07 21 2021

VOL. 18 ISSUE 26

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JULY 21 - 27, 2021

Real Stories

Real People

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Real Change

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2 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

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The Cover City officials plan to pour an excess of federal funds into the Digital Inclusion Initiative to enhance digital equity. The vast majority of it is going towards devices.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS MONTGOMERY

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper Originally founded as a street newspaper in 2003, Street Sense Media has evolved into a multimedia center using a range of creative platforms to spotlight solutions to homelessness and empower people in need. The men and women who work with us do much more than sell this paper: They use film, photography, theatre, illustration, and more to share their stories with our community.

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EVENTS

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF 2015 MASTER PLAN IMAGE COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

DC neighborhood commissions can continue meeting virtually

BY GORDON CHAFFIN Deputy Editor

Franklin Park redevelopment sixth stakeholder meeting (virtual) Wednesday, July 28 // 1 pm via Zoom // Register at www.tinyurl.com/franklin-park-6 Construction on Franklin Park is nearing completion. Hear from the folks leading this project. Featuring Neil Albert, President & CEO of DowntownDC BID; Delano Hunter, Director of the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation; and Jeff Reinbold, Superintendent of the National Park Service. MORE INFO: downtowndc.org/franklinpark SATURDAY, JULY 24

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

Poet Life Fest 9 am - 6 pm 2001 Mississippi Ave SE Fun, family, and fellowship! DMVbased business The Poet Life is excited to highlight artists from the D.C. metro area and beyond! 250 backpacks with school supplies will be given away, 250 bags of groceries will be given away, and more. Free but please RSVP. MORE INFO: PoetLifeFest.com

SATURDAY, JULY 24

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

100 Black Men for Peace & Empowerment

Emergency Response and Shelter Operations Committee July 28, 1 - 2:30 pm // WebEx

6 pm - 9 pm // 2931 MLK Ave SE

Executive Committee Aug. 10, 1:30 - 3 pm // WebEx ***For call-in information, as well as meeting info for unlisted working groups, contact: ich.info@dc.gov.

On July 16 at Malcolm X & MLK avenues SE, six people were shot and a six-year-old girl was killed. To address the gun violence epidemic, ANC Commissioner Salim Adofo is calling for help bringing peace and distributing resources to the community. MORE INFO: tinyurl.com/100-peace-power

Submit your event for publication by emailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A SKILLED WEB DEVELOPER! Street Sense Media seeks to contract someone with expertise in WordPress, PHP, and MySQL. Does this describe you? If so, please contact jobs@streetsensemdia.org.

A custom plugin for our site must be re-designed or replaced in order to maintain the current functionality of our database in a way that integrates fully with the Gutenberg dashboard for frontend users. Additionally, we want to eliminate the need for a third-party service we use to implement HTTPS URLs site-wide — instead implementing this standard directly in our database. We also need to investigate a malware/spam issue causing pop-ups on our mobile site. Lastly, we seek assistance to set up a staging site for testing new updates and training for staff on how and when to use it.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) in D.C. can continue meeting virtually through January of next year, according to a recent decision made by the D.C. Council. The hyper-local elected bodies have kept up monthly schedules through the pandemic thanks to video conference tools and mobile applications.

Without this change, ANCs would lose the authority to make official decisions virtually in November. The council’s new guidance gives time for consideration of long-term inclusion of digital options with a return to in-person meetings.

During COVID-19, ANCs virtually hosted government officials and aid groups in order to share timely public emergency information. Also, at these virtual meetings, ANC commissioners have expanded use of grant programs that usually support recurring events like street fairs.

During COVID, ANCs gave tens of thousands of dollars to support immediate needs in their neighborhoods. ANC 1C gave $4,000 to the Adams Morgan Partnership BID in 2020 to install four hand sanitizer stations in public spaces for all residents to use. In April 2021, the same ANC granted $4,000 to Momentum Health Development to expand kitchen operations for six months to support the twice-weekly delivery of emergency meals to homeless residents in the community.

Many ANC commissioners have expressed a strong desire for virtual meetings to continue, citing benefits from the format. “We’ve had an increase in attendance and we’re hearing from far more diverse groups,” said ANC 3D07 Commissioner Christian Damiana, whose district includes American University. “Parents, students, and people who work late can join, make their voice heard, and leave at their convenience.” Damiana and 105 out of approximately 300 commissioners District-wide, wrote to D.C. Council last month asking for virtual participation to remain as an option.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen supported the change to D.C. law allowing ANCs to keep meeting virtually. He said that virtual participation allows families to have dinner together, get kids ready for bed, and still raise their voice. With an extra few months of virtual ANC meetings, the D.C. Council can meet again to consider what comes next. Allen said in a tweet that he expects a permanent option allowing hybrid in-person & virtual meetings to move forward “later this fall.” Hybrid meetings could include residents left behind during COVID-19 who prefer in-person meetings or don’t have access or proficiency with virtual participation tools.

Go to anc.dc.gov to locate the ANC that represents you along with a calendar of all ANC meetings, which are public. Participation is welcome to all residents and stakeholders. These elected, volunteer officials make official comments regarding homelessness, social support programs, housing developments, transportation improvements, alcohol licensing, and other local issues.

The Government Operations Committee, chaired by At-Large Councilmember Robert White, may consider these permanent changes to ANC operations this fall. Any scheduled hearings are posted to dccouncil.us/events.

—gordon@streetsensemedia.org

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NEWS

Millions in funding set to flood digital inclusion projects, but advocates say the specific spending is not data-driven

BY JARROD WARDWELL // jarrod.wardwell@streetsensemedia.org

A

growing digital divide in D.C. became one of several deep-rooted issues the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated during the past year. To increase access to internet connectivity, digital devices, and the proficiency to use those technologies, city officials are planning to pour an excess of federal funds into the District’s Digital Inclusion Initiative, called Tech Together. Most of the money will be used to buy devices for residents.

Over the next few weeks, D.C. councilmembers will have final debate and make revisions for next year’s city budget.

Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to spend $26.9 million on Tech Together. The goal is to coordinate government agencies, corporations, and local nonprofits to provide better access to devices, broadband internet, and digital training in neighborhoods grappling with inadequate technological infrastructure. That investment would be a dramatic spike from only $387,000 provided last year.

The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (“OCTO”), which operates the city’s digital inclusion efforts, launched Tech Together last summer after combining teams from previous digital inclusion efforts.

During an online event held July 15, Chief Technology Officer Lindsey Parker said Tech Together’s proposed budget would be divided between four action areas: $300,000 for broadband infrastructure, $24 million devices and tech support, $1.5 million for digital literacy training, and $4 million for digital services within the District government. OCTO wrote to Street Sense, explaining each of those four Tech Together programs.

The broadband infrastructure action area includes connecting residents and businesses to “high-quality, high speed internet.” The largest $24 million bucket for devices “will prioritize seniors, returning citizens, children aging out of foster care, SNAP/TANF households, homeless, temporary housing, and low-income residents.”

The Tech Together program focuses on adults, while other programs in the D.C. government focus on school-age children. “Simply providing internet and a device is not enough to close the digital divide,” OCTO wrote. “[We would be] standing up a community tech support center that families and residents can call into for device troubleshooting.”

The mayor’s proposal recently passed through committee mark-up hearings in the D.C. Council, with the Committee on Government Operations and Facilities reviewing OCTO’s funding. The committee – chaired by At-Large Councilmember Robert White – kept OCTO’s budget mostly intact, preserving $154.7 million of

the nearly $156.4 million Bowser had proposed. The committee’s recommendations have been considered along with all other committees’ input and will be revised

by D.C. Council during multiple rounds of considerations before a final vote on Aug. 3.

Local residents, advocacy groups, and nonprofit organizations say the digital divide issues facing lowincome households during the past year have created barriers to employment and education that have continued to worsen inequity across the city.

Juanita Beltran, who lives in Ward 8, said her neighborhood is riddled with unstable cellular service and “very poor” local internet service with slow speeds, unlike the higher quality of broadband that she’s noticed in Northwest. She said her two children, who have attended school remotely during the pandemic, struggled participating in class because their computers would disconnect from their at-home Wi-Fi and their phones would occasionally freeze if they tried using them as a “hotspot” to relay the data connection..

Beltran, who can’t afford to pay for internet issues to be fixed, said she has used funding from the Emergency Broadband Benefit — a federal program that subsidizes home internet service for low-income families — during the past month after her internet company tried raising her bill from $37 to $58.

CHART BY ERIC FALQUERO

PHOTO BY NATHAN DUMLAO ON UNSPLASH

“The internet service here is terrible, and of course the internet companies that keep raising your bill, they want to raise your bill after a year,” Beltran said. “I was like, ‘OK, one, I don’t mind paying if I actually have good service,’ and with the kids doing online college courses, I was like ‘They need their laptops working, and they have to reboot or restart if the internet phases out.’”

Beltran said she encountered additional connectivity issues while trying to apply for jobs earlier during the pandemic when she was unemployed, refreshing pages or restarting her computer midway through an application because of internet problems. She said additional funding from the city would provide a “big boost” to families in Southeast struggling to find employment and keep their children engaged in remote learning.

“These low-income families, it’s hard for them to keep doing their homework or stay up to date with their homework because they don’t have any laptops at home,” she said. “They don’t have any iPads or whatever fancy gadget that helps them do their homework.”

Anne-Marie Bairstow, director of the nonprofit workforce development organization Skyland Workforce Center, said technology has served as one of the biggest challenges for participants in the program who do not have the devices and internet needed for online job interviews and applications. She said these issues date

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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Accessing health insurance in DC became easier during COVID-19. Will it last?

BY JOHN WOOLLEY // john.woolley@streetsensemedia.org

CHART BY JARROD WARDWELL

back to before the pandemic, but the online work created by the digital divide. environment has highlighted the difficulties facing D.C. produced a 2015 report — State of the Digital workers with little-to-no digital experience.

Divide — that identified many of these connectivity “I just have seen a lot of people kind of get flummoxed challenges. However, that report used an outdated by the whole virtual job fair, virtual interview, and then standard for “high-speed” internet. Broadband also just the whole process when everything’s online of infrastructure investments from private internet searching for jobs, it’s really kind of demoralizing,” she companies were counted if they provided 4 Mbps said. Bairstow explained that employers use software to speed for any price. That speed is insufficient to stream sort through applications and job seekers don’t receive uninterrupted video to one device, let alone multiple constructive feedback devices simultaneously or encouragement from between several people employers sending using the same connection. automated rejection Many families opt to use messages or no response expensive wireless data at all. “ “I think that this is because their homes probably the biggest reason aren’t even connected to a why there are people who wire that could deliver the aren’t getting jobs.” modern, federal standard Bairstow said digital for broadband speed: literacy training – 25 Mbps. With a good teaching residents connection to a nearby cell technological skills so tower, all major wireless they’re well equipped carriers deliver faster Anne-Marie Bairstow, to use computers and speeds than 25 MBps, navigate the internet which is enough to stream – will be the most crucial budget line item to fund HD video on one -three devices at the same time. during the next fiscal year. “The training, there’s just With nearly 90% of Tech Together’s budget directed no substitute for that,” she said. “And that’s not just to devices, Hu said she didn’t see enough information offering some classes, but there should be places that about how the city will accompany devices with people can go and get one-on-one help with whatever effective digital literacy training and expanded it is that they need.” broadband access. “There hasn’t been a citywide Devices can be purchased or donated and digital survey, and so without that, I can’t say if that broadband internet can be provided at public libraries investment is going to be enough,” Hu said. “I can’t but training and empowerment is priceless, according say they’re allocating it in the right way because I to Bairstow. haven’t seen the data about where it’s needed.”

“I hope that people realize that when everything New York City released its “Internet Master Plan” moved online, a lot of people got left behind and that in early 2020, offering universal broadband internet even since so many more things are online now, it’s service as a $2.1 billion investment. Sacramento, really important for people to have that connectivity Chattanooga, Houston and Philadelphia are among and be able to use that,” Bairstow said. other city governments that have taken steps to Grace Hu, founder of the local advocacy group foster greater digital inclusion. Those cities often Digital Equity in D.C. Education, said the District adopt to directly subsidize installation of faster needs to create a “multi-year comprehensive tech plan” wired connections just as they would upgrade to devise a strategy for combating the digital divide. sidewalks for disabled residents. Chattanooga and She said city officials have failed to provide evidence other municipalities chose to directly offer municipal backed by data indicating that they’ve identified all broadband services to increase access to affordable, the different digital needs facing families across D.C. high speed internet.

While the city’s $26.9 million investment is a “good Have you had trouble with affordable internet service starting point,” Hu said she can’t be sure whether the and connectivity in the District? Email cash will be properly allocated without the release of jarrod.wardwell@streetsensemedia.org. data or a citywide survey that quantifies the needs

“The training, there’s just no substitute for that. And that’s not just offering some classes, but there should be places that people can go and get one-on-one help.”

Funding for one of D.C.’s low-income health insurance programs is caught in the middle of legislative negotiations, leaving residents unsure of how to remain enrolled come the fall.

During the COVID-19 public health emergency the D.C. government modified normal recertification requirements for the D.C. Healthcare Alliance (the Alliance), a medical assistance program servicing lowincome, often undocumented residents who are uninsured and ineligible for either Medicare or Medicaid. Now, as the D.C. Council considers its budget for the next fiscal year, some lawmakers are hoping to make those changes permanent.

The normal enrollment process for the Alliance has long been the target of criticism by both councilmembers and enrollees. Starting a decade ago this year, residents looking to enroll were required to have a face-to-face interview with an official from the Department of Human Services (DHS), followed by a recertification interview every six months. If an enrollee missed their interview, they lost their insurance.

“We got there at 6 a.m. so that we would not be at the end of the long line,” Marlene Gutierrez, an enrollee, said during a hearing held on March 5, 2020 right before the public health emergency was declared. She waited for hours with her mother and one-year-old baby to recertify their insurance in person. They were sent home and told to wait for a callback that never came. “In the end, [my mother] ended up losing a day of work without pay and without a hope of having insurance,” Gutierrez said.

COVID-19 moved the city to suspend many of these barriers — nixing the in-person interview requirement, allowing enrollment online and over-the-phone, and scaling back recertification to only once per year. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not the D.C. Council will keep the changes or revert back to pre-pandemic operations.

While councilmembers are largely supportive of the modified policy, similar measures have failed in the recent past. Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau introduced an amendment in 2017 to repeal the requirements, but the effort stalled over financing issues. When asked about the fate of the changes, her office said nothing was certain until the budget was approved. “It’s never been more important that we invest in health care, especially for some of our most vulnerable neighbors,” she said during the Committee on Health’s markup session last month.

Funding remains a sticking point. The Alliance’s strict requirements for enrollment and recertification were originally implemented to combat alleged fraud. Since the restrictions were introduced in 2011, the program has lost an average of 23% of its enrollment each year. The city’s chief financial officer estimated in November that lifting the restrictions will have the reverse effect, causing an influx of enrollments and requiring more financial resources to compensate.

Earlier this month, the council’s Committee on Health recommended funding the Alliance reforms by converting 101 vacant full-time D.C. Health employees into termed positions. Multiple councilmembers bristled at the funding method when Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, who chairs the committee, presented the plan during a recent budget work session.

At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman called the plan a “budget trick” during the session, expressing skepticism about hiring behavioral health professionals for one-year terms. “This really handicaps the ability of [the Department of Behavioral Health] to hire competent people,” she said.

Council Chair Phil Mendelson, who was similarly wary of Gray’s funding proposal, responded with a potential alternative on the morning of July 20: partially funding the Alliance reforms with staff cuts at the Department of Health Care Finance, rather than at the Department of Behavioral Health.

Mendelson also received a commitment from the mayor to end the twice-ayear, in-person recertification requirement, though it is unclear whether the new proposal will provide the same level of funding as Gray’s previous plan.

The full council was considering the intial vote on the budget as Street Sense went to press. The next and finanl vote is scheduled for Aug. 3.

All budget info and scehduules are available at dccouncilbudget.com/fy-2022-budget.

6 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

NEWS

With the public health emergency ending, what does that mean for evictions?

BY WILL SCHICK will@streetsensemedia.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT MOLONEY ON UNSPLASH

I

magine you’re months behind on rent. You receive a letter from your landlord that says you need to make good on all your past due rent payments or leave. What do you do?

Assuming you’re in D.C., all is not lost. As a tenant, you have a range of protections and resources available to help you navigate what comes next.

Last week, the D.C. Council passed emergency legislation aimed at avoiding or delaying evictions, which is still due for a signature from the mayor before becoming law. The legislation comes as the public health emergency is coming to an end on July 25. Since the eviction moratorium is tied to the public health emergency, the council sought to address how evictions will work.

In general, the bill, if signed, requires landlords to first apply for rental assistance under STAY D.C., the city’s COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program, before evicting anyone for nonpayment of rent. But there are several large caveats to this policy.

In the case of tenants who have applied for STAY D.C., landlords will not be able to file for eviction for non-payment of rent unless their application has been denied or the tenant owes more than two months or $600 in back rent (whichever is greater).

That second caveat is unlikely to block landlords from pursuing evictions in most cases. According to a Georgetown University study, only 12% of tenants who owed back rent in 2018 owed $600 or less — most people owed about $1,207.

When a tenant does owe more than the legislation stipulates, their landlords are expected to provide the option of a payment plan before filing for eviction.

The new law also sets out requirements for the 60-day notices landlords send to tenants to inform them of their intent to file for evictions. In addition to listing the total past due amount, they must include plain, non-threatening language that outlines what rights tenants have, the steps they can take to avoid eviction, and contact numbers for various legal resources.

But some tenant advocates believe the notices themselves — however cautiously they’re written — may be enough to cause people to panic.

Aaron Pope, the senior communications specialist for the Legal Aid Society of D.C., bases his concern on personal experience. For him, all it took was a letter from his landlord saying he had two weeks to move.

In 1999, while Pope was studying at Howard University, he rented a basement apartment in a town house near Rock Creek Park when one day he noticed rats scurrying in and out of the walls. Pope had attempted to get his landlord to resolve the issue — which he blamed on a large hole in the wall left by his landlord’s shoddy attempt to install a radiator.

Ultimately, however, Pope’s landlord did not fix the problem and the rats soon took over the apartment, darting in and out of his kitchen, tearing through bags of flour and sugar and scattering the powdered contents all over the counters and the floor.

It was then that Pope, anxious and scared with no place to go, received a letter titled “two weeks to vacate” from his landlord.

“I was 20 years old, maybe 21. It was my first time ever not living with my parents or living in a dorm, I knew nothing about renting an apartment, I knew nothing about the process.

So when I see this letter, I’m scared,” Pope said.

He ended up complying with his landlord’s request to vacate, forgoing his security deposit and moving back home with his

parents in Central Virginia. All the while he feared, mistakenly, that his credit could be damaged.

In D.C., tenants are not required to vacate their homes without a court order, something Pope didn’t quite understand at the time.

“A lot of times people don’t understand the law,” Pope explained.

Even after D.C. enacted an eviction moratorium in March 2020, some landlords continued to issue notices to tenants ordering them to vacate their homes, banking on their misunderstanding of the law. In response, the council adopted emergency legislation barring landlords from this practice. The moratorium on filings was later challenged by landlords in court, although the District’s law was ultimately upheld by the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Even with the council’s passage of stronger tenant protections as the eviction ban comes to an end, Pope said he is still worried that vulnerable tenants might react like he did — acting without the knowledge of what legal resources are available for them.

Speaking recently to a group of philanthropists and community organizers about the need to heighten funding and support for civil legal aid services, Kirra Jarratt of the D.C. Bar Foundation highlighted one of the common misconceptions tenants have about the law.

“You’re not guaranteed a right to counsel in civil matters — it’s not like what you see on TV,” Jarratt said.

But many tenants who go to court do not understand this.

In fact, nearly 90% of tenants arrive in court in D.C. without legal representation while 95% of landlords show up with their own lawyer, according to a 2017 study conducted by the D.C. Access to Justice Commission. The study, Pope and Jarratt say, highlights just how little tenants know about their legal rights.

Lori Leibowitz, the managing attorney for D.C.-based nonprofit Neighborhood Legal Services, said tenants often show up to court under mistaken assumptions. “[Tenants] sometimes think that the landlord’s attorney is their attorney. … [But] the landlord’s attorney is there to represent the landlord and the landlord’s interests,” Leibowitz said.

Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie, Anita Bonds, and Elissa SIlverman co-introduced a measure in 2016 (along with other members who are no longer on the council) that would have guaranteed representation in civil matters. The bill was

co-sponsored by Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmembers Mary Cheh, Charles Allen, Brianne Nadeau, and Robert White.

The bill was also re-introduced in 2017 but did not progress.

Now, however, the council is allocating $11.8 million in its fiscal year 2022 budget to support the Access to Justice Initiative. The initiative provides civil legal representation to potentially thousands of low- and moderate-income District residents, according to budget documents and a press release from Mendelson.

But it’s not just the tenants in court who may operate under false expectations.

“The concern we always, always have is people selfevicting,” Leibowitz said. “It’s tenants saying, ‘Well, I’m behind. I can’t pay my rent’ or ‘This STAY D.C. application is too hard’ or ‘My landlord doesn’t want me here, so I’m just going to pack up and move.’”

“[Tenants] sometimes think that the landlord’s attorney is their attorney…[however] the landlord’s attorney is there to represent the landlord and the landlord’s interests.”

Lori Leibowitz People who find themselves in this situation, Leibowitz said, generally do not have a safe place to go.

In Leibowitz’s experience, immigrants and others who have limited English proficiency are particularly vulnerable, often fearing the consequences of not caving into the demands of their landlords.

During the pandemic, a surge of “invisible evictions” targeting immigrants, who were illegally threatened or coerced

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 7

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Wendell Williams PHOTO BY RODNEY CHOICE / CHOICEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Levester Green II

Publishing his fourth book! The other three: tinyurl.com/levester-author ARTIST/VENDOR

Wendell Williams

Quoted by Christian Science Monitor Read: tinyurl.com/wendell-cashless ARTIST/VENDOR

GUIDE COURTESY OF THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF D.C.

by their landlords to move out.

Many legal aid advocates expect the resumption of eviction filings will mostly affect the city’s Black and Latino residents, who are more likely to rent and generally have higher rates of rent burden. According to a May report by the D.C. Council Office on Racial Equity, more than half of the city’s Black and Latino residents spend more than 30% of their income on rent, compared to about a third of white households.

Then there are others who feel disappointed or guilty of their own inability to pay rent — unaware of the financial resources available to them or where to even seek legal help.

Leibowitz said many renters are still not aware of STAY D.C. and may find the latest legislation confusing. At a D.C. Council budget work session on July 8, Ward 4’s Janeese Lewis George reported that STAY D.C. had a backlog of over 16,000 applications, with another 20,000 unfinished applications in draft form.

Advocates say there’s an obvious reason so many tenants haven’t completed the process.

“Those applications take over an hour when I fill them out,” Leibowitz said. And that is after applicants have gathered all their documents together, she added.

The city’s rent relief program for people affected by the pandemic has been mired with a range of technical and administrative challenges since its launch in April. The difficulty of navigating the STAY D.C. portal itself may contribute to tenants opting to abandon the platform and self-evict, without thinking through all their options. During the budget work session, Lewis George warned of a potential deluge of eviction filings in September, potentially before tenants who applied for

rental assistance will have even received the aid they needed.

Even without any new filings, more than 300 evictions are still looming — on hold since May 2021 after landlords obtained writs from the court. And there are probably several hundred more now, according to Beth Mellen, supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society of D.C. From March 11, 2020, through the end of the year, 1,854 eviction cases were filed in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of the D.C. Superior Court. Two-thirds of the cases were filed in March (before the public health moratorium), 388 in April and 78 in May, slowing to a trickle for the subsequent months, per a case ruling filed by the D.C. Superior Court in December.

Leibowitz recommends that people who need help or are confused by the eviction process contact the Landlord Tenant Legal Assistance Network, a collaboration of six legal nonprofits, at (202) 780-2575. Support is available in English, Spanish, and other languages.

Additionally, the Legal Aid Society of D.C. created a tenant toolkit that outlines the process for evictions, and highlights the array of resources available to tenants renting in D.C. The toolkit also offers recommendations for how to communicate with landlords who are not responding to maintenance concerns.

So, what do you do if you receive a notice from your landlord asking you to pay up on your back rent or move?

The consensus from legal advocates across D.C. is to turn to an attorney and ask for help.

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

VENDOR PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS • Next Vendor Meeting will be this Friday, July 23, 2 - 3pm.

• Vendors can bring in a complete CDC vaccination card for 15 free papers.

• New poetry workshop every Monday, 10:30 - 11:30am.

• Next health Q&A with GW medical students will be Tuesday, July 27, 12 - 1pm.

8 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

NEWS

President Johnson’s poverty tour in 1964. Lyndon B. Johnson shakes the hand of one of the residents of Appalachia as Agent Rufus Youngblood (far left) looks on.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LBJ LIBRARY, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Poverty in 2021 looks different than in 1964 – but the US hasn’t changed how it measures who’s poor since LBJ began his war .

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson famously declared war on poverty.

“The richest nation on Earth can afford to win it,” he told Congress in his first State of the Union address. “We cannot afford to lose it.”

Yet as the administration was to learn on both the domestic and foreign battlefields, a country marching off to war must have a credible estimate of the enemy’s size and strength.

Surprisingly, up until this point, the U.S. had no official measure of poverty and therefore no statistics on its scope, shape or changing nature. The U.S. needed to come up with a way of measuring how many people in America were poor.

As I discuss in my recently published book Confronting Poverty, the approach that the government came up with in the 1960s is still – despite its many shortcomings – the government’s official measure of poverty and used to determine eligibility for hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid.

for a family of four. In 2019, the same family’s poverty line stood at $26,172. For an interesting contrast, that’s less than half what the average American polled in 2013 said was the “smallest amount of money” a family of four needed to get by, or $58,000.

The federal government adjusts the poverty line annually to reflect increases in the cost of living. The cut-off itself varies by the number of people in the household, while a household’s annual income is based upon the earnings of everyone currently residing within it.

Using this measure, 10.5 percent of the U.S. population was in poverty in 2019, the most recent data available.

Keep in mind, though, these thresholds represent impoverishment at its most opulent level. Among those living below the poverty line, 45 per cent live in “deep” poverty, which means they live on less than half of the official poverty line.

The government uses the official poverty line as the base to determine who’s eligible for a range of social programs, from Medicaid to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

For example, to qualify for SNAP, a household must be below 130 percent of the poverty line for its size.

Counting people in poverty

Other measures of poverty

Broadly speaking, poverty means not having the money to purchase the basic necessities to maintain a minimally adequate life, such as food, shelter, and clothing.

The government came up with its official method for counting poor people in the mid-1960s.

First, it asks, what does it cost to purchase a minimally adequate diet during the year for a particularly sized family?

That number is then multiplied by three, and you have arrived at the poverty line. That’s it.

If a family’s income falls above the line it is not considered in poverty, while those below the line are counted as poor.

What about all the other basic necessities, such as housing, clothing and health care? That’s where the multiplier of three comes in. When the poverty thresholds were devised, research indicated that the typical family spent approximately one-third of its income on food and the remaining two-thirds on all other expenses.

Therefore, the logic was that if a minimally adequate diet could be purchased for a particular dollar amount, multiplying that figure by three would give the amount of income needed to purchase the basic necessities for a minimally adequate life.

Back in 1963, that translated into a poverty line of US$3,128

Most analysts, however, consider the official poverty line to be an extremely conservative measure of economic hardship.

A major reason for this is that families today have to spend much more on things other than food than they did in the 1960s. For example, housing costs have surged over 800 percent since then.

For that reason, some critics say the multiplier of three should be raised to four or even higher. Taking that step would result in a much larger percentage of the population being seen as in poverty, making them eligible for anti-poverty benefits.

In response, in 2011 the census bureau developed an alternative measure of poverty, called the Supplemental Poverty Measure. This method takes into account a number of factors that the official poverty measure does not, such as differences in cost of living across the country. The result pushes the poverty rate up just a tad, to 11.7 percent for 2019. This measure is mostly used today by academics and researchers.

Another method, common in many high-income countries, ignores the cost of living calculations entirely.

The European Union, for example, defines poverty as the percentage of the population that earns below one half of

BY MARK ROBERT RANK The Conversation

whatever the median income is. For example, in the U.S., the median income in 2019 was $68,703, which means anyone earning less than $34,351 would be deemed poor. By that measure, the U.S. would have a poverty rate of 17.8 per cent.

In fact, back in 1959, the poverty line for a family of four was about half of median income in the U.S. Today, it’s about a quarter, which means the federal government’s definition of who is poor hasn’t kept up with overall rising standards of living.

One other approach is based on the idea that poverty is more than just a lack of income and should reflect economic insecurity more broadly, such as not having unemployment or health insurance. The census recently calculated what poverty might look from this perspective and concluded 38% of Americans experienced one or more aspects of deprivation in 2019.

The only way to win the war Why does it matter how a society measures poverty?

It matters because in order to address a problem, you must have a clear understanding of its scope. By using an extremely conservative measurement such as the federal poverty line, the U.S. minimizes the extent and depth of poverty in the country.

An inaccurate poverty line inevitably also limits the number of impoverished people who qualify for much-needed federal and state assistance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people would have fallen into poverty were it not for less conditional coronavirus aid from the federal government, such as the three rounds of economic impact checks and supplemental federal employment insurance.

Many Americans in the past have been rudely surprised at just how inadequate America’s safety net is, at least in part because it’s based on outdated federal poverty thresholds.

Broadening the definition of poverty would ensure it’s more likely to be there to support people in a crisis.

Ultimately, poverty will touch the majority of Americans at some point in their lives. My own research shows that roughly 6 in 10 Americans will spend at least one of their adult years below the official poverty line.

But if the U.S. ever hopes to finally win the war LBJ began in 1964, the poor need to be seen in order for the government to lift them out of poverty.

Mark Robert Rank is professor of social welfare at Washington University in St Louis. Courtesy of The Conversation / INSP.ngoz

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Vigil honors Jose Navarro and 42 other people who died on DC streets in 2021 BY

BY BEN BEN GUTMAN GUTMAN Volunteer Volunteer Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George speaks to the crowd outside of Foundry United Methodist Church. PHOTO BY BEN GUTMAN

C

ommunity leaders, neighbors, and advocates congregated outside of Foundry United Methodist Church on July 18 to honor the life of Jose Antonio Navarro and 42 other individuals who have passed away on the streets of D.C. in 2021.

About a month ago, Navarro was found dead on the stairs of Foundry by a concerned neighbor while the church staff was out of town. Navarro had experienced homelessness for over 20 years and slept outside the church for a little less than a year while working as a day laborer. That’s according to Reverend Ben Roberts, associate pastor and director of social justice ministries at Foundry United Methodist.

Around 40 people attended the mid-year memorial to pay their respects and demand more funding from the city to end the kind of chronic homelessness that Navarro had experienced for decades. Attendees laid flowers at a vigil next to the spot where Navarro would sleep at night.

“Jose would decorate his space with flowers,” Reverend Roberts explained to the crowd.

Before these neighbors and advocates could gather to remember Navarro, another D.C. resident passed away without housing.

Robert Stephens became at least the fortythird person to have passed away without housing in the District this year. He was found July 14 by another unhoused resident at the E Street encampment in Foggy Bottom. Yannik Omictin, the ANC commissioner representing the area, was one of eight speakers, including Reverend Roberts, to address the crowd.

“[Stephens] deserved the simple dignity of not dying on the street,”Omictin said during his speech.

Jesse Rabinowitz, an organizer with the local social service nonprofit Mariam’s Kitchen, also spoke. Miriam’s Kitchen along with other members of the Way Home Campaign it leads called on the D.C. Council to invest $66 million of the city’s fiscal year 2022 budget to end chronic homelessness with proven solutions such as Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).

[Disclaimer: Street Sense Media is a member of The Way Home Campaign but our newsroom is independent. Read more at streetsensemedia.org/ethics]

“According to our [D.C. Department of Human Services] data, only three people have died who are homeless from COVID in 2021, so 40 of those deaths were from nonCOVID related things. Often manageable and treatable medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension,” Rabinowitz said. “So we’re calling on the city to fulfill their promise. They made a commitment to ending homelessness and ending homelessness is literally a matter of life or death for our neighbors who are living outside.”

In 2015, the newly elected Bowser administration published a strategic plan to end long-term homelessness called “Homeward D.C.” This plan included a

Community members placed flowers next to the spot where Jose Navarro would sleep. BY BEN GUTMAN

pledge to end chronic homelessness among single adults and families by the end of 2017.

After failing to meet this goal three years ago, Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness released an updated plan for the next five years at the beginning of this month.

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese LewisGeorge were in attendance to both honor the life of Navarro as well as voice support for boosting government funding for Permanent Supportive Housing by raising taxes on D.C. residents making more than $250,000 per year. The amendment supporting this tax was incorporated into the D.C. Council’s revised FY22 budget in an 8-5 vote on July 20.

At the vigil the Sunday before, both councilmembers said the mayor’s proposed budget of $20.6 million for PSH in FY2022 — $4 million less than in 2021 — is not enough to end chronic homelessness. Other speakers at the vigil included Kate Coventry of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, Rabbi Ilana Zeitman of Gather D.C., and advocacy director of the People for Fairness Coalition Reginald Black.

Last December, the People for Fairness Coalition (PFFC) held their annual vigil to remember every individual who died without a home. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, that number stood at least 180 deaths in 2020. This coming December, Black and PFFC will repeat the solemn annual ritual once again. “[Individuals experiencing homelessness] want to know when are they going to have housing,” Black said during his speech.

1 0 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

OPINION

Why we can’t just defund the police

BY AYUB ABDUL

In April, I shared my life experiences that show why good police officers are important for communities. But recently, people have been talking about defunding the police department. Can you imagine calling 911, and no one comes because nobody’s there to answer?

I want the police back on the street.

The only way this is going to happen is if the community gets involved. Everyone has to get involved — yes, that means you, too. We can’t wait any longer for someone else to do it.

Everyone in Washington, D.C. should be appalled at what happened at the

Capitol on January 6th. I was at home when my regular television program was interrupted and, to my astonishment, there was a crowd of people demonstrating on the Capitol grounds. Later, a mob of protesters became very violent.

But, this wasn’t an ordinary demonstration.

The people who stormed the Capitol while Congress was in session wanted to stop the Vice President from confirming a legitimate election. Had it not been for the Capitol Police controlling the situation until the National Guard and local law enforcement could arrive, this mob would have destroyed the building and people in it.

One particular officer, Eugene Goodman, held off an angry mob all by himself that might have created a catastrophe resulting in the death of both Senators and Members of Congress.

President Trump encouraged this mob to act “wild” because he claimed the election was stolen. But the election wasn’t stolen. That’s why this mob was an insurrection, and had it been able to stop the electoral vote count and tear this country apart, different types of people would be governing this country. Can you imagine us being a countrywhere a cartel runs a lot of it and the police department is very corrupt?

As a society, are we asking our police to do too many jobs? Is there a breakdown within the police department itself?

Could we be over-working our police departments, while they ask us for help indirectly by hurting other people? There are so many reasons for what appears to be a breakdown in the police department.

Recently, a lot of attention has been

placed on law enforcement all over this country and the world. The murder of George Floyd is only one reason why people are asking for reform. But it’s possible that calls for a decrease in police funding are also fueling an increase in street violence.

We ask the police to perform a lot of different services, from being traffic cops, to social workers, to psychiatrists. Even the police know that they are overworked.

The solution is getting the police involved with the community. During social and sporting events, the police department should walk around and meet the people in their community and get to know them.

This won’t be resolved right away.

But thinking about new ideas to improve our police department with the whole community, and working together, will bring about positive results.

Ayub Abdul is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

DC Budget: Are we preparing for a humanitarian nightmare or a just and equitable recovery?

BY AMBER HARDING

This column was first published by The DC Line on July 18.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has decided not to extend the public health emergency past July 25. As a result, the D.C. Council had to scramble to phase out or extend many of the legal protections that were tied to the public health emergency, including the eviction moratorium. Despite some thoughtful protections in the law and significant federal dollars for eviction prevention, there is no doubt in my mind that we are on the precipice of historic levels of homelessness in DC — unless the council invests significant resources into ending and preventing homelessness.

Mayor Bowser claims to have drastically decreased family homelessness in her time as mayor, but this is an illusion. Her administration has drastically decreased the use of family shelters by moving homeless families into the rapid re-housing program. Rapid re-housing is time-limited, though, which means the homelessness of those families has only temporarily ended. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of families in shelter and transitional housing fell in half, from 815 to 405. Yet, at the same time, the number of families in rapid re-housing increased from 1,802 to 2,905. That’s a total increase of more than 1,100 homeless (or about-to-be homeless) families as of this spring. According to the most recent figures available, there are now more than 3,200 families in the rapid re-housing program.

Now that the public health emergency is ending, the D.C. Department of Human Services plans to terminate hundreds of families in rapid re-housing for reaching the time limit. The vast majority of these families — almost exclusively Black families — will not be able to afford their rent when they are cut off from assistance, leading to displacement, eviction and homelessness. Existing

trauma will be amplified by its repetition. As a mother once told me, becoming homeless more than once makes it harder to tell your children that it is just a blip in a life story; instead, it is more likely to become part of one’s identity. A housing voucher — because it is permanent rather than time-limited — interrupts that pattern and creates long-term housing stability and security. If even half of these families return to homelessness after being cut off from support through rapid re-housing, DC’s family shelters will run out of space.

Mayor Bowser also committed to ending chronic homelessness by 2017, yet chronic homelessness actually increased by 21% this year. The number of tents has grown across the city, probably related to the risks of COVID transmission in shelters. Some neighbors are pushing for displacement, an approach that does nothing to solve the problem or help encampment residents, even as other neighbors demand greater housing resources.

Other people who are chronically homeless still reside in emergency shelters or in the new hotel program — D.C. has about 650 individuals in hotel rooms who have been medically determined to be at high risk of dying of COVID-19 and another 600 on the waiting list for the program. Unfortunately, the hotel program is expected to wind down when the federal money lapses at the end of September, even as the virus remains a threat.

Without more housing vouchers, medically vulnerable people will be forced to return to living on the street or in overcrowded shelters, and their lives will be at risk.

Already 43 people have died while homeless this year — there wase a vigil Sunday July 18to honor their lives.

Meanwhile, 43,000 households sit on the D.C. Housing Authority waiting list for public housing and vouchers, a list that has been closed for eight years. People who are

homeless wait more than a decade for vouchers on that waiting list. The budget as it stands now will inadequately fund public housing repairs. Those repairs would be an effective way to bring some vacant units back online to be matched with people waiting for housing.

Many of the D.C. residents struggling without housing have been doing so for years, and that is unjust and unconscionable. Soon, though, people who were teetering on the edge of homelessness, then pushed overby the pandemic — plu people newly unstable due to the pandemic — will also become homeless. While we hope the federal rental assistance available through STAY DC will reach all of them, the District is not running a lowbarrier, easily accessible program. When evictions start up, D.C. will see an increase in homelessness that it is woefully unprepared to prevent, absorb, or mitigate.

D.C. is on the precipice of a homelessness emergency beyond anything we have ever seen, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to turn around. The budget decisions that D.C. council makes in the next few weeks about how much money to invest in homelessness prevention, public housing repairs, and ending homelessness will determine whether we experience a humanitarian nightmare or a just and equitable recovery. I hope you join us in telling our elected leaders that ending homelessness should be their highest priority this year. They need to do whatever it takes to get it done, whether that means raising taxes on high-income earners or transferring money from poorperforming programs.

Amber W. Harding is a staff attorney at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, where she leads policy and budget advocacy. She is on the steering committee of the Fair Budget Coalition and The Way Home Campaign.

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// 11

ART

BY JAMES DAVIS Artist/Vendor

Please mister please Does anyone here speak maskese Trying to make sense of what she said Everytime I ask I get so afraid I thought I heard “A wonderful horse’s” Which was translated to “I want a divorce” You see, I’m not wearing a mask and she is If she prefers to it’s her biz Now it’s been a month since I saw her Now here talking cost with my lawyer So counselor, one thing before we get started, I have to ask: Can we talk without you wearing that stupid mask!

PHOTO BY JAMES DAVIS

Public Housing Budget

BY REGINALD BLACK, a.k.a. “DA STREET REPORTIN’ ARTIST” Artist/Vendor

Public Affecting a population, the community as a whole.

Done.

Made for the community to act as a whole.

Relating to service, especially as a community government officer, the people who consult a particular group of people — a community, state, or nation — with a common interest.

Housing Collectively having shelter, lodging, or dwelling place.

The act of providing houses for a group, or community.

Anything that covers, protects; A fully enclosed case and support for a mechanism.

Budget An estimate, often itemized.

The expected income and expense for a given period.

The future plan of operations, based on an estimate of income and expenditure.

To keep within the household quantity of material, written or printed.

The public housing budget.

This moral code shouldn’t be restricted by being put forward by the government through taxation. It should be used to provide for our homes, states, and nation now!!!!!

ILLUSTRATION BY REGINALD BLACK

1 2 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

ART

What Love Is

BY REGGIE JONES Artist/Vendor

Someone to walk with. Someone to talk with.

Someone to eat with. Someone to build with.

Someone to shake with. Someone who is there no matter what you go through. They are there to tell you things will be okay, baby, and not to worry. Someone to help you with things about which you may need assistance.

Someone to make love to. Someone who is honest and loyal to you. Someone to grow old with. Someone to hold hands with. Someone to die with, which is what love is the end.

Screenshots of how I was able to see anything about my sister that day. From left to right: an old photo from Bashment Link-up, an entertainment site with event photo archives from 2006-13; a release posted on MPD’s website; and a video posted by the Instagram account Killmoe News that had been seen more than 30,000 times. COLLECTED BY SASHA WILLIAMS. CONTENT REMAINS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL WEBSITES

Feeling sweet and sour

She met her dad He passed away when she an’ her twin were 15 She met our grandad on our mother’s side as well He passed away when he was younger I have to say R.I.P to my sister Dang though, the damage is done I got to bury my sister — I don’t wish that on nobody It’s tuff and it’s going to be ruff

BY SASHA WILLIAMS // Artist/Vendor

I woke up to an unpleasant reality on Sunday, July 11.

Summer on DC streets

BY CARLTON JOHNSON, a.k.a. “INKFLOW” Artist/Vendor

Temperatures on the rise has meant warmer and better nights on the streets — but hot, hot days. But despite the heat, with summer has come the reopening of the nation’s capital and the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions. More people and more activities allow for the joy of being with new friends.

Up and coming, D.C.’s budget for October through next September is coming into focus.

I hope I can get some of the money for ending homelessness to get out of these streets.

Especially after dealing with this nightmare of the COVID family, I’m looking to be part of the recovery from this pandemic and this hard life.

I want justice for my sister Whoever did this must take responsibility for this tragic death

My sister is gone My sister her name is Vanessa It’s shocking I don’t know who I don’t know what and I don’t know why

During this reality blow it’s a very humbling time for my family… so I also want to give some shout outs: 1.

I want to say “Happy Birthday!” to my mom this cancer season.

2.

Eboni finally got to eat her cake for doing her thing in school getting As on her report card!

The how is tragic She got shot in the head Her brains blew out It’s a lot for me I am having the motions of emotions That is an unexpected loss She was a daughter of our strong mother She was a twin to my sister Valarie ….and Valarie had been missing last year August It’s a lot going on but Vanessa deserves justice I agree it is wild I agree whoever and whatever that this didn’t have to happen

COURTESY OF SASHA WILLIAMS

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// 1 3

Prayer

BY DON GARDNER Artist/Vendor

A way to say I need A supernatural intervention Not meant to arouse the scientific approach But rather alert the world Of silence seldom heard Conversely spoken With a sound of emergency Touching the depths of the soul Design to reach heaven Where the God of Love Sends angels to rescue The least of us in despair Interceding for one another Without judgment But with cause He faithfully whispers Strength, power, grace. and mercy To all Who needs a healing Of the mind, body. and soul No matter the size of the storm That has overtaken us The sun will shine And the moon will glow And prayers will be answered This I know

Friends

BY RONALD SMOOT Artist/Vendor

Some say friends are good. Some say friends are bad. I say some are like family, and I only have a few friends on whom I can depend. I may have five good friends all together. My best friend is my wife. We are always together. She will buy me things I need, like shoes and food. She will make sure I take care of all my needs. My best friend makes my life worth living. We will play sports. We will go out to eat. Maybe go to the movies. And sometimes we will go to church.

Some friends are no good for you because they have bad things on their minds. They will get you in a lot of trouble,if you’re not thinking about what’s good for you. A lot of them passed years ago. So my new friends?

I don’t trust them. So I believe in being my own friend. I do, for me, what my friends don’t do. So most of the time now, I be by myself. If you let some of them close to you they will try to hurt you. LIke back in the day, I would let them in my house and they would try to take things from me. Now I have my own apartment. I will tell Ms. Smoot, when I’m not there, don’t let anyone in my house. So, understand what I am saying: my good friends, maybe my family, I can trust.

My best friend is my wife.

We are always together.

What I love about communications

BY LEVESTER GREEN Artist/Vendor

PHOTO BY BILLY PASCO // UNSPLASH

It all started with the aspiration 2 fulfill a middle school childhood dream 2 become an on-air personality like the ones I heard growing up! So I started out at South Carolina State University in pursuit of a radio broadcasting career. There, I became Big City Joe on the radio, WSSB FM. Meanwhile, whenever I returned home 2 the D.C. area, I got a job & actively pushed my poetry 2 college publications, stimulating that audience & creating buzz.

My main interest was in radio broadcasting, but I continually found myself on the newspaper staff

of every school I’ve attended. So, they each got & helped me bolster my poetry audience & career! The Collegian at S.C.S.U. & The Trilogy at the University of the District of Columbia. I became the Poetry Editor at UDC. Then, there was The Owl at Prince George’s Community College.

I also was published in its literary magazines, The Mind and Reflections.

So, it’s no wonder & stands as no surprise I would make it onto the Street Sense Newspaper squad & have a hand in helping them achieve a new status as a media company! Now, broadening their output & dynamics in how they present the street & homeless news? Brilliant!

7/19/2021

1 4 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A / / J U LY 2 1 - 2 7 , 2021

Free Daily Printable Crossword Puzzles

Free Printable Crossword Puzzle #1

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3. "Don't Pasteurhave portrayer 62. Bodily distress 59.

Top-of-the-line 8. ___, man!"

8 6 4 9 2 7 5 3 1 4 2 3 6 9 5 7 8 1 4. Diagram 63. "___ Goat-Boy" (John Barth 60. Ingenuous (Bart Simpson saying) © 2013 KrazyDad.com 5. Conquistador Hernando allegory) 61. Chlorophyllous plant 9.

Clamorous 6. Varied 64.

A light covering Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 62. Bodily distress 10.

Apollo's love 7.

Pride of lions?

Sudoku #5 Sudoku #6 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

65. Aardvark snacks 63. "___ Goat-Boy" 11.

On vacation 8.

"Don't have ___, man!"

66.

7 5 1 4 (John 8 3 may 9 provide it 12.

9 logic 1 you 5 can 2 solve 8 the 4 puzzle 3 7without guesswork.

2 A6password If 6 you use Barth Something to pick?

(Bart Simpson saying) 67. Kid stuffallegory) Need 9. Clamorous 3 6 4 64.

1 A9light8 covering 7 5 2 2 a4little5help?

7 The 6 shows 9 8a logical order to solve the puzzle.

1 hints 3 page 13.

A whole bunch Use it to identify the next square you should solve. Or use the answers page 10.Property Apollo's love 21. right if 7 you really 8 9 2 65.

7 Aardvark 5 3 4snacks 9 4 6 1 5 2 3 8get stuck.

1 6 11.

On vacation >> This crossword 66. A password may provide it 22. Cylinder 9 5 7 3 6 4 2 8 1 9 3 1 6 4 7 12.Musical Something to pick? puzzle’s answers: 2 8 5 67.

Kid stuff 25. association tinyurl.com/SSM13. A whole bunch 3 8 6 1 9 2 7 4 5 6 7 9 5 4 2 3 8 1 26. Musical extreme cross-07-21-2021 21. Property right

Answers

FUN & GAMES

Find the solution at https://onlinecrosswords.net/1396

Sudoku #6 5 1 6

2

8

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

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

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

9 4 2

6 8 5

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

<< LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION

Talk of revolution is one way of avoiding reality.

-- John Kenneth Galbraith

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

4 1

Down 6 8 7

2 5 9 4 7 8 1 5 2 6 3 1. It may be kosher 5 2 8 2.3Styptic 6 9substance 1 7 4 3.

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

4. Diagram

9

27. Overhead sight at a ballgame, perhaps 28. Truncate 29. Strong cord 30. Computer villain 31. Notorious bacillus

Sudoku #8 7 5 3 6 8 9 1 4 2 2 6 1 4 7 5 3 8 9 2 1 7 5 6 4 8 9 3 https://www.onlinecrosswords.net/printable-daily-crosswords-1.php 3 4 6 1 9 7 5 2 8 8 7 5 2 3 4 6 9 1 1 9 2 8 5 6 4 3 7 5 2 4 7 1 8 9 6 3 6 1 8 9 4 3 2 7 5 9 3 7 5 6 2 8 1 4

32. Word with strip or book

22. Cylinder 33. Expectations 43. Issued a command to 25. Musical association Light measures 38. Obtain by45. wheedling 26. Musical extreme 46. Adroit 39. Half a drum?

27. Overhead sight at a 47. Joan of Arc's crime 40. Kind of pal ballgame, perhaps 50. One of the three bears many leagues 28. Truncate 42. Division in 51. Advance tocredit 29. Strong cord43. Issued a command 52. College 45. Light measures 30. Computer villain 53. First son 46. Adroit 54. Highlands garb 31. Notorious bacillus 32. Word with strip or book 47. Joan of Arc's 55. crime Batty 33. Expectations Mishmash 50. One of the56. three bears 38. Obtain by wheedling 51. Advance 57. Hardly handsome 39. Half a drum?

58. Woolen caps 52. College credit 40. Kind of pal 53. First son 42. Division in many 54. Highlands garb leagues

55. Batty 56. Mishmash 57. Hardly handsome 58. Woolen caps

Author Gene Weingarten is a college dropout and a nationally syndicated humor columnist for The Washington Post. Author Dan Weingarten is a former college dropout and a current college student majoring in information technology. Many thanks to Gene Weingarten and The Washington Post Writers Group for allowing Street Sense to run Barney & Clyde.

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Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

Bread for the City - 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 - 1640 Good Hope Rd., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org

Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Good Hope Rd., SE calvaryservices.org

Catholic Charities // 202-772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

Central Union Mission // 202-745-7118 65 Massachusetts Ave., NW missiondc.org

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

Christ House // 202-328-1100 1717 Columbia Rd., NW christhouse.org

Food and Friends // 202-269-2277 (home delivery for those suffering from HIV, cancer, etc) 219 Riggs Rd., NE foodandfriends.org

Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW ID (Friday 9am–12pm only) foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities

Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org

Georgetown Ministry Center // 202-338-8301 1041 Wisconsin Ave., NW georgetownministrycenter.org

Jobs Have Priority // 202-544-9128 425 2nd St., NW jobshavepriority.org

Loaves & Fishes // 202-232-0900 1525 Newton St., NW loavesandfishesdc.org

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE 2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

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

Community Family Life Services 202-347-0511 // 305 E St., NW cflsdc.org

Community of Hope // 202-232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Covenant House Washington 202-610-9600 // 2001 Mississippi Ave., SE covenanthousedc.org

D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 202-347-8870 // 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW dccfh.org

Father McKenna Center // 202-842-1112 19 Eye St., NW fathermckennacenter.org

Miriam’s Kitchen // 202-452-8926 2401 Virginia Ave., NW miriamskitchen.org

My Sister’s Place // 202-529-5991 (24-hr hotline) mysistersplacedc.org

N Street Village // 202-939-2060 1333 N St., NW nstreetvillage.org

New York Avenue Shelter // 202-832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave., NE

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-888-793-4357

Laundry Lavandería

Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org

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

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

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

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

Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699 1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW

JOB BOARD Scribe

Scribe Americal // Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park Full-time and Part-time Follow a licensed healthcare provider through their shift and take patient notes, including the patient’s story, physical exam, lab, and imaging results, consults, updates, etc.

REQUIRED: High school degree or equivalent, ability to type at least 40 words per minute, access to a computer and internet for virtual training.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/scribe-scribeamerica

Night Trash Collector Valet Living // North Bethesda Part-time // 5 nights/week // 8pm - 10 or 11pm Collect trash bags and recycling in a local apartment community and take items to the on-site trash compactor or dumpster.

REQUIRED: 18+ years old, valid driver’s license, auto insurance for your vehicle or listed as a driver on a policy, able to lift and transport up to 50 lbs.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/trash-collector-valet-living

Cashier Cava Grill // 707 H St NW Full-time and Part-time Take orders and process payments, make sure the front of the house is neat, restock items, and answer the phone.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/cava-grill-cashier

Welcome Reception Representative Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org

The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable

Whitman-Walker Health 1701 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 2301 MLK Jr. Ave., SE // 202-797-3567 whitman-walker.org

AC Hotel Washington D.C. Convention Center 601 K Street NW Full-time Greet guests, process check-ins and check-outs, issue room keys, and answer guests’ questions.

REQUIRED: High school degree or equivalent APPLY: tinyurl.com/welcome-representative

Housekeeper/Room Care Hyatt House Washington Wharf // 725 Wharf St SW Full-time Clean and service guest rooms, manage an organized linen cart, report areas in guest room that need attention, and maintain security of keys and supplies

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

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

// 1 5

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

APPLY: tinyurl.com/housekeeper-hyatt-house Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

I enjoy seeing other animals while I sell my papers. Doesn’t this squirrel look like he or she was posing for me? PHOTO BY SYBIL TAYLOR

Birds showing love to one another STORY AND PHOTOS BY SYBIL TAYLOR Artist/Vendor PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCAS GEORGE WENDT ON UNSPLASH

What a beautiful scene I captured while selling my papers. Mommy and daddy feeding their children birds — which is so cute!

Thank you for reading Street Sense!

These birds shared their love with one another and the ones too young to feed themselves. What a beautiful baby scene on a lovely day. The birds all sang a sweet song. It brought tears to my eyes.

From your vendor, JULY 21 - 27, 2021 | VOLUME 18 ISSUE 26 I think of Minnie Riperton’s song “LOVING YOU” when I watch the birds because they are singing. It’s so sweet seeing the mom and dad in love and the love they have for their babies. .

Listen at: tinyurl.com/minnie-riperton-lovin-you

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Sparrows on 17th Street NW. PHOTO BY SYBIL TAYLOR

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