11 21 2012

Volume 10: Issue 1 November 21 - December 4, 2012

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THANKS GIVING pg 5

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

4

North American Street Newspaper Association

International Network of Street Papers

Reimagining Welfare part 2.

our 10th 8-9 Starting year.

12

Writers’ Group celebrates Thanksgiving.

16

Remembering Tyrone Murray.

COVER ART

ADDRESS 1317 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 PHONE 202.347.2006 FAX 202.347.2166 E-MAIL info@streetsense.org WEB StreetSense.org

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VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Jane Cave, Margaret Chapman, Brandon Caudill, Lilly Dymond, Ashley Edwards, Andrew Gena, Steve Gilberg, Jane Goforth, Roxanne Goldberg, Roberta Haber, Jesse Helfrich, Maurice King, Sean Lishansky, Victoria Hatterman O’Banion, Ashley Perkins, David Piper, Mark Rose, Willie Schatz, David Sellers, Kate Sheppard, Ernie Smith, Lilly Smith, Kelly Stellrecht, Brett Topping, Charlotte Tucker, Bryan Watkins, Marian Wiseman, Eugene Versluysen

PHOTO BY SYDNEY FRANKLIN

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@streetsensedc /streetsensedc 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.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mary Otto MANAGING EDITOR Eric Falquero VENDOR/VOLUNTEER MANAGER Allen Hoorn ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Rebecca Stewart INTERNS Joel Barnes, Sydney Franklin, Jeff Gray, Nick Mutschler, Lauren Poole, Claire Riesenberg

A Thanksgiving event volunteer passes out a bag of food to a low-income Capitol Hill resident.

A new issue comes out every two weeks, but you can stay connected to Street Sense every day!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Yebegashet Alemayehn, Margaret Chapman, Kristal Dekleer, Robin Heller, Heidi Keller, Sommer Mathis, Manas Mohapatra, Brad Scriber, Michael Stoops

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STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

NEWS IN BRIEF DC Housing Authority to Freeze Waiting List

By Mary Otto, Editor-in-Chief With more than 66,000 families and individuals currently on a waiting list for affordable housing, the District of Columbia Housing Authority is planning to call for a temporary halt on new applications.

Housing officials say they hope to purge the waiting list of applicants who are no longer looking for housing and to give those who have been on the list for years a realistic sense of how much longer they may need to wait.

“We need to determine the true size of the list,” said DCHA spokeswoman Dena Michaelson. “It’s a matter of managing expectations.”

Right now, families applying for a four-bedroom apartment can expect to wait for 10 years for a suitable unit.

The wait for a studio apartment is estimated to be 43 years.

The housing authority has the ability to subsidize and place people in about 22,000 housing units through the use of rental assistance vouchers, subsidized apartments and public housing.

“We are the city’s largest landlord,” said DCHA Deputy Executive

Director Nathan Bovelle. “We house ten percent of the population of the District of Columbia.

Even so, he added, the need for lowcost housing consistently exceeds the demand.

“There is no secret that there is a shortage.”

Bovelle, speaking at a recent meeting of the Coalition of Housing and Homeless Organizations (COHHO), acknowledged that any plan to freeze the affordable housing waiting list could cause alarm. He stressed the authority is choosing its words carefully in moving forward with the plan.

“DCHA will close the waitng list. That sounds really scary,” he said. “We’re suspending the intake of new applications to the waiting list.”

And he spoke of the inevitable challenges involved in suspending a list that has remained open for years. .

“How do we pick a good date?” he asked. “How do we not harm anybody while we are cleaning the list?”

Bovelle said that in the process of cleaning the list, the housing authority will try to reach all current applicants to determine whether they still require housing. That too will be potentially complicated.

“How do you reach out to the person who lives under a bridge or who has no fixed address?”

Some of those present at the meeting spoke personally about the pain and frustration of waiting for public housing.

“There probably won’t be enough in our lifetimes,” said one woman. “You put your name on a list and you aren’t gonna get no daggone housing.”

Added another: “We are waiting for people to die to get housing.”

The housing authority is working with charities and shelters to make sure that currently homeless people are signed up before the list is suspended, Michaelson said. The date for suspending the list has not yet been determined.

Eric Thompson-Bey - November 22 Bertina Woodson - December 3

3

g

ginin a m i e R e to Welfar Work

Family Assessment an Important Part of TANF Redesign

*an occasional series

By Mary Otto Editor-in-Chief Outside the window of the city Office of Work Opportunity on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE there is a tree with orange leaves and a bird fluttering. And beyond, the Anacostia River is glinting in the gray autumn morning.

Vocational Development Specialist Teri Winston, wearing a neat suit, is stationed at her desk. Seated in front of her is Candice Banks, mother of three, dressed in a simple sweater, black trousers and flat shoes. Banks has received welfare, officially known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for the past three years. Some of the city’s 17,700 welfare beneficiaries have been getting welfare checks for much longer.

Vocational Development Specialist Teri Winston.

PHOTO BY JANE CAVE

But time is running out for them all.

A year ago, the District of Columbia implemented a 60-month lifetime limit on welfare benefits. It was a measure that many jurisdictions put in place years ago, after President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act back in 1996. But in the District, the step came as a shock. More than 6,000 families who had been on the roles for more than five years saw their monthly stipends cut. The average monthly payment for a family of four went from $523 to $418.

After the 2011 reductions, the city auditor conducted a telephone survey with 70 of the parents in families who saw cuts in their checks. A majority reported that after the TANF reductions they experienced difficulty finding the money to launder their childrens’ clothes or buy items such as shoes or gloves that they needed for school.

More than half reported increased levels of stress and anxiety. More than half said they had fallen behind on paying bills and had utility services interrupted. Six said that since the 2011 benefit reductions, they had become homeless.

Another round of cuts was scheduled for Oct. 1 of this year. But at the last moment, the city council passed emergency legislation to spend the $3.8 million needed to forestall the next round of reductions for six months. The decision bought a little time to allow a redesigned TANF program to work.

It gave vocational development specialists such as Winston a chance to try to interview the city’s welfare recipients and figure out their needs.

A new approach to working with TANF recipients is an important part of the redesigned program, says Office of Work Opportunity program manager Denise Crews.

“It is an entire paradigm shift in how we assist people who need our help,” says Crews. People may have dreaded coming for welfare interviews in the past. She wants them to look forward to them now. To feel supported and excited. And to leave thinking: “I’m really glad I came. I know they really are trying to help me.“ A tool called an Online Work Readiness Assessment is an important part of the new intake process. The assessment is geared toward determining what lies at the heart of each family’s poverty. Some parents have physical or learning disabilities. Some have addictions or mental illnesses that need to be addressed. Some need to learn how to

TANF recipient Candice Banks with her children Devin and Cameron.

PHOTO BY JANE CAVE

apply for a job. Others need some type of new skill.

“Why do you think you are not working right now?” Winston asks Banks.

The two women talk about the $2.38 an hour waitressing job Banks left in hopes of something better. The job at Happy Faces day care she kept for four years. She enjoyed the work and at the end, she was paid $13 an hour.

“My oldest child has ADHD. I thought I needed to spend more time with him instead of taking calls and leaving work early.”

They talk about Banks’ life, her struggles, her work experiences. The wide-ranging interview takes more than an hour. As Banks answers the questions, Winston enters her responses on the computer.

“Have you had any issues in your past?

Any criminal issues?”

“No.” “Have you worked a cash register?“ “Yes” “Assisted a handicapped or elderly person?”

“Yes” “Have you worked in cosmetology?”

“I do my own hair” “I know you like to work with children.”

“I like children. I like doing hair and fashion. I like the medical field. The billing aspect.”

“In the past 30 days have you been depressed?”

“No” “Nervous and anxious?”

“No” “Tired and exhausted?”

“Most of the time.”

Banks oldest child, her son Devin, 9, is in a different school now, and apparently thriving. The other two, son Cameron, 5, and daughter Kiara,2, both have asthma but are otherwise alright. The four of them share a subsidized apartment near Catholic University . Child support helps pay for the kids’ needs.

So does a disability check for Devin and the $428 monthly cash assistance check.

Still, it’s not easy to make ends meet.

Banks is attending classes part time, preparing for a job in medical billing and coding. She sounds hopeful about the future. Someday, she dreams of studying business administration.

“Longterm, I hope to have a stable career,” Banks tells Winston.

Winston helps Banks fill out a form she needs for her childrens’ afterschool program and urges her to stay in touch. She apologizes for not having a business card yet, but presses several bus tokens into Banks’ hand and thanks her for coming in.

“Feel free to contact me,” says Winston. “ We’re trying to do better.”

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

55

NEWS

Putting the Thanks in Thanksgiving

By Sydney Franklin Editorial Intern It is unanimous. This year, Capitol Hill families are struggling more than ever to put food on the table. Whether it’s job loss, shortened hours or wages cut, there are D.C. residents who can’t make it through the holidays without assistance. Thanks to organizations like Capitol Hill Group Ministry (CHGM), those families have assistance in grocery shopping this Thanksgiving.

“The numbers have swelled this year because people are really in need,” said Barfonce Baldwin, executive director of the ministry. “We really take pride in this period of Thanksgiving service because we want everyone to be able to sit down at a table and have a meal.”

Over 200 pre-registered customers came to Capitol Hill United Methodist Church on Nov. 20 to receive bags full of macaroni and cheese, stuffing mix, canned beans, garlic, cranberries, onions, rice, applesauce, yam, cake and pancake mixes, just to name a few. Safeway gift cards of $20 to $25 were also provided for turkey or ham purchases.

Bertha Bryant and her goddaughter Cynthia Duckworth came to the ministry in order to provide a sufficient meal for their big family. They look forward to making to make potato salad and sweet potato pie.

Duckworth called the basket drive a “God-sent gift for low-income families like us.” She said that every little bit counts.

“It’s a blessing to sit down with your

family on Thanksgiving,” said Bryant.

“That’s what you should do every day, all the time.”

During the distribution, local neighbors stopped by to donate extra bread rolls, cranberry juice, cookies and cupcakes. Midday, eleven frozen turkeys were donated from Living Wages, a nonprofit organization that provides adult education in Southeast.

The baskets were put together by volunteer groups like Mothers On The Hill and distributed at Potomac Gardens Community Center Nov. 18, Christ Church Washington Parish on Monday and at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church yesterday.

Eighty percent of donations came from local neighbors and volunteers while 20 percent came from area businesses. Baskets costed $50 for a family of four, though most CHGM families averaged at six per household.

Program Manager Shelah Wilcox began organizing the basket drive in August, sometimes receiving 15 to 20 phone calls per day asking for baskets.

Her top priority was giving help to families of Ward 6.

“It’s a stressful time of year,” said Wilcox. “But it’s a good stress because we are just helping so many people.”

But Wilcox said their work isn’t even breaking the surface.

“There is so much more need this year than ever before,” she said. “At least people can have real meals instead of noodles. Now they have the

opportunity to have turkey and ham.

Even the children will know they have a real Thanksgiving.”

CHGM has been distributing baskets at the church for the last two years.

Last year, the ministry provided around 380 baskets, meaning 1,540 meals for families on Capitol Hill and Ward 6. The ministry estimated this year’s demand

A Thanksgiving Poem

Thanksgiving

By Sybil Taylor Vendor

By Evelyn Nnam Vendor

Thanksgiving is a day of thanks and grace. Thanks and giving to others who have nothing. Giving and sharing to the needy, homeless and sick.Sharing this day with family and friends.Sharing love with everyone accross the world.

Poor and families in great need get to enjoy a wonderful meal which is served by churches, families, and communities.

Sharing, receiving and giving thanksgiving baskets to the hungry.

Passing a special gift of love so everyone can have a blessed meal of thanks.

Sharing the blessing and grace around the table with turkey and stuffing, gravey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mash potatoes, greens, string beans, ham, and pineapples, rolls, favorite drinks, cakes, pumpkin pies, and all sorts of desserts.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone across the world!

Thankful for God honest with people.

Sharing with family and friends.

Giving to others inviting friends.

I love eating turkey!

Now it’s time to give, God gives me the courage to give.

to be around 475 baskets.

When customers were asked how much this basket drive benefited their family this Thanksgiving, each answered with a resounding “A LOT!” “I’m grateful to get this,” said Aletha Williams who is making dinner for her two grandchildren this Thursday. “I’m going to cook stuffed cornish hen!”

Jacqueline Hargrove, case manager for Capitol Hill Group Ministries (CHGM), distributes bags of food to Ward 6 families.

PHOTOS BY SYDNEY FRANKLIN

La Casa Returns to Serve

By Sydney Franklin Editorial Intern

The old La Casa emergency shelter, with its rows of aging trailers lined up behind a chain link fence, was never praised for its beauty. But it filled a need, providing bilingual services and beds for homeless men in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.

When the shelter closed two years ago to make way for a condominium and retail complex in the rapidly gentrifying Columbia Heights, it left a void, particularly for the Spanish-speaking homeless community.

Now, at 1444 Irving Street, NW, a new La Casa Permanent Supportive Housing facility is rising. It will be the first seven-story homeless facility in the city, providing 40 efficiency units for chronically homeless men under a single roof.

Resembling the neighboring condominium complexes rather than a shelter, city officials say the new La Casa reflects a new approach to moving people out of homelessness into stable lives .

Mayor Vincent C. Gray officially broke

3D Rendition of the new La Casa permanent supportive housing facility, destined for 1444 Irving Street NW. IMAGE COURTESY OF STUDIO TWENTY SEVEN ARCHITECTURE

ground on the site on Oct. 23.

“La Casa is an excellent solution in addressing the need to move chronically homeless men and veterans away from shelter environments and into a permanent supportive housing situation,” Gray said in a statement. “Our goal is to help these men, who require more specialized services, move into stable and sustainable housing rather than shelters.”

Studio Twenty Seven Architecture along with joint venture partner Leo

A. Daily have teamed up to create this one-of-a-kind facility in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.

The project will be LEED Gold certified, meaning it will be as sustainable as all new federal construction and major renovation projects. These qualities will reduce energy costs and allow the building to be eco-friendly.

The new facility also earned praise from Ward 1 City Councilmember Jim Graham, who has been a major advocate

for the redevelopment of the neighborhood, which has been transformed in recent years by the opening of a new metro station as well as restaurants, pubs and chain stores. But Graham has also supported the preservation of affordable housing options for low-income and homeless families and individuals.

“La Casa is the largest project of its type in D.C.,” Graham said. “It’s very, very exciting. La Casa was very low quality. It was dreadful with its trailers and bunk beds. It encouraged human misery rather than alleviating it.”

Graham referred to the new architectural plans as a “magnificent design,” adding that its very location in the middle of Columbia Heights sends a very important message.

“I think we are a caring community,” he said. “We are making progress.”

Even as work began on the new La Casa Shelter, another popular neighborhood program, The Hermano Pedro Homeless Day Program, announced it would hold its last day of service on Nov. 30. The shelter’s doors were scheduled to officially close Dec. 3.

C=MB ON THE ENVIRONMENT: OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS HERMANO PEDRO

By Cynthia Mewborn Vendor, “C=MB” It is said that when one door closes another door opens, but in the case of the Hermano Pedro Day Shelter Program, homeless advocates aren’t so sure.

In mid-October, word began to spread that the program, operated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, would be closing, due to the loss of $400,000 in funding from the city Department of Mental Health (DMH). The news has worried homeless men and women who have received help from the six-year-old multicultural center, located in Columbia Heights.

They say that the services provided by Hermano Pedro fill important needs. The program, which is open from 7:30am to 4pm, provides two meals a day to homeless individuals who can also use the shower facilities, wash clothes, attend 12-step meetings, and receive counseling. Homeless people can also receive assistance in obtaining social security cards, birth certificates

and work on finding permanent housing there. The day shelter, open to both men and women, also offers afternoon activities and has low entry barriers.

The center also refers clients with special needs to other facilities.

City officials stress that the diverse population of homeless who participate in the program will be referred to Thrive DC program which is located nearby. However, Thrive DC has limited hours and services: for example males can only receive services from 8:3011am then the facility reopens from 3-6pm for women only.

Eric Sheptock, Chairman of the grassroots homeless advocacy group SHARC (Shelter, Housing and Respectful Change), said he is concerned that Thrive DC will not be able to provide the same services to current clients with the addition of the Hermano Pedro clients.

At a recent SHARC meeting, a group of 25 people affected by homelessness, gathered to express their concerns.

Some noted that the city needs more day programs to serve its estimated 7,000

homeless residents - not fewer.

Some offered praise for Hermano Pedro. Odile Kala, said she found help there. “Hermano Pedro is like going to grandma’s house.”

Charles Witherspoon, a former client commented that the organization helped him find permanent housing.

“The impression I received from all the staff was very professional, caring, warm and friendly,” Witherspoon said.

SHARC also had the opportunity to meet with city Department of Mental Health Director Stephen T. Baron and other DMH officials. Department spokeswoman Phyllis Jones said the DMH plans to use the $400,000 to expand mental health services to the homeless in a variety of ways, including adding a bilingual staffmember to an outreach team that serves day centers around the city and paying for additional rental subsidies to move Latino and justice-involved homeless people into housing.

“Our goal is to move more people from homelessness to self-sufficiency,” she said in a telephone interview.

Jones said that Hermano Pedro is scheduled to close in early December.

But officials at Catholic Charities, which operated Hermano Pedro , said they were working to prevent any harm that might result in closing the day center as the weather grows cold.

“We are continuing to work with the DC Department of Mental Health to manage the potential loss and closure of the Hermano Pedro Program, with the immediate safety and health of the homeless clients who use the program first and foremost as winter approaches,” said Eric Salmi, director of communications at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.

And homeless advocates at SHARC remain hopeful that the services will continue indefinitely and is communication with the Department of Human Services regarding this plea. SHARC stresses the needs this day program addresses are critical and necessary until permanent housing can be provided for all homeless individuals.

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

77

NEWS

Polish Theatre Puts Spotlight on Homeless

By Street News Service www.street-papers.org / WSPAK-Poland A group of Warsaw’s homeless and unemployed residents, including several vendors of the city’s street paper WSPAK, have been given the chance to step into the spotlight through a new theater project.

The drama workshop program for the city’s homeless residents was started by Gregory Bands, a student of the Pedagogium School of Social Sciences. Bands enlisted the help of actress Mariola Daszkiewicz-Konopczyńska for help in directing a workshop production.

And the actors have a script, courtesy of Pedagogium teacher Maria Lewandowska . The play is a study of the relationships between homeless people – including those performing the play.

Every Wednesday at 2 p.m. cast members meet in a rehearsal room at the academy. They start off by exchanging pleasantries, hugs, stories of what happened in the past week before asking: “what are we going to do today?”

Recently, they also paused for an interview with Street News Servic.

Konrad: I do not like how most people talk about people who are homeless; they say we are that dirty, ragged and smelly excuse. Homelessness can happen to anyone, for various reasons.

I was an electronics engineer by education but I lost my job and could not afford to keep on the house I inherited from my parents. I lived with my younger sister, but it could not last forever. Now I live in a shelter. Like everyone here, I want to show people who I really am - what I can offer, what I love, what my problems are, what I want to achieve in life.

Rysiek: Participating in the show is a new challenge for me.

I thought - just go along, because the risk is either I gain experience as an actor or completely embarrass myself. And what the heck - go crazy! Every man has a different story, but I believe that ours in particular can create amazing material and will be interesting for audiences who have no knowledge of living on the streets.

Hedwig: What I want to say about the show is the love it builds.

But I also want to talk about the

fact that women and children are often left without help. They have no options.

I was a teacher, but now I have no work.

Employers are wary because I live in a centre for the homeless.

Martin: Why am I here? I would like to try something new - I enjoy a challenge and so grabbed this opportunity by the throat, as they say. I think this show is a cool thing, and helps to escape from everyday life. I’m a man with a sense of humour, but once in a while I do find life painful. I truly hope audiences will connect with my character and the situation he is in.

Stanislav: I’m an amateur musician.

I’m not schooled in music, but I play a lot of instruments. I’m not homeless but I sell ​​WZPAK because I have diabetes, and it makes it hard to find work.

For their first stage performance, the action takes place in a homeless shelter and is interspersed monologues of the actors. During the show the actress Hedwig leaves the stage, running and screaming through the audience: “I’m in a halfway house after a divorce from my husband, but no court helped me, and I have no money! My children are in the orphanage because I have no place to live with them! Let me ask children because you did not have grounds to limit my parental rights? After an accident at work I did not get a pension, and we wander through the world for 10 years!“ No one is responsible. No one is able to help her. Other characters on the show line for soup the great garage, arguing about the little things that get them down. Finally, they come up with an idea - a revolt! “Mutiny on the ship!

Guards close at the deck, cook attached to the mast! “- Exclaims the actor. “Oh, yes! Chef to the mast! “- echoe the rest. The show interspersed humour and sadness, hopelessness and a sense of strength, optimism and a sense of defeat. It’s a play about people whose lives at some point are very tangled, but believe that this transition state.

The last scene of the play is so far unknown, mirroring the fate of homeSome of the would-be actors: the home- less actors... less and the unemployed, including several Marzena Kaminska, a psychologist, WSPAK street magazine vendors. works in a shelter for homeless men PHOTO: WSPAK run by the Archdiocese of Warsaw. She

says that direct participation of socially excluded people in artistic projects is beneficial on many levels. Through art they have an opportunity to express themselves and often act out repressed emotions and learn new ways of coping.

The experience can be a form of “catharsis” that lets them view at their situation from an outside perspective. In the daily struggle for their basic needs, this is something many homeless are not at able to achieve. For some, their presence on stage may be an opportunity to fulfill a dream or a hidden sense of “mission”; a chance to do something important, not only for themselves.

Director Mariola DaszkiewiczKonopczyńska sums up the show in the following way: “On stage in Pedagogium we see a group of people with different experiences. Each of the participants in our theatre can and want to express themselves, with no opportunity to work hey have instead chose to work on themselves, their role on stage, and consider their role in the community. This all means that we have a team who share a common goal. It doesn’t matter whether you’re homeless or unemployed.

Here, our theatre, our live show has become a community, the result was a joint responsibility and required people to work together - as it can happen on the stage, it can in real life too.”

Translated from Polish into English

by Katarzyna Fugat

10

A Decade of

A Decade of Impact

By Brian Carome Executive Director With this issue, Street Sense commences its tenth year of publication.

We will be celebrating our anniversary year in a variety of ways aimed at both broadening our mission impact and strengthening the organization that publishes and distributes the paper.

We will be republishing articles from our archives, both in the paper and via Facebook. We will be sponsoring public forums where experts on the issues that define homelessness will debate the history of the problem and try and map its solutions. And in the fall of 2013, we will invite all of you to join us at a gala event to celebrate our Decade of Impact.

In 2003, Street Sense founders Laura Thompson Osuri and Ted Henson introduced the two-pronged mission of the paper to readers with these words: “Homelessness in Washington, D.C., is at its highest level since 1996 and is increasing, yet the attention the media is giving the issue remains very low and inconsistent. As a result, the main objective of Street Sense is to make the public more aware of issues related to poverty and homelessness. Its secondary goal is to provide homeless people with an economically beneficial opportunity and forum to be published.”

(Street Sense Mission Statement and Editorial Policy, Street Sense, Volume 1–Issue 2, December 15th, 2003) Back in 2003, no one could accurately predict the full effect that the digital revolution would have on print journalism. That said, it was not seen as the most opportune time to launch a new print media outlet. I imagine as they began editing what would become Volume 1–Issue 1, Osuri and Henson had to wonder if their passionate dream was sustainable. The first issue had a print run of 5,000 copies and was distributed by approximately 25 vendors. They must have known something. This issue, Volume 10–Issue 1, has a print run of 16,000 and is being distributed by over 100 vendors.

IMPACT Street Sense

Those of us who work at Street Sense know with certainty that homelessness can end. We have had the great privilege of having front row seats to the journey that countless vendors have made from shelter and street to home. We also have heard and read the testimonies of readers who have been inspired, moved, motivated and altered both by what they have read in the paper and by the conversations that they have had with individual vendors. These “crossroad conversations” between the housed and they houseless are an opportunity for us to grow stronger as a community, united by the realization that our alikeness is greater than our differences.

Oddly, in addition to pride, there is discouragement to be found in the start of our tenth year. While some

progress in the effort to end homelessness has been made, especially for veterans and persons suffering from chronic mental illness, far too many of our neighbors are homeless.

Perhaps most shocking of all is the way that homelessness has grown for families. Too many small children are being raised in shelters, abandoned buildings, and outside.

Looking forward, Street Sense will continue to bring you these stories while also providing persons who are homeless a means of earning an income and a path beyond homelessness. Whether you are a first time reader, or have been with us since the beginning, we hope you will continue to let Street Sense impact your life and our community.

December 2003, Volume 1 Issue 2: Street Sense has kept an eye on La Casa’s position in the Columbia Heights community since we began publishing.

STREET SENSE ARCHIVES

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

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FEATURE

November 2003, Volume 1 Issue 1:

CHILDREN’S ART: THE BABY WHO GROWS IN THE SUN

(Above) Street Sense first published on November 15, 2003.

(Right) Street Sense has reported on the winter plan each year.

STREET SENSE ARCHIVES

-I.M. age 8 There are 1,880 children experiencing homelessness in the District. The Homeless Children’s Playtime Project visits 6 different transitional housing and emergency shelter programs to provide weekly activities, healthy snacks, and opportunities to play and learn to as many children as possible.

Courtesy of the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project

COMICS & GAMES

GLARPH THE POSTULATIN’ SHARK: GLARPH GIVES IT UP

TERRON’S GAME: STREET THANKSGIVING

By Chris Shaw, “The Cowboy Poet”

By Terron Solomon

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

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OPINION

The GOP’s Extreme Makeover

By Jeffrey McNeil Vendor In the aftermath of the decisive defeat of the Republican Party, party bosses are analyzing why they got swept.

The more articulate conservatives, like Bill Kristol and Bobby Jindall, have condemned those who’ve morally bankrupted conservative principles in order to get elected.

However, while the party bosses are trying to soften their message to appeal to a certain demographic, all ideas run through Grover Norquist, and demagogues like Rush Limbaugh.

When party hacks cause embarrassment or disgrace, they are never admonished: they end up becoming consultants or lobbyists on K Street . They reinvent themselves, repackaging the same trick-

le down supply-side theories for the same dupes who willingly fork over their life savings to these charlatans.

However, trying to educate and inform those who watch Fox News, read right-wing blogs and keep being misled by conspiracy theories like Benghazi can be infuriating. There’s a market for tantalizing bigotry, and selling it as information. Pundits like Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly have the high ratings because being a jerk for an hour is profitable.

But we must show compassion for low information followers who listen to these demagogues. Its not their fault, the confederate mentality has been a bane on America ,so there in a state of shock.

Pollsters bloggers and pundits were smug and confident that Barack Obama was going to be out of there. So it will take some time for them to come to

terms that a black man is sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom.

However, as Bill O’Reilly eloquently puts it they will become patriots not pinheads by rallying around the flag to support our Commander and Chief, Barack Hussein Obama.

While I am hopeful it looks like many in that world have not found a Damascus moment, Mitt Romney and Sean Hannity come to mind,after their humiliating loss. Instead of reflecting on why they lost, they couldn’t resist being cranky by implying that a man who won decisively bribed voters with gifts.

So much for embracing and tolerance.

But as the Gop goes through an extreme makeover. We who call ourselves Progressives should not become fat and happy. If history is an indicator we can look back on 2008 when Democrats had

all levers of power only to be routed in 2010. That happened because the sugar high of 2008 wore off in 2010 after the realization that Obama couldn’t part the seas. This allowed plutocrats to stealthily astroturf a grassroots movement and gain control all levers of power from the states to congress.

Time will tell if this was a referendum, pushback or mandate. No matter what you may call this there is no time to gloat.

Theres still far too many powerful right-wingers who want to obstruct the president. As a people we need to identify these obstructionist and elect someone who will vote for some more stuff that irritates the plutocrats.

In the end Obama’s victory isn’t a time for complacency it’s time to get to work.

program, most of whom were formerly incarcerated, and virtually all of whom leave with a job. Every graduate earns a ServeSafe certificate, a valuable asset recognized across the country.

The kitchen is a $10 million dollar enterprise that earns more than half of its own money from operations, not donations.

But the numbers that make Egger the most proud are those that speak to the broader impact beyond just the food.

Statistically, about half of the graduates might have returned to jail were it not for the training they received. Now the 80 alumni trained each year earn $2 million in salaries, pay $225,000 in payroll taxes, and save the city millions of dollars. “That’s a big leap form just the touchy feely side of the kitchen” Egger says.

Egger’s vision has never been constrained to just replacing one soup kitchen with a social business. He has also been one of the country’s most outspoken, unflagging champions for the overall importance of the nonprofit sector.

He demonstrated his willingness to fight for his organizational brethren in 2002, when he took over as interim director for the United Way of the National Capital Area, a vital source of operating funds for hundreds of area charities.

Facing investigations for mismanage-

ment and abuse, it was in a post-scandal freefall and needed someone to step in quickly to restore confidence. “He was the only who had the courage,” says current CEO Bill Hanbury.

He’s no apologist for charities, though, repeatedly challenging nonprofits to innovate and evolve, and condemning those that use their mission statements to shield bad business practices. Egger spelled out his vision for a 21st century sector with his award winning book Begging for Change, and has touted it with countless speaking appearances from coast to coast.

With CForward, the political action committee he founded, whose name is a roguish nod to its nonprofit 501c4 tax designation, Egger is asking politicians to recognize the value that nonprofits provide to their communities.

Egger has also been a great ally and advocate for Street Sense, serving as the first president of the Board of Directors, as well as reaching out on an individual level. “In all the years I’ve known him, he has never hesitated to respond to my requests to help homeless individuals who had asked me to call on him,” said James Davis, a former board member and nine year vendor. “I thank him for all he has done for the city and as a friend I will certainly miss him.”

Activist’s Legacy Moves Cross-Country

By Brad Scriber Street Sense Board President This Thanksgiving will be Robert Egger’s last one as president of the DC Central Kitchen. The powerhouse social enterprise he founded almost 25 years ago, managed to shake up the way this city feeds its hungry citizens. In January 2013, he will step down and relocate to Los Angeles where he will start the LA Kitchen. This new venture will focus on utilizing and preserving surplus produce from California’s farmlands to provide nonprofits with high quality vegan and vegetarian food year-round.

“It’s been nothing, I mean nothing but enthusiasm,” Egger says of the reaction in LA to this announcement. The welcome has come from nonprofits, but also from farmers, who have told him “we will deliver tractor trailers to your door daily. Just tell us when.”

For those who may wonder, it’s too late to volunteer for this year’s Thanksgiving shift at the DC Central Kitchen.

They’ve been booked up for a while now. In fact, they’ve already filled all the slots for Thanksgiving 2013.

The wild popularity among the kitchen’s 12,000 annual volunteers is a big part of the legacy that Egger will leave behind when he moves to California.

“When you get involved with DC Central

Kitchen you really feel like you’re part of this family,” says Chief Development Officer Brian McNair, who started as a volunteer himself a decade ago.

Of course the innovative model has attracted praise from more than just volunteers. President Bush Sr. named the kitchen as one of his Thousand Points of Light. Oprah’s Angel network has honored its work. Numerous foundations, publications both local and national, the DC government, the DC Chamber of Commerce, and private corporations have all honored the kitchen with accolades.

This recognition is the result of some staggering statistics. Since its operational launch in 1989 the kitchen has produced some 25 million meals. They provided DC school cafeterias with 600,000 meals in 2011 alone, none of which were deep-fried. The 1.86 million meals the kitchen prepared for nonprofits last year freed up $2.6 million dollars, money those organizations could devote to their respective missions instead.

Donations from hotels, convention centers, and restaurants have salvaged countless tons of high quality food that otherwise would have rotted away.

More than a thousand men and women have graduated from the kitchen’s challenging 12-week culinary training

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

Have you heard?

By Victoria Beaumont, Vendor Good morning, my loyal Street Sense readers. Today’s opening question: to quote the late Bernie Mack, “America, are you listening?”

What is a person who is residence-free supposed to look like? Well, gosh, I don’t know.

I’m a white, Jewish Republican. I went to college. Don’t fit the stereotype, do I? Did I choose to become residence-free?

Yes. But wait: I left a boyfriend who urinated on me, threw my out of the apartment by my hair, beat me, and sent my mum email calling the gold-digging “c”-word. And, yeah, he is still cyber-stalking me and phoning me. I went to the courts, the police, and women’s shelters, but none of them helped. So, yes,

I chose to leave him and become residencefree. Should I have stayed? You tell me.

Next: I’m a bleached blond with big boobs.

So, to support myself, I should...strip? Do porn? Become a lady of the night? No thanks!

Instead, I chose to market Street Sense and write for it because I hope you all read the articles and I hope you & understand the challeges we are go through.

Two more points: first, thank you, my readers! Fido, my little stuffed dog, and I appreciate all you do for us. Second, we can become residence-free at a moment’s notice due to health issues, an accident, a job layoff, or a natural disaster (hello, Hurricane Sandy)..

So, this upcoming holiday season, do not judge others; respect them. And feel free to say Merry Xmas to Fido and me...even though we are Jewish.

Now, my closing question: America, have you heard?

Freedom of Information

By Morgan Jones, Vendor Did you know that the government has a secret file on all U.S. citizens? Under the Freedom of Information Act you have a right to know what is in your file.

People should know what the government is saying about them and if the information is wrong, should be able to challenge it. If

you’re not doing anything wrong, the government should not be watching you - it’s unconstitutional. Especially if you are homeless.

To learn more, visit FOIA.gov You can make a request through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to see your file. To do so, contact:

David M. Hardy Chief, Record/Information Dissemination Section, Records Management Division 170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843 (540) 868-4500 phone | (540) 868-4997 fax foiyarequest@ic.fbi.gov

Giving Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks What Thanksgiving Means to Me

Turkey Day Thanks

By Veda Simpson Vendor

By John “Mick” Matthew, Vendor

First giving honor to God because he is worthy to be praised, He’s giving me more good than bad days.

In my life he’s lent me just to name a few, Whitney Houston, Chuck Brown and my older brother Steve Gales, too!

I thank him for my mother, there can be no other.

Also putting me here for all the animals in the world, Some people don’t like to think of them as living creatures, they really have nerve.

I want to thank all the beautiful people I see everyday where I work, they’re giving me inspiration and courage, they’ve mended this broken heart that was full of hurt.

Now I want to say thank you to the one person that means the world to me...

Thank you President Barack Obama for guiding this country to be the best it can be!!!

Thanksgiving

By Phillip Black “The Cat in the Hat” Thanksgiving, to me this is the best holiday of the year.

It gives you time to meet with family and friends, but what I truly love about it most, is giving. There are so many people who won’t have a Thanksgiving because of homelessness.

When I was homeless, Thanksgiving was the most

depressing time for me. All I wanted most was to be and talk to my children. What got me by were the people on 11th and E Street, at the Starbucks and Eastern Market.

With their giving attitude and kind words, it made Thanksgiving good for me.

With so many people, who won’t be having Thanksgiving because of their situations, I’m asking all of my friends

not to get too busy to give a few kind words. Not just to the homeless, but to anyone who’s feeling bad around the holidays. Saying “Happy Thanksgiving" to someone means a lot to someone who doesn’t have family or good friends.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Enjoy the holidays.

All Hallow’s Eve has been and past, Lord Samhein’s visit done for another year.

Leaves on the trees turn from gold and brown And the calendar says November.

The temperature drops lower and lower As the warmth in our hearts rises higher and higher.

The farmer’s harvest hoarded for the coming feast, As Tom Turkey gets a presidential pardon.

Pumpkins once sought as an artistic medium Now canned and purchased for pie filling.

For the first time all year cans of cranberry sauce Aren’t buried under a year’s worth of dust.

Bags of potatoes for baking and mashing Macaroni waiting for cheese Gravy and stuffing become power accessories For the main event turkey on the table.

As family and loved ones gather at the table To share a meal in gratitude Of another year of living and loving And the blessings that we all bring each other.

So as you enjoy the bounty of God’s good earth, Before you watch the ‘Skins crush the Cowboys, Remember those people with less to be thankful for, And pray things are better next year.

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

11 33

NEWS

Isotopia (the poem)

Before the Rain, Part 10

By Chris Shaw, “The Cowboy Poet” Loomis was in no mood. “What’s this goody two-shoes woman with patent leather shoes and rosy cheeks with braided hair to match want with a lost cuss like me?” he wondered to himself. What he didn’t realize was, the heavy dose of Thorazine they gave him back at poor old Charity was beginning to wear off, but the other opiates they poured in him were starting in on him in new and strange ways.

“You definitely need a good shave and a bath,” Lindsay Patterson sniffed, although she felt an odd compassion for this lanky, disheveled “cat” with a nice face but way thin lips.

“Aw Pshaww,” grumbled Loomis

Reader, trying to act ornery, but he was by circumstance just too far wasted to offer much resistance. “Ahh, Ayyiii dun’need no frickin’ BATH—” “Well,” replied Lindsay, biting lightly the tip of her dainty tongue, “That’s what you think, Mister—” She turned over his hastily scribbled name tag. “—Umm, mister READER! Just read THIS!” Using her best elemental triage skills she’d learned back in Riverdale, Maryland, Lindsay tipped a large Dixie cup filled with fairly decent OJ and a 500 mi8lligram Valium, down Loomis’ protesting gullet, and waited for the magic to kick in.

“GACK-Gurkle-gluggluphh.” Loomis rocked forward, then fell back into a sling-seat wheel chair of the most ba-

Food for Thought

WE

By James Davis Vendor

By Samuel Bernard Fullwood Vendor

I was waxed poetic But that was just pathetic, Trying to stick to a topic Using absurd words like myopic.

I had to say to myself, what’s this?

There’s no such thing as poetic justice Why do I have to live on the sideline?

Why does all my stuff have to rhyme?

They say, “Why I can’t write some prose?”

Because these are poems, I suppose.

So stop telling me how to write scholars Just keep on making your dollars.

You see my poetry can’t be brought Because I give em’ food for thought.

We the People of this earth must begin to see each other as one nation, undivided with liberty and freedom.

We the People must come together and respect the laws placed upon us, the earth is to be respected and meant for all.

We the People must stop destroying each other for heritage differences, for we all come from the same seed planted long ago.

We the People must strive to exist centuries to come, all being equally treated and sharing our planet’s resources.

We the People must understand that each has a path to travel, assuring the freedom our lives to complete chosen goals.

We the People are not divided by

From upcoming poetry book: ‘Arugula Salad and other Food for Thought’

sic variety. This racket got the attention of Ms. Lyvania, who had kind of “lost” her afghan shawl to the dirty concrete floor, and even in the dank closeness of the big convention hall was, in her way of thinking, feeling a chill. Dimly, she got a glimpse of an unfamiliar figure. This was Loomis, of course, struggling mildly in the neighboring rolling chair.

“So then,” began Lyvania. “You then are the Gentleman Caller?”

Loomis was barely lucid at this point. “Whoa, like Tennessee Williams, yeah?? But where in blazes is my LUNCH?” he crowed, then promptly passed out, as Lindsay directed two burly attendants to wheel Mister Reader to a huge fiberglass wash tub.

(To be continued)

By Ibn Hipps, Vendor In a city called Isotopia lived a race of people with no care in their souls Faces of hatred their spirits ice cold In a world ruled by his or hers, mines all mines alone No love for donation, lifeless worried bones Love don’t support this race people which leaves no balance no hold Number one rule fend for your own

nations, we must proclaim ourselves one nation.

We the People must stand side by side, not placing ourselves above each other.

We the People must understand life is sacred...

In a world called Isotopia

We the People

Swollen feet from long walks of hope many hopeless nights of something nightmares of becoming nothing

United We Stand Divided We Fall Jacqueline Bush wrote: “I had the opportunity to meet the author of the poem, ‘WE.’ As a matter of fact a group of employees from my agency collected money and purchased a ticket for him to go to Sacremento, CA to join his wife Doretha. Thanks.”

The thanks goes to you Jacqueline and your co-workers.

With little warmth of care little light shown The sky cries the wind whispers sad songs

Screams and broken dreams happy faces tell lies look deep into those smiles they’re really frowns I have faith that’s why my feet are swollen but firmly planted down That’s my light! it lights the whole town In a city called Isotopia

A Man from Nantucket Focus

By John “Mick” Matthews Vendor There once was a man from Nantucket whose fame could overflow any bucket he gave business a poke it tanked, he went broke on his taxes, he’ll simply deduct it!

By Alvin Dixon, Vendor #29 Whenever I take the focus off myself and put it on you.

I could keep focusing on myself and do what I need to do to make my condition just a little better.

And when you take the focus off yourself and put it on me.

You could be focusing on yourself and stop wasting energy trying to steal my joy.

What we both need to do is … Mind our business and respect each other.

After all, we both live in glass houses and really can’t afford to throw stones at each other.

Always remember … When love goes wrong--nothing goes right.

No sunshine bursting light no gold at the end of this rainbow just old visions of the past (you know) those shouldn’t and should haves Street metals of no value war stories that cost everything In a city called Isotopia Coming up: Isotopia (the short story)

OUR PAGE

KLEVER’S COMICS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING

By Chino Dean, Vendor

A Recap From NYC

By Ivory Wilson Vendor To all of my fans across America, I am back in Washington D.C. after a trip to N.Y.C. I must say in spite of the disaster and all the suffering that they are going through, the New Yorkers opened up the Big Apple and welcomed me in.

I talked to many of them about my book and the suc-

cess I have found as a result of my many fans in DC that buy the Street Sense newspaper. Many New Yorkers believe the city would benefit from having a newspaper written by and about the homeless. I also managed to get on the NBC Today Show. I appeared in the last segment of the show, on November 5th, with all of my new friends from N.Y.C.

Street Sense Vendor Named to Interagency Council on Homelessness

By Gary Minter Vendor My first “official” meeting with the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) was exciting — at least the “premeeting,” when homeless people are allowed to air their grievances.

This ICH meeting, chaired by D.C. City Administrator Allen Lew, was held at Thrive DC in Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Oct. 16. Dozens of homeless people attended, along with 30 or 40 city officials from all departments and agencies in the District of Columbia. The “official” meeting consisted of the usual presentation of plans and statistics, the same things that are presented at most “official” meetings.

The real action was at the pre-meeting. Homeless people angrily attacked the agencies paid to solve housing and homelessness problems in D.C., complaining that the agency leaders and city government bureaucrats lack any real understanding of the problems of homeless people.

John McDermott of the People for Fairness Coalition was among the most vocal of the attendees, angrily pointing to a disabled woman who has been trying to get housing for at least four years and asking why no one is helping her.

The People for Fairness Coalition meets every Tuesday morning from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Miriam’s Kitchen in the Western Presbyterian Church at 24th and G streets NW in Foggy Bottom.

Other members of People for Fairness and of SHARC (Shelter, Housing And Respectful Change), which meets Mondays

at 1 p.m. at CCNV, Second and D streets NW, said that all the statistics and numbers and charts mean little to homeless people when they are sleeping outside in the rain and snow.

One homeless person said that people without children and those who may not have children, including gays, lesbians, the elderly, are discriminated against by the D.C. Housing Authority and the D.C. and federal governments.

These entities give preference to women with children, who receive free or low-cost apartments, food stamps, free medical care and cash payments under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), formerly known as “welfare.”

Several attendees bitterly complained that many women who live in taxpayer-subsidized housing with their children also rent rooms to their “boyfriends” to receive extra undeclared income, and engage in “casual sex” for extra money to buy liquor, crack cocaine and stylish clothes.

In contrast, people without children — the elderly, disabled, handicapped, gay, lesbian, and jobless men and women — receive nothing except food stamps and Medicaid.

Earlier on Tuesday, at the People for Fairness Coalition meeting, the D.C. Library system’s new two-bag policy came under attack for discriminating against homeless people, who must carry all of their possessions with them because most shelters refuse to let them store their clothing and personal items during the day.

Other issues discussed include a

lack of transportation money for homeless people to see their doctors and social workers, or to visit food and clothing pantries, get to job interviews and grocery stores; the failure of the D.C. government to hire D.C. residents; and the failure to enforce

laws requiring government contractors to hire D.C. residents.

Vendor Gary Minter was recently appointed by D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and confirmed by the City Council as a member of the District’s Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Service Spotlight: McKenna’s Wagon

By Sydney Franklin Editorial Intern For 32 years, McKenna’s Wagon has served D.C. with hot meals on wheels every single day. As the official mobile soup kitchen of Martha’s Table, the wagon provides food for some 150 to 300 people each night.

From week to week, the wagon’s menu changes based on donations.

Restaurants such as Chiptole Mexican Grill and The Capital Grille often give generously to the program.

Volunteers spend two hours driving the vans to its three drop-off locations:

cachinas, assistant director of food and nutrition programs at Martha’s Table. “After the recession we did start to see individuals that did have homes, but were trying to supplement income with these meals. We are a zero barrier program, so we don’t ask any questions.”

All the food is prepared at Martha’s Table by staff cooks. Volunteers help prep the food for delivery.

For information about volunteering, email volunteer@marthastable.org or call (202) 328-6608 X 212.

5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. 2nd and H St. 5:20 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Pennsylvania Ave. and 19th St. NW 6 p.m. -6:30 p.m. 15th and K St. NW

1-888-7WE HELP (1-888-793-4357)

SHELTER Calvary Women’s Services 110 Maryland Avenue, NE (202) 289-0596 (office) (202) 289-2111 (shelter) www.calvaryservices.org Central Union Mission (Men) 1350 R Street, NW (202) 745–7118, www.missiondc.org Open Door Shelter (Women) 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 393–1909 www.newhopeministriesdc.org/id3.html Community of Hope (Family) 1413 Girard Street, NW (202) 232–7356,www.communityofhopedc.org Covenant House Washington (Youth) 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE (202) 610–9600, www.covenanthousedc.org John Young Center (Women) 119 D Street, NW (202) 639–8469, www.catholiccharitiesdc.org

St. Stephens Parish Church 1525 Newton St, NW (202) 737–9311, www.thrivedc.org

Martha’s Table 2114 14th Street, NW (202) 328–6608, www.marthastable.org

Food and Friends 219 Riggs Road, NE (202) 269–2277, www.foodandfriends.org

Rachel’s Women’s Center 1222 11th Street, NW (202) 682–1005, www.ccdsd.org/howorwc.php

Miriam’s Kitchen 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW (202) 452–8089, www.miriamskitchen.org

Sasha Bruce Youthwork 741 8th Street, SE (202) 675–9340, www.sashabruce.org

The Welcome Table Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street, NW (202) 347–2635, http://www.epiphanydc. org/ministry/welcometbl.htm

So Others Might Eat (SOME) 71 “O” Street, NW (202) 797–8806; www.some.org

MEDICAL RESOURCES

Academy of Hope GED Center 601 Edgewood Street, NE (202) 269-6623, www.aohdc.org

Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300,www.unityhealthcare.org My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596, Washington, DC 20017 (202) 529-5261 (office) (202) 529-5991 (24-hour hotline)

Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500, www.wwc.org

OUTREACH CENTERS N Street Village (Women) 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060, www.nstreetvillage.org Samaritan Inns 2523 14th St., NW (202) 667 - 8831 http://www.samaritaninns.org/home/ New York Ave Shelter (Men 18+) 1355–57 New York Avenue, NE (202) 832–2359

FOOD

15

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100, www.christhouse.org

“We have a wide variety of people that we serve,” said Demetrios Re-

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS HOTLINE

STREET SENSE November 21 - December 4, 2012

Bread for the City 1525 Seventh Street, NW (202) 265–2400 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (202) 561–8587, www.breadforthecity.org Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW (202) 364–1419, www.cchfp.org Bethany Women’s Center 1333 N Street, NW (202) 939–2060, www.nstreetvillage.org

Charlie’s Place 1830 Connecticut Avenue, NW (202) 232–3066 www.stmargaretsdc.org/charliesplac

Father McKenna Center 19 Eye Street, NW (202) 842–1112

Church of the Pilgrims (Sundays only) 2201 P Street, NW (202) 387–6612, www.churchofthepilgrims.org

Friendship House 619 D Street, SE (202) 675–9050, www.friendshiphouse.net

Thrive DC Breakfast served Mon.-Fri., 9:30-11 a.m.

Dinner for women and children, Mon.-Fri., 3-6 p.m.

Georgetown Ministry Center 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (202) 338–8301 www.georgetownministrycenter.org

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catholic Community Services 924 G Street, NW (202) 772–4300, www.ccs–dc.org D.C. Coalition for the Homeless 1234 Massachusetts Ave., NW (202) 347–8870, www.dccfh.org Community Family Life Services 305 E Street, NW (202) 347–0511, www.cflsdc.org Foundry Methodist Church 1500 16th Street, NW (202) 332–4010, www.foundryumc.org Gospel Rescue Ministries (Men) 810 5th Street, NW (202) 842–1731, www.grm.org Hermano Pedro Day Center 3211 Sacred Heart Way, NW (202) 332–2874 www.ccs–dc.org/find/services/ JHP, Inc. 425 2nd Street, NW (202) 544–9126, www.jobshavepriority.org Samaritan Ministry 1345 U Street, SE 1516 Hamilton Street, NW (202) 889–7702, www.samaritanministry.org

SHELTER HOTLINE: 1–800–535–7252

Consider contributing to Street Sense during this year’s CFC Campaign

LAST WORD: CHARACTER

VENDOR PROFILE: ERIC THOMPSON-BEY

By Jeff Gray, Editorial Intern In the decade and a half that he has battled homelessness, Eric Thompson-Bey has often contemplated the factors that have led him to this point. To what extent is he a product of circumstance; a prisoner of societal constraints or bad luck? What role have his own bad decisions played? “[Social factors] play a part, but they’re not the only thing,” the 46 year-old DC native admits. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes.”

Thompson-Bey first experienced homelessness fifteen years ago after being kicked out by the sister he had been living with. After he ran out of friends with whom to stay, he tried the homeless shelters, but found the streets preferable.

“I came downtown and started sleeping on a park bench,” he explains.

Perhaps the largest contributing factor to Eric’s homelessness is his inability to hold down a job, an issue he says stems from psychiatric disorders. Eric has been diagnosed with depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, all of which combine to make consistent employment difficult.

“I’ll have a job, be doing good, then get depressed and won’t go to work,” he laments. “Then they fire me.”

Thompson-Bey works with a mental

By Allen Hoorn, Vendor/Volunteer Manager

health case manager but says he does not feel he is getting the help he needs.

His life has not been an easy one. His mother was murdered when he was only two years old, and he lost his father at the age of nine. He was left in the care of his eldest sister, who, despite her best efforts, simply could not provide the nurturing support Eric needed.

“From then on I really had no guidance. Your sister can’t be your mom.”

He believes that if his parents had lived, his life “would be totally different.”

Instead, the behavioral problems he had as a teenager resulted in him getting kicked out of school during his senior year at Ballou High, setting him down the wrong path.

“I fell to the streets,” he says. “I got caught up with the wrong crowd and it was off to the races from there.” Poor decisions led to a four-year incarceration at the age of 27 and he has been in and out of prison several times since.

Thompson-Bey readily accepts responsibility for the course his life has taken.

“I can’t blame it on society. I can’t do that,” he asserts. “I always look at what part I played.”

The housing situation Thompson-Bey has relied on for the past few months recently came apart, and he faces the very real possibility of returning to a shelter in the next couple of weeks.

Though a daunting notion, he remains determined to make the most of what he has, saying he will continue to face his challenges head on.

November 21 - December 4, 2012 • Volume 10 • Issue 1

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

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Permit #568

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

“Surround yourself with good people. want to hear.

If you have good people working with Then I listened for more than 20 you and for you, you are 90 percent of minutes as Tyrone went about his busithe way home. If you have bad people ness distributing the newspaper. The Tyworking for you, it doesn’t really matrone I heard on the recorded message ter what else you try to do. You’ll fail.” was far different from the Tyrone I had When I was 20 years old, I accepted met. But, not in the way I expected. my first job as a manager in a hotel Tyrone had multiple conversations in kitchen as a sous chef. The executive those 20 minutes. Every single one was chef of the hotel had 45 years of expolite and courteous, even gracious perience in kitchens, restaurants and at points. I could hear Tyrone opening hotels all around the world. I still redoors for a couple of people going into member, almost word-for-word, the a building. In part of the recording, very first piece of advice he gave me Tyrone went into a convenience store about being successful. to buy something to drink. He was even On November 8, 2012, Street Sense polite to the person ringing up his order. lost one of our vendors, Tyrone Murray.

Not only did I never hear any indicaAnyone who has bought a Street Sense tions on the recording of bad behavior, I newspaper in Tenleytown over the last heard definitive evidence of the type of couple of years probably met Tyrone, or behavior that we hope all Street Sense his partner Edna. Many of the area shopvendors will exhibit through their inkeepers knew him too. He spent a lot of volvement with our organization. time trying to make sure he stayed in My lasting memory of Tyrone will althe good graces of the community. ways be tied to the advice I received As the vendor manager at Street from my first boss. Street Sense did not Sense, one of my primary tasks is to lose a good vendor; we all lost a good monitor the performance of our venperson whose actions when he didn’t dors. This can be quite challenging, know anyone was listening showed since our vendors work over a wide greater character than I sometimes area and I have yet to master the art show even when I know the whole world of being in 130 places at one time all is paying attention. of the time. But, the fact remains, much of our success Tyrone: Sage of the Spirit relies on the personal character of our vendors.

By Chris Shaw I was given a rare insight “The Cowboy Poet” into the character of Tyrone He was a mountain of a meme; one afternoon about three Tall and proud with perpetual grin. months ago. He often called A spreading smile you wanted to share in, in to the Street Sense office Loud and proud, yet a great calm to leave a message, but he Alone,on the bus, he was one of ussometimes forgot to hang up Joyous, focused to the point of braggadocio his phone when he was done.

On his “Corner,” with the gentle Edna, More than once, after listen“T” was a picture of congenial soul sharing. ing to a message from Tyrone, “Bless you, Ma’am and those lovely kids, too-I found myself erasing an adI know God has lots of love for what you do!” ditional 10 minutes of static Yesterday, I beheld a velvet leaved mullein plant and ambient noise.

From a tiny shoot, now a titan, But on this occasion, I deWaving me a silent salute. cided to listen to the whole I thought of Tyrone and his endless love. message. I was curious to find His loss leaves me to grieve; out whether the Tyrone I saw Yet I’m inspired to move and groove in the office and the Tyrone As he wanted us to-- carrying “Word,” I talked to on the phone was with the help of our always the same Tyrone distributing Gracious Lord!!

Street Sense newspapers. I also wondered if I might be (Tyrone K. Murray was interred November 13, privy to something I didn’t Heritage Memorial Cemetery, Waldorf MD.)