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AIDS in the city: A local organization strives to eliminate stigma, page 3

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Where the Washington area's poor and homeless earn and give their two cents Sept. 3 – Sept. 17, 2008 • Volume 5, Issue 22

www.streetsense.org

Wells May Be Last Hope for Franklin

By Mary Otto

T

Mayor Adrian Fenty talks with men from Franklin School Shelter outside his home. The men were protesting the planned closing of the shelter.

housing men downtown.”

Fenty has declined to discuss the matter with Street Sense.

Meanwhile, activists who find their night’s rest in the long rows

of bunks in the historic yet threadbare brownstone school building at 13th and K streets NW have been resorting to marches and demonstrations to make their point.

They say they want to keep the shelter open and add services to help residents stay sober and learn

See

Franklin, page 4

FEMA Protesters Highlight Federal Failures

By Robert Blair As officials in New Orleans began evacuation planning on Friday, Aug. 29, in preparation for the predicted arrival of Hurricane Gustav, several dozen local activists gathered outside the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to commemorate the third anni-

Inside This Issue POLITICS

Family Farm Economics Everybody had something to do on the family farm, page 6

‘Being Homeless is Worse Than Having AIDS’

By Eugene Versluysen

Photo by Luke of DC IndyMedia

As fall weather approaches, the hopes of a band of homeless men have turned to the City Council, where only a last-minute measure can postpone the Oct. 1 closing of the Franklin School Shelter.

They have a potential ally in City Councilmember Tommy Wells, who said he is considering taking action to save the shelter.

“We are about to go into the hypothermia season,” said Wells. “The council may step in with legislation to extend the use of Franklin shelter on an emergency basis.”

Mayor Adrian Fenty has said the closure of Franklin School Shelter fits into a larger, long-term effort to replace such temporary emergency facilities with permanent housing for the chronically homeless.

At a Sept. 19 meeting, the City Council’s Committee on Human Services is expected to discuss the shelter closure and a plan from Fenty concerning alternatives to keeping Franklin open.

“I am willing to look at the mayor’s alternative plan,” said Wells.

But he added, “The plan will have to make sense to the advocates … as well as to the providers of services. … Franklin has a mission for

Editorial

versary of Hurricane Katrina.

The site was chosen to highlight the failure of the federal response in 2005, and to call attention to what participants condemned as a continuing failure to adequately rebuild the Gulf Coast and assist the return of Katrina evacuees.

Crowded together on the sidewalk between FEMA’s courtyard entrance and a pair of mammoth

COLUMN

Saving for Change An ethical financial planner helps put your goals within reach, page 10

Fox News satellite trucks parked out front, the participants listened to speeches on topics ranging from urban gentrification, homelessness, and labor and immigrant rights to education policy, prison reform and environmental justice.

Musical interludes were also provided, including a sax and trumpet rendition of “Down by the Riverside” and “When the Saints go

EDITORIAL

Further Thoughts on Poverty and Race August Mallory finds some Census Bureau data to back up last week’s column, page 13

Marching In,” and a rap song about the plight of immigrants.

The rally was opened by the Rev. William J. Johnson, a minister and organizer for Tenants and Workers United, one of the groups that helped organize the D.C. event.

“Today we’ve gathered in memory of those whose lives have been

See

Policy, page 5

hus spoke a Jesuit priest I met in Santiago some years ago.

General Pinochet’s reign of terror had finally come to an end and Chile was once again a democracy, albeit still a frail one.

The economy was prospering thanks to a boom in exports: salmon fisheries that delivered their catch overnight in New York; grapes, strawberries and flowers that were shipped to the U.S. and Canada; and a thriving mining sector — Chile has some of the largest copper deposits in the world.

Santiago, once a sleepy town, was also flourishing with modern supermarkets, shopping malls and boutiques for the rich and the emerging middle class. But income disparities were greater than ever and a large part of the population was living in poverty, including even the workers in export industries.

That was the shameful legacy of Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship and his ruthless adoption of free-market economic policies that favored the rich and powerful, and American multinationals.

Sound familiar? Sure. In one way or another, growing income disparities became hallmarks of freemarket policies that were common currency in much of the world, especially in developing countries, during the 1980s and 1990s, and continue even today in the U.S.

See

Homeless, page 12

POETRY

PHOTOGRAPHY

A new poem from Dennis Atwater, who is heading off to new horizons, page 7

Street Sense’s own Cliff Carle will be featured in an upcoming Georgetown exhibit, page 8

My Story of God’s Gift

Cliff’s Clicks

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

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 Brad Scriber John Snellgrove Michael Stoops Francine Triplett David Walker Kathy Whelpley Sommer Mathis Mary Lynn Jones Kristal DeKleer EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Laura Thompson Osuri EDITOR IN CHIEF Mary Otto ASSOCIATE EDITOR David S. Hammond (volunteer) VOLUNTEERS Matt Allee, Robert Basler, Robert Blair, Cliff Carle, Jane Cave, Jason Corum, Rebecca Curry, Rick Dahnke, Ben Edwards, Joshua Gardner, Genevieve Gill, Cassandra Good, Joanne Goodwin, Roberta Haber, Carol Hannaford, Justin Herman, Annie Hill, Dan Horner, Phillip Hoying, Aimee Hyzy, Alicia Jones, Mary Lynn Jones, Maurice King, Geof Koss, Jessica LaGarde, Jeff Lambert, Karin Lee, Matthew S. Lee, Brenda K. Lee-Wilson, Claire Markgraf, Sam McCormally, Kent Mitchell, Kim O’Connor, Gabriel Okolski, Robert Orifici, Swinitha Osuri, Katherine Otto, Jon Pattee, Brittany Pope, Derek Schlickeisen, Cara Schmidt, Jamie Schuman, Dan Seligson, Kathryn Taylor, Matthew Taylor, Robert Trautman, Francine Triplett, Eugene Versluysen, Jerry W., Linda Wang, Denise Wilkins, Marian Wiseman, Corrine Yu VENDORS Willie Alexander, Michael Anderson, Orin Andrus, Katrina Angie, Jake Ashford, Lawrence Autry, Tommy Bennett, Reginald Black, Corey Bridges, Bobby Buggs, Cliff Carle, Conrad Cheek Jr., Walter Crawley, Louise Davenport, James Davis, Bernard Dean, Muriel Dixon, Alvin Dixon El, Randy Evans, Tanya Franklin, Barron Hall, David Harris, John Harrison, Patricia Henry, Phillip Howard, Jo Ann Jackson, Michael Jefferson, Patricia Jefferson, Carlton Johnson, Jewell Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Brenda Karyl Lee-Wilson, Robert McCray, August Mallory, Charles Mayfield, Lee Mayse, Jennifer Mclaughlin, Jeffery McNeil, L. Morrow, Charles Nelson, Sammy Ngatiri, Moyo Onibuje, Therese Onyemenon, Thomas Queen, Kevin Robinson, Tyrone Rogers, Ed Ross, Gregory Rich, Dennis Rutledge, Gerald Smith, Patty Smith, Franklin Sterling, James Stewart, Gary Stoddard, Leroy Studevant, Archie Thomas, Ingrid Thomas, Eric Thompson, Francine Triplett, Carl Turner, Jerry W., Martin Walker, Mary Wanyama, Lawless Watson, Wendell Williams, Inell Wilson, Ivory Wilson, Tina Wright

We are proud members of:

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 news, opinion, fiction and poetry, hoping to create a means in which a multitude of perspectives on poverty and homelessness can find expression. Street Sense reserves the right to edit any material.

North American Street Newspaper Association

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 individuals who sell it. About 25 street papers operate in the United States and Canada in places like Seattle, Chicago, Montreal and Boston, and dozens more exist 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. For the next three years the paper published consistently on a monthly basis and 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 board of directors, and in November, the organization hired its first employee, a full-time executive director.

A year later, in November 2006, the organization hired its first vendor coordinator.

In February 2007, the paper started publishing twice a month as the network of vendors expanded to more than 50 homeless men and women.

To support the increased production, Street Sense brought on its first fulltime editor in chief in April 2007.

Thank You to our donors!

Fahah Ashraf Mark Brooks Mary T. Donovan Lisette Fee Hellen Gelband Robin Goracke Lara Thornely Hall Julia Hedlund J. Johnson Bob Jones

Jarroda Kelsaw Caroline Klam Patric Martin Michael Mavretic Melani McAlister Jacqueline McWain Celeste Monforton Sharon Orndorff Rajeev Purohit

And a very special thanks to:

Brittany May Jeffery J. and Mary E. Burdge Charitable Trust Sanders-McClure Family Fund

International Network of Street Papers

Street Sense Vendor Code of Conduct 1.

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.

2.

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

3.

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

4.

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

5.

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

6.

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

7.

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

8.

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.

9.

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.

10. 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.

WANNA HELP? If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or have a great article or feature idea, please contact us at 202-347-2006 or e-mail editor@streetsense.org If you are interested in becoming a vendor, contact Laura at the same number or come to a vendor training session on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. at our office (1317 G Street, NW - near Metro Center).

Street Sense . Sept. 3 – Sept. 16, 2008

PROFILE 3

Service profile

AIDS

in the City

A local organization drives to change stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS

By Katherine Otto

Courtesy of Father McKenna Center

HIV continues to ravage the District. Last year, the city reported the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the nation – 128.4 cases per 100,000 city residents, compared to the national rate of 14 per 100,000.

The District AIDS mortality rate also ranks highest, at 44.9 deaths per 100,000 people, nearly 10 times the national mortality rate, according to the D.C. Department of Health’s 2007 HIV/AIDS Epidemiological Annual Report.

Although public health services, like free antiretroviral medication, are available in the District, the stigma surronding HIV means that making resources available may not be enough to alter these statistics.

“My family treated me like I had leprosy,” recounted one homeless HIV-positive man. “I was alone.”

A new faith-based HIV/AIDS initiative called “Answering the Call” is using everything from community outreach to drama therapy to break through the isolation that often haunts homeless HIV/AIDS patients to enable them to get the care they need.

Howard University’s Center for Urban Progress (CUP) received a grant from the D.C. Department of Health HIV/AIDS Administration last year to create three HIV/AIDS drop-in centers at local faith-based organizations.

At the Father McKenna Center, drop-in guests receive resources from meals to referrals to detox and other health programs.

After HIV/AIDS has been diagnosed, patients are referred as needed to doctors and counselors, most of whom are at Whitman Walker.

Howard University’s CUP determined the target population in response to overwhelming statistical proof that AIDS has hit the black community hardest. At the McKenna Center, 98% of the guests, from a core population of about 100 homeless men, are black.

The national data shows that blacks make up 13% of the population as a whole but nearly 50% of the HIV-positive population. In the District blacks make up 57% of the population but 81% of new reports of HIV cases. Black women, 58% of the District’s female population, account for 90% of all new female HIV cases.

Oscar Ellebre, Joseph Kelliebrew and Countess Clarke from Positive Image Performance Project perform at the Father McKenna Center.

Social support groups are the number-one reason that guests come to receive the other services at the McKenna Center, according to Gary Smith, a formerly homeless man who is now McKenna’s drop-in coordinator and who administered the survey.

Guests “need people just like them and need to feel comfortable and feel able to help each other,” he said.

He described most guests as wanting to work their way out of their situations, but said, “These guys are not used to living life on life’s terms. After receiving treatment there is a transition to independent living, and people need group support.”

The drop-in program includes an HIV/AIDS outreach component with support counseling, twice weekly on-site rapid testing, and weekly education programs.

“We already have an automatic audience every day ready to hear our positive, educational prevention messages,” said Ada Babino, program coordinator of the CUP initiative.

My Information Name:_______________________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip:_______________________________________________ Phone:_______________________E-mail:_________________________ Please make checks payable to Street Sense Street Sense is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

Mail to: Street Sense, 1317 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20005.

You can also donate online at www.streetsense.org

“We’re letting folks know that HIV doesn’t discriminate, and that everybody’s at risk, but if you put yourself at risk – using dirty needles or having unprotected sex – that increases your risk.”

Smith agreed that clients must “get over the concept that HIV only affects one class of people and deal with the whole stigma issue.”

CUP’s Thursday programs reach to the heart of the stigma issue by bringing innovative and creative opportunities to McKenna Center guests.

For example, “Positive Playback” is a drama therapy theater session in which actors take guests’ stories and “play them back.”

“Certain concerns or issues the guests have can’t be addressed in a speaking way,” Babino said, “You can infuse art and culture, and that helps people think another way.”

Programs vary, but they share similar obstacles: the inundation of services, the transient nature of homelessness that makes drug therapy incredibly difficult to monitor or adhere to, and the inescapable social stigma.

Babino confirms the reality that dealing with HIV/AIDS means dealing with far more than just a disease.

“There’s just so many other disparities and problems and challenges that they’re dealing with daily. HIV is just another thing that falls into their lives they have to deal with, including hepatitis, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, not having a home, not having a family around to support them, or having incarceration as your backdrop,” she said.

Perhaps the largest obstacle that program administrators encounter is that, as Smith said, “You can’t make anybody change – they have to choose to change their life.”

In the midst of a complex web of community and personal problems, the support groups and group programming at the McKenna Center attempt to tap into the power of human connection as an approach to care.

“Change is not always immediate,” Babino said.

CUP will administer another survey in the fall and is making an impact in increasing the number of people getting tested and those that do know their status, referring them for care.

“There’s a lot of fear,” said Smith, “And only once they overcome that fear can they effectively seek treatment.”

I will donate:

$50 for two vendor awards each month

___ ___ $70 for one restaurant review

___ $100 for postage each month ___ $200 for the vests of 15 new vendors ___ $500 for monthly rent and insurance ___ $1,200 for the printing of one issue ___ Another amount of $_______ ___ Another amount of $_______ for vendor: ________________

Additional items that Street Sense needs: * Messenger and tote bags and backpacks for vendors * Metro cards and bus tokens for vendor transportation * Digital video camera * Food for vendor meetings

* Laptop computers with at least Windows 2000 and 10 GB of storage space

LOCAL NEWS

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

HOOPS FOR THE HOMELESS

Six Local Nonprofits To Play and Win

By Roberta Haber Basketball legend Magic Johnson, Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas, and other members of the Washington Wizards basketball team will be in Washington at the Verizon Center on Saturday, Sept. 13, for the Hoops for the Homeless basketball tournament, an annual event established and run by Freddie Mac to fight family homelessness in the D.C. area.

In the Washington, D.C. region, the homeless population numbers nearly 12,000. Almost half are homeless families and a quarter are children. At last year’s event, organizers raised $900,000 to help homeless families throughout the region. This year, six local nonprofit agencies that aid families will benefit: Hannah House and So Others Might Eat (SOME) of D.C.; United Communities Against Poverty (UCAP) and Interfaith Works of Maryland; and Securing Emergency Resources Through Volunteer Efforts (SERVE) and Reston Interfaith of Virginia.

“Each of the six agencies will have a

team playing in the tournament,” explained Jennifer Meyer, a spokeswoman for the event. “The celebrities will be coaching.”

The tournament will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; tickets are $5, and children twelve and under will be admitted free.

Tickets can purchased online (http:// www.hoopsforthehomeless.org/event/) and will be available at the door on the day of the event.

“We are thrilled to be a beneficiary of Freddie Mac’s Hoops for the Homeless, because it provides Reston Interfaith with a unique opportunity to partner with other local agencies in an effort to educate the D.C.-metro community about the issue of homelessness,” Amy McDowell, event and communications manager, said.

“We also participated last year and are thrilled to be involved once again,” Cheri Villa, president/CEO of SERVE, said. “Our shelter director, Matt Burrell, has taken the reins to put together our own SERVE team for the event and will be playing in the tournament himself,” she said.

“SOME is very excited to be a beneficiary of Hoops for the Homeless for the second year in a row,” Tracy Monson, marketing and special events manager, said.

“Freddie Mac felt that our work — especially our work with homeless families and children — fit well with their focus on making a difference for this population throughout the region,” she said.

“Our basketball team is composed of students from the SOME Center for Employment Training, our job training center that equips homeless and poor adults with the marketable skills that they need to secure jobs that pay a living wage,” Monson said.

“Five students volunteered to form a team as soon as they heard that we had been selected as a beneficiary for Hoops for the Homeless,” she said.

While the tournament is going on, Freddie Mac will also hold a food drive to help the Hoops nonprofit beneficiaries feed their patrons. Those attending the Hoops tournament can support this cause by bringing a donation of canned food to the event.

“This is a worthy cause,” he said. “If you stick together, things can change. That’s why I am here – to help change things.” work skills.

Under the watchful eye of police and security “We aren’t trying to make this a flophouse,” said officers, the protesters spent about half an hour resident and activist Eric Sheptock. “We are trying making speeches before Fenty’s darkened house. to make it a place where people can move up.”

“Mr. Mayor. I’d like to speak with you,” said The District currently has more than 6,000 Smith. “We all know that cold weather comes homeless residents. Work is under way on moving quickly after Oct 1. We can’t close Franklin. We’re 400 of the city’s most medically going to keep Franklin open fragile and vulnerable homeuntil there’s another plan.” less people into permanent As the skies grew dark, “We might not supportive housing units, ofFenty arrived at his home by agree, but I hope ficials say. car. With fist bumps and hand Yet advocates for keeping shakes, the Mayor greeted the we can make the Franklin shelter open arsmall crowd, including shelter progress.” gue that while a number of elresident DJuan Bean, who was derly men use the shelter, not dressed as the Grim Reaper .

— Mayor Adrian Fenty all of the 242 men currently After listening to their constaying there will be receiving cerns on the sidewalk, Fenty permanent housing this year. agreed to meet with represenIt was on the evening of tatives of the group.

Aug. 21 when defenders of the Franklin shelter “We might not agree,” Fenty told them, “but I staged their latest march. hope we can make progress.”

Chanting “Save Franklin, Save Lives!” ShepFour days later, at an Aug. 25 meeting with the tock, Orlando Smith, and a half a dozen other mayor and Department of Human Services Direcshelter residents and about two dozen supporters tor Clarence Carter, they made their appeal. marched to Fenty’s split-level home in Northwest Shelter resident Orlando Smith said they asked Washington and demanded to speak with him. that the shelter remain open at least until April 1, They threatened to sleep on the mayor’s front the official end of the hypothermia season. lawn to make their point.

They also presented Fenty with a list of serBut the protesters represented only a fraction vices they hoped would be provided, including of the men currently staying at the shelter. Many job training and substance abuse recovery prostayed away, fearing losing their beds for the night grams. by missing the shelter curfew, said marcher Mary “He took the list and said he’d look it over,” Ann Luby of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Smith said.

Homeless.

“When we asked what (news) we could take “When you are homeless, you don’t worry about back to the fellows in the shelter he said we’d see what you’ve lost,” she said. “You worry about keep- something by Sept. 2.” ing what you have.”

But ultimately, Smith said he left the meeting Shelter resident and Street Sense vendor Tom- with little reason for optimism. The mayor “said my Bennett said he felt it was important to take there was no change in his plans to close the shelthe risk and come out. ter,” Smith said.

Franklin, from page 1

Convoy of Hope Rolls In This Saturday, Sept. 6, Convoy of Hope will roll into the District, bringing 80,000 pounds of free groceries, haircuts, and health and dental screenings to the city’s needy.

Over 1,200 volunteers from dozens of local nonprofit groups, churches, and government agencies are gearing up to serve as many as 10,000 guests at the event, which will open at 10 a.m. at the RFK Stadium parking lot, C Street and Oklahoma Avenue, NE. “We’re putting 100,000 flyers out into the community,” said Gary Officer, outreach director for the National Community Church, which is helping to organize the event.

The food and services will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, he said.

The local event is being spearheaded by the national nonprofit Convoy of Hope, a Springfield, Mo., based organization which trains churches and other groups to conduct community outreaches, respond to disasters and direct other “compassion initiatives” around the world.

The Saturday convoy in Washington is one of over 50 held in communities across the country.

Volunteers are still being sought to help out at the event, Officer said.

“We need all the help we can get,” Officer said. Those interested in helping are urged to sign up on the event Web site, www.convoydc.org.

A volunteer commissioning rally will be held on the evening of Friday, Sept. 5. For information, call 202-5440414.

Homeless? Jobless?

Next Step Program staff help you make positive changes in your life. We help you set and take your next steps toward greater self-reliance.

We offer:

• employment services • job preparation workshops • resume writing • job search assistance • computer tutorials

• referrals to other community agencies that will support your next steps • HIV/AIDS services including bereavement support, burial assistance and a retreat program

Changing Your Life...One Step at a Time For more information on how you can participate in the Next Step Program, call 202-722-2280, email info@samaritanministry.org or visit one of our offices between 9:00 and 11:00 any weekday morning:

1516 Hamilton St., NW Washington, DC 20011 202-722-2280

1345 U St., SE Washington, DC 20020 202-889-7702

The Next Step Program is sponsored by Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, a community partnership supported by more than 40 Episcopal and other partner parishes throughout the Washington metropolitan area. There are no religious requirements for participation in the Next Step Program.

SMGW-B&Wad_11012007.indd 1

11/5/2007 7:17:29 PM

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

forever changed by Katrina,” Johnson said.

He led the group in prayer and gave a talk touching on many of the diverse themes that were addressed more fully by later speakers.

Also speaking was Judith Brown, codirector of the Advancement Project, a communications and legal group that focuses on racial justice issues.

“We’re here in solidarity with all those whose lives were lost,” Brown told the group.

She recounted the federal government’s failures in 2005 and criticized the way the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was being conducted.

“The city gets money,” she said, “but instead of building public housing, they give it to private developers.”

Brown noted the absence of an adequate public health system in New Orleans and called for a new policy agenda that would give a high priority to helping the remaining displaced residents return to the city.

She also raised a topic that was echoed by several later speakers: the importance of voting.

“We have to hold the government accountable,” said Brown. “Vote for those who’ll stand with you at all times.”

Another speaker, Yasmin Gabriel, a law student from New Orleans, emphasized the need to rebuild New Orleans’s education system.

Others addressed the plight of day laborers in New Orleans and here in the D.C. area; called for redirecting government funding from prison construction to housing and

social services; and recounted the post-Katrina rebuilding efforts of the Gulf Coast Vietnamese-American community and the importance of voting and civic engagement in those efforts.

Two survivors of the Katrina disaster, one a trapped vacationer, the other a resident, spoke about their personal experiences and called on the audience “not to feel sorry for the people of New Orleans, but to support them.”

L. Morrow, a Street Sense vendor and poet, addressed homelessness as both a national and local problem.

“Homelessness is not just an economic thing, it’s a human thing,” he said. Morrow gave particular attention in his remarks to the plight of homeless veterans, and to Mayor Fenty’s proposal to close the Franklin School Shelter for homeless men in downtown D.C. next month.

Michele Roberts, the D.C.-based coordinator for Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, a nonprofit, public interest law firm in New Orleans, called for a fundamental transformation of America’s environmental protection and disaster relief policies and systems. “We cannot allow disaster profiteering to continue,” Roberts told the crowd. “We need to change our disaster relief policy to one based on a human rights framework.”

As an example of a human rights-oriented policy, Roberts praised the U.N.’s guiding principles on internal displacement. Those principles identify, in theory, the rights and guarantees relevant to the protection and assistance of victims of forced displacement and to their resettlement.

Photo By Jane Cave/Street Sense

Policy, from page 1

LOCAL NEWS

L. Morrow, a Street Sense vendor and poet, speaks to the crowd at the protest outside FEMA.

Roberts noted that the Katrina rally was occurring between the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions.

She called on the audience to press both parties to address the issue of America’s disaster relief policy, and to vote accordingly.

Washington, D.C.’s demonstration was one part of a multi-city program of marches, demonstrations, musical performances and other commemorative and educational events scheduled for Aug. 29 in New Orleans, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, Providence, R.I., and here in D.C. These nationwide solidarity actions were

coordinated by Right to the City, an alliance of about 40 member organizations from the various participating cities. RTTC was established in early 2007 to help create regional and cross-regional networks to address common urban social problem such as disinvestment in public housing and social services, labor and immigration issues, and the protection of the rights of low-income people.

RTTC’s national coordinator for the Katrina Commemoration call to action, Valerie Taing, called New Orleans “a microcosm of what’s happening in U.S. urban centers and the front line in the struggle to fight gentrification and displacement.”

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

6 POLITICS

Street Politics By David S. Hammond

Family Farm Economics: “Everybody Had Something to Do” The fine dry weather we had in mid-August got me thinking about farm work at its best: making hay under clear skies, work that gives a feeling of satisfaction, along with security for the coming winter.

Many big-city Americans are still just a generation or two off the farm, or out of the countryside, and that includes several Street Sense vendors. They report a life that, while lacking metropolitan excitement, had room for everyone.

And despite the inefficiencies of small-scale general farming, the full employment offered by the economy of the family farm is an example worth thinking about today.

At its best, the family farm offered meaningful, productive work for all ages and abilities.

Vendor Charlie Mayfield grew up on a farm near Norfolk, Va. His parents bought the place in 1941 when he was a small child, and raised almost all their food – “chickens, hogs, cows and vegetables, and feed corn, cotton and peanuts for market.” His father also drove a school bus to earn the kind of steady, supplemental off-farm income traditionally sought by farm families.

Mayfield’s parents retired in the early 1950s, although the family still owns the land, renting it out to working farmers. He says he left in 1954 and so did most of his generation – “probably because we didn’t want to live in the country.”

But before that happened, he says, farm life worked for himself and his nine siblings.

“Everybody had something to do,” he said. “When you were eight or nine years old, you had some work on the farm. ... There’s so much equipment now, one man can work a thousand acres. My dad got a tractor in 1952. Before that, we used horses and mules.”

Even for people not running their own farms, rural America has provided ready work in season. When Cliff Carle was a teenager in an Air Force family stationed in Maine, he worked the potato harvest in Aroostook County.

“I made a dollar for every barrel I filled,” he recalls. When Carle’s family lived in Southern Massachusetts, he picked tobacco in the Connecticut River Valley along with busloads of other teenagers who came out to work.

“That was money I could use,” Carle recalls, “and the best thing was, the work was always there for us, every year.”

A Brief Guide to Watching the Campaigns About a year ago, conversations with experts and advocates began coming to the same conclusion: The federal government doesn’t have the money, right now, to do a lot of the things a lot of people would like it to do.

Why? Last winter, spending on the war in Iraq was the most commonly mentioned fiscal pressure. Now the economic slowdown has been added to the list.

Of course public spending is not the solution to every human need. But for helping the down and out, it can be the minimum first step.

When public money gets tight, it’s harder to take even that first step. That’s something to think about through this campaign season and into next year, when a new Congress will pick up the budget process all over again.

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

Your thoughts are welcome. E-mail editor@streetsense.org.

On the Hill

Two Acts Await Action to Update Homeless Assistance Law reallocation of funding.

“We need to bring more accountability Originally passed in 1987, the McK- to homeless assistance, increasing fundinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ing for successful programs and initiatives remains the most important piece of fed- and replacing those that are ineffective,” eral legislation addressing homelessness said Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), a sponeven two decades later. The legislation sor of the Senate bill.

“The Community Partnership to End has been modified Homelessness Act and updated periodiis an important step cally, a congressional toward ending and process known as reThe Community preventing homelessauthorization.

Partnership to End ness in communities There are currently across Colorado and two pieces of legislaHomelessness Act America and will help tion under considis an important step promote innovative, eration that would outcome-based apreauthorize the McKtoward ending and proaches to addressinney-Vento Homepreventing ing this important less Assistance Act by issue,” he said. streamlining the exhomelessness For example, the isting homeless assisin communities Community Partnertance grant programs ship to End Homelessmanaged by the U.S. across Colorado ness Act legislation Department of Housand America and includes provisions ing and Urban Develthat would: opment. will help promote • Establish an In t h e Ho u s e o f innovative, emergency shelter Representatives, the grants program, legislation is known as outcome-based • Make more peothe Homeless Emerapproaches to ple eligible for progency Assistance and grams under the Act Rapid Transition to addressing this by including in the Housing Act, or the important issue definition of “homeHEARTH Act (H.R. less person” those 840), and in the Senate — Sen. Wayne Allard who are staying for it is called the Com(R-Colo.), sponsor a short time in the munity Partnership of the bill housing of others or a to End Homelessness hotel, and have moved Act (S. 1518). frequently; and While not identi• Encourage state cal, both reauthorization bills attempt to make the original McKinney-Vento Act and local governments to develop 10-year more effective by consolidating housing plans to end homelessness.

Both bills are awaiting debate on the assistance programs, reorganizing the floor of the House and Senate before they oversight structure of programs implemented under the bill and requiring the can be brought up for a vote.

By Street Sense Staff

Looking for a past story or poem?

Visit the Street Sense archives online!

Go to www.streetsense.org/archives.jsp to read past issues or use our internal search engine at www.streetsense.org

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Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

POETRY

Do you have a message you need to get out? A cause, service or event to promote?

Contact us!

info@streetsense.org Reasonable ad rates.

Friendly service.

My Story of God’s Gift Oh, dear God, how can it be?

After your generous planting of trees, Homeless people are in need of shelter, When your gift of wood is free!

You blessed with life the seven seas, Blessed the land so all can feed, What explanation can any man give For starvation and poverty?

Creator of this earth, just how long can man’s Inhumanity to man stand?

How long must poor little children suffer?

When your gifts were meant to be free!

As Street Sense moves up its circulation and its vendors move up and off the street, we ask you to join us and help move on up the prices of auction items at ...

Movin’ On Up Street Sense’s Third Annual Silent Auction and Reception October 2, 2008, 7pm Josephine Butler Park Center, 2437 Fifteenth Street, NW Tickets start at $25 a piece for access to the auction and endless appetizers, beer and wine.

For more info or to buy tickets, visit www.streetsense.org.

And for those who cannot attend, part of the auction will be on Ebay.

Oh what a crying, pleading time, When the Day of Reckoning comes, that day your wrath Will caress the earth and all gifts will be returned to thee!

Men of Greed!

When that day comes blessed be the time that be.

No mercy for those who hoard so selfishly gifts God Intended to be free!

These are thoughts that need to be considered and Remembered through an entire day.

Something to think about, Isn’t it? As you’re making it. From day to day.

— Dennis Atwater

PHOTOS FEATURES

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

Cliff’s Clicks:

Play Time

Off to the races. I broke the rules of thumb and moved the lens to suggest motion. The object I photographed has not

Street Sense vendor Cliff “the Moose” Carle takes hundreds of photos all over Washington every week. Here, Cliff shares the results of some recent experiments and gives us a peek into the non-photography parts of his life.

Cliff’sClick–Tips Choosing a digital camera You might ask which is better – point–and–shoot or single–lens reflex (SLR)? It’s all dictated by how much money you have, what you want to use it for, and your photographic experience.

If you don’t have much money or are not going to use it much or have little experience, point–and–shoot is best.

But the best distortion–free photos are made with the best lenses, and interchangeable lenses are used on single–lens reflex cameras. I prefer Nikon.

I took this in Georgetown by the Potomac River. It reminds me of an alien space port.

See Cliff ’s work in an exhibition at the Mocha Gallery, 1054 31st St., NW, Canal Square in Georgetown. The show opens Sept. 5, 2008.

More to come next time! Once a month Cliff hopes to have field trips to go out and practice taking photos. Stay tuned.

The rose. I left the lens open for a long time. This is considered time lapse.

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

PHOTOS

thing to do with jockeys.

Pottery I made when I was younger. It’s at my aunt and uncle’s house in Northwest Washington.

My WuShu certificate. Being proud is a sin. But I’m privileged and honored.

Neon double cross. A sign at the Dakota Cowgirl, a restaurant on 14th St. and Rhode Island Ave., NW. Again, I moved the lens on purpose to create the illusion of motion.

Wet flower, an iris.

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

10 FEATURES

Financial Planners Help Put Your Goals Within Reach

By Eddy Demirovic, CFP Board W h e t h e r y o u ’r e contemplating retirement, buying a home, a child’s education, or want to eliminate debt in order to get on the path to saving, you may find that working with a competent and ethical financial planner can help you reach your life’s goals.

The financial planning process involves gathering relevant financial information, setting life goals, examining your current financial status and coming up with a strategy to meet your goals given your current situation and future plans.

Financial planning provides direction and meaning to your financial decisions. It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances. For example, buying a particular investment product might help you pay off your mortgage faster or it might delay your retirement significantly. By viewing each financial decision as part of a whole, you can consider its short and long–term effects on your life goals. You can also adapt more easily to life

Music Review

changes and feel more secure that you are on track to meet your goals.

Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make, so take the time and care to select a trustworthy financial planner, one on whom you can depend for professional advice and services. One of the most trusted credentials for financial advisers is Certified Financial Planner™ certification (also displayed as CFP® certification). This designation is granted by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) only to those individuals who have met its rigorous standards of education, examination, experience and ethics.

To learn more about financial planning or to look for a Certified Financial Planner™ near you, visit www.CFP.net.

“A financial plan allows you to take charge of your financial choices and achieve a sense of financial well–being,” said David G. Strege, CFP®, and chair of the CFP Board’s Board of Directors. “It allows you to understand how each financial decision you make affects other areas of your finances.”

To give Washington, D.C.–area residents a first–hand look at the benefits of financial

planning, the CFP Board is holding a free financial planning clinic on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, 1000 H St., NW. The free event, to be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is designed to give area residents an opportunity to ask financial questions to professional financial planners who can help you find the answers you need at no cost. You can meet one–on–one with volunteer Certified Financial Planner™ professionals who are highly qualified to discuss your financial issues and attend 50–minute educational workshops on popular personal finance issues. The information provided by the financial planners is free, and there will be no sale of products or services and no strings attached.

The clinic is organized by the CFP Board, a nonprofit organization. In addition to its functions in certifying and upholding the standards that guide the CFP® professionals, the CFP Board works to educate consumers on the benefits of financial planning and to make ethical financial planning accessible to those who don’t have access to it. CFP Board’s goal for the Financial Planning Clinic is to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of financial planning.

The clinic also will feature a dozen 50– minute educational workshops presented by Certified Financial Planner™ professionals on topics such as managing debt from credit cards to foreclosures, launching a financial plan for young professionals, financial planning for special needs family members and planning for long–range goals.

While walk–ins to the financial planning clinic are welcome, admission will be granted first to those who have registered online.

We expect a large crowd, so the CFP Board encourages residents to register early. Online registration is available at www.CFP.net.

This regular financial column is presented by Capital Area Asset Builders, www. caab.org, a nonprofit organization that helps people of all incomes to improve their financial management skills, increase their savings and build wealth. CAAB, through DC Saves, is partnering with the CFP Board to promote the September 13 CFP clinic, and this month’s column is guest–written

by Eddy Demirovic of the CFP Board. Send questions or feedback on this column to saving@caab.org.

By Jerry W.

St. Elizabeths Summer Concert Series

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magine staying inside in a hospital where no one visits, you are stuck inside and not able to get out. It’s similar to what many people probably think about aging, amplifying fears of warehousing people out of sight, out of mind. That’s a distant cousin to the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome, despite the Olmstead Supreme Court decision (think Brown v.

Board of Education, but this one allowing people with disabilities to live in their own communities).

Yes, psychiatric hospitals are different, conjuring up all sorts of fears.

Within this context and decades of mostly bland experience, I finally visited St. Elizabeths’ summer concert series, at the historic federal psychiatric hospital in Southeast D.C. The concert was good. The CNL Combo performed from a new portable trailer turned sound stage, and all the guys, including the youngest, were good performers.

They were billed as R&B, Jazz and Gospel, although I don’t recall any gospel.

My own musical talents consist of one instrument, playing the radio, and my neighbors say I’m not very good at it. So maybe I’m unqualified to critique the performance, but I really enjoyed it – oldies that I knew, and nothing I didn’t like. I wish I had recorded it for reference!

It seemed like a summer concert on the lawn with folding chairs. Some people got up and danced. We had our cast of characters that I’m more accustomed to with a

Mental Health (MH) background. Unarmed guards hovered, but were friendly and even talked with me some.

It was rather eerie going on the psych hospital grounds for the first time.

St. Elizabeths is analogous to a big college–size campus of old abandoned buildings.

Si n c e Fr a n k l i n Shelter is closing, and federal buildings with BRAC are being given to nonprofits, maybe we could use more of St. Elizabeths for low–income plus transitional supportive housing (D.C. already operates a shelter on the grounds).

The Department of Homeland Security is vying for chunks of the land to consolidate its office space and save on rent. St. Elizabeths has many old buildings in disrepair, as deinstitutionalization has decreased its census from 7,000 to about 800. A new hospital building is due in fall, 2009, with photos shown on the DMH.DC.gov Web site.

There’s a troubled history behind America’s psychiatric hospitals – and even with deinstitutionalization and Olmstead decision, one person was recently discovered in seclusion and restraint for over 20 years.

But from the hospital perspective, many including consumers/ survivors/ ex– patients (CSX) are interested in decreasing the stigma.

At St. Elizabeths, many patients seemed subdued.

Staffers were nice and even offered free water and something frozen.

Some other visitors attended, including a group of young female students for an anthropology with MH combination assignment.

You never know what goes on behind locked wards, and press typically focuses on the Dixon case and deaths, and reflections of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” but maybe Nurse Ratched retired? Thoughts of jail breaks loomed in my mind and I joked about getting back out myself, though nothing surfaced more than sensationalizations,

“Thoughts of jail breaks loomed in my mind and I joked about getting back out myself, though nothing surfaced more than sensationalizations, based on stigma more than fact.”

based on stigma more than fact.

And anyway, with this insane world we live in, the odds of an incident are about like those for a traffic accident – but the analogy between hospital wards and the naming of zones in D.C. finally dawned on me.

I was one of the few Caucasians there, and while I felt different, I was more comfortable than I would have expected, and maybe more comfortable than I would have been with big names and political luminaries.

I think a good time was had by all, and a short one–hour concert on the lawn with some people dancing to the music seemed like music therapy to me. I know it helped me, although A/C on the bus home would have been nice!

Perhaps I can go back before the series ends Sept. 24. It truly was a civilized experience and turns out to be closer than Wolf Trap, free, and a community reintegration– minded activity.

Concerts at St. Elizabeths are free, every Wednesday at 7 p.m. through Sept. 24 (except on Sept. 17, when the concert is at 1 p.m.). Check DMH.DC.gov for a full schedule. There is a no–camera policy on the grounds (probably for patient privacy).

Jerry rants about mental health issues on NoVAPeers.PBWiki.com and volunteers with the Street Sense writers group, hoping to incubate a similar process for mental health.

You can send your comment to Jerry at NoVAPeers@gmail.com.

Gregory’s Great Game

Back to School Teacher Student Class Street September 3 – SeptemberBooks 16, 2008 StreetSense Sense .vendor Gregory Martin loves Desk creating puzzles.

Pencil Grade Simply find the following words Test in the grid below.

Homework Street Sense vendor Gregory Martin love English creating puzzles.

Math Science Simply find the following words in the grid below.

Recess The solution to the last puzzle is found below.

Reading History Ruler Fail Pass Tardy

FEATURES & GAMES 11

Gregory’s Great Game: Back to School Teacher Student Class Books Desk

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Aug. 6 Solution

Street Su-Do-Ku

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Pencil Grade Test Homework English

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PLACE YOUR AD HERE! With Street Sense now coming out every two weeks and reaching nearly 13,000 people each issue, now is the perfect time to promote your business with us.

DEMOGRAPHICS And who your business will be reaching can’t be beat. Our typical reader is a 35–year–old woman who lives in D.C. and works for the government or a nonprofit earning $70,000 a year.

RATES Rates are about half the cost of the neighborhood monthlies and are as low as $57 for a 1/16 page ad that runs multiple times.

DISCOUNTS Discounts offered to nonprofits and to those that prepay for multiple ads.

Call Laura Osuri at 202–347–2006 or e-mail info@streetsense.org for more info and to get a copy of our new advertising brochure. Or ask your local vendor, who can earn 20% commission from ads sales.

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

12 EDITORIALS

Life Lessons from Street Sense and the Poker Table

By Jeffery McNeil

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rowing up in Atlantic City, N.J., I had the misfor tune of seeing a lot of broke gamblers, many of whom became homeless – including me.

I’ve seen and heard all the sob stories of people who had fortunes only to be found later hitchhiking and begging for bus or plane fare back home.

Then I saw other high rollers who made a living gambling, who seemed to leave every day with a profit. I became curious about what were they doing that I seemed to not be doing. Eventually, I met a group of successful people from Washington, D.C., and decided to take their advice and move to Washington with a bus ticket and little money. I decided to leave the world of poker and try to find a job.

I was homeless, broke and unattractive because I had no money or access to showers or food. I couldn’t get hired by anyone – plus, I was a drunk.

Then I saw people walking around selling newspapers for a dollar. I asked how much they made in a day, and some said $20 to $40. I figured that that’s big money when you’re broke, starving and homeless, so I hurried myself down to the Street Sense office and began my journey into the world of sales and business.

When I began I was shy and timid, and on a good day I sold about 10 papers. I noticed that the better vendors were doing much better, selling twice as many papers.

I also noticed that more people ignored me than bought papers from me.

What I realized was that I was out to sell

Homeless, from page 1 In Chile, poverty is worst in indigenous communities in Andean villages, coastal towns, and the deserts of northern Chile. Remote and isolated, those communities were – and most likely still are – living as if on another planet.

On a small island in southern Chile I once met a young woman who had never gone to the mainland. Neither had her mother. Only her father – a fisherman – and brother had, and got to know a bit of the outside world beyond the shores of their island.

But cruel as poverty may be in such communities, when everyone is poor people help each other as best as they can, all the more so in indigenous communities where tradition and culture create strong bonds among people.

To a certain extent the same also happens among the urban poor in developing countries.

Like other cities in Latin America, Asia and Africa, Santiago has a belt of slums and shantytowns – in Santiago they are called poblaciones.

papers, but I was not living to sell papers.

In order to be successful in any enterprise, you have to be willing to say, “I am ignorant of this business” and pick up a book and read about it. So my journey into sales began with my going to a bookstore and picking up sales books. The best were talking about appearance, marketing and strategy.

Wow – that’s when a light bulb went off. I said, “Why not market the newspaper instead of being cute by screaming and shouting, ‘Street Sense’” – that’s not my style. I created a sign, and my sales went up two–fold.

This brings me to my first principle: Learn the fundamentals. Those who succeed in anything know their products. How can you succeed if you don’t know what you are selling or doing?

Many vendors go to an area clueless about the people to whom they are trying to sell. Is the area wealthy or urban?

Are the people liberal or conservative? Is it an activist area, or is it anti–homeless?

These little clues can mean the difference between making and losing money. Like in poker, those who win pay attention to the details. They do the little things; they are junkies for information.

The second principle is: Use strategy.

The reason I love poker is that winning players don’t win on one pot or one hand.

They are always analyzing, scouting – get-

ting the history of a particular game. It is impossible to win in anything if you don’t plan or train your mind to focus. Simple goals will help you, like “I’ll save $50 a month,” “I will pay a debt” or “I want to lose 20 pounds in three months.”

Not having a plan is equivalent to going to war without being trained. When I sell newspapers, I set goals like selling 20 papers in an hour or a particular number of papers in a day.

I don’t do anything without strategy.

You must lay a road to victory.

The most important principle is: Hustle. Nothing is worth achieving unless you work for it. The best players in poker or in any endeavor win by outmaneuvering their opponents.

The reason I am not homeless anymore is that I decided to take the bull by the horns and figure out ways to earn income. I simply hustled my way off the street; I was working for that sale, and I spent little time sleeping or feeling sorry about what I didn’t have. I focused only on what I wanted to accomplish. You must have a work ethic. When you hustle, you pick up the small sales that eventually lead to the big opportunities.

Another winning trait is love of competition. The best poker players want to swim with the sharks. I love the battle. I get no joy in playing with people I can beat; I want the best, and I want to be challenged by

“Like in poker, those who win pay attention to the details.

They do the little things; they are junkies for information.”

Even there self–help and solidarity and support from some charities can make life bearable and foster hope of a better future.

And then there are the absolute poor who, like the homeless in our fair city, are destitute.

They have no place to go to, no privacy, and often live on the streets, lonely and fearful.

The fact that that is happening all around us, right here in Washington, is horrible and inexcusable. The fact that it was also happening in Santiago didn’t make it any better, but, at least, Chile isn’t and will never be the richest, most powerful country in the world.

This brings me back to the Jesuit priest who happened to be Belgian like me. But that is a mere detail.

The priest, an activist and fervent advocate of Liberation Theology, which is anathema to the powers that be in Rome, had taken up the cause of Santiago’s homeless.

He had somehow managed to accumulate enough cash to buy prefabricated wood panels and he had also scouted various parts of the city to find vacant land.

the best. You need rivals to bring out the best in you. I love battle and thrive when I’m the underdog or the long shot. To be a champion you must challenge yourself at the highest level. If you get pulverized, that will tell you what skills you need to develop.

Another important skill is money management. The best poker players bet only when the odds are in their favor; they don’t chase after long–shot draws trying to get a lucky card. If you look at the Internet boom and the housing crisis, you’ll see that most people who lost money were taking undue risk with shady information – going all in, trying to get lucky. To make money you need a risk–reward ratio that offsets losses.

Selling newspapers is a business; if I don’t sell the newspapers I buy, I take a loss. You need to always know your math before you make any investment. Ask yourself how much capital you have to risk versus how much you can make.

The final trait of a winner is moving on after a loss. In poker, losing money is called “going on tilt.” Poker, like life, is cruel and unfair – the best hand doesn’t always win.

There is no difference between intelligent people and unintelligent people. They will get the same amount of opportunities in life. The difference between winners and losers is how they handle crises. Do they give up and fall apart, or are they fighters who rebuild when they have a setback?

So my last piece of advice is this: When you encounter a crisis, spend little time complaining about your sob story and just pick up the hammer and chisel and get right back to work.

Vendor Jeffery McNeil regularly puts on a suit to sell Street Sense.

Then, one night, under the cloak of darkness he and about a hundred homeless men and women carted the wood panels to an open site near the city center and erected small shacks, all with roofs, small windows and built–in bunks. They even erected communal toilets.

Voila! The next morning the city woke up to find new, proud but exhausted neighbors in their midst, and the priest had fulfilled his dream of giving some homeless people a place where they could sleep in total privacy.

Some days later the police tried to arrest him. But he stood defiant, surrounded by the homeless, brandishing his crucifix. The police backed down.

That, in itself, was a miracle; one of the first successful civic actions after years of brutal repression by Pinochet and his henchmen. I was so impressed that I gave the priest a big, fat check.

Eugene Versluysen is a retired economist with the World Bank and a Street Sense volunteer.

“... growing income disparities became hallmarks of free-market policies that were common currency in much of the world ...”

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

Interested in Leading Street Newspapers Across the US & Canada?

The North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) is seeking its first executive director who will lead efforts to strengthen and develop street papers. This new position will be located in Washington, DC and pay $36,000 annually, plus benefits.

NASNA is a grassroots association of 25 street newspapers in the United States and Canada that work to raise awareness about poverty issues, while empowering homeless individuals with an income and a voice.

For more information visit www.nasna.org or e-mail streetnewspapers@gmail.com.

EDITORIALS 13

Further Thoughts on Poverty and Race

By August Mallory

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n my last colu m n , I identified African– Americans as being the poorest people in the nation.

After consulting the U.S. Census Bureau I have found that yes, indeed it’s true, African–Americans are the poorest in America.

According to the latest statistics available, in 2006, 8.2% of whites were poor, 10.3% of Asians were poor, 20.6% of Hispanics were poor and 24.3% of blacks were poor.

There are poor people of every racial group, to be sure, but my column asking “Who is the Poorest?” really did get people talking and I need people to talk.

In the last issue of Street Sense I certainly had people talking – and talking very loudly.

While all races have made an effort to move up, income is used to identify who is poor and who is not poor.

But even then we have to ask ourselves, what exactly is poor?

The federal poverty level for a single person is set this year as $10,400. However, it’s still hard to live on that amount.

Some places are worse off than others.

For instance, the economies of Alabama,

Reggie’s Reflections

Mississippi, and some parts of Georgia all have gone on a downward slide. Jobs are few and many people have been forced to file for public assistance.

If my last column offended anyone, please allow me to say, I do apologize.

But when you look at the full picture, it’s important to re–identify who is poor or what it means to be poor in America.

America is a decent country in many ways. Our government needs to recognize that people pay taxes, and, as we pay those taxes. The government should provide us with the things we need, and we should not be overtaxed for what we need.

Many poor people have homes, many poor people can work, and many poor people vote. Having a home is what separates poor people from homeless people. Homeless people work, vote and can learn to do things just the same as everyone else.

A stereotype that many poor people have faced, is that they are poor because they are dumb. And this is not true at all. Some people did not have the chance or luxury of continuing school. They had to take care of family or handle other immediate needs.

These responsibilities often will create a block to one’s educational goals.

Think about this when you judge a poor person by his or her educational level.

August Mallory was the first vendor for Street Sense and is back visiting from Seattle until Sept. 6.

By Reginald Black

How Do I Say Hello?

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could say what’s up to someone I’ve known for years. But does a hello do when I have clothes on from two days ago? Are you turned off by just a

everyone else could see me. Seems that’s not the case.

What is it? What have I done or am I doing wrong? All I said was hello. I’m wondering, “Wow, how is it possible that I wasn’t noticed?” I move in her path, she moves away.

I ended up feeling like I wanted to reveal my name and who I am. It almost appears as if something inside me holds her and others off.

So the question really is how can I say hello to someone without having them influenced by the thought of me not having a roof?

spot on my clothes?

I have been without a home for about a year. I can remember having girlfriends, but your dating scene changes once the roof is taken away. I walked around like

Reginald Black has been a vendor for Street Sense for three months and has been actively participating in the Street Sense writers group since then.

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

14 STREET SENSE NEWS

What our REaders are Saying...

A Special Evening To the Editor, I am writing to let you know of a good experience I had with Street Sense vendor Alvin Dixon.

Alvin was selling copies of Street Sense on U Street late on the night of Aug. 15.

When my fiancé and I stopped to buy a copy, he treated us to an original poem recitation. He is a talented poet and a compelling speaker.

Thanks for making our evening special, Alvin! And thanks to Street Sense for providing a source of livelihood and a great read.

Amy Nelson Some Ideas for Helping the Homeless To the Editor, Nineteen million U.S. homes stand empty. Homeless families could be moved into homes the federal government now owns – or soon will own.

Have local welfare offices supply lists of who has been waiting for public housing longest. Have food stamp offices mail bilingual notices to all recipients who get their food stamps at a post office box – who may be homeless, living in shelters or in cars.

Why not reach out to homeless families and give them a chance to move into low–cost or free housing?

Teach construction skills to able–bodied prisoners.

Shorten the sentences of prisoners who would work restoring the living units that are now uninhabitable.

Have Congress give this initiative a “blank check” and not just a “blank check” to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Homeless people should benefit from taxpayer generosity – not just those government–supported enterprises.

Give priority to filling empty houses near public transportation. And put nonviolent offenders back into their communities with training for jobs that pay a living wage for themselves and their families.

Vendors’Corner VENDOR SERVICES NEEDED • Free medical care/insurance • Free education or training in all areas • Rooms for rent

JOBS WANTED • Phillip Black Plumbing When you’re having plumbing problems and you need someone who is both professional and quick: Call us, 202–256–3485.

• Photographer looking for work Cliff Carle, PHOTOGRAPHER with outstanding interpersonal and organizational skills. Works well in both team and independent environments. Possesses a wide range of photographic skills. Cliff specializes in natural, fun, creative photographs of people.

• Landscaper/Painter/Carpenter seeking work Orin Andrus loads and unloads trucks, moves supplies, tamps earth excavations, and levels ground using shovels, tamper, and rakes. He also mows, trims, does edging, and has other landscaping skills. Orin performs interior and exterior painting (one story only) and does light carpentry and decks, and hardwood, laminate, and tile flooring.

Carlton Johnson is skilled in carpentry, decks, and hardwood laminate and tile flooring.

DONATIONS NEEDED • Household items.

Vendors Jeffery McNeil and Moyo Onibuje recently moved into their apartments, and are both in need of computer equipment and furniture.

Please contact Street Sense, 202–347–2006.

Raymond Avrutis

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From The Director’s Desk

Volunteer Angels

By Laura Thompson Osuri

I

n the last few weeks the volunteer support at Street Sense has absolutely amazed

me.

Many long time volunteers at Street Sense have really stepped it up lately. With the transition from our old editor to our new one, Mary Otto, volunteer Jessica Gaitan has been a lifesaver, overseeing the editorial process in the interim and showing Mary the ropes so she can successfully take over. And during this transition the stability from volunteer Rick Dahnke is a huge help, as he has steadfastly laid out the back half of the paper nearly every issue for the last 18 months. When it comes to volunteering in the office, Eugene Versluysen, who has been volunteering one four-hour shift a week for nearly a year, happily agreed this week to take on another shift. Longtime volunteer editor Mary Lynn Jones officially joined our board of directors two weeks ago to help contribute to the organization on a higher level.

This commitment from our long time volunteers is wonderful, as I would think that with all the craziness that goes on with our organization they would reach their limit and move on. But instead they have taken their commitment to new and impressive levels.

In the last few weeks there have also been several new volunteers that have come on board to assist in key areas where we sorely need help. For example, I met last week with Kayne Karnbach who is a professional fundraiser and development director by day and also wants to help out Street Sense in these areas in his free time. Last week I also met with two IT consultants from a company called New Signatures. And not only are they willing to finally help us properly network and safeguard our computers, but they are also donating 16 hours of support each month! And then on Friday, I got a call from a professional reporter who was applying for a sabbatical next year, and he wanted to spend this six-month leave helping out the editorial side of Street Sense.

It amazes me that these new volunteers are just going about their normal day and then something prompts them to contact Street Sense and generously offer up their skills. And it always seems to be exactly at the right time that they show up.

Though I have been at Street Sense since it started five years ago, the generosity and dedication of volunteers – old and new – still astounds me. I am still surprised that so many people have a passion to help this scrappy little organization, but I guess we must be doing something right to attract and retain such skilled volunteers.

These wonderful volunteers – who currently total 78 – are what make Street Sense so successful. Without them the organization simply would not exist. With a staff of just three, the volunteers are the ones who write, edit and design the majority of the paper and keep things in the office running smoothly. They are also the ones who help us pull off such fabulous fundraisers and keep our writers group going strong.

So all of this is to say that the volunteers of Street Sense rock! They are wonderful and dedicated and I truly, truly appreciate their commitment and talents, and I am forever grateful for all that they do.

Thank you volunteers, not only existing ones, but those of you from the past five years and those that I hope will step up and volunteer in the future. All of your efforts definitely have – and will continue to – make a difference and improve this organization we all share.

FEATURES 15 SERVICE PROVIDERS & VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Street Sense . September 3 – September 16, 2008

Community Service Index WASHINGTON, D.C. SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 928 5th Street, NW (202) 783–6651 www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118 www.missiondc.org CCNV (Men and Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 users.erols.com/ccnv/ Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356 www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Ave SE (202) 610–9600 www.covenanthousedc.org Housing, education, job development Franklin School (Men) 13th and K streets, NW (202) 638–7424 Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731 www.grm.org John Young Center (Women) 117 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469 http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/services/ La Casa Bilingual Shelter (Men) 1436 Irving Street, NW (202) 673–3592 N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 www.nstreetvillage.org 801 East, St. Elizabeths Hospital (Men) 2700 MLK Avenue, SE (202) 561–4014 New York Ave Shelter (Men) 1355–57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832–2359 Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 Mitch Snyder Place, NW (202) 639–8093

FOOD Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplace Church of the Pilgrims 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612 www.churchofthepilgrims.org Dinner Program for Homeless Women AND the “9:30 Club” Breakfast 309 E Street, NW (202) 737–9311 www.dphw.org Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842–1112

Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277 www.foodandfriends.org Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8926 www.miriamskitchen.org The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635 http://www.epiphanydc.org/ministry/ welcometbl.htm

MEDICAL RESOURCES Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100 www.christhouse.org Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300 www.unityhealthcare.org Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500; www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERS Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 AND 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587 www.breadforthecity.org food pantry, clothing, legal and social services, medical clinic Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419; www.cchfp.org housing, medical and psych care, substance abuse and job counseling Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060 http://www.nstreetvillage.org meals, hygiene, laundry, social activities, substance abuse treatment Green Door (202) 464–9200 1221 Taylor Street NW www.greendoor.org housing, job training, supportive mental health services Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675–9050 www.friendshiphouse.net counseling, mentoring, education, youth services, clothing Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338–8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org laundry, counseling, psych care Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328–6608 www.marthastable.org dinner, education, recreation, clothing, child and family services

Shelter Hotline: 1–800–535–7252

Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682–1005 http://www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php hygiene, laundry, lunch, phone and mail, clothing, social activities Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340 www.sashabruce.org counseling, housing, family services So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797–8806; www.some.org lunch, medical and dental, job and housing counseling

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood St NE 202-269-6623 www.aohdc.org Bright Beginnings Inc. 128 M Street NW, Suite 150 Washington DC 20001 (202) 842–9090 www.brightbeginningsinc.org Child care, family services Catholic Community Services of D.C. 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300 www.ccs–dc.org umbrella for a variety of services D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (202) 347–8870; www.dccfh.org housing, substance abuse treatment, employment assistance DC Food Finder Interactive online map of free and low cost food resources. www.dcfoodfinder.org Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347–0511 www.cflsdc.org housing, job and substance abuse counseling, clothes closet

www.nationalhomeless.org activists, speakers bureau available National Student Partnerships (NSP) 128 M Street NW, Suite 320 (202) 289–2525 washingtondc@nspnet.org Job resource and referral agency Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE , AND 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202)889–7702 www.samaritanministry.org HIV support, employment, drug/alcohol addiction, healthcare St. Luke’s Episcopal Church 1514 15th Street, NW (202) 667–4394 http://stlukesdc.edow.org food, counseling St. Matthew’s Cathedral 1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW (202) 347–3215 ext. 552 breakfast, clothing, hygiene Travelers Aid, Union Station 50 Mass. Avenue, NE (202) 371–1937 www.travelersaid.org/ta/dc.html national emergency travel assistance Wash. Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U Street, NW (202) 328–5500 www.legalclinic.org

MARYLAND SHELTER Comm. Ministry of Montgomery Co. 114 W. Montgomery Avenue, Rockville (301) 762–8682 www.communityministrymc.org The Samaritan Group P.O. Box 934, Chestertown (443) 480–3564 Warm Night Shelter 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org

Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010 www.foundryumc.org ESL, lunch, clothing, IDs

FOOD

Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 http://www.ccs–dc.org/find/services/ meals, hygiene, laundry, clothing

Community Place Café 311 68th Place, Seat Pleasant (301) 499–2319 www.cmpgc.org

JHP, Inc. 1526 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (202) 544–9126 www.jobshavepriority.org training and employment Jubilee Jobs 1640 Columbia Road, NW (202) 667–8970 www.jubileejobs.org job preparation and placement National Coalition for the Homeless 2201 P Street, NW (202) 462–4822

Bethesda Cares 7728 Woodmont Church, Bethesda (301) 907–9244 www.bethesdacares.com

Manna Food Center 614–618 Lofstrand Lane, Rockville (301) 424–1130 www.mannafood.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Community Clinic, Inc. 8210 Colonial Lane, Silver Spring (301) 585–1250 www.cciweb.org Mobile Medical Care, Inc. 9309 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda (301) 493–8553 www.mobilemedicalcare.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Catholic Charities, Maryland 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring (301) 942–1790 www.catholiccharitiesdc.org shelter, substance abuse treatment, variety of other services Mission of Love 6180 Old Central Avenue Capitol Heights (301)333–4440 www.molinc.org life skills classes, clothing, housewares Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless 600–B East Gude Drive, Rockville (301) 217–0314; www.mcch.net emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportiveservices

VIRGINIA SHELTER Alexandria Community Shelter 2355 B Mill Road, Alexandria (703) 838–4239 Carpenter’s Shelter 930 N. Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org Arlington–Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless 3103 Ninth Road North, Arlington (703) 525–7177 www.aachhomeless.org

FOOD Alive, Inc. 2723 King Street, Alexandria (703) 836–2723; www.alive–inc.org Our Daily Bread 10777 Main Street, Ste. 320, Fairfax (703) 273–8829 www.our–daily–bread.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES Arlington Free Clinic 3833 N Fairfax Drive, #400, Arlington (703) 979–1400 www.arlingtonfreeclinic.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Abundant Life Christian Outreach, 5154 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria (703) 823–4100 www.anchor–of–hope.net food, clothing, youth development, and medicines David’s Place Day Shelter 930 North Henry Street, Alexandria (703) 548–7500 www.carpentersshelter.org laundry, shower, workshops, hypothermia shelter Legal Services of Northern Virginia 6066 Leesburg Pike, Ste. 500 (703) 778–6800; www.lsnv.org civil legal services Samaritan Ministry 2924 Columbia Pike, Arlington (703) 271–0938 www.samaritanministry.com social, job and HIV/AIDS services

VENDOR PROFILE

PHOTO FINISH

Nationals Pride

Reginald Black

By Eugene Versluysen • Photo by Jerry W. A native Washingtonian, Reginald has been selling the paper for about three months.

After his mother died when he was eight, Reginald’s father took charge of bringing him up.

Reginald attended Anacostia Senior High School and graduated from the Potomac Job Corps with a high school degree in accounting.

After graduating, Reginald had a number of part–time jobs, including a stint as a door–to– door salesman, but no steady source of income.

Tensions built up between father and son, to the point that the house became too small for both of them. In 2007, Reginald’s father asked him to leave. They have not spoken since that day.

Reginald finds moral comfort and spiritual guidance by attending weekly services at the Filling Station, a nonconventional church in southeast Washington. As Reginald puts it, “you go in empty and come out full.’”

He also had a life–changing experience when Conrad Cheek, one of Street Sense’s vendors, introduced him to the paper.

How did you become homeless?

When my father evicted me.

Where do you find yourself in five years?

With a place of my own, and a full–time job as an accountant or bank teller.

Vendor Gregory Martin poses for a picture with 7-year-old singer Brendan Sacks. Gregory works for the Nationals and has collected signatures from all of the National Anthem singers since the team’s first season. Brendan sang the National Anthem at the August 16 Colorado Rockies game. Gregory said he was extremely impressed, and that Brendan was “a fantastic singer” and was “bright and intelligent.”

StreetFact

What is your favorite movie?

An animated cartoon called “Treasure of the Sun.” What is your favorite food?

Grapes and more grapes, bags full of them. I could eat grapes all day long.

In 2007 D.C. reported the highest number of new AIDS cases in the nation with 128.4 cases per 100,000 city residents compared to the national rate of 14 cases per 100,000 individuals. (See story on page 3.)

Source: D.C. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

Sept. 3 – Sept. 17, 2008 • Volume 5 • Issue 22

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20005

What is your favorite music?

Hip–Hop.

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC Permit #568

Mail To:

What is your favorite book?

“Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare. I learned from it that you can trust nobody, not even your best friend, because he could stab you in the back any time.

How did you become involved with Street Sense?

When Conrad Cheek gave me a paper when I was panhandling at Eastern Market. Since then I have more confidence and I make more money than when begging. [Begging] is demeaning.

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

Save the Date:

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Movin’ On Up

Street Sense’s Third Annual Silent Auction and Reception For more information see page 7.

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 14 for more information.

If you are interested in donating goods or services to be auctioned off, please send an e-mail to info@streetsense.org or call 202-347-2006.