07 27 2016

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Volume 13: Issue 19 July 27 - August 9, 2016

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

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STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

D.C. Homeless Services Law Revision Continues with Moderate Public Participation The second meeting to discuss revision of D.C.’s Homeless Services Reform Act (HSRA) was held by the D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) on June 21.

The coalition is now referring to their initiative as the “modernization” of the act, in order to demonstrate that the needs and size of the homeless community in the District has changed since the legislation was crafted in 2005.

This meeting, similar to the July 7 gathering, centered abstractly on issues of homelessness, in order to pinpoint major focuses that will be discussed in future “deep dive” meetings. The coalition — which was comprised of representatives from the Department of Human Services (DHS), the ICH, the D.C. Public Library, nonprofit service providers and “consumers” of services—broke up into three focus groups to discuss legal definitions, provider responsibilities, and client rights and responsibilities. Each subgroup was able report back at the end of the meeting so that everyone could weigh in on these topics.

Going forward, the coalition has a structured timeline intended to efficiently get a draft to D.C. Council. One last meeting mirroring the one held on July 21 was held during the ICH Strategic Planning Committee meeting time on July 26. Following this meeting, there will be a “deep dive” session to discuss issues that were particularly contentious at the first meetings. These sessions will work to draft language that can be brought back to the group, edited, and sent out once again with group consensus.

After the first HRSA modernization meeting, the original act was made available online for public comment and markup on http:///drafts.dc.gov. The comment period was advertised to last through Friday July 22. However, it remained available when Street Sense went to press on July 26. At that time, three

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NEWS IN BRIEF people had interacted with the bill, making a total of five annotations.

One of three public comments left on the post by DraftsDC.gov user J F said “It’s also tremendously disappointing that I can find no announcement that this was published on this site anywhere but this article on StreetSense.org. It is not on the DHS Twitter or Facebook, the [Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services] Twitter or website, the Mayor’s Twitter, or the Mayor’s Office Twitter, the District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness website, or anywhere else one might expect it. And there is no mention anywhere on this page of the four public feedback meetings or the matter that public comment on this site ends in 7 days (July 22nd). This should be a huge embarrassment to everyone involved.”

Another user, Seamus Craft, commented to thank the city for “working on this important issue with residents of D.C.” The ICH’s ultimate goal is to draft a package to bring before D.C. Council by September. The next scheduled meeting is set for 1 – 5 p.m. on August 11, 2016 at DHS Headquarters, 64 New York Avenue NE. Additional meetings and schedule changes to be updated on the ICH website, http://ich.dc.gov/event.

—Jacqueline Groskaufmanis

Man Arrested for Slaying of San Diego Homeless Men A man in San Diego, arrested Friday, is accused of attacking and killing several homeless men since July 3.

Jon David Guerrero, 39, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of arson, according to NBC San Diego.

There was a pattern in the killings and attacks: homeless men sleeping alone with major chest wounds. Two of the victims were set on fire by the killer, according to the San Diego Tribune.

After 12 days of searching for the sus-

pect and a fifth attack early Friday morning, officers found and arrested Guerrero, who matched descriptions of the accused, according to The New York Times.

As horrifying as these crimes are, data shows that they are not uncommon. A July 2016 report by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) states that from 1999-2015, 1,650 housed people committed violent acts against people experiencing homelessness. 428 people died from these attacks. The crimes range from rapes to murders to mutilations.

“These crimes are believed to have been motivated by the perpetrators’ biases against people experiencing homelessness or by their ability to target homeless people with relative ease,” the report states.

One of Guerrero’s friends told NBC San Diego that Guerrero was concerned about the rising homeless population in San Diego because of the nice summer temperatures.

“He was kind of laid back, but it seemed like he had a little bit of a short fuse,” said Dameon Ditto. “Not to say that I would think he would ever do anything like what he’s been accused [of].”

Court records show that Guerrero has a history of psychiatric treatment, arrests and mental competency hearings, according to the San Diego Tribune.

Guerrero’s public defender, Danesh Tandon, was not ready to proceed to trial on the original scheduled court date. The judge granted him a two week continuance, according to NBC San Diego.

The National Coalition for the Homeless published a statement expressing sorrow, as well as a lack of surprise, about the San Diego attacks.

According to NCH, as states continue to criminalize homelessness and acts such as panhandling and camping, they send a message to the public that people experiencing homelessness are not important or worthy. “This message is blatant in the attitudes many cities have toward homeless people and can be used as an internal justification for attacking someone,” the

statement said.

Guerrero could face the death penalty for these crimes, according to San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey.

—Anna Riley

D.C. Jail Inmate Dies Amid A prisoner at D.C. Jail died on July 15 during the city’s recent heat wave. According to a Department of Corrections spokesperson, the death of Lester Irby, 70, was not connected to the temperature inside the jail. But District officials, prisoner advocacy groups, prisoners’ family members and the union representing correctional officers believe the jail is dangerously hot.

The jail, which holds 1,300 inmates and was built in 1972, has faced challenges trying to keep the building cool before, according to a Washington Post report.

The unsafe temperatures are partially due to the building’s faulty air ducts. One inmate told NBC News4 Washington that his cell was 87 degrees that day.

To combat the high temperatures in the facility, the jail is cleaning air conditioners, setting up industrial fans and giving inmates ice and additional showers. Deborah Golden, a lawyer who monitors the jail’s conditions, feels these measures are not enough.

“It’s probably time to think about building a new jail and to plan for it,” she told News4.

In the mean time, temperatures in the District are still on the rise and the prison will likely remain too hot. D.C. residents living on the streets are also facing unsafe conditions due to the weather. Cooling centers have been made available through the city’s Heat Emergency Plan for those seeking a safe place to escape the heat this summer.

—Kim Szarmach

Single Moms Take Charge in Keilworth/Parkside

By Mark Rose Volunteer The DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) recently graduated the first class in its Moms on the Move program, made up of women from the Kenilworth/ Parkside community. DCPNI is a nonprofit organization that has been charged by the federal government with implementing a $25 million grant to help the socio-economically troubled neighborhood in Northeast. Eighty-five percent of Kenilworth/ Parkside households raising children are headed by single women, according to a DC PNI report.

The 30-week program, which started last September, works with single moms in the Kenilworth/Parkside “footprint” to empower them to identify and accomplish their goals. The goals identified by members in the first class of moms include completing high school, finishing college and looking for a job — while looking out for their children. The Moms program makes them see that sometimes they must put themselves first, before they can help anyone else.

A gathering of friends and family was on hand to see the 12 program participants graduate.

DCPNI Executive Director Mary Brown told the class, “You look at yourselves and say ‘I can learn, I can grow.’ That takes courage because some people give up; you didn’t. Keep on fighting. We’re giving the next generation what they

need to move forward.”

A graduating mother, asked to say a few words after she accepted her certificate, told the audience, “It is OK to put yourself first and love yourself.”

The Moms program was conceived by Karol Gilmore-Dixon, DCPNI director of family and community engagement, as a way to empower the mothers of the kids DCPNI gears most of its educational efforts toward helping. The bigger idea was family advancement through education.

The organization wanted a “mother’s cohort” to go along with their programs for young and very young children, especially in the very first years of their educational development. They wanted the mothers to be educated as well, according to Gilmore-Dixon.

She designed the program to have three modules for participating mothers: 1) taking care of themselves or navigating their lives, 2) personal development and 3) “Moms in Action:” putting their goals in motion.

During the Moms in Action phase, each woman met with a case manager — called a Promise Advocate — to set her individual goals. Those case managers were master’s degree-level social workers who had not yet taken their licensing exams, The women in the classes also worked with a certified life coach, Dr. Towanna Freeman. “[The program] gives people an opportunity to take ownership of themselves and their lives,” Gilmore-Dixon said in an interview with Street Sense.

The ages of the program participants ranged from 25 years old to about 60 years old, Gilmore-Dixon added, with varied educational attainments. Some hadn’t completed high school, others had some college. One woman got a job shortly after graduation.

“They’re all moms and they all have to learn that they can do it themselves,” said Akinima Price, DCPNI’s health and wellness manager. Low self-esteem is self-imposed barrier many of the women had to overcome, having not yet seen themselves in a positive way, according to Price. However, she described the shared experience of being single moms raising their kids by themselves as binding the moms together.

“The magic was that they were all here and all saw themselves in each other,” said Price, All of the moms came to their classes each day after a full day of work and caring for kids. Both Gilmore-Dixon and Price said that because the point of the program was to “meet (the ladies) where they are,” they learned a lot from the women who participated.

She and Price both want to make this class the first of many more. To recruit the first program participants, DCPNI posted announcements at community events and meetings. “Now it’s selling itself,” Gilmore-Dixon remarked triumphantly; “we don’t need to do much (more) recruitment.

The ladies become the ambassadors.”

So how did the women respond? Participant Deborah Henderson, who lives in

the “footprint,” is a mother of four and grandmother of 17, ranging in age from 19 to two. She described herself in an interview as a strong-willed woman who had been going through a divorce at the time she came to Moms on the Move.

“I found myself needing to care for me and didn’t know how to do it. I learned how to take care of me first and not feel guilty for taking care of me first,” said Henderson, who is also in training to be assistant pastor at the Prayer Base Christian Training Center on Sheriff Road Northeast.

The women realized they had many of the same struggles and bonded over it, according to Henderson. They shared stories and life experiences. She said the age differences encouraged the women to “come together and support the younger mothers with what they were going through,” though she added that they did argue and disagree at times. There was also a lot of networking.

Henderson said proudly that she recently treated herself to a trip to Jamaica with a friend, which was her Moms program goal. Her second goal is to take care of herself – she’s now lost 13 lbs. To boot, she said she walks outside for 30-45 minutes each morning. If it’s too hot, she stays inside and does exercises with her TV and DVDs. “Unless you take care of you, you’re not good for anybody else,” said Henderson.

“If you put your children first and don’t take care of yourself, that’s not good.”

Lighting the Way to College for Homeless Youth

By Anna Riley, anna.riley@streetsense.org With new bedding and alarm clocks, 15 D.C. high school students experiencing homelessness went off to summer “bridge” programs at three different local universities in July — for free.

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) used a $104,500 grant from BB&T Bank and OSSE funding to send each student to a 2-week stay at a college campus. BB&T funded one student at James Madison University and nine students at the University of Virginia. OSSE funded five more at American University.

Last year, BB&T Bank asked OSSE Homeless Education State Coordinator Nicole Lee-Mwandha about areas of need in D.C. for students experiencing homelessness.

She stressed the importance of these students seeing the possibility of college in their futures. According to a 2016 report

by GradNation, 60 percent of homeless youth say it was hard to stay in school while they were homeless, and 42 per-

cent say they dropped out of school at least once.

“When families are faced with the dayto-day challenge of where they’re going to sleep, or where they’re going to clean their clothes and feed their children, then people don’t have the time or the energy to think about whether or not their child is going to go to college two years from now,” said Lee-Mwandha. It is important to show these children and their families, early on, that there are resources that can help them get to college, she said.

The summer bridge program aims to get these students thinking about important aspects of their futures.

Ashleigh Diserio, co-founder of Eyes Wide Open Mentoring, a program for students experiencing homelessness, sat down with a student to pick her interests and courses for the summer bridge program. “It forced the student to think about her future and her interests, and

that’s something that never is really asked of these children. Even though it should be, it’s not.”

In addition to the opportunity to take classes such as forensic science and filmmaking or to go on field trips to places such as the Newseum, the students each received a care package from OSSE before they left. The care packages included college essentials such as toiletries, school supplies, an alarm clock, luggage, bedding and towels.

“I [was] just thinking, ‘thank god for OSSE because they anticipated what these kids were going to need, so they don’t stand out or have any need or feel different when they’re there.’ It’s just an amazing opportunity,” said Sharon Dennis, another Eyes Wide Open co-founder who accompanied one of their students to check-in at American University. She described other students arriving with mini fridges and large pieces of luggage,

things that many students experiencing homelessness simply do not have.

Eyes Wide Open Mentoring has two students attending the summer bridge program. Diserio hopes that the students’ stories from this year will talk others into applying in the future.

“Our students don’t really ever get these opportunities,” said Diserio. “They live in houses that don’t have internet, they don’t have the funds to go to camp, they don’t even know about the opportunities a lot of the time, and so without this our students would just never get to go.”

In the fall, OSSE will use more of the BB&T grant to take homeless students on college tours and provide “College Starter Kits” that homeless students entering college can apply to receive, which include a new laptop. “It fits right into BB&T’s mission of making the places we live in better places to be,” said Wendy Wingrove, the Vice President of BB&T.

STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

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NEWS

TENT OVER ROOF:

Why Encampments Exist in a City With Open Beds

By Katlyn Alapati katly.alapati@streetsense.org

At 10:40 in the morning, the temperature had already broken into the 80s and was shooting toward mid-90s as M. Leigh and her partner, Donnell, sat on crates in the shade of the K Street bridge, near 26th Street and Whitehurst Freeway. Beside them lay two squares of canvas — flattened tents that were usually propped up during the day.

Above them, the railing that lined the walkway had been affixed with a metal advisory that D.C. government would conduct a cleanup of the area “on or after” July 22 at 10 a.m. According to the sign, M. Leigh and Donnell had overstayed their welcome by 40 minutes.

The notice will expire two weeks after the posted date, which is August 5. At that point the city would have to give two additional weeks of notice before conducting a cleanup, according to Rachel Joseph, Chief of Staff for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS).

Seen up close, there is a line around the dates on the advisory sign, the edge of the tape used to cover up the dates from the last cleanup in the area. The lawn and neighboring spaces — next to the Watergate complex and surrounded by busy streets and overpasses — have become an often used and clearly visible encampment site ever since tent donations to people living outdoors increased last fall, according to the Washington Post.

Reused cleanup notices with dates spanning several months show that longterm camp residents and city officials are both used to repeat cleanups.

PHOTO BY KATLYN ALAPATI

Mayor Muriel Bowser made a statement last November regarding the site, in which she said capacity remained in the D.C. shelters. But with beds reportedly avail-

able to the homeless, and guaranteed during the November-March hypothermia season, the question of why some people still elect to stay outside remains.

“That is the million dollar question,” said Caitlin DiMaina, a case manager at Pathways to Housing who has done outreach ahead of other encampment cleanups. “One answer to it, which turns out to be an obstacle in D.C., is the shelter system.”

Encampment residents gave various reasons for electing to stay outside rather than in a shelter: including theft, distrust of shelter staff and the presence of alcohol and illicit substances.

One such camper, Tony, could not say for certain how long his housing situation had been unstable, bouncing between friends’ couches and the street. However after staying several nights in D.C. shelters, he no longer considered shelters to be an option.

“Going to sleep at night and waking up with everything that you’d had is very hard in those shelters,” Tony said in an interview. He said he had nine phones stolen while staying in shelters. His collective experiences with petty theft made the issue particularly sensitive.

On a separate occasion outside of a shelter, Tony’s bag — containing all of his identification documents — was stolen. This made already difficult-to-obtain work nearly impossible to find, according to Tony. “All of the things that have been stolen from me, that I have lost in homelessness, are the same things that they require for you to get those things back, so it’s like a trap,” he said. “How do you get out of it?”

For other campers, mental health is a greater factor in their housing situation.

Fidel was one of homeless campers displaced by a December cleanup of the area which resulted in a field under the Whitehurst Freeway being completely fenced off. It is now used as a staging area for construction work at the Kennedy Center.

Fidel has since returned to the area.

Originally from Cuba, Fidel said that his story of homelessness in the U.S. began with his struggle with schizophrenia and alcoholism. He described his mental illness as the battle between himself (Fidel) and Pedro, "The Shadow." During a cleanup at the Whitehurst site in June, Fidel shook his shoulders to prove he had packed his most important possession: the medica-

A smaller satellite camp and posted cleanup notice at the Whitehurst Freeway encampment.

PHOTO BY KATLYN ALAPATI

tion that rattled in his backpack.

While Fidel often visits homeless service providers like Miriam’s Kitchen for meals or case management, he said that sleeping under a roof was worth neither the exposure to alcohol and drugs nor the risk that someone would steal what little he has.

M. Leigh is staying in one of the smaller satellite encampments, across an off-ramp from the central camp. She has stayed in a few D.C. shelters, including the Open Door Shelter for Women, which closed as part of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s effort to improve the shelter system. Residents were moved into the new Patricia Handy Place for Women.

M. Leigh avoids the shelters because she has had negative experiences with shelter staff. “It’s a traumatic event to live in an environment where there’s chaos all the time,” she said. “The [shelter] system is mentally and emotionally abusing the homeless.”

In addition to the campers’ wariness of shelters, the encampments provide the people living there with flexibility.

Those with jobs, doctor appointments and visits with case managers may leave the encampments with no concern about returning at a specific hour in order to secure a bed.

Often, members of the encampment can vouch for each other's belongings, offering both a sense of security and agency over their home. “You can see why choosing to live in encampments would give them more sense of community,” DiMaina said.

Although the city has acknowledged problems with D.C. shelter conditions, the people who would benefit directly from shelter improvements must make do while the city works through logistic and political obstacles.

The correct way for homeless people to make do in this interim is an extension of the homelessness debate.

A team at the University of Denver Law School released a report in February of

the money spent criminalizing homelessness in Colorado, including legislation, enforcement and incarceration. Based on the team’s parameters in the study, D.C. Municipal Regulation 24-121, which prohibits “temporary abodes” and is often cited by law enforcement to displace a homeless camper, would likely qualify as disproportionately affecting — or even targeting — the homeless.

“Ordinances punishing people who are homeless simply because they are homeless will soon become another chapter in a shameful history of laws invalidated for punishing people based on their statuses,” stated the legal team in their report.

D.C. spent more than $170,000 on encampment cleanups between October 2015 and February 2016, according to DMHHS records submitted to D.C. Council.

Two residents of the Whitehurst Freeway site said they understood the encampment was an eyesore for nearby residents who pay high rents. Additionally, sanitation and hygiene are serious and valid concerns for the city as they conduct encampment cleanups, according to DiMaina.

Because the most recent cleanup advisory at the Whitehurst site went into effect last week, the campers keep an extra watchful eye on their belongings and wait for the cleanup crews.

For some, like M. Leigh, the looming cleanup is another emotional torture. For others like Tony, it is another logistic obstacle that just makes the unfathomable predicament of homelessness an impossible one.

“There are people that are homeless that do want to work, that are willing to save their money and work to obtain the things that they have,” Tony said. “I understand that people that have things worked hard and they saved their money to have them, and I agree with that system, but I don’t feel like I’m being given a fair chance to even try to get back on my feet.”

Antwan Williams, Willis Little and Burke Davis pose in the Empower DC office holding their propsal for a rec center at Crummel School along with a recent Washington Post feature about their efforts.| PHOTOS BY COLLEEN COSGRIFF

Youth Lead Ivy City Civic Engagment, Call for Crummell Rec Center

By Colleen Cosgriff Volunteer

On July 21, in the basement of St. Augustine Catholic Church, Antwan Williams, 19, Willis Little, 19, and Burke Davis, 20, are hard at work. The walls of their workspace are covered in postersized sheets of paper, the table with notebooks. They are planning the next community meeting for Ivy City — a tour of the neighborhood for the following afternoon — and organizing Empower DC’s involvement for Ivy City Day. The event will be hosted by Ivy City’s three local churches, something Empower DC founder Parisa Norouzi said has not happened before.

Williams, Little, and Davis are trying to organize a basketball tournament during Ivy City Day, a task made difficult with the neighborhood’s lack of public space. They are planning to ask one of the churches if they can set up hoops in their parking lot.

Ivy City is a 1.7 square mile predominately black neighborhood in Northeast DC, a place the three have called home for years. Growing up, all three young men remember putting milk cartons on poles to play basketball.

All the while, Crummell School stood boarded up and fenced off, warding off residents with no trespassing signs. The school’s surrounding yard space became their only option, trespassing or not.

“It was the only place to play,” Williams said in an interview with Street Sense, “if you start hanging out on the streets and sidewalks, police start harassing you for occupying the space. It stirs up animosity.”

For Davis, the most important aspect of Crummell’s reopening is creating a place for Ivy City’s children to play, along with shady trees for elderly residents to rest under. “We wanted to be allowed into the school, it felt weird that we weren’t allowed in. We had to climb the gate” Little said.

When the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) released a request for proposals, Empower DC immediately began working on their proposal. With a deadline of six weeks, Empower DC first went to the community, creating a survey

to determine what residents wanted to see the space used for. Little said the group separated, covering as many blocks as possible, knocking door-to-door.

Participants in the survey had to be Ivy City residents.

The group then realized they needed a developer to submit the proposal.

Empower DC reached out to Stoiber and Associates, who suggested they contact WC Smith. WC Smith wasn’t interested

opened in February of 2016. Bill Jarvis of The Jarvis Company, said partnering with ProFIsh helped to connect Ivy City Partners with the needs of the community.

“Greg Casten, the co-owner of ProFish, has a lot of employees who live in Ivy City and is involved with the community and the ANC [Advisory Neighborhood Commission],” Jarvis said in an interview with Street Sense.

Trammell Crow and CSG Urban Partners

in developing the space prior to being contacted by Empower DC, Norouzi said in an interview with Street Sense. WC Smith and Empower DC are partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Washington DC, City First Enterprises and Stobier and Associates.

Norouzi hasn’t seen the other two proposals, but as far as she knows, Empower DC is “the only group who engaged with the community.”

One of the other proposals come from Ivy City Partners LLC, a collaboration between StonebridgeCarras and The Jarvis Company. The third was submitted

by CSG Urban Partners and Trammell Crow Company, one of the firms working on the redevelopment of McMillan Park, next to Howard University.

Ivy City Partners LLC is partnered with ProFish, an Ivy City restaurant which

were immediately unavailable to comment on their community engagement.

Sometime within the next several months, the city is expected to make a decision on these “community-first” proposals, according to Joaquin McPeek, the director of communications at DMPED. Crummell School is the second project to be implemented with the Bowser Administration’s “Our RFP” program, which solicits community feedback ahead of soliciting developer proposals.

“The mayor wanted to make sure people’s voices were heard,” McPeek said. DMPED held three Our RFP meetings in Ivy City last year, attended by residents from every ward in the city, to ask what needs a new development at that location should strive to meet.

This process of meeting the needs of the community highlights transparency and

promotes dialogue, according to McPeek.

“We’re excited because, although the Crummell proposals are still under review, I can say that all of them really reflect the needs and desires of the community,” McPeek said. “The OurRFP process is working to make sure neighborhoods succeed.”

Davis, Little, and Williams have been working with Empower DC since winter, but Ivy City residents have been asking District government to reopen the historic Crummell School for decades. It was shuttered in the 1970s.

In 2012, Ivy City’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), along with Empower DC, fought legal battles against the Gray administration’s plan to develop Crummell’s parking lot into a bus depot.

The community’s concern was not only preserving the history of Crummell, but also the adverse effects a bus depot would have on Ivy City’s already poor air quality.

The bus depot was never opened, but the sting of the Gray administration’s plan still hits deep with the community. “They were waiting for Crummell to fall down so they could do whatever they wanted with it,” Little said in an interview.

The following day, Davis, Little and Williams showed their neighborhood to employees from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LSC) and Building Community Workshop (BC), along with local artist Esther Iverem. LSC and BC are in the process of connecting artists to Ivy City and wanted anyone interested in creating art there to get a community perspective. The tour started on Central Street, stopped by Lewis W. Crowe Park and wound through residential areas.

In the over 90-degree heat, the group stopped several times so everyone could stand in what little shade was available.

The Ivy City Market mural on Capitol Street is one of the few shady places in the area. However, according to Williams, standing in the shade can prompt police questioning, There are also some trees across the street from the mural, but a police car was parked under them.

Davis, Little, and Williams showed the group the two local places to play

BELOW-LEFT: Alexander Crummell School. | BELOW-RIGHT: A walking tour of Ivy City.

PHOTOS BY COLLEEN COSGRIFF

basketball. One is a single hoop behind a row of houses in a gravel lot. The other is a half court in a fenced off row of townhouses. Davis said the man who owns the house lets them use the half court, sometimes bringing out Gatorade.

Davis, Little, and Williams are hoping a basketball court will be included in the redevelopment of Crummell.

As the tour continued down the block, Williams pointed out the Youth Services Center, a juvenile detention center set back on a hill, looking over Gallaudet Street. “That’s the only plot in Ivy City with a full sized court,” Davis said.

The group then made its way to Crummell, where Iverem asks if there’s a better angle to see the school. “You can see it through the entrance where the buses would have entered,” Williams said.

Little pointed out the black metal fence a few hundred feet away as an alternate vantage point. The group walked down Gallaudet, staring up at the school. “You come here, and you feel relaxed,” Williams said, looking up at Crummell. “It’s quiet.”

The group continued walking towards the historic Hecht Warehouse, which is a landmark on both the District’s Inventory of Historic Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

As part of their fellowship with Empower DC, Davis, Little, Williams, along with Tycho Briscoe, filmed a music video to address the need for a recreation center in the community. The video,

released in June, was shot in Ivy City, and featured many of the neighborhood’s landmarks. The group attempted to include scenes of the warehouse, which was recently renovated to house several new businesses and apartment units.

Williams said they asked to film inside the building. But according to Davis, they were asked to leave. A spokesperson for The Hecht Company Warehouse was not immediately available for comment.

As part of the same survey about uses of the Crummell School, Empower DC also asked residents if they had applied for jobs at the new businesses: the Nike Store, Mom’s Organic Market, Planet Fitness, Bikram Yoga, CrossFit, Galley or Ivy City Smokehouse. Of the forty people who answered the question, thirty-two said they “never heard back” and only two said they were hired. According to the survey, the Nike Store is the most popular new business, with 104 out of 152 respondents saying they shop there.

Less than half of respondents frequented any of the other establishments.

Forty-seven percent of respondents agreed that “with changes in Ivy City, low-income residents will be forced out of the neighborhood.” Another thirty percent said they were unsure.

Despite this uncertainty, the survey found a majority of Ivy City residents are proud to call their neighborhood home.

“Even though the [Crummel School] needs help, it’s still standing. It’s like the community, it’s strong,” Williams said.

BELOW: Ivy City 158 Survey Participants. | DATA COURTESY OF NEW MAJORITY COMMUNITY LABS

STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

COVER STORY

7

The Bumble Bee and the Butterfly

By Michael Craig Vendor/Artist

ILLUSTRATION BY BARBAARA POLLARD

The Bumble Bee and the Butterfly were having a conversaition.

“What do you think about human beings?” asked one, “I don’t know, it seams like they don’t appreciate naturalism or life itself,” mused the other.

“Humans are more concerned with the material world, with their things.

They don’t appreciate our colors,” said the Bumble Bee. “But I LOVE our flowers and colors — and the wind that keeps me afloat!” gushed the Butterfly.

The Bumble Bee said, “Y’know, we have a lot in common.”

The Butterfly said “Woah, woah,

woah, woah-woah. What do you really love in life?” asked the Butterfly, shocked.

“I just love colors,” said the Bumble Bee. “Me too,” said the Butterfly. “I think I’m beautiful! What do you really love the most?”

“Flowers,” the Bee said whistfully.

They could both agree on that.

“I pollinate ‘em,” said the Bee. “And they make a great seat!” said the Butterfly.

Through the course of their conversation, they realized that human beings have lost their basic respect and appreciation for nature and other beings.

The Bee got angry about this one day.

But the Butterfly calmed him down, saying, “I just fly away from ‘em man.

Stay outta their ignorant way.”

“We’re simple creatures, but we’re naturalists,” they agreed.

The Bee and the Buttefly are doing the human beings a favor, just by the nature of their existence.

“That’s why we’re so beautiful,” said the Butterfly.

“Yep,” said the Bee, “I’d choose to be a simple bee any day.”

PHOTO ESSAY BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

PEPPER’S SIX STOPS: TU

By Henrieese Roberts Vendor/Artist

Juan Winans as BeBe, Deborah Joy Winans as CeCe and Kirsten Wyatt as Tammy Faye Bakker in Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story.|PHOTO BY GREG MOONEY/ALLIANCE THEATRE.

Born For This: The Bebe Winans Story

By William Mack, Volunteer

The play took place on Tuesday, July 19at the newly renovated Arena Stage.

The story rovided insight into BeBe (played by nephew Juan Winans) and CeeCee’s (played by niece - Debrah Joy Winans) close-knit family and how they rose to fame.

The two left Detroit at the ages of 17 and 15, respectively, in 1981. They headed

to Pineville, South Carolina to sing gospel for “The PTL Club (Praise The Lord) network,” founded by Jimmy (Chaz Pofahl) and Tammy Faye Baker (Kristen Wyatt).

The two stayed for six years spreading the love of God through song.

Never forget who you truly are!

Freddie Gray’s last walk has incurred expenses that deem a tally. The root cause of this price needs deep analysis.

After attending several days of trial, I am befuddled over the events that possibly occurred while Freddie moved through his last walk and into a legacy that has pivoted him to becoming an agent of change. Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. departed the Baltimore court on July 18 after Judge Williams rendered the notguilty decision for Lt. Miller. We must look with truth into the six stops that Freddie rode through while ultimately securing an enduring legacy after a search-and-frisk arrest ended with his death seemingly at the sixth stop while in police custody. We hope to secure a peaceful rest for Pepper.

Pepper is the nickname that Freddie’s friends say he needed.

Freddie Gray spent most of the last terrifying minutes of his life across the street from an abandoned row house located at 1619 Presbury Street in Northwest Baltimore. After the police chased Gray down, they frisked him,

arrested him and shackled him in a hog tie. As the police drove him to the Baltimore County jail, he repeatedly asked to taken to the hospital because he was ill. The police seemingly did not understand that Freddie Gray was not complaining, not being difficult, not being threatening. To the contrary, in that van, on that night, to those policemen, Freddie Gray pleaded for his life.

Activists from the Gilmor Homes neighborhood in Northwest Baltimore, where Freddie “Pepper” Gray had lived, wanted to do something beyond painting a large outdoor mural to honor him. So neighbors and friends came together, created the “1619 Coalition,” and occupied that abandoned row house on Presbury Street.

They created a community center as “living memorial” to Freddie and named it after another African-American who also knew shackles and beatings: Harriet Tubman. She was a woman in a time when women, especially black women, commanded little respect. She was short

STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

9

FEATURES

Meeting a National

By Wendell Williams Vendor/Artist Washington Nationals superstar pitcher Stephen Strasburg recently stopped by the Del Rey Farmers Market on Saturday, July 16, to talk baseball with longtime Street Sense Vendor Wendell Williams.

Mr. Strasburg was very warm, lowkeyed, humble and almost kind-of shy.

This Major League Baseball player looked and came across as just like any other 28-year old.

When asked about being shut down early during his playoff run a few years ago, Mr. Strasburg simply answered that he was so young in the game that he just followed and did what he was told.

I got the feeling that he had regrets, but not any resentments on the matter.

I asked about his new contract and he very skillfully and respectfully made no comment. We then talked about the allstar game in which he didn’t get a chance to play. Without addressing it directly, he indicated that the decision may not have entirely been his own.

For me, the big moment of honesty came when I admitted that at the end of last year I was trying to convince Richard and Jim, my longtime Street Sense supporters, friends and big Nats

PHOTO BY WENDELL WILLIAMS

fans Richard and Jim that we needed to trade Strasburg while he still had value. he looked at me and we both laughed and agreed it’s a good thing I wasn’t the Nat’s GM. because there nothing outwardly labeling him a million dollar athlete he just walked down the street got into a everyday looking ford pick-up and quietly drove away with just a few of us even noticing who he was.

UBMAN LIGHTS THE WAY! of stature, yet she possessed the courage of a lion. Having escaped from brutal slavery in the years before the Civil War, Tubman went South again and again and led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the underground railroad.

Her story of bravery and righteousness has slowly become an American epic— so much so that she will soon become the first woman ever to appear on U.S. currency. Hence, it is fitting that the 1619 Coalition has named their new community center the “Tubman House.”

The Tubman House is located across from a mural memorializing Freddie Gray’s last walk on this earth. His screams from that terrible evening have shaken the peace of his friends and others in his community. Unbeknownst to most, these screams have been encountered again during court proceedings against police officers who accosted, chased, arrested, escorted and bore witness to Pepper’s death.

On a venture to the Tubman House, I spoke to a neighbor across from the

community gardens there about a housing unit connected to hers that was being demolished. She said the demolition was not as destructive to her own property as it might appear from outside. However, her kitchen wall did need repair after the the operation was complete. She said some of the houses are just shells — no flooring, no roof, no basement whatsoever — just a straight deadly drop.

Civil disobedience has been the hallmark for change when we have community members who are not in agreement on solutions for the development of healthy neighborhoods for all. Tubman House adds a protective f a c t o r t h a t h e a l s F r e d d i e G r a y ’s community with positive moments of loving expressions wrapped around our beloved Pepper. We cherish his murals, which will inspire us on our journey to create healthy communities as Pepper rests in peace.

PHOTO BY WENDELL WILLIAMS

The Cops Hope and Pray Too

By Ron Verquer, Vendor/Artist

Recently I started wanting to put new grips on my old bike. At night I went to a retail store to buy them. There, Sergeant Wallace of the Metropolitan Police Department approached me and asked if it was my bike that I was working with.

I said it was, and with her strong hands she twisted and pushed the new grips on.

Thank you Sergeant Wallace, it was a really nice gesture.

A person hopes and prays that all police can help regular folks like this.

On June 4 I observed Officer Provance of the Metropolitan Police Department just stopout of nowhere to play football with two young men.

A person hopes and prays that this happens more often to allow for good contact between the police and their community.

I hope everybody prays for more of this, God Bless.

OPINION A Commentary on Today

By Robert Warren Vendor/Artist I often wonder if people see with the same eyes that see, and hear with the same ears that hear. Do we all just choose to say nothing, as we run this race to nowhere, chasing things that have no thoughts?

There are many people whose job it is to tell us, Joe and Josephine Public, that racism is no more, and our only worry is people who hate us for who we are. I could never imagine that in 2016, being Muslim-American, we would have a presidential candidate suggesting that people like me, because of our beliefs and faith, would not be welcome in this great country, when it goes against everything that makes this country great.

For nowhere else is one’s freedom of religion protected and cherished as it is here. It’s sadly beyond belief to see so many of my fellow Americans buy into this bigotry and fear-mongering, after someone who claims to be Muslim murdered 49 people and wounded 53. I, like other Muslims cried real tears, just like on 9/11.

It made me think about a verse in the Holy

Quran, one that plainly says there are a party of them who think they are guided but surely they have taken devils as friends. Guided by fear, hate-mongering, racism and bigotry.

friend of mine said, “No need to worry, ‘cause we’re living in the last days.” But I was happy to hear, most in the gay community, weren’t going to fall in line with the likes of Donald Trump and company,

I could never imagine that in 2016, being MuslimAmerican, we would have a presidential candidate suggesting that people like me, because of our beliefs and faith, would not be welcome in this great country.

I thought of people who call themselves Republicans. ISIS, Boko Haram, the KKK and all those people they mislead. Hateful rhetoric, with Fox News as their lead mouthpiece. I thought about a good friend of mine at work, who is gay, and how he might look at me differently.

I didn’t know how to feel when a close

and turn on Muslim Americans, like so many turned on them. Being gay doesn’t mean you don’t have the common sense to see that being able to buy guns meant only to kill a lot of people is mass murder waiting to happen.

I only hope that we as a country will wake up and see all the blood on the

NRA’s hands – and their supporters’.

Thousands and thousands of Americans murdered each year by gun violence. And still, we do nothing. We sit by and listen to them call our president everything but a child of God. And still we run the race for the things they say we need to be happy, who are not people, and have no thoughts. We have come so far in this country, and it is written, the Lord of us all will one day be the judge of those things in which we differ.

Some would have you believe that the worst part of what America has been is dead and gone. Trump being a Republican candidate, Sandy Hook, Ft. Hood, Mother Emmanuel, 49 Americans with so much to live for, God and the list goes on and on. I just try not to think about the end, and thank the most high for his mercy and grace. Lord bless the people who still offer those who show them hate nothing but love.

Robert Warren is a writer and Street Sense vendor.

The Voice of a Disgruntled Democrat

By Jeffery McNeil Vendor/Artist Although many people view me as conservative, truth is, I’m a registered Democrat. I want to vote Democrat but I can’t.

The party is no longer represents the party of the New Deal and Great Society.

They fight for everyone’s rights but people that want to work and succeed in life.

I campaigned and supported Barack Obama. Today, I feel let down, betrayed and lied too. When he ran he didn’t sound like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton; he sounded moderate and centrist. I was fooled, he was a closet radical and divisive. He has set race relations back and has been catastrophic to the black community. I’m tired of hearing AfricanAmericans making excuses for him. If after eight years of having a black president you’re still crying about racism, shame on you. I visited many black communities such as Baltimore, Newark and Philadelphia. Many of these cities have over 50 percent black populations, yet their neighborhoods are decrepit, their schools are dysfunctional and other people rent or control the economic activity in the community. They continually blame everything on racism or slavery, but their only solution is to continue voting for the

Democratic Party.

Black people are called progressives.

However, they are the most conservative people on earth. There’s no new thinking, it’s groupthink. All they want to do is protest and complain about the white man. You can’t help African-Americans because they refuse to accept reality.

How can you reason with people that want to continue supporting the same people that have kept them in their poverty? They are so fixated with racism instead of merit and competency.

Although I’m still a registered Democrat, I had to leave. I’m from the working wing of the Democratic Party. I’m a sucker for a guy down on his luck, but sometimes the best way to motivate someone is to put a foot in someone’s ass to help them help themselves. I’m for the safety net, not ennoblements which have destroyed the black community.

That’s why I support Donald J. Trump.

He compassionate but he’s street smart.

He’s not afraid to hurt people’s feelings.

This town is falling apart, and we need someone to take a wrecking ball to Washington. Today, I see all these establishment types say they are entitled and have

rights; let’s see what they’ll get when Trump is president.

I’m a Democrat, not a liberal. Liberals have no backbone. They run at the first sign of confrontation. If liberals can’t defend themselves, what makes you think they can defend you? How can you believe in someone who lets people shoot at you, then think you can rehabilitate them by understanding them? I don’t want to understand the roots of crime – get them off the streets and put in jail.

They don’t understand the Trump supporter. We are determined. There is nothing they can say or do to rescind my support for him. Not only will I vote for Trump, I’m going first to pull the lever.

I’ve watched the Republican Convention. While the media says Trump is racist, what I’m watching is a diversity love fest.

There’s Sicilians like Chris Christie; Italians like Rudy Giuliani. There are Latinos for Trump, as well as Muslims for Trump. I saw America’s favorite sheriff David Clarke, who brought the house down with his unwavering support for the Second Amendment and “Blue Lives Matter” speech.

Liberals say “black lives matter,” however they won’t support the one man that

will enhance black lives which is Donald J. Trump. Donald Trump will get AfricanAmericans off the dole and give them employment, so they won’t be so angry and aggrieved . They say Donald Trump is prejudiced, however Trump encourages black men not to destroy their lives by selling dope or making babies and not taking care of them. Trump says he is going to help all lives by creating jobs while undoing the horrible eight years of Barack Obama.

African-Americans are in a fight for their souls. Liberals have fostered a culture of hedonism and decadence that may be irreversible if we don’t elect Donald J. Trump. He may be the only thing standing between the America that can be great, only with the right leadership, or we can become like Greece or Venezuela. I don’t want to imagine a world where Hillary Clinton is president. I truly believe America will appeal to its better angels and get this man in White House.

Jeffery McNeil is a regular contributor to Street Sense.

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

STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

1#1

OPINION

More Elephants Trample Homeless Reform

My Take on the World

James McGinley Vendor/Artist

Kanell Washington Vendor/Artist

In the last edition of Street Sense I shared that, to my amazement and deep gratitude, I attend meeting after meeting at various organizations, where teams of people with compassion, expertise, training and determination are working to house and/or employ the neediest in D.C. But I see the success that these teams would otherwise achieve being trampled by huge problems, or elephants, hovering around their work.

To review these often unacknowledged beasts: * We only have a small fraction of the affordable housing needed in the region. * We only have a small fraction of the jobs that are needed and attainable by the region’s homeless and or needy. * The wages for the available jobs are well under 50 percent of D.C.’s housing wage. * The biggest elephant of all: the absence of a region-wide group funded, empowered and able to tame the first three.

But now, two more elephants and a third are ready to trample most of us if we don’t take revolutionary action now.

5. Top-level management information systems have not yet been built. With 25 years in information technology, I deeply admire the cutting-edge work that is being done in parts of the system, particularly in identifying the neediest homeless people and connecting them with housing and services, or coordinated entry. But until there is a regional effort to tackle the major elephants above, in conjunction with what our city is doing, we will not have the top-level management information systems to look at and manage the whole process, from identifying the needy to successfully connecting them with housing and the incomes to sustain that housing. If D.C. succeeds alone, we’ll only draw more people in need from Arlington, Baltimore and other neighboring locations – until our system becomes oversaturated once again. We must look at the big picture and work together.

6. Compensation systems for government and nonprofit organizations are not tightly tied to achieving housing and employment outcomes. Even our banks or cable TV companies – that probably care little about us personally – work hard to align the measurement and compensation systems of all their employees at mid- and lower levels with customer satisfaction.

This is not how, as a culture, we compensate and manage those who serve home-

I look at the world from the all-seeing eye.

We go through life as a person, not homeless, because home is where one’s heart is. We are a group of people that are at a disadvantage, as seen through the eyes of others. I don’t see myself as someone who can’t live on any terms; people don’t really see me or us. The homeless, they can never feel me or us one way.

People think that they can solve what is wrong. Well nothing is wrong. Well, nothing is wrong with me or us. You and me, we live and yes, one needs help to live but how to help? I see a lot of aid being sent abroad, but I see no one addressing the people of the United States.

I see the mayor was going about a scandal by spending money or kickbacks to the money people but the city killed it because it really is not about the homeless with these people but the power money brings.

less or poor people. Thank goodness we have the most decent folks doing this work in the District. However, it’s all too possible that too many needy will remain without jobs and without homes at the end of 2016 or 2020 while servers and providers in the system are nonetheless compensated as successful.

7. Our region, our city, our country is no longer for all of us. It is just for the few and fewer every month. We in the D.C. region have little, if any, time left to decide if we are going to let that stand or if we are going to immediately and aggressively make our region – with liberty and justice – for all of our sisters and brothers.

Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas brought a terrifying clarity to me. We have all but become a country that by policy, politics, economy and policing, is a country of, by, and for the 20 percent. Our system functions to pacify, control, defend against and contain the 80 percent of us.

Activist and journalist Chris Hedges has said many of our cities are now equivalent to “miniature police states.” I couldn’t agree more.

I think this is by design of the wealthiest among us, who lack the compassion

to care for more than themselves and the few around them. But more than that I think it is due to the triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism - which Dr. King warned 50 years ago were already destroying us. He said our “thing-oriented society” would not last. However, we have not repented, we have accelerated.

Whatever the cause, elephant number seven is already trampling all long-term prospects of making homelessness in the D.C. rare, brief and non-recurring.

Washington, D.C. is the heart of our country. If we stand with courage and compassion and face the seven elephants now, name them and tame them, we might still be in time for the rest of the country to follow our lead.

Will we in Washington, D.C. and the region accept this America that is no longer of, by, and for all of the people? Will we individually and collectively find and live with the revolutionary courage to make it what it should be? That is the only way to turn from the ultimate disaster we are otherwise headed toward.

James McGinley is a volunteer writer for Street Sense.

One needs help to live but how to help? I see a lot of aid being sent abroad, but I see no one addressing the people of the United States.

Why is it that people with the means and power to change things or make a change, look at things or see us as if they are fixing a problem that they have, not us? But the thing is you don’t fix my problems by doing what you feel, because one is not feeling me – or feeling for me. I see all of you, I know what is needed as a homeless person. Do you? No. You can’t put yourself in these streets some people live in.

In them for many years, still don’t know and can’t find out because the powers that be can’t see any farther than making money for themselves and the rich off the backs of the homeless.

Kanell Washington is a vendor and artist with Street Sense. He is a native of D.C., and he sees Street Sense as his family. Kanell’s poetry reflects his life stories, and he goes by “The Living Legend.”

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.

BEHIND THE SCENES:

Women of Epiphany

By Salodius Hicks Vendor/Artist The Church of the Epiphany, located at 1317 G Street NW, is not just a building where people gather to worship on Sundays. It is a community that constantly reaches out with love, compassion and affection.

Each member clearly has the spirit of God in his or her heart. This is the first of five articles in which I plan to discuss that in more detail.

First, I would like to thank the young ladies and women that perform different duties within the church but are not necessarily affiliated with the church directly. This includes the women of Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP), Street Sense, and the custodial staff.

They continually show warmth and bring smiles to all people, each and every day.

Even though each group has a mission, they all share common goals: including helping people, sharing, nurturing, listening or showing them the love of God. These women are giving others a sense of peace within their heart.

I invite you to stop by The Church of the Epiphany to see why this place has the greatest outreach in Washington, D.C.

The Women of the Church of the Epiphany are: • • • • • •

Reverend Elizabeth Reverend Catriona Administrator Catherine Communications - Mary Beth Custodial Services 0020- Fabiola The women of the parish and church ministries.

Street Sense: • • •

YSOP: • • • •

Shira - Events Coordinator Julie - Social Worker The Editorial Interns • Kim • Rokia • Jacqueline • Anna • Katyln Danielle - Program Director Cassie - Program Coordinator Emily - Fellow The Work Camp Leaders

Next up, I’ll discuss the great work these ladies do.

Thank you Josh and Shira!

Josh attending the 2015 Homeless Persons Memorial Day vigil.

Shira playing with Sasha’s daughter Eboni during a Devising Hope theater program.

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

I don’t like goodbyes so I will only say farewell, my friends. Farewell and may you have a good journey, a good life. I thank you for your time and all the help you have given to Street Sense and me. You will sorely be missed and remain in our thoughts and prayers. Always wishing you both the best with all your goals in life. May the Lord’s peace keep you right. Please keep in touch. Peace and Love.

—Robert Warren,Vendor/Artist

T

hank you, Josh, for being a positive force for Street Sense. Sometimes I wish I were young again, because when you get older you often become cynical about humans. So keep smiling, Josh, because this country needs youthful ideas. I’m older, so my ideas are cemented.

I bring no ideas on how to make America great.

Josh has been an inspiration. I never heard him complain. I always see him organizing, starting groups and being proactive. I was like him once.

But I’ve given up on improving society. But it’s not about me; it’s about Josh. I urge you to keep hope alive and not to let older people like me pollute the conversation. Although I’ll be voting for Trump, I don’t want the youth to go down that wormhole. Josh and our editorial intern Katlyn are two of the good ones. I hope to see them in five years. When I do, I hope they are still positive. A lot is happening in this country and I am angry, bitter and resentful. I have contempt for Black men, but it is warranted. However, young Black men like Josh give me hope and make me smile.

—Jeffrey McNeilVendor/Artist

I

am American. I was born in America. I don’t know nothing about Africa. I’d like to thank Josh for the wonderful times he brought to Street Sense. It’s great to see positive Black men doing something to create a positive image for us. That’s why I admire him so much. I am always saying we need more role models such as Josh.

—Ronald Turner, Vendor/Artist

D

on’t know what way to go.

Everyone against each other, trying to survive in Washington, D.C. while being homeless. It is hard being a felon, trying to make it when you can’t afford the apartment. Josh, you have a good heart. Please don’t change that for anyone. I need a case manager to help me with my housing and my I.D. I don’t know how long I will last sleeping on the street.

—Joe Jackson, Vendor/Artist

A

positive influences in my life, person who I can call “boss,” friend.

I am a people person, and a great judge of character.

Josh has helped me fight my battles, and directed my judgement, as I looked at the real world, [and not the one of my creation.]

In looking at the real world as I do, the Big Picture, seems not so big.

Josh is not big-headed, Even though he’s the boss.

One might see him in a room, and think, ‘who’s the boss?’

—Kanell Washington, Vendor/Artist

W

hen I first met Josh, he had a big smile on his face; and he still does. He is the one who took my picture for my I.D.; and checks on me.

—Latishia Graham,Vendor/Artist

PERCEPTION OR REALITY: Our Family Dear Shira and Josh: salutations, au revoir, adiós, sayōnara, shalom, totsiens, goodbye, later bro, blessings! Peace be unto you my brother and my sister. Two shades, two genetics, two cultures. Yet still one race, the human race. Obviously my sis from another miss, but if not from my biological mother wouldn't my brotha too be from anotha motha?

What's the difference? Is there a difference?

(Perception or reality?)

At the end of the day what really matters is equality, diversity and representation for all.

What will remain with the departure of two fair and caring souls, I wonder. Two sexes, two souls, two colors. Staff infil-

trated with color. Will it remain without fears and avoid needless tears? First Jennifer, then Rachel, now Shira. Three females move on. Will we end up with all males, white males? What a tale that would tell.

Need more color. There's one on the board. Are they on one accord that there need not be more or any on board?

(Perception or reality?)

A company, a business, a person all have to make decisions.

And the best decision is an informed decision—input from diversity of angles, people, circumstance and situations. A great organization this is, and an even better one it still can be, with growing diversity.

—Robert Williams, Vendor/Artist, USMC

STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

13

VENDOR WRITING Episode 7b

Bacterial’s gang is feasting on crabs and waiting for their dinner meal. There is music playing, and singing, dancing — all are having a good time. The mice crews pushes in a cart with a covered tray, addressed as BILL. As the cart rolls in, Larry cuts the lights and Bill emerges from the tray, biting the head off BACTERIAL killing his crew, clawing them to pieces.

When it is all over, BILL tries can’t eat one of the victims, finds he’s loosing weight not hungry...

BILL: I’m feeling weak. Larry, I can’t eat.

LARRY: Let’s get out of here, Bill. A few of them got away. I don’t want Dean to catch us here. We need to get you some help.

BILL: I can make it home from here, Larry.

Go home and don’t stop anywhere along the way. What’s left of purple will join the outfit crew they will soon take over our beautiful city.

LARRY: What are you saying BILL? You will still be here to stop that from happening.

BILL: We both know that happens when you are infected with AIDS. LARRY: You are not going to die! You will go to treatment!

BILL: I don’t know if I will. My health care insurance might not cover it.

LARRY: Sure it will, Bill! You’ll be just as you were before. Just wait and see.

BILL: Wonder if Willie has health insurance.

LARRY: If he don’t, he will probably die.

Same with his crew.

BILL: We’ll find out. If not, let’s get them on Obamacare. Hurry home, Larry!

LARRY: OK, Bill. Before I go, do you have a plan to get back at Dean and his crew?

A Ten-Year Roller Coaster, Part 25

By Gerald Anderson Vendor/Artist

By Ivory Wilson, Vendor/Artist

INT. HERRINGTON HOTEL - NIGHT:

AFTER KATRINA:

BILL: I thought I had, but now I know it was a trap. We need to get them in the opening, some how.

LARRY: Okay. Bye Bill!

Back at the White House lawn, Bill’s health fades and his body becomes weak...

INT. CAPITAL HILL - DAY: MICK: What happened last night, Larry?

LARRY: Their party was a surprise. Bill tore them to pieces, but a few got away.

MICK: I’m leaving in a few days?

LARRY: What? The Hill is your home!

MICK: I only have a few days left. Dean’s crew will be looking for me and I haven’t found Pee Wee. No one knows where Pee Wee is. Only the Feds know. Why does Dean want Pee Wee? LARRY: Pee Wee has evidence against Dean and his crew income tax records which will put them away for good. Dean wants Pee Wee dead. I might add us, too.

MICK: Leaving for the Virginia woods.

They will never find me there.

LARRY: Understood. For how long?

MICK: Until Bill get’s that rat!

LARRY: Bill is infected, so I don’t know how long his health will last. He is almost all skin and bones. Well, safe travels, my friend. The city is not safe for you.

MICK: I’ll be in contact with you soon.

Tell Willie I will miss him.

LARRY: Stop talking like that! Dean is a gangster. Soon the Feds will get him.

You’ll see! Some day we will have peace on the Hill again.

MICK: Bye, Larry!

LARRY: Bye, Mick. (to be continued)

PREVIOULSY: One evening I had a lawyer visit. You don’t come in contact with nobody, so I sit behind a glass and he on the other side and we talk to each other on the phone.

He say, “Sometime this week, we should be back in court.

They might offer you a deal, a rehab program or something like that. Just stay out of trouble here and I’ll see you in court.”

A few days later, at 3:30 in the morning, a guard came to my cell. He say, “You have court in the morning.” So I got up, say my little morning prayer, brush my teeth, and wash my face. I think, Damn I wish I could go home today. You know it not gonna happen, but you still have that feelin’. My codefendants were in the group with me that goin’ to court. I was askin’, “What you think gonna happen?” They say, “We know one thing, we ain’t goin’ home...”

So we piled into the van and got to the fed court and into the holding tank where we sit till around 9:30. Court was gonna begin at 10.

They came to get us, calling each of our names. When we go into the courtroom, we sit in a jury box, since there was no jury. One by one, our lawyers come up and separate us to talk privately.

My lawyer told me, “Man I think I got it goin’ on good for you this morning. I just came back from talking to the prosecutor and the DA back there. I think they gonna

Claude and Gussie: Part 3

By Deborah Brantley, Vendor/Artist Meanwhile, the police and an ambulance arrived at the scene of the shooting. Gussie, it seemed, got by okay. The bullets missed vital organs and made only slight wounds to her head and leg.

When asked if she would be all right, she said “Yes.” Gussie gave Claude’s description to the police, but only remembered “a white man in a yellow jacket.” It could’ve been anybody. No physical evidence existed. He got away.

Gussie was taken to a hospital, but

was then released and taken to a hospital specifically for Blacks, farther in town. She had surgery and decided not to pursue the incident because she remembered so little. She would return home in five days.

Meanwhile, Claude setup living arrangements in Malaysia and had agreed to buy a medical practice and attend school there. He would still drive a BMW and live in a spacious and luxurious house. He would be comfortably established in Malaysia, where he would explain all to the government officials there.

When he arrived, the Malaysian government said it was all right. They understood that this could happen to

offer you 60 months.”

In the federal system, they don’t say five years, they say in terms of months.

He say, “You get a year off if you do a nine-month rehab program.” In the fed system you got the program inside the prison and you go to meetings a lot.

I told him, “What about my codees?”

He say, “Let me tell you something. I understand you wanna stay strong with your codefendants, but sometime you gotta know when to roll them, know when to fold ‘em. If you wait around and play around, the fed don’t play with you. They dress you up and tell you let’s go—let’s go to trial. Ain’t no way you gonna win. If you win, you the luckiest cat in the world.

“They got solid proof of you and you ain’t gonna win. That’s why they watch people so long before they crack something, so when they go to bust someone they make sure they got you right. If you wanna take it you got a minute to think about it and talk to your crew because the judge ain’t ready for you right now.”

One of my codees say they offer him 17 years. Another—who just come home on life parole—they offer him 30 years. He like, “Man, I just rather go to trial.”

The head man in command say, “I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna take the 17. Y’all better run with the 60 months you about to get.”

(to be continued)

Brave New Future, pt 2 Ken Belkosky, Vendor/Artist anyone, and they all went back to the regular living routine.

Gussie returned home and recuperated. She got $280,000 from her employer in long-term disability payment as a lump sum and would receive $1,000,000 over the course of four years.

Claude figured he must have needed her so badly that he temporarily lost control. He should have been trying to find someone to love all those years.

As the rap group Oaktown’s 357 once said, “Juicy got him crazy. Got him cold going mad.“ Claude knew he would be looking for female companionship sooner or later. Prostitutes, maybe...

The End.

It is February 14, 4242 and my life has turned upside down. I am still confused about what has happened and why I am leading Earth.

I do have help learning about what this is all about. There was a time shift at the White House which has brought a person from my past here.

“Dad is that you?” I asked as it happened.

He confirmed. “Dad, what brings you to this time and day?”

He said that a planet in a solar system more than 9 zillion lite years away has caused all this. He said they have a ship on Earth in 1966 and, they set up all this time shifting and new timelines.

We will meet them in 1902! (to be continued)

COMICS & GAMES

Curated by Sol Hicks Vendor/Artist

$6.75

4.

Greg Pablo

5.

6.

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Willie Zachary

8.

Saint Francis

Customers

Brad Greg Pablo Willie Zachary

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For hints, andismore puzzles, go to our website: 5 3 6 The package that cost $9.75 is either the package with the fruit basket in it or the www.Printable-Puzzles.com 6 9 4 5 3 shipment with the toaster in it.

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10. O f t h e s h i p m e n t Customers Towns going to Perris and the package with thebelow toaster Play on your mobile these puzzles and find their solutions by flashing the codes : in it, one is Zachary’s and the other cost $6.75. n° 322654

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Hinton

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Saint Francis

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Kennebunk

Zachary

Kennebunk

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Quimby

9

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Perris

Lake Forest

Kennebunk

Hinton

Towns

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Willie

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STREET SENSE July 27 - August 9, 2016

15

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

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

Martha’s Table: 328-6608 2114 14th St, NW marthastable.org

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

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

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

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

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

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

Central Union Mission: 745-7118 65 Massachusetts Avenue, NW missiondc.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) Community Family Life Services: 347-0511 | 305 E St, NW cflsdc.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sol’s Solutions

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

Patricia Handy Place for Women: 810 5th Street, NW, NW

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

Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St NW | 328-5500 legalclinic.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 WORD: HEY HUMAN BEING

By Sheila White, Vendor/Artist

Put down those guns Do you know? You can be whatever you want to be If you try what you can be, How human being Do you know? You can live Where you want to live If you try to live where you can live

VENDOR PROFILE: SHEILA WHITE

By Jacqueline Groskaufmanis jacqueline.groskaufmanis@streetsense.org Street Sense vendor Sheila White is many things: an artist, a mother, a grandmother, a Washingtonian and an activist in her community. After her apartment was flooded last year, she was forced to leave her home and her belongings behind.

When Sheila moved out onto the streets, she was robbed twice, losing everything from her dentures to her personal identification. She got back on her feet and joined Street Sense, a new creative community on her road to regaining housing.

Now she is working to tell her story and improve the stories of others. “I have a sense of belonging to something again, somewhere I can go to make something of my life, and make some sense of what I need to do.” White said.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., White has lived all over the District and has planted deep roots in the city.

A self-proclaimed “childhood tomboy,” she grew up alongside five brothers and eleven uncles while attending D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) in her youth. She went on to work for DCPS in addition to serving on the schools’ parent-teacher board for her own children. White considers herself to be both an advocate for children and an advocate for the city.

As a community activist, White has created art that communicates the importance of voting and using one’s voice.

She is also personally invested in voting, and is currently going to great lengths to regain valid identification in order to vote

Hey human being Do you know? You can go

in the November election. As much as she loves to use visual art, White’s medium of choice at Street Sense is poetry.

When it comes to homelessness, she has many opinions to share. After leaving her apartment and living on the streets for about a year, White has a seasoned perspective on what it means to lose housing and what the safety net looks like for people who experience this.

For now she lives with her son, works selling Street Sense and tirelessly searching for affordable housing in the District.

“We don’t need another shelter, that’s a quick fix” White said, speaking on an article she had recently read in the Washington Post. “What we need is affordable housing.”

It is this kind of perspective that White aims to share, regardless of whether or not she receives anything in exchange.

Often times, she will give away copies of the Street Sense newspaper for free. “I want people to read the paper more than I want the two dollars.” she said. “We have stories to tell, and I want [readers] to know what we’re about.”

While much of her time and energy goes to working at Street Sense, making art for Street Sense, and attending community meetings on finding solutions to homelessness, White enjoys many simple things as well. A self proclaimed “allAmerican girl,” she loves to write and listen to music in her free time. “I just love people and I love life.” White said.

Sheila’s latest poem is featured as this edition’s “Last Word,” see right.

July 27 - August 9, 2016 • Volume 13 • Issue 19

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

If you try to go where you want to go Hey human being Do you know? You can learn What you want to learn If you try to learn what you can learn Hey human being Be what you want to be Live where you want to live Go where you want to go Learn what you can learn Become the better tomorrow And your future will be brighter

James Davis - 8/1 Men and Women

By Partty Smith, Vendor/Artist

Men and women, coming and going.

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Where you want to go

Permit #568

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

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 15 for more information.

I don’t know who they are.

All I seem to know is, they are going somewhere.

Catching the cabs or, catchin’ the subway.

Where are they going? Who are they?

These are lyrics to Patty Smith’s original song, “Men and Woman.”

To see a video of Patty performing her song on StreetSense.org.