12.06.2023

VOL. 21 ISSUE 2

DEC. 6 - DEC. 19, 2023

Real Stories

Real People

Real Change

GIFT WRAP EDITION

Scan QR Code to download the app and pay your vendor!

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

$4

suggested contribution goes directly to your vendor

@ STREETSENSEDC

2 / / S T R E E T S E N S E M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

OUR STORY NEWSROOM

I

n 2017, we began hosting a number of different workshops aimed at helping our vendors develop skills beyond writing for our newspaper.

On any given day, our vendors are illustrating, painting, recording podcasts, taking photos, rehearsing plays, organizing advocacy groups and coming together as a community.

Street Sense Media is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news outlet. Decisions on news coverage begin and end within our editorial department. Neither our board of directors, our CEO, our funders and advertisers, nor our partner newsrooms hold sway over our coverage.

We maintain a firewall between news decisions, opinion curation, sources of all revenue, and any advocacy engaged in by non-journalism staff members or contractors.

The Cover COVER ART BY AMINA WASHINGTON, DESIGN BY ANNEMARIE CUCCIA

THE TEAM VENDORS Abel Putu, Aida Peery, Al Edmonson, Akindele Akerejah, Amia Walker, Amina Washington, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Antoinette Calloway, Archie Thomas, Beverly Sutton, Brianna Butler, Burton Wells, C. Smith, Carlos Carolina, Carol Motley, Charles Armstrong, Charles Woods, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Daniel Ball,

Darlesha Joyner, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Degnon (Gigi) Dovonou, Denise Hall, Dominique Anthony, Don Gardner, Donté Turner, Doris Robinson, Earl Parker, Dwayne Butler, Eric Glover, Eric ThompsonBey, Erica Downing, Evelyn Nnam, Floyd Carter, Franklin Sterling, Frederic John, Frederick Walker, Freedom, Gerald Anderson, Greta Christian, Harriet Fields, Henrieese Roberts, Henry Johnson, Ivory Wilson,

Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacquelyn Portee, James Davis, James Hughes, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jermale McKnight, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Alley, John Littlejohn, Josie Brown, Juliene Kengnie, Kenneth Middleton, Khadijah Chapman, Kym Parker, Laticia Brock, Laura Smith, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Lu Potter, L. Morrow,

Mango Redbook, Marc Grier, Marcus McCall, Mars, Martin Walker, Mary Sellman, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Michael Warner, Michele Rochon, Morgan Jones, Nikila Smith, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Phillip Black, Queenie Featherstone, Rachelle Ellison, Rashawn Bowser, Reginald Black, Reginald C. Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Richard “Mooney” Hart, Rita Sauls, Robert Reed, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker,

Ron Dudley, Sasha Williams, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Sybil Taylor, Tonya Williams Vennie Hill, Warren Stevens, Wendell Williams, William Mack BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu, Jonquilyn Hill, Stanley Keeve, Clare Krupin, Ashley McMaster, Matt Perra, Michael Phillips, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson, Corrine Yu

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Brian Carome DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Darick Brown DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT Thomas Ratliff VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES Aida Peery, Chon Gotti, Nikila Smith

S T RE E T S E NS E ME DI A . ORG

//

3

EVENTS AT SSM

EDITOR'S NOTE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Street Sense Media wins community impact award

□

The holiday celebration is Friday, Dec. 8, from 1 - 3 p.m. at the Street Sense Media offices. Come for lunch, music and holiday gift bags! This is an office party for colleagues only, no outside guests please.

□

Holiday schedule: Closing at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 22. Closed all day on Monday, Dec. 25. Closing at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 29. Closed all day on Monday, Jan. 1.

□

Due to the holidays, there will be no December vendor meeting.

□

Street Sense Media follows the federal government for weather closures. On a bad weather day, check the office status by going to opm.gov/status.

□

Find a list of vendor announcements and other useful information just for you at streetsensemedia. org/vendor-info.

ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Interim Editor-in-Chief

A

t the beginning of December, the Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) recognized Street Sense Media with the 2023 Dr. Sheila Brooks Community Impact Award. We’re honored to be the first organization to receive the award, which acknowledges an “organization that demonstrates an outstanding dedication to community service in the Washington, D.C. region and beyond, and whose transformative contributions have had a positive impact on disenfranchised communities.”

“Street Sense Media stands as a shining example of an organization that truly embodies the spirit of community service and the track record and legacy of Dr. Brooks, who is a shining example of a communicator who uses her influence in the community to effectuate change,” said WABJ President Khorri Atkinson. “Street Sense’s work in amplifying the voices and experiences of those experiencing homelessness has left an indelible mark on the DMV area, and has served as a catalyst for positive change.”

Thanks so much to WABJ for the honor, and for all the work you do to support journalists in D.C. Read more about WABJ’s programming on their website: wabjdc.org

VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT Read this democratically elected code of conduct, by vendors, for vendors!

BIRTHDAYS

This issue has gift

Aida Peery Dec. 6

ARTIST/VENDOR

wrap in the middle!

That's why it's $4 instead of $2. Thanks

Robert Reed Dec. 7

ARTIST/VENDOR

VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS Beverly Brown, Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Madeleine McCollough INTERIM EDITORIN-CHIEF Annemarie Cuccia

MICHAEL STOOPS FELLOW Eliza DuBose ARTISTS-INRESIDENCE Ariane Mohseni (Film), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Lalita Clozel (Film), Willie Schatz (Writing),

for contributing to our vendors.

Leslie Jacobson (Theater), Roy Barber (Theater), Rachel Dungan (Podcast) OPINION EDITOR (VOLUNTEER) Candace Montague EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS J.M. Acsienzo,

Josh Axelrod, Ryan Bacic, Casey Bacot, Dakota Bragato, Chelsea Ciruzzo, Lenika Cruz, August Ditcher, Anne Eigeman, Matt Gannon, Dan Goff, Grier Hall, Alison Henry, Annabella Hoge, Micah Levey, Benjamin Litoff, Kate Malloy, Zach

GIFT WRAP DESIGNED BY:

Carlton Johnson, Daniel Ball Anthony Carney, Melody Byrd Lady Sasha, Marc Grier Andre Brinson, Greta Christian Queenie Feathestone, White Jezus, Tonya Williams Jackie Turner

Montellaro, Taylor Nichols, Anisa Noor, Kathryn Owens, Roman Peregrino, Rachel Siegal, Jessica Webster, Miles Wilson, Elise Zaidi

1.

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

2.

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

3.

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

4.

While distributing the Street Sense newspaper, I will not ask for more than $2 per issue or solicit donations by any other means.

5.

I will only purchase the newspaper from Street Sense Media staff and volunteers and will not distribute newspapers to other vendors.

6.

“I will not distribute copies of “Street Sense” on metro trains and buses or on private property.”

7.

I will abide by the Street Sense Media Vendor Territory Policy at all times and will resolve any related disputes with other vendors in a professional manner.

8.

I will not sell additional goods or products while distributing “Street Sense.”

9.

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

10.

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

4 / / S TR E E T S E N S E M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

NEWS

Can a housing model borrowed from Europe work in DC? Maybe, the city council says ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Interim Editor-in-Chief

I

t’s no secret it’s expensive to rent in D.C., especially for people who make below the city’s median income of $152,000 for a family of four. Despite D.C. investing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in building and preserving affordable housing, one in 10 District residents are housing insecure, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. Black residents and families are at the greatest risk, with many being priced out of the city they’ve long called home.

This indicates a dire need for new, affordable housing, several D.C. councilmembers argued at a public roundtable on Nov. 28. But over two-thirds of the new apartments currently being built in the city will be luxury units, far out of reach for the average Washingtonian, said Robert White, the Housing Committee chair and an at-large councilmember.

“We’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and barely making a dent in the housing needs,” White said in an interview after the roundtable. “So we have to start asking ourselves if the model we’re using or models we’re using are failing.”

One solution the Housing Committee explored in its hearing: social housing. The model, popular in Europe, subsidizes mixed-income, government-owned housing. It’s a key part of Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George’s proposed Green New Deal for Housing Act. Supporters hope the idea could help D.C. build more housing that’s affordable for the lowest-income residents and reduce income segregation in the city, all while delivering more units for less cash. But developers warned at the hearing that construction of social housing isn’t guaranteed to be cheaper than traditional development. And the idea will work only if D.C. can improve on its often-criticized public housing program, White and public housing residents said.

“What we’re exploring here is how we finance, build and manage housing differently,” White said.

The social housing model is different from public housing, though both are government-owned. Under social housing, higher-income tenants pay full-price rent, helping to subsidize rent for lower-income tenants. This model creates long-term sustainability, advocates say, and means communities are more income-diverse and better financed than public housing, where many tenants complain of poor conditions and disrepair.

Lewis George initially introduced her Green New Deal for Housing Act in 2022. It would create an office to support social housing in D.C. by using part of the budget of the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF). The latest version of the bill — co-introduced in March by six of her colleagues, including White — calls for a program serving 30% extremely lowincome tenants, 30% low- and moderate-income tenants, and 40% tenants paying market value.

“D.C. desperately needs affordable housing, especially the deeply affordable housing that is far too rare in our city and that doesn’t lend itself to a profit model of private development,” Lewis George said at the hearing. “If we leave it to the market alone, we will not get there.”

Supporters of social housing argue it will provide affordable units while avoiding some of the segregation seen in current programs. Public housing is, by definition, segregated by

income, and while Housing Choice Vouchers are meant to allow people on housing subsidies to choose where they live, high rents and illegal discrimination can limit voucher holders to certain buildings and neighborhoods.

The idea, as Lewis George envisions its implementation in D.C., calls for more than just housing. Units would be located near existing community resources like health care providers and grocery stores or help fuel the construction of new facilities. The model would also support family apartments, which are lacking in D.C., and housing for essential workers. Ideally, residents would foster a strong sense of community and have control of their buildings through tenant governance, according to Lewis George.

“That will also give people their power and [help them] understand how to use it,” Linda Brown, a public housing resident, said at the roundtable.

But some people are skeptical the District government can provide the utopian program supporters describe. While Brown and a second public housing resident, Heather Daye, praised the idea of social housing, their experience in existing housing programs gave them pause. Housing programs may sound promising, but “What we have on paper does not coincide with the lived experience,” Brown warned.

Daye said a successful social housing program would need to maintain better conditions for units than has been the case in D.C.’s public housing, and staff would need to show more respect toward residents.

Brown, whose daughter is disabled, stressed the need to accommodate people with disabilities, who often struggle to get accessible units in public housing. And tenant governance structures would have to carry more power than the resident councils in public housing, she added.

“A lot of times as tenants we feel we just give voice to these issues, but none of these issues are taken seriously,” Brown said.

After the hearing, White said ensuring the District can run the program effectively is one of the major challenges. “I’m not prepared to have my name on something that maintains housing in the way that public housing has been,” he said. “It has to be better.”

While social housing is relatively new to the United States, it’s seen success in Europe, Emily Gasoi from the Center for Social Housing and Public Investment testified. In Vienna, she said, social housing has become so widespread that the private sector has to compete by offering similarly affordable rents.

Will Merrifield, also from the Center for Social Housing and Public Investment, pointed to a similar program in suburban Maryland. According to Merrifield, Montgomery County transformed its initial investment into a sustainable fund, and can now produce low-income units without the subsidies they usually require.

Developers, however, are skeptical the concept can translate to D.C. given its geographic and economic limitations, repeating throughout the hearing that “It’s a math problem.”

Under the current financing model, social housing would still require tax credits and local subsidies, meaning it wouldn’t be more cost-effective than the current forms of development, according to Patrick McAnaney, senior project manager at Somerset Development Co. And, D.C. does not have the swathes of publicly owned land that jurisdictions have used for

A social housing building in Vienna, Austria. Photo courtesy of Thomas Ledel/Wikimedia Commons

housing, he and others testified.

Despite their opposition, the developers in attendance said they were interested in addressing some of the problems social housing aims to solve, namely the production of units for D.C.’s poorest residents.

Currently, the cost of affordable housing built by private developers and nonprofits is largely supported by tax credits and the HPTF. But developers acknowledged the system has long struggled to meet affordability targets because of high upfront costs and the need for ongoing operating subsidies.

Solving those problems, however, doesn’t require launching a new model but rather working out the kinks of the current one to fund a lot more housing, developers argued.

Colleen Green, the director of D.C.’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), seemed to be in agreement. The costs of standing up a new agency would take away money that could otherwise be spent on affordable housing, and yet the city wouldn’t end up producing more housing, she testified. ”What’s really going to be needed to create more units is more dollars,” she said, noting that the city is unable to fund all the affordable housing projects that seek funding through the HPTF. “We have the projects to create the units that we want — we just don’t have the dollars.”

On the other side, some people worry the bill isn’t ambitious enough, especially when it comes to prioritizing the needs of low-income people or people of color being priced out of D.C. Amee Chew, a senior research analyst at the Center for Popular Democracy, argued the buildings should be 100% affordable to have the greatest impact.

After the hearing, White said one of the biggest questions for the council is whether social housing would replace other affordable housing projects or add to them. He’s hopeful D.C. can learn from existing models to make the math work. If that proves infeasible, White said he would seek other ways to address the underlying issues of income segregation and housing affordability.

The committee will decide whether to move the bill forward in 2024. It would then go to the Committee on Business and Economic Development before a vote of the full council.

“We can’t just keep doing what we’re doing now, because it is not working. It is failing almost completely people with the lowest incomes,” White said after the hearing. “Around the city, there’s a broad agreement that the city has become virtually unaffordable for most of us.”

This story was co-publihsed with The DC Line.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

//

5

'A good guy': Vendor Joe Jackson dies at 46 ELIZA DUBOSE Michael Stoops Fellow

J

oseph “Joezon” Jackson, a Street Sense Media artist and vendor, died Aug. 19.

He was 46.

Jackson was born on March 24, 1977, in Druid, Alabama. He and his family moved to D.C. just two days later.

His mother, Theresa Jackson, had her son when she was 14, and said she felt like she and Jackson grew up together. While Jackson sometimes struggled with some of the harsh realities of his mother’s situation, he and Theresa were very close.

“It was Joe and me,” she said, remembering how protective Jackson was of her.

Theresa remembers Jackson as a quiet, active child with a full head of hair. As a child, Jackson was determined for things to go his way and he’d make his displeasure known if they didn’t. Still, Theresa described him as being “good as gold” as a kid. Jackson started volunteering at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, where he and his siblings were baptized, when he was seven. He remained involved for the rest of his life.

As he got older, though, Jackson began to run into trouble, stemming from a recurring struggle with addiction, Theresa said.

Jackson went to prison and struggled to find work when he was released in 2013 after his first conviction. He joined Street Sense in August 2014, when a friend told him about the paper. Jackson wrote at the time that he felt this might be the opportunity to do better. He eventually received a housing voucher and moved into an apartment sometime between December of 2017 and 2018.

Jackson often wrote about the difficulty of life with a record, once writing in Street Sense that he was submitting 10 job applications a day and still not receiving offers.

“It’s hard coming from the federal system to nothing,” he wrote in 2016, “When I came home from prison, people looked at me as a waste of life. I don’t want to feel like that, because I feel I am a better person.”

Jackson went to jail for the second time in 2020. Theresa said he found the experience extremely difficult. While in jail, he went through a devastating breakup and caught a severe case of COVID-19. Once he’d begun to recover, though, Jackson dedicated himself to Bible study and writing. He planned to write a book.

Jackson ended his most recent sentence on Aug. 17. He immediately went to his mother. They spent the day together, listening to the music they’d always loved as he cooked her dinner. His mother braided his hair before he went out.

Jackson promised her he’d be home by 10 p.m. He died of a drug overdose that night, Theresa said. The police informed her the next morning.

Theresa held a service for Jackson on Sept. 2, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, where he’d been baptized.

His friends remember Jackson as a man who struggled to maintain a tough facade, but who had a deeply good heart.

From his best friends to his uncle, every person Street Sense spoke to for this article began the conversation with the phrase “He was a good guy.”

Jackson and his mother shared a love for music and dance.

Jackson had a band in high school and played out of the garage with several friends. He and his band loved Go-Go legend Chuck Brown and Brown’s band the Soul Searchers.

Whenever Brown’s “Run, Joe” came on, Jackson obeyed and ran, singing along.

“Every time I hear that Chuck Brown song, I think of my

Joe Jackson was a Street Sense Media vendor. Street Sense file photo

son,” Theresa said.

Jackson loved music that his mother called “oldies but goodies,” largely from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Her favorite memories are dancing together at home. Jackson carried his penchant for art into the rest of his life, dancing giddily in public even when he had headphones in and no one else could hear the music. “Joe learned to combine old-school dance [with] the latest dances out there, and he had his rhythm,” Theresa said.

Jackson’s friends loved to watch him dance without inhibition, no matter where they were. Andre Brinson, a Street Sense vendor, said he used to think about posting videos of Jackson to the internet, sure that his kinetic energy had the potential to go viral.

Brinson and Jackson became friends in 2016 when Jackson moved into Brinson’s old room in a housing project. They became close shortly after. “It was almost like [we were] brothers,” Brinson said.

Brinson said he will miss Jackson’s distinct and carrying voice from the days they sold the paper together in Tenleytown.

Brinson could hear Jackson’s voice hawking the paper from the Metro stop to where he stood down at Tenley Circle.

Jackson loved the people in his Tenleytown community deeply. He frequently expressed his gratitude for his customers in his essays.

“I want to thank everyone in Tenleytown for their kindness and generosity. You’ve given me your time. You’ve helped me in many ways. You’ve given me food. Thank you, thank you!” he wrote in 2017.

Brinson admired Jackson’s ability to dedicate himself to his work, whether hawking the paper or working in the job corps. Brinson remembers waking up early with Jackson one day after heavy snowfall in D.C. and going door to door in Tenleytown, offering to clear people’s driveways of the snow.

“He was definitely a worker,” Brinson said.

Jackson often wrote about his struggle with the pains he experienced in his life, which his mom believes led him to struggle with addiction and his temper. His tough guy facade meant that it was often hard for others to get to know him, but

once you were a part of Jackson’s inner circle, you were as good as family.

“He had a lot of pain in his heart for some things that happened to him throughout his life,” Theresa said, “but if you needed anything he was the one to go to.”

Few knew that better than Chon Gotti, a Street Sense vendor program associate and fellow artist. He remembered finding Jackson a bit “rude” and “disrespectful” when they first met. But once Jackson learned that Gotti grew up in the same neighborhood as his uncles, he immediately adopted Gotti as his uncle. Gotti laughed as he remembered Jackson convincing people that they were related. “You either loved him or hated him,” Gotti said, “and I loved him.”

Gotti said he thought that Jackson’s pain made him who he was. “He had strength too, but… he was in a lot of pain.” Gotti thought that pain allowed Jackson to be too easily influenced by the “negative stuff.”

Jackson often wrote about his dedication to learning to improve himself to earn a better life, trying to extricate himself from his addiction and anger issues. “I’m not a bad person, I just need to check my behavior and don’t worry about what people say about me,” Jackson wrote in a 2018 article.

Before his second arrest, Jackson was working on staying clean. “And I want to thank God for my place. Because it is very hard to deal with mental health and addiction, when you don’t have no direction in life.” he wrote in 2020, “I stay home because most of my friends have died in D.C.’s streets, going to house parties or parties in the street. So, I don’t party anymore.”

He continued to express more gratitude, “Love the people that love you because it is hard to find love and someone that cares. Peace be with everyone. Love everyone.”

Jackson is survived by his mother, his younger brother, Anthony Tyrone Breed Jr., and his younger sister LaShawnda Jackson.

You may donate to help Theresa pay for Jackson’s funeral service by contacting editor@streetsensemedia.org .

6 / / S TR E E T S E N S E M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

NEWS

People struggle to stay safe while homeless as violent crime rates rise TAYLOR NICHOLS Volunteer Freelance Reporter

I

n 2022, a man committed a series of attacks against homeless people in D.C. and New York, killing two people and injuring three. The attacks raised awareness about violence against people who lack stable housing, but they’re far from the only threats.

In 2020, nine people experiencing homelessness were victims of homicides in D.C., according to data from the medical examiner’s office. At least four homeless people were murdered in 2022, and another four have been killed in 2023, data obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request showed.

A Street Sense analysis of that data found that in 2022, people experiencing homelessness were over twice as likely to be the victim of a homicide than someone who was stably housed.

“It's dangerous out there, period,” said Rachelle Ellison, assistant director of People for Fairness Coalition, an advocacy group of people who are currently homeless or have previously experienced homelessness. “The crime rate, that's so high now, has just enhanced it.”

The District has seen a 40% increase in violent crime overall in the past year, sparking concerns about public safety in the city. The Metropolitan Police Department provides public data on crime rates, but it doesn’t track victims’ housing status, a representative from the police department wrote in an email to Street Sense, making it difficult to tell how many people experiencing homelessness are affected by crime each year. But it’s safe to say people who sleep outside are being impacted by the rise in violent crime, Ellison said.

“There's an increase in violence against the homeless because they're vulnerable,” Ellison said.

Research shows people experiencing homelessness are far more likely than housed people to be the targets of violent crime. A study conducted across five cities in the United States in 2014 found 98% of participants experiencing homelessness had been victims of a violent attack, with 73% experiencing an attack in the last year. Over a quarter of participants said they’d been attacked four or more times.

People experiencing homelessness are subject to many different kinds of violence, including hate crimes, violent robberies, sexual assault and domestic violence.

Attacks can come from both people who are housed and unhoused. One study found 30% of victims reported being attacked by someone who was housed, while 32% reported the attacker was homeless. Fifteen percent of people who were attacked reported they thought it was a hate crime. Another quarter didn’t know why they were attacked.

Ellison said she was homeless in D.C. for 17 years before she secured stable housing through Pathways to Housing, a local social services organization. She’s spent the last 15 years housed, healing and recovering from her time sleeping outside.

Now, she’s helping others get off the streets.

“The violence is real, and it's even worse now, especially for women,” Ellison said.

One significant risk for women experiencing homelessness is intimate partner violence. Research on the types of violence homeless women experience shows they’re more likely to experience violence before, during and after homelessness than the general population. They’re also more likely to report experiencing intimate partner violence than homeless men.

That same study found most of these experiences don’t get reported to authorities, highlighting the need for alternative services for women at risk of homelessness and domestic abuse.

Michelle Sewell, the crisis shelter director at DC SAFE, an organization that helps families fleeing domestic violence, said the center saw the number of calls it received more than double after the start of the pandemic in 2020 — increasing to 11,000 calls. The calls still haven’t slowed.

The best way people can protect themselves is by connecting with resources and securing safe housing away from abusers or perpetrators, Sewell said. For instance, DC SAFE recently opened a new temporary emergency shelter for domestic violence survivors that has 30 apartment-style units in Northeast D.C. “Identify who your supports are,” Sewell said. “What's your community? Can you go towards that community?”

However, accessing resources isn’t always easy. In some cases it can be difficult for victims of violence to access services like shelters because perpetrators will wait for them there, Sewell said.

When she first became homeless, People for Fairness Coalition outreach worker and Street Sense vendor program associate Nikila Smith needed a tent. Soon after she moved to D.C., she met a man who let her use his.

However, he quickly The People for Fairness Coalition holds a vigil began stalking and each year to remember unhoused people who died, harassing her, saying including from violence. Photo by Rodney Choice she was “his property.”

“Whenever I went to Miriam’s Kitchen, he was there waiting for me,” Smith said. “So I told one of the case managers, she helped me get a taser.”

Smith had other encounters with men who wouldn’t leave her alone and prevented her from accessing services, like showers at the day center.

“It was just horrible, to the point where I had to go to the director of the day center and say something to her,” Smith said.

But she was told the other people in the day center had a right to use the services. “So how's their rights more important than me?” Smith said.

One way to help keep people safe is by offering private spaces, like apartment-style shelters, which Ellison said she believes people are more likely to use. She hopes that as D.C. opens more non-congregate shelters, people who are affected by violence will feel safe moving inside.

While people report the majority of attacks occur outside, 13% of victims reported experiencing violence in a shelter.

“Some people are introverts and have a problem with large crowds of people that they don't know, and then they're scared because there's violence there,” Ellison said. “So if you're in an apartment-style shelter, you feel more safe.”

For those who sleep outside, staying in places with a police presence nearby can help increase personal safety, Ellison said, such as areas near the White House. For women, dressing more like men can also help keep away unwanted attention, she said.

Women are more of a target when they’re alone, Ellison said, so staying in groups and forming communities can help keep them safe.

“That's what I did when I was out there, but I always ventured off, and that's when I got in trouble,” Ellison said.

“That's when the violence came.”

However, keeping communities together is becoming increasingly difficult amidst the city’s crackdown on encampments, a practice that makes it difficult for people to remain connected with case managers and other services.

City officials closed at least 14 encampments in 2023, and federal officials closed McPherson Square, displacing at least 70 residents, many of whom remained unhoused.

Despite the barriers to accessing services, the best thing people can do to stay safe is to plug into services such as shelters, connect with case managers and try to work toward stable housing, Ellison said.

“Believe in yourself and maybe give yourself a chance to go into a shelter or domestic violence shelter or transitional house drug treatment,” she said. “Give yourself an opportunity just to live a normal life. There is hope, because I was able to do it myself.”

S T RE E T S E NS E ME DI A . ORG

//

7

Pandemic shelters for medically vulnerable will close this month ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Interim Editor-in-Chief

A

fter nearly four years, D.C.’s hotel shelters for medically vulnerable people experiencing homelessness will close this month.

D.C. launched the Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Residents (PEP-V) program in 2020, providing space in hotel rooms to people who were at a high risk for severe illness from COVID-19. The program served over a thousand people, and 1,185 people who lived in the hotels were connected to permanent housing, D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) representatives said in an Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting on Nov. 29.

D.C. announced in early 2023 that the program would shut down within the year, as federal funds that supported the effort disappeared. At the time, 529 people lived at the three PEP-V sites. As the city moved people into housing, the hotels closed — first, Fairfield in May, and then Arboretum in August. The last site, Skyline, is slated to close on Dec. 30, with all residents leaving by Dec. 15, DHS representatives said at the meeting.

Originally, the hope was for everyone leaving PEP-V to move into a housing program or nursing home by the end of September, but as of Nov. 29, 77 people remain in the program.

Twenty-four of the remaining residents are slated to move into respite or medical shelter beds at the 801 East shelter, with many waiting to move to a long-term care facility.

The other 53 residents are working on moving into housing with a voucher, DHS representatives said, and will be eligible for bridge housing, a housing program that serves as a shortterm shelter while participants apply for vouchers. At the meeting, DHS representatives admitted there may not be 53 spots open in the traditional bridge housing facilities but committed to finding other shelter options.

Wes Heppler, counsel to the Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said at the meeting he was disappointed PEP-V residents did not all move directly into housing. Some people who otherwise avoid shelter came inside due to the non-congregate nature of PEP-V, he said, and they’d have trouble in congregate shelters

D.C. announced changes to shelters earlier this year.

Illustration by Athiyah Azeem

while waiting for housing.

Initially, the city hoped to open its new non-congregate shelter, at the site of the former George Washington University dorm the Aston, by the end of the year, with beds available for PEP-V clients. But the shelter is delayed, a DHS representative said at the meeting, due to issues with construction and

contracting. The shelter will open in mid-spring at the earliest.

While an anonymous group of residents filed a second lawsuit to prevent the shelter from opening, DHS representatives said that isn’t contributing to the delay.

10 / / S T R E E T S E NSE M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

OPINION

My stay at Christ House GIGI DOVONOU

C

hrist House is not a shelter or hospital. It is just a Christ House, a house of Christ. For me, it is a “parashelter” on one side and a “parahospital” on the other side. I usually call it a hospital-shelter, too, to make a distinction between its service as a shelter and its service as a hospital.

I'm here to explain to everyone the particulars of that wonderful place that holds all my attention, day by day. This is what I can tell everyone to keep in mind as one of the inhabitants of that place.

The first time I got there, I was confused because I didn’t get a response to my unanswered question, which was: Is it a shelter or a hospital?

But I did find the answer. I have met nice people, such as nurses, who devote themselves to the work and help other people to improve.

They confiscated all my items and changed all my clothes. They gave me clean stuff to wear. They took me through the medical consultation process. They made sure my health was acceptable before allowing me to live there.

I have great showers where nobody rushes me. There are nurses taking care of each person in that house. My vital signs and other health checks are done every day.

Our medications are given to us on time and as prescribed. Before, when I was living on the street, I used to take my medications as I could and according to whether I had eaten anything or not. Sometimes I wouldn’t take medications because of a lack of food in my stomach. But at Christ House, they follow prescription instructions and everyone takes their medications on time. Everything is going as if we were in a hospital.

Even though they do everything like a hospital, it is important to underline that everyone inside experiences homelessness. But it is not exclusively a shelter or a hospital.

To live in Christ House, you need to follow some rules and there are some conditions. You have to be experiencing homelessness and have a health condition, and most people are under medication treatment and need to be watched to heal. Some left a hospital and were sent to Christ House instead of being sent back to the street to continue the healing process.

Some people who are experiencing homelessness and having some health problems, especially people leaving a hospital, require a followup with a nurse and further treatment and care.

Christ House acts as an alternative for both a hospital and a shelter.

There, you have the right to take a shower, get your hair cut, get your clothes washed, get meals and take your medications as your doctor recommends.

You have a social worker and can attend community activities such as a writing group, art class, yoga class and more. Sometimes we leave Christ House and go to the movies and other places. We have a library and two TV rooms. We have the right to go outside, but not too far without permission.

If you don’t respect the rules, you can get kicked out and will go back on the street.

To be honest, Christ House is the most unique place I have seen in my life. The people there take care of people they don’t know with decency.

They treat us like decent human beings and don’t judge us. We live like a real family and every Sunday we worship God in the community place, where we send prayers to all the people that we miss and to the world.

Hopefully, we can have many more places like Christ House, especially for women and all other categories of people experiencing homelessness.

It should be expanded internationally to help many more people.

I have so much to say about that place and I hope they continue to take care of people. Over there, Christ really visits. I can feel it in different ways. This place needs to be supported, people need Christ House to continue to live longer.

Gigi Dovonou is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson visits Christ House. Photo courtesy of HUD/Flickr

The blame game AIDA PEERY

T

he District government constantly complains it doesn’t have money for this and that when it comes to the homeless, who are still on the streets or experiencing other horrific living conditions.

Two weeks ago I visited an organization to meet with staff members I hadn’t seen since before the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve been too busy doing tasks as per the contract that I’m supposed to follow while living in the organization’s building, which is rife with roaches, mice and other vermin.

As I was talking with the staff member about my difficult living situation, she said I “need to be grateful” because I have a roof over my head. Seriously? I was grateful I had a tent over my head and I didn’t need to deal with rats, mice or roaches. And it was rent-free!

For more than 40 years, I’ve paid rent and mortgages without the blink of an eye. No big deal. But, I don’t need to live in filth just because I was once homeless. When I paid a mortgage, it was for my home. I didn’t have rats, mice and roaches inside it. Now, all I do is pay out toward an escrow.

Owners, property managers and renters all have jobs to do. I have done what I’m required to do when living in Permanent Supportive Housing. But neither management nor the owners do what they’re supposed to do other and both just blame "the other."

Aida Peery is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

S T RE E T S E NS E ME DI A . ORG

Then and now

Justice

NIKILA SMITH

KYM PARKER

Artist/Vendor

Artist/Vendor

BURNED My head is killing me. I try to touch it, but I can't move my hands or feet. Are my eyes open?

I can't see. It's so dark. I'm scared. I smell something familiar, food! But with a mixture of burning wood.

Grease is falling and burning my skin. Oh Lord, help me, I don't want to die like this. Please, not this way! I'm going to perish because I was seeking information about my child that was ripped from my arms. I would give anything to see her one last time. I just want to focus on my family. It's hard, I'm trying not to scream. Lord, please take me home. I couldn't help it. It hurt so much that I passed out...

HUNG The sun is deep frying my back. There is a crowd of Blacks and whites, and I'm not going to make eye contact, I stare at the sky, and for a moment the earth stands still. Then the noose is placed around my neck and I began to panic. I know what's in store for me. One moment I'm standing, the next my feet are dangling, the blood in my head is stopped, my veins start to protrude in my neck, and there is no breath, yet I'm still trying to catch it. I kick and thrash, never feeling anything. Where is my air? I hear a lot of screaming and cheering, along with sobbing, and my spirit leaves my body.

WHIPPED A tall caucasian man reeking of cigars and booze walks up, then abruptly stops mid-stride, and spits out his tobacco. He has a grin on his face, hidden by the sun. He wipes his forehead and starts to unravel his whip.

He swings the whip with such force it makes him grunt.

A scream is stifled, and the whip goes back with pieces of skin falling off, then back down again, ripping into the skin,and opening up old wounds.

This time the scream can be heard all over the plantation. Every time the whip hits the flesh, everyone who can hear it flinches.

At one time or another, they have all witnessed this pain or something like it, on public display. Many can't help but start weeping.

The body that was being mutilated by the tree falls to the ground, lifeless but still breathing.

BOILED “Get going!” commands the overseer. I have a special bath for you. The sweet smell of maple assaults the man's nose. The man is not well, but he knows he must do as told, and walks. The sugar house is not bright but dull in light. The man can't focus, and sickness and hunger consume his thoughts. He's interrupted by a hit to the back of the head, it sounds like a baseball colliding with a bat. The man's head hits the cement, the overseer is screaming but the man only understands one command: "Get up!"

The man manages to stand halfway, but his vision is blurry and he has an instant headache. He isn't even up straight before he feels a kick to the back. “Move it!” The man moves forward but he's so weak. He does what he is told, and the smell of maple becomes overwhelming. Before the man can react, his whole body is on fire, the overseer pushes him into the sugarcane and proceeds to drown him, holding him down with the two-by-four he hit him with. The man can't scream. The cane is so hot it boils his throat on contact. His spirit leaves his body in time to see the effect, drowning and watching his skin fall off. When the cane cools off the overseer puts his finger in it and tastes it. He smiles.

“This will be my special grease.”

Reliving a scene I have never seen passed down from DNA with memories from those before can you help me unsee what I saw you can try to unsee these tears unseen is the new thing your mind and memory see and record horrible things you have seen a video of help committing murder you try to cover your eyes your heart still sees watching someone die the unseen tears from your heart leek out your eyes its seen by so many the kicks, hits , shots you want to live being told stop resisting this is a unseen message to stop living your skin color is seen you are on the ground for being unseen whitewashed is seen though eyes that can see you know this crime scene is the last thing you will see but your DNA will keep your memory

//

11

When we know the word, we reach out.

When we understand what is true in this world — it is justice — it calls to us all, it makes us better.

It gives us purpose, direction, and life.

We all know it to be true, this we know, she’s always here for us, she is justice, she stands before us as the goddess of light.

Give us what we need — right or wrong.

Justice — love, humanity, patience, to serve her; it gives us faith, gives us worth.

I pray that we all know justice before we die, and while we’re here.

I get that she’s always here, protecting, judging, watching us when that day comes.

When we go, our souls will be with her I know justice; I know when I go, she’ll be there, not to judge me, but to pass me over.

Her law works: patience, mercy, humanity, love, compassion, faith — those are her words.

The blood of her child set us free, freed us from all of our sins and put us here, that means no hate, no bullies, no evil, no murderers.

Yes, yes to love, yes to compassion, understand me — to love one another when we do.

We get it all, we make her proud to be her children, no justice, no love.

Crack is whack CHRIS COLE Artist/Vendor

::Snap:: ::Snap ::Snap::: ::Snap:: ::Crackle ::Pop::: :::::::Ahem:::::::: Yes, believe it or not My Black does crack.

It cracks like your porcelain skin, Every time you begin...

A sentence!

Hum a note!

Take the opportunity to choke!

On your privileged white bullship, Grab a bullwhip, And whip me again, white masta' Cuz'. We. Ain't. Friends.

Do you comprehend?

This ain’t Jango, But it could be If you don’t let me count to 10.

Back up, lemme try this again!

Can you read?

Dumb dumb, can you count?

One...two...three?

No means no, Whether it's sex, Coke, or cashing checks.

NO means NO, white masta'!

So bow down to me, Take a Kaepernick knee, Then have several...

M-fing... Seats. ::Snap:: ::Snap ::Snap:::

12 / / S TR E E T S E NSE M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

ART

Fall is ending JULIENE KENGNIE Artist/Vendor

This is fall. The weather this season is chilly, sunny and cold.

This is a letter of appreciation to my loving customers. Thanks very much to all of them at K Street, L Street and M Street downtown, and at Eastern Market. Happy belated Thanksgiving. God bless us. Love always.

The night Miss Chocolate immortalized my face FREDERIC JOHN Artist/Vendor

That dreamy, idealized, blurred-around-the-edges sketch. On a scroll of gray art scrap, roughly 10 by 20, dog-eared around the edges over the passage of time and multiple moves.

Really, I should have had the chalk image framed, s’much as I’ve been framed for stuff when I was hanging around Times Square. Back in the day, “day” meaning 1979 and 1980, when many young dudes elevated their status with wild, stacked platforms! Shoes, we mean — put your head and shoulders above the average Joes and Joellas.

I was a bit clunky in my McAns, remembering that in grade school I was often benched for slow base running. ‘Twere no different now. The “rollers” (beat cops) very nearly collared me as a sidewalk monte game broke up back of Bryant Park and the New York Public Library… after I had lost my $40 winnings! Oh, that dang shell game hustle.

The mastermind was a Jedi-curled type they called Murph. Luckily, the heat caught on to him, which caused me to be dropped like a cold spud. Funny thing: Miss Chocolate, the pixie-ish sketch artist, had told me prior to now to “Stay away from that Murph; he be most pernicious!”

She could use those fancy words. Her real name was Delia, and every evening, she took her pastels and board on the Number 3 train back to her mom in New Lots. But on this particular New Year’s Eve, we went and had a bite at the Howard Johnson’s on 49th and Seventh.

“Y’know, Lily Tomlinson waitressed here back in what, ‘63?” Miss Chocolate softly laughed, then morphed into an irresistible sigh.

“Look here, Mister Show Business. You need your portrait made. You are one handsome devil.”

That was a big hoo-hah; I was doing occasional extra work in shoots thanks to my dad and my ex-gal, a tall Baltic beauty, blessing me with twin memberships in the Screen Actors Guild on Valentine’s Day 1978.

Miss Chocolate unfurled a gray sheet from her sketch pad and within a half hour rendered a curly-haired, full-lipped Adonis the likes of which I couldn’t recognize. But, hey, a taste of fame and glory nonetheless.

When the fireworks and pinwheels died away and mass screams of group-orchestrated mayhem — harmless, of course — faded into the frigid asphalt, I rode the Number 3 to New Lots clutching my newly minted treasure. Miss Chocolate came out of her mama’s room at sunup, made me toast and jelly, and I exited taking a last kiss on the cheek (harmless, of course) with her soft urging to “Keep your head down on the way to the station. Sometimes there are live shots flying out there.”

Christmas resolution ROBERT REED Artist/Vendor

My Christmas resolution is to stop smoking cigarettes.

And you should, too! When it’s cold outside, people fire up cigarettes, maybe to stay warm. But you got to be strong and be clean. And you wanna be clean all the way around.

Christmas puts joy in my heart.

After the holidays DWAYNE BUTLER Artist/Vendor

We have to eat wisely and work on our abs, our legs and our arms. Don’t take hitting the treadmill lightly — you need 45 minutes weekly to burn the fat. Enjoy yourself in the gym. Be heavy on your plate with healthy foods such as spinach, Greek salad, baked fish, broccoli and vegetable soup. Drink a lot of water to enhance your brain cells. Eat less sugar, salt and saturated fats.

Do leg presses and squats. Add tricep pushdowns and bicep curls. Finish your workout with situps and planks. You’ll feel terrific and empowered. And your abs will love you forever!

It’s called a little joke DANIEL BALL Artist/Vendor

“Daniel, how did you get here to Street Sense?”

Daniel said, “I got here because of my girlfriend, Sybil Taylor.”

“So Daniel, which one of you sells more papers in two weeks?”

Daniel said, “Sybil always does. But she can’t outsell me when it comes to selling our Street Sense tennis shoes.

Someday, you can wear your own.”

“But Daniel, how much will they cost in 2024?”

Sybil said, “They might cost you extra. In 2025 or 2026, $2.”

S T RE E T S E NS E ME DI A . ORG

//

13

Cesuz

Big thoughts

LEVESTER GREEN Artist/Vendor

RON DUDLEY Artist/Vendor

Big thoughts, big things, big thoughts, big dreams, big thoughts, big plans, big thoughts, big man. Big heart, big smile. God, I hope to leave it to my child. Big thoughts, big things, big thoughts, big dreams, big car, big apartment.

New car scent. Big thoughts, big things. Cash rules everything around me. I need a million dollars. Big thoughts so I can make it a billion Ron's inspiration. dollars. Big thoughts. I need me a billion more big thoughts so I can make a trillion. Grow big thoughts, my friends, still jealous of me. Big thoughts. God, protect me from all this jealousy. Big thoughts. When you walk by faith and not by sight, God will protect you with all his might.

Big thoughts. All my friends left me for dead. Big thoughts.

They get scared when they see me in red. Big thoughts. My dreams got my enemies scared. Big thoughts. When I got eyes in the back of my head. Big thoughts. I was praying for so long, I got stuck. Big thoughts. I was praying, then a prayer woke me LATICIA BROCK up. Big thoughts. I was praying for a house with a pool. Big Artist/Vendor thoughts. I was praying for forty acres and a mule. Big thoughts.

Now I need a big, big check from my boss. Big thoughts. But my boss told me to get lost. Big thoughts. Now I’m praying for a church with a pastor. Big thoughts. Now I’m just waiting on God cause he is the master. Big thoughts.

I can't wait 'til I get my flowers from all of the folks I've touched and blessed in life!

When folks don't give back, pay it forward, or even appreciate it — it depreciates future efforts. Cesuz saves is my tag, and I need all the folks I've gotten jobs, saved from death in one way or another, to do some soul-searching because this is real life!

Cesuz is my new inspired name in addition to the other titles and names I go by and acknowledge. It coincides with my Roman numeral II suffix, which correlates with my thought process and mindset of second to none! The code for it is 220! I once penned such a poem and it served as a rallying cry for secondborns.

Yes, I acknowledge our society's influences and basis are rooted in the past and our collective histories. I am established, a diamond rock who can point out the way of the old rugged cross to those found in the rough soils of life! Shoutout to the rose that grew from the concrete!

Pimped by blood

From the heart, mind and soul CARLOS D. CAROLINA Artist/Vendor

Sometimes shine, Sometimes I shine; sometimes I wish I had my wings; in real-time.

I fly past the sky to another land; A place that’s grand — Beehive.

There’s nothing but love and peace.

What’s sympathy in the land of ease?

No need for needs, you’ll have your wants.

And joy is such!

And kind is much!

Integrity; Dignity; Unity; Care.

All home own, And also shear.

Things are what they appear.

Eye one open; And eyes see clear.

You won’t be blinded by shine; Because sometimes I; shine sometimes.

To be brainwashed is a terrible thing, to tell one woman you love them and tell another woman the same thing. It’s not your religion or culture, you’re just a bigamist trying to be a pimp player, pleasing more than one woman. It’s just ridiculous. Feelings get hurt and you can end up losing your life. One man, one woman, children.

Men, it's necessary to be faithful to your wife. When you look at other women you should see nothing but your wife. It cuts out a lot of drama and living with guilt in your life. And when you’re walking down the street, a woman should always be on the inside in case a car jumps. An O.G. once told me that.

And another tool — if a man picks you up and he’s driving, it’s a major plus, but always be a queen and he’ll open the door. If that man really loves you, he’ll do nothing to separate.

A thought of peace ROBERT WARREN Artist/Vendor

I know it’s not true what they say about you there’s a sound on the ground prayers of peace are going down in my lifetime will I ever see a world of peace just to have some peace just to have some peace of mind if I could remember the time after so many wars I had a thought about no more innocent people dying mothers in the holy land are still crying over that innocent child all the while those in high places are thinking of the Lord don’t see all that you do repentance is all up to you just add to the Ten Commandments and stand up for justice and living for peace and to the Twelve Tribes those commandments won’t lie about you on the day of judgment many will question about why did the babies have to die

for the big lie fake news devils working to divide me and you from one humanity just like the leaves everything is in the Lord’s time when we all will crumble and die and be born anew the greeting you will receive is all up to you Peace and prosperity freedom of Palestine in my lifetime the Lord of us all ain’t never lied the sun and the moon will one day collide on that day the evil man did will be put on trial the Messiah will hold the scale that gives weight to who will go through the gates of heaven and hell, the seven gates and the seven states they could have changed for one person one vote and for those for whom democracy has become

a joke a thing of the past and will this war between good and evil mentioned in the Scriptures of times gone by Just the other day I cried I know the devil is a lie there is no reason for men women and children to have to die to fight in the name of the Lord to stand up for justice believers in the truth Black Lives do matter Israel is the homeland of Palestinians and Jews and maybe there is some truth about what they say on the other side at the end of the day it’s all in the Lord’s eyes and the time for all who see all we do for peace

14 / / S TR E E T S E N SE M ED IA // D EC . 6 - D EC . 19, 2023

FUN & GAMES

CROSSWORD

Whaddya Sayin’?

Puzzle by Patrick “Mac” McIntyre

Whaddya Sayin’?

1

SOLUTION: Overflowing with Gratitude LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION ____ Issue

Across 1

1. At a distance 5. Performed on "The Voice," say 9. Share your take on a matter, in fancyspeak 14. Et ___ (and others) (Lat.) 15. "Hold it right there!"

16. Exercised suffrage 17. "Man, that's so gloomy sounding" (2 wds.) (3,6) 19 Squeezing (out) 20. Neptune to the Romans, or Poseidon to the Greeks (DOSAGE anagram) 21. Start of a bold speculation (3 wds.) (1,4,3) 23. Rams' ma'ams 25. Eve's man in Eden 26. Boorish 29. Cherry, maple and oak, e.g.

34. Electrical resistance unit 35. Won ____ soup 36. McCartney's most prolific songwriting collaborator 37. ____-Tac Airport (NW Alaska Air hub) 38. Noisy and aggressive troublemakers (WEIRDOS anagram) 40. Pitching stat (abbr./initialism) 41. Pronounce incorrectly 43. Nine-sound Morse distress call 44. Cairo cobra 45. Where missions that serve down-andouters may often be found (3 wds.) (2,4,3) 47. Fundraising events that are often black tie affairs 49. Multigenerational baseball family name 50. Aid in crime 52. Actor Joe who played FBI Special Agent Rossi on the CBS crime drama "Criminal minds for 13 years 56. Partway home? (2 wds.) (2,4) 60. Confession of a taciturn prevaricator (2 wds.) (1,4) 61. Speech or writing jumble...or a hint to the circled letter groups (2 wds.) (4,5) (OLD AWARDS anagram) 63. Pelvic bones (A SCAR anagram) 64. Boleyn who lost her head over Henry VIII 65. Trillion (prefix) (RATE anagram) 66. Toothpaste brand most likely to peak in the ratings?

67. Nay opposers 68. Clothing line?

Down 1. Contented sighs 2. Arctic sight 3. Japanese audio electronics brand 4. Major feature of Frito-Lay's Ruffles potato chips per their popular rolling R commercials of the 80s & 90s 5. Jenny Lind, e.g.

6. "Now I get it!"

7. "Me neither" (2 wds.) (3,1) 8. Ability to sense some others' sexual orientations, in slangy parlance 9. Blows away to the point of intimidation 10. ___ cards (fad collectibles) 11. Senior____ (malady experienced by many 4th-year high school students generally

14 17

23 27 32 34

D

2

O

3

R

4

A

5

A

P

O

L

O

K

A

B

O

B

O

U

24

20

S

T

A

F

F

O

R

A

N

K

S

V

E

L

T

A

W

L

S

25

41

R

S

O

V

64

I

M

A

M

U

N

E

E

R

O

O

52 57 62 65

E

53

R

54

T

E

T

S

Y

S

R

S

D 42

58 63 66

O R R

E

4

5

55

R

38

F

39

O 50

F

40

O

A L

U

L

E

L

D

S

S

59

O

60

A

T

H

S

E

O

U

L

T

I

T

I

S

17

This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre.

It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Washington. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews.org and insp.ngo.

9

21

27

24

28

29

30

39

31

32

33

58

59

40

43

44

46

47

49 53

13

36

42

45

12

25

38

41

11

22

35

37

10

19

23

52

8

16

20

26

7

18

S

characterized by apathy, low motivation, and a tendency to shrug off responsibilities like going to class) 12. German pop star who sang "99 Luft balloons" (anagram of 64-Across) 13. Word that may mean tense or trendsetting 18. Column crossers 22. Mentally confuses 24. Third place 26. Pink drink or a mag with a "Bachelor of the Year" contest, both briefly 27. River through Deutschland (Ger.) 28. Build up, as wealth or weapons 30. "That dirty, no-good so- ____!" (3-2) 31. Former star center Shaquille who is now an "Inside the NBA" personality 32. Backs, anatomically (Lat.; Mid. Eng.) (ROADS anagram) 33. Word after ginger or cold 35. Pet Chihuahua or Pekingese (2 wds.) (3,3) ... or if the wds. are reversed, something either pet might play with 38. Really laid into (2 wds.) (6,2) (RETAIL AD anagram) 39. Corn Belt state where the GOP will once again kick off its 2024 presidential primaries 42. Brinker, Button and Boitano 46. Place for fashion debuts and flight departures 47. Air Force, Army and Marine honchos (abbr.)

48. In baseball, chances to get 56-Across (2 wds.)

(2,4) 51. What an omen always does "...ill" or "...well" 52. Catchall abbr.

53. Banned orchard spray 54. Not naughty 55. First-rate (1-3) 57. Away from the wind 58. ___ Lee cakes 59. Dutch treat 62. Genetic info carrier (abbr./acron./initialism)

6

15

34 37

D

D

S

A

O

O

A

A

N

I

D

E R

D

T

S

E

I

E

E

U

O

P

I

R

D

13

K

O

G

E

T

26

E

49

Y

46

12

C

S

45

E

U

A

R

L

31

22

11

O

I

O

E

N

19

D

R

R

N

W

30

16

3

14

O

A R

T

R

E

E

N

H

36

33

O

R

61

35

29

M

O

56

21

O

E

51

18

10

G A

O

D

9

R

N

48

N E

A

A

8

R

L

47

A E

H

44

7

S

T

43

G S

C

28

15

U

S

E

6

G

2

50

54

55

48

51 56

57

60

61

63

64

65

66

67

68

62

Illustration of the week

AKINDELE AKEREJAH Artist/Vendor

S T RE E T S E NS E ME DI A . 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

1-800-799-7233

Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento

Education Educación

Health Care Seguro

Clothing Ropa

Legal Assistance Assistencia Legal

Case Management Coordinación de Servicios

Food Comida

Employment Assistance Assitencia con Empleo

Transportation Transportación

Showers Duchas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Foundry Methodist Church // 202-332-4010 1500 16th St., NW foundryumc.org/idministry Identification services Friendship Place // 202-364-1419 4713 Wisconsin Ave., NW friendshipplace.org

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

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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE 2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

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

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

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

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

Laundry Lavandería

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

//

15

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-888-793-4357

JOB BOARD Customer service associate

Home Depot // 901 Rhode Island Ave. NE Full-time

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

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

Provide service to customers and assist them in planning projects. Keep department stocked.

REQUIRED: N/A APPLY: tinyurl.com/homedepotrhode

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

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

Unity Health Care 3020 14th St., NW // unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699 1500 Galen Street SE, 1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 555 L Street SE, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, 1717 Columbia Road NW, 1313 New York Avenue, NW BSMT Suite, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 828 Evarts Place, NE, 810 5th Street NW

Giant Food // 1345 Park Rd. NW Part-Time/Full-time Maintain a clean station and assist customers in their shopping.

REQUIRED: N/A APPLY: tinyurl.com/GiantPTClerk

Cake decorator

Safeway // 322 40th St. NE Full-time Use your artistic and creative design skills to create beautifully decorated cakes and pastries for customers.

REQUIRED: N/A APPLY: tinyurl.com/SafewayDecorator

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can you help us out?

Dear readers, Helping others — specifically our vendors — manage through crisis is what we do well at Street Sense Media. We help the men and women we work with rebuild their lives a day at a time and give them the tools and opportunities they need to work themselves up and out of homelessness. While never easy, and often heartbreaking, it’s the work we love and what our organization was built, through your support, to do.

In 2023, we have had to face an entirely different kind of crisis, one that threatens our ability to continue this work. In the first half of this year, we experienced a significant reduction in paper sales, individual giving and foundation support. During this time, we needed to tap into the meager reserves we had accumulated over the years, spending nearly $140,000 more than we raised in income. In recent years, your generosity allowed us to expand our services to meet the growing needs brought on by both the pandemic and opioid crisis. Faced with the unprecedented funding gap earlier this year, we had no choice but to reduce these services, quickly and significantly. Since June, we have eliminated four full-time staff positions (more than a third of our staff), scaled back from weekly to biweekly publication of the newspaper and frozen the emergency assistance fund we had been using to help vendors at risk of eviction, utility cut-off and food insecurity.

Being a weekly newspaper had a significant positive effect on vendor income and allowed us to produce more award-winning journalism. We were proud to be one of only five street papers worldwide to print weekly. The decision to cut back to biweekly was difficult. It’s also been terribly painful to say goodbye to committed, high achieving colleagues because we could no longer afford the salary costs. But we had no choice other than to make major spending cuts. And while those cuts ensured that we could meet the remaining demands of our budget in 2023, they in no way have ensured that we will survive into the future.

And so, I come to you today with a plea for help. You have been the most essential component of work that, while always demanding, is at times, quite simply, magical. Every day, we are witness as vendors are transformed via the very real and human connection they forge with their customers. Something profound in them is tapped and unleashed when they craft a poem out of their own life experience, share their vision of the world through photography or get up on stage and perform with others in our theater workshop. And they have a deep sense of accomplishment for the hard work they do to market and sell the newspaper.

All of this is at risk of going away. Please, if you are able, consider making a contribution to this year-end fundraising campaign. We are deeply grateful for your past support and hope that you will decide to renew it today with a generous, tax-deductible gift. You can make more magic happen in the lives of neighbors I know we both care about deeply.

You have always been the driver of our success. Your generosity has changed lives. We hope that we can count on your continued partnership through a generous year-end gift using the attached reply card or by going online to streetsensemedia.org.

We thank you for your support and wish you the very best this holiday season.

Sincerely, Brian Carome CEO

Send a card or go online to donate

From your vendor, D E C . 6 - D E C . 1 9 , 2 0 2 3 | VOLUME 21 ISSUE 2

NO CASH? NO PROBLEM. WE HAVE AN APP! SEARCH “STREET SENSE” IN THE APP STORE

WWW.INSP.NGO

3.2 million READERS

5,700 VENDORS

90+

STREET PAPERS

35

COUNTRIES

25

LANGUAGES