06 15 2016

Volume 13: Issue 16 June 15 - 28, 2016

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Re a d Ve n d o r F re d e r i c John’s account of Glover Park Day! StreetSense.org See accompanying photos and hear from Vendor Angie Whitehurst regarding Devising Hope theater program! StreetSense.org

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

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STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

BOOK REVIEW: “I Feel Like Going On”

By Eric Thompson-Bey, Vendor/Artist I had the pleasure of meeting Ray Lewis, former middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and two time Super Bowl champion. And now I’ve also read his book titled: “I Feel Like Going On.” In Lewis's bookm, he gives you an outstanding look on his life on and off the gridiron. He pays special attention to his family, especially his mother. Lewis also speaks about how he got the name, Ray Lewis, and how his father was not in his life, which was very revealing to me. He goes on about the abuse of himself and his mother by her many boyfriends, which I immediately related to.

Lewis speaks about playing pickup football in the projects where he grew up and how there were no rules. Only the toughest kids lasted, something I also experienced as a kid.

He goes in depth about playing football in highschool and college. He talks about winning the starting job when one of the

team’s starters went down and he talks about how their 58-game win streak ended.

The coin toss of that game changed how the coin toss was done in college football.

Lewis's professional career almost ended while in Atlanta at Super Bowl XXXIV when he was implicated in a murder. It changed his life. An injury in a game against the Dallas Cowboys in 2012 almost ended his career again. The next year he won his second Super Bowl.

Lewis had a fierce reputation on the football field. As a player, he earned the respect of his teammates, coaches and peers because of his outstanding play and no-quit attitude. He lost the respect of many football fans after the murder trial, but that didn't stop him from being one of the best middle linebackers that the National Football League has ever seen.

I really enjoyed reading his book and if you like reading autobiographies or sports, this is the book for you.

Georgetown Law Housing, Poverty and Policy Forum

By Roberta Haber, Volunteer

Georgetown Law hosted a forum on “Eviction: Housing, Poverty, and Policy” on June 9. The morning began with a presentation

by Harvard associate professor Matthew Desmond, whose books include the highly praised bestseller, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.” (Review on pg4) Desmond stated that the United States is the richest democracy on the planet and the one with the greatest poverty. He said that after eviction, families move from poor and dangerous conditions to circumstances that are poorer and more dangerous; and that the typical low-income family does not get government housing assistance. After moving to Milwaukee, Desmond wanted to know how often eviction happened and what the consequences were. In addition to becoming familiar with poor renters by living in the same environments, he collected data by surveying households in affluent and poor neighborhoods.

Desmond’s findings revealed the unfairness of declaring a location a nuisance property because 911 calls were made from the property. A serious unintended consequence of that practice was to inhibit women from reporting domestic violence because they feared they would lose their homes if they called for help. After Desmond drew attention to the consequences of nuisance property citations, the Milwaukee Police Department stopped the practice.

Using some of the proceeds from his book, Desmond started an organization, Just Shelter (www.justshelter.org), to help people locate resources in their communities for housing assistance, legal aid, tenant rights and education/advocacy.

A panel discussion, moderated by Bar-

bara Sard from the Georgetown Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, followed Desmond’s presentation. Panel members, in addition to Desmond, were New York City Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks; Pamela Hughes Patenaude, president of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America’s Families; and renowned Harvard sociologist William Julius Wilson.

Wilson stated that housing instability is associated with childhood behavior problems and lower average childhood reading and math skills. Evictions force people into environments where sexual and physical abuse is more likely. In addition, eviction affects job performanceand and makes it harder for employers to get in contact with workers or job seekers without a permanent residence Banks said the government has policy tools that can help. For example, when New York City consolidated Legal Aid and the Department of Social Services, evictions decreased.

Patenaude questioned whether landlords would accept housing vouchers and Banks responded that in New York, it is illegal for landlords to discriminate on the basis of source of income, adding that this law is enforced. Wilson raised the subject of employment and put in a plea for public sector jobs in areas with the highest unemployment. Most people in the audience seemed to agree with him.

Patenaude commented that a focus on minimum wage is a distraction. She did not elaborate or explain.

Desmond brought the discussion back to housing instability and said it’s important to “stop the bleeding for poor families who are absolutely crushed by this problem.”

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The Importance of Journalism to Ending Poverty

By Jacqueline Groskaufmanis, jaqueline.groskaufmanis@streetsene.org On June 9, 2016, Street Sense held its seventh annual David Pike Excellence in Journalism awards, honoring Will Sommer and Petula Dvorak for their articles on the realities of homelessness, and Aaron Draper for his photography that captured it.

Sommer and Dvorak participated in a panel discussion on the ways in which they covered homelessness, as well as why they chose to cover it in the first place, moderated by former honoree, Aaron Wiener.

Wiener began by asking the honorees for background on their stories, as well as any developments that have occurred since their original publication. In Dvorak’s article, she discusses how storage units have become quasi-neighborhood spaces for members of D.C.’s homeless community, and how development risks the removal of those communities. “We have a storage unit, it’s very simple” Dvorak said, explaining how the story of the people living in neighboring units entered her radar. “After years of going there, we became friends.”

Sommer, whose article discussed a law that is often abused to arrest people for simply standing on the sidewalk—often protesters, the homeless and Black men— explained that, prior to writing his article, he had been unfamiliar with the laws that lead to these sorts of arrests.

“Often times these are young black men who are just standing on the corner near houses, and then they’re being arrested,” he said.

In response to all questions—from Weiner and audience members—the importance of quality media coverage on issues of homelessness was consistently reinforced.

“You can never write enough about homelessness.” Dvorak said. “Few issues can compare to the issue of people who do not have a home.”

Dvorak talked in length about what it was like to really engage with the subjects of her article, which included establishing enough of a relationship to get a truthful narrative, and convincing them that their story needed to be told— something that is difficult when a group of people have such strong pride. “They don’t fit the traditional stereotypes of people overcoming homelessness.” Said Dvorak, whose article gave a holistic, and truthful portrait of individual, relatable people who made lives for themselves in the storage units. “You see them in the morning, getting ready for work just like we do.”

Other topics that were covered included the D.C. General transition, a journalist’s limited ability to participate politically, how public officials can be held accountable and be encouraged to do better by the homeless population and the challenge that is covering such an intense subject when one has never experienced themselves.

During the audience question and answer period, vendor Michael Craig questioned this kind of second-hand coverage. “That’s a multi-faceted issue, and the best we can do is continue to cover [homelessness]” said Sommer in response.

“That’s the beauty of Street Sense” said Dvorak, “you give real voice to these issues.”

BOOK REVIEW: “Evicted — Poverty and Profit in the American City”

By Roberta Haber, Volunteer

To gather material for “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” Matthew Desmond lived for18 months in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first in a trailer park that was home to poor whites and then in an inner city apartment in a very low-income African American neighborhood.

Desmond’s compelling and highly readable report of what he saw and heard is filled with dialogue and sharp observation.

For example, a trailer park resident who has fathered children with multiple women is described as “the kind of man who took satisfaction in leaving the bathroom door open and scratching in public.”

The book is one tale after another that, taken together, tell the stories of a handful of people living in extremely difficult circumstances. There’s Lamar, a single dad and Vietnam vet who claims to have enjoyed the war. Lamar lost his legs after he smoked crack, passed out in an upstairs room of an abandoned house, and woke up alone the next day, unable to walk because his legs were frozen. No one heard his shouts for help, so he stayed there for a few more days, finally getting the attention of others after dragging himself to a window and hurling himself to the sidewalk.

Someone called an ambulance and when Lamar woke in the hospital he was a double amputee.

As sad as Lamar’s story is, the most tragic and sympathetic person depicted in the book is Arleen, a woman so poor that rent on her roach‐infested apartment uses more than 80 percent of the monthly check she depends on to support herself and two of her young sons. Arleen is constantly anxious that she will lose her home and the two children that live with her. (She has already lost others to foster care.) Because a letter from the welfare agency was sent to an

old address, she is unaware that her check is going to be reduced and she gives away the little money she has to help pay for the funeral of a woman she considers her sister.

Giving up this money gets her behind on her rent, and she never catches up.

You might say Lamar, Arleen and others described in the book bring problems down on themselves by making terrible decisions. But as the tales unfold, we see that the deck is stacked against them. In a poor neighborhood, you are likely to be evicted if you report a building code violation. The landlord is contacted when there is a complaint about poor conditions, and if the tenant is already behind on the rent, the landlord can resolve the complaint by evicting the complaining tenant. So it is unwise to complain. You can be evicted for making a 911 call. During the period described in the book, the Milwaukee police kept track of emergency calls that were made from a location, and if they decided too many emergency calls had come from a particular apartment building, the site was labeled a nuisance and the landlord was called to account. That meant that when a woman named Crystal made the mistake of calling 911 to report domestic violence in the apartment upstairs, she was evicted, along with the woman upstairs who was being attacked. When Arleen’s 14‐year old child could not breathe due to severe asthma, she called for an ambulance and she, too, was labeled a nuisance and evicted.

Once an eviction is on a person’s record, public assistance may be terminated and a landlord won’t rent to them without concessions, such as higher rent.

Arleen, Lamar and many of the others included in Matthew Desmond’s book seem to be caught in complex self‐perpetuating cycles with no good choices and terrible

consequences, as if they are running on a treadmill that will not stop until they drop from exhaustion. But some do find a way out. Scott, originally from a farm in Iowa, was a nurse in Milwaukee who became addicted to opiates prescribed for the back pain he developed taking care of nursing home residents. Eventually, Scott began pilfering his patients’ fentanyl (the synthetic opiate that killed Prince). After his crime was discovered and he lost his nursing license, he dedicated himself to finding drugs and using them. His life in the trailer park and his descent after being evicted from his trailer are presented by Desmond with graphic description. When, finally, Desmond describes Scott breaking free from his addiction and taking the first step in the 5‐year process of regaining a nursing license, it’s a relief to the reader.

Desmond went as deep with the landlords as with the tenants. Sherrena is a former teacher who entered the real estate market and realized there was gold in slum housing.

She sometimes seems to care about her tenants, but when she decides it’s time to deliver an eviction notice she gets it done and is annoyed at the recipient for putting her in that position. Tobin, the owner of the trailer park, lets about a third of his tenants slide on the rent each month, but then he turns around and hires a management company that will likely collect what is owed in an orderly manner.

The book reveals some of the obstacles faced by the poorest of the poor when they seek housing. We see them carrying belongings in plastic trash bags into substandard housing; coping with unsanitary and dangerous conditions; watching as marshals and movers reclaim the apartment; and being forced outside again, in

search of housing that is probably worse than what they previously had.

Based on his research and his visits to the Milwaukee courthouse where eviction cases are decided, Desmond came to an undeniable conclusion: in the United States, poor people of all races must deal with eviction, but the face of eviction is a black female with children.

He proposes establishing publicly funded legal services for tenants facing eviction, pointing out that in housing court, 90 percent of landlords but only 10% of tenants have legal counsel. The result is that tenants do not mount a good defense, either because they don’t understand their rights or because they’re too intimidated or pessimistic about the process to participate effectively.

He says we must eliminate the conditions and legal loopholes that allow landlords and others to make excessive profit from supplying essential goods and services to the poor. It is “fundamentally unfair” that the poor often pay more than the middle class for housing, food, durable goods and credit. Prices are high in poor neighborhoods.

And finally, Desmond proposes that a universal housing voucher be provided to all low-income families, so that the trauma of being put out on the street is no longer a fact of everyday life. Desmond writes, “Eviction does not simply drop poor families into a dark valley, a trying yet relatively brief detour on life’s journey. It fundamentally redirects their way, casting them on a different, and much more difficult, path.

Eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty . Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.”

BOOK REVIEW: “The New Holocaust — Homelessness in America “The last time Western civilization denied millions of its own citizens a legal place to go to the bathroom or sit or lie down, they were being loaded onto cattle cars, bound for the killing camps of the Nazi regime.” So begins writer and poet Yours Foolie’s ebook, “The New Holocaust: Homelessness in America and What We Can Do About It.” The book is split into several sections. The first focuses on the current homelessness problem in the United States, the second dissects Yours Foolie’s idea of a perfect societal structure, and the third lays out how Americans today can begin to build that perfect world.

After offering a brief glimpse of what it feels like to experience the stigma of homelessness, Yours Foolie takes readers

through a total rejection of capitalism and modern Western society. She pulls characteristics from several pre­colonial tribes, most notably the Kikuyu people of Kenya. The Kikuyu have been extensively documented by several ethnographers, although Yours Foolie does not mention any specific studies in her book. They are still a prevalent ethnic group, but the Kikuyu Yours Foolie focuses on are from “prior to ‘civilization’s’ arrival on their scene.” Her lavish descriptions of the tribe’s perfectly fair society are the only time her writing shows no signs of doubt or criticism.

Yours Foolie views the Kikuyu as an almost mythical tribe who lived in a blissful utopia where society functioned on equity, balance and altruism. She de-

scribes a world free of jealousy, theft, unfairness, hunger, hate, marital unhappiness, and want or need, and never once expresses doubt that this is how the world used to be. She mentions “authors” and “credible sources” often in her section about the Kikuyu, but does not offer names or references. The lack of formal citations can be frustrating for readers wanting footnotes and hard evidence. Her words make more sense when viewed outside of the scholarly articles and ethnographies that she “references.”

She never claims a faith, but viewing her descriptions of the Kikuyu through a faith lens helps to validate her words without being weighed down by inaccuracy or lack of proof. “Yours Foolie regards the

Divine as existing in the center of a gorgeous cosmic gem,” she writes, “Through each facet of this gem, one may gaze upon a slightly different aspect of the very same cosmic force...” The Kikuyu existed in the past and still exist today, which makes it hard for most of us to read her descriptions without wanting some kind of proof of their accuracy.

But, if we realize that Yours Foolie is showing us the Kikuyu through that “multidimensional cosmic gem,” we can begin to understand her Kikuyu outside of any exaggeration or citation error.

Perhaps the Kikuyu tribes Yours Foolie describes are her Eden or her Nirvana, her Jannah or Heaven. Despite not fact­ checking most details, the author has still

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

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SUMMER READING

MLK Library to Close for 3-Year Remodel Downtown Day Center in the Works to Provide Similar Services

Plans for MLK’s remodel |

IMAGE COURTESY OF MECANOO

By Kim Szarmach Editorial Intern By the end of 2017, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library will be closing for a three-year modernization project.

The $200 million renovation will include a fifth floor addition, a new greenspace, and possibly a café.

While the central library branch undergoes a major overhaul, D.C.’s unhoused community will be missing an important space to read, relax, use computers and access services.

To accommodate its hundreds of unhoused patrons, D.C. Public Libraries hired a social worker in 2014 and partners with Pathways to Housing DC, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, and U.S. Vets to provide needed services to that segment of the community. George Williams, D.C. Public Library’ Media Relations

Manager, said that patrons without homes can turn to the 25 other libraries for resources when MLK closes. Though a site has not been identified yet, an interim central library will also be available during the renovations.

Robin Diener, the President of MLK Library Friends, is concerned that the city’s unhoused community is not being considered as plans for the remodel come together.

“We feel like there’s a complete lack of vision in this renovation,” she said. “It doesn’t address homelessness at all.”

Diener and the rest of the Friends of the Library held a conference on the intersection of public libraries in 2014 and homelessness and drafted a report of their findings. In the report they recommend the creation of a center for Readers and Writers that would be used for adult education, larger, more accommodating rest-

rooms with paid staff to direct unhoused people to places where they can bathe, a café to be staffed by people who have experienced homelessness and a center for employment and workforce development.

The Library Friends hoped their report would spur discussion with the Board of Library Trustees and other decision makers about the needs of people experiencing homelessness, but the issue was largely ignored, according to Diener.

One library patron experiencing homelessness, Timothy Heinz, uses the library often to work on his manuscript.

Heinz is writing a book about his life and finds inspiration for characters in other library patrons he sees. He plans on going to other library branches to work when MLK closes, but will miss the central branch’s prime location.

“As far as convenience, this [library] is the one. The research that I need to do is right here,” Heinz said.

Another homeless patron sitting with Heinz comes to the library for downtime between appointments. While he’s there he likes to read and search for jobs. He

uses the United Planning Organization’s shuttle service to get to and from MLK. Heinz and his friend are only two of many people experiencing homelessness who use the library almost every day.

At daytime service centers, people experiencing homelessness can find the resources they used at the MLK Library while its closed. Currently, the District has one day shelter in Northeast, next to the Adams Place shelter. There, people experiencing homelessness can find case management, education on substance abuse and health, shower and laundry facilities, computer access and midday lunch. The center is highly regarded for its wealth of resources, however its location is less than convenient for many unhoused D.C. residents.

For that reason, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is planning to set up another daytime service center downtown, but has yet to find a location, according to Dora Taylor, Public Information Officer for DHS. “As soon as we’re able to ... we’ll begin renovations and open up a more conveniently located site,” Taylor said.

Proposed Cafe for the library |IMAGE COURTESY OF MECANOO

and What We Can Do About It” gained insight from the Kikuyu, which she wants to pass on to her readers. Although her descriptions of the Kikuyu as well as Native Americans and Chinese of the early 1900s are free of any faults, the rest of her book, which addresses homelessness and unfair treatment, proves humanity is far from perfect. She describes today’s world as cruel and cutthroat, unrelenting in its mistreatment of the less fortunate.

Seeing this disconnect in Yours Foolie’s writing is both profound and heartbreaking, and again draws parallels to major religions of the day.

The middle section of the book focuses on several vague, malleable words.

“Dreams.” “Love.” “Forgiveness.” These pages include dozens of quotes from poli-

ticians, pop stars, poets, and everyone in between. Quotes dot Yours Foolie’s pages like footnotes or scientific proofs. And like a densely sourced scientific paper, these quotes become quite tedious to sift through. They pile into heaps of slightly altered wording, until Yours Foolie’s words have to fight to be heard through them. If her first section lacked “proof,” this one certainly makes up for it.

Her strongest points are short, subtle, and full of original wisdom. “If even happiness doesn’t make us happy, what will?” she asks, after encouraging readers to celebrate the joy of others. “The New Holocaust” is as dark and confusing as it sounds. It is packed with conspiracy theory and a general mistrust of the good

in humanity. It would be easy to read this book and write it off as too darkly poetic or cynical. It sometimes seems that way.

But “The New Holocaust” also includes deep insight of both the good and the evil of which humans are capable. In the first part of the book, and again on the last page, Yours Foolie seems to have lost all trust in humanity. Her tone is bitterly nihilistic. After describing how quickly homelessness can happen, she includes a list of “potential predators roaming your new turf” that includes everyone in society from charity workers to police to best friends. Yet she obviously believes humans are capable of community and caring for each other. She writes of a native culture in Canada during the French

and Indian war that was unfamiliar with the concept of telling a lie. Furthermore, she writes that the children of the Kikuyu people were tranquil and peaceful because “children simply didn’t feel motivated to scream, hurl insults or objects, or break toys and possessions.”

Someone with a cynical view of humankind would never think any human at any time would fit those descriptions.

Yours foolie does not believe that humans are born evil or intentionally cause suffering. She uses her insights from the Kikuyu to show she thinks humankind is very capable of gentleness, love, and equal treatment. She gives readers instructions on how to nurture society.

Read free at YoursFoolie.wordpress.com

DCPNI Hosts Wellness Fair “I put this together because I thought the community needed this.”

By Mark Rose Volunteer The District of Columbia Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI), nonprofit charged by the federal government with revitalizing the blighted Kenilworth/Parkside neighborhood in Ward 7, collaborated with the Paradise at Parkside apartments there to host a health and wellness fair for neighbors at a local community center in last month.

The mission of the event was to educate the community about healthy lifestyle changes to improve their health and well-being. Despite a rainy day, a steady stream of local residents attended the event at the Chauncy Spruell Community Center, which is on the grounds of the Paradise apartments.

Organizers were determined to hold the event despite the bad weather. “I decided that rain or shine, we were going to make this happen, that rain was not going to stop us from doing this today,” said Tina Beeks, who organized the event and works at the Spruell Community Center helping Paradise’s elderly residents.

“Just having some of them come out is enough for me to consider it a success.

Beeks wanted the community to focus on their health. “Taking part in exercise is important,” she said in an interview.

“And it’s important to be healthy and live healthy. You’ll live longer.”

Beeks said that she recovered from being seriously overweight for a long time: she weighed more than 400 pounds. She had a “sleeve” operation, surgery that permanently reduces a patient’s stomach to about 15 percent of its original size, to eliminate her obesity in 2011, and is now down to about 200 pounds, she said.

“This is where I live; I want to pass it on to my community for their benefit so they can be healthy,” Beeks said in an interview. She wants to be around for her grandchildren, too see them grow up.

Booths at the fair, which had to be brought inside because of the rain, emphasized health and well-being, exercise, job readiness and job-search skills.

A program called Early Stages, which is part of D.C. Public Schools, identifies young children—aged from 2 years 8 months, up to 5 years 10 months—who have developmental disabilities, and places them with service providers in DCPS depending on the therapy needed, according to field coordinator Brandy Maskell.

“If we can reach out and identify these children, we’re doing something right,” Maskell said during the fair.

Capital Bikeshare, a program that has

Woman dancing at Wellness Fair.

Young girl getting her face painted at fair.

Woman dancing.

been in the District since 2010, offers cheap membership to ride their shared bicycles. Their $5 annual membership fee for low-income D.C. residents is cheaper and healthier than riding the bus or Metro. Bikeshare also offers free memberships to clients of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, said their spokesman.

A booth was manned by Impact DC, a clinic that offers education about how to cope with asthma attacks, of which local officials say there are a lot of victims in the Kenilworth/Parkside community.

Another booth offered flyers on several job-training programs offered by the D.C. government to residents, especially those in poor areas. The city wants to educate customers about what programs are available and help them fill out basic paperwork like job applications.

Chef Pat Peterson from Beefsteak, a D.C. restaurant near Dupont Circle, was offering fair–goers free smoothies mixed from cheap local fruits and vegetables, and was showing them how to make them.

Peterson encouraged residents to try to make the drinks themselves at home, of which several said in exit interviews they are going to do.

“With stuff available in the area, here are things you can do with them,” Peterson said. “The hope is that the guy at Circle Mart can make some money selling his veggies.” He also noted that the Arcadia Center, a local nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture, donates produce to underserved communities.

How did the host, Paradise apartments, receive this fair? Resident Programs Overseer Quint Gordon said he was very pleased with what was happening and strongly wants to keep it going next year.

“This is something we should’ve been doing all along,” he said in an interview.

“Our kids need to be accustomed to health services and providers.” He complained that there was too much emphasis on having fun for his liking.

“People want to make this more about fun, but we emphasize wellness here.”

He continued to praise the collaboration between DC PNI and Paradise at Parkside “This partnership has been so productive; it’s more than just fun. It’s a very, very good idea. It’s rare we can have this where it’s all families.”

Gordon noted that a lot of kids living in this neighborhood cut off from the rest of the District by the Anacostia River don’t get into the main part of D.C. and don’t see white people very often, if ever.

Beeks said that events such as this fair help the neighborhood pull together, which is necessary to fight continued violence in the city and raise everyone’s comfort level.

“I put this together because I thought the community needed this.”

Residents leaving the fair seemed to have gained new skills. Beverly Denny, who lives in Paradise and is unemployed, said that not only did he learn how to make his own smoothies, he learned better how to deal with his persistent, often chronic, asthma attacks.

He planned to go home and make a vegetable smoothie. “I got a little more education about eating healthy-wise,” he said. “It’ll come out lumpy, but it depends on the blender.” He learned how to blend potatoes and celery in the blender.

Denny also learned how to deal with his asthma. He said he had three attacks in May, which is the most he’s ever had that close together. He has a nebulizer machine. Without using it, “I feel like a goldfish out of water.”

His nephew Brian Riddick, a Capitol Heights resident who rode to the fair with his uncle, learned how to make gazpacho by blending tomatoes. He also said that he came to the fair because he needs a job.

So he learned how to fill out job application forms, which he didn’t know before.

Tenisha Beeks, also a Paradise resident, came with three kids. She said she found the fair offerings beneficial. She especially enjoyed learning how to cook shea butter with natural plants, which she didn’t know about.

A Paradise staffer named Sherri Jones taught residents how to make the scented shea butter, which is all natural. The butter is also supposed to be good for dealing with respiratory illness.

“I enjoyed being able to cook with things I didn’t know how to cook with before, like natural plants,” Beeks said outside the fair. “We can go home and cook with natural things.” She was also told that shea butter is good for dealing with respiratory illness, she said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIANA GORDON

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIANA GORDON

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARIANA GORDON

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

77

SUMMER READING

ESSA Community Meeting Becomes Larger Discusion About Achievement Gap

By Anna Riley anna.riley@streetsense.org Two sets of concerned parents, an overwhelmed high school teacher, the Executive Director of the D.C. Board of Education (SBOE) and a few others sat in a circle in the Capitol View Library on a hot June 4 Saturday afternoon to discuss The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), as it would affect Ward 7.

President Obama signed ESSA into law in December 2015, aiming to get rid of many components of the No Child Left Behind law and create a new and improved accountability framework for the D.C. school system, which will be in place for the 2017-18 school year.

ESSA requires that states create a system to identify low-performing schools and schools with large achievement gaps between various subgroups, such as ethnicity, English Language Learners and special education students, according to Executive Director of the SBOE John-Paul C. Hayworth.

The SBOE has to approve the plan by early next year and is holding community meetings in every ward to better-address people’s concerns in creative ways. Some

of those concerns include school climate, teacher turnover and access to a variety of courses and curriculum, Hayworth said.

Two parents at the Ward 7 meeting have a daughter entering pre-K in the fall. One of their main concerns is the segregation and lack of diversity amongst the different wards of D.C. Wards 7 and 8

Although she and her husband looked at schools in other wards, the mother explained that it is “like winning the actual lottery” to get into those schools because “most of the schools that are half-way decent have really long waitlists because the kids that live in that area are taking up all the spots.”

“If you can’t afford to live in upper Northwest, where the schools are going to be better, then it’s going to be all rich, white kids going to that school.”

-Ward 7 Mother

are made up of low-income, minority residents, and the public schools mirror this demographic, according to the mother.

“The testing and scores are lower unless you go to one of the charters, but they are very disciplinary-focused,” she said. “Charters are more strict and not as open as the other schools. They don’t seem to focus on the whole child and wanting to create responsible citizens that can make decisions for themselves.”

Anger and frustration erupted in the basement meeting room as the discussion turned away from ESSA to larger issues in the city and DCPS. “We need to make sure that there’s housing that’s affordable for everyone in every ward so we can have some kind of diversity. It’s all based on where you live, and if you can’t afford to live in upper Northwest, where the schools are going to be better, then it’s going to be all rich, white kids go-

ing to that school. I’m not sure if ESSA takes this all into account,” said the mother.

DCPS Ward 7 high school teacher Laura Fuchs explained that it is nearly impossible to do her job successfully because she has so many different responsibilities and very little community support. She does not think ESSA will change much.

“High stakes testing is still in play. So while there is a bit more local control, it seems minimal,” Fuchs said. “We need to have laws that require input from the community on all major decisions that are done in a transparent and inclusive process. We need DCPS to truly invest in parent and community engagement.”

The Ward 7 mother explained that it makes sense why parents in the high-poverty wards may be less involved. “In the poor communities, there are less engaged parents who aren’t paying attention, but also some of them are working 3 to 4 jobs, and they can’t go to PTA meetings and they can’t be home to help their kids with homework or feed them breakfast in the morning, because they’re having to get up so early to get to work.”

A L o n g e r, H o t t e r 2 0 1 6 R a m a d a n C h a l l e n g e s CHILDREN’S ART: TITLE/[SUBJECT] Impoverished Muslim Washingtonians

By Rokia Hassanein rokia.hassanein@streetsense.org Monday, June 6 marked the start to has housing, but said he has previously the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, fasted while homeless and relied on comwhich will bring its own set of challenges munity services for iftar, the breaking of to impoverished and homeless members your fast at sunset. of the Muslim community.

“I’ve never been in a situation where I Ramadan features 30 days of volunwouldn’t have a meal, because Washingtary fasting from eating, drinking, curston has a lot of masjids [Arabic pronuning, smoking, and sex from sunrise until ciation of ‘mosque’],” Talib said. “Most sunset, with the religious reasoning of of them have free food, or Muslim stores cleansing yearly sins and empathizing will offer you enough to break your fast.” with the people in need. The holy month The assurance that he would have a begins on a different day every year in meal at the end of each day stems from line with the Islamic calendar, which is one of the core components of fasting based on lunar cycles. Ramadan is the during Ramadan: generosity. ninth month on the Islamic calendar.

“It’s the month of giving,” Talib said.

“This is the month that Ramadan is “It’s the month where people just share the longest; sun comes up early and goes and give and give and share and invite down late,” said Charlton Battle, 56, you to their house to break your fast or who 2,453 hasschoolage been in and children out of homelessness experienced homelessness to the masjids.” last year in D.C., about 1 throughout and 20 children, his adultorlife more He than prefers 1 child to go per classroom.

Multiple mosques The Homeless in and near Children’s D.C. will by Playtime his Muslim Project name, visits Abdullah 6 different Talib, “It’s transitional offer free housing iftar and during emergency Ramadan. shelter Some of the programs longesttopart provide of the weekly year, so activities, this is a healthy the most snacks, prominent and opportunities include Theto Islamic play real and tough learn fast.” to as many children as possible Center of Washington D.C., which offers Talib converted to Islam in 1989 and free iftar on Mondays and Thursdays; Fall’s “committed” to its in 1995.

He Church’s Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, Courtesy of teachings the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project

which offers nightly iftar for the needy; and Silver Spring’s Muslim Community Center , which also offers free iftars.

Mosques haven’t been the only religious institution helping Muslims in need. For Jummah, the weekly Islamic Friday prayers, Talib and a group of Muslims regularly pray in D.C.’s Church of Epiphany, which he thinks signals strong interfaith respect.

“The most hated religion in the world at the moment, in a church. And you know, I just know this is God-sent,” Talib said. “This church allows us to have it, which is a beautiful thing, and I think that I was saying that we will be able to participate for Ramadan here for iftar.

It’s gonna be a good one for me inshallah [Arabic phrase ‘if God wills’].”

Talib credits Islam for helping him get his life back on track. For him, Ramadan is also about redemption: overcoming incarceration, homelessness and poverty.

He is not alone in using religion as a coping mechanism. Talib recalls meeting a

Muslim couple in one of his previous shelters who were constantly under the influence. Yet they would always stop, pray or go to Jummah. They inspired Talib to become more devoted and get clean.

“I finally went to a mosque, and I seen the peace in it and everything, so I decided that’s what I wanted to be,” he said, “But after ’95, I had been incarcerated, so I had to study and live it daily for a couple years so that it became a habit, and I learned a lot about it, and I understood it.”

Getting clean for about six and a half years helped Talib get back on his feet, get married and “stay focused.” After beginning 2016 in a homeless shelter, Talib is prepared to accept Ramadan and all its challenges with open arms.

“It’s like starting all over again with me and this being my first Ramadan,” Talib said. “It’s all on my own again. It’s kind of fearful, going into it this year and starting my life all over again. I think it’s a beautiful challenge.”

Vendor Number Six: Anthony Crawford

By Charles McCain Volunteer

Anthony’s mother raised him to be the strong and caring man that he is. But she didn’t do it by telling him, she did it by example. From his days as a lad, he recalls several boys in his neighborhood whose mother was a junkie. Like Anthony, they did not have a father. So when their mother could not care for them, Anthony found them at his mother’s table. She fed and cared for these young boys along with her own five children.

Until his mid‐30s, Anthony continued to live with his mother and helped with expenses. His main recreation in those years was listening to soul music, especially the greats, B.B. King, Otis Reading, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.

“Music lifts me up,” Anthony says, because “all music has a message to it.”

When his mother died, Anthony found himself on a journey of great difficulty that lasted many years. At age 50, he made the decision to live on the streets.

The reasons are simple. He was in a situation with a lot of rules and he “never wanted anyone to tell him what to do or how to do it.” So he made the streets of D.C. his home, usually sleeping in DuPont Circle or McPherson Square.

He heard about Street Sense from a homeless woman he had become friends with. They met on a regular basis to play chess and during one of their games she mentioned the paper and suggested he look into it. So he did.

Although a recent heart attack and stroke have slowed him down, he still holds down his corner on 19th and M five days a week selling Street Sense to his many loyal customers.

Urinating on homeless people is a favorite prank of drunken white college kids in D.C., says Street Sense vendor Anthony Crawford. “They think it’s funny and isn’t funny.”

These same fun‐loving lads also enjoy kicking the blankets off of homeless people as well as spitting on them. And why not, by gosh? Most people experiencing homelessness are Black, or people of color, and obviously the poorest of the poor since they can’t even afford a roof over their heads. Who cares if these people are mistreated? Certainly not the police, Anthony says.

In his 57 years he has seen a lot of life and lots of what he has seen isn’t pretty. Yet when I interviewed him in the Street Sense offices several weeks ago, Anthony speaks without bitterness or anger. “A lot of people care about other people,” he says.

This truth comes to him most every day on the corner of 19th and M Streets NW, where Anthony has been selling Street Sense for thirteen years. He secured this prime spot because Anthony is Vendor Number Six, one of the very first homeless people who signed‐up to sell the paper. Over his many years he has built up a large and loyal following of customers who faithfully buy their copies of Street Sense from him.

One of the reasons he has been successful is that he treats people with respect. “I talk to people. ‘How you doing?

How’s your day? How’s your family?’”

By Frederic John Vendor/Artist Courage, Men: Nats are not boys!

Let victors sound triumph’s Noise.

Cards, the deck is stacked.

Nats are back!

Don’t make a pass; Because you’re on your...

Author’s Note: The Nationals began the 2016 season with a very “hot start” (8 wins, 2 losses). They began a skid versus ‘inferior’ teams in their division. But now, at 29:19 ­a respectable record, their confidence under the new manager is assured.

What better subject for the first of Frederic’s Prose Poems in Haiku format? Let’s call it a “Proem!”

Meeting “The President(s)”

By Scott Lovell Vendor/Artist It was a great pleasure for the Racing Presidents to take a picture with me representing Street Sense. The fans responded by buying the papers after the game. So, a lot of Nats fans are customers as well. A couple of fans have even invited me into games to watch with them!

I really enjoy selling Street Sense, which allows me to meet customers in a lot of different places.

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

9

SUMMER READING

Down on the Farm, Part 1

By Eric Thompson-Bey Vendor/Artist

“The Silhouette”

Michael Craig

Do you see me? Or is it you?

Do we really see each other or pretend to?

In this silhouette is a reflection of all of us.

Many times the silhouette is hard to reconize, but under the lamp is me.

Or is it you?

The silhouette is a metaphor for you and all of us.

Do we really see each other?

No Or is it just a silhouette?

Peace to all.

When de turf seems a tour and ae pitt is your neyhbur, then skiyn on thy blac throte dos guod fer wurrms.

Just whatt is gode to do, for eal of thy worlth?

With inspiration from Cambridge, Trinity College Manuscript 323

-By Franklin Sterling Vendor/Artist Dear Street Sense, I’m very appreciative that I’m able to access a public medium and display my poems. Though I have not received much response from the community, I’m spurred to develop and finish my poems, more so for having shown them around.

I’ve been with Street Sense approximately sever years and I’m still reworking and completing the same pieces! Now they’re getting good!

Your truly

Franklin Sterling, Vendor/Artist

May 29. I’m leaving the city to start my new job in Biglerville, Pennsylvania. As I leave D.C., I think about how much I’ll miss our beautiful city. But it’s for the best.

While riding down the highway with my new boss, Winn Schulteis. He is telling me how different Biglerville will be from D.C. The nearest store is 2-and-a-half miles away. The nearest neighbors are not next door, but down the road. There are fruit farms for miles.

As we continue to travel he’s telling me what’s expected of me as an employee, which I need to know since I’ve never worked on a farm before. I listened to everything he told me, because I didn’t want to mess up this opportunity.

As we continue traveling out of the District into Maryland, I notice fewer buildings and more open land. I start to see horses, donkeys and other livestock.

I’m in the country now. What a difference from the city.

Then I see the sign, “Welcome to Pennsylvania,” and the road changes from tar to concrete. My boss tells me we’ll be at the farm in a few minutes. I see another sign that says “Borough of Biglerville.” We are here.

As we turn off the highway onto the the farm, I see a big beautiful house with the U.S. flag in front. It’s the house of my boss and his family. Behind his house is a guest house.

We continue riding on the farm. I see a pond with tents around it and people camping out. These are guests of the Schulteis family. He tells me that they come to camp out here twice a year. I think that was really cool. I only see these things on T.V., not in the city.

As I look around the farm, I notice there’s enough land to build a whole neighborhood—maybe two. There are tons and tons of apple trees and other fruits and vegetables growing all over. You need a vehicle to get around.

We pull up to two white houses. The first one is where I’ll be staying. I’ll be the only one staying here until the other employees come later in the summer. He gives me a tour of the house and asks, “What do you think?” I tell him that I’m good.

I sleep good that night—no sirens, no traffic, no drama.

The next day I am up early as usual, ready for work. I meet my two coworkers, who are both from Jamaica. They show me around the shop where we’ll meet every morning and how to use the time clock. Now it’s time for work.

There is no training. It is all hands on, just the way I like it. The very first thing that I learn is how to plant by hand. This is easy to me, easier than the hard labor of construction in the city.

By 10 a.m. I am starting to feel the heat of the hot sun and am hoping to make it through the day. I am not prepared for this. I have no hat and no water with me. The sun doesn’t seem to bother my co-workers. I take a few breaks, but they just keep on working. That day we pick asparagus and strawberries. The sun has beat me up so bad I have to clock out early that first day.

The next day isn’t so hot. I make it through the day, but the following day I only make it through half the day. The sun has got me again.

During the week I am learning different things. One of the things I really enjoy is using the planter. The planter is a really cool machine. It has two seats on it for two people and has these two big wheels in between the seats that put holes and water in the soil. As the tractor pulls the planter, we put the seeds in each hole with the water, so that the fruit and vegetables can grow.

I make it through the first week on my new job at Quaker Valley Orchards. Stay tuned for part two.

END AIDS: Free Testing Available June 27

By Henrieese Roberts Vendor/Artist

Online talk show host Positively Dee said, “It is 19 years since I have had HIV. In the beginning it was a struggle. I was scared and very sick from the medication that was prescribed to me. Back then those diagnosed were taking about 12 medications per day or more. I was taking 15. Each had specific directions, like take this pill with food; this one before bed; don’t eat with this one; only take with water. It was like being in school and I was afraid to not follow the directions to a “T.” I laid all the medication bottles across the table. Now I am thankful how far the medications have come being that I am only taking 2. On Sunday June 5, we celebrated Long Term Survivors Day for those who have been diagnosed with HIV for 10 years. Bless all the long term survivors with the strength and courage to keep fighting this fight.”

Advocate and author Nancy Duncan wrote: “Kudos to all my Long Term Servivor friends. If you are reading this you’ve made it another year! Thirty-one years for me, and its been a bitter sweet journey for sure! The illnesses, grief and fear, the mourning of friends who are long gone, but helped us get to the place where we are now. Living with and dealing with stigma that never seems to go away. Then there is the joy of knowing we survived, and we

are the first generation of LTS’, and many of us are thriving as well. Only we know what that traumatizing time felt like and the realization stemming from the birth of HARRT (highly active antiretroviral therapy) , that ‘Oh, I am not going to die yet but I’m not cured, so what now?’ We have survived one of the deadliest plagues in history! I just wanted to see my son turn 18.

And now he is 36! YAY to you all, I wish us all another year of health, happiness and many blessings.”

I asked Ms. Duncan, my friend, to give us an inside look of a celebrant. She wrote the following words: “Aging with HIV is a condition that is a first time in history occurrence. Long term survivors like I, who survived HIV/AIDS before the birth of HAART thought we would never have to deal with this because we thought we wouldn’t be alive. We are now living and experiencing accelerated aging. I am now 58 and have arthritis in my hand for over 10 years now and also moderate to severe osteoporosis. These are ailments I expected to not happen to me so soon.

But it’s not just me; others have also been experiencing this. We have a kind of post traumatic stress syndrome from years of living with anxiety and uncertainty of never knowing what was going to happen next as far as illness and even death. In the 90’s, death was looming over me constantly. I managed to survive long enough to get the new ARV’s which came out in 1995. They certainly made a huge difference in my health. For the first time in years, my T-cell count went up, I was feeling and looking better. So educating and personal testimony was what I started to do, being a part of the solution instead of the problem. We still have no cure or vaccine, so education is extremely important when it comes to HIV transmission,

because even after 35 years, still many don’t know enough about HIV, i.e., how it is transmitted and why they may be at risk and should be tested. I am grateful to still be here after living with HIV/AIDS for 31 years now, but I still have that ‘I’m not out of the woods’ feeling constantly and still experience a bit of anxiety when I get labs done, even thought my T-cell count is now high and I’ve been undetectable since 2003.”

Thanks Nancy Duncan for sharing. Can you tell if a person has HIV? Kidshealth. org tells us in “Making a Change Your Personal Plan” that you can’t tell if some one is infected with HIV. Often the only way to know is through testing. In fact, people who are HIV positive might not even know that they have the virus. Make sure anyone you’re thinking of having sex with is tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) before you have sex. Then use condoms EVERY time you have any kind of sexual contact. Using condoms is important even when both people have negative tests because it can take up to 6 months or longer for an HIV test to show up as positive after a person has become infected with the virus.

June 27 is National Testing Day. HIV/ AIDS testing is available free at many locations. Find one at www.aids.gov.

Turning a Blind Eye: Who is Really Responsible for Metro Rape?

Here We Go Again

By The Anti-Apathetic Vendor/Artist

By Phillip Black Vendor Artist, “The Cat in the Hat”

Oh no, Metro... I am so ashamed! Yes, at WMATA! Yes, at Washington, D.C.! Yes, at a community that permitted it to happen!

And of myself — for the unknowing role that I as a citizen, rider and native Washingtonian, played in this.

On Monday, May 23, a man pulled a knife on a woman riding Metro, forced her to the back of the car and sexually assaulted her.

The attacker, John Hicks, was arrested that day. And you see, I believe if any of us turned a blind eye as it happened, all of us are guilty of the Blind Eye that enables society to breed these predators and the apathy that permits non-intervention. Such depraved indifference is amoral and appalling, if not illegal.

My lame (and it is that) excuse is that I was too busy observing nitpicky or picayune misbehavior committed by riders and WMATA personnel, e.g., messy mealing and mutts, bathroom barriers, bossy board members, pathetic parenting, and poop and pee (see photos) to realize that the absence of Metro Transit Police (MTP) would precede a RAPE?!

This young lady possibly someone’s wife, mother, sister, aunt or cousin—and most

assuredly someone’s daughter—trusted us for her safety. All of us. Without knowing the details (I was not an eyewitness and if I were I’d never tell it), I believe all of us have failed to honor that trust. We have bred a culture of ignorance, irrational selfishness and nonchalance. We know nothing about our neighbors, behave as though they don’t matter unless they are helpful to us, and otherwise couldn’t care less.

“It’s okay if you get hit by a bus as long as you don’t splatter up my Ferragamo’s.”

When a rapist feels it is safe to force a victim past potential intervention and comfortably carries out the act in the presence of others, we—not he—have gone too far.

Our society created him, enabled him. We have to correct ourselves.

To quote Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

What do we do?

It starts with dialogue. The opening question: can you comfortably relax with your daughter or loved one on a Metro train or elsewhere in this community?

If the answer is yes, there’s no need for discussion. If the answer is no. The question that follows is “What are we going to do to fix it?”

Please wake up the humane in your humanity! Rally some unity in your community! Muster up some love for yourself and show it by strengthening your neighbors.

Stand by each other in times of need.

Stand up! We have been sitting by quietly much too long.

Feces and a cup of urine spotted during two seperate trips through Tokoma Metro Station where there are no public restrooms.

This is one of many areas in which WMATA can do better. More photos available online.

PHOTOS BY THE ANTI-APATHETIC

Now that we have more and more Metro shutdowns that started this month, we have to buy Tylenol, Aleve, and Motrin to deal with the headaches related to them.

It’s a good thing that I work at Eastern Market. The Metro work there won’t start until August.

Plus, more people are riding bikes, driving and even walking to work.

Who would think it would be this much trouble getting to work?

I sure hope the new general manager knows what he’s doing. He calls the plan SafeTrack. But until this project starts, trains are slowing down due to cracks on the rails, arcing insulators, and whoknows-what.

But, I’m feeling safer already!

Don’t you?

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

Consequence of Innocence

Street Sense2: .Org meets .Com

He was big and loud Like a thunderstorm And I was new.

Fragile and empty I lived in shadows Of unattainable perfection and epic glory Constantly reminded of my purpose To obey To conform To serve.

Born a slave to religion and fear I wept often from the rewards of failure Bruises and solitary confinement Making me stronger, he claimed.

But resentful and bitter I became a rebel And a burden An embarrassment A liability.

So I was shipped off and tucked away Categorized and institutionalized A statistic A nobody Lost and alone Amongst the other social rejects Soon to become family Eventually escaping With tales of embellished adversity And fictitious and miraculous triumphs Into the wilds of urban entrepreneurialism I go Out of the fire And into the belly of the beast Consumed by necessity Devoured by pride Led by the other lost souls On a path to nowhere fast God was my father now Still distant Still loud.

I soon became invisible like He. I soon became free.

Who’d have guessed such a fee?

The cold air had been chilling me to the bone for the best part of the morning. Now the sun had begun to shine delightfully bright. But as the morning progressed and the temperature rose, things began to pick up.

The door to the Rodman’s Grocery store opened out when I saw a man dressed in khakis and a light blue polo shirt begin walking toward me. He shifted his gaze right and left, before settling on me. I swallowed hard and prepared to make my pitch.

“Hello sir. How are you? Could you please help the homeless? The man replied, “I sure can. Are you selling papers?” I always experience a certain type of euphoria that escalates as the sales increase as the day progresses on. I could already tell that this encounter was going to be one that would help me elevate this “salesman’s high.”

“Yes sir,” I responded excitedly.

“You know, I’m StreetSense too,” he said. I immediately knew what faction he was referring to and asked, “Are you affiliated with StreetSense.com, the real estate firm?”

He smiled. “So you’re familiar with my company?”

“Yes, I am,” I answered. “I frequently have to explain to people that we are two very different entities on opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Instantly, the man shot back, “Actually were both working toward the betterment of the community. We’re just using different methods.”

By Monsoor Ali, Volunteer

Monsoor Ali, a born and raised Washingtonian, is a multimedia artist specializing in music and film production, literature and graphic design. He has been writing poetry and songs for nearly 25 years. Ali is an advocate and activist for civil rights and a father of four.

By Duane Foster, Vendor/Artist

Where is She Now?

By Tammy Karuza, Volunteer

“Street Sense. Street Sense. Help the homeless for just a dollar.”

That was just one of the jingles I'd spew while selling Street Sense in 2012. Though I was successful at building a likeable persona and viable following, I want to break out on my own as a writer. I have begun blogging at blogspot.com.

Aside from “Tammy's Poetry Corner,” which includes many of my poems that have appeared in Street Sense, and an article “What to do in an ISIS attack” about what the average American should do in the event of an ISIS attack, I am also working on a blog about being homeless with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). I don’t just wish to tell people that many of us without home are also sick, but to enlighten the majority on what RA really is. At the end of this month I will be producing poster-worthy prints of some of my poetry to offer sell or give as a thank you for the donations I receive on the street. I hope in time to have a license to sell the book I plan to write.

11

SUMMER READING For Liberation of the Free

By Juan Callejon, Vendor/Artist

At the turn of the century, The murmur of the stream, A blurry mirror burns, Spontaneous fire, unknown origins, Spontaneous combustion, The dams are open, Again and again…

“Remember the Maine; to hell with Spain.”

The natives massacred; the dragon breath.

The dark skin massacred; the dragon breath.

The maiden will never marry, The dragon, the mirror…

No hero will prevail.

Small and surrounded, you shall not exist.

The mirror’s reflection, the silence, the stream Manifest Destiny! “Patriots from within; Free from sin.”

The dams are open.

Again and again.

The natives massacred; the dragon breath.

The dark skin massacred; the dragon breath Massacre!

Palm Sunday massacred; the dragon breath.

The towers fall, again…

Spontaneous combustion, Again and again…

The natives massacred, the dark skinned massacred, the patriots massacred; the dragon breath.

The slave man is taken, And ordered to kill, No will; no intention.

No assassin; no sin.

The patriots massacred; The dragon breath.

A nation awaits, free of sins, Free of debts, free of will…

The maiden, the hero, The nation awaits…

The dams are open; The dragon breath

How Are We Going to Raise the Wage?

By Collins M., Vendor/Artist

While selling Street Sense papers in front of Whole Foods, I met John Zottoli. He was campaigning for the Raise the Wage coalition at the time – aiming to put a minimum wage increase on the November ballot for District voters. Intrigued, I interviewed him on the spot: John Zottoli: I’m working on a project to raise the minimum wage to $15. It’s a group that’s doing is called Raise the Wage, it’s a coalition.

Working Families is one of the major leaders in this coalition. And we have to get, I think, 21,000 D.C. voters to tell the board of elections to put this law on the ballot. We have people going out on the street talking to voters and ask-

ing them to sign a petition to get the minimum wage on the November ballot.

Collins: What about business owners--forget Whole Foods--what about small business owners? What are their ideas, what are they saying about it?

JZ: If everybody was making $15 per hour, we’d all have more money to spend. I think it would mean more opportunities for the businesses.

Collins: Let’s say I’m in high school and I need a job. How can I expect that I’ll get hired to work for a $15 job when you have someone that has a college degree and more experience applying for the same job?

JZ: $15 is the floor, that’s the minimum. I think

people that have more skills and more education will get more than $15. Jobs for people at $15 and jobs for people at higher pay.

Collins: But many companies are now turning to automatic. For example, McDonalds: they’re putting up kiosks, technically robots, to replace humans. To replace that $15 per hour position. They are getting rid of cashiers and replacing with self-pay. People are getting laid off or are getting less hours at their job. What’s your solution?

JZ: We’re hoping there will be more opportunities for better jobs. I think we need to learn how to do jobs that machines can’t do.

And those jobs will pay better.

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.

My Lifeline

In the Bottom, In the Cut

By Joe Jackson, Vendor/Artist

By Damon Smith, Vendor/Artist Being a Street Sense vendor has been a blessing.

I love having a sense of purpose every day instead of the idle life of being homeless. When you are homeless, you find mundane ways to fill your day. Many days I would sit and watch the workers walking by and wonder where they were headed and what they were doing. Many days I would live vicariously through them.

Being homeless is mental torture. Many days you have this never-ending sense of hopelessness. Becoming a vendor was like the sunshine after the storm. Now I have

Two Weeks Gone & Back

a sense of purpose and my own glamorous profession. To many, selling Street Sense is neither glamorous nor a profession. But to me, it's like a lifeline from drowning in depression.

The same people who wouldn't look at me... now look for me.

My customers who now acknowledge me daily are the same people I would watch and wonder about. I receive words of encouragement and many smiles. Being a vendor is a wonderful way to network and open doors. I was once an introvert

By Aida Basnight, Vendor/Artist

“I’m Tired”

I want to express to all customers that I am fine and well. I was with my mother for the past two weeks. She had cataract surgery and needed me to help her from the hospital to home. I stayed at mom’s place to cook her meals, pick up her eye medicine, shop for food and show her how many times she needed to put in her eye drops.

I didn’t mind it one bit. She birthed me and took care of me when I couldn’t take care of myself. I went to doctor’s appointments with her after the surgery.

It was nice and refreshing to catch up and hear some new information about family and friends.

My mom is doing fine and she can see a lot better than she could before the surgery. She is back to her normal routine and I get to go back to my home and get back into my routine of selling Street Sense newspapers. Eighteen days of rain is very difficult on us Street Sense vendors.

Life is hard, and things are not getting any better.

Yes, I am out there every day trying to sell my Street Sense papers. But I have no money. I have no home. I have no life.

I am 62 years old and all alone. I am tired of life.

I was at the New York Avenue shelter.

They told me about a new program to help get my homeless people housing. "What about the other program that you said you offered 10 years ago? I asked.

I'm not saying the city needs to supply housing, but they came to me! They tell you they're going to help you, then nothing happens. They ask personal questions to make "getting housing" sound important. Can you live alone? Are you an alcoholic? Do you have disabilities? Then you hear nothing back. All this and my life still hasn't changed.

and shied away from strangers. Now I am more open, more engaging, and more confident in myself.

My income may seem insignificant to some. To me it brings a sense of pride and fulfillment. I earned it and I no longer need to solicit handouts. The same people who wouldn't look at me, who avoided me, now look for me.

Many days I would see Street Sense vendors and think "I could do that." Now I find I am very good at it. I now want to use vending as a stepping stone to a better position in life. I have the confidence to tackle very important things I once thought would be too difficult. The opportunity to become a vendor means more to me than I ever thought it would.

By Tyrone Hall Vendor/Artist I saw a man in our paper holding a key to his home. That gives me hope. But I wonder how far down the list I am and how many years that will turn into.

In the shelter, if you don't answer the

“I saw a man in our paper holding a key to his home.

That gives me hope.” questions you won't get the bed. If you do answer, you still won't get a house. So why participate in something you know won't amount to anything?

This is why I'm so tired of life. The people in charge give you false hope. Then they have no sympathy when it doesn't work out. They blame YOU! They think you can do better. But they give you no way out.

A Mold of Me

By Robert Warren, endor/Artist

I like to mold my life into someone who could have a wife, or butterfly The old African would say I will send my oldest son today To tell the family there is a flower I would like your permission to pick To make that connection in life To find a wife To be a brother and a friend Again and again

The devil is a liar We're all connected to the most high People just don't what to change and learn behavior That goes against who they really are Yes women and men are children of the most high Able to do good things Many will tell you something different, so know thyself And fly high like a butterfly on top of a flower Looking into life.

When I can't keep the rain off me, when I can't stay warm, and when I must hide in the dark and lie on the ground — I think I am at my bottom.

It hurts when people walk past me and don't say anything to me. Don't judge me.

I am desperately trying to make it.

I really appreciate the people God sends my way. But, I need your help to get off the ground. I have ex-perience with building maintenance work. Can someone please find me some steady work in the field?

RIP, Cristopher Gross

By Charles Davis, Vendor/Artist

When I saw Cris on March 22, he was very sick. He was passed out in front of the Tenleytown Metro elevator, so a friend I was with picked him up and took him to the other side of Wisconsin Avenue by Best Buy. Cris woke suddenly while this happened and appeared more alert, for a little while.

But things were still not looking good. Later that night we checked on Cris because he had passed out again. This time he fell right on his head. It was awful! So, before the five of us went to sleep outside the Metro station, I was still wondering if Cris was all right. About 3:30 a.m. I tapped him on the shoulder and he kind of moaned a lit tle. So I went back to sleep thinking he was okay.

But when we all got up at 5:30 he was in the same position, with saliva running from his nose and mouth. That's when we called the ambulance. Unfortunately, we were too late. The EMTs told us he had passed away before we called. That REALLY freaked me out. My best friend had died right beside me! I didn't cry, though. I just prayed the way my father taught me.

I am really going to miss you Cris, after growing up with him and being very close for 35 years. We lived on the streets half the time. I was also very close to his family, especially his mother. I know she misses him very much.

But I also know it is time for me to move on with my life, because I know my best friend would love for me to do that. Cris, I know you are with the good Lord now, and I pray and hope your journey to heaven is successful. We all miss you and love you very much, particularly the five of us in the Tenleytown crew. May the power and the Kingdom of God be with you, Cris. God bless, and rest in peace. Amen.

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2016

13

SUMMER READING AFTER KATRINA:

A Ten-Year Roller Coaster, Part 22

By Gerald Anderson, Vendor/Artist

By Ivory Wilson, Vendor/Artist INT. WASHINGTON DC - UNION STATION - NIGHT Dean’s crew is feasting on spoiled fish, while Dean and Rags plot to make Bill’s friends sick and die. Outfit make catapults made of popsicle sticks, with thousands of needles soaked in blood with AIDS. It is pitch dark with no moon light.

The crew leaves Union Station under the cover of night sky and head to CAPTIOL hill, where they set the catapults up. When ready, all the catapults, with thousands of dip needles, are let go and land on Willie and his crews while they are sleep in their nest. Many are stuck by the needles. Dean’s crew dashes back to Union Station.

EXT. UNION STATION - NIGHT UNDERGROUND

see who ate the food.

DEAN: (as he takes out his golf club) Who did you give this hit to?

RAGS: Pledged under-crew.

DEAN: Go get them.

Pledged under-crew arrive.

DEAN: Your crew were sent on a job and messed up. killed Bill’s broad and now he’s crazy. Now I’m going to kill him …and Dean beats Pledged crew to death.

RAGS: Boss! They’re all dead!

DEAN: Take them up top and leave them on the side of the road so that cars can smash them to bits. We know Bill is coming, so let’s rig up a surprise for him! How much AIDS blood is left?

RAGS: Enough to do the job, boss!

RAGS: Boss, it’s done!

DEAN: Good, good! Boys, I’m happy!

Let’s have pizza.

RAGS: Boss, Bill will be coming for us now!

DEAN: Yes, yes I know, idiots. Kills his broad. I’ve had it with that cat! I want him dead! Dead! We’re not in the business of knocking off broads, so don’t let that happen again!

RAGS: OK Boss, there won’t be any more slip-ups. You know the crew didn’t

DEAN: Have the boys get to work on it!

He won’t know what hit him! He will die a slow and a painful death and we will be here to watch it!

Dean’s crew puts together a sling shot made of clothes hangers and rubber bands. They set up under the man hole cover, pointing the needles straight up.

PREVIOUSLY: At the D.C. jail, some inmates was sayin’ how they got arrested. One dude say, “Man, why you sit back so quiet?”

I say, “I’m just waitin’ to get extradited to another state.” Right there they know I’m a standup guy. I wasn’t no Kool-Aid (friendly) kind of person. Friendly is not good, cause you don’t know who’s who.

Remember, I’m not in on a charge you can go in on and then walk out. My charge bein’ investigated. At night I could hear conversations about all the crime they committed: robbery, car thief, murder, drug dealing. And they would yell out they flap hole what they gonna do when they get out. I just play it by eyes and ears. A few old cats I knew look at me as an idol—they watch the news, so they knew I wasn’t in there for jaywalkin’, but for drug trafficking, conspiracy, and all that. The authorities put informers in jail to find out what’s goin’ on. One guy told his cellmate he killed his girlfriend and also said he took the body out in the woods. Then the cellie went to court and testified what the guy said about how he did it. So the cellie got out and the other guy got convicted.

I’m sittin’ in the cell wonderin what’s gonna happen when I go back to court.

How much time I was gonna get. And, like I said before, whether I was gonna see the street again.

Just doin’ a lotta thinking for real y’know? A couple weeks later, me and myco-defenders went back to court.

That day we really didn’t know what was gonna happen. I called it “Let’s Make a Deal Day,” ’cause that was one thing I did know was gonna happen.

They say “If you wanna take a deal today we can offer you ten years. We’ll put a cap on the case and close it up and

it’ll never be opened again.”

My lawyer tell me, “Y’aint gotta take the first deal if you don’t want to. We probably get a better deal later.”

Each of my codees had different lawyers and no one that I know of took a deal that day. Nobody wanna take nothin’.

On the side, me and my lawyer sit in the courtroom and talk. I asked him, “What would be the decision if you was wearin’ the shoes I’m wearin’?”

He said, “I can’t really tell you. If I had your shoes on my feet, I wouldn’t want anyone to tell me what I should do.

Let me look into the case, maybe I might can beat it, get it dismissed.”

But most of the times when the FBI involved, they got some solid concrete against you.

I said, “Man I’m gonna tell you the truth, I’m a user not a seller.” He knew I was a seller, but I’m tellin' him I’m mainly a user.

He say, “I can get you into a program.”

I say, “Yeah?”

He say, “Yeah, maybe I can get you a program while you’re incarcerated.

You go into a program for six or nine months—and if you clean without getting in no trouble—you get 18 months credit for that time.

“But I tell you this here,” I say to him.

“This not the first time they caught me up, as you can see in my record.”

He say, “Give me a little time to look it over.”

I say, “I’m gonna put my trust in you.”

He say, “If I can get the judge to agree with me to put you in a program would you go along with that?”

I told him, “I’d take it if my codees were ok with it. I wouldn’t let them down in any way.” (to be continued) My book, Still Standing: How an Ex-Con Found Salvation in the Floodwaters of Katrina, is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle form.

(to be continued)

Part 3 — Worlds Collide, Shattering the Fourth Wall

By Ken Belkosky, Vendor/Artist

S

tar Date 9995476.7: The Federation is having a closed meeting on Earth. They’re discussing who I am and were I possibly could have came from. Knowing this, I showed up at the meeting. The President asked if I was the same being that appeared on the Enterprise.

“Yes I am. I know you all have some questions you’d like answered,” I said. “I come from a place that is not like this Earth. My Earth is similar. But there, Star Fleet and your very existence s fiction. Your paths were originally written by Gene Roddenbury. Star Fleet is presented on the T.V. show ‘Star Trek.’ And where I am from, as I am talking to you, I am writing this very meeting. I want to use your view screen to show Star Trek.

Then all your questions will be answered.”

So, I played the show and movies of Star Trek.

The End.

Ready Sybil Taylor’s own meditation on the loss of a loved one, exclusively at StreetSense.org.

Read Frederic John’s own performance account, with photos, from Glover Park Day 2016! Exclusively on StreetSense.org.

Claude and Gussie: Introduction

By Deborah Brantley, Vendor/Artist

There was an older man. He was white, about 60 years old, short in stature, and a doctor. His name was Claude Jefferson.

One day he met a 45-year-old black woman named Gussie. She worked as a maid for the rich family up the road a piece. He was 5’4”, solidly built, and a bit overweight at about 175 lbs. Gussie was 5’6” and slim built at about 120 lbs. She had a huge mane

Extended Family

By Scott Lovell Vendor/Artist

of beautiful hair which she kept under a silk scarf in the colors of red, blue, and mauve.

He wore hand-tailored suits made by an Italian tailor in town,Giuseppe Franco Manucci.

Claude was well off, making about $36,000 a year (which translates to $680,000 today).

Gussie, too, made about $36,000 a year.

When they met, the year was 1978... (to be continued)

A Play at Wilson High School

I am thankful for my customers at Street Sense. They helped me go to place flowers on my Mother's grave, which was especially meaningful this year because I also restored my relationship with my son in the process.

We hadn't really talked for five years. I spent the entire weekend with him. I am grateful that I am able to be a vendor for Street Sense and that I was able to go to Charlotte, North Carolina to spend time with the little blood family I have living while I placed flowers on the graves of the others that have gone on. I am grateful for my customers who treat me like family. They ask me how I am doing and spend a little of their time talking to me. I am grateful that they care at all.

By Patty Smith, Vendor

During the Spring, part of our theater program worked with teenagers from Wilson High School to put on a play at the school. Our work was called “Devising Hope.”

The night of the performance, the Street Sense bunch took off on the Metro to Tenleytown. Ms. Elizabeth, the theater instructor, met us at the school. At 5:30 p.m. pizza and the kids arrived. Around 7 p.m. parents and friends filed in. A short speech from Ms. Elizabeth and we started the play. We whizzed through it. The next thing I knew it was time for the last act….our song. We were excited to belt it out to the audience.

We bowed low and it was over. The parents and friends applauded. We mingled with them and left, ready to do this play in the same fashion the next day at the Church of the Epiphany. Read another vignette from Patty and Angie Whitehursts account, exclusively on StreetSense.org!

Sol’s Puzzle Corner: Logic & Sudoku Curated by Sol Hicks Vendor/Artist

>> Solutions on page 15.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

1. The hockey star is Amari.

2. The driver with the OIC-222 license plate is not Elizabeth.

3. The driver with the MNU-665 license plate is Kyle.

Of Kyle and the driver with the KGR-121 license plate, one arrived at 8:00pm and the other is the hockey star.

The football star arrived earlier than the billiards star.

Amari arrived later than Elizabeth.

The billiards star is not Dakota.

The football star doesn’t have the NUH-871 license plate.

The 5 people were the driver with the OIC-222 license plate, the person who arrived at 4:00pm, the curling star, Kyle,and the driver with the NUH-871 license plate.

10. Dakota arrived later than the football star.

11. Either the person who arrived at 9:30am or the person who arrived at 8:00pm has the VGN-789 license plate.

15

STREET SENSE June 15 - 28, 2013

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

CELEBRATING SUCCESS! • Vendor Elizabeth Bryant is graduating from a 10-month Washington Literacy Center course!

• Vendor Ken Martin has achieved 35 years of sobriety!

• Vendor and masterful pianist Michael Lee Mathew has scheduled a Concert to End Homelessness! It will occur on Monday, June 20 in the basement of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, room A5.e a related presentation.

• Vendor Beverly Sutton is cancer free!

Read more on StreetSense.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

Sol’s Solutions

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

LAST CHANCE TO BE HEARD — THANK YOU!

ONLINE

streetsense.org/survey

First and foremost: thank you! 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 homelessness and poverty. Needless to say, we value your feedback. Our survey was extended through June: online at StreetSense.org/survey or postmark your response by June 30, 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?

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

____Yes

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

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

4 — What additional content would you most value in the newspaper? ____Puzzles & Games ____Community Calendar ____Expanded Resource Guide ____More Local News ____More Vendor Writing ____National/International News ____Advertising or coupons

____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 vendors

____Yes ____No 7 — Have you ever donated to Street Sense, outside of purchasing a newspaper? ____Yes ____No 8 — How long have you been a Street Sense customer? ____I just bought my first issue ____3 months – 1 year ____1 – 3 years ____3+ years

June 15 - 28, 2016 • Volume 13 • Issue 16

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

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

_____________________________ _____________________________ 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? ______________________________

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 16 — Please tell us your address if you would like to receive updates by mail, or your email if you would like to receive them electronically.

E-mail: _____________________________ Postal: ______________________________ _____________________________

_____________________________

17 — Lastly, what changes/ improvements would you like to see to the paper?

_____________________________

______________________________

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? ____None of these

_____________________________ ______________________________

_____________________________