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Family Shelter May Close; Fenty Promises Housing

HIP HOP HEALS

By Charles D. Jackson

CHARLES D. JACKSON

Scott K. Rosenberg, the creator and producer of “The Hip Hop Project,” talks about how the program changes lives of young people and his hopes for the movie, which comes out May 11, to do the same. (Page 7)

Fo r s e ve ra l d a y s, Sh a n n o n Cheeks shuttled her newborn baby from hospital to hospital in search of shelter. She finally found a temporary home at the D.C. Village Family Emergency Shelter in April, but her stay there may not last long.

City decision makers are now discussing the possibility that the shelter may close sometime this fall and will be replaced by a proposed Southeast bus operations center for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Metro bus plans to move its maintenance facility from M Street SE near the new Washington Nationals Stadium to 6 acres of sprawling D.C. Village.

That means Cheeks and the more than 350 other people — mothers, fathers, young children and teenagers — currently living at D.C. Village would be moved to another family shelter or into permanent housing in neighborhoods closer to the city’s center. D.C. Village sits virtually isolated on a campus in the southwest

D.C. Village Family Shelter would be replaced by a Metro bus garage.

corner of the city.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has said D.C. Village residents will have adequate shelter before final plans are approved.

“We’ll move all the clients into affordable housing units,” Fenty said. “That will be determined before D.C. Village closes.”

Council Member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who represents the

neighborhood around the new stadium, also said the families will not be neglected and will be placed in neighborhoods more convenient in the city.

“It’s important that the families in our homeless program are not isolated from government resources, or housing and job opportunities

ter (SEVSC) in the late 1970s after residents asked him to remove homeless people living under a Georgetown bridge.

When Crawford arrived, he was surprised to find that they had rigged sufficient electricity to cook dinner, which they invited Crawford to share with them. As they ate, Crawford discovered that many of them were veterans who had fallen into homelessness after their service.

Although he did have to evict his

hosts, Crawford’s encounter pushed him to create Access Housing Inc., which operates the nonprofit center.

SEVSC, located in Anacostia, provides both permanent and transitional housing, as well as a drop-in day center. Clients receive mental health and medical care, benefits counseling, job training, legal assistance, housing referrals and other services.

See

Family, page 5

Influx of Homeless Vets Pushes Center to Expand

By Jennifer Jett The Southeast Veterans Service Center, which provides shelter and services to homeless veterans, is expanding its capicity, including for the first-time beds for women vets.

“There is a population of women veterans that need to be served as well and we wanted to try and assist them,” said Tamara Carter, executive assistant to the program director.

The $1 million annex, which

will nearly double the capacity, was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the local Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, and the Veterans Administration Grant Per Diem program.

It will add beds for 32 men and 16 women and is expected to open in July.

Program Director Greg Crawford said he saw a need for more housing for homeless veterans, including

a large influx of service members returning from Iraq. Women especially, he said, find there are few places to go.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are up to 200,000 homeless veterans on any given day, making up about one-third of all homeless adults.

Around 3% of homeless veterans are women.

Former D.C. City Council member H.R. Crawford founded the Southeast Veterans Service Cen-

See

Veterans, page 4

NATIONAL

POLITICS

Fresno, Calif., plans to put portable toilets and a trailer offering mental health services on a vacant lot, page 4

Tackling homelessness, affordable housing and other issues that affect poor people still on mayor’s “to-do’’ list, page 6

PROFILE

LOCAL

MY TURN AT THE TABLE

Volunteering at So Others Might Eat once a week helps Monica connect with people in need, page 3

Front-line shelter workers are still not yet earning a living wage, unlike other District contract employees, page 5

Alexandria restaurant serves extraordinary meals at everyday prices in an atmosphere of fun and elegance, page 10

Inside This Issue Serving Others at SOME

Fresno Places Portables

Waiting for a Living Wage

Fenty’s 100 Days

Theismann’s Scores Points

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

ALL ABOUT US

Our Mission

1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 347-2006 Fax: (202) 347-2166 info@streetsense.org www.streetsense.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Robert Egger Ted Henson Barbara Kagan David Pike John Snellgrove Michael Stoops Francine Triplett David Walker Kathy Whelpley

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Laura Thompson Osuri VENDOR MANAGER Jesse Smith Jr. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Charles D. Jackson ASSOCIATE EDITOR David S. Hammond (volunteer) INTERN Rae Borsetti

VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Jake Ashford, Robert Basler, Cliff Carle, Alice Carter, Rick Dahnke, Jake Geissinger, Genevive Gill, Joann Goodwin, Carol Hannaford, Annie Hill, Patricia Jefferson, Jennifer Jett, Brenda Karyl Lee-Wilson, Jessi LeGarde, August Mallory, Mandy McAnally, Jill Merselis, Sarah Miller, Caroline Moore, Mike O’Neill, Amy Orndorff, Swinitha Osuri, Susan Pearce, Jen Pearl, David Pike, Sarah Schoolcraft, Chris Sellman, Jennifer Singleton, Eric Sheptock, Katie Smith, Patty Smith, Tim Taylor, Robert Trautman, Isabel Toolan, Linda Wang, Lawless Watson, Michelle Williams, Ivory Wilson, Marian Wiseman, Corrine Yu

VENDORS Willie Alexander, Michael Anderson, Jake Ashford, Tommy Bennett, Robin Blount, Corey Bridges, Bobby Buggs, Cliff Carle, James Castle, Alice Carter, Conrad Cheek Jr., Anthony Crawford, Ricardo Dickerson, Louise Davenport, Yllama Davenport, Muriel Dixon, Alvin Dixon El, Michael Douglas, Don Gardner, David Harris, John Harrison, Donald Henry, Patricia Henry, Michael Higgs, Phillip Howard, Patricia Jefferson, Allen Jones, Devon Jones, Mark Jones, Brenda Karyl Lee-Wilson, Gregory Lucas, Lee Mayse, Jennifer McLaughlin, Rodney Morris, Charles Nelson, Kevin Robinson, Chris Sellman, Gerald Smith, Patty Smith, Novene Thomas, Matesha Thompson, Francine Triplett, Amia Walker, Martin Walker, Lawless Watson, Ivory Wilson, Jason Wrightson.

We are proud members of:

Street Sense aims to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

Our Editorial Policy Editorials and features in Street Sense reflect the perspectives of the authors. We invite the submission of news, opinion, fiction and poetry, hoping to create a means in which a multitude of perspectives on poverty and homelessness can find expression.

Street Sense reserves the right to edit any material.

North American Street Newspaper Association

The Story of Street Sense Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C. A street paper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to the homeless individuals who sell it. About 25 street papers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and dozens more exist throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors, Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies.

For the next three years the paper published consistently on a monthly basis and greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network.

For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space. In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 status, becoming an independent nonprofit organization.

In October 2005, Street Sense formed a full board of directors, and in November the organization hired its first employee, a fulltime executive director.

A year later in November 2006 , the organization hired its first vendor coordinator.

In February 2007, the paper started publishing twice a month as the network of vendors expanded to more than 50 homeless men and women.

To support the increased production, Street Sense brought on its first full-time editor-in-chief in April 2007 .

April 15-30 Donors Eli Dickinson Rabbi Marc Kline Nicolas Mitchell Ranjeev Purohit Kathy Scott Jennifer Wenger

Thank You!

International Network of Street Papers

Street Sense Vendor Code of Conduct 1.

Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Street Sense by any other means.

2.

I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense staff and will not sell papers to other vendors (outside of the office volunteers).

3.

I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, other vendors – respectfully, and I will not “hard sell,” threaten or pressure customers.

4.

I agree to stay off private property when selling Street Sense.

5.

I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income.

6.

I agree to sell no additional goods or products when selling the paper.

7.

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

8.

There are no territories among vendors. I will respect the space of other vendors, particularly the space of vendors who have been at a spot longer.

9.

I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge when selling papers.

10. I understand that Street Sense strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

WANNA HELP? If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or have an interesting story or feature, please contact Charles D. Jackson at 202347-2006 or charles@streetsense.org.

If you are interested in becoming a vendor, contact Jesse Smith at the same number or come to a vendor training session on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. at our office, 1317 G Street, NW, near Metro Center.

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

PROFILE

VOLUNTEER Profile

Retiree Stays Active Connecting with People in Need

By Michelle N. Williams

CHARLES JACKSON

Some people who are retired enjoy weekly activities such as golf. Others might make a financial donation to a nonprofit organization at the end of the year and consider their good deed done.

But Monica, a lunchtime volunteer at the SOME (So Others Might Eat) dining room since December 2005, stays active during retirement by going to a different neighborhood to serve and interact with people she normally wouldn’t encounter. SOME serves breakfast and lunch year-round, thanks in part to approximately 20 volunteers like Monica who help each day.

Monica is a woman of slight stature who humbly accepted to be interviewed, even though she was anxious to get back to the dining room. She volunteers with SOME once a week.

Monica heard about SOME’s good reputation in the District before her retirement, but could never take time from her work day to volunteer. Now that she has retired, she is committed to the cause, and has the flexibility to come in whenever she is most needed.

She chose not to talk about herself, but instead pointed out repeatedly how struck she is by the diversity of folks who volunteer—from individuals to church groups to students.

“I’ve benefited from the number of volunteers that come in and the number of people doing alternative spring break in an atmosphere where we hear negative things about

young people.”

Don Dixon, who has been with SOME for a year and is the new director of dining room and volunteers, also expressed appreciation for the number and diversity of volunteers.

“I am in awe of the generosity of these people,” he said.

Mack, a lunch guest, said the volunteers are very personable.

“They got good, genuine people serving the food,” he said. “The only thing I don’t like is the long lines. I’m getting used to it, but I still don’t like it.”

He said that the lines are an incentive for him to become more independent.

So why does Monica volunteer at SOME? “I’d like to think that, in some small way, I’m helping a community that needs assistance,” she said. At the same time, she learned to open up to others.

“At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Monica said. “Then I saw the warm environment.

This is the way you want to welcome people, to make them feel they are of worth.”

Tony Smith, who serves as the dining room volunteer voordinator, said the dining room is like “a welcome mat.’’

“It’s the first impression people get of SOME.’’ Vases in the women’s dining area, decorated by children in another one of SOME’s programs, add to the ambience and provide an example of how the programs interconnect. As one of the guests began to jam on the piano behind us, Smith emphasized these

Volunteers Elliott Brouse, John Renehau, Melanie Sanpietro and Larry Caldwell serve guests lunch at SOME (So Others Might Eat) dining room.

connections and the importance of creating a relaxing home environment.

“When somebody is relaxed, they’re more receptive and maybe will seek help from our other services,” he said. “In the street, our guests are constantly ignored and walked on.

Here, they get attention. There’s a difference between enabling and empowering.”

Dixon also spoke of taking things a step further. In the near future, he said, “we’ll start more active outreach to address issues

of mental illness and homelessness.”

There was something else that Monica hadn’t expected a year and a half ago.

“You can connect with somebody in need, and they can connect with you,” she said.

Grinning, Smith added that he tells his staff that he wants other volunteers to get to a point where they know what to do and how to show other volunteers what to do.

“Monica has evolved to that point,” he said.

“She understands the mission.”

Donate to Street Sense I will donate:

My Information

___ $50 for two vendor awards each month

Name:_______________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip:_______________________________________________ Phone:_______________________E-mail:_________________________ Please make checks payable to Street Sense Street Sense is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

___ $70 for one restaurant review ___ $100 for postage each month ___ $200 for the vests of 15 new vendors ___ $500 for monthly rent and insurance ___ $1,200 for the printing of one issue ___ Another amount of $_______ ___ Another amount of $_______ for vendor: ________________

Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20005.

You can also donate online at www.streetsense.org Additional items that Street Sense needs: * Messenger and tote bags and backpacks for vendors

* Office chairs

* Bottled water to hand out to vendors

* Laptop computers with at least Windows 2000

* Food for vendor meetings

and 10 GB of storage space

Please call 202-347-2006 or send an e-mail to info@streetsense.org if you have any of these items to donate.

LOCAL LOCAL AND NEWS NATIONAL NEWS

in other news By Mandy McAnally California: City Places Portables on Vacant Lot Fresno City Council members and the mayor have approved a plan to put portable toilets, trash cans and a trailer offering mental health services for the homeless on a vacant lot downtown. The city has been criticized for failing to provide such services.

Officials said they hope the services will motivate people to move from littered encampments to a designated area beneath an underpass (AP/San Jose Mercury News, 4/18).

Illinois: Shelter Residents Exposed to TB Any person who spent “repeated and extended time” at a homeless shelter in the city of Aurora from December 2006 to March could have been exposed to active tuberculosis, the county health department has warned.

Officials said they are focusing on those they think were at highest risk of contracting TB and could extend their investigation to reach more homeless in the area (Chicago Tribune, 4/18).

Illinois: HUD Awards County Homeless Groups

Indiana: Advocates Urge More Housing Funding Homeless advocates say state officials must focus efforts on affordable housing programs for the homeless if they want to increase Housing and Urban Development grants this year. Indiana’s HUD funding dropped from $13 million in 2005 to $3.5 million last year.

Advocates say Indiana lags behind when it comes to leveraging other funding to add to HUD grants. Indiana was prepared to match 92 cents for every $1 of HUD funding, but HUD required $2 (Indianapolis Star, 4/22).

Montana: Lack of Shelters Straining Other Towns A lack of resources and city homeless shelters in Bozeman is straining the services in the nearby cities of Butte and Helena. Director of Public Safety-Police Mark Tymrak Bozeman said the city has explored several options to address the issue.

Local groups are working to provide meal tickets and motel rooms for some families without homes. Tymrak says the homelessness issue is on the rise in Bozeman (NewWest. net, 4/17).

Pennsylvania: Funds Raised to Open Drop-in Center A drop-in center for the homeless in Lancaster County is expected to open by this summer or early 2008, a county official said. Community and faith-based organizations are raising funds for the facility, which is expected to cost about $100,000 annually.

About 35 people in Lancaster County were found to be chronically homeless in a January 2007 survey (Umble, Lancaster Online, 4/25).

South Carolina: Homelessness Plan Discussed Commissioners in Mecklenburg County are discussing a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness throughout the region. Under the three-pronged plan, the county would step up homelessness prevention efforts, provide affordable housing, education and outreach for the homeless (news14. com, 4/18).

Texas: San Antonio Group to Build 600-Bed Shelter San Antonio officials and the nonprofit Haven for Hope have approved plans to build a 600-bed homeless complex in a blighted part of the city. The facility will provide an array of services, including emergency and transitional housing, identification recovery, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and job training (San Antonio Express-News, 4/22).

Veterans, from page 1 Veterans in transitional housing, which lasts from six months to a year, agree not to use alcohol or drugs and follow a structured program that includes workshops and counseling.

“We really try to provide them everything that will assist them to be able to matriculate back into society,” Carter said.

Many clients grapple with post-traumatic stress and substance abuse, Carter said. Mental illness afflicts almost half of homeless veterans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and more than 70% of homeless veterans abuse drugs or alcohol.

The center, which has 50 beds, currently houses about 30 men who have served in almost every American conflict in the past four decades.

“It’s a mixture,” Carter said. “It’s people from as far back as Vietnam. We don’t have any World War II vets here, but from Vietnam on to the present war.”

Henry Monroe, 58, developed a drug habit and became homeless after leaving the Army in 1970. When a 2005 assault left him with a broken jaw, he had surgery at a VA hospital, then spent three months in an inpatient program in Martinsburg, W. Va. before being referred to SEVSC. “When I got here I had about four months of clean time, so I was still relatively new to that particular activity, trying to stay clean,” Monroe said. “I also was diagnosed with manic bipolar, and I’m schizoaffective. So I was taking quite a bit of medication, and being in a new place and being under so many rules, I didn’t do too well the first couple of weeks.”

Monroe was almost asked to leave, he said, because he wasn’t conforming to the policies and procedures.

“I just went to my room one day and I sat here and I thought about everything,” he said. “And I decided that I needed to turn my program around, my behavior and everything.”

Monroe got into a VA partial hospitalization program to monitor and adjust his medications, also taking advantage of the services at SEVSC. He left the center in November after 14 months and now lives in his own apartment.

“Just about everything a veteran needs is provided for them here at Southeast Veterans Service Center,” he said. “If you get up in here and you work the program the way the program says to be worked, then you should have no problems in your recovery and being able to leave here in a different capacity than the way you came.”

Andrew Gallagher, a Navy veteran who served in the Gulf War, also went through the Martinsburg drug program. From there, he stayed at the New York Avenue men’s shelter before arriving at SEVCS, where he has been in transitional housing for the past six months.

“It’s a good place to be,” said Gallagher, 36. “They’re assisting me with housing. I don’t do good in those shelters. They’re

Foundry

United Methodist Church

A Reconciling Congregation

Invites you to join us in worship on Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00 AM Sign Interpretation at 11:00 Homeless Outreach Hospitality Fridays 9 AM

Foundry United Methodist Church

1500 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 (202) 332-4010 www.foundryumc.org

JENNIFER JETT

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded $878,359 to five agencies involved in the McHenry County Continuum of Care for the Homeless Committee. The grants will fund eight separate projects in the county dealing with street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families (Woodstock Independent, 4/17).

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

Army veterans receive care at center. Milovan Smallman, 49, served in Panama and Winthrop Robbins, 57, was in Vietnam.

assisting me in looking for another place to stay. And it’s just a safe atmosphere.”

Gallagher, the second-youngest resident at SEVCS, said he gets along well with the older veterans. “[There is] one guy younger than me, he just came out of Iraq,” he said. “So he and I, you know, we kind of hit it off. But the rest of the guys, there’s just an understanding amongst us, even though they’re older. Certain things we all automatically understand.”

Veterans increasingly have to rely on each other for support, Gallagher said.

“They used to tell the veterans where everything was,” he said. “Now you have to find out on your own. There are programs there, and there’s stuff there for you, but nobody’s going to tell you. You have to get it from another vet.”

Monroe also said that living with other veterans helped him reach his goals.

“The problems that you was having on the street, there’s always somebody here ahead of you that’s had the same problems,” he said. “And they’re able to sit down with you and talk you through it.”

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

LOCAL NEWS

Shelter Workers Fall Below District’s Living Wage

By Sarah Miller

Some come in early and stay late. Between those hours, they counsel, console, congratulate and comfort countless homeless and poor people.

But at the end of the day, they earn less pay than other employees in comparable citycontract jobs. And this is something that has worried city homeless providers for years.

At a recent hearing for the District’s Committee for Human Services, Chapman Todd, division director at Catholic Community Services (CCS), called on the committee to address the low wages paid to area shelter workers. He described the common entrylevel hourly wage of $9 to $9.50 as “well below what is needed to attract and retain many qualified potential employees.”

The entry-level frontline shelter workers contracted through the District of Columbia earn about $2.50 less per hour than other employees contracted by the city.

Last June, the City Council began requiring contractors to pay employees a living wage, which members adopted at $11.75 an hour.

But some nonprofit agencies for now are exempt from paying the living wage, because they are operating under city contracts approved before the living wage law went into effect.

Assuming a shelter’s employees are to be paid a living wage under the law, Haley West, public relations manager at CCS, said that “applicability” and actually paying the living

Family, from page1 in the city,’’ Wells said. “I’m going to continue to ask for timeline and regular updates on the progress of the city’s efforts.’’

D.C. Village is the largest of five family shelters operated by the D.C. Coalition of the Homeless and houses families in a communal-style setting. Advocates have pushed for the center to provide more private quarters for families and to offer other services, such as day-care and on-site health care.

“Even as the current system is configured, some of the families may go into apartmentstyle shelter programs,” said Michael Ferrell, executive director of the D.C. Coalition for the Homeless.

If plans are approved, the center would close as early as September or October, Ferrell said. He emphasized that this is only a proposal. “Nothing has remotely been finalized at this time.”

For the residents of D.C. Village, news of this possible change will mean new uncertainties piled onto lives already affected by homelessness and life in a troubled shelter.

D.C. Village has been the focus of growing concern among the District’s policy-makers, with complaints about the food, poor living conditions and scant resources.

“I don’t know what I would do,’’ said Peggy Anderson, who has been living at D.C. Village for the past year with her teenage daughters.

“I’m just trying to find some (permanent) place to live.”

Service providers believe closing D.C. Village may adversely impact an already-crowded homeless system.

“We’re at capacity every winter as it is,”said Nechama Masliansky, advocacy director for

wage are two different things.

Officials at the Department of Human Services agree.

“The Living Wage Act of 2006 stipulated that the living wage was to be paid if funds were appropriated to do so. No funds have been appropriated for payment of the living wage for any services provided by the Department of Human Services,” said George Shepard, acting administrator of the Family Services Administration for DHS. Shepard estimates that it would cost an additional $4 to $5 million for DHS’ homeless services contracts to comply with the living wage law. It’s not clear how the District would fill this funding gap.

“Our organization supports the Living Wage Act and its quick implementation. However, the D.C. government needs to provide adequate funding to its subcontractors to cover this cost increase,” West said.

Todd suggested that the minimum living wage be paid to all shelters’ low-wage workers contracted by the District. CCS, a subcontractor with Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, manages 11 homeless shelters in the District.

The rationale behind living wage ordi-

nances is that governments should not contract with or subsidize employers who pay poverty-level wages.

Baltimore became the first city in 1994 to adopt a living wage law, emphasizing that earning just the minimum wage could never provide a decent way of life.

In the decade since then, more than 140 local governments have adopted living w a g e l a w s, w h i c h means that entities which receive or benefit from local g ov e r n m e n t c o n tracts must pay their employees enough to provide food, shelter, transportation and a reasonable quality of life in that particular location.

D.C.’s living wage law mandates that recipients of contracts or government assistance of $100,000 or more, or subcontractors of those recipients who receive $15,000 or more, must pay their employees a living wage.

For many area shelters, the confusion begins with the fine print.

A shelter may be exempt from the living wage altogether. Or, the living wage may not be applicable to a shelter for a period of time.

Even if a shelter’s employees qualify for a living wage, the cash to pay them may not be

The common entrylevel hourly wage of $9 to $9.50 [is]“well below what is needed to attract and retain many qualified potential employees.”

SOME (So Other Might Eat), which operates six facilities for homeless people. “We support the whole principle of all homeless families gaining dignified shelter. The principal thing is for them to have long-term housing.”

There are eight other family shelters in the District. D.C. Village has 358 of the 716 family emergency shelter beds. The second-largest is Families Forward, which has space for 149 families. Ferrell said there’s an average of 200 applicants on waiting lists for family shelter.

Transit officials said the District government offered them D.C. Village in order to develop the current bus terminal site on M Street SE, a few blocks from where the Nationals’ new stadium is being constructed.

The move away from the new stadium also would benefit Metro. Increased traffic generated by the stadium would make it difficult for buses to reach the terminal, said WMATA spokesperson Joanne Ferreira. WMATA is trying to expedite the move to D.C. Village.

“We’re trying to get it done as soon as possible,” Ferreira said. “The Nationals will be going into the new Navy Yard stadium a year from now.”

The transportation agency said it would like to utilize 16 acres of the D.C. Village property for operations, maintenance, storage and security. The project would be implemented in two stages, with 114 buses in April 2008, and 200-250 buses by May 2010.

Although she may not have long at D.C. Village, Cheeks, 23, is hopeful she won’t have to return to sleeping at hospitals, or on the streets.

“I should be here no more than two months,” Cheeks said. “I’m on a list to get an apartment based on my income. So if they close, I hope I have a place to go.”

available.

While the living wage may be applicable to CCS’s shelters, Katherine Wescott, an attorney for the City Council, is not sure about the rest of the city’s homeless shelters.

“There is not a blanket yes or no answer,” said Wescott, who advises the Committee on Human Services.

Wescott explained that a shelter’s nonprofit status, combined with its employment of fewer than 50 people, could exempt it from the living wage law. In addition, the living wage law was written to be prospective and not retroactive. This means that if a shelter’s contract was entered into prior to June 8, 2006, the day the law became effective, its employees will have to wait for a renewal or extension of the contract with the city before the living wage would apply.

In some cases, this means years until shelters workers will be paid a living wage.

This fiscal year, the District’s Department of Human Services will spend almost $33 million on the city’s homeless residents. Of this total, $24.8 million, or 76%, is scheduled to be spent on shelter and housing. The remaining $7.9 million will be spent on a variety of services, including outreach, case management and food according to Shepard.

The debate will continue as the budget process moves forward. The Human Services Committee is expected to release a report in early May. Advocates hope the committee report will offer suggestions that can help find money to close the gap.

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Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

6 POLITICS

Street Politics By David S. Hammond

On the Hill Mayor Fenty’s First Big Test: Handling the Most Vulnerable If D.C. Village, the city’s largest family shelter, closes to make way for a bus terminal (see page 1), the pressure on the family shelter system will increase. More than 300 residents, will have to be settle in other shelter space or in permanent housing.

The future of D.C. Village, and how it handles some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, will be one of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s first big tests.

In the meantime, the mayor moves forward with“100 Days and Beyond,” the checklist he drew up last winter, covering everything from government operations to health care to affordable housing. Many of the short-term goals are promises to begin by rethinking a problem. Below is a preliminary report on selected items.

1. “Working with a private nonprofit initiate an effort to explore a Housing First policy to address homelessness.” The District’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, adopted under the Williams administration, already promotes Housing First as a way to stabilize the lives of homeless people by getting them into apartments quickly.

Mayor Fenty has moved Housing First higher up the city’s agenda, and discussions with experts are underway.

2. “Appoint an Affordable Housing Coordinator under the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.” Fenty appointed Leslie Steen to this new position.

Steen has decades of experience developing affordable housing in the Washington area. Her appointment promises to factor affordable housing into the city’s development decisions at every stage. This should further work on this pressing issue, and help different divisions of government ensure they don’t work at cross-purposes.

3. “Provide additional downtown shelter space by resolving the Franklin School issue or providing other means.” Mayor Fenty recently announced that Franklin Shelter, leased a few years ago to a developer for renovation as a hotel, will stay open at least until the spring of 2008. During last year’s campaign he told Street Sense that alternative shelter beds should be found nearby before closing a facility. He may be finding this as difficult as the Williams administration claimed, especially in the downtown area. For now, he’s bought some time. Located at 13th and K streets NW, Franklin is a vital part of the city’s shelter system, with beds for about 240 men.

4. “Propose solutions to resolve the shortage of family shelter spaces.” Proposals are in development. Specific proposals for new shelter space or housing have not been announced, but events at D.C. Village may put this issue on fast-forward.

Mayor Fenty works within the same limits as his predecessor Anthony Williams; the question is what else he can achieve with the resources at hand.

When his early checklist begins delivering concrete proposals, look for concrete, public discussions about how to achieve them. These should get rolling later this year, and when the Council starts to work on the 2009 budget, Washingtonians will be able to see whether the 100 Days and Beyond checklist has produced a basic reorientation – or simply a renewed effort to tackle the same long-standing problems.

Last Fall, Street Politics heard from James “Big Fish” Fisher, a Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter resident. A native Washingtonian, Big Fish sees education reform as the new mayor’s top priority, but he also wants to see what Fenty can do for homeless people. He applauds the mayor’s choice of Dan Tangherlini for city administrator, believing “he gets things done.” And now that Fenty has signed his school takeover proposal, Big Fish and many others will look to the new team to work for them, too.

(To follow progress on the 100-day plan, go to http://dc.gov/mayor/100dayplan/index.asp.)

Getting “Off the Grid” – And Getting Back On It Some friends of mine dream of building a home “off the grid” of household utilities, one that would generate its own electricity, heat, and hot water. This is a great project aimed at both helping the environment and focusing their lives. On the other hand, getting out of homelessness means getting back on the social grid by winning back jobs, savings, credit, health, friends, family, and a place to live.

Many homeless people would love nothing more than to lock the front door, pay the electric bill, nuke a pizza, and watch some cable. Then they’ll know they are where they want to be – off the street and back on the grid.

Send your feedback to Streetpoliticsdc@aol.com

Improving Literacy Skills Title: H.R. 1623 Graduation for All Act Background: Congress found that failing to earn a high school diploma can have serious economic and social consequences. Recent studies show that less than three quarters of all eighth graders graduate from high school in five years, and in city schools the rate is below 50 percent.

In the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress, a quarter of students in eighth grade were found to have below-basic reading abilities. Students who received specific literacy education and training graduated from high school to attend college in far greater numbers than those who did not.

Therefore, Congress deduced that in improving the literacy skills of adolescents, graduation rates would rise.

Purpose: Texas Democratic Representative Ruben Hinojosa introduced the bill to the House on March 21, 2007, as a means of raising literacy levels among students across the country.

The bill would allow the Secretary of Education to offer grants in an effort to improve adolescent literacy, and funding would support schools in providing reading programs to students including homeless, minority students and immigrant children.

The bill aims to give schools the resources to hire and train at least one literacy coach for every 600 students or 20 teachers. The coach would assist teachers in incorporating reading and writing

lessons, or English as a second language, into other classes such as science or history.

The federal government would also help states develop individual graduation plans for students who are at most risk of not graduating from high school.

Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Cosponsors: Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii.)

Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.)

Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-Calif.)

Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.) Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.) Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.)

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) Rep. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-Calif.)

Rep. Shelia Jackson-Lee(D-Texas) Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) Rep. Henry C. Johnson Jr. (D-Ga.) Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.)

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-Texas) Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) Rep. John T. Salazar (D-Colo.)

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.)

-Jill Merselis

Job Fair Opens Doors to Success Several organizations serving the community of Northwest Washington, D.C., have organized a job fair for Thursday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Foundry United Methodist Church, 1500 16th St. NW. The church can be reached by the S1, S2, and S4 bus lines.

Education and training resources will be available in the industries of hospitality, health care, food service and trade unions.

Part-time, full-time, and entry level positions will be offered through such employers as the Washington Hospital Center, Safeway, FedEx, Sofitel Lafayette Square, Dimensions Healthcare Systems, The Washington Times, William C. Smith, Admiral Security, Verizon, MB Staffing, Ritz Carlton, Hyatt Capitol Hill, CVS and Bank of America.

The coalition of organizations offering the fair include DC Learns, SOME (So Others Might Eat), the Ethiopian Community Center, Neighbors Consejo, WORC, Foundry United Methodist Church, N Street Village, Samaritan Ministry, YWCA and Strive.

Job seekers should come dressed for success.

For more information, call Aliz Siegel at 202-722-2280.

- Rae Borsetti

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

INTERVIEW

My Two Cents

Filmmaker Taps Hip Hop to Transform Lives Scott K. Rosenberg is the producer and creator of “The Hip Hop Project,” a film based on a program by the same name that uses hip hop to improved and transform the lives of young people in New York City. The movie focuses on the lives and emotions of Kazi, the director of the Hip Hop Project who used to live on the streets, and Princess and Cannon, two of the participants in the project. After six years in the making, the film will be released in 15 cities across the country on May 11.

The Hip Hop Project is a project of Art Start, a nonprofit in New York City that aims to empower at-risk youths through the visual and performing arts. Rosenberg founded Art Start in 1991 and in 1997 Art Start received the President’s Service Award, the nation’s highest honor for community service. In 2001, the Hip Hop Project began.

Rosenberg grew up in Northwest Washington, D.C., and attended the Maret School. He graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1987, where he won the Fuji Film Award. Besides managing Art Start, he has worked as the media-arts coordinator for the Museum of the City of New York, and as an artist/teacher for Studio in a School and as the director of the Media Works Project,.

Rosenberg was recently interviewed by Street Sense’s Laura Thompson Osuri.

Street Sense: Explain how Art Start began and how it evolved.

Scott K. Rosenberg: I created Art Start in 1991 as a way to connect to children and teens denied opportunities and access to use the arts as a tool for change. Kids love the creative process and it’s a real springboard for them feeling connected and engaged and giving them a voice.

The first program of Art Start was working with kids in homeless shelters. I just went to a couple of homeless shelters where there were kids and said, “I am an artist and I want to work with kids.” And they said, “Cool.” And I would go in and we would do on-going projects. In some sense, there is a model that would connect to what Street Sense is about.

We recreated their work in a newsletter called the Art Start Paper and it was a tool to document work and give them a sense of empowerment and giving them a voice.

SS: How did the Hip Hop Project develop?

SKR: I was teaching some workshops in last chance high school working with kids that are denied opportunity and access and kind of shut out and are on edge of being disenfranchised. And in this program we used images from popular culture and media and hip hop as a springboard for learning and getting them motivated.

And that is where I met Kazi. Kazi had been running the streets and was homeless but I could tell there was something special about this kid. And what happened was a bunch of kids were in a hallway would do a free style and rapping to each other in these groups called ciphers, and one day I brought them to a room and gave them a microphone and amplifiers and beats and they would take turns rapping and rhyming together. And the school shut it down. They said, “We don’t like

I have come to realize that in the film industry that is not the way things are done. But with Kazi’s dream and vision and the potential of these young people, I felt that it was my mission to use the film to make an impact to reach people and connect with people. When people connect and come together and use their voice and share their stories, that’s when great positive things happen and healing happens and we see great transformation.

what they are saying, we don’t understand it. We hear curses and they can’t do that any more.”

And that’s when seeds of the Hip Hop Project were born. Both Kazi and I realized this would be a great way to reach young people, and reach them where they are and give them a voice. And he began to assist me with teaching and working with kids in alternative sentencing programs and kids in other last chance high school and to develop the Hip Hop Project.

SS: Where did the movie idea come from?

SKR: I had taken the kids to see “Hoop Dreams” and the theater would not let the kids in because they were a bunch of roughneck black kids, as they saw it. And they didn’t want the kids in the theater. I had to threaten to call the police and they finally let us in.

And when we left I could not find Kazi and I went back in and he was slumped in his chair and I figured he was asleep because at the time he did not have a home and was running the streets. So I touched him on the shoulder and said, “Kazi, we got to go.” And there were tears streaming down his face. He was so moved by film and the power of film and telling the story in such a genuine way.

At that moment, we both knew there was going to be a movie in our future together.

So a couple years later, as Kazi started working with me and as he created the Hip Hop Project at Art Start, he began to document kids, he was already thinking and planning this dream of a movie and it became evident early on that there were some really amazing stories emerging. The beauty of these young people and the love stories and tragedies that came out were all themes that everyone can relate to.

SS: Where you thinking just a small independent film or national distribution?

SKR: We decided and knew from day one, that we were going to make a movie and shoot a film that is powerful and visually compelling. Our dream from the start was to make a movie that would become a movement and reach a global audience.

SS: How did you recruit students for the Hip Hop Project?

SKR: Kazi went back to the last chance high schools talking about hip hop and asking, “Do you want to make music?” And that was the hook. But they did not realize they would spend the next few years doing some soul searching and learning more about who they were while also honing their skills as artists and learning about the business of the industry.

There were 30 kids at the beginning and 10 or so at the end. It is hard work and it’s not all fun and exciting. But when they learned that there is a lot more to their lives and dreams than becoming a rap star, then they began to care and want to tell their stories that were very personal and meaningful and were not gratuitous or attention getting but had deeper meaning and value.

SS: While you are very involved in Art Start and the Hip Hop Project, you only appeared in one scene. Was this a conscious move?

SKR: I had and still continue to have such a dynamic relationship with Kazi, and I felt that story was already told. Oprah did a piece on Art Start, and Bravo did a documentary that featured a couple groups and showed our relationship. So I felt that Kazi’s story standing on its own two feet and the story of the next generation was so compelling and so exciting that it needed to be told on its own.

And I felt it was critical to extract myself from the narrative of the film so that is why I decided to collaborate with filmmaker Matt Ruskin. He is someone that is utterly detached from the kids. And at first this seemed odd to them that Matt was so neutral but it works in the way I wanted to because the kids were left with not having much of a dialogue with the camera but left living their lives and putting themselves out there.

SS: Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah are listed as executive producers, can you explain their involvement?

SKR: You see Bruce Willis play into the stories and become a character intertwined with the lives of the kids in a pivotal way. It’s exciting to see that play out on screen. And he just felt the film had such a powerful story that he wanted to lend his name to it as executive producer and that has been invaluable.

And then Kazi screened the film for Queen Latifah and she was deeply moved by the story and she also offered to lend her name.

And it has been tremendous with them lending their name and support to the film and it really catches people’s attentions as something important that crosses a lot of different lines. We have these two icons in our

culture that you would not necessarily put in the same sentence, yet they have come together and feel it’s a deeply important issue.

We are very thankful and appreciative to have them involved them in the project.

SS: What are your thoughts on the current focus on Hip Hop and its language in light of the Don Imus racial comment?

SKR: The current controversy around hip hop is disturbing. In many ways our popular culture has many images in the media of violence and degradation to women and to people of color and very stereotypical images.

But hip hop is being singled out as the evil perpetrator of this.

All art has sides to it that can be harsh or offensive but hip hop is much a fuller richer culture. Now, I am not the spokesperson for hip hop but Kazi talks about bringing balance to it. And these stories of these young people really show the balance of the culture and the richness and beauty of the young African American men and women that are the heart and soul of this culture. The Hip Hop Project is very compelling bringing to life what hip hop is in a deeper truer sense.

SS: Have Art Start or the Hip Hop Project been replicated elsewhere?

SKR: There are all kinds of great organizations in D.C. and around the country like Art Start, but they are very specific to the communities, and that’s what we want to do with “The Hip Hop Project.” I believe each community has it own best way to reach people, so rather than replicating Art Starts everywhere, what we are doing is replicating the curriculum and educational materials and then they can take it to community and adapt it to what works best for them.

SS: All of the profits are going back to a select group of organizations that serves young people. Why did you decide to do this?

SKR: I was really inspired by Kazi’s example, and I really admired his decision. So because of my unique relationship with Think Films, our distributor, we are to give the net profits back to the community. The film that opens May 11 and it’s going to be a powerful tool for social change. Its and exciting and entertaining movie but underneath, it has this powerful story of transformation that is inspiring.

The tangible outcomes are change and resources for the community. So depending on how well this film does, it could mean tremendous economic resources that instead of going to the studio are going to the people.

SS: Where is the Hip Hop Project now and what is its next step?

SKR: Princess is now running the program and is on the road meeting people for the film and there are now about 20 kids in the program.

As for what’s the next step, I will be spending the next few years sharing this film nationally and globally and going to refugee camps in Africa and to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East and letting this be a tool for connection and healing and a tool for change.

NEWS LOCAL PHOTOS & POETRY

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

Mother’s Day Poem

Cliff’s Happy

Still, she seeks to nurture me.

Still, she anxiously awaits news of where I’ve been, what I’ve seen not realizing I’ve moved into other worlds she wouldn’t want to see.

Her hand that sought to guide I need it to be still for once my guidance now comes from sources unimagined by her such as the woman who told me where to find blankets to lay between me and stars or rain and where to find breakfast when I’d lost the power to feed myself Today, when certain skills I’ve acquired are praised I give credit to her the one who spent countless hours holding a book and a restless child but, today, I feel shame at the comtempt in her heart toward those who inspire and guide the grown up child I’ve become the need for her is not yet gone, but diminished the need for them, the sages of the street is with me with each day dawning

In this series of Street Sense v Carle captures cheerful givers who have c attention on t Washington, D his papers a

Visitors from Guam show their pleasure after purchasing newspapers.

My love for her is undiminished and eternal but I need her guiding hand to be still, so others can take its place

−David Harris

On sale now!

Streetes Vers Poems by the Homeless Writers and Vendors of Street Sense

If you love reading the poetry in Street Sense every issue, then considering catching up with poems from the first three years of Street Sense, in the paper’s first ever poetry book “Street Verses.”

To order a copy, just fill out the form on the back page or go to www.streetsense.org.

They eyes have it. These four young women are all smiles after donating to Street Sense downtown at 7th Street and Pennsyl

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

PHOTOS & POETRY A New Day

s Pics: y Faces

f photographs, vendor Cliff s the smiles of s and receivers caught his the streets of D.C. as he sells about town.

lvania Avenue .

This young man expresses joy after volunteering at the Center for Creative Non-Violence with his church group.

!.

Every day’s new Every day’s blessed Life is a test Everyone’s blessed Live life to the fullest Try and enjoy your life You’ll run into obstacles And everyone makes mistakes Try not to make the same mistakes And try to always retain faith Keep a positive frame of mind No matter what situation Keep faith in God And all is good No matter what Open your mind To new ideas Not just the same Because there’s change Change all around Everything’s changing Any where you look I used to cook Lost my notebook I share all that I got And I am pretty hot God is my boss What about you What do you believe?

Believe what you want These are my thoughts What I believe.

− Baby Alice

The Beginning of My Life A child enters a strange building swimming through shifting legs, Scared to death, shuffled about avoiding trampling trousers, Looking for familiarity in a wall of rapidly changing patterns, Toddler thoughts of paternal protection circulate through instincts.

The minds above concerned with apologetic sympathy, Little chance of focus on a tyke calculating bereavement, Lost in a lake of grown ups demonstrating fake empathy, A strange situation forcing self preservation’s enactment.

Get to the side forget to cry and hug the wall, Scurry the edge, deaf from hundreds of thunderous voices above, Trembling from fright, gathered his might refusing the bawl, Step by step led the lad into the comparable peace of doves.

A bright room swiftly brings safety and solace, Alone, confused, afraid, crawled into a comfortable corner, Hidden child tucked away from gather’s condolence, Sorrowful family unaware of Earth’s heaviest mourner.

A nutty snack always pleases the palate of this critter.

− Sean Michael Eldridge

10 FEATURES

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

My Turn at the Table

By Patricia Jefferson

Sauces Score Big Points at Theismann’s

Patricia enjoys the Cajun–style Louisiana Chicken.

I recently had an opportunity to dine at Joe Theismann’s Restaurant in Alexandria, Va. Although I am not a sports fan, my ex–husband was so enthralled with football that I occasionally watched. He was a big supporter of the Redskins’ famous quarterback, Joe Theismann, and when I saw him play, I immediately became a fan.

The restaurant, which opened in 1975, is located across from the King Street Metro Station. The décor is casual, sports–oriented, with white table cloths giving it a touch of elegance. The walls are covered with football jerseys with the names of Namath, Staubach and Unitas, as well as giant pictures of other sports. It has small groups of tables, a sit–in section and a bar and several large–screens in the extensive dining area. For the real sports enthusiasts, there are even televisions in the men’s room (according to my lunch date, Street Sense volunteer David Hammond).

David ordered as an appetizer, brushcetta with chopped tomatoes, olives, garlic and parmesan cheese. It was just right with a slightly garlicky tang. Along with the brushcetta, David had a garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Although the

salad was fairly standard, the vinaigrette was very nice and tangy without being too sharp or overpowering.

For his main course, David selected the herbed trout, a generous portion made up of two substantial fillets. The fish was cooked perfectly, although the taste wasn’t particularly exciting. However, on tasting the sauce, David realized that the sauces are the strong point at Joe Theismann’s. The vinaigrette on the salad was good, and the sauce served with the trout — a mixture of cilantro, aioli and lime — was superb. The fish came on a bed of plain rice, and with a large helping of roasted zucchini, broccoli, and green beans.

I ordered my favorite: crab cake, as an appetizer. It was delicious and creamy with the true taste of crab. Although it was also available as an entrée, I wanted to try the chicken Louisiana as my main dish because I enjoy Cajun food.

The chicken was tender, moist and very flavorful, with shrimps, tomatoes, green peppers, onions, sausages and a cream sauce. The sauce dominated a bit, but as my companion pointed out, that’s how it is cooked in Louisiana. The herbs gave it a good taste and texture, and although it was spicy, it wasn’t too piquant, and the flavors blended very well. The chicken came with mashed potatoes, which were neither too lumpy nor too creamy, but just right.

Along with our main meals, we had a basket of yeasty– smelling rolls with butter. After eating our meals, David and I were both too full to order dessert. Instead, we each finished with a cup of coffee.

Our meals were extremely good. As David pointed out, this is a restaurant that serves everyday food, raised above the level of the ordinary, by very good sauces and handsome presentation. I completely agree. The food is carefully cooked and prepared and the prices are extremely reasonable. Our meal, for two people came to $45. This is a restaurant I would definitely visit again. It’s suitable for both sports and non–sports fans.

Joe Theismann’s Restaurant, 1800 Diagonal Road (at the King Street Metro), Alexandria, VA, 22314, (703) 739–0777.

Patricia Jefferson has been a vendor since July 2006, and usually sells papers at the Metro Center Station.

Saving for a Rainy Day

By Brenda Estrella What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow? Would you be able to take a step back, assess your situation and start looking for a job that would suit your needs, knowing that the search may take several months? Or, if you’re like most people, would you slip into panic mode, try to find any job within your skill set as soon as possible because, let’s face it, bills need to be paid? How about if a fire swept through your home? Would you be able to tough it out in a rental for several weeks? Or could you be at risk of becoming homeless?

Questions like these are important to ask because the answers determine whether or not you are prepared to meet the minimum monetary requirements to survive an emergency.

While a certain amount of anxiety is normal in the face of sudden and drastic change, you can decrease the intensity and amount of stress experienced during non–life–threatening emergencies by having a source of emergency savings. In these cases, the value of a dollar saved increases when you think of the emotional and mental duress that can be avoided.

No matter what your current living or financial situation is, if you don’t have a source of funds that is reserved solely for emergencies, then now is the time to start.

Experts in personal finance recommend that you save enough money to cover at least three months of expenses in case of an emergency. The key word in the previous sentence is expenses. If you haven’t already drafted a budget for yourself, then take an hour or two of your time to sit down and write down absolutely everything you spend money on, including

bills, rent, entertainment, food, clothing and discretionary expenses. Once you have a complete picture of how much you really spend in one month, you should multiply that number by three — the total is the minimum amount of money you should have in your “rainy day fund.”

One important thing to remember is that multiplying your expenses by three is just a rule of thumb that should be adjusted according to your fiscal responsibilities and familial obligations. If person A has kids and person B is single, and both have otherwise comparable debt obligations and equal expenses, person A may want to save at least six months of expenses in order to have a secure cushion for his or her family and any unexpected medical costs.

Remember, if you have no money saved yet for emergencies, you can start today. All it takes is opening a separate savings account and making regular deposits (as mentioned in last month’s article, you can visit www.dcsaves.org for information on DC Saves’ starter savings accounts with no monthly minimum balance or monthly maintenance fees). If you put away $5 each day and deposit it on a weekly basis, you will have $840 saved in six months.

Ideally, you’ll want to save more money than that, at a much quicker pace, but even if you can’t start big, the important thing is to start — you can always increase the amount a little later. The end result is the same, you are paying yourself to ensure that you’ll be ready for that rainy day.

This regular financial column is presented by Capital Area Asset Building Corp. (www.caab.org), which provides financial counseling to low–income individuals. Please send any comments or suggestions for topics to savings@caab.org

Helpful Hints from The Homeless By Brenda Karyl Lee–Wilson

How do you relax at the end of a hard day?

Clinton: “I go to a church on Thomas Circle, climb to the top stair and sit and watch the world go by and then I find my way to a shelter.’’

Clinton, 47, has been homeless for two years in the District, where he was born and raised Denise Harrington: “I go to my mom’s to be with my kids.

I take my anxiety and depression medicine, wash up and do the best that I can to put my body and mind to rest for the night.’’

Denise lost her job four years ago when the company downsized. In February 2005, she was denied disability assistance (She became disabled that month with the loss of a leg). She hasn’t been able to secure disability payments, so she panhandles in front of the CVS on 7th Street.

“Honeygal” John: “I go to my sister’s where I sleep most nights and listen to WMAL radio station talk show with George Norris and Art Bell.”

Honeygal, 60, said she has never owned “nothin’”.

She began working in a laundromat at age 17 and has done domestic work most of her life. Because of her age, she is ineligible for Social Security benefits and doesn’t qualify for disability. Honeygal continues to search for jobs, but finds at her age, she is not considered a valued commodity.

Gary Cooper: “I take my grocery cart that holds the property I call mine and return to the shelter where I sleep. I take my shoes off, put my feet on the bed and sleep until the staff tells us it’s time for dinner, about 6 p.m. Then I go back to my bed and go to sleep.’’

Gary is from Jacksonville, Fla., and has been homeless off and on for eight years -- three of them in the District.

Brenda Karyl LeeWilson: When I arrived with my dog, Rowdy Dawg, into the District’s Shelter System, we would lie down in an attempt to relax. Rowdy would rest on the floor next to my bed, and from pure exhaustion, we would immediately fall to sleep. Trying to find a place to stay out of the elements, to access water and a place to go to the bathroom, in addition to trying to avoid the stigma associated with homelessness, generates a void of what it used to mean to relax when we had our home. Homelessness is 24/7 and by the day’s end, I am still drained. I do read a Psalms before resting my head on my pillow and the one I read is associated with the amount of coins I find on the street that day.

Brenda has been a vendor for Street Sense since March 2005 and is currently staying at Calvary Shelter and working as a home helper in Virginia.

FEATURES & GAMES 11

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

A mystery novel in parts

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10.Japanese dish 11 Central daylight time 12 Maturity 13 Grain 21 Gum arabic 23 Tree 25 Frau’s husband 26 Pot 28 Dent 29 Hello!

30 ____ Hop Project 32 Desert 35 American Cancer Society (abbr.)

36 Official 37 National capital 38 Cafe 39 Test 40 Nude 41 Viper 42 Rap 43 Cheat 45 Communication Workers of America (abr.)

46 Tease 48 Amends (2 wds.)

49 Harvested 50 Interior 52 Whiter 56 Vendor who wants out of Iraq 57 Cinema 58 Snaky fish 59 Catholic Community Services (abbrv.)

60 Artist’s creation 61 Sign of the zodiac 63 Time zone 64 “To the right!”

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August was the first vendor for Street Sense and was with the organization for three years. He now lives in Seattle, and is on the editorial board of the street paper there. You can reach August at: carriergroup2009@yahoo.com.

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Coming up next month: The search for Mark Richards continues. Hammerman and Hoffman will soon discover the body in the city morgue.

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By August Mallory

A very brisk and chilly evening overtakes the city of Seattle. Hammerman and Hoffman are in a conference with the Seattle city attorney.

“Mr. Hammerman, Mr. Hoffman, welcome. My name is Edward O’Brian, Seattle’s city attorney. Now gentlemen, I understand that you are in Seattle to investigate the disappearance of a former CPA, whom you now believe to be homeless.”

“That is correct. We have handled many pro bono cases in the past, and each case is a little different and a little more interesting than the last.”

“That I will have to agree with, Hammerman. So it was Mr. Richards’ sister who contacted you about this matter?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Mr. Hammerman, I can truly tell you that there may not be much to go on here, but if you wish to pursue this, then you are most welcome to. When it comes to dealing with the homeless, especially in Seattle, you are sort of dealing with a lot of petty felons, but from what I have understood about this particular person, this may be worth looking into.”

Meanwhile, on the streets in northwest Seattle, a lumbering figure walks the alleys trying to dodge police who may be looking for him. He is starting to feel hungry, but in this area of Seattle, there are no shelters or soup kitchens. So, therefore, the suspect must rummage through garbage cans to find food suitable to eat. He finds bagels in a box that has been thrown out. They are good, and he grabs them and makes off down the alley. As soon as he finds a hiding place, he sits down to eat the bagels.

He goes through his bag and pulls out a bottle of water to drink. The suspect now plans his next assault: Who will be his next victim? He looks around to see whether he is being watched or followed.

The suspect now knows he is wanted for murder and robbery of a corner market. But for a brief few moments, he tries to look back over his own life and tries to figure out how he wound up in such a horrible situation to begin with.

He starts with his days as a very successful mechanical drafter, when he had to know the tricks of his trade from top to bottom. He had clients everywhere requesting his business. He had a beautiful home, a wonderful wife, and three great kids. So, what happened? Just what was it that pulled the rug from underneath him? It started with the rejected orders and the constant squabbles with his boss.

Then his clients were complaining about his sloppy work. His constant drinking and drug use had taken a terrible toll on him. There were numerous fights and arguments with fellow employees. There were numerous fights and arguments with his wife, which led to a divorce and a restraining order. Then there were the missed days at work, which ultimately led to his termination. He is now unemployed. His wife has the house that they bought together. He is not allowed in this house. His life is now ruined.

He applies for unemployment. When that runs out, he registers with a temporary service to do day labor work. His life is on a continuing spiral downward. He is now among the down and out; he is now homeless. With the small pay that he gets from day labor, he cannot afford to live as well as he once did. He must rely on social services.

As the suspect comes back to present time, he begins to cry. He is now a desperate man. In a desperate situation, you will do crazy things.

Hammerman and Hoffman are now with Mark Richards’ former employer, and they are getting quite an earful. They have learned that Mark Richards had quite a temper and had a lot of anger inside.

8

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BOOK 4, PART 4

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57 62

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS 1 Sister for short 4 Cinder 9 Sesame Street’s grouch 14 Compass point 15 Producer of Hip Hop Project 16 Dumpy 17 Clairvoyance 18 Water radar 19 Sugar-free brand 20 Type of Ninja Turtles 22 Every 24 Editorialist with housing solutions 25 Colors 27 1/12 of a foot 31 Prefix ten 32 W. Australian capital 33 Caesar’s three 34 Marker 36 Take off the lid 38 Defroster 40 Capital of Mali 42 State where 600-

bed shelter being built 43 Speaks with a hoarse voice 44 Wing 45 Cheep 47 Asian dress 51 Former job of Ivory Wilson 53 Living _______ Act of 2006 54 A cozy room (2 wds.)

55 Open 57 Relating to feudalism 59 Lilly-like plant 62 Agricultural student 65 Resort hotel 66 Brook 67 Sense odor 68 X 69 Mall need 70 Trunks 71 Peculiar DOWN 1 Looked

2 Protect 3 Type of sewer system 4 Association (abbr.)

5 Scotsman 6 Honey abr.

7 Airport abbr.

8 ________Sense 9 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

April’s Answer Key

Marvin Hammerman

May’s Crossword

S C A R C E

A P P E A R

A S P A I P A C O P L S E

T A R T A A B R S E B I I L R R K E R N O Y D A

S C A R C D T A S S N

T O I C O U C H D I E U D R A A R C H A L O H A L A T E S P S G A L S L Y L Y S A P S K T S S O U N OW N E S L OW

E D E N

V O D K A

A D E L E S I C T

W A M U R A L M E S T A E B A R A D T D I S S

E D R K A L S P O T E N T

PLACE YOUR AD HERE! With Street Sense now coming out twice a month and reaching nearly 11,000 people each issue, now is the perfect time to promote your business with us.

DEMOGRAPHICS And who your business will be reaching can’t be beat. Our typical reader is a 35-year old woman who lives in D.C. and works for the government or a nonprofit earning $70,000 a year.

RATES Rates are about half the cost of the neighborhood monthlies and are as low as $57 for a 1/16 page ad that runs multiple times.

DISCOUNTS Discounts offered to nonprofits and to those that prepay for multiple ads.

Call Laura or Jesse at 202-347-2006 or email info@streetsense.org.

For more information and to get a copy of our new advertising brochure. Or ask your local vendor, who can earn 20% commission from ads sales.

S N E A K Y

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

12 FEATURES

Vendor Profile

Wilson Records 20 Years of “Pimp Life’’ in Book

Ivory, from page 16 Wilson’s freefall into the world of pimps and prostitutes began innocently. Wilson, then a 17–year–old Texas cowboy, thought he could make a difference by dropping out of high school to join the army and fight in Vietnam. He already had a wild streak and a sharp shot. But the war was over by the time he finished basic training and he was sent to Fort Riley, Ka., to await orders. His friends often traveled into nearby Junction City to meet prostitutes. Wilson stayed on the base and practiced pool. He might be a cowboy, but he was raised to respect authority.

After a year of this, he gave in to temptation one night and found himself in the back room of a club called Flamingo, playing pool and being hustled by Unc, the most powerful pimp in town. Intimidated and desperate to fit in, that night Wilson had his first drink, smoked his first joint, and snorted his first line of cocaine, not knowing what it was.

“I was sitting there and my mind was going around like a tape recorder and my eyes were like a movie camera,” Wilson said. “Everything I saw, it’s kind of hard to explain, but I was understanding what was going on but I couldn’t sort it out right then. It was all coming in so fast.”

As the men drank and played, prostitutes would come in and give Unc rolls of money.

One prostitute stayed too long in the back room and Unc made his point by using a pool cue to send her tumbling to the floor.

She bounced up, seemingly unharmed and walked out. Wilson was aghast, but quiet.

“I said oh my God, I come from Texas, I don’t know whether to defend this woman or mind my business, but I minded my business,” Wilson said.

Wilson said his quiet demeanor and pool skills impressed Unc, who had already told the bartender that he was making plans for Wilson to become his next pimp. That night Wilson even earned the nickname “Pretty Red,” which has stuck with him ever since.

“It’s like, that’s not right, but their pockets were full of money and big diamonds,” Wilson said. “During those times it was different, you know, for a black man. It was like an infection, you know, you had to have something and this was a way [to come up behind] our idols and role models.”

Wilson’s association with Unc made him an overnight celebrity on the base and in the town. He rode around on patrol with the Unc’s crowd but didn’t pimp. It wasn’t until he had his heart broken that he decided to pimp.

Her name was Renee and she hated seeing Wilson hanging around with Unc’s crowd.

Wilson fell hard for her and after a month of dating told his family that he planned to marry her. When his friends in the army learned of his marriage plans they cautioned him.

They told him that not only did Renee have a relationship with another soldier stationed in Germany, but also that she had become pregnant before he left.

Timidly, Wilson said, he asked Renee if the rumor was true. She dropped the bowl of cereal she was eating and begged forgiveness as he walked away.

“I had a pain in my heart,” Wilson said. “My

thoughts about a woman, my feelings towards women, they got hard, real hard.”

That night, he made the decision to become a pimp to “punish” women. Unc more than agreed, with this decision. Unc sent Wilson to Kansas City to pick out five double–breasted suits, all different colors, with matching shoes and hats, and a prostitute.

All the items on Wilson’s list were easy to pick up. Wilson said his first prostitute was from Minnesota and handed over her earnings with little argument. When they returned to Junction City, Wilson was picked up by the police for running away from the army and spent three months in jail.

He lost his prostitute, but there were many more to come.

The next 12 years of Wilson’s life were a blur spent traveling from city to city, living on cocaine and cognac. “One became two, then five and soon 20,” Wilson said. “I wanted to be bigger than Unc.” Prison changed all that. In 1984, Wilson was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit murder.

The latter charge was dropped, but he was sentenced to three to 10 years in Kansas’s Hutchinson prison. Wilson said life in the prison was not so bad. There was a prison rodeo and he was eager to get back on a bull.

When the rodeo fell through, Wilson found a job with the prison catering company. His boss especially liked him and asked him to break a colt she had for her son. When Wilson completed the job in less than 15 minutes, he earned a position on the prison farm and the respect of his warden.

In less than three years, he impressed the parole board with the promise to keep out of trouble and return to life on a ranch. Wilson kept his promise for a few years. But he thought there were more important things to be done, and that they couldn’t be done in Texas.

While in prison, Wilson had written a book about his life and he was desperate to get it published. He felt the only way to do this would be to go to Washington, D.C., a city where he thought media thrived. He was able to sell 500 self–published books for $25 on the corner of 14th and U streets, NW. He quit being a pimp and worked a series of odd jobs before running out of money.

Wilson no longer has the jewelry or the fancy clothes in which he once paraded around. Instead, he wears several layers of shirts and sweaters to cover his slender body and a cap to cover his bald head. His glasses inching down his nose and his more–salt– than–pepper beard are the only visible signs of his age.

“Maybe I think this is my punishment for

using a lot of women,” Wilson said. “I used so many women I can’t remember names or faces, so I know that it had to be that reason.”

There are at least three women about whom Wilson does care: his daughters. They are spread across the country, and Wilson has varying contact with each of them. He talks to his youngest, a 14–year– old in Florida, the most. She d o e s n’t k n ow anything about his past and he would like to keep it that way.

It seems that his biggest worry for all three is that they will end up like his old prostitutes. Two of the three were born to prostitutes.

“I hope my daughter ain’t that way because her mother was. But she’s not. She’s strong,” Wilson said of his 20–year–old daughter Jasmine, whose mother is currently in prison. He said he would talk to all three of his daugh-

“I know that some day I am going to meet somebody that is going to give me that opportunity to talk to them and realize that I am very talented at something else besides turning women into hookers. That I am a writer.”

ters more but he isn’t sure how to talk to them about who he was. More than ever, Wilson is a loner.

Wilson lived in Franklin Shelter in D.C. where he met a Street Sense vendor who encouraged him to sell the street paper as a way to make an income and possibly get his stories published. Since becoming homeless, Wilson had tried to keep a low profile in the shelter and with his new employers. Now that they know about his past, they are supportive of his current efforts.

It has been more than 30 years since Wilson got into the game and it has changed much since then. As we sit in the upstairs of the L Street Lounge in Northwest D.C., two young girls have their arms laced around graying men old enough to be their fathers. In the middle of the bar is a young man, not quite over 25, who goes by James. James is young in the game as well as in life and knows that if Pretty Red is as big as he says then he is probably lying low or traveling. Either way, James hasn’t heard of Wilson or the book.

But Wilson doesn’t seem to mind his name fading from the scene. Soon, he says, he will be known as a writer.

“I know that some day I am going to meet somebody that is going to give me that opportunity to talk to them and realize that I am very talented at something else besides turning women into hookers. That I am a writer.”

Working for

change SStreet

Sense and Vanguard Communications advocate for the poor and homeless. Working together, we are communicating for social change.

20 YEARS of COMMUNICATING for SOCIAL CHANGE • www.vancomm.com

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

EDITORIALS 13

In MY Opinion

Ways to Combat Homelessness

By Eric Sheptock

I

n my last article, I described certain shortfalls of homeless service providers and government agencies. Now, I’d like propose some solutions.

Through my role as a homeless advocate, I have met some great minds within the homeless population.

They have brainstormed repeatedly about permanent solutions to help end homelessness.

Many of them support the idea of sweat equity, which would allow the homeless to renovate abandoned building to have a place to stay. This idea gained considerable interest when mentioned at a Ward 2 Town Hall meeting during Mayor Adrian Fenty’s transition.

Homeless people also have said that less money should be spent on expanding shelters and more funds allocated to creating permanent housing.

Homeless people also have raised the idea of having one person from each shelter serve as a liaison to D.C. government so that they are more involved in the creation of programs intended to help them.

These are all great ideas. However, they would take a considerable amount of time to implement.

I recently heard that the late, great James Brown had been known to say, “Don’t get it for me. Just open the door and let me get it myself.”

I’ve shared that view for quite some time. I support the creation of policies that enable a person to better themselves without depending on programs or extensive case management. That is not to say that we should eliminate necessary and effective programs. But we should eliminate policies that hinder a person’s recovery from homelessness.

There are anti–discrimination laws for every other special–interest group. Let’s make some for the homeless.

Let’s create incentives for employers to hire homeless people permanently, rather than through a temporary service indefinitely. Let’s create policies to make it easier for a person to return to mainstream living.

One example is taking place in Florida (a former residence). The governor is pushing new legislation that would restore the rights of an ex–con automatically upon his or her release from prison.

This article wouldn’t be complete without addressing the single–most difficult and most–ignored aspect of homelessness — labor.

Homelessness is very labor intensive. There is no such thing as a “lazy bum,” because what a homeless person lacks in productivity, he or she makes up for by walking.

That is understood well by the people of Common Ground in New York City, who have various services on the lower floors of apartment buildings for the homeless in its supportive housing program. That makes supportive housing a one–stop shop for all of the needs of the homeless community, such as medical or psychiatric assistance and employment services. This type of setup enables a person to spend less time traveling between different services and more time receiving them.

In Washington, D.C., a homeless person may walk 30 minutes to eat breakfast, then wait in line for about an hour. They’re lucky to get 15 minutes to inhale a meal before being rushed out to spend 30 minutes walking back to where they came from, only to go through the same routine at lunchtime. Homeless people may spend as much as five hours of their day getting two meals.

I’m left to wonder what percentage of the homeless population develops mobility issues as a result of extensive walking, especially since some of them carry multiple bags of luggage wherever they go. I would imagine that there is a high incidence of back problems among the homeless.

I have an idea. Why don’t we offer free transportation to the homeless in much the same way Bush wants war funding — no strings attached? They’d spend less time walking.

They’d have a lower incidence of leg or back problems, resulting in lower health care costs. They’d have more time to look for work.

It would open the door for the homeless to better help themselves. I trust that most would use it wisely. Besides, we lose more than we gain by withholding services from many on account of a few who might abuse the system.

I could go on and on mentioning various ideas for helping the homeless. This should give people (especially service providers) something to chew on for a while. But, in a greater sense, I hope that it encourages others to continue brainstorming and submitting their ideas to the proper authorities. Let’s not lose momentum.

Eric Sheptock lives at Franklin Shelter in downtown D.C. and serves as an advocate for homeless people. He loves to sing and perform. You can e–mail him at ericsheptock@ yahoo.com.

Put a “Face” to Homelessness Hear personal stories from people who have experienced it!

Who is homeless and why?

What are the causes of homelessness?

What can I do to help?

Get the answers to these and other questions from the REAL EXPERTS! Bring our “Faces of Homelessness” panel to your place of worship, school or community center.

National Coalition for the Homeless “Faces of Homelessness” Speakers’ Bureau Michael O’Neill Director, Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau National Coalition for the Homeless phone: 202-462-4822 x20 fax: 202-462-4823 email: moneill@nationalhomeless.org website: www.nationalhomeless.org

Vendor Voices By Jake Ashford

Bush Should Lead Rally for Troops to Come Home

I

raq is a place where countrymen have been fighting against each other for centuries. Members of Congress had to know that this war was a scam. But apparently, they just did not care.

The Bush administration and Congress both share the blame for the deaths that have resulted because of this conflict.

Since President Bush an-

nounced in 2003 that the war had “ended,’’ more than 5,000 American lives have been lost. More than 12,000 young men and women have been crippled.

Memories of the Clinton administrations crossed my mind. I was thinking how people were screaming impeachment because President Bill Clinton had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinski. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have surpassed all boundaries of mistakes in their poor handling of the war.

How hard is it to make a decision for the American and allied forces to pull out while we can? Of course, we all know the longer we stay, the more complicated it will become to pull out.

While writing this article, I heard an announcement

about John Mellencamp rallying behind the military. Let all Americans get behind the military and in front of Congress and the Bush administration so we can bring our men and women home.

There are some signs of hope. Congress recently passed a bill calling for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq starting in October. But President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.

After making his statement four years ago that the war is over, Bush should be the main one leading the rally for troops to come home.

Jake Ashford has been a vendor with Street Sense since July 2004.

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

14 STREET SENSE NEWS

VendorNotes

By Jesse Smith

Donated Materials Put to Work Thanks to the consulting firm of Lee Hecht Harrison for generously donating material that will certainly be put to good use. Some of the items donated were three computer systems, 20 boxes of letter–size envelopes and many miscellaneous office supplies.

With the addition of the computers, homeless people can be able to write stories, check e–mails, and conduct research.

Lee Hecht Harrison gave us so much material that we were able to share some of the surplus items to the organization Until We’re Home, which is concerned with improving the conditions of the Franklin Shelter.

We are still in need of many items, so keep the donations coming. Street Sense and our vendors thank you very much.

Hearts of Gold You may have heard the phrase, “If you see a need, fulfill it.’’ Or may be familiar with the saying, “If you see a person in need, let your heart guide the way.’’

Vendor Mark Jones recently took these phrases to task. He went out of his way to supply a fellow vendor with clothes when he heard that the person, who will be anonymous for this writing, was talking about his lack of clothing and the fact that he did not have enough time between trying to earn an income and to visit some of the places where he could get clothing vouchers.

Mark used his precious time and money to help this person who was in desperate need. People like Mark, who has very little himself, set an example for true humanitarianism.

From the Director’s Desk

Most of our vendors make enough money to supply many of their basic needs, such as food and transportation and have very little left over for anything else. For a vendor to donate money to any organization is pretty unusual.

Vendor Bobby Buggs is of that rare breed. After a day of selling newspapers, he came into the office and gave a generous donation to Street Sense. “I just think it’s the right thing to do,’’ Bobby said. “That money could help someone not as fortunate as me.”

Bobby, you are a great example of a person who is genuinely concerned with the welfare of your fellow man.

Charting New Territory One a month, Street Sense vendors hit the streets to explore new territory in what we call our mini–blitz program.

Normally, four vendors venture out tog e t h e r. B u t v e n d o r Michael Higgs took the initiative to explore the Rosslyn Virginia area on Saturday, April 21, on his own. He called me at home and reported that the paper sales went very well.

Thank you, Michael, for sharing this information. But most importantly, thanks for exploring unchartered territory on your own.

This is exactly what we are hoping our vendors will do in the future.

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Thanks for your support!

Weather Matters

S

pring has definitely sprung here at Street Sense.

In the last week, with the temperature increasing — hopefully for good — from the cold and rainy low 40s to the sunny, calm 70s, so too has the number of active vendors increased. And we nearly sold out of the April 15 issue, with about 500 of the 10,000 we printed, hitting the streets.

Our office has been bustling with action since Friday, April 20, the first summer–like day. That day, there were 20 vendors in to buy papers, including three that bought 100 papers each, compared with the Friday before when the average temperature was about 45 degrees and just 12 vendors were in the office.

It is exciting to see so many vendors coming out of hibernation to sell the paper once again, and to see those that lasted through the bitter winter, selling all day rather than just one or two hours. In fact, one of our first vendors, Tommy Bennett, came by on Friday after not having been around for four months. He said he had to “take care of something,” but wanted to get back to selling again. Why? The warmer weather, of course, which falls in line with his four–year anniversary of sobriety.

Not only does the warm weather make it much easier to stay outside for a long time and sell, but it also seems to put people — both vendors and customers — in a much better mood.

So like many businesses, Street Sense is rather seasonal, and the paper sales rise and fall along with the temperature. (The two exceptions are the weeks surrounding Christmas, when everyone has an increased sense of giving in their hearts; and August, when the humidity becomes unbearable and D.C. becomes a ghost town.) This drop in sales is not only because the vendors of wary of standing outside in the bitter cold, but also because customers are less interested as they are focused on getting back inside and not easily deterred by even the most lively vendor.

Still, since we did start publishing twice a month in February, paper sales have been up more than past years. But sales dipped at the end of February and the beginning of March when the weather was the coldest it had been in nearly a century. So I definitely do not think Street Sense and its vendors have seen the full potential and revenue that publishing twice a month can bring.

Consequently, I am excited with this change in weather. We can now truly see how the extra income from publishing twice a month can help vendors improve their lives.

So perhaps you, like many, rushed by vendors in bitter February and March, and this is your first time ever picking up the paper or it’s your first time picking it up in a long time. If so, please note that we are now coming out twice a month, so you have twice as many opportunities to learn about poverty and other social issues in D.C. and twice as many opportunities to support vendors.

For all of you who did brave the cold and stopped and bought papers from vendors this winter, thank you.

It’s because of people like you that our vendors stick with Street Sense and are motivated to improve their lives.

— Laura Thompson Osuri

FEATURES 15 SERVICE PROVIDERS & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

Community Service Index WASHINGTON, D.C. SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 928 5th Street, NW (202) 783-6651 www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745-7118 www.missiondc.org CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393-1909 users.erols.com/ccnv/ Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232-7356 www.communityofhopedc.org DC Village (Family) 2-A DC Village Lane, SW (202) 561-8090 www.dccfh.org/DCVillage.html Franklin School (Men) 13th and K streets, NW (202) 638-7424 Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842-1731 www.grm.org John Young Center (Women) 117 D Street, NW (202) 639-8469 http://www.ccs-dc.org/find/services/ La Casa Bilingual Shelter (Men) 1436 Irving Street, NW (202) 673-3592 N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939-2060 www.nstreetvillage.org 801 East, St. Elizabeth Hospital (Men) 2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561-4014 New York Ave Shelter (Men) 1355-57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832-2359 Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW (202) 639-8093

FOOD Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232-3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplace Church of the Pilgrims 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387-6612 www.churchofthepilgrims.org Dinner Program for Homeless Women AND the “9:30 Club” Breakfast 309 E Street, NW (202) 737-9311 www.dphw.org Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842-1112

Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269-2277 www.foodandfriends.org Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452-8926 www.miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347-2635 http://www.epiphanydc.org/ministry/ welcometbl.htm

MEDICAL RESOURCES Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328-1100 www.christhouse.org Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745-4300 www.unityhealthcare.org Whitman-Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797-3500 www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERS Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265-2400 AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561-8587 www.breadforthecity.org food pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364-1419 www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job counseling Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939-2060 http://www.nstreetvillage.org meals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treatment Green Door (202) 464-9200 1221 Taylor Street NW www.greendoor.org housing, job training, supportive mental health services Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675-9050 www.friendshiphouse.net counseling and mentoring, education, youth services, clothing Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338-8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org laundry, counseling, psych care Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328-6608

Shelter Hotline: 1-800-535-7252

www.marthastable.org dinner, education, recreation, clothing, child and family services Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682-1005 http://www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php hygiene, laundry, lunch, phone and mail, clothing, social activities Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675-9340 www.sashabruce.org counseling, housing, family services So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797-8806 www.some.org lunch, medical and dental, job and housing counseling

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Bright Beginnings Inc. 128 M Street NW, Suite 150 Washington DC 20001 (202) 842-9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.org Child care, family services Catholic Community Services of D.C. 924 G Street, NW (202) 772-4300 www.ccs-dc.org umbrella for a variety of services D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (202) 347-8870 www.dccfh.org housing, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347-0511 www.cflsdc.org housing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332-4010 www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332-2874 http://www.ccs-dc.org/find/services/ meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (202) 544-9126 www.jobshavepriority.org training and employment Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW (202) 667-8970 www.jubileejobs.org job preparation and placement National Coalition for the Homeless 2201 P Street, NW (202) 462-4822 www.nationalhomeless.org activists, speakers bureau available

Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202)889-7702 www.samaritanministry.org HIV support, employment, drug/alcohol addiction, healthcare St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 1514 15th Street, NW (202) 667-4394 http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (202) 347-3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Mass. Avenue, NE (202) 371-1937 www.travelersaid.org/ta/dc.html national emergency travel assistance Wash. Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328-5500 www.legalclinic.org legal services

MARYLAND SHELTER Comm. Ministry of Montgomery Co. 114 W. Montgomery Avenue, Rockville (301) 762-8682 www.communityministrymc.org The Samaritan Group P.O. Box 934, Chestertown (443) 480-3564 Warm Night Shelter 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499-2319 www.cmpgc.org

FOOD Bethesda Cares 7728 Woodmont Church, Bethesda (301) 907-9244 www.bethesdacares.com Community Place Café 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499-2319 www.cmpgc.org Manna Food Center 614-618 Lofstrand Lane, Rockville (301) 424-1130 www.mannafood.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Community Clinic, Inc. 8210 Colonial Lane, Silver Spring (301) 585-1250 www.cciweb.org Mobile Medical Care, Inc. 9309 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda (301) 493-8553 www.mobilemedicalcare.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Catholic Charities, Maryland 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring (301) 942-1790 www.catholiccharitiesdc.org

shelter, substance abuse treatment, variety of other services Mission of Love 6180 Old Central Avenue Capitol Heights (301)333-4440 www.molinc.org life skills classes, clothing, housewares Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless 600-B East Gude Drive, Rockville (301) 217-0314 www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportiveservices

VIRGINIA SHELTER Alexandria Community Shelter 2355 B Mill Road, Alexandria (703) 838-4239 Carpenter’s Shelter 930 N. Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548-7500 www.carpentersshelter.org Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless 3103 Ninth Road North, Arlington (703) 525-7177 www.aachhomeless.org

FOOD Alive, Inc. 2723 King Street, Alexandria (703) 836-2723 www.alive-inc.org Our Daily Bread 10777 Main Street, Ste. 320, Fairfax (703) 273-8829 www.our-daily-bread.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Arlington Free Clinic 3833 N Fairfax Drive, #400, Arlington (703) 979-1400 www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Abundant Life Christian Outreach, 5154 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria (703) 823-4100 www.anchor-of-hope.net food, clothing, youth development, and medicines David’s Place Day Shelter 930 North Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548-7500 www.carpentersshelter.org laundry, shower, workshops, hypothermia shelter Legal Services of Northern Virginia 6066 Leesburg Pike, Ste. 500 (703) 778-6800 www.lsnv.org civil legal services Samaritan Ministry 2924 Columbia Pike, Arlington (703) 271-0938 www.samaritanministry.com social services, employment services, HIV/AIDS services

Street Sense . May 1-14, 2007

Poetry For Sale

et e r t S es s r e V

Poems by the Homeless Writers

and Vendors of Street Sense To get a copy of the book fill out the form below or go to www.streetsense.org.

StreetFact The D.C. Village Family Shelter contains 50% of the 716 total emergency shelter beds for families in Washington, D.C. (For more information, see page 1)

May 1-14, 2007 • Volume 4 • Issue 10

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Mail To:

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 14 for more information.

VENDOR PROFILE He speaks with swagger. He smiles, but always a sideways grin making you doubt everything he says. But if he didn’t smile you wouldn’t believe him. If he didn’t smile you wouldn’t see the detail that remains from his former life: four diamonds set in gold in a front tooth.

You see, Ivory Wilson III was a pimp.

Wilson, 50, says he remembers when being a pimp was something much more sinister than anything you see in music videos. In his day it was a word used only to describe flashy men dressed in colorful suits with matching shoes and hats. In the back of seedy clubs and smoky bars, they would drink, snort cocaine, and play pool emerging only to order their women to get back to work.

Now, the word pimp has become a widely used title, bestowed upon everything from a man or woman popular with the opposite sex (Jay–Z’s “Dirt of Your Shoulder”) to a customized vehicle (MTV’s Pimp My Ride).

“They use it freely, but they don’t understand what it means. Today guys glorify it. They think it is something real slick. It ain’t nothing but a con,” Wilson said. “That word should be left in the world it is really meant for.”

Wilson says that world was his life for over 20 years and is the substance of his first book, “A Player’s World Manual: Wanna be a Pimp?” which he wrote while serving a six–month prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

A second book, “Big Mack,” chronicles the last decade, including Wilson’s recent descent into homelessness. Both books are an effort by Wilson to educate others about his former life and to provide him with a new start. He doesn’t want to be a pimp any more; he wants to be a writer.

The money from his former life ran out a year ago. Since then he has been living in Washington, D.C. shelters while holding odd jobs and selling Street Sense. He is finding that becoming a pimp was much easier than making See Ivory, page 12 a living as a writer.

Ivory reminds customers to only buy from badged vendors and not to give to those panhandling with one paper.

Pages & Pages of Poetry Have you enjoyed reading the poems in Street Sense each issue?

Now, you can get an 87-page collection of poems from the paper’s first three years in the just released:

Street Verses.

Just fill out this form and send it, along with a check for $12.50 ($10.50 for book, $2 for shipping) to Street Sense: 1317 G Street NW, Wash, DC 20005 Or just visit www.streetsense.org to order online.

Name:__________________________________________________ Address:________________________________________________ City/State/Zip:__________________________________________ E-mail:__________________________________________________