporated and many more people used use education, wound care, and HIV/HCV testing. While none (and often died) alone. Models for safe consumption spaces legally operate in the United States currently, we have decades are versatile. Many, for example, operate as “pop-up” mobile of research from many models internationally that exhaustively sites on vans or in tents. If we’d had an infrastructure of sites reveal their success in preventing overdose fatalities (no one has like this in place prior to the pandemic, it’s likely that lives ever fatally overdosed at over 120 sites worldwide), increasing could’ve been saved. linkage to substance use disorder treatment and HIV/HCV Unfortunately, the root of not just D.C.’s but the care, reducing injection-related health issues like abscesses, nation’s overdose crisis lies in archaic drug laws that and reducing both public use continue to systematically of drugs and public disposal of harm people who use drugs, Given the proven efficacy of these used syringes. most disproportionately poor sites, it’s disappointing to see that the communities of color. As long Given the proven efficacy of these sites, it’s disappointing modified LIVE.LONG.DC plan only as criminalization of drug use to see that the modified LIVE. persists, no innovative idea asks that they still be “considered,” LONG.DC plan only asks that or investment in overdose they still be “considered,” with the goal to “continue to convene response will prevent fentanyl with the goal to “continue from devastating our loved meetings with invested stakeholders.” o n e s a n d c o m m u n i t i e s . to convene meetings with invested stakeholders.”

Decriminalization is a policy Perhaps the greatest success concept that has been taken of D.C.’s 2018 strategic plan up by international bodies was the sudden widespread like the United Nations and availability of naloxone, the opiate overdose reversal medication the World Health Organization as well as countries like whose expansion undoubtedly saved many lives. Similarly, the Portugal, where overdose rates are a tiny fraction of what updated 2020 strategy is one of the most progressive in the we experience domestically. country, and should be lauded for innovative proposals like In 2016, 62 percent of opioid overdose fatalities in D.C. establishing low-barrier harm reduction vending machines and involved fentanyl. That number has steadily risen to 94 percent a 24/7 harm reduction drop-in center. in 2020. We’ll continue to provide naloxone, fentanyl test Alongside those innovations, it’s past time the city takes strips, and other essential harm reduction resources to people action to establish its first safe consumption space. The gap who use drugs. But ultimately, only the full decriminalization in services they fill has always been apparent to me as an of drugs will begin to seriously address our increasingly deadly outreach worker who provides equipment for people to use street supply. more safely but with the knowledge that many still do so in Shane Sullivan is a harm reduction outreach worker with HIPS, a nonhigh-risk settings, like alleyways, public restrooms, and/or profit serving sex workers, people who use drugs, LGBTQ individuals, alone. That gap became more apparent during the pandemic as and people experiencing homelessness in D.C.

ABOVE: Data and visualization courtesy of the LIVE.LONG.DC 2.0 report.

RIGHT: Data and visualization courtesy of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

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ART

Hobo and Tramp: Leftovers

BY PIERRE JOHNSON Artist/Vendor

I

t was a cold and windy morning in Mutt Tale, Mississippi. Hobo and his road dog, T, had just hit out to cop a bite of breakfast from old man Grady’s “Scoop-N-Soup soul-food restaurant.

As they walked through the shadows and trash cans in the alleys, they feared no hunger, because old man Grady always kept a big pan of leftovers waiting for them at the back door.

“Wow, I’m starvin’ like Marvin,” Hobo said.

“Whose this Marvin dude everyone keeps starving like?” asked Tramp, as he stopped to scratch his ear.

“I don’t think Marvin is a dude, bro. I think Marvin is just some kind of metaphor for the munchies.”

“Well, what is the meta for?”

“In this case, it would be for the munchies.”

“What’s a munchie?”

“It’s like — that feeling you get in your stomach when you’re hungry.”

“You mean like worms?”

“Yeah, sort of, but bigger.”

Tramp pointed his snout at an old man staggering through the alley, bumping into boxes and muttering.

“Is that a munchie?” he asked.

“No,” Hobo answered, “that’s not a munchie.”

The wind began to blow stronger and a woman ran past the alley entrance chasing her hat.

“Is that a munchie?

“No, that’s not a munchie.”

“Well, what does a munchie look like?”

“You can’t see a munchie!”

“Well, then how do you know when you’ve got one?”

“Didn’t Ma teach you not to show your ignorance? You can’t see a munchie, you can only feel it.”

“Oh,” Tramp snarled.

His ears perked up and his body tensed as he noticed Snoopfoot Jenkins, the city dogcatcher, cruising down the alley.

“Five-O,” Tramp barked. “Duck!”

The two dogs ducked dove around a big green dumpster behind old man Grady’s restaurant.

They’d almost made it.But Snoopfoot spotted their bushy tails as they dashed out of sight.

“I gotcha now, you mangy mutts,” Snoopfoot mumbled to himself as he grabbed a can of mace along with his net and got out of the car.

“We’re going to have to make a dash for it, homey,” Tramp said. “One more strike and its back to the joint for me, pal.”

“I hear you, dog,” Hobo replied as he peeped around the side of the dumpster. “Let me guess, this is the part where old Snoopfoot tries to spray us with mace so he can use that net. You read, dog?”

“Yeah,” Tramp grunted. “Let him get a little closer. I’m gonna leave old Snoopfoot a load of me to remember us by — Waaaaaugh!”

“Wow!” Hobo yapped. “Wait till old Snoopfoot slips on that!”

“Yeah,” tramp snarled. “He’ll have to change his name to ‘Poop-foot’ when I’m done with him.”

“Ma always said you were the genius in the family,” Hobo sagaciously replied as he eyed the distance between them and the dogcatcher “I gotcha now, you mangy mutt!” yelled Snoopfoot as he charged toward them with his net in one hand and his can of mace in the other.

“What a shame,” Hobo snarled. “They just let anybody be a dogcatcher now days.”

“Tell me about it,” Tramp agreed as they watched Snoopfoot getting closer.

“OK, he’s close enough. On the count of three, we make a quick break for it,” Hobo growled. “You ready?”

“I was born ready,” Tramp boasted, scratching a flea off his ear.

“Hey, watch it!” yelled the flea.

Snoopfoot was now right up on them, yelling as he sprung into action. “I gotcha now you flea-bitten dust mops!”

“Yo’ mama!” Hobo barked as he and Tramp each stepped from behind opposite sides of the dumpster.

Both dogs snarled and growled as Snoopfoot got closer.

“Grrrr (one), grrrr (two), grrrr (three) — GO!” Hobo barked as they took off in different directions.

Snoopfoot leaped at Tramp and ended up landing face first in a big pile of mutt-poop pudding.

“Confound it!” the dogcathcer shouted. I’ll get that mongrel if it’s the last thing I do!”

The dogs leaped over a tall fence that led to Shoofly Watson’s junkyard.

“This way!” Tramp barked. “We can hide under here!”

They dashed for a small dark opening that led under the porch. “He’ll never find us in here.”

“Yeah,” Hobo replied. “Old Poop-foot is going to need a new foot before the week is out.”

“Yeah, bro.” Tramp responded, wagging his tail. “I bet Pop would be real proud of us.”

Suddenly, they heard a familiar growl, followed by a sniffing. They turned and gazed into the darkness. The sniffing continued. Suddenly, they saw two light grey eyes staring back to them.

“Grrrrrrrr, sniff, sniff, sniff... sniff-sniff-sniff — “PEW!” Hobo? Tramp? Is that you?!”

“Yo, Pop! What’s up, dawg?”

It was their dad, Smoke. He was a mix of Siberian husky mixed with timber wolf, now about 11 years old (which is 77 in dog years.)

“You knuckle heads been behaving yourselves?”

Smoke asked as he stepped out of his dark corner.

“No sir!” they barked in unison.

“As usual, we’re on the run,” Hobo barked.

“Yeah,” Tramp co-signed, “we’ve got warrants.”

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Smoke thought to himself. Look at my little fugitives, all gown up now.

“You boys have make me proud,” Smoke barked. “So, how’s your Ma n’ ‘em doing?”

“She’s cool,” Hobo barked. “She just had another litter.”

“Another one? How many this time?”

“Eight.”

“Yeah, well, eight is enough. You heard anything from your rich aunt, Lassie?”

“Yeah,” Tramp responded. “Aunt Lassie’s in jail!”

“In jail?”

“No she’s not!” Hobo cut in. “She’s being detained at the Hollywood K-9 Mental Hospital.”

“K-9 Hospital?”

“Yeah, well, you know how it is when you’re a celebrity. It was always ‘Lassie, go fetch the stick. Lassie, go rescue that boy that keeps getting into the well again.

Lassie, go find help. Lassie, do this. Lassie, do that.

Lassie, pour everyone another round.’

“Eventually, she just snapped. They’r going to let her go, right?”

“The old gal is loaded, son. She’s got more money than Oprah. She may need some therapy. But that’s Hollywood for ya’. Let that be a lesson to you boys, you’re not cats, you know. You’ve only got one life to live.”

“Yes, sir.”

The end, for now.

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Black history is all of our history

// 1 3

THE MISEDUCATION OF CHRISTINA COLE:

A whole new world

BY CHRIS COLE Artist/Vendor

BY RITA SAULS Artist/Vendor

BY REGGIE JONES Artist/Vendor

Black history should be recognized, always.

Black people have given so many contributions to this life, this world, this country — many even gave their lives.

When people talk about Black History Month, I don’t think of February, I think about people: family and friends that are here with me now; and the ones that was here before me.

As a Black person, it is embedded within the family to represent yourself with very high values and stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

So much of history is lost if you’re not the one writing it. But documenting the achievements of a particular people in turn documents the events of other people. This makes Black history relative to everyone.

The Black historical figures I look up to are Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. because they spoke their minds, shook things up, and helped people any way they could.

This is what they stood for and what they were murdered over.

But the lesser known things should be remembered, too. I do have family members that went through slavery and racism. The struggles of my grandma’s grandfather, mother, and aunt, for instance, were passed down to me through family stories.

As different colored children having to attend different schools, they were teased for the color of their skin, which was very painful for them. It still is.

Black history is important year-round.

Yesterday I wanted to change the world. Today I wouldn’t mind seeing it destroyed. Is this place even worth saving?!!!

Better question: If “we” were to create a “new world” ... a “mostly perfect world” ... who would be “allowed” to live there? What things would you place value on? What words would you put in that “negative” category?

What colors would you correlate to beauty? Are we still gonna go with Black for everything that’s bad? Or is my Black gonna finally be beautiful on this fictional f***ing planet?

How about this: I’m not going to get myself all worked up asking you great questions, questions that I've been asking and answering since I was six years old, only to be disgusted and very disappointed with your shallow yet illuminating answers.

You people tell on yourselves when I ask basic questions like this. You expose how you really view people, life, and nature. Your answers convey your lack of respect for anything besides the love of money, and that you value your property more than the life of a fellow human. Meanwhile the death — or heaven forbid the murder — of a dog or a lion sparks international debate. Are you people f***ing serious?

So yeah, I’m done asking questions. Now I’m telling you my answers. My answers are the framework for my new world. You might not like my new world, but lemme ask you one last thing: Were you even invited?

1. Who is allowed to live there?

Good humans only. Those who respect order, beauty, structure, and energy.

Those who love themselves, firstly, and then love others unabashedly, infinitely, and without fear of judgment about the gender or other important characteristics about what love looks in their happy and healthy lives.

2. What would we place value on?

History, tradition, family love, bonds friendship, music, community, intellect, growth change, efficiency, joy, joy, fun, hope, work and progress.

Grand Soursock Ad Extremis

3. What colors are important?

Well, let’s see… ALL OF THEM!!! You guys say there are seven: ROY-GBIV. I beg to differ but hey, let’s start with seven for now. All, and every color under the sun and moon are beautiful, different, and have worth and meaning. Each color is deserving of respect even if that specific hue disagrees with or doesn’t appease your pallet at some moment in time.

BY FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor

We remember your Soaring battlement, Oh dear Gran Soursock A Palace with dignity [et Balance) Framed by louvers Of Mahogany; Plush carpentry, and Fine marquetry— Tout souvent des Levahtihes, shall not be permitted To Expire…

(Thou canst/Quash A Poet / Ever!)

These questions and answers that I have been pondering for a whole 36 years,are the infrastructure and thought processes that could, should, and will support and govern Christina Ashley Cole’s WHOLE NEW WORLD. Get onboard AmeriKKKa. #awholenewworld #butthisaintdisney #Aladdin

Powerful Prayer

BY BROTHER JEFFERY CARTER // Artist/Vendor

I find power in God’s word, which breaks the chains of my yoke.

He give me rest and I don’t have to worry about where I sleep or eat.

I thank God for this day, for He didn’t have to let me wake up today.

In August, half of Beirut was violently shaken by a massive explosion near its coastal quay, caused by the same substance that shocked Oklahoma City 25 years beforehand. It seems such temblors may occur indiscriminately— if we are not more vigilant.

Photo of the devastation courtesy of EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid / Flickr

God bless me so much that I cannot count them all. May Peace and blessings be with you. Thank you, my readers.

1 4 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // A P R I L 2 8 - M AY 4 , 2 0 2 1

FUN & GAMES

Intermediate Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 10, Book 6

Sudoku #2 6 5 4 5 2 6 8

8 8 3

4 7

9 2

1 5

4 3

2

1 6

2 8

© 2015 KrazyDad.com

Answers Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each Sudoku #1

3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

If you use logicFill you in can solve the puzzle without guesswork.

SUDOKU: 6 4 1 5 7 8 2 9 3 the blank squares Need a little help? The hints page shows a logical order to solve the puzzle. so that each row, Use it to identify the next square you should solve. Or use the answers page 2 3 8 9 4 6 7 5 1 if you really get stuck. each column and 5 9 7 1 2 3 6 4 8 each 3-by-3 block contain all of the 1 6 4 2 3 7 9 8 5 digits 1-9.

LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION >>

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

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

8 6 2 4 1 5 3 7 9

6 8

9 7 3

4 5 1 2

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

4 6 2 9 7

6

9

2

3

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

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

3 7

1 4

5 2 8 9 6

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

The devil would be the best way out as an excuse for God ... But even so, one can hold God responsible for the existence of the Devil.

2 1

Your choice is my choice

BY REGINALD SCOTT Artist/Vendor

So was all goals list as the idol idea of progression suggestions not alone purpose to subjugate every rejection?

I surmise actions are before all eyes as greeting body language is nexus to what matters Intermediate Sudoku KrazyDad, Volume 10, Book 6 for one’s attention innerby nakedness ergo seeking throughout our future firmament!

Sudoku #2 Albeit my steps are your steps together as a whole 2 8 4 1 3 7 6 5 9 leads our breathing in control 6 choice.

1 9 4 2 5 3 7 8 ‘cause your choice is my

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

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

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

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

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

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

4

9

8 7 1 9 6 2

9

1

5

6 5

3

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

1

8 3 4 7 9

6

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

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

Cluster Abell 2218 Lihtless mattier wul verge spaac istirrit wit ould sterris, eal to a showed theʒʒn twyys!

Fram lios cum hindan ae stretch.

BY FRANKLIN STERLING Artist/Vendor

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.

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

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

JOB BOARD Ice Cream Ambassador

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream // 14th Street Part-time The ambassador will serve ice cream, gain real-world business experience, have opportunities for growth within the company, and receive competitive compensation.

REQUIRED: Must be available to work weekends and late nights (past 11 p.m.).

APPLY: tiny.cc/serve-ice-cream

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

Amazon Grocery Associate Amazon // Washington, DC Full-time

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

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

// 1 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unity Health Care 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

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

The associate will scan, process, count inventory, operate point-of-sale systems and handle cash, receive, stock, and replenish product.

REQUIRED: Must have a high school diploma or GED and be 18 years of age.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/grocery-amazon

Crew

Trader Joe’s // Capitol Hill Full-time The crew will operate cash registers, bag groceries, stock shelves, and help customers find products.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/crew-at-trader-joes

Retail Sales Associate Galls LLC // Brentwoood Full-time The retail sales associate will greet customers, answer questions, present/ arrange products, replenish merchandise, and complete necessary housekeeping.

REQUIRED: High School Diploma or GED APPLY: tinyurl.com/sales-associate-galls

Restaurant Team Member Chipotle // 122- M Street Full-time/ Part-time The restaurant team member will learn how to cook, serve customers, and be able to communicate well.

REQUIRED: Be at least 16 years of age.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/team-member-chipotle

Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

My auntie role

I

read this on Facebook and it really struck a chord with me: “Why aunts are so important in their nieces’ and nephews’ lives. Who says that grandparents and parents are the only important figures in a child’s life? Aunts also play a very important role in the upbringing of their nieces and nephews.” I know I did.

I remember the exciting time when I first became an aunt.

I was about 15 years old. My sister was 18 at the time. She had just started a new job.

The whole time that she was pregnant, I forgot that she was actually going to have a baby and that it would be the real deal. But I quickly got the hang of things after she had my niece, Dawn.

I was so amazed! She was the most beautiful baby girl I had ever seen. She was tiny and soft. But most of all, she was mines. Automatically, I fell in love. My first niece. The only baby that I’d paid any attention to until then. I was happy, excited, thrilled.

One day, my sister had to go to work and I had to babysit.

I didn’t mind, I loved it. Because by then I thought that I had everything down pat. I knew when and how to feed her. I knew when and how to change her. I knew how to talk to her and rock her to sleep. I even sang to her a few times. But what a day for me that day of babysitting was: she just wouldn’t stop crying. I bathed and changed her. I fed and burped her. Nothing helped.

I thought that I was doing something wrong. She may

BY VENNIE HILL Artist/Vendor

not have been my child, but every time she cried, I cried right with her.

I rocked and walked her. She would eventually fall off to sleep, but then she woke up and began to cry again. So I had to do the same routine all over again. Remind you, I was all alone in the house. I didn’t want to bother my sister at work.

But I had common sense to know that something was wrong and I had to do something about it.

Dawn had a godmother that lived across the court from us. So I got Dawn dressed and over to her — to Mrs Dot’s house — to see If she could help or tell me something. I’m sure you know how I felt by then, it being my first time as an aunt and all. I didn’t want to fail, but I had to put my pride aside and find out what exactly was going on with this baby. So I knocked on Mrs. Dot’s door and, thank God, she was home.

I took Dawn inside and told Mrs. Dot exactly what was going on and how she wouldn’t stop crying. After she checked out Dawn, Mrs. Dot proceeded to look at me with a smile and said “Its OK Vennie, you haven’t done anything wrong. She’s fine, what she has is an ear ache.” She showed me how Dawn was pulling and tussling with her ear. Boy was I so relieved.

So then I had no other choice but to call my sis and tell her to come take Dawn to the doctor. That was one of the most

terrorizing days for me. I felt like she was my responsibility and that whatever she was going through, I was going through it, too. But all in all,l I got to the bottom of it.

Today, I have plenty of nieces and nephews. I call them and they call me each month just to keep in touch and tell me they love me. Each and every one of them I love and show the same attitude: “I’m not Mommy, but I’m still here to protect and help you in any way that I can, if I can.”

I try my best to keep them safe and out of harm’s way. When something aches with them and I can’t figure out the problem, I ache too. But I definitely get to the bottom of things so we can make it go away or start to heal. I know I can’t always fight their battles for them and that I can’t fix everything that’s broken with them, but I always give it my all. I love my nieces and nephews just like my own kids.

Sure, they all have mothers and grandparents. But there’s nothing like a good aunt to talk to every now and then to baby them up a little. I’m not just a good aunt, I am a GREAT auntie.

And I’ve been called the favorite auntie plenty of times. I’m proud of that. I do my best. Don’t we all? Hope so.

We’ll until next time take good care of yourselves and be safe out there.

I call them and they call me each month, just to keep in touch and tell me they love me.

FAMILYFAMILYFAMILYFAMILYFAM Thank you for reading Street Sense!

Sis Me and my younger sister have so much in common. We talk all the time since my mom has passed.

Love to my sister, Darlene Smith.

BY PATTY SMITH Artist/Vendor

From your vendor APRIL 28 - MAY 4, 2021 | VOLUME 18 ISSUE 15

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