08 15 2006

What Were the Hobo Colleges of the 1920s and How Did They Come to Be? page 9

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Volume 3, Issue 10

Maurice SpeaKs

No Family Shelters For Handicapped

By Meredith Mishkin

A Long Hot Summer

B

y now, the heat of the summer has worn out its welcome, and most people are looking for some form of respite. The heat waves that have swept across the United States have been incredibly brutal. Temperatures hovering in the high 90s and low 100s have left everybody seeking refuge in cooler locations, wherever they may be.

I, for one, am sick of the heat already and am already looking forward to the first frost. Hyperthermia is no more welcome than hypothermia and is just as severe. For those who are unaware of their existence, there are cooling centers throughout the District to give respite from the heat to people. When temperatures soar well above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, heat related disorders can easily result, and that’s not a laughing matter, nor are the fatalities that have occurred.

For the homeless, far fewer long-term options for respite exist than for the rest of the population.

Those persons who are in shelters are given some minimal level of comfort, thanks to the terms of the Homeless Services Reform Act that

See

HEAT, page 17

Inside This Issue INTERVIEW

Reaching The Low-Income Mayoral candidates tell how they are reaching out to low-income voters, page 6

www.streetsense.org

Tanja Britton is, in her own words, “not a good patient.” After working full-time since her teen years and raising two sons, her diabetes, arthritis and other health problems confined her to a wheelchair.

Her husband, Russell, continued working until caring for Tanja required more time off than an everyday job would allow.

In 2001, Russell Britton stopped working full-time, and the couple applied for affordable, accessible housing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Four years later, when the building they had lived in for 15 years could not meet inspection codes and the family was still on the HUD waiting list, they ended up homeless.

They had no place to go because, as a Street Sense investigation discovered, no family shelters in Washington, D.C., are fully wheelchair

accessible.

“We were surprised that there was no program for prevention of homelessness; why did it take more than six months [to find a place to live]?” Tanja Britton said. “How do you live in the Nation’s Capital, where the president of the United States is our neighbor, and have no place to live?”

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless said that the District of Columbia is breaking several federal laws requiring that shelters be accessible to people with disabilities: the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act and the Homeless Services Reform Act. The city’s failures to build accessible - or even enough affordable - housing, to move families and individuals to accessible housing, to provide ramps and transportation, along with other violations also contribute to the infringement of D.C. laws, the Legal Clinic added.

By law, family shelters have to

Laura Thompson osuri

August 15, 2006 - September 14, 2006

Tanja Britton’s disability prevented her family from getting shelter for 7 months.

be apartment-style, and currently there is no District-funded family D.C. Village is accessible at the

front door, but the showers and

See

ACCESS, page 7

Once Homeless, Now Honored Foster Parent

By Jessica Weiss As you walk into Patricia Dozier’s house in northwest Washington on any given evening, there is a frenzy of activity. Life is never dull for Dozier, with s i x c h i l d re n currently living under her roof. Juggling a 12-hour work day, and caring for her children is not easy, and it is one of the reasons

that she was named “D.C. Foster Parent of the Year.”

Child and Family Services of Washington D.C. awards this prestigious honor every year. A panel of social workers nominates and selects exceptional foster parents, and then reviews the candidates carefully. When looking at Dozier, they saw she was a selfless woman who has devoted herself to about 10 to 15 foster children over the past 10 years. She also now has three adopted children of her own, and is always willing to help out wherever and whenever she can.

This is a vast difference from the Dozier of many years ago, when she was homeless and struggling with

LOCAL

Suburban Homelessness

FEATURES

Who makes up the homeless outside the city, page 4

Vendor August Mallory returns to his adopted hometown, page 16

EDITORIAL

FEATURES

Vendor Bobby Buggs tells about his struggle to find work, page 15

Three vendors move into their own place, page 19

This is a Job

Charm City Return

Vendors Get Housing

substance abuse and addictions.

After living on the streets of D.C. for several years, Dozier turned her life around and entered Alcoholics Anonymous. Shortly after this, she went through a program to become a foster parent, in order to care for a friend’s daughter. This foster child has since become one of her adopted daughters.

These past experiences led Dozier to her passion for children and what has become her life’s work. “I felt a calling for children,” Dozier said. “God leads me that way.”

In addition to taking in foster children whenever possible, Dozier also works full-time with Good Shepherd Ministries, running sup-

port groups for mothers. In the past, she directed an after-school program for children, but gave that up in order to devote her energy more fully to her children at home.

As much work as Dozier does for the community, her first priority is always to her own adopted and foster children. She does many things for the children, but there is one important thing that she never forgets to do.

“I sing to every child—they’ll remember that,” she said.

It is the personal touches such as singing that distinguish Dozier as a model foster parent. While she has

See

FOSTER, page 5

Have You Donated to Street Sense Lately?

Street Sense relies on individual donations to keep the organization going strong. If you want to continue to see quality news and features like the ones in these pages, please consider donating today.

To donate now, mail in the form on p. 3 or visit www.streetsense.org.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

2 ALL AbOUT US

Our Mission 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202) 347-2006 Fax: (202) 347-2166 info@streetsense.org www.streetsense.org

bOARD OF DIRECTORS James Davis Robert Egger Ted Henson Barbara Kagan August Mallory David Pike John Snellgrove Michael Stoops Kathy Whelpley

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Laura Thompson Osuri SENIOR EDITOR Ted Henson ASSOCIATE EDITOR David S. Hammond EDITORIAL INTERN Meredith Mishkin AD SALES MANAGERS Jake Ashford James Davis Alvin Dixon El Muriel Dixon Allen Jones Mark Jones August Mallory Brenda Wilson Wendell Williams VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Ari Bornstein, Bobby Buggs, Karen Brooks, Sara Carkuff, Cliff Calre, Amy Detteriech, Don Gardner, Michelle Gaudet, Jake Geissinger, David Harris, Annie Hill, Tina Khera, Maurice King, Jessica LeGarde, Brad McCormick, Jill Merselis, Ben Merritt, Carl Morris, Mike O’Neill, Amy Orndorff, Jen Pearl, David Pike, Diane Rusignola, Patty Smith, Trish Savage, Rebecca Schlessinger, Jennifer Singleton, Eric Sheptock, Jesse Smith, Katie Smith, Desiree Stephens, John Stauffer, Isabel Toolan, Francine Triplett, Robert Trautman, Linda Wang, Jessica Weiss, Marian Wiseman, Irene Wu

VENDORS Jake Ashford, Robert Beecher, Tommy Bennett, Kanon Brown, Latisha Bussie, Bobby Buggs, Cliff Carle, Conrad Cheek Jr., James Chisholm, Bob Couto, Muriel Dixon, Alvin Dixon El, Don L. Gardner, Leo Gnawa, David Harris, John Harrison, Michael Herbert, Patricia Henry, Phillip Howard, Michael Jefferson, Patricia Jefferson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Wayne Kern, Michelle McCullough, August Mallory, Carl Morris, Charles Nelson, Therese Onyemenam, Tracey Powell, Chris Sellman, Patty Smith, Tom Taylor, Francine Triplett, Paul West, Wendell Williams, Brenda Wilson

Street Sense aims to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are experiencing homelessness in our community.

Our Editorial Policy

Editorials and features in Street Sense reflect the perspectives of the authors. We invite the submission of journalism, opinion, fiction and poetry, hoping to create a means where a multitude of perspectives on poverty and homelessness can find expression.

Street Sense reserves the right to edit any material.

The Story of Street Sense Street Sense began in August 2003 after two volunteers, Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson, approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions about starting a street newspaper in Washington, D.C. A street paper is defined as a newspaper about poverty, homelessness and other social issues that provides an income to the homeless men and women who sell it. About 25 street papers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and there are dozens more throughout the world.

After bringing together a core of dedicated volunteers and vendors,

Street Sense came out with its first issue in November 2003, printing 5,000 copies. Since then, the paper has published consistently on a monthly basis and has greatly expanded its circulation and vendor network. For the first year, Street Sense operated as a project of the National Coalition for the Homeless, but in October 2004, the organization incorporated and moved into its own office space.

In March 2005, Street Sense received 501(c)3 status, becoming an independent nonprofit organization.

In October 2005 Street Sense formed a full board of directors and in November the organization hired its first employee, a fulltime executive director.

We are proud members of:

north american street newspaper association

international network of street papers

Street Sense Vendor Code of Conduct 1.

2.

3.

4.

August Donors peg and Terry mauzy erin heath millie a. riley Zemoria d. mcClain harold sharlin Carolyne Godwin

stephanie Kay sandra C. Young michael mavretic anonymous, dedicated to andy meadow

Thank You!

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

WANNA HELp?

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or a vendor, please contact Laura Thompson Osuri at Street Sense.

OUR NEXT EDITORIAL MEETING

September 13 at 6:00 p.m.

1317 G Street, NW (near Metro Center)

10.

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

I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense staff and will not sell papers to other vendors (outside of the office volunteers).

I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, other vendors – respectfully, and I will not “hard sell,” threaten or pressure customers.

I agree to stay off private property when selling Street Sense.

I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income.

I agree to sell no additional goods or products when selling the paper.

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

There are no territories among vendors.

I will respect the space of other vendors, particularly the space of vendors who have been at a spot longer.

I understand that my badge is the property of Street Sense and will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing the papers and display my badge when selling papers.

I understand that Street Sense strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing a source of income for the homeless. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Let’s Talk About Homelessness

By Brenda Donald Walker Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders

We in the District government are committed to preventing and ending homelessness one person and one family at a time by sustained, meaningful efforts guided by a clear vision and strong leadership. In this month’s column, I want to address what we are doing to accomplish this goal, including a heat emergency plan, developments with the Interagency Council on Homelessness, and updates on several shelters undergoing renovations.

I hope everyone has been very careful in the record breaking heat that we have been experiencing in the District. The District has a heat emergency plan with over a dozen participating agencies and provisions for cooling centers, street showers, and other services to assist citizens.

During the recent period of high temperatures, the District’s “Beat the Heat” program was activated with a number of homeless shelters opening during the day so that those citizens who are homeless could escape the heat. As part

POLITICS

Hot Weather, Renovations, and Meetings of our outreach, transportation was provided to those who sought shelter, with additional vehicles put into service to ensure adequate coverage. Bottled water was distributed also. As a reminder, persons who need transportation to cooling centers can call the hyperthermia hotline at (202) 399-7093 or 1-800-535-7252.

On July 24, the Mayor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness met once again. The meeting was well attended with excellent representation from all stakeholders, including the homeless community, advocates, service providers, and government agencies.

One active and very concerned group that was represented was the Committee to Save Franklin Shelter. I know that the status of the Franklin Shelter at 13th and K streets, NW is still of concern to members of the homeless community. The best answer at this time about Franklin is that it will be open through March 31, 2007, the end of hypothermia season, to serve those citizens who are homeless.

I will relay more information about Franklin and its future as it becomes available.

The Interagency Council plans to hold up to four public hearings beginning in September. During these sessions, we will take testimony and solicit ideas about homelessness from interested citizens. This includes those presently and previously homeless, public and private providers, members of religious communities, neighborhood representatives, philanthropies, advocates, and others. When the meeting dates are established, they will be widely publicized in the media and through provider and community networks.

Now, I want to review a number of projects of interest.

One ongoing venture is the renovation of the former Gales School at Massachusetts Avenue and G Street, NW. The interior demolition is well underway, with Gales slated to receive modern plumbing and mechanical systems, new windows, and other enhancements to make it a model for homeless services and living accommodations. When com-

pleted in the latter part of 2007, Gales will feature central air conditioning, space for group activities, individual storage, and a full range of services for its residents. Gales represents our commitment to serve our citizens who are homeless with appropriate living space, amenities, and services in a central location.

The improvements at the Community for Creative Non–Violence (CCNV), the shelter at 2nd and D streets in Northwest, have started with the third floor now receiving upgraded plumbing, electrical, heating, and air conditioning systems. Additionally, interior renovations are being done, the roof is being restored, and eventually, all of the windows will be replaced. When finished, the third floor will contain administrative offices, space for service providers, and accommodations for residents.

And in other shelter news, Emery Shelter at 1725 Lincoln Road, NE is being converted to the Emery Work Bed Program, a housing facility with services for working men. This new program will serve male residents of the District who are homeless and who are employed for at least 20 hours per week or in a job training program. Participants will have assigned beds, 24-hour access to the facility, storage for personal belongings, and an array of services, including various types of counseling and housing placement assistance.

Physical improvements to the Emery facility are also planned. These include roof and masonry restoration, window replacement, and work on the plumbing, lighting, and interior walls. Emery will not only have an improved program, but it will also be a significantly better place to live.

Before I close, I want to acknowledge the recent passing of Mr. Corbin Newcomb, a resident of the Franklin Shelter.

Please take a moment to remember him. I want to strongly encourage you for your own safety to be very alert and also to care for one another.

See you next month when we can again “talk about homelessness.”

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Please call 202-347-2006 or send an e-mail to info@streetsense.org if you have any of these items to donate.

LOCAL NEWS

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Suburban Homelessness: With Families and Jobs

By Trish Savage Most people think of homelessness as an inner-city problem. A vague picture comes to mind of homeless people in the city—near shelters, in libraries or train stations, in alleys, on heating grates, , or on park benches.

But homelessness is not confined to cities. And like their urban counterparts, suburban homeless people have varied socioeconomic, educational, and racial backgrounds.

The Suburban Homeless Defined Suburban homelessness has many faces—families, children, single adults, physically disabled, and the mentally ill from diverse races and ethnicities. And outside the city the homeless are in many places, including shelters, transitional homes, motels, and outdoors.

Homelessness statistics in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, and Washington State mirror those of the suburbs of Washington, DC: homeless single adults are much more likely to live inside the city, while the suburban and rural homeless are frequently mothers with children. Although the cities have a greater number of homeless children, in the suburbs children make up a larger percentage of the homeless population.

According to a recent report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, individual adults outnumber family members in the homeless populations of Frederick, Arlington, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

But, in Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William counties, adults in homeless families outnumber the homeless adults on their own. Most of these homeless adults in families are single mothers with children.

Rural residents are poorer than urban and suburban residents, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And just as in urban areas, in rural areas the percentage of African-Americans and Hispanic homeless people is greater than their representation in the general population. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “. . . homeless people in rural areas are more likely to be white, female, married, currently working, homeless for the first time, and homeless for a shorter period of time. . . . Homelessness among Native Americans and migrant workers is also largely a rural phenomenon.”

Another difference between the homeless in the city and the suburbs is that in the suburbs more homeless people are employed.

The Council of Governments 2006 survey shows that about a third of homeless adults in the D.C. region, including the suburbs, are employed. And if an individual is part

of a family, that homeless person is more likely to be employed, according to the Council of Governments.

Problems of Suburban Homeless Homeless children have special problems overcoming stereotypes and bias. The National Association of State Directors of Special Education has reported that strong attitudes against homeless children exist in some suburbs, where it is thought that these are “city kids coming in to steal education.” Some school officials question efforts to provide homeless students with appropriate services, recognizing that the student may soon move to another school.

Services that homeless people need are also harder to find in the suburbs. As the Brookings Institution’s Scott W. Allard noted in 2004, poor people in the city are generally geographically closer to social services than are poor people in the suburbs. “Social service providers located in the District of Columbia are proximate to about six times more poor households than service providers in suburban Washington,” according to Allard.

Case Study: Fairfax County Fairfax County, with significant

numbers of homeless people, offers an example of how one suburban county is dealing with the issue.

Of counties suburban to D.C., Fairfax County has persistently had the largest homeless population, both short-term and long-term: about 70% of those in emergency shelters are chronically homeless, according to the 2006 COG report.

Among all the homeless in Fairfax County—in or out of shelters— 50% are chronically homeless. The chronically homeless consume more resources than do short-term or infrequently homeless people; they require more medical services, psychiatric treatment, shelters and law enforcement efforts.

Fairfax County has found transitional and permanent housing for more homeless single adults than for families. Nevertheless, more of the chronically homeless live on the streets than in emergency shelters.

And of all the suburbs, Fairfax ranks second in the number of unsheltered individuals with 228 in Fairfax, behind Prince George’s 358.

Fairfax County has five emergency shelters for homeless persons, according to Joseph Battista of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services. “The shelters are operated by nonprofit vendors who

Employed, With A Family and Homeless 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% DC

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are under contract to the county,” he said. “Public health nurses and nurse practitioners, employed by the Fairfax County Public Health Department, provide services in the emergency shelters. . . . People who are homeless may be eligible to receive services from the Community Health Care Network.”

Fairfax County has developed some successful programs for the homeless. For example, Fairfax County’s Homeless Oversight Committee reported in June that,

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thanks to faith-based volunteers and financial and professional assistance from Fairfax County, there were no deaths due to hypothermia this past winter.

Although Fairfax County has more homeless people than any other local county, the density of homeless people in the general population, at 1.7 per 1,000, is less than that of Arlington County, which has 2.4 homeless people per 1,000. In contrast, the District has almost 11 homeless per 1,000 people.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

LOCAL NEWS

In Brief

Provider PRofile

A Wider Circle: Global Thinking, Local Action

French Retires As Homelessness Advisor Lynn French, longtime senior policy advisor on homelessness in D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families and Elders, retired in early August, leaving this key planning position for homeless initiatives vacant.

Brian Wilbon, the chief of staff for the Office of the Deputy Mayor, will be the point person for homeless issues in the Deputy Mayor’s Office, until French’s position is filled.

French, 59, had been with the Deputy Mayor’s office for four years. Prior to that she was the head of the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights.

The news came as a surprise to homeless advocates as it occurred just before the mayoral primaries and in the middle of planning for the next hypothermia season. In fact, at a meeting of homeless advocates six days after French’s retirement on Aug. 4, no one was even sure if she had officially or why.

During her time as the homeless issues advisor in the D.C. government, she helped shape the Homeless Services Reform Act and also opened a new men’s shelter on New York Avenue in Northeast. However, she also oversaw the closure of many downtown shelters, including the Gales School, Randall Shelter, with no immediate replacements, as the number of homeless individuals in the city continued to increase.

-- Laura Thompson Osuri

Welfare Reform Hits Decade Mark Director Mark Bergel and assistant director Maura Vaillancourt in front of beds at the storage facility where A Wider Circle keeps items to deliver to families with new homes.

By Desiree Stephens When executive director Mark Bergel founded A Wider Circle five years ago, he was sure it would lead to a local awareness of global adversity.

“The two-thirds of us not in poverty need to shift our consciousness to the one-third that are in poverty. If one of us is struggling, we’re all struggling,” he said.

Since 2001, the organization has developed programs to support five main poverty-related programs in the D.C. area. One program includes the Public Housing Initiative, where A Wider Circle has partnered with the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) to create a Citywide Wellness Program. Made for residents of public housing, the program serves 15,000 residents, including elderly, disabled and families. Its three focus areas are Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Computer Technology & Training and Enhancement of Personal & Community Living Environments.

A Wider Circle’s mission is seen through empowering children and adults to break the cycle of poverty through a holistic approach. Their brochures and website communicate health, hope and human connection. “We know change comes from inside and so we focus on the inner work as well as the outer work,” said Bergel.

The organization, relying on word of mouth to promote its programs, enjoys a strong affiliation with other area organizations like So Others Might Eat (SOME), Martha’s Table, N Street Village and My Sister’s Place.

The staff and interns also reach out to shelters and schools to conduct workshops that teach stress and anger management techniques, nutrition information, financial planning, self-esteem, confidence and aerobics. “Doing this helps people learn good daily habits [to] promote a more stable lifestyle. So much of what you eat generates your ability to keep going and gives you energy,” said Bergel.

One of the most noteworthy of its pro-

grams is called Neighbor-to-Neighbor.

Created to help families stay independent and stable once they’ve transitioned to a home, the program, with its team of sixteen interns, collects basic-need items like beds and tables, stores them and delivers them to the families.

“As long as there is an immediate need while they are in transition, we can help.

Our focus is to give them whatever it is they need right then to keep them motivated so they can move on successfully,” said Bergel as he walked through a storage facility that houses the items in a marketplace fashion.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the facility is open for anyone with a need to come browse through and arrange for delivery. And the organization always needs beds, kitchen supplies and baby furniture.

A Wider Circle’s newest program is a unique one that aims, with early intervention, to prepare new mothers for a healthy pregnancy and a bright future. Designed for expectant teen mothers, the program, called Well Mother, Well Baby, provides weekly small-group meetings that offer support and educational information like prenatal yoga, infant nutrition and parenting skills. Upon completion of the course, A Wider Circle gives the mother a baby shower where she receives basic needs for the start of her new life, such as a crib and baby clothes.

With three offices in the D.C. area, A Wider Circle continues to grow and provide resources in response to gentrification. “We know we need to build people to build a city,” said Bergel. “We’re a no-redtape organization. When a dollar comes in, we use it to get more service—for $125, we can furnish houses for five families.”

Ending the cycle of poverty is a lifelong mission for Bergel and the people at A Wider Circle. To sum it up, he said, “We want people to ask, ‘What is possible in my life?’”

For more info, visit www.awidercircle. com or call (301)-657-1010.

Aug. 22 marks the ten-year anniversary of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, otherwise known as the welfare reform act, and ten years of states setting their own standards for eligibility and work and time limit requirements.

However, upon watching the welfare program unfold over the past decade, debate has arisen over the program’s effectiveness.

Because of the act, states have redefined disability for Supplemental Security Income (SSI); increased enforcement for collection of unpaid child support; prevented many legal immigrants from collecting SSI and food stamps; consolidated childcare programs; and altered time limits on food stamps and cash assistance programs. The program also was revamped from pre-1996 welfare to include a higher percentage of required employment along with greater benefits for hard work, including employment, job training and secondary education.

Extensive research by the Urban Institute brings into question whether the impact on poverty has proved positive. The analyses demonstrate that the entire package of reforms had little effect on income and poverty, though certain policies have made a difference.

“The economic picture for families who leave welfare is mixed,” according to an Urban Institute report. “In the tougher 2002 labor market, however, work by welfare leavers declined to 57% from 63% in 1999.”

The report also points out that many former welfare recipients still work in low-wage jobs after getting through the program, with median hourly wages at around $8 in 2002. Also, the “likelihood of returning to welfare within two years from exit increased from 20 percent in 1997 to 26 percent in 2002.”

Still, the Urban Institute points out that spending on work support has risen steadily since the passing of the 1996 legislation. Those on work support receive health insurance, assistance with food bills and childcare expenses, and a tax boost to help make work pay.

For more info, visit http://www.urbaninstitute.org/toolkit/issues/welfarereform.cfm.

-- Meredith Mishkin

FOSTER, from p.1 gotten used to fostering children, and keeping up with their busy lives, there is one aspect of being a foster parent that Dozier still must work on.

“Letting go [when the children leave] is something I have to work on all the time,” she said, “trusting in God, knowing the same God that loves me, loves them.”

However, Dozier still does keep in contact with many of her previous foster children.

As Dozier sits at her kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee, there is a flurry of activity around the house. But she does not seem to mind. Dozier is the kind of selfless woman that creates her own happiness by creating happiness for others. She has a very simple reasoning behind all the good that she does for those around her. “We were raised by a community of people who loved

us,” she said. “And God wants me to give that [love] back to the community. What a better community to give back to than my own?”

While Dozier already has given more back to the community than many others will in a lifetime, she still feels that she has gotten many things out of her experiences as a foster parent and a parent advocate.

She was very excited and proud to meet people such as Laura Bush, John Edwards and Bill Cosby.

However, the joy that her children bring her trumps everything else.

Her eyes sparkle as she talks about all of her children, and it becomes obvious to anyone how she finds the energy and strength to devote herself selflessly to others.

Dozier describes her feelings about being a foster parent in a plain and straightforward way. “It’s a joy, it’s a struggle, it’s a pain, it’s a sorrow.”

“Letting go is something I have to work on all the time,” Dozier said.

INTERVIEW

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Mayoral Forum

Reaching Out, Responding to Low-Income Voters D.C. has more than its share of poor and homeless people.

Although voter participation is lower than most people would like to see, these residents, too, have a stake in the election.

1. What would you say to Washingtonians who have been waiting for generations for a chance to get out of poverty? Is it going to happen any time soon?

Michael Brown: If I am not mayor, no. We now have the thirdhighest poverty rate in America, and you know, poverty isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the kind of resources you have in your community. I want to make sure that people make as much money as possible, but it’s also about the resources they have in their community. And, until we stop having a contempt for poor people in this city, the same cycle is going to continue.

Linda Cropp: The District has gone through tough financial times. Now it is time to build on our financial progress to help people and expand opportunities for a better life. People work hard to achieve their dreams for themselves and their families.

They want a mayor who will work hard for them. That’s the kind of mayor that I will be.

Adrian Fenty: There are no quick fixes to end poverty, but my administration will address the root causes of poverty to give Washingtonians hope and their best chance to succeed.

A Fenty administration will support: · Public Education. A firstclass public education for our children will provide them with the tools that will help them get jobs and be economically and socially successful adults. · Health Care. Health insurance for all and access to health care providers in all areas of the city will improve the health of District residents. Healthy people have a greater capacity to be productive and successful. · Substance Abuse. We must make effective substance abuse treatment available to all who need it in order to provide hope and improve individuals’ chances of success. · Crime Prevention and Public Safety. Crime creates barriers to economic success for both the victims and the people responsible. We will work to prevent crime and fewer individuals will face crime-related economic obstacles. · Job Training and Adult Education. We will provide convenient, effective opportunities for adults in the District to learn job skills and improve their literacy so that all residents of the District will have the tools necessary to obtain employment.

Marie Johns: We cannot simply concede that the D.C. government and the federal government will not help those in poverty. We have to demand that government helps lift people out of poverty. That is what government is for. There has to be a variety of strategies employed to fight poverty because there is a variety of reasons that people are in poverty. The first answer to poverty is better education and the second is better housing. We need to keep the pressure on to fix the schools both inside and out. It is a scandal that 52,000 are waiting to get into public housing or to acquire a voucher.

Vincent Orange: For many, the “War on Poverty” has not yet been won. Addressing the needs of this target population

would be of top priority to an Orange administration. I pledge to foster and enhance public/private partnerships to ensure that District residents do not go hungry. Many of the outlined assurances will, ultimately, require the re-allocation of scarce local resources. So, as mayor, I pledge that all agencies of the District of Columbia will identify and compete for available federal resources for human and health services to help reduce local expenditures.

I will make addressing homelessness an ongoing priority.

Families should be able to get housing that costs no more than one-third of their income. And, because “congregate” style facilities are not appropriate shelter for families, I will work to raise the number of apartment-style units for homeless families. I will aggressively push to keep lower-income D.C. residents from falling through the cracks, with affordable low-income and workforce housing, public education that produces high school graduates ready for college and/or the workforce, and job training and job placement efforts that put D.C. residents first in line for D.C. jobs.

I will also mobilize community groups, tenant associations, landlords and other stakeholders to keep at-risk families out of shelters and in their own homes.

As chair of the Committee on Government Operations, I led the effort to establish the District’s first living wage. After extensive debate and negotiations, a living wage of $11.75 per hour was established. I will continue to push for legislation and programs that will truly allow individuals to become independent and self-sufficient.

2. What will you be doing to reach these low-income voters, and what message do you have for them? How can you convince them they have a stake in the election, and that they too should come out and vote?

Brown: When you’re poor, and you don’t feel anyone cares about you, you don’t have faith in the system. When you don’t have faith in the system, why vote? You feel “my vote won’t matter, and nothing’s going to change.” We have to let people know that it will change – that’s the power of the vote. And when you’re participating, you do get heard. The way politics works in America is, if you participate, you get heard. And so we have to engage folks and let them know.

Cropp: I am taking my vision for the future to every corner of the city. I am knocking on doors, standing on street corners and in front of grocery stores, attending community meetings and block parties, and talking with everyone that I meet. I have continuing discussions with Street Sense reporters and members of the homeless community. Voters have a clear choice between a candidate with a proven record supporting programs and services to help people and an untested candidate.

I believe in the promise of our city and its people and I can be trusted to keep our financial house in order so we can fight for safer streets, decent housing and support for the homeless, job training and life skills, and other programs to lift people out of poverty. As people think about the stakes for our city, I think they will take a stand and support me.

Fenty: My campaign is all about reaching and engaging voters who have never been engaged before. Every morning and every afternoon we are meeting voters in every ward on street

corners, at Metro stations, and in neighborhoods.

My message for all voters is this: a Fenty administration will bring a brighter future to the District by being engaged, responsive, and accountable.

The District government provides or administers the services that District residents rely on, from case management for homeless individuals to Medicaid, public education, mental health treatment, and basic services like garbage collection and police. The mayor and members of the D.C. Council are responsible for making sure that these systems work properly. Every District resident can advance his or her interests by voting for the candidates who will protect these systems. My campaign is proving that every voter makes a difference.

Johns: As I’ve traveled around the city talking to social service providers, I’ve found that the double whammy of rent burdens and utility costs have hit the poor and those on fixed incomes very hard. The affordable housing crisis means that apartments that were once within the economic reach of the working poor no longer are. People are being forced to chose between paying the rent on time or buying food. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has meant higher gas prices. Social service agencies are straining under the burden of addressing these needs and being forced to turn some folks away. A city enjoying economic prosperity can afford to assist in bearing this burden and we should.

The other candidates who are currently on the D.C. Council and the mayor have been in power during the past 10 years when the development boom has made the problems of this city worse for our most needy residents. We are the nation’s capital and the nation does not take that fact seriously enough. We send a message to the world by the existence of the Kennedy Center or a boarded-up building in Anacostia.

The tolerance of abject poverty in D.C. sends a message to the world about our nation’s values and the mayor of D.C. has to speak to that reality. When I am mayor we will take better care of those who want to lift themselves out of poverty. Government will give them a hand up.

Orange: I am waging an aggressive grassroots campaign to touch as many voters as possible. My message to the Street Sense constituency is simple: Every vote counts, and votes cast for Vincent Orange are votes cast for a candidate committed to giving the resource-challenged a better chance. As part of my “D.C. Residents First” philosophy, I believe that D.C. residents who have been in D.C. during the bad times deserve to enjoy residency in D.C. during the good times. Therefore, my administration will be committed to providing services to those who struggle on the margins and those who are victimized by the harsh realities of our society.

This concludes our series of questions and answers with the five leading Democratic candidates for mayor. Street Sense wants to thank them all for being so responsive to our requests.

We know how busy this campaign season has been. It means a lot to our vendors, staff, volunteers, and readers that Michael Brown, Linda Cropp, Adrian Fenty, Marie Johns, and Vincent Orange have taken time to answer our questions about homelessness and poverty in the District of Columbia. Your help with this series has shown our homeless friends and neighbors that their concerns matter, and so do their votes.

Keep reading Street Sense for ongoing coverage of the mayoral race and other races in our area, and look for our election special, a supplement planned for our October 15 issue.

Compiled By David S. Hammond, Diane Rusignola, Trish Savage and Michelle Gaudet.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

LOCAL NEWS

ACCESS, from p.1

Laura Thompson osuri

bathrooms are not completely accessible.

New Beginnings on Park Road (run by Families Forward), Spring Road Family Apartments (run by the Coalition for the Homeless), Community of Hope (Girard Street), and Valley Place (run by the Coalition for the Homeless) all are apartment-style but not accessible.

Only Community of Hope has any accessible units, but social events and resident meetings are held on a floor to which there is no access by ramp or elevator.

The Brittons are only one of many families struggling to find accessible shelter or housing within the District.

Amber Harding of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless said that she has talked with more than a dozen family members with mobility impairments who are struggling to find appropriate shelter or housing.

Community of Hope is the only D.C.-funded family shelter with accessible units, with just “D.C. has had a difficult time [or has not two, but common space is not accessible. prioritized] finding buildings to serve as shelters,” Harding said. “As a result, the physical that its services and buildings are accessible ation with updating publicly funded housing facilities are the rejects of the city inventory -- to people with disabilities,” Harding said. for handicapped accessibility. old schools, trailers, old nursing homes, men- “They are literally leaving people with disabilA March 2002 settlement in a lawsuit filed tal institutions, etc. Old buildings tend not to ities out in the cold when they fail to account under the Rehabilitation Act by people with be accessible because they were built before for physical accessibility in facilities.” mobility and visual impairments ordered the accessibility guidelines came into law.”

The Legal Clinic is advocating for legisla- D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA) to build or The Street Sense investigation found that tive and policy changes that would change renovate 565 accessible public housing units, accessibility for homeless individuals is more the system as a whole. It also holds training at a rate of 105 to 135 per year. abundant, though limited. sessions with clients on disability rights and DCHA however has not met the settlement Out of 40 shelters in the city, only six of- rights in shelters. requirements or those cited in the reopened fer any services to handicapped individuals.

But even if the clinic does get the courts to version of the case that was filed last May by The Community for Creative Non-Violence order changes to make shelters accessible, it University Legal Services (ULS). A brief in the (CCNV) shelter has a men’s unit on the first may have little effect. That has been the situ- case written by the Marjorie Rifkin of ULS said floor and slightly wider living areas for residents in wheelchairs. For the w o m e n u p s t a i r s, CCNV has an elevator and similar living arrangements.

Jo h n Yo u n g , a women’s shelter, is entirely accessible.

It has wide bed units and is all on Meets 1st Wednesday of each month one floor. There are, Next Meeting: September 6, 2006 at 7 p.m. however, a limited Mary's Center (The Pink Building) number of beds and 2355 Ontario Road infrequent space for more women in wheelchairs.

Harding said that the city faces lower costs by paying fines for not meeting housing requirements than it would by creating the housing units.

The city, therefore, has no motivation to build or maintain accessible shelters.

Re p e a t e d c a l l s were made to multiple D.C. government agencies seeking comment on this ABC and Public Safety Planning, Zoning, and Transporation situation, but either Meets 2nd Wednesday each month Meets 3rd Wednesday each month phone calls were not No August Meeting No August Meeting returned or those ofKalorama Park Recreation Center (Subject to change - check online) ficials contacted declined to comment.

Columbia Rd. and Belmont Rd. 3rd District Police Station “D.C.i s still re(concurrent with PSA 303 meeting) 17th St and V St. , NW (Snyder Room) quired to make sure

that DCHA has built only 25 of the 105 units required by the first deadline, and many of those units were given to families without a disabled member.

“This is a blatant violation of the order and of federal HUD regulations, which prohibit DCHA from leasing accessible units to able-bodied people when, as in D.C., there are qualified people with mobility disabilities awaiting transfers,” Rifkin wrote.

Because of the lack of accessible family shelters, when the Brittons went to Virginia Williams Family Services, the main intake center for homeless families, they were sent to Motel 6 on Georgia Avenue, NW. When they checked out at noon the following day, the Brittons learned that they would have to reapply for approval to stay there every day.

And with no other option, they did so - for seven months.

So when one of the two accessible units at Community of Hope opened up in November 2005, the Britton family moved in immediately. Their two sons, Justin, 14, and Russell Jr., 11, are acclimating to the new lifestyle by making friends, playing sports and doing well in school.

The family continues to search for affordable housing, for rent or purchase, but faces difficulties because Tanja Britton is regularly hospitalized or bedridden.

“Once you become homeless, you lose the identity you had before you were homeless,” she said. “I feel that handicap-accessible housing would allow me to be independent again.”

Public Services

Meets 4th Wednsday each month No August Meeting (Subject to change - check online) Kalorama Park Recreation Center Columbia Rd and Belmont Rd

LOCAL NEWS

StreetPolitics

Street Sense . August/September 2006

By David S. Hammond

Others on the Mayoral Ballot. Besides the five candidates for mayor Street Sense has been featuring, two other candidates got their names on the Sept. 12 primary ballot: Nestor Djonkam and Artee Milligan. Both have front-line experience with disadvantaged people and express urgency about affordable housing, education and other issues on the District’s agenda. Street Politics spoke with both of them.

Nestor Djonkam. The District has not gone far enough in helping those who need it, Djonkam said, because our understanding of human needs does not go far enough.

But people, including homeless people, have the potential to turn their lives around.

So Djonkam launched a project called Nestor for Hope, providing homeless people with food, clothing, and computer training. For this he has earned recognition with city’s homeless people, and many volunteer on his campaign.

Like many who work with the severely disadvantaged, Djonkam identifies a lack of marketable skills as the biggest obstacle. But a lack of life skills and community resources come in a close second.

These areas are where the city could make more aggressive use of its resources, Djonkam said. So if he became mayor, he would reopen shuttered schools as centers for vocational and adult education. That way, he said, people “can have a skill, and they can compete at any job in the city.” And for those working, “they can go at night and take some basic English or computer, so they can at least help their child with homework.”

And Djonkam said that the public should rethink some of the basic ideas used in discussing poverty. Affordable housing, for example, might be better understood as “housing that people can afford,” he said, and that’s why the current debate has not gone far enough.

But a more simple working definition doesn’t mean the solutions will be simple, Djonkam added. What’s needed is an expansion of existing efforts and a clear understanding that new development will not contribute to more displacement.

Artee Milligan. Helping individuals climb out of hard-core poverty is often a slow, tough process. Milligan’s experiences as director of the Metropolitan/Delta Adult Literacy Council have given him an insider’s understanding of the challenges, and of what he describes as the District’s shortcomings in meeting them. His organization provides literacy, life skills and job readiness education to disadvantaged Washingtonians, including homeless people.

“Most people want to be self-sufficient,” Milligan said. But helping them get there will take more creativity – and in some cases more funding – than D.C. has yet invested.

Milligan said that a summit on poverty and homelessness could spark new partnerships between government, business, nonprofits and the churches, allowing the kind of sustained personal involvement and encouragement now offered by the Literacy Council. “We have to beef up the programs ... so we’ve got to increase the funding for that. It can’t be just, ‘OK, I have this education program’ – you’ve got to have a support network,” he said.

It’s also a matter of spending money more wisely, Milligan added, and slowing ineffective spending. “When the city sees a program that is successful, they need to figure out how to replicate it.”

Milligan said that if he becomes mayor he will definitely fund improved shelter conditions. And he would like to make sure that families are no longer sheltered in “congregate” style facilities. Single shelter residents, too, should have a chance to stay in a room of their own, Milligan said. “I want people to be treated with dignity so when they leave a shelter in the morning, they’ll feel good.”

Voter by Voter, Handshake by Handshake. A while back, vendor Muriel Dixon met mayoral candidate Marie Johns’ campaign staff in Dupont Circle. Dixon has now attended several events where she was able to speak to Johns, who told her recently that “more, better and longer treatment options” for people with mental illness should be a key part of fighting homelessness in D.C. And she said that people leaving programs such as drug or alcohol detox must have somewhere to stay. “They need the next step, too,” Johns told Dixon. And on the affordable housing crisis and shelter shutdowns, Johns said that poverty and homelessness amid roaring redevelopment are “a stain on our national conscience.”

Street Politics Gets Panel Recognition. I will be a panelist at an Aug. 29 forum for the Ward 3 candidates for City Council. Sponsored by Tenleytown’s Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, the forum will focus on homelessness and related topics. 7 to 9 p.m. at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, New Mexico and Nebraska avenues, NW, across from the American University campus. See the notice in this issue for details.

What’s on your mind? E-mail StreetPoliticsDC@aol.com.

On the Hill

Minimum Wage Hike Proposed The Bill Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act of 2006 H.R. 5970 Purpose This bill was introduced to increase the minimum wage, cut the estate tax, and provide some mining safety provisions while also creating other tax credits. In terms of minimum wage, the bill would incrementally increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, by June, 2009. This excludes many people with disabilities, tipped employees, people under 20 during their first 90 days of employment, and student-learners.

Background The federal minimum wage is currently $5.15, and was last increased in 1997 from $4.75. The dollar amount of the minimum wage does not tell the whole story: Adjusted for inflation, the purchasing power (the quantity of goods and services that a certain amount of money can buy) of the minimum wage is down 20%.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia, have passed laws that put the minimum wage above the federal level.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 14.9 million workers (11% of the workforce) would receive an increase in hourly wage rate if the minimum wage were raised to $7.25 by 2008. Of these, 6.6 million workers (5%) earn less than $7.25, and 8.3 million workers would benefit from the “spillover effects.”

An increase in the minimum wage would help also families. An estimated 1.3 million single parents with children under 18 would benefit from a mininmum wage increase to $7.25 by 2008.

Additionally, nearly four million parents

We

care.

We

help.

with kids under 18 would benefit, according to the Department of Labor.

Opponents of increasing the minimum wage say that increasing the minimum wage would hurt some small businesses that would be forced to pay higher wages, and could lead to some jobs disappearing or businesses cutting costs elsewhere.

Aside from the minimum wage, the permanent cut in the controversial estate tax is a weighty issue. If signed into law, this bill would by 2015 increase the amount of an estate that would be exempt from taxation. Five million dollars would be exempt for an individual and $10 million for a couple.

Many Democrats support the minimum wage provisions of the bill, but are staunchly opposed to cutting the estate tax. Many believe that cutting the estate tax would result in decreased government revenue that would cause cuts in social and welfare programs, outweighing the benefits of increasing the minimum wage.

Republicans tend to support a cut in the estate tax, while not supporting an increase in the federal minimum wage.

Sponsors: Rep. William M. Thomas (R-Calif.)

Co-sponsors: Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) Rep. Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.)

Status: This bill was passed by the House, but failed in the Senate. It will be reconsidered and possibly amended by the Senate in the fall.

-Jill Merselis

We

heal.

Quality Primary Care Services for D.C. Medically Underserved and homeless Individuals……

For information on medical services in homeless shelters call 202-255-3469. For an appointment at any of our community health centers call 1-866-388-6489

We want to help. We want to help you.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

NATIONAL NEWS

Street Class: The Rise and Fall of Hobo Colleges

By Marc Moscato The homeless crisis first came to the forefront of national politics during the economic depression of the early 1890s and again later in the late 1920s, when thousands of families were displaced during the Great Depression.

During those lean years, thousands of men took to the road in search of work, hopping freight trains, living in hobo jungles and cheap boardinghouses and working as migrant laborers.

At the center of it all was Chicago (known to hoboes as “The Big Chi”), the hub of the nation’s railroad lines, where between 300,000 and 500,000 refugees passed through each year during the ’20s and ’30s.

“Chicago was the gathering point for migrants as it was the jumping point to all points West,” said Roger Bruns, author of Knights Of The Road: A Hobo History. “It was the natural place to look for seasonal work in harvesting, logging or crop picking and to reside in the winter months when there was no work.”

Slowly West Madison Street saw its former upper-crust residences transform into a “main stem” of dilapidated tenements, seedy bars, diners, cheap theatres and shabby hotels inhabited by dozens of hoboes and tramps.

But with the poverty there also was some serious intellectual fare.

“There was a creation of a whole culture along the West Madison Street area and in the freight yards,” Bruns said. “This included many authors such as Theodore Dreiser and Carl Sandburg, as well as many sociologists from the University of Chicago who were studying patterns of social migration.”

With the mass influx in homeless population, The Salvation Army, the YMCA and other religious organizations began to recruit on West Madison Street, holding revivals and opening their doors to Chicago’s displaced.

While the charities provided immediate relief to the needy, living quarters were cramped to capacity and stays were limited to one week.

But most problematic was an anti-homeless attitude emanated by religious organizations of the day. Charities believed that the hobo lifestyle was a sin, and that by being homeless they were in need of repentance.

“Religious charities tried to get recruits and save them,” said Franklin Rosemont, author of “Hobohemia” and a member of Charles H. Kerr Publishers in Chicago. “They were fundamentally authoritarian … it was very condescending.”

It was evident that there was a need for an organization to directly address the needs of the displaced without the moral baggage.

James Eads How, heir to his family’s wealth in the Wabash Railroad, realized that need, and in 1907 he founded the International Brotherhood Welfare Association, or IBWA, dedicated to serving the poor and lobbying for the rights of the homeless.

How also launched a new phenomenon: hobo colleges, alternative educational environments for people on the streets. He started colleges in major cities across the United States and also ran a newspaper, The Hobo News.

The IBWA was heavily influenced by How’s socialist politics, and it was at the St. Louis Hobo College where he fatefully met

and befriended Dr. Ben Reitman who, under How’s guidance, went on to found the largest and most successful Hobo College.

Class in Session It is no surprise the Chicago Hobo College was a success — if anyone could pull off managing such a project, it was the flamboyant and charismatic Reitman. He had a rare knack for bridging the barriers between the outcasts and authority. Once a “Hobo King” himself, Reitman was also a doctor who worked with tramps and prostitutes, and an abortion provider and birth control advocate before either was legal. But he was probably best known for his ability to attract the attention of the media. For 10 years he was press agent and lover to anarchist Emma Goldman, whose notoriety is owed almost entirely to Reitman’s promotion.

Under the good doctor’s lead as master of ceremonies, Reitman’s Hobo College flourished. With his networking ability, he amassed a faculty that included leading professors at area colleges and the best soapboxers of Chicago, alongside featured guest appearances by luminaries such as lawyer and author Clarence Darrow, the notorious conman Yellow Kid Weil and tramp author Jim Tully.

“There was always a meal and coffee, and food was served,” Rosemont said. “Then there was a debate or lecture followed by question and answer. Some characters showed up at all the meetings and were notorious for haranguing and refuting everything that was said.

Some were single-tax advocates, some anarchists, but all had at least some opinion.”

Firsthand accounts describe the Hobo College as a room with a capacity for 150, with ramshackle furniture, a lending library of discarded books from the public library, and walls displaying portraits of Mark Twain, Karl Marx and Charles Darwin made by alumni.

Handbills and posters advertised “classes” on topics including successful panhandling, “how to survive without eating,” street speaking, the history of vagrancy, philosophy of the road and the curiously dubbed Will the Coming Christ be a Hobo?

Occasionally actors and musicians made guest appearances at the Hobo College, in-

Ben Reitman helped establish the hobo college movement during The Great Depression.

Ben Reitman, standing center, at the Hobo College’s Banquet, 1907.

cluding noted actor Richard Bennett and company and a remarkable performance by opera star Mary Garden.

More Than an Education More important, the Hobo College gave the homeless a chance to express and educate themselves, share their ideas, songs and poetry, and provide a place where they could be treated with respect.

“The Hobo College was run by and for the hoboes. It didn’t make demands or try to convert anyone,” said Todd DePastino, author of Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America. “It provided a model of citizenship and an opportunity for self-education. It not only allowed homeless people to become part of an active system, it made them take on leadership roles. This idea is very foreign today.”

Most impressively, the Hobo College grew to be a well-known center for debate. Rosemont related stories about University of Chicago professors bringing their classes to the Hobo College because the debates were livelier than lectures at the universities. Often, the student debate teams would face off against a team of resident hoboes, only to be thoroughly humiliated by the hobo soapboxers.

As with any college, each spring the Hobo College held a graduating ceremony in which hoboes who had faithfully attended lectures throughout the winter months would receive diplomas. Graduation was marked by food, music and speeches, and concluded with Reitman handing out papers stating: “Be It Known To All The World That ____ has been a student at The Hobo College and has attended the lectures, discussions, clinics, musicals, readings and visits to art galleries and theatres.

He has also expressed a desire to get an education, better his own conditions and help build a better world that will be without unemployment, poverty, wars, prostitution, ignorance and injustice. He pledges himself to try individually to live a clean, honest, manly life, and to take care of his health and morals, and abstain from all habits that undermine his health and better nature.”

A Lost Cause?

As the labor market changed and there was less need for seasonal labor, the hobo became a vanishing species and with him went the Hobo College. Dramatic shifts in urban patterns of living saw the demolition of thousands of single-occupancy tenements and the relocation of the poor to suburban areas.

“Homeless now meant you were houseless,” Depastino said. “That is why the homeless problem is so devastating today. These areas were zoned out of existence.”

Today the Hobo College remains but a historical footnote, its few remnants scattered in special collections at private libraries around the world. Yet what is known of the story of Ben Reitman’s Hobo College remains refreshing and visionary.

“There is a great deal to be learned from the Hobo College in how to develop organic programs for the homeless,” DePastino said.

“There already exists a homeless subculture.

We can build around this subculture and engage social service programs that promote a real and radical democracy.”

“I don’t know much about social service programs of today but I rarely hear homeless people say good things about them,” Rosemont said. “There is little genuine care in many of the programs. They can learn a lot from the Hobo College, but I’m not sure they are ready to learn.”

In that light, Reitman’s Hobo College provides a working model of a self-help program for and by the needy that is urgent and relevant to today’s homeless crisis.

A n d i n t h i s s e n s e, t h e Ho b o C o l lege ser ves as a utopian ideal of how our social service programs could function—or as Roger Bruns describes it, “an oasis in a homeless man’s desert of despair.”

Moscato is currently working on a film about Ben Reitman. You can e-mail him at marc@ microcosmpublishing.com.

Reprinted from Street Roots, Portland, Ore. Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Department, Richard J. Daley Library, University of Illinois at Chicago.

10 PHOTOS & POETRY

Joy and Pain She’s mine!

My flesh and blood My child From me How great What a gift I can’t believe I have the honor to raise her To teach her To show her about life To help her through it Because it’s tough out there, I know she’ll need a father to go with a mother.

What a joy it will be to wake up every morning And kiss her before I go to work, To have her run into my arms when I get home, I can’t wait for her, her mother, and I Sit at the table, pray and eat together Show her all the love her mother And I have for each other We’ll show her all black people don’t fit the Statistics of young single mothers And fathers not in the home Because of course I will be there To show her how to raise above the ignorance, Yea, we’ll show her, her mother and I, How a real family should function What a real family looks like, Yup, no visitation for me Not for Daddy.

What time is it?

It’s 6:30 p.m.

I know I’m forgetting something Oh man, I got to pick up my daughter.

– Carl Morris

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Cliff’s Pics Cliff is celebrateing his new “marriage” in this month’s pictures. And no, it’s not to a summertime fling, but as he put it to “Street Sense and the mission it stands for.” And as the tradition goes, for a marriage to last you need four things on your wedding day: something old, something new something borrowed, something blue. On these pages is Cliff ’s interpretation of this saying.

Something Blue. This is technically new and blue, as it just re from CCNV. But I love how it reflects the next door building an

Prayer A way to say I need A supernatural intervention Not meant to arouse the scientific approach But rather alert the world Of silence seldom heard Conversely spoken With a sound of urgency Touching the depths of the soul Design to reach Heaven Where the God of love Sends angels to rescue The least of us in despair Interceding for one another Without judgment But with cause He faithfully whispers Strength, power, grace and mercy To all who need a healing Of the mind, body, and soul No matter the size of the storm That has overtaken us The sun will shine And the moon will glow And prayers will be answered This I know – Don L. Gardner Something New. This is the face of a youngest giver I’ve met. She was so innocent and carefree and said, “Mommy, let me give him the money. Pleeeease.”

Something Old. I love the depth

PHOTOS & POETRY 11

Street Sense . August/September 2006

ecently showed up a block away nd gives a whole new depth to it.

The Waiting I sit and wait Though I may eat three meals a day And have a roommate I still worry about People who live outside In this oppressive heat Not having enough to eat I pray and wait For a world to understand What can we do to ease The ills of the common man?

I sit and watch Tax dollars go to fighting wars People choosing between Housing and medical care The high cost of gasoline I stand and knock At the golden doors of government Because I crave answers But no one’s there So I sit and wait and wait and …

– James Davis

Something Borrowed. This is Mer, a great intern that Street Sense borrowed for the summer.

I like how she looks like she’s thinking real hard and having an epiphany. I miss Mer!

h of field of these old granite columns at Union Station. And the shadows are great. They look like giant milk bottles.

White White is the color of traffic on Normadie Avenue palm trees nod braided heads under the fierce blue-eyed gaze of an Angeleno sky its the color of a carnival 3 shots at the bullseye to win your love a big plush pet [five feet tall with velvet ears & agate eyeballs] White is the color of

brick walls holding up the ghetto & scolding, scalding noise a boy on the corner [53rd & Fillmore] rapping on an invisible microphone ...is the color of cucumbers & chick peas at a sidewalk cafe summer Sunday afternoon of lazy conversation on the latest Spike Lee joint, on sidewalk miniskirts while Dodgers & Mets slow dance on bluegrass lawns, & crackle your radio color of chicana girls blazing bright in their confirmation frocks of bells of a thousand churches tolling across each of this city’s streets & alleys white is the color of all colors mixed together

-- David Harris

Street Sense . August/September 2006

12 FOOD

My Turn At the Table By August Mallory

Service Shines at Afterwords Cafe

Ted Henson

August enjoys some scrumptious catfish at Afterwords.

After a suggestion from senior editor Ted Henson, who was also my lunch guest, I decided to go to the Afterwords Café and Grill, in the back of Kramerbooks, located just above Dupont Circle on Connecticut Avenue.

It was a bright and sunny Sunday and Dupont Circle was bustling with people. The restaurant was also bright and I noticed the many collections of books that surrounded us.

The service at the restaurant was very good and we were served very promptly.

The food looked beautiful and it was very flavorful

as well. And the quality was excellent. I had the Cajun Catfish and it was nicely cooked: crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, just the way I like it. Ted had the Brunch Quesadilla, which was scrambled eggs, roasted corn, scallions, mild green chilies, and jack cheese folded in a toasted flour tortilla. He said it was quite good.

It was also nice because it was brunch time, so the waitress brought us all the orange juice and mini-muffins we wanted for free on request. They also bring you coffee and a free mimosa upon request, but we didn’t want either of them.

The menu was pretty good, but there weren’t quite as many items on it as most restaurants, but it was O.K. The prices were very reasonable though for as much food as I got.

As we ate we listened to Little Richard’s music in the background, and I felt like I was back in the 1950s. However, in the 1950s, I would never have been allowed in a restaurant like this, because of segregation. But today’s brunch crowd was an interesting mix – young, old, tourist, local, straight, gay, black, white, young hipsters, and others.

The restaurant was very fast paced, but our server Danielle did a great job and was super polite and attentive. Your manager will be very proud of your performance.

I especially like the outdoor patio, which was filled with guests. It was on a quieter street and much bigger than most outdoor spaces at restaurants in town. However, it was so crowded we decided just to eat inside.

This was my first visit to Kramerbooks and Afterwords Café and Grill, even though I passed by it nearly every day. And after finally going in and experiencing the great service and food, I would recommend it to anyone.

So if you are the type that reads while you eat, or if you just want to have a nice reasonably priced meal in a great setting, the Afterwords Café is the place for you.

Cook’s Corner

Tomato-Goat Cheese Tart Ingredients • • • • • • •

1 Pre-made pie crust 1 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 6 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese 6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled 1 large egg 3 medium, ripe tomatoes, sliced thin

Preparation • • • • •

• • • •

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Unroll pie crust and press into 9 inch tart pan.

Prick bottom of the dough all over with a fork, brush with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes.

In medium bowl, stir together ricotta, goat cheese and egg until combined. (Season with some fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme or oregano, if you like).

Spoon into tart shell and top with tomato slices.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until filling is set.

Remove from oven and let it cool slightly.

Cut tart into slices and serve with a green salad.

This recipe is for a dish commonly served by New Course Catering, which is affiliated with Community Family Life Services Culinary Arts Program. In this program low-income and homeless men and woman are trained in cooking and preparation through classes and work at Third and Eats Restaurant and at the U.S. Tax Court cafeteria.

New Course caters all events from corporate lunches to weddings to 500-person galas. For more info visit www.newcoursecatering.com or call (202) 347-7035.

Get Out of Town On The Cheap Additionally, if you are willing to travel into and out of different airports, you can save even more money. On most travel sites, you can search for fares traveling from Baltimore Washington International (BWI), Washington Dulles International (IAD) and Reagan National Airport (DCA) by using the code for the region: WAS. Don’t forget to look for alternate airports at your destination, too. The difference in fares between flying into Oakland Airport (OAK) as opposed to San Francisco (SFO) can be quite large.

With temperatures soaring, we’re all looking for ways to escape the city. But add up the costs of airfare, hotel rooms and meals away from home, and even a short trip can take a real toll on your finances. Here are some tips that can help you save money on your summer vacation.

Airfare Plan your vacations in advance. While there are some Web sites – like www.hotwire.com and www.priceline.com – that can offer cheap last-minute deals, the selection is small. A better bet is to book your travel at least 21 days prior to your departure, when the lowest airfares are generally available.

Shop around, and be flexible with your itinerary. Many travel Web sites will allow you to search a day before and a day after your original request (some even allow searches within a range of days).

Hotels With the many travel Web sites available, it’s easier than ever to look around for the best deals. Search engines can help you find hotels that fit a wide range of needs, including your budget and proximity to a specific attraction.

If you are traveling over the weekend, try booking a room at a business-oriented hotel. Many of these places will offer special weekend rates, because otherwise their rooms would sit empty.

Car Rentals Shop around for the best deal, but also consider the credit card that you use to pay for your car rental. Many credit card companies offer collision-damage waiver (CDW) insurance standard if you use their card to pay for the entire car rental bill. This can save you from having to purchase additional CDW insurance from the car rental company (and can save you up to $12 a day). Check your credit card’s policy before

you travel (this is also a great tip if your trip requires travel insurance; many credit card companies automatically offer travel insurance if you pay for your trip using their card).

Food n’ Fun Set a budget for what you are willing to spend on extras before you get to your destination, and then stick to it. Decide how many sit-down restaurant meals you can afford versus how many grab-and-go meals. And if you’re staying at a hotel that offers breakfast as part of the room, don’t oversleep and miss out on the savings of getting your first meal of the day free. Set a limit on the travel “mementos” you will pick up. And don’t pay the “tourist mark-up” for anything you can bring with you from home – resorts and hotels at your destination will charge a lot more for that little bottle of sunscreen than your local drugstore does.

Remember Your Membership Finally, make being a member pay. If you are an AARP or AAA member, you can often receive discounts on hotel rooms, car rentals or other travel-related services. When in doubt, ask. One word of caution, though – the reduced member rate isn’t always the best rate you can get. As with all other travel arrangements, shop around to look for the best deal.

-- By Donna Ortega The regular financial column is presented by Capital Area Asset Building Corporation (www.caab.org). Send your questions and suggestions for others topics to saving@caab.org.

LITERATURE

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Marvin Hammerman

bOOK rEVIEW

The Poor Know Best What They Need

A mystery novel in parts BOOK 3, PART 7

By August Mallory

As late evening approaches, the Atlanta sky grows darker by the hour.

Marvin Hammerman and Russell Jamison are in the midst of homeless men and women. A soup truck pulls up alongside an abandoned street known to be a popular area where homeless people are served hot meals.

People line up to be fed. A volunteer jumps out of the truck and greets the crowd.

“Good evening, everyone,” the volunteer says. “Can we have a moment of silence, please? We would like to acknowledge He who has provided this meal for us.”

After the prayer, the large crowd of people is served. While the dinner is in progress, Daniel James Smith and his companion, Jeffrey Handler, a chronic drug user and alcoholic and an ex-felon out on parole after a number of violations, arrive at the soup line. As they are waiting, they remain unaware of Hammerman and Jamison in the line.

Suddenly, somebody recognizes Jeffrey Handler and calls over to him.

“Yo, Handler, what’s up, bro? When did you get out?”

“Hey, what’s up? I got out about a month ago. I want you to meet my man Smitty here.” Handler turns to Daniel James Smith. “Hey, Smitty, this is my man Gutter.”

An introduction is made. Daryl “Gutter” Williams is another ex-felon who has served several years for armed robbery and auto theft. Now homeless, he has no means of an income.

The three men begin to talk, and Hammerman and Jamison listen in on their conversation. From a short distance, Hammerman takes notes on their physical descriptions. All three are black males. All are in their middle- to late-40s and stand anywhere from 5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 9 inches in height. All three men range from 190 to 200 pounds in weight.

As Hammerman gathers notes, suddenly an argument erupts between Daniel Smith and another man. Words are exchanged and fists are flying.

Williams and Handler join Smith in fighting with the man. The single man manages to hold off the three others, but they are growing frustrated and want to put him away for good. Smith pulls out a large knife and stabs the man at least three times.

Hammerman and Jamison rush to the aide of the single man and confront the three assailants, who turn their aggression toward Hammerman and Jamison. Jamison, an ex-military commando highly trained in martial arts, uses kung fu kicks to knock the knife out of Smith’s hand. Williams and Handler attempt to rush Hammerman. Handler swings and misses Hammerman, and Hammerman ducks his punch and comes back with a clothesline hook that sends Handler reeling flat on his back. As Williams attempts to attack Hammerman, Jamison jumps in and lands a side kick to Williams’ midsection, sending Williams crashing into a light post.

The three men get up and take off running. Hammerman and Jamison attend to the injured man. His injuries are serious but luckily not life-threatening. He was stabbed twice in his right leg and once in his left arm. Police and emergency medical units are dispatched to the area.

Hammerman and Jamison perform first aid to the injured man. They get his name and give this information to police as the first patrol unit arrives. The injured man gives police the names of Smith, Handler and Williams, and an officer calls to have an all-points bulletin placed on the three men.

The officer also gets the names of Hammerman and Jamison and discovers that they are working undercover on a case. It occurs to everyone that the three men who are now on the run may be involved in this case that they are already working on. A call to Capt. Chadwell is made, and Chadwell leaves his office and rushes to the scene to meet Jamison and Hammerman.

Coming up next month: Daniel Smith, Jeffrey Handler and Daryl Williams are wanted fugitives. The case gets even more bizarre when new facts are learned about Handler and new evidence is revealed.

13

The White Man’s Burden

By William Easterly (Penguin, 2006)

parents chose school and in return got money.

The result was satisfactory.

The argument has always been that aid directed by professionals was the way to end global poverty, Easterly says, and then adds: “I will tell you up front what you have already guessed: the evidence does not support the legend.”

Thus, with aid directed from above, what were the results?

Easterly asks, “How does what happened with the White Man’s Burden (Rudyard Kipling’s stated obligation of the white man to end the plight of the native) compare to what would have happened without the White Man’s Burden?”

Apparently, there isn’t much difference.

In Africa, Easterly says, aid over the years has been large enough to make a big dent in poverty, with the typical country getting more than 15% of its income from foreign aid. And yet, there was no net growth in income.

He offers statistics showing that aid directed either through national policy or administered by village elders without substantial direction from outside professionals also worked in Asia, especially where there was a free or quasi-free market. South Korea’s government guided its big corporations. China combined state enterprises with free markets. India is a long-time democracy with voters providing feedback on foreign aid successes or failures.

He also writes that aid has to be judged not by how much money is spent, but by results.

To assure that failing schemes dictated from above aren’t continued -- or worse, repeated -nonprofits, business executives and academic groups should monitor aid. Now, only agencies monitor themselves.

“Remember,” Easterly advises, “aid cannot achieve the end of poverty. Only homegrown development based on the dynamism of individuals and firms in free markets can do that. “

Over the years, rich countries have spent trillions of dollars to end global poverty using programs lead by outside “planners” who get little or no input from the needy themselves, and therefore have little to show for it, says William Easterly in his new book, The White Man’s Burden (Penguin 2006).

Easterly, an economics professor at New York University and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), has had on-site experience in many less-developed nations. He would rather dump the orthodox big schemes of major world aid agencies and go straight to the poor.

The benefactors should ask the poor what they need. Then give the aid and ask if it’s working. If it’s not, end it and try another. The results would be astounding, writes Easterly, because he claims most successful solutions are homegrown. The poor know best what they need.

For example, an outside plan that tried to -- Robert Trautman fight malaria by providing insecticidetreated bed nets at $4.00 each ended with meager results. But the results were meager, at best. Similarly, outside-developed Real estate is one of the best investments you can plans to build schools and provide books make, and buying or selling a home should be a fun and often fail to reach the children in need. rewarding experience. I want to provide you with all However, the nonprofit Population the resources you'll need to buy or sell a home at Services International (PSI), a Washingwww.TeamChao.com. ton, D.C. based nonprofit agency, found It is my goal to provide you superior service and excellent a solution with its malaria operations in resources every step of the way, so please contact me Malawi. With initial funding by official with any questions and let me help you when you are aid agencies, PSI worked with Malawi loready to sell your house or buy your next home. cals, who sold the nets for 50 cents, which meant the nets got to those who valued I have been a Washington, DC resident my entire life them. The nurse who distributed them and I am heavily involved in my community. I feel got 9 cents each to keep for herself, so that homelessness is a concern in our community and I want to do my part. I will donate 5% of all of my business nets were always in stock. PSI also sold profits to DC Central Kitchen (www.dccentralkitchen.org). extra nets for $5.00 to richer Malawians and the bed net program, in the end, paid Please contact me for all of your real estate needs: for itself.

Mobile: 202-258-9112 Similarly, outside-developed plans to Office: 202-882-2121 build schools and provide books often failed to reach needy children. But in Bangladesh, the Food and Education program solved its schooling problem by looking past books and buildings, and concentrating on the parents who wanted their children working instead of attending Licensed in Washington, DC & Maryland school. The program leaders told these parents they would get food and money if they kept their children in school. So, the

www.TeamChao.com

Team Chao Real Estate

14 PUZZLES

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Cryptogram

Street Su-Do-Ku

Solve the message below to discover a famous, meaningful quote.

Vendor Leo Gnawa has moved on and will no longer be doing his usual Planetary Puzzler.

So we have decided to just run your run-of-the-mill Su-Do-Ku puzzle. Just fill in the numbers 1 through 9 without repeating a number in any column, row or box.

DRX AZXQFYXLD UXFZ TU ATQXZDV FPTLN Last Month’s Solution

DRX XHCGFDXH GYFOOXO BO DRX STZOD PTZFY HBOXFOX UZTP SRBGR TCZ GBQBYBEFDBTL OCUUXZO

– SBYYBFP JFPXO

Hint: F = U

Last Month’s Solution:

6

5

8

7

1

3

2

9

4

1

9

3

4

2

6

8

5

7

4

2

7

9

8

5

3

1

6

2

6

1

8

4

9

5

7

3

5

8

4

3

7

1

6

2

9

3

7

9

6

5

2

1

4

8

9

1

6

5

3

7

4

8

2

8

3

5

2

9

4

7

6

1

7

4

2

1

6

8

9

3

5

9 2

9 3

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

23

24

21

34

30

35

31

42

44

45

47

58

59

12

27

28

37 40

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Lulls Regions Variety show Den Knit fabric Dine Is Note Shelter to open late 2007 10 Precedes an alias 11 Female (abr.)

12 Food and drug administration (abbr.)

49

60

55 61

50 56 62

63

64

65

66

67

68

51

52

1 Vendor who likes “Chop and Screw” 5 Group 9 Hook 13 Region 14 Uncommon 15 Counterfeited 16 Jacob’s son 17 Detail 18 South American animal 19 Editorialist on heat 21 Off-Broadway award 23 South southeast 24 Vendor with his “own keys” 25 Open up

29 Deli order 30 Electrical current unit 32 Boxer Muhammad 33 Literacy mayoral candidate 36 No Nonsense competitor 37 Big truck 38 Deprive of mother’s milk 39 Mr. Seinfeld 40 Wash. Legal Clinic for Homeless (abbr.)

41 Valentine mo.

42 ______ Street 43 Set again 44 Unidentified flying object

9 1 6 8

head 40 Soaked 42 Fool 43 Sit in a car 46 Pet 48 Tiny island 49 Shade of pink 50 Large wave 51 Jeers 52 Wooden box 54 What Tax Relief bill will increase 56 Low-cal 57 Hand tool 58 Bind 59 Advertisements 61 Order

3 4

3 8

4 3

9

9

3 4 8

7

5

July Answer Key C L E F A L L E P O L L W E A V S O M A H O M E P S I A N D I S O L E I N C I D E N T E C O N J E S B O X E D A W N L O Y A L N O U N S M S U I N G A U N N E E D E D P I E D I C I E R O T C S H A L A N Y H O L L

N E S T E R L I S E D O S P R E Y

M O R A L

C O D I F Y

A L O O F

45 U.S. Department of Agriculture 46 Set of parts 47 Words to a song 49 Middle 50 Tender loving care 53 Alter 55 Artist’s studio 57 Dickens’ “__ of Two Cities” (2 wds.)

60 Connect 62 Thought 63 Provider: ____ Circle 64 Offer 65 Recipe of the month 66 For fear that 67 Paradise 68 Otherwise

T E R R A

MO S S S A L E O T H I E P U M P T A F R A T R U T H O B E Y

Twenty-one youths and young adults will receive cash prizes and special recognition during a special 20th Anniversary display and program at the Washington National Cathedral on October 14, 2006.

There are no religious requirements for participation.

The Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington is searching for artwork and poetry that are unique, original and capture the essence of our mission or the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. We are looking for art and poetry that says even in the most difficult of circumstances, there are people and places of hope.

Categories

Drawing: non-canvas depictions with pencil, graphite, charcoal, ink and crayon depictions.

Painting: depictions in acrylic, oil, watercolor, ink depictions on canvas Sculpture: any three dimensional depiction Media/Digital/ Computer Arts: anything drawn, illustrated, painted, or photographed, that is primarily produced using a computer.

Photography: any untouched photographic image, analog or digital but not combined with any other media.

Mixed Media: any depiction that combines the mediums described above.

Written Word: a written depiction of contest themes in the form of poetry

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

8

2 1

2 7

Attention Artists, Doodlers, Photographers, Poets!

46

54

2 7

5

Homeless Awareness Art and Poetry Contest

43

48 53

11

32

39

41

57

26

36

38

10

22 25

29 33

15 Fire making stones 20 Bored 22 Protruding 26 Dukes 27 Girl in Wonderland 28 Dark’s opposite 29 Founder of Hobo Colleges 30 Vice __ 31 Giant 33 Unpleasant 34 Shallow 35 Small drum 36 Allow to borrow 39 Save Franklin Committee

DOWN

8

3

4

Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. -- Benjamin Franklin

Crossword

1 5

Age Limit: Those from ages 8 to 25 are eligible to submit

artwork

Deadline: 4:00 pm on September 22, 2006.

.

Prizes:

First Place: $500 Cash Prize Second Place: $250 Cash Prize Third Place: $100 Gift Certificate (Three prizes for each category) Winners will be notified by phone on October 2, 2006 For more information about the contest contact Chuck James at 202-722-2280 or visit the guidelines on our website at www.samaritanministry.org.

**Sponsored by The Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington**

FEATURES 15

Street Sense . August/September 2006

This Is A Job

What our REaders are Saying...

By Bobby Buggs

I have just finished reading another wonderful issue of a truly excellent publication.

One of the first articles I read was “Let’s Talk About Homelessness” by Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families, and Elders, Ms. Brenda Donald Walker. I was pleased to hear of the ongoing renovations of the Gales School. However, I was a bit shocked to learn that the Franklin Center is likely to close and that CCNV residents have been forced to move during renovations. The Gales school will be opening in September of 2007. This leaves many individuals out on the street during a year which includes the winter hypothermia season.

I seriously doubt that Ms. Walker is unaware of this. I am troubled by her column which highlights a few positives but doesn’t mention any of these current crises.

My question to Ms. Walker is what are you and your office doing about this? What is the committee you mentioned saying about this important issue?

P.S. I applaud Muriel Dixon in her efforts to register the homeless to vote. I will contribute $1 to Street Sense for each voter she registers.

-- Katie Beck

It looks like I am too late to fill out the Street Sense survey but I wanted you to know that I did buy a paper from Vendor #19 [Muriel Dixon] and she was very nice. I rarely buy Street Sense, maybe once or twice a year, but she seemed sincere.

This is the first time I have visited your web site. O.K., good luck!

W

Yours, Gabrielle

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VEGAN VEGETABLE CURRY

Fresh vegetables with tofu in a rich and spicy curry sauce, served over steamed rice with carrot-daikon slaw

ROPA VIEJA Pulled flank steak with spicy sofrito sauce, served with black beans and Spanish rice

Fresh Start Catering offers professional catering services while employing graduates from DC Central Kitchen’s Culinary Job Training program, further preparing them for employment in the food service industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Fresh Start Catering 425 2nd ST NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 234-0707 | freshstart@dccentralkitchen.org www.dccentralkitchen.org

hether or not they’ve met me before, the first thing that comes to the average person’s mind when I ask if they’re interested in making a contribution to Street Sense is “Get a Job!” (sometimes in a very inappropriate tone).

Now many have mentioned the fact that I look like a pretty good workhorse, yet still there’s a lot about me that they don’t know. I’m mentally challenged with social disadvantages such as anxiety and stress disorders.

I have titanium bone replacements in my right hand, and I was in a car accident that causes me to suffer from a limb strain in the lower back. I’m also awaiting a minor surgery to remove a bullet fragment from a gunshot wound that occurred over 10 years ago.

Now really, what kind of job do you think I should get? Please don’t misunderstand. There are a lot of people who don’t want to work, but can, There are a lot of people that can’t work, but would like to. I am one who would like to work. But the fact still remains, there’s much more to obtaining employment then just getting hired.

One would have to sustain and maintain financial stability in order to manage a livelihood, such as keeping bills paid while keeping a residence up to par by way of an occupation. Yes, I can get an employment opportunity and work with it for as long as the management and other employees can put up with me having such a unique schedule. But I have therapeutic appointments for miscellaneous reasons that cannot be missed and will always be a priority over employment.

I know how negative a lot of this may sound; most call them excuses, especially when working, which is what most would want me to do.

But everyone has a job that comes before any monetary obligations, and we all were hired at birth. No one is perfect and to strive to perfect our approach to our spiritual higher power is to consider getting rid of our monetary obligations.

Still, I learned that giving others all that they want hasn’t always been in my best interest. For instance, peer pressures can lead to misfortunes, and people get used to you doing negative things.

Now let’s look at the brighter side of my future. I am working on a selfemployment option. I am also looking to enroll in the Capital Area Asset Building Corporation, which will help me save for my future. It’s a lot like another program I have been looking into as well called the Ticket to Work Program, for disabled citizens.

When I was growing up, most of the people that acknowledged and inspired me were self-employed. I thought this was always the best option for any and everyone. Being in charge has always offered me the attention I either wanted or needed. Yet, the more I observed someone else’s position in charge, the more I realized that I never really wanted to be in charge of anything, although I felt the obligations coming my way.

This I decided after pondering for years while watching numerous people reach the heights of their inner wishing. And one day mine started blooming. It started out as a dream, a lot like the seed of a thought. I realized then, after reading the entire chapter of Ecclesiastes, that whatever I do, it’s got to be by His grace.

Bobby has been a vendor for Street Sense for two and half years. He hopes to own his clothing business one day. You can contact him at bobbybuggs@ yahoo.com.

16 EDITORIALS

Street Sense . August/September 2006

In OUR OPINION By Jesse Smith On the Road By August Mallory

Changes in Charm City

W

hen I first started writing about Baltimore many months back, I focused on a lot of the services for the homeless, and as I interviewed many of the homeless in Baltimore I found that many were very unhappy with a lot of the service providers and their strict and, as they say, unfair rules to play by.

I am back in Baltimore, and this time I want to give a new perspective on what I have seen since I last did an interview with Baltimore’s homeless.

As I made my way around Baltimore today, I made my way to Manna House, a soup kitchen that serves breakfast to the poor and homeless. They now have a drop-in center where a person can come in out of the elements for a few hours a day. That is great, and I think it’s also a very good thing to offer as many services as possible.

The North Baltimore Center is another good facility that offers a wide range of services to the poor and homeless, from mental health services to elderly services. Services for the homeless in Baltimore are starting to look up. But I am sorry to say that the Oasis Station, a 24-hour drop-in center, has closed its doors.

I don’t know if it’s permanent or temporary, but the center is closed.

I talked with Calvin, a homeless man whom I run into quite often on the streets in Baltimore. He told me that many times when a center closes, it’s because something dishonest is going on. Maybe this is true and maybe this is not true.

I sat down and had a nice friendly chat with Calvin. He was very frank about the many things that went on at Oasis and many other places. So I decided to take him to Wendy’s for a bite to eat. Calvin sleeps out on the street because he doesn’t like the shelters. He thinks there is too much confusion and hostility in shelters, and he is right, I have to admit. Even in Washington, D.C., there’s a lot of guys who go at each other’s throats over the most stupid things around. Grown men acting like a bunch of overgrown babies.

As my day with Calvin ended I took a ride over to Dundalk and strolled through the park and had a seat on one of the benches to relax a bit. I began to meditate on the many stories that I did on the city of Baltimore and how many times I wrote Mayor Martin O’Malley’s office, barking at him about trying to make improvements for the homeless and about pumping some money into the city’s budget to get things rolling along. Well, some of my barking has paid off. But I will still have to keep on City Hall to make more improvements for the homeless.

Many city council members across the country complain about the homeless being served dinner in parks and street corners, saying they want it stopped. OK! City council members, you want this to stop? Then get off your behinds and work out solutions to place people inside of a building where they can eat with some dignity instead of like a bunch of animals.

A lot of you politicians are doing what singer James Brown used to say—you’re talking loud and saying nothing. So do me a favor. Start taking action and doing something. The homeless have had enough of lip service. I can tell you for a fact that I am most definitely tired of lip service, and as the saying goes, put up or shut up.

And one more thing. Why is it that when politicians say they will do this and that for you, just as soon as they take public office every agenda changes? Tell me why that is.

Next month, look for my story from Jackson, Mississippi. Why is the Mississippi Delta so poor? We’re going to find out.

August Mallory has been selling Street Sense since it first appeared in November 2003. He’s from Indiana but calls Baltimore home. Please e-mail August Mallory comments at carriergroup2009@yahho.com, and please tune into the More Betterman Show on WOL-AM 1450.

Also, if anyone cares to donate to August’s travel fund, please send your contribution to Street Sense and note that it is for “On The Road.”

The Dream is to End World Poverty - Starting At Home

W

e Franklin Shelter residents and supporters have been attending many forums in the last month and gathering support in the process.

On July 11 we rallied again at the Wilson Building, to remind the City Council that opposition to closing the Franklin Shelter at 13th and K, NW, is alive and well and gaining momentum. We gained verbal support from Council members Kwame Brown and Marion Barry. Barry took the megaphone and urged us to continue the fight. “Keep Franklin Open!” was the chant.

I ran into D.C. Council Chair candidate Kathy Patterson and her campaign manager Eric Marshall at the Washington D.C. Economic Partnership office.

They took time to discuss housing, poverty, and the homelessness crisis. Patterson sent us a report on her record on these issues, and I was impressed. I know we can count on her support in these areas.

The Committee to Save Franklin Shelter attended a July meeting of the U.S. Social Forum Organizing Committee of Washington, D.C., with by the Community Coalition for Justice and Peace. It was truly enlightening to be invited there. We saw that the goals of many D.C.-based groups are in concert with our own, and are advocating with a common agenda, both locally and internationally – addressing human rights, poverty, homelessness, racism, and related issues.

The most defining moment for me came when a young lady, a World Bank intern, pointed out to me that as you enter its massive marble foyer you see the words “The Dream is to End World Poverty.” And yet, she said, in a small park across the street, there are men and women lying on benches wrapped in blankets, hungry and destitute. This is hypocrisy at its highest levels.

That brings me to another meeting, held in Judiciary Square. Several of us from the Committee to Save Franklin Shelter attended this meeting of the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, chaired by City Administrator Robert Bobb. There were 23 organizations present, all with the power to change plans into action—with the lone exception of the three members representing the poor and homeless

population.

The meeting focused on Mayor Williams’ 10-year plan to end homelessness. According to a July 2004 article in Street Sense, the plan recommends “substantial, immediate investments to improve the existing continuum of care for homeless people while launching longterm strategies designed to end homelessness in a decade.” But all I heard was a series of proposals, no action items. At one point Bobb exclaimed, “Where are the results?”

In my opinion, the panel is ineffective. And with a new mayor soon taking office, any plan adopted now will assume a lame-duck status.

When Franklin was mentioned, Bobb said “I will be frank with you, the Franklin Shelter will be closed after March 2007.” Mr. Bobb obviously lacks sensitivity and discounts reports condoned by the mayor’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force. A publication titled “Homes for an Inclusive City” was distributed to us at the meeting. It reports that the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments found that on a given day in January of 2005, there were 8,977 people homeless in Washington D.C. That number has risen steadily since 2002. The Council of Governments concluded that more have become “literally” homeless, meaning they have no, or only temporary, shelter, within the Washington area. Further, more than half the region’s homeless, and two-thirds of those who are chronically homeless, stay in the District.

The homeless population has increased yet again since that report was issued. Yet, Bobb’s response to the report is to close yet another shelter. Perhaps he assumed that we couldn’t or wouldn’t read this report. Again, as with the World Bank statement, hypocrisy is blatant.

Since the IACH is good at making proposals, why not consider this one: instead of converting Franklin into a “hip hotel,” how about upgrading it to a model shelter, complete with centralized social services? Just imagine a state-of-the-art facility with personnel on site at least three days a week, including: mental health professionals; doctors and nurses; staff from the Legal Clinic; staff from Employment Services and the Housing Authority.

Just think, all of these services in one place.

This would undoubtedly reduce the stay of the clients and give them many of the tools they need to again become valuable and productive members of society. And most of all, they would have a renewed sense of pride and dignity.

Mayor Williams, you encourage investment through businesses. Why not invest in something else for D.C. that not only its residents, but the country, can be proud of? A model shelter in the nation’s capital!

“Instead of converting Franklin into a hip hotel, how about upgrading it to a model shelter?”

Jesse Smith is a resident of the Franklin Shelter. His favorite author is Agatha Christie. You can contact him at jsmithjr2267@yahoo.com.

EDITORIALS 17

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Shelter Alienation and Fear

M

By Patricia Mottley

ost homeless people are mature, decent, lawabiding citizens who have worked and taken care of a family and a home. They become economically displaced through loss of income, illness or divorce. Some are born-again Christians who experience verbal abuse and threats daily because of their Christian lifestyles.

It’s time people become aware of life in these shelters.

Lives are ruined as a result of abuse, intimidation, victimization and sexual harassment. Once you enter a shelter, you have no privacy. Staff members and residents ignore the government’s privacy act. Theft and breach of privacy go unchecked. Withholding of mail is common.

When people complain, they are victimized and called a liar and accused of having mental problems. This is what men and women in their senior years have to go through in shelters. Most do not speak about it.

Shelters are controlled by those residents who boast about their prison background and mental state. Daily threats, outbursts of temper and extreme aggression go on even at bedtime.

Shelters are scary places. You sleep knowing there are violent and mentally ill people all around you. I’ve been told to get out, and that if I don’t, they’ll know how to make it happen.

Since complaining, I’m told each morning to get out. “Miss Nobody has to go,” they say.

I’m not interested in government aid. I want my life back. I want to be a working and productive member of society. I’m ready and willing to work right now.

Shelters do not have a way to assist homeless persons who, due to financial difficulties, became homeless. There is no system for people who want to transition out of homelessness and get a job, a place to live and go on with their lives.

I would like to lead a non-governmental organization that advocates for and assists homeless persons to transition out of homelessness into productive and meaningful lives.

I need the resources to establish a transitional housing facility and an office to provide job training and placement.

Patricia was a vendor for Street Sense for a month. She is new to D.C. and from New York.

HEAT, from p.1 require temperature control. Those persons who are not fortunate enough to be in a shelter must suffer the terror of the elements, whatever they may be, with the mosquitoes and all else that goes with it.

Those persons remain at high risk for heatrelated health conditions and diseases.

There is only one real solution to this heat problem, as well as many other problems that men and women on the street face: very affordable, long-term housing provided,to homeless people.

That solution remains the answer, despite any argument to the contrary.

How to provide affordable housing to low-income persons continues to be a major problem in most urban areas. And in the D.C. area, as long as affordable housing remains unavailable, homelessness will continue to exist and with it, all the problems that accompany it.

The solution is not new. It has been discussed many times before. The problem is in its implementation. Voucher programs have been one suggested solution, but then arises the problem of finding property owners who are willing to accept

vouchers as a means of payment. As I have often seen myself, rental subsidies that are awarded are good only for properties in neighborhoods with a high crime rate. Such subsidies are not real solutions at all; they may give the appearance of getting homeless persons off the streets, but they only create more problems in the end when those persons almost inevitably become crime victims in their transplanted surroundings.

As I have said, there is nothing new in anything that I am saying. The problem is old, and the solution is as well. The question is why does the problem continue to exist with nothing getting done. The problem is not going away on its own.

Just as I am tired of the oppressive heat, I am also tired of the way that the homeless problem is not being addressed and not being resolved successfully by the government. It will take intervention from the government to solve the problem; that much remains clear.

How long will it take until something finally gets done?

“I am also tired of the way that the homeless problem is not being addressed and not being resolved.”

Maurice King has been writing for Street Sense since January 2004 and is also in the process of publishing abook. E-mail him at benadam@cyberdude.com.

WWW.PHILIPSTEAD.COM

We Have Been Heard

By Eric Sheptock

I

attended the town hall meeting with mayoral candidates at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on July 26. The forum focused on mental health care for people who may not get the help they need.

How did it go? That really depends on what the candidates do with the information they received and the concerns that were voiced to them. However, many of us who are homeless and mentally ill were heard, and that’s good enough for now.

I personally asked what would be done to help the mentally ill people who live on the street, since they are too far gone to know that they need help and to ask for it. I don’t think the candidates understood the question. I was told by Michael Brown that “more” would be done to help the mentally ill, which, by the way, is what the forum was focused on.

Since we were allowed to ask only one question, I put that one on an index card, along with this second question: If you correlate drug use with mental illness (a point made by a psychiatrist who was participating in the forum, and by Marie Johns) why would you give a check directly to a mentally ill person? Why not put them a group home?

Johns seemed like the candidate who would be most helpful to the mentally ill (although I don’t know her stance on other issues). She struck me as a realist when she acknowledged that no candidate will tell you flatly that they refuse to help with any problem. She also was the only candidate who I had an opportunity to speak to after the forum. I repeated my questions. When I asked her why one would give a check to a mentally ill drug user, she said, “That doesn’t make any sense, does it?” She shook my hand and said

“good questions.” She did seem genuine.

Linda Cropp was a different story. She got there the latest of them all (all were late) and left the earliest, due to “a scheduling conflict and a previous engagement.” During her brief stay, Cropp mentioned the idea of sensitivity training for the police. This was in response to someone saying they felt the police tend to harass the mentally ill. Well I’m sure that’s a fine idea, but it doesn’t go far enough. In effect, mentally ill people might still go to jail -- they would just be spoken to more sensitively in the process.

Brown did his best to explain the financial hurdles to a room full of financial laypersons.

He blamed the insufficient budget on Congress. He also said that mental illness should not be treated like a crime. His most outstanding point was probably the one on how he would eradicate “selective enforcement” – where the police arrest some, but not all, of those whom they observe committing the same crime. This pertains to the mentally ill to a degree, but I think he was squeezing in a somewhat irrelevant point. He probably feels that the mental illness problem is not what is going to get him in the mayor’s seat.

He showed an understanding of the system but not of mental illness.

Adrian Fenty didn’t say much. He didn’t seem too enthusiastic about this topic.

However, he did more than Vincent Orange, who did not even show up.

It’s only fair to say that one might not want to choose a mayor based on this topic – mental illness – alone. It’s pretty much a backburner issue. Nonetheless, we’ve been heard.

And if the collective voices of all who spoke weren’t enough to show that mental illness matters, then the suffering of those Washingtonians who have mental illness, but can’t get the help they need, should be enough to make us aware of how important this is.

Eric Sheptock is a resident of the Franklin School Shelter. For comments, e-mail him at savefranklinshelter@yahoo.com.

Street Sense . August/September 2006

18 COMMUNITY PAGE

UPCOMING EVENTS Street Sense Rocks Second Annual Street Sense Benefit Concert When: Saturday, Aug. 19, 9:30 p.m, 9 p.m. open door.

Where: Black Cat, 1811 14th St., NW Who: Street Sense, Joe Lally (formerly of Fugazi), Hard Tomorrows, Jinx at Twelve. Sponsored by Keller Williams What: Listen to some great music and support D.C. homeless residents all at the same time. All the door money goes back to Street Sense, so spread the word.

How Much: $10. For tickets, please go to www.blackcatdc.com. You also can buy them at the Black Cat in advance or the night of the show.

Council Candidates and Homelessness DC Council Ward 3 Candidate Forum When: Tuesday, Aug. 29, 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church, Nebraska and New Mexico avenues, NW Who: Sponsored by Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place and Friendship Place Partners.

With a panel to include Street Sense’s David Hammond.

What: Learn the candidates’ views on the issues affecting our homeless neighbors, including health care, mental health care, housing, shelter reform and criminal justice.

For more information, e-mail events@cchfp.org or call 202-364-1419.

More About the Homeless Services Reform Act Homeless Empowerment Project Series When: Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1 to 3 p.m.

Where: Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St., NW Who: Presenters include Scott McNeilly, staff attorney, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and Cheryl Barnes, National Coalition for the Homeless board member and Interagency Council on Homelessness member.

What: This session aims to educate currently and formerly homeless individuals about the Homeless Services Reform Act. Have you heard about or seen this act? Do you know about the Interagency Council on Homelessness?

Free food and soda will be provided.

For more info, contact Michael O’Neill at 202-462-4822, ext. 20 or via e-mail at moneill@nationalhomeless.org.

Mayoral Candidates Debate Social Issues A Last Chance to Ask Questions to the Candidates When: Thursday, Aug. 24, 2006, 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Busboys & Poets, 2021 14th St., NW, 20009 Who: Fair Budget Coalition and dozens of service providers and advocacy groups that work with homeless and low-income residents.

What: Come hear what the five democratic mayoral candidates have to say about issues affecting every resident from affordable housing to economic development.

Audience members will be given time to ask questions.

For more info contact martina@legalclinic.org or 202328-5513.

Bridge the Economic Gap Day A National Demonstration for a Universal Living Wage When: Tuesday, Sept. 5, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Where: Kutz Bridge, Independence Avenue and 17th Street, NW, at the Tidal Basin. (Meet at the Washington Monument at 4:15 p.m.)

Who: Sponsored by Universal Living Wage Campaign What: Join us on our nation’s bridges when we call for economic justice with a Universal Living Wage.

Vendor Notes Street Sense is happy to report an abundance of new homes for our vendors this month. Several vendors have recently been scouring Craig’s List and The Washington Post also looking for places of their own.

If you happen to have a room or apartment to rent for a reasonable price, please contact Laura Thompson Osuri at laura@streetsense.org.

Vendor and dedicated office volunteer Francine Triplett was the first to move at the beginning of August into a basement apartment of her own near Silver Spring. This move comes after many years of living with friends. She is excited to have her own space and loves the new location, especially because her front porch is great for people-watching.

For more information, visit www.universallivingwage. org or call Mike O’Neill at 202-462-4822, ext. 20.

Raising Dollars and Sense A Silent Auction and Reception to Support Street Sense When: Thursday, Sept. 28, 7 to 10 p.m.

Where: Josephine Butler Pavilion, 2437 15th St., NW Who: Street Sense and its many volunteers, vendors .

What: Support Street Sense simply by munching on some delicious appetizers, sipping some tasty wine and bidding on some great silent auction items. This list already includes a weekend on the Eastern Shore, a handyman for a day, and several gift certificates to local restaurants. You also will get a chance to listen to vendors give poetry readings and view the new vendor training video.

How Much: $20 minimum. Purchase tickets at www. streetsense.org. (Click on the “Raising Dollars and Sense” link on the main page.)

For more info e-mail info@streetsense.org.

Subscribe to Street Sense!

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Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20005. Thanks for your support!

Don got a place, just in time for his birthday.

That same weekend, vendor Don Gardner moved into a shared house in the Petworth area after staying at the Central Union Mission for several months. He is thrilled to be out of the shelter and came into the Street Sense office exclaiming, “Look, I got my own keys. My OWN keys!” This move comes just in time for Don’s birthday on Aug. 31.

Longtime vendor John Harrison will soon be moving into his own apartment in suburban Virginia, which is conveniently located near Bob’s Big Boy, where he works as a waiter. John, who for the last several months has been sleeping on the streets of Washington, while anxious seems to be containing his joy until he officially moves in.

On the employment front, vendor and resident photographer Cliff Carle has gotten a job stocking shelves at Wal-Mart in Alexandria. While the work is tiring, he said it is worth it because with his new income and his Street Sense earnings, he can buy more equipment to really get his photography business going.

In other news, after more than six years of only talking over the phone, veteran vendor Jake Ashford finally is spending quality time with his 16-year-old son, Tyrone. Tyrone flew in for a month from his home in Germany at the end of July, and Jake said he couldn’t stop crying when he finally saw him. “This is a dream come true,” he said.

And, lastly, all of the vendors and staff would like to thank Meredith Mishkin, the Street Sense intern for the summer. Her last day was Aug. 3, and in the brief time she was with us, she wrote some great stories, made the vendor training video and helped with various projects. Good luck in college, Meredith!

Street Sense . August/September 2006

Community Service Index SHELTERS

SOUP KITCHENS

Calvary Women’s Services 928 5th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 783-6651

10th Street Baptist Church 1000 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 232-1685

Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 745-7118

Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-3066

CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 393-1909

Church of the Pilgrims 2201 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 (202) 387-6612

Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-7356

Dinner Program for Homeless Women 945 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 737-9311

Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (Family) 503 Rock Creek Church Road, NW Washington, DC 20010 (202) 882-9649

Eofula-Spanish Senior Center 1842 Calvert Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 483-5800

Franklin School (Men) 13th and K streets, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 638-7424

McKenna’s Wagon 2114 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-6608

Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 842-1731

Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Ave, NW Washington, DC 20037 (202) 452-8926

House of Imagene Shelters 214 P Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 518-8488

So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 797-8806

House of Ruth: Madison Emergency Shelter (Women) 651 10th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 547-2600

Washington City Church of the Brethren 337 North Carolina Ave, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 547-5924

SERVICE PROVIDERS & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 19

Shelter Hotline for Cooling Centers: 1-800-535-7252 Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE Washington, DC 20011 (202) 269-2277 The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347-2635

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Byte Back (computer training) 815 Monroe Street, NE Washington, DC 20017 (202) 529-3395 Capital Area Food Bank 645 Taylor Street, NE Washington, DC 20017 (202) 526-5344 x223

MEDICAL RESOURCES

John Young Center (Women) 117 D Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 639-8469 La Casa Bilingual Shelter (Men) 1436 Irving Street, NW Washington, DC 20010 (202) 673-3592 N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 939-2060

The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347-2635 Zacchaeus Community Kitchen (“9:30 Club”) 10th and G Streets, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 393-9144

Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-1100

Catholic Community Services Homeless Services of Washington, DC 924 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 772-4300

Community of Hope 2250 Champlain Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 232-9022

Catholic Comm. Services Emergency Center 1438 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20018 (202) 526-4100

Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW

Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347-8870

Washington, DC 20009 (202) 745-4300 Whitman-Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 797-3500 OUTREACH CENTERS Downtown Services Center 945 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 737-9311 Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 939-2060 Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20007 (202) 338-8301 Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-6608 Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 682-1005

EMERGENCY FOOD

801-East on the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital campus 2700 MLK Ave., SE Washington, DC (202) 561-4014

Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 265-2400AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE Washington, DC 20020 (202) 561-8587

New York Ave Shelter (Men) 1355-57 New York Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 832-2359

Covenant House of Washington 2001Mississippi Ave, SE Washington, DC 20020 (202) 610-9630

Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 639-8093

Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 842-1112

Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 543-5298

Sasha Bruce Youth Work 741 8th Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 675-9340 Friendship House 619 D Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 675-9050 Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Ave. NW Washington, DC 20016 (202) 364-1419

Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 347-0511 Hermano Pedro DC Center 1501 Park Road, NW Washington, DC 20010 (202) 332-2874 JHP, Inc. (Jobs and Housing) 1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 (202) 544-5300 Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 667-8970 Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE Washington, DC 20020 AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 202-889-7702 Travelers Aid, Union Station (train level) 50 Mass. Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 371-1937 Virginia Williams Family Resource Center 25 M Street, SW Washington, DC 20024 (202) 724-3932 Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 (202) 328-5500

pHOTO FINISH

The Little Engine That Could

By Cliff Carle

Vendor Photographer

Carl Morris

VENDOR pROFILE Carl was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up all along the east coast, as far down as Miami, Fla. Carl says he had to realize that, “I’m my greatest enemy” and that 99% of his problems were the results of something he did or did not do. Carl has worked in the automotive business, construction, public relations, and retail, and said he will do whatever he can to provide for his children.

Carl loves writing and performing poetry and working on the same plan every day to try and make the world a better place.

You can find Carl selling Street Sense at various locations including in Temple Hills (by the 7-11), in Silver Spring, Martin Luther King Avenue in southeast D.C., Foggy Bottom and Metro Center.

How did you become homeless?

I became homeless because I lost my focus and my last roommate tried to stab me. I have been staying at St. Elizabeth’s, but will only be there until the end of August.

Why do you work at Street Sense?

I work at Street Sense because it’s a good way to give back to and inform the community. I also like meeting so many different people and respecting their views as they respect mine.

What advice would you give to someone is homeless?

I would tell someone to not give up, not to blame others and to deal with themselves and what has allowed them to become homeless. I would tell someone that they can make it out just like others have made it out.

Amongst all the trash in the back parking lot at the CCNV shelter, a yellow toy truck appears to be struggling to escape the mess. (“Much I like I am,” Cliff added.)

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I see myself as a CEO and founder of a very successful nonprofit foundation.

Favorite kinds of music?

Jazz, R&B, oldies but goodies, and “Chop and Screw,” [A style of music that takes existing tracks, slows them down, and applies various D.J. techniques like stop-time, record scratching, and skipping beats to create a “chopped up” rendition of the original.]

StreetFact In the Washington region, 10.3% of individuals that are homeless are also physicially disabled.

Favorite movie?

I have three favorite movies - “Coming to America,” starring Eddie Murphy, “The Last Dragon,” which is a Bruce Lee film, and “Labyrinth,” which is a Jim Henson film.

Favorite food?

Fettuccine Alfredo Favorite book?

“Manifesting Your Destiny” by Hill Harper

Carl reminds customers to only buy from badged vendors and not to give to those panhandling with one paper.

SOURE: METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

AUGUST/SEpTEMbER 200 • Volume • Issue 10

Raising Dollars and Sense A Benefit Reception to Support Street Sense

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 Mail To:

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006 - 7pm to 10pm Josephine Butler Park Center 2437 15th St, NW $20 minimum Silent Auction, Food, Drink, Entertainment and Much, Much More!

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 1 for more information.

To purchase ticket and be added to the guest list, visit www.streetsense.org or send a check by mail.