November 23 - 29, 2020 Vol. 28 No. 45
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Arts & (Home) Entertainment
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SportsWise
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We are replacing our usual calendar with recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home! The SportsWise team has an open mic session about sports.
Cover Story: WHere I Stay
Just ahead of Thanksgiving, ordinarily a time for (sometimes traumatic) family get-togethers, StreetWise and Rivet present "WHERE I STAY," a serialized documentary exploring "invisible homelessness" and economic injustice in the United States. Angelica was kicked out of her home at age 12 due to family dynamics, but never lived on the street. Prisons. Vegas condos. The living room of a drug queenpin and an inpatient facility for adolescents. We meet Angelica, and speak with local experts on the subject of youth homelessness.
Inside StreetWise
StreetWise Vendor A. Allen shares a reflection about his time living in the streets.
The Playground ON THE COVER: Artwork for WHERE I STAY by Jesse Betend. THIS PAGE: WHERE I STAY episode 4 artwork by Susanna Felsberg.
Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher
dhamilton@streetwise.org
StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI
Suzanne Hanney, Editor-In-Chief
suzannestreetwise@yahoo.com
Amanda Jones, Director of programs
ajones@streetwise.org
Julie Youngquist, CEO
jyoungquist@streetwise.org
Ph: 773-334-6600 Office: 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL, 60616
LEARN MORE AT streetwise.org
DONATE
To make a donation to StreetWise, visit our website at www.streetwise.org/donate/ or cut out this form and mail it with your donation to StreetWise, Inc., 2009 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60616. We appreciate your support!
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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time. To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to: Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org
Shop Local!
Live Love Shop Rogers Park The nonprofit Rogers Park Business Alliance (RPBA) announces that its annual Live Love Shop Rogers Park holiday rebate program becomes virtual this year, kicking off on Small Business Saturday, November 28. Dozens of unique independent businesses in the neighborhood will offer special discounts and promotions both in-store and online from November 28 through December 31. Customers who shop at independently owned Rogers Park stores are eligible for a rebate based on the total amount spent. Those who collect $150 or more in receipts will receive a $50 rebate, and those with receipts totaling $200 or more will receive a $75 rebate. A virtual holiday kickoff hosted at XO Marshmallow will take place on Small Business Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. live on RPBA’s Instagram account (@rogersparkba). During the live stream, shoppers will meet local businesses while learning about their special offers for Small Business Saturday and the holiday season. For more information and official rebate rules, visit rpba.org/live-love-shop.
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
Limited Run!
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'The Bowmakers' Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) presents the Midwest premiere of the new, feature-length documentary "The Bowmakers," debuting Thanksgiving Day for 11 days only, November 26 – December 6. A live Zoom conversation featuring the film’s director Ward Serrill and other filmmakers takes place Friday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. and is free to the public with advance registration required. Early bird tickets for the film are $15 and are now available for purchase at ipomusic.org. The price increases to $18 on Thanksgiving. Those who wish to elevate their cinematic experience and live in the Chicago Southland region have the option to purchase a dinner delivery package as well. Proceeds for the “Dinner and a Movie” package provide much needed funds to make future events, broadcasts, and concerts possible. The Bowmakers follows the journey of the “Cinderella” of the orchestra, the bow—the overworked and overshadowed ally to its more glamorous instrumental partners. The film is an artful exploration of one of the most esoteric corners of the music world, the art of bowmaking, as unknown to the public as it is essential to professional musicians.
A Holiday Tradition!
Goodman Theatre’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Audio Play As the holiday season approaches in Chicago amid a global pandemic, Goodman Theatre is partnering with public media stations WBEZ 91.5 FM and Vocalo 91.1 FM to bring its iconic Chicago tradition to Chicagoland homes this year. WBEZ and Vocalo will broadcast Goodman Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol” audio play in two special airings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Directed by Jessica Thebus and starring Larry Yando in his 13th year as Ebenezer Scrooge, the Goodman’s 43rd annual production of Charles Dickens’ classic has been recreated especially for audio consumption—voiced by an all-Chicago cast of 19 and featuring the show’s signature soundscape. The audio production will broadcast on WBEZ 91.5 FM and Vocalo 91.1 FM over the Christmas holiday—Thursday, December 24, at 3 p.m. and Friday, December 25, at 11 a.m. The production streams FREE December 1 – 31 on GoodmanTheatre.org
Local Artist
EAC Exhibition: Barbara L. Sykes: Ethereal Abstractions "Ethereal Abstractions" is a solo watercolor painting series that premieres at the Evanston Art Center (1717 Central St., Evanston) through December 20. The paintings are colorful abstractions reminiscent of organic shapes, evocative impressions of the spiritual and elemental worlds. The paintings were created by Barbara L. Sykes, who was born into a family of artists, designers and inventors. Sykes became one of Chicago’s pioneering video and new media artists, known for her tapes, multimedia installations and performances. She established herself as an independent video producer, exhibition curator, and teacher. This exhibition includes her collaborations with Tom DeFanti and their first, live computer performance together. Sykes began her painting career in 2017. In 2019, she was chosen by the Evanston Art Center Exhibition Committee for a solo watercolor exhibition, “Ethereal Abstractions." Social distancing protocols will be followed. For more information, please visit evanstonartcenter.org
Virtual Sightseeing
Virtual Holiday Happy Hour Chicago Detours is taking viewers to the city’s most beloved holiday landmarks and hidden gems, all while telling the historical stories that celebrate Chicago’s festive spirit. The hour-long “Virtual Holiday Stories Happy Hour” will stream live on Zoom beginning November 27, with virtual events taking place Mondays at 6 p.m., Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m., through Dec. 28. Instead of having to navigate a trip to one or two attractions, participants can experience bits and pieces of all that the city typically has to offer during the holidays. The expert event host narrates a virtual tour down State Street along with Google Maps 360-degree street views. Sights range from The Palmer House to view the lobby decorations, to Macy’s on State Street to gaze at the window displays and visit the Walnut Room’s Great Tree, to catching a glimpse of the Magnificent Mile’s Lights Festival, Art on theMART and more. Hidden gems of Chicago neighborhood life include Simon's of Andersonville, the CTA Holiday Train, the history of Kwanzaa in Chicago, the Mexican La Posada tradition of Chicago and the Toys for Tots massive motorcycle parade that crosses the South and North Sides: about 20 stories in all. Tickets for the “Virtual Holiday Stories Happy Hour” are $20 / $35 per household and can be purchased www.chicagodetours.com/virtual-tours/holiday-event/
American History!
'Sacagawea: Adventures with Lewis and Clark' Recording This virtual event will be hosted by the Prospect Heights Public Library through November 30 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily (except on Thanksgiving). Martina Mathisen, performing as Sacagawea, will immerse you into her life, experiences and journey into the Louisiana Purchase. FREE. To register, visit: www.phpl.info/
Holiday Lights!
Let It Shine: Drive-Thru Light Show Located at Northbrook Court Mall (1515 Lake Cook Road, Northbrook), this light show will allow families to experience a holiday season tradition in a safe way. Let It Shine is excited to present a wonderland of smart pixel LEDs, all synchronized to your favorite holiday classics. This event will take place through January 9 (closed Christmas Day) from 4:30 - 10 p.m. Tickets are sold for 30-minute increments starting at $29.99. For more information, visit: www.eventbrite.com/o/let-it-shine-31281779303
-Compiled by Dave Hamilton, Suzanne Hanney & Nina Rothschild
www.streetwise.org
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Vendors Russ Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports.
An Open Mic
SPORTSWISE
John: We’re live for another edition of SportsWise. John Hagan with Russ Adams and Donald Morris. We’re taking it back a bit for this open-mic session today: It’s just the three of us “sporting” it up, though Patrick will be back into the mix for the next one. That said, what’s on your mind, Donald? Don: The sport I’ve mostly been looking at is women’s basketball. Now, looking forward to NCAA women’s basketball, I’m a big fan of the DePaul Blue Demons. What’s really going on is Sonya Morris is maturing as a player, and she’s challenging a lot of players at her position. DePaul’s on top of its class in the Big East. They are a good team, and I look forward to seeing them progress during the season. We need to continue to get some wins, though, against the better teams like Creighton. Russ: Hey, guys. Glad to be here today with you all. First off, I really enjoyed the sports that we have had. Baseball was pretty good; the NHL was pretty good; basketball, the NBA, was pretty good. Now, I want to give a shout out to Sue Bird, who won
on a
Crazy Year
her fourth WNBA championship—yes, again! Also, let me say that I don’t think the WNBA gets enough credit. Women’s soccer teams get a ton of credit; they get all of the credit. I think it’s time for that to change. Let’s go! John: What’s on my mind? Well, congratulations to my Dodgers for winning the World Series—that’s number one. Number two, the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning won what appeared to be the lowest-rated Stanley Cup since 2000. Number three is the lack of fans at the NFL games. To me, it’s not entertaining. I just can’t seem to watch it without the fans. It feels like an exhibition game. And the NBA, the way they executed the bubble worked. Even with the shadow of COVID-19 hovering, but the way the executed the bubble worked. And an even bigger shout-out to L.A. for both the
in
Lakers and the Dodgers doing a double-dipper of championships. They did it in 1988, and a little history for those of you who love it: 1979, Pittsburgh held the same distinction: The Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series and the Steelers pulled the Super Bowl. Is there anything else you guys want to talk about? Don: Jumping on what you said about the Dodgers, I would say the San Francisco 49ers is the football team to complete the trio of championships for California. I know it’s a lil’bit outside of L.A., but they seem to be on a winning page this year. I’ll be looking at them this year, as well as women’s basketball. Russ: I want to say one more thing about the football game last night. You know, there weren’t fans there, but I had some people over and, so, we created our own fans. And if
Sports!
you were to get in a pool of some sort, it helps make the game a bit more interesting. I honestly don’t even pay any mind about the fans anymore. Adding those things gives me something additional to cheer, and possibly win a lil’ something. John: My last thing is the Kansas City Chiefs really look as if they’ll win the Super Bowl again, assuming Pat Mahomes remains healthy. But in regard to not having the fans in the stands for gaming purposes, it negates the handicapping, seeing as the powers aren’t able to handicap the home court without the fans. Just saying… Russ: This was SportsWise with Russ Adams, John Hagan, and Donald Morris. Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org
StreetWise, best known for the weekly magazine sold throughout the Chicagoland area by those experiencing homelessness or joblessness, is co-producing a new podcast, WHERE I STAY, with Rivet, about the invisible homeless in Chicago.
“StreetWise saw this as a great opportunity to branch into a new medium to leverage its magazine coverage of homelessness, poverty, inequity, and inequality, and life in Chicago. The podcast featuring local, original art, and set to the sounds of those in the independent local music scene, bridges advocacy and culture in a way that lifts the story off the page,” said StreetWise Executive Director, Julie Youngquist. “This story is more than Angelica’s journey. She is a broader representation of what homelessness looks like in Chicago and across the nation," said Editor Suzanne Hanney. “Her experience is representative of almost all who experience invisible homelessness.” It is available at www.streetwise.org/whereistay and wherever you find podcasts.
COVERSTORY
The podcast, two years in the making, follows the plight of the invisible homeless through the eyes of one woman, Angelica, who first experienced homelessness at age 12. The 8-part podcast hosted by Jesse Betend takes us on a journey through the child welfare and criminal justice systems, as well as the alternative economies that often feel like the only option to survive, and the lasting impact on a life.
A LOOK at the stories behind the new podcast created by Rivet & Streetwise to highlight "invisible Homelessness" and housing instability
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the Subject of WHERE I STAY gets candid about her life experience and the importan of telling her story by Suzanne Hanney
A
s Angelica was working with Rivet radio’s Jesse Betend on recording her 20-year odyssey of “invisible homelessness,” she realized the reason she wanted to tell her story was because she didn’t look like the typical street homeless image that popped up in a Google search: “the person with torn shirt and blanket living under a viaduct in a blizzard, begging for money. “There are individuals who don’t fit those characteristics,” said Angelica, 40, whose last name is being withheld for privacy. “You do have people in a shelter who are clothed well and have a roof over their heads who are homeless. There are people who work, not necessarily begging for money or anything else but still struggling on a day-to-day basis. I wanted to give people a perspective of what homelessness is. It’s easier to put out [pictures] of individuals that’s cracked out or on drugs or eating out of dumpsters than to say it’s an individual who may have an apartment but is literally living paycheck to paycheck or sleeping on someone else’s sofa because they cannot afford $900 rent and food for their child.” Angelica’s mother kicked her out at age 12 after she read Angelica’s diary entry about wanting to crumble up her pills
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and put them in her food -- which would have been fatal. Angelica spent four years in her state’s child welfare system and then a variety of other situations: from couch surfing with a drug queen to serving time for a forged check she did not intentionally pass. Angelica was invisibly homeless, that is, she was “doubled up” with other people and not on the street. But because she was not in a home of her own, she was at the mercy of her hosts, unable to determine her own destiny. What kept her from breaking down as she hurtled through each situation? “My son was a motivation for me. Thinking one day I would see him again. What keeps me above water now is knowing I have a little girl that looks up to me. I am a role model. Everything I am doing she’s watching me. I don’t want her to see me fail, experience the stuff I experienced. I want her to have that mother-daughter bond that I lacked.” In Angelica’s earliest experiences on her own, what kept her going was the desire to prove people wrong, especially her
mother, who was estranged from her father, but with whom she was close. “Good or bad, I was his baby.”
The turning point in her life came when she was living with somebody she calls her sister and the sister’s significant other. Angelica had gotten some weed fronted to them, her welfare check didn’t arrive and the boyfriend said, “ ‘you better figure out something.’”
She also says now, however, that she attempted suicide several times, always with pills, “but something was saying it’s not my time and I had to keep pushing forward.”
Thinking he wanted her to turn tricks for the money, she went into overdrive, packed things up for storage and went to stay two weeks with someone else, where she wound up as in-home babysitter. “This is not what I need to be doing,” she realized, so she tried something different.
The first attempt was at age 12, just before she was kicked out, when she also started cutting herself. “I would tell myself if I inflicted the pain on myself couldn’t nobody inflict more pain than what I was inflicting on myself.”
Y
nce
Angelica had weekly family counseling before she went into state custody, where she first began hallucinating: she saw a bandaged man standing slightly behind her when she looked in the mirror. He would be gone when she glanced away and then looked back. On her 16th birthday, Angelica’s mother bought her a ring, which she pawned. She remained in state centers until she was nearly 17. Initially she was diagnosed with behavioral disorder and then borderline personality disorder and depression. She also got some advice from a therapist to “fake it until you make it,” which she only fully appreciated later to mean that she should model a good behavior until it became natural. Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with bipolar depression and ADHD. There were two more suicide attempts before her father's death a decade ago. She last thought about ending her life two years ago, when she was feeling overwhelmed. Having lived with depression for nearly 30 years, Angelica says that changing her environment doesn’t end the sadness. She’s become good at smiling so that people don’t know. And she goes into the shower rather than cry in front of her daughter, because that triggers the 8-year-old’s tears. What has helped her come back? She talks to her psychiatrist, takes medication and has caseworkers: “Two really good friends I talk to and don’t hold nothing back because they don’t pass judgment. They know when to shut up and listen because that’s when I need to verbally say things out loud. Sometimes they say, ‘have you thought about doing this?’ or ‘Maybe you should do this,’ but they don’t hold nothing I say against me.” She has also created her own family, “a group of people that love me for me,” particularly other motorcycle enthusiasts, who have become like sisters and brothers. Her bike is her freedom, she says, because you can’t worry about your issues when you are watching your speed and looking out for cars.
She went to the Trina Davila community service center run by the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, where she was referred to a shelter. After a few months there, her counselor got her into a permanent supportive housing program for which she pays 30 percent of her income. Unlike many others in line for the program, Angelica had all her vital information – Social Security, medical records -- in an accordion file. A legacy of having been wrongly imprisoned for forgery and theft, the accordion file stays close at hand. “I’m not going to let someone know more about me than I know about them.” She and her then-11-month-old daughter moved in June 17, 2013, and they’ve been there ever since. For the last seven years, Angelica has been employed, putting her experience to good use. She worked first in the housing facility’s child development center and more recently in outreach, providing a parents-as-teachers curriculum to frequent shelter users. She talks about development and shows activities to build attachment between parent and child. Angelica feels her journey helps her to connect with people and build trust. She’s become the person she needed to be. “If I had met someone like me, I wouldn’t have had as hard of a life.” And at 40, she figures she’s only halfway done. She finished her GED at age 20 when she was pregnant with her son and living with someone who encouraged her to do so, even though they later went to prison. She needs three more years to get her bachelor’s degree in youth and family services administration. Because her daughter wants a trampoline and a dog, she aspires to buy a house with a yard. She would also like to travel the United States again with someone who loves her unconditionally. Early in the podcast series, Angelica says her 10-year goal is the shelter director’s job, but now she’s looking more broadly at homeless services. “I don’t know if I want to take over the shelter, create another shelter. I know I am supposed to help other people. I feel that is my purpose. Whatever that may look like once I graduate and touch other aspects. Maybe it’s to have permanent supportive buildings or buildings that are for low-income individuals.”
THIS PAGE: WHERE I STAY producer and host Jesse Betend in the recording studio during the WHERE I STAY sessions (photo provided by Jesse Betend). OPPOSITE PAGE: Artwork for episode 7 by Susanna Felsberg. PAGE 7: Artwork for episode 3 by Susanna Felsburg / color by Jesse Betend.
www.streetwise.org
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Local experts connect Angelica's story to other cases of homeles by Suzanne Hanney
Chicago homeless youth experts who hear about Angelica’s 20-year odyssey of invisible homelessness say they know her, even though they have never met her. “There are elements of her story that resonate with almost everyone we see,” said Erin Ryan, senior vice president at The Night Ministry. “The theme in all of them is the disconnectedness from a network of support, fed by a mistrust.” Angelica was put out of her home at age 12 after her mother read her diary entry that she wanted to crumble her mother’s medicine into her food – which would have been fatal. Earlier, Angelica had been diagnosed with a behavioral disorder. After a few years in the child welfare system of her state, she was medicated for borderline personality disorder and depression.
Mental health is all too often an issue that is ignored, says Cheron Massonburg of Breakthrough Ministries. The family attributes being shut out to teenage blues and only considers untreated mental health around age 22. Massonburg saw a case similar to Angelica’s, where the young woman was closer to her father than to her mother. The father died and the young woman was overwhelmed by stress. She became homeless because she couldn’t contribute to household income like her brother – who was closer to their mother. Thinking her family didn’t care about her, she couldn’t even reach the bus stop on the way to work before returning home. But there are usually issues that show themselves earlier, Massonburg said, like getting bad grades or not getting along with other students. “Especially if it’s a single parent home and they are working and trying to maintain a household and the kid is not acting out, sometimes things will be missed.” She noted that mental health issues can be multigenerational: something the parents have also faced. “More functional families have a difficult time understanding that youth are not always runaways and/or the youth don't have to be ‘bad’ to get kicked out,” said A. Anne Holcomb of Unity Parenting. When her father was being abusive to her mother, the 14-year-old Holcomb couch surfed with friends from alternating cliques or slept in the school restroom. Only a couple of her teachers had a clue. Near the end of high school, her father took her out of school in an RV to the Navajo Indian reservation, where he was so incapacitated he would not get out of bed and she had to change his diaper. As he spiraled down, he became violent and suicidal. Then, in college, he would call her on the dorm pay phone at 2, 3 and 4 a.m. She became homeless when he severed his ties with her because she decided to stay in college rather than come “home” to take care of him. As a result, he was hospitalized against his will, diagnosed with major depression and psychotic features. “There’s always a reason youth become homeless, and usually the reason isn’t the youth,” Holcomb said. “It’s usually something that starts long before that. I am a big believer in historical trauma.”
Our Expert Panel
ssness Often the youth lives in a large family grouping and something happens to trigger the homelessness, Massonburg said. Perhaps a series of things layer on top of each other, Ryan said. One issue can be coming out, since the LBGTQ community is disproportionately represented at 40 percent of homeless youth. “But I don’t want to paint a picture of families as homophobic,” she said. “Families lack the resources to talk to each other about a family member who is gay, especially if they are trying to put food on the table. In the absence of that, the questions and the uncertainties and the fears lead to conflict and somebody leaves or is asked to leave.” Pregnancy is another coming-of-age reason. Either the new mom and baby are forced out or someone else goes, to free up one bedroom of a two-bedroom apartment for the crying baby, Holcomb said. “Family housing is already inadequate and overcrowded,” Ryan said. “That 17-year-old suddenly either starts to feel like a burden or is told they are a burden and they say, ‘it’s easier if I go my own way.’” Family disputes cause up to 98 percent of youth departures she sees, Holcomb said. It could be unrecorded domestic violence between the parents, or the young person experiencing abuse. “The mother was single when she gave birth. Fast-forward 18 years and she has a new boo. He doesn’t want the kid there and says, ‘you’re 18, go out and get a job.’” Or, the stepdad starts looking at the young woman.
Youth will leave the home for whatever reason to preserve their safety, and they make it work by sleeping on friends’ couches. But that informal network of support doesn’t get them the education or job training they need to move ahead, Ryan said. They spiral into worse and worse options. Being in and out of school and foster care can lead to juvenile detention, which is more disciplinary than connective resources. “Once you have touched one or more of those systems, your choices become more limited in terms of access to education or employment.” There were 335 unaccompanied youth during this January’s government-mandated Point-in-Time count of streets and shelters, a 16 percent increase from last year, according to newly released data from the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) and the Nathalie Voorhees Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. However, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless noted in May that there were 16,451 homeless Chicago Public School students in 2018-19, 87.5 percent (14,403) of whom who were “doubled up” or couch surfing with friends. Youth don’t fit the street homeless stereotype, Holcomb said. Instead, they crowd into a hotel room with 20 people or they stay with a “john” or with a friend until the friend’s parent kicks them out. They will sleep on a train or in an abandoned building. When Holcomb doesn’t see youth in the shelter, she worries they’re in an exploitative situation. An older adult may let them stay if they use their Link (food stamp) card to fill the adult's refrigerator – and then kick them out anyway. Or maybe the adult wants to be the payee on their Social Security disability income or wants to claim them as a Link card dependent. When the youth gets thrown out, they can’t get their own Link card until a case manager unravels the situation.
OPPOSITE PAGE: A youth receives counseling at The Night Ministry. Two young men socially distance in one of The Night Ministry's shelters (Night Ministry photos). THIS PAGE: James, a former Ujima Village Shelter resident, is now in his second year of college and has reconciled his differences with his family. “When I was homeless, before finding Ujima, I was just lost. I wasn’t actively seeking employment or pursuing dreams.” James is majoring in Criminal Justice and aspires to become a probation officer or a criminal defense attorney (Unity Parenting & Counseling, Inc. photo).
Erin Ryan, MSW, MPH, is senior vice president at The Night Ministry and oversees day-today operations, which include 20 units of permanent supportive housing for young people and 61 shelter beds for youth as well as medical outreach programs on foot, bicycle, van and large mobile bus.
A.Anne Holcomb,
MS, is manager of facilities and resources at Unity Parenting and Counseling, Inc., which provides housing for homeless youth and families; low threshold, youth, emergency, overnight shelter and more.
Cheron Massonburg,
RN, BSN, is senior director of the Adult Support Network at Breakthrough Ministries, whose programs include education and youth development, workforce development, housing, health and wellness, violence prevention and spiritual formation. www.streetwise.org
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A participant in the Breakthrough Ministries permanent supportive housing program (Breakthrough Ministries photo).
One supportive adult can change the direction of a life, Ryan said.
Similarly, Angelica was couch surfing, went to the supermarket and paid for the groceries with a check her friend handed her. Angelica didn’t know it was a bad check -- and went to prison for forgery and theft. “Angelica’s bad check sent her on a spiral,” Holcomb said. “If she was in a shelter, she wouldn’t have had that bad check.” However, youth avoid shelters and would sell their bodies first, she said. Youth moving into cities where they have no support networks – such as Downstate people leaving their families and coming to Chicago -- are fair game for predators, Ryan said. “There are studies that young people are approached within hours of being on the streets to sell their bodies. Sex work is often the only commodity young people have to trade.” Younger women meet older guys who introduce them to the lifestyle, but the girl doesn’t get to touch the money, Massonburg said. She is pimped. And if a girl tries to run away, the pimp will go after them, “because they look at them as stolen property: slaves, basically,” Holcomb said. Angelica bounced in and out of a lot of situations in a way that seems chaotic to an outsider but would have made perfect sense to her, Ryan said. “Angelica did the best for herself at every point along the way. She makes choices for herself because she needs to survive. The further down the spiral you are, the more limited your choices become. Once you have a criminal record, once you have a baby, the deeper you are, the more limited your choices are and harder to come out of it. That’s why we talk about chronic homelessness. Young people go down that spiral much faster.” Many 17-year-olds who come to The Night Ministry say that they haven’t had any supportive adults in their lives, which Ryan contrasts with her own upbringing in a small town. “I couldn’t even see a PG movie without someone calling my dad. It was known to me that people cared and were connected to my parents in a way that made me feel safe, even if it was annoying. That kind of network support is important and if young people become estranged, we have to recreate that.”
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Holcomb had several supportive adults, each of whom brought resources. There was the lady who encouraged her to go to college rather than remain a file clerk the year after high school, the bus driver who held a “trunk party” on the bus to furnish her dorm room, her hotel gift shop boss who suggested her for a promotion to manager, and the late Mitch Snyder of the National Coalition for the Homeless, who spoke to her for an hour after she told her story to media at the 1989 Protest Against Homelessness in Washington. When young people find an adult who cares about them and points them to resources, they can “start to build a ladder out of the pit,” Ryan said, “but it takes an enormous amount of hard work and tenacity and resilience that often to adult service providers looks like defiance.” The ones who make it out are independent thinkers, people who hustle and gather resources a little bit here, a little bit there. “The difficulty is, you are never going to find everything you need in one place. You need to cobble resources together in a way that works uniquely for you. That takes a lot of persistence and strength.” But “normal life” is relative, Massonburg said. “This population learns to thrive in their new ‘norm.’ They spend lots of time regaining their sense of being and trying not to become isolated once they are housed. Most times these individuals thrive with wraparound services.” Youth programs that end at age 18 or 21 are insufficient, Ryan said, when the adolescent brain doesn’t stop developing until age 26, the age when most insurance programs allow parents to cover their kids. “To think we are going to fully prepare a young person for adulthood and self-sufficiency by 21 is ridiculous. All of us had a whole village.” What’s needed are more programs that focus on family stabilization and reunification, if necessary. “If we focused on prevention and building support early on, we would see less of this on the back end, but our system is built on the fracture and not the prevention of it,” she said. More than shelter programs, two-year transitional housing with 24/7 support is needed, Holcomb said. Youth get weekly or monthly room inspections and can learn skills – like changing sheets weekly – that they may never have been taught. Housing and a job are the two things young people say they want when they come to The Night Ministry, Ryan said. But they need career guidance, too. A minimum wage job will not sustain their lives. “We want to invest in long-term solutions like employment, so they are not just caught in this hamster wheel of shelter and short-term supports. It’s much cheaper for us taxpayers than the alternative: incarceration and child welfare system involvement.”
www.streetwise.org
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A. ALlen's reflections on homelessness When I look back on the years of 2006, 2007 and 2008, I thought they were the worst years of my life because those were the years I was basically homeless and living outside. I lived in cars, garages, abandoned buildings and under porches. It was very rough and many times I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I really thought I would freeze to death. Some nights I'd get lucky and friends would sneak me into their parents’ house. On really cold nights, some men would sneak me past their wives so I would not freeze outside. I am still grateful for these acts of kindness.
INSIDE STREETWISE
Now I work for StreetWise. I realize during those dark years in my homeless life I could have been selling magazines. “On August 24, 1992, a solution emerged to the rising homelessness crisis in Chicago,” is a quote taken from the StreetWise orientation package about the publication’s first issue. It would have worked out perfect for me, but at the time vendors had a three-day orientation. The bus fare I used to get there was my drinking and cigarette money. When it wasn’t finished in one day, I wasn’t going to sacrifice that money for two more days.
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It still worked out good, because in October 2009 I said enough is enough. I could not do another homeless winter in Chicago. That’s when I sought help for my alcohol and drug addiction. And when I got help for these problems, the other problems of homelessness – hunger and hopelessness – seemed to work themselves out. I didn’t go to a shelter because they want you to be in at a certain time, but at night I was making my money to survive during the day: shooting dice, for example. Also, the shelters have all kinds of rules, but they have no rules to keep your stuff safe from stealing. After being sober for one year, I came to StreetWise, the last house on the block for me. Being sober, I was able to think clearer, to rationalize my basic needs. I learned I didn’t need to smoke or drink, I could save the money. The drinking and smoking wasn’t a necessity like being clothed and having shelter. After I went through a substance abuse program, the counselors found me a halfway house and, finally, housing. I’ve stayed sober and am in a much better place.
Streetwise 10/26/20 Crossword To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the
numbers 1 to 9. Sudoku
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8 Captivated by 9 Score before 15 0 Lock horns 1 Sugar substitute? 2 Impressionist 3 Varnish ingredient
8 9 10 11
Intended 43 Blood-typing Average system Rocket power 45 Field measure Exploding 46 India’s smallest sound state 12 Thick piece 47 Dejected 13 ___ annum 50 Electric eye, 22 Fishing aids e.g. 24 N.Y. minutes? 52 Bank note 26 Food grain 54 Fore-and-aft27 Smell rigged vessel wn 1 Center of 28 Speed demon 55 Lazybones activity 29 Eat away 56 Kudzu, for one 2 Children’s 30 Cambodian 57 Ionian gulf author Blyton coin 59 Roof overhang 32 Baseball’s 3 Diamond 61 Sight from Doubleday complement Bern 33 Witch 4 Black shade 62 Turns sharply 34 Sharpened 5 Register 63 Pocketbook 6 It eats shoots 37 “___ say!” 64 Lend a hand and leaves 38 “I’m 65 Neighbor of 7 Organic impressed!” Ala. Copyright ©2020 PuzzleJunction.com compound 39 Chart topper 67 Strong desire
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lastSudoku week's Puzzle Answers Solution
Solution
Sudoku Solution
PuzzleJu
Crossword Across 1 Herring of the east North Atlantic 6 Be slack-jawed 10 Low-___ diet 14 Have an impact on 15 Enthusiasm 16 Woodwind 17 Kind of tube 18 Cozy retreat 19 Opera star 20 Draw back 22 Blasts of anger 24 Formal dance 25 Air hero 26 “C’___ la vie!” 27 Wrecker’s job 30 Caribou 32 Psychoanalysis subject 34 Bailiwick 36 Leaving one 66 Mixed bag place for 67 Perfume brand another by Dana 41 Springs 69 Specific task 43 Cause of 70 Hawaiian wrinkles strings 44 Vernacular 71 Mosque V.I.P. 45 Shippers 72 Moon of 48 Breed Saturn 49 Chemical 73 Catches some ending rays 50 After interest or 74 Axes heart 75 Signs of 52 Born healing 53 Masseur’s workplace, Down maybe 1 The big house 56 Not to mention 2 Corn bread 58 Classic art 3 Litter member subject 4 Having a bite 60 Coal miner 5 Stitching need 62 First
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6 1942 Errol Flynn boxing flick, “___ Jim” 7 Brewpub offering 8 Noodles 9 Siren 10 Musical finale 11 Endure 12 Wanders 13 Savage 21 Sheltered, at sea 23 Fit for a king 27 Toiletry item 28 Creme-filled cookie 29 Withdraw gradually 31 Hardship 33 Mayberry sot 35 Basilica area
37 Cranesbills 38 Get ___ a good thing 39 Grimm villain 40 Musical mark 42 Biblical mount 46 Hereditary 47 Flabbergast 51 Fiats 53 Pathfinder 54 Folk dance 55 Out of this world 57 Literary genre 59 Work ___ 61 Red ink amount 63 Minute amount 64 Speedy steed 65 Telescope part 68 Prohibit
Find your nearest StreetWise Vendor at www.streetwise.org
How StreetWise Works
Our Mission
Orientation Participants complete a monthlong orientation, focusing on customer service skills, financial literacy and time management to become a badged vendor.
Financial Literacy Vendors buy StreetWise for $0.90, and sell it for $2. The profit of $1.10 goes directly to the licensed vendor for them to earn a living.
Supportive Services StreetWise provides referrals, advocacy and other support to assist participants in meeting their basic needs and getting out of crisis.
S.T.E.P. Program StreetWise’s S.T.E.P. Program provides job readiness training and ongoing direct service support to ensure participants’ success in entering the traditional workforce.
THE PLAYGROUND
To empower the entrepreneurial spirit through the dignity of self-employment by providing Chicagoans facing homelessness with a combination of supportive social services, workforce development resources and immediate access to gainful employment.
Solution
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WHERE THE PROTESTS END, OUR WORK BEGINS. For nearly a century, we’ve been working to promote racial justice. Help us achieve it once and for all. UntilJusticeJustIs.org
