08 08 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE 20

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AUG. 8 - 21, 2018

Real Stories

Real People

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Real Change

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VENDORS Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Dele Akerejah, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Charlton Battle, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Melanie Black, Phillip Black Jr., Debora Brantley, Laticia Brock, Kanon Brown, Donald Brown, James Brown, Elizabeth Bryant, Brianna Butler, Dwayne Butler, Melody Byrd, Antoinette Calloway, Anthony Carney, Alice Carter, Alice Carter, Conrad Cheek, Anthony Crawford, Kwayera Dakari, Michael Daniels, Michael Daniels, Louise Davenport, James Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, Reginald Denny, Ricardo Dickerson, Dennis Diggs, Ron Dudley, Patty Feris, Jemel Fleming, Johnnie Ford, Duane Foster, James Gatrell, Chon Gotti, Latishia Graham, Marcus Green, Levester Green, Barron Hall, Mildred Hall, Dwight Harris, Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Derian Hickman, Ray Hicks, Vennie Hill, Phillip Howard, James Hughes, Gedion Iyasu, Chad Jackson, David James, Fredrick Jewell, Morgan Jones, Linda Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Lori Judge, Larry Kelley, Jewel Lewis, John Littlejohn, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, William Mack, Ken Martin, Kina Mathis, Jermale McKnight, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Amy Modica, Richard Mooney, L. Morrow, Collins Mukasa, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Earl Parker, Aida Peery, Marcellus Phillips, Jacquelyn Portee, Angela Pounds, Flegette Rippy, Henrieese Roberts, Rita Sauls, Chris Shaw, Gwynette Smith, Patty Smith, David Snyder, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Eric Thompson-Bey, Harold Tisdale, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Joseph Walker, Martin Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Vincent Watts, Sheila White, Sasha Williams, Robert Williams, Wendell Williams, Ivory Wilson, Christine Wong BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jeremy Bratt, Margaret Jenny, Brian Leonard, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Dan Schwartz, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Aaron Stetter, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson

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INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW

The Cover

The Street Sense Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

Several construction workers are visible in a pedestrian crowd behind a caution sign referring to work being done in downtown D.C.

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.

Our media channels elevate voices, our newspaper vendor and digital marketing programs provide economic independence, and our in-house casemanagement services move people forward along the path toward permanent supportive housing.

At Street Sense Media, we define ourselves through our work, talents and character, not through our housing situation.

PHOTO BY ROLANDO APARICIO VELASCO // Volunteer

Brian Carome Eric Falquero

COMMUNICATIONS & SALES MANAGER Jeff Gray

VENDOR MANAGER Muhammad Ilyas

EVENTS & WORKSHOP MANAGER Leila Drici

CASE MANAGER Colleen Cosgriff

WRITERS GROUP ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE Willie Schatz

OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)

Rachel Brody, Arthur Delaney, Sara Reardon

ADVISORY BOARD John McGlasson

EDITORIAL INTERNS

Tatiana Brown, Olivia Zhang, Christian Zapata, Meredith Roaten

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

Ryan Bacic, Jason Lee Bakke, Grace Doherty, Miriam Egu, Roberta Haber, Hunter Lionetti, Laura Osuri, Thomas Ratliff, Mark Rose, Andrew Siddons, Sarah Tascone, Jackie Thompson, KJ Ward, Howard Weiss, Marian Wiseman

OFFICE SALES VOLUNTEERS

Miya Abdul, Bill Butz, Jane Cave, Emma Cronenwethe, Pete Clark, Orion Donovan-Smith, Maria Esposito, Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Bill Magrath, Alec Merkle, Nick Nowlan, Sarah O’Connell, Leonie Peterkin, Eugene Versluysen, Natalia Warburton, Howard Weiss

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

EVENTS

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NEWS IN BRIEF Man stabbed 15 times in CCNV shelter lobby The incident comes less than a month after a fatal shooting

On the morning of Aug 3, a man in a wheelchair stabbed a resident of the Community for Creative Nonviolence shelter in the stomach. The first aggressor was reportedly not a resident of the shelter and had no fixed address.

According to an eyewitnees who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the initial victim grappled with the man in the wheelchair, wrestled the knife from him, and stabbed him fifteen times, before abandoning him in the lobby.

The Protective Services Devision, part of the D.C. Department of General Services, responded first.

Metropolitan Police Department also responded. Both men survived and were arrested for assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the police report.

CCNV staff did not initially return calls for comment.

—ericf@streetsensemedia.org

Rise Up, Fight Back Counter-Protest Sunday, August 12 // 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

905 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20006 (The intersection of 16th ST and I ST NW near Lafayette Square) On the anniversary of the deadly white civil rights rally in Charlottesville, VA, white nationalists will descend on Washington, D.C. for “Unite the Right II” on August 12, 2018. Black Lives Matter D.C., alongside Shut It Down D.C. coalition, are calling for a national day of action against white supremacy, fascism, and state violence. A “mass mobilization” and march will be held in the District. More information: www.blacklivesmatterdmv.org/take-action AUG. 8 - SEPT. 6, 2018

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

D.C. Small Biz Help Workshops and Trainings

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

The Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development is piloting a centralized monthly calendar of resources for new and exisiting businesses in the District.

Executive Committee Aug. 14, 1:30 p.m. // TBD (most likely 441 4th St NW)

Some listings for this month focus on entrepreneurship, finance, business plan writing, federal proposals and growth.

Full details for each resource: www.tinyurl.com/aug-dc-biz

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

Street Sense Media 15th anniversary celebration: Art Brings Us Home 6 - 9 p.m. // Big Chief (Ivy City) 2002 Fenwick St NE, D.C. 20002

Shelter Operations Committee Aug. 22, 1 p.m. // TBD (most likely 441 4th St NW) *For more information on issue-focused working groups, contact ich.info@dc.gov

Our talented artists will present a multimedia gallery that shares their stories. Attending guests will have the opportunity to meet the artists.

The evening will also include an open bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, raffles for prizes and artwork, dancing and live music.

PRESS RELEASE: Attorney General Racine announces child support amnesty for August From Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 2018, the Office of the Attorney General’s child support services division s offering an amnesty program to help parents get back on track with their child-support payments. During the month of august, experts will work with parents who voluntarily participate in the program to help them better manage their obligations.

Right now, there are over 26,000 District child support cases with outstanding child support debt, according to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Many parents involved in those cases may be facing enforcement actions related to failure to pay, like drivers’ license revocation or arrest warrants—but if they work with us in August, OAG can help stop or reverse those actions. And, parents involved in more than 8,000 of those cases may be eligible for matching grants being offered all month.

OAG is also offering free paternity testing for eligible residents all month—testing typically costs from $130 to $200, so this is a big savings for families who want or need this service.

Customer care is available weekdays from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at 202-442-9900.

CORRECTION Submit your event for publication by e-mailing editor@streetsensemedia.org

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE Hanna Berkman @berkwerk

Leonard Hyater, the man who sold @streetsensedc outside my office every day, passed away in July.

Today there is a memorial for him, shedding light on someone I saw every day but never got to know. In Street Sense, he wrote about people smiling at him.

7:11 AM - 2 AUG 2018

Joe Warminsky @jwarminsky

RIP @streetsensedc vendor Leonard. I didn’t agree with all of your columns, but I was happy to pay hard cash for every single one. You will be missed. Will play some Marvin Gaye in your honor.

8:45 AM - 6 AUG 2018

The article “Barry Farm residents fear displacement as housing authority reconfigures plans for decade-old redevelopment,” published in the previous July 25 edition of Street Sense, has been updated online to reflect that D.C. Housing Authority is not the only partner involved in the Barry Farm redevelopment plan. The precision of some language used to refer to the project was also corrected, including the addition of this detail: 100 units of replacement public housing have been built for Barry Farm residents at Sheridan Station and Matthews Memorial Terrace, both of which are approximately three-quarters of a mile away from the Barry Farm neighborhood.

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NEWS

Lawsuit accues city of fueling gentrification

BY MARK ROSE // Volunteer

Should the city government help people at the bottom who are trying to hold on to the housing and neighborhoods their community has relied on for generations? Or should city policies focus on the incoming professional class, which prominent social scientist Richard Florida refers to as the “Creative Class?”

D.C. needs both, says the Bowser Administration. How to balance them for the betterment of all is the difficult part. Major metro areas across the country are facing the same dilemma. Is there any chance the problem of old poor versus new rich can be resolved satisfactorily in D.C.?

Attorney Ari Theresa referred to Florida’s concept of a creative class In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in April and amended last month.

The complaint Theresa filed in support of four destitute women against the D.C. government accuses the Bowser administration — along with the past Vincent Gray and Anthony Williams administrations — of acting in “collusion” with city officials, developers, builders and planners, against poor people. Theresa claimed the results these actions have produced are racist.

In t h e D i s t r i c t o f Columbia, “Chocolate City,” the people struggling most to hang on to housing and keep up with rising costs are overwhelmingly African-American.

Theresa, a civil rights attorney who represents many clients in destitute communities, brought the complaint against the D.C. government, the city itself, several developers, real estate agents and builders.

It alleges discrimination against four low-income clients who do not want to leave their current residences, which include Barry Farm public housing and the historic Anacostia area.

These are poor communities where the clients and their families have been hanging on for many years, observing modernization efforts they cannot afford, and depending on their communities for support.

Paulette Mathews, for example, a 20-year Barry Farm resident, wants to stay stay where she has been for so long, without it being touched by builders of a new subdivision. Some members of her community want to legally block developers from destroying the public housing units they’ve relied on for years.

A response motion for summary judgment filed in the same court says Matthews and the other women do not have legal standing to bring the case because they have not had any direct injury, which is required in all civil rights complaints. Their housing units are government property.

However, it is Theresa’s position that the women have lived in their neighborhoods for years and therefore are affected directly, or “hurt,” by gentrification.

The case is still in court and no official involved in this dispute was willing to discuss it. All inquiries were directed to the Office of the D.C. Attorney General for comment.

Matthews and the others plan to continue to fight the city.

The complaint accuses the Bowser administration of acting in “collusion” with city officials, developers, builders and planners.

Renters can’t afford a one-bedroom apartment working for minimum wage in D.C., study finds

BY MEREDITH ROATEN meredith.roaten@streetsensemedia.org

There are 168 hours in a week. If you account for seven hours of sleep a day, there are only 119 hours available in seven days.

In order to afford a one-bedroom rental in D.C., you would have to work more than 75 percent of those waking hours, according to a new study.

The Out of Reach study run by the National Low Income Housing Coalition analyzed national data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that was estimated using data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey.

The study found the average D.C. renter earns $27.75 per hour but still falls $100 short of affording HUD’s fair market rent for a one-bedroom in the District.. The average onebedroom apartment costs $1,561 a month. If the renter makes minimum wage in the District, $13.25 per hour, they would have to work 91 hours a week to afford rent for a modest onebedroom unit, according to the study.

On average a minimum-wage earner in a state without a wage higher than the federal minimum, $7.25, would have to work or 99 hours for a one bedroom rental. The study was funded by J.P.Morgan Chase and Co. A minimum-wage worker can only afford a two-bedroom rental based on a 40-hour work week in 22 counties, out of more than 3,000, according to the study.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition recommended increasing federal funding for voucher programs that compensate for the amount low-income renters cannot

pay for housing. The organization suggested investment in building more affordable housing. Cuts to funding suggested by the Trump administration are the wrong move, according to the Coalition.

If the renter makes minimum wage in the District, $13.25 per hour, they would have to work 91 hours a week to afford rent for a modest one-bedroom unit.

“For the limited number of families that receive federal housing assistance, recent proposals by the administration threaten to undermine their housing stability,” the report said.

In a preface for the report, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said families in a wealthy country such as the United States should have access to affordable housing and the government should invest in more programs to make that possible.

“We have the resources to solve the affordable housing crisis. We have the solutions that work,” Sanders wrote. “What we need is the will to do what is right.”

Rent data for the District of Columbia, from the Out of Reach 2018 report. FMR = Fair Market Rent. SSI= Supplemental Security Income (Social Security).

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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Officials ask why “First Source” is having trouble getting D.C. residents into jobs

PHOTO BY ROLANDO APARICIO VELASCO

BY MEREDITH ROATEN Editorial Intern

S

ince being laid-off two years ago, Michael Wilson, Sr., has been looking for a job. He said it has not gotten any easier.

Wilson, a D.C. native, has worked as a porter and has experience in maintenance work. But he doesn’t have any certificates or other special credentials to draw attention to his skills. He uses computers at public libraries to fill out online job applications and recently attended a hiring event at So Others Might Eat. His goal was to attempt to secure a residential manager position so he can move out of his elderly cousin’s house.

“There are people who are working and applying for these positions, they are going to beat me out because they are currently working,” Wilson said. “If I’m out of a job sometimes, people aren’t going to give me a chance.”

He said his inbox is full of emails from websites advertising jobs he can apply for which match his background. But he had never heard of First Source, the D.C. law designed to give priority to people like him for certain jobs in the District.

Wilson is one of many unemployed D.C. residents who hasn’t reaped the benefits of this law that was passed in the 80’s. At a D.C. Council roundtable last month, the D.C. Department of Employment Services said it is implementing more training and hiring for its staff to make sure companies are complying with the First Source law.

An audit, which was published in April after running from 2014 to 2016 analyzed 16 companies doing business with the city. It found that, of that sample, only four companies complied with the requirement that 51 percent of employees be D.C. residents. The non-complying projects cost the city an extra $14 million in job revenue, the Office of the D.C. Auditor estimated. This meant residents could have earned that much if they had been hired by the contractors.

Only one penalty for not complying with the law has been issued in the history of the program by the time of the audit, according to the audit. Of the more than 120 contracts that qualified for First Source reporting in 2017, the auditor’s office could not find more than 30 of those agreements.

Department of Employment Services interim Director Unique N. Morris-Hughes said the First Source program is hiring and training more staff on how to oversee the program during his testimony.

Lawrence Perry, deputy auditor, and conductor of the report, recommended the First Source office implement standards of practice. Perry said this is the first time the First Source law has been evaluated in its entirety since it was created 30 years ago.

Perry said in an interview that the impact of the program on D.C. can’t be monitored effectively unless there are standard practices to assist in monitoring the program. He said a lack of oversight raises the risk that developers will brush off their agreements, Perry said.

“The developers who are receiving District dollars for these contracts, I think it will spur them on to realize ‘oh okay, there is someone monitoring, there is someone checking,’” Perry said.

Councilmember Robert White said at a public hearing regarding the audit that the problems with First Source represent larger problems with gentrification in the District. “ We h a v e s e e n m o n e y a n d development pour into our city and we have seen our skylines blanketed in cranes and new high rises,” White said. “But the result of that investment has too often been to exacerbate inequality and deepen the divides in our city.”

Members from Elissa Silverman’s Labor and Employment Committee said that this will not be the end of the updates to the program.

Daniel Savery, a senior advisor to the committee, said the committee is doing research to look at other cities with similar programs to see how the oversight is organized to maximize compliance and how many people are receiving assistance facilitating successful job searches.

“We need to have a better handle on what the real gaps are and how we are going to fill them,” he said.

Liz Weiss, committee director, said she could not predict when Silverman would make decisions about policy. But she said improving the First Source program is a high priority. In

addition to improving compliance, Weiss said the committee will also look into how to get people ready for the jobs offered

by First Source.

“Skilled workers are not looking for work because they are employed and so then it’s a question of how do you move people up,” she said.

Contractors at the roundtable in June said it was often hard to find D.C. residents who were qualified for jobs on their projects. Some added that many qualified residents moved into a neighboring city because of the high cost of living in the city, Weiss added it’s important to remember that the opportunities for new jobs aren’t only in the construction sector but in any project that has a contract from the government.

Reginald Black, an advocate for the homeless community who spoke at the round table, said homeless residents of the District stand to benefit the most from First Source hiring laws but there isn’t enough outreach.

“Even though we have an employment agency, it isn’t really everywhere where people who are extremely impoverished are,” he said.

There are construction projects going on near homeless shelters that are not hiring the homeless people who are in the neighborhood, Black said.

Black lives in 801 East men’s shelter and said he knows men who are experienced in construction and qualified for jobs, but it is a struggle to find or identify job postings for companies that are bound by the First Source law.

Wilson said it hurts that he gets beat out for jobs when he is just as qualified as other candidates but has not worked in two years.

When he gets tired of the job search, Wilson thinks of his one-year-old grandson. “I just gotta stay doing what I’m doing.

I can’t let up,” Wilson said.

The non-complying projects cost the city an extra $14 million in job revenue, the Office of the D.C. Auditor estimated,.

This meant residents could have earned that much if they had been hired by the contractors.

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Tony Casson.

PHOTO BY MEREDITH ROATEN

Food tokens are the newest way to help the hungry

BY MEREDITH ROATEN meredith.roaten@streetsense.org

E

very weekday morning, Tony Casson has climbed into a tiny trailer about the size of a dorm room and started warming up savory pies and hash browns that were baked the night before. The delicious aromas waft out from where he is stationed in front of Central Union Mission and tempt passersby on Massachusetts Avenue. Some customers eat or socialize at small tables, others take their morning coffee — also known as Mission Mud — and go on with their day.

Thanks to a loan from a nonprofit, Casson was able to move his business, Mission Muffin, out of a tent. The nonprofit lender, Breadcoin, is allowing him to pay back the loan over time, based on how much food he serves to people in need. It was an easy choice for Casson, who has been passionate about helping people for years.

Using businesses like his, leaders of Breadcoin said they aims to build a community around feeding hungry D.C. residents.

Cary Umhau, one of the co-founders of Breadcoin, has volunteered at Central Union Mission for more than a decade.

The faith-based nonprofit provides shelter and other services for the homeless community near Union Station. Umhau said it seems like more and more welfare and assistance programs are cut each year. These observations motivated her and co-founder Scott Borger to create a small metallic coin that can be exchanged for food. They wanted a more substantial way to help the people they were serving at the mission.

Umhau said people tend to think of others as stereotypes rather than as complex human

beings they can empathize with. So she and Borger started trying to imagine what it would look like to change how people see and care for each other.

Users of the coins and the businesses who accept them both said the program has a ways to go before the whole city is on board.

Each coin is worth $2.20 and costs $2.50 to purchase. People who buy the coins can give them out to people on the street, donate them to nonprofits, or allow Breadcoin to distribute them. Each coin can then be exchanged for food at any of Breadcoin’s six participating businesses, including Mission Muffin.

Jerry Gill, who has worked at Mission Muffin for eight months and receives some of the coins the organization distributes, said he has given out more than 100 coins to people who are hanging around Central Union Mission. He said most of them know about the Breadcoin and he tries to give it to the people who really need it. “I know what it’s like to be homeless,” Gill said.

Roy Stevenson, who lives at Central Union Mission, said he spends approximately one coin a month at Mission Muffin. He typically receives the coins from volunteers that work with Breadcoin. He and two other regular users didn’t know the coins \were accepted anywhere else.

While the economics of Breadcoin are complicated to most people, Casson said anyone can understand the appeal of offering people tokens for food instead of money.

Central Union Mission gives out cards with seven recommendations of how to help homeless people. One of the seven is to not give them money, according to Casson.

“Depending on your perspective, who are we to do decide who’s going to use it right and who’s not,” he said. “But Breadcoin eliminates that problem because it has to be

used for food.”

Chance Gibbs, a manager of the Foggy Bottom Captain Cookie, which accepts Breadcoin, said no more than 20 coins come in to the store each month. Gibbs said he would usually give people who said they were hungry or thirsty a drink or a cookie, but the coins seem to empower people to come in.

“We try our best in here to make it a community like that,” Gibbs said.

When customers see Breadcoin users buying cookies with the coins, or the Breadcoin sticker on the cash register, they will sometimes ask what it is. But Gibbs said many customers are in and out too quickly to really start up a conversation.

Ezeldin Ali Diab, a hot dog vendor who accepts Breadcoin, said the coin seemed like an obvious choice to accept because, Like Gibbs, he was already feeding hungry people. Now, he said his customers can help hungry people by giving out Breadcoing and not worrying their handouts might go toward the purchase of alcohol or drugs.

The business representatives said they don’t see many coins come through, but do see customers asking about the Breadcoin stickers or the coins.

Scott Stevenson runs a program in Portland, Oregon, which similarly connects people who are homeless or impoverished with tokens that can be exchanged for clothes, food and other necessities. The coins are most useful for food at the end of the month when monthly food assistance begins to run out, according to Stevenson.

He said the “Give Token” mints several thousands coins every few months, but they plan to lose around 1,000 coins from the system every time a batch is made. “We could have a line, and a million people would lineup,” Stevenson said. “But what we’re really

trying to find is a million people that would go find one person and give them a coin.”

Umhau said she is in talks with around 10 more businesses and ultimately hopes to get more than 20 eateries in D.C. to accept Breadcoin as a kind of currency by the end of the year, in as many parts of the city as possible.

“It’s not a hard sell,” Umhau said. Once people understand the concept of Breadcoin, especially if they sit down with potential users, they often choose to participate.

Breadcoin hosts pie giveaways or walking tours monthly to raise awareness about how the coin works and how community members can help. Most importantly to Umhau, these social events are designed to help supporters understand and get to know the people they are helping.

So far, the coins mostly get into circulation through giveaways or people purchasing the coins to donate to events with food. One donor contributed coins to a June picnic for the nonprofit Code 3 Association and invited Captain Cookie to cater the event with one of their food trucks.

Umhau said the next big push for the organization is getting people to purchase memberships, where they can buy $25 worth of coins a month and keep them in their pockets or donate them to nonprofits.

D.C. is the perfect place to get people to invest in Breadcoin because hunger in “the shadow of the Capital” stands out, according to Umhau.

The challenge is connecting people in need to the people who can fill it. She hopes the transient portion of D.C.’s population, people who are only here for a few years for school or work, will take the idea behind Breadcoin with them.

“Those people take great ideas and initiatives back to their homes,” Umhau said.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

ART

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Hope for meaningful policies to address homelessness

BY ROBERT WARREN // Artist/Vendor

This year was by far my best experience at the National Alliance to End Homelessness conference. As in past years, I went looking for discussions on how to realistically come together on public policy to address this national crisis. Past conferences, to me, seemed more about the business of managing homelessness instead of preventing and ending it.

I'm proud to be a lifelong D.C. resident. And as someone with lived experience going through homelessness, I'm honored to have worked alongside so many people who are dedicated to raising their neighbors out of the impoverished conditions they find themselves in. That work has included sitting on a number of boards here in the nation’s capital.

I thank the Lord for a chance to try to help reach people in need of affordable, sustainable and accessible housing.

“Universal Housing” is what I and my colleagues in advocacy at the People for Fairness Coalition call it.

I went to my first conference session, “Ending Homelessness 101,” with that universal right to housing in mind. The facilitator from the National Alliance to End Homelessness talked about the need to build and produce more affordable housing in low-income communities. She also emphasized the need to reach out to people on the verge of homelessness and said it is crucial to provide viable options before someone loses their housing. She also said employment is a big part of ending homelessness and wages haven not kept up with the cost of housing.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS Michael Warner

The first official “Hill Day” delegation for D.C. PHOTO BY CHON GOTTI

My next session was on lessons learned about homelessness in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

I was pleased to learn the U.K. has adopted a form of universal housing. I hope America follows their lead. Even though they are moving in the right direction, the U.K. still has a lot of work to do in order to house and care for all of its vulnerable people.

My next session was about getting the public to seek more resources through ballot initiatives. I’ve heard of some promising ballot initiatives out west that aim to bring more sustainable and affordable housing to low-income Americans. But we have already tried that strategy here. In 2012 we put forward a ballot initiative to make it so all people who qualify for housing assistance would receive it (universal housing).

Senator Cory Booker talked about this need in his keynote address at the conference. He said approximately one in four people who qualify for housing assistance never receive it. In part, he blamed a lack of will from public officials to truly address people’s housing needs.

By the time Booker finished sharing stories about his efforts to achieve fair housing in New Jersey, most of the people in the room were in tears.

Our 2012 ballot initiative was thrown out due to the potential cost. I learned then that D.C. stipulates you cannot propose any ballot initiative that would have a fiscal impact on the city budget.

For the rest of the conference, I went to

sessions focused on racial disparities and homelessness and sessions focused on how to get people with lived experiences trained and employed as peer supporters throughout the government’s coordinated response to homelessness.

Mayor Muriel Bowser was also a keynote speaker. She told attendees about the great success D.C. has been having in housing, about how the number of families experiencing homelessness has been greatly reduced and about how we in the advocacy community support her and make sure our families are housed in safe communities. The one thing that stuck out in my mind was the six percent increase in homelessness for men and women over the age of 55 in the District.

Many advocates I work with for the homeless community have been trying to meet and collaborate with Mayor Bowser or Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to end chronic homelessness here. I hope the change in tone at this year’s conference means we might connect with both of these officials in the near future.

With that in mind, this was also the first year D.C. had an official delegation for the conference’s “Hill Day” to lobby Congress. I was honored to be part of that delegation along with it’s captain, fellow Street Sense Media vendor Reginald Black. We went to Rep. Norton’s office to ask the congresswoman take more of a leading role in pursuit of universal housing rights for low-income D.C. residents.

Hired for a 3-month field director position with the Virginia Victory political campaign to elect Democrats. He’ll be living and working in Newport News.

ARTIST/VENDOR

Jeffery McNeil

This longtime Street Sense Media contributor is now a paid monthly contributor to the Washington Examiner website.

ARTIST/VENDOR

Wendell Williams

$400 away from his “Writer Award Trip” GoFundMe goal to attend the International Network of Street Papers conference, where he is a finalist for the “Best Vendor Contribution” award.

ARTIST/VENDOR

BIRTHDAYS Dele Akerejah Aug. 4 ARTIST/VENDOR

Jacquelyn Portee Aug. 9 ARTIST/VENDOR

William Mack Aug. 17 ARTIST/VENDOR

For love of the game, and a more-steady paycheck

BY LEVESTER GREEN // Artist/Vendor

Last month, after I had an incident with a would-be assailant, I was contacted by BallerTV, a YouTube entity, to complete a gig at the National Harbor Gaylord Hotel. They knew my work because I covered the Men’s Invitational Tournament for them in June, a seventh and eighth grade young men’s basketball event held in District Heights, MD. I immediately hopped on the opportunity to work with BallerTV again and collect my chips all at once, guaranteed.

A freelance gig is not as spotty or iffy as Street Sense Media vending. You never know how many papers you’ll sell or how many tips you might get.

That being said, being able to do this videography work stems from my time spent with the Street Sense Media Filmmakers

Co-op. We created our own films and went through certification courses with DCTV. This second assignment was to cover the U.S. Junior Nationals girls basketball event and was my first time at the Gaylord hotel. It was quite the thrill to see all the up and coming ballers from around the country!

I'd like to do more of that work. It was kind of hectic trying to multi-task and keep up with the action, the scoring, the highlights and everything else. There were carts everywhere!

Despite my fatigue from my restless homelessness, I was still able to endure on pure adrenaline.

I love this game and being smack-dab in the middle of all the action was heaven.

Pat Donaldson Aug. 20 ARTIST/VENDOR

Our stories, straight to your inbox Street Sense Media provides a vehicle through which all of us can learn about homelessness from those who have experienced it. Sign up for our newsletter to get our vendors' stories in your inbox.

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Are you a veteran who is literally homeless or “at-risk” of

being homeless?

Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) may be able to assist you.

PRIMARY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA A member of a “veteran family”: Either a veteran or a family member in which the veteran is the head of household.

“Very low income”: Household income does not exceed 50% of area median income.

Must not receive a dishonorable discharge or was discharged/dismissed by reason of a General court-martial.

SERVICES Case Management Assistance w/ VA & Other Benefits Personal Financial Planning Housing Counseling

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U.S.VETS - Washington D.C. 111 K St. NE, 3rd Floor Washington, D.C. 20002 dcinfo@usvetsinc.org | 202-683-8357 www.usvetsinc.org

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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PHOTO COURTESY OF D.C. SCORES

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I lead by example and convince my team to put their mind to anything they believe in.

I empower my teammates and help them realize they can follow their dreams.

A LEADER IS A PERSON WHO Leads with Confidence and integrity Encourages and helps others achieve their goals Analyzes Situation and gives advice Desires to be a role model for other Earns the right to be the leader Remains true to one’s beliefs and I AM A LEADER.

// 9

Through this partnership, Street Sense Media aims to bring you a poetic perspective of our city from the future generation being shaped by it. D.C SCORES creates neighborhood teams for kids in need by giving them the skills and confidence to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and in life. It accomplished this for 2,500 kids at 59 D.C elementary and middle schools by combining poetry and spoken word, soccer, and service-learning in an innovative after-school program. To learn more or support: www.dcscores.org

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These programs are for DC residents only.

Torrential Rains

BY REGINALD DENNY Artist/Vendor

When I look back over my life and I think things over, I can truly say I’ve been blessed! I’ve got a testimony.

Life sometimes presents us with complications that bombard us to a point where we’re weighed down and feel like all hope is gone. Whether we choose to believe it or not, sometimes there is no escape. No way out. That’s when the only way out is to go through it, come what may.

I believe we all are recipients of a trial or tribulation, at one time or another, that will beat us up to the point of being drained of life and in need of resuscitation.

As they say, “When it rains, it pours.”

This phrase has been watered down, to a degree. The “proverbial” piece of it refers to when misfortunes or difficult situations happen to someone in rapid succession or all at once, somewhat chaotically. A storm, if you will.

Many of us have been given the opportunity, without consent, to witness or be in the middle of a bad storm. I’m talking about where tumultuous winds blew, loud thunder beat against the sky and threatening lightning attacked and pierced trees, bodies of water, human life and other tangible things. We cannot escape the realities of such an uncontrollable, undeniable, relentless act of nature.

But we can take refuge.

The storm is never simple. It shows up in divers places, all at the same time, from that single root storm. Oh, what a tangled web nature weaves.

When left to ride out the storm as best we know how, its torrential rains saturate us to the point we are drenched in chaos and turmoil. Sometimes we feel like we are drowning and our breathing is utterly compromised. We feel like our very life is being choked out of us.

A few years ago, through it seems like only yesterday, the strong winds of life began to beat upon my house. This storm was tossing high, in the form of my mother dealing with breast cancer.

Mom was a powerful force to be reckoned with; she was a married, single parent who had to care for me and my other siblings without the proper aid and support of my dad. Don’t get me wrong about him, I loved my dad wholeheartedly. He was tall, fair-skinned, gorgeous, and intelligent. I believe he truly loved my mom, and she without a doubt loved every fiber of his being.

My dad was a decorated soldier in the United States Army.

He fought in two wars and earned the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his dedication to protecting his country. On the other hand, he was a “ladies’ man,” if you know what I mean.

Momma was born and raised in Bristol, Virginia, before moving to D.C. She cooked, cleaned and cared for five boys and four girls.

Her battle with cancer got so severe that she had to have her breast removed. It was an especially trying time because we had just buried my baby sister, Gwen, who was one year younger than me. After Momma’s breast removal, her health began to fail. As I said, “when it rains, it pours.”

My father’s death, my sister’s death, mom’s breast removal and other family matters worked together to create extremely difficult times. My mother became like a sponge, absorbing all the residuals from these life-shattering events that occurred in rapid succession.

She used to say “If it ain’t one thing, it’s the other.”

Momma went into a deep depression and got to the point where she could no longer walk. She had to use a motorized wheelchair to get around. She was never the same.

We moved her to an apartment building for seniors, rather than a nursing home. The family and I took care of her for the next few years. When she no longer wanted any of the home health aides to care for her personal needs, I was given those duties.

It was not always easy dealing with my sweet, caring, loving, stubborn and even sometimes defiant mom. You would think she still had legs, the way she had everybody popping around all over the place to do this and that. She was so funny. It was her way, or the highway.

At the culmination of her 83 years of life, Momma still had her wits about her. She managed her own bank accounts, bills and other paperwork. She logged all the money she spent on QVC and Home Shopping Network, along with what she donated to St. Jude Children’s Center and others. She also gave the home health aides a run for their money about being on time and performing the tasks she delegated to them. We must have went through three or four different companies because none ever seemed to perform to her standards.

Momma’s health took a turn for the worse when she began to get these strange, piercing headaches. It was a lot for me to watch her pain, despite the medication she was given.

One weekend, when I was away visiting with my ex-wife and kids, I got a call that Momma had died. Out of all the years of caring for her, she passed while I was not with her. This truly took a toll on me. Now, three years later, I still sometimes feel like there was something more I could have done to comfort and console her through her ordeal.

I’ll always love my mom, may she rest in peace. She’s my favorite girl. You only get one.

I still often hear her voice and her lessons as I come out the other side of the storm. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning light. (Psalm 30:5)

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OPINION Vote Jealous for Maryland governor

BY MICHAEL WARNER

As a registered voter in the state of Maryland and as a resident of Montgomery County, the most liberal county in the state, I think we need Ben Jealous to move Maryland forward — for the homeless community, for others who struggle, for everyone.

After beating Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker in the recent primary to be the Democratic nominee for governor, former NAACP President Ben Jealous must now convince Maryland voters that his policies are the best to serve Maryland voters. To win in November, though, Jealous must do the following: • •

•

First, he can win by expanding the electorate and registering more voters.

Second, he should align with union organizations and their members to get out the vote. (He has already aligned with the Service Employees International Union and Unite Here, a local organization focused on getting out the vote in minority communities.)

Further, Jealous must unite the Democratic base before the vote on Nov. 6. The Republican incumbent, Larry Hogan, has a near 70 percent approval rating. If he wins, he’d become the second Republican governor in 60 years to win a second term. But we need change, and Hogan’s policies do not serve low-income people.

Michael Warner is a vendor with Street Sense Media. He has also worked as a field organizer for President Obama’s re-election campaign, as deputy canvass director for Planned Parenthood and held other political campaign positions. He is looking for his next opportunity.

A very therapeutic presidency

BY JEFFERY MCNEIL

When selling Street Sense, I meet more than my share of people afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome—people who want to force Donald Trump supporters to support the Democratic agenda or else face retaliation.

When you deal with mobs, however, there will be a time when you're not afraid of them any more. Even those that regard themselves as liberals are beginning to push back at these intolerant Trump-hating lunatics. In fact, many people find Trump’s presidency to be very relaxing and therapeutic.

What I love about Donald Trump is he is a white man who doesn't suffer from liberal white guilt. He doesn't pander, coddle or feel any remorse about the past. Every race has been colonized, persecuted and betrayed but when they came to America they took advantage of their opportunities and bettered themselves.

I work at a gym and see liberals' sense of entitlement. When they dont get their way they put down people who seem beneath them. It's condescending, and this is why many of us abandoned the Democratic Party and joined the Trump Train.

Donald Trump never attacks working people -- his targets are always the elites.

The reason why liberals suffer from Trump Derangement is like they're coming off their delusion and sense of entitlement and realizing nobody cares how they feel. They can't handle people not admiring and worshipping them. They are powerless to do anything about their rage. Trump is more likely to be reelected than impeached and it's literally driving them insane.

They can't get elected or use the courts to overturn democracy.

They're powerless and they know it, so they are acting out in the only way the know how, which is to throw hissy fits and temper tantrums.

For those of us not suffering TDS, Donald Trump's presidency is one of the most therapeutic in a long time.

Jeffery McNeil is a Street Sense Media vendor who writes for Street Sense and the Washington Examiner.

PHOTO BY BEN BURGESS

Be a real ally and counterprotest

BY JULIE TURNER

White liberal do-gooders like myself often fool ourselves about racism and how we perpetuate racism. We tend to focus the conversation about race on us and our work to counter it—and not on the people we’re supposedly supporting. Too often, we think we’ve singlehandedly eradicated the ugliness of racism because we have a black friend or voted for Obama.

White privilege is so ingrained that even with the election of an imbecile—a blabbering idiot who is turning back the hands of time—I feel that many liberal white people often make like Pollyannas and try to be civil. Nice white people don’t shake things up; they have the privilege of compromise.

I am a social worker. Two weeks ago, I was walking to an appointment with a client and a case manager when we encountered two angry white men outside St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in matching T-shirts, armed with megaphones and shouting for their listeners to “repent.” When the chants became louder, the police arrived. When the police asked one of the men to move on, I heard him direct a racial slur at one of the policemen, a black man. As my client passed, he said it again. We moved on to our next appointment.

This particular public display of hate feels like just a taste of things to come as we wait for the “Unite the White” rally on Aug. 12.

Number 45 and his posse have emboldened every hater in the country, and the National Park Service has given these haters a permit to protest right here in D.C. A spokesperson

for the National Park Service stated in an interview with NPR that the agency does not “consider the content of the message presented [when issuing permits].” I suspect the Park Service would feel differently about message content if 50 black people showed up with torches, spewing hate speech.

White privilege permits silence, and privilege permits “civility.” But in the face of such hate, we must reject this and be allies to those targeted by racist protesters.

The Root reported July 30 that Black Lives Matter’s D.C. chapter will meet the racists with a counterprotest at Lafayette Square Park.

“Of course,” the article states, “given what happened last year [in Charlottesville], Black Lives Matter DC has expressed concern for the well-being of the counterprotesters and plan to have training classes available to attendees to address those concerns.”

The article goes on to quote Makia Green of Black Lives Matter DC. “We are stronger than they are, that they are resistant to change and to progress that Black Lives Matter has been doing over the last four years with black liberation and fighting racism and fascism,” she told Fox5DC. “So it’s important that we let D.C. and the rest of the world know that we are not going to stand for the hate.”

Be a decent ally. Get training and go to the counterprotest. For more information go to shutitdowndc.org.

Julie Turner has been a social worker assisting members of the homeless community in D.C. for 31 years. She is tasked part-time to Street Sense Media clients.

Join the conversation, share your views - Have an opinion about how homelessness is being addressed in our community?

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

Street Sense Media has maintained an open submission policy since our founding. We aim to elevate voices from across the housing spectrum and foster healthy debate.

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

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/ / 11

How does it feel to be homeless?

BY PAULA DYAN

In my job as a case manager, I had the opportunity to systematically ask women participating in a dinner program for homeless women, “What is it like to be homeless?”

Their responses make the need for affordable housing painfully evident.

“It’s become difficult to pay rent,” they said. They’re right.

The lack of affordable housing is a national crisis for everyone: college students, the working poor, lower- and middleclass individuals experiencing unexpected catastrophes, and people on fixed incomes. All are swelling the ranks of the homeless. Social scientists say the average person would be out on the street within two months of losing a job or source of income.

Homelessness is not just a problem of substance abusers, the physically handicapped or people with mental illness. It can happen to anyone.

The women told me about being evicted, about how humiliating and emotionally shattering it is to watch all your belongings — family heirlooms, important papers and identification — thrown out into the street, scattered in the wind.

“You begin to feel rootless,” they said.

Exposed, naked, alienated. It seems like

MOVING UP:

the whole neighborhood knows all your business, but doesn’t care. Soon afterward, human vultures pick over your possessions and steal what’s not guarded.

Now homeless, you spend all day looking for hot meals, a place to sit without being told to “move on,” somewhere to take care of bathroom needs and a dry quiet warm space to sleep. There are no safe places to store belongings. Opportunities become elusive.

Discrimination against the poor, especially the homeless, makes it harder to take care of grooming, or more complicated tasks like securing employment with living wages.

Even getting a glass of water is a challenge.

Nobody wants you around.

You walk everywhere. Transportation and laundromats are not free. In so many little ways, you’re constantly reminded that you are nothing without money.

It’s difficult to get a job when you’re homeless. Employers look at you askance when they discover you live at ”no fixed address.”

If you reside in a shelter, you share a shower and toilet with something like 10 to 25 people. There is no privacy. Some shelters are chaotic, dirty, dangerous environments with rigid schedules. You sleep uneasily among a

Two homeless women in Freedom Plaza, December 2017. PHOTO BY IAN ERASMUS

How higher minimum wage is affecting D.C. employment

BY ARTHUR JOHNSON

Around the United States, there has been much optimism as a persistent labor shortage has sent the unemployment rate to lows not seen since before the recession a decade ago. The national rate is at 3.9 percent as of July.

Yet the D.C. unemployment rate sits at 5.6 percent. A big part of that can likely be attributed to the fact that the minimum wage in the District is now at $13.25 as of July 1. While this is good news for many people, the District’s relatively high unemployment rate should serve as a strong indication that employers in areas such as retail and fast food are hesitating to pay higher wages, and that will only get worse as the District heads towards the $15 rate.

Complicating matters further is the fact that Virginia is much more attractive to employers, reflected in the fact that Virginia’s unemployment rate (3.3 percent) is actually lower than the national rate and most of the jobs advertised are in Virginia. Virginia has kept its minimum wage at the federal level of $7.25, and this is a big reason why the District is likely to lose jobs to Virginia for years to come.

There are jobs to be found in serving food in the District, but the problem is that they are mostly at high end restaurants where even entry-level positions such as dishwasher, or kitchen prep demand substantial amounts of experience. While many restaurants now offer good wages to attract talent, the fact that Virginia can pay less means restaurants there have the ability to reduce labor costs if the economy sours, and have a much better chance of staying open than a similar restaurant

in the District that has to pay the higher wage.

One challenge facing job seekers is that many jobs are still limited to part time. That is especially true in industries such as security, and may eventually move into other industries as the minimum wage continues to rise.

That is why entry-level workers in the District should consider limiting their job searches to parttime work. Put together two or three part-time jobs at 20 hours each, and you can fully enjoy the benefits of the higher minimum wage. Otherwise, you can watch opportunities dry up as you push for a 40-hour week that will be nearly impossible to obtain. Some people may hesitate to work at multiple jobs, but the reality is that the market is pricing many people out.

A further concern many in the District should have is a potential government shutdown in October, which President Trump has threatened if Congress does not fund the construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. If that occurs, the District will very likely suffer, particularly retail stores and restaurants that depend on spending by the government employees who would be furloughed during a shutdown.

In the next issue, I am going to explain the difference in the unemployment rates by race and some of the reasons why such a difference exists.

Arthur Johnson has a background in economics and has also worked as a volunteer financial mentor with The Salvation Army shelter in Minneapolis. You can send questions, comments and topic requests to AJohnson@streetsensemedia.org

room full of people, a mix of mothers with children, people with mental or physical illnesses, thieves and combative jerks.

Few people choose to be homeless. Those who sleep on the streets are guarding the only possession they feel they have left: their personal freedom.

The longer a person remains homeless, the more difficult it is to return to the mainstream of society. Being homeless is destabilizing, demoralizing and depressing. You’ve lost your base, a foundation from which to function. It becomes hard to focus. Constant obstacles chip away at your self-esteem and your healthy personality withers, disintegrates, scatters.

You become scared, frustrated, angry, bitter, distrustful. You’re always tired, overwhelmed.

Little tasks become chores as depression saps your energy. Stress clouds your judgment. You grab at anything that looks like an opportunity, yet you feel like you’re getting nowhere.

No one should ever be homeless. In a country as wealthy as the United States, affordable housing should be a right, not a privilege.

Paula Dyan experienced homelessness for seven years when she was younger. The last fifteen she worked with the homeless community. Now she is retired and continues to advocate for homeless people.

How did I become homeless?

BY JACQUELYN TURNER

After I became ill, I was unable to work because the side effects of the medication affected me as much as my illness. Between my being unable to work and the fact that I had no help, I ended up homeless.

This has been a long struggle for me. There are other reasons people become homeless. Some lose their job and, after missing too many rent payments, end up on the street. A lot of times, family can't afford to take you in.

When you become ill, you fall by the wayside in this fastpaced world. It's so easy to become homeless. There are more than 550,000 people living on the streets, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2017 Point-inTime Estimates of Homelessness. Also, I have to wonder how will my illness affect my family? Before, it was just me.

Homelessness has taught me to be thankful for small things, like toilet paper, a place to sleep, even a comb for my hair and to be close to my friends and to block out negativity. Not everybody will want to help you, but some are willing to help. That gives me respect for people that I didn't have before I became ill.

I have removed hatefulness from my heart and learned to look to God for help. Every day, I think about how not to be homeless!

A lot of people 50 and older are without a place to live. My heart goes out to them, and I hope they will at least go to a shelter. There is only one family shelter in DC though.

I become very emotional, sad and sometimes feel hopeless because I can't do more to help. I struggle to live and get myself back to health. Your health goes down when you live on the street. Seeing sick-looking people living on the street should alarm everyone. So being homeless has made me mature emotionally.

Jacquelyn Turner is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

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ART THE HOBO, part 3: “I AIN’T NO THIEF!”

BY DUANE FOSTER Artist/Vendor

PREVIOUSLY: Conversations with kind strangers like Harriet are exceptions, not the rule, for Black Fields. As he panhandles, he is acutely aware of how each passing person looks at him, or through him...

Fields stood posted near the entrance of the Popeye’s, waiting for the next person to approach. Even though he was no longer famished and his spirit had been uplifted by the woman Harriet who stopped to talk to him; his cravings were overriding all thought processes.

PCP was the priority and he wouldn't be denied.

It was around noon and the weather was pleasant. The block was beginning to bustle and the lunch crowd was descending. He peered at a group of professional women moving down the street. The women were polished and pristine, they seemed to shimmer and sashay as they proceeded down the block. All they needed was theme music.

His insides tingled and his mouth began to water as he briefly fantasized about a moment with one of the women. But thoughts about the length of time it had been since he’d last laid hands on a woman prevaded. “Only in my dreams,” he thought, as the desire he had momentarily felt transformed into frustration.

“Eff it!” he exhaled. Then he said out loud to himself, with much certainty, “I’m gon’ get me one.” He wasn’t referring to one of the women. He considered them out of his league and preferred to focus on more attainable goals, such as his substitute obsession of smoking PCP. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an elderly woman stepping gently, looking at him somewhat leerily. As he turned his head to get a clear look at her, she clutched her purse tightly to her midsection.

Fields began to look around to see if he himself might be in harm’s way. To his right, he saw two police cruisers sitting in the 7-11 parking lot,

Who am I?

BY PAT DONALDSON Artist/Vendor

I was born in Washington, D.C. and went to three public schools, including Ballou High.

I didn’t finish there, but I went to a GED program where I achieved five awards.

I became homeless when I lost my place.

So I try to go to church, pray, and ask God to help me find a place to stay.

I’d like to own a house and a car one day. I’d also like to start a business to help people find jobs.

Where I’ve been, housing is health care

BY AIDA PEERY Artist / Vendor

along with several other vehicles and pedestrians moving about. To his left, he saw a group of frat boys. Nothing or no one looked threatening, except the pit bull the frat boys left lightly tethered in front of the door of the Chipotle.

He looked again at the woman, hoping her expression had changed. This time she quickly looked away. Her expression had not changed.

Fields looked down at the bag she was clutching tightly to her chest. It was a pink canvas bag,with artificial leather straps and a big nylon patch stitched on it that read, “Cherokee.”

When she noticed that he was scrutinizing her bag, her pace quickened and her posture became even more stiff. She seemed as if she had just seen a ghost. Fields’s face grimaced as he watched her reaction to his presence. “W-T-F,” he mumbled to himself, infuriated by her assumptions.

Her actions implied several things. First, she felt he had no morals or values. In other words, he was a thief. Fields was sure they had never seen each other before, so he had no idea why she would even suspect such a thing. If he was interested in robbing, he wouldn’t be standing out in the open in front of this restaurant. “I can’t believe she thinks I’ll snatch a bag she bought from Target,” he thought. “All I’d get is some house keys, a bus pass, and some chewing gum.”

How could she not tell he had a different motive operandi? Begging.

Next, she didn’t like him. His mere presence, his existence, bothered her. Even though he didn’t steal and she had never seen him steal, she thought he was a thief. No one likes a thief.

The third thing, is she thought he was stupid.

He would have to be, to even think of snatching her generic purse with a 7-11 full of policemen to the right and a frat boy party to the left. Fields immediately thought of Emmett Till.

To be continued. This is an excerpt of Duane Foster’s manuscript “The Black Fields Chronicles: THE HOBO.”

Day by day

BY MICHAEL DANIELS Artist/Vendor

Who am I? My name is Michael Daniels and I am 71 years of age. I am homeless because of my family. It is my choice.

I love my grandkids. One was shot in SE, so I moved them to my house in Maryland. I know that they will be okay down there.

I am in a shelter for now. But not for long, hopefully. I sometimes get very depressed, feeling as though I don't want to live anymore.

But I’ve got a psychiatrist to help me with that and customers looking for my work. We just have to take things one day at a time.

On a Monday evening in June, I was sitting at home in my pajamas, relaxing, watching TV and talking trash on Facebook with family and friends, when I realized I was feeling a bit hot. So, I decided to turn on my air conditioner.

I grabbed my inhaler and went to rinse out my mouth but couldn’t, because all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. Nor could I call 911 from my phone.

I tried to calm myself down by sitting. Didn’t work. So I ran downstairs to a staff member to tell her I was having a hard time breathing. She called 911 and the dispatcher told her to have me sit in a seat until the paramedics arrived.

If I didn’t know right, I would have thought that the fire department was just sitting out front, waiting for me to call them, because before I could relax to sit in my seat, they were there at the front door. They had me do a breathing technique that made me feel a lot better.

One of the paramedics asked if I still wanted to go to the Emergency Room. I told him “yes,” but that I needed to go back to my apartment so I could change out of my pajamas into some civilian clothes. He said, “OK.” As I returned back to my apartment and felt another attack of not being able to breathe again. So, I left, still in my pajamas, and headed towards the ER at Medstar Washington Hospital Center.

Once we arrived, I explained what was going on with me. I got X Rays done and some blood work. I was admitted into the hospital early Tuesday morning at 1:27 a.m. and told that I had a respiratory infection because I was doing a lot of wheezing in my chest. I knew I had this wheezing going on, but I had been assuming it was a “summer cold” due to the hot weather and going in and out of air conditioning. My diagnosis was way off.

While I was first lying in the hospital bed, I kept thinking about having a cigarette, despite all the IVs stuck up in my veins, breathing treatments, and daily regimen of high blood/cholesterol pills to antibiotics. I never got that master plan off the ground on how to get a smoke. All the treatments just exhausted me into a deep sleep. That was my experience for the first four days. Then the cigarettes stopped mattering so much.

After the third day being in the hospital and not thinking about a cigarette, I realized I can actually drink a cup of coffee without having the desire for a cigarette. It felt good. After I0 days in the hospital, I was released. And I haven’t had a cigarette since. When Street Sense went to press on August 7, I’d been smoke-free for 19 days!

It feels pretty good to be able to breathe again. Once I got home, I scrubbed my walls, the filters from the air conditioning, etc. What I really need at this point is a new apartment. Since I have stopped smoking, I can breathe again — but I’m eating up everything in sight because I’m scared to smoke after my ordeal.

Medstar Washington Hospital Center asked me a series of questions, like if I had any allergies, which I do, and whether I was taking medication for them. They said dust mites and other secondhand smoke etc., can actually set me off to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). So, I went to see my primary care doctor, who is going to treat me. I don’t need a pulmonary doctor just yet, thank God. I thank God and the people of Washington, D.C., for providing homes to chronically homeless people so that they are able to recuperate once they have health issues and they can immediately get health care, before it’s too late. Homelessness isn’t, and shouldn’t, be an option.

Everyone that experiences homelessness — regardless of race, religion, mental illness, incarceration, or anything else — should be in a home.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

Soul

My Appreciation

BY RICARDO MERIEDY Artist/Vendor

This message is for you

BY PHILLIP BLACK, JR. // rtist/Vendor

Hello, friends and family! Hello, soon to be new friends across the planet. How is everything?

I can't complain on my end.

I just want to say that I love every one of you. I know we have our differences and different ways of expressing ourselves. I say this...be mindful. Be respectful. I haven't seen some of your smiling faces in a while, but I know I miss you all! Earth is one big dance floor. Somehow, we are all connected to each other. Drop a line. Say hello. Have a great day.

Live it up and spread love!

Since I became a Street Sense Media vendor in 2009, I have come across lots of people. I sell the paper at several places around D.C. I started at Eastern Market, and I was there for two years. Then a good friend of mine, David Denny, also a Street Sense Media vendor, took me up to the Foggy Bottom area, by George Washington University, and I sold the paper there for four years.

One day, I met a man at the Foggy Bottom Metro station and we became good friends. I never asked him his name. I got so used to him, I called him Dad. He responded to that name.

I just want to share my appreciation of him. He is a blessing to me because of his wisdom and donations.

On Saturdays I go to the Silver

In order to shine, we have to be broken

BY CHON GOTTI Artist/Vendor

I was in Dollar Tree one night and there was a lady and two kids behind me in the long line. One was a big kid and one was a toddler. The bigger one had a pack of glow sticks and the little one was screaming for them.

So, the mom opened the pack and gave him one, which stopped his tears. The toddler walked around with the glow stick, smiling.

Then the bigger boy took the glow stick and the little one started screaming again. Just as the mom was about to fuss at the older child, he bent the glow sticks and handed it back to the little boy. As we walked outside at the same time, the younger boy noticed that the stick was now glowing. "I had to break it so you could get the full effect from it," said the older brother.

I almost ran because l could hear God saying to me, "I had to break you to show you why I created you. You had to go through it so you could fulfill your purpose."

That little boy was happy just swinging that "unbroken" glow stick around in the air because he didn't understand what it was created to do, which was glow. There are some people who will be content just "being," while there are some who God has chosen have to be "broken."

We have to get sick. We have to lose a job. We go through divorce. We have to bury our spouse, parents, best friend, or our child. In those moments of desperation, God is breaking us. But when the breaking is done, we will be able to see the reason for which we were created.

So when you see us glowing, just know that we have been broken but healed by his grace and mercy! Thank you all for Reading my articles my beautiful customers.

// 13

Spring Farmers Market to sell my papers. There, I met two families and a young lady. One family is made up of Mr. Joe, Miss Sarah and their two pretty little girls, Kath and Julie. The other family is Matt, Melina and Linnea, and a young lady named Ms. Robin.

It was a blessing how I met Robin.

I was walking to sell my paper at the market and this old lady fell off the curb. I caught her in my arms. Robin saw the whole incident and she came over to me and said I “must be an angel!” Since that day, Robin has continued to call me an angel.

I want to thank all those who donate to me for your contributions. I have left out many names of people I have met and who are a blessing in my life.

But I love you all and I thank you all.

Falling Down

BY CONNIE PARKER // Artist/Vendor

How do you explain to someone, that you’ve fallen down?

How do you explain, why you look this way now?

Looks don’t last forever, but I couldn’t imagine this never!

How do you explain having no bank account?

When you used to have savings, checking, CDs, an IRA ?

Now there is nothing left to count.

How do you explain where you slept last night?

When there was a place to be safe off the streets, But you aren’t allowed to “sleep” there? Explain!

How do you explain why you can’t rent an apartment?

Thanks to the economic crash and now the Dow? How do you explain why you smell like that?

Easy? No place to take a hot shower and that’s a fact!

How do you explain you’re harassed and gang-stalked by police?

Nobody believed you, so the harassment increased?

How do you explain you are falling down?

When you’re swimming in deep waters about to drown.

These are not excuses.

Not even in my abuse(s) did I turn to drug usage.

Easy answer! You don’t know you’ve fallen down, until after you you have hit rock bottom.

My Mom

BY PATTY SMITH // Artist / Vendor

My mom was wonderful.

But every boy and girl, whether they are young or old, has thought this of their parents.

I don't want to hold you long, in talking about my mom.

But every year,

she celebrated every holiday.

She was sincere, and went to church.

She had us kids in church, for half the days.

The way she believed in God, makes me know she is in heaven.

BY REV. JOHN LITTLEJOHN Artist/Vendor

What is a 'soul'? The soul is the non-physical aspect of a human being. It is also our mind, our willpower, our thoughts and our feelings. That is what the "soul" is.

With the hope of winning a second jackpot of $640 million dollars, Americans spent an estimated $1.5 billion on lottery tickets in a multistate lottery in early 2012. The odds of winning were a staggering 1 in 176 billion, but people still stood in lines at grocery stores, gas stations and cafes to buy a chance to become rich.

Something inside us makes us think that more money will solve all our problems and improve our lives.

But a man in the Holy Bible had a different perspective on riches when he asked God to grant him one request before he died. "Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion," said the man, Agur.

He clearly believed that to live a life empty of falsehoods and lies was truly rich, and the way to live a spiritual life. Integrity is the key to outliving anxiety.

When we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Deceitfulness enslaves and honesty brings liberty and justice for all. Contentment springs up from trust in God as the supplier for our needs and gratefully accepting what He provides.

Agur said “Who has established all the ends of the earth? ... God is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Integrity, contentment, gratefulness, holiness, happiness, and the list goes on and on, are riches for the soul. They are available to all.

Our Lord is pleased to give these treasures to everyone who asks. But these do not come from wealth. They are not something you can buy. Contentment, integrity, and kindness come to give you peace and joy when you depend on God's supply.

Discontentment, ungodliness and chaos (a lack of peace), unkindness and ungratefulness make the soul poor. While contentment, integrity, togetherness and peacefulness can make the soul rich.

Now, I exhort you, my brothers and sisters of great faith or little faith: Warn others that are unruly; comfort the feeble-minded; support the weak and the abandoned; and be patient toward all mankind.

See that no one renders evil unto any man or woman, but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and towards all of mankind.

Rejoice everyone. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ, concerning you all.

Feed the spirit, despise not prophesy. Prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from all appearances of evil. Do this, and so your soul shall be rich.

1 4 // ST REET SEN S E ME DI A / / A UG . 8 - 2 1 , 2018

FUN & GAMES

Challenging Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 1

Sudoku #4 4

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1 9 8 7

9 Sudoku 7 #1 3 4 7 1 6 3 5 1 65 8 1 7

1

Answers

4 3 8 2 6

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SUDOKU: Fill in 4 without 6 1guesswork.

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LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION >>

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

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

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

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

8 5 6

4 1 3 7 9 2

1 4 6 7 3 6 9 2 5 1

I Need Structure ELIZABETH BRYANT // Artist/Vendor

BY REGINALD BLACK Artist/Vendor

I like and need structure in my life.

On Mondays and Thursdays I go to school from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. I also go to PSI Family Services three times a weekend, AA A dwelling place, meetings Challenging Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Booka1couple times a week, somewhere permanent for us and Bible study on Sundays.

Sudoku #2 individuals and families or tribes.

I led a meeting recently, talking 7 3 9 2 8 4 1 6 5 about a book we have been reading.

A principle law the world 5 6gives4 1 3 9 7 2 8 The book really touched me in that to secure privacy, a place of shelter, 1 8 2 5 6 7 4 3 9 it taught me not to give up on my refuge and a chance to get away. life goals. I purchased a few of the 6 4 3 8 9 2 5 1 7 things I needed. Now my goal is It is supposed to provide 5 sleeping, 8 for 1 6 7 3 2 9 4 to save money, but I have not been preparing food, eating and hygiene. able to put any aside so far.

2 9 7 4 1 5 3 8 6 When I am not in school, I A geographical area. 9 7 6 3 5 1 8 4 2 concentrate on selling my papers.

Money is the root of all evil, and man needs roots

3

Home

3 2 5 9

4

8

6

7 1

All this, to describe something all life needs.

4 1 8 7 2 6 9 5 3 These are essentials.

They are security and they give a sense of security.

To be able to dwell, sleep, eat, Sudoku #4 just lounge around, and so much more. 4 7 5 1 6 9 8 2 3 Didst thou ses tree-forest, 6 2 9 8 7 3 4 5 1 then rainstorm?!?!

Why doesn't everyone have this?

All now reston for it is as toe 3 1 8 5 4 2 7 9 6 Is it really greed that drives over forty deaths a year, savoure!

9 5 capital?

6 4 1 7 2 3 8 due to poverty in the nation's Emergency facilities are 2 not 9 8 5 1 6 7 Seyis, girle, weo all have rainstorms.

4 a 3refuge.

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5 and 4 7 unwillingly.

9 1 3 8 2 BY FRANKLIN STERLING 6 passed It is all there in the open Artist/Vendor It is simple: What human beings 2 need 3 5is the 7 9 8 heart, 6 1 4 that makes the essentials where it all is.

8 3 1 6 2 4 5 7 9 After Peter Altenberg

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

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

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

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

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

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

1

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

5

8 2 4 1

6 3 9 7

Freedom of Speech

BY ANGIE WHITEHURST Artist/Vendor

Running to respond Resisting what is wrong Standing, walking, marching singing chanting Free speech is not wrong.

Resistance Persistence Pushing our power Up Parading pedestrians Standing to stop the pain Pressure Power Parlays To make a change.

March on March on March on!

Freedom of Speech is on March on March on!

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.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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All services listed are referral-free Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

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

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

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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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 2114 14th St., NW marthastable.org

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

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

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

(202) 749-8000

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

1-888-793-4357 Laundry Lavandería

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

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

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 // 202-745-4300 3020 14th St., NW unityhealthcare.org

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

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

// 15

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

JOB BOARD RESIDENTIAL ATTENDANT (Live on-site) SOME // Washington, D.C. So Others Might Eat is seeking one fulltime and one part-time Night Manager to create safe living spaces for our families. You must be willing to reside on our property. SOME offers a free rental unit, competitive pay, stability, work-life balance, low-cost benefits, and a way to give back to the community and grow professionally. REQUIRED: Some high school education, 1-3 years of security, janitorial and/or residential experience.

APPLY(full-time): tinyurl.com/night-Full APPLY(part-time): tinyurl.com/night-Part MEDICAL ADMIN ASSISTANT So Others Might Eat // Northeast D.C. Full-time, Mon. - Fri., 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Due to promotion, SOME is currently in need of a receptionist for our Medical Office. This is a pivotal role for our fast paced medical clinic. The ideal candidate would be friendly, warm, and efficient.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED, 1-3 yrs administrative experience in a primary care or acute care office, CPR/First-Aid certification, driver’s license. APPLY: tinyurl.com/SOME-med AFTER SCHOOL ASSISTANT So Others Might Eat // Washington, D.C. Part-time, Children living in our programs attend an after-school tutoring and enrichment program. You will assist with youth programming and educational activities for children in family housing.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED, 1-3 yrs experience in education or social services, experience providing services to children. CPR/First-Aid certification, CPR for Infants certification.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/SOME-edu BUILDING MAINTENANCE SERVICE INSTRUCTOR So Others Might Eat // Washington, D.C. Full-time, Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Provide building trade instruction to students and collaborate on curriculum development. Disseminate knowledge of proper maintenance techniques to a class room of 20-25 students.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED, 3+ years of experience in building maintenance, certification in Electrical, Carpentry, HVAC or Plumbing.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/Service-Instructor MORE W/ SOME: tinyurl.com/SOME-career

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

Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

FILE PHOTO, 2016

BY JANE CAVE

Who was Leonard Hyater, Jr?

BY COLLY DENNIS // Artist/Vendor

He was my roommate, technically.

Leonard was always beaming with a big smile, even at 4:30 in the morning. That’s when he was already up and getting ready to go to work downtown to sell Street Sense. That was his passion, so much that he’d work seven days a week. The people he met brought happiness to his life, and he was working hard toward his goals of getting his real estate career on track and, eventually, a home.

You might have seen him selling papers around M St and 18th or 19th Streets NW. When I first met him, I didn’t even know he was homeless or working at Street Sense Media. Very few people knew he was sleeping in a shelter. He always handled himself professionally, without coming off as someone who is homeless and living that hard, stressful life.

The more I got to know him, the more he opened up. He would talk

about things like trying to reunite with his wife and getting his life together.

Every day, at 10 a.m., sharp, Leonard would stop by the Street Sense Media offices from a hard morning's work, with that big smile, jubilant at how many papers he sold. He would then count his earnings and put them away safely. Half an hour later, he’d turn on the big computer in the lounge and watch some of his favorite shows and movies, usually while I lay down across the room to sleep.

He would always ask me if I needed something to eat, he always had plenty of food with him. As I went to sleep, he would watch my belongings and make sure I was safe.

Leonard Hyater Jr. passed away July 13, 2018. Rest in peace, my friend. We will always miss you.

An unidentified person placed a temporary memorial at Leonard’s 18th and M sales location on Aug. 2 with a copy of his obituary (left). Many have stopped to mourn. Some have signed the poster. The wreath stand has been re-inforced by a road cone (center).

A rosary was added. As of Aug. 6, the memorial remained (right). PHOTOS COURTESY OF HANNAH BERKMAN, REED SANDRIDGE, COLLEEN COSGRIFF

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

Grieving

BY MILDRED HALL Artist/Vendor

A memorial service was held for Leonard on Aug. 2 at Church of the Epiphany. The flower arrangment on the left was made by members of Epiphany. The two on the right were provided by Leonard’s congregation at Citizen Heights Church. PHOTOS BY KEN MARTIN

AUG. 8 - 21, 2018 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 20

The Street Sense Media family has experienced a lot of loss. May you rest in peace, Leonard Hyater Jr., Elizabeth Kitsos-Kang, and Alvin Dixon-El. And may your families, friends and colleagues have the consolation of God’s love and their eternal lives.

Actor and theater professor Elizabeth Kitsos-Kang (fourth from right) died June 9, 2018.

She founded the intergenerational theater group at Street Sense Media where high school students and our artists worked and performed together. Leonard was an avid participant.

Both of them are dearly missed. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

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