11 28 2018

VOL. 16 ISSUE 2

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NOV. 28 - DEC. 11, 2018

Real Stories

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2 // ST REET SENS E ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C. 11, 2018

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The Cover

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

City officials celebrate the opening of “The Kennedy” in Ward 4, the first of three “short-term family housing facilities” that opened this fall to replace D.C. General.

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

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

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

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EVENTS

// 3

NEWS IN BRIEF A woman died from exposure near Union Station

BY RACHEL CAIN // Volunteer

Mobile Food Market

Presented by Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School and Capital Area Food Bank Nov. 28 // 2 p.m.

2315 18th Place NE Academy of Hope is hosting a Mobile Food Market for the community. Bring a reusable grocery bag and walk away with fresh, seasonal food at no cost! Questions? Please contact Krystal@aohdc.org or 202-269-6623 ext. 123

SUNDAY, DEC. 16

UPDATES ONLINE AT ICH.DC.GOV

THURSDAY, DEC. 20 - FRIDAY, DEC. 21

Home for the Homeless Funk & Comedy Jam

D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness Meetings

Homeless Memorial Vigil

5 :30 - 9 pm Howard Theater

Emergency Response and Shelter Operation Committee Nov 28, 1 pm // 1350 Penn Ave, NW Youth Committee Nov 29, 10 am // 441 4th St NW Housing Solutions Committee Dec 5, 1:30 pm // TBD —Most likely 1800 MLK Ave SE Full Council Dec 11, 2 pm // 1350 Penn Ave, NW

Music, comics, poets, civic organizations and foodies!

Third-annual fundraiser to benefit Miriam’s Kitchen. The Home for the Homeless “eases the transition from the streets into the home for newly-housed, formerly homeless, men and women in the District.

TICKETS & INFO: funkycomedyjam.eventbrite.com

*Committee schedules only. For info about issue-focused working groups, contact ich.info@dc.gov

THURSDAY, 5 - 7 pm Luther Place Memorial Church Opening, candlelight procession 7pm - 9 am // Freedom Plaza Overnight vigil FRIDAY, 9 - 11 am // Wilson Building Advocacy training (Freedom Plaza) and “walk-around” (Wilson Building) 12 pm // New York Ave Presbyterian Church Lunch and memorial service MORE INFO: 240-204-20867

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

We’re proud members of: MOST WORKPLACE GIVING PROGRAMS PROVIDE THE OPTION TO SELECT A SPECIFIC CHARITY FOR YOUR DONATION. PLEASE DESIGNATE “STREET SENSE”

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The morning of Sunday, Nov. 11, when the temperature hovered near freezing, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Denise Rucker Krepp called 911 to assist a homeless woman she came across near Union Station, according to Krepp’s Twitter account. Krepp described the woman, Helen Buchanan, as “barely clothed” and “in extremis.” By the time emergency personnel arrived, Buchanan was unconscious and had stopped breathing. She was pronounced dead at 7:07 a.m., according to the police report.

That day also marked the first hypothermia alert in the D.C. area since the District’s Winter Plan went into effect in November. Whenever the temperature falls below 32 degrees between Nov. 1 and March 31, a hypothermia alert is issued and shelter and transportation to that shelter must be available for all homeless individuals.

To request transportation or shelter, call the Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093.

Every year about 40 to 50 people die in D.C. due to exposure to cold weather, a representative from Community Connections told The Hill Rag. At a Nov. 13 Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, First District Sector One Captain Jon Durrough said Buchanan’s death “drives home the point that we have to be out there doing as much as we can,” the Hill Rag reported.

The Metropolitan Police Department is collaborating with other agencies with jurisdiction over the Union Station area to watch for any other people whose health might be in danger due to exposure to the elements.

D.C. Superior Court ruling fights back against housing discrimination The D.C. Superior Court ruled in October that Belmont Crossing Apartments in Southeast D.C. and the affiliated Oakland Management Group committed housing discrimination by barring tenants who use “rapid re-housing subsidies” from renting at the property.

These government subsidies provide temporary financial aid to families living on the street or in emergency shelters and “have been one of the centerpieces of the District’s attempts to address its homelessness crisis in the last several years,” according to a press release from the Equal Rights Center, the plaintiff in the case.

The District’s rapid re-housing program covers the full cost of a security deposit and first month’s rent as well as subsidizes up to two-thirds of a recipient’s monthly rent for a limited amount of time.

D.C. Superior Court Judge John Campbell mandated that these temporary subsidies must be treated as a source of income for paying rent. Source-of-income is one of 20 protected traits under the D.C. Human Rights Act. The D.C. Office of Human Rights has made similar determinations about short-term subsidies in its administrative hearings and the D.C. Superior Court has made similar rulings about source-of-income discrimination to protect recipients of permanent housing vouchers. But this is the first judicial precedent to protect recipients of temporary subsidies.

“Housing discrimination has devastating consequences at any time, and it can actually be the deciding factor determining whether someone is able to escape homelessness or not,” Melvina Ford, executive director of the ERC, said in a statement. “We hope that this ruling will send a clear message that discrimination against people who need to use temporary subsidies at such a vulnerable moment will not be tolerated in the District.”

—samantha.caruso@streetsensemedia.org

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NEWS

The first three D.C. General replacement shelters open STORY AND PHOTO ESSAY BY REGINALD BLACK a.k.a. “DA STREET REPORTIN’ ARTIST” Artist/Vendor

A common area in the Triumph.

The exterior of the Triumph in Ward 8.

O

n Nov. 13, the District of Columbia opened the third of its new shortterm family facilities, The Triumph, in Ward 8. It was preceded by The Kennedy in Ward 4 and The Horizon in Ward 7. Ribbon cutting ceremonies for each short-term facility were staggered over seven weeks, with families moving in shortly after each one.

Mayor Muriel Bowser ran for office in 2014 on a promise to close the outdated D.C. General family shelter. That February, a young girl whose family lived in the converted hospital, Relisha Rudd, was taken by a staff member. He soon killed his wife and himself, but Relisha was never found.

The tragedy galvanized the community.

In 2015 the new mayor tasked her administration with developing a new strategic plan for ending homelessness, including an overhaul of shelter infrastructure and services, starting with D.C. General. And by May of 2016, the Bowser administration and the D.C.

Council settled on a plan to replace the The first of the three shelter to open converted hospital with seven brand new was The Kennedy. A large crowd family facilities, one in every city ward gathered at 5th and Kennedy streets NW except Ward 2. Advocates and providers on Sept. 25 for their first look inside a have been waiting three years to see what new era of shelters. the finished products During that event, would yield.

Marketta Anderson The Triumph stands described how she and six floors tall with hers son were placed in 50 units total and 3-4 D.C. General after their beds per room. Each apartment flooded. She room has a dresser and expected to move out of most have their own the shelter and into a new bathroom area. Early apartment very soon, plans to close D.C. and said, “It brings me General mandated great pride and honor to communal bathrooms, know that families will Brandon Todd a point of contention have a beautiful, wellwith advocates for the constructed building to homeless community. The Triumph also help them get back on their feet.” has space to play outdoors, a study lounge Anderson, who was studying for a and a computer lab.

Microsoft certification, encouraged Each new shelter is built to host wrapmore families to take advantage of city around services on the premises to assist services. “There are life skill programs residents with income, housing and all at no cost to D.C. residents,” she said. health care.

The ribbon cutting brought together

This represents a revolution in the way we address homelessness in the world’s capital.

A laundry room at the Triumph.

many residents and officials who have a stake in ending family homelessness.

Laura Zeilinger, director of the D.C. Department of Human Services, reflected on the aesthetics of the project and said this was the first opportunity to design a program around the needs of a family. “[D.C. General] didn’t say or feel like ‘we love you, we value you, this is a place you can feel safe and cared about in and where you can find what you need in yourself to provide for you and your family.’” Zeilinger said. “[The Kennedy] and all the others represent that.”

Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, a strong Bowser supporter, congratulated the mayor on her “political grit” to push forward with the replacement of D.C. General. He said the shelter represented not only a brighter future for the families that will reside there, but a “revolution in the way we address homelessness in the world’s capital.” He thanked Ward 4 residents for supporting the shelter and caring about their neighbors.

The locations selected for new family

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

D.C. Department of Human Services Director Laura Zeilinger addresses a crowd a the Sept. 26 ribbon-cutting ceremoney for The Kennedy in Ward 4.

A bathroom in the Triumph.

facilities in Ward 1 and Ward 3 faced resistance from some residents in those areas. The future of the Ward 3 facility remained uncertain until October, when the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled a shelter would be built on a previously approved site on Idaho Avenue.

In addition to DHS, the D.C. Department of General Services was tasked with overseeing construction of the new short-term family facilities.

Then-director Grier Gillis shared her excitement with the crowd gathered in the middle of 5th street.

“Make no mistake, this is truly a historic day for all of us. Today we are turning a chapter on how we care for another and how we support each other,” Gillis said. She went on to applaud the approximately 300 workers who were part of the project’s construction.

Gillis became a member of the D.C. Public Service Commission after Mayor Bowser won re-election.

The ribbon cutting also featured neighbors of the facility like Lisa Colbert, the chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4D. “Everybody needs a home and a safe place to live,” Colbert said. “We in Ward 4 are happy to do our part to contribute to an overall solution. Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success.”

Completion of The Kennedy and The Horizon

mark a milestone in the final months of Bowser’s first term. To the crowd at the Ward 4 ribbon cutting, she emphasized the importance of second chances. “Many people that we know fall on hard times through no fault of their own,” Bowser said, pointing to the flood Marketta Anderson and her son experienced as an example. “And some people fall on hard times for other reasons. They are our friends, they are our neighbors. They are brothers, they are sisters. They are fellow Washingtonians,” she said.

Bowser praised the community for supporting her and echoed what others had said, that the D.C. General replacement plan was part of the larger effort of “reforming our homeless response from beginning to end.”

Each center will be operated by nonprofit service providers. According to a press release from the mayor’s office, The Triumph will be operated by Community of Hope; The Horizon will be operated

by Life Deeds; and The Kennedy will be operated

by The National Center for Children and Families.

The other four short-term family facilities are expected to be completed in 2019 and 2020. “We all agree that homelessness is not just a one-ward issue, it requires an all-eight-ward strategy,” Bowser said.

// 5

A dining room in the Triumph.

A kitchen in the Triumph.

A bedroom in the Triumph.

6 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C. 11, 2018

NEWS

This librarian is serving up food and literature to his community

BY ZACHARY HEADINGS zachary.headings@streetsensemedia.org

A

t the corner of 15th and Irving NW on a cold November morning, a man stands by a cart laden with granola bars, fruit, bottles of water, and books. As people hurry by on their morning commute, he calls out, “Good morning! Free books! Free food!” His name is Christopher Stewart and he tries to do this every month.

Stewart is the librarian at Bell High School/Columbia Heights Education Campus, which serves 1400 students in grades 6 - 12.

He started offering food and books at that corner when he was hired last year. The “brunch,” is a continuation of a program Stewart offered when he worked at the Bellevue Public Library in Anacostia. He said the brunch is an opportunity to recognize the epidemic of homelessness in the District and to encourage others to think about how they can help.

“When people feel like they want to tackle homelessness, it becomes such a big issue that they draw back and say, ‘I can’t do anything about it. It’s too big,’” Stewart said, “In the grand scheme, [the brunch] is small. But it could brighten someone’s day.”

More than 20 people stopped at Stewart’s table during his hour on the corner. CHEC students make up most of Stewart’s patrons, but they are not his only focus. “It’s not necessarily targeted specifically for people who are homeless because we want to build community. I want people who are homeless, people who have homes, students, teachers and everyone to just come and eat together and to discuss a great book and see how many similarities they have, as opposed to differences.”

Frederick Carter, who lives nearby, struck up a conversation with Stewart on his way past the table to catch a bus. While he did not take a book, Carter was appreciative of the offer of both books and food. “It’s always good to see a blessing first thing in the morning,” he said.

Stewart described having books on the street, free to pick up, as “liberating.” Anyone walking by on the street is welcome to stop and chat, grab some food, and take a book. Even if they

Bathroom bill moves torward potential fullcouncil vote On Nov. 19, the D.C. Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment voted 4-1 to advance a bill that would simultaneously launch a study of the needs and solutions for public restrooms in the city while piloting two proposed programs on a small scale.

The bill would form a task force to conduct the research in a year’s time. Two small pilot programs would also test construction of freestanding restrooms in two locations chosen by Mayor Muriel Bowser and test an incentive program to have businesses open their restrooms to the public in one business improvement district, also selected by the mayor.

The Committee on Health must also vote on the bill. If they elect to move it forward, the full D.C. Council will likely vote on the legislation on Dec. 4 and Dec. 18. If it is not passed this year, the legislation would need to be reintroduced in 2019.

A Brunch with the CHEC/Bell Librarian event in 2017.

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER STEWART

do not have time to read, Stewart encourages public transit users to take a book and leave it on the seat. “It makes all the difference,” he said.

Not long after Carter continued on his commute, several CHEC students hurried by Stewart’s table. The bell had rung and they were facing detentions, according to Stewart. “Did you all have breakfast?” he asked. “You’re already late. You may as well have something to eat.” Some of the students grabbed granola bars and water and hurried to class, others stayed for a few moments to talk about books they had read.

A few students listed their interests and asked Stewart which book they should take.

Since 2014, a small group of community activists from the People For Fairness Coalition has met weekly and pushed for access to public restrooms in downtown D.C., resulting in a bill introduced by Councilmembers Nadeau, Silverman and White in April 2017.

The legislation had called for the creation of 10 public restrooms in the District, as well as a District-wide financial incentive program to encourage private businesses to make their restrooms available to the public for free.

The committee adjusted the bill in response to concerns that implementing two largescale programs before the working group concluded its report was too risky. To address this, Councilmember Cheh announced at the Nov. 19 hearing that the legislation has been adjusted to instead launch pilot programs that are reduced in scope.

Councilmember Brandon Todd asked for clarification, saying he had not read all of the details in advance. Cheh explained the two pilot programs will run concurrently with the working group to determine whether it makes sense to expand them city-wide.

“The committee believes that these reports

Some people don’t feel comfortable going to public libraries, according to Stewart. A common feeling of being overwhelmed by the contents of a library or insecure about one’s own research ability while in a library has been labeled as “Library Anxiety ” in recent years. However, Stewart is more concerned about people avoiding public libraries due to its associations with government. For example, a 2017 essay published by Time magazine outlined discrimination against undocumented people in libraries and the organization Libraries Everywhere published a detailed report about concern over immigration enforcement in libraries.

It is not all about the books, however. The food is an important aspect, too.

“It’s amazing how things can happen and trickle into something else,” Stewart said. “You know, ‘I didn’t eat this morning, so I’m going to go into work mad, so I’m not going to give great service, so I’m going to get fired from work. So now I can’t pay my bills. So something as small as feeding [people] is huge.”

Right now, the brunch is a localized event. The books were either donated by the American University radio station WAMU or purchased by Stewart at a thrift store. He purchases the food from local grocery stores. In the future, Stewart wants to scale it up. “I want to offer this each month, in each ward,” Stewart said, “An actual table set up with books and food.

No formalities, just [the] community coming together for five seconds or five minutes to grab a bite to eat, pick up a book, and/or discuss a great read.” He plans to start offering the brunch in every ward next summer.

Stewart’s eventual goal — or “hopeful dream,” as he puts it — is to open a small café that “empowers readership and has great food.” He wants it to be a pay-what-you-will establishment, where those that pay nothing are treated the same as those that pay a lot. “Community, hospitality, and a safe space is the goal,” Stewart said. “[That’s] where relationships are cultivated and where strangers become family.”

The next brunch will take place at the same place, 15th and Irving, on Dec. 4 at 8 a.m.

in conjunction with the working group’s findings will provide the council with the information to expand these programs in future legislation,” Cheh said.

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer estimated that implementation of these two programs would cost about $336,000 in Fiscal Year 2019 and about $722,000 over the fouryear financial plan outlined in the bill.

Todd was the only dissenting vote.

Refraining from describing “graphic details,” Todd said during the quorum that he had spoken with a city official in Seattle, Washington — where a different model of standalone public restrooms was used more than a decade ago — who told him the restroom situation there has been detrimental.

“I support having restrooms available to the public,” Todd said during his remarks at the hearing on Nov. 19. “However… rather than rushing into what could be a messy and costly mistake, I urge a detailed study and report to better understand the need and how it can be addressed.”

Todd added that he does support the program that would offer financial incentives to private businesses that make their restrooms

available to the public.

After the hearing, Marcia Bernbaum of the People for Fairness Coalition e-mailed all five committee members to say PFFC is “totally in agreement” with the updated bill but took issue with Todd’s comparison to Seattle.

“It is true that Seattle installed five Automated Public Toilets at great expense (about $1 million each) and that they encountered serious issues and had to close them down. What Councilmember Todd did not share is that, after a great deal research, Seattle has decided to install a Portland Loo in 2019 (at much less expense) which has been designed with crime prevention provisions.”

The number of businesses closing their bathroom doors to non-customers has increased over the last few years, according to PFFC’s Public Restroom Initiative, the group that first lobbied for the bathroom bill. The team reported that in 2015, 43 of the 85 businesses they visited allowed individuals who were not customers to use their restrooms. In 2016, the number had dropped to 28. By 2017, only 11 businesses permitted individuals who were not customers to use their restrooms.

—katie.bemb@streetsensemedia.org

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 7

AT A GLANCE

CELEBRATING SUCCESS

Two heads are better than one

BY JEFF GRAY jeff@streetsensemedia.org

“A year from now, where do you want to be?”

It was an earnest question. The man posing it was Reed Sandridge, a 36-year-old from southern Pennsylvania who’d been recently laid off from his job as a nonprofit exec. He sat across the table from Anthony Crawford, a 50-something Washington, D.C., native who’d spent the last decade and a half sleeping on the streets.

The pair had struck up an unlikely friendship two and half years earlier when Reed spotted Anthony selling the Street Sense Media newspaper on a bitter cold February afternoon.

Nearly every Tuesday since, the two men had met up for lunch downtown.

“Where do you want to be a year from now?” Reed asked again, careful not to come off as preachy.

Anthony mulled the question for a bit, then raised his head and peered at his friend through the thick lenses of his glasses.

Reed noticed a spark in his eyes.

“I want to be in an apartment,” Anthony responded. “My own apartment.”

That answer would launch the two men on a journey to get Anthony into housing that would test their friendship and forever bind them together.

All the while, Reed tracked their journey on a blog, AnthonyandMe.com. The following excerpts, which have been lightly edited for conciseness, tell their story.

NOV. 27, 2012: This morning was our first meeting. We met for a couple of hours, started mapping out what we needed to accomplish to reach our goal and then setting up some basic working parameters for our project and defining some SMART goals (I can’t help it—I’m a businessman at the core) for each of us over the next year to help keep us on track. We agreed to meet every other Tuesday to review each other’s work.

JAN. 29, 2013: Friday I met up with Anthony and accompanied him on his visit to the doctor. He’s got some serious health challenges. I know of at least two other occasions last year that they admitted him to the hospital on the spot. It saddens me to write this but I am afraid that without permanent housing he will not be able to make the kind of changes to his health and diet that he desperately needs and will not live much longer. “Doctor, I want to live another 10 years,” he said with conviction as we sat in a small examining room at George Washington Hospital. That would make Anthony 65, two years older than my mother when she died of heart disease.

FEB. 4, 2013 [After Reed encountered Anthony sleeping on the street on a particularly cold night.]

I got home, shed my many layers and climbed into my warm bed topped with a soft white feather down comforter. I struggled falling asleep… I lay in bed questioning whether I could really do anything to help Anthony. I felt like a hypocrite saying that I am trying to help him and yet I left him out in the cold last night. If a friend of mine would call me and say that he needed a place to stay for awhile, I would not hesitate a second to offer up my couch.

But I feel like that is a line that I cannot cross with Anthony. And while I may be wrong on this, I feel he needs to have motivation to get him off the streets and if I put him up in my place then I am scared he won’t work as hard to change his situation.

Anthony Crawford and Reed Sandridge.

PHOTO COURTESY OF REED SANDRIDGE

I’m starting to discover how little I really do know about the problem of homelessness.

FEB. 26, 2013: I spoke to Anthony yesterday. He has two meetings set up now with two different organizations which hopefully can help him with housing and employment. This is good news — but I am hesitant to get overly enthusiastic until we have some real progress. And I am not sure what Anthony really wants deep down inside. I’m concerned he has fallen accustomed to his life on the streets. It’s not easy, but it’s familiar.

MAY 21, 2013: Anthony is doing well. We got some amazing news recently. He was approved to receive a small amount of government assistance to help him as we prepare to move him into housing. What? Housing for Anthony? Well, while I have been away there have been some people who have been very busy trying to find housing for Anthony. And with this small supplemental income, I think it will put him in a great position to get into some low-income housing.

JUNE 18, 2013: Anthony and our superstar outreach worker from Pathways to Housing went to meet with Catholic Charities.

They operate a house that offers single room apartments. “I’d have keys to my own apartment, can come and go as I want. I’ll have my own bed!” His face twitched a bit and he shook his head in disbelief. “And, the room has a small refrigerator and a lamp.”

JULY 28, 2013: Anthony was so excited to finally get the keys to his own place.

We walked to his apartment. While his arms were tiring from carrying his housewarming gifts, he never mentioned it. He just smiled and laughed the entire way back to his new home. I helped him carry the items up the stairs and into his apartment. I had a meeting that I needed to get to but still had a few minutes left. I helped him make his bed and thought it must feel strange, but wonderful, for him to be tucking the sheet corners neatly under his mattress. He placed the pillow carefully in its case and laid it on the bed. I watched quietly as he stood there holding his hand on the pillow. I didn’t ask what he was thinking. I didn’t need to. *** Reed’s blog posts don’t end there. He continued documenting the shared moments in his and Anthony’s lives: attending Anthony’s first hockey game, sharing recipes and hosting Anthony’s first ever birthday party.

Anthony still sells the Street Sense Media newspaper at the same corner where he first met Reed. Reed says it’s the kind of connection he formed with Anthony that convinced him to eventually join the organization’s board of directors.

“It’s that bridging concept that’s so fascinating with what Street Sense Media is doing,” Reed says. “If you are a shelter or a soup kitchen, those rarely result in relationships being formed. What other organizations do you know that give people that gift? It’s really unique.”

Reed and Anthony still meet for lunch every other week.

SECONDSTORYCARDS.COM

“Cardmaker (and Street Sense Media vendor) Eric Thompson-Bey offers this card for Redskins fans after their loss to the Atlanta Falcons.”

BIRTHDAYS Latishia Graham Nov. 28 ARTIST/VENDOR

Shernell Thomas Dec. 1 VENDOR

Wendell Williams Dec. 4 ARTIST/VENDOR

Laticia Brock Dec. 5 ARTIST/VENDOR

Aida Basnight Dec. 6 ARTIST/VENDOR

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8 // ST REET SENSE ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C. 11, 2018

ART

Random Acts of Kindness: Delta steps in, part 2

PHOTO COURTESY OF WENDELL WILLIAMS

BY WENDELL WILLIAMS Artist/Vendor

PREVIOUSLY: When we left off, Wendell Williams described the guilt and shame he carried after his fall from “family and community hero to less-than-zero.” He moved back to the Midwest to try to reclaim his old life and entered an adult rehabilitation program. He started making progress, but was derailed when he fell in “lust” and lost focus. After getting out of the relationship and bouncing around from recovery houses to shelters and finally to jail, he got back on track with the help of Cheryl, a “Super Caseworker...”

About this time, I was somehow contacted by a family member and told that my mom had Stage 4 cancer and was dying. Since I didn’t have a cell phone (remember those days?), I can’t remember how they found me. But I somehow got my hands on a phone, the kind where you went to a 7-Eleven or gas station and loaded up prepaid cards of $10 or more to talk at .75 cents a minute (.25 cents after 10 p.m.) and started to regularly contact my mom. She and I were never close. I never understood why, because I always wanted her love and approval, but I never seemed to do anything right in her eyes. After some time, I had convinced myself it could be because she was physically abused, and I looked like, sounded like and was named after the abuser.

On days when she was coherent, we would talk until my minutes ran out. Whenever I would start to cry, she would tell me how proud she was of me and my work with the paper and the coalition’s speakers bureau — where we went out to churches, community groups and schools to talk to concerned people about homelessness and recovery from it.

I had told her of an upcoming speaking engagement at an annual luncheon for General Electric Aircraft Engine Division employees who supported the Free Store where I was a volunteer. It’s an unbelievable place that helps the community with everything from food, clothes, employment training, financial assistance and housing to medical issues, as well as various forms of counseling.

I was told there would be more than 500 people attending.

In what was my last conversation with her, I couldn’t keep it together and announced that I needed to come home to see her, and I’ll never forget what she said next.

She said she understood completely that she was dying and had made her peace with this life and her death, so I should do so, as well. And, in no uncertain terms was I to leave without letting those people know my story and the difference they were making in my life and the lives of others.

I could hear in her voice she was tiring, so I let her go and promised we’d talk after the engagement the next day.

But in that last conversation she verbally held me close.

In that last hour, she rocked me to sleep emotionally the way I always wished she would have done.

Early the next morning I was somehow reached and told that my mother had passed. I wanted to drink or use something so bad to numb my feelings. I was hurt to the core. But I didn’t want to dishonor my pledge to her, so I didn’t. I got up, put on the nice like-new donated suit and brand-new shoes Ms. Pat from the clothing closet had bought me. I found out later that day that her husband was a GE senior executive.

I went outside to wait for Cheryl, who would be supporting and riding with me to the fancy hotel for the event. As we entered the venue, I was blown away by the splendor of the setting, from huge flower arrangements to the filet mignon I saw listed on the posted menu. “How could I possibility connect with this group?” I thought.

Since I had been seen in Free Store public service ads, people greeted me as if they knew me and I felt really welcome and settled down, until I saw where I was seated. I was seated in the place of honor on stage with my name on a placard big as day and surrounded

by GE and airline officials who made their way over to introduce themselves to me. What a role reversal.

The waiters started to serve our meals, and my thoughts weren’t too far away from what my brothers and sisters on the streets and in shelters were eating. As the meal ended, I was astonished by the amount of uneaten food left on the plates and wondered aloud how I could get the leftovers, and I wasn’t joking.

When the time came, I was introduced and made my way to the mic. I started to open my mouth to tell them who I was when my body began to shake and tremble. I tried hard as I could to hold it together. But I broke down crying as I was overcome with emotions and thoughts of my mother’s last conversation. Then I remembered her instructions, steadied my voice, and her spirit led me.

I finished and headed to the back of the room, where Cheryl had set up a table as people along the way reached out to shake my hand.

Now I could distribute the paper and the coalition’s book, “Street Words.” Sales were brisk, but certainly nowhere near the cost of a last-minute plane ticket.

Then it happened. Three professionally dressed women approached and spoke with Cheryl as I interacted with people wanting papers and/or a book. Cheryl asked me to join her in the conversation with the women. They identified themselves as Delta Air Lines employees. Even today, after talking with Cheryl recently, neither of us could remember their names or what they did at Delta, but what they said next I do remember: “Mr. Williams, you will be going home for your mom’s service on a bereavement flight which we will arrange,” and out of the blue, just like that, I was on my way. But there were a few hurdles left.

First, I had no ID to claim my ticket. And as some may not know, it takes ID to get ID. It’s a Catch-22: you need multiple forms of identification to qualify for any other form of identification. And I didn’t have much time. The flight was the next morning.

Cheryl took me to a downtown location of the DMV for a walker’s ID (remember, this was pre-9/11). I just knew the plans could be sunk, but when my number was called, I stepped to the counter and found a sympathetic soul who accepted a piece of mail addressed to me and sent me on my way.

We stopped by the Delta downtown office and picked up my ticket only to find that not only did the flight have several stops, including going through Atlanta with an arrival time of just after the service would be starting, but also with an added twist that I would be landing at BWI, where no family member could pick me up. It looked again like I would, after all this, miss it. But again, something happened: I somehow reached my sister who said one of her college friends was coming down from Philadelphia and was running late and she’d ask her to scoop me up if she could. They both worked for Verizon, which meant they had cell phones. I had never met my sister’s friend and was just told to stand outside at the curb. Before too long a blue VW Beetle jets up., The driver blows the horn and says, “Are you ‘Wendell?” and we were off. We got there with about an hour remaining in the service.

As everyone was leaving, I saw an old friend and asked how he knew about my mom’s service. He said his mom and mine were friends for years — I never knew. What he said next turns out to be key. He told me my old girlfriend was now back in D.C. and I should call her. I did, and she asked where I was staying, and it occurred to me I hadn’t figured all that out yet. I believe she could hear in my voice I didn’t have a clue.

With all of the events of the past 48 hours, that detail had slipped my mind. She suggested I consider staying with her for as long as needed. It was a great. We hung out like old times. She even drove me to pick up my daughter who was in town and took her shopping with the Target gift certificates given to me as an honorarium for the GE speech.

It is said timing is everything, and while I was in D.C. for a few weeks rekindling my long-lost relationship, my father passed after going in the VA Hospital for a weeklong check-up.

But I had the opportunity to see him and make some much-needed amends. As you can imagine, both parents dying so close together left all my siblings devastated.

That’s when I found out the real reason I was brought here and its importance. My siblings had been there stepby-step with both my parents’ battles with cancer. They were worn out. But because I wasn’t, I was able to, with one of my brother’s help, shoulder a lot of the load they had been carrying all along. I took on some of the tasks leading to the second service in less than 30 days.

Because Delta stepped in, not only was I here for one service, but I also found myself home for both.

Thanks, Delta Ladies, whoever you are. The chain of Random Acts of Kindness you set in motion will never be forgotten.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 9

Vendor Memorial:

Charles Davis

BY ERIC FALQUERO Editor-in-Chief

C

2018 PHOTO BY ROLANDO APARICIO VELASCO, VOLUNTEER

harles Martin Davis died of natural causes and was found in his bedroom on Oct. 21, according to a police report. Davis, a Street Sense Media vendor, writer and illustrator, was 55 years young. He often sold newspapers in the Tenleytown neighborhood.

He grew up in Southeast D.C. playing Catholic Youth Organization football and inseparable from his brother Vernon, who still remembers Charles’s jersey number: 56. He attended Ballou High School and the University of the District of Columbia. He loved the Redskins, go-go and crabs.

Better known to his family by the nickname “Eikey,” Charles was one of 10 siblings raised by the late Lloyd and Mary Davis.

“Momma, you will always be my strength,” Charles wrote of the values passed down by his parents. “And Daddy, you will always be my faith and my wisdom.”

Above all else, he stressed the importance of keeping the family together.

“That’s all Pops wanted: Be strong; Be together,” said Rita, his older sister. “And Eikey was strong.”

Charles called everyone in the family, Monday through Friday, to check up on them. In a booklet distributed at his funeral, his family wrote lovingly that “you couldn’t get him off the phone.” He also sent cards for every single holiday. A Mother’s Day card from Eickey still stands on an end table in Rita’s living room, below photos on the wall of their parents, her daughter and her granddaughter.

“There was always something in the card, too,” said Rita’s husband, Danny. “You’d open it and five or ten dollars would fall out.”

Family and friends alike spoke of Charles’s generosity. “If he had it in his pocket, he’d give it to you,” Danny added. Rita said she could count on her brother for anything, such as babysitting or cleaning up after a meal. He was always helping, regardless of whether he was asked to. “He’d say, ‘Baby Girl, you need to take a break,’” Rita said.

Frederick, their oldest brother, vividly remembers getting up to go to the doctor one morning after Charles had spent the night and realizing he did not have enough money for transportation. “Eikey reached down into his sock and gave me $9 in quarters to get there,” Frederick said. “He counted it out right on the [living room] table over there … Then he walked me out to the fence in the rain.”

When Charles moved into the first apartment of his own in 2016, he consistently tried to pay Rita’s husband whenever he helped out with the new place, hanging curtains or putting up photos of the family and photos of orphan children in South America that Charles sent money to sponsor. He even invited Frederick to move in with him, though he declined.

Before he got his place, Charles had been homeless for 28 ½ years. According to his essays, he most often made arrangements to stay with others and helped out with the rent. But he also slept in the streets. His friends called him “Nine Lives” for all he endured.

Frederick remembered dropping Charles off uptown after he stayed over one night, “And he said ‘Fred, I love you and I respect you — but you could not live through what I’ve been through.

Have you ever had a rat crawl up your leg? I’ve slept in the rain.

I’ve slept in the snow. You couldn’t do this.’ And he was right. He

2017 PHOTO BY LEVESTER GREEN, ARTIST/VENDOR

was robbed. He was stabbed in the face.”

Complicating the situation, Charles was diagnosed with a spinal injury and severe arthritis. Nevertheless, he stayed positive and always had a sincere smile for his family, for his friends and his Street Sense Media customers.

“He inspired me so much,” Rita said.

He worked for several hotels in the metropolitan area as well as for Giant Food, according to the funeral booklet. He started his career with Street Sense Media in 2013.

“The thing I like about selling papers is that it gets me ready for the online classes that I take,” he wrote shortly after joining the organization. “My classes are accounting and bookkeeping,” Earlier this year, he began researching how to publish his first book.

“When I wake up in the morning, I always give God thanks for another beautiful day of my life and my loving family, for whom I dearly care,” Charles wrote in 2015. He began every single essay this way, though the sentiment was not always kept in final drafts.

The last conversation Rita had with Charles was on Oct. 4, three days before her birthday. He called to ask how she was doing and to see if she had any plans to celebrate.“I love you, Rita. Enjoy your birthday,” she remembers him saying.

“It’s not a loss, it’s a love,” Rita said. “He’d tell me, ‘You’re like my second mother.’ I miss my baby.” Rita has listened to “I’m Gonna Be Ready” by gospel artist Yolanda Adams nearly every day since Eickey died. “That was his song,” Rita said. “Every time he’d come over he’d say, ‘Rita, put Yolanda on for me.’”

At the time these interviews were conducted, the family was acutely aware of how much they would miss Eickey during Thanksgiving. He could go on and on at the start of their dinner, asking for blessings for the family and expressing gratitude for everyone. However, the first memory that came to everyone’s mind who was interviewed was “that microwave!”

Whenever he would visit, Charles had a habit of nibbling at his food on through the night, more concerned with talking with the family and watching the game. He’d reheat it every couple of hours, often continuing this ritual on into the early morning, after most everyone had gone to bed. Rita, Danny or Frederick might wake up to find Eickey scrubbing down the kitchen or the bathroom on his hands and knees.

“He was one of the cleanest people you would ever meet,” Danny said.

A blown-up photo print of Charles looking dapper in a tuxedo, taken at a family wedding and printed for Eickey’s funeral, has since found a home on Rita’s wall. It is directly across the room from the TV where the Redskins games will continue to play, and his gaze is directed at the dining room table where the family will stay together and try to stay strong.

The funeral was held at Saint Ann Catholic Church in Tenleytown on Oct. 30. Mr. Davis is survived by brothers Frederick, Philip and Vernon, sisters Rita and Teresa and “tons of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends,” according to the booklet at the service. He was preceded in death by siblings Carolyn, Stephen, Susan and Lloyd Jr. “So, as I end this article Street Sense readers, always try to cherish what a beautiful life God has given us because one day our lives will end,” Charles wrote in January 2016. “But, know that God will be with you through the journey.”

2011 PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN, VOLUNTEER

For my brother, my friend. It’s so mind-blowing how many more people seem to take notice when someone is dead. I guess that’s the way of the world.

I have experienced many years of homelessness and want to meet and know as many positive people like Charles as I can. We went through some serious times together. Shit, we were so close to death so many times that I started calling him “Nine Lives.”

Being homeless is dangerous. Not just the elements. There can be territory issues on the street. My friend Charles was stabbed while he was asleep. His head was opened up so bad a doctor even thought he had been shot.

One customer who came to Charles’s funeral told me his eyes have been opened to a lot of things, thanks to knowing Charles. I could tell this man has never acted like he is better than another.

Though he had to lay in the streets and alleyways and may not have known where his next meal was coming from, brother Charles always put God first. He always told people about Jesus, even when we didn’t know how we were going to survive through the cold night. So, I know God’s got him now: Charles is warm, and his stomach is full. I miss you, my friend.

—Andre Brinson, Artist/Vendor

All my friends are dying on the streets of Washington, D.C. Christopher Gross, Derick Jackson, Freddy Showtime, Fingers Jr. and now Charles.

These guys I met out in the street. These guys that I used to hang out with out here was real to me.

—Joe Jackson, Artist/Vendor

I live near Tenleytown. I bought Street Sense from Charles. He had a beautiful smile. He taught me how to shake hands. I loved reading his columns in Street Sense. I think he was a saintly man. I know he’s up in heaven now enjoying his reunion with his family and with Our Lord, and keeping an eye on the rest of us down here.

May God bless him and through and with Charles’s intercession may God bless us, too!!

—Barbara Busch, Reader/Customer

1 0 // S T REET SENSE ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C. 11, 2018

OPINION

Good news for seniors

BY GWYNETTE SMITH

Being a senior citizen without a lot of money is a serious problem. If you want to work, will you be physically able on a regular basis? Would a possible employer be reluctant to hire you, believing the stress of holding a job would be too much for you? Maybe you could work part time, but are any part-time jobs available?

Many times, seniors must choose between buying medications they need or buying groceries.

Luckily, D.C.’s Department of Health is trying to help older people get at least some of the services they need.

If you are an older person and have registered with the DOH, they will help you pay for some groceries. You can go to many food markets in locations throughout the city if you meet the financial qualifications.

Also, new legislation passed by the D.C. Council this year funds basic dental services for older people whose yearly income is below $100,000.

If you are interested in either or both programs, call the DOH to find out how to register and receive your card. You can also call the mayor’s call center at 311 and ask to be connected to this service and others the District provides.

Gwynette Smith is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

EDITORIAL CARTOON BY ANGIE WHITEHURST // Artist/Vendor

Home is a place of healing, safety, and peace when we are sick or injured.

Where do you go when you are homeless?

Christ House the only residential medical facility dedicated to healing the lives of sick and homeless men in Washington, D.C.

Your support provides healing and hope to our homeless patients!

UW #8385 CFC #34256 www.ChristHouse.org

DC leads the way with public bathrooms

BY HENRIEESE ROBERTS

The D.C. Council is considering a bill that would allow construction of public bathrooms throughout the city. With this bill, D.C. could lead the way in preventing unsanitary practices that spread diseases like hepatitis A. We usually have to urinate four to six times per day if we’re hydrated. Once we have to urinate, we must either use a bathroom or deposit the urine in a pad or diaper.

Defecation also becomes a problem if we do not have access to a bathroom or sanitary products to wipe the fecal matter from our bodies. We need to wash our hands to avoid

carrying our fecal matter to doors and other surfaces as we move through our day.

The high rates of hepatitis A in some parts of the United States could lead to an epidemic, but D.C. could help curtail the virus’s spread.

Let’s not become San Diego, which reported 580 cases between 2016 and March 2018.

The outbreak cost $9.5 million and 20 lives, according to the Huffington Post.

Let’s lead the way by constructing public bathrooms throughout the nation’s capital and educating people about the importance of washing hands after using a bathroom.

Henrieese Roberts is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

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

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

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

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

/ / 11

ART

I Dream Start with respect

BY ANGELA POUNDS // Artist/Vendor

Respect me like I respect you.

Keep your head up and love in your heart, because I’ve been homeless myself before.

I was blessed to have a place to live. My husband, Fred, took me in his home and fed me and helped me a lot. He is a very nice person.

It’s good to have people who care and love you very much.

And it’s very important to love yourself.

BY ROBERT WARREN // Artist/Vendor

Words matter

BY CHAD JACKSON Artist/Vendor

My pen and my tongue are like a gun or a sword.

I can heal or I can kill. They are very powerful weapons. I tend to use them to uplift the mind and the spirit. But some people use them to create havoc.

“Can’t” always kills “able.”

My mind is sometimes confusing, because I’m always thinking about something. Some of those things are good and some are not. My mind can be hard to control, sometimes. But I strive to use it to help others. I hope you will, too.

Can we still dream?

When everything is based on a time, making a dollar?

Can someone holler and say Hallelujah?

Are there still those who dream After the death of Martin Luther King?

Is the Dream still alive in my daughter’s eyes?

Who does she see when she looks into the mirror?

Is it the one who will give birth to a nation?

Let freedom ring!

I dream of a home for all those they call homeless.

I dream of forgiveness for the sins of man.

I dream of a wife who bows down and prays with Those who bow down again and again.

I dream of justice denied us.

I dream of no more lies about who we are.

I dream of a human family living as one.

I dream of that peace to come.

When everyone will live praising one.

It’s just a dream, I dream.

What I Want

BY JENNIFER MCLAUGHLIN Artist/Vendor

I would like to start a photography business. When that becomes successful, I'll begin a video business to document people's life experiences.

Those businesses will enable me to take better care of myself financially and emotionally.

I'm also going to Stratford Career

Institute to be a chef. I want to open a cafe that serves healthy food for the homeless community.

Finally, I want to own a house! One with a picket fence and a yard. I will keep selling Street Sense newspapers to achieve these goals.

IMAGE COURTESY OF NICK YOUNGSON VIA ALPHA STOCK IMAGES HTTP://ALPHASTOCKIMAGES.COM

1 2 // S T REET SENSE ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C. 11, 2018

ART THE HOBO, part 7

Black Fields rages,“It’s me vs. the world!”

BY DUANE FOSTER Artist/Vendor

PREVIOUSLY: Black Fields is angry and bitter towards the world he is forced to live in. His bad day turned worse as first: A Metrobus driver screamed at him, his friends ignored him, and even his mother was too busy to talk to him. “Ain’t no such thing as family and friends in this world,” he said to himself…

“T

oday might be my last,” he pondered as he thought about many methods of suicide.

Would he use a gun, a noose or a bottle of sleeping pills?

It only took him a moment to realize how painful any method would be. “That (bleep!) gonna hurt…”

“Life just ain’t worth living,” he grumbled as he began to think about the few people he’d known who just couldn’t bear their existence. At this juncture, he was in a dark place and totally sympathized with them.

There was his neighbor Milton, who put the barrel of a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger after his girlfriend broke things off. He recalled that fateful Friday morning when it was discovered that a neighbor and childhood playmate had also given up the fight.

Throughout elementary school, Milton related well with the children in the neighborhood. He was always permanent tight-end when the pair played two-hand touch. They called him Clint Didier. As they aged, Milton gradually drifted apart from Black and his peers. Milton became an anomaly because of the punk-rock and countrywestern music he blasted from his pickup truck, and his affinity for the two pit bulls that he kept by his side.

Black and his friends listened to go-go and rap, and found the sounds of Bad Brains to be nauseating. And the dogs were a deal breaker. He was frequently in spats with various neighbors about the dogs.

Over time, Milton rarely dealt with anyone in the complex. It was if a sort of schism existed that kept him separate from the others.

The image of the maintenance men pulling Milton’s blood-soaked mattress from the apartment remained fresh in Black’s memory. He’d never forget the sound of Milton’s mother Alice’s voice, when he overheard her cry out to some neighbors, “I’ll never forgive Milton for shooting his self in my home-NEVER!!!”

There was also Black’s Uncle Harold, who died of a heroin overdose. The needle was still in his arm when his body was pulled from an abandoned house in the Sirsum Corda housing complex in Northwest D.C. He had battled with addiction from the age of 13, and had been diagnosed with mental illness later in life. He slept on the street and ate out of trash cans. Everyone tried, but no one could reach him — he was the consummate loner.

Black’s mother and a few others always speculated that Harold’s death was intentional. His was the first funeral Black ever attended.

Then there was Nzinga, a girl he had been infatuated with from the moment he laid eyes on her in English class, on his first day of seventh grade. During their junior year, she got with an older guy who had a Chevy Suburban, an apartment and a job as a plumbing apprentice. None of

the guys at school could compete with him, and Nzinga loved flaunting the fact that her man had progressed further than her high school peers.

He will always remember the fateful day he got that call from Evelyn, a mutual friend from high school, informing him of Nzinga’s untimely death. It was summer and he was on break from college and hadn’t seen her for almost two years since they had graduated high school.

She had married the guy she’d dated in high school and was working as a teller at Nations Bank.

It had been suspected amongst their circle of friends that he’d become abusive. The story was that after a spat, which he claimed was strictly verbal, he left the apartment to cool off. Upon his return, he found her hanging from the showerhead in the bath basin.

At the funeral, Nzinga’s mother held a stoic expression.

When Black offered his condolences, her response was, “Well Nzinga did what she wanted, so all I can do is give her my blessings and pray for her soul. I’m moving on with my life.” At that moment, he wanted to strangle the woman, but he had seen enough suffering and misery to know that people grieve differently.

He wondered how his mother would react if he took his own life. He already knew his so-called friends wouldn’t be affected; however, they would be entertained and have something to gossip about. Would the funeral be standing room only? Or would his body go unclaimed and end up in the Northern Virginia plot, which the District used as a mass gravesite for unclaimed bodies? Would anyone shed one wet tear?

He doubted it. If anything, they would all be relieved.

They would say, “Thank goodness…”

His mother would be relieved because she’d no longer have to devote thought to his pathetic circumstance.

Never again would she have to come to his rescue with $20 or pick up his property from jail. She’d say, “I’ve been prepared for this.”

His acquaintances would be relieved because they would no longer be linked to such a failure or have to feign like they were cool with him, when really, they had no respect for him at all. They would say, “He used’ta be lunchin’.”

Ibrahim and Pongsak, the managers of 7-Eleven and Popeyes, would be relieved because there would be no more verbal disputes; they would never again have to call the police about his loitering, and they’d no longer have to watch the eyesore, as he begged every patron that entered their establishments. They would say, “Good riddance.”

Even the police would be relieved because the beat cops would no longer have to wonder when, where, and how long it’s going to be, before they have to slap handcuffs on him. They’d say, “I knew something wasn’t right about him.”

He had begun to feel that society as a whole would benefit if he no longer existed. “They’d be better off without me.”

Suddenly, the melancholy transformed into rage.

Visions of Dylann Roof, Charles Manson, Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, “the D.C. Snipers” (John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo), Gary Ridgeway,

Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, David Berkowitz, Seung-Hui Cho, Charles Whitman, and others danced through his head. He beat on his chest and fumed, “(bleep!) that. I ain’t mad with myself — I’m mad with the world. They deserve the pain, not me! You know what…I ought’a…

[For fear of rebuke from the politically correct and the mind police, the author has omitted Black Fields’ statements about retribution through bizarre acts of violence and mass killing. However, due to recent events, the behavior, motivations, and thought processes, of those who’ve hit “bottom” and moved beyond their breaking point must be explored.] “….KILL ‘DEM ALL!!!” Black fumed.

Black was dizzy with fury and his head began to spin.

He felt as if both a stroke and spontaneous combustion were imminent. Visions of Dylann Roof, Charles Manson, Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, “the DC Snipers” (John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo), Gary Ridgway, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, David Berkowitz, Seung-Hui Cho, Charles Whitman and others danced through his head.

Then he snapped out of it. “This ain’t healthy,” he concluded.

Black didn’t want to be hated and despised. He knew that acting irrationally wouldn’t gain him the fulfillment he sought. He’d have to seek another route to pacify the demons that possessed him. Becoming a harbinger of doom, gloom and destruction was never a goal.

His desire was peace, love, harmony; and to obtain that one thing, that could fill the bottomless pit of a void he held within. Like Jon Lovitz would say on his Saturday Night Live skit in the late ‘80s, “I JUS’ WANNA BE LUV’D!” But Black also remembered the words of Iyanla Vanzant when she said, “Loving you is an essential ingredient for experiencing and expressing love to others.”

He was determined to eliminate the debilitating chaos and mass confusion that pervaded his stinking thinking.

He realized that one day soon, he was going to have to do some soul searching and self-examination. Despite the fact many people had done plenty of things that threw him off balance, he had begun to see that his number one enemy was himself and no one else.

This abridged short story is taken from the work, “The Black Fields Chronicles: THE HOBO,” by Duane Foster.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction and is not autobiographical. However, suicidal thoughts are something many people experience but few feel uncomfortable discussing.

If you are every having similar thoughts to what has been expressed in this story, here are several ways you can instantly connect with someone to talk about it for free.

• Call 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) for national operators • Call 1-888-7-WE-HELP (1-888-793-4357) for D.C. operators • Text CONNECT to 741741 in the United States • Visit www.ImAlive.org to chat with someone online • Dialing 911 is alway an option if you or someone else is in danger

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

D.C. is winning

BY ALICE CARTER, a.k.a. “BABY ALICE” Artist/Vendor

I be messed up.

D.C. is winning.

I'm so depressed I'm so drunk So lonely Cup half full Not half empty, What's up D.C.?

You're winning.

I was wrong about you.

Yes, I'm still confused Tired of getting done wrong Tired as hell Just trying to get more drunk Fed up. Upset

Mad at the world Just praying to God Looking for answers where there are none.

Broke as hell.

Trying to make a buck Trying to ease my mind Trying to have a good time Trying not to get locked up.

Tired of throwing my money down the drain And tired of being lied to and played like a fool.

I'm actually quite intelligent.

You're the dumb ones.

Compassion

BY ANTHONY CARNEY Artist/Vendor

There was a homeless man without shoes and a stranger gave him shoes.

The stranger knew what it felt like not to have shoes because he was once homeless himself.

Never judge a homeless person until you walk in their shoes.

Be thankful for a home.

Fixing things

BY ELIZABETH BRYANT Artist/Vendor

My daughter said I should fight for her, and I am.

Jesus Christ knows I always wanted to be a mother and a grandmother. And that hasn’t changed. I miss my family and I’m proud of my daughter and my grandchildren.

I’m getting a tutor to try and help me in school. I want to finish and get my GED in one year.

I got a new rug for my house and I used to feel like I can’t fix it up. But God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit changed that.Be thankful for a home.

A Place for Shelter

BY

BY REV. REV. JOHN JOHN F. F. LITTLEJOHN LITTLEJOHN Artist/Vendor Artist/Vendor

“Shelter!” What is shelter? Is it something that will give protection, or refuge?

Many of us today lack shelter, in one way or another. This is a very literal problem of survival for people who are homeless. The need for shelters can be mental and physical. It can be spiritual, as well. God is a refuge or shelter for those like me who are homeless and in trouble.

When we are emotionally on our own, we are more vulnerable to the enemy of the devil’s tactics — fear, guilt and hate are a few of his favorites.

We need a source of stability and safety.

If we take refuge or shelter in God, we can have victory over the enemy. Victory over the devil as he tries to influence our hearts, minds and strength.

King David said in Psalm 61 to the Lord, “I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”

When we are overwhelmed with homeless issues, peace and protection are ours through God’s son, Jesus Christ. In Him, you may have peace and refuge and shelter and protection from homeless issues.

Jesus said. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! Because I have overcome the world! The Bible says in John 3:16 that " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

And John 3:17 follows to say that, “For God sent not his son in to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

In times of trouble, God’s name is like a strong power. Thus, homeless people may call on Him and be saved. I am living proof of this.

I once saw that a charity in Vancouver, British Columbia, had developed benches that converted into temporary shelters. The back of the bench pulled up to create a roof that

could shield a homeless person from wind and rain. And at night, these sleeping spaces were easy to find because they featured a glow-in-the-dark message that reads, “THIS IS A BEDROOM.” Or, so I thought.

It turned out those benches were a clever advertising campaign. The charity, Rain City, had partnered with a firm to build awareness about the growing number of people struggling with homelessness and in need of a place to sleep. The benches did open to provide a roof, but it was never intended to actually be relied on for this use.

If you were in need, the benches were intended to provide information: where to get real help through the charity. And for a person who did not think much about homelessness or the need for shelter, it was intended to open their hearts and minds.

Well, like the bench, many things in life are unexpected. They are not what they seemed or not what you planned for. Yet, like the true purpose of the bench, we must always strive to open our hearts and minds.

Whatever type of shelter you may need, please consider praying with me: Dear God,

// 13

“A park bench is, in many cases, a home for the homeless; a place they can claim as their own for the night. But, with an increase of “anti-homeless” benches popping up around town, the most vulnerable citizens of our city were being sent a discriminatory message. We wanted to reverse that negative message by creating a bench that invited them to take shelter, to let them know that there are people out there who care and can offer help, and a little hope. RainCity Housing’s message ‘a home for every person,’ was a perfect fit for this concept. The organization provides housing and support through innovative practices, and through innovative advertising, we were able to send their message to those who would benefit from it most.”

—Spring Advertising

I am poor and weak and defenseless. But you are mighty and strong, more powerful than I. Please help me find peace and love and unity with self and others. Help me rest in you when I am overwhelmed.

Love, always.

Photos courtesy of Spring Advertising, the firm behind the 2013 ambient awareness campaign, which generated international media attention. www.springadvertising.com. The firm came up with the idea and then approached Rain City, a reputable service provider to offer the campaign as a way to share the organization’s information and build awareness for the organization.

“The Bench Project (a PSA campaign) was launched in Sept 2013 here in Metro Vancouver, only lasted six to eight weeks, and were taken down. There were four of the shelter version and three of the photosensitive version, so seven in total. RainCity has heard from people in other cities all over the world that want to have benches like this in their cities – Victoria, Calgary, and Edmonton here in Canada, and Los Angles, London, New Zealand, Italy, and Spain, so they definitely struck a chord.”

—Rain City

1 4 // ST REET SEN S E ME DI A / / NO V. 2 8 - DE C . 11, 2018

FUN & GAMES

Novice Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 16, Book 1

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LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION >>

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

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Diet & Nutrition

Nasrudin called at a large house to collect for charity. The servant said "My master is out." Nasrudin replied, "Tell your master that next time he goes out, he should not leave his face at the window. Someone might steal it."

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Novice Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 16, Book 1

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

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

COMMUNITY SERVICES

SHELTER HOTLINE Línea directa de alojamiento

(202) 399-7093

YOUTH HOTLINE Línea de juventud

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE Línea directa de violencia doméstica

(202) 547-7777

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

Case Management Coordinación de Servicios

Food Comida

Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo

Transportation Transportación

Showers Duchas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-800-799-7233

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

1-888-793-4357 Laundry Lavandería

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

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

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

JOB BOARD Bookseller

Kramerbooks // 1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Full-time and Part-time This position provides exceptional customer service to our guests, drives sales, assists with events, and manages inventory.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/bookselling-job

3rd Shift Grocery Stock Clerk Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW // 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org

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

Harris Teeter // 401 M St SE Full-time This position is responsible for processing/ packaging/stocking products according to Grocery Standards, cleaning work areas, providing customer service unloading stock, and reloading salvage. REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED, or one to three months related training and experience.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/grocery-job

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

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

The Doyle Collection 1500 New Hampshire Ave NW Full-time This position is responsible for creating the highest levels of cleanliness for hotel patrons in public areas.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/dupont-job

Crew Member Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org

Chipotle // 1508 14th Street NW Full-time and Part-time This position assists with hand making food during shift and is expected to be a friendly face to customers and other crew members.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/burrito-job

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

Restaurant Assistant Manager

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

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

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

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

// 15

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

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

Hot N Juicy Crawfish // 2651 Conn. Ave NW Full-time This position supervises the front of the house and ensure compliancy of all staff with Hot N Juicy Crawfish policies, procedures, and standards. REQUIRED: Prior experience in a full service restaurant, ability to obtain a food protection certificate.

APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/crawfish-job

Document Scanning Operator

ABC Imaging of Wash // Alexandria, VA This position prepares paper documents for scanning, scans small format and large format documents, and is responsible for Quality Control using visual review of scanned documents and paper documents.

REQUIRED: High school diploma or GED APPLY: https://tinyurl.com/abc-scanning-job

Hiring? Send your job postings to editor@StreetSenseMedia.org

Home for the Holidays

BY PATTY SMITH Artist/Vendor

Photo by Conrad Cheek Jr.

A Musical Experience, Episode 3:

‘The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin’

BY CONRAD CHEEK, JR. Writer/Vendor

I believe it was 1966 when I had my first experience of hearing the music of Aretha Franklin on a regular basis.

I was in my first year at Sousa Junior High School, seventh grade, during what was called the “recreation period.” On this segment of the day, between the academic classes, we would go to the recreation room and play records, dance, or play Ping-Pong.

My father had purchased a Ping-Pong table a couple of years prior. So, after facing far greater competition from him, where I never won, I rarely lost a game of Ping-Pong at Sousa and never lost at chess.

I first heard Aretha Franklin’s hit single “Respect” while I played Ping-Pong. Some of the girls in my class were in the recreation room dancing to it. The only lyrics I can recall from that time were “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me … Oh! A little respect…”

Later in life, when I had gotten my associate degree in biomedical engineering, landed a job in my field at a local hospital and was renting an English basement apartment with a fireplace on Capitol Hill, I befriended a young lady in the neighborhood whom I escorted to the Aretha Franklin concert at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. I was more focused on showing her a good time than the music. During those days, I preferred progressive jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and rhythm and blues.

Another friend of mine who has been in the entertainment business told me everybody called Aretha “Re-Re.” The epiphany of the meaning of the lyrics of this song did not occur for me until Bill Clinton was elected president of the United States. An inauguration celebration was being held on the mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial and my wife wanted to go and see

NOV. 28 - DEC. 11 VOLUME 16 | ISSUE 2

it live. She was new to the Washington, D.C., area.

Another couple rode with us as we went and found a parking space about five blocks from the event. By the time we got there, due to security measures, we were so far back from the stage that we would have to watch it on a jumbo screen. We decided to watch in in the comfort of our own home and videotape the event.

Quincy Jones was the musical director and coordinator. He produced a plethora of talented entertainers, including Aretha Franklin. She performed her hit song, “Respect,” with her three background singers, wearing a white mid-length dress, white stockings, high heels and a matching fur coat.

I was amazed and shocked by the way she completed this performance.

The lyrics say, “I’m about to give you all my money, all I want in return honey, is you to give me my propers, when you get home,” as the background singers say “Just a, just a ... just a little bit!”

After she sang the segment “R-E-S-P-E-C-T; Find out what it means to me; R-E-S-P-E-C-T; Hey girls, TCB*,” she lifted her right leg to where her knee was above her hips and began to bounce up and down across the stage on her left leg, in high heels mind you. “Sock it to me!

Sock it to me! Sock it to me! Sock it to me!” she chanted. “… A little respect (Just a little bit!)...” Keep in mind, Aretha would not be considered a petite woman.

All I could say was, “WOW!” After 26 years, I finally realized what she meant by “Respect.” I thought she wanted to be made love to!** My wife and I enjoyed watching the videotape of her performance on many occasions in the early ‘90s.

A man was sitting inside his home.

He was at his table, with coffee and He was smoking a cigarette.

On the sidewalk, the homeless Were playing poker and shooting crap.

Thoughts raced in the man’s mind.

He daydreamed these thoughts.

It might be the holidays, But do the homeless know anything about it?

Who cares whether they even eat?

When on your merry way, Please throw them something Because, remember it’s the holidays.

*TCB stands for take care of business. **In a 1999 interview, Franklin told NPR “Some of the girls were saying that to the fellas, like ‘sock it to me’ in this way or ‘sock it to me’ in that way. It’s not sexual. It was nonsexual, just a cliché line.”

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