09 05 2018

VOL. 15 ISSUE 22

$2

SEPT. 5 - 18, 2018

Real Stories

Real People

Overcoming adversity with art STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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2 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 5 - 1 8 , 2018

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT

As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct.

1.

Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $2.00, I agree not to ask for more than $2.00 or solicit donations for Street Sense Media by any other means.

2.

I will only purchase the paper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not sell papers to other vendors.

3.

I agree to treat all others, including customers, staff, volunteers, and other vendors, respectfully at all times. I will refrain from threatening others, pressuring customers into making a donation, or in engaging in behavior that condones racism, sexism, classism, or other prejudices.

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I agree not to distribute copies of Street Sense on metro trains and buses or on private property.

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I agree to abide by the Street Sense Media vendor territorial policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes I have with other vendors in a professional manner.

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9.

Brian Carome

I agree to sell no additional goods or products when distributing Street Sense.

Eric Falquero

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

I understand that my badge and (if applicable) vest are property of Street Sense Media. and will not deface them. I will present my badge when purchasing Street Sense. I will always display my badge when distributing Street Sense.

10. I agree to support Street Sense Media’s mission statement. In doing so I will work to support the Street Sense community and uphold its values of honesty, respect, support, and opportunity.

The Cover

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

A mixed-media painting selfportrait of the artist. The word “salaam” means “peace” in Arabic. It is also used as a general greeting in many Arabic-speaking and Muslim countries.

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

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

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

BY DELE AKEREJAH

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

I understand that I am not an employee of Street Sense Media. but an independent contractor.

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

www.DopamineClinic.com

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

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS & SALES MANAGER

Jeff Gray

VENDOR MANAGER

Muhammad Ilyas

EVENTS & WORKSHOP MANAGER

Leila Drici

CASE MANAGER

Colleen Cosgriff

WRITERS GROUP ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Willie Schatz

OPINION EDITORS (VOLUNTEER)

Rachel Brody, Arthur Delaney, Sara Reardon

ADVISORY BOARD

John McGlasson

EDITORIAL INTERNS

Christian Zapata

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

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

OFFICE SALES VOLUNTEERS

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

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EVENTS

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NEWS IN BRIEF Downtown daytime service center to open for homeless community

$1.7 million grant from Bowser to pilot a center homeless advocates have been requesting for a decade

CRAFT NIGHT

@ Shop Made in D.C.!

Shop Made In D.C. // 1330 19th Street NW

Free night of community crafting @ Shop Made In D.C.! In conjunction with Golden Triangle BID and a local maker.

No previous art or craft-making experience necessary. Delicious Made In D.C. cocktails and snacks will be available for purchase to enjoy while you craft the night away. RSVP is required, just search “Shop Made In DC” on Eventbrite. Once you’ve RSVP-ed, we just need your name at the door, no ticket necessary} *SEATING IS LIMITED. Everyone deserves to craft.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

Open Mic / Poetry Jam

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

Street Sense Media 15th anniversary celebration: Art Brings Us Home

8 - 11 p.m.

Ben’s Next Door // 1211 U St. NW Every second Wednesday of the month we want you to come on in to Ben’s Next Door for our Open Mic/ Poetry night. Everyone has that very special talent and we want to be the ones to help you showcase it. Extended happy hour specials and our normal wine down Wednesday special which includes half price wine bottles.

Housing Solutions Committee Sept. 5, 1:30 p.m. // TBD Family System Redesign Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. // 64 NY Ave. NE Quarterly Full Council Meeting Sept. 11, 2 p.m. // TBD *For more information on issue-focused working groups, contact ich.info@dc.gov

6 - 9 p.m. // Big Chief (Ivy City) 2002 Fenwick St NE, D.C. 20002 Our talented artists will present a multimedia gallery that shares their stories. Attending guests will have the opportunity to meet the artists.

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

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

AUDIENCE EXCHANGE International Network of Street Papers @_INSP

Sami Criteser

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Next up...It’s the Best Breakthrough Award The 2018 winner is: @streetsensedc! #INSPAwards

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Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a one-time grant on Aug. 23 to establish a downtown services center at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Ave. NW. The center will be run by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) and partner with city agencies and contractors to provide a variety of services on-site.

Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., the center is expected to serve at least 100 people experiencing homelessness per day. Clients will have access to meals, computers, showers, and laundry facilities, according to a press release. Additional services such as connection to case management, behavioral health resources, employment support, and housing assessments, will be provided.

“It will help bridge the gap between the District’s street outreach teams and service providers while providing a safe and welcoming space for people experiencing homelessness,” Christy Repress of Pathways to Housing D.C. was quoted as saying in the press release.

As Street Sense Media reported in 2015, the District has been piloting a daytime service center at the Adam’s Place shelter location in Northeast. While the services have received positive feedback from clients, it’s far-flung location has been a barrier to some. Yet the city has struggled find welcoming space in a central downtown location.

When the D.C. Public Libraries MLK Memorial Library location closed for three years of renovations in 2017, lack of access to the de facto downtown day center put strained other homeless services and similar locations.

“No excuses, communication could have been done better.” Kathy Harris of the Department f Human Services said at a meeting debriefing the launch of an interim service plan to provide restroom access, locations to take shelter from the elements during the day, computer access and an alternate pick-up and drop-off locations for the city’s shelter shuttle van service. ”Twenty years ago, the DowntownDC BID operated a Downtown Services Center, which was run by Linda Kaufman but was forced to close when the space was no longer available,” wrote DowntownDC BID President and CEO Neil Albert in an email to stakeholders.

He was referring to a center run out of First Congregational Church at 945 G St. NW, known then as “The 9:30 Club” by many homeless patrons. The location started as a soup kitchen, relocated from Shaw, which offered daily meals and showed movies during the day.

Eventually the BID co-located a Downtown Service Center there to serve the 300-400 existing clientele, providing showers, laundry and connection to nonprofit providers, according to the DowntownDC BID website.

The center closed in 2007 when First Congregational redeveloped it’s building. Amid reported pressure from area businesses at the time to disperse the homeless community that would gather there, space for the program was not included in the new building and the BID shifted its focus to outreach programs.

The New York Ave. service center will open before the 2018-19 Hypothermia season begins on Nov. 1.

Funding options for the center once the grant monies are exhausted are unclear.

—ericf@streetsensemedia.org

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NEWS

Several counter-protest events were organized in response to the “Unite the Right 2” rally on Aug. 12. A diverse group of participants coalesced to fill the streets and the park at Lafayette Square.

Barricades and law enforcement separated the counter protest zone from the rally. One of the approximately 20 rally attendees is visible beyond the crowd and barricades. PHOTOS BY ROLANDO APARICIO

Counter-protests reject white supremacist rally but disrupt homeless community

BY CHRISTIAN ZAPATA Editorial Intern

O

n Aug. 12 — one year to the day of the white supremacy rally that left three dead and multiple injured in Charlottesville — hundreds of counter-protesters marched on Washington in opposition of a second small demonstration.

Fears of a repeat of last year’s violence, which included the death of counter-protester Heather Heyer, weighed heavily on the minds of many. This year, in his submitted public-gathering permit, principle “Unite the Right” rally organizer Jason Kessler said he anticipated anywhere from 100 to 400 participants. But the turnout ultimately consisted of only about 20 people.

The white supremacist group marched to Lafayette Square from the Foggy Bottom Metro station, arriving earlier than anticipated and leaving before its 5:30 demonstration was scheduled to start.

“It could have easily been a larger crowd than what it was,” said Street Sense Media vendor Reginald Black.

“And, unfortunately, it was the homeless that were caught up in that unrest.”

Last year, Street Sense Media reported that D.C. government extended low-barrier shelter hours of operation, normally 7 p.m. to 9 a.m., into the daytime on days of extreme weather. The same practice was used to keep shelters open for three consecutive days around President Trump’s inauguration.

A man who had been living in Lafayette Square ahead of the rally, Daniel Kingery, said he expected to be unfazed by it. This would not be the first time his stay at the park, the latest stop of his travels across the country, was affected by public demonstrations. A religious demonstration also forced him to move from his spot not long ago.

Despite this, he said he looks at such events as opportunities to "learn from those who might be an enemy or have been taught to be one."

Much of Sunday's spotlight was cast on the motivations and show of force by the counter-protesters: the numerous individuals bearing picket signs and wearing Indiana Jones and Captain America cosplays. While united under a common goal, their reasons for being present were far from collective.

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

Prior to the rally, at approximately 1 p.m., Lena Muenke and her husband sat underneath a shaded segment of sidewalk at Freedom Plaza with child in hand, supporting the gathering of fellow counter-protesters in front of them.

Snuggled in the seat of their baby’s stroller was a sign that read, “You Can’t Spell COLORFUL without FU.” When asked about her position on First Amendment rights, Muenke teetered between the appeal of unrestricted freedom and taking steps to disarm misinformation. In Germany, where the couple has familial roots, not all free speech is created equal. Some, such as denying the Holocaust, is punishable by law.

“It’s interesting to be in this country where there’s a lot of these rights that people say or use in order to stand up and say things that aren’t acceptable,” Muenke said. “But on the other hand, should people be allowed to say that so there’s

a conversation that happens, so you can discuss and think?”

She weighs free speech from her perspective, a White cisgender female. She wonders if she has done enough to acknowledge her privilege and give back to her community. And she contemplates how the privilege that comes with being a White male might affect her son.

“He’s blonde, he’s got all of the textbook privilege, and it’s like, ‘How will I raise him in a way to recognize his privilege and then do something about it?’” she said.

Muenke was reluctant to attend the rally because she wasn’t sure what the atmosphere would be like and whether she and her husband were willing to bring their child when there was risk of violence. In the end, it was their son, to them a glimmer of humanity in a space devoid of it, who motivated them to show up and oppose white supremacy.

A few hours later, counter-protesters poured from Freedom Plaza into Lafayette Square. Another couple, Sam and Ellen, stood underneath yet another shaded area, this time a tree that would later be climbed and used as a vantage point.

Sam and Ellen are somewhere in their 60s and have been doing this much longer than the majority of people present. They’ve attended protested climate change, the Keystone XL Pipeline, the war in Afghanistan, and more “mostly left-wing communist stuff,” Sam said.

“It's encouraging when we get to thinking about the state of the nation, and how many stupid people there are in this country, that we see younger people coming out to protest on the right side of things,” he said.

Sam is a pessimist, he acknowledges. For him, coming to these events is less about making a difference and more about being useful and doing his part.

“You can’t just stay at home and yell at the TV,” he said.

Sam is uninterested in arguing with people who are set in their ways. He thinks people will, in time, reflect on their own decisions and do the right thing.

“The only people we can try to influence are,

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 5

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

unfortunately, people in Congress,” Sam said, “And as far as I can tell, they’re not paying much attention.”

Across the park, Noah Carter and Tori Coan said they were at Charlottesville last year and returned this year to protest “the exploitation of the students and community members who were harmed" at the University of Virginia, Carter said. The next day, they attended the counter-protests to deliver a similar message denouncing white supremacy.

It was difficult to hear Coan over the crowd behind her, yelling “I believe that we will win” over and over again. Her eyes darted to the line of police officers standing behind a barricade, lined through the center of the park, as she talked about how their presence can sometimes make these demonstrations worse.

Carter echoed her sentiments and added that it is difficult to gauge how police presence will affect a situation and what measures they will utilize for crowd control. For him, a protest is successful if no one commits an act of violence and no arrests are made over peaceful activity.

Neither thought this was the best way to engage in discourse with the other side, saying there is no need to discuss the fundamentals of white supremacy.

“The only people who I am here to convince of anything are the predominantly White liberal folks who think that this sort of protest is unacceptable and that we need to be having conversations,” Coan said.

To Coan, “White rights” organizations bare little difference from white supremacists. Kessler has stated that he is not a white nationalist but a civil rights activist petitioning for white people because they "do not have civil rights advocates," according to the New York Times.

Yet prior to the rally, documents released by the National Park Service indicate Kessler invited multiple white nationalists and white supremacists as keynote speakers, including former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke.

“White rights organizations say, ‘We are here to support White rights.’ But what’s not included is the second half of that sentence, ‘because other people do not deserve rights,’” Coan said.

Contrary to Kingery’s expectations, the “Unite the Right 2” rally and counter-protests did disrupt some members of the District’s homeless community. Shortly after the groups disassembled, residual tension between counter-protests and police transferred onto the streets.

According to Black, the Street Sense Media vendor, this was

a result of pent-up frustration from not being able to confront demonstrators, projected on the officers that escorted them. One confrontation between counter-protesters and police occurred in front of the church where Street Sense Media rents office space in Northwest D.C. A line of police officers stretching onto the sidewalk revved their engines and slowly pushed the crowd to the end of the block, where it dispersed. A few individuals were peppersprayed. No tear gas was used, however, it was on-site and ready.

Police held the line for about an hour before they moved back.

Dustin Sternbeck, director of the Office of Communications for the Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed that pepper spray was deployed but no injuries were reported.

“As standard protocol, the Metropolitan Police Department is currently reviewing if the deployment of pepper spray was an appropriate use of force,” Sternbeck said.

At the scene, Black said he was attempting to catch a ride when the group had its standoff with police. Ever since MLK Library closed for renovations, the church has served as a replacement stop for the city's homeless shelter shuttle bus system.

The counter-rally wasn’t something a lot of people experiencing homelessness wanted to participate in, according to Black. Many focused more on getting through their daily routine: making it to the shelter on time and finding out where their next meal was coming from.

“Where this happened is where we usually catch transportation when we are presented with shelter for the night,” Black said. “That particular incident, it caught them up in it without any regard for what they want to do.”

He thinks there is more the District can do to improve its event planning and take into consideration how public demonstrations affect members of the homeless community who do not want to participate.

“This experience showed me that even if you don’t have an opposing view, or if you don’t even have a view at all, we have to now think about these things and make sure that people have safe havens,” Black said.

For more photos and videos, visit StreetSenseMedia.org/ 2018-counter-protests

PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

“I volunteered with the D.C. Peace Keepers during the counter-protests because they do not take sides. They promote nonviloence, without the verbal, nonverbal, or physiclal outbursts — planned or impuslive — that are contagious and harm us all.

Angie Whitehurst // Artist/Vendor

BIRTHDAYS

Gerald Anderson Sept. 7 ARTIST/VENDOR

Angie Whitehurst Sept. 8 ARTIST/VENDOR

Franklin Sterling Sept. 14 ARTIST/VENDOR

Toni Calloway Sept. 15 ARTIST/VENDOR

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

A standoff between counter-protesters and police. PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN ZAPATA

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NEWS

Activists rally to stop demolition at Barry Farm

BY MARK ROSE AND SARAH TASCONE // Volunteers

T

he Barry Farm Tenant and Allies Association (BFTAA) held a rally on Aug. 18 to demand input in the next redevelopment plan for their public housing community, along with a halt to demolition in the neighborhood.

A large mound of splintered wood and concrete rubble piled up behind the rally site was symbolic of the state of the neighborhood. Roughly 40 people attended, a mix of residents and their supporters, organized by the nonprofit Empower D.C. Of the 444 units previously available, many occupied by families, approximately 80 residents remain as vacant units are torn down.

“The Bowser Administration should halt demolition at Barry Farm and let the residents there have a seat at the table to ensure they have the community they want,” said Catherine Cone, an attorney with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs who attended the rally.

Barry Farm is one of four public housing projects in the District that was selected to be revitalized and converted to a mixedincome development as part of the New Communities Initiative, a local program that began in 2005 as a response to federal budget cuts to housing programs.

Public housing units, like those at Barry Farm, are reserved for seniors, people with disabilities and very low-income families. The D.C. Housing Authority manages 56 properties for more than 20,000 public housing tenants on behalf of the federal government, according to its website. The city’s plan is to raze the neighborhood and build new units, which would be reserved for various income levels, including public housing, workforce housing, marketrate housing and others, partially dependent on the types of funding secured for the project.

Amenities such as retail space, schools and recreation facilities are part of each NCI plan.

As residents waited, however, fear began creeping in that the gentrification they saw sweep through the city over the past decade — driving up costs, exacerbating disparities, and displacing low-income Black residents — was coming for Barry Farm.

The project was slow to start, with new life breathed into it in recent years by a federal planning grant, city budget allocations and private investment. An updated development plan was approved in 2014 to guide construction.

Despite continuing community-input efforts, residents have said for years they do have they do not have a meaningful voice in the project.

During a 2012 interview, lawyer and activist Aaron O‘Neal said monthly NCI meetings at the time were sometimes attended by 15 residents, other times only by five. “If you go to meetings, there is a stark difference of what the city wants and the residents want,” he said, “but there is no organization among the residents.”

Less than a year later, Empower D.C.

formed the BFTAA. While disaffected residents may be more organized today, their fears and complaints stated at the Aug. 18 rally mirrored those shared six years ago.

The BFTAA is not the official tenants’ association to represent the Barry Farm community to their landlord, the D.C. Housing Authority. However, being recognized as such is one of 18 bullet points on a petition circulated at the rally and posted on the website ActionNetwork.org.

Residents interviewed in 2012 feared they or their neighbors would not be able to return to the community after construction if they owed back rent or if they managed to be charged with a felony before moving back. A petition circulated by the BFTAA at the Aug. 18 rally reads “EVERYONE returns – clear all back rent and remove all other barriers to return.

As Street Sense Media reported in 2016, the housing authority’s board of commissioners passed an affirmative “right to return” resolution that specifically said current residents or redeveloped communities who are “lease-compliant” will face no new screening requirements, including criminal background checks or credit history, when returning to the new development. This formal measure was an effort to lend credibility to a promise the housing authority has been making since the inception of the New Communities Initiative.

In 2017, the BFTAA sued the housing authority, claiming the approved development plan discriminated against families by building more one- and two-bedroom units and less three-, four- or five-bedroom units than previously existed on the site. The class-action suit also said the number of public housing units included in the plan did not sufficiently honor the New Communities Initiative tenant of “one-for-replacement,” or not losing any public housing stock to the redevelopment.

NCI and the housing authority had aimed to build more than 1,000 units and to maintain the number of public housing units in the area by building 100 additional public housing units as part of two larger affordable housing projects nearby, each approximately three-quarters of a mile away from Barry Farm. Those units have been completed and some former Barry Farm residents have moved into them.

Nevertheless, after two years moving through the courts, the D.C. Court of Appeals decided the development team had not adequately consider the “adverse impacts raised by Barry Farm residents” and remanded the plan back to the zoning commission.

The legal battle with the BFTAA has not stopped the New Communities initiative and the housing authority from reaching out to the community. A week after the BFTAA rally, NCI co-sponsored the annual Barry Farm Family and Friends Day to connect children of residents with educational and job opportunities. The U.S. Coast Guard and

General Services Administration donated backpacks loaded down with enough supplies that they were too heavy for small children to carry home. Meanwhile, representatives from Howard University, D.C. Job Corps, Bright Beginnings Charter School and other vendors manned tables covered in brochures, applications and trinkets.

Two hundred and fifty residents attended the fair within the first two hours of the sixhour event, according to Tia Ellis, who was working in the welcome tent. She expected roughly 400 attendees by the end of the day.

The Far Southeast Strengthening Collaborative, a support program for low-income D.C. families and is assisting Barry Farm residents with relocation, facilitated the event.

In addition to Barry Farm Day, the housing authority frequently organized large community cookouts, educational workshops, one-stop “lease-up” events to meet landlords and more.

But as the majority of residents have moved or begun to move, FSSC, Housing Opportunities Unlimited and similar relocation groups have been the focus and most resources have been provided one-on-one.

“We are here to help people make the transition and make sure everything is in order for them,” Ellis said. She said the community’s reaction to the redevelopment efforts has been mixed. “Some people weren’t prepared,” she said. “You have to keep in mind this has been their home for five generations.”

As go-go music played in the background and kids lined up to go on inflatable slides and bounce houses, some attendees and vendors expressed skepticism that even the best of intentions would carry the day once developers got involved.

“Gentrification has been a long time coming,” one vendor said, shaking his head with a short laugh. He preferred not to be named.

Aaron Dunmore, 66, a member of the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center who lives at Garfield House, doubts the Barry Farm people he grew up with and still sees regularly will be able to return home once development is complete. He predicted either the rents will go up or long-time tenants would somehow be found not to qualify to return.

“They love to say they’re going to build ‘affordable housing’, that’s their favorite line,” Dunmore said. “Put it this way, they might say that before the developers get here, but once they here, who knows.”

Due to the judge’s dismissal, there is no plan to guide construction while the development team reconsiders their options.

But redevelopment will still happen once a new plan is agreed upon, and demolition is allowed to proceed on schedule. All residents are expected to have moved by the fall.

As Street Sense Media previously reported, all residents were given the option to accept a portable Housing Choice Voucher (“Section 8”)

or to transfer to another public housing property, of which they are legally entitled to three options.

The choice came with a Sept. 30 deadline, after which the housing authority will not have access to the federal funds that provide for relocation vouchers ahead of demotion. As of a July 12 roundtable convened by D.C. Council to discuss the future of Barry Farm, only seven residents were refusing to make that choice. Some are still hoping for other options through the BFTAA. “Residents are limited in their options when they are forced to leave,” said Sabiya Prince an anthropologist who attended the rally and was recently hired by Empower D.C. “There’s really no reason at all that the structure of the homes can’t be repaired or improved.”

This assessment is at odds with a 2017 fact sheet distributed by the D.C. Housing Authority which stated redevelopment was chosen because the homes are in such poor condition they “cannot be fixed through routine maintenance.” New construction would be “built to last,” according to the fact sheet, and existing public housing structures would be replaced one-for-on.

“DCHA remains committed to the development of Barry Farm and is simply evaluating its next step,” a spokesperson for the housing authority said in a statement to Street Sense Media. “Our first concern continues to be the hundreds of people who planned to return to the redeveloped site in 2020. Over the last several months, Ward 8 families made the decision to relocate from the Barry Farm community while demolition and redevelopment are underway. These families will not be overlooked or forgotten. DCHA remains committed to the families who desire to return to the new development, which is guaranteed by DCHA policy.”

On Sunday, Aug. 26, Empower D.C. wrote in a series of Tweets that Barry Farm residents had received notices from DCHA stating lead paint contamination was discovered during a “risk assessment” that evaluated 55 housing units in the neighborhood in June and July.

Further testing in the homes of letter recipients will be necessary.

The housing authority released a general statement to the media explaining Director Garrett, who was hired last year, ordered a comprehensive review of all of DCHA’s environmental practices and compliance with federal and local laws to create a baseline for his tenure.”DCHA is completing lead paint testing and risk assessments for the entire public housing portfolio,” the statement said. “No lead was found in the soil samples at Bary Farm, however, dust containing lead was found in some vacant units and an elevated lead level with deteriorated paint was found on the banister post in the living room of one of the tested units.”

DCHA will convene a resident-only meeting to further discuss.

Eric Falquero contributed reporting.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 7

Many of Akerejah’s mixed-media paintings feature threedimensional textures and found objects, such as earings, cigarettes and this McDonald’s fry carton. PHOTO BY JEFF GRAY

Dele Akerejah, wearing a shirt he designed, stands in front of his artwork after a pop-up exhibition outside of the Church of the Epiphany.

PHOTO BY JEFF GRAY

In art, this formerly-homeless man found power

BY JEFF GRAY jeff@streetsensemedia.org

I

t was Thanksgiving Day, 2013, and Dele Akerejah was alone.

He’d battled homelessness on and off since his sophomore year at Howard University, and the years of hard living and struggles with mental health had severed most of his personal relationships. A recent breakup with the woman he loved had been particularly tough, driving him to thoughts of suicide. Even within the comfort of his new governmentsubsidized apartment, he felt trapped. Isolated.

So Dele turned to the one constant in his life: art. He walked down the street to CVS and filled his bag with cardboard, magazines and glue. Back home, he lost himself in a flurry of scissors and paper snippets.

“The creation of art is medicinal,” Dele said. “It’s supposed to heal. Yes, we all need food, clothing and shelter, but you need to address the issues in your soul.” *** Dele was 20 years old the first time he slept in a park. An altercation at Howard had gotten him kicked out of the dorms, and it took the better part to of a week to find a friend to stay with. He spent the intervening nights on a bench in D.C.’s Meridian Hill Park.

For Dele, who’d come from an affluent middle-class family, the experience was visceral and jarring. “Those nights were

really rough,” he remembers. “We don’t recognize the luxury of these four walls and this roof a lot of times.”

Seven years later, after a food truck business went bust and left him unable to pay his rent, Dele was back on the streets.

He got kicked out of a work-bed program, so he spent the entire summer in D.C.’s notorious Franklin Park. He cycled through various shelters and rehabilitation centers and, for a time, slept beside a fire station downtown. In 2011, after an incident that ended with Dele kicking out the window of a police car, he was arrested and sentenced to 30 days at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric campus that once housed the would-be assassins of Andrew Jackson and Ronald Reagan.

It was here, trapped by white walls and mind-numbing routine, with his life and mental health drifting beyond his control, that Dele turned to art.

The supplies at a psych ward are limited, so he used whatever he could find — magazine cutouts, construction paper snippets, even apple juice lids — to tell elaborate stories through collage.

The process was cathartic.

Art was more than an escape. It was a way for Dele to exert control over a world that was otherwise overwhelming him.

“It’s my way of building worlds that I feel safe in and can navigate,” he explains. “Being poor in America is such a powerless experience. It’s like how children whose parents are getting divorced have imaginary friends to establish some dimension of control in their lives. I experience that through art.”

Dele’s relationship with art began at a young age. He was five-years old when he sold his first drawing and he was 15 when he created his first oil painting. He and his cousin wrote and drew their own comic books at boarding school in Nigeria.

As Dele entered his late teens, however, a desire for “quick money” drove him away from the arts. He fell in with a revolving troupe of hustlers, drug dealers and con artists.

It was while sleeping in Franklin Park that he met a man named Hollis. The former Vietnam vet and retired Metro bus driver offered Dele something that had become rare during his time on the street: friendship.

Dele and Hollis spent the entire summer together in the park. It was rough going, but Dele can pick out moments of tranquility, like sipping beer out of paper-wrapped can while staring at the night sky and swapping stories with Hollis.

“W.E.B. Du Bois calls it the ‘kinship of the dispossessed,’” Dele said. “Once we all realize that we have nothing, we realize we have nothing to lose except for the love between us. That really got me through that period.”

Several years later, Dele stood beside the death bed of his good friend. Years of hard living and substance abuse had taken their toll. In the days leading up to the end, Dele recalls Hollis telling him that there was no more dopamine in his brain.

That may not have been an accurate medical diagnosis, but it was an inspiring moment for Dele, who resolved to spend his energy doing what made him truly happy. He wanted to create art.

“Human beings expressing themselves to one another and appreciating one another is the primary purpose of life after you get through Abraham Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs,’” Dele said. “You deal with food, clothing and shelter and all of the other stuff in between.

“But self-actualization comes through your art form.”

Turn the page to read the beginning of one of Dele’s latest works, “The Venus Flytrap.” You can follow and shop for his work at www.DopamineClinic.com.

Dele’s artwork will be on display at Street Sense Media’s Art Brings Us Home gallery event on Sept. 25. Turn to the back cover to learn more, or visit

StreetSenseMedia.org/celebration

8 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 5 - 1 8 , 2 018

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

being homeless?

Supportive Services for Vet V eran Families (SSVF) may be able to assist you.

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

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

V Must not have a discharge status of dishonorable or been dismissed by General Court r Martial. rt SERVIC R RVIC ES Case Management Assistance w/ VA V & Otherr Benefits Personal Financial Planning Housing Counseling

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// 9

THE

VENUS FLYTRAP

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

BY DELE AKEREJAH Artist/Vendor

Apply for Discounts on Your Utility Bills Discounts are Subject to Income Eligibility Requirements

- Apply for Discounted Rates on Telephone

Lifeline Program (Economy II)

Annual discount on one land line service per household.

Natural Gas

Residential Essential Service (RES) Program

Potential savings up to $276 during the winter heating season.

Electric

Residential Aid Discount (RAD) Program

Potential savings are between $300-$475 annually.

Water

Customer Assistance Program (CAP)

Potential discount could be over $450 annually.

For more info call 311 or visit doee.dc.gov/udp

To apply for the telephone Lifeline Service (Economy II), call 800-253-0846.

These programs are for DC residents only.

The story continues, updated weekly, at StreetSenseMedia.org/VenusFlytrap

1 0 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 5 - 1 8 , 2018

OPINION Product of Progression:

Gotta keep moving

BY TYRONE CHISHOLM JR.

Ilyas Muhammad (second from left) discussed these topics at an Aug. 17 World Bank forum.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ILYAS MUHAMMED

The growing gap between rich and poor

BY ILYAS MUHAMMAD

Income inequality is increasing day by day and it seems like the world is helpless to solve the problem.

Take the gender wage gap. On average. a woman earns 80 percent what a man earns, even with the same level of responsibilities.

This gap is not based on skill sets — it’s just women being paid less than men.

There’s also a growing racial wage gap. The figures are astonishing: A study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found the average earnings of Black men had declined by 10 percent in recent years relative to White men. In 1979, Black men earned 80 percent of what White men earned, while now it is about 70 percent, or $18 per hour for Black men versus $25 for White men.

Similarly, in D.C., the median annual income for White families is $120,000, while it is $41,000 for Black families, according to D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute data cited in a Georgetown University report about employment and housing trends for African Americans in the District.

Even as wages have increased for other

ethnic groups, Black men’s pay lags by 30 percent. Efforts have been made in the form of advocacy on different levels, but the prevailing figures don’t show any significant impact.

We can’t blame the corporate sector for all this because, in cases like this, governments have to play their role. If the gaps are widening day by day and the government is silent, it shows that a specific set of people are given priority while others are ignored.

Improving access to education, health facilities, and safer environments can help a lot in getting rid of the gender and ethnic gaps.

Boosting small and medium-level enterprises could be the start to get to reduce the wage gaps, enhancing economic empowerment, and a sense of civic citizenship. We have time to act and overcome the challenges of wage inequality, extreme poverty, and inclusive society.

Ilyas Muhammad is the vendor manager at Street Sense Media.

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

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

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

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

I have met the time frame for my rapid re-housing program and was not able to be renewed. Was the program worth it? Did it help me mentally, emotionally or physically? Did I gain any stability?

I am in the same place as when I moved in. I am still working, but back on the streets. If a program doesn’t work, they look at the person and not the situation. How many situations must occur before people look not just at the big picture, but at the systemic things that made the picture?

I had an uneasy feeling about the place, but I went in with only a quick thought. It’s not hard when you’re pressed, and you find something that looks good for your situation, to take it and not look at the long term effects.

While in the Friendship Place program, I found a job that I am still maintaining and I am waiting for my final grade in a course they sponsored.

We have to be able to use every situation we come across to better ourselves.

Money management is a problem I still struggle with. I pay my bills, but saving money is difficult. I am still striving, but having hard times.

Just getting the needed things like food becomes a challenge. I have school loans that I am trying to pay off, a storage fee for my car, transportation for work and because I am a diabetic, eating healthy is expensive. I do okay, but I could do a lot better.

Statistics say that as homeless people, we will not live past age 55 because of the conditions of being homeless, but I will beat those odds. We have to stay focused and utilize resources — not abuse them.. I am trying to find another job and Friendship Place helped me fill out my first application for a studio apartment, which I feel good about.

I see what needs to happen, but am I helping myself to become a better asset? To stay and live in Washington D.C. means to have a firm foundation that is built on knowledge of the city.

I am blessed, but I still know this epidemic of homelessness has to be addressed. More help must be given to those who can’t help themselves, and assistance to those who assist themselves. We are vulnerable. We seek help and guidance, not downgrading and misperception.

Tyrone Chisholm Jr. writes this series to demonstrate the challenges and opportunities he has found while homeless, employed and enrolled in higher education in our nation’s capital. Questions may be sent to editor@streetsensemedia.org

An essential social topic

BY ERNEST YAMBOT

Homelessness: is it caused by mental illness and/or substance abuse? Or are economic deprivation and poverty the underlying causes?

Last winter, I wrote a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser emphasizing that many homeless people are suffering from mental illness and need psychiatric medication and psychological counseling. Even more people simply need proper nutrition, health care and proper winter clothes, especially during the coldest months.

In my letter, I highly praised Mayor Bowser for the excellent job she was doing improving of the lives of many homeless people and families through housing projects and the construction of more shelters. These projects boost and strengthen morale, not to mention the free flu shots. “Spread the love,

not the flu,” is the logo. In response to this endeavor, I would like to convey and express our deepest and sincerest gratitude. Thank you very much to the mayor of D.C. To Street Sense Media: I thank you for publishing articles that have attained the highest excellence and professionalism in the field of the most important mass media — print media.

The newspaper embraces the power of journalism, freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

All this is for a better political, economic and social change, which directly impacts humanitarian values and empowers and uplifts human dignity. More power to Street Sense Media.

Ernest Yambot is a Street Sense Media newspaper.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 11

The non-solution solutions to end homelessness

BY WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT (WRAP)

It is easy to forget that homelessness was supposed to be temporary. As states of emergency continue to pop up all over the United States, as ten-year plans to end homelessness continue to expire and get renamed, and as evictions and displacement and the number of people living on the streets continues to increase, homelessness becomes more and more entrenched as a permanent phenomenon.

The neoliberal policies that emerged in the 1980s decimated federal funding for public housing and created the contemporary homelessness problem. They also shifted our entire material reality by privatizing formerly public goods such as public space, housing and healthcare. In addition, they expanded the prison system, criminalized social behaviors, destroyed the welfare state and centralized wealth for a few while increasing poverty for most.

Instead of addressing the structures that have been forcing people onto the streets for the past 30 years, political discourse has continued to focus on managing the increasing homeless population. In the rush to appear to be doing something about the “homeless problem,” politicians often funnel large amounts of money into projects that do little or nothing to change the material conditions of the lives of homeless people. The intention is great, but the end result deceives the public and wastes millions of dollars. While many of these non-solutions can make some lives easier, they are not actual solutions toward ending homelessness.

The most helpful solutions come from homeless people themselves. They foster selfdetermination for everyone, stress the need for housing and do not involve the police.

WRAP tends to be critical of such nonsolutions because we strive for alternatives that address homeless people’s needs and work to prevent anyone from becoming homeless.

Our abridged list of non-solution solutions that ensure the status quo remains: 1) Criminalizing existence One of cities’ favorite strategies is to force homeless people out of public space by criminalizing basic life-sustaining activities (sitting, lying, sleeping, resting, eating, etc.).

Homeless people are told to move along, ticketed or arrested. Some cities punish people for camping when they have nowhere else to protect themselves from the elements, or for possessing “camping paraphernalia” with the “intent to use.”

Cities and police departments conduct sweeps, often confiscating people’s property by claiming that it is “garbage.”

While accruing fines for existing while poor in public — and receiving warrants for being unable to pay the fi nes — people are funneled into jails and prisons. Criminalizing existence entrenches people in poverty and creates obstacles for people trying to get off the streets.

2) Collaborating with business improvement districts (BIDs) — gentrifying cities Business and property owners often collaborate with the police through BIDs to “address homelessness” and gentrify neighborhoods. BIDs are non-democratic, public-private entities that charge fees to property owners to supplement utilities like parking infrastructure and lighting maintenance.

Additional fees fund sanitation services, private security, more police and anti-homeless initiatives. BIDs sometimes attempt to help “solve” the homeless problem by hiring poor and homeless people as security guards to police other poor and homeless people, and lobby in favor of criminalization policies.

3) City-sanctioned encampments that deny self-determination The shelter system was created as an emergency option for people on the streets and was never intended as a long-term solution.

Some cities are exploring the creation of sanctioned encampment shelters in abandoned areas – usually far away from city centers – to be run by the city or non-profits.

Official strategies should honor the creative solutions designed by homeless people, like tiny homes and resident-organized encampments.

But cities should not use these sanctioned communities to facilitate surveillance, to serve as justification to criminalize other incidents of homelessness or to cease their focus on creating permanent housing.

4) Homeless courts – using the criminal legal system to fight problems created by the criminal legal system Criminalization is not a solution to homelessness. Yet there is a push to address homelessness through criminal legal approaches like homeless courts, which address homeless issues outside of the regular court system. Homeless courts often only offer special, reserved services if a person pleads guilty, which further institutionalizes and entrenches homelessness in the criminal legal system. These approaches exacerbate problems for homeless people and should not be used as a solution.

5) Outreach – a great way to beef up your grant proposal Perhaps the most overused non-solution solution to homelessness is outreach. Outreach can be a useful tool in gathering information and creating a connection between people. At its best, outreach provides food, blankets, medical supplies, harm reduction materials, access to showers and “cop watching” for people living on the streets.

But outreach can also be used to perpetuate the myth that people are in the streets because they don’t know where to go for help or are just too dysfunctional to get there. At its

worst, this outreach is done to “look good” or simply to justify increased funding for the organizations coordinating the outreach.

Outreach is a exercise in futility when all the service providers, treatment centers and housing have massive waitlists.

6) Case Management, Life-Skills Training and the Homeless Industrial Complex Over the past 30 years, an entire industry has emerged to “help” homeless people. Most homeless service providers are required to offer case management and life-skills training. While these services are helpful for some people, they do nothing at all for most people or are directly harmful. Case managers who are assigned to provide emotional support and link homeless people to services are often unable to connect them to the most helpful services.

Mandatory training programs in life skills like financial literacy, keeping appointments and interpersonal communication can be deeply condescending and harmful. Unless the trainings involve building housing and purchasing land, they will continue to be mostly irrelevant.

7) Navigation centers, coordinated entry systems, vulnerability indexes – the many ways to link homeless people up with housing that doesn’t exist These solutions are the least harmful, but waste money on being marginally helpful.

The Bay Area in California is pushing for new Navigation Centers that “navigate” homeless people to services in the city. This $3 million solution is intended to be a one-stop shop where people can access all of the city’s services. Similarly, in Sacramento, the Common Cents service coordination program uses a “vulnerability index” to prioritize the needs of homeless people at the highest risk of premature death. These are good approaches, but the reality is that there is not enough housing for the most vulnerable, and waiting lists can take years to show substantial movement.

Homelessness will end when everyone has a house to live in and can access basic needs like eating, sleeping, resting, using the bathroom and having contact with other humans. This is not an idealistic and unattainable goal. There is enough money in this country to ensure that everyone has a house — after all, we have no problem building luxury condos that are only accessible to the most wealthy.

Ending homelessness is a problem of political will. The time to be bold and invest in a world where we can all thrive is now.

Courtesy of Homeward Street Journal (Sacramento, California) and the International Network of Street Newspapers (INSP.ngo). The Western Regional Advocacy Project was founded in 2005 by social justice organizations across the West Coast.

Homelessness changed my worldview

BY JACKIE TURNER

I no longer look at people on the street as bums or hopeless.

I know they are homeless because of a lot of reasons.

Some don't know how to help themselves or are unable to cope with an injury, a mental illness or other issues. People experiencing homelessness aren’t bums, they are just people with problems.

And those problems can be depressing, homelessness can feel hopeless. We need to help each other remember we are all beautiful. It is important to love yourself and learn to love the world.

If you look around, there is a lot of beauty in this world: the trees, the flowers, water flowing, a baby being born and learning. They look good, smell good and give you an uplifted feeling. There are so many wonderful things about this world.

When you think like this, you know you are a work of beauty because you are a part of this world. One of God's wonders.

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

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ART THE HOBO, Part 3: “WHAT AM I WORTH?”

BY DUANE FOSTER Artist/Vendor

PREVIOUSLY:: An elderly woman passing Black Fields in a crowded place clutched her handbag tightly, making three things very clear to Fields: she saw him as someone without morals, he was stupid and his very existence bothered her...

Then he recalled the Frantz Fanon passages he had read a few days prior.

Fanon wrote, “Hate demands existence and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behavior.” The woman’s ‘actions and behavior’ definitely demonstrated this theory.

Fanon also mentioned, “The oppressed enslaved by his inferiority, the oppressor enslaved by his superiority, behave in accordance to his neurotic condition.”

This woman was definitely acting “in accordance to her “neurotic condition.”

Fields contemplated whether repeated scenarios such as this could do damage to a man’s psyche, spirit, and soul. “Maybe I got a neurotic condition too?”

He reflected on his childhood. About how he was considered bad at home, disruptive in school, and always received a frown from the store owner when he shopped for his candy, soda, and chips.

He wondered why his babysitters pinched, beat, and mistreated him when no one was watching. Why was he bullied and teased by his classmates without any adult intervention? Why didn’t his mother communicate with him? Why was work, telephone, and television, more important than him to her? Why had the world turned against him at such an early age?

“F*** it!” Fields spat. Then he growled under his breath, “I gotta get me a dipper.”

Then he heard a car engine fire up and he looked to his right. One of the police cruisers was beginning to exit the parking lot. Again he thought of Emmett Till and began to smolder.

“They still capable…” he thought, as the image of young Emmett in his casket marinated on his mind. The handsome young man resembled the “Elephant man” by the time the lynching was completed.

Then Fields slammed his fist on the trash can beside him and said to himself, “How could any of ‘em be scared? I should run 90 miles per hour in the opposite direction any time I see one of ‘em.”

“She is much, much more of a threat to me than I can ever be to her,” he hissed through gritted teeth. Then in a flash he

thought of Yousef Hawkins, Amadou Diallo, and Travon Martin.

Fields just shook his head, “Our lives don’t matter.”

The woman had moved on past and was now making her way up the stoop of the Chipotle. He watched astutely as the distance between her and the vicious looking animal decreased.

Once she approached the door, the animal rushed her.

“Oh boy!” she gleamed and smiled from ear to ear. Her face had changed from being stone like to kind and bubbly.

“Down boy!...good dawgy…Down now!” Finally, the dog settled and she smiled as she bent down and kissed him square on the mouth. Then she raised up to reach for the door handle and opened. Before she entered, she looked across the way at Fields. He could see her expression immediately change from merriment and endearment, back to disdain and abhorrence.

“W-T-F!” he murmured. ”No such thing as humility anymore.”

Once again, Fields became overcome by that familiar feeling. He needed twenty dollars in the worst way. The cravings was more than he wanted to endure at times. But there was no turning back. He had to satisfy that burning hunger. He felt as if he could break down and go to crying but he couldn’t get it out.

In the back of his mind he could still hear his mother chastising him, “You must change…” He also heard his homeboy’s voice, “You need to read your Bible…”

He felt lost, depressed, and didn’t know what to do.

Out of nowhere Fields felt a gust of strength and stamina. His inner voice told him to pray and these words rolled off of his tongue, “Lord please grant me peace of mind; please forgive me for my sins — my misguided thoughts, ways, actions and words; please help me to improve and become a better person; and please continue to protect me and bless me until you call me home…Amen.”

Fields paused, then thought, “Oh yeah Lord, I don’t know if anyone else is asking, and it can’t be that difficult. Can we please have world peace? Please?”

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

Who Am I

BY GWYNETTE SMITH // Artist/Vendor

I was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. I had lots of family there, both on my mother’s and father’s side.

My mother’s family left when I was very young, except for some who lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. My father’s mother was a good cook. I remember food that I still enjoy, like blackberry cobbler. She taught me some things, like how to make cobblers. She also taught me how to can food.

My parents and I moved to Elizabeth City, North Carolina. for about a year. Later, along with my baby sister, we lived in South Carolina. After many years there, we left.

I later went to college, got married, and worked here in Washington, D.C. Eventually, we divorced, and I left here and much later, moved where my parents, sister and her husband lived. After my mother died, who I was helping, I left.

Then I got a job calling people and doing surveys about movies. I didn’t make enough money to maintain myself and eventually became homeless.

After a lot of time, I returned here and later began teaching adults, until I broke my ankle.

A man sold me a Street Sense newspaper and later told me how to go about selling the paper. I became a vendor. The job helped me. I could pay my bills.

I am older now. What do I want for my future? A small apartment and a dog.

Being not very far from a beach would be pleasant, I think. I’d want to be near some family and go to a church where I could meet more people.

At my age, I have no pretenses of a very different life, like a much younger person might dream of.

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

BY REV. JOHN LITTLEJOHN ARTIST/VENDOR

Recently, I realized that all the photos and mementos in my life represent the past. I considered removing them, then I wondered if those reminders of people, places, and things are might serve some purpose in my life today.

To avoid being mixed in with the “Yesterday” of life, I needed to discover the true value of these items as they would relate to Today and Tomorrow.

When God’s people crossed the Jordan River into the promised land, He told their leader, Joshua, to choose 12 men and have each one take a stone from the middle of the river and carry it to their campsite.

Then Joshua set up the stones as a memorial so that when future generations asked what do the stones mean to you, to me or to us – they could tell them about God’s faithfulness in holding back the waters while they crossed the Jordan River.

As followers of Christ Jesus, it’s good for us to have tangible evidence of God’s help in the past. Those mementos remind us that His faithfulness continues, that we can follow Him with courage and trust and confidence, into the future.

One “stone” may also help others

know that God’s hand is mighty, as they encourage us to fear the Lord.

The mementos of what God has done for us can become building blocks for Today and Tomorrow.

These days everybody wants to be in control, wants to be a leader but never really follows.

No information, no direction, or way too much pride. Yet all they must do is remember to bow down and ask for the Lord to be their guide.

Proverbs 3:5:6 says “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Only if we do this, can we truly begin to tackle homeless issue. There is no pain and sorrow, suffering or sickness on earth that heaven cannot heal! Heaven is love, peace, kindness and happiness.

All the evil around us is no match for the God that is within us! Don’t hate God’s correction, because he corrects those who He loves.

Precise memories of Yesterday can strengthen your faith for Today and Tomorrow.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

One man’s journey through 19 years experiencing homelessness

Before you were homeless, what kind of environment was that? Do you think it led to your homelessness?

Gardner: Well, prior to me being arrested, I had to be a little kid, seven or eight years old. In my neighborhood, a lot of the boys used to hang outside. My thing was hanging outside.

At some point, some people came around to try to help [my friends] out and explained to them that [my friends] were homeless. So that’s how I first found out about being homeless.

I had a single mother and four siblings growing up. My father was dead when I was born. So it's been hard, you know?

I don’t blame nothing on my family because they tried to do what they had to do, especially my mother raising four kids. I went to school and, like i said, I was arrested at 15 and sent out to Virginia. I went to grade school and always had good grades.

I always studied and learned and listened to the teachers and did my homework. Once I came home from residential, I was able to get my GED. When I was a juvenile, I did two years in college and in between time from living in the shelters and back-and-forth from what they call post-to-post,” I would pick up temp jobs and try to work and just try to better myself.

BY REGINALD BLACK Artist/Vendor

David Gardner, 34, had been homeless since he was fifteen years old. “When I was taken away from my mother.” He is a native Washingtonian and just moved into the first place of his own this year. Gardner has had work on and off but said he has also bounced between jail and drug treatment programs.

While homeless, says he learned gratitude. “I congratulated someone for coming down and helping me out and uplifting my spirits,” he said. “It is hard out here.”

This is his lived experience, shared during an interview at McDonald’s in downtown D.C. Reginald Black: Over the years being homeless, what kind of facilities did you encounter?

Gardner: As a child, I was sent to shelter houses from the age of 15 till I was 19, for a crime I committed with some co-defendants of mine. I really learned that I have to be independent if I wanted to be something out in the world.

When I came home, I juggled with trying to get back into my family life. But I didn’t believe Didn't believe my family have my best interest at heart, you know? I was dealing with a drug addict sister and she was into prostitution and I would be outside and it was just unsafe for me.

Can you describe some of the shelters?

Gardner: I was told to stay out my neighborhood, so that’s when it lead me to come to the shelters and come downtown.

This was 2003.

The shelters I have been to in Washington, D.C., they’re run

by Catholic Charities, for the Department of Human Services.

David Gardner. PHOTO BY REGINALD BLACK

You would think that a church would be a safe haven for people to go in. But once you get there, you have to be there at a certain time. It’s a line where you could actually be hurt or harmed for standing in the line because people will burst in front of you and try to take your spot.

One thing that happened to me that I was afraid of was when my sheets were stolen off my bed. I can remember my first day there, I was excited to finally get my bed. And i put my sheets on my bed and they were stolen. I went up to the front desk and was like “Oh my gosh, what's going on here? Someone stole my stuff! I do not feel safe here no more.” One of the guys at the desk explained to me there was a lot of stealing going on and that there’s a lot of people that you’re going to meet who do not have your best interest at heart.

I picked up some charges in the shelter because these guys decided to pick on me and we got into an altercation. I got arrested for assault, so I didn’t really have nowhere to go. But I also met a lot of good people and a lot of friends that I stick to and we are trying to progress and to become something in our lives.

Did the services at that time help you with employment?

Gardner: Well, at the programs I have been to, I feel as though I put forth a lot of effort to progress in my behavior. I believe they helped me strengthen my mindset and my mind frame to get my life together. A lot of times it did help me just by giving me somewhere to stay at and not be locked up and arrested, and someone to talk to, you know? I made it my goal to see my case manager every two weeks when I was in the shelter, which was good. Little things like that really help a person out.

It sounds like you have seen different services change over time. Have they gotten better?

Gardner: A lot of these services and a lot of the people that come with these services — I’ve learned they’re in there to just get a paycheck. A lot of them will allow you to be hurt, harmed, put in bad hands. The people I was working with, they didn’t inspire me or assist me with what was going on at the time. But in a lot of the day programs that are opening now there are people that come out and serve and it's really helpful.

Where have you found direction or inspiration lately?

Gardner: Well, I signed up for a constituent scholarship and got accepted into to the National Alliance [to End Homelessness] conference [in July]. What I do is sign up for everything and let the people call me back. My thing is my focus. Everybody wanna sign up for the partying events or cookout events. I pick events where I have to go to places like the Wilson Building.

How I became homeless

Who am I?

BY PHILLIP BLACK JR. Artist/Vendor

BY MILDRED MARIE HALL Artist/Vendor

My basics: I am 38 years old and have never been in trouble.

I am a single father of three girls whom I love dearly.

I have broke my right hand three times since 2012. Those injuries have made it difficult for me to find steady work.

So I am often forced to find ways to survive and not bread down when I have three wonderful ladies looking up to me.

How does this affect me? Simple mathematics: To live in the District of Columbia you have to make at least $40,000 a year for a one-bedroom apartment. I don’t earn

// 1 3

enough money for that standard of living. My problem, then, is not having enough money to care for a family of four, yet still provide a smile on my face for my customers. Another serious issue is that my situation makes it difficult to get Social Security income.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day I give thanks to Street Sense Med for enabling me to sell the paper and attain some type of dignity by working for myself.

My values are God and love. I love family, churches, history, as well as education, and employment with the best and finest of quality. I also value the beliefs of my childhood, as given to me by my ancestors and people. They taught me how to live, how to survive, and the importance of travel. I want for myself, one day, to visit all 50 United States capitals. Many people have come to work in the District, some of whom I have worked alongside. I want to visit their state’s capital to learn more on how others support themselves and live in their communities.

1 4 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // S E P T. 5 - 1 8 , 2018

FUN & Answers Sudoku #1 4 7 1 6 GAMES 8 1 9

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Challenging Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 1

3 5 2 9 8 Challenging Sudoku 7 by4 KrazyDad, 5 3 Volume 6 1, Book 1 2 5 3 2 9 8 4 7 1 3 6 5 4 2 7 8 9 8 4 7 6 9 3 1 2 9 2 8 1 3 6 4 5 6 7 4 2 1 9 5 3 4 5 9 8 6 1 2 7 1 9 3 5 7 8 6 4

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SUDOKU: Fill in

4 puzzle 6 without 5 3 guesswork.

2 9 7 If you logicsquares you can solve the theuse blank

1 8

so athat Need little each help? row, The hints page a logical order8to solve the puzzle.

7 shows 6 5 9 3 2 1 4 Use it to identify theand next square you should solve. Or use the answers page each column if you really get stuck.

9 3 8 4 1 7 2 5 6

LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION >>

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

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

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

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

8 5 6

4 1 3 7 9 2

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

Sudoku #4 4 7 5 1 6 Downtown on E Street, I go to Ollie’s Trolley, 6 2 9 8 7 just to get a feel, for my man, Ollie.

3 1 8 5 4 About to go insane, probably, 5 6 4 1 and release these 9 scars.

I go next door, to 2 Harry’s 4 Bar. 3 9 8 And then to Peet’s, for sweet tea, 1 8 7 2 3 tired of sayin’ R-I-P. 4 7 9 I thought my mind5was6 gone, so hard to carry on, 7 9 2 3 5 Dec 29th, the day I lost Sean.

8 3 1 6 2

1

9 8 4 7 5

Blessing someone in need

7 4

6 2 1 3

BY CHON GOTTI Artist/Vendor

A Vision of You

9 8 2I peep 3 through open doors, here and there some more 3 4 5I search 1 I open and close my eyes 2 7 9 6 Just to see if you are, 7 2 still 3 8 by my side I walk 5 1 6 7 down the cold, dark and lonely street 6 9 4 5 Talking to myself, 1 3 8“If you 2 were there” I’m weak and in pain 8 6 1 4 Then I hear a voice 4 5 7 9

Then things really got scary, when I got news, about Towana, and Mary.

Sudoku #6 Then my insanity really sparked true, when they told me,7 9 3 5 1 2 what happened to 4Moo. 2 6 3 9 8 Oh really, my heart ripped, 8 5 1 6 7 4 when brother Juvie got shot, around Mayfair. 3 4 5 7 2 9 Who am I in this world?

6 7 8 1 4 3 I’ll never know.

9 1 2 8 6 5 Why don’t cousin Ricardo and I 5 6 7 2 3 1 talk about my granny?

Fannie, I miss doing 8 4hair.9 5 7 2 your So that’s why I’m homeless, 1 3 9 4 8 6 I lost so much, I ain’t even there.

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

6 5 2 8 3 9

BY RICARDO MERIEDY Artist/Vendor

BY LATICIA BROCK, AKA “PWEZZY” Artist/Vendor

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each Sudoku 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.#5

each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1-9.

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

Why am I homeless?

You cannot antagonize and persuade at the same time.

6 7 3 7Sudoku #3 2

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

8

7 3

Sounds like you, Calling my name My heart feels so warm Just thinking you are around 4 6 My soul starts to sing 1Like5birds in spring heart keeps telling me 9My 2 That you are here with me 6My 8 mind really knows the truth I2 meditate just to have you, 9 by me side 7 3 Mama, I’m just having, 8a vision 4 of you

1 5 4 9 6 3 1 2 5 7

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

5

8 2 4 1

6 3 9 7

Sometimes, you have to follow your heart. One morning, me and my wife was dropping my brother off at his car and I saw this woman with eight kids, including a baby, pushing what seemed like their entire belongings in a couple of buggies.

I felt bad for them. I told my wife we should do something.

She said, "Chon, but we have to go to church.”

“I know it," I said. As I was pulling off, my heart and mind wouldn't let me turn in the direction I was supposed to go. I drove down to the family and asked, “Is there anything that I can do?”

She said eight kids is too many.

The little girl told her mother that her feet was hot and hurting. I went to McDonald's and bought every last one of them some food and took it back to them.

They was so excited that the mother cried and thanked me. I looked at my clock and thought, “I'm late for church, but it's alright because church will be there. This family may not.”

Take the time to help those in need.

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

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

COMMUNITY SERVICES

SHELTER HOTLINE Línea directa de alojamiento

(202) 399-7093

YOUTH HOTLINE Línea de juventud

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE Línea directa de violencia doméstica

(202) 547-7777

(202) 749-8000

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

Case Management Coordinación de Servicios

Food Comida

Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo

Transportation Transportación

Showers Duchas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1-888-793-4357

JOB BOARD Three community-organizer positions available with Organizing Neighborhood Equity (ONE) D.C. “Community organizers are responsible for coordinating weekly outreach goals and outreach strategy, membership recruitment, leadership development, oneon-one’s, and coalition building activities.”

REQUIRED (ALL THREE): Good written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; strong computer, internet, and social media skills; resident in the DMV area (D.C. residents given preference); willing to commit to at least a two-year involvement in ONE D.C.; knowledge of Washington, D.C. communities, history, issues, and organizations; ability to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.

RIGHT TO HOUSING ORGANIZER Part-time, 20-25 hrs This organizer will work to build a citywide

base of Washingtonians who champion our Right to Housing vision through outreach, general body meetings, popular education, and direct actions. REQUIRED: Several years of demonstrated direct organizing/base building experience or training or education that provides similar skills.

APPLY: onedconline.org/housingorganizer Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org

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

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

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

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

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

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

Laundry Lavandería

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

// 1 5

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

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

BLACK WORKERS CENTER CO-OP ORGANIZER Part-time, 20-25 hrs This organizer will be part of a team

cultivating a broad base of advocates led by and centering on long-time, low-income Black Washingtonians. REQUIRED: Several years of demonstrated direct organizing/base building experience or training or education that provides similar skills.

APPLY: onedconline.org/cooporganizer

BLACK WORKERS & WELLNESS CENTER COMMUNITY ORGANIZER Full-time This organizer will guide the development of the BWWC space, mission and stakeholders; oversee day-to-day operations of BWWC programs and campaigns; work closely with Cooperation D.C.; serve as a strategic principal for the Right to Income campaign work; conduct 15-20 hours of outreach per week; conduct at least ten weekly one-on-one’s with ONE D.C. recruits representative of our organization’s base; and participate in planning People’s Platform monthly general body meetings.

REQUIRED: 6+ years of demonstrated experience, training or education in direct organizing, in particular, labor rights organizing.

APPLY: onedconline.org/bwcorganizer Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

What better way to celebrate Street Sense Media's 15th anniversary than with a multimedia gallery showcasing the work of our talented vendor-artists?

Join us on Sept. 25th as we elevate their stories of homelessness through film, photography, theater and more.

The evening will include hors d'oeuvres, an open bar and live music.

Buy your tickets online at

streetsensemedia.org/celebration streetsensemedia.org/cele ebration Questions? Email leila@streetsensemedia.org

Tuesday, Sept. 25 Big Chief in Ivy City 2002 Fenwick St. NE Washington D.C. 20002 SEPT. 5 -18, 2018 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 22

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