02.02.2022

VOL. 19 ISSUE 11

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FEB. 2 - 8, 2022

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As opioid overdoses continue to rise, advocates say harm reduction is essential

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AT A GLANCE

NEWS IN BRIEF

BIRTHDAYS Charles Woods, Feb. 2 ARTIST/VENDOR

ANNOUNCEMENTS Potomac Gardens in southeast D.C. Photo by Will Schick

Local organizations call for use of surplus funds to address eviction crisis

BY KAELA ROEDER Deputy Editor

A group of nonprofit organizations have signed a letter calling for Mayor Muriel Bowser to direct more city funds to stop evictions in the District.

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute and 34 other organizations are urging the mayor to use surplus funds from fiscal year 2021, reserves and other available capital to prevent a wave of expected evictions.

About 40,000 households are at risk of eviction, according to the letter addressed to the mayor. In addition, at least 350 families will soon face termination from rapid rehousing, which is a short-term subsidy program meant to assist individuals experiencing homelessness in finding permanent housing. The letter calls for an extension of the program for individuals who are not enrolled in another housing program.

The District received $17.8 million in federal emergency rental assistance in January. An additional $187.3 million is needed to postpone evictions and utility cutoffs for four months, according to the letter.

Tazra Mitchell, the policy director at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, said there’s an economic imperative to stopping evictions in the District as well as a moral one.

“I think that we can all agree that housing is a basic human right,” Mitchell said in an interview. “With eviction comes trauma and disruption of education, employment, as well as poor health outcomes. Right now, we’re in the state of repairing our economy and … we cannot do that if we allow tens of thousands of our neighbors to go homeless.”

Evictions disparately affect people of color, as well, Mitchell said. The District has one of the highest income gaps in the country, according to a report by the institute.

“What we know is that if we don’t use the revenue that we actually have available locally to avert our eviction crisis, that it’s Black and brown residents who are going to pay the price the most,” she said.

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CORRECTIONS In our Jan. 26 edition, the article titled “D.C. completes renovation of men’s shelter on St. Elizabeth’s campus,” the author’s name was spelled incorrectly.

In our Jan. 26 edition, the opinion article titled “Local and federal efforts aim to address the digital divide in the Washington region,” the end of the piece was cut off.

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NEWS

Opioid overdoses are at record highs. It doesn’t have to be this way

BY ARIEL BOONE Street Spirit

Michaella Jones hands out sterile supplies from the HEPPAC mobile outreach vehicle in April 2020. HEPPAC is one of few syringe exchange programs in Alameda County, and sends teams into neighborhoods to reach unhoused people who use drugs. Photo by Ariel Boone.

W

hen Thad regained consciousness, the lighting looked different and his body hurt.

He remembers getting up and walking around his encampment, where a friend called out to him and told him he looked ill.

He was overcome by nausea and vomited in a port-a-potty, then tried to lay down.

He had just survived his first opioid overdose after smoking fentanyl. The woman he smoked with administered the overdose reversal drug Narcan, to revive him and restart his breathing. Now he was in withdrawal.

“It was kind of scary afterwards to think about it, because I’d seen it happen to other people,” Thad says.

Thad is one of thousands of unhoused people who deal with substance use in Alameda County. He faces triple crises: homelessness, pandemic, and now, an overdose surge that has reached historic levels.

Approximately 50,000 people died in the United States from opioid overdoses in 2019, before the U.S. entered Covid lockdown. Provisionally, the CDC estimates that number grew to 69,000 people in 2020. In California, deaths from opioid overdoses increased 72 % during the 12-month period between February 2020 and January 2021, over the previous year.

To better understand the overdose crisis, Street Spirit spoke to over two dozen people over the course of 16 months, including unhoused people who use drugs, harm reduction advocates, county employees, and medical providers. We

followed outreach workers in North, East and West Oakland who are on the frontlines of the overdose crisis: distributing life-preserving supplies and services to people who use drugs, and advocating for the structural change they believe could prevent overdose altogether and provide dignity for people on the street.

Compounding crises: COVID fans the flames of overdose When the Bay Area went into pandemic lockdown in March 2020, Thad was 34, living unsheltered in Oakland, and using opioids. “They told us to stay within our isolated group as much as possible and not to interact with other camps, which is somewhat impossible when you’re trying to have money, and as a drug addict,” says Thad. “I felt kind of alone, or like we were just going to be left behind.”

It took two months of agitation and pressure from residents and social workers to get the city to install hand-washing stations where he was staying. A thought crossed Thad’s mind: “Oh. We’re screwed.”

Housing is inseparable from the overdose crisis. In the most recent Alameda County Point-In-Time Count in 2019, 30 % of unhoused people surveyed said they deal with drug or alcohol

use. Crucially, not all unhoused people use drugs. But for those who do, living unsheltered is often a catalyst. Being exposed to ongoing trauma can trigger drug use, or drug use at increased amounts.

“People can get lost in alcohol, drugs, anything and everything, because this is not a human way of living,” says an unhoused Berkeley resident named Ana, whose friend was found dead from a suspected overdose in June. “We need to be intoxicated in order to endure what we endure.”

The national rates of opioid overdose have never been higher, and during the pandemic, the crisis measurably worsened.

Across the United States, death rates from opioids seemed to stabilize and even decline slightly from 2017 to 2018. In fall of 2019, they began to climb. And by March of 2020, they started to skyrocket.

In Alameda County, the data shows the same: deaths and emergency department visits from opioid overdose have continued to rise, spiking at the end of 2019 and in the months when COVID lockdowns began.

This is no coincidence.

Savannah O’Neill has her finger on the pulse of overdose prevention across the United States. And in early 2020, she was nervous about an upswing in overdoses and deaths.

At the National Harm Reduction Coalition, O’Neill works to expand free syringe programs and services for people using drugs across California. She worried that social distancing requirements and fear of COVID could drive people to use

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Opioid-related deaths, which have been steadily climbing, skyrocketed as COVID swept the county. Photo courtesy of California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, September 2021.

drugs alone instead of with friends or in groups. Using alone means nobody would be present to revive someone from an overdose with the medication Narcan.

COVID pulled the rug out from under vulnerable communities, advocates say. Unhoused community members who were previously staying on the couches of friends or family may have been asked to leave when the virus hit. Libraries closed, and along with them, bathrooms and charging outlets disappeared, as did places for unhoused people to shower and do laundry.

“All of us, regardless of drug use, rely on routine to keep ourselves stable. And when that gets interrupted, that’s scary for overdose risks, for increased drug use, for different kinds of drug use, riskier behavior,” O’Neill explains. Without wireless internet and a place to charge up, how can an unhoused person attend a 12-step meeting for addiction that now takes place online?

Plus, the pandemic is a collectively traumatizing experience, she said. “And what we know about trauma and drug use is that they’re really linked together.” Traumatic events, isolation, job loss, the death of loved ones—all these things can trigger drug use, both for people who use drugs and those who have been sober for years.

But it’s not just the pandemic. The drugs on the street are also changing.

A closer look at fentanyl

Everyone agrees fentanyl is a core cause of the overdose crisis. It’s a pain reliever developed in 1959, now commonly prescribed in hospitals for severe pain and surgery recovery.

But almost all of the street supply is made in illicit labs with components manufactured in other countries, including China, Mexico, and India.

Around 40 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine, fentanyl is available for purchase in the Bay Area and penetrates the supply of other drugs.

A viral image circulated by police departments shows vials

of salt labeled heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil—a more powerful relative of fentanyl—with similar potent doses of each. Next to the spoonful of “heroin,” the fentanyl and carfentanil look like grains of sand. The message is: It takes much less fentanyl and carfentanil to get you high. And in the Bay Area, it’s increasingly concealed in the street supply of pressed pills, as well as stimulants like meth and cocaine.

Thad points out fentanyl is “cheaper than a heroin addiction,” and speculates that with widespread and increased poverty during the pandemic, more people are choosing to use it. In other words, as fentanyl and other synthetic drugs bleed into the drug supply, people begin to regularly use them too.

Thad first started using fentanyl in early 2020. The second or third time he smoked it, he says, he overdosed.

An overdose occurs when the physiological effects of a drug exceeds the body’s tolerance, overwhelming the body’s ability to keep itself alive. During an opioid overdose, a person’s breathing becomes shallow and slow. Oxygen levels drop dangerously. But overdose does not always end in death— there’s a window of time after someone takes a fatal dose of opioids where the drug naloxone can revive a person. Narcan immediately puts that person into withdrawal, evicting the opioids from receptors in the brain and taking their place for 30 to 90 minutes.

“I’ve overdosed three times in the last year to where I had to be Narcanned back to life,” Thad tells Street Spirit. “I probably would have died for sure, just from inhaling a tiny bit of smoke.

It’s crazy.”

He thinks he likely overdosed as a result of accidentally mixing fentanyl and alcohol all three times. I ask Thad if he carries naloxone, and he produces a red pouch from beneath his shirt, hanging around his neck. The medication is zipped inside—he brings it everywhere.

Some longtime drug users may choose fentanyl after building a tolerance to other opioids.

“The reason I use fentanyl is because I got tired of using needles,” says Kory, an unhoused resident of West Oakland who works as a sign flyer, twirling business advertisements

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to passers-by.

Over time, it became harder on Kory’s body to inject heroin.

“If I were to try smoking heroin, that’s not fulfilling at all.

But when I smoke fentanyl, I actually feel it,” he says, “and the needle thing has become just a nightmare when you don’t have veins.”

But despite using fentanyl himself, he wants to warn others not to start using it, saying it is very dangerous for anyone who is not a longtime user. “Keep some Narcan on you,” Kory urges. “You might save a life.”

Thad said he hopes to stop using fentanyl and try medicationassisted treatment. He describes using fentanyl as “kind of like straddling death. It’s the end of the road,” he says. “It’s tightrope-walking death, you know, to get high.”

Synthetic opioids like fentanyl have driven the increase in fatalities in recent years, representing 83 percent of fatal opioid overdoses in the United States in the 12 months ending in January 2021. In comparison, fatalities from heroin have stayed relatively constant, even declining, since 2015.

In Alameda County, the numbers show the same. In the latest data available, the fatal overdose rate from synthetic opioids just goes up, and up, and up.

In the beginning of 2020, the Alameda County Public Health Department released a fentanyl overdose health advisory, which reported “an increasing number of suspected fentanyl overdoses among persons without a history of opioid use, such as cocaine and methamphetamine users.”

At this point, any street-purchased drugs could contain fentanyl, the county says. This means that many people are consuming fentanyl unintentionally, which often leads to overdose. Seth Gomez, senior pharmacist with Alameda County Healthcare for the Homeless, says the risk factors for an overdose now include using “any drug that is acquired from the street,” including both “hard drugs” and street drugs that appear to be prescription products like Xanax.

“I think it’s in all the drug supply,” confirms Katie O’Bryant, an outreach worker with West Oakland Punks With Lunch, a volunteer harm reduction group that hands out safer drug use supplies, hygiene goods, food, and Narcan to unhoused people like Thad and Kory.

“A lot of people say it’s just been stepped on more, it’s not as good,” says the group’s founder, Ale Del Pinal. “Stepped on” connotes additives or unwanted substances being cut into someone’s drugs.

“People are overdosing, and it’s just a shame because it’s not necessary,” Del Pinal adds.

Overdose is not the necessary conclusion of drug use, advocates like Del Pinal say. The harm reduction supplies the Punks pass out, such as Narcan, provide a strong defense against the increasingly unpredictable drug supply and give people the tools they need to survive so they can choose how they want to live their lives—a choice advocates believe belongs to each of us.

What is being done?

In April 2020, Michaella Jones sat in an RV wearing two masks and sterile gloves, holding clean biohazard containers for used syringes, ready for her next visitor. A line of nine people stretched from the RV parked in a cul-de-sac in Fruitvale to an auto-repair parking lot across the street.

Jones is the coordinator for overdose prevention, education, and naloxone distribution with HEPPAC, the HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County. Throughout the week, HEPPAC dispatches workers in Oakland and Contra Costa County to distribute supplies, with the stated goal of curbing HIV and Hepatitis C transmission in the East Bay among people who use drugs. They are one in a small group

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NEWS

Opioid overdose rescue kits are distributed during HEPPAC outreach in Fruitvale. Photo by Ariel Boone.

of syringe exchange programs in Alameda County that hit the streets to deliver services in historically excluded and disenfranchised neighborhoods.

Harm reduction groups provide a critical service — health supplies, delivered without judgment, in neighborhoods that most need them. “I think they’re doing great work,” says Oakland resident LG, who gets supplies from Punks With Lunch. “They have the attitude of a proletariat worker. They take you palms up, how you are.”

A woman pulls up in a car next to the HEPPAC line. “Hey, Grandpa!” she calls out. An older man holding a brown paper bag of supplies waves to her, gets in the car, and they drive off together. Another woman stands in line to get condoms for her granddaughters. Some arrive on bicycles, others on foot or in cars with friends.

The line moves quickly as the sun sets. In the shadow of 880 and BART, more than five dozen people stop by the mobile supply station over two hours, receiving syringes, Narcan, pipes, and wellness supplies, including tinctures and balms for skin wounds from injection drug use. COVID-19 is spread through saliva, so advocates want people to avoid sharing pipes when smoking. “It’s pipe week!,” a sign proclaims to those standing in line.

While the pandemic brought unprecedented times to unhoused people who use drugs, harm reduction organizations have had to work on overdrive to keep up. West Oakland Punks With Lunch has noticed a major uptick in need for the services they provide. Founder Ale Del Pinal told Street Spirit that in one week toward the beginning of the pandemic, volunteers gave out 16,000 syringes, around double their typical distribution at that point, and many more boxes of Narcan.

And harm reduction organizations know participants are using the Narcan they distribute. “For a while, we were seeing a huge uptick in overdose reversals reported. I think we saw over 20 in one week, which was really crazy,” Del Pinal says.

Education about overdose prevention had to change to keep up with the pandemic as well. An anonymously-produced zine, Harm Reduction for People Who Use Drugs and Don’t Wanna Get Sick With Covid-19, gave practical advice: Stock up on drugs if you are worried about the supply being interrupted;

gather health supplies to cope with withdrawal symptoms; ask medical providers for extra months of take-home prescriptions for treatment medication. It also suggested asking suppliers not to carry drug baggies in their mouths and advised against sharing pipes and bongs.

Braunz E. Courtney is the executive director of HEPPAC. “Bringing the services right to where the people are at, that’s what our bread and butter is,” Courtney says. “To get in the streets and say, ‘Hey, if you’re going to do this, this is the safest way to do that.’”

Courtney celebrates any actions people take to keep themselves safe while using drugs. “Even if you’re in your most chaotic stage of use, and everything is about getting that high, getting that drug, the fact that you’re coming to the needle exchange shows that you’re taking care of yourself,” he says.

“That shows that you care enough about your health, despite what others stigmatize you as being a substance user.”

This outlook saves lives.

But government decision-making often obstructs advocates’ efforts. There’s a reason that the use and manufacture of drugs are forced underground, where drugs can be altered or cut with other substances: the war on drugs. Drug laws punish people who use drugs, and unhoused people are constantly targets for arrest.

“The war on drugs impacts our folks severely,” says Del Pinal. “They are the most impacted. They’re the ones who are suffering from infections. … All the powers that be that perpetuate stigma, that perpetuate the criminalization of people who use drugs, the criminalization of drugs themselves—that is at the root and what is to blame, and inequity in general.”

Is the government doing everything it can to save lives?

As the overdose crisis escalated during the pandemic, government officials loosened certain restrictions on accessing sterile supplies and drug treatment at the local and federal level.

According to HEPPAC, Contra Costa County lifted a limit on syringe distribution during COVID that previously required community members to present a used syringe for each sterile syringe received.

Both the state of California and Alameda County elected not to require emergency COVID housing to be “dry”: shelter in place motels allowed residents to drink and use drugs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the federal government, loosened certification restrictions for clinicians who wish to prescribe the opioid addiction treatment drug buprenorphine and allowed it to be prescribed through telemedicine for the first time during COVID. But the changes were small, and the overdose crisis was outsize.

Data shows buprenorphine prescriptions have actually decreased across Alameda County since the end of 2019, suggesting people with opioid use disorder still face significant barriers to accessing treatment that these federal changes did not remedy.

Easing these rules only scratched the surface of the kind of holistic interventions necessary to curb the overdose crisis— like devoting more money to harm reduction groups like West Oakland Punks With Lunch and HEPPAC. Even in the face of the most severe overdose crisis in recent history, harm reduction services struggle for funds and political ground. Syringe exchange programs are outright illegal in eleven states, a legacy of the Reagan era and punitive laws passed in the 1980s.

In California, some Democrats have dragged their feet to support people who use drugs.

In 2019, harm reduction advocates won $15.2 million in state funding that helped to hire vital staff for syringe access programs in rural and underserved areas. The money was approved by Governor Gavin Newsom—a move that harm reduction advocates call a huge win. Just one year before in 2018, Newsom’s predecessor Governor Jerry Brown denied the request and vetoed a bill that would have allowed San Francisco to open the first government-sanctioned supervised drug consumption site in the country, where medical staff would

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Braunz E. Courtney sits on the steps of Oakland’s Oscar Grant Plaza on August 31—HEPPAC set up a booth to commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day, giving out free food and hosting Narcan trainings. Photo courtesy of HEPPAC.

be on hand to respond to overdoses.

Brown’s veto of the drug consumption site bill was scathing. He wrote that “enabling illegal and destructive drug use will never work” and endorsed punitive measures to force people who use drugs into treatment programs.

He called the idea of safe sites “all carrot and no stick,” dehumanizing language that seemed to echo the policies of the drug war.

State lawmakers had another shot at passing safe consumption legislation this year through SB 57, introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener, which would have allowed for supervised drug consumption locations in San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles. But the Assembly Health Committee postponed the bill’s hearing until 2022 this past July, delaying the process by an entire year — disappointingly for advocates, it means the first site wouldn’t open before 2023, unless cities or counties choose to defy the state and act proactively.

Meanwhile, the federal government’s drug enforcement policies could determine the fate of safe consumption sites. The Trump administration threatened to criminally prosecute any cities who open such locations, suing a Philadelphia nonprofit that planned to open a site.

It’s not yet clear what President Joseph Biden will do.

The new administration released a list of its drug control priorities to Congress in March, which included “enhancing evidence-based harm reduction efforts.” But Biden also extended a little-known policy that preemptively criminalizes people who possess, make, or sell synthetic opioids related to fentanyl. Advocates say it’s a continuation of failed policies of the war on drugs. And federal arrest data so far shows that the people being convicted for fentanyl charges are disproportionately Black.

It’s not just a matter of drug enforcement policies.

In order to meaningfully reduce overdose in the U.S., state and federal legislators would also need to turn their attention to the affordable housing crisis. At the Harm Reduction Coalition, Savannah O’Neill says housing is “probably the thing that is most asked for” by participants in harm reduction programs, and “would make the broadest difference in people’s lives.” Unfortunately, it’s also a resource that most harm reduction groups are not able to provide. And in Congress, no large-scale relief is in sight for the half-million unhoused people in the United States.

During an outreach walk with West Oakland Punks With Lunch, a Black community member named Indiana stopped by on his bicycle to pick up food, hygiene, and safer drug use supplies for himself and his girlfriend. They live in an encampment in North Oakland. I asked him how the pandemic has been for him.

“This has been going on before. This is the pandemic,” he says, holding his supplies and gesturing to the tents up and down the block. “Prepare yourself for doom,” he finishes wryly.

The death rates in Alameda County for overdose are twice as high for African Americans as whites. To explain this, county senior pharmacist Seth Gomez points to the disproportionate rates of homelessness for Black people in Alameda County. In 2019, Black residents made up 47% of Alameda County’s 8,000-plus unhoused population, compared to 11 percent of the population overall. Several unhoused Black community members who use drugs said the same: Black residents are more likely to be unhoused than anyone else in Oakland, being unhoused exposes you to additional trauma, and trauma is linked to drug use.

If the U.S. didn’t have such an enormous crisis of homelessness, exposing hundreds of thousands to the stresses of being unsheltered, the overdose crisis would

look significantly different. Together, government action to immediately and permanently house people, an end to the war on drugs, and more funding for street outreach programs would open the door to the interventions that could meaningfully prevent overdose.

But as long as this political morass remains the status quo, grassroots harm reduction groups and their participants struggle to hold the mounting weight of the crisis.

Katie O’Bryant of Punks With Lunch says she dreams of a safer drug supply and the ability to test drugs widely.

“If drugs were legalized—if I’m dreaming big—and people could have absolutely safe supply, that would be a beautiful thing. It would save so many lives, and it would also improve the quality of people’s lives so, so much, so drastically.”

In the absence of these reforms, community members rely on each other to stay safe. The West Oakland Punks With Lunch warehouse has bins stacked high with syringes, masks, pipes, shelf-stable food and condiments, sanitizing wipes, biohazard containers, and informational flyers. Above the kitchen, a poster hangs with the words “Participants saving lives.” That’s central to their ethos.

“We’re not here to just provide a service. We want to be a part of the community and we want to give people the resources that they need to survive,” Ale Del Pinal explains.

“Literally, it’s life and death. And it takes the community to take care of themselves.”

Courtesy of Street Spirit / INSP.ngo

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NEWS

Child homelessness is on the rise. Schools may just be seeing the ‘tip of the iceberg.’

Advocates fear the end of the federal eviction moratorium will cause a spike in student homelessness.

BY COREY MITCHELL Center for Public Integrity

This story was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity.

During the pandemic’s first year, schools across the country lost track of more than 400,000 homeless students.

As schools reopened their doors for in-person learning this year, the number of students identified as homeless began to creep back up.

But with the end of the federal eviction moratorium, there are fears that the problem is worse than it appears on the surface.

And that more children are disconnected from two anchors in their lives — school and home.

“With the disruptions that we saw last year, and now new disruptions, we’re concerned that whatever schools are observing is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on homeless education.

That concern is evident in school districts in cities such as San Diego, California, and Richmond, Virginia, that are bracing for more evictions that would uproot families or struggling to locate students who disappeared during the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Education released $800 million in additional grants last year to help K-12 schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. But the funding has yet to reach many school districts because of bureaucratic tie-ups and slow-moving state legislatures.

Experiencing homelessness can have grave consequences for a child’s future: youth who live through it are far less likely to graduate high school and far more likely to experience it later in life.

Marcella Middleton knows the struggle firsthand. She experienced homelessness as a child and young adult and is now co-director of A Way Home America, a nonprofit focused on youth homelessness.

“There’s the assumption that the broader society has that once you’re an adult, it’s really on you. You have to get yourself together because you’re grown now,” Middleton said.

“But it’s like, well, if I experienced these things while I was young and trying to figure things out, that’s going to impact how I navigate life as an adult.”

The Center for Public Integrity interviewed Duffield and Middleton about how the pandemic made it tougher to identify students experiencing homelessness and what the government can do to identify and support families.

Why have schools struggled to identify children experiencing homelessness during the pandemic?

Duffield: “The pandemic and disruptions in learning really masked how many students are experiencing homelessness.

Certainly, we know that the housing crisis has not gotten significantly better. We know there was a slow start to the rent relief distribution, and that’s still a lot of barriers there. We know that the eviction moratorium, the federal one was lifted, and have concerns about that. All of the systemic drivers of homelessness have not been abated, so, yes, we would expect that. But, in terms of our ability to actually know, it’s been very challenging.”

Middleton: “The pandemic has shut off so much of

Children working on assignments in a classroom. Photo courtesy of CDC.

a connection that young people had. Resources and the connectivity to that for young people were already scarce. And so, when the pandemic hit, a lot of young people were shut off from the world and just shut off from different resources just because of the way we had to navigate based on policies [designed] to keep people safe.”

other places if I don’t have anywhere safe to lay my head?”

What happens when students experience homelessness?

Duffield: “I would say that it’s way too early to know the ultimate impact [of federal funding], but what we’re hopeful about is that many districts that never had dedicated funding before, will, for the first time, have some funding specifically targeted for identifying and supporting these students.

The districts that did have some funding before now have significantly more, so they can up their game and increase their capacity to support these students. We hope that they will allow schools to not just meet the needs of the day, and identify more students, but also really show what can be done on a longer-term basis.”

Middleton: “The pandemic has done a good job of showing us the things that we were fighting for before, like direct cash payments to young people experiencing homelessness … was something that we could do. We’d been fighting for that before the pandemic. And we kept getting, “No, no, no.” Now the pandemic has convinced people this is something we can do.

That’s really important, to assess the things that the pandemic has forced out into the open that can actually be done.”

Duffield: “If you don’t know where you’re going to stay every night, at least being able to go to the same school gives you some sense of stability, and normalcy, and routine. So, it becomes an oasis when everything else is turned upside down. School becomes that much more important. At the same time, it becomes very challenging to keep that oasis in focus. Because, you’re worried about where you’re going to sleep, you’re worried about what’s happening to your parents or your siblings, you may not know if you’re going to have supper that night. The stressors that accompany homelessness do make their way into the classroom, and of course, there’s a big challenge with just regular attendance.”

Middleton: “You fall immediately into this fight or flight mode, which creates a lot of toxic stress. It’s hard for you to focus on day-to-day things. For me at the time, going to school, making sure my family was okay, going to work, focusing on those things were really hard because I was in this fight or flight mode because I was experiencing homelessness. How can I focus and function on all these other things and all these

How can federal funding support students who are experiencing homelessness?

* Public Integrity edited the conversations for length and clarity.

This story was originally published by the Center for Public Integrity.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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Remembering Latishia Wynn

BY JEM DYSON Editorial Intern

L

atishia Wynn, a beloved mother, grandmother, daughter and fiancée, died Jan. 16 at the age of 51. She died from a heart attack, according to her mother Diane Jones.

“She was my right hand,” Jones said. “No matter what the task was, I could depend on her.”

Wynn was born in D.C. on Nov. 28, 1970. Despite doctors discovering Wynn had mental disabilities, she overcame every challenge. Wynn participated in the Special Olympics, got married and had three children.

Wynn always wanted to be a mother, Jones said, who remembers her daughter telling her, “I just want to be a mommy like you.”

All of Latishia’s children graduated from high school, two went to college and one attended graduate school. Latishia is also survived by two grandchildren, with a third soon to be born.

“She felt to be the kind of a person who was surrounded by family,” Thomas Ratliff, the director of vendor employment at Street Sense Media, said. Starting in 2015, Wynn was a member of the Writers’ Group, participated in art and theater and sold papers.

Wynn was extremely proud of the work she did for Street Sense Media, her daughter Tiffany Kirkland said.

Wynn wrote about her favorite times of the year, her family and her goals for Street Sense Media.

“My goal is to own my own bakery with cakes and cookies, pies and maybe ice cream,” she wrote in a 2016 piece titled “My Resolution.” Wynn also wrote about wanting to improve her reading skills through workshops.

Her later writings are longer and more detailed. She wrote about her experiences living in shelters. “Ever since I’ve been homeless,” she wrote in 2017, “it’s teaching me how to be independent and how to take care of myself, like saving money.”

Wynn lived in shelters because she wanted to live on her own, Jones said.

“She could have come home anytime,” Jones said.

Still, Wynn wrote fondly about her time living at House of Ruth, a women’s, children’s and family shelter near Thomas Circle where she liked to watch the news. At her previous shelter she liked to watch “Law & Order” and “Criminal Minds.” She had friends there, but she was excited to live at House of Ruth because she had the opportunity to meet new women. At House of Ruth, she woke up later and she had her own closet. Wynn felt independent, she wrote in a 2017 article.

She felt strong.

Wynn also spent time working at a mail facility off of New York Avenue where she packed and addressed mail, Jones said.

Wynn had done maintenance work at a seafood spot at the Wharf, too.

In 2018, Wynn wrote about her new apartment. Family, friends, and Street Sense Media vendors joined her for a housewarming party. She expressed gratitude for the Lord’s help. Wynn’s mother is a pastor whose sermons had inspired Latishia’s faith, Kirkland said.

Obtaining an apartment was not easy for Wynn, Julie Turner said. Turner is a social worker with The Downtown Cluster of Congregations Homeless Services Unit. Wynn did not fit the criteria to be housed through coordinated assessment and housing placement for single individuals, or coordinated entry, because she had not been living in shelters or on the streets.

“It’s an exercise in social work gymnastics to get them housed based on homlessness criteria,” Turner said in reference to unhoused people like Wynn who do not fit the definition of homlessness required to qualify for coordinated entry. However, with Turner’s help and the help of Street Sense Media case manager, Colleen Cosgriff, Wynn was placed in shelters long

Latishia Wynn. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Kirkland

enough to qualify for housing. Wynn was patient through the process and was happy with her apartment, Turner said.

“A lot of her patience came from having a place to be [at Street Sense Media],” Turner said. “Being able to focus on something other than her housing situation.”

However, Wynn may have been living at a group home in 2019 when she returned to Street Sense Media with her fiancé George Gray, Ratliff said. Gray is also a vendor.

“She was my queen and everything,” Gray said. “She was like a guardian angel to me.” The pair had planned to marry on Valentine’s Day. “I also love Valentine’s Day, showing and giving love to someone,” Wynn wrote in 2017.

Wynn continued to sell papers for Street Sense Media through the end of 2021. Former Street Sense Media Editorial Director Eric Falquero recalled Wynn’s presence at the monthly vendor meeting in December. After Falquero had announced his departure from Street Sense media, Wynn shared encouraging words which inspired other vendors to speak up. Falquero described Wynn as quiet and kind.

But Wynn would not have wanted others to cry over her death, Kirkland said. If she were still around she would have told her daughter, “Smile, pooh bear.”

Wynn was known for smiling even through pain, Jones said.

She was a pleasant, easy-going person.

“When I would see her I would get happy because she was bubbly all the time,” Ratliff said.

Wynn was a lover of crossword puzzles, horror movies and the color pink. But most of all she loved her family. Her favorite food was pizza because of Sunday pizza dinners where her family talked about gardening or planning family vacations.

She will be missed by her children Tiffany, Joy and Darrell Jr., her grandchildren Xavier, Darnell III and Grace, her mother Diane Jones, her fiancé George Gray and her friends at Street Sense Media.

Family and friends will commemorate Wynn’s life with a service at Mc Laughlin Funeral Home at 2518 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Friday Feb. 4, 2022. The viewing starts at 10 a.m.

There will also be a memorial hosted by Street Sense Media at a date to be determined.

“I really enjoyed her when she was around,” Ratliff said.

“She added to our community through her warmth and kindness and openness and I’m really going to miss her.”

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OPINION

Families deserve specialized services to end homelessness

BY JAMILA LARSON

A

fter discovering more than two decades ago that there were 20 children living a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol in the Community for Creative Nonviolence shelter, I took a tour. I was not prepared to find such sparse living spaces — not to mention rat holes. Despite the children hanging out in the hallways, I didn’t spot a single toy. So lawyer Gina Kline and I rallied friends and recruited volunteers to establish a playroom. Each week, we offered activities, snacks and supplies during two hours of playtime. Laughter, music and joyful sounds of childhood filled the hallways.

“Playtime” was born.

Homeless Children’s Playtime Project was created to cultivate resilience in children experiencing family homelessness by providing and expanding access to transformative play experiences. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is critical to the “cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children.” Despite its tremendous importance and benefits, some children have precious little access to play — especially children experiencing homelessness.

Shelter stays have decreased lately, while the use of temporary rapid rehousing vouchers has increased. This has

made it challenging for Playtime to offer our usual traumainformed programs, which seek to increase resiliency by providing opportunities for children to learn and heal through play, and which also empower children to make choices, express themselves, relate to others and find support.

In response, we’ve adapted our services. But we know that housing and play are just the beginning. To truly end homelessness, it is crucial to include children in the District’s rapid rehousing case management models.

The rapid rehousing model was designed for single adults. However, over the last three decades, there has been a tremendous increase in homelessness among parents with children. Throughout the homeless service system, children’s unique needs have all too often been overlooked. Once in rapid rehousing, it is often common not to know how kids are doing — but a child should never be “out of sight, out of mind.” We believe that any program model providing temporary housing to families in transition must include services focused on the unique needs of children, the comprehensive needs of the parents and the well-being of the family. These are the building blocks of family stability.

With shelters no longer serving as hubs for most families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, communitybased sites are the next best place to reach our target population.

In February, Playtime will pilot two new community-based program models, a school-based model at Ward 7’s J.C. Nalle Elementary School, and “Pop-Up” Family Playtime at outdoor and indoor community spaces for those experiencing housing insecurity in the D.C. area. Pop-Up events will include family activities, play kits, information about Playtime’s services, supplies for parents like diapers and grocery gift cards and special guests. The program will be full-service, with a twiceweekly program schedule, social work services, emergency referrals and support, play kits and educational advocacy.

Play opportunities are not only important for children.

They’re also a portal to support services for families, so that they may benefit from community resources and meet their critical-service needs. Staff coordinate referrals, linkages and emergency supplies and case management, and when needed, individualized advocacy for education, mental health and other social service access. We rely on the latest research and best practices in the areas of child and family social work, education, child development and homeless services and policy.

We go where the children are and where the need is. No matter where families live, children deserve the chance to play, now more than ever!

Jamila Larson is executive director and co-founder of Homeless

Who is Steve Bannon and why is he so dangerous to American democracy?

BY JEFF TAYLOR

F

or those who are not political junkies like myself, you may be only vaguely familiar with the name Stephen Bannon. Let me bring you up to speed.

He helped found and then led Breitbart News, an extremist, right-wing, fearmongering website full of anti-American liberal haters and conspiracy theorists. He ran Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. In his role as vice president of Cambridge Analytica, a data firm owned by conservative multi-millionaires, Bannon allegedly undertook an aggressive disinformation campaign that cultivated more votes for Trump while depressing votes for Hillary Clinton. (And let us not forget that Clinton did in fact win the popular vote by 3 million votes.)

And now, he’s the guy whom Congress held in contempt for failing to cooperate with the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Currently, Bannon broadcasts a daily podcast appropriately named 'The War Room' where he has been calling for Trump supporters to fill the ranks of poll workers, poll watchers, precinct captains and the entire election apparatus in order to assure votes are counted and certified favorably to Republican candidates.

On his show, Bannon recently discussed the notion of a national divorce between red and blue states with whackadoodle U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, who was all in on the idea.

(I confess the idea is not unappealing.) But Bannon threw cold

water on such a prospect. And why wouldn't he? A peaceful separation between the states, as practical as it may sound, would be extremely difficult to work out logistically and equitably. And why separate when Republican extremists can steal the whole ball of wax by taking over the entire election process?

Bannon has a very significant following. Ideologically speaking, long before Trump came on the scene, there was Steve Bannon. Bannon is not a vessel for Trumpism. Trump is the vessel for Bannonism. He's malevolent and quite intelligent, possessing a Harvard degree. He knows just what buttons to

push to keep his minions foaming at the mouth.

He's smart and dangerous and as one of the main architects of the attempted coup of the 2020 election, he should be charged as harshly as anyone complicit in those treasonous events. We underestimate him at our own peril.

Jeff Taylor is a vendor with Street Sense Media.

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

- Want to share firsthand experience?

- Interested in responding to what someone else has written?

Street Sense Media has maintained an open submission policy since our founding.

We aim to elevate voices from across the housing spectrum and foster healthy debate.

Please send submissions to opinion@streetsensemedia.org.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

// 11

Discombobulated

I can make a difference in 2022

Artist/Vendor

Artist/Vendor

BY REDBOOK MANGO

Discombobulated - the dipper is dipped I am discombobulated cause Your girl just tripped You savor the flavor You want it now and later Your body is yearning Your mind is churning You continuously pray It’s gotta be a better way You’re all whacked up With no time to get up Hold on to your seats It’s about to get deep It’s the turning of the stars “Do you know who we are?”

Celebrity impersonated Memories penetrated You think it’s X-rated We swimming, but can’t face it We’re all trained up Performing for you Discombobulated it’s all about you Now what we do discombobulated I see the truth, they flip & reverse We trying to break the curse It’s no hold on the bars You know who we are They stole my identity now They trying to kill me Discombobulated faded as memories Why they keep sitting and waiting and hoping for something Because they have nothing what will they do and who will they chose Discombobulated It’s all about you

BY ABEL PUTU

I have a lot of goals this year. I want the Washington Wizards to have a wheelchair basketball team and for the NRH Punishers to be recognized in D.C. and nationally. I want us to be a professional league, to play at the Capital One Arena and take our game overseas to inspire disabled people around the world.

My other goal is to move to Old Street Market. My apartment was flooded in 2018 and 2020. I’m waiting for the D.C. Housing Department to inspect the place at Old Street Market. Downtown D.C. is more accessible than the area near my apartment. I’m tired of waiting. I’ve been trying for three years to live downtown.

Change has got to come.

I’ll be glad for people to hear my story, and I want ESPN and NBA players to hear it. You can get in contact with me through Street Sense Media or @nrhpunishersbball on Instagram. You can also look up my story on Street Sense Media’s YouTube.

If somebody sneezes on you, don’t sneeze back

BY ROCHELLE WALKER Artist/Vendor

I had a vision today that God wants all people to be free. We all have fears. We shall overcome them.

I am alive today even as a pandemic is changing our lives. I am living in a time of masks, of needles, of a virus, and a vaccine. People all over are telling me that Black Lives Matter while I tell them that everybody’s life matters.

We have been keeping six feet apart from each other since March 2020. People have since started saying, “If you didn’t get the vaccine, don’t go near me.”

If you are hot with fever, stay back, people. It’s

pandemic times. Here’s what I have to say about COVID-19.

C = Christ is Christ O = Overcome V = Victory I = In D = Disease This Covid-19 virus won’t win.

Go all the way

BY AYUB ABDUL Artist/Vendor

Some days things don't seem to go right no matter what you do, it's like you get the blues You'll never succeed in anything unless you go all the way There's an old saying “half measures veils us nothing" What good is it to start something and you never finish it?

You can never win if you begin something and you stop.

Those old folks were right when they wrote "losers never win and winners always win" You must ask yourself, “Am I a winner or am I a loser? I need to go all the way to be a winner.”

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ART

When mental becomes physical

BY CHRIS COLE Artist/Vendor

Years ago I rushed myself to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. Although I’m relatively young, I am overweight, female, and Black.Years of drinking and drugging put me at an increased risk for heart problems… so off to the hospital I went.

My heart was racing, my chest tightened more and more every few minutes. I was sure I was dying as I had felt a few sharp pains in my heart. I was scared and murmuring prayers as the doctors hooked me up to their monitors.

After some time had passed, I started to feel better as my chest opened up, and I could breathe freely again. A young male doctor with a kind face, and gentle disposition came and sat on the end of my bed. He surprised me by saying that I had not just suffered from a heart attack, but a panic attack…also known as an anxiety attack. I was shocked because I had never dealt with anything mental health related, but I was confused. How could something that is supposed to be mental mimic the physical symptoms of a heart attack?

The doctor told me that the body tenses during these attacks as a response to stress in order to protect you from danger. These things happen as your body misinterprets anxiety and responds with its flight or fight response of physical changes like the shallow breathing. Your body does this so it can take in more oxygen. The doctor told me that these attacks last about 20 minutes and that I could beat these attacks and learn my triggers with therapy, and by learning coping skills, as well as taking some medication.

This is one of my first memories of dealing with mental health and realizing that it’s not all in my head. Mind, body, spirit­-- they are all connected and deserve your attention.

I still suffer from these attacks, but now they happen a couple of times a year. I work with a psychiatrist to guide me through my ever-changing mental health. If you have anxiety I urge you to research and try coping skills such as breathing exercises and meditation to manage your stress levels. If it worked for me, it can definitely help you too.

A poem to this omicron virus

BY QUEENIE L. FEATHERSTONE

Artist/Vendor

“You Are” O = Oppressive M = Murdering People I = Incapable C = Crude R = Rude O = Outrageous N = Nuisance “You are not liked” “You must take a hike” “You should be gone this very night” BYE!!!

QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE

Remembering my birthday

BY JEFFERY J. CARTER Artist/Vendor

Having a birthday is like a New Year’s celebration or a Christmas celebration for someone new coming into the world. My birthday is another day to see a New Year’s celebration of living. Family and friends come together to celebrate another year of life that you live. Our life is a gift from God that we celebrate everyday in prayer, thanking God for life daily. So when our birthday comes, we are thankful and grateful for another year of life. That’s the meaning of birthdays.

Martin Luther King Day

BY CARLOS D. CAROLINA Artist/Vendor

The Martin Luther King Day “Peace Walk’ was from the Frederick Douglass Bridge, down Martin Luther King Avenue to a park over on Good Hope Road.

The walk was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s son, Martin Luther King III. The day was cold on Jan. 17, 2022, when I left the house on a bike. I traveled from my mom’s apartment building in Southwest Washington D.C., and headed towards the new Frederick Douglass Bridge.

As I passed the National Ball Park stadium I started to think to myself that it would be really nice if we can one day have a show there, but the thought left my mind as I arrived at the bridge. I started to see small groups of people holding signs. Most of the signs said something about “Peace, Love and Hope.”

I also saw a bunch of quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. Small groups of people melded together with other small groups of people to form a larger crowd. I was amazed by the diversity of the people in the crowd.

Dr. King was truly loved by everyone.

I listened as live bands played the distinct sound of Go-Go music played by the Washingtonians (the people of the city) and I heard people chanting “This is what democracy looks like!”

When I got to the stage on Good Hope Road Southeast there was a man schooling people on how you can keep yourself protected from COVID-19.

This pandemic really has everyone on edge. A lot of people have been avoiding large crowds including myself. But that day was different and I am really glad I went out.

The walk was very peaceful. One thing that I learned was that the Martin Luther King Day walk in Washington, D.C. is called the “Peace Walk.” Born and raised in Washington, D.C., I am still learning about this great man. I am looking forward to the next peace walk of 2023.

STREETSENSEMEDIA.ORG

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From the Mitten To Maryland part II

BY CORTNEY R. SIGNOR Artist/Vendor

The Lord blessed me with a caring heart, and I put that to use in D.C. The second week of my adventure from the Mitten state to the D.M.V. consisted of many trials, culture shocks and blessings. I slept in my car at night, every night. I traveled around to find the resources that I needed to survive and to get myself off the streets.

I took my dog Buffy exploring the nation’s capital with me and she turned many heads. The third evening of the second week, it got very cold and I was out of fuel. Down on my luck, I searched for shelter. I was accepted into the Harriett Tubman Women’s Shelter in D.C. It was here that the Lord began to show me that case management sometimes doesn’t even know what resources are available to the general public, as many of them have never stood in the situations that we are in.

My case manager tried to send me somewhere to get my depression medication filled, however that was an hour wasted and money spent. If you don’t have insurance and you’re awaiting Medicaid or Medicare, your only option is to go to

the local emergency room and get a three-day supply. This was the start of my very long stride for services to the unfortunate.

For me to go to the local emergency room it took two buses and a nine-hour wait each time. I lost my spot in the shelter.

The next morning, I prayed and searched for another place to stay. Every day while I was in the shelter, they refused to let my dog, which is an emotional support animal, stay with me.

Then I found a day shelter - the Georgetown Ministry Center. The staff here are highly friendly, and I would put it at the top of the drop-in centers in the D.M.V. area. You don’t have to be from D.C. to receive the services here, and the meals are awesome.

I met a man in the shelter named D. He helped me find my way around the city, and showed me all the shelters that were available. I didn’t qualify for any of the overnight shelters because I am not a legal resident of D.C. I had to go to the Department of Human Services and apply for residency with the help of Miriam’s Kitchen.

The third night it got cold, Buffy was cold too, so D offered us to stay in his tent. Buffy slept in between us. She was a good doggie! The evenings got cold, but hand warmers and multiple sleeping bags donated from Miriam’s Kitchen kept us snug.

I stayed the rest of the week in this tent. I worked on getting a job while I stayed here. I went to G.M.C. Every morning I had my meal, applied for jobs, and got affiliated with Street Sense Media. The man I stayed with referred me for services, and Street Sense Media did all they could to help me and I am grateful. I also got an approval letter for food and medical insurance this same week, and had a blessed service Sunday at church.

Embrace a new form of communication in 2022

BY MICHELE ROCHON Artist/Vendor

Do you see your glass as half empty or half-full? It’s all about perspective.

Don’t allow fear of the unknown become an impediment to you. Find a new way to interact with people this year. Go online, join a book club, attend a meeting or get involved with a prayer circle.

Spend some time walking outside and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. Make a conscious effort everyday to develop a spirit of gratitude and find that one thing that is beautiful to you.

I chose to find something beautiful everywhere I am located. There’s a playground by my home where young families go to play, and watching them brings me joy.

So much for public transportation

The Gift of Street Sense

BY JACQUELINE TURNER Artist/Vendor

I believe the gift that this place offers is special. We as vendors get the chance to speak our minds. We also have a part in the community to give news. No, we are not a big news outlet but we do offer opinion a lot. It’s great to have the opportunity to be a part of this special place where I can voice my concerns or opinions and help with spreading the weekly news and to connect with old and new friends. This place itself is very helpful to me by letting me voice my concerns and help me with life-related issues such as food stamp recertification and housing. You can also Google me on your device too. Follow my writing, and please don’t forget to donate to Street Sense Media or Marcus McCall #643.

So much for public transportation. When Metro pulled the trains for the inspection, that made people depend more on the bus system which had to add more buses because people didn’t want to be packed in together. So, they waited with less people. This made the whole system slow. And then, the city started running it on a holiday weekend schedule and sometimes, people have to wait up to two hours for the bus. So a lot of people had to leave two hours early for a hour and half trip that turns out to be four hours.

BY MARCUS MCCALL Artist/Vendor

OnlineCrosswords.net

1 4 // S T R E E T S E N S E M E D I A // F E B . 2 - 8 , 2 022

FUN & GAMES

This is the Daily Crossword Puzzle #1 for Jan 12, 2022

Find the solution at https://onlinecrosswords.net/6905

Across Across

1. Brought to life

1. Brought to life 5. Black lacquer 5. Black lacquer 10. Approach shot, perhaps Novice Sudoku Puzzles, Volume 1, Book 1 10. Approach shot, perhaps 14. Soothing additive 14. Soothing additive 15. Quickly 15. Quickly 16. Showed respect, in a 16.way Showed respect, in a way 17. Ripken or his son 17. Ripken or his son 20. Mark of the serpent 20. Mark of the serpent 21. “The City Without Clocks” 21. "The City Without 22. Word from the hostess Clocks" 23. 100 mg, say 22. Word from the hostess 24. Archaeological trip 23. 100 mg, say 25. One way to get a message across 24. Archaeological trip Novice Sudoku Volume 1, Book 1 31. Life ofPuzzles, ___ 25. One way to get a 32. It may have valves Sudoku #1 Sudoku #2 message across 33. Ben, in a film 5 1 7 8 4 6 9 3 2 2 31.

6 Life 9 4 35.

1 of7 ___5 8 3 Scratch 32. It may have valves Whacked, 6 3 2 5 7 9 8 4 1 6 8 36.

7 33.

5 3 Bible-style 2 4 9 1 Ben, in a film 38.

53, to Ovid 3 1 5 35.

8 Scratch 9 4 6 2 7 8 4 9 1 3 2 6 7 5 39. Mystique 36.

Whacked, 1 6 8 7 5 3 2 9 4 2 5 40.

4 9 8 Covered 7 6 1 3 Bible-style 38. 53, to Ovid “Still Me” 4 3 41.

6 39.

9 Mystique 2 8author 7 1 5 4 7 5 2 9 8 1 6 3 Quarter back?

7 9 42.

3 Covered 2 9 3 6 1 4 5 8 7 1 40.

4 5 2 6 8 46. Tommy follower?

7 8 1 4 6 5 3 2 9 8 2 47.

1 "Still 7 Me" 6 9author 3 41.

5 4 Mixture 6. Culmination 34. Link 42. Quarter back?

Down 7. Normal lead-in 36. Long narrow opening 3 2 4 9 8 1 7 5 6 5 7 48.

4 Descendent 2 8 9 1 3 6 46. Tommy follower?

1.Top Sheep-herding pig of 43. Wears away 23. Picked a37. card 51.

Obsolescent PC environment 8. parts of suits iBook, for example 9 5 6 3 2 7 4 1 8 1 6 9 47.

4 Mixture 5 3 8 7 2 film 44.

Signaled approval 24.

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Restorative retreat 9.

Paleo opposite 38.

Child’s building block © 2013 KrazyDad.com Descendent 2. Kingly circumstances 45. Bonds after splitting?

56.48.

Grace Stafford was his mouthpiece 10.

Wince name 40. Sidekick 51.

Obsolescent PC Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3. Persona 25. Eyelashes 48. Type of meet Initial wager 11.

Something funny 41. Paycheck enhancer Sudoku #3 all of the digits 1 thru 9.

Sudoku59.#4 3-by-3 block contain 4. Fishpound, 26. Clock function 60.environment Period of indulgence 12. ___ of Wight for one 43. Wears away 49. Chocolate or vanilla 6 8 4 retreat 9 3 4use7logic3you9can6solve8 the5puzzle 1 without 2 5 2 61.

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block 40. Sidekick 41. Paycheck enhancer

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

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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

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 ID (Friday 9am–12pm only) foundryumc.org/ministry-opportunities

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.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

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

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOTLINE Línea de salud del comportamiento

1-888-793-4357

Laundry Lavandería

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

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

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

JOB BOARD

Server IHOP // 3100 14th Street NW

Full-time / Part-time IHOP is looking for someone to serve guests,

communicate food orders and service requests, and clear and reset tables after guests leave.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/server-IHOP Busser The Cheesecake Factory // 1426 H Street NW

Full-time / Part-time The Cheesecake Factory is looking

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

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

// 1 5

for someone to bus tables and support Cheesecake servers by refilling drinks and clearing plates.

REQUIREMENTS: Must be able to lift 50lbs APPLY: tinyurl.com/Cheesecake-Busser Cashier Panera Bread // 1750 H Street NW

Full-time / Part-time Panera Bread is looking for someone to

welcome customers, ring up orders accurately, and deliver excellent customer service.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/Cashier-Panera Advocacy Manager Miriam’s Kitchen // 2401 Virginia Ave NW

Full-time Miriam’s Kitchen is looking for and Advocacy Manager to lead the development and implementation of advocacy strategies to address root causes of DC’s homelessness crisis.

EXPERIENCE: 2-5 years in community

organizing, advocacy, policy, communications, or social justice movements.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/MK-Advocacy-Manager Housekeeper Full-time

Homewood Suites Crestline Hotels and Resorts // 1475 Massachusetts Avenue NW

Homewood Suites is looking for someone to

perform cleaning duties to include making bes, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/Homewood-Housekeeper 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

SENSE STREET MEDIA Real Stories Real People Real Change

Thank you!

BY JULIENNE KENGNIE Artist/Vendor

I want to thank all my kind hearted customers from January 2022. I am always happy to see you at Eastern Market. I wish you all a good start to the month of February. May the Lord protect you and bring you all long lives filled with many happy years. I love you all so very much. My vendor badge number is 547.

Overcoming challenges

BY DANIEL BALL Artist/Vendor

Last year, I missed the bus to get to my job at Wendy’s on time. But how did I overcome this challenge? I overcame it by asking my brother and sister to take me to work so that I could be there on time. So now what did I learn from this experience? I learned to take my job more seriously. I want to become a manager someday at Wendy's. Stop by and have yourself some good food to eat at Wendy's.

Friends

BY JEMEL FLEMING Artist/Vendor

Eric is a good person that worked for Street Sense. He answered phones and worked with management. I wish him the best at WAMU, the NPR radio station. I wish him well after resigning from Street Sense. He always made himself available in all kinds of different situations and he helped me out a lot at Dupont Circle in Northwest Washington D.C.

Thank you for reading Street Sense!

From your vendor, FEB. 2 - 8, 2022 | VOLUME 19 ISSUE 11

Family togetherness

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

BY BRIANNA BUTLER Artist/Vendor

Families stick together through thick and thin. We go through life at its best and worst. We hold up each other’s hearts and fill each other with joy.

It's exciting to go through the wintery white breeze playing with sleds and skis, sliding down streets of silver with Snickers bars in one hand and chips and soda in the other hand. As we go indoors, we shake the snowflake crystals off our gold and blue hats, and stomp around like a sorority stepper on our welcome mats.

In a hurry, we clean our homes for the fast arriving company who will congregate at enormous tables with gold trim plates and glasses. When they come through the door we hug each one of them. We reminisce about life and talk about how we can conquer life’s obstacles with our heads held up high. We laugh and have a good time both inside and out in the great outdoors.

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