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Volume 13: Issue 24 October 5 - 18, 2016

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SINGLE MOTHER CHARTS PATH OUT OF HOMELESSNESS Court of Appeals Reviews Public Housing Tensions

Congressman Reed Calls for Bipartisan Focus on Poverty

How One Woman Made Volunteering a Way of Life

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STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

D.C. Council Debates How to Court Grocers East of the River

By Jerome Dineen, jerome.dineen@streetsense.org Several D.C. city councilmembers questioned whether a proposed supermarket tax exemption amendment would be an appropriate use of government power to help District residents in low-income food deserts at a Sept. 28 public hearing.

Introduced by Councilmembers Brandon Todd, Kenyan McDuffie and Mary Cheh, the bill’s summary states that it “provides a supermarket tax exemption to incentivize supermarkets to remain or locate in food deserts and provide fresh food options to District residents. Food deserts are areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food.”

H o w e v e r, B 2 1 - 0 8 3 6 w o u l d a l l o w supermarkets up to 10 tax deductions if they remain specifically in census tract 16, Shepherd Park, and census tract 94, Woodridge.

Although the councilmembers present agreed with the intent of the bill, they questioned whether Shepherd Park in Ward 4 was truly a food desert. In its definition of food deserts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers the average income of the area, the average distance residents must travel to reach a grocery store and the number of cars the

average resident owns.

Nested in the upper Northwest corner of the District, Shepherd Park has an average household income of $187,000 per year and a car ownership rate over 98 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The neighborhood is also less than a mile away from six grocery stores in downtown Silver Spring.

“If I’m envisioning this area correctly, there’s a decent disposable income and very high education,” said Councilmember Robert White. “Why do we need to incentivize grocers to go there?”

Councilmember Elissa Silverman echoed White’s question: “If I gave you $300,000, is this the place you would choose to subsidize a store?”

Even Councilmember Anita Bonds, who co-sponsored the bill in July, questioned whether Shepherd Park was a true food desert. “A bill like this could very well become a giveaway of tax dollars for supermarkets in a neighborhood that already has access,” she said. “There are neighborhoods that we’ve said ‘yes, they need access, ‘ but we haven’t aggressively pursued supermarkets.”

The second neighborhood, Woodridge in Ward 5, was recently named “D.C.’s

Hottest Neighborhood” by Redfin, a real estate research blog. In 2009, the average household income in Woodridge was $80,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community survey. In 2014, that number rose to $91,000. Over 98 percent of households also owned at least one car, according to census statistics.

However, the neighborhood also only has one small-sized supermarket: Good Food Markets, a mission-driven grocery store that seeks to build more locations in District food deserts. Co-founder Philip Sambol said a tax exemption would help Good Food Markets expand their business and better serve members of the community.

Together, Wards 4 and 5 have nine supermarkets, according to the D.C. government’s online Open Data Project.

In contrast, Wards 7 and 8 -- which contain every neighborhood east of the Anacostia River -- only have three fullsized supermarkets.

Beverley Wheeler, the director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, a local nonprofit dedicated to reducing food insecurity for District residents, said in her testimony that Ward 7 has only one grocery store serving every 35,000 residents and Ward 8 has one grocery store for every 79,000

Poetr y Workshop Inspires Washingtonians to Rethink The Presidency

By Robyn Di Giacinto robyn.digiacinto@streetsense.org Sunlight filtered through the massive windows as the clack of typing keys and friendly whispers bounced off beige brick walls to the high ceiling above. A vague smell of dust and coffee permeated the air.

Sixteen people sat at a semicircle of white tables littered with paper, brightly colored Post-it notes and pens. The facilitator stood in front of an electronic whiteboard illuminated with a typewritten poem, calling on raised hands. An assistant stood next to her, intently scribbling down the participants’ suggestions.

“Someone who’s lived in a homeless shelter,” said one participant.

“Someone who values different opinions,” said another.

“Someone with a disability”; “student debt”; “a criminal record and a good attitude” all eventually migrated to a Post-it clad easel.

The someone in question? The president of the United States.

The workshop, which took place at the MLK Library Digital Commons on Sept. 16, was part of a public art project called “I want a president...” The project is challenging Washingtonians to reimagine political representation through poetry

and will culminate in a collective reading of these poems on Oct. 16 at 5:30 p.m. in front of the White House.

Co-organizer Saisha Grayson said the project was inspired by the 1992 poem of the same title by Zoe Leonard. The poem was written as a critique of the Reagan Administration’s handling of the AIDS crisis and the overall lack of diversity in American government. A group of artists from Stockholm translated it into Swedish for a protest in 2010. Since then, it has become a larger rallying cry against divisive political systems in cities across the globe.

“When it became apparent this election cycle would be marked by fear and divisiveness, it was the perfect time to bring [the poem] back to the U.S.,” Grayson said.

But this time, she wanted to do it differently. Instead of translating the poem, she would update it to reflect America in 2016.

Since July, Grayson has worked with co-organizer Natalie Campbell and a growing list of community partners to host six workshops in D.C. and one in New York, with the goal of capturing as many voices as possible. Participants will condense the poems into a final one page version at Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University on Oct. 5.

Grayson said the workshops have been relatively intimate — usually between 10 and 15 people — but that participants are highly engaged and excited to share their ideas.

D.C. native Nathaniel Akers was delighted with the MLK Memorial Library workshop on Sept. 16, which he heard about while doing research at the library.

“I like sharing ideas. I think ideas are the things that make our country strong,” Akers said. “Words are like seeds — if they’re positive, something positive is going to grow.”

Akers said he looks forward to attending the reading at the White House.

The workshop’s success may come down to the medium itself.

“This format allows people to get past day to day arguments regarding [the] given political system and think creatively and expansively about what’s important to them,” Grayson said.

The reading is the official closing event for Creative Time Summit, an international conference on art and social change taking place in D.C. from Oct. 14 to 16.

Organizers are also sharing the poems generated in workshops on their website and promoting the project on social media, and hope for a large turnout at the White House on Oct. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

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NEWS

residents.

“The lack of grocery store access in Wards 7 and 8 is beginning to become a racial equity issue,” Wheeler said. Wards 7 and 8 are over 90 percent Black and the average family income is only $51,500 per year, according to data gathered by Neighborhood Info D.C., a project started by the Urban Institute.

Chief of Staff for the Office of Planning and Development, Andrew Trueblood, said the addition of the two neighborhoods in the proposed bill would set a precedent for attracting grocers east of the Anacostia River. “We have been working especially to attract grocers to this part of the city,” Trueblood said. Yet councilmembers said they should focus their energies on attracting grocers to the neighborhoods that need it most.

Councilmember Jack Evans, chairman of the Finance and Revenue Committee, said the city government needs to do “whatever it takes” to get a supermarket east of the river. “You provide the store, we’ll provide the money,” Evans said in response to Wheeler’s testimony. “I’m serious about that.”

Service Provider Fair Aims to Help Homeless People Circumvent Waiting Lists

By Robyn Di Giacinto robyn.giacinto@streetsense.org The United Way of the National Capitol Area is gearing up to host its second annual Project Homeless Connect on October 19 at Central Union Mission, 65 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will connect over 200 homeless Washingtonians with local providers and services that would otherwise take months to access.

On-site services will include employment services, housing information and referrals, medical and pediatric care, HIV screening, legal help, breakfast and lunch, veteran’s assistance, voter registration, haircuts, hygiene kits, socks and more. Each participant will be matched with a volunteer guide to help navigate the event.

Event organizers are currently seeking general volunteers, participant guides, Spanish translators and licensed mental and physical health professionals. Those interested in getting involved can email phc@ uwnca.org or visit UnitedWayNCA.org/ PHC for more information.

Entrepreneurship Puts Returning Citizens Back in the Game

By Cassidy Jensen cassidy.jensen@streetsense.org

Rylinda Rhodes was faced with a difficult choice when she was convicted of a felony for killing her abusive partner.

She could fight her conviction, but remain incarcerated and separated from her children, or take a plea deal and return to her family. She chose to take the plea, but could not have anticipated how severely her felony conviction would mar her future.

Although Rhodes had marketable skills, she was refused employment, and the job she did find paid such low wages that she lost her apartment. Her children were sent into foster care and she became homeless. A new bill passed by D.C. Council this summer could help returning citizens like Rhodes, who gave testimony at a Jan. 28 hearing, receive support and training to achieve gainful employment a ft e r i n c a rc e ra t i o n . H o w e v e r, t h e prospective program has yet to receive funding from the city.

On July 28, the D.C. Council unanimously passed Bill 21-463, which proposes creating a program for returning citizens to develop the skills to start their own businesses. Sponsored by former council member Vincent Orange, The Incarceration to Incorporation Program Act (IIEP) will provide 100 returning citizens with a business development program that includes a fast-track GED program; classes in math, literacy, and business development training; mentorship and networking opportunities; and investment in businesses run by returning citizens.

The program will also assist students in enrolling in business classes at University of the District of Columbia or the University of the District of Columbia Community College. The Department of Employment Services and the Department of Small and Local Business Development are to operate the program. The law also calls for the establishment of a fund of up to $10 million composed of city and private monies.

The Council approved this legislation subject to appropriations, meaning that there are no funds allocated towards its implementation for fiscal year 2017.

Members of the D.C. Reentry Task Force, which suggested changes to the bill before it was passed and advocated for its approval, say they will lobby Mayor Bowser to provide funding in the 2018 fiscal year budget. For now, they are seeking private sources of funding and making the law’s language more specific, according to Task Force member Kevin Smith.

Aspire participant Ronald Coles of District 1 Trucking engaged in a discussion on effective prioritization at Changing Perceptions.

PHOTO BY KRISTIN ADAIR/KRISTINADAIR.COM

The skills participants learn in this program will make them ideally suited to find permanent employment. “Even if a person doesn’t start their own business as a result of that, those are the individuals that are still more likely to go out and be able to find a position,” said Smith. He hopes that IIEP will allow ex-prisoners to harness their existing passions or skills. “You’d be amazed at the innovation and creativity of the individuals in there. It’s unbelievable.”

This bill has some similarities with the Aspire to Entrepreneurship Pilot Project, a one-year program run by the Department of Small and Local Business Development that began in July and is independent of the IIEP. “The Mayor asked our office to start looking into it,” said Katherine Mereand-Sinha, Manager of Tech and Innovation. Aspire serves 25 returning citizens by providing them with classes on financial literacy and business planning, as well as mentoring and support. Participants also receive a stipend for six months while they try to get their business off the ground.

Graham McLaughlin is the Chair of the Board at Changing Perceptions, a nonprofit involved with Aspire that was founded by Will Avila in 2014 so that returning citizens could receive mentoring and support from other returning citizens. McLaughlin said one of the strengths of this pilot is how it draws skills from various organizations in order to provide holistic support for the challenges returning citizens face.

According to McLaughlin, the pilot benefits the city’s finances by enabling formerly incarcerated people to contribute financially to business and taxes, rather than increasing criminal justice costs with recidivism. “They’re really putting money into the city coffer’s instead of costing the

city money,” he said.

Although the program is new, those involved seem optimistic about its work.

“There’s a lot of really hardworking people in the cohort who are showing that with this support you can develop a great plan, who are starting get out there and market and potentially get some revenue opportunities,” said McLaughlin. “All signs point towards success.”

Kimberly Nelson, who participated in the campaign for Bill 21-463 and is performing program evaluation for Aspire as a volunteer, says the cohort seems engaged. Nelson believes programs like these are important because of the employment discrimination that returning citizens face that enables a vicious cycle of recidivism and lack of opportunity. “This is a visionary type of program,” said Nelson.

While programs run by nonprofits have taken root across the country, no other city government has taken up the cause of entrepreneurship for returning citizens like the District has, according to Nelson.

Returning citizens face daunting obstacles when they rejoin society. The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency found that 64 percent of Black ex-offenders in D.C. were unemployed in 2014. This is significant, since 10 percent of D.C.’s population has a prior conviction.

McLaughlin can list a litany of challenges facing formerly incarcerated people, from insecure housing to emotional trauma and lack of social support. With a lack of education and experience and facing the stigma of a conviction, finding employment or starting a business becomes nearly impossible. Programs like Aspire and the IIEP hope to change those odds by offering the support necessary to allow returning citizens to thrive on their own.

Many of those who testified at the Jan. 28 hearing in favor of the bill were fortunate enough to start their own business or be employed by a returning citizen. Anthony Pleasant went to prison at age 16 and when he was released at 27 found he was unprepared for the working world. Will Avila, another returning citizen, gave him a job at his company Clean Decisions, giving Pleasant the support he needed to get his current job at a furniture assembly job.

In his testimony, Pleasant described how his lack of experience and financial stability has prevented him from starting his own furniture business. “I live paycheck to paycheck, don’t know how to get a loan, and while I am really good at furniture assembly operations and could run the business, I don’t have the money to start it and don’t have the back end training to get the license, take care of insurance, etc.” Pleasant said. He is now one of the 25 participants in the Aspire Pilot.

As returning citizens like Pleasant learn how to become successful entrepreneurs, supporters of IIEP prepare to ensure that the bill does not remain unfunded indefinitely. Already exploring private sources of funding, Kevin Smith says they hope the Mayor’s Office will include funding in next year’s budget. “If the Mayor does not wholeheartedly support it, and fund it, it’s not a priority of her administration,” said Louis Sawyer, Jr., the chair of the D.C. Reentry Task Force and a returning citizen.

“When that person has employment, it brings on dignity and hope,” Sawyer said.

Kevin Smith at a June 4 “Increase the Peace” rally. | PHOTO COURTESY OF KIMBERLY NELSON

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

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COVER STORY

Northern Virginia Family Services Provides Toolbox for the Self-Determined

By Matthew Delaney Volunteer Self-sufficiency was something Carla always strived for. It was what led her to flee her volatile household as a teenager and skip out on school in order to pursue an independent lifestyle.

The “self” in sufficiency took on a broader meaning when she became pregnant with her son at 17 years old.

Now vested in his wellbeing, but lacking any true place to call home, Carla had no choice but to rely on the only people she knew.

The result was nowhere near ideal.

Carla traded one hostile residence for another as she split time between staying with her abusive parents or the abusive father of her child. After more than a year of bouncing around, stability was at a premium — she had become homeless.

“I didn’t want to keep being vulnerable to abuse, so I left,” Carla said.

A friend’s recommendation turned her to Alternative House: Assisting Young Mothers (AYM), a program that arranges housing for new mothers in need for up to 18 months. The refuge came with stringent conditions. Regular contact with a case manager, nightly curfew, weekly work and school hours requirements, visitation parameters and rooming with another young mother all became part of Carla’s regular life.

Along with those responsibilities came access to individual and group therapy, as well as mandatory contributions to a savings account, not to mention getting a hard and fast lesson in time management.

Carla upheld her end of the bargain and navigated the program dutifully, which allowed her to enter into a new, less demanding living arrangement with Northern Virginia Family Services (NVFS).

NVFS is a nonprofit organization that provides tools and guidance to achieve the ultimate goal that Carla sought when she was younger: self-sufficiency. The organization’s services including providing food, healthcare and childcare to those in need throughout Northern Virginia. Its most needed resource, however, continues to be housing accommodations.

Overseeing those programs is NVFS’ director of community housing, Kathy Bridgeman. She handles priority clients on a closed referral basis and provides rental, utility or relocation assistance, to name a few. Essentially, NVFS acts as a go-between for clients and general society, helping the former alleviate living expenses or prepare to interact with a landlord if they feel ill-equipped.

However, Bridgeman emphasizes that NVFS’ presence isn’t permanent, and teaching practices of sustainability can be a challenge for those clients getting their first taste of it.

“For some of our households, it’s just helping them understand budgeting, saving, making economic decisions that support them in the long run as opposed to short-term pleasure.” Bridgeman said.

“For some of our households, who maybe have been raised in public housing or been raised with a [public housing] voucher, [many believe that] ‘Oh well, I’m gonna get one too.’ While that may be true, you’re also committing yourself to a life of poverty, so all we can do is offer them options [and] resources to show where they can go.”

The accountability NVFS asks from its clients is seen as a fair trade given that the organization is investing its time and energy into developing someone’s human capital. Still, it doesn’t make the job easier when clients are declined housing services because they can’t or won’t fulfill the organization’s high expectations.

“I believe everyone has the right to be housed and it’s hard when you have to say ‘no’,” Bridgeman added. “It’s hard to hear [clients] say ‘You’re making me homeless.’

[However],I can only do what I can do, because folks who are doing what they need to are what these resources are for.”

Carla’s own experience with NVFS’ required accountability occurred soon after the birth of her second child.

Opting for 12 weeks off from work while only receiving four weeks of paid leave, NVFS refused to comp a greater portion of Carla’s rent since it was deemed a personal decision.

“I took it upon myself to take 12 weeks to be with my newborn baby because I didn’t do that with my older son and I regret going [back] to work so quickly,” Carla said. “That bonding time with your child is so important, especially if I wanna go back to work and school immediately after [the leave ends].”

Although discontent with NVFS’ response, things could’ve fared worse for Carla had she not been as driven as she was. Most people breaking out of homelessness lack the financial reserves to brave almost two months without pay while still shouldering their full share of the rent.

Carla made her own luck by building up her personal savings so she could enjoy her maternity leave with peace of mind. Her

frank nature discussing the event emitted her quiet, but palpable sense of pride. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to do this a few years ago. She knew she was getting closer to being independent.

But this is rarely the case. Eight weeks out of work with no reduction in rent is plenty of time to ruin someone’s temporary housing situation. It’s not long before the loss of a home segues into problems at work and puts a major strain on that person’s daily life.

This is just another example of the severe trauma the homeless population is so prone to. Unplanned setbacks can stump progress since they lack the safety nets most people take for granted. That’s why it is imperative for providers and nonprofits to understand how that trauma affects the people they’re working with,

challenges of clients has been a learning process for NVFS, but one that’s made strides due to intensified research and attentiveness to client needs. Programs that engender trauma-informed care are in the works and will soon be used to improve the dynamic between clients and providers.

Regardless, true progress depends on funding, and funders aren’t as keen about the new methods NVFS is looking to employ until they gain more traction.

Even with that being the case, workforce development programs were never a concern for Carla. She carved her own professional path without assistance, working her way up from odd jobs to landing a steady spot as an administrative subcontractor. It’s not her dream job, but it’s helped her achieve the stability she sought as a teenager.

“I believe everyone has the right to be housed and it’s hard when you have to say ‘no’...

[However], I can only do what I can do, because folks who are doing what they need to are what these resources are for.”

— Kathy Bridgeman, Director of Community Housing Northern Virginia Family Services and subsequently, the programs they gear toward them. Integrating traumainformed care for clients is a recent trend in social services and is what NVFS’ director of workforce development, Julie Mullen, is taking the initial steps to implementing in the organization.

“Our ability to understand the barriers is our biggest challenge because we didn’t live [their life],” Mullen said.

“We’re working with a population who the government views as stable because they’re in transitional housing. And yet, when we get in there and start to work with them on what their career path is going to look like, it’s not the [traditional] A to B path.

“On the traditional career path, we tell ourselves ‘I’m gonna go to this college and major in this and then take this job,’” Mullen continued. “We’re talking about people who were just living in their car and now are in transitional housing. That is traumatic, and messes with your brain chemistry and your ability to make decisions.”

Familiarizing itself with the unique

That stability has allowed Carla to take night classes while pursuing a degree in Integrative Studies for Language Arts. Best of all, it’s helped her reach the vaunted goal of true self-sufficiency. This month, Carla will be discharged from NVFS’ aid and ready to buy her own home. She knows she couldn’t have done it without help, which included helping herself.

“You can have a lot of opportunities and resources available to you, but if you don’t know how to use them the best way you can, it doesn’t matter how much people are trying to help you,” Carla said.

“You have to take it upon yourself to ask questions. Take it upon yourself to make the plan and do it, or else you’re not going to get out of being homeless.”

It seems that her roughly four-year journey has come to an end. However, there’s no time to waste — being selfsufficient is a full-time job. Carla knows that better than anyone.

Matthew Delaney is a freelance journalist. http://matthewdelaney. contently.com

Appeals Court Addresses Opposition to Barry Farm Redevelopment

By Mark Rose Volunteer

Barry Farm, the District’s first all-Black community, formed after the Civil War and has existed in the same neighborly and supportive fashion since then.

General Oliver Howard, known for Howard University, led the Freedmen’s Bureau to buy those 34 acres east of the Anacostia River and sell the individual lots to former slaves and free-born African-Americans.

They in turn built their houses there with materials they also bought, according a legal brief filed by attorney Ari Theresa on behalf of current Barry Farm Dwellings public housing residents.

In these 432 units of public housing, Barry Farm residents enjoy plenty of open space, including front and rear yards.

The green space is often used for social gatherings and children play together in the open spaces. Residents garden, hold cook-outs and have neighborhood meetings in their backyards, the brief says.

The area is historically significant in the District and many neighbors there have shared ways of life, social networks and communal support for generations.

Since the community was established, the land has been zoned for low-density residential use. Buildings and density are evenly distributed, according to the brief. Now A&R Development intends to fill up that open space with proposed mixed retail and office space, in addition to a significant number of upscale apartments and some affordable housing units. Medium and high-density buildings would be clustered in one part of the site while overall project density is lowered by empty areas touted as park space or central open space.

The site was rezoned in 2014 from low-density residential to medium-mixed use, to include retail and residential uses.

A move to these high-density residential units would be uprooting public housing communities who relocated to them.

Before all this starts, every single Barry Farms resident must either be moved to other public housing or receive a housing voucher under the federal Uniform Relocation Act (URA), passed in 1970 and updated in 2005. While this is a federal requirement, one-to-one replacement is one of four guiding principles that the D.C. Housing Authority has stated repeatedly throughout this process and which they formally adopted in March of this year.

The Barry Farms Tenants and Allies Association (BFTAA), represented by Ari Theresa, argued the Zoning Commission

illegally ignored the Barry Farm Barry Farm Park Chester Wade Road Community Revitalization Plan – referred to as The Small Area Plan -- which was approved by D.C. Council in 2006, as well as ignored the District’s Comprehensive Plan, which BFTAA believes should have considered the displacement hardship the Barry residents would have to suffer.

In a December 2014 order, the Zoning Commission found that decision on displacement was outside their authority because it is a federal statute. “The Commission finds that neither the issue of displacement nor the issue of completing social impact studies is within its jurisdiction. However, the Commission finds that the PUD will appropriately provide housing for residents with a mix of incomes in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan, the Small Area Plan, and other District policies.” The decision goes on to say this ruling will be an improvement over “existing deteriorated physical conditions.”

The BFTAA argues strongly that the relocation and return support for residents the Commission also promises is at best very uncertain and probably non-existent To the contrary, argued the BFTAA, the Commission is required under the District’s comprehensive plan to follow a policy that avoids “hardship” for residents, which under the law is within their discretion. The Barry Farm Small Area Plan calls for “avoidance of dislocation,” which Theresa’s brief argues the Zoning Commission violated when it found displacement was outside its jurisdiction.

T h e B F TA A a p p e a l e d t h e Z o n i n g Commission’s decision to the D.C. Court of Appeals, which was heard Sept. 28.

They have collected 170 signatures on a petition to stop the development from proceeding, according to BFTAA officials.

Skyla Pondexter-Moore of Empower D.C. spoke into an amplified microphone to a rally of supporters outside the D.C. Court of Appeals building on 4th Street NW on a rainy morning before the oral arguments. “Dislocation is hardship,” she said into the microphone before asking listeners, “What would you do if this was your family?

“Gentrification is the new colonialism,” she continued, “and we’re not going for it. Stand against displacement. People over money; what happened to the people having the power?”

Pondexter-Moore claimed that 40,000 D.C. residents have been pushed out of their housing to date by gentrification, which matches demographic trends

observed in the 2010 Census. At Barry Farm, roughly 400 families are being displaced. The Barry Farm group thinks the D.C. Housing Authority has neglected them, according to Pondexter-Moore.

Twenty-year Barry Farm resident and vice president of BFTAA Paulette Matthews grabbed the microphone to add, “Why should I have to ask the government whether I can stay in the same place where I was born and raised.”

A large crowd of BFTAA supporters gathered in the basement courtroom to hear the oral arguments.

“Once people are dispersed they lose the support systems that allow them to function and survive,” Brett Williams, an expert on poverty in urban areas, testified. Ms. Williams has a Ph.D. in Anthropology, and has written eight book chapters about gentrification, poverty and African-Americans in urban communities, according to Theresa’s brief. She has also published three peer-reviewed articles on the same subject.

“You don’t cope with poverty by being isolated; people share and pool resources. Emptying support systems in poor communities … is very misguided.

Concentrated poverty is hurt, not helped, by dispersing people.”

BFTAA attorney Theresa argued to a three-judge panel that dislocation means hardship; for them it is forced removal from their homes. “As soon as you’ve told someone they must leave their home, it’s caused them hardship.”

A&R Development has agreed to do the construction in phases so that disruption to the community is minimal, a decision that was made years ago. A first phase has seen construction of about 100 replacement housing units near the original site under a “build first” program of building replacement units one-for-one so that displaced people can have a place to call home until they are able to find permanent new housing.

A&R attorney Kyrus Freeman argued that relocation is not the same thing as dislocation, and that the details of the relocation plans will be forthcoming later.

But neither the Zoning Commission nor the developer had any idea when.

The plan calls for 1,400 residential units, of which 344 would be replacement public housing units. About 100 replacement units have been built, and some residents have been relocated.

Freeman said there’s a statement of phase 2, but the final design hasn’t been funded yet. The replacement is supposed to be completely one-for-one.

Freeman said that helping the Barry

Farm residents relocate is outside the Zoning Commission’s jurisdiction because it is a matter of federal law.

He said all they could do is verify the planned “revitalization.” The planned redevelopment is part of the D.C. government’s plan for updating the area and demolishing such “distressed housing.”

Appeals court Judge Roy W. McLeese III commented that the Commission should go through a process to assess what would be lost by destroying the Barry Farms community and what redevelopment would gain; they are weighing the adverse impact of development as well as its benefits.

BFTAA attorney Theresa worried aloud that he doesn’t think the residents are going to be given another opportunity for input on the plan, especially because they’ve already started moving the families out. “You can’t just offer [further input] to a fraction of the residents,” he noted; “You have to offer it to everyone.”

Residents are worried about what happens to them while the project is being built, since there is no set timetable and what it will be like when they return, according to Theresa.

Williams said in her testimony that once residents are removed, “if there’s a problem with your lease, you won’t be able to come back. There won’t be enough affordable large units to enable people to come back and resume the community they’ve worked so hard to build.” “[Uprooting] disrupts systems of community supports. It means we’re not taking care of our neighbors,” said Margaret Dwyer, a Ward 3 resident who came to the pre-appeal rally outside the courthouse out of citizen concern. “Why shouldn’t everybody be comfortable? This is a rich city.”

In the BFTAA, attorney Theresa stated that if D.C. wants to do a project they can; if they don’t, they can’t say it’s because they don’t have enough money.

The city had over a billion dollars in surplus funding for FY2016.

A decision from the appeals court is anticipated within the next two months.

BFTAA is asking the court for a remand back to the D.C. Zoning Commission. The group hopes the court will nullify the Zoning Commission’s ruling and make them go through an entirely new zoning process. At the very least, BFTAA seeks a modification to the order now standing to add basic amenities like preserving yard space for returning residents, according to Theresa.

Mark Rose is a freelance journalist.

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

7

NEWS

Buzzard Point Residents Air Environmental Concerns

By Cassidy Jensen, cassidy.jensen@streetsense.org Residents from Southwest D.C. and environmental justice activists from around the District gathered at Christ United Methodist Church on September 17 to discuss the challenges facing the Buzzard Point neighborhood. The brunch meeting was organized by Empower D.C. As attendees munched on sausages and sipped coffee, they discussed construction the new D.C. United Soccer Stadium will be built. The group defined environmental justice as pursuing accountability for hazards disproportionately affecting people of color and low-income people, including water and air contamination.

Attendees also discussed the current and future threats facing residents, with posters reading phrases like “goal!” “streetcar” and “the rent is too damn high” prompting small group conversations. These placards evoked fears about environmental toxins as the soccer stadium goes up, worries about displacement from the new streetcar slated to cut through Southwest, and general concerns about the affordability of housing in the area.

Groundbreaking on the new D.C. United Stadium will begin in December 2016. Activists and residents fear that contaminants present in the ground, including lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and volatile organic compounds, will be exposed in the process of excavation. According to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s Buzzard Point Soccer Stadium Environmental Mitigation Study, the stadium building site could contain lead-based paint, asbestos containing materials and PCBs, but that all contaminated material would be

safely removed from the site. Due to the District’s planned remediation of hazardous materials, the report claimed that “long term impacts of hazardous substances resulting from the proposed soccer stadium would be beneficial.”

According to ANC 6D Commissioner Rhonda Hamilton, exposure to dust from nearby aggregate concrete yards already causes ill health effects for residents.

Empower D.C. environmental organizer Kari Fulton, with help with Hamilton, described an additional threat to residents in the form of construction of a new Pepco Waterfront station at Q St in close proximity to homes and an elementary school. They fear electromagnetic radiation from the transmission lines will have adverse health affects on residents.

According to the National Cancer Institute, some studies have shown a possible link between living near electric power lines and the development of childhood leukemia. Yet another concern is that the new stadium will increase traffic to the area, raising levels of pollution in the air and crowding the streets with parked cars.

The D.C. Department of Health published a report called “Buzzard Point Community Health and Safety Study” in August. While the report presented demographic information from the census tract where Buzzard Point is located, its health analysis was based on data from the larger zip code area, which includes higher-income areas. The report did not find significant differences in the health of Southwest residents compared to the rest of the District, but admitted there seemed to be more cases of chronic lowerrespiratory diseases in the zip code that included Buzzard Point, as well as higher

death rates for heart diseases and cancer.

The study also noted that the industrial facilities producing concrete dust had previously been issued citations for fugitive dust violations and that Buzzard Point residents reported higher rates of asthma than the rest of the District.

The Southwest residents present were wary of D.C. United’s new project, after having been burned by one sports stadium before: when the Washington Nationals Stadium was built in Southwest in 2008, residents were told affordable housing would be replaced. The Arthur Capper Carrollsburg Redevelopment project plan, part of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOPE VI program, promised one-to-one replacement of demolished affordable housing located near the stadium within the same footprint.

“No one actually asked anyone what they thought of it, “ said Fulton. “They swore up and down that there was going to be the same number of affordable housing units.” Those promises did not come to fruition, say organizers, and public housing was not rebuilt. According to Christy Goodman of the D.C. Housing Authority, 270 public housing units have been rebuilt. “DCHA committed to rebuilding the 707 affordable units that were previously part of the now demolished Capper/Carrollsburg development, “ wrote Goodman in an email to Street Sense.

Keya Chatterjee is a resident of Southwest who became especially invested in local environmental issues when lead was discovered in the water of her five-year-old son’s school, Capitol Hill Montessori. Chatterjee lived in the

neighborhood when the Nationals’ Stadium was built and observed how the city failed to keep their promise to maintain the same level of affordable housing.

Attendees also discussed displacement from rising property values. As the area undergoes redevelopment, it is unclear that current residents will be able to afford to stay where they are. “That area that was once a blighted, industrial zone is going to become waterfront property,” said Fulton. With a rise in development and retail locations comes a likely decrease in affordable housing.

According to Fulton, the remodel of the old Buzzard Point Coast Guard building could exacerbate this problem, since as an older building it is not subject to rules requiring a certain number of affordable units be included in new construction.

The meeting ended with a call to action, with Fulton listing legal services, air purifiers to be provided by D.C. United or the by the City, and a Health Advocate to represent Buzzard Point residents as necessary for the neighborhood’s fight for environmental justice. In March 2016, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D passed a resolution to ask Mayor Bowser to appoint a community health advocate to protect the community’s interest, and asking that Pepco be required to shield residents from the radiation of the new station.

Empower D.C. plans to apply pressure to the Zoning Commission and Department of Health, and called on attendees to attend all relevant meetings to testify on behalf of Buzzard Point. Empower D.C. will be holding a tailgate at D.C. United’s last game of the season on Oct. 16.

New Bill Would Eliminate Tax On Feminine Hygiene Products, Diapers

By Cassidy Jensen, cassidy.jensen@streetsense.org D.C. may soon join a growing number of states eliminating sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers, regarding them as medical necessities rather than luxury products. Advocates have said that the current tax makes these products an economic burden for low-income and homeless women, unfairly targeting the biological needs of families.

On Sept. 28, the D.C. Council Committee on Finance & Revenue held a public hearing on the Feminine Hygiene and Diapers Sales Tax Exemption Amendment Act of 2016.

The bill would eliminate the current 5.75 percent sales tax on tampons, sanitary pads and other feminine hygiene products and both adult and children diapers.

The bill will undergo markup before the D.C. Council’s Oct. 11 legislative meeting.

If the amendment to the tax code passes, the District will join the seven states that exempt diapers from sales tax, and eight states that eliminate sales tax for feminine hygiene products. Under the current tax code, medical products such as wheelchairs and crutches are exempt from sales tax, as well as pharmaceutical drugs such as Viagra.

Student lawyer Ayesha Iqbal said in her testimony that feminine hygiene products are medical products. Iqbal represented Bringing Resources to Aid Women’s Shelters (BRAWS), a nonprofit that provides new bras, underwear and

feminine products to homeless women and girls in the D.C. Metro area.

Seven councilmembers co-introduced the bill, led by Councilmember-At-Large Anita Bonds, who called the bill “a first step to gender equity.”

Councilmember Robert White said at the hearing that he appreciated the bill as a new parent who understands the cost of buying diapers. “Anything we can do to support families, especially low and moderate income families, we have to do,” White said. “We should be embarrassed that we even have to discuss this.”

The social stigma against menstruation means that nonprofit organizations serving families experiencing homelessness

receive fewer donations of tampons and sanitary pads, according to Malorie Schwarz of the Homeless Children Playtime Project, which provides a play space for homeless kids.

“This tax is wrong, especially for low income women,” agreed Holly Seibold, founder of BRAWS. The D.C. Diaper Bank and BRAWS both provide feminine hygiene products for women experiencing homelessness via donations. The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue has not yet calculated an estimate of the loss in tax revenue that this bill would create.

District of Art 2016

By Gwynette Smith, Artist/Vendor

I went to this year’s celebration for a while. The people were friendly. There were food and drinks on two floors. Vendors who were going to give a skit were there too.

There were pictures and illustrations hanging up and a video was playing. It had in-formation about our vendor advocacy organization, Focus Attitude and Commitment to Excellence (FACE). Live music too — people were dancing and having a lot of fun. I tried the shrimp and it was really good. I wanted to try Cristal, but sense there was none, I decided to drink nothing. The old mansion where the event was held had large rooms on several floors. I chatted with the people there and left before the silent auction and the play. It was raining and I had my camera with me. This was my first time attending the celebration and it was fun.

Festivals

By Ken Martin Artist/Vendor The Interactive Art Bus has made its rounds lately. With a little help from our friends, “The Sanctuaries,” we traveled and interacted with patrons of the H Street Festival and Art All Night.

Unfortunately we were unable to do same at the Adams Morgan Day festivities because there was no block permit and thus not place for us to park and contribute to the exotic commotion.

Sponsored by Tenleytown Main Street and led by Lee Catherine Miles, the inaugural Tenleytown Art All Night was a tremendous success! (Of course I can only speak for our location). We had over 300 visits and the Bus was completely covered with “Dream Houses.” We asked participants to draw their Dream House to illustrate housing as the “KEY” to ENDING HOMELESSNESS. With a little more help from a friend, I displayed my photography on site and surprisingly even made a sale!

The H S tree t a nd A d a m s M org a n festivals, on the other hand, have been around for decades. Having been an H Street urchin as a child and later serving on several community participant committees, I’ve been associated with and at-tended, shall we say, “a few” past festivals.

In recent years, The Bus and I have

covered two. Invited by Steve Hessler of Gallery O on H, we were honored to participate.

I must say though, there were significant differences between 2016 events and those of years past. These events are intended to bring people of diversity together by accentuating common human denominators: the needs to belong (through community) and to unwind (through fun and exploration).

Yet, from my viewpoint I observed many little segregated clusters of ethnic groups that appeared abhorrent to mixing. There was no blending. While there was engagement with vendors and the few (very few) neighbors with whom we are familiar, for the most part I witnessed more avoidance, annoyance and, at times, ignorance.

Festival/Block Parties should not only be commercial market places. The store owners can do that without this extra hoopla. These events need to be about “the business” of bringing back “UNITY” in these newly gentrified communi-ties.

Genuine “UNITY!” In the future, please plan to include inclusion and celebration of the neighborhoods — not as consumers, but as neighbors!

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

#9

FEATURES

Healing Together: Service Builds Community

The Healing Process

Melissa Sullivan volunteers to pack meals with AARP on the National Mall. Day 12 of her 30 days of volunteering for her 31st birthday. | PHOTOS BY BENJAMIN BURGESS Robyn Di Giacinto robyn.digiacinto@streetsense.org

V

olunteering has always been a way of life for Miami native Melissa Sullivan. When her 30th birthday rolled around in September 2015, she couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with 30 days of community service.

Her mother’s spirit and passion for volunteering instilled a passion for service in Melissa at a young age. “I have three younger siblings, so as a mother of four she was always involved in PTA, different fundraisers and bake sales when we were younger,” Melissa said.

When a loved one joined the Marine Corps shortly after 9/11, Melissa founded Operation HERO (Helping Everyone Reach Out), which sent thousands of care packages to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. She then went to work on political campaigns directly out of high school.

When she moved to D.C. to work on the Hill a few years later, Melissa wasted no time in volunteering regularly at organizations like D.C. Central Kitchen and So Others Might Eat. She even attempted to organize a blood drive, despite her deep-seated fear of needles.

In 2014, Melissa married her fiancé whom she met on Match.com through their mutual interest in volunteering. “Instead of having the traditional bachelor or bachelorette party, we actually rented a huge van and surprised everyone,” Melissa said. “We organized a day of service at DC Central Kitchen...Surprisingly, they really enjoyed it.”

30 Days of Service

The Incident

Melissa was not looking forward to turning 30.

“I wanted to do something positive,” she said. “I thought ‘well what a better way to celebrate than to do good work and to help others.’”

The numbers worked out perfectly for her September birthday: 30 days for 30 years. How hard could it be?

She tried to keep it exciting by volunteering with a variety of organizations — mostly those working with veterans and people experiencing homelessness.

Since she was already connected with a lot of organizations, it was just a matter of looking at her calendar, signing up for events and plugging them into a Google spreadsheet.

At first, it was more daunting than she expected. Melissa had started an undergraduate degree at American U n i v e r s i t y, s o s h e h a d t o b a l a n c e volunteering with schoolwork and other obligations. But once she got into a rhythm, she found that the feeling of making a difference was more than worth it.

At the same time, she shared her volunteer spreadsheet with friends and documented her experience by posting selfies to social media with the hashtag #30DaysOfServiceForMy30th.

“I’m not a selfie person normally,” she said. “I did it to...show that it doesn’t matter if they can donate one hour or one full day, they can fit service somewhere into their schedule.”

On Oct. 19, 2015, she was volunteering at Martha’s Outfitters on the Martha’s Table campus where she had spent many of her 30 days of service.

She was assaulted by another volunteer.

“I’m a survivor of sexual assault in my early adolescence and my husband was in India during the time for work, so as you can imagine this is the last thing I would’ve expected,” she said. “In the aftermath, I was very flustered and very taken aback.”

She reported the incident to police later that night and ultimately decided to press charges.

The criminal case went on for about seven months and resulted in a sentence of 10 days sus-pended confinement, six months supervised probation and a $50 fine to D.C.’s Crime Victims Compensation Program.

Her aggressor wouldn’t have to serve those 10 days if he followed the conditions of his probation: stay away from her, receive sex offender counseling and complete 40 days of community service—which is where the assault occurred in the first place.

“I’ve been through a lot of trauma... and volunteering has really been my saving grace in a lot of ways,” she said. “The fact that something like this could happen in my safe space [was devastat-ing].”

The year before, she had volunteered over 400 hours. After the incident, she barely volunteered at all.

Melissa says she started the healing process by asking hard questions. Why was she questioning her passion and purpose?

“I think the conclusion that I came to is that I’ve been through a lot in my life and I’ve always come back to trying to create a silver lining,” she said interview. “That’s what really inspired me to continue the project, that I just need to pick back up again and do this.’”

This interview occurred 12 days into Melissa’s 30 days of service for her 31st birthday, as she geared up for the AARP Meal Pack Challenge on the National Mall. She plans to continue the project in future years, possibly in another form like 30 acts of kindness, since she plans to work full time or pursue a Master’s in social work.

The healing process is ongoing and some days are easier than others. She continues to draw support from her husband and resources such as the Network for Victim Recovery of DC and the Crime Victims Compensation Program.

This time around, school is a little more demanding as Melissa gets ready for graduation. So she and her husband are doing more of what she calls “freelance volunteering”: bringing toiletries and meals to about 30 homeless folks at Edward R. Murrow Park across from the World Bank.

It has become a community where Melissa has been able to start healing from her own trauma, while helping others work through theirs. She mentioned, for example, meeting Lance Johnson while he was still running his street ministry at the park. Even though she hasn’t seen him preaching there lately, Melissa still remembers talking with him about his experiences as a veter-an. “ I t ’s a l l a b o u t c o n n e c t i n g w i t h people,” she said. “Whether I can bring them a hot meal, or wheth-er I can listen to them for an hour and hear one of their war stories.”

OPINION

Perception or Reality:

Profiling Mindsets Governed by Stereotypes

By Robert Williams, USMC I was awakened on the streets one recent morning by security for a building in which an establishment exists on the first floor.

President Obama and Rep. Lewis embrace. | IMAGE COURTESY OF AP/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

Invitation to Honor America’s Black History

By Angie Whitehurst You are cordially invited to the biggest, baddest, last black hurrah: the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the grandest farewell party ever afforded a president of the United States.

Everyone is going to be there, even if they arrive late, in the months and years to come. No one will be turned away.

We are proudly celebrating the first black man to head and lead the United States of America.

He did not achieve the seat because of his skin color but because the greatest majority of voting citizens aspired for a new kind of hope and change toward a more perfect union.

President Barack Obama espoused that dream passionately and believably in his orations throughout the campaign for the White House as a free man, unencumbered by chains.

The African-American public felt the pull and lure to try, one more time, for a part of the dream, so eloquently and

strongly envisioned by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the thousands who stood, died, survived and vied for a fuller more equal freedom for all people regardless of race, color and creed – and absolutely a freedom not etched and branded with race and color.

What better way to say thank you to the president and the centuries of African-Americans who withstood the pains and struggles of time to be free.

While we have some more work to do, we are forever appreciative for your accomplishment and honor you for being a president of the people.

Thank you for the gift of being one step closer to not being afraid to be black!

We embrace our history and toast our accomplishments as part of the fabric which is our America.

Oh, yes, don’t forget to RSVP. Angie Whitehurst is a Street Sense vendor.

As Grandparents, We're All One

By Peggy Sands Orchowski As a senior (meaning over 60 years old) congressional reporter at the Capitol, once in a while I find myself in an informal gathering of senators. One day recently, I was in an elevator that opened near the Senate floor. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and several other senior senators stepped in. They were talking about the antics of their little grandchildren and I couldn’t help nodding vigorously, so they asked me about mine.

Suddenly, we were just a bunch of proud grandparents bonded by our astounding love for our little descendants.

I was still glowing when I got on a bus to go downtown. A rather shaky-kneed older man got on with a stack of Street Sense newspapers. Being a fellow journalist I bought one and we got to talking.

“Do you have grandchildren?” he asked me suddenly.

Security officers: You need to leave, we got complaints.

Me: Okay, no problem.

Security officers: Would you like some coffee to help you along your way?

Me: Yes, thank you.

I was surprised by the offer. Unlike most, these security officers were actually homeless-friendly — which means they were people friendly. Yes, the homeless or those without stable housing are people too, of the one human race. They may be homeless, but they are not helpless or hopeless. They are persons with emotions, feelings, concerns and issues — just like everyone else you pass on the street who may not be holding a sign, shaking a cup or vending. Pray tell me, what makes them any less?

The security officers accommodated me. However upon their return I noticed only five sugars. I thanked them, joked about the number of sugars actually needed, and headed inside to get more.

Security officers: No! No! An arm flew up to prevent me from entering.

Security officers: I don’t think they want you in there.

Me: Oh, it’s okay.

Security officers: No, I know they don’t.

That’s why we got the coffee for you.

Me: I don’t understand, why wouldn’t they want me inside? What exactly are you saying?

They gestured at two bicycle cops riding by.

Me: Why would you have to get them involved?

They became somewhat annoyed as I attempted to get him to just say what he had been trying not to say. Obviously knowing that this “job” he is talking about is actually unfair, unjust, inhumane, and totally against a person’s human rights.

The law was being broken, as is constantly done by the protectors of the law, especially against the innocent victims of a society of people ignored and forgotten: those with unstable house. How long will we continue to allow the criminalization of homelessness?

Now, ask yourself that question. What actions do you take when you see a person who is home-less? Do you walk around, almost into traffic, to avoid close contact or interaction with them? Do you engage eye contact or stare away as though they are nonexistent? What mindset do you automatically find yourself in regarding them, be it conscious or unconscious?

If you do not have a lease in your name, you are homeless. Yet the Bill of Rights was written for all people, although most homeless are not afforded the opportunity to exercise those rights, as exemplified by this morning’s alarming encounter.

Those experiencing unstable housing or homelessness are entitled to the same rights, including the universal right to housing as recognized by the United Nations and by D.C. as a human rights city.

I try to enter a couple of times and am blocked.

“I do, I do,” I said enthusiastically.

“Me too,” he said with a big grin. And off we went. We chatted amiably the rest of the ride about our little adorables … just like with the senators.

Pe r h a p s t h o s e w h o d o n ’ t h a v e grandchildren may not understand this, but grandparenthood is a universal bond that transcends everything else! We are all the same.

Peggy Sands Orchowski is a Congressional Correspondent for the Hispanic Outlook, Street Reporter for The Georgetowner and author both “Immigration and the American Dream: Battling the Political Hype and Hysteria” and “The Law That Changed The Face of America: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.”

Security officers: Look! You know we are just doing our job, so the boys won’t have to get involved.

Me: Who are the boys?

The Paper’s Not Free

By Beverly Sutton

When I’m out selling papers I watch how people look at me, what they say when they turn me down. I watch their eyes. They say “Why are you out here selling papers?” But I stay where I am and keep selling my papers because a lot of people give me money for them.

The other day a guy tried to steal some papers from me. I was standing on the steps in front of the Giant at Van Ness.

My back was turned and I was talking with one of my customers. I didn’t know the guy but I had seen him before running to catch a bus. When I saw him trying to steal I said, “Oh no, the paper’s not free!” That made him mad and he walked away. I didn’t care.

Beverly Sutton is a Street Sense vendor.

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

Moving Up: Why the Wells Fargo Scandal

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

1#1

OPINION

Shouldn’t Scare You Away From Banks

By Arthur Johnson By now, you are probably aware that Wells Fargo has been embroiled in a controversial scheme in which employees of the banking giant set up fake checking and credit card accounts in the name of Wells Fargo customers who had existing accounts in order to meet quotas that were imposed by managers. Wells Fargo fired 5,300 employees and paid a fine of $185 million.

One thing that many of you probably wonder is if you should avoid banks at all because of this. While it is absolutely serious, banks are still a place you want to use to conduct your financial business.

There are a few things you will want to remember to keep yourself from getting nervous when dealing with a financial institution. First, they will always try to push additional services — that is how they generate extra revenue. Wells Fargo went farther by actually opening accounts without the customer giving any approval.

Second, banks are going to be very unlikely to want to even think about attempting anything like what Wells Fargo has done in the future. Wells Fargo is not only getting very bad publicity, but its Chief Executive Officer had to fly to D.C. and face an angry Senate Banking Committee. Ironically, both Democrats and Republicans lambasted the Wells Fargo CEO. Normally, banking regulations tend to be an issue that separates the two parties but this crisis has brought a bipartisan fury that is being unleashed on the third largest bank in the U.S. Third, banks are especially worried about the possibility of clawbacks (something that may happen to Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and former Wells Fargo community banking head Carrie Tolstedt). Clawbacks are when the Securities and Exchange Commission

takes money back from executives who were awarded compensation in the form of bonuses that were received as a result of profits that occurred through fraud.

There are many banks and while it is a competitive industry, bankers are generally honest and will help when they can. It is indeed scary to read about a large and well known bank abusing the trust of its customers and there is no question that it will take Wells Fargo a very long time to repair the trust that it lost. If you are worried about your money, there several things you can do to protect yourself. One is to make sure you use a bank that has online banking and preferably a smartphone app. Make sure you check your account at least every few days to make sure no suspicious charges or fees pop up. If you do find a fee that you do not understand on your account, call the bank — sometimes it can be reversed.

And finally, don’t take it personally when the teller asks you if you want some sort of credit card or some other product.

They are required to try to sell you on the bank’s services.

Whether you have $5 or $500 million in your checking account, every customer is important to banks. You need a place to store your money and they need your business and the Wells Fargo scandal has shown the industry that no bank, no matter how big they are, can abuse the customers’ trust that is placed in them.

If you don’t feel confident with your bank, you can always take your money elsewhere. Remember, banks need to earn your business and your trust. Never let a bank feel that it is entitled to serve you, it is your money and the banks need to that to handle your money.

Arthur Johnson is a volunteer writer for Street Sense.

How Reading Saved My Life

By Jeffrey McNeil

Before I started reading I was functionally illiterate, drug-addicted and headed for nowhere. I was homeless and alone, so I decided to stay at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library. There were many, many books but I only read the Bible and Malcolm X's biography. What intrigued me most about Malcolm was that he went to prison, copied the dictionary and reading transformed him into a leader.

Reading changed me, too. I changed from wanting the government to help me to being a free-thinking Black conservative. Malcolm talked about doing for yourself; I agreed with him. He said to treat Black women with respect and not

to degrade them. The best way to do that?

Being a strong Black man.

My metamorphosis to the right was reading Black intellectuals such as Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams. They taught me about the history of racism and the Democratic Party. They also taught me about capitalism and free markets.

If it weren't for reading, I think I would be in prison. Instead, as a Street Sense vendor I do a great public service. Some people love me; some think I am either crazy or an Uncle Tom. (Or both!)

Truth is, I'm a nice guy.

Jeffery McNeil is a Street Sense vendor.

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (center) visits Rochester, walking with Mayor Lovely Warren (his immediate right) and residents. | PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN TOM REED.

A Better Way to Fight Poverty

By Tom Reed

Growing up in upstate New York with eleven siblings and a single mom to care for all of us, we have experienced the many hardships faced by those who are living in poverty. After the loss of my dad when I was two, my mom raised me and my siblings with a military pension and a Social Security benefit check, never remarrying. We remember eating a lot of egg sandwiches for dinner, because at the time, that was all we could afford. Despite these obstacles, my mom always taught us to rise above life’s challenges, and to never forget where we come from. Years later, I put myself through college, law school, and eventually went into business for myself, but I never forgot what it was like growing up in those circumstances.

The experiences that I had growing up in life’s toughest situations inspired me to run for office in the first place. I sought out public life simply because I care. I care about the issues facing millions of Americans, and I believe that it is only fair we make every effort to ensure all Americans the opportunity to succeed.

Americans deserve a hand up and the dignity that comes with a good honest day’s work.

Serving in Congress, I have had the opportunity to meet with women and men, not only in my home district (NY-23), but across the nation to discuss poverty issues facing everyday Americans.

Whether it is visiting impoverished neighborhoods in Rochester, N.Y. where businesses once thrived, feeding hungry children in Cleveland that rely on a local food bank for meals during the summer, or preparing sandwiches for children in Olean, N.Y., the answer is clear; the

status quo is not working and we need to fight to change policies that keep people tangled in the web of poverty. Americans deserve a hand up and the dignity that comes with a good honest day’s work.

This is why we need to advocate for common sense policy reforms. We need to support policies that promote the American work ethic, not penalize it. We need to increase accountability for large government programs that help those in poverty to ensure the assistance is accomplishing a new goal— getting people out of poverty, not the old metric of simply declaring success based on the number of dollars spent or people seen.

Simply, if a single mom and her children walk into a social service agency seeking a hand up through life’s hard times and have not seen their situations improve in five years,is our system working?

If veterans have been living on our streets for years, because the process to get the benefits they deserve has become convoluted, is our system working?

If a young person, plagued by inner city violence, acknowledges the only way out is by getting an education, but is failed by that same education system that haunts many of such schools, can we honestly say the system is working?

The answer is obviously, no.

When welfare reform was enacted 20 years ago, it was signed into law as part of a bipartisan effort. I am confident we can do this again. With everyone working together, we can strengthen our social safety net. It’s time we stop looking at people experiencing poverty as mere statistics but as Americans; Americans that deserve and need a better way. And we offer that better way.

To learn about our plan, visit http:// reed.house.gov.

Tom Reed is a Republican congressman from New York.

The Street Sense Writers’ Group is led by writing professionals and meets every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The group’s goal is to develop ideas and collaborate on the next great issue of Street Sense.

The Value of Choice It’s nice being able to go to a place of your choosing for a meal, rather than just getting what’s on the Martha’s Table food truck at McPherson Square. I like to go to an Indian buffet where you can get a good choice of vegetables and well-seasoned chicken or beef.

My regular place is House of Kabob near

the northeast corner of 19th and M streets Northwest. I usually get the buffet by the pound for $6. But when I’m really hungry, I do the all-you-can-eat for $10.

I really appreciate my customers for saving me from bologna and peanut butter and jelly every day. Thank you!

The Greatest Love

Selling in the Rain

During cooler weather, most customers who buy Street Sense show a lot of passion for the vendors. They see us standing, yelling and screaming while trying to sell their Street Sense papers.

Some customers will ask “do you want something warm to drink?” Others say “stay warm and take care of yourself.”

I seem to accumulate more customers and earn more money in the fall. I love that! But I love selling the paper in the winter even more. People tend to talk to you and want to know how you are.

They worry whether you have shelter for the night, often by saying “please be careful and watch our for yourself.” Just that little conversation makes me feel good because I know my customers are concerned about me and my well-being.

So I just want to thank my customers for your concern, your passion and your loyalty. God bless you all.

As it stood, I had gotten to work late on this very cloudy Monday. It was raining hard. I walked into the Street Sense lounge. The illustration workshop was halfway through. I opted to participate.

I was feeling down when Dave, the instructor, asked me to draw because we were getting ready for our celebration.

My stomach was empty at that moment.

I needed to go out of the building and begin selling the paper. But, since it was raining and I wasn’t used to selling in the new fall weather that is upon us, I didn’t know what to do. Feeling all miserable and helpless, I went home.

When I arrived, I told the staff I needed lunch. The staff made me a ham sandwich.

After eating it, I was feeling good. I rested and waited for evening to come.

By Patty Smith, Artist/Vendor

The Phantom Bulldozer

By Charles Davis, Artist/Vendor

When I wake in the morning I always pray to my God and to my Lord Jesus. I do this because He is the only one I can talk to about the pain I am going through. My brother Jim is fighting for his life that God gave him, even though we live to die, he really loves his life. There are times in our

Selling in the Cooler Weather

By Ricardo Meriedy, Artist/Vendor

By Richard Embden, Artist/Vendor

By Frederic John, Artist/Vendor lives that we can’t conquer all the things in our lives, only some of those things.

The greatest love in my life is that I didn’t give up on myself. God gave me something special when he created me and showed me life. I have gone through a lot of pain by the passing of family and friends, but the greatest love of all will always live inside me.

And my friend, what I care so much about and hope and pray for is the best of success for my sister Teresa and her future.

Street Sense vendors, as I end this story, please keep prayer in your hearts for Jim and Teresa. May they stay strong through their love of Jesus, because He will always be my best friend in spirit.

May the glory of God be with us forever and ever. Amen.

I dreamed one torrid Tawnytown night, Attrition of the village- ‘twas such an immense fright!

Floodlights flared. Dumptruck horns Blared!

Oh, Wisconsin Avenue was roped off— I wailed my terror with all of my might.

The ‘Dozer was a dozen storeys in height.

With one gulp, the Board school house was out of sight.

My sweet red barn, apparently had already been flattened.

Yet no one, were any about, fit to tell what was the matter!

The sky was blackened out, Only Kliegs’ glare and belching soot Remained.

Now, I thought I was going totally insane— A taut steel cable was squeezing the tidy stained glass panels of “Ye Victorian House Antiques”- To DEATH! Pop, Groan, CRACK! All I wanted to do was go back, yea GO BACK— Then I heard the stifled croak. Old Blarney Oak, the “Town Bum” {well, Drunkard, actually - A most Wise soul!} “BOY, LISTEN TO ME!” I had but no choice, I moved down a grassy alleyway.

Ah! What a shift! Soft morning light, A Tabernacle, and from within, Sweet angelic voices—a choir.

Soon came tumbling out, laughing freckle faces, Tousled blond hair!

Reddish pigtails, a ponied Braid!

Crooked young teeth in grimaceWhy was I not afraid? Blarney lay on the lawn, near old Hank’s knife grinding SHOP! From Blarney’s mouth, burbled a dark liquid. I sensed a warning and found a cosey screened Porch. “PEACH,” read the somewhat rusty iron street marker Why oh why did I venture farther?

Inside her parlor, sinuous forms writhed on a table top. Art Nouveau ivory and brass, A comb .elaborate tortoise shell combination of brush and shears, Why would this plump little amalgam of Miss Tiggy- winkle and Queen Victoria Be the agency to allay my fears?

So then, I advanced to her plump taffeta folds, and All at Once! She was now A loving but Voracious, ELEPHANT SHREW! “The time, “ she cooed, “ with sharp Steel Fangs; “is 1900 Lumps!”

What then, was in store?

And as we embraced like Mamma and Child, she MOUNCHED and MOUNCHED, Framed by the floating voices of the Devil Children’s anthem, I was NO MORE!!

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

13

PAGE HEADING A Negative Into a Positive: Part Two

By Donald Brown Artist/Vendor

Martha’s Vineyard

Hey Y’all

By Sheila White Artist/Vendor

By Betty Everett, The Beautiful One from North Carolina Artist/Vendor

Looking around Martha’s Vineyard, What in the world am I looking at?

Running around Martha’s Vineyard, What in the world am I running into?

Walking around Martha’s Vineyard, What in the world am I walking through?

It’s me again. The beautiful one from North Carolina. My cat Starbuck died in July, he was 11 years old, and boy do I miss him. Meow, my other cat, is 12 years old and she is getting used to being without a playmate.

I hope to find or adopt another kitten within this year, hoping that I can find a cat that looks like her, a kitten that is black and white.

Soon the election will come and we can continue with our lives. God will make the final decision.

Be safe, see you soon.

Martha’s Vineyard: a frontier or not!

WOW Martha’s Vineyard.

Funny how I look back, Looking at grapes, running on the vines, Walking on the juice of the berries, oh how divine.

Part two of my story is about where I’ve been and what lead me here. I’ve been locked up since July 8.

I was a little short of money and wanted something to eat, so I was asking people, going into McDonalds on 19th and M Streets Northwest, if they would buy me something to eat.

I was respectful to everyone I asked to help me.

But two security guards, probably on their break, were going into the McDonalds when they saw me. They told me I had to get up off the ground and away from the door. I told them if a McDonald’s employee comes out and asks me to leave, it would not be a problem. I would move or they can call the police if necessary, but you (the security officers) don’t work for McDonalds and I don’t have to obey you.

He was angry and threatened to get me barred from this property and the whole block! Then he invited me into the alley for a fight. I kept refusing, but he wouldn’t take “no” an answer. I let my anger get the better of me. When I got up and went with them to fight, he hit me first.

I was the only one to get arrested.

I’ve been in a halfway house in Southeast D.C. since August 2. I’m halfway home now: they have work for us here paying $11 an hour and allow us to work 20 to 30 hours per week. So, I’m trying to turn something negative into a positive.

I’m allowed a certain number of hours away from the house every day to take care of personal business.

This is my story, but to be continued.

Walking, running and looking. Oh how divine!

Making all the moves.

Spirit free, moving about the Vineyard.

Spirit free, moving about the Vineyards, How wonderful how free life is to be!

“Ray of Comfort”

By Jacqueline Turner Artist/Vendor We all have times of tribulation: finance troubles, family worries, health concerns, etc. For the homeless, these multiply tenfold One way to cope and hold on is through the words of the Bible. You may not believe in God or the Bible, but consider this: the flowers and the lilies of the field are arranged in beauty, yet they do not worry. People are stronger. You can overcome anything if you believe in yourself and try God. I know because it worked for me and it could work for you, too.

Follow your Dream

By Elizabeth Bryant Artist/Vendor Follow your dream. No matter what, don’t give up.

What I mean is: I am in school and I am going for my GED at 56 years old. I have learning disabilities re-lated to Bipolar disorder. But I don’t let that dictate to me how I live.

I have been sober and drug free for 10 years. I came in at 17 years old. If it was not for God and the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ’s name, I would be gone.

Working for Street Sense is another dream. I like it because I can work my own hours and do not have a boss hanging over me, attending meetings several times a week or more.

Remembering Gene Wilder

By Leonard C. Hyater Jr. Artist/Vendor On Aug. 29 Gene Wilder passed away at the age of 83: complications of Alzheimer’s.

It was a very sad day for me.

He was one of my favorite actors. I can remember the first movie I saw being “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” it was very good.

Also he had charisma, something that not many actors truly have. However, if you have seen some of his movies, you of course know. They are very funny, like “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex,” “Stir Crazy,” “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and many more. I’m going to miss Gene very much, but his legend is going to live on.

Small Poem, Big News Fina Cha l pter !

By Derian Hickman Artist/Vendor Thanks to the readers of Street Sense and the volunteers too. I have been a vendor for more than six years, offering the paper near the Watergate Hotel building. I have had a few articles published along with some art illustrations. And I’ve received a fair amount of responses from readers, requesting that more articles of mine be published.

So here’s a short poem: I never planned on having to live in a shelter Outside 12 hours a day in all types of weather Waiting for the day to finally be in a home

By Ivory Wilson Artist/Vendor INT. WASHINGTON DC - NIGHT - UPTOP UNION STATION Rags is in an Amtrak phone booth, talking with the New York Boss, Mildue.

EXT. WASHINGTON DC - UNION STATION - NIGHT - UPTOP MILDUE: RAGS, Dean has gotten out of hand. A mad dog. All these killings of his own kind. We seen it on the news.

This is bad for business and is making the families uneasy. He’s become a mad dog. What do you do with a mad dog? You kill it! get things running smoothly again.

RAGS: Yes. It will be done!

INT. UNION STATION - NIGHT - UNDERGROUND D E A N : N e w Yo r k B o s s h a v e a n y complaints over their share? I am tired of giving them profits. This is my city!

RAGS: No complaints, boss.

That day finally came

get up and dance with the crew. Then we will aim for Dean’s throne and when he sits back down, we’ll blast him. How many shots are left in that piece?

Pledged: Three shots left.

Rags goes back to the office.

DEAN (yelling from the bathroom): These broads are beautiful! This is why I should have been sent to Las Vegas! I like show girls.

RAGS: New York Bosses may change their mind and send you somewhere, boss.

DEAN: Where? Chicago or Detroit or Boston? All are great cities! I could use a change. Maybe Chicago. I like that city.

RAGS: Boss, I know they will be sending you somewhere else real soon.

DEAN: Break out Dinty Moore Beef Stew for tonight, Rags. I feel a chill.

RAGS: Sure, boss.

DEAN: Soon we will take on every gang in the city. This city is mine! When I finish, there won’t be any other rivals here. Mice gangs, other bosses, will all obey me or I will kill them, too.

Dean goes to the bathroom.

DEAN: I’ve got gas!!

RAGS: Look on the stand!

Dean sees a couple of Playboy magazines.

Las Vegas music begins to play and Dean’s crew is dancing. Dean leaves the office and joins in the party. When the song ends, he sits back down on his throne. He looks up.

DEAN: You rats!

DEAN: Hey it’s a new edition.

RAGS: Yeah, it just come in, Boss.

In the next room, Rags meets up with one of the crew.

PLEDGED: Rags, the Country Boys’ gang is bringing the first load and took a few of our mice to use as pack mules.

RAGS: Once the music starts to play Dean’s favorite Las Vegas song, he will

BANG-BANG-BANG. Dean’s blood splatters on the wall.

INT. UNION STATION - NIGHT - UPTOP - AMTRAK PHONE BOOTH RAGS: It’s done.

MILDUE: Don’t let us down, Rags.

THE END

And it feels great but I didn’t do it alone I’d like to thank the Department of Human Services, the D.C. Housing Authority and all others — including the readers and volunteers.

STREET SENSE October 5 - 18, 2016

15

COMMUNITY SERVICES Housing/Shelter

Food

Clothing

Showers

Outreach

Medical/Healthcare

Transportation

Laundry

Education

Employment Assistance

Legal Assistance

Academy of Hope Public Charter School: 269-6623 | 601 Edgewood St, NE aohdc.org

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

Community of Hope: 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

Jobs Have Priority: 544-9128 425 Snd St, NW jobshavepriority.org

Covenant House Washington: 610-9600 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE covenanthousedc.org

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

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

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

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

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

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

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

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

Central Union Mission: 745-7118 65 Massachusetts Avenue, NW missiondc.org

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

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

Church of the Pilgrims: 387-6612 2201 P St, NW churchofthepilgrims.org/outreach food (1 - 1:30 on Sundays only) Community Family Life Services: 347-0511 | 305 E St, NW cflsdc.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

CELEBRATING SUCCESS! Ken Martin - 10/5 Martin Walker - 10/19 • Reginald Black was accepted as an AIR Media 2016 New Voices Scholar to attend the Third Coast Conference in radio/audio!

• Martin Walker recertified his Commercial Drivers License (CDL)! He thanks his customers for helping him survive while working for two years to overcome barriers to this process and he plans to spend the next two weeks focused on looking for commercial driving jobs!

New York Ave Shelter: 832-2359 1355-57 New York Ave, NE

St. Luke’s Mission Center: 333-4949 3655 Calvert St. NW stlukesmissioncenter.org

Thrive DC: 737-9311 1525 Newton St, NW thrivedc.org

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

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

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

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

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

Patricia Handy Place for Women: 810 5th Street, NW, NW | 733-5378

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

MEMORIAL: LARRY AVENTS

By Mary Walrath, mary.walrath@streetsense.org

PHOTO BY EDWARD GARDNER

LAST WORD: STRAIGHT OUT OF HOMELESSNESS

By Edward A. Gardner Jr., vendor

Hello and greetings readers, my name is Edward A. Gardner, Jr. I am homeless and I suffer with Schizophrenia. I have had this problem since 1982 and I still struggle with it today. Because of this, I have a service dog, Bishop, who helps me to cope with my disorder. I have been homeless and sleeping on the streets for a while. I have done this in California, Arizona, Georgia, and now here in Washington, D.C. I am homeless because finding low-income housing is like finding a needle in a haystack. So many housing authorities across the United States have the same housing issues: either the waiting list is closed or there are more people on the waiting list than the number of housing units to meet the need. Staff in homeless shelters I’ve been at have told me that they do not allow persons with service dogs, therefore forcing me to sleep outside on the streets wherever I can find a spot to lay my head.

H e r e i n Wa s h i n g t o n D . C . , y o u

need to make $108,092 a year to live comfortably, according to a 2015 report in the Washington Post. “[We] ranked 10th in the most millionaires in the country per capita category when compared with states” and had the “third-highest percentage of households earning at least $150,000 a year among cities with at least 500,000 people.”

The Washington Housing Authority has a post on their website, last updated in March 2013, stating that the “DCHA waiting list for housing choice vouchers and public house is closed.” On September 13, 2016, I followed this up with a call to the Housing Authority, and I was told that the program was suspended back in April 2013 due to of having 70,000 people already on the waiting list. They still are not accepting any new applications.

I do get monthly SSI disability, but it will not get me housing anywhere in the D.C. area at all, so I sell the Street Sense paper to help supplement my income.

Larry Avents could usually be found hanging around in one of the public parks in downtown D.C., chatting up those who would listen and sporting a denim jacket, hat and his social security card strung around his next. “[He] was the kind of guy that ... he just [went] on and on,” said long-time friend Robert in a recent interview. [We talked] about anything.

He helped me with social stuff.”

Experiencing homelessness on-and-off, Larry had essentially been living on the streets of D.C. for 20 years. In August of 2016, Larry passed away.

This happened a mere week after his outreach case manager, Rebecca Stewart, had found a housing opportunity for him.

However, Stewart was unable to make contact with Larry in that final week before his death. He died never knowing he finally had housing.

“I think he thought the city had given up on him,” Stewart said, through teary eyes, in an inter-view. “He wasn’t really angry about it anymore, he would just always say things like ‘I’ll never get into housing. I’ve done this a hundred times.’”

Larry had been on various housing lists for so long and experienced poor conditions in so many shelters that he had become quietly resolved to the idea that the city had forgotten about him.

Due to limited housing accommodations, overcrowding in shelters and lack of communication, many people like Larry experience long periods on housing waitlists while being given almost no information as to where they stand, according to Stewart.

The severe lack of affordable housing that left Larry with little opportunity to get off the streets is a fate that befalls hundreds of homeless individuals in the D.C. area annually. “He cared deeply about these things,” Stewart said, mentioning Larry’ fascination with housing and economic policy and his tendency to engage others in political conversation at considerably less than ideal times.

She remembered how they would be on outings or running errands, and he would

choose those moments to ask her how she felt about certain policies or people in politics. If she refused to answer, he went right on to tell her about his own feelings. “Those are some of my funniest memories of him,” she said.

Larry told a Huffington Post contributor in 2003 that he had once been a steward at the Capitol Hill Hyatt, but eventually left due to insufficient pay. Like many others, Larry was also noted for having had his share of hardship, mentioning the cataracts he developed at the young age of five and a battle with alcohol addiction. Ultimately, however, Larry was described by those who knew him, such as his friend Robert, as someone who would help others in any way that he could.

“I’m gonna miss seeing him.”

The recording of the interview Robert gave about Larry has no image, simply his voice and that of Rebecca Stewart, the only person with which he was willing to talk. “I was very fond of Larry,” he started the conversation. The two had met in the streets and often talked for hours in Farragut Park. Larry had been a good listener and a good friend, according to Robert.

As the recording reaches its end, Stewart’s voice can be heard asking Robert for any last thought he’d like readers of Larry’s memoir to know. There is a long pause, some hesitation and then simply the most honest answer: “I’m gonna miss seeing him.”

There is a moment of quiet after this.

“Me too” Stewart says, her voice heavy with remorse, as the recording comes to an end. “Me too.”

This is the second article in an indefinite effort to record the passing of District residents who die while or after experiencing homelessness. Learn more at StreetSense.org/obits

October 4 - 18, 2016 • Volume 13 • Issue 24

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Permit #568

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

Interested in a subscription? Visit StreetSense.org/subscribe PHOTO © ROBERT G. ZUCKERMAN / WWW.ROBERTZUCKERMAN.COM