06.07.2023

How It Works

Each vendor functions as an independent contractor for Street Sense Media, managing their own business to earn an income and increase stability in their life.

NO CASH? NO PROBLEM.

VENDOR CODE OF CONDUCT

goes directly to your vendor, empowering them to overcome homelessness and poverty

As self-employed contractors, our vendors follow a code of conduct.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

INTERESTED IN BEING A VENDOR? New vendor training: every Tuesday and Thursday // 2 p.m. // 1317 G St., NW

The Street Sense Media Story, #MoreThanANewspaper

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

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

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

1317 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347 - 2006 streetsensemedia.org

info@streetsensemedia.org

VENDORS

Abel Putu, Aida Peery, Akindele Akerejah, Amia Walker, Amina Washington, Andre Brinson, Andrew Anderson, Angie Whitehurst, Anthony Carney, Archie Thomas, August Mallory, Beverly Sutton, Brianna Butler, Carlos Carolina, Carlton Johnson, Carol Motley, Charles Armstrong, Chon Gotti, Chris Cole, Chon Gotti, Conrad Cheek, Corey Sanders, Daniel Ball, David Snyder, Debora Brantley, Degnon (Gigi) Dovonou, Don Gardner, Dominique Anthony, Donté Turner, Doris Robinson, Earl Parker, Eric Thompson-Bey, Erica Downing, Evelyn Nnam, Floyd Carter, Franklin Sterling, Frederic John, Freedom, Gerald Anderson, Greta Christian, Henrieese Roberts, John Alley, Henry Johnson, Ivory Wilson, Jacqueline “Jackie” Turner, Jacquelyn Portee, James Davis, Jeanette Richardson, Jeff Taylor, Jeffery McNeil, Jeffrey Carter, Jemel Fleming, Jenkins Daltton, Jennifer McLaughlin, Jermale McKnight, Jet Flegette, Jewel Lewis, John Alley, John Littlejohn, Josie Brown, Juliene Kengnie, Katrina Anige, Kenneth Middleton, Khadijah Chapman, Kym Parker, L. Morrow, Laura Smith, Lawrence Autry, Levester Green, Mango Redbook, Marcus McCall, Mark Jones, Marc Grier, Mars, Martin Walker, Mary Sellman, Maurice Spears, Melody Byrd, Michael Craig, Michael Warner, Michele Modica, Michele Rochon, Morgan Jones, Nikila Smith, Patricia Donaldson, Patty Smith, Phillip Black, Queenie Featherstone, Rashawn Bowser, Reggie Jones, Reginald Black, Reginald C. Denny, Ricardo Meriedy, Richard “Mooney” Hart, Rita Sauls, Robert Warren, Rochelle Walker, Ron Dudley, Ronald Smoot, Sasha Williams, Shuhratjon Ahmadjonov, Susan Westmoreland, Susan Wilshusen, Sybil Taylor, Vennie Hill, Warren Stevens, Wendell Williams, William Mack

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mary Coller Albert, Blake Androff, Nana-Sentuo Bonsu, Jonquilyn Hill, Stanley Keeve, Clare Krupin, Ashley McMaster, Matt Perra, Michael Phillips, Daniel Webber, Shari Wilson, Corrine Yu

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Brian Carome

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Doris Warrell

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS

Darick Brown

DIRECTOR OF VENDOR EMPLOYMENT

Thomas Ratliff

VENDOR PROGRAM ASSOCIATES

Aida Peery, Clifford Samuels, Chon Gotti

VENDOR PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS

Roberta Haber, Ann Herzog, Madeleine McCollough, Dylan Onderdonksnow, Amelia Stemple, Tyler Bruno

MANAGER OF ARTISTIC WORKSHOPS

Maria Lares

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Will Schick

DEPUTY EDITOR

Kaela Roeder

PRODUCTION EDITOR

Athiyah Azeem

STAFF REPORTER

Annemarie Cuccia

EDITORIAL INTERNS

Cole Kindiger Jessica Rich

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

Ariane Mohseni (Film), Bonnie Naradzay (Poetry), David Serota (Illustration), Lalita Clozel (Film), Willie Schatz (Writing), Leslie Jacobson (Theater), Roy Barber (Theater)

ARTS EDITOR (VOLUNTEER)

Austine Model

OPINION EDITOR (VOLUNTEER)

Candace Montague

EDITORIAL VOLUNTEERS

Josh Axelrod, Ryan Bacic, Lilah Burke, Chelsea Ciruzzo, Lenika Cruz, Alison Henry, Kathryn Owens, Andrew Siddons

The Cover

PHOTO AND COVER DESIGN BY ATHIYAH AZEEM

Metro’s new fare discount for lowincome riders begins June 20. Here’s how to register

JORDAN PASCALE DCist/WAMU

SSM FAMILY UPDATES

• Street Sense Media is going to the Nationals game on Friday, June 16, at 7 p.m. See Thomas if you want to go!

• The Street Sense Media photography book launch will be Thursday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the Navy Yard Dacha Beer Garden. No food or drink will be provided.

• The June vendor meeting will be Friday, June 23, at 2 p.m. Come for pizza and fellowship!

• Receive extra newspapers for referring someone you know to new vendor orientation. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 p.m.

• Vendors continue to receive free papers for proof of vaccination.

BIRTHDAYS

Jet Flegette

June 12

Low-income residents who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will qualify for a new Metro half-off fare discount. The program, called Metro Lift, starts June 20.

Metro has long wanted to launch a program for poorer residents of the region as a way to reduce the cost burden of using public transit.

“Low-income households are the most likely to be burdened by the costs of using public transit, the most likely to forego using transit due to cost, and the least likely to have alternative travel options,” Metro wrote back in 2019. Metro has mulled the idea but approved the program in its budget earlier this year.

The transit agency estimates more than 90,000 riders will benefit from Metro Lift, which is estimated to cost about $4 million, but is expected to generate an additional 1.6 million trips.

Those that want to enroll in the program can do so online at wmata.com/MetroLift on June 20 (the site has not launched yet) or in person on June 26. Enrollment centers include the Metro Center Rail Station Mezzanine, the Metro Office Building at L’Enfant Plaza, and the Metro Office Building at New Carrollton.

They’ll have to provide contact information, their physical or virtual SmarTrip card number and photos of their state-issued photo ID and SNAP EBT card. The discounts will be applied to their existing cards and will be available 48 hours after enrolling online or immediately if you enroll in person. Customers will have to re-enroll every year.

Officials chose the SNAP as an income eligibility criterion

because it was easiest to verify without having to request tax documents or pay stubs. Income, among other factors, determines SNAP eligibility.

Metro offers other discounts, too, with seniors and people with disabilities paying $1 for regular Metrobus routes instead of the standard $2. And students going to school get free rides on Metrobus, DC Circulator, and Metrorail within the District.

In the future, Metro hopes to create an online application process for those programs, but for now, recipients must apply in person.

The discounts come at a time when Metro is hoping to increase equity but also faces a $750 million budget gap in the upcoming year as ridership remains about 50% of pre-pandemic levels and federal COVID relief funding is running out.

The program is rolling out ahead of schedule. Metro initially expected it would take until fall to set up.

Metro joins 15 other transit agencies in the country that offer a low-income fare.

“If we actually care about equity, and getting more people back in the system, and truly driving access to opportunity, these are awesome changes, for very little dollars,” WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke said when he pitched his budget last year. Meanwhile, D.C.’s attempt to make buses free for all rides in the District stalled during budget negotiations. That program’s future is unclear.

This article was originally published by DCist/WAMU

ARTIST/VENDOR

Metro’s new low-income fare program launches June 20.

Photo by Will Schick

DC returned millions of federal grants intended to end homelessness

ANNEMARIE CUCCIA Staff Reporter

D.C. returned over $10 million in federal grants intended to fund programs aimed at ending homelessness from 2017 through 2021, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and The Community Partnership (TCP).

The city generally receives between $23 million and $28 million each year from the federal agency as part of a nationwide grant process. Locally, TCP coordinates the grant application process and distributes the money to nonprofits that run various subsidized housing programs.

While D.C. can shift unused local funds to other homeless services programs or move them to the next year, unspent federal dollars must be returned, per HUD rules. In fiscal year 2017, D.C. returned $2 million of a $22 million grant; and in 2018, $2.6 million of a $27 million grant, according to HUD. While HUD does not yet have numbers for more recent years, TCP estimates the city returned between $2.5 million and $4 million annually in fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Especially since the onset of the pandemic, D.C. has struggled to ensure that all of its available federal and local housing resources make it into the hands of people who need them. D.C. ended fiscal year 2022 with over 1,800 available vouchers for individuals. As of May 15, the city has housed more than 1,000 people with fiscal year 2022 vouchers. Over 500 more people have pending applications. Housing providers have largely attributed the slow use of local housing vouchers to a case management staffing shortage. The long wait times for applying for and receiving housing through a voucher continue to prolong many clients’ experience with homelessness, even as the government sets aside funds to house them.

On the federal side, grant spending has been an issue over the past several years, according to a May 9 presentation from TCP to D.C.’s Interagency Council on Homelessness. TCP has begun working with providers over the past year to help them spend their full allotment and expects to see an improvement next year, a goal shared by providers.

“It has absolutely devastated us as an agency whose mission is to end homelessness to have to give back or to

underspend HUD dollars,” said Christy Respress, CEO and president of housing nonprofit Pathways to Housing, one of the organizations that has had to return funds.

Behind the underspending

There are several reasons an organization might struggle to spend all the funding it receives from HUD, according to TCP. During the pandemic, homeless services nonprofits were scrambling to assist people who needed help. Some providers encountered difficulties determining the kind of programs that made the most sense to operate given the changed climate. Further, HUD funding can be used for only a limited scope of programs, and payment requires sometimes arduous administrative processes. As a result, nonprofits across the city struggled to use the full amount of their federal grant dollars during the height of the pandemic, TCP said.

The largest issue for Pathways, Respress said, has been a lack of staff.

Pathways uses HUD money to fund housing for people with serious mental illnesses. Medicaid funds a corresponding support team. The teams use psychologists, case workers and peer specialists to help treat any mental and behavioral issues people may experience after moving into their new homes.

“It’s been this really amazing combination and really critical combination,” Respress said of the long-standing program.

But Pathways has struggled to recruit and retain those support teams for the last several years. Salaries for some health care workers have increased across the country, as documented in a 2022 survey of over a million workers, yet the Medicaid rates for supportive teams remained the same, Respress said. Without cost of living increases, the staff members who remain now receive lower pay than their counterparts in comparable positions at hospitals or in telehealth.

Respress said Pathways can’t in “good conscience” help people move into housing with HUD-supplied rent unless it can provide them with the full support they need to make a successful transition.

“We’re working with people who need the intense wraparound support services,” she said. As for the inability to spend all of the available federal funds, “it’s all tied, 100% for Pathways, to the workforce challenges we’ve been facing.”

Similarly, many local organizations that administer Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers say they did not have enough case managers to help usher all of their eligible clients who’ve been issued vouchers through the

housing process over the last year.

“This is not an isolated Pathways challenge, but it’s really a sector challenge around utilizing all of our housing resources,” Respress said. “Nobody should have to stay in homelessness because we don’t have the staff to support them. That is not okay with us as an organization.”

What this means for ending homelessness

Having to return unspent HUD funding has different effects depending on the particular program.

Like many other organizations, Pathways provides lifelong PSH vouchers, and the available funding is associated with a set number of permanent vouchers. If 10 spots in the program are open in 2022 but not filled due to staffing issues, those same 10 spots will still be open in 2023. The loss of HUD money, however, means that one year of voucher funding went to waste — delaying assistance to people in need.

For shorter-term programs that offer subsidies for a year or two, the loss in funds could result in fewer people receiving help. Some HUD grants, for example, go to the District’s Rapid Rehousing program, which provides a subsidy for up to two years. Because of the time limit, leaving spots vacant leads to fewer people receiving help in the long term.

There’s also always a concern that HUD may reduce the size

of the grant it provides to D.C. because of the unspent funding, Respress said. The grant is issued through a competitive process, with cities and states vying for a limited pool of money. While D.C.’s grant has increased in recent years, even after repeated instances of underspending, there is no guarantee the pattern will continue.

TCP is consulting with providers to prevent underspending HUD grants in the future. For instance, TCP says providers may be able to use grant funds that would otherwise remain unspent to hire more staff, bring in temporary help or expand existing programs. They can also try to make certain that HUD funds are spent first. TCP, which submits the District’s grant application to HUD and chooses which local programs are prioritized for grant money, also plans to begin rewarding programs that spend the entirety of their grants.

For Pathways, its ability to take full advantage of HUD grants is dependent on its ability to recruit and maintain support teams funded by Medicaid. The nonprofit is working with the D.C. government to obtain higher wages for their Medicaidfunded positions. In the meantime, Pathways has used leftover money to help people already in the program who want to move apartments.

“At the end of the day, without a front-line workforce, the financial resources are stuck in the bottleneck, and fewer people are ultimately served,” Respress said.

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Photo courtesy of Tim Evanson/Flickr

DC is quietly closing more encampments, as residents have fewer places to go

ANNEMARIE CUCCIA AND ATHIYAH AZEEM Staff Reporter and Production Editor

D.C. is closing more encampments this year — and some with just one day’s notice.

For years, D.C. has banned camping on public land and parks, enforced to varying degrees by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS). Encampment residents grew accustomed to moving their tents and belongings outside “clean-up zones” established by DMHHS before returning to set up camp again.

But over the past year, D.C.’s approach to encampments has shifted. DMHHS now closes sites permanently at a greater frequency, prohibiting encampment residents from returning. An increasing number of these encampment clearings are conducted under the guidance of “immediate dispositions,” where the city provides unhoused residents at these sites between 24 hours and six days’ notice before permanently closing their encampments.

From 2019 until 2021, DMHHS conducted an average of seven immediate dispositions each year. But in 2022, that number spiked to 59. DMHHS has conducted over 39 dispositions thus far in 2023, according to the office, affecting at least 36 residents. DMHHS has cleared sites near Dupont Circle and the 600 block of T Street Northwest multiple times.

Immediate dispositions, unlike regular encampment clearings, are not posted online or shared with the public — prompting outreach workers like Danica Hawkins, the encampment coordinator with Miriam’s Kitchen, to worry this rise in encampment closures will go unnoticed.

“It seems like everything’s happening completely under the radar,” said Hawkins. She referred to the February closure of McPherson Square, which received international attention when 70 residents were displaced. “You saw how much pushback McPherson Square got. It’s absolutely no surprise that now encampment evictions are going to be done swiftly, with next to no notice.”

The rise in immediate dispositions has alarmed advocates

and outreach workers, who say the practice harms residents and does not adhere to the city’s published encampment protocol. The policy generally requires DMHHS to provide 14 days’ notice before closing an encampment in what is known as a standard disposition and to use immediate dispositions only in emergency circumstances.

Ann Marie Staudenmaier, senior counsel at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said waiving the requirements without good reason goes against why the encampment protocol exists — as does the city’s increased use of the immediate dispositions over the past year.

“When they’ve done them in the past, when they were doing them in the fall, they didn’t seem to be justified,” she said.

Residents displaced

All immediate dispositions are site closures, but the reverse isn’t always true. In addition to the 39 immediate dispositions, DMHHS closed at least eight encampments in 2022 and again in 2023, and officials are now widely enforcing the no-camping policy, including in District parks. The National Park Service also closed several sites in the last year, most recently at McPherson Square in February.

“They’re basically closing off any part of the city that would normally be full of tents, and causing people to have to go to more and more remote places or more and more dangerous places,” Staudenmaier said.

The increase in closures and immediate dispositions does not reflect a change in policy, but is instead a response to an increase in unsheltered homelessness, DMHHS officials said.

“All immediate dispositions during the 2022 and 2023 calendar years were conducted according to the established District protocol,” Deputy Chief of Staff Jamal Weldon wrote in an email to Street Sense. “The increase of these engagements was due to the increase in public health and safety intrusions

that warranted these actions.”

Encampment residents, advocates and homeless service providers say the increase in closures means more encampment residents are being displaced and losing contact with their case managers.

As the city closes large encampments, some residents have moved to smaller ones. Two residents at encampments shut down in the last two months who had come from McPherson Square both said they relocated to another park because they had not received the services needed to move into housing. Residents who were offered beds at low-barrier shelters turned them down in fear of their safety, hygiene and losing their autonomy.

“It’s pretty tough, you know,” said Moe, whose encampment was marked for an immediate disposition on May 25. He and his partner Jackie had been sleeping in LeDroit Park for two days when a city worker pinned a note to the lime-green umbrella sheltering their belongings. The notice said they had two days to leave because the city planned to close the encampment.

DMHHS did not specify a reason for the closure in its email notifying outreach workers contracted by the city.

Moe had been couch surfing for about a month. After exhausting other housing options, he moved into the park.

“We’re not bothering anyone,” Moe said. “No one seems to care enough to come ask us themselves if we’re okay.” Moe shared only his first name due to the discrimination people experiencing homelessness often face.

The rise in immediate dispositions

For standard dispositions, DMHHS usually posts a notice on its website and at the encampments two weeks before a clearing. Unsheltered people living in the area who feel uncomfortable staying in shelters spend those weeks figuring

On May 25 at 10 a.m., Shelley Byars carried her belongings to the sidewalk while officials from the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services (DMHHS) cleared her encampment. Photo by Athiyah Azeem

Thirty minutes later that day, DMHHS conducted an immediate disposition at a different location, forcing Moe, an unhoused resident to leave his encampment.

Photo by Athiyah Azeem

out where they’ll go. Generally, finding permanent housing in this timeframe is not possible. The process takes at least six months with a voucher administered by the Department of Human Services and the D.C. Housing Authority.

DMHHS reduced the number of full encampment clearings at the start of the pandemic. This adhered to March 2020 guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to avoid displacing encampment residents at the risk of spreading COVID-19 and disrupting residents’ access to homeless service providers.

Beginning in summer 2022, however, DMHHS began clearing encampments at a faster pace, relying on immediate dispositions. According to the city’s encampment policy, DMHHS is supposed to conduct immediate dispositions only in the case of an “emergency, security risk, health risk or safety risk.” Staudenmaeir said when the Legal Clinic worked with the city to draft the encampment policy, the attorneys involved expected immediate dispositions to be used only when it wasn’t possible or advisable to wait 14 days to close an encampment, such as a tent blocking the road.

In response to questions, DMHHS provided a wide list of reasons for conducting immediate dispositions, from the presence of propane tanks to proximity to traffic. Blocking a pedestrian passageway was one of the most commonly cited reasons; others involved occupancy of private land, abandoned property or city parkland. D.C. also uses immediate dispositions to clear sites where DMHHS has previously removed an encampment, arguing that full notice isn’t necessary given the past closure. DMHHS does not always include a reason for closing an encampment when it notifies outreach teams, according to emails obtained by Street Sense.

“The reason for an immediate disposition can vary and are generally site specific.” Weldon wrote in an email to Street Sense, in which he provided reasoning for the immediate dispositions DMHHS has conducted this year. While Weldon said each of the immediate dispositions was allowed under the city’s encampment policy, advocates worry the stated reasons may only justify standard dispositions, not the urgency of an immediate disposition.

DMHHS often sends outreach workers notice of immediate dispositions at 4 or 5 p.m. the day before, which Hawkins,

the encampment coordinator at Miriam’s Kitchen, said leaves her and her colleagues scrambling to find options for encampment residents. DMHHS leaves tags on encampments to notify residents a day or two before the disposition; in some cases, the signs say that officials may conduct an immediate disposition with no notice if a site has been cleared before.

“We have no time to prepare. We have no time to advocate for our clients. We are losing our ability to build rapport if people keep being pushed around,” Hawkins said. “At no point can I guarantee that they’re going to be in a safe spot. And clients don’t know either. They come back, and all of their stuff is gone.”

At an immediate disposition on the same day as Moe’s and not far away, an encampment resident said he expected he and others living there would move back into the area within a few days. He gave his name as Nephew, using an alias to protect his privacy as he spoke about his prior incarceration and drug use.

The city clears the area every three weeks or so, which Nephew said is disruptive and irritating. His encampment, on the sidewalk across from the Howard Theatre, wasn’t a typical one with tents in a park, but rather a collection of between eight and 12 people who would sit outside on chairs during the day.

The group, which includes several people who appear to be elderly, doesn’t really want to be out in the open — they used to be on a grassy area but that was fenced off. Then they moved into an alley, now also blocked off. And no matter how many times the group is forced to move, Nephew finds the repeated site closures don’t help residents get housed and sober.

“I’m not saying it’s right but I’m just saying they’re taking [our spaces] away,” Nephew said.

D.C. is closing more encampments

Immediate dispositions are part of an overall increase in encampment closures in the District.

Encampment clearings wound down when the pandemic began, going from 111 clearings in 2019 to 75 clearings in 2020. To follow CDC guidance, DMHHS began conducting trashonly clearings whenever possible — leaving tents untouched.

In 2020, DMHHS conducted 40 trash-only clearings, 21 full clearings and six immediate dispositions.

Site closures took off in 2021, with the launch of the Coordinated Assistance and Resources for Encampments (CARE) Pilot Program, which theoretically paired encampment closures with housing vouchers for displaced residents. While advocates and DMHHS disagree about the success of the CARE pilot, Staudenmaier said the end result has made way for more blanket site closures.

One rationale DMHHS is using for these site closures is the District’s 2016 ban on camping, which the agency used as the sole justification for closing encampments on March 14 and May 25. The city is also now enforcing the no-camping rules in all D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation sites.

“Technically and legally, yes, no one’s supposed to be in any of these spaces,” Staudenmaier said. “But the protocol is supposed to give [D.C. officials] a remedy if they’re concerned about tents being in a public space. And they’re kind of bypassing that remedy by just closing off all these spaces and saying okay, well, no one can ever come back here.”

When D.C. closed the K Street Northeast underpass, which dozens called home until January 2020, Clifton Waldrop and two other encampment residents moved to a spot on First Street

Northeast, just across the block. The three of them lived there until this year, when the site was permanently closed on June 1.

Waldrop said he adjusted to First Street, although the prior spot “was a little better because it was an overpass.” He said he filed for a housing voucher in 2000 and received one in February 2023. But he is still waiting to move into housing and had to relocate to another encampment a few blocks away on the day of the site closure.

Is the encampment policy effective?

DMHHS says the rise in encampment closures is due to an “increase in public health and safety intrusions.” There are many reasons for this. More people are living on the streets, according to an annual census of people experiencing homelessness. And site closures happen commonly in areas where businesses have filed repeated complaints, or in areas that are slated to undergo development.

“The truth is, it’s an eyesore,” said Faheem Smith, the building coordinator for 111 K Street NE, which is a business that rents out office space to other businesses. The firm has asked the city to remove nearby encampments for the past five years, citing the presence of trash, needles and rats around the building and multiple conflicts between encampment residents and employees. The business wrote a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser last month asking the city to remove the encampment on First Street Northeast.

Similarly, DMHHS closed an encampment outside the Church of the Epiphany on April 27, after nearby businesses on the 1300 block of G Street Northwest complained about it for four years, according to the church’s rector, the Rev. Glenna Huber.

DMHHS conducted a site closure at an encampment near 111 Massachusetts Ave. NW on April 20, citing a severe rat infestation. The encampment sat in front of an office building bought by Georgetown University, to be converted into student housing beginning this May, according to a university press release.

Another encampment in the Deanwood neighborhood underwent a closure on April 13. It sat behind a lot bought by the construction company United General Contractors, which filed a request to D.C. in January to build an apartment building there. DMHHS conducted an immediate disposition on the same spot on May 17.

As for 111 K Street NE, Smith asked city officials on the day of the clearing there what the end result would look like. He fears encampments will continue to form outside the building because residents are not being housed.

“We’re building these multi-million-dollar apartment complexes, but it doesn’t register to say, ‘Hey, can we build a place where [encampment residents] can live and get social services on site?’” Smith said.

In response to a question about concerns that rising encampment closures will make it harder for residents to move into housing, DMHHS said the people being displaced receive outreach services before closures, though several have recently said those services are lacking.

“The intent of our encampment protocol efforts is not to create additional barriers for residents,” Weldon wrote. “We are obligated with the dual responsibility of addressing all health and safety risk factors that pose a negative impact on both housed and unhoused residents.”

Hawkins argued that encampment closures can delay the housing process, especially as residents move to more remote areas. Outreach workers consistently say that encampment closures harm trust and make it harder for people to find housing — or another outdoor space to move to if they are wary of emergency shelters.

“We are at the point where we don’t know where to tell clients to go that is a safe space,” Hawkins said, noting that people are not allowed to sleep in parks, along sidewalks, or on public or private land. “Where can people go?”

This article was co-published with The DC Line.

Again, on May 25, DMHHS conducted another immediate disposition. According to D.C. protocol, since the site was already cleared once on April 5, the city can continue to clear it without prior notice. Photo by Athiyah Azeem

People for Fairness Coalition celebrates fifteen years of housing activism

COLE KINDIGER Editorial Intern

Under a blistering afternoon sky on June 3, over 130 people joined the People for Fairness Coalition (PFFC) as they held their fifteenth anniversary celebration, commemorating years of advocacy for people experiencing homelessness in D.C. Participants, eager to escape the heat, gathered underneath the shade of trees and pop-up tents to eat, socialize and celebrate the organization’s years of service.

The event, held in Franklin Park, featured a row of booths managed by partner organizations and a panel of speakers, including PFFC Director Robert Warren and Street Sense Media artist and vendor Queenie Featherstone.

PFFC is composed entirely of individuals who are currently or were formerly without housing. Other organizations including Focus, Attitude, and Comment to Excellence (FACE), N Street Village’s Be the Change, and Isaiah House, have a similar structure. It is this, advocacy for and by unhoused people, that is crucial to the PFFC ethos.

PFFC members describe their mission as nothing less than to end housing instability for the District’s unhoused — and especially unsheltered — residents, and employ a multifaceted approach to accomplish it.

In addition to their regular Tuesday morning meetings at Miriam’s Kitchen, a registered nonprofit dedicated to ending chronic homelessness, PFFC has produced a variety of outreach programs.

The group raises awareness about housing instability in the broader D.C. population, petitioning for increased focus on one of the District’s most vulnerable groups. A large amount of their efforts concentrates on informing individuals experiencing homelessness.

“The most important thing is that we teach people how to advocate for themselves.” said former PFFC Outreach Director Andrew Anderson in an interview with Street Sense. Anderson was also at the event on a photography assignment for Street Sense.

The booths were manned by Street Sense Media, the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty and other organizations dedicated to housing justice. Attendees, many of whom are actively experiencing homelessness, quickly lined up beside the tables, receiving Subway sandwiches, PFFC t-shirts and housing resources — including legal advice and invitations to Street Sense Media’s weekly writers’ group workshop.

The organization used its anniversary celebration, an event ostensibly meant to commemorate their own achievements, as an opportunity to further support D.C.’s unhoused people. Once participants had circulated through all the booths, participants sat down in view of the podium, where a member of PFFC, Rachelle Ellison, emceed the event.

Ellison shared her story about how she slept in Franklin Park, the very site of the celebration, and Freedom Plaza, located just a few blocks away, for 17 years.

After acquiring housing a decade ago, she was able to turn her attention towards helping others. She became a D.C. Department of Behavioral Health-certified recovery coach and is currently earning a bachelor’s degree in human resources management at Strayer University. Today, she is a core member of PFFC and a community advocate at the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Apart from sharing her own perspective, Ellison also facilitated a steady stream of new voices, offering the microphone to anybody “with something to say.”

Several participants took up her offer, sharing their experiences with homelessness and their commitment to ending housing instability while Warren snapped pictures and offered encouragement. Despite the variety of speakers, nearly every speech agreed on one point: “Housing is a human right.”

Anderson found PFFC when he needed it most. Recently out of prison, unsheltered and still on parole, he found himself surrounded by people who’d faced similar challenges and were willing to support him as he worked through them.

“The People for Fairness Coalition was the first activist group I was really a part of,” he said. “It became my community. My family.”

The organization’s peer mentor program, where members mutually support and instruct each other on how to gain steady housing and employment, was an invaluable tool. As Anderson became increasingly involved in the group, and passionate about spreading knowledge to other unhoused people, he became outreach director.

“[PFFC Director] Robert gave me a chance, he gave me a platform that I never would’ve had before,” Anderson said. And once he’d been given that platform, he used it. As outreach director, Anderson has been a key player in advocating for affordable housing in the District. He has spoken at various PFFC events, including several vigils, their regular memorial service dedicated to unsheltered people who had died on the streets that year.

Most importantly, though, he was responsible for supplying unhoused individuals with the same resources that he’d been given as a new member. “[PFFC peer educators] do this

job well, because we’ve been there. We were them once,” Anderson said.

In his three years spent working at the organization, few initiatives have made him prouder than Housing 101, an educational program meant to arm unhoused individuals with the knowledge to gain stable housing.

“One thing about housing is that there’s always so much that people don’t know,” said Anderson. “Housing inequality makes it hard to understand, for example, how to choose the best housing option or work with the D.C. Housing Authority. That’s what we’re for.”

He was careful to point out that, while giving unhoused people the tools to self-advocate is crucial, larger institutional problems exist. “Don’t get me wrong: there are a lot of barriers,” said Anderson. “There are thousands of unoccupied housing units in D.C., yet none of them are being filled by the people who need them most. There’s blatant discrimination.”

Still, hope endures. “We teach people to examine their barriers, to understand them, and to capitalize on the opportunities that are out there,” said Anderson. “To win anything, you have to know the rules of the game.”

Between the panel of speakers and the booths, there was little self-congratulating by PFFC itself. Rather than focusing on their 15 years’ worth of accomplishments, the organizers instead devoted their time as they always had: to supporting those who were experiencing homelessness.

For all the event’s success, PFFC remained grateful for all the help they received along the way. “We’d like to thank everybody who gave their time to make this happen today, especially the Street Sense vendors,” said PFFC member Queenie Featherstone. “We couldn’t have done this without you. We love you.”

Two representatives from the National Coalition for the Homeless were present at the event. Photo by Street Sense Media artist/vendor Andrew Anderson

People for Fairness Coalition networking with others and helping to connect people to services. Photos by Street Sense Media artist/vendor Andrew Anderson

Networking and wellness with a makeup artist. Promoting well being is important.

A team leader working with the People for Fairness Coalition’s information table.

Street Sense Media staff working and networking with the People for Fairness Coalition, coming together for a common goal.

People coming together with a common goal for housing.

Are we giving up on our

L. MORROW

Have we forgotten about our family values that were handed down to all of us from our parents? And our grandparents? Whether it is a two-family home or a one-family home, even if it’s a no-family home, it is all of our responsibility to do what we can for any youth that needs help. Why not? Didn’t

My city DC

ROBERT WARREN

My city isn’t always so pretty, it’s downright unfair. Who really cares? I know a 77-year-old woman and man sleeping downtown in a tent unable to pay the rent.

The cost of them living with some dignity is too high a burden on Joe and Josephine the taxpayers. There’s always a layer of paperwork, and a waiting list, with the risk of dying from preventable circumstances.

Who really knows if is it a racially equitable process, and

youth?

someone help you when you were a youth? As adults, we all should show by example!

Speak to youth that you see all the time or in your neighborhood. We all have to show concern for all our youth. Do you say good morning to a youth? Or ask them how are

they are doing in school? We all must be together to make a better world for our youth. This is a must for everyone. We have to give them faith, love and safety to take our wisdom on.

L. Morrow is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

who decides when those lost in the whirlwind are too old to remember when they had a home?

I can’t be all alone in this fight to get it right. Housing is a human right, right? So we say. What will it take to honor our mothers' and fathers’ days with a safe place? There should be a universal right to housing. That’s the solution for me.

I hear a chorus of voices to the choir, who say they believe in housing for all, for every man, woman and child, that

I refuse to be called homeless

GIGI DOVONOU

This message is addressed to all those who call people “homeless.”

Today, I want to declare the end of the word “homeless.” We – people without homes – do not identify ourselves among the lawless, the wicked or the adversaries of God. We are often in the company of great people. But the fact we are without a home is used to target us. How long do people need to continue calling us homeless?

I’m not “less” of a home. Many people, including case managers, have called us “homeless.” But behind this word there are many insults and stigmas. This word signals rejection, abandonment and lawlessness.

I demand an official end to practice of calling fellow humans “homeless.” The word “homeless” can make a person feel abandoned. And this label can reduce a person’s chances of finding a job, or a decent place to live.

Many people will tell unhoused people to lie about their mental health in order to receive help. But how can I declare myself mentally sick before someone? Can they not believe

that homelessness is merely a temporary condition?

My late father used to say, “If you are sick with a headache do not lie to the doctor that you have a stomachache. Because at the end of the day, the doctor will prescribe you a stomach pill based on your lie. And if you take the pill in front of him, it may cause you an extra ache on top of the previous one you declared. And you will have both a stomachache and headache at once and you’ll destroy yourself.”

I advise people to never lie, even if it’s for a benefit. Sometimes, God put us in difficult situations for a reason. Any situation that comes to you is a pathway that will strengthen your ability to adapt yourself to a new situation.

You will overcome this situation. Trust me. Many people have died because they never expected themselves to get out of that situation one day.

I have noticed three categories of people experiencing homelessness: national homeless, continental homeless and worldwide homeless.

The national homeless are people born in United States of

would be a family. Poor people are always being demonized in a capitalistic system, not being able to supply their housing needs.

Thank the Lord for the raindrops and the trees, that’s a good thing. I see the bricks and mortar, and the building of new communities, of housing for everyone in need. Is it only a premonition or should I call it a dream?

Robert Warren is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

America. They should be called houseless because they firstly belong here. How can a person be called homeless in the land of their first home?

The continental homeless are people experiencing homelessness that were born on the continent of America and they have it as their home. Anywhere they are on the American continent must be their home because it’s the land of their ancestors. They should not be called people without homes because the American continent represents their terrestrial home.

Finally, there are the global citizens, the global homeless. Among people experiencing homelessness, there are some people who call themselves world citizens, like me. I have been on five of the continents of the world and have been a citizen of all of them. The planet Earth is for me a home. This is the reason why I refused to be called homeless.

Gigi Dovonou

an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.

Maple, spruce and elm trees

QUEENIE FEATHERSTONE

Artist/Vendor

I often see others sit underneath these trees. Of course, on the grass in the shade. Not me, I’m sitting under no tree. To me it’s too many falling leaves, dirt, bugs in the grass and plenty of bumblebees.

Street Sense

MELODY BYRD

Artist/Vendor

I am a Street Sense vendor. I like selling papers. My customers are nice. I want to receive donations for my efforts on my app. Please buy papers.

The word ‘ma’

LATICIA BROCK

Artist/Vendor

When I came out of prison, I wondered about my mission. I was dealing with hurt people who wanted me to listen to them. From the child who lost their ma, to the ones who feel unwanted, to the ones God called home. Smuda, Keosha, Richard, Jennifer, to name a few. Sitting here, I’m reminiscing about the times I spent with my boos talking about the good times we had together. We stuck together no matter the weather. I remember how we blew our breath in our covers to stay warm. These are the babies who left me with a legacy to leave on. It makes me feel warm inside when I hear the word “ma.”

When I fall in love

KYM PARKER

Artist/Vendor

It makes me feel whole to know God’s love, to know God’s greatness

It fills me with joy

Mercy

To understand Jesus gave his life for our sins. When I fall in love, it’s because he died for me

He ended his life for mine, and I cannot be more grateful

Show more mercy

I love my man, I love my sisters

They show me light

I feel it hard

I love the angels

I love the people, the children

And I love my enemies

I love life

I love being here

When I fall, it’s hard

It hurts to know it’s there when people give up

To understand that, to listen

That pain will never go away

She told us to come, to never give up on us and that she would never stop loving us

When I fall, it’s hard

I love deeply

My emotions are strong like an angel’s wings

And as glorious as God’s kiss

I truly believe I was placed as a messenger, to open up to God’s love

When I love, it’s deep, it’s strong

And it’s full of beauty and hope

I pray for our world

I pray for life

I pray for light

When I fall

S is for summer — time for fun in the sun!

ROCHELLE WALKER

Artist/Vendor

Guess what time of year it is? Summertime! Summer officially starts on June 21. What time is it? Summertime! It’s hot but I’m happy to see this beautiful season and how the weather changes. Let’s have some summer fun. Put on those shorts and show your legs.

June, July and August. It’s vacation time, traveling time, shopping time, walking time and outdoor activity time, because of the warm weather.

I am going to the beach to stay cool. Let’s ride a rollercoaster. Stay cool and be cool. It’s summertime! Hot, hot, hot, hot!

Summer is here

ANDRE BRINSON

Artist/Vendor

Summer is here and I ask everyone to help people with no cool place to chill peacefully. I understand how it feels to want someone to help you in a time of need. When my time of need came years ago on a freezing Christmas Eve, I was very cold and didn’t have proper clothes. There were people giving out coats, gloves and hot coffee. I know that day I wouldn’t have made it through another night if I didn’t get help.

Thank God for the people who support and help. Keep an open mind and an open heart.

Blessed are those who feed me, Blessed are those who clothe me, Blessed are those who help and give a place to lay my head.

Zeus — the dog who stole our hearts while protecting our home

CHON GOTTI Artist/Vendor

Zeus was more than just a dog. He was a loyal, strong and protective member of our family. He was an alpha male, a leader and a guardian. But he was also gentle and obedient, always there to comfort us and provide a sense of security. Zeus was the epitome of the perfect dog, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

As an alpha male dog, Zeus was a natural leader. He was confident, strong and always in control. He had a commanding presence that made him stand out from other dogs. He was a protector, always looking out for his family and willing to do whatever it took to keep them safe. Zeus knew how to read people, and he could sense danger from a mile away. He was always on high alert, ready to jump into action if necessary.

Despite his protective nature, Zeus was also incredibly gentle. He had a soft spot for his family, and he loved to play with them. He had a kind heart and a gentle soul, and he was always there to comfort you when you were feeling down. He was a great listener and a loyal friend, never judging or criticizing you. Zeus had a way of making you feel better, even on the darkest of days.

Above all else, Zeus was obedient. He knew his place in the family hierarchy, and he respected the family's authority. He was always eager to please, and he would do anything to make you happy. Whether it was shaking your hand with his big paw or just lying next to you on the couch or bed, Zeus was always ready and willing to do whatever it took to make you smile.

It's hard to put into words just how much Zeus meant to us and our family. He was more than just a pet; he was a member of our family. He was there for us through thick and thin, always by our side no matter what. He was a constant source of comfort and joy, and his absence will be deeply felt.

Zeus may be gone, but his memory will live on forever in our hearts, He will always be remembered as a strong, protective, gentle and obedient alpha male dog who was deeply loved by his family. May he rest in peace, knowing that he will always hold a special place in my heart.

What’s going on in my life

GRETA CHRISTIAN

Artist/Vendor

There’s too much traffic going on in my head. I need a true friend. I need someone to listen to me.

I’m getting too many bills that I don’t know how to pay. I’m low-income. But now I have a cat, his name is Goldie.

I like Street Sense because I can make money to buy food and toys for my cat. I wanna cry. But I can’t do it in public. I only let it out when I’m alone.

The woman that sat in the fog

JEANETTE RICHARDSON Artist/Vendor

I’d like to tell you a story about a woman who lived in the apartment next door. She was taken out of her house in the early hours of the morning and left outside in the fog where she could not see her hands or feet, so she stayed where she was until the next morning, which was a Sunday. When the fog lifted up, she saw that she was sitting on a church front. She saw the pastor and the members of the church coming into the building. She asked them if she could come in to get warm, and they said, “Yes, welcome.” But she never knew how she got out of her residence.

The last she remembered, she was at home in bed, sleeping. It was a mystery. She was told about hackers that could get inside your skull and scramble your thoughts and memories. They could make you do things that you’ve never done before in your life or even thought of doing.

“What is going on in the world today?” she thought. Am I the victim of some kind of criminal behavior? People are being released from prison after doing a large number of years in lockup, but returning home to continue to do bad things for the dark side. And even they had not understood why they had been in lockup and that they had disobeyed the rules and laws of the world of the free spirits.

Now, it appears they have a say in the world of writing, in books and politics and art and music. We are under attack, she thought, by all kinds of things.

Zeus. Photo courtesy of Chon Gotti

Hula hoop fun

BRIANNA BUTLER

Artist/Vendor

Twirling my hula hoop with cheer, I’m enthusiastic about helping myself be healthy. It’s fun to have a hoop wavering around your waist. You can share this experience with friends, and laugh and tell jokes. But be careful not to yoke yourself when you put the hoop around your neck twirling it. You can get pretty fast at jumping by practicing with a circular hoop around your ankles. If you trip, your friends will definitely laugh. Dance with your hoop. Toss it up in the air and catch it. It takes some skill but it’s lots of fun.

Roses are red

RONALD SMOOT

Artist/Vendor

Roses

The equinox of time

MICHELE ROCHON

Artist/Vendor

Washington, D.C. has become the new California.

Once upon a time, people were encouraged to relocate to California or New York City when they wanted to be discovered. Now the script has flipped and a fraction of people decide your title and income (or lack thereof). Unfortunately, it is the shameful so-called “mature adults” that refuse to accept change. People must grow and go beyond their comfort zone.

I have been assigned a signature lifestyle filled with adventure, mystery, travel, money, many contacts and friends. Unfortunately, I really don’t live in that realm. My pseudo lifestyle is a fictitious version of Michele E. Rochon — nothing close to my lifestyle. Oh my, what a web we weave when we refuse to accept growth!

Dark nostalgia Reductio ad absurdum (monsters in basements)

FREDERIC JOHN

Artist/Vendor

My beloved Mom, Ruth Besson (mentioned erroneously in earlier chapters as "Bessum"), loved to quote from the classics. It could be Chaucer, Cicero or a South African proverb.

And in Latin class, I learned plenty from old Ms. Hosick (still teaching at 87 in 1967). Laura E. Hosick, whose dad drove his 1905 Stanley Steamer around the square — the first car in their town of Bells Grove, Ohio. Now, the shriveled little lady swallowed up by her ballooning print dress squinted over her pince-nez glasses and read from "Intermediate Latin" to us rapt students at Maret School. Reading with the text upside-down, I might add. No matter, Miss Laura knew the curriculum.

"Reductio ad absurdum." What is that, Jonathan?

"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am," I stuttered. "This means 'reducing a serious matter to absolute drivel?'"

"Good enough," she said with a wry grin. "Give the young man a B+ for the day."

Eighteen months plus one school later, I was puffing pot

in the back lot behind B-CC (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) High School and a bit less interested in my curriculum. One hot May day in '69 I fumbled a geometry equation (X-Y is..X?). Mr. Donald Williamson, a crew-cut World War I veteran snarled in my direction. "There ya sit like katy-bar-the-door. (Pause). Zero for you. Pay attention or get the hell out."

"Who, me, sir?" I sloughed back.

"Yes, you. Detention at 3:30."

My dear Mom, mother of Ruth, wife of Sam, rubbed her eyes with the corner of her starched apron. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Cedi Borboni (a favorite Tuscan phrase). "You're listless and non-communicative."

Meanwhile, I staggered down the steps to a dank basement, where boxes of my Dad's tariff files from the Interstate Commerce Commission moldered and a creepy pair of stickfigured promenaders bobbed across the blistered cinder-block wall 'neath the mindless bannered words "ON WITH THE

DANCE."

I toked on some crumbs of hashish that were spread across perforated tinfoil over Grandmother Gagu's tavern tea-pot mouth. As Hendrix rasped across my primitive mono phonograph, I puffed on the “tea.” I tried to daydream, aware that our home's previous owner had tonelessly whispered of the grim murder that had supposedly gone down in this very space, circa 1940.

Even years later, down from New York (where I had just seen "The Boogens" in a Times Square grindhouse), I woke up in my childhood bedroom screaming "GET THAT DAMN MONKEY OFFA ME!" It seems I'd just woken from the sight of a cycling macaque running up my chest. "Noli est carborundum," my late mom would have said ("From nothing, you get nuttiin!").

CROSSWORD

Puzzle by Patrick “Mac” McIntyre

FUN & GAMES FUN GAMES

Across 1. The opposite of woke, in a way (incls. abbrs.)

5. When doubled, a Washington State city known for sweet onions

10. The 4th down play that’s called most often

14. Proverbial tangled web weaver

15. Dreamy way to walk (2 wds.)

16. One-named Grammy winner from County Donegal

17. One who actively opposes you...or an antigram of the phrase at 54-Across

19. The Mideast’s Gulf of ___

20. “Geek approaching!” warning, e.g. (2 wds.) (4,5) (RED ANTLER anagram)

21. Sean Connery and Gerard Butler, for two

22. Undernourished...or an antigram of 44-Across

23. Gloppy stuff

24. They’re blown in the winds

26. Too unclean for 1 to 17, moviewise (1-5) (TARRED anagram)

30. Lovable family members visible in “annoying carpet stains”

31. Saddening downturn of events...or an antigram of 38-Across

35. With “F,” end of the work week cry (abbr./ initialism)

36. Portmanteau word for a comic.con dressup activity (CALYPSO anagram)

37. Sally Field’s Oscar-winning title role “Norma ___”

38. How the good life compares with poverty...or an antigram of 31-Across

40. Like most ‘90s music, while it was current (2 wds.) (2,2) (incls. abbrs.)

41. Arise (2 wds.)

42. Sends a cake with a file baked in to a jailed convict, e.g.

43. Speedometer ltrs. (abbr./initialism)

44. Totally sated...or an antigram of 22-Across

47. California/Nevada lake

50. Shrubs or small evergreen trees with white, pink or reddish blossoms

53. Controversial apple spray banned in the U.S. from late 1989

54. For...or an antigram of 17-Across (2 wds.)

55. Something 23-Across might do

56. Insect stage (AMIGO anagram)

57. Greek portico

58. Mythical river of the underworld (or a rock band named for it)

59. Follower of “tall,” “Canterbury” or “old wives”

60. Word after Donkey, Hong or King

Down

1. ___ Bator (capital of Mongolia)

2. Diamond complement

3. “The conviction that your country is superior to all others merely because you live in it,” per

G. B. Shaw (MAOIST TRIP anagram)

4. Infants’ beds, typically mounted on rockers

5. Virginia who wrote “Mrs. Dalloway”

6. “Bonne ____” (cry on le premier Janvier)

7. Scottish landowner

8. Word after “Schindler’s ___” or “To Do ____”

9. Refined oil product?

10. Double-breasted sailor’s wear

11. Loosen, as shoe laces

12. Vladimir’s veto word

13. Beach shades?

18. Gas pump measures (abbr.)

21. “My bad”

23. Reaction that only seems to encourage more puns and Dad jokes

24. Adjective for a vision-related nerve

25. “I ____ differ with you” (words of disagreement)

27. Became, as a chrysalis-butterfly transition (2 wds.) (6,4) (DETROIT NUN anagram)

28. Put on the books, as a law

29. Good things for boy scouts to do

31. Change, sci-fi style

32. Expert finish?

33. Screen rating, in brief? (abbr./initialism)

34. Winter woe

36. Two-door car style

39. “Is it live, or is it ____?” (old recording tapecompany slogan)

40. The Washington Monument or Cleopatra’s Needle shape, e.g.

42. “It was ___ big mistake!” (2 wds.)

44. Word with “error” or “attraction”

45. A big celeb typically has a media consultant to manage it

46. Young builders’ supplies?

47. New Mexico art community town

48. Quite often (2 wds.)

49. Like visibility obscured by fog or smoke

50. One may be medically induced

51. “Well I’ll be ____ of a gun!” (2 wds.)

52. Without a date

54. Tiny criticism

*This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre. It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Wa. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews.org and insp.ngo.

All

Academy of Hope Public Charter School 202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Place NE aohdc.org

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Downtown Day Services Center 202-383-8810 // 1313 New York Ave NW https://www.downtowndc.org/program/the-center/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martha’s Table // 202-328-6608 marthastable.org 2375 Elvans Road SE

2204 Martin Luther King Ave. SE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Locations throughout the city.

Wanda Alston Foundation 1377 R St. NW // (202) 733-3643 wandaalstonfoundation.org

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

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

Ice Cream Server

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

Full-time // Part-time

Serve guests, maintain store cleanliness and provide excellent customer service.

REQUIRED: Able to lift 50 pounds.

APPLY: tinyurl.com/vanleeuwenicecream

House Cleaner

Please Assist Me

Part-time

Perform deep cleaning duties with attention to detail and care to maintain private residences and carry out essential household chores.

REQUIRED: N/A

APPLY: tinyurl.com/cleaner-assistme

Restaurant Team Member

Shake Shack // 1216 18th St. NW

Full-time

Prep food, operate the cash register and clean the store.

REQUIRED: N/A

APPLY: tinyurl.com/shakeshackmember

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

AKINDELE AKEREJAH Artist/Vendor