8 15 2012

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Volume 9: Issue 20 August 15 - 28, 2012

Street

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A Song and a Prayer to End Homelessness Ministry offers hope pg 7

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

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you experience 8-9 Did the 19th International AIDS conference?

be without a home

14

Twitterbug, the latest excerpt from James Davis’ upcoming book

featured vendor 16 Meet Andrell Robinson COVER ART

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Smith: 12 Gwynette how a person can

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

Today, Street Sense is published every two weeks through the efforts of four salaried employees, more than 100 active vendors, and dozens of volunteers.

Nearly 30,000 copies are in circulation each month.

1. Street Sense will be distributed for a voluntary donation of $1. I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Street Sense by any other means.

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5. I understand that I am not a legal employee of Street Sense but a contracted worker responsible for my own well–being and income.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Yebegashet Alemayehn, Margaret Chapman, Kristal Dekleer, Lisa Estrada, Robin Heller, Sommer Mathis, Manas Mohapatra, Brad Scriber, Michael Stoops EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brian Carome EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mary Otto MANAGING EDITOR Eric Falquero VENDOR/VOLUNTEER MANAGER Allen Hoorn INTERNS Lauren Colegrove, Natalie Devlin, Mariko Hewer, Brian Jones, Charmaine Miller, Faithful Okoye, Chris Trevino VOLUNTEERS/WRITERS Rhonda Brown, Kara Brandeisky, Jane Cave, Margaret Chapman, Tracie Ching, James Clarke, Nikki Conyers, Bobby Corrigan, Irene Costigan, Sara Dimmitt, Joe Duffy, Lilly Dymond, Ashley Edwards, Garrett Epps, Rachel Estabrook, Sarah Ficenec, Grace Flaherty, Andrew Gena, Steve Gilberg, Jane Goforth, Jonah Goodman, Roberta Haber, Cherilyn Hansen, Jesse Helfrich, Elia Herman, Melissa Hough, Sarah Anne Hughes, Laura Lindskov Jensen, Adam Kampe, Maurice King, Trisha Knisely, Vicki Ann Lancaster, Elle LeechBlack, Lisa Leona, Sean Lishansky, Elsie Oldaker, Ashley Perkins, David Piper, Katinka Podmaniczky, Mike Plunkett, Willie Schatz, David Sellers, Kate Sheppard, Ernie Smith, Jesse Smith, Lilly Smith, Kelly Stellrecht, Mandy Toomey, Brett Topping, Charlotte Tucker, Marian Wiseman

Members of the Back to Basics church rouse the homeless congregation with a song.

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

International Network of Street Papers

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STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

City Makes Shelter Plan for Upcoming Winter As Street Sense went to press, the city’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) approved a plan for protecting the homeless from dangerous conditions during the upcoming winter.

The city is required by law to have the plan in place by Sept. 1.

The 2012-2013 winter plan differs from plans for previous winters in its emphasis upon moving homeless families out of shelters and into affordable housing. Shelter life is not conducive to helping people move out of poverty, according to Department of Human Services (DHS) Director David Berns.

“You can’t do very much for your employment, your schooling, your education until you’re in a stable environment,” Berns said.

The number of units for families in D.C. General, the former hospital which serves as the city’s main family shelter, has been set at 153 this winter. Currently there are 210 families housed at the facility and 26 families residing in motels. City officials say they plan to move those families into affordable housing in anticipation of the winter.

In case affordable housing units do not open up for families, D.C. General

3

NEWS IN BRIEF has 118 overflow units available. DHS will also resort to using hotel and motel rooms for additional families as it has in the past.

The winter plan for the upcoming winter also outlines changes in the city’s system for transporting homeless people to and from emergency shelters.

The Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) will aim to announce hypothermia alerts by 3 p.m. each day so that homeless people can have time to get to the scheduled pick up areas.

-Natalie Devlin, Street Sense

Ranks of Homeless in New York Burgeoning New York City has constructed nine new shelters in the past two months to address a steep increase in homelessness, officials said.

The city’s homeless population has risen by 18 percent, or by more than 6,000 individuals, since last year. Two of the new shelters are located in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn and five in the Bronx.

The city Department of Homeless Services has come under fire for giving little notice to the communities where the shelters are being opened.

The continuing effects of the recession and rising housing costs are both seen

as contributing to the increase. DHS officials have also said that the termination of Advantage, a rent subsidy program for homeless families, has also sent scores of men, women and children back to the streets.

Selling a Harsh Reality From the streets to the television industry, Sebastian Hughes, a film and TV producer from California, has created a reality TV series about being homeless in the United States. But so far the producer has faced adversity in getting his show off the ground.

Hughes, formerly homeless himself, has faced rejection from virtually all major television networks. Not one to be deterred, Hughes has placed his idea on Kickstarter, an online forum for project funding, the Huffington Post reports.

He has also turned his rejection into another project: a documentary titled “Homeless Need A Network,” which documents his journey to air a show featuring homeless people in the Bay Area.

Family Homeless After Loss of Pushcart

clamped down on a boy’s efforts to help his family by selling hot dogs.

Nathan Duszynski started his own hot dog business with hopes to provide income for his unemployed parents and alleviate some of their financial strains. But city officials put a stop to the business after determining Duszynski’s pushcart violated downtown zoning restrictions. The cost of maintaining the cart also added complications to the business, according to a report by MLive.com.

Duszynski and his mother, Lynette Johnson who suffers from epilepsy and cannot work, had to check into the Holland homeless shelter after the cart was put on hiatus. Duszynski’s father, Douglas Johnson, could not join them in the shelter because his medications for multiple sclerosis were banned from the establishment. He currently lives in a barn.

A local businessman allowed Duszynski to use the hot dog cart for free of charge, after his father lost his job as a paralegal. But the costs of food, supplies and the permits proved to be very expensive for the family barely breaking even. Still, the boy and his parents say they are trying to find a way to revive the hotdog business. *COMPILED BY CHRIS TREVINO FROM PREVIOUSLY PUB-

Officials in Holland, Michigan have

LISHED REPORTS

Fresh Food Funding for All

By Charmaine Miller Editorial Intern

how a family eats,” Shuster said.

The prescription program will be in effect for six months. Afterwards, docSince getting to the White House, tors will test patients to see if there First Lady Michelle Obama has are improvements in their health such stressed the importance of making as changes in their body mass index fresh and healthy food available in (BMI) scores. city neighborhoods.

“We’re finding that most of the 35 The city’s farmers’ markets have families come to Columbia Heights,” shared that goal, putting in place prosaid Robert Schubert, executive direcgrams to encourage some of the area’s tor of the Columbia Heights Community poorest shoppers to use their food Marketplace, which holds its farmers’ stamps and other food vouchers to buy market every Saturday morning. fruits, vegetaTh e marke t bles and other accepts all forms nutritious prodof federal nutriucts. tion assistance The White -Rovin Shuster, Market Director and has a proHouse Farmers’ gram to match Market on Vermont Avenue NW, which benefits up to $10 per person. The margot started in 2009 with the help of the ket’s own “Festibucks,” funded by its First Lady is one of several markets sponsors and donors, offers matching across the city where food stamp benincentive dollars toward the purchase eficiaries can exchange dollars on their of healthy foods. Over $17,000 worth electronic benefit cards for wooden toof Festibucks were distributed in 2011, kens that can be spent like cash at the according to the Marketplace’s website. farmers’ stalls.

Schubert said that many families are At several other city markets, includembracing these opportunities. The sysing the 14th and U Street market, a retem at the Columbia Heights market is wards program gives up to $10 worth of not only helping low-income people to “bonus bucks” to customers using food stretch their benefits, but is also helpstamps or benefits from the Women, Ining local farmers and food producers. fants and Children (WIC) or Senior “Get However, not all D.C. area farmers’ Fresh” programs, allowing them to buy markets have been as accessible to more fresh fruits and vegetables with the poor. their nutrition assistance dollars.

Some vendors at Eastern Market adRobin Shuster, 14th and U Street marmitted they were not sure what the ket director said that she and her team process was for accepting food stamps. are working to make the markets accesA stand called Sunny Side only accepts sible to everyone in the District by makWIC coupons. ing food voucher acceptance a priority Salespeople at the Knopp’s Farm and the efforts are paying off. booth stocked with fresh tomatoes, “We’re seeing a lot of people taking melons and sweet corn said didn’t advantage of it ” said Shuster. take food stamps at their Eastern A fruit and vegetable prescription Market location but use a token sysprogram that is being piloted at the Cotem in Baltimore. lumbia Heights and 14th and U Street “I’ve only had a few people ask, markets is also targeting needy families maybe one a day,” said Robert Knopp, in desperate need of healthy food. owner of Knopp’s Farm.

Area clinics have identified 35 low-inThe NoMa (North of Massachusetts come families in the District with memAvenue) Farmers’ Market, located at bers who are at risk for diabetes or heart First and M Streets, NE, started acceptproblems. These families are prescribed ing food stamps this summer. Spokes$1 worth of produce a day, per member women at the NoMa market information in the family. This means they can have stand said it was a relevant decision $7 worth of food per person by the time that would prove useful for customers the weekly markets roll around. in the area.

“It can really make a difference in Luis Reyes, clerk for Pleitez Produce

at the NoMa Farmers’ Market, said not many customers have asked if the vendors accept food stamps. One woman who didn’t have access to an adequate cutting knife did ask for a watermelon to be cut up, though.

Even if they can use their food stamps at the market, very poor and homeless people may lack places to store or prepare their fresh produce.

Berries and some other fresh fruits and vegetables may spoil quickly or easily get crushed in a backpack. In fact,

many kinds of produce need to be refrigerated or cooked in a timely manner.

Evelyn Nnam, a Street Sense vendor, said she has never been to a D.C. farmers’ market, mostly because the produce would be difficult to keep fresh. With an eye to addressing such barriers, some organizations around town, such as Miriam’s Kitchen, work to turn donated food items from the markets into healthy meals for city residents who lack the facilities to do their own cooking.

“It can really make a difference in how a family eats.”

At Eastern Market a wide variety of produce is available, but food stamps can be hard to use.

PHOTO BY CHARMAINE MILLER

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

55

NEWS

The NoMa (North of Massachusset’s Avenue) neighborhood farmers’ market operates Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

PHOTO BY CHARMAINE MILLER

WASHINGTON, DC

OD

911

HELP PREVENT OVERDOSE DEATHS IN DC

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AFRAID TO CALL 911?

100 people die needlessly every year in DC from accidental drug overdoses. Friends and family are often afraid to call 911 for lifesaving assistance because they fear police involvement.

We are working to save lives by passing DC Council Bill B19-0754, the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Amendment Act of 2012.

This law would protect people from arrest for drug-related offenses when seeking medical assistance for someone who has overdosed.

Please share your overdose story with us to help build support for this urgently needed law that will help save lives in our community.

Call 320-634-6324 to leave a voicemail or email StopODinDC@gmail.com

Supported by the Public Service Grant Commission, a program of The George Washington University’s Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.

Like a Good Neighbor

By Charmaine Miller Editorial Intern First lady Michelle Obama is photographed in her newly released book, American Grown, wearing a salmon-colored cardigan as she helps dish out food to the men and women who walked through the doors of Miriam’s Kitchen.

That was in 2009, and the Foggy Bottom nonprofit that serves the homeless and hungry of D.C. has been supported by the White House ever since. Miriam’s Kitchen is on the White House radar now, said Steve Badt, director of kitchen operations. The kitchen, located on Virginia Avenue, sits just eight blocks from the presidential quarters.

Miriam’s Kitchen receives 100 pounds of produce each month from the White House and every fall the agency is invited to the main harvesting of Kitchen Garden there.

“We’ll get around 500 pounds of awesome produce in the fall,” Badt said.

Miriam’s Kitchen, a social services agency, uses its healthy, homemade meals to draw the needy to its doors.

There they can get a hearty breakfast and dinner every weekday, while also working with social workers and

case managers if they choose. The kitchen also serves a “café” lunch on Wednesdays.

“We try to make everything inhouse,” Badt said.

Fueled by the produce donated by the White House and several other local farmers markets, Miriam’s Kitchen feeds about 1,500 people a week.

Paul Lee Taylor has enjoyed the free meals there for 15 years. Particularly the abundance of fruits and vegetables.

“It’s good food and good company,” Taylor said.

Badt said the kitchen has to be run in fifth gear, like a restaurant. He coordinates about 2,000 volunteers at different times to produce the healthy meals.

But it’s all worth it, Badt said, when he hears positive feedback from case managers. Many homeless and hungry who receive food from Miriam’s Kitchen tell case managers that those are the best meals they have had. They feel loved.

First lady Michelle Obama invited elementary school children from across the country to the first planting of the White House garden.

PHOTO COURESTY OF FLICKR

Written by Michelle Obama Released by Crown Publishers, 2012 PHOTO COURTESY OF CROWN PUBLISHING

BOOK REVIEW

American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America

By Charmaine Miller Editorial Intern Like any good first lady, or non-fiction author for that matter, Michelle Obama begins her new book on her White House Kitchen Garden by drawing on history, walking the reader through other presidential gardens that came before. And like her book, her garden itself carries elements from the past, such as seeds from Thomas Jefferson’s gardens at Monticello, like good-luck charms.

Obama broke ground on the White House South Lawn in late March 2009.

Planting began a couple of weeks later when Obama invited some fifth-graders

from a local school, Bancroft Elementary, to help. It was the first time that food had been grown on the White House lawn since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden during World War II. Obama, too, was making a public statement with her garden.

“I hoped this garden would help begin a conversation about this issue,” she writes, “a conversation about the food we eat, the lives we lead, and how all of that affects our children.”

Her book is brightened with photographs of smiling children enjoying the

produce, some trying new vegetables and quoted as liking them. The pages are filled with vibrant photos of plants, herbs and flowers. The first lady, local schoolchildren, White House staffers, and even the Obamas’ dog, Bo, are pictured helping with the Kitchen Garden.

The book is divided into four sections, marking the four seasons. Starting with spring and traveling through the year, Obama details the crops unique to each season, illustrated with maps of the changing garden. The book also includes a selection of recipes featuring produce that can be grown during each season.

Besides her programs with local schoolchildren, Obama has stressed the importance of making fresh and healthy food available in city neighborhoods.

The Vermont Avenue Farmers’ Market, another of her initiatives, opened for business on Sept. 17, 2009.

Sitting across the street from Lafayette Park, the market is open every Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m

through Oct. 25.

Throughout the book, Obama highlights various urban community gardens through interviews and photographs.

These pages are meant to encourage gardening in areas that traditionally haven’t supported gardens.

The only thing that left me wanting more was that these were biographies rather than how-tos. The first lady does a satisfactory job in her book of outlining the possibilities for applying healthy living standards to all classes in society, but a more real and defined approach to actually putting fresh produce in the hands of the poorest would strengthen the book and Obama’s project.

After all, Obama writes, “It is my hope that our garden’s story — and the stories of gardens across America — will inspire families, schools, and communities to try their own hand at gardening and enjoy all the gifts of health, discovery, and connection a garden can bring.”

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

77

NEWS

Crying from the Streets: Church members relive

their lives on the streets in an inspiring theatrical preformance.

Natalie Devlin Editorial Intern Back to Basics is a different kind of church.

Every third Friday for the past five years, church members put on a play called Crying From the Streets. But the actors aren’t really acting; they’re remembering. The actors play themselves and relive their pasts on the streets.

They remember being addicted to drugs and alcohol, being prostitutes or pimps, stealing, being arrested and even being shot. There is singing, dancing and joking around alongside the intense moments of self-deprecation and self-realization. Seventeen to 20 actors participate in the play, but not all actors perform in each show, which means it is a little different each time.

Nine years ago, before joining the church, Tuesday Robertson was addicted to drugs and was prostituting herself. She portrays that part of her life in the play, which she said takes an emotional toll.

“Sometimes I have to talk to other members of the cast to bring me back down because I’m at such a high level when performing that I need to speak to some of the cast so we can talk about it,” she said. “That kind of brings me back down to where I need to be.”

Robertson, an active church member,

“ We c a n s u m up the Bible in two ways: loving one another and helping the poor,” Matthews said to his church.

Ninety-five percent of the congregation is or was at one point struggling with homelessness.

Matthews said about half of the church’s membership is still homeless, but it doesn’t affect their devotion to God or commitment to the church.

Robertson said her involvement The band Loyal to One sings praise to God at the beginning of the service as the audience claps along in in the church has played a major role rhythm. Lively music and involvement from members are important aspects of the church. in improving her PHOTO BY NATALIE DEVLIN life. As a result, she said she and her fellow church members van and created the congregation. doesn’t think she’ll feel more comfortable at Back to Basics Back to Basics pastor, Milt Matthews ever regress to her former life. than they might at a traditional church. took his song ministry to the streets in “I have a foundation now, and that “There’s no procedure,” she said.

2000. He was a musician who went into foundation is very strong so I believe “They are very comfortable because we the streets and performed for the poor that I will be fine,” Robertson said. “I make them feel comfortable. I believe and homeless. The congregation grew, don’t believe that I’ll go back.” that’s the reason people come.” and eventually found its current home.

For the past five years, Robertson has “I found that music had a profound been sharing that Back to Basics spirit. effect on people,” Matthews said.

Every other SunThe sermons are day morning, she tailored geared to makes the rounds people who are or of District shelters, have been addicted driving a big old van, to drugs or alcohol. offering rides During the service, to the storefront Pastor Matthews and church, located on his wife, Rev. Linda Brightseat Road in Matthews, speak Landover, Maryland. about the cycles of To get people to drugs and poverty come with her to and encourage their the church, Robertson will step into a congregation to break that cycle. shelter and shout out: “Back to Basics is Pastor Matthews started the church in the house y’all, Back to Basics’ in the because of a calling to reach out to the house. Who’s trying to roll with me?” less fortunate, specifically the homeShe usually gathers between 35 and less. He said to his congregation that Alfonzo Crawford takes the lead in the 40 along her route. Since the church his main goals for the church are to get church quartet in a song about being was founded, homeless individuals and people off the streets and away from addicted to God instead of drugs.

PHOTO BY NATALIE DEVLIN families have piled aboard the into the dangerous drugs like crack cocaine.

“We can sum up the Bible in two ways: loving one another and helping the poor.”

-Pastor Matthews

The actors revive their street lingo and depict buying crack for a performance of “Crying From the Streets.”

PHOTO BY NATALIE DEVLIN

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

Report: International AIDS Conference

By Gary Minter Vendor The 19th International AIDS conference reminds me of a Star Trek Convention only more serious. A host of celebrities and politicians have made the scene, from Bill Gates to Elton John, from Laura Bush to Hillary Clinton to Sharon Stone. I watched former President Bill Clinton talking about his foundation’s work with AIDS in third world countries.

The opening ceremony Sunday, July 22, at the Washington Monument was lots of fun,and included a great performance by Haitian singer Wycliff Jean and his band, and a stirring speech by the Reverend Al Sharpton. It was hot outside but like a beach party, I took my shirt off and chilled with the audience.

But lots of the speeches have been anything but lighthearted, focused on bureaucratic issues and the need for more money for AIDS drugs. Always more money for AIDS drugs. Of course, when you consider that the pharmaceutical industry does support this conference, it shouldn’t be surprising!

I really enjoyed the “Return to Lisner” forum at George Washington Uni-

Visitors to the 19th International AIDS Conference participate in activities to raise awareness of the disease.

PHOTO BY BRIAN JONES

versity. The auditorium was almost full.

City Council member Jim Graham, former executive director of the WhitmanWalker Clinic which was one of the first medical facilities to treat people with AIDS, gave his reminiscences about the early days of AIDS in Washington DC:

the fear, uncertainty, not knowing what causes AIDS, or how it can be spread.

Kissing? Mosquitos? Toilet seats? Many gay men were dying horrible deaths, and doctors were powerless to help them.

Other panelists at “Return to Lisner” included the editor of POZ Maga-

zine (for HIV + people), Adam Tanner of Metro Teen AIDS, Jose Zuniga, leader of Physicians in AIDS Care and Dr. Robert Redfield of the University of Maryland Medical Center, one of the early AIDS researchers in the United States. I had the opportunity to talk privately with Dr. Redfield yesterday, and I encouraged him to continue his work with AIDS vaccines as treatment for HIV infection. Dr. Redfield is also looking at other treatment ideas, including modifying cells to block the entry points of HIV via specific receptors on the cell wall.

I also went to the Afro-Caribbean AIDS reception at Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Avenue NW), a service organization for people with AIDS. It was a great party, lots of good food, a DJ outside on the patio, hundreds of happy and fun people eating, dancing, having a blast! And the Latin Transvestite Fashion Show at the convention center was terrific, hundreds in the audience were entranced by the models and the music and the humorous MC. Reporting live from the 19th International AIDS Conference at the Walter Washington Convention Center in our nation’s capital, this is Gary J. Minter for Street Sense.

93

FEATURE

New HIV Test May Link Patients, Doctors Sooner

The FDA-approved OraQuick HIV test allows users the ability to screen in the privacy of their homes and delivers results in 20 minutes.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.FDA.GOV.

By Mariko Hewer Editorial Intern An over-the-counter rapid H.I.V. test was approved by the F.D.A. in May, making at-home H.I.V. screening possible for the first time.

OraQuick, which is administered by a mouth swab and provides results in 20 minutes according to its website, will be available online and in stores in October. Besides providing a greater sense of privacy and comfort to users, the test may also offer more opportunities for low-income or homeless in-

dividuals to screen themselves. Having a simpler way to do a home check may help get those who test H.I.V. positive in contact with community health care centers earlier to receive the treatment they need.

“The approval of this test is a good move towards linking those infected with H.I.V. into health care and treatment,” said Dr. Robert Gallo, who was part of a research team responsible for identifying the H.I.V. virus in 1984.

Gallo, who is the founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said the OraQuick test is different from H.I.V. testing at clinics because “it is more convenient, involves greater privacy, and people can perhaps test more frequently.”

According to a study in Healing Hands, a publication of the Health Care for the Homeless Clinicians’ Network, homeless people are at a higher risk for H.I.V. “Prevalence of H.I.V. is generally estimated to be at least three times higher among people who are homeless than in the general population,” the study asserted. In addition, “Onethird to one-half of individuals living

with A.I.D.S. [Acquired Immunodefinciency Syndrome, often contracted after someone is infected with H.I.V.] are estimated to be homeless or at risk of homelessness (Conanan et al. 2003).”

But Tracy Swan, Hepatitis/H.I.V. project director at the Treatment Action Group, said she is skeptical about whether the OraQuick test will help solve the problem of high H.I.V. rates in the homeless community.

“I don’t think the test will have a huge impact on stopping H.I.V. transmission in the homeless community unless people who test positive have immediate entry into medical care [and] are treated with respect and kindness,” Swan said, adding they also should “receive education about, and access to, H.I.V. treatment in the context of complex medical and mental health care.”

Whatever the pros and cons of the new OraQuick test, one thing is certain: it gives all those eager to test for H.I.V., including low-income or homeless individuals, a secure, private and potentially cheaper way to do so.

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The 19th International AIDS Conference featured events designed to help people young and old protect themselves against AIDS.

Panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt comemorate friends and family.

PHOTO BY BRIAN JONES

PHOTO BY MARIKO HEWER

Families explore ofsubscribe the AIDS Me____ YES!panels I want to Street at Sense for justMarket. $40 a yearPanels morialtoQuilt Eastern (26 issues). were hung in several places throughout the city. ____ I would also like to give half PHOTO BY MARIKO HEWER

the cost of my subscription to my favorite vendor: _____________________________

COMICS & GAMES

By Chris Shaw “The Cowboy Poet”

KLEVER’S ics

com

GLARPH & ROGER, PART 2

COMIC BY CHINO DEAN

GLARPH THE POSTULATIN’ SHARK #4:

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

OPINION

A Man with a Plan Terry Huff left his music career only to end up homeless.

By Charmaine Miller Editorial Intern When his two brothers were shot, Terry Huff raced back to his hometown of Washington, D.C. It was 1983, and Huff left behind his efforts at building a music career in Los Angeles to remain in the District. He said he hoped to better understand the violence that took such a toll on his family and his city.

But first he needed to try to understand it. He read and pondered. He came to the conclusion that crime grows out of injustice and inequality.

“The problem is that there are billions of people that are poor and just a few that

are wealthy,” Huff said. “Nothing can survive like that.”

The way he tells it, his own life got off to a promising start, with a break in the music business at age 13. Joining his brother Andrew in an R&B act called Andy and the Marglows, Huff’s sweet tenor voice helped send “Just One Look” to the pop charts. It was a short-lived glory, though.

Doris Troy came out with her own version of the song two weeks later, making major waves in the soul market. Andy and the Marglows soon dissolved.

He tried odd jobs and a stint in law enforcement. Then a gig selling insurance helped him make enough money to move to Los Angeles and get back to his music. That’s when his brother Lonnie was shot and killed in D.C.. His brother Andrew was shot, too, but survived. And Huff came back to D.C. He is 64 now, still ruminating upon the root causes of poverty. But he too has ended up on the streets. He’s been in and out of shelters and he stays in one now. The life is less than easy, the food is less than appeal-

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ing. Huff can’t ignore the murkiness of it.

His sense of justice is constantly challenged. He sees a lot of guys at the shelter who seem to belong somewhere else. Guys who sneak weapons in. Men so old and sick they belong in a nursing home. Men who have great talents to offer the world but are trapped in street life.

Living in a shelter hasn’t changed Huff’s conviction that poverty and violence are tied up with injustice.

His own plan for escaping homelessness is rooted in the success of an “ incremental pay system” that he has devised. It sounds something like a pyramid scheme. He promises it will make its participants rich.

Huff sees himself as a passionate man, a religious man who has known fame and destitution alike.

His creed is love, and his plan for it is money.

“Man has yet to love another man simply for being a human being,” Huff said.

PHOTO BY CHARMAINE MILLER

The Challenge of Fighting Homelessness

By Jeffery McNeil Vendor There are many schools of thought on how to help the poor. Some believe that government should be at the center, while others believe the way out of poverty is self-reliance.

After being homeless and selling newspapers, my position on helping the poor has changed. Coming from a working-class family in New Jersey, my parents instilled in me that the best way to fight poverty was to go to school, get a job and be frugal with your money. I remember as a child driving through urban areas like Newark and East Orange seeing beggars asking for money and my dad snickering, “If you don’t change your ways, that’s where you will be.”

While I resented what he said, he was proven to be right. I take sole responsibility for my homelessness. I made some

foolish choices with the worst being getting involved in drugs and gambling. I don’t blame the White Man or the Republicans for my fall. Ultimately I had to get help somewhere, and there were helping hands from both government and society.

As someone who always had a work ethic, applying for assistance brought me to the brink of suicide. I qualified for many programs that I refused out of pride, but I still have Medicaid and contemplate food stamps periodically because food is so expensive.

I am bipolar with a history of substance abuse issues. Since receiving government help, I have been on medication and have been able to take care of myself. However, if I get a lowincome job, I lose my benefits. If you

were in my shoes, what would you do?

Although I am grateful to all the social workers and people who have helped me, I still cannot help but become frustrated by the system. From personal experience while staying in shelters, I have seen what appeared to be in my opinion physically and mentally capable males who refused to get off the sofa because they were on the waiting list for government housing.

Sometimes it’s hard to empathize with those whom I saw four years ago whom I still see today laying on the same benches at Franklin Park waiting for bread lines when there are resources like Labor Ready and Street Sense that allowed me to find a place to reside.

This makes me question what is the best way to help the poor. We need to ask the question, does public assistance alleviate poverty or create generational dependency?

I feel if we continue to ask our taxpayers to pay for the ills of others, we need to streamline the system to make sure that assistance is temporary, not permanent. While I believe that there are basic rights that government should ensure such as healthcare and housing, I also believe it’s a moral obligation that we take care of our poor.

Street papers are one solution because they give the poor a chance to help themselves. They teach people who may never understand entrepreneurship how to be self-sufficient without relying on others. It’s empowering to be able to buy daily essentials rather than go to a social worker who may or may not award you assistance. I can testify how my life has not only changed but became transformed by street papers. Is it the solution? Probably not. But it can be a blueprint for other cities as a guide to help those who are able to help themselves.

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

Past Present Future

By Phillip Black Vendor, The “Cat in the Hat” In order to move forward in the present and to have a good future, we must not let the past dictate it.

Most times, the past gets in our way and holds us back to becoming the person we are supposed to be.

In order to change our future, we must get rid of negative things that are in our mind, from the past. In the past,

Before the Rain Pt. 3

By Chris Shaw Cowboy Poet "One Night of Sin... Was All I'ws waiting for..."

Her name was Callie. Loomis shook his sweaty head like a mule that had been pulling way too big a load on his fruit wagon. A 1967 black Chrysler hoopdee whose front right window looked kinda shot out was happily blaring Smiley Lewis' "One Night," off a radio station WWOZ as he studied the forlorn girl, well, truthfully.

However, this was too much information to process at that one hot moment.

"Okay, um.. Callie. You say you're, uh BORED?" "Yes, sir. I am very bored."

"But this is Nawlins. Big Easy. endless hours of excitem---" "Sir, I am sixteen, and I'm oh so bored! I been thinkin' of nursing school or sumpin'."

"Nursing school? Do they have that at Loyola or--?"

"I'm lookin' into Kansas City, It's a real good'un, an' besides, I can get away from this dead ol' town! Sir!" "Listen, my name's Loomis, and here's our streetcar!"

The huge, gleaming red monster whose destination square read "CEMETERIES"clanged to a grinding, whooshing halt. Callie and Loomis climbed on.

They debarked at Governor Clements Street and walked a ways together.

when I was using drugs, I knew I wanted to change, but it was hard for me to do that because I was always hanging with so-called friends.

I knew I wanted to change! As a result of that thinking, I went to a drug program to get myself together. Now that I am drug free these same so-called friends, till this day, will still offer me drugs. That’s why I always surround myself with good people and always keep a positive mind. My present and my future are very, very important to me.

It is also important that we as a people always remember that the past is in the past, and it’s up to us to have the best present and future we can make!

Callie, perhaps a bit wise beyond her years, said "Mister Reader-- I mean, Mister Loomis the writer(she giggled uncontrollably at this absurdity of name), you look shagged."

"Actually, I'm a bit spaced, but you said things that just made me feel some concern. And I don't live anywhere near you. I just feel like talking, And now we're done with that.

So--" Loomis bent his lanky frame down a notch or two and extended his hand for Callie to shake, which she did, not too reluctantly. He really didn't feel too sociopathic hanging with this child for a few. After all, he didn’t have children, and this painful fact had dogged him far too long.

"Good luck, Callie. I do hope you get to realize your dream."

"Bye, Mist' Writer, maybe I'll see ya round. My bruh, Clement, works de Acme Awstah House!"

Well, shucks, thought Loomis with a nearly audible snarl. How the fonk did she know I liked to lurk at the Acme?

Very few things I love go back as far as 1910, but my dear departed Momswho taught me mostuh the early piano chords and scales I know-and the Acme Oyster date from just that moment!

Loomis watched the girl slip thru the gates of her dusty, low-slung project.

He then turned sharply, just in time to avoid colliding with three sinewy young dudes with elaborate braided hairdos, who didn't even notice what was in their path.

(To be continued)

I’m Still Learning

By Aida Peery Vendor I’ve been homeless for a year now and have been kicking out cover letter/resumes every single day.

So, I’ve come to realize since being homeless you just do what you have to do and learn how to relax. Believe me I have learned how to sit still l-not in the usual sense of the term - but to relax and slow down. I’ve been able to take care of my health and learn new things from many other homeless men and women.

Quite a few of them are very talented.

Meeting them would shock the pants/ dresses off many people who mistakenly believe that homeless men and women are simply drunks, drug addicts, and mentally ill. I also know many people who aren’t homeless who have mental illness or who are drunks or addicts.

Since, I’ve been homeless, I’ve learned plethora of interesting things by spending my time with N Street Village. I’ve come to the understanding that mental illness is a hereditary disease and that an individual life can be caught up in it suddenly. I’ve come to learn more about myself too. I have realized that I wasn’t

Homeless: Why?

By Gwynette Smith Vendor Many people do not understand how a person could be without a home. It is said that most people are only a paycheck away from being homeless. I would modify that thought and assert that most are only two paychecks away from homelessness. As for reasons, two of the most prevalent are being unemployed and having your savings depleted.

Other factors contribute, too. Addiction to alcohol or drugs can absorb all of a person’s funds, causing bills to go unpaid. Welfare is available for only five years, so, those who don’t havemarketable job skills or a good educational foundation are in jeopardy of living in shelters or on the streets. Foster care children leave the system at the age of 18 and many do not have a solid plan about how they will function. These children then compound the problem

always the open-minded person I thought I was. In the beginning of the process of becoming homeless, losing my job and getting evicted from my apartment, I was ashamed. But as the months moved on I began coping. Rather than remaining penniless, in September 2011 I began selling Street Sense. Facing the choice of living in the streets or in a shelter I decided I preferred the shelter. I have learned far more from the N Street Village women than I would have learned if I had bought or read a book about the life experiences of someone else.

Every woman who participates at Bethany Center/N Street Village has enlightened me on all sorts of issues. Last year and towards the New Year I wanted to end it. Now I have to say thank you to staff and interns and all of the wonderful women at N Street Village who have become my friends who taught me how to “sit still.” At the age of 56 I’m still learning and believe me this journey isn’t easy for me, but I have met some great men and women along the way.

Thank you again. I’m still not perfect and don’t want to be perfect, because it is too much energy involved and it is meaningless. God didn’t make our bodies perfect. Whatever I am good at I just do it. Yet I still might make mistakes along the way. by becoming parents and putting their child(ren) at risk. Bad family relationships often cause an adult to leave the house or a child to run away.

Court-ordered support payments may leave little for the absent parent to live on. If the parent leaves for an unknown destination, the remaining parent and child(ren) may have to seek housing in a shelter. Further, returning, burned-out soldiers and people released from incarceration are at risk for this destitute state unless loving family or friends are available to offer support and counseling.

Those fortunate enough NOT to be homeless may be able to help if they can understand th causes of this demeaning problem. Get involved! Offer a person a job. Tell her or him when you know a job is available. Speak to your political representatives about laws and programs that can transition people back into homes throughout the U.S. and its territories. Any assistance will truly be appreciated.

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

VENDOR WRITING My Thank Yous

I can’t thank the Street Sense volunteers and staff enough for listening to me during my tough times. They let me cry, scream and cuss while not passing judgment. To quote Peter Griffin from Family Guy, they let me vent about “what grinds my gears.”

I also want to thank the Street Sense organization for helping those who want to help themselves by giving people an opportunity to run their own business.

I’d like to include the writers’ group for actually hearing what I have to say.

Willie and Kate, thank you so much for spending one hour a week with us and for treating me like a person instead of “vendor number 438.”

I don’t want to forget the local DC police. Thank you for not harassing the homeless and for giving us information about the proper resources to help us with our problems. A heartfelt special

thanks goes to the fine men and women who serve in our U.S. military, who risk life and limb fighting for our rights to voice our opinion and for our freedom.

Another thank-you goes to my Chipotle guy. Although I don’t know your name, thanks for bringing me a soft chicken taco and iced tea with a sh#t load of lemon every Thursday.

And to my two-legged friends who let me say hi to their little four legged buddies: for those 30 seconds, I forget that I am residence free.

I am thankful for my fellow vendors.

Regardless of our personal feelings toward each other, I am grateful that they get up and try every day.

Lastly. but definitely not least, thank you to the loyal Street Sense readers, regardless of whether you purchase from me or my fellow vendors. Without you, who knows where we would be.

Thanks for your kind words that keep us going. No matter if you donate $1.00 or $20.00 we appreciate it all equally.

And thank you, Dear God, for keeping all of us alive for another day!!!

Our Planet’s Future

The Holy Spirit

By Viktor Blokhine Vendor

By Evelyn Nnam Vendor

Perpetual motion, the eternal engine. It could provide energy at such a low cost, that it would be free.

For a long time this idea was considered impossible to achieve. Yet many engineers such as myself have worked towards it anyway. People from around the world: France, Italy, even Croatia, are working to make this a reality. Many have also been criticized for chasing the impossible.

However, rudimentary versions of this technology are already in use by companies such as Tata and Fiat, but my version is simpler and more efficient.

I sent my variant to patent offices in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Norway has been the most responsive so far.

At present I need help to make this a reality. My immediate need is the means to make an international call to the Norwegian patent office, and an interpreter to help me speak with them.

I believe the patent office will have someone that can interpret on their end if I am able to make the call.

The Holy Spirit is our comforter: He comforts us when we are down, upset and lonely. The Holy Spirit is also our reminder: He reminds us things we may have forgotten and puts it in our spirit.

By Adira Sheinman Vendor

He is our helper because he can help us with things we don’t know and have a hard time with. The Holy Spirit is our best friend because he can always be there for us no matter what. The Holy Spirit also is represented by a dove because it brings peace and that’s what the Holy Spirit is. He is a peacemaker and he brings peace wherever he goes.

This is the Holy Spirit and this is what the holy spirit means to me. God Bless.

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New Vendor Vests

Twitterbug

(Excerpt from upcoming book “Arugula salad and other food for thought”)

By Allen Hoorn Vendor/Volunteer Manager

No wonder I’m getting thinner!

I sure would like to have had that filet mignon

By James Davis, Vendor Regular Street Sense customers may have noticed a bright and shiny vests bearing the Street Sense logo turning up on the streets of Washington D.C. The organization has decided to follow through with rebranding by incorporating the familiar Street Sense logo into a new visibility vest design, which first hit the streets in early August.

Although the new vests have many familiar characteristics of the previous versions, the design has a couple key differences, including the method by which a Street Sense vendor becomes eligible to receive this vest.

The vest is roughly the same color as the previous designs, technically “lime green” for anyone keeping track of specifications. The vest is also the same basic shape as previous designs.

However, the new design of the vest includes the current logo of the organization on the front of the vest rather than the older logo. The vest is also made of a more breathable mesh which can be washed more easily and regularly.

Getting a Street Sense visibility vest represents the biggest change the organization has made to the familiar symbol. Vendors who wish to wear the Street Sense vest must now return a special verification form to the organization in order to qualify to receive one of the vests. In order to fill out this form, a vendor is required to approach another organization in the Washington D.C. area that provides services to people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Though vendors are not required to sign up for any services at this other organization, they are asked to inquire about the types of services this organization might be able to offer that are not currently offered through Street Sense.

Street Sense believes vendors will use this incentive to learn about the myriad of services available in the D.C. area.

As Street Sense is an organization desiring to be a stepping stone, the concern is not generating sales as much as it is that vendors find success. Whether this comes directly through involvement with Street Sense or through connection with other organizations more able to provide the assistance needed by ven-

I follow myself on Twitter

But it’s hard to eat while texting on the phone

To find out what shall I wear

That’s how my dog jumped on the table

Sometimes it gets so confusing

And ate it all, now all I have left is a bone.

I just look in the mirror and stare.

I follow myself on Twitter I arrived at work just in time Just to find out where I am Finding out I left my shoes behind.

My Twitter feed said I was only wearing socks

Sometimes I’m not where I’m supposed to be So I just don’t give a damn!

So you could imagine all my co-workers’ shock.

I follow myself on Twitter To find out what I’m having for dinner It always zaps my appetite

Pieus Ennels is one over 50 vendors to have already sought out the new vest.

Ennels received his after approaching a local service provider to discuss housing options.

PHOTO BY ERIC FALQUERO

dors is not important as long as vendors are able to move toward their goals.

Of course, not all vendors will have the new version of the vest just yet.

The program is not mandatory. Vendors who don’t want to participate will not be prohibited from distributing the newspaper. They can still use the older version of the vest or can distribute the newspaper with only the Street Sense badge. But for vendors willing to go a step further in helping themselves, the organization is confident these new vests will greatly improve their abilities to distribute the newspaper. And with more than half of the active vendors submitting verifications within the first two weeks of the program, Street Sense is confident many vendors are wholly committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful.

I ended up on the X-2 bus When I should’ve been on the blue line If I could just close my Twitter account I think I’d be just fine!

Service Spotlight: Celestial Manna

By Charmaine Miller Editorial Intern Every Friday when Scott Seger gets home from work, he eats dinner with his family. After that, it is almost 6 p.m., and he and his teenage sons retrieve a 17-passenger van from their church, remove the seats and add coolers.

They travel to three grocery stores during that night, coasting through Virginia, Maryland and the District. At each store there are piles of food just past or on its expiration date waiting for them. Sometimes Seger and his sons must scan and pack away all of the food themselves, while other times the stores take the extra time to do it. By the time they pile the food into the van and deliver it to various churches and organizations for redistribution, it is usually 2 a.m.

It is a lot of work, Seger said. “You almost have to be crazy to do this.”

It’s difficult to find volunteers for a Friday night, when people would rather

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS HOTLINE 1-888-7WE HELP (1-888-793-4357)

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

see a movie or spend time with family, Seger mused. In an organization run entirely by volunteers, Celestial Manna has been gathering food from local stores for nearly 20 years.

“Our organization fills the gap for food that would go in the garbage,” Seger said.

On a typical night of collecting food, Seger will fill the church van from top to bottom, front to back with food. He estimates that it weighs around 10,000 pounds. Much of the food includes bakery items such as bread and bagels that, by store standards, are not the absolute freshest but still have a considerable shelf life.

Seger then brings the food to different church kitchens that redistribute the food to hungry members of the community.

“If you give someone one loaf of bread, you could save them money for a gallon of gas, and for someone struggling, that could be a big thing,” Seger said.

My Sister’s Place PO Box 29596, Washington, DC 20017 (202) 529-5261 (office) (202) 529-5991 (24-hour hotline)

STREET SENSE August 15 - 28, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MEDICAL RESOURCES

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

Christ House 1717 Columbia Road, NW (202) 328–1100, www.christhouse.org Unity Health Care, Inc. 3020 14th Street, NW (202) 745–4300,www.unityhealthcare.org Whitman–Walker Clinic 1407 S Street, NW (202) 797–3500, www.wwc.org

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

FOOD

15

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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

SHELTER HOTLINE: 1–800–535–7252

Vendor Profile : Andrell Robinson Last Word:

By Lauren Colegrove Editorial Intern Andrell Robinson is a strong believer in the power of respect.

A young man in his early 20s, Robinson warns against making snap decisions about others and believes it is more valuable to take the time to get to know people and listen to them.

For instance, Robinson said he feels that because he can often be found on street corners, people seem to think he is not willing to work, which is not true.

A proponent of community service, Robinson said his ideal job would be one where he would be able to help others in the spirit So Others Might Eat (SOME), a program that provides food, clothing, health programs and training services for people who are homeless. Robinson said he loves to assist others, even if it is with something as simple as pointing someone in the right direction.

Robinson grew up in New Jersey, but moved to Philadelphia when he began to have problems with his uncle, with whom he was living.

For the three weeks he was in Philadelphia, Robinson, who is openly bisexual, said he found support from the gay community. After experiencing the City of Brotherly Love, he became a property manager in New Jersey.

Robinson was laid off amid the foreclosure crisis. Jobless, he was evicted in 2011. After staying with a friend shortterm, he moved to Virginia to stay with his brother.

Although his brother was able to help Robinson get ahold of his ID and birth certificate, they had disagreements

about rent and living arrangements, and Robinson had to move out.

He still talks to his brother on and off, but does not consider him a strong supporter. Robinson looked for shelter in the Virginia area but said there were no vacancies, and he soon found himself on the streets of Washington, D.C. Robinson said that since coming to D.C., he has started to read newspapers more often. The first time he picked up a newspaper in the District he thought to himself, “If I can’t feed my stomach I might as well feed my mind.”

Robinson said he reads news that may not be mainstream while also keeping up with what is going on in the nation’s capital, and he enjoys learning about aspects of issues that may not be the focus of traditional news sources. For example, he likes to read about health care reform, with a special interest in how it affects those in the gay community, specifically in regards to HIV/AIDS. Since working with Street Sense, Robinson said he has come to appreciate the impact a kind word can have on an individual. He said he would like others to realize that sometimes just saying hello to people can make their days.

He would like to especially thank Mira, Andre and Anthony for all of their love and support and for believing in him.

According to Robinson, “Life is like a baseball pitch. It can come at you fast, slide a bit or throw you a curveball, and the only thing you can do is stand there waiting for the pitch [wondering] what kind of life is coming at you.”

August 15 - 28, 2012 • Volume 9 • Issue 20

Street Sense 1317 G Street, NW

Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Washington, DC

Washington, DC 20005

Mail To:

Permit #568

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

Interested in a subscription? Go to page 3 for more information.

Drowning in a Sea of Acronyms

By Faithful Okoye Editorial Intern Near the last week of my internship, I attended the 2012 National Alliance to End Homelessness. I often pride myself as being a part of a newspaper that represents the homeless, but as I sat in a crowd of several hundred, I could definitely say I was lost.

I was lost by the use of acronyms, from HRP, ESG, HEARTH to SAMSHA. The audience as well as the speakers used the acronyms like it was nobody’s business, throwing them out there as though everyone was familiar with the terms. In one instance, the speaker asked the audience if he needed to explain an acronym.

Everyone, or at least everyone I heard, said no. I had replied with a yes, but quickly went silent when I realized I might be the only one.

The lady beside me, possibly out of compassion, whispered the meaning of the word to me.

That was when I realized that as a newspaper for the homeless we need to be familiar with the other intricacies of homelessness. It was a two-way street; even in the world of homelessness, there is the bureaucratic side and the human side. We need to be experts on both. We need to be familiar both with what the homeless person faces everyday and the processes these organizations that support the homeless face.

For that reason, as I leave, I do not want to take the knowledge I learned from the conference. So I created a survival handbook for future interns. In the handbook, it contains terms that every intern ought to know when covering a particular topic, from the difference between chronic homelessness and episodic homelessness and how it affects funding, to acronyms that people in a specific field throw out because they have come to need those organizations

or funding like a person needs food, terms like HUD, SAMSHA and HUD-VASH vouchers, among many others.

But even more importantly, we have to remember the humans this is all about. Sometimes, in a race to learn the bureaucratic side of things, we forget the human side of things, the reason we got into it in the first

DHCD NLC HP SAMSHA DCHA SSAS HRP

place. My first experience out in the field was when I needed to take a photo for a fellow intern’s story.

We had a specific topic we were trying to cover, but many of the people we interviewed had other problems they wanted to speak about. The question then is, are we representing them enough? It is easy to get comfortable in an office, writing about homeless issues without ever venturing out into the streets where the homeless actually stay.

And just as important as learning the ABCs of Homelessness, we have to learn more about the voices who actually face homelessness everyday. In addition to a survival handbook, I suggest we create a Homeless Voices column.

My idea of this column is more like a stickies-looking design with words from each person, spread around on the page. Each issue could focus on one topic per issue: long lines for food stamps, adequacy of cooling centers during the heat, the neatness (or lack of) in shelters. That way, they can voice out their thoughts on whether they are satisfied with the services and if something needs to change.

I guess that from every sour thing comes something sweet. From the issue of being lost as a result of the acronyms, it made me more reflective. In the end, it brought about some change that I hope would impact Street Sense’s reporting in the future.

COHHO

COG HHS

NCH V

SI

SSDI DCCFH

TH R A E H

VHA HUD S ICH

OME