05 04 2016

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Volume 13: Issue 13 May 4 - 17, 2016

Street

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sense

Read more and get involved at www.streetsense.org | The DC Metro Area Street Newspaper | Please buy from badged vendors

exclusive interview:

The Mother of the Street Paper Movement pgs 4-5

Deputy Mayor’s Oversight DC General Ward 5

provides moreunsafe, questions than answers replacement advocates say pg 3pg 4

Happy Mother’s Day! from from our our vendors vendors pg 9

Street Sense is the street media center of our nation’s capital. We aim 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 facing homelessness in our community.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES www.StreetSense.org •

Have you heard Vendor Patty Smith’s singing voice? streetsense.org/Audio

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Our Spring Appeal seeks to fund our expanded jobtraining program and case management initiatives! streetsense.org/Appeal

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COVER ART Wendy Oxenhorn and Hutchinson Persons founded the first modern street paper, Street News, in 1989.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANNON FINNEY CLIPPLINGS COURTESY OF GOOGLE BOOKS COLLAGE BY ERIC FALQUERO

ADVERTISE WITH US streetsense.org/ advertise

SOCIAL

A new issue comes out every two weeks, but you can stay connected to Street Sense every day!

/streetsensedc @streetsensedc /streetsensedc

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

Today, Street Sense is published every two weeks through the efforts of four salaried employees, more than 100 active vendors, and dozens of volunteers.

Nearly 30,000 copies are in circulation each month.

How It Works

ADDRESS 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 PHONE 202.347.2006 FAX 202.347.2166 E-MAIL info@streetsense.org WEB StreetSense.org

Each vendor func as an independent contractor for Street Sense. That means he or she every purchase.

Vendors purchase the paper for 50 cents/issue, which will then be sold to you for a suggested dona $2.

Street Sense publishes the newspaper.

75% 75% supports the vendors helping them overcome homelessness and poverty.

Street Sense

Vendors buy the newspaper for 50 cents each.

&

25% costs at Street Sense.

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

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

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

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

5. I agree to abide by the Street Sense vendor territorial policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes I

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The remainder of your supports the vendor.

have with other vendors in a professional manner.

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

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

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

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

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

© STREET SENSE, INC 2015

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Margaret Chapman, Max Gaujean, Margaret Jenny, Robyn Kerr, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Anne Willis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Falquero SALES & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Jeffrey Gray VENDOR & SALES MANAGER Josh Maxey COORDINATOR OF EVENTS & AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Shira Hereld INTERNS Desmond Austin-Miller, Michael Brice-Saddler, Joseph Doyle, Abby Hershberer WRITERS GROUP LEADERS Donna Daniels, Susan Orlins, Willie Schatz EDITORIAL BOARD Rachel Bro dy, Arthur Delaney, Britt Peterson EDITORIAL & PAPER SALES VOLUNTEERS Jane Cave, Cheryl Chevalier, Nathalia Cibotti, Pat Geiger, Roberta Haber, Mary Henkin, Karen Houston, Erum Jilani, Leonie Peterkin, Hannah Northey, Jesselyn Radack, Andrew Siddons, Jackie Thompson, Marian Wiseman, Eugene Versluysen, Alex Zielinski VENDORS Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Aida Basnight, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Melanie Black, Phillip Black Jr., Maryann Blackmon, Viktor Blokhine, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Donald Brown, Joan Bryant, Elizabeth Bryant, Brianna Butler, Melody Byrd, Conrad Cheek, Aaron Colbert, Anthony Crawford, Walter Crawley, Kwayera Dakari, James Davis, Clifton Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, James DeVaughn, Ricardo Dickerson, Dennis Diggs, Alvin Dixon-El, Ronald Dudley, Charles Eatmon, Deana Elder, Julie Ellis, Jemel Fleming, Chon Gotti, Marcus Green, Barron Hall, Tyrone Hall, Richard Hart Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Jerry Hickerson, Ray Hicks, Rachel Higdon, Ibn Hipps, Phillip Howard, Leonard Hyater, Joseph Jackson, Carlton Johnson, Donald Johnson, Harold Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Morgan Jones, Linda Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Juliene Kengnie, Kathlene Kilpatrick, Hope Lassiter, John Littlejohn, James Lott, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, Jimmy M. Ken Martin, Joseph Martin, Kina Mathis, Michael Lee Matthew, Authertimer Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Jermale McKnight, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Cynthia Mewborn, Kenneth Middleton, Cecil More, L. Morrow, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Earl Parkin, Lucifer Potter, Ash-Shaheed Rabil, Henrieese Roberts, Anthony Robinson, Doris Robinson, Raquel Rodriquez, Lawrence Rogers, Joseph Sam, Chris Shaw, Patty Smith, Smith Smith, Gwynette Smith, Ronald Smoot, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens James Stewart, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Craig Thompson, Eric Thompson-Bey, Sarah TurleyColin, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Leon Valentine, Grayla Vereen, Ron Verquer, Martin Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Angelyn Whitehurst, William Whitsett, Wendell Williams, Sasha Williams, Judson Williams III, Ivory Wilson, Denise Wilson, Charles Woods

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STREET SENSE Mary 4 - 17, 2016

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NEWS IN BRIEF Appeal of Homeless Men Kicked Out of La Casa Advocates Formally Call for Improved Ward 5 Shelter to be Heard Friday DC General Replacement Shelter Location

By Mark Rose Volunteer

By Abby Hershberger Editorial Intern

La Casa Shelter was the city’s only bilingual shelter. It housed 130 men in emergency and transitional beds on any given night, but closed in October 2010. The shelter was located in Columbia Heights and the men it served were primarily African American and Hispanic. La Casa Shelter was the last minimal-restriction, or “low-barrier,” shelter in Northwest. Since closing, the location has been redeveloped into state of the art permanent supportive housing and the 40 transitional beds were moved north to the Petworth area, still managed by the Coalition for the Homeless A group of homeless men who stayed at La Casa sued the city under the Fair Housing Act, claiming discrimination based on race and national origin. The lawsuit is also claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act because a large percentage of the men are dealing with mental or physical disabilities.

The plaintiffs’ appellate argument will be heard Friday, May 6, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia at 333 Constitution Ave, NW in Court Room 31.

The suit asserts that because more than 87 percent of D.C.’s homeless population is African American, homeless people are covered as a protected class from discriminatory treatment. The suit further asserts that there are serious deficiencies at every shelter where the displaced men were able to move to after the closing of the La Casa low-barrier shelter in Columbia Heights. There were complaints of beds being denied every night in these other shelters.

A similar complaint of discrimination, Boykin et al. v. Adrian Fenty (subsequently renamed Boykin et al. v. Vincent Gray) was filed earlier in U.S. District Court. The District Court dismissed the Boykin complaint for not presenting expert testimony about the bad conditions present in shelters.

The Fair Budget Coalition (FBC) recently released an open letter to Mayor Bowser and her administration. The open letter asks Bowser to reconsider the location for one of the DC General replacement shelters. Earlier this year, Bowser presented her plan to close down the infamously unsafe family shelter and replace it with smaller, service-rich locations, distributed throughout all 8 Wards.

While most District residents and policymakers commend the proposal, there is some concern regarding several of the 7 locations. The Ward 5 site, located at 2266 25th Place, NE, has been identified by a number of community members as unsuitable for families, whether they’re experiencing homelessness or not. These sources, including the FBC, cite several risk factors near the proposed site. The plot is located in an isolated industrial zone; does not offer easy access to public transportation or grocery stores; is within walking distance of a strip club and several nightclubs; and could potentially expose future residents to unsafe air quality, (due to its proximity to a large bus depot).

The FBC letter asks Mayor Bowser to reexamine this location and to consider mov-

The District government argues that closing the Columbia Heights shelter, and shifting these men outside the rapidlygentrifying area, is part of the “redesign” of their policy for homeless men. The District’s defense of this policy came solely from its official administrator: Fred Swan.

The complaint argues that between La Casa and the centrally-located Franklin School Shelter that was closed in 2007, 390 beds were removed from the shelter system. The District countered that these closings did not cause a net loss of shelter space. Instead, the District states that the displaced people can be absorbed into other parts of the shelter system and that the redesign adds capacity via new permanent supportive housing. This last claim is what the Boykin group contests.

The housing discrimination issue here, under the FHA, is whether the new housing policy and the closing of the La Casa shelter, had a “disparate impact” on the “protected class,” the Boykin group.

According to Federal law, if the Boykin plaintiffs can show the closing had a significant impact on them – a causal link - they are entitled to relief.

Oral arguments will be heard at the Friday hearing, while final decision will be issued in writing at a later date.

Cashing in on Housing the Poor

By Jane Cave Volunteer Financial abuse of vulnerable populations, including senior citizens, has been identified as a growing problem across the United States. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that 2.6 million people over the age of 65 have had their identities stolen; hundreds of thousands have had their credit cards or bank accounts misused, and 200,000 have had bank accounts opened in their names. Such financial abuse is often perpetrated by family members.

On April 21, the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary approved a bill designed to protect senior citizens in the District from such abuse. The “Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults and the

Elderly Amendment Act of 2016” will make it possible to prosecute those who engage in the financial exploitation of elderly or incapacitated persons, including those who do so by exerting “undue influence.” The bill defines undue influence as the use of mental, emotional, or physical coercion that adversely affects the free will or judgment of a vulnerable adult or elderly person.

“Vulnerable citizens need to know the city is ready to protect them,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, chair of the committee. He hailed the bill as “an important step in ensuring that financial security is not lost to theft.”

The bill will come before the full council for a vote in May.

ing the shelter somewhere more suitable.

The FBC currently represents more than 60 organizations throughout the District.

Advocacy Coordinator Monica Kamen has been following Bowser’s plan since its inception. “We’ve been looking at this plan since the fall,” Kamen said. “We’re very supportive of the plan to close DC General, and we want to find the best way to achieve that goal.”

When the proposed shelter sites were released and more information became available about their surrounding areas, it became clear to the FBC that they could not support the Ward 5 site, according to Kamen. They now hope that the city will vote to maintain the DC General closure plan, while agreeing to amend the Ward 5 site. The FBC’s issue with the other seven sites is that they could be made more cost-effective in the long run, if moved to properties D.C. already owns.

As this process of closing DC General and opening new shelters continues, Kamen hopes that the city will keep talking about the issues involved, especially those that will affect the new shelters’ future residents. “The conversations we’ve been having have revolved around the neighbors, not the people who will live [in the new shelters],” Kamen said. “That needs to be the main thing that we’re focusing on.”

Camp Closures, Needy Families Dominate Oversight Hearing

By Michael Brice-Saddler Editorial Intern During an April 28 budget oversight hearing for the Committee on Health and Human Services, D.C. council members questioned Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Benda Donald about enforcement of the city’s homeless encampment protocol and the eligibility requirements for consumers of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, among other issues.

Donald spoke briefly to the ongoing homeless encampment cleanups, stating that her committee is reviewing proposed changes to cleanup procedures, which were suggested by stakeholders from various homeless advocacy groups.

Her committee and the stakeholders are 90 percent in alignment, but there are certain issues they will agree to disagree on, according to Donald. She anticipates that a consensus on encampment closure procedures—specifically on what to do with unmarked property—will be finalized within the next several weeks.

“Our practice has been in the last six months … has been to store those belongings if [encampment residents] want them stored,” Donald said. “We have some debate with the advocates if whether or not provisions have been abandoned or there’s no one there to claim them, what should be done.”

During two encampment closures this year—one in Foggy Bottom and another near Union Station— unmarked belongings including tents and other lifesaving items, as well as bicycles, were disposed of rather than stored. Camp residents who were fortunate enough to be on-site during the cleanups were able to retain their belongings.

Another debate centered on whether or not the deputy mayor will enforce encampment sweeps during hypothermia season, as was done this past winter.

Donald said. “I think there’s some room to reach a good middle ground there.”

TANF eligibility also dominated the conversation. “I still find myself having to say, too often, that we’ve been too focused on temporary, rather than needy, families,” Ward 1 Councilmember Breanne Nadeau said. “Many of those families want to work, but are faced with TANF requirements [that are] impractical if not completely impossible.”

Those barriers can include illiteracy, mental or physical impairment and potential homelessness, according to Nadeau. “I think, based on our experience here, it’s unreasonable to expect residents facing these barriers to be assigned employment within 60 months.”

Nadeau also argued that it makes no sense to remove the “safety net” that is keeping TANF families secure. She reminded Donald of a bill she introduced in December 2015 that would “prevent families facing extreme hardships from losing assistance through TANF.” There are several inconsistencies in regards to TANF eligibility in the District, Nadeau said. When pressed about the issue, Donald was unwilling to respond. “I didn’t realize we had inconsistencies there, so I’m probably not prepared,” Donald said.

“I’m not the expert on TANF eligibility, and I’m not gonna take a guess on it.”

Wendy Oxenhorn’s Beautiful

By Adam Kampe Artist-in-Residence

In 1989, Wendy Oxenhorn was approached by a rock musician to find a way to help people experiencing homelessness in New York City. Hutchinson Persons wanted to organize a large concert that would function as a canned food drive. He had heard of Oxenhorn’s previous work caring for children neglected by parents staying in a particular welfare hotel at the time. She was ready to help homeless people, but “didn’t think a canned food drive would be solution-oriented,” Oxenhorn recalled in an exclusive interview. “I learned as a single parent that you really have to be solution-oriented. It’s not the Band-Aids you really need.”

Together they developed a business plan to provide work and income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness by selling original newspapers. They founded Street News and approached two prospective vendors to start. This was not Oxenhorn’s first or last creative venture in social work, but one of many unique projects she has been a part of. While Street News folded years later, Oxenhorn and Persons’ business model spread like wildfire as independent street papers were established city-by-city worldwide. Today there are 112 street paper published in 35 different countries, according to the International Network of Street Papers—a member organization founded in 2004. “I was in Paris last year and someone came up to sell me a street paper and I took out my Euros and got weepy,” Oxenhorn said. “I really did. It was a very beautiful, private, quiet moment.”

For the past 16 years, Oxenhorn has been helping blues and jazz musicians in need connect with housing, healthcare, and ways to give back through music education. She was recently recognized as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in a ceremony hosted at the Kennedy Center. Performers Gary Burton, Pharoah Sanders, and Archie Shepp shared the stage and honors with Oxenhorn.

Street Sense’s own Sounds from the Street podcast producer, Adam Kampe, was recently able to catch up with Oxenhorn in New York City at “the greatest pizza place in the world” (West 103rd Street):

So you needed a solution-oriented action plan to help?

One day Persons came back with an idea: ‘what about a newspaper?’ I said, ‘well, you can’t just give it out.’ We had to do this like a business so that it would be something of value. Otherwise it would have been something that was thrown out. We gave the first 10 papers to each member of the homeless sales force for free. After that, they had to pay us a quarter for every paper. They sold it for a dollar, making 75 cents. And we ended up getting the quarter back so we could produce the paper.

And somehow the New York Times got involved?

The president, Lance Premise—what a beautiful man. He didn’t want to meet with us at first. But by the end of it, he was on the board of advisors. He got hats for the homeless sales force. He got canvas bags for them that said Street News to carry their papers in. Isn’t that just amazing! When you’re homeless, it’s not like you have an address. It’s down and dirty business. And it’s pretty hard to get a job like that. So this was the beauty of it. All of a sudden you’re starting out and you’re selling papers.

You’re working for your living which is the big complaint almost every person on the street says about someone who is begging: “get a job.” In fact, there was a point where they were all making more money than me. I remember, we finally got to a place where I could take $200 a week, and I was supporting my 2-year-old, and we just had macaroni and cheese every night—Kraft Macaroni and Cheese—and maybe sardines on a good day.

Why did the Metro Transit Authority design and fund your ad campaign?

Ironically, panhandling on the trains had just been made illegal—so there was a big article in the Times by Sam Roberts, asking what these panhandlers were going to do. So, I went to the MTA and said, ‘I understand that begging is not allowed. But imagine if there was something the homeless could sell that would get them work.’ And the MTA loved it! They gave us 3,000 posters in all the trains and buses.

Then I contacted Mr. Roberts and told him I had something for those two panhandlers in his story to do. He came to see our office and the next day in the metro section on the cover we had our first story. And people knew. Then it went to the Wall Street Journal cover, then the Herald Tribune.

Some people seem skeptical about buying street papers.

Did you ever experience people wondering where that money is really going or who are these people selling Street News?

For the first couple of months we had our guys coming in saying “I’m eating today” or “I bought my food today—I didn’t ask anyone for it.” The best part was when they started doing these little fly-by-night hotels for $28 a night. They were off the street from their own work. It was really special.

Wendy Oxenhorn and Adam Kampe recording the next episode of Sounds From the Street at a local pizzeria in New York City.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM KAMPE.

There’s so much of your backstory that I know you’ve been repeating kind of ad nauseam, based on your recent Jazz Master honor. So let’s jump into your entrance into nonprofit work. I know you were an aspiring dancer. And a tragic knee injury changed everything?

STREET SENSE Mary 4 - 17, 2016

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COVER PACKAGE

Dance with Social Work

Gary Burton at the 2016 Jazz Masters ceremony.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANNON FINNEY

Meeting a Legend 2016 Jazz Masters Archie Shepp, Wendy Oxenhorn, Gary Burton, and Pharoah Sanders.

By Ken Martin, Vendor/Artist

PHOTO BY SHANNON FINNEY

I performed ballets with the New York City Ballet and was just about to get into the company when we discovered I could barely walk. So I did what any red-blooded American drama queen would do: I called up a suicide hotline. I really did think that life was over. If I couldn’t dance, then this was it. And when I called up, a lovely woman answered. Halfway through the conversation she started telling me her troubles. People always told me their troubles. Three days later I was working at the suicide hotline, having counseled her successfully.

Then I started talking to young women with children—single parents—living in abandoned buildings. And so I started getting into the system with them and finding them housing. So now, all of a sudden, I was becoming a social worker.

I had a little organization with a woman named Carol Anne with which we took on a welfare hotel and we took care of 31 kids. A lot of parents were dealing with drug addiction… and one of the biggest issues was you’d have a single-mom prostituting in the park. And in a welfare hotel a child is not allowed to be left alone in the room, so the parents would leave the kids outside. At 11 at night you’d have a 7-year-old jumping rope in front of these places. These places were horrendous.

The city was paying $2,000 a room to that hotel. There was no kitchen. They had a hot plate and kids were warming up hot dogs under the hot water from the faucet.

Again and again you seem to turn these setbacks into a new creation, a new endeavor. It’s a gift to be able to do that.

Do you ever feel like you were born to do this kind of social work?

I feel like everyone is born to do what they’re doing. I think we get into trouble when we see ourselves separate from God (or our word for that). When you start to

see yourself as separate, you start to do things for that other entity: to please that other it, to be forgiven by it. Instead, I believe that we are all part of this loving consciousness that birthed us somehow, this creative force that creates and creates. And as a result, we end up creating: we have children, we have work, we have art. We have whatever it is that we create in our day—even if its aggravation for someone else. I remember early on, I used to think that the more I did to help other people the better human being I would be. But It’s really not like that. It’s that the better and happier and more joyful you are—the more you have to give.

It’s all about the journey. That’s why you can’t get freaked out when terrible things happen. For example, I only picked up a harmonica and started playing one day because of heartbreak over an Italian man.

And that harmonica turned out to be the first thing since Ballet that replaced that feeling of freedom and flying. Through it, I also eventually found the Jazz Foundation of America.

The missions at the heart of the various work you have done are very similar.

What are you most proud of?

My single parenting. That is my biggest achievement. That is the hardest thing to do in this world.

This article is an excerpt of Wendy and Adam's conversation. You can listen to more of Wendy Oxenhorn’s philosophy and journey, including her blues masterclass in Grand Central Station, in our next episode of Sounds From the Street. It is set to be released Wednesday, May 11 at StreetSense.org/audio and will also be available through iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.

Eric Falquero contributed to this article.

Recently I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing a jazz icon, and an inductee of the NEA. Jazz Masters: Vibraphonist Extraordinaire, Gary Burton.

WOW!!! This was HUGE! Needless to say I was nervous. My knees knocked to a rhythm similar to his music.

Gary Burton, whose music graces my LP stacks, cassette cases, and DVD rack; whose "Reunion" with Pat Metheny & crew travel with me on my cellphone's MP3 playlist.

Gary Burton. The Master who has played with giants like Stephane Grappelli, Chick Corea, Chet Atkins, Stan Getz, George Shearing, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis.

Gary Burton, who was a featured sideman on an album starring Herbie Mann, and my favorite lady's namesake Tamiko Jones (if you don't know about her, see me later).

Yeah, the same Gary Burton who is not only a composer and bandleader, but a Professor of Music at the Berklee College.

Did I tell you this jazz man (who began recording at only 17 years old) has seven Grammy Awards?

This kind gent gave me the time out of his time day to listen to my Gary Burton story, which I will share with you.

When I was a little fellow, about 9 or 10, my dad—who knew that I was always a xylophone fan—made me a set of keys by following directions in an old encyclopedia. It was better crafted than the ones at the toy store, but small enough for tabletop play. I loved that instrument and I fantasized of being Lionel Hampton or that "Red" guy (Red Norvo, whose LP's my mom would play).

I would make music (mostly noise) as much as I could. One day, while Sis was watching some black and white movie on the Westinghouse (TV), I was summoned to see this guy play vibes. There was this young guy playing with "reckless abandon" —not two, but FOUR mallets!!!

He was phenomenal, at least to this ten-year-old. I was so moved by the spectacle of his performance that I knew right then I would never match it. But I would

become a listener for life!

To this day, I enjoy Jazz and Jazz vibraphonists as much as anyone, all thanks to Mr. Burton for the life-changing experience, both then and now! Thanks to you, Mr. Burton, I've heard many other musicians and I've had the pleasure of meeting them in several venues!

I would love to share the story of Gary Burton's life with you, but if I did, you wouldn't go out and buy his excellent autobiography: "Learning To Listen - The Jazz Journey Of Gary Burton: An Autobiography.” This book, like most of his work, is exceptional and highly rated (Five Stars on Amazon).

What I will recommend are some Choice Cuts to set the mood as you read his book.

You can listen to them all now through the YouTube playlist I’ve assembled on StreetSense.org.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

All Blues w/ Chick Corea Crystal Silence w/ Chick Corea House on the Hill Autumn Leaves Autumn (a different tune) Here's That Rainy Day w/ Stephane Grappelli 7. Bags (Milt Jackson) Groove 8. Desafinado w/ Stan Getz 9. Sing, Sing, Sing with Eddie Daniels 10. Cool Nights 11. Round Midnight w?GRP All Star Big Band 12. Tossed salad and scrambled eggs {That's what I said! -km] Gary Burton, Wendy Oxenhorn, Pharaoh Sanders and Archie Shepp, were inducted as Jazz Masters the National Endowment for The Arts on April 4, 2016. The world is fortunate to share their contributions.If you haven't experienced them, well, let’s just say “a life without a soundtrack, really isn't one worth living!"

I'd advise all to “Learn to Listen” now.

You'll enjoy the message!

Top Priority: Case Management & Accountability

By Reginald Black and Eric Falquero Staff On the evening of Wednesday, April 27, more than 20 Community for Creative Nonviolence (CCNV) residents, along with other community members, packed into the CCNV drop-in center at 2nd and D Streets NW -- blocks away from the U.S. capitol building.

CCNV shelters more than 1000 single men and women each night and is housed in what used to be the Federal City College building. A cohort of activists, led by Mitch Snyder obtained use of the building through occupation and hunger strikes in 1984. Since then, it has remained one of the largest shelters in the country.

The nonprofit operates alongside DC Central Kitchen, Clean and Sober Streets and several city-funded shelter programs throughout the building. The District owns the building, and the federal requirement that the structure be used for homeless services expires this year. CCNV will be dramatically reduced in size, left with only the Mitch Snyder Arts and Education Center—a small structure which they own—and a parking lot at 2nd and D. Foreseeing this predicament, city government convened a task force of shelter residents, advocates and city officials in 2013 to chart the course of the program’s future.

After a year of meetings and disagreements, the task force passed a resolution of guidelines for any future program that would replace CCNV. That was June 2014.

City officials have been nearly silent on the matter since. While the District government has been working with CCNV leadership regarding plans for the future, the residents themselves have been left in the dark until now.

The new administration’s 5-year strategic plan to end homelessness only mentions CCNV once, in a footnote, throughout the 100-page document. As construction along the I-495 corridor moves closer and closer to 2nd and D, and the John L. Young and Open Door shelters have moved out from the Federal City building and into the former Central Union Mission location on 5th Street NW, some CCNV residents have become nervous about the future.

“Given the conditions of the building, I hope we can move toward redevelopment quickly while keeping shelter beds in that downtown location,” said DC Fiscal Policy Institute Policy Analyst Kate Coventry, who attended the Wednesday listening session and had also been part of the 2013-14 task force.

As of April 30, residents of both the John L. Young and Open Door shelters were expected to have transitioned into the new Patricia Handy Women’s Cen-

ter on 5th Street, will is managed by N street Village. This event was one of many shake-ups prior to the Wednesday meeting. The closure will signals the end of New Hope Ministries, which has been running the shelters since the eighties.

“If I’ve got a community and I’ve got beautiful buildings and retailers next door, I know this has got to go,” one meeting attendee said of the encroaching construction.

Deputy Administrator of Homeless Services Dallas Williams assured the crowd that such thinking is unfounded and that, per the task force’s statement of principles approved by D.C. Council, new facilities would be made available before anything happens to CCNV. “We are here to talk about what you would like to see in the future,” he said. Williams also made it clear that CCNV is a private nonprofit and could not be regulated by the Department of Human Services.

Wednesday’s session was called in large part due to a series of requests from resident and long-time community advocate Eric Sheptock. Having spoken with the developer working on the I-495 corridor, Sheptock claimed that the neighboring construction will not be completed until at least 2023, if not later. In the absence of government updates, Sheptock had been distributing flyers featuring his “best guess” as to the future of CCNV after the building is no longer required to be used for homeless services.

Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) Director Kristy Greenwalt heard Sheptock and other residents’ concerns at this time and organized the listening session in response to them. Based on the discourse at the meeting, most residents have been waylaid at the shelter for multiple years and frustrated with services provided them, which has bred distrust.

The session was billed as an opportunity to update the 2014 guidelines for CCNV replacement. To this end, three government representatives spent an hour and a half taking advice from residents about which on-site services and physical amenities they value most.

Professional case management, job training and mental health assistance were all top priorities for the gathered men and women.

“It’s as simple as that. There [should be] professional people with actual goals of finding other people stable housing,” said Monsoor Ali, who was applauded by other attendees for this statement. Ali said he has experienced homelessness since he was 15, even though he’s been employed most of his life. He first sought shelter at CCNV in 2002, and described being asked to fill out applications for housing vouchers and other services. Yet, when Ali called the

city’s Department of Housing and Community Development to follow-up, his name was on file, but no other personal details had been logged. “It seems like there are people that come to pacify us,” Ali said, “and that there are never any real genuine results for a lot of people here.”

Most in attendance highlighted jobs and job training as the golden ticket to empowering people to pull themselves out of homelessness. One woman in the front row also stressed the importance of fulfilling work in daily life. She described a West Coast recovery program where participants were trained in culinary, sales and management skills. The work brought income to the program and made participants feel good about themselves for contributing. “A hot and a cot...even though I’m so blessed to have shelter… it’s not really working. And that’s why you’re here,” she said.

Functioning laundry facilities along with private shower stalls and bathroom facilities also made the list. “Even prisons have dividers between the shower heads now,” said one attendee.The discussion had to be re-focused multiple times as it drifted to what residents need now, versus what they think is essential for a future facility years down the road. One suggestion was to start bringing more city services to CCNV now, as a bridge between the current program and the future facilities.

“We know for job training or whatever, you go to DOES (Department of Employment Services),” explained one resident.

“But if you don’t have no type of income because you’re homeless, you don’t even have the resources to get all the way to Minnesota Avenue to go get services.”

Complaints such as this one extended beyond CCNV to the city’s overall safety net, which is undergoing an overhaul as part of the 5-year ICH plan. Another resident criticized most low-barrier shelter hours, which admit residents at 7 p.m. and turn them out out the next day by 7 a.m. During the time in-between, they are expected to search for jobs. But the lack of resources and added stressors of figuring out how to get through the day destroy a person’s productivity and effectiveness.

“Most people just end up sitting at the library,” explained the resident. “It’s like the system is setting you up to fail.”

The city opened one “day center” last year in Northeast and the ICH claims opening a day center downtown this year is a top priority, especially before MLK Jr. Memorial Library closes for renovations in the fall. For its part, CCNV residents are fortunate enough to come and go as they please throughout the day and retain their bed each night.

An additional suggestion was to utilize the current van service operated by Unit-

ed Planning Organization—which transports residents to-and-from the shelters in addition to responding to shelter hotline calls—to begin transporting shelter residents to doctor appointments, job interviews, and other resources.

Long-term residents reported a general decline in quality at CCNV over the years.

“When I first experienced homelessness, I came here, It was pretty dynamic.” said one such resident. He described access to a lot of donated clothing, food and other supplies. “I don’t know when it broke down, but now it’s hard to even get a broom.”

From the program staff managing donations to the city officials taking notes that evening, the need for accountability became a recurring theme. Resident James McGinley received an “amen” from the crowd when he suggested this be added to the service/amenity lists being recorded by the meeting facilitators. The facilitators had been very attentive and engaging, and Darrel Cason promised to follow-up with residentsby typing the lists and returning copies to Eric Sheptock for distribution.

However, the attendees wanted more.

“I hope if only one thing comes out of this meeting—it’s what that gentleman said at the beginning,” McGinley said. “There need to be case managers, but not just case managers, case managers with accountability.” He went on to call for transparency in agencies performance too: how many people are being housed, how many people are being moved into jobs and how many [staff members] aren’t doing their jobs. “We’re all spending a lot of time here, including you guys,” McGinley said.

“Can we expect any sort of report back from you all: a quarter from now… a year from now… or was this all nice conversation that goes off into nothing?”

Sheptock suggested holding similar community meetings every quarter. At this point in time the facilitators did not plan to report back to shelter residents. They expected to make sure the ideas listed at the meeting were included in the discussion between CCNV leadership and city officials. There is no concrete plan of action that CCNV and District government are working together on at this time.

The session was a good start to the conversation of what will eventually happen at 425, 2nd Street. A number of residents chose to stay outdoors, while their futures were discussed within. Many question the quality and availability of the services currently onsite. “We are drowning in nice people in this city,” McGinley said at the end of the session. “They give us help and help and help and help, and they feel good about themselves – but we don’t get housing and we don’t get jobs. There needs to be accountability.”

STREET SENSE May 4 - 17, 2016

7

NEWS

“Been Through It”: a mentor on a mission

Eric Thompson-Bey recieves keys to his first home in 19 years. | PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF GRAY

By Desmond Austin-Miller Editorial Intern After almost 20 years of homelessness, four walls and a roof are just the beginning for native Washingtonian and Street Sense vendor Eric Thompson-Bey. He recently signed the lease to his first apartment. “That’s all I’ve been hearing for the last three weeks,” he said of the overwhelming support he has about landing housing. “But for real, that doesn’t even motivate me.”

Securing housing was the first of Eric’s many ambitious goals. He wants to go back to school and mentor young adults, especially young men who are growing up without a positive male role model in their lives like he experienced. “[I want to] show them they don’t have to go through the things I went through when I was their age,” he said.

Mentoring Black youth in D.C. is vital to Eric. Referring to the young men he wants to mentor, he said, “They’re off the chain”--citing drug use, violence, and other perils. “They need somebody that’s been through it.”

“Been through it” puts his story lightly.

Growing up in the Congress Heights area of Ward 8, Eric has fond childhood memories of catching frogs in the local creek with his friends. Even though his mother passed when he was two, his father, a construction worker, took care of Eric and his eight older siblings. “I was spoiled: Christmas was good; I always had good birthdays; my father did everything for us,” he said.

Eric’s father was a strong role model and a source of inspiration. “He taught me how to provide, he taught me how to survive. He taught me a lot just by how I remember [him],” Eric said.

When Eric was nine, his father died of a heart attack. He had to move in with

one of his sisters, her boyfriend and their three kids: Eric’s nephews. “It was like night and day,” he said, “I went from being the youngest to the oldest.”

Eric’s new family fell on hard times. He recalled missing Christmas often, losing electricity and having to go hungry many nights. These experiences contribute to Eric’s ambition to mentor impoverished youth. He recognizes the pressures kids in poverty are constantly up against. “Growing up in poverty all my life, some things that you can’t have... you do things that you shouldn’t do to get them,” he said. “I know I did.”

Because his family was always moving around, Eric attended several elementary and middle schools in the Congress Heights area. At Ballou Senior High, his favorite subject was math. Looking back, he regrets not taking school seriously. “I’m gonna be honest, I was a knucklehead in school. I was smart, though. My teachers always told me I was smart, but I just wouldn’t do right in class.”

Eric had to grow up a little faster than he might have liked, without positive role models.

“From [the age of] 14, I was really on my own,” he said. “It was easy because I started so young. I basically grew up in the streets.” He found this transition to being on his own easier than the one he made when he moved in with his sister’s family.”

When asked if he had anyone that he could talk to about this time in his life, Eric answered plainly: “Nope.”

At 19, he found himself in and out of prison, battling drug addiction. “I can’t even count how many times [I’ve been in prison],” he said with a sly chuckle. His longest term lasted five years.

In 1997, one of Eric’s sisters refused to let him stay with her any longer. That first day being homeless, he recalled

feeling lost. He knew there was a shelter around the corner from his sister’s house but didn’t know how to get in. “I didn’t know about sleeping outside... I didn’t know how things worked,” Eric said. “I just remember thinking, ‘Man, I ain’t got nowhere to go for real.’”

When asked how he got to where he is now from that lost place 20 years ago, Eric gives two reasons: God and people.

“He put people in my path. This will be my fifth year [out of prison] straight,” Eric said, “I just look at the people that were put in front of me, the people that I meet doing the paper or [whenever] I’m out.”

Last year, one of Eric’s customers in Dupont Circle offered him a job to work on a farm during harvest season--an offer he’s eager to accept.

Eric attributes his positive lifestyle changes to having secured housing, including being drug-free. “It feels good, it feels different,” he said. “I hang around a different crowd now.”

During his last term in prison, Eric served 18 months in a state penitentiary with inmates serving life sentences. He recalled thinking, “A lot of [these guys] ain’t coming home.”

Realizing the importance of his freedom, Eric vowed never to return and began to take steps toward surrounding himself with positive people and a stable environment. “When I got out, I focused on housing,” he said, “I was so focused on having a place to stay because I knew that if I stayed in the streets like I normally do, I would end up back in jail.”

At Street Sense, he has made tremendous success as a vendor and built strong friendships with customers and fellow vendors alike. “Sometimes when you’re out there selling papers, people will listen to you. Out of everyone 100 people that might walk past me, one or two will

stop and talk with me,” he said, “Every time someone takes the time to listen, I always thank them because they didn’t have to do that.”

As an author, Eric’s writing style shines through his articles. Jeff Gray, Sales and Communications Manager for Street Sense, remembers when he first met Eric during an internship in 2013. “We bonded over sports,” he said, “I encouraged him to write sports columns for the paper and went over the structure of sports writing a little with him.” When Jeff returned to Street Sense on staff, he spoke with Eric again about sports writing and was surprised to realize that he remembered everything from the 30-minute talk they had three years ago. “Eric really is a talented writer,” Gray said, “If he came up in a more stable housing environment, he could have been really successful as a journalist.”

Eric’s story is a good example of how socioeconomic factors can derail early talent, according to Gray.

Eric has always wanted to have a thoughtful conversation with readers, according to Eric Falquero, editor-in-chief for Street Sense. Even when writing on sports, Thompson-Bey tended to write from a social and cultural perspective.

He has since tackled a myriad of other issues as well. “He’s incredibly thoughtful,” Falquero said.

Stable housing and a reliable source of income have allowed Eric to focus on his other goals. He became a follower of the Moorish science religion while in prison, which is where the self-proclaimed “Bey” on his last name comes from. “One of the biggest things for us is education,” he said. When he was 25 years old, serving a sentence at Lorton Prison, Eric was encouraged by older inmates and followers of Moorish teachings to get an education.

“The first thing I did was get my GED. Then I went to college. That’s where I learned how to write, taking college courses.”

Eric wants to continue his college education in order to further serve young people. “Maybe I could take courses on how to work with kids,” he said.

At 49, Eric is driven by the opportunities he can see ahead of him. “It’s just a blessing for me to get up in the morning,” he said, “I’m in good health right now, ain’t nobody beefin’ with me, nobody is coming to do anything to me.”

He has set a long-term goal of mentoring youth in the next 5 to 10 years and plans to emulate the positive influence of his own father. When asked about what he wants to have accomplished when his time on this earth is over, Eric ThompsonBey gave a simple answer. “I just want to make a difference in someone’s life,” he said reminiscently, “because every day someone made a difference in mine.”

p p a H ’ r e h t o M ov L

Happy Mother’s Day

By Sybil Taylor Vendor/Artist This Mother’s Day is very lonely for my mother. This will be another Mother’s Day without my father showing his love for her and giving her a bouquet of fresh cut violets and roses or carnations and a sweet Mother’s Day card. He showed his love for her and his appreciation for her with special gifts like a nice dinner and a diamond and gemstone silver and gold heart. Their love stood the test of time.

My mother married a wonderful army man who had no problem showing his love to her, betting engaged to her and marrying her. Mom, you were the one he picked.

You are a dream come true. You have been a beautiful and wonderful mother

and a grandmother full of love and happiness. You raised us so beautifully and you showed your love and smile always.

Through the sad and good times of your life you never showed your tears. You shed them when you were alone in private moments of your life, moments of heartache and pain. Losing Dad, you cried alone to our heavenly father. You are strong and you dearly miss him every day.

Sometimes it’s hard being without him.

He is here in spirit, watching over you and us and smiling at you and Bridgette.

You are a treasure, best mother in the world. I love you, Mom. Through your ups and downs you raised us. Your smile is so heavenly and so kind. We are here for you. Dad may be gone but he is still in our hearts and you have us always and

forever. Remember, Dad is in the house with you and Bridgette, sitting on the sofa watching TV or sitting at the dining room table saying, “Don’t worry. I am OK. I love this new house. It’s perfect. Sitting on the porch is my favorite. I am in spirit watching over you. I am in my favorite spot eating my favorite food. I have a new body and life. I’ve been healed by Jesus. I feel good in my new home here in my mansion. It is wonderful and beautiful, a new life of peace. There is no more suffering and pain.” My father is with us all day long. He misses us and is so happy to know we’re OK. Though he is missed by us every day he is present. He is saying, “I am doing fine.” Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and to all the mothers of the world.

couldn't keep my brother and me, so we had to go to different foster homes.

She visited me just once in foster care.

I was nine and I was happy to see her. She brought another with her, and I showed that child love like she was a sister. She was eight.

She and my mother stayed for maybe 30 minutes. The foster mother told my mother to visit again. My mother said she would try.

I wondered why she said "try". She left

the foster home. Later that day she was hit and killed by a Safeway truck. Now I know why she said "try". I was too young to understand it then, but I think she must have known it was the last time I would see her.

So happy Mother's Day, Mom. You were a sweet lady. Yes, you had someone taking care of you because you were sick. But you were my mother.

Dear Mother

By Beverly Sutton, Vendor/Artist Dear Mother, you're in a better place. May God be with you.

I don't know much about my mother.

But I know she had Down Syndrome. I found out from my case worker when I was nine years old.

She weighed probably 60 pounds. She

STREET SENSE May 4 - 17, 2016

py y! a ’s D

,_ e v o

By Leonard Hyater Vendor/Artist

_

__ _ _ _

_

__ _ _ _

A Mother’s Unconditional Love Mother's Day

The below cards were made by children and young adults at DC General family shelter, through the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project.

When you brought me into this world, I knew that I was a blessing in your life.

When you raised me from birth to childhood, I can remember how I would wake up in the morning and you would get up early and start cooking my breakfast and getting me up to go to school. No matter what, good or bad.

That is unconditional love.

I can remember the times, growing as a teenager, when I acted up. You would always say “I brought in, and I can take you out.” When things go wrong or are in despair, you always make things better.

Mother, even to this day, your unconditional love has been a blessing in my life — especially in my time of despair.

Mother, thank you, I love you and God bless you!

9

MOTHER’S DAY!

By Evelyn Nnam Vendor/Artist Mother’s Day is near, and it is quite a day for mothers all over the world.

Regardless of the day, my daughter always acknowledges me and loves me as a mother.

There is no other person like a mother.

Once a women becomes a mother, she has a lot of responsibilities to take care of. The number one thing mothers always want is the best for their children. A mother knows best because mothers know their children very well.

Mothers are very loving and caring for their children, and not only their children, but others that surround them and loved ones as well. Mothers understand what goes on with their child. Many times, mothers are able to let their children tell them deep things that are going on with their lives, because mothers know the right advice on what to tell their children.

Mothers aren’t always perfect. Believe me, they’re not, I am a mother and I am

not perfect. But once that child is born, they will never forget who gave birth to them, no matter what that mother has done with her life. Mothers are strong and capable of anything they set their mind to. A mother makes sacrifices for their child to be better than who she is.

For Mother’s Day, the nice things people give to their mothers include roses and candy. These signify the sweetness of how our mothers are to us and the amazing bright colors they infuse when raising us.

An assortment of fruit is also a nice gift to give mothers.

A mother’s love is like no other love. It is very different from a father's love, although it can be similar at times. A mother’s love brings warmth and ultimate care.

Without mothers, the world would not be the same.

So whenever you get the chance, just say a few nice words to your mother. I hope mothers all around the world will have a great mother's day and continue to do what you do for your children. Remember, there is no one like us. Thank you.

To M y M o m s and Twin

By Kanell Washington Vendor/Artist It was so amazing to have received your love, and I will follow you to the moon and stars above, even after you left me.

Love. I’ve dedicated this to all the people who I ever truly or really loved, plus those knowing my darkest hours are just before my dawn. And all of my feelings that Moms and my twin taught me in the game called life, come over me.

And I recall this lady and a time; this lady led me to believe she needed someone to be kind. Yes, I was blind. Moms would have said beware, there is danger there. But I was spinning ground and fooling myself that I was falling in love.

She said “Why don’t you step into my world and she said she would make me king. When I forgot Lou, Moms already told me years that my love already was and is king.

Yet those saying you should have known better, you, who is the master of some games, some that we can’t even name.

I should have been hip to her weak game, but everyone plays the fool, sometime. There are no exceptions to anybody’s rules. Yet that was no ordinary love.

Happy Mother’s Day!

By Michael Craig Vendor/Artist Blue jays and cardinals flock together, whether you know it or not. I’ve even seen them protect each other's nests. Now that’s what I call motherly love!

Their sounds and colors are beautiful together. When I catch them landing on a tree side-by-side, it amazes me that they can be so congruent and fluid in their movements.

When they fly through the sky together, I sometimes think, “Why can’t we be like them?”

We could be like a butterfly, floating along with the blue jay and cardinal. Why can’t we fly together?

That’s love. Happy Mother’s Day!

OPINION

MOVING UP: How Transportation Affects the Poor and the Minimum Wage Battle

By Arthur Johnson

Several weeks ago, the city of Washington D.C. suffered a one-day crisis as all the Metro trains were shut down for 29 hours.

For most people who depend on the Metro for convenience, it was a minor problem, but for the many thousands of low-income individuals who depend on the Metro because it serves as their only method of transportation, it was a very bad situation.

And if major shutdowns become necessary to make repairs, many riders will need to find alternative transit options to get to work and everywhere else.

The Metro is one of the best transportation systems in the country and is the nation’s second largest. The thing that especially makes the Metro unique is its pricing system, which is based on distance and time. If there are shutdowns, it will be necessary to find alternative methods of transit. There are buses, but they will be costly in terms of time and it could also pose problems if you work several jobs that are not near each other.

This issue of transit also is something to keep in mind regarding the minimum wage battle that is still trying to get to the ballot in November. As I have pointed out in the past, one of the things to be concerned about is that if businesses have to pay a significantly higher wage, they may go across the Potomac, and that is especially

of concern for individuals that depend on public transit because of the higher cost incurred over an extended distance. If you resided in the eastern part of the District and took the Metro from the Stadium-Armory station to Dupont Circle, your fare is $2.65 each way plus a $1 fee if you use a paper farecard instead of a SmarTrip card (based on taking the rail at 3:30pm which would be when someone working second shift would probably be traveling) If your employer moved across the Potomac into Virginia and your trip now was from Stadium-Armory to Tysons Corner, the fare would more than double to $5.80 each way. To make matters worse, you would have lower wages. That is because the main reason an employer (such as a restaurant) would move over the river would be to save on labor costs (particularly if the District does pass a ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage from its present rate of $11.50/hour to $15/hour). Virginia presently uses the federal minimum wage of 7.25 per hour, which would be a substantial drop for any workers in the District (even if the minimum wage was to stay at its present rate), whose employer relocated to Virginia.

So factoring in a huge drop in income and an increase in transportation costs and you have a major dilemma for many

workers. One solution would be to get a second job near wherever your first job would be in Virginia, but flexibility would be necessary to make that work.

Getting back to the Metro, if there are shutdowns, there are some options.

You could buy a bike and ride to work (I checked on bike rentals and there are five companies that rent bikes, but their hours are mostly around the daytime, usually ending about 7 p.m. -- which would make the idea difficult for second- and third-shift workers). You can also ride the Metrobus but you will have to plan accordingly since

it will take a larger part of your day to get around. I realize all this sounds depressing but thinking about this ahead of time and planning what you need to do is what will allow you to handle the situations that a disruption in Metrorail service may cause.

In the next issue, we will look at education options you can use to help increase your chances of getting employed or finding a better job.

Arthur Johnson is a volunteer writer focusing on finance and economic issues.

Below: Two metro buses give the right of way at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue, SE and Malcolm X Avenue, SE. | PHOTO BY MATAILONG DU

Has The World Gone Mad?

By Jeffery Mcneil

I have nothing against people that may be going through changes. I work at a gym. Our company does its best not to discriminate. We provide elevators for people that are disabled and I allow the homeless use locker rooms to take showers and change clothes. I don’t consider myself a bigot. When I confront something I pray on it.

However, there are many that come into my club always looking for loopholes to stretch rules. If I say two towels they’ll try to finagle me for four. If I say we close at 9:00 they’ll try to stay till 9:30. These people are not interested in anything but filing frivolous lawsuits. Their purpose is to implode the capitalist system through legalities, and in the end nobody wins -not the poor or the people they claim to represent.

Whenever the left passes a minimum wage law or bathroom bill the corporation passes the cost to the customer and makes it more expensive for the people they are trying to help. Thanks for fighting for my rights. Transgender rights is the latest Trojan Horse of the left. Male and female restrooms were never controversial until a few leftist lawyers saw a loophole that could bring socialism about by transforming the women’s restroom.

People are not in an uproar because men can use women’s restrooms. What people are furious about is most of these decision are not done by public approval, they’re decided by school boards or federal judges. This has been a pattern of Barack Obama and the left when they don’t get an outcome favorable they pass a stealth agenda -- and who suffers? The people whose rights they claim to defend.

The reason this is being pushed is not because transgenders are being discriminated against, it’s because gays are the most successful of the protected class.

They are integrated in the military, they no longer get fired for being gay, they have political clout and they can get married in any state. While other minorities just wanted to be respected. The LGBT movement has moved to a new phase -they know longer want to be tolerated or accepted, they want society to conform to their own delusions. They want people to acknowledge Bruce Jenner not as a man but as Caitlyn, or Chaz Bono as Chuck.

Liberals went off the deep end. When does the religious community put the crazy train back on the tracks? God made Adam and Eve not Adam, Eve and Idon’t-know.

I’m shocked more self-proclaimed femi-

nists aren’t appalled and outraged. Transgenderism is a direct assault on the core of womanhood. How can feminists claim the right-wing is wwaging a war on women then allow liberals to mock them by claiming Bruce Jenner ( former man of the year ) can take hormone pills and say he’s a woman?

I’m not anti-gay, I’m being honest.

I have many gay supporters that read my columns. I think Log Cabin Republicans and gay libertarians are wonderful.

What I detest and repudiate are gay activists that want to push their way of life on others. I treat the alternate lifestyle like smoking cigarettes -- if it’s not blown in my face I don’t care what you do.

As with Black Lives Matter or Al Sharpton, the LGBT activists don’t speak or represent everyone in the gay community.

Their agenda is not to have straights and gays find ways to love and respect each other, they want to make America like San Francisco. They are willing to destroy anyone that opposes them so they can impose their vision of a Rainbow community.

I’m not irked at gays, but at these black pastors that allowed gay rights to overshadow Civil Rights. I was born black.

I can’t change, no matter what pill I take.

To say a person born a male, who takes

hormone pills to become female, is comparable to those that got beat up and murdered in Birmingham and Selma is an insult to African-Americans and should be pushed back vigorously.

This isn’t about race, color or gender -- it’s about drawing the line. Only a small percentage of Americans support transgender activism. This madness is being driven by radical leftists that are trying to indoctrinate children by teaching them that sexual deviancy is moral, natural and progressive.

It’s all hands on deck for those that believe in God and Liberty. This is no time to be afraid of the P.C. police. We need to take the gloves off and say what’s on our mind, instead of carefully not offending people because we don’t want to be classified as bigots.

We do need to have a raw honest dialog but it needs to be raw and honest, where someone can say what he really thinks without worrying about being sued or fired because the P.C. police wants to silence those that disagree with them.

Jeffery is a frequent contributor to Street Sense.

Have an opinion about how homelessness is being handled in our community? Street Sense maintains an open submission policy and prides itself as a newspaper that elevates community voices and fosters healthy debate. Send your thoughts to opinion@streetsense.org.

The Masked Bull

STREET SENSE May 4 - 17, 2016

OP-ED

By Angie Whitehurst

The political masquerade, aka the electoral primaries before the big vote in November 2016, has mesmerized our brains, dominated our conscious mind, lead us into a state of denial and left us lost in the forest with no trees. This sounds unstable, but it isn’t. Our votes are important and the stewardship of our country is even more crucial to keeping, improving and growing a more perfect union.

Both the Republican and the Democratic parties have the same decade-old dictatorial mentality. What they missed is the fact that there is a crisis of consensus, 360 degrees, in every which way, but their two paths of choice. The voters and party-loyal rabble-rousers are discontent with business as usual. This is good, politics is good and discussion is good. It is our democracy at work and our last line of defense in the checks-and-balances system, designed in our great Constitution and form of government. We are saying we want the party leaders and candidates to get down to business, or the million-dollar

TV, radio, Facebook and Twitter spin just might not have an ounce of swaying power at the ballot box.

We want to know about affordable housing, education costs, IRS reform and simplicity, health care, equal pay and higher minimum wages. And, yes the only issue on pro-choice and pro-life is the woman’s right as a human being to have children, take care of children and being able to make decisions one way or the other without government interference, regardless of race color and creed. Secondly, reform is needed in the criminal justice system. This system of controlled, contained, room and

PERCEPTION OR REALITY: There Shouldn’t Even Be 1

By Robert Williams, USMC

Good day all.

Let me begin this column today by extending my thanks and appreciation to all of my readers for your support and assistance rendered, and of course for your generous donations as well. Thank you, those of you who have allowed the opportunity for us to get acquainted. I welcome any valid information that could assist this unemployed veteran or help me to help other veterans. Most information put out there in reference to aiding veterans is incomplete, inaccurate, misleading, or in some cases, non-existent. There are misconceptions about the homeless and particularly veterans. Homeless are not always dressed badly. Their cologne and body scent is not always funky, their IQ isn’t below average, they aren’t necessarily lacking in education or intelligence.

Most do have a desire to escalate to a higher level. Most are not a threat seeking to cause bodily harm to you, or destroy your property. They aren’t necessarily alcoholics or addicts, and most veterans that have those problems in their pasts started in the armed services under the stresses of danger and coping with losses -- and the sight of stuff that would probably cause you to pass out. Veterans do not automatically get a check each month, as I am constantly told. Don’t let those in power prey on your intelligence. It is said that veterans do not make up the majority of the homeless population. But I beg to differ. No matter how much they play with numbers, veterans should not be among the homeless.

Robert Williams is a vendor for Street Sense.

This is Getting Out of Hand

By Phillip Black

On Tuesday, April 5th I met one of my customers for lunch at Gallery Place, Chinatown. What I saw was unbelievable. here were 20 to 25 teenagers hanging around like they were still on spring break.

They were very loud and disrespectful, and I’m looking around, saying, “Where are the police when you really need them?” The kids were panhandling, smoking cigarettes and playing music on their cell phones. All of them were 15 or 16 years old. They were supposed to be in school, but there they were at Gallery Place. And for the people who work there, you can see in their eyes that they don’t like it one bit. A friend of mine who works there said she doesn’t come out for lunch because there are too many teenagers hanging around. We need to help them by reporting them. Back in January, about six teenagers assaulted someone. And the charges were dropped. Just think about when summertime comes. You can see the good in some of them, but they are doing what some of their friends are doing.

Phillip Black is a vendor for Street Sense.

Above: A sign that reads one-fourth of homeless men are veterans PHOTO COURTESY OF ALACHUA COUNTY

board without real rehabilitation, counseling and ongoing re-entry support services, is a waste of money, harmful to society and makes individuals more disconnected, isolated and denigrated. More importantly, there is no incentive for them to even try to do better.

The bottom line is that we the voters need to get together and make the right choice of the right person. Not voting is the ultimate cop-out, so do not complain when things degrade and stay the same. VOTE. Angie Whitehusst is a vendor for Street Sense.

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

I

h ave sometimes looked at people who seem to have everything —nice kids, a fine home, a good job — and their good fortune has caused me to wonder how other people view them, especially if they are also healthy and good­looking. Do they have friends and are their friends many in number? Who are

they? Are they a lot like them? Can they be with anyone or do they prefer to work around people like themselves?

People can be jealous of others, especially if they are going through a bad time. Is it necessary for these perfect types to consider this factor in choosing neighborhoods, clubs to join, and

churches to attend?

Everyone is not going to like everyone else. Children may have to learn this fact early in school. It might be better to give an excuse and not run for class office than to be constantly defeated because the children and the other kids don’t have much in common.

Understanding Homelessness

Moving In

By Charles Davis Vendor/Artist I was with my case worker downtown recently to fill out my voucher for my landlord so I can move into my apartment. I was thrilled. This will be my first place of my own! I know things will to be quite difficult in the beginning because being on the street for so many years can make life hard when begin to organize yourself.

Years ago I never thought I would get this far because I had so many obstacles to deal with. But being strong and keeping the faith with God can carry you a long way. I count my blessings almost every day because I know God knows what I’m going through, and I do that because I know he loves me very much. And the confidence of so many friends and my family has also helped me. I really admire what I’ve accomplished! I also want to thank for going through this journey with me and really helping me get off these streets.

Once I move in I have some medical issue to deal with, especially my back, which will limit my ability to move around. But being approved by the SSI will help me out a lot because I will

Friendship is important and some friends should be made. Kids cannot just have parents as friends. Their role is chiefly that of disciplinarian, especially today. When it is believed that a child has broken the law and the police are summoned, the results can be tragic.

Sometimes people will say that they have married their best friend. If the relationship ends and they have not let anyone else into their life, they will be devastated.

If you have failed in your choice of friends in the past, just remember that at one time or another, everyone has done the same, and a few good friends will counteract a lot of bad choices.

get the proper things I will need for my health and my apartment. I’m also working hard on my education so I can into the University of the District of Columbia and get a degree in accounting.

I have to temper all these terrific events with a bit of bad news. My best friend Chris passed away a few weeks

ago. But I know he’s so proud of me for achieving my goal of getting my own apartment. May he rest in peace.

So, my Street Sense family, whatever goals you have in life, keep the faith!

Whatever plans God had for you will be beautiful.

By Clarence P. Williams Vendor/Artist What are the worst experiences that a lot of homeless people go through? I would say depression, stress, time management and feeling safe, especially if you aren’t living in a comfortable environment. Other issues that being homeless can bring about are substance abuse and mental health situations.

There are a lot of things that a homeless person has to do at the beginning of the day just to try to fit back into the normal flow of society that other people take for granted, because their basic necessities are met and are not as limited.

I wish that more people would take the time to be more understanding, compassionate, and trying to come up with a solution to this growing epidemic which is whole world. It takes a lot of will power and commitment to overcome the mental and emotional scars caused by going through the traumatic situation of homelessness.

All I can do is to keep hoping.

STREET SENSE May 4 - 17, 2016

13

VENDOR WRITING part 4

ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER HARCHELROAD

By Ivory Wilson Vendor/ Artist PREVIOUSLY: Dean’s crew planned a hit on Bill. An attempt was made on Bills life, but instead Bills girlfriend, Penny, was poisened with salmon laced antifreeze and died. Mick overheard the outfit and purple gangs hit plan about the poison and searched for his friends while Rags and Dean who were disgrunteled about their failure to kill Bill beat one of Mick’s crew to death.

INT. WASHINGTON, DC - DAY - UNDERGROUND - UNION STATION Dean is having a sit-down meeting with his under boss from Anacostia, South Side. Rags is going over the books while the gang collects in Chinatown. A huge martial arts expert has arrived from China. His name is Lee Ho. He goes by Pulk.

He is in town with his own gang. Lee Ho notices the outfit gang taking mice into rooms and having their way with them and decides to intervene. He and his gang cut the outfit gang to pieces, but a few manage to get away,

As Peclin leaves, Pledged runs in, out of breath.

PLEDGED: Boss! Boss! Trouble! We werjumped by a chinese gang with swords and knives! We never saw them coming!

DEAN:How many?

PLEDGED: Thousands!

DEAN:Break out the iron, boy! Blast them!

RAGS:Boss, it’s got 15 rounds in it. We’re ready.

We see Lee Ho and his crew charging through the tunnel, swords out, on the way to Union Station. Dean and his crew are waiting at the tunnel’s exit. As Lee Ho and his five best fighters exit the tunnel, Rags opens fire and 12 shots ring out.

Lee Ho is killed immediately. wounding The rest of his gang they ran back into the tunnel and return to Chinatown.

RAGS: Boss, that stopped them!

DEAN: Yeah, yeah! Bring them in and let’s eat.

INT. WHITE HOUSE LAWN - NIGHT

Mick the Tick on Captiol Hill, hiding in a hole with Larry. Lee Ho has captured fifteen of the gang in a tunnel them tied with rubber bands to the metro train rail.

The train comes and the gang is literally cut in half.

EXT. UNION STATION - DAY - UNDERGROUND DEAN: Books look good. Having any problems over the cheese rackets things going good? Keep it up! Soon we’ll take on that Spanish gang for their cheese and everything else!

DEAN (laughing): How are you and the wife getting along these days? Last time you said her baby-daddy was still in prison. He out yet?

PECLIN: Dean, man, I got another baby on the way, by HER girlfriend!

DEAN: Does she know?

PECLIN:No, not yet.

DEAN: Okay, that’s it. Glad you stopped by. And take care of your baby-mama drama. Bye!

WILLIE: Hey, Bill? You there?

BILL: Not now, Willie. I miss Penny. I loved her so much.

WILLIE: Dean’s gang and purple gang are the ones who poisoned your food. Mick told us.

BILL (boiling mad): I’m coming for you, Dean! You killed Penny!

WILLIE: Okay, if you need help, Larry and his crew are ready. So is mine.

BILL:Thanks, Willie. This fight is mine, however. I will wipe them out! I’ll kill Dean. Go home — it’s going to get bloody at Union Station, WILLIE: I am really sorry about Penny.

BILL: Thanks. The purple gang is next.

Dean and his gang using Texas Pete Hot Sauce on the bodies of Lee Ho and his dead crew begin to eat them.

DEAN:Boy, this is some good hot meat!

RAGS: More wine and music!! (to be continued)

AFTER KATRINA: A Ten-Year Roller Coaster, Part 20

By Gerald Anderson. Vendor/Artist

PREVIOUSLY: After meeting up at the jail medical with my co-defendant, I felt better, tellin’ him how the corrections officer wanted me to rat. My codee say, “Good lookin’ out, man.” He knew I was keepin’ it real, never gonna snitch. I left and headed to the tier where inmates from my cellblock take lunch. I thought back to the recent morning that I got a phone call from my client, Mike. He say, “I been lookin’ for ya. I hear the people looking for ya.” They already got my mens, I tell him, but it be Hell if they get me. He tell me he tryin’ to get 30 or 40 bags of heroin. I say, I’m gonna trust you man—because you would never cross me. A few minutes later we meet, and I get in his car. His phone rung. He say, “Me and Orlean together right now. We goin’ to Burger King.” I say, “Man why you tell someone I’m in the car?” He say, “That’s my girl on the phone.” Next thing I know, we in the BK parking lot, he go inside, and the police got the barrel of a Glock 40 pointed in my face.

I’m lookin’ down the barrel of a Glock 40, at the red beamer inside it, and I’m sayin’ to myself, Man please get this stupid ass gun outta my face.

The cop like, “You under arrest, don’t move, come out slowly. Don’t try nothin’.”

So I’m thinkin’, Can I jump out the window and try to get away? But when I looked, there was another cop there on the driver’s side.

So I get out, and now I see the picture: I been set up. A whole lotta other cop cars comin’ at me from all over with lights and sirens.

I say, “Hey, ain’t you gonna tell my guy inside that I’m goin’ to jail?”

The cop say, “No, he already know. He workin’ with us, not you.” Now I know for sure he workin’ with the people; he set me up.

I say, “Damn, whoever draw this picture up, this a four-pointer, not even a three pointer.”

The cop ask what that mean. I say, “Like in basketball—me getting’ busted like this—it’s better than a three pointer.” He laugh.

He say, “Y’know Orlean, you move too fast, so we had to get the best shot we could get at you, cause you like mission impossible.”

Another cop say, “You must be payin’ the community real good not to rat on you.”

I say, “Just get me to jail, man. Congratulations to your brat—I hope y’all pay him good.”

Little did I know they had a police precinct around the corner that’s a jumpout—a drug task force station.

They searched and didn’t find no drugs on me. ’Cause funny thing was, I had meant to bring the 30 bags but hadn’t realized they were in my other hoodie. It didn’t matter, ’cause I was already wanted on conspiracy, distribution, wiretaps on my phone, and whatever else.

After they took me to the station, I see the snitch’s car and I hear him ask the police, “You gonna take care of me?”

And they say yeah, we got ya.

That’s when they tried to get me to rat on other dudes in my ring by offering me hamburger and a Newport. I wasn’t gonna sell my soul for a Tootsie Roll.

This was the third time I got busted in D.C. The previous time I spent 180 days. I was given the option to go to a program instead. I didn’t want to go to a program; I preferred to do my 180 days. That way I didn’t have to give urine or nothin’ after I served my time. But, now, this gonna be a whole heap more than 180 days. (to be continued) My book, Still Standing: How an ExCon Found Salvation in the Floodwaters of Katrina, is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle form. It’s a tough story but also good, because I’m still standing, so it makes a nice gift!

I hope you will tell your friends about it. It tells a story of poverty, life on the streets and in prison that many from age 12 to 92 would not otherwise know. If you like it, maybe you can write an Amazon review. Thank you!

PHOTO BY BRETT MOHAR

Prince

Little Red Corvette

By Tammy Michele-Rice Volunteer

By Ron Verquer Vendor/Artist

Prince is the man with the baddest sound The purple crown The cutest man In the world With the finest Jheri-curl

In 1986 my friend bought another friend’s 1978 25th Anniversary Corvette.

Red with red interior. Super low miles.

He Let me Drive it with my kids’ mom 40 Miles. This car had low miles on it, 10,000 I think. The experience was so AWESOME! So when I hear this song, Little Red Corvette, it feels so good. It don’t take a video to impress it on my mind. Also, a 65 Corvette was Sold to My Friend Robert to get that corvette. I hope one day you all will be able to take a corvette for a test drive or own one.

Well, R.I.P Prince

I wrote this a long time ago, but was never able to share it with anyone until now.

My hero and idol – Prince will live in our hearts forever. My favorite Prince song is Little Red Corvette.

The Underground: Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

By Charlton Battle Vendor/Artist This is an article about the life of a world in D.C. that’s not seen with the naked eye. Actually, it has to be seen with the intention of the heart. I do mean a hard heart!

With true intentions, you can enter The Underground by not being afraid of the dark. It is a dark world: Blacks are the usual “dark” for the Dark Side (The Underground). Why shouldn’t we be used to the dark? It’s actually God’s plan.

Even in this bright, right, white “equal opportunity” world of America, there is still a Dark Side -- visible to ourselves.

Make no mistake, I’m speaking specifically to the Black American. We still look at each other as dark, black and for some reason – not beautiful. We can’t seem to get it together.

By now we should fit in. We have to learn a way to help ourselves. We’re always looking for the right, white American world to help us. But the only people who know what’s going on are on the Dark Side.

We are the ones on the streets; we are the one's begging; we are the one's in the programs and the shelters; we are the ones in the inner city – which I choose to call The Underground. We’ve got druginfested streets and a whole lot more.

We are a very unique race of people.

Yes, I do say “race,” because we must be aware of the Black America. Most of us--the Americans--were built here in the USA, although from other countries, just like the White man (or should I say the right man). Most of us, except the Native American, came from somewhere.

Why do I say we’re built here? Because over time, Black Americans has come from slavery, to segregation, to finally some form of acceptance. Though we were never really given the proper apology (if there is such a thing).

That’s why we don’t really feel as though we are free.

The Black President we have now is not even appreciated for the help being done while he’s in office. Yes, it could be worse.

Yes, it could be even better.

The Dark Side is where I started this article and want to end this article because the streets and homelessness and institutions are the key to the Dark Side.

I’m not saying you can’t help, because all donations are helpful. But until we learn to help each other, we’re going to continue to divide and go down. (to be continued)

Ful Yore Natur exaltys in natour.

Gyf so iss hae es tu cold or sches tu pretty to covet, thay should be let in thr fold.

Oh, Being Inne! By then nearun tu pure to mix withth de moold, thys is yr natur!

-By Franklin Sterling, Vendor/Artist

15

STREET SENSE May 4 - 17, 2016

COMMUNITY SERVICES Housing/Shelter

Food

Clothing

Showers

Outreach

Medical/Healthcare

Transportation

Laundry

Education

Employment Assistance

Legal Assistance

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

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

Community of Hope: 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

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

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

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

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

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

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CELEBRATING SUCCESS! Everything Starts and Ends with God

By Marcus Green Vendor/Artist I'm willing to do the work to align my will to God's will. My blessings are coming because I try not to block my blessings; and I'll put something in the circle of blessings. A kind word, a prayer, help someone with no strings attached.

My inspiration is God, family, friends and Street Sense customers. Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you will be among the stars. Never, never, never give up on yourself and life. Your breakthrough is coming but you have to be faithful.

Alvin Dixon - March 16 Chon Gotti - April 22

2016 BI-ANNUAL READERSHIP SURVEY! As a reader and customer, you are a crucial part of Street Sense. It is you who empowers our vendors economically, you who improves our local culture by being better-informed about

RESPOND Please mail your survey to: Street Sense, Inc. 1317 G Street NW Washington DC, 20008 Or participate online at: streetsense.org/survey

homelessness and poverty. Needless to say, we value your feedback.

Please complete this survey online at StreetSense.org/survey or postmark your resonse by May 31, 2016 to 1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.

1 — Our vendors receive compensation for promoting this vital survey.

If a vendor convinced you to respond to the survey, please note their name and badge number here. ________________________________________________

2 — If Street Sense begins publishing weekly, we could: prov ide higher, more-stable income for our current vendors; employ more new vendors; and publish more timely content.

If we made this switch, would you support these initiatives by purchasing a paper each week? ____Yes

____________________

4 — What additional content would you most value in the newspaper?

____Often (several copies each week) ____New Editions (every 2 weeks) ____Occasionally (every few months) ____Rarely (a few times each year) ____I just bought my first copy!

____Yes ____No

____Puzzles & Games ____Community Calendar ____Expanded Resource Guide ____More Local News ____More Vendor Writing ____National/International News ____Advertising or coupons

7 — Have you ever donated to Street Sense, outside of purchasing a newspaper?

5 — When you do buy Street Sense, how much of the paper do you usually read?

____I just bought my first issue ____3 months – 1 year ____1 – 3 years ____3+ years

____No 3 — How often do you purchase a Street Sense?

6 — Most street papers that have increased their circulation fundraised printing costs in advance. Would you donate $24 or more over the course of 12 months to help us switch to a weekly publication?

____Read it cover to cover ____Read at least half of it ____Skim for my interests ____I don’t read the paper, but I donate to support the hard working vendors

____Yes ____No 8 — How long have you been a Street Sense customer?

9 — Are there specific vendor characteristics or behaviors that make you more or less likely to stop and buy a paper? ______________________________

_____________________________

May 4 - 17, 2016 • Volume 13 • Issue 13

_____________________________

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

Permit #568

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

Interested in a subscription? Visit StreetSense.org/subscribe

10 — When and where are you more likely to stop and buy a paper? (Check all that apply) Time ____Weekend Morning ____Weekend Afternoon ____Weekend Evening ____Weekday Morning ____Weekday Afternoon ____Weekday Evening Location ____Farmer’s or Flea Markets ____Metro Station ____Near another business ____Near events (sports game etc) ____Other_________________

11 — Are there any locations you frequently visit where you wish there were more Street Sense vendors available? ______________________________

_____________________________ _____________________________ 12 — Since 2012, Street Sense has evolved into a full media center, producing films, theater, a podcast and more. Have you attended any of our events? ____Yes ____No ____Didn’t know about these 13 — Would you be willing to... (check all that apply)

____Make a credit card purchase from a vendor? ____Purchase a ticket to an event from a vendor? ____Purchase a digital download (podcast, film) from a vendor?

14 — How would you prefer to purchase a digital download or ticket from a vendor? (check one) ____Pay cash and receive a piece of paper with a download URL ____Pay cash and enter an email address into a tablet or phone ____Purchase online via tablet or phone, download to your phone or computer 15 — How do you interact with Street Sense online?( check all) ____View content on the website ____Follow on social media (streetsensedc) ____Subscribe to the podcast ____Subscribe to the e-newsletter ____None of these