11 02 2016

Volume 13: Issue 26 November 2 - 15, 2016

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Homelessness Left Out of Presidential Debates pg 5 VP Candidate Sleeps on the Streets pg 4 Poets, Street Sense Vendors Call for Better Candidates pgs 6- 7

Inside New African American History Museum pgs 9 Baking a Difference for Disabled Veterans pgs 7

Street Sense is the street media center of our nation’s capital. We aim to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public debate on issues relating to poverty while also creating economic opportunities for people who are facing homelessness in our community.

CORRECTIONS In our previous edition, the article “Ralliers Call for More Affordable Housing Funds and Budget Input” misstated that a Bowser spokesperson said $106.3 million was committed to the HPTF last year. Calendar years differ from fiscal years, so it is more accurate to say funding was committed in FY2016, which ended on Oct. 1.

The spokesperson was specifically from DHCD. Additionally, the earlier version stated that Charles Crews, quoted, had run for D.C. Council – when in fact it was his father that had run for a council seat in 2013.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES

Cassidy Jensen reports on several new housing bills moving through D.C. Council StreetSense.org Ro k i a H a s s a n e i n b r e a k s down the GOP poverty plan StreetSense.org Hear Patty Smith’s latest song! StreetSense.org

COVER ART 2016 election tension tearing at the fabric of the nation.

ILLUSTRATION JEFF MURRAY

SOCIAL

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OUR STORY Street Sense began in August 2003 after Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson approached the National Coalition for the Homeless on separate occasions with the idea to start a street paper in Washington, D.C. Through the work of dedicated volunteers, Street Sense published its first issue in November 2003. In 2005, Street Sense achieved 501 ( c ) 3 status as a nonprofit organization, formed a board of directors and hired a full-time executive director.

Today, Street Sense is published every two weeks through the efforts of four salaried employees, more than 100 active vendors, and dozens of volunteers. Nearly 30,000 copies are in circulation each month.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Margaret Chapman, Max Gaujean, Margaret Jenny, Robyn Kerr, Jennifer Park, Reed Sandridge, Jeremy Scott, John Senn, Kate Sheppard, Annika Toenniessen, Martin Totaro, Anne Willis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Eric Falquero SALES & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Jeffrey Gray VENDOR & SALES MANAGER Josh Maxey COORDINATOR OF EVENTS & AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Dani Gilmour INTERNS Elli Bloomberg, Jerome Dineen, Robyn Di Giacinto, Cassidy Jensen, Mary Walrath WRITERS GROUP LEADERS Donna Daniels, Susan Orlins, Willie Schatz OPINION EDITORS Rachel Brody, Arthur Delaney, Britt Peterson PRINT LAYOUT PRODUCTION Chris Kaihatsu EDITORIAL & PAPER SALES VOLUNTEERS Jane Cave, Cheryl Chevalier, Leah Dibianco, Kelsey Falquero, Pat Geiger, Roberta Haber, Mary Henkin, Erum Jilani, Leonie Peterkin, Hannah Northey, Jesselyn Radack, Andrew Siddons, Jackie Thompson, Marian Wiseman, Eugene Versluysen, Alex Zielinski VENDORS Shuhratjon Ahamadjonov, Gerald Anderson, Charles Armstrong, Lawrence Autry, Daniel Ball, Aida Basnight, Phillip Black, Reginald Black, Melanie Black, Phillip Black Jr., Maryann Blackmon, Viktor Blokhine, Debora Brantley, Andre Brinson, Donald Brown, Joan Bryant, Elizabeth Bryant, Brianna Butler, Melody Byrd, Conrad Cheek, Aaron Colbert, Anthony Crawford, Walter Crawley, Kwayera Dakari, James Davis, Clifton Davis, Charles Davis, David Denny, James DeVaughn, Ricardo Dickerson, Dennis Diggs, Alvin Dixon-El, Ronald Dudley, Charles Eatmon, Deana Elder, Julie Ellis, Jemel Fleming, Chon Gotti, Marcus Green, Barron Hall, Tyrone Hall, Richard Hart Lorrie Hayes, Patricia Henry, Jerry Hickerson, Ray Hicks, Sol Hicks, Rachel Higdon, Ibn Hipps, Leonard Hyater, Joseph Jackson, Carlton Johnson, Donald Johnson, Harold Johnson, Allen Jones, Mark Jones, Morgan Jones, Linda Jones, Darlesha Joyner, Juliene Kengnie, Kathlene Kilpatrick, Hope Lassiter, John Littlejohn, James Lott, Scott Lovell, Michael Lyons, Jimmy M. Ken Martin, Joseph Martin, Kina Mathis, Michael Lee Matthew, Authertimer Matthews, Charlie Mayfield, Jermale McKnight, Jeffery McNeil, Ricardo Meriedy, Cynthia Mewborn, Kenneth Middleton, Cecil More, L. Morrow, Evelyn Nnam, Moyo Onibuje, Earl Parkin, Lucifer Potter, Ash-Shaheed Rabil, Henrieese Roberts, Anthony Robinson, Doris Robinson, Raquel Rodriquez, Lawrence Rogers, Joseph Sam, Chris Shaw, Patty Smith, Smith Smith, Gwynette Smith, Ronald Smoot, Franklin Sterling, Warren Stevens James Stewart, Beverly Sutton, Sybil Taylor, Archie Thomas, Shernell Thomas, Craig Thompson, Eric Thompson-Bey, Sarah Turley-Colin, Carl Turner, Jacqueline Turner, Leon Valentine, Grayla Vereen, Ron Verquer, Martin Walker, Michael Warner, Robert Warren, Angelyn Whitehurst, William Whitsett, Wendell Williams, Sasha Williams, Judson Williams III, Ivory Wilson, Denise Wilson, Charles Woods

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STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Street Sense Remembers...

Kanell Washington | 8/27/1956 - 10/20/2016 Kenneth "Kanell Washington" Ward of Washington, D.C. passed away on Oct. 20 at the age of 60. Kanell was the loving son of the late Mr. Tyrone Ward and Thelma Rae Ward (née Woods). He is survived by his sister and niece, and by a host of family at Street Sense. A memorial service and reception will be held on Nov. 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the Church of the Epiphany.

Vendors and customers are encouraged to submit condolences and stories to editor@ streetsense.org.

D.C. Council Bill Would Offer Residents Free Legal Services My Hoods

by Kanell Washington

1. As to my hoods, which one? I’m from all over D.C. plus lived out of state in Chicago, Chi Town. Wisconsin, East Washington State.

2. SeaTac, Tacoma, East St. Louis, North Caroline, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, been all over…

3. That’s why I see things from an all-seeing eye, and I write what I and is the legend that I am a base my life on my past.

4. To see the future I’ve seen it all or most of it what about you?

Second Chances Found at Project Homeless Connect

By Robyn Di Giacinto robyn.digiacinto@streetsense.org A ndra Gray sat at a circular metal picnic table outside the shelter at Central Union Mission, completing a form dated Oct. 19 on a black plastic clipboard. The 43-year-old wore a bright plaid button-up shirt, muted blue jeans and white Nikes.

Gray grew up in D.C., but he hadn’t seen it since 1997. He had been released just a few days ago after spending nearly 20 years in prison.

“You do years and years of prison and they let you out into a city you don’t even recognize,” Gray said. He examined a Department of Corrections ID card wedged in a slot in the pocket-sized planner his reentry advocate gave him at the Greyhound stop. He hoped that today he would find the help he needed to start over.

Gray wasn’t the only one trying to get back on his feet at the second annual Project Homeless Connect. The event, which was organized by the United Way of the National Capital Area, provided homeless Washingtonians with on-site access to more than two dozen local providers. This year, 357 participants and 304 volunteers attended, up from 275 participants and 167 volunteers last year.

Each participant was paired with a volunteer guide to help them navigate the event, which spanned all four floors of Central Union Mission and portions of the sidewalk outside. There were also on-site translators for 13 languages.

The first floor was packed to the seams, as participants and volunteers visited stations where they could sign up for library cards, get haircuts, learn how to apply for vital records and affordable housing and register to vote (complete with a voting machine and test ballots for live demonstrations).

The three upper floors featured free legal advice, physical exams, dental screenings, flu shots, podiatry and more.

Outside, volunteers distributed hygiene kits and free pizza, beverages and KIND

bars. Stations for HIV testing and mock interviews hugged the sidewalks. “ Pe o p l e w h o a r e e x p e r i e n c i n g homelessness often have to knock on so many doors and jump through so many hoops to get basic services,” said Mariam Nek, a job placement program supervisor staffing a table for Friendship Place, a nonprofit that serves homeless Washingtonians. “Trying to connect people to so many well-rounded services at once … [is] quite a way to help people get back on their feet.”

Outside, volunteer guide Etzy Salazar waited for her client next to a bus outfitted as a mobile employment assistance unit. The 42-year-old Marylander works at 3M; she took a vacation day to be here. “I think it’s hard to be in this kind of a situation,” she said.

“It’s such a great feeling knowing there’s so many people who want to help out and they’re all in one place.”

“Sometimes we think when we get a roof over the head of a homeless person or provide a meal, that’s all they need,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a press conference during the event. “Those who come today, who provide...all the services in between that everyone needs — what a great, ingenious idea!”

Event organizers said the impact of these services can’t be overstated.

“After last year’s event, over 80 percent of participants reported never having attended an event like this before and a majority of those served said without Project Homeless Connect they otherwise would not have been able to access the services provided,” said Rosie Allen-Herring, President and CEO of the United Way of the National Capital Area in a press release.

Gray said he’s glad he attended the event. He talked to service providers about getting medication, glasses, a photo ID and a copy of his birth certificate. He also managed to set up appointments with people who can help him find permanent housing and employment.

Before he was released, Gray worried he wouldn’t be able to get the resources he needed to make it “on the outside” -- but Project Homeless Connect proved him wrong.

“I was able to see and get connected to a lot of things that day,” Gray said. “Gotta take it one step at a time.”

Contact phc@unitedwaynca.org to get involved with Project Homeless Connect next year!

District residents facing eviction or shelter termination may soon have access to free legal services in landlordtenant court.

A bill proposed in late September would give tax dollars to the D.C. Bar Association to fund grants for selected legal services providers to offer pro bono counsel to District tenants that are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Ward 5 City Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie proposed the bill, following a June 29 roundtable he held with experts on the subject. The bill is co-sponsored by Councilmembers Jack Evans, Anita Bonds and Elissa Silverman.

Dubbed “civil Gideon,” in reference to a Supreme Court case that established the legal right counsel for all defendants in criminal cases, the bill is part of a national push to guarantee legal counsel to civil defendants in high-rent jurisdictions like the District.

According to data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly half of D.C. renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing each year, which is the federal standard for affordability.

Rent payments constitute an even larger burden for low-income residents, who spend about two-thirds of their income each year, according to a 2015 D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute study.

“Eviction is the royal road to homelessness,” testified Jim McGrath of the D.C. Tenants Advocacy Coalition at an October hearing. “You could have been a model tenant for 30 years — you still could be 30 days away from an eviction notice if you don’t come up with the rent.”

“Eviction is the royal road to homelessness.”

- Jim McGrath, Chairman D.C. Tenants Advocacy Coalition

Legal representation tends to be uneven in the District, with 95 percent of landlords and only 5 percent of tenants finding legal representation in eviction proceedings, according to the Washington Legal Aid Society. Although pro bono lawyers do accomplish great work, they lack the necessary resources to help the growing number of eviction cases in the District.

McDuffie said he didn’t know how much the bill would cost taxpayers, but said he would request a fiscal impact assessment.

For reference, according to an American Bar Association study, the criminal defense system cost about $81 million in 2008.

- Jerome Dineen

VP Candidate Sleeps on the Streets of Baltimore

By Jerome Dineen Jerome.dineen@streetsense.org

Green Party vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka joined two Maryland Green Party officials and several dozen homeless Baltimore residents at a tent encampment for an overnight sleep out in September.

Joshua Harris, the Green Party’s mayoral candidate in Baltimore, invited Baraka and state senate candidate Margaret Flowers to spend the night across the street from Health Care for the Homeless, a medical center for unhoused residents in the Mount Vernon neighborhood near downtown Baltimore.

“Even though I’ve worked at a policy level, one night really deepened my understanding of the issue,” Baraka said in an interview with Street Sense.

“Several people talked about the struggle of lining up at the shelter, about how hard it is to get a spot and the need to line up at certain times to get entrance.”

The nearby Weinberg Housing and Resource Shelter, Baltimore’s largest homeless shelter, provides beds and housing for 275 people every night, but up to 200 more people won’t receive a bed on any given night, according to the shelter’s website.

Baraka agreed to come to Baltimore because he believes the city exhibits a lot

Closing remarks for the night, sleeping out with the homeless in Baltimore.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AJAMU BARAKA

of the issues that exist across the country and highlights contradictions between the rhetoric and actual legislation of Democratic Party officials. “The municipal government there is cutting back on services for homeless people,” Baraka said. “These draconian cuts are being implemented not by Republicans or white folk, but by people of color in the Democratic party.”

For the 2017 fiscal year, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a Democrat, attempted to cut $4.2 million in after-school programs for low-income and homeless students. After a standoff with City Council, Rawlings-Blake restored funding and proposed cuts in other areas.

The Federal Department of Housing and

Urban Development also announced $3.8 million cut in subsidies for 19 of Baltimore’s 21 faith-based and nonprofit organizations serving Baltimore’s homeless population, according to a May press release.

Harris said he believed Baltimore could “end homelessness” in a Sept. 14 Facebook Live video he filmed after the sleep out.

“We have more houses without people than people without houses,” Harris said.

Kwame Rose, a Baltimore activist known for confronting Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera during the 2015 Freddie Gray riots, also participated in the sleep out. He said Baraka’s participation was not a political move.

“It’s not about winning for him,” Rose said in an interview with Street Sense.

“It’s about organizing, it’s about signaling that there are people who care.”

Rose said he didn’t think the Green Party or any other party adequately addressed the issues facing the Black community. Yet, Rose said where other politicians have pandered, Baraka showed a true desire to understand and internalize the experiences of the Black community and the unhoused.

“He didn’t talk about how he keeps hot sauce in his back pocket,” Rose said.

“He literally slept on the sidewalks with dozens of homeless individuals.”

Baraka has a long history of activism and advocacy related to homelessness and human rights. In 2004 he co-founded the U.S. Humans Rights Network, which has united several hundred activist organizations and protested U.S. domestic human rights violations regarding poverty and race relations at the United Nations.

He served as USHRN’s founding executive director until 2011.

However, Baraka stressed the need for electoral power to initiate systemic change.

“The Green Party is the only party that is seriously interested in addressing the fundamental contradiction of the capitalist economy that is homelessness,” Baraka said. “We have to establish electoral power if we want to change the system.”

Stein Campaign Responds to Voter Questions on Poverty On September 23 Street Sense began equal outreach to the Clinton, Johnson, Stein and Trump campaigns seeking response to the following four questions posed by the artist/vendors of our Writers Group. Despite an extended deadline of October 19 – only the Stein campaign chose to respond: STREET SENSE: The United States is losing an average of 125,000 affordable housing units every year and 11 million families are struggling to pay their rent.

What specific steps would you take to make housing affordable for Americans?

STEIN: As part of my Power to the People plan I intend to refashion our housing industry to generate affordable housing, put people to work, end homelessness, and solve America’s affordable housing crisis.

There is no excuse for homelessness and poverty in the richest country on earth.

I intend to expand rental and home ownership assistance, and vastly expand our supply of public housing, non-profit housing, and housing owned by residents as limited equity cooperatives. I intend to preserve existing affordable housing by an immediate halt to foreclosures and evictions, and the enactment of strict anti-displacement laws protecting the rights of renters to live in their chosen communities. Properly locating new

affordable units has the added benefit of allowing people to live near where they work, avoiding environmentally degrading and soul-crushing commutes.

STREET SENSE: Immigration reform has been much debated during this election cycle. What is your intended policy and how, if at all, does it intersect with employment and terrorism concerns?

STEIN: I support comprehensive immigration reform to repair our broken immigration system, including a welcoming path to citizenship. We must respect everyone’s human rights and end the bipartisan war on immigrants that is dividing our people and endangering whole communities with mass deportation, incarceration, and the cruel separation of families.

Our jobs shortfall will not be solved by blocking immigrants from entering the workforce. Jobs will be created when workers come together to demand economic justice and to support public works projects to rebuild our cities, our infrastructure, and to make the transition to renewable energy.

Contrary to the rhetoric from major party candidates, terrorism cannot be addressed by anti-immigrant policies.

Terrorism can be addressed by ending our overseas wars and indiscriminate arms sales and consistently supporting

human rights and self-development for all peoples of the world.

STREET SENSE: Of the 324 million people living in the United States, nearly 50 million live below the poverty line and one tenth of them (more than 500,000) were found to be living outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program this year. What specific steps will you take to help house that 1.5% of Americans and provide pathways to more stable and secure lifestyles for the other 49.5 million in poverty?

STEIN: Almost 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for the “total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty.” Sadly that vision has never been realized, as both Democratic and Republican administrations have chosen to follow the economic prescriptions of Wall Street rather than those of the great moral leaders in our nation’s history.

An economic bill of rights is the cornerstone of my Power to the People Plan. I will propose and implement legislation to end poverty immediately, by guaranteeing affordable access to food, water, housing, utilities, and effective anti-poverty programs. I will call for creation of living wage jobs for every American who needs work, by transitioning to 100% renewable energy

and investing in housing, public transit, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.

I will call for health care, education, and racial justice as human rights.

STREET SENSE: Street Sense is a selfempowerment program to help people experiencing homelessness. Anyone can attend a twice weekly orientation program and, upon completing it successfully, begin managing their own sales of our newspaper. How would you support more programs that allow people to build skills and get back to work?

STEIN: My Power to the People Plan calls for direct government action to ensure that there is a job for everyone who wants to work. To this end I would provide government support for worker and community cooperatives and small community-building businesses such as Street Sense. I will prioritize the creation of enterprises that serve real community needs and offer meaningful jobs in the locations where they are most needed.

Organizations like Street Sense are indispensable to this process. You reach out to people abandoned by the workerexploitation economy and offer them an opportunity to contribute to building a better society for themselves and others.

This is the essence of what our campaign is all about.

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

5

ELECTION

Homelessness, Affordable Housing Missing From the Campaign Trail

By Amelia Ferrell Knisely The Contributor, Nashville, TN The presidential election has been full of distractions: Hillary Clinton’s emails, Donald Trump’s “locker room talk,” the day-to-day polling data – to name some.

You could blame “the media” (and Trump has). A recent Harvard study said substantive policy issues received only a small amount of attention from major TV networks and newspapers’ election coverage. Coverage could have included how key decisions on foreign and domestic policy will be affected by the election’s outcome, the appointment of the newest Supreme Court justice and the challenge of income equality and healthcare.

The televised debates gave viewers a brush with the candidates’ policies, most clearly in the third debate when moderator Chris Wallace pushed for policy specifics. But overall, Trump dodged questions on how he was going to implement lightly-worded policies from his website and Clinton focused on her “ big vision,” rarely offering anything fresh from her ideas during the 2008 primary election. This election has been persuasive personality over policy.

With a lack of focus on policy from both candidates (try as they might online) and major media coverage, it makes sense that once again homelessness isn’t present in a presidential election.

I t ’s n o t h i n g n e w. D e s p i t e m o r e than 500,000 homeless Americans and a national increase in unsheltered homelessness, the issue is largely ignored during presidential campaigns.

“It’s very frustrating that year after year we see politicians from both parties frequently talking about the middle class, but rarely talking about poverty and, in particular, those experiencing homelessness,” said Eric Tars, senior attorney with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Neither Trump nor Clinton mention homelessness on their websites.

“For Trump or Clinton not to mention the homeless situation in this country, I feel they have no clue,” said Vicky B a t c h e r, a h o m e l e s s m o t h e r a n d Contributor vendor in Nashville. “(It) speaks volumes that they just don’t care.”

Lack of Affordable Housing Mentions Doesn’t Reflect Housing Crisis Clinton indirectly mentioned the issue in September in an op-ed for The New York Times: “Yet every single night, all

across America, kids go to sleep hungry or without a place to call home.”

Clinton went on to say that she plans to increase affordable housing – an issue she admits is widely ignored in election coverage despite its tight connection to effectively reducing homelessness.

The 2014 Mayor’s Report, which surveyed 25 major U.S. cities including Nashville, identified a lack of affordable housing as the leading cause of homelessness among families with children.

Affordable housing is becoming more elusive. Housing policy experts say rent is considered “affordable” if it totals some 30 percent or less of one’s income.

The State of the Nation's Housing Report says 11.4 million families in the U.S. are paying more than 50 percent of their income toward housing. In the 10 cities with the highest housing costs, 50 percent of those making $45,000-$75,000 spend at least 30 percent of their income on rent.

in 2007 are still persistent in many communities. We’ve had close to 40 years in disinvestment in affordable housing.

We’ve lost federal funding for publicly subsidized housing and it certainly hasn’t been made up by the private sector or state and local governments. We would hope that the candidates would pick up on it and we could have a national conversation to reinvest in the affordable housing stock.”

Clinton plans to “expand Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in high-cost areas to increase our affordable housing supply.” LIHTC is an indirect federal subsidy that finances low-income housing.

She also said she wants to give families in expensive cities an “affordable place to call home.”

Tars said this is a “step in the right direction,” but explained that her plan to increase LIHTC will not benefit the poor.

“LIHTC creates housing for people living (within) 80 to 50 percent of their area’s median income, not the people who are 10, 20 percent and the poorest of the poor – those who are most at risk of homelessness,” he said.

Trump, the first candidate to build his brand on real estate, hasn’t been quoted mentioning affordable housing during his campaign. He shares no housing policies on his campaign website. Earlier this year, Westchester County (N.Y.) Executive Rob Astorino claimed that Trump told him that, if elected, he would rescind HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.

The legal requirement, finalized in 2015, pushes HUD funding recipients to further work to overcome patterns of segregation.

“We really believe that affordable housing is one of the central issues of our time,” Tars said. “All of the issues from the housing crisis that were created

treatment, Medicaid, food stamps and emergency shelters. Federal officials say one person living on the streets costs the government $35,000 to $150,000 per year with expenses mostly accrued from hospitals, police and courts.

“It is between 30 and 40 percent more expensive on average to ignore people experiencing homelessness than to help them obtain permanent housing,” said Jake Maguire, director of communications for Community Solutions.

And while it may seem unfair that taxpayers shoulder the burden of homelessness, it’s difficult for someone to maintain a job when they don’t have a permanent home – which is increasingly the result of a lack of affordable housing.

“We think the candidates should affirm their commitment to housing first principles,” Maguire said.

Tax policies fail to reference the cost of homelessness Tax policy is one of the major issues for the presidential campaign, but again, there’s been no mention of homelessness’ direct impact on taxpayers’ money.

Homelessness costs taxpayers because these people are more likely to access the most costly services like emergency room visits, mental health services, drug

Homeless Voters Unlikely to Help the Campaign People experiencing homelessness are unlikely to vote, taking it off the radar for candidates seeking to win voters.

The group often experiences unique barriers to voting – voter I.D. laws, no mailing address, transportation – and only 10 percent of homeless voter are expected to make it to the ballot.

Florida is the only battleground state to also hold one of the nation’s largest homeless populations, so convincing homeless people to vote equals little help in winning the electoral college.

“Often homeless people are not a sizeable or organized voting bloc,” Tars said. “It’s hard even if you do put out a message, it’s hard to make sure that message gets to homeless people and would motivate them to vote for one candidate or another.”

Veterans Homelessness Ignored Despite Obama’s Focus Veteran homelessness got some major attention from the federal government after President Obama announced a campaign in 2010 to effectively strike out the issue. The administration announced in August it was halfway to that goal.

With a federal focus and subsequent media coverage, it could have provided the jumping off point for Clinton and Trump to bring the issue (whether with veterans or broader) into the elections.

Both candidates dedicated a page of their respective campaign websites to veterans affairs reform, but neither mentions housing. Clinton has said online that she plans to continue the work to end veteran homelessness, but the issue has been largely ignored this election cycle.

Policies Needed to Keep Vulnerable Families off Streets Batcher would like to hear what Clinton and Trump plan to do, if elected, to effectively end homelessness.

“We need t o care for all of our citizens, all of them,” she said. “I’d l i k e ( Tr u m p a n d C l i n t o n ) t o b r i n g homelessness into the national spotlight, and bring up real solutions and wiser spending on new programs, not the same programs that haven’t worked to bring the homeless off the streets.”

Housing advocates say that the candidates also need to address the vulnerable working families who are just one major emergency away from missing rent and ending up on the streets. Policies need to address affordable housing, not offer incentives for luxury developers.

“For all of the struggles that our nation’s communities face, housing is an essential component. If we can’t turn that around, it will make a difference in all areas of our country’s national progress,” Tars said.

Courtesy of the International Network of Street Papers (http://insp.ngo).

2nd Tuesday, November Our Election

Election Special

I Want a President

By Damon Smith Artist/Vendor

By Joe Jackson Artist/Vendor

By Sheila White Artist/Vendor

By Angie Whitehurst Artist/Vendor

This year's election is one for the ages.

One candidate, Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has deep ties to politics. The other, Republican nominee and resident clown Donny Boy, has none. I truly cannot understand how a person of his "character" won that party's nomination. This is the party that allegedly prides itself on being conservative and upstanding! Each candidate has a cloud hanging over their head: Mrs. Clinton for her email troubles and support of controversial policies; and Mr. Trump for his verbal gaffes and his ridiculous actions.

Neither candidate is acceptable.

Unfortunately, one is our future. So, God help this country, our image abroad is taking a serious beating. The United States needs help. Not from those two, but from the true powers that be. So… HELP!!!

I hear Ms. Hillary going back and forth w i t h M r. D o n a l d .

The latter has no interest for the poor, the homeless or the lower classes.

It is hard to see our Black people at the bottom. Sadly, neither candidate talks about the lack of affordable housing, nor how they will solve our nationwide homeless problem.

I hate it when someone has a nice job and looks down on someone else who doesn't, like that person is nothing.

Homeless people are human beings. Our lives matter! You can easily lose your job and be in the same situation as the homeless. So, please, don't turn your cheek because you think we are down.

If you love God, yourself and others, everything will fall in place.

My words on the election are that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton fit to be president of the United States. As several recent polls show, many people agree with me.

Let's begin with Mr. Trump: he has money, buildings in every city (okay, most), television shows and so many more activities than I can list here. So, what else does he need? The country certainly doesn't want a man who can't give a straight answer to any question. We do not need a failed businessman who buys everything to make decisions for the nation.

Now, about Ms. Clinton. She can't make decisions about our lives, either. Sure, she's been practicing politics much longer than Trump. But that doesn't qualify her to be president.

This election is a joke! So, what now?

With neither nominee fit for the job, we must ask ourselves: Who is?

Brave New Future 3

By Ken Belkosky Artist/Vendor P R E V I O U S LY: I t ’s been a wild ride. Two military men from the future appeared in 2018 and told me I was president of Earth in 4242. I was needed and had to go into a cryogenic nap at NORAD to get there. When I arrived and was leading the planet, a time shift occurred at the White House and my Dad appeared. He needed my help back in1902…

The date is November 7, 4242. It is the election for the new President of Earth. I just returned from the 1902, which was a hard time. I found out that my dad was from a different dimension, which was unsettling.

Now I know, and must accept, that I am halfhuman. In 4242 I just won the presidency. Two clones were running against me: one of Mr. Trump and the second was of Mrs. Clinton.

Now I'm arranging to send the Trump clone to be imprisoned in North Korea because he passionately wants to send non-humans into space to never live on Earth. I don't see him giving up on this ridiculous idea, even though I've won the election. The real Mr. Trump took similar action when he became President of the U.S. in 2017. I'm not proud of what I'm doing, but I have to. I am half-human and Dad is from another dimension. I don't want to see him put into space, not after I’ve done so much for Earth. (to be continued)

Street art at U and 15th NW. PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

Do Your Part, Remove All Obstacles to Vote

By Gwynette Smith, Artist/Vendor

I went to vote early on a recent Saturday. Many seniors and disabled people choose to vote early to avoid crowds and inconvenience.

Coming up the stairs from the Metro, the escalator was not working and you had to climb to exit the station. I did not see an elevator, which must have been located at the other exit, which is not close to the polling booths.

Also, at the Judiciary Square early voting site, I discovered there are no bathroom facilities on the weekend. The woman at the main election office verified the lack of a place on the weekend when the building is closed.

Many seniors and disabled people have to take medicine and may need water and/or food to take it. There is a coffee shop next door to the Judiciary Square voting area, but it – like the bathroom -is closed on the weekend. However, there

is a food vendor who often sets up outside the voting station, so taking medicine should not be a problem.

November 4 is the last day for early voting throughout the city. Hopefully SafeTrack and other situations will not be much of a problem. The Election office at Judiciary had a free brochure with a lot of information in it about local voting resources.

Remember, if you are a felon, you can still vote in D.C. – your rights are automatically restored upon release from prison.

Don’t be discouraged if you live in a D.C. shelter either – you can vote here and there should even be people there to help with doing the ballots if it is necessary.

One of my customers has been naturalized and said she votes all the time!

In case language is a hindrance, ballots in foreign languages may be available.

Board of Elections should be able to answer any questions: (202) 727-2525

I want a president I want the best person Not, the best man nor the maid of honor Give me a person, who is the right person For the right era of time From the right place, In the nick of time to meet the immediacy of the moment...

The Monkey and the Clowns

By Michael Craig Artist/Vendor The political monkeys wore toupees and cakedup makeup, proudly and demonstrably, in the circus of the political arena. They were feasting off of everybody’s bananas and throwing the peels and artificial rhetoric to the crowds. A bunch of clowns sat packed in the stands fanatically, as if at a football game. The political monkeys gave out steel-tight handshakes and artificial smiles. They were selfaggrandizing and ego-maniacal. They couldn’t wait to get back on the political circus stage and behind the hall of mirrors, built over centuries.

Overconfident, none of them were aware they had lost the real battle, they had lost the populous. The monkeys in the stands realized their own power, ditched the clown outfits and literally dragged the political monkeys off stage. They shattered the electorate and went back to a true one monkey one vote system.

They had been tired of the sham and the scam of political billionaires and millionaires running the democratic circus. This time, they voted for a noble homeless monkey who would change the status quo for the whole world. They didn’t vote for a politician, nor did they choose the lesser of two or four evils.

They voted for the restructuring of the political process – for the growth and evolution of a more sincere democracy.

Then they went back to the barbecue dancin’ and singing’. PLEASE VOTE!!!

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

7

ELECTION

Activists Seek Relatable Traits in Future Presidential Candidates

By Mary Walrath mary.walrath@streetsense.org Activists filled Pennsylvania Avenue on Oct. 14 to express, through poetry, a desire to reconsider the face of politics in the United States. With the White House looming behind them, participants read and repeated their collected “I Want a President Who” adaptation for a full hour. “I want someone who has spent the night on the streets, in a shelter, at an occupation …” the crowd said in unison.

For weeks, organizers had been holding workshops and writing sessions to create modern iterations of the 1992 poem by Zoe Leonard, which was written as a critique of the Reagan Administration’s handling of the AIDS crisis and the overall lack of diversity in American government.

Readers called upon the public to consider what characteristics the people of the nation may want in a president, and many of their requests were non-traditional, relatable and rough around the edges. The reading included recitation of the original work alongside the modern modified version. Participants held signs with their personal requests, people stopped in the streets to listen and, for this hour, it seemed that most passersby could hear something from within themselves being projected into

Activists read poetry outside of the White House. | PHOTO BY MARY WALRATH this hope for the future president of the United States: “I want a Native American for president.

I want a Muslim refugee for president and I want a queer for vice president and I want someone who walked hundreds of miles across a desert and swam across a river to be here, someone who grew up in a place where the tap water was poisoned and officials knew and ignored it. I want someone living with AIDS for president who will hold the system accountable for bringing the epidemic to an end, and I want a president who had a dangerous illegal abortion at 14, became a parent at 15, and orphan at 16, an inmate at 17 and recovered and rebounded at 18 and I want a candidate who doesn’t represent our apathy and fear and I want a president

whose son was shot by police, who still sees that in their eyes every time they lay down to rest, who held them in their arms and knew they were dying.

“I want a president who has stood against war, for the earth, on line at the clinic, the unemployment office, in the rain for a bus to pick up their kid from daycare after a double shift and has lived on food stamps and a side hustle, through foreclosure and mental illness and addiction, who has been homeless and displaced and sexually harasses and beaten up for being trans, gay, a woman, an immigrant, black, brown, themselves.

I want someone who has spent the night on the streets, in a shelter, at an occupation, in a camp, on a reservation, at a deportation center, nursing a loved on,

in jail after being unlawfully detained and assigned an unprepared public defender.

“I want a president who survived rape and I want someone who has listened to bombs fall, who knows the difference between the sound of a mortar, artillery and drones, who has crawled out of rubble happy to breathe again. I want someone who has been in love and been hurt, but still has an active profile online, who respects and enjoys consensual sex, who has made mistakes, apologized, learned, and taught from them, who has walked away from abuse and never looked back. I want a Black woman for president and an Asian American Supreme Court Justice. I want Sandra Bland for president. I want someone with tattoos, who was told they weren’t pretty enough, and laughed, ‘pretty enough for who?’

“I want someone who has redefined their gender and sexual identity and spoken up for their rights and committed civil disobedience and identity and spoken up for their rights and committed civil disobedience and sees the flag as a work in progress. And I want to know why this isn’t possible. I want to know why we were taught somewhere down the line that a president is always a puppet: always a player and never a game-changer; always a boss and never a worker, always a liar, always a crook and never convicted.”

REMEMBERING OUR VETERANS: Georgetown Bakery Serves Up Pathways to Employment in

By Brianne Talocka Volunteer One District sweet shop is dedicated to “baking a difference” for disabled veterans. The Dog Tag Bakery does more than just make tasty treats, sandwiches, breads and salad. This notable Georgetown establishment pays workers for on the job training as part of Dog Tag Incorporated, a company that provides education in hopes of increasing veterans’ employability after military service.

The operation was co-founded by Friar Rick Curry and Connie Milstein. Curry was born without his right forearm and became a Jesuit Priest in Georgetown dedicated to empowering others. After 9/11, he specifically wanted to focus on empowering disabled veterans. After meeting Milstein, who owned a bakery in New York that worked with women who lived in poverty, the two of them decided to create a social enterprise combining their passions for helping people who

need it most. The Dog Tag brand was born.

Classes for disabled veterans are held on the second floor of Dog Tag Bakery and are taught by Georgetown University professors. After completing a five-month training program, disabled veterans receive a degree in Business Administration from Georgetown U n i v e r s i t y ’s s c h o o l o f C o n t i n u i n g Studies. The program includes classes in management, accounting, entrepreneurship and marketing.

Participants also have the chance to put their business skills to work by rotating through various roles at Dog Tag Bakery. The program also helps people who are transitioning out of the military get back into the civilian workforce, according to Director of Business Operations Chris Yedabalian.

Combining both classroom and real world business experience aims to give these veterans the skills to do whatever they want to do next in life. Some of the veterans who have graduated from Dog Tag

have started their own business, gone to work for the government and continued to further their education. Director of development, Lolly Rivas, believes it’s interesting to see the “different diverse paths” people from the program take.

Peter Scott, a graduate of Dog Tag’s program started his own company in Maryland called Fields 4 Valor, which grows crops for families in need. Families can sign up to receive food by going to fieldsforvalor.org. Scott’s company and his mission to provide families with basic needs helped him create a new career for himself after the military.

The program is free for veterans, who

are also paid a stipend for working in the bakery. Because it has been successful locally, Dog Tag is now trying to picture what this model would look like nationally.

For Yedabalian, the most rewarding part of working at Dog Tag is seeing the community that forms with the students. They form a tight-knit bond with each other while readying themselves for the next phase of their lives.

Dog Tag Incorporated is currently accepting applications for their term beginning July 2017. More information is available at http://www.dogtaginc.org/.

Community Organizers Appeal McMillan Park Zoning Decision

By Mark Rose Volunteer The 25-acre McMillan Sand Filtration Site, located at North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue NW, is labeled as the “most developable land in the District,” according to report published by the developer.

D.C.’s first municipal water purification system is part of the full 92-acre McMillan Park Reservoir Historic Landmark in Ward 5, according to a legal brief filed

by Friends of McMillan Park (FOMP), a citizens’ group opposed to developing it.

The city bought the site from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1987, and successive mayoral administrations have been wondering how to use it ever since.

A debate has raged over whether to develop the site for economic gain or preserve it for a park with emphasis on open space, as the citizens’ group wants.

Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) has now been given an exclusive $90 million carte-blanche contract by the District to develop the sand filtration site as it sees fit. All of that cost will be borne by taxpayers, according to the FOMP brief.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development, which approved the plan, reiterated in an e-mail to Street Sense that the Bowser administration is finally acting on this significant parcel of land after it has lain dormant for 28 years. Communications Director Joaquin McPeek also noted that the project, when completed, will add 3,200 permanent jobs to the local workforce and 3,000 construction jobs while it is being built.

After admittedly high planning and development costs, the administration projects the McMillan Site will generate $1.2 billion in tax revenue over 30 years.

The tug-of-war in this dispute is that the city’s Comprehensive Plan, guiding use of the area, calls for medium-density zoning on this site. VMP proposes highdensity zoning for a part of it for a large office building that would house healthcare and medical offices, according to the FOMP brief. The proposed medical office building would be 115 feet high, well above medium-density standard.

It would also demolish several belowground wells that were part of the waterfiltration system and considered part of the site’s historical significance.

The D.C. Zoning Commission approved VMP’s proposal earlier, saying it had enough “special merit” to waive zoning restrictions.

D.C. Code loosely defines special merit as “significant benefits to the District of

ABOVE: Concept image courtesy of VMP via EnvisionMcMillan.com BELOW: The underground sand filtration chambers via FriendsOfMcMillan.org

Columbia or to the community by virtue of exemplary architecture, specific features of land planning, or social or other benefits having a high priority for community services.” The special merit exception is nearly exclusive to Washington, D.C. historic preservation laws, according to a Georgetown Law Center assessment.

Judges had initially ruled that VMP’s highdensity plan has special merit because the intended medical office facility is useful for the neighborhood.

The zoning commission claimed they had “flexibility” to approve highdensity use on the northern end of the site because of low-density uses at the southern end such as parks, recreation and open space, according to the FOMP brief. The citizens’ group wants to remand the decision back to the zoning commission, saying the proposed density is too high and that the underground cells are integral to the historical value of the site and should be preserved.

The D.C. Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case on Sept. 20. FOMP members came out en masse; 8,000 have signed a petition to stop the VMP plan, according to their attorney Andrea Ferster.

The appeals court judges agreed that the zoning commission can award high-density zoning for part of the site if other parts of it are kept at medium-

density; they said it is better to pursue the objectives of the plan than make a blanket prohibition against high density. However, the judges did specify that clustering the large buildings near the row houses that now exist on adjacent Capitol Avenue is not a good idea. They requested an explanation of the rationale for clustering.

The judges mused aloud: This is a mixed-use development plan that a developer – and the city – can profit from.

It has special merit and fits in with the neighborhood; isn’t approving it better than doing nothing?

The FOMP group countered that such an ad hoc balancing of factors is not allowed in this situation; the Mayor’s Agent is required to follow a confining legal standard. Friends Attorney Ferster said applicant VMP must show that demolition and subdivision are necessary to build structures of particular significance.

Defense attorney Philip Evans said a compromise on this had already been reached in the comprehensive plan’s Future Land Use Map on parks, open space and historic preservation. The zoning commission did their best to meet all the requirements for re-developing the McMillan sand filtration site. VMP needs the revenue expected from the higherheight and density medical office building to address the park and open-space

needs of the project. The plan addresses economic necessity for developing the area,¬ according to Evans.

The large medical office building that is the big sticking point would occupy about 42 percent of the project’s square footage and more than half of its land area, the brief says.

The concrete underground cells in question, of which there are about 20, have been crumbling for years and need to be demolished if structures are to be built on the ground above them.

D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Stephen H. Glickman asked why the Mayor’s Agent didn’t consider other alternatives to a special merit decision, especially those with fewer historic preservation impacts.

Attorney Carolyn Brown, who was handling the historic preservation argument for the zoning commission side, reminded the assembled that the comprehensive plan is a tool, but the Mayor’s Agent has discretion beyond it.

Brown added that the Agent “looked at the totality of the plan, not just pieces of it.”

Glickman concluded the plan had enough elements of land use planning to qualify for special merit, though he noted that the medical offices “do not contribute to the project’s special merit.”

Attorney Jason Klein of the FOMP side said the park was necessary but the medical office building was not necessary for the economic viability of the project.

He reminded people that the zoning commission didn’t approve the 130-foot building; they just went ahead with it.

There is no evidence that less dense development wouldn’t have been just as feasible, according to Klein.

It is worth mentioning that the McMillan site plan calls for very little low and moderate-cost housing. Of its 146 town homes and more than 500 apartments, only 20 percent are designated as affordable housing, and most of those cater to families or individuals that make up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) – or $87,360, based on 2015 data. However, the one in four D.C. residents living in poverty earn an average household income of $24,000, according to a 2010 D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute Report.

There are no units in the VMP plan dedicated to low-income households that earn under 50 percent of the AMI, according to the FOMP brief. However, Joquin McPeek of the Deputy Mayor’s office highlighted that 85 rental units will be set aside for affordable senior housing (minimum 55 years old) for households earning 50-60 percent of Area Median Income.

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

9

FEATURES

What They Don’t Teach You EDITORIAL: A Good Starting Point

By Eric Falquero, eric@streetsense.org

By Scott Lovell Artist/Vendor Street Sense offered me the chance to be at the opening of the new museum. I had the privilege to go inside with David Denny and Eric. The collection in the museum is amazing!

My intention was to just check out the sports exhibits. But when I got back on the

On October 7 I received a ticket to attend the African American museum!

I went with another vendor and contributing writer Scott Lovell and also the editor-in-chief of Street Sense, Eric Falquero. I have so much respect for this man and I consider it an honor to attend this special occasion with him.

We walked from the Street Sense office to the site. When we reached the museum there were different groups, crowds, and lines waiting to get in. The atmosphere was filled with a sense of pride and wonderment for what's coming ahead. When we entered the building, the first thing I did was collapse from exhaustion! The walk from the office and all of the excitement had taken so much out of me. I took a ten-minute rest and was as good as new.

The first thing that struck me was this sign: “THIS BUILDING WILL SING FOR ALL OF US.” I got this eerie but satisfying feeling. I could almost imagine the chants of buffalo soldiers, freedom riders, Emmett Till, MLK...etc. Their sacrifices

elevator to leave, the operator stressed that I had to see the other culture floor.

I ended up in the music exhibit where I took pictures with the mothership from Funkadelic and Chuck Berry's Cadillac.

I suggest that everyone try to visit and try to get a ticket now for this summer.

There are a lot of things in there to learn about that they don’t teach you in school.

It is an all day trip.

and accomplishments are palpable and it makes me shiver.

It took three hours to tour the three concourse levels in the basement of the museum which spanned the eras of: Slavery and Freedom, Segregation, and A Changing America.

When I saw the display of crudely made shackles hammered into place around slave ankles and the branding irons they used to brand us with; it saddened me to view the sadistic cruelty of our past.

But for me, the most riveting display was that of Emmett Till. I viewed the actual footage of his relatives telling the ghastly story of his demise and the horrid pain coming from their voices is numbing.

They also had Emmett Till's restored casket on display. Vicariously, I felt I was there during his actual funeral. But the warmth I felt on my face were real tears…

I’ve signed up to return to the museum with a larger group of Street Sense vendors and artists this month – to be continued.

On a recent Friday morning, through the generosity and urging of multiple friends, I was humbled and grateful to visit the brand new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Now that it was open — after Representative John Lewis had been introducing proposals for such a place since 1988 and the legislation finally came to fruition more than a decade ago -- the darn timed-entry tickets were booked out for months! Nevertheless, we were going!

When I set out from the office with my colleagues David and Scott, we departed to applause, as David announced our destination to a room full of other Street Sense artists. “I, David Denny, am about to enter the African American History Museum,” he said with pride, and was met with cheers.

When we neared the building, it looked as if the Pope had returned to Washington.

A swarm of people asked passersby if they had extra tickets and a line of people stretched from the museum to Constitution Avenue and as far down the street as the eye could see. We asked for help finding the proper entrance for ticket holders and in the process overheard a security staffer say the line had started before 5 a.m. (First-come, first-served tickets become available at the museum at 9:15 a.m. each day. As Street Sense went to press, advanced timed entry passes are listed as out of stock through the end of March 2017).

The air around us seemed charged with everyone’s anticipation. This was important. But no one shoved or rushed.

The short line we ended up in seemed calm, nearly reverent.

We made it inside, which was worth taking a breather. There was plenty of room to do so, as the ground floor is simply a lobby, restrooms, welcome desk, etc. David and I sat while Scott did some reconnaissance. Before we got moving, a kind family took our group photo despite an uncooperative camera.

Scott had learned that the downstairs levels were pretty crowded and suggested we head straight to the upper floors where Muhammad Ali’s gloves, Chuck Berry’s cadillac and other priceless artifacts and icons are on display. We all had to get back to work, with no time to waste.

But David and I had heard the whole museum is a chronological walk through history if you start at the very bottom and work your way up. So we all piled in the

massive elevator and descended.

Below we only had two options - go to the cafeteria or get in line. The exhibition entrance looked like a crowded grocery store on the weekend - complete with a volunteer scurrying to plant a flag at the end of the line to draw people’s attention and maintain order. At this point, we split up - and it’s a good thing we did. Between the three of us, in as many hours, we covered five of the six exhibition floors.

As long as tickets are needed, like the Newseum, they should really last for two days. There’s just no way to take it all in.

Scott got right back on the elevator to check out the top floors while David and I joined the measured procession to the next elevator. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it slow. We were both asked to keep it moving once when we dawdled too long taking photos at the entrance.

This elevator, delving into the concourse area, surrounds you in glass so that you can see the history galleries you are delving toward, while a display of the year counts down from the present to the 15th century...

(Pro tip: while there is a line to get to the elevator — the staff works very hard on the other side to convey that everyone should feel free to roam throughout all galleries at your leisure once in the exhibit space.

Many people, myself included, at first attempted to continue the shuffling line we had formed upstairs.)

Concluded on StreetSense.org now, or wait for our next edition!

The entire Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture collections is also documented online at https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection

A Street Sense Night at the Museum!

Saturday, November 5 | 7p.m. | Free Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Artist/Vendor Cynthia Mewborn to screen her documentary “Who Should I Be Grateful To?” ahead of Sterlin Harj’s “MEKKO” Q&A with both flimmakers

OPINION

I’m With Her - Because She’s With Us

By Aileen Johnson

Much is at stake in the 2016 presidential election. Reproductive rights. Democracy and human rights for people of all races, ethnicities and nationalities, including immigrants, refugees and native-born Americans.

Criminal justice reform. Enactment of federal fair wage laws. Clean energy and climate change legislation. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer equality.

Escalating college costs and funding for critical early education. Gun control and growing the economy.

Former secretary of state and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has offered detailed policy proposals on these and other pressing issues. Clinton has the raw brainpower and intellect, analytic ability, aptitude and capacity for the hard work ahead. She has a documented record of public service for women, children and families and against discrimination.

Moreover, Clinton has the leadership, temperament and experience to guide us in this time when our democratic rights are under attack, especially the right to vote.

This paramount issue is animated by one searing image that explains why I specifically urge African-American voters (like myself) to support and vote for Clinton for president of the United States. The image is of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on what has come to be known as Bloody Sunday.

On Bloody Sunday in 1965, Alabama state troopers beat John Lewis, now a U.S. congressman, and other marchers and nearly killed Lewis. Why were they marching on that bridge? To demand voting rights for African-Americans. Today, our voting rights are still under attack, in the Supreme Court and in some state legislatures and polling places across this great nation.

Students of history know that the period of Reconstruction following the Civil War prompted massive resistance by white segregationists. As Ari Berman describes in “Give Us The Ballot, The Modern Struggle For Voting Rights In America,” African-American voters throughout the South were denied voting rights “first through violence and fraud and then via devices like literacy and good character tests, poll taxes, and stringent residency requirements. … Black voters disappeared seemingly overnight.”

Lewis is a true civil rights hero. His march across Edmund Pettus Bridge and his actions, and those of countless others working to win the right to vote across the South, led ultimately to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There is no democracy without the right to vote. But the Voting Rights Act is under attack at the state level, as more and more regulations are enacted to prevent African-Americans from

I Never Voted

By Gerald Anderson I never voted in my life.

Never registered to vote.

Mama voted.

Some in my family voted.

But I never voted.

This year, I would register to vote, If it ain’t too late.

Not because of what Trump say.

But to show Women got power Just as well as men got.

I hope Hillary win.

I hope you hope she win too.

I hope you go out and vote And I hope you get people you know to vote too.

registering to vote and from exercising their vote.

How and why? As the result of a 5-4 decision of the United States Supreme Court in 2013 that invalidated a key section of the act. That section contained a formula that determined whether states needed approval to changes in voting law. This resulting lack of oversight has led to a documented depression of voter registration for African-Americans.

Clinton has vowed to automatically register voters, repair the Voting Rights Act and support legislation that restores lost voting rights to Americans who have paid their debt to society in the criminal justice system. In 2015, the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Clinton wrote, “Fifty years after Rosa Parks sat, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched, and John Lewis bled, it's hard to believe Americans are still forced to fight for their right to vote—especially in places where the civil rights movement fought so hard all those years ago.”

Who is making it harder to vote?

Republican governors and legislatures.

On what side of the Edmund Pettus B r i d g e wou l d on e f in d Re p u b l ic an nominee Donald Trump? Maybe that is unfair. But, we do know that he is urging his supporters to serve as poll-watchers to prevent a so-called rigged election.

Do these calls signal his endorsement of interfering with voting African-Americans?

Here is some background to consider.

Tr u m p ’s c o n d u c t t o w a r d A f r i c a n Americans has been found to be discriminatory in his leasing practices through Trump management and in his casino operations. Trump supports the widely condemned police practice of so-called stop-and-frisk. Trump cavalierly retweets racially offensive messages from white supremacists. In February, when asked about support the infamous Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, Trump said, “I just don’t know anything about him.” Earlier, he added fuel to the fire of the so-called birther movement against President Barack Obama – a racist lie that

Trump perpetuated until this September.

And there is more. Trump supports so-called law and order. But he refused to accept judicial exoneration of the Central Park Five, a group of African-American men wrongly convicted as youths in New York City. He seems to view AfricanAmericans as criminals. Indeed, in 2015, Trump tweeted an inflammatory image that made various specious and untrue statistical claims, including that blacks kill 81 percent of white homicide victims.

In fact, it is really 15 percent, according to the FBI. This bogus figure of 81 percent was apparently designed to stoke fear of African-Americans, and was essentially a racist non-fact to fit a racist narrative.

Finally, Trump seeks African-American votes by asking us to believe that we are “living lives of utter desperation,” as the New York Times put it. He went even further with this pandering propaganda with a tweet that said, “Inner-city crime is reaching record levels. AfricanAmericans will vote for Trump because they know I will stop the slaughter going on!”

I suspect that the African-American crowds I stood shoulder to shoulder with while touring the exhibits at the occasion of the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture a few weekends ago would disagree. Those crowds, from cities and towns across the nation reflected what was on display: accomplished achievement, dignity, confidence, pride, power, triumph, self-fulfillment and yes, material affluence and success.

We owe Rep. John Lewis a debt of gratitude for his commitment to justice.

Lewis has endorsed Clinton. I am with him, and I am with her. More importantly, I am voting for Clinton because I fervently believe that she is with me, and that she is with us on the side of right.

Aileen Johnson is a proud long time Washingtonian, a native Baltimorean, and a community activist, lawyer, and writer who lives with her wife and their son and dog in the U Street District.

Voting

By Latishia Graham I may not vote this year because I’m not registered. I love Hillary Clinton.

1. She has served as Secretary of State, U.S. Senator from New York and First Lady of the United States.

2. We need comprehensive immigration reform to keep families together.

3. Hillary Clinton has spent her entire career leveling the playing field and that is what this campaign is all about.

4. Raising wages is the defining economic challenge of our time.

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.

Drain the Swamp

By Jeffery McNeil There have been many people wanting to interview me about this election.

Reporters are curious why someone who is formerly homeless and black is supporting Donald Trump instead of being on the Democratic plantation.

Many people of prominence have dropped hints that Donald Trump is a horrible person; misogynist, racist blah blah blah. However when you suggest that it was the Bill Clinton administration that mass-incarcerated people, called b l a c k m e n “ S u p e r Pr e d a t o r s ” a n d sought the mentorship of racists like William Fulbright and Robert C Byrd, they are dismissive. Hillary Clinton has shown contempt for everyday people by calling Trump supporters deplorable, Sanders supporters people that live in their basements. In private emails her

campaign called Latinos "needy" and trashed Catholics.

Hillary is neither liberal nor Progressive -- she’s a crook, a warmonger and a Wall Street shill. Nobody likes her yet the establishment wants you to believe that the election's not rigged.

Trump should never concede. We are under the throes of corporate fascism where these globalists want to enslave all of us. What more evidence do you need to see that the corruption is at the highest levels of government?

This notion that we have democracy and free and fair elections is bunk. I personally have received hate mail and been vilified because I won't submit to fascism. I thought this was America, where you’re supposed to be allowed to make choices, good or bad, without anyone manipulating or interfering.

There are too many blacks that believe

voting is getting on a bus and never doing any research and just voting Democrat.

Somehow to these misguided brothers you're a “Coon” if you have a different point of view. There’s only so much people can take and America has had it!!

People are tired of the politics of smear and fear. There are many reasons why people are supporting Trump and the main reason is a failed status quo. White libs have pumped victimhood into the minds of many minority groups and it’s divided and polarized our country.

I’m calling out the dirty laundry: blacks that play victims are just preying on gullible whites for sympathy. America is the land of opportunity and if you're past a certain age and you haven't achieved anything it’s not because of the white man or the rich, It’s because you played a part in your failure. Maybe you partied when you should have been studying, you

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

1#1

OP-ED

bought lottery tickets when you should have bought bonds or you failed because you made dumb decisions.

Donald Trump is what black people need: an Alpha Male. He exudes manhood and America is about arrogance and swagger.

I’m a Trump supporter because he's not ashamed of being American. He’s the Jimmy Dean of politics, a rebel with a cause. You know it’s naughty but it's so liberating. If we can't have our way why not scorch the earth so nothing will ever grow again?

Barack Obama has radicalized working people. Washington forgot what democracy is about. This is not about Donald Trump, it's about sending a message that the people are in charge. America has always been about self determination, not having a small group of elites centralizing power for themselves.

Jeffery is a Street Sense vendor.

MOVING UP: Hello Friends!

Should your credit matter when applying for a job? By Micheal Warner

By Arthur Johnson There are many barriers that seem to go up when people are struggling to find a job. But one of the most frustrating is that some employers check your credit report when reviewing applications and use that information in deciding whether to hire a particular individual. One of the problems is that an individual who is looking for work may be unemployed and unable to pay their bills because of the limited amount they are getting from unemployment insurance (if they are getting that, as many people are only eligible to receive this assistance for a limited time). Other people may work for companies with inconsistent work schedules, which can cause them to fall behind on their bills and get bad credit.

There are many job applicants whose credit should be an issue. One example is senior managers of companies. If you want to run a large or medium-sized corporation with billions in sales, your ability to handle your own finances should be considered. However, most people who want to run companies make very good salaries already and have access to financial resources that allow them to maintain excellent credit.

If you have serious problems with your credit, it’s important to try and rebuild your credit so it does not prevent you from getting hired. There are 11 states that restrict the use of credit reports in hiring (in the Street Sense area, the only state that restricts using credit reports is Maryland). The potential employee doesn’t have a right to refuse to allow

the company to check their credit, if they want to be considered. When you sign an application form, it indicates that the company may require a successful background check -- the release for that is either indicated in the application or in some cases in a separate release form.

Which types of employers are going to check your credit? One Washington D.C. employer that makes it a practice to check is the federal government. When you apply for a government job, they can check your credit (and most other parts of your background) and that is justifiable because you are applying to work in a position that involves a huge amount of trust. You might be applying for a position with an agency where you have access to confidential information. It is crucial to check people’s credit because hiring someone in severe financial difficulties could result in them being vulnerable to bribery or extortion.

There are many employers who will probably never check your credit. Many jobs such as those in fast food and large retailers don’t usually check, but that could change if you find yourself being considered for a promotion. Also, be prepared for employers to start being more diligent in checking credit if the economy hits another recession and employers go back into being more selective about hiring decisions. In the next issue, we will look at different options available to you to build up your credit.

Arthur Johnson is a volunteer writer for Street Sense.

As I reflect on the civil rights movement, Americans today are facing similar challenges. The right to vote is being challenged all across our great land to limit access to the polls. In 2016, 14 states will have new voting restrictions in place for the first time in a presidential election. The new laws range from strict photo ID requirement to early voting cutbacks to registration restrictions. One of these 14 states is New Hampshire, where I serve as a deputy canvassing director. My role is recruiting canvassers

to knock on doors in NH as part of the P l a n n e d Pa r e n t h o o d Vo t e s g r o u n d operation. Rolling Stone even wrote an article about us titled “Inside Planned Parenthood’s $30 Million Ground War to Stop Trump-Pence.”

Since arriving in New Hampshire in August, my team has organized a sophisticated ground operation to get out the vote. What’s at stake? Women’s reproductive rights are being curtailed and outright outlawed. Politicians want to restrict abortion rights and overturn Roe v. Wade.

Election Day is November 8! Please vote. John F. Kennedy said “ Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

On a personal note, many of you helped me along the way to New Hampshire by encouraging me to succeed and empowering me to overcome obstacles.

Thank you sincerely to all of my friends in Tenleytown and Bethesda!

Miss you all.

Checking Out...or In

By Angie Whitehurst

As a ballot-caster tired of blank checks being over-drafted, used up and freely re-issued by too-trusting voting citizens every election cycle, I am calling for mandatory report cards for sworn-in civil servants and dunk-you-finger-in-the-coffee litmus tests to be conducted by the D.C. Police in the dark in the park for neutral bipartisanship regardless of anything and

everything other than the good of all human beings.

P.S. The end of homelessness and access to affordable housing will NOT happen because I forgot to cancel and void the check of blind trust!

Angie Whitehurst is a Street Sense vendor.

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.

Team Work is Everything

Uno and Duos

By Chon Gotti Artist/Vendor

By Charlton Battle Artist/Vendor

For the past couple of years, I have been trying to be this make-believe player, not thinking about the true balance of life itself and the true life that lies within me. It all happened at the very end of sum-mer, when I truly decided to phase out my miserable behaviors and commit to my relationships with my wife, my finances, my spiritual being and my health.

Deciding to focus on the most important things in my life has made me wiser. And I’m proud to say that my wife has made this journey of ours very successful. She is and always will be my longtime, all-star team member. Moreover, I have heard it said that “success depends on the type of woman you let into your life.”

Now I really truly understand what those powerful statement means.

To my beautiful wife: I love you always.

Dear Mother

My Father

By Beverly Sutton Artist/Vendor

By Patty Smith Artist/Vendor

I appreciate your wishes for the time we had together. After you died, I have had nowhere to turn. I was homeless from then on. But in recent years, things have turned around for the better.

Through the Grace of God I have wished to move further and further with my life. I used to have a job at the Hilton Hotel, making about $500 a week. I was doing well at that job for six months, but I had an incident on the job. I fell and fractured my wrist; it’s still very painful and hasn’t been right since. That’s how I became disabled.

I’ve been in and out of institutions my whole life, but I thank God I’m doing real good now and looking to the future.

I appreciate everybody from Bread of the City. I appreciate everything to this day.

I didn’t grow up knowing my father.

My mother and my aunt raised me.

When I was about to be a young lady, (the year was about 2007), my Aunt Cindy telephoned me and gave me the number for one of my father’s brothers. I called the number and said that I was the daughter of Benny Will. My uncle gave me my father’s telephone number. During our first conversation, my father asked, “Are you really my daughter?” He asked me where I lived and wanted to know so much about me. One day my core agency called and told me I had overdrawn my account (because I had taken too many trips to see my mom). When I told my father that I had overdrawn my account, he started sending me money. We had established a very dear relationship. I just want to say that I miss my father.

He died a couple of months ago. I had not seen him since I was a child, but will always love him.

This is a wonderful story about two kittens that came into my life, first and foremost to get rid of the mice.

Now that they are in my life, they have become the spice in my life. And, I say, double that because it’s twice as nice.

Yes, they have become my friends and family, something to talk to and take care of. That part of the day when I am most in need of company, they are oh so nice!

After Allah (God) put these cats, kittens, or critters - as some call them, in my life, I have had a busy, and entertaining learning experience, as well as a mice-free life.

Yes, everyone that meets them seems to fall in love with them, and doesn’t want to leave!

Now that I have them in my life, I don’t care too much for company.

They help me think and focus on what I need in my life and make me feel oh so nice.

Uno and Duos are two calico kittens with two different personalities, yet they look like twins, except for one who has one stripe on her nose, while the other has two stripes.

They are both always into things and following me to see what I’m into. They always try to help me, even when I am writing or whatever I’m doing.

Uno is the kitten that caught the first mouse, even brought a baby rat in through the window alive! I thought this was nice. She tossed it at my feet, still alive, and started to run around it and kick it. This scared me a little until Tracy, a friend of mine, helped me realize that this is the way a cat shows love and respect for its caregiver.

Uno and Duos used to sleep with me next to my ear, as if it was a nipple. My mother told me that this action goes back to her early days when she was still nursing with her mother. I was very touched by this act of love and trust. So much so, that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

Duos is the one that is the baby and does all of the mischievous things. She likes to poop in the tub, eat what she wants and cry’s for everything or ‘curses’ when she doesn’t get her way.

If you are around them you would see what I say is true, especially when one of them ‘curses.’ This could also be called ‘talking’. These antics make you love them more!

Looking Out for a Blessing Do You Take God for Granted?

By Richard Embden, Artist/Vendor Letter to self: It’s so easy to get discouraged.

B u t t h e r e ’s good reason t o t a k e heart and be encouraged.

Yo u w i l l never know the blessings presented to you if you are only looking for or at the problems.

Problems can be blessings in disguise.

Just as the Chinese have one word which can mean either crisis or opportunity.

There are opportunities for happiness through tough situations. You just have to be looking out for a blessing.

By Marcus Green, Artest/Vendor

If you follow a pattern, more than likely you take people for granted. Many people do the same with the Lord. But in my experience, God will get your attention anyway!

Don’t miss your blessings by being inconsistent or not living up to what you say you will do. Time lost or wasted when you take people for granted disappears into history until those people can only be visited in memory, Cherish the moments. Love your family and friends.

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 2016

VENDOR WRITING

Homeless

Can you see me?

By Leonard Hyater, Artist/Vendor What do you do in the face of something you have no control over?

Let say something extremely negative happened in your life: you lose your job and lose your place of residence and you become homeless. The first thing to do is take a moment and pray. Ask the Lord for guidance the reason. I say this because some things in life we have no control over. Anyone can become homeless.

What can be done to end homeless? I say better jobs with higher pay. It seems that the cost of living is going up while wages are standing still. That's a damn shame, because everyone deserves a place to live.

However, be in good courage. It is not the end of world. Ask yourself, how can you deal with being homeless. I am homeless and I see some how people treat homeless people. That’s because you don't know how homelessness is until it happens to you.

It is not a pleasant thing to see family members homeless. Like I say, I am

13

By Ken Martin, Artist/Vendor Good Good Good Good Good

morning, afternoon, evening, night, greetings.

Good Grief!!

homeless and I am doing something to better myself so that I will not became homeless again. One thing I’m doing is going back to school online to better myself.

There was a time that I used to look down on homeless people, until it happened to me. I have learned that it not good to look down on anyone. So, next time a homeless person asks if you can buy her or him a cup of coffee or buy them something to eat, please consider that that could be you.

The expressions of some carefully placed words can be like poetry in motion. Please allow me to share a writing with you from a special friend of mine, Carla M. Baumgardner. She writes with such a sense of awareness. Perhaps reading her work will enable some of you, who would otherwise remain asleep, to wake up! We are in the midst of a homeless epidemic which no one is guaranteed to avoid. Individuals and families are not being allowed the universal right to housing. Gentrification continues and we have an unlevel playing field in which profiling stereotypes and useless killings of African Americans still permeate our society. Yes, it is systemic. And yes, the system tries to play on your intelligence in order to continue being maintained.

Don’t let yourself fuel it – read the fine print.

PERCEPTION OR REALITY: Love

By Robert Willaims, USMC Artist/Vendor Love said to be a many splendored thing In this reference many being the operative word Because it can have many meaning or Interpretations you heard Let’s take a look at some for a few and tell me what does love truly mean to you Is it just the other lifting you up when blue An encouraging word often needed but seldom heard Is it their kiss on the face of that tender embrace Is it the journey to that place that removed you from a particular space Is it that real communication that prevents the fornication Is it the sincere trust allows you past the lust Can it be that which make you smile when wanting to frown Turning you around, picking you up when down

Can't you hear me speaking to you? I'm extending wishes of good tidings for you and yours -- and you ignore me?

I wish you and yours a "Magnificent made to order Monday!" and you deny my existence in response?

What must I do to be acknowledged?

You look away, not in disgust because I've offended you but as if somehow by doing so I'll dematerialize.

deny! And you know what? If you took a minute you might find out I'm relatively intelligent. I might even know something you may deem beneficial.

Hey I'm here!!!

But how would you know?

I'm a big Black guy, too tall to miss! I have a booming bass voice too deep to

You don't see me.

Fine Print

By Carla M. Baumgardner Volunteer Dedicated to my grandchildren, children,their friends, associates, and frenamies.

I

want to share something with you and it seems the only way to reach you is through Social Media, so here it is.......= Marijuana: Hey my children of color did you read about the legislation that was passed legalizing Marijuana with restricted use in some states, including D.C. that used to be known as “The Chocolate City”, now better known as the “Oreo Cookie”......Say it isn’t so.

Wait a minute, before you make Weed your main source of happiness, did you read the FINE PRINT.....

Employers still require a drug test to get a job; employees are still randomly tested to keep a job. There again, you fell into the well-laid trap. Guns: Hey my children of color did you read how the NRA will never soften their stance on gun control; better yet, do you remember when you talked yourself, or a “friend” talked you, into using a gun that was bought in the streets or a store and your fingerprints were left on it....... Say it isn’t so.

Did your friend explain the consequences of using that gun for wrong; or did he say, “I go your back man, go ahead, DO IT. Did you know those juvenile cases can stack up like bricks that will give you the perfect foundation for a felony. There goes your job search......

Again, Again, Again and Again you fall into the well-laid trap because you forget

to read the FINE PRINT Housing: Hey my children of color do you know what “Gentrification” is; or better yet, do you know what “Assisted Gentrification” is.......that’s when people of color leave the inner city, for whatever reason, buy or rent homes in the far reaches of the surrounding suburbia just because the rent and homes are cheap; instead of collectively protesting for affordable housing in your own communities or for those that stay alongside the new neighbors, make ignorant statements like “our community is going to be better now” the white folks are moving in.

Well, the “20 and 30 something’s” of the majority race left those backwoods; unlike their parents, they were not going to endure long commutes just to get away from people of color. Say it isn’t so.......

If they didn’t put mass transportation out there for “them”, why in the hell do you think they’ll do it for you.....

You forgot to read the FINE PRINT My children of color, My people of Color, Love me, Love Yourself, I love You. We as a people don’t even like each other. We stay angry enough just on an average day; add guns, marijuana, long commutes and the lack of affordable housing to the recipe and you have just created a cocktail of self-inflicted genocide....PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT

COMICS & GAMES

Aces Down

By Frederic John Artist/Vendor

The Jack-daw cares, Thus, the Blue Jay cares.

In a bone dry autumn, The litany carries on: “Pack of Lies!”

It’s an autumn of the Tewar Clown; And our aces have fallen way down.

Scherzer, Stras, and Tanner too.

And Rendan, Bryce –for gnome werth – A singular, “BOO!” Was that a clown question, bro?

Did the Death’s Head Joker say so?

Well, down come all play-offs” Banners from F, G, and New York.

Once again, our “nats” are more tired Than a wok of old port.

The Customer is Always Right

By Debbie Brant, Artist/Vendor

This philosophy has been a great for working at jobs. It was taught to me at Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits, my first job. But, it didn't work as well as it should have because of the "chagrin of luck," as those pasty-faced men have been called. Good luck comes to those who use it, though. "Ugly big ignorant tubby chowder head" I was called, thank God. It brought me good luck. It will be even for use at Street.

I own it, with others I hope. Is it because I am a good employee? Or because I am Good Luck? Extreme patience, though, is required. Okay, so somehow the customer is always right.

STREET SENSE November 2 - 15, 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

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

Catholic Charities: 772-4300 catholiccharitiesdc.org/gethelp

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

Community of Hope: 232-7356 communityofhopedc.org

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

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

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

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

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! Positive Thought

By Shana Holmes, Artist/Vendor

Andre Brinson - 11/9

Remember that no matter what you may be going through life, no matter if there is a death in your family, or one of your close friends has died, you are placed on this earth for a reason. You may not know what it is yet, but it will be revealed to you when the time is right. I can be a witness to that.

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

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

Loaves & Fishes: 232-0900 1525 Newton St. NW loavesandfishesdc.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Doctors at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) seek volunteers for a research study that will evaluate if inflammation of the brain occurs in individuals who are alcohol drinkers. Researchers want to see if 3-4 weeks without alcohol shows less inflammation in the brain.

About the study:

● Participation may require 2-3 days of inpatient overnight stay. ● Participants will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brain. ● Participants in this study will have tests at two time points: one shortly after a bout of alcohol drinking (less than one week after you last drank alcohol). If the brain images show evidence of inflammation the tests will be repeated at least 3 weeks after abstaining from alcohol. Repeating these same tests at least 3 weeks later, will let us know if the inflammation improves with abstinence. ● Participants whose results show inflammation in the brain will be invited to participate in the alcohol detox phase for 3-4 weeks followed by a repeat of the imaging scans.

You may qualify if you:

You may not qualify if you:

• Are 30 to 75 years old

• Have a minimum 5 year history of heavy alcohol drinking • Drink at least 20 alcohol drinks/week if male or 15 drinks/week if female

• Are seeking or not seeking treatment for your alcohol- dependen condition

• Have a medical condition that can impact brain function • Have had head trauma with loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes • Have a history of drug abuse other than alcohol • Are pregnant or breast feeding • Are allergic to lidocaine • Have a history of a bleeding or clotting disorder • Have a positive urine test result for illicit drugs

Location: The NIH Clinical Center, America’s research hospital, is located on the Metro red line (Medical Center stop) in Bethesda, Maryland.

There is no charge for study-related tests or procedures. Compensation and travel assistance may be provided.

For more information call: 1-800-411-1222 TTY-:1-866-411-1010 Se habla Español Online, clinicaltrials.gov Refer to study # 14-AA-0192

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health®

November 2 - 15, 2016 • Volume 13 • Issue 26

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

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

-VOT E

e for

R ES EA RCH O N A LCO H O L US E VO L U N T E E R S N E E D E D

• Early voting lasts until Friday, Nov. 4 with centers operating 8:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.

• Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8 and polls will be open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

• D.C. voters may still register to vote on Election Day or at an early voting center • Contact the D.C. Board of Elections with questions or to confirm your registration (202) 727-2525 • You may also visit www.vote4dc.com to find your polling place, view a sample ballot and more

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