1 10 15 https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/f9908ee8788c23de43d0d22037ebf63a.pdf e6f8f77634971d539b900f33e7783876 PDF Text Text New Section ST R EE Tin V IB E S “Agencies S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Action” PG 9 SEPTEMBER 2N Neighborhood visits the Anna Louise Inn PG 3 D - 1 5 T H 2 0 11 Meetup with Renaissance Man Mike Henson PG 14 ISSUE 207 1 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Cincinnati Teacher Fights Being Shut Out of the Political Debate Dan La Botz, a Cincinnati elementary school teacher, who tried but was unable to enter last year's televised debates hosted by Ohio's big eight for-profit newspapers (the Ohio News Organization), has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Elections Commission. MARK GRAUHUIS Contributing Writer a Botz, who ran as the Socialist Party candidate for US Senate in 2010, alleges that Ohio Newspaper Organization (ONO) and its corporate members had scheduled a series of televised debates between Portman and Fisher in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Acting on advice of its General Counsel, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) subsequently dismissed La Botz's administrative complaint on May 19, 2011. However, as La Botz's law team of Mark Brown of Capital Law School and Oliver B Hall of the Center for Competitive Democracy in Washington, D.C., argue: "The Commission’s dismissal of the Plaintiff’s administrative complaint is contrary to law, an abuse of discretion, and arbitrary and capricious". La Botz is now suing the FEC to force it to enforce the law. When there are no objective standards, the debate sponsors may well be in violation of federal election law, which bans corporate contributions to candidates for federal office. After the debates were over, ONO said it had applied its own criteria, inviting the two major party nominees based on their party affiliation and the fact that they were the “obvious frontrunners,” and without communicating what the standards were with the other ballotqualified candidates. Citing legal precedents such as Buchanan v. Federal Election Commission, La Botz said that Ohio has unconstitutionally excluded minor-party candidates for sixty-plus years from its ballots. “Republicans and Demo- L crats made an agreement with the largest broadcasters to provide free coverage, and this amounts to an illegal financial contribution.” If ever this country needed a third party candidate to break the stranglehold of the two-party system, now is the time. As disclosed in the Los Angeles Times just a few years ago, the majority of Americans support the rise Dan La Botz and other political third party candidates struggle to seize their democratic right to be heard in of a third party (Green, Labor, a system that has been hijacked by two parties and a lot of money. Photo: Courtesy of Dan La Botz etc.). But if a ballot-qualified candidate existed who stood status. Parties that have been on the seems childishly naïve for millions of with the American people, rather than ballot since the 2008 election will have Americans, real-deal populists and soselling them out for campaign contrito start over to gain ballot access that cialist once believed it was not naïve. butions, how would we hear them? they already held under a federal court In 1911, nine years before the NineThe landmark decision in the ruling. teenth Amendment to the Constitution Citizens United v. Federal Election The new restrictions set a petition guaranteed women the right to vote, Commission now allows a funding deadline of early February, instead Helen Keller, a supporter of the Socialsource other than ONO to pay for of November in the year before the ist Party of Eugene Debs, wrote: “Ours debates, and to invite ONO members election. This same deadline was held democracy is but a name. We vote? and majority party candidates to it. It unconstitutional in 1968 in Williams v What does that mean? It means that should not be the role of the Federal Rhodes by the U.S. Supreme Court. In we choose between Tweedledee and Election Commission to exclude other addition, third party candidates will be Tweedledum.” candidates from debates without good required to receive at least 5% of the It is a great shame that, at a time reason, or to categorically limit the de- vote during gubernatorial and presiwhen trust in the political class is at an bates to two major-party candidates. dential elections, an unrealistic –as all-time low, we have had the moIn a shocking but logical extension well as unconstitutional- threshold for mentous Wisconsin uprising, inspiring of the recent package of antidemosmaller parties without the ability to and giving hope to people across the cratic measures (e.g SB 138, HB 194, raise money, choose candidates, hold world, yet there was no major TV netHB 159), the GOP recently decreed primaries, or establish membership. work willing to cover its main debates, that, as of September 30, minor parAnita Rios, Green Party member and and there is no party for all those ties would lose any ballot access in Toledo City Council candidate, said, people who helped create a wave of Ohio, effectively banning any alterna“Whether the State chooses to outlaw direct democracy. In 1968 the length tive to the two ruling parties. Ohio us or not, we will continue to fight for of TV news sound bites during AmeriSecretary of State John Husted has what’s right. Our fights to end nuclear can presidential election campaigns made it clear that his interpretation power, protect workers' rights, and ran to an average of 42.3 seconds; by of the draconian Ohio House Bill 194 help minorities and women are too 1988, they had been slashed to only (the same law that restricts the right to important to let the Republicans and 9.8 seconds; by 1992, they were even vote for many Ohio voters, including Democrats stop us, just because they smaller, at 7.3 seconds, and they have the elderly, students, urban and poor are afraid of a little competition.” people) means that all minor parties While a government that is truly See La Botz, page 3 will lose their official statewide party of the people and by the people now Veterans for Peace Fighting to Save Lives PG 4 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati Saucy, Cheesy, Yummy! PG 8 twitter.com/streetvibesnews Hidden Gems of the Queen City PG 12 streetvibes.wordpress.com �2 Editorials From the Director Love is a Hard Choice (and not flimsy) ove. What is love? Often we speak of love as if it were entirely a feeling- something that people are regularly falling in and out of. We say it cannot be explained, but you just know when you feel it. Often we apply the word love to romantic relationships, some family relationship, pets, activities and sometimes very close friends. We quickly say “I love you” when we say goodbye to the romantic partner or close family member. We say “I love my dog” or “I would love to go to the game tonight.” But what is love, really? Sometimes when we feel particularly inspired we say things like “We are to love everyone.” Yet, rarely does the rest of our language, as mentioned, actually match the inspired concept of loving everyone. This is because loving everyone involves loving people that effectively are your enemy or do wrong to others. This is certainly not the same as “love” we talk about that is based on romance, or close blood relations or cute ears on a puppy-dog. This is also not a “love” that is based entirely on feelings-something we just fall in and out of. In fact I would assert that no true love is actually based on any of these things. True love is a choice. Not only is it a choice, but it is a constant choice. And true love does not rely on the actions of the other person. True love may waiver, but not based solely on feeling. True love waivers because as humans our strength waivers. True love is applied to people who truly love us, people who think they love us and people who do wrong to us and those around us. Love is not easy. Love is not some mushy, sweet thing. Love certainly does not always feel good. Love involves work. We have to choose to give of L ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 ourselves in order to love. Even in close relationships, love requires weeding out selfishness. In struggle with enemies we find that love is not the same as “like.” “Like” involves being okay with how someone is or what someone is doing. Love involves respecting one’s humanity no matter what she or he is doing. Love involves wanting something better for that person. If the person in question is an oppressor of others, love involves wanting them to change because it would also benefit them through a more whole life of choosing to love instead of oppress. Loving an oppressor does not call one or many to be weak toward them or to not press forward against them, but to continue to point out their wrongdoings- because if an oppressor stops oppressing others, not only will this be better for the people that are now free, but it will also be holistically better for the former oppressor. Sometimes in an effort to be loving we tend to not challenge, hammer back and overcome those stealing power from others. Loving one’s humanity does not mean liking that person, love means being willing to struggle for better lives for all involved- including the oppressor. While these words are easy to string together, putting them into practice is not easy. Balancing love with just anger, such that love does not turn into something it is not- flimsy weakness and just anger does not turn into something it is not- hate- is no easy task, but it is one we are all called to. Love is a choice, it is hard, often tiring and sometimes painful- but in the end love- True Love Will Overcome. Josh Spring LSW, Executive Director Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: Streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: Streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Editor, Design & Layout Jason Dean Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Letter to the editor August 29, 2011 Dear Streetvibes: You had us worried last winter. We were afraid you were suffering too many changes and might almost expire, but when spring had sprung and the trees flowered again, you did, too. It’s a historical fact at Streetvibes that when new people are needed, suddenly they appear! You have fine new designers and researchers and writers -- and a new editor -- and the paper is in very good health again. We see good work explaining the Kasich bills that would keep people from voting and would drive more and more citizens into poverty; sharp writing from Josh Spring; smart editorials; interviews of people in Over-the-Rhine that are more clearly and artfully constructed than anything in the big papers. -- and much more. I’m a writer myself, and I love good writing, and writing that tells the truth; and that’s why we depend so much on a good bold paper to tell us what’s really happening in this town. We need stirring headlines, and your header for August 19th, “Cincinnati Prays to Save Historical Homeless Shelter,” was a good note to sound -- though we do have to remember that the Anna Louise Inn is not primarily a “shelter” but a residence for working women. It was great that both August issues highlighted the attack on the Inn by Western Southern in a variety of good articles and documents. Your coverage of the campaign to save the Inn was, again, better than anything that could be read elsewhere. I read each and every one of those pieces, and thanks to your publicity, made it to the August 25th Ice Cream Social at Lytle Park for friends of the Inn. That was a marvelous event, and it was gratifying to see that in this cause the progressive churches of Cincinnati have raised their voices for justice. The teachings of Christ are on the side of sisterhood and brotherhood, after all, loving your neighbors as yourself and all of that, and why should Christians not gather in his name to protect those caught in the quagmire of big-money greed we see around us every day? The Unitarians were out in good numbers, we saw Episcopalians, and Mt. Auburn Presby- terian brought fifteen of its members to this event. I met a lot of friends and good people, made a donation to the campaign, and, like a good many others, was guided about the Inn to see how things work there. The rooms are small but often made comfortable by the residents with pretty plants and neat shelves of books and so on. When the new refurbishing is finished -- if it is allowed to be -- single working women of low income will be able to live in modest kitchenette apartments rather than in the narrow spaces assigned to them at present. Today the residents often gather at night in a large basement kitchen, carrying their foodstuffs and their tools and pots down the stairs to cook their meals. The time has come to provide a little more gentle routine, and residents will be able to prepare their dinners in their own kitchens if they wish. I spoke to a woman who grew up in Georgia but who has been living at the Inn for thirteen years. She worked in an office downtown, but is seventy-four now, no longer working, and says she still values her life at the Anna Louise Inn, and would not know where else to go. Lytle Park is beautiful with its canna lilies and handsome lawns. The figure of the old Taft-Sinton home, now the Taft Museum, can be seen facing the far east end of this flowery park; but no one can see the park from the porch of the Inn. The view of it is blocked by an office building raised right in front of the Inn’s front door. It’s a building owned by Western Southern, but has usually been unoccupied, residents say. Let’s ask Western & Southern not only to cease and desist its attempt to remove the Inn from its home of over a hundred years, but also to donate this structure to the Inn itself, so that more and more working women who find themselves alone and in need of help could be served. How would that be for neighborliness? Martha Stephens is a longtime reader of Streetvibes and sometime contributor. She’s the author of novels on working-class life and of The Treatment: the Story of Those Who Died in the Cincinnati Radiation Tests. Director of Education & Outreach, Layout Assistance, Streetvibes Distributor Program Manager Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Georgia Bohannon, Karen Chatman, Stephen Gentry, Rubye Goode, Della Woolens. Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Contributing Writers This Issue: Laura Osborn-Coffey, Jesse Call, Jason A. Haap, Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Catie Dargue, Willa Denise Jones, E.Hayden, Jim Luken, Lee McCoy, Jessica Hopsicker, Josh Spring, A. Mann, Make Cincinnati Weird, Steve Sunderland, Riccardo Taylor, Corey Luthringer, Joe Nolan. Photography/Artwork This Issue: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Catie Dargue, Josh Spring,Girish Balsavar, A.Mann, Kevin LeMaster, Dorothy Dark. �Local & National- ST R EE T V IB E S 3 S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Friends of Anna Louise Inn Hosts Ice Cream Social at Lytle Park Friends of Anna Louise Inn Urge Citizens To Stand Firm ALICE SKIRTZ & JENNY O’DONNELL Coalition Members & Friends of Anna Louise Inn he 350+ people who attended the old fashioned Ice Cream Social at Lytle Park on August 25 showed steadfast support for Cincinnati Union Bethel in the mighty struggle to preserve the Anna Louise Inn for permanent affordable housing for single women. An “everyone is welcome” invitation brought attendees from downtown and uptown, business leaders and residents from the community to enjoy a sunny afternoon with the delights of DoJo Gelato ice cream and the sweet sounds of Chris Miller’s band. Residents of the Inn gave tours of their home soon to undergo renovations to preserve the historic character of the majestic 102 year old building while transforming it into modern, affordable efficiency apartments for women residents. As of the printing of this paper, Judge Norbert Nadel has not ruled on Cincinnati Union Bethel and the city of Cincinnati’s filings for the dismissal of Western and Southern’s lawsuit against them. Western and Southern, who initially expressed a desire to buy the property where the historical inn is located, announced they were filing the lawsuit to be able to have their say about the renovations of the building. On August 10th, in a court hearing, Judge Nadel promised to rule swiftly in the filings for dismissal. However, the nearly three week delay is unfortunate, as it plays into the hands of those trying to stall renovation of Anna Louise Inn. The delay could prevent CUB from completing their renovations in time to comply with the federal investment dollars that were awarded to CUB for the renovations, potentially causing them to lose the federal tax credit investment awarded specifically for upgrading affordable housing. Western and Southern leaders have said they did not get a fair hearing about Photo: Courtesy of Friends of Anna Louise Inn the use of Anna Louise Inn T when the zoning permits were granted, though the city followed the usual permit process, and in fact, held several conversations and one very contentious vote (8-1) on Council floor about the project. However, now Western and Southern’s legal action has stopped all related funding from being Photo: Courtesy of Friends of Anna Louise Inn delivered to ALI, keeping several small and large to think Western Southern was a businesses from being able to start good corporate citizen, a friend of the on already awarded contracts, and community.” Now folks are questiondisplacing nearly half the capacity of ing their motives as Western and the housing to prepare for the renoSouthern continues to change many vatoin; meaning over 40 women who citizen-minds about who the insurcould have found safe and affordance company really is. They ask able housing there, have had to look why W&S would give so much to somewhere else and the renovation cancer research, children’s issues is now being delayed. and tennis tournaments, but cast out The many citizens and business working women who have been living leaders standing beside the residents next door for over 100 years. of Anna Louise Inn overwhelmingly Friends of the Anna Louise Inn urge Judge Nadel to rule in CUB’s urge citizens to continue to write letfavor on the suit quickly, and allow ters to the newspapers, communicate the ALI to upgrade the accommodawith leaders of Western and Southtions for as many as 85 women, and ern so they know your concerns, sign to continue their community building the letter of support for ALI (see the efforts. Friends of Anna Louise Inn CUB website and Facebook page), ask that Western Southern end their discuss this issue with your neighcampaign against one of Cincinbors and colleagues and ask them to nati’s oldest providers of affordable speak up, peacefully protest and take housing. Citizens have been heard every opportunity to stand with the in meetings and on street corners women who need the Anna Louise making statements such as “I used Inn. Five National News Stories to Catch Up On JESSE CALL Contributing Writer Some people experiencing homelessness rode out Hurricane Irene on the streets of New York City, WCBS 880 reports. One man tried to escape the storm but was forced out of taking shelter in a subway station and emergency officials offered no alternative for evacuation, he said. He and another man said they would have evacuated earlier but they were unaware of the early shutdown of the mass transit system because they had no access to a television or radio. As he slept in the storm, he said officials driving by offered no assistance. 1 The National Coalition for the Homeless has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urging his office to review the recent voting reform legislation that has been considered or passed in several states, including Ohio. These 2 La Botz, continued from p.1 declined since then. With regressive campaign rules, there can be no platform on which any voice for the people could address mass audiences other than through punditry. An important recent poll by Christopher J. Bryan of Stanford, in published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that though most Americans are reluctant "to vote". But the poll laws often require state-issued photo identification to be presented at polling place. Many people experiencing homelessness do not have stateissued ID. Some states have also limited the number of opportunities to vote early. NCH said these laws violate federal law and Constitutional protections. In his letter, NCH executive director Neil Donovan writes: “We believe that these laws will disenfranchise thousands of legitimate voters to solve a problem that voting experts claim is documented in only a handful of cases out of the tens of millions of votes cast in the last seven years. We urge the Justice Department to intervene to protect the sanctity of the vote and require equal access to the ballot box across the United States.” NCH is asking supporters to send a similar letter to the AG’s office which they can download at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/. 3 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit dismissed an appeal filed against the City of Rich- also found that they want to "be voters". We are told there is no alternative to the two parties. But there are plenty of alternatives within that no alternative. You can buy petroleum, you can buy ethanol, you can buy biodiesel — but you can’t vote for a socialist. The two major parties essentially rig the system so that outsiders cannot win. Ohio gets a great deal of attention on Election Day. We could send a powerful message to the world by taking direct action towards election reform. mond, Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University on behalf of people experiencing homelessness. The Associated Press reports that several service agencies alleged that the city and university discriminated against people experiencing homelessness by forcing shelter and feeding agencies to move miles away from the downtown area. The ruling in the federal lawsuit said the plaintiffs failed to show any discriminatory conspiracy. 4 A 16-year-old high school student from Gary, Indiana, has admitted to raping a 68-year-old woman experiencing homelessness who had just sought shelter from the rain in a Chicago train station, police told the Chicago Tribune. Video surveillance shows the boy brandishing a handgun and police say the victim reported he told her he would kill her if she did not comply. It is not clear whether the woman was targeted because she was experiencing homelessness, but the teen is seen entering the stop moments after she entered the bus stop. The juvenile remains behind bars and has been charged as an adult. Police in Jackson, Tennessee are targeting people experiencing homelessness, but this time not with warrants or citations. The Jackson Police Department has created a Homeless Outreach Team, or the HOT division, that is designed to “address issues of homelessness the criminal code does not (address),” the Jackson Sun reports. Six police officers have volunteered to participate in the community-based policing unit which will link people with community resources to help them escape homelessness. "Usually, we deal with criminal matters and complaints, but arresting someone who does not have the money to make bail or pay their fines does not solve the major problems," Corley said. “Not to mention these people are our citizens, too." 5 � National 4 ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 But then the vets came to town Veteran’s for Peace is an organization that campaigns against future generations being dragged into warfare through army recruitment in the schools of America. With recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq claiming the lives of America’s young men, war veterans like Joe Murphy and Mike Dedrick want this to stop by the use of an “opt out” option on having children’s information automatically sent to the military. “The military has been treating our schools as a press-gang operation,” Dedrick says To abolish war, that's the mission of Veterans for Peace (VFP), explains Daniel Shea, a Portland veteran of Vietnam who serves on the national board. "Some members are pacifists," here was not much promise in he adds, "but I don't count myself as the week beginning August 1. a pacifist because I do believe in selfOn Tuesday, following the Condefense. If somebody were occupying gressional battle over the debt ceiling, our country, I'd join in the fight. But President Obama signed into law the that would be the only time." Budget Control Act of 2011, and one Shea, along with other members day later national debt surpassed 100 of local VFP Chapter 72, spent months percent of gross domestic product for Past military men and women working hard to prevent the deaths of their future brothers and planning the convention, which the first time since World War II. Portland hosted for the first time. Vets sisters-in-arms. Photo: Courtesy of Veterans for Peace On that same day, Wednesarrived from across the country for five day, August 3, Nick Turse posted to the 2011 Gaza flotilla; and a panel on ask him how he got into the military. days of film, music, tabling and book Tomdispatch.com an article about the the continuing tragic aftermath of war "I was working in construction, sales, speeches and a business meetclandestine reach of the U.S. Special in Vietnam, where people still sicken putting myself through school," says Operations Command (SOCOM), now ing at which 16 resolutions, on issues and die from Agent Orange, and unDedrick. "But I was f##king around, from depleted uranium to Palestine to metastasized to 120 countries, where exploded landmines still maim and kill. playing pool. I flunked out of the Unitoxic chemical dumping in South Kospecial op teams from all branches I choose to watch "The Welcome," a versity of Washington twice and lost rea required their vote. Shea, an artist of the military carry out "assassinapowerful new 90-minute film shot durmy student deferment and got drafted, tions, counterterrorist raids, long-range with a day job at the Oregon Symphoing a unique veterans' healing retreat which would have been two years. So ny, personally curated an exhibit at the reconnaissance, intelligence analysis, in Ashland, Oregon. Under the guidI enlisted for three years 'cause I didn't Littman Gallery called The Tenacity of foreign troop training, and weapons of ance of author and storyteller Michael want to go to Vietnam." Hope. mass destruction counter-proliferation Meade, veterans begin to transform Whereupon he was trained as an operations." And while Turse's chillthe raw nightmare of war into poetry. intelligence analyst and interrogator, ing exposé was probably seen only The film ends with retreat participants and sent to Vietnam. It was 1967 and by lefties - it went to Huffington Post, reading their poems to an audience Dedrick was 21 years old. Common Dreams and Counterpunch of 650 people who pack the Oregon After discharge, he went to Sewithin a day - by Saturday the New Shakespeare Festival's Bowmer attle Central Junior College for a few York Times had published a long and Theater. quarters, earning As and Bs. "When thoughtful piece by Drew Westen One particularly moving poem, I'd dragged my GPA up, I got back into about the demise of our hope in by Melissa Steinman, a veteran of U.W," Dedrick says. "By the time I'd Obama ("…the arc of history does not Kuwait, speaks to the hidden path to earned my B.A. in European Medieval bend toward justice through capitulahealing through the jungle of underHistory, I was already in Vietnam Vettion cast as compromise.") that quickly brush and to the gratitude she feels erans Against the War (VVAW)." became one of the most widely eto older vets. Her poem is called "Old After a stint in a factory and two mailed of the year. Timers - A Term of Endearment." years learning to be an offset printer, What a week! As some of us he went back to the building trades. clicked frantically through websites From across the valley, a brother Meanwhile, Dedrick had begun his On Thursday, day two of the looking for the elusive good news, runs towards me, activism in 1971 as the VVAW Reconvention, the workshops begin and others went outdoors into the novel and nearly out of breath he says, gional Coordinator for Washington and the corridors of Lincoln Hall are loud Oregon sunshine, where news might "There was no path Alaska, working on counter-recruiting with talk and laughter as vets, WW II never reach at all. to healing when we came back. and running deserters and soldiers to Iraq, high five, hug and try to figure But then, on August 3, the vets But we are used to cutting through gone AWOL across the border to out where each of the nine offerings came to town. jungles, Canada. will be held in that first time slot. BackAt Portland State University's we started hacking through the bush Like other vets I talk to, Dedrick to-back presentations include two on historic Lincoln Hall, 400 veterans 40 years ago, regrets ever having let his guard PTSD (encounters with the criminal convened for an annual national in a direction that might lead to it…" down. "But you become fed up or justice system and transformational convention to talk about peace and burnt out, frustrated, depressed. It healing), drone payloads that target to scheme, on several simultaneous Older vets companioning young doesn't seem like its working." civilians, helping GIs who want out fronts; to wage it even in the face of vets is a key dynamic in VFP. "The The one victory he remembers of the military, and a teach-in on the a war machine so lucrative that even Iraq vets would tell you that they're from those years came on August 4, basics of organizing behind VFP's new Eisenhower might gasp. standing on the shoulders of Vietnam 1974. "I was in the Century Tavern, on campaign: How is the War Economy Hope, in the form of resilience, vets," says Daniel Shea, "and we're University Way, when Nixon resigned, Working for You? resistance and nonviolent revolution, standing on the shoulders of WW II and the owner broke out a case of "Man, how do you choose?" I hear was brewing in our midst. combatants who realized later that it champagne. That was a good moone vet was too high a price, that war could ment but, finally, I just couldn't do it grumble in We serve as a creative outlet have been averted." anymore. the elevafor women in need to Shea appears in "The Welcome," "So there's a long history of this uncover their talents and tor. "They're one of the two dozen vets who went [activism], going back to the sixties, build relationships while not going to making and selling jewelry, through the retreat with Meade, but only a lot of people, including myself, repeat any quilts, and other handcrafted misses the VFP screening to give a didn't follow through. items. We provide a of these!" workshop on recent U.S. actions in "In '91, the Gulf War really hit welcoming environment and In the continuous support-our Libya, where we bombed "to protect me quite hard. I really didn't think afternoon, women do the rest. They are civilian lives" and in Honduras, where this country would do what they did I pass up our voice. They are our we facilitated the military coup but take on the so-called Highway of Death, mission. They are our Sarah a session no notice of death squad murders of butchering all those Iraqis," he says, Center. Artists receive 50 % by Col. Ann from the sale of their items, democracy activists. speaking of the night raid on Feb. 26, Wright, who while the rest goes towards The Welcome, released in April of when American aircraft attacked Iraqi materials and other support. resigned this year, is making the rounds of military personnel retreating along in 2003 in festivals and will soon be available for Highway 80, which runs from Kuwait 1618 Vine Street opposition purchase: http://www.thewelcometheto Iraq. Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 to the Iraq HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES movie.com/. war, talkFor more information visit www.sfoutreach.org Long-term activist Mike Dedrick Continued on page 5 ing about is in Portland for the convention, and I organizing MARTHA GIES Street Roots (USA) www.streetnewsservice.org T “We are reclaiming the path of transparency and holding our government accountable,” Paterson states with evident pride. Sarah Center �ST R EE T V IB E S National 5 S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Continued from page 4 The first Gulf War saw the longest strike mission in the history of aerial warfare, and those strikes were televised, giving many of the older vets fresh nightmares. "We got a group of people together, and it was after that that I got involved in the GI Rights Hotline." But it was the invasion of Afghanistan that roused them to action. In 2002 Dedrick helped organize Seattle's VFP Chapter 92 and served as its first president. Today it has 150 members and is one of six chapters in the state of Washington. The Seattle chapter has a pool of half a dozen members who do tabling at state conventions of school officials - counselors, superintendents, principals - where they talk about a key provision of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act where, every fall, students can "opt out" of the requirement that the school give the student's name and contact information to the military. "I see a potential for some structural institution changes with this approach," Dedrick says. The approach, which is only two or three years old, was developed with Washington Truth in Recruiting, where Dedrick serves on the board. "We pay for a table and make our spiel, Dedrick says." Of course, Dedrick and his VFP colleagues continue to go out to schools to talk to kids directly, describing what a war looks like, what it feels like to be in a war, military life, the economics of war. "Once I was telling some students about some prisoners who were tortured and seeing kids that were killed, and one student said, 'I can't believe they let you come in here and say that.' But, generally, it's throwing a pebble into a pond: you never know who that ripple is going to reach," Dedrick observes, then adds philosophically, "It's a short life and you've got a limited amount of resources. My priority is to educate kids about war and militarism." Dedrick had hoped to make a presentation on counter-recruiting, but by the time he contacted convention planners, one Jim Murphy from Ithaca, New York, had already made that request. "So I called him up and piggy backed," Dedrick says. When the two men met for the first time in Portland, they recognized they'd had parallel lives. Jim Murphy served on temporary duty in Vietnam in 1966, and again in 1968 as an Air Force radioman. Seven years ago, he retired as dean of a NYC public high school, a career of 23 years. An anti-war activist since 1971, Murphy is currently with the Veterans Fellowship of Reconciliation chapter in Ithaca, and he co-founded New York Veterans Speak Out, which does truth-in-recruiting presentations in NYC and around the state. On Friday morning, Dedrick begins their workshop, "Military Recruiters in Public Schools: Counter-recruiting in High Schools and Advocating for Model School District Policies," with a characteristically blunt statement: "The military has been treating our schools as a press-gang operation," he says, then goes on to describe the success of the Washington strategy of targeting school administrators. Dedrick points out that the No Child Left Behind provision is not the whole problem. "For years before (NCLB), many schools were already giving the military carte blanch information on students," he says. "And I don't trust Facebook and Monster.com not to be turning all the information they collect over to the military. So it may be that opt out is not so meaningful anymore. But it does get us into the schools." When approaching superintendents and principals, he advises his audience, don't talk in political terms, but rather politely point out that their job as educators is to honor students' rights to information, including balanced information on controversial issues. "Go to a school board meeting," Dedrick advises. "Write a letter asking transparency and holding our government accountable," The presenter is Jeff Paterson, a young Christopher Walken look-alike who was the first public resister to the 1991 Gulf War. He founded Courage to Resist, which raised the money to get Manning a civilian attorney and pressured the government to get Manning moved from Quantico to the Joint Regional Corrections Facility at Fort Leavenworth. Since the move, Courage to Resist reports, Manning's overall mood has improved, he is regularly in touch with his new defense team, and is allowed visits from his family. This year, the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is holding its own convention jointly with VFP, though because of dual membership (two Iraq vets serve on the national VFP board) and the inter-generational if the district has a public policy in place." In New York, Murphy and his colleagues give presentations in the South Bronx and Washington Heights, places where the "poverty draft" is vigorously at work, that is, the military's campaign to target low-income neighborhoods with promises - very questionable promises - of education and jobs. "You ask an African-American adolescent in NY high school: How do you feel about the term 'sand nigger.' You can see you're getting a rise out of him. 'Well, that's what you're going to hear every day if you sign up,' I tell him. 'And you're going to accept that. And that's when you know they own you.' We make sure the kids know that basic training is an experience in racism." Joanne Luchini is in the audience with hand-outs to distribute at this workshop. The stepped-up recruitment effort under the NCLB Act got more civilians involved, and Luchini works through a Portland organization called Recruiter Watch PDX. Her volunteer work is a conspicuous example of how civilians can partner with veterans to do this work, though she is quick to point out that, when it comes to telling the truth about war or military culture, it's the veterans who have the credibility. As one of the many thousands of people who support Bradley Manning, the young Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking to Wikileaks a video showing a US Apache helicopter crew killing two Reuters journalists and other civilians in Iraq, I arrive early for the Friday afternoon panel, Campaign to Free Bradley Manning and All GI Resisters. "We are reclaiming the path of camaraderie, there's no sense of separation. According to Daniel Shea, IVAW has modeled themselves on the film "Sir! No Sir!" by opening GI coffee houses. Jorge González is on the Resisters panel to briefly describe his work at Coffee Strong, an Internet café within blocks of Tacoma's Fort Lewis. The café provides a safe place for active duty soldiers, military families and veterans to discuss war, deployment, PTSD and the hardships of life in the military. Movie nights and concerts attract soldiers who live on base and are looking for a hangout; once there, they can make connections to the GI Rights Hotline, National Lawyers Guild, Soldiers Project NW, Women Organizing Women, and Pack Parachute - that is, organizations that provide information and services. "Vets and civilians have a role in helping them make connections," González cautions, "but it has to be soldiers doing it themselves." Sarah Bjorknas has come down from Vancouver, B.C. to talk about their policy, now in its seventh year, of welcoming war resisters at the Catholic Worker House on East Pender Street. She explains their program of advising about legal status, offering hospitality and social support, while trying to persuade the Canadian government to get on the side of sheltering war resisters. She is dismayed that the government, which has now turned right, is not inclined to repeat the generosity of 1966-72, when 16,000 U.S. male immigrants (considered a solid estimate and probably low) crossed the border, largely congregating in Toronto's Yorktown and in Vancouver. Kathy Gilbert is on the program briefly, talking about the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyer's Guild, which has provided legal support to vets since Vietnam The session ends with facilitator Gerry Condon reminding us that President Carter campaigned on the issue of draft-resister amnesty, and that it was his first act as president, in January 1977. He made it possible for AWOL soldiers to return to a U.S. base and be processed. "It was not an automatic amnesty," Condon says, "but it was in the spirit of leniency." It is late Friday afternoon, and the auditorium is filling with people ready to hear S. Brian Willson talk about "Going AWOL from the American Way of Life." Willson, who has a lifetime of protests, was in the national spotlight in 1987 when he lay in the path of a munitions train that accelerated and took off his legs. I don't go into the auditorium. Though I plan to read Willson's new book, "Blood on the Tracks," I can't absorb one more word. Rather, I want time to think about all the passion and anger, energy and resolve, determination and hope of these two days. As we come up on the 10-year anniversary of the so-called War on Terror, I believe there is no more important task than to encourage and support resistance inside the military, and VFP are pointing to a variety of ways we can all contribute. But also, I want to listen to the haunting voice of Melissa Steinman, still with me from "The Welcome," where she is seen reading her poem about Viet Nam vets reaching out to the GIs in Iraq: "… we're most of the way up the hill, but we saw you coming, so we ran all the way back to get you. Don't get me wrong. The path is narrow and uphill in all directions, but we have cleared most of the brush before you, and as long as it takes, we will walk it with you." Portland author Martha Gies is the daughter of Lt. Carl Parker Gies (1915-64), World War II pilot and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. She is also the newest associate member of Veteran’s for Peace. Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �6 Local ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Streetvibes Editor Top Cincy Baby Names Misplaces Editorial SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer o to a high school graduation in 2028 and you’ll likely see lots of Williams and Olivias marching down the aisle, getting diplomas. Those were the tops two names parents selected for babies born in 2010, according to a list released by the Cincinnati Health Department’s Vital Records Office. Of the 3,657 babies born in 2010, here’s a list of the top ten names: G Boys 1. William 2. Jacob 3. Noah 4. Michael 5. Ethan 6. Benjamin 7. Elijah 8. Aiden 9. Jackson 10. Logan Girls 1. Olivia 2. Isabella 3. Ava 4. Emma 5. Sophia 6. Madison 7. Elizabeth 8. Samantha 9. Brooklyn 10. Audrey The City of Cincinnati’s Vital Records office is the third largest in the state, issuing 48,000 birth certificates and 18,000 death certificates last year. The Board of Health recently lowered the cost for birth certificates by $5.00, to $22.00 because of office efficiency and to keep prices competitive. Customers may apply for and get copies of certified birth certificates at 1525 Elm Street, first floor, or by mail. For more information about vital records, please call (513) 352-3120 or visit the office online at www.cincinnati-oh. gov/health. JASON DEAN Streetvibes Editor C hange, change, change! There’s been a lot of changes in the paper and there will probably be a few more. Change can sometimes be a bad thing when inconsistency places people on unstable ground, but often it can be good if it is related to growth; Streetvibes is indeed growing and evolving as we become more engrained in the culture and politics of the Cincinnati landscape. Ironically, however, our humble paper would love to see the day when we were not needed. Much like other nonprofits and social justice agencies we dream of the day that our mission is complete; a day for us when everyone has affordable housing and there is not a need for street papers or homeless coalitions. But until that dream becomes a reality we shall be here providing economic opportunities for our vendors and a voice for those experiencing homelessness. In the past few issues of Streetvibes, and with several future issues, certain sections of the paper have shifted in an effort to make this a better paper for its readers and a better resource for those experiencing homelessness and low incomes. The biggest change with the current issue that you hold in your hands is the following four pages, the center of the paper. Information regarding our distributor program now sits on page 7, Jeni’s delicious recipes remain on page 8, a new section called “Agencies in Action” is on page 9, and the list of “Resources” has moved from the back of the paper to page 10. This shift is designed to make the center pages double as a sort of pamphlet that can be pulled out from the paper and shared with someone experiencing homelessness to give him, or her, an instant list of resources and opportunities in Cincinnati. Of course, you could also donate the entire paper to someone if you wish (and buy a second copy from your Streetvibes distributor), but having the removable center pages allows for a convenient list that can easily be placed in a pocket. Our new section on page 8, “Agencies in Action,” will see each new issue of Streetvibes feature one of the many organizations that are working hard to help people experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati. Streetvibes staff reporter Susan Lakes will inform us of the agency’s history, mission, work, needs, and hopes for the future. Every two weeks this section will place a face and fill in the details of the organizations you may have heard of or seen on our list of resources. We need to celebrate the good work being done by hardworking people to make Cincinnati a place where we can all live with comfort and dignity. Streetvibes Readers Rally to Help Distributor SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer ames Brown won’t have to buy a brand new bag. A nice person returned the bulky green backpack thieves snatched, and the kind people Brown calls “my Kroger family” hooked him up with a new phone to help offset his losses. Brown’s misfortune happened a few weeks ago. That humid, sunny Monday had started out just like most. He reported to Vine and Central Parkway, stacks of the latest edition of Streetvibes in hand. Brown has been a popular distributor in that same location for two years. When Brown noticed a woman having bicycle problems across the street from his regular post, he walked over to lend her a helping hand. The unthinkable happened. Brown spent a few minutes on the bike prob- J lem, returned to his regular spot, but things were different. His backpack---the one that held his identification, documents, papers and cell phone---was gone. “I’ve been selling in this spot for two years, and nobody has bothered that bag,” he said. “Those punks were just being funny and trying to get something over (on me).” The thought of what had happened temporarily immobilized Brown. He sat alone in the hot sun, hands covering his face and thought about what to do. He decided to walk the short distance to the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless on Twelfth Street to buy another stack of papers. Brown got a surprise when he arrived at the coalition office. An unknown someone had found the backpack the thieving people had practically emptied out and dumped on the street. “My phone, my old phone, they took that. They left the battery and the My Distributor Is… M any Streetvibes readers buy their copy of the paper from the person they consider to be their regular distributor. Every two weeks you walk by that same spot and look out for that friendly smile announcing that the latest issue of Streetvibes has arrived. We would like to hear from you and publish your positive thoughts about the person from whom you pick up your copy of this paper. We invite you to write a line or two, starting with the phrase “My distributor is,” that describes your Streetvibes distributor. Please email your observations to : Streetvibes@cincihomeless.org back but took the phone,” he said. Brown recovered from the loss, thanks to some people with big hearts. The still unnamed person who returned the bag stopped by to tell Brown what had happened, and his customers from Kroger hooked him up with a new phone along with some prepaid minutes. “I got good people at the Kroger building who got me a phone,” he said. “That’s my Kroger family,” There’s a whole bunch of them,” he said, adding that he considers even the ones who don’t buy papers from him family since they are kind enough to speak to him. Coalition worker, Georgia Bohannon works closely with Brown and the other distributors. She’s touched but not at all surprised by what happened. “They (Brown’s customers) love him down there, “she said. “Every time I walk by there he’s introducing me to someone.” The generous gift from James’ “Kroger family” demonstrates the close friendship that exists between many Streetvibes distributors and their customers. Photo: Susan Lakes I purchased my first copy of Streetvibes today from distributor Larry Brown. Larry was exceptionally polite and personable. I also found the paper to be well written and full of interesting community news. This will not be my last purchase from Larry! Thank you, Mrs. Emily Hubbard �ST R EE T V IB E S Distributor Program S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 BERTA LAMBERT SINCE 1997 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 BRIAN BEESON NEW 8/2011 CRAIG FITCH SINCE 7/2011 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 GEORGE CHANDLER SINCE 7/2011 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BURRESS SINCE 4/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 2001 JOHN GAINES SINCE 12/2009 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 KENNETH KIM STONITSCH GREEN SINCE 12/2007 SINCE 1/2010 MARK ANTHONY MARK SHEARS CAMPBELL SINCE 3/2006 SINCE 12/2007 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TIM NEUMANN NEW 7/2011 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 WILLIE LEE JONES NEW 1/2011 Distributor Code of Conduct: 7 1. Streetvibes will be distributed for one dollar ($1). I agree not to ask for more than a dollar or solicit donations for Streetvibes by any other means. If a customer donates more than $1 for a paper, I am allowed to keep the donation. 2. I will only purchase papers from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH). Each paper can be purchased for a cost of 25 cents. I will always show my badge when buying papers and if I do not have my badge I cannot buy papers. 3. I will never buy papers from and/or distribute papers to other distributors. 4. I agree to treat all others – customers, staff, and other distributors – respectfully. I will not use abusive language or force someone to buy a paper. I will not give a “hard sell” or be aggressive. I will not continue to ask someone if they want a Streetvibes after they have verbally or non-verbally said no and I will not make someone feel threatened. 5. I will not panhandle while distributing Streetvibes. 6. I agree to stay off private property when distributing Streetvibes. I will not distribute Streetvibes door to door. 7. I will not stand in front of doorways, walkways, crosswalks or parking meters nor will I impede traffic or sit down while distributing Streetvibes. 8.I understand that I am not an employee of Streetvibes or GCCH but a contracted worker responsible for my own well-being and income. 9. I agree not to distribute additional goods or products when distributing Streetvibes. 10. I will not distribute Streetvibes or purchase Streetvibes under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 11. There are no territories among distributors. However, I will respect the space of other distributors, particularly the space of distributors who have been at a spot longer. 12. It is unacceptable for any distributor to persuade or ask customers not to purchase Streetvibes from other distributors. Coercion will not be tolerated. If a customer prefers to purchase from certain distributors that is up to them. 13. I understand that my badge is the property of Streetvibes and I will not deface it. I will present my badge when purchasing papers and display my badge when distributing papers. If I lose my badge I will pay three dollars ($3) for a new one. If I lose my lanyard I must pay ($1) for a new one. If my badge becomes ruined because of weather or use, I will get a new badge for one dollar ($1). 14. I understand that Streetvibes strives to be a paper that covers homelessness and poverty issues while providing an economic opportunity for individuals looking for extra income. I will try to help in this effort and spread the word. 15. I will not deceive the public by saying that I am collecting for a nonprofit charity or that I am collecting for the “homeless” in general. I will be in honest in stating that all the profits from the sale of Streetvibes go to the distributor. I will only use the word “donation” when referring to myself, not the Coalition. 16. There are special rules for distributing at Findlay Market. Only distributors with approval may distribute at Findlay Market at a time. Other rules as established by Streetvibes and Findlay Market. 17. I will attend monthly meetings. Monthly meetings occur every 4 weeks on Fridays at 1PM, (dates are posted in the lobby) these meetings are mandatory. Anyone who cannot make the meeting must talk with the Distributor Program Coordinator, before distributing Streetvibes for that month. Ten papers will be given to those who attend the meeting. 18. It is the responsibility of each distributor to police fellow distributors or former distributors. I will report violators of the rules to GCCH. The value of the paper depends on keeping it credible. 19. I understand that any infraction of the above mentioned rules will result in suspension of my privilege to distribute Streetvibes and possible termination from the program. Badges and Streetvibes papers are property of GCCH and must be surrendered upon demand. For questions or comments pertaining to the distributor program contact: Jeni Jenkins, Distributor Program Manager. Ph:513.421.7803 Ext. 14 jenijenkins@cincihomeless.org �Recipe 8 ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 OUR... LONG! M Y E S E NIGHTNI JENKINS L FEED M L A E BY JE FEED M The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! Saucy, che e CREAMY RAVIOLI & ITALIAN VEGETABLES While eating out of the freezer isn’t ideal, from time to time having frozen food on hand, ready and available can be a life saver. For me, when I’ve come home after a long day at the office, at times the last thing on mind is cooking. But if I am famished enough, I get the job done. I made this recipe on one of THOSE days, when I went all day without a meal and I really needed to make something quick. I scoured my fridge, freezer and cupboard until I came up with this. To my surprise it was super tasty. I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-6 bellies. Ingredients: • 1(25 oz) bag frozen Cheese Ravioli • 2 tablespoons oliveLOREM oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced IPSUM • 1 (16 oz) bag frozen Italian style vegetables • 1 cup pasta sauce • 1 cup sour cream • 1 cup shredded mozarella cheese Directions: • Cook the ravioli according to the directions on the package. Drain and return it to the pasta pot. • Heat the oil in large non-stick skillet over medium Praesent molestie lorem Etiam ac libero heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Sed turpis • Add the frozen vegetables and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. • To save on pots, add the pasta sauce and sour cream to the veggie mixture in the skillet, bring to a slow simmer, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. • Add the shredded mozarella and stir until melted. • Add the sauce to the pasta pot and toss to combine. • Voila, FEED! sy , y um my! �ST R EE T V IB E S Agencies in Action 9 S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 The Mary Magdalen House SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer It’s not exactly a pricey day spa, but for some people, it’s more than that. Mary Magdalen House is a place where guests can shower privately, use the toilet, freshen up, make a phone call and walk away wearing clean clothing. Their hosts, the volunteers and staff, call them by name, too. That personal touch is just one of the features of Mary Magdalen House, a non-profit agency that reaches out to the homeless and extremely poor members of the Greater Cincinnati community “Though not having a dime, we want them to feel like a million,” said Giancarlo Bonutti, the center’s director. “Dignity is the beginning of hope.” Bonutti put his words to action during a recent interview at the center. He sat behind a reception desk, scurrying to hand out bars of soap, towels, freshly laundered clothing and other necessities to those who waited in line for some spruce up time. For more than two decades, Mary Magdalen House has offered people relief from the stress and hardships of street life. The numbers run about 90% male guests, but the center welcomes adult men and women. Bonutti and former director, John Martin, agree that guests tend to be a younger lot than what was true twenty years ago. One shower is fully equipped to serve guests with physical handicaps, Fast Facts: including limited mobility. For three decades, it’s offered people relief from the stress and hardships of street life. For volunteer, Ellie Logan, the center shows a whole new definition of dignity. “It takes a lot to keep this place going,” she said, checking to make sure all supplies were in order and ready to distribute to guests for their afternoon oasis time. Logan began her volunteering when she was a student in a homeless course at University of Cincinnati. Longtime volunteer, Portia Fuller, likes best the personal time with the guests. “I get to know the guys and ladies by name,” she said. “Some people think homelessness equals worthlessness, and that’s not a good stereotype.” Meanwhile, a long line forms. Guests sign in, hosts smile and chat with them. The lines shorten as groups of seven move from the reception area into one of the three black and blue tiled shower rooms, into one of the many individual stalls located next to the toilets, urinals, mirrors and counters. Below, washers and dryers hum, cleaning one of the twenty-five daily loads. The two just a hair short of boiler size hot water heaters run continuously. And another day goes by at the place that was once a former butcher shop until someone had a dream and decided to put tons of love into giving to others. 3 = Washers wash the clothing at Mary Magdalen House. 626 = Dollars (estimated for 2009) spent per month for water. 4 = Large dryers dry the clothing at Mary Magdalen House. 25 = Loads of laundry completed daily at Mary Magdalen House. 100 = People take showers at Mary Magdalen House each day. 25 = Volunteers. 2 = Weeks the shower house stores clean clothing for guests. 150 = Bags of stored clothing pulled off the shelves every two months to keep shelves orderly. 14,200 = Showers taken by guests since computer tracking began in 1995. 7 = Full and part-time shower house staff. 90 = Percentage of budget met by private donations. 2 = Water heaters, each with 199,000 BTU’s. 831 = Dollars spent each month (average) for gas and electric in 2009. 1,547 = New razors provided in a single year. PainterTeam:Layout 1 6/15/2011 4:43 PM Page 1 How Do I Find The Shower House: Mary Magdalen House is located on the west side of Main Street, just north of 12th Street in Over-The-Rhine. If you’re downtown, head north on Main Street which is a one-way street. The address is 1223 Main Street, and the phone number is (513) 721-4811. Visit the center online at marymagdalenhouse.org. Background: Founders of the shower house saw individuals being forced to toilet in parks, parking lots, driveways or stoops. The needy people flocked to Old Saint Mary’s Church, saying they wanted to work. Work was unlikely since many of them were dirty and unshaven, and lacked access to phones for appointments. The Rev. Dohrman W. Byers, Mrs. Mary Heller and a family in the parish birthed the idea of Mary Magdalen House. It opened March 25, 1988. The Details: Mary Magdalen House is open for showers every day except for Sunday. No appointment is necessary. The hours are 8a.m. – noon and 1p.m. – 4p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8a.m. – noon on Saturday. Guests take showers on a first come, first served basis. First time guests receive a change of clothing. Also, guests can chose to have the center do their laundry. Telephones are available. Buying or selling . . . The Painter Team For all your real estate needs, call: Michael D. Painter, e-Pro, REOS, SFR 513.348.7999 Candace Kadivnik Painter, CRS, ABR 513.266.1025 Painting the town sold . . . 513.474.9100 �Resources 10 ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point (Family Shelter Hotline) Cincinnati Union Bethel 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 381-SAFE St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 681-2365 762-5660 872-9259 Shelter: Men 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 241-5525 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Starting Over Treatment: Both Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 AA Hotline CCAT Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 471-1100 221-3350 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 721-8666 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-5300 961-1983 621-6364 PainterStreetNew:Layout 1 4/22/2011 1:33 PM Page 1 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 562-8841 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 784-1853 921-1613 961-2256 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4663 351-0422 381-6672 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-2247 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 558-8888 981-5800 458-6670 977-4489 Other Resources Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4080 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Anthony House (Youth) 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Crossroad Health Center 271-5501 Treatment: Men First Step Home Shelter: Both 241-1064 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Charlie’s 3/4 House City Gospel Mission 535-2719 591-2246 241-2600 241-2563 621-5514 381-0111 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 721-4700 421-7803 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Compliments of Judge Mark Painter United Nations Appeals Tribunal 2009– Ohio Court of Appeals 1995–2009 Hamilton County Municipal Court 1982– Judging strictly on merit for 30 years www.judgepainter.org Paid for by the Judge Painter Cte., Paul Gaffney, CPA, Treas., 5086 Wooster Road · Cincinnati, OH 45226 Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 859-491-8303 ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care Northern Kentucky 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �Street Voice ST R EE T V IB E S 11 S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 In the Mix RICCARDO TAYLOR Staff Writer ftentimes we find ourselves in the mix of the streets, and as often we realize that we are in above our heads and yet we continue to mix it up. Now if I didn’t quite make that clear then let’s put it another way. The life on the streets takes on many twist and turns almost never leading to a conclusion but rather adding more twist and turns! Then on those occasions when we have the opportunity to look back, we see where things went array or at best how we caused ourselves more inconveniences. So, we are in a perpetual state of questioning ourselves as to why, how and if. Insanity they say it’s doing the same things expecting different results, I say it’s doing the same things knowing the results! So the questioning seemingly is easy too resolve, but is it really? We make a mistake, and then find ourselves ill at ease, trying to figure out the why? Why did I do this, why was I there, why, why, why! Then we finally conclude that it goes with the territory, so we stop questioning why, and just chalk it up to the game! Of course during this whole episode we are convincing ourselves that we won’t go that way or do that again! Then comes the most depressing ques- O tion. How did I let that happen? How can I fix this or that? How do I make that right? The how is most profound because we have so may answers, so many alternatives, so many resolves, yet no real answers as to how! Well, again we are chalking it up to the game! Dawning our usual thinking, we won’t do that again! Now we are at our most common review. If only I had! If I had done this or that then this or that would not have happened! If I had just took more time, if I had went in that direction, if, if, if, how ease to place blame! But then why place blame? And the questioning goes on and on why, how and if! Of course it’s the same old line, “chalk it up to the game!” So, here we are at standstill, trying to figure which way to turn. We understand what is up ahead and we also know what’s behind, yet like the toss salad of life we continue find ourselves in the mix! Sometimes our senses come into play and we think outside the box. Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH What? What do I do to get out of the mix? Ideally a proclamation is in order so we the very things we are trying to alleviate that start to seek out ways to relieve ourselves pattern of destructive thinking and acting! That of the whys, how’s and ifs. It is at these times same old mix that we so badly want to extract when we are most vulnerable. It is here that we are faced with the reality that what we know ourselves from. Why me, how did I, what if? They all are an integral part of being in the mix, best isn’t what’s best for us! Instilled with the so the question remains, how do we satisfy the old mind-set of do or die we start to mix even stirring that is the mix of our lives. more so! Confusion can lead to relapse into Follow the Money, Invest in Solutions SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer erry Lewis called Matt and Joel his kids. They weren’t. They were my sister’s beloved sons, my very own nephews and my parents’ grandchildren. Lewis, the comedian, hosts the annual telethon that raises funds for neuromuscular diseases, including the awful kind of muscular dystrophy that crippled and then slowly killed Matt and Joel. He’s the longtime spokesperson for The Muscular Dystrophy Association, or MDA as it’s commonly called during the annual fundraising telethon. My sister despised that telethon weekend. She called Lewis a phony, and vowed never to support or take support for her children from anything MDA-related. Instead of Lewis and his ilk, my big sister turned her hopes for “cured” J children to a small muscular dystrophy foundation based in Indianapolis. It was founded and run by a doctor who devoted his life to finding a cure for Duchene Muscular Dystrophy. The doctor bound my nephews in braces for his research. He periodically sliced muscle tissue from their calves and examined the tissue to check for improvements. I’m not sure what the final outcome looked like. If Joel and Matt showed improvement, it was shortlived. Matt, the oldest, died first. He was in his early thirties. Joel died at about the same age a few years later. I miss their beautiful smiles. I miss their spunk and spirit, especially Matt’s. One time, Matt was driving his motorized wheelchair too fast through a pharmacy aisle, and knocked over a big display. He turned it into a hit and run incident! Yep. Matt watched that display fall, and then high- tailed it home. My sister, being the great mom that she is, treated this speeding incident just like she would have had Matt been able to walk and drive a car. She had the police give Matt a speeding lecture, then made him apologize to the pharmacist. I think a lot about Matt and Joel when I decide which service gets my hard earned money. This thought process began back in the ‘70s when they were babies and when I first started working. The job encouraged us to give to United Way, so I did. (Looking back, I think there was some kind of contest going on that our agency leaders wanted to win). I filled out the form, picked the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, had the payroll deduction and basically forgot about the money that was being pulled from my check, until … About a year later when I noticed my name didn’t appear on the list of donors for the foundation. I called and told them how much I had given, and found out that none of my money had made it to the foundation. It seems my employer had notcommunicated my consent and “given” all that money to The United Way, but not to the specific charity I selected. I was hot. I felt duped. I couldn’t get them to understand that I wanted to pick exactly where my donations landed. I insisted that they find the money and immediately forward it to The Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, the place that offered so much hope and solace to my sister’s family. I can’t even remember what happened, but I do know this; nowadays my donations had better go to the right place, and the recipient organization/agency had by golly better use it for what it says it will. If not, I’m prepared this time to call in government agencies, fraud units and even the IRS. I just might even call in the big guns with homeland security! That’s how very seriously I take investing in real solutions. �12 Arts & Culture The Cheetah and the Pig NICHOLAS HOESL Contributing Writer e all heard of the Olympian competition that decided the fastest cheetah in the world, pitting the Cincinnati Zoo’s Sara against a cheetah in South Africa named ZaZa, each soloing on their own turf. After Sara’s three timed runs at the Kentucky Speedway infield in Sparta, Sara claimed the world record for the 100 meter dash. “This was not just for fun,” said Cathryn Hilker, who founded the zoo’s Cat Ambassador Program. “It’s to look at the cheetah in awe and say, ‘We must not lose this glorious animal.’ ” Zoo patrons know all to well what happened on September 1, 1914, when Martha, the last passenger pigeon in the world died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. The population of cheetahs has dwindled from about 100,000 at the turn of the century to 12,500. All of this brings to mind my participation in the zoo’s annual “Cheetah Run,” a three mile Run/Walk within The Zoo several years ago. Cars began pouring into the gates at 7:15 a.m. One of the best kept secrets was that you could load up your car with runners and non-runners to enjoy a family day at the Zoo without an entrance or parking fee. Also on tap was the Children’s Fun Run around Swan Lake. Parking the car in the Peacock Lot, I stroll-stretched into the pre-race crowd, when a megaphone man announced, “The Flying Pig has arrived.” Decked out in my baggy pink pants with silver wings and pig-pug nose, I felt right at home with twolegged and four-legged creatures. I was also here to plug Cincinnati’s “Fly- W ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 ing Pigs Marathon” in May. Most runners remember the infamous Rosie Ruiz when she cut short her route and claimed her crown in the New York Marathon by using the subway to receive 15 minutes of fame. I took the longer route in running “The Big Apple.” Bumping into her, I asked what brought her to this race. “Oh, I no cheetah in this race. I come to town to see the Reds. Just call me “Rosie Red,” as she flaunted her Scarlet O’Hara persona. But I needed to get focused if this was to be my day of swine and roses. Then to my delight a zookeeper walks up to me with a real live cheetah. Her name was Moya. What a magnificent creature. This guy set the world speed record for land mammals, covering 100 meters in 6.6 seconds. We were in awe of her unassuming presence. Some were not surprised, considering that cheetahs go into schools and exhibitions, so why not see them up close and personal on their own turf? Asked about the dark malar stripes under the cheetah’s eyes, we were told they were to keep the glare out of the eyes and enabling it to spot prey as far as three miles away. Everyone’s adrenalin rose, not to mention the expectation of a fast course. I noticed the cheetah eyeing me from snout to tail, or was this a pigment of my imagination? There are no pigpens in the zoo. One employee thought a pigpen was something you write with. OK, let’s cut to the chase. At the crack of the gun, the runners headed out along the Zoo’s outer perimeter. There was an unusual amount of joggers behind low-slung kiddy strollers, and one whimsical pig solidly in the rear. As we rounded the oval the second time, Bengal fans were starting to stir. Forget about football. We’re talking real Bengals. Call it a reverse spectacle. “Run for your life,” a guy yells as he flies by. For me, the miles go easier when cracking a few jokes or belting out a song. I passed a group of zoo caretakers and couldn’t help saying, “You can thank us for your break today.” Circling the famous Elephant and Giraffe House with the Indian Mogul dome, I asked a runner if he knew how to get an elephant out of the theatre. “You can’t,” he panted, “not if it’s in his blood.” Rounding Monkey Island, we all wondered if the monkey was wondering whether he is his brother’s keeper or his keeper’s brother. More important, will the lead runners leave us any bananas? Every time we passed the Passenger Pigeon Memorial and took a quick glance at Martha’s statue, it was a time to reflect. Imagine if Martha was still around and the CREW (Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife) crossed the woodpecker with the carrier. You would get a bird that not only knocks on your door, but also delivers a message. Asking Zoo employees why more animals are not watching the race, they replied, “they’re mating,” Then added, “If you had the choice, what would you do?” No wonder Newsweek called it “The World’s Sexiest Zoo.” To be fair to the primates, some do take up painting, but most watch “Planet of the Apes” re-runs. By this time I was grunting and sweating, well, like a pig. My inner voice said “slow down.” My alternate said “Hogwash.” Unexpectedly, I meandered off the trail. Peering over my pork shoulder, I spotted the cheetah in the distance. At first I thought “how quaint.” This was Resuming up the pathway by Yeatman’s Cove is a pedal-activated model inscribed on the treadle by the mark of J.G. Murdock & Co. with the surname cast into the base and also addressed as Cincinnati. O. About a return route, a hop uptown to 4th St., whereby in a recess by the Christ Church is an august pedaloperated Murdock “bubblefont” continuing to promisingly provide vital intake to the people in the area. Setting upon turning up any records for the inception of the oldest Murdock “Bubble-Font”, surprisingly led to scant mention, even with local searches*. One source was a Cincinnati Post column by Si Cornell in 1978 from an article were J. Kelso Murdock related that John G. Murdock was a Scottish immigrant who on arrival in the States in 1842 applied his plumbing skill, eventually opening a supply store downtown on 5th St. According to J. Kelso his ancestor invented a “nonfreezing” fountain in 1853 that due to its bypass mechanism below the frost line meant that his fountain could be used year-round. This early claim led to delving into other sources that cited Harlan Huckleby- and as ceded Kohler- with the initial patent for the first “bubbler,” from which the modern drinking fountain derived being issued in 1888, with further credit given to Halsey Willard Taylor and Luther Haws for their wider efforts of sanitary drinking fonts in the early 1900’s. Why though has Murdock’s name largely been left out of this prime development? Aided by an employee of the current company there was a clarifying her names day, her back yard and now, her fun run. Hold on! Did the park install invisible fencing? No! The cheetah flagged her long tail skyward. Oh God, the charge was on! Adrenalin, don’t fail me now. At the Nocturnal House, I took off like a bat out of hell, squealing, running as fast as my hind legs could carry me. Was I to become a ham of draconian proportions? What would Doctor Dolittle do, besides chatting to the cheetah in Cheetonese? Would there be one less member of the World Wildlife Fund? Feeling heavy breathing on my neck and wing tips, I veered off sharply with zigzags and did a double handstand leap over a canyon wall. The cheetah stopped cold. Peering down, she gave me a quizzical grin, as if to say, “Well, now I know pigs can fly.” I also knew what it meant to be looking out instead of looking in. The game was over. For the following year, Zoo officials advised me to come dressed in any other costume. “Cheetahs go wild over portly pink pigs,” they remarked, “especially if they can catch one by themselves.” As for everyone else, they told me what is well known…running can save your life. Others said the whole episode reminded them of the movie “Charlottes Web.” Then they told me I was “Some Pig.” Join The Cheetah Run, Sunday, September 4, at 8 AM. Go to www.cincinnatizoo.org Nicholas Hoesl, of Westwood, is author of “Laughter: The Drug of Choice,” and “Jest Desserts of Cincinnati’s 50 Plus.” Hidden History: Cincinnati’s “Bubble-Fonts” A. MANN Contributing Writer long the Ohio River on the plaza that holds a piping memorial is nearby a familiar sight- a public drinking fountain. Often taken as a routine fixture for accessing potable water these joint founts are in regard of their lasting features vastly significant. In plain view the iron bearing of these base receptacles initially relays the look of a practical appliance more than any ongoing symbolic offering representing a prime issuance to Cincinnati’s heritage and growth. On the basis of the first fount, little is seen of any marked aspect beyond a useful button at hand. Further adaptation is visible from the basin that is pitted and though chromed inside, the bronze bowl is weather worn. The cissing felt of the outer rim has dredged up recollections partook of an alike fount; hazily re-forming past romps in area parks and city jaunts with my Dad, or on especial times granddad. In this reverie a whispered memory increases an odd quip by my grandpa for this drinking device… a “bubble-font.” This phrase prompts a release of a name recalling a sound stamp upon this fount being set as Murdock. A exchange made with Bob Murdock and his account was candid, deserving further detail than is within this article’s given scope. Archival material from 158 years ago is subject to fugitive conditions and the past documents may have been lost, as Bob stated that many original records perished in a fire in the early 1900’s at the building on 5th. St.. In further relay he shared that the patented system was originally installed within an “anti-freezing hydrant” mentioning that many are still in operation within Spring Grove Cemetery as well as some other extant fountains. As for an inset date for the “bubble-font” on 4th St. it remains unknown, though Bob shared it may be the oldest in town, being rebuilt twice in the last 30 or 40 years. Towards a recall of any well-built fonts before that, he reckons it was likely in Eden Park that has since be-en replaced, while the prior landmark fountain accorded by J. Kelso remains flowing in French Park since 1890. *Sincere thanks to Jeanne Strauss De Groote of the Genealogy and Local History Department in our Main Library, whose persistence and professional knowledge provided sources of reference when there seemingly were none in the system. �ST R EE T V IB E S S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Arts & Culture 13 The Great Mustache Bash h, the Mustache. By definition, it is facial hair on the outer surface of the upper lip. It has grown its way into our history on such notable faces as Salvador Dali, Groucho Marx, and Adolf Hitler. Mustaches come in more flavors than Graeters Ice Cream, including such beauties as the Walrus, the Horseshoe, the Pencil, the Chevron, the Toothbrush, and who would forget, the Fu Manchu? Understanding that this persistent growth is undoubtedly ingrained into our past and certainly going to be involved in our future, a local group of hairy faces is celebrating the bristly, bushy, but always beautiful, mustache. On Wednesday August 24, promotion site Yelp – along with co-sponsors Arnold’s Bar and Grill, Far-I-Rome Productions, Christian Moerlein, Shutterbooth.com, and Vitamin Water – threw an event unlike any that Cincinnati has ever seen. Men from all over Cincinnati brought their scruff, scraggle, or your facial fur and enjoyed conversation, competition, and music with similar folk. Those not blessed with whiskered lips, strapped on some artificial fur and fit right in! Fake facial follicles were available at Arnold’s for those who might have been left out. Prizes were awarded for such amazingness as “Craziest Mustache”, “Best Fake Mustache”, and of course, plain old “Best Mustache”. Mustached musicians: the Kelsey Skaggs, The Turkeys, and Indigo Wild provided the sounds. (Jake Gerth) O To learn more about the increasing weirdness of the Queen City visit www.makecincinnati weird.com Feywill Inaugural Music Festival Rocks the Strasse NICK GREVER Contributing Writer C incinnati show promoters seem to love dichotomies. How else could you explain planning a weekend long festival, with over 50 bands, of varying genres and crowd types, and plop it all down in Covington’s popular MainStrasse village? But, in between surf-rock bands performing in an Irish pub and a sleaze rock band playing in a dance club, music fans were able to enjoy all that the inaugural Feywill Music Festival had to offer, even if normal club attendees weren’t so sold. By any measure, Feywill was a massive undertaking, with a massive list of bands, spanning across several MainStrasse bars and Goebel’s Park, effectively taking over the village for two nights. Perhaps due to Feywill’s age, much of the usual MainStrasse crowd seemed a little unnerved by the invasion of local music fans, but that was half the fun. Seeing Banderas perform a floor show at Pachinko, amidst the sea of club-goers was a paradox that festival organizers surely relished. But the festival’s bands seemed to make the very best of their various venues. MainStrasse standards, such as Cock and Bull, Zola and Strasse Haus were transformed, if only for two nights into music clubs. In fact, many of the venues saw a surge in attendance as the nights progressed and the bands started their sets. Being able to hear much of the bands from the street surely brought in inquisitive ears, curious to see what all the fuss was about. MainStrasse village’s layout was perhaps the biggest benefit to the chosen location. The festival, spread across just a few blocks made traveling to see several different acts quickly very easy. Crossing from one end of the village to the other took but a few minutes, allowing fans to crisscross their way across the festival. Combining this with the festival’s cheap pricing for nightly and weekend passes enabled music fans to enjoy a vast amount of live acts within a short amount of time. Several of the venues were free for all, making the price of admission even less for many attendees. Parking was an issue, but that’s just a normal occurrence in the MainStrasse area. When the worst part of a festival is having too many people at said festival, that’s a pretty good sign for a new event. For a brand new festival, Feywill drew in several big, local names, such as Loudmouth, Eat Sugar and The Harlequins (alongside many more) along with major, local sponsors, like Ale 8, Maker’s Mark and Kentucky Ale. The strong local ties made for an event that has a lot of promise for years to come. In fact, the vast amount of local bands and support provided a nice counterpoint to the other major music festival of the area: Midpoint. Midpoint has grown exponentially through the years and this growth has brought a lot of national attention. This national recognition, while very beneficial for the festival and the area, has also caused an influx of national and regional acts joining the festival to perform. Feywill’s almost completely local lineup was a welcome shift from Midpoint’s evolution. Being able to see a band and be almost completely assured that you could see them again soon at some local club is undeniably exciting. Ultimately, the inaugural Feywill Music Festival could be considered a success by any measure. Several dozen local bands, backed by local sponsors, and their fans converged upon MainStrasse village, took the stage across nine venues and rocked out for two nights of fun. With Midpoint and its myriad incarnations, Cincinnati and northern Kentucky is quickly becoming a hotspot for quality music festivals. With the inclusion of, hopefully, another yearly music festival, that reputation can only grow. �Meetup 14 Renaissance Man Meet Mike Henson. Age 64. Alcoholism Counsellor. Poet. Musician. Novelist. Lifelong activist. JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer M ike Henson has come for a meeting in the storefront office at Buddy’s Place, at 13th and Vine. In the short time before the meeting opens, he stares out the big front windows facing Vine Street. “I remember when those windows were filled with guitars and sheet music.” We were sitting in what was once—Mike reminds me—the Jimmy Skinner Music Store, a hub of old time music in Cincinnati for quite a few years. During that period (the 60s and 70s), according to Henson, there were five churches and five bars on Main between 12th and Liberty. “They were all playing bluegrass music. Even the Stanley Brothers came here to play.” At that time many, perhaps most folks in Over-the-Rhine had Appalachian roots. Mike Henson’s long-time involvement in Over-the-Rhine stems primarily from the neighborhood’s Southern Mountain heritage, which is now mostly a thing of the distant past. Having always loved “the hillbillies.” Mike, who has published a handful of books and holds a Masters Degree in English, proudly considers himself a hillbilly too. Of sorts. He remembers growing up semirural in Sidney, Ohio, an hour and a half north of Cincinnati. His mother was a school teacher, raised in Massachusetts. But his Dad’s roots were in the hills of Kentucky. The Henson family Sidney home’s backyard bumped up against the backyard of another Henson home, the place where his paternal grandparents had retired. Mike’s grandpa had “little or no education,” but he played five musical instruments. Henson says he would learn Southern words and expressions from his grandparents, then go home, and his mother would correct him. Henson smiles. “She talked like the Kennedys.” Mike remembers spending as much time as he could with his Dad’s folks. “But after they died, he says, “it wasn’t OK to be affiliated with anything south of the Ohio River. It wasn’t Ok to be a hillbilly.” In high school and college, Henson recalls classmates ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Meetup is meant to tell people’s stories in their own words. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the interviewee and not those of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Streetvibes or the staff, volunteers and board members. Chicago. Mike’s intention was to get a Masters degree, then a PHD in English. He made it halfway to his goal. “We had a baby,” Henson explains. The couple returned to Cincinnati, and located themselves on Orchard Street near the old Woodward High school in OTR. Two more daughters joined their sister in the Henson family. Kathleen would become deeply committed to the efforts to save the Peaslee School as a downtown public school. Initially, Mike found himself involved in the so-called Model Cities Program. “We did a lot of good work,” he recalls, “but the program itself After so varied a job history, Mike now finds himself working as making fun of some of his down-home a licensed, independent, chemical expressions. “Pert-near,” for example, dependency counselor in a program and “crick” for creek. called Paths to Recovery. His office As an undergraduate at Xavier is at the new Jimmy Heath House University, he hooked up with a group on Odeon Street. On the surface this called “The Appalachian Volunteer might seem like a dramatic employProgram.” The students would make ment turn-around. Not so. In addition regular trips to Eastern Kentucky. to his regular work, Henson had been “I loved it,” Henson beams. “That’s helping—mostly as a volunteer—with where I met Bonnie.” [Bonnie Neuclinical supervision at the Drop Inn meier, 40-year activist in OTR] Center for the past 15 years . “One of During one of the student trainthe things I am most proud of is that ings for work in Appalachia, Mike met we brought what had been an ‘experia man named Ernie Mynatt. Ernie ment’ up to professional standards.” was from Harlan County, KY, a born Henson looks back on his emteacher, and, at the time, a “detached ployment career as a kind of social worker” in Over-themystery. “If you had told me 35 Rhine. Henson says Mynatt years ago what I would end up received a little money from doing, I wouldn’t have believed an Appalachian Fund, and you. It’s like I had these differsimply hung out on the ent lives, and they really didn’t street with the folks. “He have anything to do with one was the most charismatic another.” man I ever met. He had a But that’s not all. There way of articulating this posihave been at least two other tive vision of hope.” “lives” that the hillbilly-wanAfter the training sesnabe lad from Sidney has lived sion, Henson sat down with out through all these years. A Mynatt who scribbled some political and a literary life. notes especially for the “I’m a person of the left,” young activist-to-be. “I kept Mike says, “a totally unapolothem with me for 20 years, getic socialist. But the things until my wallet was stolen.” I value most, are also valued More than anything else, it by many of my conservative Mike reflects on his long and winding journey . Photo: Jim Luken was Mynatt’s influence that friends. If we could find out brought Henson to work in how to talk and to act on these comwas a great destroyer of community OTR. One of Ernie’s statements, as mon values, we could change the organizing.” Mike recalls, could be true for any world.” Then with a sigh, “There’s just It was at this time (’72-’73) that middle class person working/living so much noise.” Mike met buddy gray, and became among the poor. “Remember…you Henson on black-white relations: involved with Voices newspaper, the can always leave. They can’t.” “I’ve been privileged to have had precursor to Streetvibes (he remains In September of ’65, still in colgreat experiences working with the an occasional contributor of poetry lege, Mike Henson got a summer job African-American community, working and book reviews). He participated in with the Main Street Bible Center, a with black colleagues and friends. It a start-up project, through the Urban Catholic social service agency. His job Appalachian Council, called “The appears to me that the lower down the resembled that of his mentor. “I was economic scale people go, the less Appalachian Heritage Room” on 14th encouraged to hang out with the guys. Street (now the office of Over-theracism they have, the less fear they So I did. I took them fishing.” have of one another. I think the poor Rhine Community Housing). Henson The young social-worker-to-be can teach society in that regard. describes this as—partially at least— got very close to some of these men. “In the East End, black and white a five-year-long attempt to bring the “They were my great teachers.” More families have been together for years. Black and Appalachian communities important perhaps, this group of men They ought to be the ones to tell the together. “As little as we knew about enabled Henson to get in touch with city how to deal with race relations. what the hell we were doing, I’m his own familial and cultural roots. “It surprised everything didn’t go wrong. I Forget the high-priced counselors.” sounds stupid,” he explains, “but they And then there is the artist side of think we did a pretty good job though. taught me to let my shirttails hang out. Every now and then we hit it right.” Michael Henson. He is the author of They taught me the richness of the But, as often happens with intense five books, including a novel (Ran(Appalachian) language. I remember sack), two books of poems and two working situations, there were people the tones and the rhythms.” Indeed, books of short stories. He will soon problems. Finally, he says, “the persome of those tones and rhythms publish a short novel, called Tommy sonality stuff overwhelmed me.” have found their way into Henson’s Perdue. Like his four children, he says So Mike decided to take a factory own “voice.” Even now, he speaks with job at Duro Paper Bag in Covington. “I all the books are different, and he is a slight, sweet drawl. proud of each one for different reaonly weighed 120 pounds, and I was All these first clients and teachers sons. working with some very big machinand friends are dead now, Mike HenAnd then there is the music. Mike ery, and very heavy bundles. Ever the son relates. Three of them from “the Henson is an excellent guitar player organizer, Henson says he helped consequences of alcohol”… “One kid and—take it from this writer—a singer rebuild a foundering union into a got executed by the state of Ohio.” with a haunting approach to his matefunctioning one while he was there. “I On one of his trips to out to Martin learned a lot,” he says. rial. Low key, but powerful, very much County, Kentucky, the young activist like the man himself. After that job, Henson worked for met a local girl, named Kathleen PruHenson: “Mostly I do music seven years as a counselor at Talbert dence. The two would be married in because I enjoy it. It brings me in House, doing outreach in the East Adams County (Ohio) where Henson contact with people I wouldn’t meet End. He divorced, and later marwent, after graduating from Xavier, to ried Elissa Pogue, a long-time social otherwise”…”If you want to relate to be an English Teacher. He recalls that worker, specializing in prevention the working class, learn some corny this was the poorest school district work. They had one son, who is now song, like Kenny Rogers. You need to in the poorest county in Ohio. Once 24, and a professional writer like his relate to people where they are. I don’t again, Henson—along with his new Dad. think people should just do the narwife—got deeply involved with the ApIn 1999, Mike Henson went back rowly correct thing.” palachian community there. to the Urban Appalachian Council, Far be it from Mike Henson to do A year later, the couple left Adams doing organizing work around environ- the narrowly correct thing. He is, after County for an entirely different world. mental issues for eight years in Lower all, and obviously, a renaissance man. Graduate school at the University of Price Hill. �Book Review ST R EE T V IB E S 15 S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 Get up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated and Battling the Corporate Elite KATE ZAIDAN www.cincinnatibeacon.com ne need not look far to see the evidence of a deflated population. Quality of life for the poor and middle classes in America is careening toward untenable, with the most draconian cuts to government services since Nixon advanced by a Democrat promising change. We live in the most economically prosperous country in the world, and the story we are told over and over is that we are bankrupt. While spirited protests and committed individuals surround social and economic justice issues, overall, movements for change involve only the tiniest sliver of the general population. Are we rallying around the wrong issues? Is protest dated and ineffective? Or are we too sad and helpless to believe that anything can change? I had the opportunity to sit down with Cincinnati’s own Bruce Levine, whose recent book Get up, Stand Up: Uniting Populists, Energizing the Defeated and Battling the Corporate Elite is the latest addition to a growing body of work that attempts to explain and diagnose the passivity of the general public in the face of increasing austerity. Levine is a self-described “dissident shrink” and posits that most Americans are not lazy, greedy and selfish; rather, many have become psychologically incapable of rebellion. I spoke with him last week at a local coffee shop in his eclectic Cincinnati neighborhood. Bruce’s take on contemporary American life is painfully acute. We are in an “abusive relationship” with our society; we live in a cycle of dependency where violence takes the form of complete corporate control of our lives. Efforts to resist are criminalized, medicated, and co-opted. “Most people know that money controls the world, but are either too depressed or drugged to do anything about it.” We learn helplessness: our lives at work, home and school isolate us from each other, compromise our integrity and reward money and ego worship. Drugs, both illegal and prescribed, and television are simply filling the holes in our hearts. Our psychic malaise serves an increasingly empowered elite, enriched on the backs of working people, without any risk of reprisal. Levine’s book carefully reconstructs the terrain of struggle for progressives: we need to focus less O on information, and more on creating energy. He points a compassionate yet honest finger at traditional forms of activism, noting that the ever-present lectures and reform campaigns often serve to burden our already heavy hearts. What we need instead, Levine says, are communities formed in struggle that provide a platform for reverberation, a sense of belonging, and small victories that build our morale. “Strategically, when we recognize that large corporations cannot stomach losing any money, then one realizes that boycotts and bad publicity can be quite effective. Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization of mostly immigrant and undocumented farmworkers, decided to fight the biggest food corporations on earth—and they won. Ten years ago they started a campaign for “fair food,” pressuring the major buyers of those tomatoes to pay more. Within four years, they got Taco Bell to meet all their demands, and by 2007 McDonald’s had fallen in line. When one experiences some sense of potency, this can be antidote to demoralization and defeatism.” Movements for change must build self-respect and collective selfconfidence to summon the energy needed to win our battles. “Collective self-confidence—or the belief that it is actually possibly to overcome corporatocracy domination—can comes with even small victories. So, for example the Boston based group City Life has won victories over banks, stopping evictions, foreclosures by organizing blockades, vigils and other actions, that exert public pressure on the banks, and these victories energize those City Life activists to take on larger systems.” “People must believe that they are worthy of power” says Levine, and contends that the institutions supposedly anchoring our democracy, like the electoral system and higher education, actually erode our collective self con- fidence, providing a false and hollow sense of control. “If one is only caring about electoral politics on the national level, this can create learned helplessness and be disempowering. After all, whether a Republican or a Democrat wins, we still get senseless wars and corporate control, and because of the power of money in our election system is almost impossible for a third party such as the Green Party that opposes corporate control and senseless wars to win. So, it is important to keep in mind that national elections are only one ‘democracy battlefield’, and we should put more energy into battlefields that are less controlled by big money.” Progressive books of this sort are often predictably formulaic: seven chapters of hyperbolic doomsday scenarios proceed one chapter of simplistic utopian vision, with a case study of an organization that is doing it right. Get Up, Stand Up is a refreshing anomaly. Levine instructs us to navigate what might lie in between global meltdown and democratic, selfsustaining bioregions. While some of his critique of schools and government seemed to be rooted in strongly held yet unsubstantiated opinion, Levine’s book does offer something new and hopeful to the tired reiterations of what is wrong with the world. “Academics sometimes stress only information and seem to believe that the truth alone is enough to set people free, but all democratic movements—from anti-war, to labor, to civil rights—have always required risk and courage. In the U.S., unlike some other authoritarian societies, there is less risk of being killed for opposing the corporate elite but there is a great risk—almost certainty—of economic marginalization. That’s a big way how the U.S. corporatocracy keeps us in line. So, we must begin to do what old-time activists did, which is that you have create more economic self-sufficiency and a community that supports one another financially. Many of us would like to ‘do the right thing’ but fears including financial ones break us. So activists must begin to do what America’s most successful activists such as those in our great agrarian revolt, the Populist Movement in the 1880s and 1890s, This was to implement practices such as producer cooperatives that reduced the financial pain of its members. That’s how one recruits and sustains a movement so I spend a great deal of time in Get Up, Stand Up talking about the lessons from that Populist Movement.” Levine’s revolutionary suggestion is that we approach both activism and mental health in ways that are democratic, human-centered, and give us a sense of our own power. Treading lightly around the questions of ideology, Populism is used (perhaps too casually) to illustrate a vision of a movement that meets both the material and spiritual needs of working class people. In fact, Levine suggests that traditional divisions of right and left prevent us from building strategic alliances with positive outcomes. “When it comes to horrors of the senseless wars that wasteful military spending, one failure of many left activists is to be unwilling—perhaps out of fear that it is not politically correct—to form alliances with anti-war libertarians who passionately oppose these wars. By they way, these antiauthoritarian libertarians also oppose the Wall Street bailout, the PATRIOT Act, NAFTA, the War on Drugs, and other issues that left-antiauthoritarians also oppose. Alliances among different political camps on these issues don’t prevent debate and disagreements on other issues, such as the proper use of government and markets. In fact alliances on war opposition can turn these other debates into more productive dialogues, and I have actually had libertarian antiauthoritarians tell me, after such dialogues about the corporatocracy, that maybe they will move over to being left anti-authoritarians.” The old left has been accused of favoring the material over the spiritual. The new left tends to uphold the therapeutic over the concrete. Levine helps us strike a balance. He posits that change cannot occur until we begin to heal our broken hearts. The book stands to change much of what we think about political engagement. Courage, hope and solidarity are more than just buzzwords, indeed, these intangible qualities are the difference between a winning and losing battle. SPRING by Willla Denise Jones Spring has always been my favorite out all four seasons Spring has no snow and not too much heat, may that be the reason Spring with it so many misinterpretations and misunderstandings Spring to the light so we can see just what mankind is demanding Spring to the facts: Unemployment and homelessness on the rise, can these things be an illusion Spring into the reality: We as a people trying to control each other, now this is the confusion Spring into new horizons, now living with new politicians, new fights and new killings Spring into arrest which means nothing today for the facts state the state is doing the stealing Spring to the wakeup call so I sprung up one morning and realized my seasons had come Spring into the real understanding that the battles only God has won Spring is the understanding that like all things that come and go, spring is here Spring back to know that all men are created equal is that not what should be made so clear Spring to the knowledge that we as people have choices and can make positive decisions Spring into the word of God and believe with faith, with trust only then can we stop these collisions �16 ST R EET VIBES S e p t e m b e r 2 - 1 5 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES ANNUAL VISUAL AND LITERARY ART CONTEST: As part of Streetvibes’ commitment to building community and advocating justice we are expanding our reach to the local arts community, seeking their artistic voice and vision. Beginning SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2011 Streetvibes will begin accepting submissions for our first annual visual and literary art contest. There are three distinct categories 1. StreetVision 2. StreetVoice and 3.StreetVagary. All submissions will be considered however, preference will go to work produced by local artists and writers from the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area and for work that embraces human rights and social justice. Submissions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Submissions are $5 per entry and there is no limit to the number of entries each artist or writer submits. Submission fees will fund a pot of prize money that will be given to the top entries bi-annually. Prizes are awarded to the top three entries in all three categories. CATEGORIES: you are invited: Please join Prairie and the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition for the release party for the 2012 Day by Day calendar and Homeless Awareness Month Kick Off Saturday, October 1st 7-9PM At Prairie, 4035 Hamilton Avenue Through October Gallery Hours Tues-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4 Prairie collaborates with Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition to produce an annual calendar called Day by Day which includes photographs and text by distributors of Streetvibes. The unique points of view presented in this calendar are sold by Streetvibes distributors in late Fall. SUPPORTED BY: 1 StreetVision: This category is for visual art that will be published on the back cover of Streetvibes. The back cover is a full color page, however black and white images will be considered. All artwork not accepted will be ready for pick up 30 days from submission date. Work not picked up after 90 days will be auctioned at the Coalition for the Homeless Annual Dinner. Guidelines: Art must be no larger than 11x17 -OR- if larger than 11x17 bring in original piece and include a digital version. All mediums accepted. To submit your artwork bring it to the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street on Tuesdays between 9AM and 5PM. Include name, phone number, email and address on back of each entry. This cat2 StreetVoice: egory is a fiction writing contest. With this contest we are looking for original short stories. Winning entries will be published in Streetvibes. Preference will be given to stories that incorporate themes that address social justice, discrimination, oppression and/or the causes and consequences of inequality. Patty Cottingham Guidelines: Stories should not exceed 3,000 words (shorter lengths are welcome.) No handwritten entries. Include your name, address, email address and phone number on each entry. Streetvibes will publish the winning stories as they are received. Mail or drop off your entries and fee at the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45223. Please do not send cash via snail mail. Submissions will not be returned unless a SASE is included with each entry. This is an editorial cartoon/illustration contest. 3 StreetVagary: StreetVagary is open to aspiring or professional cartoonists of any age. Winning entries will be published in Streetvibes. Preference will be given to political cartoons that incorporate commentary on current events. Riccardo Taylor experience allowed me to get outside of myself, taking "Thea look at the world around me. The reality that things are not always what they seem and in fact present a reality other than the one of first impression, allows me to be more aware of the world around me. " Guidelines: Submit single panel or strip cartoon entries. Include your name, address, email address and phone number on each entry. Streetvibes will publish the winning cartoons as they are received. Mail or drop off your entry and fee at the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45223. Please do not send cash via snail mail. Submissions will not be returned unless a SASE is included with each entry. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource September 2-15, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cincinnati Teacher Fights Being Shut Out of the Political Debate Pg 2: From the Director Letter to the Editor Pg 3: Friends of anna Louis Inn Hosts Ice Cream social at Lytle Park Five National News Stories to Catch Up On Pg 4: But Then the Vets Came to Town Pg 5: But Then the Vets Came to Town Continued Pg 6: Top Cincy Baby Names Pg 7: Distributor Program Pg 8: Recipe Pg 9: The Mary Magdalen House Pg 10: Resources Pg 11: In the Mix Pg 12: The Cheetah and the Pig Pg 13: The Great Mustache Bash Pg 14: Renaissance Man Pg 15: Get Up, Stand Up Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 2-15, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jason Dean Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Georgia Bohannon Karen Chatman Stephen Gentry Rubye Goode Della Woolens. Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Laura Osborn-Coffey Jesse Call Jason A. Haap Susan Lakes Willa Denise Jones E. Hayden Jim Luken Lee McCoy Jessica Hopsicker A. Mann Make Cincinnati Weird Steve Sunderland Joe Noaln Kevin LeMaster Dorothy Dark Girish Balsavar Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF A.Mann Alisa Balestra Anna Louise Inn Catie Dargue Cincinnati Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Dorothy Dark E. Hayden Georgia Bohannon Girish Balsavar Harrison Lott Jason A. Haap Jason Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jessica Hopsicker Jim Luken Joe Noaln Josh Spring Karen Chatman Kevin LeMaster Laura Osborn-Coffey Lee McCoy Lytle Park Make Cincinnati Weird Mark Grauhuis Mary Magdalen House National News Riccardo Taylor Rubye Goode Stephen Gentry Steve Sunderland Susan Lakes Teachers veterans Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/b03c82680a3419f47838503f8c560ace.pdf 5fc4794c74ee14286b6ec5e31ab5e79c PDF Text Text A Historical Look R EECuisine T V IB E S at ST Hobo August Breakfast Recipe New Arts Contests that’s Healthier & Calendar Sneak1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 than it Looks Peak PG 6 PG 9 PG 16 A U G U S T 1 9 T H - S E P T E M B E R 1 S T 2 0 11 ISSUE 206 1 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Cincinnati Prays to Save Historical Homeless Shelter A crowd of nearly a hundred people gathered outside the courthouse to share prayers, sing songs and make their voices heard in defense of the Anna Louise Inn. The affordable housing landmark that has spanned three centuries now finds itself under attack from insurance giant Western & Southern. JASON DEAN Streetvibes Editor W ednesday, August 10 saw a beautiful morning stretching across Cincinnati. The sky was blue and the air was cool; the kind of summer day that we always wish for but rarely get. It was a perfect climate for the near hundred people who gathered on Main Street at the steps of the Hamilton County Courthouse for the 9:30 a.m. prayer vigil. Later that morning was the court hearing in which Cincinnati Union Bethel (CUB) and the City of Cincinnati had to present a legal defense against the lawsuit filed by Western & Southern. The crowd was a diverse mix of people (see page 8 for more pictures), but the leaders of the vigil were mostly women of the cloth. Reverend Susan Bryan of Mount Auburn Presbyterian was the key organizer of the rally and all around were several different female pastors representing the different churches in the non-profit a long legal battle would effectively drain the nonprofit’s resources and sabotage the renovation that is posed to begin union that runs the Inn. Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls was one of the first to address the crowd with strong words of support for the Anna Louise Inn. Qualls shared that she in fact has lived within blocks of the Inn for the past four years and each day walks her dog in the park in front of Anna Louise. She emphasized that the residents of the Inn were good neighbors and nothing like the defamatory claims made by Western & Southern. Falls stated boldly that this was a clear case of a “force sale” from a business that did not like to be told “No!” The crowd erupted into applause at her precise and well delivered speech. The songs were loud and joyful. Christian Miller, also Loud Main Street traffic rolls by as reverends from various Cincinnati churches lead Anna Louise Inn from Mount Auburn Presbysupporters in calm prayers. Photo: Catie Dargue terian, played his guitar as he for its residence. So CUB spent the in tax credits that CUB has poised for led the crowd through simple songs last two years raising $10 million in action, the credits have an expiration singing praises to God and charity. tax credits and have recently been date and can only be used on the Unfortunately most of the reverends awarded $2.6 million in affordable Anna Louise Inn building itself. Even that stood to make their speeches housing (HOME loan) dollars. During if CUB had accepted the Brackett and share prayers were not heard as those two years Western & Southern Village property, another undervalued well. Those inexperienced with a bullhad no communication with CUB, offer from Western & Southern, the horn battled against the roar of buses but now that the Anna Louise Inn awarded credits would be nontranson Main Street, but even though the potentially has $12.6 million to work ferable. words may have been lost, the meswith, the insurance giant has made 11:00 a.m. that morning was sage was clear: let the Anna Louise the scheduled hearing before Judge its move by filing a grievance in the Inn continue to do the good work it’s Norbert A. Nadel. The court room Hamilton County Courts against the done for the past 102 years! was filled with supporters of the Anna City of Cincinnati decision to help the The lawsuit is the latest step Louise Inn, sitting on every available non-profit. in Western & Southern’s campaign chair, lining the walls, and even sitting The Anna Louise Inn only “potento purchase the Anna Louise Inn on the floor in the isle. The hearing tially” has the money for the renovaproperty for its realty development tion project. The tax credits have been was specifically for Cincinnati Union projects. Back in 2005 when CUB Bethel’s motion that the lawsuit be awarded and CUB can use them to was considering its financial options, dismissed. With legal support from the raise funds with the frequent practice selling and moving was one of many Cincinnati City’s Solicitor’s office, the of selling the credits to businesses choices. During 2005-2009 Western defense’s team of lawyers presented that need to balance their charitable & Southern offered CUB $1.75 million their central argument that this case contributions against their earnings. and then $1.8 million for the prime should not even be appearing in the Most people are unfamiliar with this real estate. Like any person offered a Hamilton County Courts, politely obprocess, including Judge Nadel who price woefully under the value of the is presiding over this case; lawyers for serving that the matter was not in the property CUB declined. Instead CUB jurisdiction of the courts. The defense the defense had to explain it to him decided to renovate Anna Louise and and at one point a laugh was raised in illustrated that Western & Southern convert three of its five floors from had failed to exhaust all of its opcourt when the judge seemed almost dormitory styles single rooms into eager to purchase some credits modern efficiency apartments that See Anna Louise, page 5 himself. Despite the generous award would offer a better standard of living See Anna Louise Inn’s Supporters in Action PG 8 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati Back to School Pluses & Minuses PG 4&5 twitter.com/streetvibesnews Interview with a Local Sideshow Freak PG 13 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorials 2 Confessions of a Bleeding Heart J udging from the front covers of two of Cincinnati’s popular free weekly papers there’s a buzz of excitement in the air, it would appear that Western & Southern are hosting a multimillion dollar tennis tournament in one of the wealthy suburbs north of 275. Growing up in England, Wimbledon was the tennis mania each summer, but I never really was quite able to get into it despite one summer actually purchasing a cheap racquet and playing (or rather losing against) friends. There’s a subtle skill to hitting that little green ball with all that force and yet all that precision; I was good at the former, but failed to master the latter. Even though I don’t care for tennis I can appreciate that people get a thrill from watching two near equally matched opponents battle it out on the court. But would the game be as fun to watch if one player had all the skill and the equipment and the other had next to nothing? That’s the other Western & Southern match that I got to watch last Wednesday. It was not a court in Mason, no, this court was downtown in Room 560 of the Hamilton County Courthouse; Judge Nadel was the umpire. Those other papers didn’t mention this contest in their coverage of the Western & Southern Open, but it packed out Judge Nadel’s courtroom with an audience on the edge of their seats (those not standing or sitting on the floor) waiting to see the underdog prevail. I read that there’s $5.2 million in combined prize money at the Western & Southern Open, but that’s not even half of what the Anna Louise Inn stands to lose if Western & Southern wins this match. Jason Dean (Editor) ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 From the Director Fear and Budgeting in Cincinnati B udgets. Lately there has been a lot of talk about budgets all the way down from the federal level to the state level to the city level. But what is a budget meant to do really? From all the kind of talk (and banter) we have been hearing one might think a budget is just meant to be a platform for politicians and media queens (often one in the same) to act dramatic, passionate and generally try to convince voters they are strong, indignant when needed and fighting for us. In fact, a budget is to be a financial plan meant to meet needs and accomplish needed goals. For example, if you or your family creates an annual budget for your household you first figure out how much money will come in. Then you determine how much money must go out for necessities. Once you ensure that your needed expenses can be paid, you likely determine certain goals for growth. These may include saving for retirement, purchasing a needed new car, making certain donations, paying off back bills, etc. Then you create a full plan to make all of this happen within the initial income number- a budget. Instead of doing this, “our representatives” use budgeting for political grandstanding and smoke screens. For example, if you are a city council person and you don’t like Human Services- dollars that help people in need of necessities, the annual budget gives you a chance to work to cut Human Service without having to directly say you just don’t like it. You can simply claim that, “Well, we have a large deficit and we have some tough decisions to make and while I believe Human Services is important, the money is just no longer there, so I have to vote to cut it.” You, however certainly won’t mention, for example, that you are also against taxing the millions of dollars in salaries big-whig ceos receive in stock options- a change to local law that would generate millions of dollars- you simply say the money does not exist. If you are such a politician and you want an even more convincing story, you don’t only say the money does not exist, you claim that if we fund everything else, we will have to cut police people and fire people and we will then all be on death’s door step. You divide and conquer. Sadly these smoke screens and this grandstanding deceive a lot of citizens. We look at strong words coming from politician’s mouths and believe they are actually fighting for us. Much of the problem is that we don’t pay attention the other many days of the year when those same politicians are saying things and making decisions that show their real intentions. Soon Cincinnati city council will pass a new budget- start paying attention now. Start reading what decisions politicians made over the past year and determine for yourself if their budget arguments are actually smoke screens. Then in November, before we pass a budget- vote and vote according to what you have figured out. Vote for those that actually practice and fight for what is right, not those that attempt to capitalize on fear and budgets- tell others to do the same- share your knowledge. Josh Spring (Executive Director) Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: Streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: Streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Editor, Design & Layout Jason Dean Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Layout Assistance, Streetvibes Distributor Program Manager Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Georgia Bohannon, Karen Chatman, Stephen Gentry, Rubye Goode, Della Woolens. Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Save the Date Anna Louise Inn Ice Cream Social Thursday, August 25 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. Lytle Park Contributing Writers This Issue: Laura Osborn-Coffey, Jesse Call, Jason A. Haap, Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Catie Dargue, Willa Denise Jones, E.Hayden, Jim Luken, Lee McCoy, Jessica Hopsicker, Josh Spring, A. Mann, Make Cincinnati Weird, Steve Sunderland, Riccardo Taylor, Corey Luthringer, Joe Nolan. Photography/Artwork This Issue: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Catie Dargue, Josh Spring,Girish Balsavar, A.Mann, Kevin LeMaster, Dorothy Dark. �ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Distributor Program STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 3 My Distributor Is… Many Streetvibes readers buy their copy of the paper from the person they consider to be their regular distributor. Every two weeks you walk by that same spot and look out for that friendly smile announcing that the latest issue of Streetvibes has arrived. We would like to hear from you and publish your positive thoughts about the person from whom you pick up your copy of this paper. We invite you to write a line or two, starting with the phrase “My distributor is,” that describes your Streetvibes distributor. Please email your observations to streetvibes@cincihomeless.org DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 I can't remember the date but it was Friday, my day at Findley Market, I met Larry Brown selling Streetvibes. What a Great way to start a friendship!! We talk about different things each week. We both like to talk what's going in OTR & the city and how many of the same people we know!! So much in common. JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 What a blessing to have this wonderful person as my friend and a good paper to read,too. Kathy Cox JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 My distributor [James Davis] is friendly, outgoing and full of life. I love seeing him every Monday. Not only do I get some great news, but a nice chat each week. Bravo to his pride of workmanship. Danny Cohn LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 Five Extra Ways to Support Streetvibes Distributors. (Concept borrowed from our sister paper Streetroots in Portland, Oregon). PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 1. Traveling out of town? Buy extra copies of Streetvibes for the road. Who knows. Someone might notice the paper at the airport, bus station or on the road trip and strike up a great conversation. 2. Let out of town friends and family know about Streetvibes and the concept behind it. Let them know how it helps homeless and formerly homeless distributors pay for some basics. RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 3. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Consider asking your distributor is they would like a bottle of cold water. Water helps keep the hydrated and strong. 4. Buy additional copies of Streetvibes and introduce the organization to at least one friend or Cincinnati newcomer. You can help spread the word and also raise awareness of progressive issues in Cincinnati. VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 5. Stop and talk to your neighborhood Streetvibes distributor. Introduce yourself and let her/ him know what you like and don’t like about the paper. This helps build community throughout the city, but more importantly, helps build what could become a lasting friendship. � 4 Local News ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 No Back to School for Hundreds of Unemployed Teachers. JASON A. HAAP Contributing Writer U ntil this past March, the specter of unemployment was an abstraction (and I think it an abstraction for most Americans – something we think about without experiencing.) I knew the unemployment statistics, and I supported those policies and politicians who offered aid to our city's safety net. But I had never lost a job. I had worked consistently since age 16, when I became a bagger at the North College Hill Thriftway (and I left as a grocery clerk several years later, two weeks before I began my first teaching job – 14 years ago). Then, bad Republican policies and Gov. Kasich’s apparent hatred of public schools culminated for the Princeton City School District into a massive budget deficit. The district tried to deal with its sudden funding loss, but it had to reduce the instructional staff by twenty percent. I had been teaching high school English for 14 years, but only at Princeton for three. Like many others, I got cut on the basis of seniority. Princeton lost tons of quality teachers. And so, it seemed, did everyone else. I remember, at one job interview, hearing there had been 147 applicants. There were, I think, only about 15 English positions available this hiring season. (And that is probably an overestimate!) Some of us were seasoned veterans, and others of us fresh out of college – but we found ourselves in the same situation, looking for scarce jobs in a market flooded with qualified applicants. Then, of course, consider all the other disciplines – math, science, and social studies. Were there about 150 math, 150 science, and 150 social studies teachers, all looking for work? That equals 600 core content high school teachers in our area, and probably not more than 50 jobs available. Also consider the elective teachers (like art, foreign language, and so forth), and then the elementary teachers. I thought this was a staggering number of teachers to have unemployed in Greater Cincinnati, all before. Sure, some of those teachers found jobs outside their chosen field. But I'm sure they all didn't. There are more workers than jobs right now. I realize how it feels to lose a job – the depression, the disorientation, the lack of control. I came close. I finished one school year nearly unemployed, but I got a new job before the next school year began. I experienced no lapse in pay, and no lapse in insurance coverage. But what about due to a bad economy and legislation from Republican politicians who seem to hate public education. So there it was: the specter of unemployment. Very real. Very large. It hovered over my consciousness every moment, every day. It wasn't until July that I secured my new gig. But what about the 146 other English teachers who had been looking for work? And what about everyone else? Suddenly, the unemployment statistics meant something concrete. The guy downtown – with a sign reading "Laid off. Please help." – haunted me in a manner he never would have everyone else? What about the families who lose their insurance? How can you cover $1,000 monthly COBRA payments on unemployment? Just think about that, and then consider Cincinnati City Council putting public health clinics on the chopping block. It's disgusting. Unemployment might cover, if you are lucky, around half of your former salary for its relatively short duration. What if you can't afford your bills on that amount? How would you pay them? How would you eat? If you lost your house, where would you sleep at night? Think about all these things, and then consider the war some have waged against downtown social service providers. These wealthy young professionals claim it unjust to over-concentrate services downtown, apparently because it brings too many "undesirables" into an area some want to gentrify in the name of progress. Not that I'm against progress – but I really started to think about it: having no money, no insurance, nowhere to stay, and then trying to catch buses to the far reaches of the city to get help, all because someone wanted to "de-concentrate" social services to improve the property values of redevelopment projects? It's sickening. I'm lucky. I found a job. But I came close. I tasted unemployment, and it left me changed. I realize now, more than ever, how important it is to make sure those among us with the least still have a place to go for food, for sleep, for medical care. And if it means I have to pay a few extra bucks per year in city taxes, then this is an investment well worth the price. Those of us fortunate enough to afford a few extra bucks in taxes owe it to those of us who have fallen on tough times, through no fault of their own. We have a duty to one another to be there for each other. And this basic sense of human decency and connectivity should not be subjected to the gross politics of anti-tax activists who want people with jobs to feel like they can't afford to help those the system has left behind. Jason A. Haap, also known to many as The Dean of Cincinnati, is also co-editor of the politically progressive website Cincinnati Beacon, www.cincinnatibeacon.com Act Now: Speak Out on Cuts to Healthcare SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer H ealth care, including city health centers and school nurse programs, might be on the budget chopping block, and you can speak out against additional cuts at the fourth in a series of budget hearings. There’s one more chance to attend one of the four budget hearing. That chance is 6 p.m. Wednesday, August 31 at the MSD Administration Building, 1081 Woodrow Street in Lower Price Hill. Similar hearing took place earlier this month in Hartwell, Avondale and South Cumminsville. “Attend a budget hearing,” urges the City of Cincinnati Board of Health/ Primary Care Board,” in an important message flyer. “In December, City Council voted to cut funding for city health centers by 25%. A $33.6-million deficit looms and additional cuts are being discussed RIGHT NOW.” In its call for action, the primary care board is asking people to show up and tell stories to help save health clinics services provided to school children by school nurses. Cutting services might pull the health safety nets out from under We serve as a creative outlet for women in need to uncover their talents and build relationships while making and selling jewelry, quilts, and other handcrafted items. We provide a welcoming environment and continuous support-our women do the rest. They are our voice. They are our mission. They are our Sarah Center. Artists receive 50 % from the sale of their items, while the rest goes towards materials and other support. Sarah Center HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES 1618 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org many working class people and a huge chunk of students that live in households that fall below poverty levels. In December the City Council voted to cut funding for city health centers by 25%. Any more cuts could jeopardize the health of thousands of working class people and school children. The City of Cincinnati Board of Health/ Primary Care Board is issuing a call to action. For the disturbing 75% of poor students in city schools, a school nurse provides the only access to health services, according to information released by the board. The program provides services at elementary schools including screening, chronic disease management, immunizations, dental screenings, medication administering and more. Advocates of school health programs believe it’s more cost effective in the long run because the current system uses a public/private partnership with hundreds of community volunteers. In addition to school health programs, the budget hearings will provide a way to voice objections to more cuts to city operated health centers that provide medical and dental care to 35,000 patients annually. Healthcare providers handle 135,000 visits annually. The centers serve the working class, or the people who are not eligible for Medicaid, have no insurance coverage and have nowhere to turn to but emergency rooms. “Closing even one center is not an option,” says the board in its information release. “There are waiting lists of 3 – 6 weeks for new patients at all centers.” Cutting off healthcare could be a life and death decision. “Loss of services means medically indigent city resident will become sicker and put their lives at risk,” the information says. Attend a budget hearing to protect healthcare funding levels. It’s happening at 6 p.m., Wednesday August 31 at MSD Admin Building, Lower Price Hill. To speak out, please fill out a yellow card when you arrive. �ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Local News 5 Cincinnati Public Schools Get a Long Overdue Upgrade COREY LUTHRINGER Streetvibes Intern W ith the start of a new school year, Cincinnati students and their parents have something new to look forward to. Recess extended an hour longer? No. Calculus classes for first graders? Not that either. New computers? Maybe. Salad bars in the cafeteria? Oh yes! With the support from the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools Initiative, Jessica Shelly, Cincinnati Public Schools Food Service Director, embarked on a challenging journey to provide salad bars to all 53 Cincinnati Public Schools. Achieving great success, all 34,000 Cincinnati Public School students will now have access to a salad bar at lunch stocked with a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Jessica’s journey began in early 2010 when the Cincinnati Public Schools received funding from Chiquita and United Fresh Produce Association Foundation for their first four salad bars. Since then, grants from Whole Foods Market, Molina Healthcare, Xavier University, the American Dairy Association’s Fuel Up to Play 60, and Castellini Company have worked with Cincinnati Public Schools to provide the remaining 49 salad bars, just in time for the start of the fall school term. What’s the big deal about salad bars? Think back for a moment about your school lunch experience. If it was anything like mine, it was filled with memories of lunch ladies spooning out items from huge pots onto a plate. Items like mystery meat, covered by lumpy mystery sauce, with a side of vegetable goo – at least we thought it was vegetables anyway. And I do recall a fun game we used to play, something along the lines of mixing together these ingredients and daring Anna Louise Continued from page 1 tions to file a complaint against the City of Cincinnati’s choice to award the grant and permits to Anna Louise through the regular administrative channels of handling such disputes. More recently Western & Southern’s lawyers have filed the legitimate forms with the city’s zoning boards, but not until after trying to bypass the established process and jump straight to court. The defense delicately observed, with careful deference to Judge Nadel, that Western & Southern had timed the filing of the lawsuit for purposes of “judgeshopping” in an effort to find a judge whose track record might favor their case; the plaintiffs dismissed this. Western & Southern’s legal representative Francis Barrett, also dismissed the emotional appeal of the defense’s case and insisted that this case was about “The Rule of Law,” a phrase that he repeated several times throughout his argument. The plaintiffs are contesting the zoning permits that were recently awarded for the renovation of Anna Louise by claiming that the non-profit’s operations go beyond what the each other to eat the now colorful Students are also offering suggesconcoction. With salad bars and other tions for their favorite produce items healthy options in schools, we can’t they want to see in the salad bars. really complain about kids daring each This school year, the Cincinnati Public other to eat cherry tomatoes or mixing Schools will pilot a program called a salad con“Mentorcoction. On ing Meals the contrary, Mondays” now we can as part of encourage it. the Healthy ChildMonday hood obeCampaign sity is on the launched in Cincinrise, tripling nati this past over the May. “Menpast three toring Meals decades. Mondays” And no one will encourknows this age teachers better than CPS believe that a healthy diet leads to a healthy brain. to become First Lady Photo: Courtesy of Cincinnati Public Schools good role Michelle models, sitting with their students at Obama, architect of the Let’s Move! lunch and eating from the salad bar or Initiative, dedicated to solving the bringing a healthy lunch from home. childhood obesity epidemic within a On top of the nutritional benefits, generation. For many children, the students are also feeling more trusted food served at school may be the and respected, and like their salad bar only meals they regularly eat, making is a special privilege. One student has healthier food options in schools more even exclaimed that he is “just like his important than ever. friend going to that fancy school” now But salad bars are not the only that he can also visit the salad bar for new things in Cincinnati Public Schools. Starting this fall, all of the schools will also have multiple entrée choices, non-meat alternatives, healthier turkey-based meat alternatives, low-fat dairy products, and whole grain products, among other innovations. Jessica Shelly comments that “We want to be the premier provider of nutritious, low-cost, delicious meals so that students don’t feel they have to eat school lunch, but that they want to eat school lunch.” Benefits to the students are already far-reaching in schools where salad bars have become staple cafeteria items this past year. Students are now being tempted to try new fruits and vegetables because they see their friends and teachers doing the same. permits allow. In previous hearings, Western & Southern has painted a picture of Anna Louise that confuses the services provided by the historic shelter with those of other facilities that provide housing and emergency services. The campaign is being built on shocking the public into thinking that Anna Louise is a threat to the Anna Louise’s actual neighbors are filing complaints, just a developer trying to force a sale. Barrett, however, actually stated that the plaintiffs were not trying to take the building; it is just a matter of “The rule of law” as though Western & Southern’s attempt to block the work of Anna Louise was somehow a legal public service The historic and much coveted Anna Louise Inn . Photo: Kevin LeMaster neighborhood, but in the courtroom it kept coming back to “The Rule of Law.” There is an irony that none of of keeping things fair. In a sarcastic tone Barrett argued that CUB was abusing the zoning process with the lunch every day. Thanks to Jessica Shelly and her determination in securing salad bars for the Cincinnati Public Schools, childhood obesity has the potential to become a thing of the past and the City of Cincinnati has the potential to become a leader and model for school districts nationwide - something all Cincinnatians should be proud of. Let’s Move! Initiative – www. letsmove.gov Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools Initiative – www.saladbars2schools.org Cincinnati Public Schools Food Service – www.cps-k12.org/ menu/menu.htm The Monday Campaigns – www.mondaycampaigns.org Author Tid-Bit: Corey Luthringer is a global health blogger and activist who volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House and in the Development Office of the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. attitude of “we’re entitled to do this because we’re doing good.” Despite Western & Southern’s history of wanting the Anna Louise building, the plaintiff’s case kept revolving around the nebulous “rule of law” and tried to deny that this was an attack. The defense’s closing argument had a strong emotional undercurrent by respectfully accusing Western & Southern of employing a delay tactic by tying Anna Louise up in stretched out and expensive legal proceedings. It was observed that, unlike Western & Southern, Anna Louise does not have much money, so a long legal battle would effectively drain the non-profit’s resources and sabotage the renovation that is posed to begin. Judge Nadel had appeared stolid throughout much of the hearing but it was clear that the crowd was on the edge of its seats waiting to hear him dismiss the case. Instead Judge Nadel stated that he had yet to decide and requested written reports from both sides for him to review. He vaguely asked if about a week was long enough; the defense accepted with deference but was quick to pin down that “about a week” would be Wednesday, August 17. So Anna Louise, the City of Cincinnati, and all of CUB’s supporters must wait to find out the fate of this historic charity. �6 National & International The Hobo Cookbook ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 The American homeless communities contribution to modern American cooking may be unknown to most, but in this interesting article, Joe Nolan discusses the history of the culinary odyssey of the campfire kitchen and gives some helpful cooking tips for those currently living on the street. JOE NOLAN The Contributor (USA) www.streetnewsservice.org T he golden age of the American hobo dawned during the last decade of the 19th century. As the Industrial Revolution began its techno-cultural transformation of work and life in the United States-and the world-a number of wandering workers abandoned the security of home, family and steady employment for a self-reliant, vagabond existence, living by the hobo code to "decide your own life." Today, the image of a train-hopping hobo carrying a bindle stick-a cloth containing one's belongings, tied to a stick-is a part of the country's collective consciousness. Indeed, some itinerant workers still live the lifestyle today: the National Hobo Convention is celebrating its 111-year anniversary in Britt, Iowa this August. The convention kicks off with a parade and serves as a diverse celebration of the traveling worker under the motto: "Some in rags, some in tags, some in velvet gowns." Today, the word hobo may be seen in a derogatory light, but this understanding is incorrect. Although the origins of the word "hobo" are hard to trace, writers and etymologists have revealed possible meanings that also shed more light on the hobo's day-today life. In his book Made in America, Bill Bryson suggests that the term evolved from a railroad greeting, "Ho, beau!" or that it was an abbreviation that stood for homeward bound. Both of these interpretations imply the life of a wandering worker, not simply a beggar or an itinerant ne'er do well. In The American Language, H.L. Mencken points out that "[a] hobo or bo is simply a migratory laborer; he may take some longish holidays, but soon or late he returns to work." Again we see that while the hobos valued their freedom, it was a freedom that was won through self-reliance and shared values within the greater hobo community. Along with a code of ethics and a system of written symbols that allowed wandering hobos to leave messages for one another on their travels, American hobos developed a unique spoken vocabulary that took on a particular flourish when it came to addressing one of a hobo's persistent concerns: his next meal. A hobo seeking "bullets" for his "banjo" was looking to put beans in his cooking pan. A wandering worker new to a town might "call in" on a fellow hobo, hoping to cook up his "gump." In other words, he wanted to share a campfire in order to prepare a scrap of meat. Hobo cookery tells a lot about the hobo life and the men who lived-and continue to live it. It is also an outdoor, camping, culinary tradition with a long history that still finds echoes among outdoor enthusiasts, contemporary hobos and homeless people in America today. Many Americans start the day with a hot cup of coffee, and after a long night of camping out, the hobos of yesteryear and the homeless men and women on our streets today love the brew too. In these days of paying more than a few dollars for a daily dose of the gourmet good stuff, affording one's morning coffee can present more than a challenge for someone living on the street. In addition, trying to pull together your own brew without the benefit of a kitchen can be just as daunting. During the days of the hobo, our vagabond heroes took a page from their Western brothers, brewing up a camp side cup with a technique borrowed from cowhands camping out with their herds. The beauty of the recipe is that it dispenses with hard-to-find coffee filters, boiling the brew down to its most basic components: coffee, water, heat. After adding coarse-ground coffee and water to a pot, a pan or even a coffee can, the resourceful hobo would bring his brew to a boil and then take it off the heat to simply let it sit. Once the agitated grounds had settled to the bottom of the brew, one could pour the dark, delicious stuff off the top and enjoy a great wake-up before greeting the adventure of a new day. Today the recipe is still popular with people who live on Nashville's streets. "It's called cowboy coffee," explains Jim Bo-a homeless man in Nashville who knows all about the challenges of improvising a meal on the streets or in an urban camping environment. According to Bo, simplicity is the key to a camp wake-up: "Build a fire and get a pot of water and some coffee." But just because the hobos of the past were independent vagabonds doesn't mean that they didn't enjoy options. In fact, in the hobo mindset, a life of free-wandering and self-reliance created expectations of more freedom and options than domesticity and wage-slavery could offer. So, hobos who didn't have a taste for coffee often opted for a fragrant tea whipped up from plentiful pine needles. Lessons on how to cook food with an empty pot. Photo Dorothy Dark Pine Needle Tea Pine needle clusters One quart of boiling water Lemon juice Maple syrup as desired 1. Chop needles using pocket knife 2. Add needles and lemon to boil ing water 3. Cover and steep 4. Sweeten and sip While no hobo could live on bread alone, a long day of riding the rails was certainly helped along by a simple mouthful of Bannock Bread. This elemental recipe was brought to the states by fur traders from Scotland in the early 1800s. A similarly itinerant subculture, traders needed a hearty bread that could travel well-offering both important calories as well as flexible preparations. Consisting of just flour, baking powder, oil, water and a pinch of salt, the simple dough could be scooped into a pan to make small cakes or-in a pinch-it could be squeezed around the end of a whittled stick and held over hot coals to bake. Once the bread had browned it could be pulled from the stick to make room for another round or simply eaten like a starchy lollipop right off the stick. For Nashvillians like Bo, baking bread is a low priority when it comes to procuring a day's worth of nutrition. "If I'm camping or traveling, I eat a lot of cold chili out of the can-or beans," he said. "If it's wintertime, I'll make a fire and cook some hamburger and make some burritos." However, whipping up a hot meal is not without its risks. "When people see fire and smoke they come and investigate." Bo's camp-cooked burritos offer up a tasty, healthy, affordable meal that also suits a life on the move. "Tortillas are more packable than bread. They're already smashed flat." Accessible, convenient ingredients were also important to the original hobos, and plentiful, wild herbs like stinging nettles found their way into most well-traveled camping pots. While picking fresh stinging nettles can be a painful experience for the uninitiated, the prickly plants are the key ingredient for a classic hobo recipe: Nettle Soup. Nettles are easily found in a number of varieties all over the United States. Most of these varieties are perennial herbaceous plants and while it's wise to use caution when harvesting them, they are a safe, delicious ingredient in a number of recipes around the world. Being careful to wear gloves or other protection when picking the leaves, all one needed was a pan of water and a salt shaker to have a delicious-and highly nutritious-meal. Nettle Soup One pound of washed chopped/ torn nettles A quart of water Salt to taste Simply boil all the ingredients together until the nettles go soft and the stinging hairs are rendered harmless. The soft, green leaves are left floating in a delicate, earthy broth jammed with iron, serotonin and vitamins just begging to be made into a Mulligan Stew! Mulligan Stew was a communal, potluck recipe that consisted of anything a hobo or a group of hobos might have been able to pull from their bindles. The concoction was really an improvised Irish Stew, the term "Mulligan" being commonly applied to any Irish-American in the early 1900s. Ideally, the recipe would include some type of meat and a few potatoes along with anything else that could find its way into the pot. The Appalachian Burgoo was a Southeastern variety of the dish that often incorporated a handy squirrel or an opossum when lady luck smiled upon a hobo. Of all the challenges that a wandering worker or any homeless person must face, gathering up one's daily bread is one of the most difficult and the most crucial. In the heyday of the American hobo, it was a challenge met with ingenuity, originality and tasty, invigorating results. Utilizing improvised techniques and unlikely ingredients, America's original wandering workers kept their bellies full and their spirits high, and their contribution to the American cookbook still informs the fireside meals of everyone from contemporary campers to Nashville's homeless population today. The secret ingredient in all of these recipes is the sense of accomplishment that is embedded in every simple bite that has been passed down from the original hobos. A tasty meal by a fire provided actual sustenance, but it also served as a testament to the hobo worldview that an independent man left to his own devices could turn his back on modern society and not only survive, but thrive in a life shot-through with dynamic, moving freedom. Bon appetit! Find out more about the hobos through this great read: The Hobo Handbook: A Guide to Living by Your Own Rules (Adams Media, 2011) by Joshua Mack Find out more about the National Hobo Convention here: http:// www.brittiowa.com/hobo/events. htm �ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 7 National & International International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples LAURA OSBORN-COFFEY Contributing Writer A ugust 9th was the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - a day that is meant to honor ethnic groups around the world who are native to a particular land or region. The US Congress has recently come under pressure to cut the deficit and drastically reduce spending. Native communities here in the USA could be left without the necessary resources to fight the epidemic of rape and sexual violence perpetrated against Native women and girls. This week, Amnesty International urged all governments in the Americas to stop prioritizing development projects at the expense of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. “The ongoing human rights violations against tens of millions of indigenous people across the Americas are alarming,” said Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty International. “After centuries of abuse and discrimination, their cultural and physical survival is at stake because there is insufficient political will to acknowledge, respect and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights when these rights are seen as obstacles to economic growth.” This call came ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on 9 August. One of Amnesty’s most historic victories last year was when President Obama signed the US Tribal Law and Order Act into law. The Tribal Law and Order Act begins to empower tribal governments, address jurisdictional challenges and improve the agencies, programs and policies that have failed to protect, prevent and respond to Native American and Alaskan Native women survivors of sexual and domestic violence. This was a hard-fought battle championed by tribal leaders, Native advocates, and Amnesty activists across the country. The UN “Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples” was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session in New York City on 13 September 2007. “Although this ‘declaration’ is not a le- gally binding document, it does represent the development of international norms and reflects the commitment of the UN Members and countries to move in a certain direction”, according to an UN press release. Among other things, the “Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples” sets out standards for individual and collective rights, and it helps indigenous peoples to maintain their own identities and cultures. The document sets the standard for international treatment of indigenous peoples, which can lead toward the goal of ending human rights violations against the 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide. It can also help them to address such issues as discrimination and marginalization. This UN declaration took over 25 years to develop. Some member states were against its goals of protecting the rights to self determination, and control over natural resources existing on indigenous people’s traditional lands. Originally the General Assembly’s document was rejected by Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, while other countries such as Africa and Bolivia celebrated the success of its adoption. The United States criticized the document as its definition of indigenous peoples was unclear. However, in December 2010 during the Second White House Tribal Conference, President Obama declared that the United States would be the last nation to drop its opposition to this document and sign it. The three other nations who originally held out against signing the document had since signed, leaving the United States as the lone holdout. There are over 565 Indian tribes in the United States; many had representatives at the White House, who applauded the announcement. According to national statistics, Native American and Alaska Native women are more than 2.5 times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the USA. Some Indigenous women interviewed by Amnesty International in the report “Maze of Injustice” said they didn't know anyone in their community who had not experienced sexual violence. Nearly 86% of the perpetrators listed were non-native men. With the current climate in Washington, budget cuts and talks of more cuts, the necessary programs which provide funding to the Native and Alaskan Native women needing services may also be reduced or eliminated. It is the lifelines of the chronically underfunded agencies and programs tasked with ensuring the safety and well-being of tribal communities which Congress is threatening to cut. In honor of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Amnesty International is asking its members across the United States and worldwide to take action on this issue. You can take action by going to www.AmnestyUSA.org. Look up ‘women’s rights’ and ‘Take Action Now!’ Laura Osborn-Coffey is the Amnesty International coordinator for Cincinnati (Group 86) and human rights contributing writer to Streetvibes. 5 National News Stories to Catch Up On JESSE CALL Contributing Writer 1 The teens charged with beating and then running over and killing a man in an alleged raciallymotivated hate crime caught on camera in Jackson, Mississippi may also be linked to attacks on people experiencing homelessness, the NAACP told ABC News. James Anderson was killed after being run over by a pickup truck allegedly driven by Deryl Dedmon, age 18. Police are investigating reports that Dedmond and the same group of teenagers suspected of attacking Anderson were seen harassing and attacking AfricanAmericans experiencing homelessness in Jackson prior to the attack on Anderson. Dedmond is behind bars on a $800,000 bond. John Rice, another teen involved in Anderson’s beating has only been charged with simple assault and released on bail. 2 Parents of Kelly Thomas, the man who was experiencing homelessness when he was killed in an altercation with Fullerton, California police, have filed a lawsuit against the City of Fullerton and the Fullerton Police Department, according to the Orange County Register. The lawsuit includes charges of negligence, conspiracy, unlawful customs and practices, and violating the civil rights of Thomas. The Fullerton City Council also plans to hire an additional independent investigator experienced with cases involving law enforcement to ascertain what happened. Police say Thomas resisted in a ‘significant’ struggle with them, but some witnesses say the officer’s response that led to his death involved excessive force. Thomas was unarmed at the time of the incident and died of head and neck injuries five days after the beating. 3 A church group that has been feeding breakfast to people experiencing homelessness for the last six years in Tampa, Florida had their operation brought to a halt by Tampa Police because the operation failed to have a “special use permit” to feed people. The move comes as more people have been complaining to the police and parks and recreation departments of the “swelling” of homeless people in downtown Tampa, according to the Tampa Tribune. Some believe Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s office may be attempting to “clean up” downtown in advance of next year’s scheduled Republican National Convention, a claim his office denies. Other outreach agencies expressed nervousness they too will be targeted. 4 The planned low-income housing development that will offer 67 beds to veterans experiencing homelessness on the campus of the VA Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio will cost at least $6.5 million to complete, the Dayton Daily News reports. Funding for the project is expected from grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to work towards meeting the goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015. A recent report published that 28 percent of people experiencing homelessness in Dayton are veterans. 5 Rutgers University in New Jersey graduated 40 students this summer from a program that provides year-round housing and education to people aging out of foster care that might otherwise become homeless. The program lines these students up with summer internships in the community paid for by the state Department of Children and Families, MyCentralJersey reports. Life-skills training, financial literacy, computer training and nutrition courses are also offered. �8 In the Picture ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Anna Louise Inn Prayer Vigil Wednesday, August. 10th Hamilton Co. Courthouse Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls loudly states the city’s support for the Anna Louise Inn. Photo: Catie Dargue Christian Miller of Mount Auburn Presbyterian leads the crowd in songs of prayer. Photo: Catie Dargue (Top) Catie Dargue, Jeni Jenkins, Jerry Davis and other members of the Streetvibes team show their support for the Anna Louise Inn. Photo: Jason Dean (Left and Left Top) The crowd of supporters was diverse in many ways, but the prominent show of support was from the various female reverends of the Association of Unity Churches. Photos: Catie Dargue. From the far left to the far right of the courtroom, Judge Nadel’s view of Anna Louise Inn supporters. Photos: Jason Dean �Recipe ST R EE T V IB E S 9 A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 OUR... LONG! M Y E S E HT INS FEED M LL NIG JENI JENK A E M Y B FEED The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! Spruce up y our m BANANA WALNUT PANCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE On the weekends, I delight myself by waking up and preparing a big hearty breakfast for my family and often my neighborhood friends. I especially find pleasure in waking up before everyone else, sneaking into the kitchen and quietly concocting an array of yummy food that is sure to waft past my sleeping children’s noses. Sure enough, without fail around 30 minutes into cooking, I know my tactic has worked when they stumble into the kitchen all sleepy eyed but smiling, reaching for a fork. This is a recipe I created on a Saturday morning when I was looking for something to spruce up our taste buds. I had bananas, strawberries and walnuts on hand so I thought, “let’s see what I can do.” Sure enough it was a hit. I hope you enjoy waking up your loved ones with an aroma kin to freshly baked banana bread. • Combine mashed bananas and batter in a bowl and mix Ingredients: LOREM Praesent molestie lorem Etiam ac libero until smooth. Gently fold crushed walnuts into batter Pancakes: and stir until blended well. 4 cups prepared pancake IPSUM batter Sed turpis • Heat a large skillet or griddle on medium high heat. 2 rip bananas, mashed • Spray cooking spray or lightly coat with butter 1 cup walnuts, crushed • Pour 1/8 cup of pancake batter for each pancake • When pancakes start to bubble and the edges begin to Strawberry sauce: set, flip the pancakes. Repeat with the remainder of 2 cups sliced strawberries, stems the batter removed • For sauce, in a sauce pan combine strawberries, ½ cup orange juice orange juice and vanilla. Heat over medium heat until 2 tablespoons vanilla simmering. Smother over prepared pancakes. • Voila, FEED! orn in g ! PainterTeam:Layout 1 6/15/2011 4:43 PM Page 1 Say What? “Poverty is the mother of crime.” ~Marcus Aurelius Buying or selling . . . The Painter Team “Hunger makes a thief of any man.” ~Pearl S. Buck “The poor are poor because the rich are rich.” ~Author Unknown For all your real estate needs, call: Michael D. Painter, e-Pro, REOS, SFR 513.348.7999 Candace Kadivnik Painter, CRS, ABR 513.266.1025 Painting the town sold . . . 513.474.9100 �10 Street Voice Meet Up: “I yam what I yam.” ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Meet Phil Jones. Age 50. An honest man. Asked to name one word that would define him for the Streetvibes readers. He thinks for a moment. “Alcoholic.” JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer I n the old cartoon shows, most of us have heard Popeye describe himself, succinctly and often. “I yam what I yam,” he said, many times over. I have met few people in my life where that existential description fits as well as it does on Jimmy Heath House resident Phil Jones. He doesn’t apologize for himself, nor—in any way—does he brag. Phil finds himself lucky to be living at the Jimmy Heath House these days. He had been on the streets a long time. He needed some stability in his life. It took him a year to convince the right people to accept him into this kind of continuum of care program, one that permits alcoholics to continue drinking, as their lives become more stable, and hopefully more focused on recovery. “I practically gave up on getting into the program,” he says. “I was denied. That’s the process with them.” The reason they gave, one of them, was that he hadn’t spent enough time in the Drop Inn Center. In fact, he points out that he usually only spent the night there, now and then, “… when I was too intoxicated to make it to where I was going.” Phil moved into the Jimmy Heath House in January. His drinking has continued, but his problems have significantly decreased. “Before I came here, I had tickets all the time, and arrests. Nothing major.” But no fun either. Although he once worked as a carpenter, Phil Jones now just makes do. He has bad arthritis in his shoulder and left elbow. He is hoping to secure disability insurance. When I ask him how he pays for his habit, he shrugs. “I got a female. I know a lot of people. I get Food Stamps.” Jones grew up in a middle class family in Avondale. His father had a lifetime job at American Linen. Neither of his parents were alcoholics. He grew up along with a sister and a younger brother. Both are dead, he says without emotion. His sister, of breast cancer. And his brother? “I don’t know. He died…he got sick.” After graduating high school at Withrow, Phil ended up in the Job Corps, training at a site in Hot Springs, Arkansas. “It was good. I learned a trade (carpentry). We fought forest fires.” He tells me the government would fly the corpsmen and women anywhere from Arizona to Kentucky to help in the firefighting efforts. Sometimes they all got on buses to fight fires in nearby Oklahoma. But the good things that he found in the program didn’t last. “I got kicked out. I went into the service after that. I got kicked out of that too. Everything I ever did I got kicked out of.” Phil’s stint in military service ended with a five year sentence at Leavenworth. He was never convicted of a crime, so with the help of “friends,” he was released after a year and a half. His crime? A kind of black-market gun-running. “They said I sold guns [belonging to the military] on the street. They couldn’t prove it…but I did it. I sold ‘em.” I stare at him, looking directly into his eyes. Finally, I say. “You know, Phil, you don’t look like a bad guy.” He looks back at me with a sweet smile. “Well, I’m bad,” he pauses, “but I’m good. But I’m bad, and I’m good, and I’m bad…and I’m good.” It was perhaps the clearest explanation of character I had ever heard. With those words, I thought, he had described everyone else in the world as well. I couldn’t help probing him a bit further. “How did you get that way? You came from a good home. You were taken care of.” Phil Jones returns my stare. “I was f##ked up as a kid. I was a thief and a drug dealer. My oldest kid is 38. I was thirteen when I had him. She was seventeen.” He explains that his parents had split up when he was young, and that his mother had a job. “I didn’t have no real male model in my life. I didn’t stay home nights. My mother had to work. She couldn’t watch me all the time.” After prison, Jones said he got A wisdom for life? “Stay focused on whatever you’re doing,” Phil Jones. Photo: Jim Luken a job as a journeyman carpenter. He worked in Louisville and Chicago. “Then I got hurt on the job. A female dropped a box of nails on my back. It put things on hold for a while. I was still working some. I was doing light duty.” So Phil ended up back in Cincinnati in the eighties. He would marry briefly. Six years. “I f##ked that up too,” he says with a laugh. “I did it for financial reasons. I knew that it wasn’t going to last.” Then, more seriously, he adds, “She lost two kids to miscarriages. That’s part of the reason.” During these years, Phil Jones would father nine more children. “Nine boys in all, and one girl.” They are all grown now, and doing fairly well, he believes. “None of them are locked up. They are fine. I don’t see them too much.” I look for some sign of guilt. I see none. “I probably got more kids. I been all over the country. Quite a few females say they got pregnant by me. I don’t know.” As he adds these details, I can see, once again, that he is neither proud nor ashamed of what he is telling me. After all, I had come into his home and asked him to tell me his story. This is his story. Some of Phil’s ten children, his eight grand children, and his six great grandchildren come to visit him at the Jimmy Heath House, he says, but only on Father’s Day. “I don’t want to be bothered. They know it. So that’s the only time they come.” Phil’s life is more laid-back now that he has a home to come home to. His explanation? “I got older, and I cut back on all the bulls##t. I can’t do all that s##t I used to do.” Another reason for the change…a ladyfriend that he is serious about. “I’m thinking about re-marrying. I’m working on getting a job. It’s going to be a while.” And the drinking? “I drink because I like to drink. I don’t drink as much as I used to, but I’m still that person. I’m not consuming as much as I once did. I’m comfortable.” Finally I tell him that he seems like a very smart person, which he clearly is. I ask him for some words of wisdom. A wry smile comes over his face, as if I had asked him to reveal the meaning of life. Finally he says. “Stay focused on whatever you’re doing, your goals…if you’ve got any goals.” Phil Jones: a man without pretense. Like Popeye, he is who he is. Meetup is meant to tell people’s stories in their own words. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the interviewee and not those of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Streetvibes or the staff, volunteers and board members. Urban Oasis: Updated Success of the Community Bowel Movement CATIE DARGUE Streetvibes Staff Writer I n the early morning of Monday August 8th two port-o-potty’s were dropped off on the corner of 14th and Race Street in Over-the-Rhine. After months of asking 3CDC to honor their commitment to replace the public bathrooms that were closed when Washington Park shut down for construction, letters to local businesses, one public event and one demonstration all led to these two lovely new additions in the neighborhood. A welcome sight for business owners, residents and people who work in Over-the-Rhine who have noticed an increase of public defecation and urination as a result of there being no public bathrooms in the vicinity. After hearing the plea of the people for the need of somewhere dignified to go to the bathroom Nast Trinity United Methodist Church opened their doors for a month to have people come in to use their toilets. They were overwhelmed by visitors and the need for a more permanent solution was imminent. In the end, Nast Trinity United Methodist Church and Hyde Park United Methodist ended up footing half of the bill for the Port-o-potty’s and donating the land they now sit upon. 3CDC has come through to pay the other half of the expense and just like that, we have toilets. They are unlocked every morning at 7:30am and locked back up at 7:30pm seven days a week until winter. They will close until the spring months where then they will be operational again until the park reopens in summer 2012. This comes as wonderful news after all the effort put in to make the community aware of this issue, its solution and having people that care about this neighborhood rally together to get what was needed. We are thankful to Nast Trinity United Methodist Church, Hyde Park United Methodist and 3CDC for paying for this much needed facility which will restore many people’s dignity and in return help keep the neighborhood Photo: Catie Dargue safe and clean. The Homeless Congress will make an effort to keep the area as clean as possible making everyone feel welcome. So next time you’re in the 14th and Race area and you need to use the potty, think about what a special potty it is and how many fought to get it there. �Street Voice ST R EE T V IB E S 11 A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Compassionate Action as a Form of Healthy Grief STEVE SUNDERLAND Contributing Writer “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.” T hese famous words were spoken by Pastor Martin Niemoller in relationship to the spreading reality of the World War II. When I read them, I think of the long term unemployed in our country. Their voices are getting weaker. The dreams of young and old without work or the prospect of work are fading and being replaced by an anger, despair, and hopelessness. Helping to sort food at the FreeStore Food Bank and participating in the FreeStore Memorial Day Hunger Walk has reminded me that many are trying to speak out in support. There is a surreal element in working at the FreeStore and participating in the "hunger walk." The faces of those engaged are largely happy ones, either students completing a service activity or citizens helping to support their local pantries by taking part in an early stroll along the Ohio. Perhaps tragedy needs a happy face at times. The stories of the unemployed, hungry, and confused may be too difficult to hear, to see, and to bear. When psychological depression is the healthy response to an economic depression, can we keep a "happy face?" Or, perhaps our faces are a defiance of the expected resignation into depression and other distractions. Happily, we are called to make a difference, one issue at a time. The more I see the young people coming to help at the FreeStore, the more I see future politicians, judges, teachers, and parents who have had the experience of sustaining a feeling of hope. Resignation, anger, and bitterness are healthy responses to the grief of being unemployed or threatened with the loss of a house, or being on edge about losing a job. Withdrawal into deep grief is a regular way of coping with the barrage of bad news from our media or from the daily experience of hearing about another firing, lay off, or closing that shuts out people. Recognizing that there are times when protest feels too difficult does not mean that this is a permanent condition. Recently, a long term jobless elder expressed her frustration when she said: "I am just tired of waking up to no work. I have worked at any one of a number of part time jobs for almost no pay and with no benefits. I cannot go on with this constant uncertainty." I respect her pain and do not try and talk her out of her feelings. Before the end of the discussion, she also says: 'I am ready to volunteer to repeal Senate Bill 5. Is there a place for me?" We smile at our desire to activate her citizenship as a way of building the kind of society that is good for the general public. The public's desire to improve our society goes beyond students and into many citizens in our community. A tornado happens in a way that cannot be ignored and groups and individuals step up for participation in the helping process. No pay or recognition need be given. A child is missing in a community for a day and a half and hundreds of "strangers" show up to work together to find the lost one. Simple acts of compassion make up the lives of many people, even people in a crisis themselves. For the past 60 years that I have been in the peace movement I have witnessed direct and compassionate action to change segregated schools, and, to end wars, and to feed our hungry in our neighborhoods, and to provide jobs to those who are one step away from complete desperation. The compassionate soul of citizens acts without full knowledge and without any need for applause. Instead, the soul of the compassionate servant is rewarded by the smile of child getting a can of food and a toy; or, the hug of an elder on a food line at a pantry; or, in gathering together to search through the wake of destruction in order to find a person alive. The journey of compassionate action is bolted to the acts of service. Together, in ways that seem magical, the spirit of everyday citizens rises and removes whatever seemed to be causing apathy. We will need to applaud this spirit in our coming days and find ways of continuing to work together for the common good. That Dreaded Day RICCARDO TAYLOR Staff Writer I suppose I shouldn’t sound discouraged or fearful of that dreaded day which for me is my goodbye to a year of pleasure, frustration, learning, and commitment. August 20, 2011 is my service end date for volunteering with Americorp Vista. For the past year I have had the honor of working with a group of dedicated and informed individuals who make up the staff working for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. I could not have more praise for the work that these individuals have done and continue to do in their devotion towards improving the lives of others. And having the opportunity to be a part of such a dedicated group was again a great pleasure. The wrangling that goes on at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition’s office in defense of homeless peoples’ rights is an experience of immense reward, as I had the chance to be exposed to realities which I would not have ever knew existed! Being a part of the decision making process of which fights we were best equipped to engage was a life long learning tool that I had the honor of gaining from those experiences and a great tool which I can take with me for furtherance of my newly found life work. Often I’ve talked about life’s miseries, or perhaps the miseries of life in accordance with the life of the street, only I failed to mention that in many cases those miseries are self -imposed! Ah! The imposition of life, the one thing we can blame on everyone and everything else refusing to see our part in it! Well, I can say that part of the great experience I have had with working in this position is that I have come to a new found realization that for many of us we decline to accept the responsibility for our plight. Still, some of it is beyond our capacity to control or change, yet, there is that part for which we can. This is where my frustration comes to play. Over this last year I have had the opportunity to give others opportunity, and at each turn I have discovered that many of us simple will not take on the responsibility that’s needed to make the changes we seek. Now, I also realize that for some there is just not the capacity to take on that sense of responsibility, but it befuddles me that those of us who can, simply will not! It’s as if we are trapped in a mindset that we have total dependence on. “If it’s not free, I don’t want it.” Well, I suppose I am guilty in the sense that I should not allow that to bother or hamper me, yet it is so frustrating for me! That is perhaps the greatest thing I have learned during this tenure. Allowing people to be where they are! You see I have come to realize that sometimes we just have to allow people to be where they are, or we find ourselves in uncertainty! The uncertainty of what our purpose is or where do we make a difference. So, this brings me to the last of the tools, which I need to take me further in this concentration of life’s Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH purpose and that is the commitment of my time and energy toward service to others while helping to create change in their lives while enhancing my own. So, my dreaded end to the year ends with hope for the future of us all. �12 Arts & Culture ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 The Other Landmarks of the Queen City: The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge A. MANN Contributing Writer A sked to contribute historical background towards landmarks around Cincinnati the various choices turned from focusing on the prominent to recognizing the inconspicuous. Reflecting upon the importance of both, prompted the formation of a revolving article that proposes to convey an intersecting attention around the larger import involved in the past construction or passed development that contributed to any fundamental formation with individual respect upon unique features that each present as lasting structures and enduring symbols to the surrounding region. Deciding upon a starting point from which to emphasize the intertwining connection involved in the construction of a cities shared monument, this primary impartment- though acknowledging the given bronze statuary casting a certain presence toward a crowning symbol of the Queen Citychooses to entrain at this foremost junction upon the overarching embodiment extensively connecting Cincinnati-‘The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge’. The venerable viaduct aspires as a visible byword to a virtual- if not strictly veritable- gateway from the South to the North and vice versa, standing as a striven accomplishment of a collective achievement for two cities that almost did not come to pass. While possible to measure the actual breadth and height of this engineering feat, it is nigh inconceivable to equate the sheer blood, sweat, and tears poured into this creation by Roebling or- of equal determination- wholly account the individual people throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky who were crucially involved in the structures challenging constitution. Spanning an immense divide is at the best of times a dangerous operation, and the financial collapse of the Covington-Cincinnati Bridge Company from the ‘Panic of 1857’, followed by the explosive turmoil of the Civil War in 1861, halted the production halfway when all planned accords fell to pieces; seemingly dooming the suspicious suspended structure of ever being carried to a cooperative completion. Through willful acts of recovery building resumed in 1863 with entwined steelwire cables utilized instead of chain supports, and in 1866 the ‘Covington-Cincinnati Bridge’ was opened to pedestrians, with vehicular passage permitted the ensuing year. In the great flood of 1937 the sturdy bridge was the sole overpass over the Ohio River- from Stubenville to Cairo, Illinois- arising as a further testament to its integral conveyance for vital intercity passage across a turbulent channel. Kentucky purchased the bridge in 1954 with it being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Designated a National Historic Engineering Landmark in 1983 it was renamed in honor of its indomitable engineer -the ‘John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge’. Connecting North and South. Photo: A. Mann Standing todaymidway- upon this separately rendered and to be fully exvibrant passageway that is also called pressed should be experienced in their the ‘singing bridge’, listing to those extensive surrounds. Not quickly run reverberating intones; crosscurrent by, reduced to a graphic reproduction, hymns or susurrus concatenations or glimpsed at a safe distance. One continually conducting all that borne must take up a closer position to begin weight? The concerted effect overto absorb the totality of their immense whelms this native son of Cincinnati, relation. Occasionally these memorials who if born in past times being of dual transmit more than incised inscriptions Southern descent would very well and acute figurations; they further afhave been caught in that conflict. ford the passable ability to be physiThere are monuments that are in cally transported and travel outside of their sweeping expanse unable to be our settled insular state. Cincinnati Firsts • 1835 First bag of airmail. (sent by a hot air balloon to Toledo) • 1849 First city in the U.S. to hold a municipal song festival Saengerfest. • 1850 First city in the U.S. to establish a Jewish hospital. • 1850 First city in the U.S. to publish greeting cards. (Gibson Greeting Card Company) • 1853 First practical steam fire engine. • 1853 First city to establish a municipal fire department and first firemen’s pole. • 1869 First city to establish a weather bureau. • 1869 First professional baseball team. (the Cincinnati Red Stockings) • 1870 First city in the U.S. to establish a municipal university. (University of Cincinnati) • 1870 First city to hold annual industrial expositions. • 1875 First city to establish a Jewish theological college. (Hebrew Union College) • 1880 First city in which a woman, Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, began and operated a large manufacturing operation. (Rookwood Pottery) • 1880 First and only city to build and own a major railroad. • 1902 First concrete skyscraper built in the U.S. (the Ingalls Building) • 1905 Daniel Carter Beard founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, later known as the Boy Scouts of America. • 1906 First university to offer cooperative education. (University of Cincinnati) • 1935 First night baseball game played under lights. (Reds beat Phillies 2-1) • 1952 First heart lung machine makes open heart surgery possible. (Developed at Children’s Hospital Medical Center) • 1954 First city to have a licensed Public television station. (WCET TV) Reproduced by permission of Jake Gerth. See more strange and wonderful things about the Queen City on www.makecincinnatiweird.com �ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Arts & Culture 13 Outside the Loop - Pickled Brothers: Family Values JESSICA HOPSICKER Contributing Writer The Pickled Brother Circus lights up the night at Loveland Castle. Photo: Girish Balsavar and flaming object at his brother to juggle. They knew what they were getting into. ravis Fessler has been performIt is, however, Travis who ends up ing in the sideshow for over a doing the most dangerous stuff, like decade. He is a third of the act the fire-eating and sword swallowing, that makes up the Pickled Brothers or laying on the bed of nails with the Circus. Onstage alongside him is his largest guy in the audience on top of wife Susan and his younger brother him. There are a lot of comedy bits Erik. The name came from an old where everyone gets a share of the carnie term for two headed babies in a danger. With Erik or Susan, the worst jar called “Pickled Punks.” He thought that can happen is a cut or a whip it would neat to say he and his brother burn. But a sword could seriously kill were Siamese twins at birth. It's quite him, especially when a random audiobvious they aren't, Erik is 18 years younger. They hail from Florence Ken- ence member is selected to pull it out tucky and perform all over the Midwest of his gullet. For that trick, his secret is he tends toward someone that looks states. like a mother; someone less likely Roughly estimated, the three of to screw around and deliberately try them perform a hundred days out the to hurt him. A teenager, especially year doing death defying stunts like a teenage boy, or an older man that fire-eating, sword swallowing, human might show off blockhead, mental and actually hurt floss, juggling the geek. “Mothand the bed of ers are more nails. Performmindful of not ing feats such as hurting someone, these for such an they are caretakextended period ers you know.” of time takes a Travis got his saintly amount of start performing patience, determimagic for kids nation, trust and Travis Fessler holds the World record for number parties and was of course revenge. of live Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches held in admittedly not any The routine is the mouth, but ironically he’s a strict vegetarian. good at it. With also a comedic Photo courtesy of Pickled Brothers Circus. some advice and act where Travis the tutelage of a man named Tom Fessler makes a show of throwing his Frank, magic shop owner in Downfamily members under the bus. His town Cincinnati, Fessler made the wife is a whip target and he throws lateral career move. It started with the machetes and other dangerous pointy T Be Inspired JOSH SPRING GCCH Director R ecently, Donald Whitehead held a fundraiser, book signing at the Drop Inn Center. Donald is promoting his first autobiographical book, Most Unlikely to Succeed. The signing had an air of reunion about it. That is because Donald, the former Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless is homegrown. Like so many people in Cincinnati, Donald experienced fire eating and the human blockhead and the show just snowballed from there. Being a sideshow freak wasn't always a family business. His first partner was man named Frack, but the two of them had a lot of professional differences of opinion. Frack wasn't much a of a freak show person, he didn't like to wear costumes; although he had a couple of the little jokes he used he didn't like to do the comedy. He seemed to Travis to want to be the guy at the party that could do weird things, and that was all. Whereas the Pickled Brothers themselves, they want to put to put on a show. Admittedly, he'll never be the technical best at any of these stunts like swallow the most swords, (one guy did about forty,) or blow the largest fireball. It is a show that is just about as much about the comedy as it is about the more dangerous exploits. That hasn't stopped the two of them from breaking World records of their own. Erik alone broke the Upside-Down Juggling record three times. The first was for an event and the other Guinness Book of World records flew him in for such a purpose. Travis is included in a largest group of sword swallowers to swallow the most swords. Another record is having eleven Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in his mouth at one time. It is challenging at times, working with a brother that is roughly eighteen years his junior. People tend to think they are a father and son team, which annoys Susan to no end. In high school, Travis was the band and homelessness. This brought him to the Drop Inn Center. Donald is also a survivor of addiction, a disease that afflicts some people, including leading some people to homelessness. At the Drop Donald completed a recovery program. From there he gained more balance at Over-the-Rhine Community Housing’s Recovery Hotel. Donald became a strong part of the local Movement to end homelessness and took on the role of Executive Director for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. From here, Donald went on to lead the National Coalition in the struggle against homelessness. It is clear from the book signing that Donald Whitehead serves as a friend, comrade and inspiration for many in our area. To learn more about Donald’s path, purchase a copy of Most Unlikely to Succeed at www.iuniverse.com. drama geek, Erik was more like the athletic and popular one. So there are some personality clashes like screaming at his twenty-one year old brother to get out bed and get ready for the show. Naturally there was a lot of resistance with his mother, when two of her sons turned out to be freaks. When Erik was still underage she's try to ground him from performing, but Travis likened it to grounding someone from working at McDonalds. That was his job. Erik was also afraid to tell him mom when he started swallowing swords, in fear that she worried that Child Protective Services would be called. Since then she has warmed up to the notion that her boys are The Pickled Brothers, and even sends friends along to catch the show. She's also attends every world record her sons break. Currently the Pickled Brothers Circus is doing a couple of gigs at Loveland Castle and then going out of town to perform at the Illinois Renaissance Festival. Starting in September, for five weeks, they can be found at the Old West Fest in Williamsburg, Ohio. It’s like a Renaissance festival set in Dodge City in 1878. You can always check them out at www.pickledbrothers.com or facebook or twitter. “Just search for pickled brothers and find us there.” �14 Arts & Culture ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 The Prediction WILLA DENISE JONES Contributing Writer & Distributor What would you do if you could predict your every tomorrow? Remembering that tomorrow never comes, it’s always today, now that can bring some sorrow Thinking of the changes that the people of the world are being subjected to Remembering the day of the past is what I’ll always cherish for thinking today can be awe so cruel Today there is a complete new set of words we as a people must learn Words like: Shut em down, unemployment’s rising, evictions and homelessness, now I’m concerned So do you believe that we could make a change in this world if we could predict our future? Believe me being either a democrat, a republican or a socialist we all come up a loser Believe that this is God’s world, somehow the world seems to have forgotten Believe if we as mankind don’t come back to God we’ll all be lost, burned up and then turn rotten To be able to predict tomorrow or for me to be a psychic honestly is not my choice Now predict the readings of the bible about God’s return I believe it’s time for the politicians to heed to God’s voice!!! Soldiers of the Poverty Line E HAYDEN Contributing Writer Hold strong soldiers, hold strong. We are the solider of the poverty line. While few and far have broken free to find warmth within four strong walls. We hold the line... Bags upon Bags of possession weigh our backs down, bags with memories and our identify growing around us like roots, holding firm on the concrete streets. Memories that talk back in the mind of happier days gone by... Yes, we are the soldiers of the poverty line. Hold on soldiers. Hold on. Reinforcements are coming - from government and politics. Only God has seen the coming of the poor. We are a nation on our own?? Day after day that turns into weeks, walking around downtown . In and out of social services buildings, trying to explain, how we got in to this situation and that situation. Wondering, praying and crying to get out of a situation. Pushing and pulling to get a better situation. Case workers nodding their heads, while handing you a referral to some other places to try, rather than be bothered themselves. Hold that line... reinforcements are coming. Our fearless leaders said so.... Yes, soldiers, I know the soles of your shoes are worn thin... go on soldiers go forward... Yes, soldiers, I know you’d rather drink the water than bath in it. Go on soldiers go forward... Yes, soldiers, I know you are hungry and I know you are tried… But remember, we hold the front line for all the poor... Yes, soldiers, I heard the nasty comments they say to you that shouldn't be said to any human being ... Go on soldiers go forward… Hold that line Hold that line... Don't you fall to death's sweet peaceful call... Remember we are the soldiers of the poverty line. I Am What I Am LEE McCOY Contributing Writer & Distributor I can make you stay out all night in all kind of weather. I can make you empty your bank account, your life savings, even your last dollar. I can make you neglect your wife or husband, children, mother, father. I can take away your automobile, your home, your apartment. I can make you a thief, a killer, a robber, a prostitute, a con man, and the greatest beggar. I can make you lie to everyone at the drop of the hat; I can get you to lie to yourself and you don’t even know you’re lying. I can steal your selfesteem. I can make you do some of the craziest things just to get your hands on me. I can be gone in a few seconds, but you’ll find a way to come back for some more. I can take away your last penny and make you justify your own madness. I can make you believe I am your best friend but you can best believe I am not your friend. When you are broke I’ll make others laugh at you and call you a fool. I won’t even miss you when run out of cheese because someone else is in the very chair you just left but I’ll be here when you’re up your pockets and just like hocus-pocus I’ll empty them again and with the greatest of ease before you leave I’ll have you crawling on the floor looking for more; peeking out the window because you think someone out there looking in never thinking about you on the fifth floor and there is no ledge let alone a fire escape. Who’s out there? It must be Spiderman. With just one pull of me I’ll make you feel like you are the greatest lover and then I’ll take away your sex drive. When you think you need it the most I’ll make you chase me hoping and praying it will be like the first time. Chase me all you want but you’ll never even get close. I am no hero by any means but if you have an ounce of sense you will truly call me a villain. I have no feet or legs, no brains let alone a cape, but I can be found in any neighborhood, on almost any corner. Once you taste me I can make you pick me up quicker than your heart can beat. I can also make you a promise: if you mess with me I’ll put you in jail, hospital, or a grave even quicker. I can also make you this promise if you leave me and get lonely for my company, all you have to do is pick me up because I’ll wait for you. If you don’t know me by now, my name’s Crack Cocaine. �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 15 St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both 961-4080 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 PainterStreetNew:Layout 1 4/22/2011 1:33 PM Page 1 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Other Resources Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Women Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Anthony House (Youth) 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Compliments of Judge Mark Painter United Nations Appeals Tribunal 2009– Ohio Court of Appeals 1995–2009 Hamilton County Municipal Court 1982– Judging strictly on merit for 30 years www.judgepainter.org Paid for by the Judge Painter Cte., Paul Gaffney, CPA, Treas., 5086 Wooster Road · Cincinnati, OH 45226 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �16 ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 1 9 - S e p t e m b e r 1 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES ANNUAL VISUAL AND LITERARY ART CONTEST: As part of Streetvibes’ commitment to building community and advocating justice we are expanding our reach to the local arts community, seeking their artistic voice and vision. Beginning SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2011 Streetvibes will begin accepting submissions for our first annual visual and literary art contest. There are three distinct categories 1. StreetVision 2. StreetVoice and 3.StreetVagary. All submissions will be considered however, preference will go to work produced by local artists and writers from the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area and for work that embraces human rights and social justice. Submissions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Submissions are $5 per entry and there is no limit to the number of entries each artist or writer submits. Submission fees will fund a pot of prize money that will be given to the top entries bi-annually. Prizes are awarded to the top three entries in all three categories. CATEGORIES: 1 StreetVision: This category is for visual art that will be published on the back cover of Streetvibes. The back cover is a full color page, however black and white images will be considered. All artwork not accepted will be ready for pick up 30 days from submission date. Work not picked up after 90 days will be auctioned at the Coalition for the Homeless Annual Dinner. SNEAK PEAK: On October 1, 2011, the Coalition for the Homeless and Prairie Inc. will host the release party for the 2012 Day By Day Calendar at Prairie Gallery. Day by Day is an annual calendar which includes photographs and writing by homeless and formerly homeless individuals in Cincinnati and is distributed by Streetvibes Distributors. The calendar provides distributors with an additional income source. Distributors purchase the calendars for $3.00 and distribute them on the street for $6.00 keeping the $3.00 profit. The image below is a sample of what’s to come. Guidelines: Art must be no larger than 11x17 -OR- if larger than 11x17 bring in original piece and include a digital version. All mediums accepted. To submit your artwork bring it to the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street on Tuesdays between 9AM and 5PM. Include name, phone number, email and address on back of each entry. This cat2 StreetVoice: egory is a fiction writing contest. With this contest we are looking for original short stories. Winning entries will be published in Streetvibes. Preference will be given to stories that incorporate themes that address social justice, discrimination, oppression and/or the causes and consequences of inequality. Guidelines: Stories should not exceed 3,000 words (shorter lengths are welcome.) No handwritten entries. Include your name, address, email address and phone number on each entry. Streetvibes will publish the winning stories as they are received. Mail or drop off your entries and fee at the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45223. Please do not send cash via snail mail. Submissions will not be returned unless a SASE is included with each entry. This is an editorial cartoon/illustration contest. 3 StreetVagary: StreetVagary is open to aspiring or professional cartoonists of any age. Winning entries will be published in Streetvibes. Preference will be given to political cartoons that incorporate commentary on current events. Riccardo Taylor experience allowed me to get outside of myself, taking "Thea look at the world around me. The reality that things are not always what they seem and in fact present a reality other than the one of first impression, allows me to be more aware of the world around me. " Guidelines: Submit single panel or strip cartoon entries. Include your name, address, email address and phone number on each entry. Streetvibes will publish the winning cartoons as they are received. Mail or drop off your entry and fee at the Streetvibes office at 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45223. Please do not send cash via snail mail. Submissions will not be returned unless a SASE is included with each entry. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource August 19-September 1, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Cincinnati Prays to Save Historical Homeless Shelter Pg 2: From the Director Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: No Back to School for Hundreds of Unemployed Teachers Act Now Pg 5: Cincinnati Public Schools Get a Long Overdue Upgrade Pg 6: The Hobo Cookbook Pg 7: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples Pg 8: In the Picture Pg 9: Recipe Pg 10: Meet Up: “I Yam What I Yam.” Pg 11: That Dreaded Day Pg 12: The Other Landmarks of the Queen City Pg 13: Outside the Loop-Pickled Brothers Pg 14: Arts & Culture Pg 15: Resources Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 19-September 1, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jason Dean Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Georgia Bohannon Karen Chatman Stephen Gentry Rubye Goode Della Woolens Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Laura Osborn-Coffey Jesse Call Jason A. Haap Catie Dargue Willa Denise Jones E.Hayden Jim Luken Lee McCoy Jessica Hopsicker A. Mann Make Cincinnati Weird Steve Sunderland, Riccardo Taylor Corey Luthringer Joe Nolan Girish Balsavar Kevin LeMaster Dorothy Dark Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF A. Mann Alisa Balestra Anna Louis Inn Catie Dargue Cincinnati Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Dorothy Dark E.Hayden Georgia Bohannon Girish Balsavar Harrison Lott Jason A. Haap Jason Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jessica Hopsicker Jim Luken Joe Nolan Josh Spring Karen Chatman Kevin LeMaster Laura Osborn-Coffey Lee McCoy Make Cincinnati Weird Mark Grauhuis Phil Jones Photography Pickled Brothers Public Schools Queen City Riccardo Taylor Roebling Suspension Bridge Rubye Goode Schools Soldiers Stephen Gentry Steve Sunderland Susan Lakes Teachers unemployment Willa Denise Jones Worlds Indigenous People https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/7ad49eb87f10bfeb3f5da2f43109d3fb.pdf 0b4adccf5dc990de265f1d18b1c2ffba PDF Text Text Life Saver! What Mouthwatering STwe R EE T V IB ES can learn from Pasta Salad A u g u s t Oregon? 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Portland PG 6 PG 8 A U G U S T 5 T H - 1 8 T H 2 0 11 G! OUR... E SEYMNIGHT LONNKINS FEED M E ALL BY JENI JE FEED M The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! PIQUANT PASTA SALAD Artist as Activist: The End of a Two Year Chapter. PG 16 ISSUE 205 Fresh Summer S During the summer as the heat rises I find it difficult to eat a heavy dinner, so the perfect solution is something fresh from your garden or a local farmer’s market. I personally love salads and in particular I love the ability to mix it up a bit each time using a variety of ingredients. Here is the fourth from my fresh summer salad series I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-5 bellies. Ingredients: 4 cups cooked shell pasta, rinsed 2 teaspoons dried basil 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ cup Extra-virgin olive LOREM oil Praesent molestie lorem 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegerette IPSUM Sed turpis 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes 1 red onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup shredded parmesan romano & asiago Cheese mix 1 cup mozzarella, cut in cubes Salt & pepper to taste • • • • • 1 ala d ! Etiam ac libero In a large bowl combine the pasta, tomatoes, red pepper and onion and gently mix together In a separate small bowl combine the basil, garlic, olive oil, vineger and salt and pepper Toss with the pasta Stir in the mozzarella & top with shredded cheese Voila, FEED! ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Can Cincinnati Protect the Homeless from Deadly Weather? Severe weather has raced through the Greater Cincinnati area in the past few months, including tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flooding, and extreme heat. But not all local residents live inside and many face greater danger of not being warned in time of impending severe weather threats. Local emergency officials say there is little they are able to do to warn those living outside. JESSE CALL Streetvibes Intern Writer F ederal, state, and local agencies in the area all struggled to answer the question of how best to warn people experiencing homelessness living outside. “It’s a good question,” said Mike Kurhz, meteorologist with the local office of the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. Kurhz said the only resource available from the National Weather Service is the NOAA Weather Radio service, which sends text and voice alerts during severe weather and other emergencies. However, people must be able to purchase a NOAA Weather Radio on their own, which range in cost from $20 to $60. Some people living on the streets, under bridges, or in the woods do not have the resources to invest that amount on a weather radio. Yet, they are often living in the places where getting early warning is most crucial. Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, showed Streetvibes where some people experiencing homelessness in Hamilton County live in outdoor camps. Many of these camps were located under bridges and overpasses, which many feel is a safe location to be during a severe thunder- Large, open buildings like this Kentucky factory may be closest shelter to people living outdoors but the storm or tornado. However, the National Weather Service says they offer little protection during severe storms because they are so open. National Weather Service says Photo: FEMA nothing could be farther from the gency Management, said. He also warning system in their camps, the truth. suggested that residents in Kentucky sheriff’s office says there is no policy Underpasses provide an extreme purchase NOAA weather radios, and to specifically warn those in camps or danger during a tornado because living outside, or even check on them when warnings are issued, to seek they more easily expose people to after the fact. shelter indoors. flying debris, and winds are actually “The Sheriff’s Office Patrol SecHowever, many people living strengthened as they pass under tion is occasionally dispatched to and outside do not live near shelters or a bridge, according to the National have checked on reports of homeless public buildings. And both Rogers Weather Service. individuals who may be in need of in Kentucky and Kurhz in Ohio said Nonetheless, emergency officials assistance or requests to check on they were unaware of any programs in the area are reluctant to take on the the welfare of the homeless,” Stephen that provide free or low-cost NOAA responsibility of warning individuals Barnett, public information officer for weather radios to people experiencliving in these places. the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deing homelessness, but said that local “Clermont County encourages partment said, “but to my knowledge emergency management agencies or all citizens to be self prepared,” Beth we have never had a set policy that charities would offer the best chance Nevel, director of the Clermont County addresses a protocol for any type of of providing assistance, if any. Emergency Management Agency, Back in Hamilton County, the notification to specific areas within the said. She refers people to a brochure people Streetvibes encountered livunincorporated areas of the county for which she said is widely distributed ing in camps did not have any NOAA severe weather.” throughout the county, but not through weather radios, though some had One reason for a lack of policy any programs specifically targeting regular battery-powered AM/FM racould be a lack of resources for the people experiencing homelessness in dios. However, many radio stations in Sheriff’s Department. the county. the region do not broadcast all NOAA “With a limited amount of reAcross the river in Northern Kenweather alerts on their stations, unlike sources...on the street at any one tucky, the sentiment of self-preparedgiven time the county wide sirens and local TV news channels that can do so ness is echoed by statewide officials. media service have always been our without interrupting programming and “Every individual has a level of best early warning signals,” Barnett have their own weather departments. responsibility to be aware of their said. He did say that the patrol units No one had a television, let alone risk and prepared and have plans to electricity, in the Hamilton County do have a public address capability, protect themselves and mitigate those camps Streetvibes visited. risks,” Buddy Rogers, spokesperson Aside from not having a clear for the Kentucky Division of EmerSee Storm Warning, page 4 Meeting Up with a Rebelious Nun PG 10 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati Remembering The Grateful Dead PG 13 twitter.com/streetvibesnews New Approach to Poetry in Over-theRhine PG 12 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorial 2 Winning Hearts and Minds Brief Updates O hioans will be converging at John Boehner's office at 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 9 with a question in mind: "Where are the jobs, Speaker Boehner?" Buses will leave from Longworth Hall, 700 West Pete Rose Way, and IBEW hall, 5179 Fishwick Drive, and travel to Boehner's office at 7969 CincinnatiDayton Road in West Chester at 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. respectively. The event is being sponsored by Fight For A Fair Economy Cincinnati. V ouchers are being distributed for the PETS IN NEED basic health clinics which are offered two Sundays each month at the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic. The clinic is located at 1230 West Eighth Street. The program is a joint effort of UCAN and the Freestore FoodBank. Only a limited number of vouchers are available for each clinic date, and you must have a voucher for each pet. Please call (513) 762-0149 to hear recorded information about vouchers. Vouchers are distributed, when available, on Fridays, 10 a.m., to 2 p.m., but it’s best to call to get updates before you make the trip. Upcoming clinic dates are August 14 and 28, and September 11 and 25. REMEMBER TO CALL (513)7620149 FOR CLINIC DETAILS AND UPDATES. Generally, pets receive an examination, vaccinations and treatment for fleas and any minor health problems. You get information about “fixing” your pet and information about pet health. T hus far, 2011 has been an interesting year for Streetvibes. Editors have gone, editors have come and gone again, editors have been nameless phantoms, and now it is my honor to be your editor. Despite some changes one thing has remained consistent with Streetvibes, its dedication to social justice, building community and providing economic opportunities for the paper’s distributors. We thank you for supporting this dedication with your purchase of the paper that you are now reading So what course will the paper take under this new pilot? The primary focus of Streetvibes will always be on issues that affect people in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky who are experiencing life without a home. The paper’s progressive mission will continue to expose the unethical practices of those who would diminish affordable housing and social services while also celebrating the efforts of those who seek to help relieve the situation and ensure a safe home for everyone. When working for social justice one is constantly exposed to the mistreatment of those lacking the resources to protect themselves and the corruption of those motivated by power and greed. Frequently it is a saddening and very frustrating calling, our “bleeding hearts” hemorrhage from the emotional trauma of feeling compassion and empathy for people in need of assistance. This frustration can easily turn to anger and then the name calling begins. In our aggravation we dig in for political battle and seek to defeat our enemies. In many situations it is a civic battle that is worthy of being fought, but with it comes those who get caught in the crossfire of rhetorical missiles. American politics of the 21st century have become extremely polarized, everyone seems angry at something and desperately trying to find someone to blame for it. We fight with those who’s mission differs from our own and even squabble with those who share the same viewpoint. “If you’re not outraged, then you’re not paying attention,” stated a bumper sticker with which I heartily agree, but it is very difficult to convince someone of your viewpoint by shouting at them. Brute force offers the short term result of compliance through fear but it does nothing for the long term goal of winning the hearts and minds of people. Calm and confident, Streetvibes will always seek to reach out to the public of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to educate, inform and challenge people’s perceptions of those without homes. There is, however, also more to Streetvibes. Despite our unveiled dissatisfaction with many unjust policies and practices that occur in Cincinnati, we love this place, it is our home, and we want to see everyone be able to enjoy the Queen City. Our mission of community building extends in many different directions such as music, poetry, literature, film, and other performing arts. Expect to see more about the fringe entertainment and arts that Cincinnati has to offer. To conclude my first Streetvibes editorial, I wish to extend an invitation to writers and artists who enjoy this paper and feel that they would like to contribute articles and art to help us continue to grow into the paper that is the heart of soul of the city, the vibe of the street. Sincerely, Jason Dean ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published biweekly by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Editor, Design & Layout Jason Dean Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Layout Assistance, Streetvibes Distributor Program Manager Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Georgia Bohannon, Karen Chatman, Stephen Gentry, Rubye Goode, Della Woolens. Contributing Writers: Willa Denise Jones, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Lee Mccoy Photography/Artwork: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Josh Spring, Saad Ghosn, Bill Howes, Paul Davis, Aimie Willhoite Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Jesse Call Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Statistics Brittany Fong �ST R EE T V IB E S Distributor Program 3 A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 My Distributor Is… Many Streetvibes readers buy their copy of the paper from the person they consider to be their regular distributor. Every two weeks you walk by that same spot and look out for that friendly smile announcing that the latest issue of Streetvibes has arrived. We would like to hear from you and publish your positive thoughts about the person from whom you pick up your copy of this paper. We invite you to write a line or two, starting with the phrase “My distributor is,” that describes your Streetvibes distributor. Please email your observations to streetvibes@cincihomeless.org DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 M y Streetvibes distributor is Julie Walker and I look forward to seeing her every Saturday morning when I go to Findley Market. I arrive by 8:30 a.m. and get a newspaper and a hug from Julie. We talk about the weather or cooking or family for a minute, and then I get a cup of coffee in the market house and read the paper. Not sure what I like best, the paper or the hug. What a great way to start a Saturday with a kind word from Julie, a hug, a great newspaper and a cup of coffee. Yesterday morning I got a late start and didn’t arrive till 2 p.m. I couldn’t find Julie as she had left for the day but I had a chance to meet Willa Jones, another lovely lady and Streetvibes contributing writer and distributor. She told me that there is an important article in the paper about House Bill 159 and how it could hurt many homeless folks as they may not be able to vote. We had a great political conversation and then I was on my way. Every distributor has been a joy to talk to, and the paper always has great articles Thanks Jean Sepate Five Extra Ways to Support Streetvibes Distributors. (Concept borrowed from our sister paper in Portland, Oregon). PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 1. Traveling out of town? Buy extra copies of Streetvibes for the road. Who knows. Someone might notice the paper at the airport, bus station or on the road trip and strike up a great conversation. 2. Let out of town friends and family know about Streetvibes and the concept behind it. Let them know how it helps homeless and formerly homeless distributors pay for some basics. RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 3. Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Consider asking your distributor is they would like a bottle of cold water. Water helps keep the hydrated and strong. 4. Buy additional copies of Streetvibes and introduce the organization to at least one friend or Cincinnati newcomer. You can help spread the word and also raise awareness of progressive issues in Cincinnati. TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 5. Stop and talk to your neighborhood Streetvibes distributor. Introduce yourself and let her/ him know what you like and don’t like about the paper. This helps build community throughout the city, but more importantly, helps build what could become a lasting friendship. � 4 Storm Warning Continued from page 1 but that is probably not used often because the sheriff’s department is busy responding to reported emergencies during a storm, such as downed power lines, storm damage and lost traffic signals. In Kentucky, Rogers agreed that many local communities probably do not have the financial resources to send people out to warn or check on people living outdoors. He also mentioned outdoor emergency sirens as a resource for those living outside. However, he admitted these sirens cannot be heard in all parts of a community, including some of the remote places where people experiencing homelessness sometimes stay. A map of the tornado sirens in Kenton County, Kentucky, provided online by its emergency management agency, shows that most of them are in the heavily-populated residential parts of the county, despite the sirens being designed to warn people outdoors, not indoors. Few people living outdoors wanted to be quoted in the article, but some showed us their homes. Living in the woods or under bridges, they often had a tent or a small shack made of wood they had found or been given. These homes provide little shelter from the elements, including severe weather like heavy rains or hail, as well as from extreme heat or cold. Adequate warning can allow them to escape to someplace safer or better prepare, Rogers said. However, Rogers said there are no known cases of anyone in a homeless camp suffering injury during a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado in Kentucky. However, flash flooding is what often causes the most deaths due to severe weather in the Commonwealth. And, emergency managers rarely use outdoor sirens to warn of flash flooding, relying instead on NOAA weather radios and local media, to which many experiencing homelessness along riverbanks may not have access. • Seek shelter indoors, if possible, in a storm cellar or basement. If no basement is available, seek shelter in a small room in the center of the lowest level of the building. Stay away from windows, doors, and corners or the room. • Avoid seeking shelter in large shopping centers, stores, warehouses or anywhere that is “one big room,” because you want to be in a small, enclosed room in case the roof is ripped off the building. • A vehicle, trailer or mobile home does not provide good protection. Plan to go quickly to a building with a strong foundation, if possible. • If shelter is not available, lie flat in a ditch or other low-lying area. Do not get under an overpass or bridge. You are safer in a low, flat location. • Plan to stay in the shelter location until the danger has passed. Sources: Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service Wilmington Office From the Director To Be Set Free JOSH SPRING GCCH Director T ruth. Truth is so valuable. Most of us have heard the verse in the Bible that explains “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, NIV). We have heard this statement in movies, read it in books, heard it exclaimed in speeches. If any of us of have been to many rallies, probably many of us have cheered to something like this statement. But what does it mean- “…the truth will set you free?” What will the Truth set you free from? Certainly within one’s self the Truth will set one free from lies- in terms of their own mind set. But there has to be more to it than that. The first part of that sentence, the part that is not often quoted, says “Then you will know the truth…” So one must know the Truth in order to be set free by the Truth. I think that in this case know means more than just a factual understand, I would assert that know in this case means to not only understand, but to take to hear, to be intimate with. So if you know the Truth, what does it mean to be set free? In fact if considered only from a micro sense, one might think the opposite is actually true, often once one understands the Truth, she or he is no longer freeat least no longer free to live as they formerly would have. Often this is because Truth, when known compels one to act accordingly- this means to change the way one does things, this means to stand for the Truth and to fight for the Truth- to be bound by it you my say and to defend it. In some cases this leads to persecution, imprisonment or even death for those defending Truth. So what about freedom. I think there is a certain freedom found within those that know, defend and operate according to the Truth- an inner release from all the lies society, politicians, developers, media, ceos, etc. want us to believe. ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Beyond this however, and probably more important, I am not sure that freedom in this case is something that is completely immediate. It is important to consider all of this in a macro sense- if we know the Truth it will set us free. If we as a people become intimate with the Truth, and we let it determine our actions- then we will be set free. To me this means when we realize that all humans are worth of love and everything it takes to live because all humans are terribly valuable and when we realize that we are to protect each other and care for and protect our earth and all natural things- then we know the Truth- and will be set free. I often see people disregard the Truth. In the immediate situation it may often seem easier to not operate within or defend Truth. In the immediate sense it may be easier to shake the hand of the oppressor and act like their friend than to tell them they are the oppressor. In the immediate sense it may be easier to Continued on page 5 Friends of the Anna Louise Inn Call to Action Ways Individuals and Organizations can Support the Continued Mission of the Anna Louise Inn • Share our story. Talk at parties, tell your neighbors, post on your Facebook page, Twitter feed, and LinkedIn page. Make your voice known through outreach to your personal contacts. • Sign the Statement of Support (or draft your own). • Encourage people to visit www.cinunionbethel.org where they will get updated information and opportunities to donate. • ‘Like’ Cincinnati Union Bethel on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @cinunionbethel and encourage all your friends to do the same. • Send letters to the editor. • Donate. • Tell us who else may want to be involved-individuals and/or organizations. • Attend the August 10th court hearing at 11a.m. in Judge Norbert Nadel’s courtroom at the Hamilton County Courthouse, 1000 Main St., Room 560. This is a hearing for Cincinnati Union Bethel’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Cincinnati Union Bethel – 300 Lytle St. – Cincinnati, OH 45202 – 768-6907 – www.cinunionbethel.org �ST R EE T V IB E S Local News 5 A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Insurance Giant Bullies Anna Louise Inn JASON DEAN Streetvibes Editor A fter continuous failed attempts to purchase the Anna Louise Inn, Western & Southern Financial Group now wants Cincinnati City Council to withhold $2.6 million in federal housing dollars allocated to renovate this historic Cincinnati shelter for women and families. The Inn, currently administered by the nonprofit group Cincinnati Union Bethel, stands in the way of the insurance firms plans to convert the coveted building into expensive condominiums; part of an over arching design to gentrify the Lytle Park neighborhood into a “gaslight district” surrounded by luxury housing, restaurants and boutiques. Western & Southern claim that the renovation plan of the Anna Louise Inn is inappropriate and that the shelter is not conducive to the neighborhood even though it has stood on that spot since opening in 1909. Western & Southern are playing the role of victim, accusing the city council of pushing through the measure to award funds to for women and families experiencing the nonprofit without a public hearing, homelessness. Some need the shelter but despite this the council appears due to low-income, some are escapto favor charity and compassion over ing abuse, and some are trying to rid acquiescing to big business interests. themselves Western from drugs & Southern is or prostitustalling for time tion. The in the hopes inn ofthat Cincinnati fers help Union Bethel to many will accept women and their $3 million families offer for the Inn seeking to and promises improve to help find a their situnew home for ation and families and find stability. the women In the who currently The historic and much coveted Anna Louise Inn . Photo: reside there. coming Kevin LeMaster To date, howmonths the ever, CincinAnna Louise nati Union Bethel are not interested in Inn will start its $12.5 million renovaselling their property that was donated tion project to modernize the building by Charles P. Taft and that they have and create 85 efficiency apartments successfully operated for the past to replace the current dormitories. Western & Southern have argued that 102 years. For over a century the this move would actually provide less Inn has offered short term-housing   Ten Facts about the Anna Louise Inn and Western & Southern Fact #1: The Anna Louise Inn was built in 1909 to provide safe and affordable housing for women. We have been in the Lytle Park district for 102 years and the neighborhood has successfully developed around us – serving women in need does not impede economic development. In fact, Western & Southern developed the Residence Inn knowing the Inn was across the street. Fact #2: The Anna Louise Inn serves the same purpose today as it did when it opened in 1909 ... to provide safe and affordable housing for women. We still do this. We have continued to respond to the needs of women. Of course, our residents’ circumstances have changed as society has changed, but women still need a safe and affordable home and that is what we still provide. Fact #3: Cincinnati Union Bethel received the number one ranking in its category from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and was awarded tax credits to renovate the Anna Louise Inn on July 1, 2010. The renovation will preserve the historic elements of the building internally and externally. Fact #4: When Cincinnati Union Bethel was exploring all options from 2005-2009, Western & Southern made two offers: $1.75 and $1.8 million. We now have a $12.6 million renovation project in hand. Fact #5: Western & Southern cut off negotiations about the Anna Louise Inn in 2009 and only tried to resume them after they learned that we had received $10 million in tax credits and $2.6 million in affordable housing (HOME loan) dollars to renovate the Inn. At that time, we were not entertaining offers. Fact #6: The $10 million in tax credits the Anna Louise Inn received are from a federal program specifically designated to support affordable housing. It provides an opportunity for investment for local corporations. The $2.6 million HOME loan funding granted by the city is money from HUD that brings funding INTO the city that requires only a small match. Both programs are win-wins for economic development. The tax credits are “use them or lose them” and we cannot use them in another location. If we don’t use the tax credits they do not go back into taxpayers’ pockets and the economic stimulus provided to our community will be lost. Fact #7: Western & Southern has used the same tax credit program on its projects, like Brackett Village. It was a good financing program for Western & Southern then and it is a good financing program for us now. Fact #8: Western & Southern offered Brackett Village to Cincinnati Union Bethel as a new location for the Anna Louise Inn. It had two major problems: (1) each residence has a separate entrance so we could not provide the same level of safety and sense of community for women, and (2) there are people living there who would have been displaced from their residence. Fact #9: It is not cheaper to move locations. (1) Our programs are not going to change. (2) As City Gospel Mission and the YWCA have shown, there is often community resistance for social service providers in finding new locations. (3) Our current location is ideal for our residents because it is close to Cincinnati jobs and Northern Kentucky jobs. It is close to a bus line, a park and downtown stores and restaurants. Fact #10: We own the Anna Louise Inn and we have a right, as homeowners, to make decisions about our home’s future. We don’t have to sell to someone just because they want our land. We merely want to continue serving women in need and consider the solution we have found to be an enormous win-win for our community. For more information, please visit www.cinunionbethel.org, or call 513‐768‐6907.    housing for the homeless; one argument amongst many that the property developers are throwing out against the non-profit organization. The most striking thing about this story is the audacity of Western & Southern’s claims. They move into the neighborhood three generations after the Inn opened and then claim that the shelter is not appropriately placed. They complain and threaten to sue when Cincinnati Union Bethel refuses to sell their property. Many people would laugh at Western & Southern, but be warned, when a lucrative financial institution has its sights set on something they will not back down. The successful Anna Louise Inn needs all the help the people of Cincinnati can give to ensure that this historic shelter does not become history. To Be Set Free, Continued look the other way when a group that has a lot of power says they will swing some of that power your way while on the other side they are still hurting people. It may be easier to not call out Truth in a meeting and keep things immediately calm- without considering what negative actions will be reaped upon other people after the meeting. The Truth is however, even though these actions may seem calm and freeing in the moment- they will never free us. Shaking hands with lies enslaves us, knowing and defending Truth sets us free. �6 National ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 A Lifesaver that Fits in Your Pocket In Portland, Oregon, a little red bag is helping the homeless to stay alive. The Vial of Life has a list of medical illnesses, prescriptions, emergency contacts, allergies and blood type – all to be available to medical staff in case of emergency. STACY BROWNHILL Street Roots (USA) www.streetnewsservice.org H ow much good can a small red pouch, zip tie and sheet of paper do for someone living on the streets? Turns out, a lot. Downtown Chapel is pioneering an innovative, potentially life-saving program for medically vulnerable people experiencing homelessness called the Vial of Life program. It's actually an adaptation of a nationally established program used by people who have homes, applied now to those who do not. Homeless participants can fill out a one-page sheet listing medical illnesses, prescriptions, emergency contacts, allergies and blood type, stuff it into a red plastic pouch no bigger than an index card, and attach it to their backpack. The "vial" provides an easily identifiable, relatively reliable record to emergency personnel, and Downtown Chapel keeps a copy in case the original is lost. Since June, around 40 homeless individuals have participated in the Vial of Life program at Downtown Chapel, meeting one-on-one for a few minutes with volunteer nursing students from University of Portland who help them fill out medical information and even call pharmacies if there are questions about prescriptions. Reviews by participants have been "over the moon," says Andrew Noethe, pastoral associate at Downtown Chapel who is overseeing the implementation of the Vial of Life program in collaboration with parish nurse Sharon Christenson. Participant Michelle says she recommends it to other friends on the street who have seizures or diabetes and thinks there should be "a lot more awareness" about the Vial of Life program. So far, people seem eager to sign up for the program. "When you're vulnerable and sick, you know it," says Michelle. Diabetes, seizures and cognitive disabilities are at the top of the list of health issues that the Vial of Life program hopes to track. The health record may be largely self-reported, but the volunteer nursing students at Downtown Chapel "help ask the right questions in a safe place," says Noethe. "Sometimes a participant will just open their bag and show a nurse all the pills they've been taking, and that's helpful if EMTs pick that person up," he says. Piloted with Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries and Providence Health Systems, the Vial of Life program is an enormous boon for homeless health care in Portland. People who are homeless are often mobile, without health insurance, especially vulnerable to injuries and illness, and prime candidates for reduced recollection, often the result of past trauma or head injuries. Emergency personnel, including EMTs, police and Central City Concern's CHIERS staff, are frequently forced to rely on guesswork when it comes to helping sick people on the streets. For instance, last year more than 8,400 inebriated people were picked up off the streets and taken to Hooper Sobering Center on NE Burnside and MLK. "One of the first questions asked is, 'do you have any medical conditions,'" says manager Steve Mattsson. But he admits that the homeless folks who come in are notoriously poor historians of medical history. Plus, alcohol can mask over many serious medical issues. "I meet first responders who wonder, 'did I make the right choice?'" says Noethe, who hopes the Vial of Life program will change that. "The bottom line is we need to make sure those in need - however that is defined - get the right help in an emergency," says Jean Marks with Providence Health & Service's Public Relations office. "Emergency responders seem to be excited about this program because it makes their job easier. They don't have to guess about their patients' allergies and prescriptions," says Marks. "It serves the poor and vulnerable, but it also helps everyone do a better job." Bruce Strade, executive director of Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries, says they are just getting a feel for how successful the program is, but thinks adapting the program for other agencies is "not out of our reach." Downtown Chapel's idea for the Vial of Life program originated from National News Summary JESSE CALL Staff Intern Writer I n Fullerton, California, a man suffering from schizophrenia and experiencing homelessness was beaten to death by police. Kelly Thomas, 37, died five days after being put on life support. His family said they could not even recognize him after the beating. Officers say that Thomas resisted arrest and they used an appropriate amount of force to detain Thomas, who was suspected of breaking into cars. Thomas was not armed and was described by the Los Angeles Times as being “slight and of medium height.” Witnesses say police continued to hit Thomas with the butts of their flashlight even after he stopped moving. His family says the force used was clearly excessive. Orange County prosecutors are investigating, but no charges have been filed. S ecret Service agents continue to search for the ringleaders behind a bogus check cashing scheme which has exploited people experiencing homelessness and with mental disabilities throughout the state of Arkansas, according to The Michelle is one of the people that benefits from the Vial of Life. Photo courtesy of Street Roots Northwest Parish Nurse Ministries' and Providence Health Systems' Vial of L.I.F.E. (Lifesaving Information for Emergencies) program - a traditional method of storing medical information of isolated elders' in readily identifiable pill bottles in refrigerators. Early this year, parish nurse Sharon Christenson asked, 'why not do this in the homeless community?' and approached Noethe with the idea of implementing the Vial of Life program at Downtown Chapel. Noethe says he immediately took to the idea, remembering times when homeless guests passed out mysteriously in Downtown Chapel's lobby. He is especially hopeful that the program will help guests with trauma history, including traumatic brain injuries, who cannot recall medical history. "They dont' always keep every- thing in mind," says Michelle, who is borderline diabetic combined with other medical issues. "And if (medics) don't know about it, that's a problem." Noethe agrees. "It is essential that first responders, especially in Old Town, are able to identify the Vial of Life pouches and make use of them," says Noethe. His plan forward is to replicate the Vial of Life program among other Portland service agencies. Noethe has even created a manual for other organizations to implement and evaluate the program. "I have no doubt this is going to benefit someone," says Noethe. "With Vial of Life, we're not doing case work where we follow people over time, and we won't always get to see the outcomes. "But I know this will improve lives." Jonesboro Sun. A man arrested for trying to cash the check at an Arkansas bank said that he was offered $100 to attempt to cash it. Several more cases came forward throughout the state. Secret Service agents say they are close to finding the producers of the counterfeit checks and they will be charged with federal crimes. in homelessness from the area. A hearing was held earlier at the state capitol to discuss the possibility of creating “safe zones,” or tent cities, where homeless people could stay in order to help keep streets clean for the dignitaries. "Let me explain or put it this way. You invite some guests into your home for a meeting, you're not going to have your home in shambles," State Representative John Mizuno told HawaiiNewsNow. The “safe zones” plan met opposition from homeless advocates and community leaders and has not yet been accepted. [Continued on Page 7] awaii officials say there is no plan to force people experiencing homelessness out of the area where the leaders of 21 nations, including President Barack Obama, will meet for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference. State legislators have asked that there be an effort to move people H �ST R EE T V IB E S 7 International A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Street Papers Divided on Campaign to Make Poverty Illegal Could poverty be made illegal worldwide, just as torture and other human rights abuses have been? MELANY BENDIX The Big Issue (South Africa) www.streetnewsservice.org I t's a radical concept, and one that's being vociferously debated at the International Network of Street Papers (INSP) annual conference following a call by Henrique Pinto, from CAIS street paper in Portugal, for street papers to support his campaign to make poverty illegal. What at first seems like an idealistic, never-achievable "dream" goal gains some weight when you consider that once slavery was legal, and it took a radical mindshift and support from a critical mass to make it illegal. There are countless examples of these shifts that throughout history, so why is it so inconceivable that poverty, like slavery, could one day be outlawed? As Pinto points out, like torture, genocide and other human rights abuses, "poverty is a serious violation of the most basic human rights". And, like slavery, "poverty is manmade - it is not a natural phenomena", Pinto argues. He makes a passionate, weighty argument, but I'm not (yet) convinced this is a realistic campaign, nor one that street papers around the world, which have a combined readership of five to seven million an edition, should use their considerable power in the media to drive on a global level. It's a grand ideal, but as Trudy Vlok, MD of The Big Issue SA, pointed out: If poverty is made illegal, that automatically means it's a criminal offence to cause poverty. But who or even what causes poverty is not always clear-cut, so who do you lay criminal charges against for causing poverty? Pinto reckons the buck stops with governments, which should be forced by their people to commit to goals to alleviate poverty. Should they not meet those goals, he believes they should be fined, as they do in the European Union when countries do not meet carbon emission reductions, for example. The money from the fine would then be put into a fund for poverty alleviation. There's an immediate issue here: if governments have to pay a fine, the money will simply be taken from the taxpayer's coffer, which has its obvious problems. Fining governments for breaking agreements also has its own set of problems; it's a slap on the wrist which they mostly shrug off and then go straight back to doing what they were doing before. Getting governments to seriously sign in on "dream" targets is equally tricky. Governments always seem to be all too happy to sign on Say What? “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th President and WWII Five Star General OFFICIAL distributor Tommy Thompson the dotted line when the cameras are clicking but, like we've seen with the overall implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, implementation is an entirely different story. That said, no one - not even the passionate Pinto - is talking about making poverty illegal overnight. It would be a long-term campaign, at least 20 years. Who knows, over that time the glitches in the campaign for poverty to be made illegal could be ironed out. Perhaps in 50 or 100 years we'll even look back at this time and be amazed that poverty wasn't illegal. Melany Bendix is editor of The Big Issue South Africa. She blogged from the INSP 2011 annual conference that took place in Glasgow from July 20 to 22. The INSP represents 113 papers from 40 countries. Follow her on Twitter: @melbendix Only Purchase STREETVIBES from BADGED Distributors [National News Summary Continued from Page 6] A n Anchorage, Alaska man has been charged with several crimes after police say he took in a family experiencing homelessness and then sexually assaulted the underage daughters, KTUU reports. According to police, days after the family moved in, Keone Jason Lee began sexually abusing the two daughters, age 6 and 11, and threatened them with a sword if they told anyone about the abuse. Lee is already a registered sex offender in Alaska and is being held on $100,000 bail. A SATURDAY Saturday, AUGUST Aug.13TH 13 talented singer has gotten quite a following on YouTube and iTunes after releasing a few cover songs--however, this singer is currently experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado. David “Dred” Scott has been singing on the streets of Denver to earn money, but after teaming up with His Love Street ministries, he got a stage to perform to the world online, Time Magazine reports. He recorded an album there, “Live from the 16th Street Mall,” and made $2,000 in two days on iTunes. He is debuting new songs next month and says he hopes to make a “decent living” from his music. 30 Registration 8:30AM8:Registration 9: 30 Walk begins 9:30AM11:Walk begins 30 Reception 11:30AM Reception We serve as a creative outlet for women in need to uncover their talents and build relationships while making and selling jewelry, quilts, and other handcrafted items. We provide a welcoming environment and continuous support-our women do the rest. They are our voice. They are our mission. They are our Sarah Center. Artists receive 50 % from the sale of their items, while the rest goes towards materials and other support. AM AM AM For more info visit: www.lys.org Lighthouse Youth Services provides a continuum of services for homeless youth, including Anthony House, a drop-in center for homeless youth between the ages 18 to 24. Visiting youth can eat a warm meal, visit the nurse, take a shower, and collect clothing and other vital supplies. Our drop-in center was visited almost 4,000 times in the past year. The young people served by the program often walk miles just to eat a warm meal or visit their case managers, regardless of the weather. Proceeds from Walk the Walk will provide the basic supplies – sturdy walking shoes, new socks, bus tokens, etc. – that make this daily trek possible. Lighthouse on Highland is under construction to become the first homeless shelter for 18 – 24 year olds. It will include the current drop-in center and expand to allow up to 28 individuals to stay overnight. Participants of Walk the Walk will be among the first to preview the facility, scheduled to open this fall. Sarah Center HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES 1618 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org �Recipe 8 ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 ... MOUR T LONG! S Y E S E H IN FEED M LL NIG JENI JENK A E M Y B FEED The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! PIQUANT PASTA SALAD Fresh Summer S During the summer as the heat rises I find it difficult to eat a heavy dinner, so the perfect solution is something fresh from your garden or a local farmer’s market. I personally love salads and in particular I love the ability to mix it up a bit each time using a variety of ingredients. Here is the fourth from my fresh summer salad series I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-5 bellies. Ingredients: 4 cups cooked shell pasta, rinsed 2 teaspoons dried basil 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ cup Extra-virgin olive LOREM oil Praesent molestie lorem 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegerette IPSUM Sed turpis 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes 1 red onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup shredded parmesan romano & asiago Cheese mix 1 cup mozzarella, cut in cubes Salt & pepper to taste • • • • • ala d ! Etiam ac libero In a large bowl combine the pasta, tomatoes, red pepper and onion and gently mix together In a separate small bowl combine the basil, garlic, olive oil, vineger and salt and pepper Toss with the pasta Stir in the mozzarella & top with shredded cheese Voila, FEED! PainterTeam:Layout 1 6/15/2011 4:43 PM Page 1 Say What? “Anyone who has struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.” Buying or selling . . . The Painter Team James Baldwin (1924-1987) American writer. For all your real estate needs, call: Michael D. Painter, e-Pro, REOS, SFR 513.348.7999 Candace Kadivnik Painter, CRS, ABR 513.266.1025 Painting the town sold . . . 513.474.9100 �Exclusive ST R EE T V IB E S A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 The “Abandomeniums” of Over-the-Rhine SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer A s Over-the-Rhine’s facelift continues, “abandomeniums,” those vacant parcels that attract the desperate, disappear. There’s a lot of renovation going on in Overthe-Rhine, and that is limiting the number of places for visitors to drop out of sight and take cover inside dilapidated buildings. One person, Nate, knows what it feels like to be afraid inside one of the abandoned or uninhabited buildings. The thought of rats scares him. So does the thought of strangers wondering in or police busting in, crying “trespassing.” All the noise is scary. But the deafening silence can be bad, too. Nate spent a few nights on and off for six months in a local shelter, but left there and took up residence inside one of the city’s vacant buildings. Building Cincinnati website shows that there were 5,183 condemned or abandoned buildings a few months ago. That figure represented a 10.8% increase from the previous year and a 190% increase in the past five years. But for Nate, who lives in Over-the-Rhine, the statistics don’t matter. He watches bulldozers and other heavy equipment chip away at restoration projects, including the big one at the now barricaded park. All the activity won’t erase the memories of abandomium living. “It’s scary. You sleep in there and don’t know about the rats, or if someone else is there who might try to harm you, and if the police will come in and bust you for trespassing,” he said in a recent interview. Last winter was his last time he took up residence in one of the buildings. He slept with his back up to the wall on a nasty dirty floor. Fortunately, he picked a rodent-free one. “I didn’t see a rat, or I wouldn’t have stayed there. I wouldn’t have stayed there if I had heard one either.” It was cold, though. “It’s colder inside the building than if you get outside, “ he said about the harsh winter conditions, even underneath a roof. But the roof provided some relief from the chilly winds. Some nights, the shelter conditions were unbearable, even though he was inside. Nate said all the trapped air made it feel cold, sometimes too cold to sleep. So he moved elsewhere.” I would sometimes get in someone’s apartment building and sleep in the laundry room,” he said.“Forty degrees felt a lot better than 10 degrees outside.” Sometimes, company showed up. “Other people would come in, but I stayed to myself and they did the same,” he said. No entertaining here---and no cooking either. Nate had no light or heat, and usually crept inside after dark to avoid detection. He slithered out before dawn. 9 �Street Voice 10 ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Sister of Rebellion Meet Mary Beth Peters, SC. 51. Catholic nun. Social worker. Committed to the poor. Rebellious by temperament. JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer ary Beth Peters took her vows as a Sister of Charity at about the same time in 1985 that Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen came into existence. She maintains regular contact with the woman who founded Our Daily Bread (ODB), Cookie Vogelpohl, and seems to enjoy sketching the history of the invaluable resource she now heads. According to Mary Beth, Cookie was working in an office downtown, when out the window she noticed a man eating food out of a trash can. That night, disturbed by what she had seen, Cookie mentioned it to her aunt, saying something to the effect, “That shouldn’t happen. Somebody should do something about it.” Her aunt responded, “Well. You’re somebody.” And indeed, Cookie Vogelpohl was somebody. Not long after that incident, she quit her job, and began cooking at home and bringing the food down in the evenings to St. Francis Seraph School. The first night there were 10-12 hungry folks who came to eat. After sometime, Cookie found that the school was not the right place for what she wanted to do. The best time of day to operate a soup kitchen is at lunch time, and school kids were in the lunchroom every day at St. Francis. Cookie’s connections grew. She was able to raise the money to buy the spacious building at Race and Elder on the east end of Findlay Market. According to Mary Beth, this happened without many of the market shop M owners catching wind of it, and it was “much to their dismay” of many that Our Daily Bread became a prominent fixture there. When Cookie retired, Mary Jo Holohan, the wife of ODB’s first donor (Bill Holohan) took over the directorship. Sister Mary Beth came on board as Executive Director in 2005. The facility provides a complete meal (usually a salad, an entrée, several side dishes, coffee and desert) to 250 to 500, mostly adults (most of whom are men) five days a week. Understandably, Monday is usually the busiest day. Mary Beth explains that there Sister Mary Beth Peters contemplates her work with the homeless. Photo: Jim Luken is now a yearly operating budget of $650,000, with another $200,000 where she earned her degree in social “We have bingo and movies. coming in as food donations. She work. After college, she took on a We have a nurse through the visiting rattles off the figures: “85 % of our variety jobs which included work in a nurses association. And we have a funding comes from private donations, Head Start program. She taught first foot doctor. Any number of other agenwith 15% from grants. We get nothing grade for a year, and was the mancies come in and use the facility with from the government, nothing from ager of a home for pregnant homeless their clients who are also often regular the city, teens in Florida. ‘guests’ of the soup kitchen.” nothing Then Mary Our Daily Bread employs a full from United Beth was hired time social worker, “We have an open Way.” into what would door policy,” Sister Mary Beth says. There is no be a life changing The social worker helps people in bitterness job for her, this at the St. Joseph Villa various areas that are often compliwhen she says this. The generosity of orphanage. As a live-in “unit councated for the poor, like birth certificates individuals no doubt provides a degree selor,” she would work seven days and IDs. “We hold onto the important of freedom from outside interference. straight, and then have the next four papers for many of our guests,” she Sister Mary Beth Peters grew up off. The situation was ideal for a young explains. “Otherwise they can be easin Finneytown, one of four children. woman who had not yet even thought ily lost or stolen.” “I was the scapegoat in an alcoholic about becoming a nun. “You would I ask her about the best part family,” she says. Rebellious from the work hard for a solid week and then of her job. “People, no doubt,” she beginning, she got in “a lot trouble,” in- you would go out and raise hell.” She says, laughing. “There’s never a dull cluding doing drugs and alcohol while describes this as a time of “working moment, and the same thing never she was still in grade school. “I got it hard and partying hard.” happens twice.” She shakes her head, out of my system early,” she says. As fate (or grace) would have aware that what she is saying is a coin But not too early. The semi-wild it, there were a number of Sisters of with two sides. “Every day you see the behavior continued through high Charity working there at the orphanhopelessness and tragedy of mental school at MacCauley and through her age. “They were peers and friends,” illness played out in everyday life.” college years at Edgecliff College, says Mary Beth. “I was attracted to the Sister Mary Beth and her staff Meet Up  PRAYER VIGIL for the  Wednesday, August 10th, 9:30am WHEN: Prayer Vigil begins at 9:30am and the Court Hearing begins at 11:00am WHERE: Hamilton County Courthouse, the steps on the Main Street side Sisters of Charity because they were rebellious.” The sisters invited the young woman into their circle, and a religious vocation, evolved from those connections. “You reach a point in your life,” she says, “when play time is over. You understand that there’s got to be more to life.” For 25 year-old Mary Beth Peters, “more” meant a calling, a vocation. “It really appealed to me,” she says now. “I never had the desire to be married and have kids. But I always wanted to work with kids and to work with the underprivileged.” At Our Daily Bread, there is plenty of interaction with the underprivileged, and even some contact with kids. The soup kitchen closes at 2:30 p.m. and three days a week a “Kids Café” is provided from 2:30 p.m. to five. This is only one of a number of services that ODB provides, and Sister Mary Beth seems proud to list them. She points out that, while we are doing the interview, in the next room, a weekly women’s group is meeting, shepherded by a volunteer, Judy Frankel, who happens to be a licensed psychologist, retired. estimate that nearly 65% of their guests have mental issues of one kind or another. Although she works in an office off the main dining room, Mary Beth says she has lots of hands-on contact with the folks who dine in the lunchroom and others from the neighborhood. “I’m a smoker. So I go outside. I get to know them, call them by name.” When her work day is finished, Mary Beth Peters doesn’t drive to the big Sisters of Charity convent at Mount Saint Joseph. Like many nuns these days, she lives in a suburban house with a community of three other women. She is the youngest. The oldest is 80. “There are 20 legs in the kitchen at night,” she jokes. “The four of us and our three dogs.” I ask her for some closing thoughts. “I don’t have any words of wisdom,” she says briskly, intimating a bit of the old rebelliousness. But, in fact, she does have a few apt parting words. “Hang on tight. Each day brings something. If you can’t laugh, why even bother. And there’s lots to laugh at, even the sad things. You either laugh or you cry.” Meetup is meant to tell people’s stories in their own words. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the interviewee and not those of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Streetvibes or the staff, volunteers and board members. �Street Voice ST R EE T V IB E S 11 A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Conditions of the Times RICCARDO TAYLOR Staff Writer W hen asked about the recession, the only response could be what recession? That one word which we all need to whisper has its effects on a majority of the people, as there is a group of us who have no idea of what recession they refer too? The recess of life has plagued us from times that we cannot even remember! In fact for many of us the times are ideal, as it allows us to watch, as people scamper to adjust their lives to the conditions we have lived under for a time. Yet, the tale of the tape, if you will, is predicated on something much broader than that. Let us take a look at what all the fuss is about. All of a sudden, many people are caught up in financial distress, not knowing how to overcome, or too, manage the newly created woes caused by government “under sight,” they find themselves in unfamiliar territory, at least where the power of the all mighty dollar is concerned. That which has always been routine now becomes conditioned! Foreclosure, civil suit of non- payment, financial disaster kicking at your front door pushing you to the edge, makes you want to put a gun to your head! The pressure can be more then one can stand! Hard times, or are they? We have to take into account the reality of some people and that is to say the Street people. Now here we are, facing all the hardship of economics, at least that’s what they will have you Learn to Flow E. HAYDEN Contributing Writer I stopped in at the store to get some lo mein noodles and chicken for $3.95. It's okay on a budget; the kinda food that will fill you up. I had my eye on this table in the corner but by the time I got my food and turned around two young giggling girls were sitting there. The only table left was one with this older man who was blowing his nose in a napkin; his clothing was very ragged looking and I noticed that he had a sandwich in a napkin. So I asked three older men, who were in the middle of a conversion, if I could sit down with them. “Yes come on,” they replied. As I sat there the men at the table were discussing how Cincinnati is behind other cities in growth. I said that Cincinnati has a slave mentally, believe only for those who know and live the life style there is no real change, life goes on as usual you see because if you didn’t have anything in the beginning then surely you cannot feel the pressure of losing what you have! About a year ago someone asked me what do you think of the recession and before I weighed in on what was asked I answered with mischief what recession? I had no concept of losing what I didn’t have so without consideration for what others may have lost I shrugged the question off. The nerve of that guy asking me about what I felt when I had been struggling over these past few years! I wasn’t bothered by the recession in the least! You see for those of us who suffer from not having or at best those of us who are used to struggling for everything we get there was no hardship! It’s business as usual hustle or perish! Nothing had changed and I didn’t have time for pity or empathy I had to get what I needed for the moment! For those of us who live the life of the street it’s never a moment of question, it’s do what you have to do! I realize that that doesn’t make a world of sense to many but think of it this way. When you are use to not having, or being without then it doesn’t matter when you don’t have. It’s get what you can and don’t worry about the rest! Of course I know every street person doesn’t feel that way yet that’s the norm for those of us who live this life style. Our worries only count or come along when we need what we need right now! A sad life indeed, yet that’s the way of the world! Ah! Ah! We have to look from a street perspective, what receswe made it cross the river, that good enough or what do we do now, mind set generation after generation gap they don't improve beyond that... “Where are you from?” one of the gentlemen asked me. “Kentucky,” I replied. He said “You came from an environment that had good flow. You were made accountable and everything you did was working for you. You came to a place where people live in dark clouds, where people believe in oppression as an excuse for everything. The leaders here; all they do is talk, talk, with no action. Just keeping people soft, they stop believing in themselves. People are hurting people just to have something to prove how smart they are. So they can be the one you look up too. They need to remember respect is not earned; give freely. They need to be improving on themselves with book education, not street education. There are too many free programs in Cincinnati for you learn how to use a computer, building houses and learning how to use a camera for television.” He kept talk- Anarchy in the Queen City I n 1976, Johnny Rotten of British punk band The Sex Pistols declared, “I am an anti-Christ, I am an anarchist.” But Cincinnati has London beat by 149 years. Meet Josiah Warren, the Queen City’s number one anarchist guy! Between 1827 and 1830, Warren ran The Cincinnati Time Store, a radical retail project in which the cost of products were tied to how much labor and time had been spent making the item. He replaced money with “labor notes” that allowed people to purchase things such as a pound of corn in exchange for an hour of physical labor. The experiment was designed to create a capitalist system in which no one got ripped off . The store was actually very successful and threatened to place other Cincinnati stores out of business; some of his competitors even adopted Warren’s system. So why did it only last three years? Weird Warren was not interested in making money, oh no, it would seem that The Cincinnati Time Store was merely the trial run for his economic experiment. In 1830, he closed up shop and moved on to start several intentional communities based on his newly proven system. The most successful of Warren’s anarchist colonies was Utopia, Ohio in Clermont County; however, now it is considered mostly a ghost town with its two dead end streets and virtual zero residence . . . but that’s another story. Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH sion? Too often we have to learn to live the way it comes to us, not giving a thought about what others feel but what is in it for us! So we take it on the chin sort to speak and just keep keeping on. Yet, somehow I know and I think we all believe that there is another way, or that there is some hope. The bottom line is that we have to live life on life’s terms and get with the conditions of life. ing about learning to listen to my inner-self and to be one with my inner-self. “What is your inner-self?” I asked him “That's your wisdom,” he explained, “some people say common sense. It’s from God. God gave everybody wisdom, but he also gave us free will.” As I listened I was thinking “honesty, since I left Kentucky, I feel like my inner-self has been slamming up against a wall for the last ten years I have lived in Cincinnati.” “This is the secret to making it in Cincinnati,” he continued, “listen to me, and I am only going to tell you once okay? You have flow through "all oppression” of all the distraction that's in Ohio. When you see somebody that's not quite right, you can't let them stop your game (your flow).Stay on your goals. If you have to repeat your goals to yourself everyday, or write the down daily, to keep you going, do it. Pray every morning for peace for you and others around you to stay peaceful.” “Thank you,” I said, “I will work on my flow.” Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �12 Arts & Culture ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Cincinnati Spoken Word Series Is A Success With Writers And The Wider Community MARK GRAUHUIS & ROBBY WRIGHT Contributing Writers L et’s be honest: poetry readings are hardly everybody’s cup of tea. Except, perhaps, for The Things that My Friends Say. TTTMFS is a spoken-word series that privileges creative Cincinnatians from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds, styles, and interests. It is held at CS13 Gallery on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine once a month, in an informal and non-academic setting, and is free and open to the public. The series features writers, some first timers, some seasoned and published, all interested in presenting their work to a new audience. One problem that different “DIY” or creative communities often face is that they work rather well separately A new approach to poetry as friends listen to things that friends have to say. but seldom in conjunction. Interested Photo: Mark Grauhuis individuals interested in or inspired performances, in front of the memin challenging common-held assumpby the former: but both equally part bers of their communities as well as tions about literary events, TTTMFS of the evening’s potential. Suppleothers. It is born out a boredom for has at times been an uncomfortable spaces that privilege one approach to place for popular or established artists menting and sometimes even taking precedence over the actual readings, expression and art-making; it is born and performers, and a comfortable TTTMF features delightful unpretenout of a growing disinterest in seeplace for up-and-coming or unknown tious pre- or post-event discussions, ing Cincinnati’s go-to poetic heroes unobtrusive laughter, reading at events featuring out-of-town and the sharing of poets who get our full attention over creative ideas. Forgand over again, when there are many, ing a community of many people interested in being the otherwise disparate center of that attention, in having their artistic drives, it is one words published, in being part of that of the more welcomcommunity, their community, beyond ing regular events of its margins.” its kind in the city. Of particular note are the limitedThis inviting atmo- run, complementary chapbooks sphere has been ably featuring new or old works by previous fostered by series-orparticipants of the series. These allow ganizer Robby Wright, attendants to gather in an archive a sharp graduate of contemporary Cincinnati writing, from the punk music poetry or otherwise, and have included scene, who explains, a bi-lingual edition featuring very “it is born out of my fine South American poets. Of these nascent and utopian books, Wright suggests that they idea that people can “could considered a travesty for their be, or should be, artless smashing of styles and even comfortable in doing “skill-levels” (if you want to go there)… something as uncomfor their “unliteraryness,” so to speak. fortable as publicly I enjoy that.” And so have audiences, reading their writing, who have slowly grown and grown or performing their together as faces become familiar and conversations are started and taken up again each time. At a time when so much poetic output has shifted to an online and highly privatized environment, it is refreshing to hear Wright’s respect for what he notes as “the quiet, unpredictable, or even solemn atmosphere that reading events generate.” “I especially wanted to eliminate the aspect of competition,” he continues, “and the ‘step-up-to-the-mic’ vibe that comes with the territory in certain spaces. I wanted to put these aspiring (or notso aspiring even) writers/performers side by side in readings, in the same publications”. “TTTMFS, hopefully, can be representative, or even more representative, of Cincinnati as a whole, rather than Cincinnati as various compartments and sects of creative energy and collectives. The “Friends” aspect of the series’ title was meant to a little ironic; these painstakingly constructed works to be exhibited as simple “Things” “said,” rather than professed, poeticized, performed even is too deliberately sardonic. I like utter simplicity of that concept, the lack of importance of who or what, but the belief in some understanding or, godforbid, friendship, springing out of the often cold or unwelcoming environment as the “Art Space”. In this respect, the series has certainly been a success, bringing people together in such a way that one does not feel the imposition of a structure of an “us” (the audience) and a “them” (those smart-than-thou poets on stage). Each individual in the room, as a valued participant in the reading, performs a valuable service to the rest, who then take on the shape of a collective ear for the event, as words puncture and permeate the performance space and minds in unpredictable, often wonderfully anarchic ways. A reading that listens, then…. The series has earned a proud place alongside other notable local series past and present, and set a new bar for what other local events can hope to achieve. To keep up with events at the gallery and to learn about the next reading, visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CS13/73151372200 Megan Martin is a local poet who participates in the TTTMF series. Why I am Not the Amazing Poetess The amazing poetess wrote a sentence that gave me a dream where my ex was a torso hopping around in a bookstore where there were no good books, and where I was picking him up and hugging him and sobbing and feeling all the sadness in my life and his life at once. The next morning I vowed to pull the same stunt the amazing poetess had pulled: inspire a suicide in a perfect stranger. I wrote a story about Apple Jacks and turnstiles and barracuda roadkill in pink sunglasses smashed on the highway. I was not sure how to write something that would upheave anyone. Meanwhile, the amazing poetess definitely believes in and/or trusts completely in her own perfect and original version of God. When she reaches, her God reaches back, like on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. When you and I were in Rome, I don’t remember what happened, just that we didn’t go or try to go to the Sistine Chapel. My memory, among other things, is toast. Probably we were drunk. And maybe we walked around town and looked at buildings and maybe shoes and I helped hold you up while we stumbled home. This was the same thing we did every day in our town. I did not see a problem with this at the time. Or, rather: I did not have the guts to write it down. I spin a yawn. I make a furry pinwheel of language that goes whoop-de-do in a lax breeze. It is what I like. It is a failure. By Megan Martin �Arts & Culture ST R EE T V IB E S 13 A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 In Memory of the Grateful Dead SUSAN LAKES Staff Writer Dawn Renee warms up with Jerry Garcia at a Grateful Dead concert at Folsom Stadium on the University of Colorado campus in the early '80s. (Photo submitted by Dawn Renee). J erry Garcia died of a heart attack 16 years ago this month. Our request for memories of Garcia and Grateful Dead concerts yielded these responses. A local guy said, “I like them OK, had a couple of early albums, but I've only seen them once, at a really NOT typical Dead concert. Let me "set the stage": I grew up in the ‘60s in a San Francisco suburb. One year, my town had a concert series, which included the Modern Jazz Quartet, several other acts, and the Dead. This would likely have been either 1966 or '67. This was so early in their career, they had probably only just changed their name from the Warlocks, and the venue was my local high school gym; on the stage, but in front of the curtain! That's right, one of the bands most noted for early huge elaborate equipment setups, was in a five foot deep area, using one amp each, and even used a combo organ (just the one keyboard). I was escorted by my Dad, who liked quite a variety of music. However, the relatively empty gym was way too echo-ey, and he walked out, not because he didn't like them (he later said he'd enjoyed their music), but because it was hurting his ears. He was not the only one who left; at least half the audience did. Venue and reception unlike anything usually implied by a Dead concert.” A guy from Colorado said that while he didn’t have any special Dead stories about the band or the concert, he was a normal, “I’ll see you when you’re here” fan. He worked as an electrician at the University of Colorado’s Folsom Field. About the band, he said the Dead had the best group of roadies and that Jerry himself would always be available to hang out and talk with anyone, unlike was the case with some other groups. Not the Dead. “But the Dead along with Santana or Bonnie Raitt were always real people who appreciated the fans and crew.” Further, this fan got a surprise after the show ended. It seems that he and another person were very surprised to find a regular five foot tall dressing mirror laid out on a table in Garcia’s room. It was almost entirely covered with a white powdery substance. “Obviously left for the tear down guys,” the fan surmised. “Always thinking of others. What a guy.” Another Coloradian who now lives in California said she remembers the craziness at the Folsom concert that was sometime in 1981. Jerry Garcia’s Tiger wood guitar. Folsom Stadium on the University of Colorado campus in the early '80s. (Photo submitted by Dawn Renee). Jerry had just gotten a new tiger wood guitar and was showing it off, she recalls. She shared some concert photos. Outside the Loop: Ghost Hunting for the Spook Lights JESSICA HOPSICKER Contributing Writer S and over to Oxford in search of the supernatural and just plain creepy. What started out as an assignment to simply check out the famed “Oxford Light” turned out to be six hour tour through Southwest Ohio's back roads. It appeared we opened a Pandora's Box of the paranormal. There was Hickory Flats Cemetery outhwest Ohio is rife with legend everything from haunted highways and bridges and midget houses to hatchet wielding maniacs. Satanic rituals, hangings, massacres, more than one baby being thrown off a bridge. An astounding number of automobile, bicycle and motorcycle fatalities and other various nefarious occurrences have helped propagate these tall tales. There is so much of this perverse lore in Butler County alone that is hard to keep track of it all.“The Screaming Bridge of Maude Hughes Road” in West Chester, for instance, and the equally notorious “Crybaby Bridge” on Fudge Road in Gratis, are Paranormal activity or merely tales that capture just two of the supposedly haunted our imagination? Photo: Mary Ann McClusky bridges in the area. The “Phantom Bicyclist of Buckley Road” is a legend where unfortunate caretaker making that just about any other town in his nightly rounds was brutally murAmerica holds of transient lights of the deceased. This tale is often times dered by a hatchet wielding maniac. Dressed in dirty old clothes his ghost confused with quite possibly the still haunts the cemetery carrying most infamous, widely reported and documented haunting of them all, the the very hatchet that killed him. The “Oxford Light” at the corner of Earhart notorious Wehr Road itself where the cemetery is located Trenton and Milford Oxford Road. is teeming with tales of black clad Armed with cameras, a digital Satan Worshipers, sacrifices, and voice recorder, Google maps, and cell phone app designed to commune even mass murder. All we saw was corn. From there we ventured to the with the dead, my roommates Mary infamous and rather impassable Anne and Larry and I cut a 90 mile Fudge Road, where the locals clearly loop from West Chester to Gratis really don't want tourists. Needless to say we didn't stay long enough at Crybaby Bridge to call out “Mama” three times, and hear the poor infant's ghostly wails. We almost ended our trip in a jail cell. From there we set out to west to Oxford stopping to commune with the demons at the “Devil's Backbone” in Camden. Words popped up on the cell phone app like “payment” and “sacrifice” after considerable questioning and demands for the spirit of this notoriously cursed land to show itself. We tossed a quarter into the forest next to the ravine and left somewhat disappointed that nothing further happened. There was Hopewell Cemetery outside Hueston Woods, where it has been said that bad luck or even a spirit follows after you’ve ventured there at night. “Please wait,” the cell phone app read so we drove back around and did in hopes to pick up a ghostly hitchhiker to bring on the rest of our excursion. Then it was off to Buckley Road where nothing happened. Ironically, the “Oxford Light” was the only location where we did in fact witness something . The side of the road was marked with no parking signs. Over thirty years of sightings have accumulated, countless observers from college students to paranormal groups. We didn't even have to flash our headlights on three times as local legend states to sum- mon the spook lights. Sure enough, shortly after we stopped the car, a rather bright ball of light bounced and bobbed in the distance along the significantly hill-ridden road. There was only one of them bearing a faint halogen glow. Was it really the ghost of the young man on a motorcycle perpetually doomed to drive to his girlfriends house for all eternity? Rumor has it he was decapitated by a barbed wire fence after missing the ninety degree turn where Earhart and Oxford Milford Road meet. Perhaps it was distant headlights reflecting off the sun baked pavement. Rarely an actual car followed. We attempted to follow it once to where it stops at the girl's house where she signaled her star-crossed lover. There just so happened to be another vehicle ahead of us doing the very same thing. We closed out our amateur ghost hunting adventure in West Chester at the “Screaming Bridge of Maude Hughes Road.” Road weary and tired of waiting we decided to leave and head to the pub to get get a pitcher of beer and go over our findings before the bars closed. After carving out a sizable chunk of Southwest West Ohio, we barely begun uncover all the myths and monsters that surround the area. The motorcycle ghost was the only one we deemed plausible, the rest it seemed as always, that legends were far more convoluted and interesting than reality. �Arts & Culture 14 ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 HOOLIEO I ain’t Hoolieo I heard somebody say I ain’t out here conning and tricking people for a raise in pay I’m trying to give others respect as I want for myself I’m trying to keep my lively hood open to the hand I’ve been dealt I ain’t Hoolieo I heard another person say I ain’t making up fairy tales trying to get sympathy for money today I’m trying to be honest to people I meet along the street I’m trying to receive God’s blessing with each heart beat I ain’t Hoolieo I finally shouted clear out loud I rebuke thee Hoolie and vanquish thee from my mind up to the clouds So if things are not going your way and you feel a Hoolieo attack coming on An urge to con, trick or lie to people for pay, just kick Hoolieo to the curb and curse the day he was born! By Willa Denise Jones You’re invited to ARTISTS AS ACTIVISTS a two-year anniversary ART SHOW of works by artists featured in the semimonthly column “Artists as Activists” in Streetvibes since September 2009 August 5 – September 23 @The Artisans Enterprise Center (AEC) 27 West 7th St, Covington, KY Opening Reception: Friday Aug 5, 6-10 pm Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm Artists: Farron Allen * Lauri Aultman * Gordon Baer * Keith Banner Mary Pierce Brosmer * Carmen Bush * Jeff Casto * Jan Brown Checco Halena Cline * Suzanne Chouteau * Cedric Cox * Scott Donaldson Andy Fausz * Steven Finke * Dorothy Fraembs * Gary Gaffney Barbara Gamboa * Stephen Geddes * Melvin Grier * Gena Grunenberg Kymber Henson * Barbara Houghton *Jimi Jones * Jerry Judge Kevin T. Kelly * Aaron Kent * Mary Ann Lederer * Gloria McConnaghy Paulette Meier * Kelly Phelps * Kyle Phelps * Tom Phelps * Ellen Price Matt Reed * Bill Ross * Kim Shifflett * Thom Shaw * Kurt Storch Steve Sunderland * Ken Swinson * Leigh Waltz * Roscoe Wilson Martin Zeinway Curated by: Saad Ghosn Closing Reception: Friday Sept 23, 6-9pm (music by "Just Earth" with Paulette Meier, Jamie Fota and Len Webb; poetry/story reading by Mary Pierce Brosmer, Jerry Judge and Keith Banner) ALL FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FROZEN by P.E. Quince S itting; on the pavement back against the wall, her small tattered hand, and five fingers, raised palm up, facing up towards. “GOD.” Sitting there prayerful that, “GOD” will appear in that tattered, worn out hand….. Stretched out; reaching, frozen in time, her arm, Seared and writhed by so long a life under the unforgiving sun. Frail, so fragile it seems a miracle that the breeze doesn’t break it. The multitude of visible vines, are the road map of her life. A life, which has been lived in the poverty, of this, our world. Her hair, Long, unkempt but clean, parted in the center, and pulled back its length hiding in her blouse. The color, Grey, textured like straw, it frames her head, and her face, her face, once beautiful now, like old leather, dark and hollow, showing the strain, and her afflictions. She holds no expression at all. Her eyes, Unmoving regarding only the frozen hand that is turned up to “GOD” stretched out from the frozen arm. Maybe today “GOD” will take her hand maybe today he will embrace her? How long has she been longing for Him to come? Her face, Speaks, of her life, sixty, maybe seventy years old, maybe late forty’s? Her husband dead or just vanished, eight or nine children, all departed to live there, lives. Leaving, her, to her strength and to her, almost nothingness. One of twelve or thirteen, growing up, a slave to her family, always a slave to her household, cooking and cleaning at age four or five, Learning under the heavy hand, of her, father, mother, husband, grandmother and children, Crying, crying in the hell that she was born in to. Sex, Sex came, suddenly, all too early, not gently, not lovingly, a tender, secret age. Then, married, at thirteen or fifteen, walking, running shoeless, miles each and every day of her life, feet as tuff as her love of GOD, never a pair of shoes, her secret wish, to someday own a pair of shoes, maybe with a pair of shoes she would become somebody, maybe with a pair of shoes she would, just be seen? But eating, a bowl of rice twice a week is so much more vital. That it will stay only a dream, forever a dream. Praying, that if she like, Jesus lives a good life and suffers, like Jesus, that “GOD” may give her, shoes in paradise, so that she, may be seen by the angles. Her blouse, Her skirt, Submit your poetry and short stories to streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Let the streets of the city hear your voice. Handmade by her, like all of her clothing, and hand washed, hundreds of times. But, silently displaying, the stains, of years, of use. Old and out of date, just like her. GOD, “GOD”, who, appears in her palm as I…... Walk by. �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S 15 A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 Other Resources 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing 241-2965 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 621-5514 Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Anthony House (Youth) 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �16 Artists as Activists ST R EET VIBES A u g u s t 5 - 1 8 , 2 0 11 “Artists as Activists”: A Two-Year Anniversary and Farewell And may the artist activist live and grow in each of us I have been blessed in the past two years to become familiar with the personal path and reflective artwork of many of our local artists who use their art to speak of themselves; of their values, beliefs, and concerns; of their quest for peace and social justice; of their dreams for a better world. I have been honored to make their voice heard and share it with the many readers of Streetvibes, this journal, through the regular semimonthly column “Artists as Activists” I have been writing since September 2009. The initial title of my column included in addition, and as subtitle, “Art for Life,” an accurate qualifier I reluctantly, however, had to omit for economy of words. These artists, in fact, perceived and created art not for the sake of art per se, but rather for their own sake, for the sake of their life and that of life in general. Saad Ghosn waving good bye to the readers of his column “Artists as Activists”. Photo: Bill Howes Saad Ghosn Contributing Writer uncover their past and present, and lead us through the meaning and purpose of their creative work. I am very thankful for the special and personalized perspective each offered us. Even though espousing Forty-four visual artists, four poets and writers different paths and approaches and using varying and one singer/songwriter graciously accepted, means and media, they all aimed through their art through informal exchanges, to reveal themselves, at enhancing our humanity, improving society, advancing our world. Their topics were diverse, yet converged in their focus towards freedom, equality, truth, spirituality, understanding, individual rights… They spoke variably but also in unison for the protection of the abused child; the empowerment of the weak, the oppressed and the “invisible” in our society; the equal and independent rights of women, gays and minorities; the abolishing of wars; an empathic solution to street violence and the negation of all violence; the respect of the environment; the well being of animals; the appreciation of diversity; the peaceful growing of communities… Most importantly they pleaded for justice, peace and compassion for every living creature, also for the kind and loving treatment of our mother earth. I had the pleasure week after week to listen to their thoughts, accompany them in their questioning and concerns, become moved and inspired by the strength and power of their creative expression. I had also the privilege to share, and each time with anxious anticipation, my discoveries with you, the reader. I am sad to say, however, that as of this issue, I will not be doing it anymore. This issue celebrates the two-year anniversary of my column, two years of joy, excitement and tribulations, in part thanks to you Flag I and Flag II, woodcut prints by Saad Ghosn. Photo: Saad Ghosn the readers, many of whom gave me encouragement and reinforcing appreciation along the way. It is time for me to tackle other responsibilities; I have to say good bye and I will be missing you… I dare hope, however, that the end of my column is not effectively its end. I would like it and the living example of the many featured artists to have opened a little window, triggered a different change, challenged the daily passive status quo, planted the seeds of an artist activist in each of us. Let these anticipated transformations grow and let us all become the committed persons who will use their talents, whatever they are, to make a difference and contribute to the bettering of this world. The featured artists all along reminded us that this was everyone’s responsibility, that each voice counted, but also that it needed to be nurtured in order to grow loud and strong and add beauty and harmony to the symphony of life. Living in the United States of America we may be led to believe that our government is the sole actor in the shaping of our politics, and indirectly in deciding the fate of our existence. As engaged citizens, however, we should never forget that our active role can be crucial in determining the direction our country takes, the values and structure our society espouses, the goals we choose for our lives, the messages we send to the rest of the word. We are each responsible in the molding of our flag. It can be a flag based on material values, money, military control, greed, class divisions and inequities; or on the contrary one reigned by the spiritual values of understanding, sharing, giving, equality, respect and love. The first sadly will lead us to isolation, violence and death, away from our inner self; the latter, on the other hand, to connectedness, community building, compassion for each other and the environment, justice, peace and harmony. It is our choice to make. It is definitely our call to become activists in the building and shaping of our lives and of life in general. May the activist artist prevail in each of us! Good bye, so long, and always, for a better world!!! An anniversary exhibit to include works by the artists who have been featured in the column will take place at the Artisans Enterprise Center (AEC), 27 West 7th Street, in Covington. It opens Friday, August 5, 6 - 10pm (Opening Reception) and closes Friday, September 23, 6 9pm (Closing Party). Regular hours: Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm. Please come and visit. Artists as Activists has been a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource August 5-18, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Can Cincinnati Protect the Homeless form Deadly Weather? Pg 2: Winning Hearts and Minds Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: To Be Set Free Pg 5: Insurance Giant Bullies Anna Louise Inn Pg 6: A Lifesaver that Fits in Your Pocket Pg 7: Street Papers Divided on Campaign to Make Poverty Illegal Pg 8: Recipe Pg 9: Exclusive Pg 10: Sister of Rebellion Pg 11: Conditions of the Times Pg 12: Cincinnati Spoken word Series is a Success with Writers and the Wider Community Pg 13: In Memory of the Grateful Dead Pg 14: Arts & Culture Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: “Artists as Activists”: A Two-Year Anniversary and Farewell Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 5-18, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jason Dean Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Georgia Bohannon Karen Chatman Stephen Gentry Rubye Goode Della Woolens. Willa Denise Jones Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Lee Mccoy Josh Spring Saad Ghosn Bill Howes Paul Davis Aimie Willhoite Jesse Call Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Brittany Fong Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alisa Balestra Anna Louise Inn Artists as Activists arts Bill Howes Brittany Fong Catie Dargue Cincinnati Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Georgia Bohannon Harrison Lott homeless Jason Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jim Luken Josh Spring Karen Chatman Lee McCoy Mark Grauhuis Mary Beth Peters Oregon Paul Davis Portland poverty Riccardo Taylor Rubye Goode Saad Ghosn Social Worker Stephen Gentry street papers Susan Lakes Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/d492f153dc92a2251aa7e81b2f24746e.pdf 6ac0f80d429ae8ce3312ed37f41a31a4 PDF Text Text Cincinnati Activists ST R EE T V IB E S Expose ALEC Feed Me Seymour: Fruit Salad J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Artist as Activist: Lauri Altman PG 4 PG 8 J U LY 2 2 N D - A U G U S T 4 T H 2 0 11 1 PG 16 ISSUE 204 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY House Bill 159: Obstructing Your Right to Vote Breaking News: On July 13th a compromise bill was brought forward, House Bill 224. This bill does not include the requirement to present a photo- ID to vote or the requirement to give one’s full social security number to register to vote. This new bill does however remove the option to register online to vote. This means that for now House Bill 159 is not actively being considered for passage. However, as has happened in the past, this bill or a version thereof may again be presented as soon as the fall of this year, requiring all of us to pay close attention and be ready to act. In this most recent struggle, action reaped results- for now. The following article explains what House Bill 159 or another bill like it would mean for citizens of Ohio, please read to be prepared. Disenfranchisement, Ohio MARK GRAUHUIS & KYLE GALINDEZ Contributing Writers hio residents are facing yet another challenge to their civil rights. If House Bill 159 is enacted, Ohio will have one of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. If passed, the law will disenfranchise nearly 900,000 Ohioans, targeting students, seniors, people of color and low-income voters who have been hit hardest by the recession. This new bill follows hot on the heels of SB 148 and HB 194. Make no mistake, these are voter suppression bills that cripple in-person voting, prohibit Ohio’s 88 counties from mailing absentee ballots to all voters, or to O pay the return postage, and prohibit counties from providing voting hours on Sunday, Saturday afternoons, and the Monday before Election Day. The new bill also prohibits local board of elections officials from designing systems to meet the needs of their own communities, such as setting up more convenient voting sites. The new bills mandate prospective voters to show at the polls government-issued photo ID, cuts down on early voting (slashing the timeframe for early in-person voting from 35 days to 17), and make it more difficult for Ohio voters to cast their ballots. The purposes of such cynical bills are to dramatically scale back the window for early voting and eliminate county-level flexibility to craft innovative, pro-voter policies. Studies indicate that 25% Increased voter regulations; does it protect us from voter fraud or “Them” from our votes? of African Americans nationwide do not have a government-issued photo ID, 18% of voters over age 65 do not have a photo ID, and 15% of voters with incomes under $35,000 lack the ID as well. Alternative forms of identification were devised by the legislature when it initially started to require photo identification at the polls to give people the ability to vote who do not have a drivers license and no other reason to have a State issued identification card. The Republicans refuse to discuss an amendment that would accept a college student ID with a photo from the student’s own state-funded uni- versity. If the laws pass, over 600,000 students in Ohio would be prohibited from using their student IDs to vote. In addition, the “Miscellaneous” section of HB 194 sneaks in a measure that explicitly prohibits any public school from transporting students to a polling place during regular school hours for the purpose of casting a ballot. One of the worst sections of HB 194 eliminates a poll worker’s responsibility to direct you to your correct voting precinct. They are actually barred from answering questions or See House Bill 159, page 8 Kentucky Board of Elections Counters “No Address, No Voter Registration” Claims JESSE CALL Streetvibes Intern Writer U nder Kentucky law, eligible residents experiencing homelessness can register to vote based on the place where they regularly stay night-to-night, regardless of whether that place is a traditional dwelling or has an official address. For example, someone regularly sleeping outside a courthouse can register with the courthouse as his or her address. However, the issue that has brought confusion and debate is what happens when people experiencing homelessness fail to give any address on their voter registration form. Are Kentucky’s county clerks required to allow them to vote anyway, and if so, in what precinct? Chris Kellogg, communications director for Kentucky Secretary of State Elaine Walker, who chairs the Kentucky Board of Elections (BOE), explained that when a voter registration card fails to list an address, it is considered incomplete and clerks are not required to register the voter. However, Kellogg said a BOE policy that has been in place for several years in the Commonwealth states that if a county clerk knows a person is homeless and lives in the community, he should register the individual in the precinct where the county clerk’s Homelessness and Healthcare PG 6 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati office is located. This is the message intended to be articulated through the memorandum, she said. At least one local county clerk got a different message. Kenny Brown, the clerk for Boone County, said he read the memorandum as creating a loophole that could lead to rampant voter fraud. It also could allow voters to cast a vote for a position in a precinct in which they actually do not reside. “We don’t mind anyone homeless registering to vote as long as they fill out a card telling us wherever they are staying so we can put them in the proper place,” Brown explained. That way, voters are voting in the elections that actually influence them. In response to the BOE memorandum, Brown issued a press release and sent a memorandum to the State Board of Elections as to why he felt the directives were not consistent with state law and should be changed. Let Me Be: An Interview with Chris Ellis PG 9 twitter.com/streetvibesnews Brown cited Kentucky laws which require residents to provide both their mailing and physical addresses. Unlike the portion of the law which states a registrant must provide a Social Security Number, “if any,” there is no similar language alongside the address requirement. Another law states that if a registration is not “properly filled out,” it should be rejected. Brown says lacking a mailing and physical address means the form is not properly completed. He also cited two criminal statutes that people can be charged with felonies if they vote in a precinct other than the one in which they reside. Kellogg said Brown’s complaints are in regards to state laws and policies that have been in place for years and there was no new or changed requirements in the memorandum. See No Address, No Vote, page 4 Book Review: Understanding the Crash PG 12 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorial 2 “The Homeless Don’t Exist.” T 900,000 Number of voters that would be disenfranchised if HB-159 is passed Pages 1, 8. 5 Number of years Willa Jones went without permanent housing Page 3. 317 million Number of dollars contributed by ALEC to state election campaigns over the last decade Page 4. 2/3 Percent of Tea Party members with incomes above the national median. Page 5. 30 Number of years shorter the lifespan of someone living on the streets is than the average person Page 6. D eadheads, keep the stories coming. We’re coming up on the 16th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death. Garcia, a musician many might agree WAS the Grateful Dead, died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995. Keeping with tradition, I’m asking (begging actually) you to share your memories of anything Jerry Garcia- related. Maybe you went to a single concert. Maybe you followed the band around the country. Do you sleep with concert programs and ticket stubs tucked under your pillow? Please share your adventure. You can call me (513) 421 – 7803, ext.12, stop by the coalition at 117 West 12th or send an email to susanlakesgcch@yahoo.com. Talk to me please so we can pull together a story for Streetvibes. Thanks, and looking forward to meeting you. Susan Lakes. he Homeless. What do you know about the homeless? What I’d like to know is who are “the homeless”? Continually I hear people on all sides referring to some group of people called “the homeless”. Sometimes the comment is “we are trying to help the homeless” or “the homeless should just help themselves” or “the homeless cause problems in our neighborhood” or even “the homeless have such a hard time.” I continually hear explanations for what “the homeless” are doing, having done to them or for them. “The homeless” are described as some sort of sub-culture or a certain group of people. The first truth one needs to realize in order to understand who “the homeless” are is to understand that “the homeless” don’t exist. “The homeless” is a blanket pronoun that ignores the problem of homelessness and instead intentionally or unintentionally places people in a little box that makes it easier for the rest of us to do what we want. “The homeless” is a broad label; labels have a tendency to be negative. Labels ignore the humanity of the person. A person currently experiencing homelessness is experiencing the consequence of a greedy society and is without housing. This person or family should not be defined as “homeless.” To replace one’s name or replace a pronoun like “person” with a label is the same as stating that that one label fully describes the person. Other examples include “gays,” “addicts,” “criminals,” “professionals,” “blacks,” “whites,” “educated,” “lowerclass,” “middle-class,” “upper-class.” Of course we all are guilty of this to a certain extent- lumping humans into one group or another and putting a term before a name. What is worse about the phrase “the homeless” and some of these other examples is that the description implies that a certain group of people have always been and will always be not only homeless (or criminal for example) but will always be “the homeless”- that this defined group does not change. The truth is that many different people with a variety of backgrounds are forced to experience homelessness. No one group of people suddenly “became homeless” years ago and is still “homeless” today. In fact, most people do not experience homelessness for very long (though one day is too long). In Hamilton County most people in shelter successfully exit after just two months. Despite this fact almost immediately after one bed is emptied, it is filled. People are forced to experience homelessness; people work hard, receive assistance, stop experiencing homelessness and then right away another person takes their place and this process continues. Clearly what we are doing as a society is not sustainable. In an ideal society no one would ever experience homelessness. In a less ideal society, but more ideal than now, with the high success rates of people and shelters the number of people experiencing homelessness would significantly decrease- this is not currently happening. When people who are housed refer to “the homeless” not only is a blanket description placed on many different individuals and families, but the speaker gets to define the description. One body of people gets to make decisions for other people. Often when one refers to “the homeless” he or she either implies a chosen criminality that must be hidden or implies that that “the homeless” must be savedThe other implication may be that “the homeless” have been afflicted or infected with the disease of homelessness and must be cared for as they suffer through this illness and perhaps should be saved from the illness. This is why most discussions about homelessness don’t include people who currently don’t have housing. There is an assumption that such a person would not understand the situation or simply put, that “homelessness” defines them and therefore they don’t possess the capacity to discuss multiple layers of a situation- all they are is “homeless”- one dimensional. Even if in many cases this is not intended, it becomes implied. Furthermore referring to “the homeless” allows the speaker (and perhaps the listener) to get off the hook of true and often difficult responsibility. If in the past there was a group of people known as “the homeless” and now too there is a group of people known as “the homeless” it is then easy to assume that “the homeless will always exist.” If “the homeless” will always exist then it is easier for other people to either assume that nothing needs to be done or this group should just choose to stop being “the homeless.” It is also easier when referring to “the homeless” to assume that since “they” will always be here the solution is only to give them assistance to stay alive. This allows the speakers and listeners the opportunity to not consider the system and to not challenge the way they and their friends live or the society in which we live- or especially corporate ceos, politicians and developers- to not say and do things that cause discomfort and frustration and ultimately change. If “the homeless” exist we don’t need systematic change because “the homeless” are to blame. We must stop defining people by circumstances or by one aspect of their experience. One who has black or white skin is not solely defined by this one aspect- every person consists of different facets. It is impossible to find a one-word description for any human being- there is far too much to us to be captured in one word. Language is important. Regardless of intention (because very well intentioned people make mistakes), when one person refers to “the homeless” she or he reveals a bit of her or his own thoughts and affects what others believe. There are certain terms that many of us would never use to lump people into a group because we have learned how this can negatively affect life. We must begin to act the same way with homelessness. Changing our language can start to change our attitudes and the attitudes of other people. Homelessness is not a definition, it is a circumstance forced upon people by society. With all of this in mind and realizing that since our Coalition was created when modern-day homelessness was brand new, the description “the homeless” has come to reflect homelessness as permanent, an evolved reflection never intended or anticipated by those who came together to form us, please pay attention for an upcoming organizational name change for the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Guest Editor, Design & Layout J.P. Dean Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Layout Assistance, Streetvibes Distributor Program Manager Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Della Woolens, Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon, Stephen Gentry Contributing Writers: Willa Denise Jones, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Lee Mccoy Photography/Artwork: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Josh Spring, Saad Ghosn, Bill Howes, Paul Davis, Aimie Willhoite Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Jesse Call Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Statistics Brittany Fong Civil Rights/Social Justice Terique Scott �ST R EE T V IB E S Distributor Program 3 J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 A Poet Called Jones WILLA JONES Contributing Writer and Distributor F ifty-four year old Willa Denise Jones, that’s me. I sell Streetvibes today because the Vibe is what saved my life! Being homeless and on the street all alone, reading the paper made me understand that I wasn’t really alone. So I got involved and started writing poetry for the paper in order to be able to share my story with others. Writing about all the things I have been through and how God didn’t give up on me. Fifth and Main or Findley Market are regular places where you can buy Streetvibes from Willa Jones. Photo: J.P. Dean JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 Today by the support of different organizations such as: The Off The Streets Program, Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, The Daily Bread, St. John Francisican and St. Vincent De’Paul, I was able to obtain housing for the first time in five years. The first being at the Anna Louise Inn on Lytle Place from a one room effiency to the one bedroom apartment I have now. Knowing how far I have come and how blessed I have been, I now take pride in being a Contributing Writer for Streetvibes paper. When I am is not writing, I do 500 to 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles as a hobby which makes decorations for my walls. I am presently trying to learn how to get my poetry published due to insufficient funds. I discovered a web site called “TRIOND.COM” where people can log on, read my poetry and be recognized as a poet. So far my patience is indeed a virtue! For now I will continue my mission of writing for the paper and continue to pray that God gives others the insight, the strength and understanding of living life one day at a time as He has so gracefully blessed me with. My Distributor Is… RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 Many Streetvibes readers buy their copy of the paper from the person they consider to be their regular distributor. Every two weeks you walk by that same spot and look out for that friendly smile announcing that the latest issue of Streetvibes has arrived. We would like to hear from you and publish your positive thoughts about the person from whom you pick up your copy of this paper. We invite you to write a line or two, starting with the phrase “My distributor is,” that describes your Streetvibes distributor. Please email your observations to streetvibes@cincihomeless.org � 4 Local News ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Young Cincinnati Activists Help Spark International Exposé MARK GRAUHUIS & BEN STOCKWELL Contributing Writers I n April, hundreds of mostly young activists converged on Fountain Square to protest the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC, whose members were meeting in the Netherland Plaza Hotel downtown, is a group consisting of think tanks and corporate members who produce model legislation to be introduced in local, state and federal government. The protest was the first of its kind, even though ALEC has been around as a powerful right-wing front-group since 1973 (when it was founded by rabid capitalist-conservative Paul Weyrich) and on its Corporate Enterprise board sit representatives from some of the largest corporations in the world; EXXON, Peabody Coal, Glaxo Smith Kline, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola, Altria (Phillip Morris), Pfizer and Koch among others (many are still undisclosed). ALEC sees thousands of its pieces of model legislation introduced in statehouses around the country each year, and sometimes entire bills. ALEC model legislation was used in Arizona’s SB1070 “show me your papers” law. Closer to home, Governor John Kasich is one of the founding members of ALEC and it is believed that SB5’s anti-union provisions, like Wisconsin’s recently enacted State Act 10, were straight out of the organization’s playbook. Though the public can view the names of many model bills on ALEC’s website, the actual language in the bills is behind password protection, available only to high-paying members. That all changed when, after the April protest, Aliya Rahman, one of the organizers, leaked over 800 of the previously unavailable documents. On Wednesday, they were released by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) at ALECexposed.org. Later in the day, the Nation was the first media outlet to provide in-depth analysis. One bill that could prove influential No Address, No Vote Continued from page 1 She also indicated there is a possible misunderstanding. She gave a resounding no when asked if a clerk must register a voter who provides “homeless” or “place to place” on his or her voter registration form, unless a clerk knows the person and knows that they are homeless in the community. She said a person cannot just walk in and write “homeless” as their address and be registered to vote without question. Despite these policies being in place for those years, a GOP candidate vying for Secretary Walker’s seat, Bill Johnson, has filed an ethics complaint against her for directing county clerks to register voters under the policies. “[The BOE’s] guidance is unlawful and against the Kentucky constitution,” Johnson said, echoing Brown’s sentiments about voter registration laws requiring an address. “No Address...No Voter Registration. That is the Law!,” his website, kentuckybill.com, reads. But, Johnson said he has no problem with in Ohio is the “Education Accountability Act”. This would mean school districts deemed underperforming could be declared “Educationally Bankrupt” and taxpayer-subsidized vouchers provided for parents to enroll their children in private schools, rather than providing funding and other assistance to the district. One owner of a for-profit online school who would benefit from the voucher program is an ALEC corporate Co-chair for 2011. ALEC model legislation like HB 1021, introduced by Rep. Chris Dorworth (an ALEC member) in Florida in February, directly attacks public workers’ last bastions of defense, union representation, denies them the right to political activity, and seeks to further privatize local and federal government in the interests of a business takeover of public policy. ALEC openly advocates privatizing transportation and deregulating public health, consumer safety and environmental quality, including bringing in corporations to administer: foster care, adoption services and child support payment processing, highway systems (through heavy tolls and resistant to green energy), drinking water, and solid waste services and facilities, etc. ALEC has a long history of regressive environmental policies that hinder the effectiveness of regulation, protect big business polluters, promote climate change denial, and also threaten the ability of environmental activists to speak out. “The Groundwater Protection Act,” for example, would limit the EPA’s ability to stop polluters. “The Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act” would establish an “eco-terrorist” registry that would include activists who have committed, among other things, the new crime of taking photographs of factory farms. The “Targeted Contracting for Certain Correctional Facilities and Services Act” allow states to contract prisons out to private corporations. Along with other bills that would ‘reform’ the prison industry, it would reduce regulation on private prisons people experiencing homelessness exercising their right to vote. Johnson agreed that every American has the right to vote, but he “We don’t mind anyone homeless registering to vote as long as they fill out a card telling us wherever they are staying so we can put them in the proper place,” said every American must also meet the state-mandated requirements in order to exercise that right. He said he feels Walker is being unethical by not enforcing those requirements and that is why he filed an ethics complaint against her. To him, the solution is not to make an exception to the voter registration process. Instead, the Commonwealth needs to work harder to help those experiencing homeless- and allow for the expansion of slave labor, particularly using immigrants and detainees processed as part of Homeland Security’s increased power, and the exploitation of prisoners. The leaked documents help us understand how corporations like Koch Industries (who have given well over $1 million to ALEC) can make billions by demanding bailouts and taxpayer subsidies while corrupting government and polluting for free. ALEC gave the Kochs its Adam Smith Free Enterprise Award, and Koch Industries has been one of the select members of ALEC’s corporate board for almost twenty years. The company’s top lobbyist was once ALEC’s chairman. The scope of the model legislation is large, ranging from concerted efforts to remove the public option on health care to voting rights, from corporate tax code to public services funding, and from workers’ rights to gun control. ALEC even wrote a resolution in support of the horrendous Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for corporate money in our elections, and helped ensure that a socialized health care system was never considered. In essence, ALEC has created a deceptive web of lawmakers and public employees who act as lobbyness get an address. “The most compassionate thing to do is to help them get an address,” Johnson said, adding that when he volunteers at homeless agencies he stresses the importance of getting an address with the clients. The outcome of the ethics complaint is expected in September. Walker responded to the ethics complaint in a statement which included: “As board chairman, I can assure voters that [local election] officials serve their communities with diligence on this and every issue and execute the voter registration process for all citizens who meet the eligibility criteria to the letter of the law and policies.” In addition to the ethical and legal concerns, Johnson, like Brown, is worried about voter fraud. He cited the recent scandals involving the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which had some of its offices accused of orchestrating voter fraud efforts. If persons are able to register homeless without question, it may be difficult to prevent people from voting out of district or voting multiple times. ists/agents on their behalf and on behalf of their corporate and special interest members. The laws and the way in which they are written are entirely undemocratic and are an attack on our ability to work toward a more equal future during a time of financial crisis. In recent years, ALEC has taken in about $6.5 million in tax-deductible donations, and reported $54,504,702 in “gifts,” “grants” and other contributions from its corporate and special interest members. Common Cause calculated that 22 of ALEC's key member companies had contributed more than $317 million to state election campaigns over the last decade. It is time for ALEC to stop masquerading as a nonpartisan public interest group and receive a full investigation by the IRS. Currently, their corporate backers can take a tax deduction by giving money to ALEC to push for more tax breaks and less regulation for their companies. The young folks behind the Cincinnati action are now working with organisations and public advocates across the country to organize a protest action at the ALEC August meeting at a luxury hotel in New Orleans' French Quarter. Show up, send money, spread information, and ask the media to cover this event. You can make a difference. http://protestalec. org/ ALEC refused to comment on any aspect of the material covered here. Learn more at www.truth-out.org and www.greenpeace.org Johnson said his motivations are not based on any concerns that people registering as homeless might vote against him or for another political party. Everyone, regardless of political affiliation, should have to follow the same voter registration laws regardless of social status, he said. People experiencing homelessness in Kentucky should not be worried about registering to vote in their local communities, Kellogg said, because no laws have changed. Every person registering to vote should, however, be as specific as possible about where they regularly stay and use that information on their voter registration form if they do not have an official address. One form, available online at: http://tinyurl.com/homelessvote allows people to draw a diagram of where they live in lieu of providing an actual address. The form can be submitted to their local county clerks offices or the address on the form for the State Board of Elections office in Frankfort. The form can also be used to register to vote in Ohio and Indiana. �ST R EE T V IB E S Column 5 J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Whence the Tea Party? MARK GRAUHUIS & PHILLIP LOGAN Contributing Writers From the heartland to the coasts, the Tea Party has emerged as a fleeting yet highly visible bullhorn, pushing radically right-wing views about the role of government into public debate, and also appearing as a major player in the national debate over health care reform. From the perspective of its funding and influence on the nation's politics, the Tea Party is a top-down interest group led by national and local political officials and financed by corporate Ameri- The Tea Party can be best characterized as the “We Accept No Responsibility” Party, refusing to accept its own role in producing systemic problems, and yet it considers its own opinion sovereign. ca. Millionaire David Koch founded its largest corporate backer, Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The corporation now owned by Koch’s sons spent a stunning $250 million between the period of 1998 and 2008 in order to influence US politics with a right-wing agenda. In this sense, the Tea Party is not a popular movement, and hence had to run as Republican seats. It was organized to channel the anger and frustration that certain sections of the middle class have over the economic crisis, in an effort to further the divide and conquer strategy led by big business against organized public sector labor. However, the Tea Party is not simply an Astroturf organization. A non-partisan Project Vote study described Tea Party mem- bers as an “overwhelmingly white, older, middle class and universally dissatisfied,” despite having “the least reason to for dissatisfaction.” The study also found that twothirds of Tea Partiers had incomes above the national median, and three-quarters reported being in good financial shape. By contrast, 60 percent of African Americans and nearly one-half of young voters had incomes below the national median. Moreover, the Tea Party movement finds its core social group in the 'petite-bourgeoisie,' who appear high enough on the social ladder to bear the privileges of American society. The Tea Party learned from Karl Rove that a key battleground is metropolitan edges, where white families obsessed with crime, TV, and family values tend to live. Such communities are frequently political monocultures that despise democracy. Further characteristics of the Tea Party include anti-tax fanaticism, “doublethink,” and “false consciousness,” in the sense of a kind of Stockholm syndrome — of embracing purely imaginary solidarities with one’s exploiter or oppressor. However, material selfinterest is still what really drives the populist elements of the Tea Party and not the figure of the devoted family man carefully seeing to it that their children will never be able to attend college or have proper health care. Many of its members see themselves as dissidents who, distrusting all, understand the system to be rigged (they attacked Obamacare at the highest level, for example, if for the wrong reasons) and, as proud alpha-males, seek to maintain their dignity. They have suffered a dramatic erosion of their wage-earning power and cultural status. Why the hell should they trust the latte liberal establishment after what it has done to them? And with union halls shut down and the independent press almost extinct, it is not surprising that many white men search for answers in the Tea Party, or that they equate the loss of employment security with the decay of patriotism and family values. Glenn Beck epitomized the national backlash culture producing the Tea Party, colonizing commute time when They were savage and bitter, especially the middle-aged and the old . . . Their boredom becomes more and more terrible. They realize they’ve been tricked and burn with resentment . . . Nothing can ever be violent enough to make taut their slack minds and bodies. — Nathanael West, The Day of the Locust (1939) white guys head home in gasguzzling vehicles and creep along in infinite columns of fatigue and bad temper. Since the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Tea Party protesters show their true colors; a fearful white. Photo: Jesse Russell conservatives have used white anxiety, amplified by a shrinking job market, to paint a narrative of America as a zero-sum game between whites and people of color. Nevada Tea Party candidate, Sharron Angle, argued that social security needed to be abolished and went on to legitimize her argument by praising Augustus Pinochet — a military dictator who, in a CIA-backed coup, overthrew the democratically-elected Chilean government and implemented free market reforms at gunpoint. To achieve these ends her campaign ran racist ads that targeted America Hispanics as “illegals.” Racism, a strong (and more or less open) tendency in U.S. “conservatism,” is a constant amongst Tea Party members. It is part of the terrain, and the 'new' form taken by the Tea Party adds little except for some lunatic historical revisionism. The Tea Party can be best characterized as the “We Accept No Responsibility” Party, refusing to accept its own role in producing systemic problems, and yet it con- Why Public Housing Is A Good Thing JOHN SCHRIDER Contributing Writer I n recent weeks the media has reported extensively on the prospect of more public housing coming to the suburbs. Opponents have been quoted as saying that public housing will destroy property values. The media reports and community leaders seem to take this claim as indisputable fact. The reality of affordable housing and property values is a very different. As the National Association of Realtors says on its website: “Are the sales prices of single family homes made higher or lower when low-income housing is nearby? Most studies indicate that affordable housing has no long term negative impact on surrounding home values. In fact, some research indicates the opposite! However, local communities continue to believe the myth, raising a cry of ‘Not in my Backyard!’” What is the record in Hamilton County? Since the mid-1980s the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority has developed about 500 units of scattered site public housing in Hamilton County's suburbs. CMHA's approach has been to buy houses and small apartment buildings, fix them up, and rent them to its tenants. CMHA improves the physical housing. Also, CMHA has done a good job of managing and maintaining this siders its own opinion sovereign. Everything is the evil doings of the Black-President-Liberal-SocialismIslam bogeyman. The basic political agenda of its alliance with the housing. It screens the tenants and requires good behavior. The families who apply to move to this housing are often motivated to have access to better schools, employment opportunities, and safer neighborhoods. Other tenants need affordable housing to be able to live near family and services. Public housing like this is a good thing. Many of Hamilton County’s leaders came to this realization as CMHA developed its scattered site housing over the last 20 years. Now CMHA has an opportunity to provide more affordable housing in Hamilton County. It is a win for the residents and the whole community. GOP is to implement austerity measures, and lower taxes, which require vicious attacks on the American working class and are counterproductive in reestablishing the middle class. In order for Team Obama to continue moving to the right and to continue the Bush administration policies, it needs the Republicans to move even further to the right. They have to be so extreme that they're perceived as the crazies. If the Teabaggers did not exist, then the Democratic Party, the roach motel of the left, would have to invent them. A revolution is not a tea party. Neither is reactionary false populism aimed at evading all collective responsibility for the consequences of one’s ideas. For it is precisely an unshakable belief in “free markets” held the likes of racist Tea Party members that gives us attacks on social welfare and workplace solidarity, increased inequality in America, and which allowed high finance to lead us into yet another global economic crisis. �6 ST R EET VIBES National J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Homelessness and Healthcare: A Troubled Relationship JOE NOLAN The Contributor (USA) www.streetnewsservice.org where they are, whether in a shelter or at a congregate meal site or encampment," explains Friskics-Warren. "Having to venture across the Cumost Americans think that berland River to receive services at everybody living in poverty is our Downtown Clinic can be a barrier eligible for Medicaid, but this to someone who might be campis not the case. Poor adults who are ing in Shelby Bottoms. Sitting in the disabled or are parents are most often almost always crowded lobby of the eligible, but for adults who don't fall Downtown Clinic can be difficult for in these categories there may be no someone with fragile mental health or safety net available. A non-disabled, sensory integration issues. Knocking childless adult-even with ongoing, on the door of our mobile unit when chronic health concerns-will likely it's parked outside the day shelter not find relief and assistance through where you wash your clothes each Medicaid. Mothers who've lost their week, though, may be less emotionchildren to foster care and adolesally or logistically daunting for some cents who've outgrown the foster care people who are homeless." system often also face a tight squeeze Many may hesitate taking a trip between the rock-and-a-hard-place to the doctor out of anxiety or inconthat poverty and lack of healthcare Afshan Kirnani performs an ear exam on Delores Davault at the Downvenience, but most in the homeless represent. A nationwide study in 1996 town Clinic. Photo: Raven Lintu community make an even more confound that only a quarter of America's centrated effort to avoid medical care. sis. That desperate path is marked by more than 30 years shorter than that homeless population was enrolled in With little resources available and few the too-often tread footfalls that pass of their housed counterparts." Medicaid. alternatives at hand, most homeless Friskics-Warren manages the Homelessness and healthcare are from untreated illness into disability people will only and unemployment-which, of course, United Neighborhood so interconnected that it's nearly imvisit a doctor by Health Services' possible to consider the former without is a leading cause of homelessness. passing through In addition, whether a person has (UNHS) homeless “Studies done in several the emergency investigating the latter. Understandinsurance or not, the leading cause of programs in Nashing the relationship between physical U.S. cities have shown room doors. As bankruptcy in America is a crushing ville, including the health, the cost of care and homea nasty wave of medical expenses. Income Downtown Clinic, that the average lifespan acutresult, lessness is in many ways a Rosetta becomes a and illness are completely intertwined the evening clinics Stone that clarifies the complex snarl of someone living on limb-threatening in America's for-profit healthcare in the basement of of issues that surround homelessthe streets is more than infection and a model, and when poor people can't the Nashville Resness. As soon as one takes the time seasonal cold cue Mission, and 30 years shorter than results in pneumoto pull at the threads of how America's pay, those poor people may lose their the UNHS' mobile healthcare system affects the poor, an homes. And a life on the streets is a nia. The excessive that of their housed life of illness and injury that starts the medical unit. In his understanding about homelessness costs involved in cycle turning back on itself. experience, homecounterparts.” comes into drastic, dramatic relief. these preventable "Life on the streets is brutal and less people are not The relationship between healthemergencies are only vulnerable to care and homelessness is cyclical, se- short," says Bill Friskics-Warren. ultimately another "Studies done in several U.S. cities health threats from the elements and vere, relentless and pervasive. Many symptom of a healthcare philosophy have shown that the average lifespan violence, but also because of lack of people find their exit to a life on the that reacts to trauma and cures illness of someone living on the streets is treatment for chronic illnesses and street as a direct result of a health crirather than maintaining health and conditions. promoting prevention. And once a "Of the nearly person is discharged back out into the 4,000 different people dangers on the street, it's only a matwho were treated at ter of time before they make a return the Downtown clinic in trip. 2010, 44% had high "Studies done in several U.S. citblood pressure, 16% ies have shown that the average lifeswere diabetic and 36% pan of someone living on the streets is had documented mental more than 30 years shorter than that health and/or addicof their housed counterparts." tion disorders," says Facing up to these hard facts, Friskics-Warren. Among many municipalities and hospitals other patients, chronic have begun to implement unique soluobstructive pulmonary tions that are designed to break the disease, AIDS, tuberlinks between healthcare and homeculosis and malnutrition lessness by prescribing shelter as part were common along of their cures. Seattle, Wash.'s Downwith the ubiquitous town Emergency Service Center has anxiety or depression made a dramatic impact on the lives that afflict most everyof chronic alcoholics on the streets of one who lives day-tothe Queen City. The center's supportday with no place to call ive housing project has seen the incarhome. ceration rate of its residents cut in half UNHS has implewhile the hospitalization rate has been mented a creative array reduced by a third. The financial result of facilities and services for both the federal government and to address the special 30 AM Registration 8:30AM8:Registration the City of Seattle can be sung to the needs of Nashville's 9: 30 AM Walk begins tune of millions of dollars in savings. 9:30AM11:Walk begins homeless population. 30 AM Reception In Chicago, Ill., the Chicago Housing The organization took 11:30AM Reception for Health Partnership has also shown over operation of the that homeless patients who received Downtown Clinic in the immediate housing and intensive case fall of 2008, and their management were a third less likely to mobile medical unit visit a jail cell or a hospital. is also allowing them Lighthouse Youth Services provides a continuum of services for homeless youth, including Anthony House, a drop-in In Nashville, Room In The Inn center for homeless youth between the ages 18 to 24. Visiting youth can eat a warm meal, visit the nurse, take a shower, to reach into isolated provides a respite care program which and collect clothing and other vital supplies. homeless communiprovides a safe place for homeless ties, making healthcare Our drop-in center was visited almost 4,000 times in the past year. The young people served by the program often walk people to recover from illness or available to people who miles just to eat a warm meal or visit their case managers, regardless of the weather. hospitalization. Shelter, meals and may have no means of medications are buttressed by needs Proceeds from Walk the Walk will provide the basic supplies – sturdy walking shoes, new socks, bus tokens, etc. – that making the trip to the assessments and advocacy efforts make this daily trek possible. downtown facility or one that attempt to connect patients with of the satellite clinics. Lighthouse on Highland is under construction to become the first homeless shelter for 18 – 24 year olds. It will include [Continued on Page 7] the current drop-in center and expand to allow up to 28 individuals to stay overnight. Participants of Walk the Walk will "The unit enables M SATURDAY Saturday, AUGUST Aug.13TH 13 For more info visit: www.lys.org be among the first to preview the facility, scheduled to open this fall. us to meet people �ST R EE T V IB E S J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 National News Summary JESSE CALL Staff Intern Writer S everal residents of a Houston, Texas neighborhood are pressing for a new expansion to a city ordinance aimed at ridding their streets of people experiencing homelessness. A “civility ordinance” is in effect in a few select neighborhoods, including downtown Houston, which prohibits people from sleeping or sitting on sidewalks from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Some members of the community of EaDo, on the East End of downtown, are demanding that City Hall expand the regulation to their community, according to KTRK, a local news channel which referred to those experiencing homelessness as “vagrants” in its story. Proponents for the change claim that there is too much trash in the streets from people trying to live there. The City Council has not voted to expand the ordinance. A recent string of arrests has Charlotte, North Carolina defending itself as a compassionate city for people experiencing homelessness, according to The Charlotte Observer. The arrests revealed that drug dealers were exploiting people experiencing homelessness to operate drug markets within its cities. The victims of the exploitation were promised small sums of money or drugs in exchange for doing the dirty work. This is only the most recent in a series of scams in Charlotte targeting the homeless community. Other scams include luring in people to cash bad checks or defraud health care providers. One scam promised housing to women but then required them to beg for money on street corners to pay for it after-the-fact. Officials fear these scams could increase because homelessness is expected to rise National 7 in Charlotte in the near future. I n Florida, a radio host paid people experiencing homelessness to stage a protest for homeless rights outside the vice mayor’s house. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The vice mayor, Terry Turner, had supported a plan designed to push anyone homeless out of a local park. The host, Phil Grande, solicited people for the protest by paying them, according to a police report. City commissioners in Sarasota have now backed off a plan to create any new ordinances and instead will wait for a report on how to best help those experiencing homelessness in their community from the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness. L ong Beach, California, was home to the state’s first Stand Down event specifically designed to offer services to women veterans experiencing homelessness, according to the Long Beach Post. A recent report revealed that women veterans were twice as likely to become homeless than women in general. Unlike previous stand down events that were not targeted specifically to women, this event took in to consideration the unique concerns of women veterans that may have experienced sexual trauma. The event was sponsored by U.S. Vets, the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor and Women Veterans of America. M aryland’s only state-accredited preschool for children experiencing homelessness may become homeless itself soon, according to The Baltimore Sun. The building in which the daycare is located has lost all of it other tenants and is unable to afford continued operation with- out new tenants. The Ark, located in Baltimore, opened in the late 1980s to help meet the core needs of children living in Baltimore shelters or staying with relatives or friends. It is still working to find a new location before its current building is sold. “Heathcare” Continued from Page 6 is a member. Lozier and his group are one reason why a new understanding mainstream medical services. This about the cost-effectiveness of ending web of security and support greatly homelessness is beginning to gain increases the chances for successful traction at the federal level. But it's recoveries, and severely lowers the been a long road. costs incurred from emergency room In 1986 the National Academy of care and incarceration. Science published their groundbreakThe connections between Ameriing report "Homelessness, Health, and can homelessness, American healthHuman Needs." The report clarified a care, state and federal budgets, and trinity of relationships between homethe health of the country's social fabric lessness and healthcare that demonare abundantly clear: homelessness is strated the profound connections bea healthcare issue and when housing tween the two issues: 1) Poor health is a part of the prescription, everybody leads to homelessness; 2) Homeless wins. people receive poor healthcare; 3) At a recent National Conference Homelessness complicates treatment. on Ending Homelessness, the DepartAlmost exactly a year ago, a ment of Housing and Urban Develquarter of a century after the report opment Secretary Shaun Donovan came out, the Obama administration stated, "…if we want to tackle healthenacted Opening Doors: The Federal care reform - if we want to lower costs Strategic Plan to Prevent and End - we must tackle homelessness. It's Homelessness, a program that intends that simple." to end child and family homelessness Regarding the connections bein America within the next 10 years. tween homelessness and healthcare, Monitoring and affecting policies that John Lozier couldn't agree more. affect the homeless community is a "It's a profound and well-established central mission of the National Healthrelationship." Lozier is the Executive care for the Homeless Council. "Since Director of the National Healthcare our beginning we've incorporated for the Homeless Council (NHCHC), policy advocacy into the work we do the blanket organization of which the and the work of the groups we support United Neighborhood Health Services around the country." In fact, the NHCHC places much of the blame for America's homeless problem on public policy. As NHCHC explains on its website, "Contemporary homelessness is the product of conscious social and economic policy decisions…" For Lozier, the slippery slope began with federal cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that began in the late 1970s. "It started in the Carter administration and came to full force under Reagan," he explains. "There was a decision to pull housing supports out from under homeless people." When it comes to advocating for new policies to help end homelessness, the NHCHC isn't just fighting for what it perceives to be the needs of people living on the streets. For Lozier and the organization, healthcare and shelter must be made available to all people regardless of their ability to pay. He supports his argument by citing the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted on December 10, 1948. "Human rights are expressions of what is necessary for human beings to live in the first place," he explains. "The first are food, clothing, shelter and medical care. We all have a mutual responsibility to see that we all have these rights." While the U.S. has never endorsed the declaration, Lozier and the NHCHC are spearheading efforts to ensure that programs like Open Doors continue to move in accordance with its recommendations. While the future of American healthcare is unclear, there is one thing that is certain: there will be no real healthcare reform for any of us until there are homes for the rest of us. �Recipe 8 ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 UR... ONG! O M Y E ES IGHT LI JENKINS N L FEED M L EA BY JEN FEED M The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! FRUIT SALAD EXPLOSION! Fresh Summer S During the summer as the heat rises I find it difficult to eat a heavy dinner, so the perfect solution is something fresh from your garden or a local farmer’s market. I personally love salads and in particular I love the ability to mix it up a bit each time using a variety of ingredients. Here is the third from my fresh summer salad series I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-5 bellies. ala d ! Ingredients: 2 cups fresh seedless red grapes, rinsed 1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed LOREM Praesent molestie lorem 1 pint fresh raspberries, rinsed ½ cup sliced almonds IPSUM Sed turpis ½ cup crushed walnuts 1 cup plain yogurt 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional) 1 tablespoon honey • • • • • Etiam ac libero In a large bowl combine the grapes, blueberries, and raspberries and gently mix together In a separate small bowl combine the yogurt, vanilla and honey Mix the yogurt mixture with the fruit Top with almonds & walnuts Voila, FEED! House Bill 159 Continued from page 1 providing directions to voters. And, if you get to your polling place and the worker sends you to the wrong table, your vote will not count. As the ACLU of Ohio puts it, voters are then “guilty until proven innocent, by assuming that all errors are voters' errors.” The consolidation of districts is also making it extremely difficult for many citizens to transport themselves to the voting booth. Republican Ohio State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg's HB 159 a dead ringer for American Legislative Exchange Council’s Voter ID Act (see ALECexposed.org), and a stricter version of a bill signed into law in Rhode Island. The Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office recently released an embarrassing video of Mecklenborg being stopped by police and failing a DUI test. The lawmaker had a .097 blood-alcohol level and had traces of Viagra in his system. The 59-year-old married father of three fail to cooperate with the police and also refused to explain why he had a 26-year-old female stripper in the car. If the law is passed, Mecklenborg, who should have had his license confiscated at the time of his arrest, may be a victim of his own legislation. He renewed his Ohio driver’s license four days after his DUI arrest and lied about the arrest on the application form. Ohio Rep. John Adams (2010 ALEC "Legislator of the Year") continues to push for the most restrictive voter ID bill in the country. GOP Governor John Kasich, a founding member of ALEC, is himself the beneficiary of a dubious vote count in 2010. Neither the Ohio Association of Election Officials, nor Secretary of State John Husted (R.), Ohio's chief elections officer, have thus far endorsed the bill. It is clear that one of the two major parties are poised again to steal the election of 2012 by rigging Ohio’s electoral process. Since 2000, the Republicans have eliminated more than a 1.5 million voters from the Buckeye state voter rolls. The purges have been centered on urban voters. In 2004, hundreds of thousands of additional voters in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland were disenfranchised by orchestrated bottlenecks at polling stations that forced people to wait seven hours and more in line. The new bills mandate practices designed to lower turnouts as much as possible. These are draconian measures, recalling the poll tax of earlier centuries and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, and are part of a national strategy to undermine the election process and make it harder for the poor and minorities to exercise their civil rights. Florida Governor Rick Scott (R), for example, is trying to reverse past precedent and prevent convicted felons from voting even after they have completed their sentence. Elsewhere, the Democrats have allowed the Republicans to directly attack a rising Latino and Asian population in various parts of the country, by sending the U.S. back to the era before the Voting Rights Act. One U.S. state after another seems to becoming immovable one party entities at the statewide level, making a travesty of the system of representation. With regressive voting rules, there can be no platform on which any voice for the people could address mass audiences other than through punditry. On this past sweltering Monday afternoon, Cincinnati residents held a protest outside the Board of Elections, followed swiftly by another in Dayton. In attendance were members of various student and community organizations, the Labor Council, UFCW, the Coalition for the Homeless, Common Cause Ohio, the League of Women Voters, the AMOS Project, and local ministers. The message was clear from the signs present: “One Vote is My Voice.” Doug Sizemore of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council spoke of HB 159 as “one of the most destructive laws,” at a time when “all efforts should be towards recovering the economy,” and not shutting out those who most need to be heard. Bentley Davis, staff project coordinator at SEIU District 1199, promised those gathered that “the fight will go on.” �Exclusive ST R EE T V IB E S 9 Let Me Be J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer C hris Ellis travels with a song in his heart and a lot of tunes in his head. The 50-year-old musician calls himself homeless, but right now friends give him a place to stay. He’s been “couch surfing”, or relying on other people for basic needs, for about three years. Thanks to kind friends, Ellis, has a place to store his beloved bass guitar, an instrument that’s yet to be named. Some knowing friends even let him practice. Janel Williams is one of those, he said. “She lets me plug in and stay intact,” he said of Williams. Ellis has been playing and writing music for 32 years. “Everything I play I taught myself,” he said. He remembers the day he first touched guitar strings. “It was June 4, 1979 and I remember that date because it was exciting,” he said, while squinting his eyes and looking up at a clump of ceiling tiles. “You know that feeling you get when you ride a bike?” he asked. “I just love what I do.” He loves music even when he’s not practicing or performing. Ellis plays bass, rhythm and lead guitars, drums and piano. He’s well versed in putting down tracks of different sounds, adding words to the combinations and recording songs. The old school guy’s skill is one that impresses at least one budding musician, Harrison Lott, a college student who shares Ellis’ love of music. “I think he (Ellis) seems really upbeat and positive,” Lott said. “I know if I was in that1situation, I may PainterTeam:Layout 6/15/2011 4:43 PM not Pagefind 1 it easy to be that way, and I might not find it easy to keep creating when all the odds are against you.” Lott plays rhythm and lead guitar, and, unlike Ellis, composes in short bursts, but nothing really long lasting and serious---yet. “He’s (Ellis) is so committed to getting better and so committed to his outlet for creativity,” Lott said during a face-to-face interview about a week after he met Ellis at the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. “If I never smoked again, I’m still high. God is boosting me up. Without him, my development and skills would not be what they are.” Chris Ellis, musician The day the two met was a typical day for both men. Ellis had just walked 8 or 9 miles---from Western Hills to Over-the-Rhine----and Lott had reported for an internship at the GCCH. He’ll return to The University of Michigan in the fall. Smiling Through A Long Summer Walk Ellis put in what some might consider a full day’s work before the clock struck 10 a.m. He left Western Hills at 2 a.m. in order to make the cut at Labor Works, a day labor business. “They say you can’t work if you get there late,” he said about why it’s so important to sign the availability book by 5 a.m. Buying or selling . . . The Painter Team For all your real estate needs, call: Michael D. Painter, e-Pro, REOS, SFR 513.348.7999 Candace Kadivnik Painter, CRS, ABR 513.266.1025 Painting the town sold . . . 513.474.9100 Chris Ellis chills with a cup of coffee. Photo: Susan Lakes So he walked, and he walked, and he walked. “It didn’t dampen my spirits because the whole time I was walking, the only thing I thought about was my music,” Ellis said. A Ten Minute Break and A Great Big Gun Handle “I stopped to rest for a ten minute break, and I had a couple of guys who came around the corner and one of them was brandishing a pistol,” Ellis said calmly. Unfazed, Ellis calmly spoke to the guys. “I asked them how they were doing and saw the gun in the guy’s pocket,” he recalled. “The handle was sticking out.” He didn’t know the men, but would like to. “They looked at me but never bothered me. They were young,” he said, adding that he’s thankful they [Continued on Page 10] �Exclusive 10 “Let Me Be” Continued from Page 9 disappeared rather than shoot or rob him. Originally Ellis So he continued on the journey with familiar and original songs playing in his head. “I got one that is called Ocean Love,” he recalled about one particular song swirling through his head. “And I got another called Getting It Done, and one called My World. I’ve never made a professional CD, but for some strange reason, God keeps telling me that once people hear this music, my whole life will be different.” Eden Park is where Ellis creates music. “Writing music is a way to cope with being homeless,” he said. ‘I can step into a new atmosphere.” He stretches out in the cool grass and creates. “It’s so peaceful.” Music, for Ellis, is something that calms the savage beast. He believes music is built on faith---a faith, he said, that can only come from God. Day Labor Horror Despite having to travel eight or nine miles on foot, Ellis said he made it to Labor Works, a day labor center, in plenty of time to get called out on a job. “I arrived at 4:50 a.m. to sign in,” he said. He wasn’t late. He maintains he showed up so early that his name appeared fourth on the daily list of available workers. But he didn’t get called out. “They still had people signing in at 6 a.m.” he recalled. True to Ellis style, music was all he could think about while he watched other people being called out for day labor assignments. “I think about music because I believe God put me here for that purpose,” he said. “It didn’t dampen my spirits.” The younger musician Lott noticed Ellis’ tenacity and commented on his discovery during an interview held about a week after the two musicians met. “Whether you’re homeless or not, it’s a good attitude to strive for,” he said, adding that it’s good to look at opportunities in new ways. “It’s easy to get defeated. To maintain that positive outlook is admirable and notable.” Good attitude or not, the day labor place turned Ellis away for a work as- signment at the Great American Ball Ballpark where he had toiled away, cleaning up trash, earlier in the summer. “They DNR’d (Do Not Return) me,” Ellis explained to Don Sherman, executive director at The Interfaith Worker Center on Vine Street. The center, with assistance from The Department of Labor, recently won a yearlong battle to get Labor Works workers transportation pay. The company is in the process of sending checks to last year’s stadium workers for the difference between what Labor “You don’t have to talk to me that way,” he recalls telling a workplace bully. “I don’t think he heard me he was so enraged.” Chris Ellis, musician Works charged workers to make the short drive from Walnut Hills to the stadium and minimum wage since the mandatory $6.00 transportation fee brought workers below minimum wage, which is against labor laws. The stadium work was all new to Ellis this season, so he wasn’t on the list of workers to be reimbursed for the $6.00 transportation fee that the company used to deduct from workers’ daily wages. But Ellis faced another problem faced by day laborers. He was on the no return list, and was not sure the reason why. He still doesn’t know. “I know I was a good worker, but by the time I went back to Labor Works to ask the reason for the DNR, there was nobody behind the desk to ask,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want to say anything bad about the business. “But I’m still wondering why I was not allowed to work.” Fact Finding That question weighed so heavily on his mind, he took the advice of the Interfaith Worker Center and called Labor Works to ask what he had done Dorm Room Wisdom The Women of the Drop Inn Center E. HAYDEN Contributing Writer Okay, I am not a morning person, but waking up to "Good morning ladies, the time is now six thirty. Breakfast is at seven. Let's get up and let’s hit the showers.” It's too early for that R.A.(resident assistant), but I move, or rather sit up. I keep repeating my chant “Learn to flow,” float myself towards the showers, hot water is my new best friend right now, but honestly, food will be my new best friend at 12:00 p.m. The Drop Inn Center has changed a lot since I was there in 2008; they have quotes now to start your day off right. Beds made up nice and tight and little chores like clean up behind yourself and positive activi- ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 ties. Monday and Fridays have additional counseling (Drug and Alcohol) and writing groups to write about your feelings, your dreams, etc. and art classes in the evenings. Being Positive is the new word for the D.I.C. As I was coming out of the showers one of the girls, who was about 19, was having a conversation about how she was going to court and the other lady said, "That what you are wearing?" The girl replied “What wrong with what I have on? She was wearing those flash dance type of pants with the blouse hanging off the shoulder. “I like to look sexy." The older women, about 48, said "Not in front of a judge. Respect goes a long way in court.” She yelled to another lady to throw down a dress. wrong. So, eight hours after he first started the trip to the job that didn’t work out, Ellis called Labor Works from the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. He got the answer, shrugged his shoulders and immediately started talking about music. According to Ellis, the Labor Works worker politely told him that something did not work out right on the stadium job. The person who talked with told him that while he couldn’t go back to that particular job because of the DNR, Labor Works would call him when other jobs came up. Ellis believes an incident with a stadium employee is responsible for the DNR. “It was hot,” Ellis recalled of the incident. Ellis got a cup of water at the very time a supervisor rounded a corner. “He said some words I’d rather not mention,” Ellis said, adding that he told the man what he thought about the swearing directed his way. “You don’t have to talk to me that way,” he recalls saying. “I don’t think he heard me he was so enraged.” Ellis said he didn’t lose his cool then, and he has this advice to offer others who are bullied on the job. “Take a deep breath and count backwards, and when you get up to three and two, try to erase it from your mind.” Getting mad to get even doesn’t work, according to Ellis. “Losing your cool will add up to one big zero,” he said. “They will win and you will lose.” Leaving the Past Behind People on the streets say “hit this” sometimes to Ellis, but he maintains he doesn’t need drugs to get high. “If I never smoked again, I’m still high. God is boosting me up. Without him, my development and skills would not be what they are,” Ellis said. A record that includes a felony conviction makes getting a job difficult. He got in trouble for drug trafficking about thirty years ago. “I was supposed to have sold a nickel bag to an undercover officer,” he said. “Here’s the twist. About four years later, I had some police officer tell me I had another drug trafficking felony, and come to find out (someone else) had been using my identity.” By the time the girl left, she looked like she worked in a downtown office building. Funny, no matter where you are or what you are going though, women and advice will always go hand in hand. Some of the best advice comes from a woman four beds from mine, she says, "Be quiet and have less to say. Watch them, somebody going to get loud and mad about something that had nothing to do with them in the first place." Some of these women have been surviving anyway they could, she says, “By their instincts, which is a hell of a thang. Do what you have to do to get out and remember what you have been through, so you don't have to come back." I had some job hunting to do. I left out about 8:00 a.m. It's really hard when you have a felony, but I just keep on trying, that's all I know to do. I got back in about 7:00 p.m. that evening and they were passing around a card for this older Later, according to Ellis, he got another felony. “That was a felony by entrapment,” he said. “Two under covers walked past and dropped a bag of crack cocaine on the ground,” he said. He takes full responsibility for that felony. “I do admit that was my fault,” he said. “I did a year in Chillicothe.” Hitting Number One During the penitentiary stay, Ellis formed a band of fellow prisoners. “I was the number one player in Chillicothe,” he said. On Sundays or “yard days,” Ellis and others would set up in the prison field and play for thousands of people. “I was sad to leave there,” he said. “I had got attached to those guys.” Got The Music Ability Honestly Ellis grew up in Cincinnati’s Lincoln Courts, a housing project that’s been torn down. He went to Taft High School. “They said my father played trumpet, but I never saw it,” he said about early life. But Ellis does remember listening to another relative’s music. “My granddad played sax,” he recalled. “I remember hearing him play Mr. Magic, by Grover Washington. What’s Next Ellis said, while munching on a big plum he found on his way to work,“I pray and hope every day I run into musicians who could use me. I’ll give whatever I can to help them.” The philosopher in him explained how he scored the fruit for breakfast. “God said ‘look up’ and I saw a plum tree.” Readers can look forward to learning what other states are doing to fight the silent epidemic of the kind of workplace bullying Ellis claims he faced. Some states have proposed legislation to help curb activities of onthe- job- bullies. Do you have a story about your workplace bully? If so, contact Susan Lakes, staff writer for Streetvibes in confidence at susanlakesgcch@yahoo.com. You can call me at (513) 421-7803, ext. 12 to share your story. Look forward to hearing how the silent epidemic impacts your work day. lady named Mrs. Tiny, she turned 56 that day and they got her cake; they planned on celebrating after the meeting that night. The girl that had to go to court this morning was back. She said the judge was giving her one more chance. She also said she started school on Tuesday in a nursing program. She had been to Job Corp first and now nursing school. I am impressed. I am bipolar it takes a lot to impress me. At 9:00 p.m. the R.A. started the nightly meeting. They talk about rules for the all new women in the dorm (it holds up to 40 beds and about ten cots) and any new concerns or problems anyone has. The R.A. has a saying, “What did you accomplish today?” she started by telling us her accomplishments and then we went around the room. Mine was five job applications today, but tomorrow is another day... �ST R EE T V IB E S Street Voice 11 J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Summertime RICCARDO TAYLOR Staff Writer A s we come to that oftentimes awesome season of the year, I think it only appropriate that we take a look at how the street flows. Although for the most part the situations and circumstances are the same there is a difference in the way things are done. The summer brings on a sense of relief and, to some extent, a carefree attitude. Momentarily the pressures of survival are at ease; at least for some, while others feel the full extent of the drudgery which often accompanies the season. Seemingly, as the heat index goes up so does the violence and aggravation that so often comes with the lifestyle. The competition is much higher as more opportunities present themselves. Vying for position in the crowded lines that street people are so used to brings on a heightened response. Survival takes on a much greater urgency and it becomes “live and I don’t care if you die!” The concept of “me” becomes the rally cry for each prospect of obtaining that all-so-important need. It’s that time when push becomes shove in its gravest sense! Every want, need, or desire is on high alert. Our options aplenty, so we take advantage where and when we can the only concern is that we get what we want when we want it! With the promise of the excitement that each warm day brings, we look forward to the rising of the sun. It’s off to see what we can get into. The hustling is fast, as we don’t have to look in an array of places for the things, which make for a blessing as it’s called. All the vices, as well as necessities, are readily available on every block. A sandwich, a cold beer, and a blunt can all be gotten within feet of each other! Singing and dancing with a glimpse of a mini skirt are all within eyesight; it can be like heaven on earth! It is the time of year that one can forget all his troubles and trials if only for a part of the day! Then after all the excitement and pleasure of the moment we slowly come back to reality of our situation. The misery and pain return. As the evening turns into night we have to again find that place of refuge for tonight. Seeking the comfort of safety and whatever privacy one can expect we drift off to our spot, hoping as we go that it hasn’t been occupied by another! Yeah, sounds pretty sweet for those of us who have survived the cold winter and rainy spring months, yet for those who live this lifestyle year in, year out it is only the beginning of another set of skill sets for which our existence depends on. Again, perhaps we don’t have to be prepared for cold or soggy nights at the end of these days, yet it’s not in the least sense a pleasure to adjust to the rancid smells of urine and alcohol that permeate every stop along our day’s journey. The only relief for which we can look forward too is the idea that we can accumulate things faster! Sleeping in an abandoned car when the temperature is in the eighties can be harsh! Sweating while enduring the whispering of all sorts of insects during a night’s sleep can be harsh. Tossing and turning on the floor of an abandon building, trying to get in a few hours of sleep is the constant reminder that one has to forgo some of the perceived pleasures of the proceeding day, when again the sun rises. Our clothes and hygiene are a constant reminder that this is the time of year that our priorities are not being attended too. Feeling gritty with a profound odor reminds us that we have to be up and moving before the world awakes! Getting that shower is seemingly more important now then it was during the winter and our health can suffer just as much. Needing to seek a place to cool down during the heat of the day be- Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH comes a challenge as well as a priority. Heat strokes and freezing are both a part of our reality and must be guarded against. Our baggage becomes a bit more crowded as we must have the relief of hydration during our travels throughout the day. As in other seasons of the year we cannot afford to lose sight of our life’s mission while seeking some relief from the pressures of the lifestyle, knowing that our survival depends on our being prepared for the encounters and circumstances of each day. Still, most of us welcome the season, a time when we can live carefree to some degree! Ah! The summertime. To celebrate Streetvibes publishing its 200th edition we are offering special advertising rates for Summer 2011. Ads can be purchased for as little as $35. Call 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or email streetvibes@ cincihomeless.org �12 Arts & Entertainment ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Explaining the Bleak Picture Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer M ost Americans still can’t really grapple with the causes and consequences of the world financial crisis that erupted in 2007. Many are so overwhelmed with what has happened, with the housing market, the banking industry and with the rising costs of living, that spending the time to analyze and unravel the history behind what happened seems like an insurmountable task. Lucky for us, some folks have decided to do all that dirty work for us—graphic artist Seth Tobocman along with journalist and activist Eric Laursen and artist Jessica Wehrle have taken on mapping out how the financial crisis happened, in the 2010 release of the graphic novel Understanding the Crash. Through their intelligent analysis they answer this question for the general public, like many have done, but in simple terms paired with a striking visual candor. The authors draw from an opposition to big businesses asserting, successfully, that our current situation is rooted in the push for the “American Dream” paired with the greed of Wall Street and the de-regulation of the banking industry. Through their stimulating artistic narrative, the authors take us on a visual journey, breaking the complicated workings of our country’s economic model down, chapter by chapter. Although, still somewhat difficult to follow, which is by no fault of the authors, but more by the very nature of the system we are part of, readers can at least begin to understand where “We” may have gone wrong, how we could have prevented it and why we are still so far from fixing our broken system. Through each chapter the story line reads like a beat poem, following a steady rhythm and dramatically focusing our attention on unraveling the mystery. One rather striking quality of the work is the way in which the power brokers responsible for much of our demise are portrayed as various predatory animals. Other depictions or metaphors of these brokers are purposely vicious or violent including a man with a meat-grinder as a head, Casino-mob bosses, and men with fangs or heads that resemble piranhas. The authors outline the connection between layoffs of the working class at factories who find their neighborhoods deserted and their pantries depleted and the middle class who followed the American Dream of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps by getting a good education, to securing a high-paying job and still ending up laid off and trapped by debt. The story they tell shows us how one family’s loss of a home causes another family to watch their savings disappear in thin air. Throughout Understanding the Crash, the authors draw from real examples of real people in real neighborhoods to tell their story. In “She Lives Here”, we hear the story of Mrs. Redrick, who did everything right and still nearly lost it all due to the trickery of a mortgage officer. In “The Neighborhood” we see the downfall of a Cleveland neighborCover Art, Understanding the Crash. Art submitted: courtesy of Seth Tobocman. hood transformed into a Free Trade Zone where any and every predatorI won’t spoil the entire book, but I will say that vultures, wolves and sharks make a Understanding the Crash has improved my undercommunity into a war zone. standing of the state of our economy significantly. It The most fascinating chapters are “Reinventing also helps me to understand how the demographics the Octopus”, which tells the story of our governof our homeless have changed so significantly over ments involvement and dis-involvement in the bankthe last two years. What’s more, while the book is ing industry and “Bailout”, which carefully outlines 116 pages, it’s easily accessible and can be tackled how the U.S. government responded to the housing in under and 2 hours. bubble bursting and the actual “crash” we all refer to. Images from “The Casino” in Understanding the Crash by Seth Tobocman, visually relay how meat grinding banks, loan sharks, and vultures contributed to the economic crisis. Art submitted: courtesy of Seth Tobocman. �Arts & Entertainment ST R EE T V IB E S 13 J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Say What? My White Tee “It is never too late to give up our prejudices.” Henry David Thoreau My white Tee that I wear is only a tee... My white Tee that I wear the police say it's a gang thang... My people say it a way of respect in a tough life... My white Tee that I wear is only a tee that I wear. Do you see? Do you see? It doesn't make me, it doesn’t define me, it’s just a white tee... Where are my forty acres and a mule?? Today I will take it, to feel the land that is cool to the touch And soil that shows all the progress of my hard work. Let me see what will I be giving up? No more street siren, No more line ups, No more invisible twin – That may or may not fit the description that is wanted for question?? You see. It is only a white tee, do you see … Do you see it … don't define me !!! I can take it off... E. Hayden Outside the Loop: Jungle Jims JESSICA HOPSICKER Contributing Writer J ungle Jim's International Food Market on Rt. 4 in Fairfield, isn't just a grocery store, it is a nationally known tourist destination. With over six and a half acres of floor space and more than a hundred thousand products from roughly seventy-five countries around the world, people make the pilgrimage to shop this Mecca of merchandise from all over the Tri-State. It was the kind of Sunday afternoon in the Jungle, I wished I was at least fifteen feet taller. With the added advantage of extra long legs I could stride right over this great congregation of consumers, indiscriminately plucking up people and placing them accordingly and out of my way. My roommates and I were there on a mission to pick up food for dinner and seeing how this sprawling supermarket is a mere mile from our apartment, it was our grocery store of choice. As it was for everyone else it seemed that Sunday. There were men, women and children of varying shapes, sizes, and nationalities. Countless customers were milling about gawking, grocery shopping, and clogging up the aisles. On days like this, navigation through the Jungle takes a great deal of determination, perhaps a pith helmet, and a pair of horse blinders. There are so many things to look at before you know it, you're the one blocking the aisle. Jutting out towards Route 4, beckoning like a come-hither finger ally big cheese, and a lion dressed like Elvis that sings in the candy section. The shelves themselves are also topped with all sorts amazing stuff, a great array of antiquities and oddities. You could venture into Jungle Jim's for every day for a year and still find something new you have not yet noticed. This fabulous funhouse of food and product playland is the inspiration of one man, the sorcerer of savings Jungle Jim himself, Jim Bonaminio. He was given the nickname for he always dressed in shorts. His em- you can see him standing at the railing of his upper level office watching over his store with all the customers and fervent foodie followers. He pays extra close attention to his precious produce section placed right below him. It seems the ceaseless strings of recessions have barely touched the vibrant thriving ecosystem that is now The Jungle. His goal was to transform the simple act shopping a fun experience other than a chore and something you have to do to eat. There is no doubt, he just did that. is an actual working monorail, taken from the former wild animal habitat at Kings Island. Poised at another entrance is an animal pond which boasts large replicas of gorillas, spouting elephants and striding giraffes. Inside you can traipse through the beer and wine section, which is considered one of the largest in the United States, with the awe and wonderment of a child. Poke excitedly around the exotic meat selection, which carries anything from antelope medallions to a whole frozen rattlesnake. Even the restrooms amaze, whose entrances are disguised as Rumpke portapotties. Stepping through those rigid plastic doors is like stepping into Narnia. Along a back wall is a European village with the The motionless monorail that is to Jungle Jim’s what the glass elevator was to Willy Wonka. store front facades of Photo: Larry Combs the all different countries and each variety pire spawned from a simple roadside of food they pertain to. Great Britain produce stand in the early 70s, and is topped with a Sherwood Forest. underwent many reincarnations and A giant Campbell's Soup can sits on relocations to become the nationa swing suspended from the ceiling ally known grocery store and theme loudly greets you in the soup aisle. visit park he coined “Foodieland;” where There is a rock band of General Mills he has been known to don a wizards cereal mascots, a mini “SS Minnow” www.cincybooks.com robe and go about the store on a pair boat, penguins in the frozen food deof roller skates or hop on a Segway partment, an antique fire truck, a reand perform acts of price magic. Or Great Books! �Meetup 14 Fields of Forgiveness JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer M Meetup is meant to tell people’s stories in their own words. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the interviewee and not those of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Streetvibes or the staff, volunteers and board members. doors are locked from 11 p.m. to 7 In the early years of this millennia.m. During daytime hours, residents um, there was still a lot of turmoil and must either be at work or looking for problems according to Fields. When Fr. Schmieder retired from his full-time work. According to Karl Fields, the rules are strictly enforced. He says fillprison ministry, the situation began to turn around. “Things started to get bet- ing an empty bed is not a difficult task. As an outreach to the neighborter and better and better,” Karl says. “People began to be held accountable, from the house manager to the staff and guests.” They developed what Fields describes as a “system.” One with a semi-rigid set of rules and guidelines, as well as objectives which were both positive and clear. “We want our guests to get clean, to get work, and to Ron Carter . Photo: Jim Luken become selfsufficient.” Although there is no charge to live hood, Fields states proudly that the at the Catholic Worker House, the staff Catholic Worker House provides a Soup Kitchen (11 a.m. - 1 p.m.) every monitors, through weekly progress Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday— interviews, the status and income of each of its 16 guests. Each of the men bag lunches in the summer months and sit-down soup in the wintertime. is pushed to save 65% of his income for a little nest egg, because the guest They usually feed around a hundred, he says. may stay at the house for no longer Karl Fields has a keen underthan 60 days. standing of the situation the CWH “The best pat of my job,” states guests are in. Although he grew Fields, “is when they move out to their up (Episcopalian) in a middle class own place…get their own keys.” And African-American household, although the hardest part? “When we have to he always held a job, and always ask someone to leave.” provided nice things for his children, “I At the CWH, each of the 16 was a lost soul for more than 20 years, “beds” is assigned a set of chores, due to alcohol and drug addictions,” including, of course, weekly dish duty. he says. There are eight and four bed dormiFields describes his childhood as tories, and two two-bed rooms. Beds basically stable and normal. But, he are filled almost as soon as a resident says, it took many years before the moves out, and the switching of beds family realized that his truck-driver is a no-no. father was a closeted, functioning Fields explains that he and his alcoholic. staff do everything they can to proAfter graduating from Courter mote a three-word program: Safety, Healing and Transformation. Tech in 1973, Karl became an autoKarl explains. “If there is no safety, body repairman, a job which gave the there can be no healing. If there is no young man too much freedom to work healing, there can be no transformaas much or little as he pleased. “But tion. It is our duty to make sure that for the most part, I worked hard and I they have a safe place to recover.” played hard,” he says. To achieve that environment, there At 21 Fields was married, alis a zero tolerance for alcohol, drugs, though, he points out, “I started having or threats. Profanity is discouraged. kids when I was 18. There were three There are two required AA meetkids from that marriage and five total.” ings each week at the house. Unless Karl says he is proud of all of the chila guest is working the night shift, dren and their achievements, in spite what he now sees as poor parenting. “One thing I noticed. I gave them Air We serve as a creative outlet for women in need to Jordans, but what I didn’t give them uncover their talents and was that psychological nourishing.” build relationships while He worked at Stearns and Foster making and selling jewelry, quilts, and other handcrafted in Lockland and then in 1977 he got items. We provide a a well-paying job at Reliable Castings welcoming environment and on Spring Grove Avenue, all the while continuous support-our women do the rest. They are continuing his bad habits. “Often, on our voice. They are our my lunch hour I would drive downtown mission. They are our Sarah and get some pills.” He worked there Center. Artists receive 50 % until October 26, 1994, when, he says, from the sale of their items, while the rest goes towards “it all came crashing down.” materials and other support. During the previous year, after a friend had died mysteriously in his own 1618 Vine Street bathtub, Fields’s wife left him. “She Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES couldn’t take it anymore, God bless her soul. She didn’t want to come For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org eet Karl Fields. 55. Father of five. Pentecostal Protestant. Former convict. House Manager for the St. Francis/St. Joseph Catholic Worker House. Fields might seem an unlikely person to be heading up a 25 year old Cincinnati shelter that is Catholic in its roots, its history, and—even it its name. But, although he is not quite aware of it, Fields is following in the footsteps of the famous radical Catholic Activist, Dorothy Day [1897-1980], now a candidate for sainthood, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement in the US in the 1930s. Modeling her organization, to a certain degree, on the Communist Worker Movement of the 20s and 30s, Day published a daily newspaper (The Catholic Worker), and lived with homeless men in shelters (“Houses”) that she established in New York City. To this day there are more than a hundred of these Catholic Worker Houses (CWH) worldwide. Over-the-Rhine’s CWH stands at the corner of 14th and Walnut. It was established there by a young Catholic layman [and personal friend of the author’s] Jim Mullen, in 1983. Mullen came to own the house himself, and he began living there with homeless “guests,” (as its residents are still called) who trickled in and out over those years. Fields explains that in its present form, Cincinnati’s CWH has no formal connection either with the (ongoing) International Catholic Worker Movement, or with the Catholic Church itself, although many of the individuals and families that help support his work are progressive local Catholics. According to Fields, “The part [of the Catholic Worker model] we believe in is to help poor working men.” Karl Fields asserts that in the “old days” the Catholic Worker House had a more informal and unstructured way of dealing with the often indigent men who stayed there. “It was just a place for guys who had nowhere else to go,” he says. Mullen died of cancer in his fifties. Before he passed away, the house was sold to Father Mark Schmieder, who was then a full-time minister at the state prison in Lebanon. Fr. Schmieder brought Karl Fields, fresh out of prison himself, onto the staff in 2002. Before his own death in 2004, the beloved priest, turned the building (and its name) over to an independent board of trustees. Sarah Center ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 home and find me dead too.” For drug related crimes, Karl Fields was sent to the penitentiary in Picaway, Ohio. Reflecting on this period of time, he is very self-critical. “What was rational became irrational. Things I swore I wouldn’t do, I was doing. I had a family. I was raised right. But there was something about me that I obviously didn’t like. How can you love yourself when you are putting stuff inside yourself that will kill you? ” So Fields spent eight long years in the slammer. He has no complaints. “The way I see it, I wasn’t arrested that day [Oct. 26], I was rescued.” At the penitentiary, Fields says that he had the opportunity to take inventory of his life. “When you are forced to be sober, you can really look at yourself,” he says. There in the penitentiary he would learn the skills that would be essential for his job as House Manager at the CWH. He found himself in a therapeutic program called OASIS. “They made me look in the mirror,” he says. The program was very confrontational. Inmates had to confront one another on their problematic behavior. “If I’m checking you,” Karl explains, “I better have myself in order.” The men called each other “Mr.” and “Sir.” They did what he calls behavioral “pull-ups.” All the while he was in prison, Karl Fields says he worried about his youngest son. The other children had each embarked on successful careers, but “when I got out, he was real rough.” Karl says that he was in no position to lecture his son. He doesn’t even believe lecturing works. “People are gonna be looking at your actions not your words. I started living the way you are supposed to live.” It took years of this kind of example, but now Fields beams when he describes how proud he is that his son has been clean and sober for seven months. [As we speak, he calls his son on the phone to verify the date]. “Now I talk to him almost every day,” he says with a smile. Although, by 2002, he was out of the penitentiary, and sober, and doing a job that mattered at the St Francis/ St. Joseph Catholic Worker house, Karl found that there was still something missing from his life. So in 2007 he married a second time. His new wife, Vanier, was a Holiness minister at Harac Ministries in Bond Hill, “The marriage completed me,” he says. At the moment, Fields is battling a form of lung cancer. This new health reality, along with his marriage, put him on track to get his spirituality in order. “The threat of death does that to people,” he says. And so, Karl Fields prays every day, prayers of thanksgiving “for what He’s done for me so far. That gives me faith that everything will be all right. “What I’m trying to get across is, even if you’ve fallen, you can get up. If God forgives us, who are we not to forgive ourselves.” �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S 15 J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 Other Resources 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 Anthony House (Youth) Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-5514 Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �16 Artists as Activists ST R EET VIBES J u l y 2 2 - A u g u s t 4 , 2 0 11 Saving the World One Life at a Time Lauri Aultman uses her art and art teaching to foster peace and social justice “A rt has to be a social commentary,” says Lauri Aultman. “To me art and activism have always been connected. Throughout history, artists have used literature, music, visual arts… to open dialogue about areas where society needed change. I myself am a concerned citizen, and my art reflects my frustrations with the political system, my desire to make our community a safe, peaceful and better place.” Whether through her personal art or through her art teaching Aultman has always wanted the creative process and its product to touch people, trigger thinking, encourage social change. “I accept that it might be just one child or person at a time,” she says. “But YES, I want through art to save the world; I also want others to help me do the same!” Lauri Aultman stands next to her mixed media doll, American Girl: Terra Hart. Photo: Saad Ghosn Saad Ghosn Contributing Writer Aultman, a local visual artist, grew up in a liberal family, in progressive Yellow Springs and Xenia, OH. Early on her mother exposed her to visual arts and crafts, her father to literature and writing, her grandmothers to music; she loved to draw, sing, dance and act. When selecting a career, however, she opted initially for psychology, a practical field as she says, but soon added to it art history. This led her to work in museums, to travel to Glasgow, Scotland, to help with an international exhibit on Glasgow women artists, and finally to join the John F. Kennedy University in San Francisco, CA, where she earned a Master’s degree in Museum Administration. She wanted museums to be less elitist and more inclusive, welcoming all. After few years in San Francisco, Aultman moved to Columbus to be near her family. Employed at the Columbus Museum of Art she started a preschool multicultural program titled WOW Art? It became very popular and put her in touch with a large number of kids and their family. They often Water Cross: Darfur Sudan, mixed media sculpture by Lauri Aultman. Photo: Saad Ghosn confided in her, sharing their various problems; they indirectly prompted her enrollment in art therapy classes. “I felt a calling for at-risk youth,” she says. “So I left museum field, worked for few years at the Homeless Families Foundation Educational Center, then moved to Cincinnati to teach art and yoga at various Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) Centers.” Aultman loves to work with kids as they look at the future with hope and uncensored perspectives. She involves them in various art activities using art as a vehicle for their self expression, confronting their own issues and those of society, also reflecting on diversity, peace, justice, on how to better the world. Her students and those of other CRC centers, as a result, regularly added their voice to the yearly SOS Art community art show for peace and justice in Cincinnati, thus contributing to its open dialogue. For several years, however, Aultman just focused on teaching art to children at the expense of her own art. “I had become so busy teaching art that I stopped creating my own,” she says, “It caused me a breakdown and I realized it was important I do art every day.” Responding then to her sister’s request to create an art piece for a fund raiser for an abuse shelter, Aultman started delving into art for social issues; she has not stopped since. She has created works for various causes, international, national and personal. Through her church, Ginghamsburg United Methodist, in Tipp City, she got active in the Sudan Project, helping raise money for its various programs in Darfur (implementing sustainable agriculture, building schools, training teachers, constructing water yards for safe water…). Aultman contributes to the Project by making art for the yearly fundraising art exhibit “HeArt of the Sudan”. Do They Know It’s Xmas, a mixed media sculpture, was based on the song from the 80s about famine in Ethiopia; it incorporated the lyrics with pictures of toys made out of tin cans and photos of malnourished Sudanese kids, thus reminding of the dire reality. Her series of Crosses, one each for Sudan, China and Ireland, meant to call attention to the different conflict areas and to their need for prayers. The crosses, made of painted water bottles, have added and somewhat hidden, words, statistics, pictures, objects… all related to the conflict. Each sits on a Bible referencing the importance of prayer and spirituality. Water Cross: Darfur Sudan, painted white alluding to the importance of water, included material related to water, agriculture and education. Water Cross: China, painted red, related to human rights and censorship and used Chinese stamps for decoration. Water Cross: Ireland, painted green, included a handkerchief that belonged to Aultman’s great-grandmother originally from Ireland, also crucifixes and elements related to the religious and ethnic fighting. Recently Aultman did works pertaining to the Congo conflict minerals. Through an activist meeting she learned that portable electronics contained the 3 Ts (tin, titanium and tungsten) usually mined in Congo, in areas where people are murdered and women raped every day. Her mixed media Cell Out/ Healing Mandala consists of a wooden circle representing the world on which was added information and images addressing the minerals issue, juxtaposed to a globe mandala as a peaceful solution. “We have no idea how our daily use of cell phones in America effects women in Congo,” says Aultman. “I can’t help feeling like a sellout each time I use my phone. We all need to know about it.” Her ongoing American Girls series consists of dolls with no head, themed after important American issues: religion (Hope Nkonde), environment (Terra Hart), patriotism… She picked girls due to her interest in women issues, also because young American girls nowadays are obsessed with dolls, often used in our society as means of escape. Aultman resorted to their symbolism instead as a way back to the reality of the country. “Their themes represent me, my current concerns, issues I and Americans struggle with…” she says. Aultman has always had at heart issues of violence and abuse directed at women; she makes it part of her life to tell people about them. Yes and Proceed With Caution are body prints in acrylic that address sexual abuse and rape; they are meant to give hope to abuse survivors. Peace, another omnipresent topic in her works, owed her the title of “peacenik” by her students. In Wishful Sign of the Times she arranged buttons in a sign peace, each button representing a prayer for one of her students and his/her family. Peace Dove and Peace Dreams, 2 mixed media pieces, reflect her inner path to reach and communicate true peace. “Art is not just ‘in my blood’," Says Aultman. “I actually need it to survive. I am an artist for peace and social justice and use my art to educate others on causes they may not be aware of. I want to raise consciousness and make a difference. I am proud to be an artist activist.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource July 22-August 4, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: House Bill 159 Kentucky Board of Elections Counters “No Address, no Voter Registration” Claims Pg 2: “The Homeless Don’t Exist.” Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: Young Cincinnati Activists Help Spark International Expose Pg 5: Whence the Tea Party? Pg 6: Homelessness and Healthcare Pg 7: National News Summary Pg 8: Recipe Pg 9: Let Me Be Pg 10: Let Me Be Continued Pg 11: Summertime Pg 12: Explaining the Bleak Picture Pg 13: Arts & Entertainment Pg 14: Fields of Forgiveness Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Saving the World One Life at a Time Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 22-August 4, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource J.P. Dean Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Della Woolens Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon Stephen Gentry Willa Denise Jones Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Lee Mccoy Paul Davis Aimie Willhoite Jesse Call Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Brittany Fong Terique Scott Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Activists Aimie Willhoite Alisa Balestra Art Brittany Fong Catie Dargue Cincinnati Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Georgia Bohannon Harrison Lott Healthcare Homelessness House Bill 159 J.P. Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jim Luken Josh Spring Jungle Jims Kentucky Lee McCoy Mark Grauhuis National News Paul Davis Riccardo Taylor Rubye Goode Saad Ghosn Stephen Gentry Susan Lakes Tea Party Terique Scott Voting Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/1aa6d536669a42f640e678bca56a4855.pdf 826152819bde84d541aaa53afd525f59 PDF Text Text “Everybody Poops” St r ee v ib e S Picnics & tPotties July Feed Me Summer Salad 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Seymour! PG 3 PG8 J U LY 8 T H - 2 1 S T 2 0 11 ISSUE 203 Ken Swinson Art & Community 1 PG 16 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Drawing the Line: Redistricting in Ohio Redistricting. Cartoon reprinted with permission: Steve Greenberg MARK GRAUHUIS (members of Congress, state legisla­ tors, and many city council and school Staff intern Writer board members are elected from districts); what kinds of policies and very ten years, the ruling politi­ issues get debated; and how the com­ cal party sets about redrawing plex set of challenges we face during congressional districts, slic­ the ongoing global financial crisis are ing, dicing and piecemealing in order handled (or not). When district lines to give their team the upper hand in are drawn voters are grouped in one upcoming elections. The redistricting district and others are separated into process determines how your commu­ nity is defined along political lines; who different districts. Whichever group has more votes within a district usually you have the opportunity to vote for decides which representative wins. E The redistricting process itself is usually marked by secrecy, self-dealing and backroom logroll­ ing, with either of the two major parties seeking to maximize the number of seats to win. The trick is to create a large number of seats that are reasonably safe for the majority party and a smaller number of districts extremely safe for the minority party. This usually results in most legislative districts being solidly held by one party and uncompetitive in the general election. It also means that, if you live in a solidly X or Y district and vote in opposition, your vote simply does not 'count' as much as much as your political adver­ saries who (always) choose to consent with the district's general voting patterns. Under the present system, the ultimate distribution of seats in the state legislature may not reflect the overall popular vote totals in legislative elections. In a shocking antidemocratic fashion, politicians are able to choose their voters and incumbents and chal­ lengers can be effectively eliminated. Partisan redistricting only adds to the growing number of uncompetitive leg­ islative elections, overrepresentation of the dominant party in the legisla­ ture, and greater polarization in state government. Most concerning, is the fact that the present system leads to the dilution of minority votes, which has the effect of dividing our communities. Research shows that single-member districts do not operate as some magical remedy for exclusion of minorities from a fair share of seats in the nation's legisla­ tive bodies. Rather, minorities may be residentially dispersed but can be politically united. These communities are perfectly capable, if given half a chance, of choosing their own rep­ resentatives when they are provided with appropriate electoral tools. But talk to our ruling bipartisan officials and you would never believe this to be true. Ohio’s hyper-partisan redistricting process has serious implications for wresting democratic control away from the people who need it most. In the 1960s, Ohio established a 99-member state house of representatives with two-year terms and a 33-member state senate with staggered four-year terms, with both chambers’ represen­ tation based on population. It also adopted the Reapportionment Board to redraw the boundaries of the state legislative districts after each decen­ nial census, composed of five mem­ bers: the Governor, the Secretary of See Redistricting Ohio, page 4 A Penny A Pound More, Is What We’re Fighting For SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer W alk into a Kroger store and walk out with a few pounds of juicy ripe tomatoes. You cut them up, or slice one for that BLT. Maybe you eat a few slices along with your toast and eggs. Or maybe you keep the tomato whole and stuff it with some tuna or chicken salad. It doesn’t matter how you slice it, the farmer workers who might have picked that big red orb want a pay raise. A penny a pound pay raise. That’s what pickers in the $1.3 billion tomato industry want to see for their labor. Just a single a penny a pound more could double the pay for the workers, according to advocacy groups that are joining the fight for fair wages and better working conditions for farmworkers. The fight hit close to home Thurs­ day, June 24 when The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Interfaith Worker Center and concerned citizens teamed with Fair Food Ohio for a peaceful informational protest outside the location where suits from Kroger gathered for an annual shareholders’ meeting. The group targeted Kroger since its high-power purchasing power that could play a role in feeding into or curbing farm worker exploitation. The Immokalee Workers, an internationally recognized Florida farmworker organization, knows the feeling of success, and the group is hopeful the Kroger campaign yields a fair foods agreement similar to the ones put in place with other corporate giants including McDonald’s, Subway and Whole Foods. See Penny A Pound, page 4 Photo Essay: Northside 4th of July Parade PG 5 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati Protesters March Outside Music Hall. Photo: Jesse Call Bike Safety PG 5 twitter.com/streetvibesnews Mark Twain Was Right: pages from a graphic novel PG 10 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorial 2 BRIEF UPDATES STAFF REPORT Rallying Cry: Sports! __________________________ lisa Hill’s story appeared in our April 15 edition. She’s the busy mom of three sons. Here’s an update on what’s going on around her home: E Elisa – began college at Cincin­ nati State. She hopes to make a career switch from the medical field to writing, and has enrolled, she said, in a literary arts associ­ ate degree program. Christopher Harris, 19 – gradu­ ated from Walnut Hills High School and has been accepted into a graphics design program at Cincinnati State, his mother said. Christian Harris, 17 – landed a third job with Artworks of Cincin­ nati where he’ll help with a mural project. Jamar Honaker, 14 – was one of a hand full of Chase Elementary School students selected to com­ plete a college tour of historically black colleges and universities this spring. _________________________ avid Hebert, not Jason Weller, claimed he was cut and robbed. Streetvibes regrets the error printed on page 6 in the June 24, 2011 edition. D Deadheads, listen up. We’re coming up on the 16th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death. Garcia, a musician many might agree WAS the Grateful Dead, died of a heart attack on August 9, 1995. Keep­ ing with tradition, I’m ask­ ing (begging actually) you to share your memories of anything Jerry Garcia- re­ lated. Maybe you went to a single concert. Maybe you followed the band around the country. Do you sleep with concert programs and ticket stubs tucked under your pillow? Please share your adventure. You can call me (513) 421 – 7803, ext.12, stop by the coalition at 117 West 12th or send an email to susanlakes­ gcch@yahoo.com. Talk to me please so we can pull together a story for Streetvibes. Thanks, and looking forward to meeting you. Susan Lakes. http://wittoe.blogspot.com/ T he Masses. What brings out large amounts of people in our current era? : sports, concerts, fairs and theme-parks. All of these destinations and events can be fun and relaxing- which is okay and something we all need and should have. However, every time I am at a sporting event or a concert and I see thousands of people cheering, yelling, dancing in a display of passion- I get confused at first, then cynical then somewhat sad. I first wonder why this many people rarely come out to justice rallies or protests or city hall meetings or marches. I wonder why many people have enough passion rise up within them to go to a sporting event or a concert and cheer, yell, chant, sing, stomp and dance, but most of these people probably never have been to a rally or protest. At first it confused me that it appears as though people care more about sports, etc. than more important issues. Next, I think- why am I yet again confused by this situation? I remember that people naturally are drawn to coming together for a common cause and pushing forward in pursuit of that cause. I then remember that often people like the easy way out and that larger corporations and politicians know this. I cynically remember that coming together to passionately support a sports team, or a band is not stressfull, is in fact quite easy and therefore appealing to many as a manner to deal with their desire to gather with other people. I remember that businesses and politicians that want to keep poverty and other injustices around are owners of the sports teams and the concert arenas and that it pays for them to keep much of the public in a sort of trance or to give the public a “sugar pill.” People desire camaraderie and standing and struggling together- so the businesses oblige by giving people a way of feeling like this need is being accomplished and in the mean time most of the folks miss the real issues and don’t even see the ill-doings of the businesses and politicians. This happens in a variety of ways. For example- much of early rock-and-roll was about rebellion and standing for justice. Even more so the beginnings of rap and hip-hop were all about struggling for justice. Yet today large companies have taken over both of these music scenes and it is quite rare to hear a mainstream song attempt to rally people for justice. We are being duped and sedated. I can’t tell you how many passionate and detailed conversations I have witnessed about sports. We all have witnessed these con­ versations. I often wonder during these times if the people having those sports conversation care about politics and justice and hon­ estly how they can boil over with so much passion about sports. After all of these thoughts I do get a bit sad that people are so easily sedated and that marketers that work for oppressing compa­ nies have so well figured us out. After this, however, I come back to fervor. At the root of this it is clear that many people do have a need to gather and struggle for a common cause and I know it is our job to proclaim those causes, un-sedate people, open eyes and create a body of people moving together for justice. There most certainly is nothing wrong with sports, concerts, etc- we all need times to relax and have fun with events that in the end really don’t matter that much; however, it is important that we realize that in the end these events truly don’t matter that much. It is even more important that we keep ourselves and our collective selves in “check” to priori­ tize our passions. Our primary passion should always be for other people- for justice. St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Design & Layout Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Della Woolens, Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon, Stephen Gentry Contributing Writers: Willa Denise Jones, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Lee Mccoy Photography/Artwork: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Josh Spring, Saad Ghosn, Bill Howes, Paul Davis, Aimie Willhoite Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Jesse Call Design & Layout, Journalism J.P. Dean Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Statistics Brittany Fong �St r ee t v ib e S Distributor Program 3 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 Day by Day Project JENI JENKINS Streetvibes Staff Writer T his summer marks the second year that Streetvibes distributors had the oppor­ tunity to participate in the Day by Day Calendar Photography Workshop. Day by Day is a collaborative project produced by Praire Gallery and the Homeless Coalition. The mis­ sion of the project is to provide creative and economic opportunities for people experienc­ ing poverty. Streetvibes Distributor Tia Cass. Photo: Aimie Willhoite The Day by Day pilot project began in 2010 as an effort to give financially poor individuals a chance to portray Cincinnati through their own eyes as well as provide an additional financial prospect for all Streetvibes distributors. The final product is a full color 12 month calendar that will be sold by distributors throughout the community. Streetvibes Distributor James Davis. Photo: Aimie Willhoite LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 SAMUEL RONNIE JACKSON PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 David Rosenthal, local photography pro­ fessor and director of Prairie Gallery, provided an eight class workshop free of charge to those interested in participating. All participants who took part in the work­ shop will select their top ten photographs which will then be reviewed by a panel of jurors who will select the top three photo­ graphs. Top photos of all participants will be showcased during the Day by Day Exhibition in October 2011. Streetvibes Distributor James Brown. Photo: Aimie Willhoite TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 Support Day by Day Your support for Day by Day will help more financially poor individuals take steps towards maximizing their potential. Help this project by sponsoring a month in the calendar. Sponsorship funds will help offset the costs of printing, distribution costs and showcasing the artistic work of participants. If interested in sponsoring a month in the calendar contact Jeni Jenkins (513) 421-7803 Ex. 14 or David Rosenthal at (513) 5573819 �Local News 4 St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Penny A Pound Continued from page 1 The Cincinnati gathering kicked off the actions of a new group called Fair Food Ohio, according to Sue Carter. She got interested in farm­ workers’ issue after doing some tutoring in Florida, and hearing the workers share horror stories. Carter moved to Ohio and remained in­ terested and active in farm worker issues. “We can organize Ohio,” she said, adding that she “struck gold” when she hooked up with Dan Moore, outreach worker, at the local Interfaith Worker Center. Moore and others pulled together a group of people who carried signs, screamed chants and handed out informational literature to the suits as they walked into the shareholders meeting. Three shareholders denied opportunities to make comments to Streetvibes. Many of them politely refused the pamphlets and literature offered by the protesters. HEAR WHAT THEY CHANTED: Moderator: No More Slaves. Crowd: Hail Hail Living Wage. Moderator: Down Down With exploitation Crowd: Up Up With Fair Food Nation. 1 – We Are The People. 2 – A Little Bit Louder. 3 – We Want Justice. 4 – Farmworkers Immokalee Workers team up with Fair Food Ohio for a peaceful protest outside the Kroger shareholders’ meeting on June 23. The protesters informed the suits about the need for wage increases and safe working conditions for the people who pick the vegetables Kroger sells in stores. Photo: Susan Lakes Redistricting Ohio Continued from page 1 State, the Auditor of State, one legisla­ tive Democrat, and one legislative Republican. Whichever party wins two of the three statewide offices controls the redistricting process for state legis­ lative seats. The redrawing of U.S. House district boundaries is done by an act of the state legislature subject to the ap­ proval of the Governor. If one party controls the Ohio House, the Ohio Senate, and the governorship, it can maximize the number of seats drawn so as to favor the dominant party. When there is split control, the two parties must necessarily limit their aspirations and arrive at some sort of compromise in congressional redis­ tricting. The five-member Ohio Ap­ portionment Board is responsible for updating the legislative lines, which is known as reapportionment. The board is composed of Gov. John Kasich, Husted and Auditor David Yost, all Republicans. That is, Kasich and the Republicancontrolled General Assembly will be responsible for drawing the congres­ sional district boundaries. Republican leaders in the Ohio House and Senate will choose a representative to the board, as will Democratic leaders, to round out the five-member panel. This group will draw the lines for 99 House districts and 33 Senate districts, each made up of three contiguous House districts. Candidates who are running in 2012 for county com­ missioner, sheriff, prosecutor, engineer, recorder, auditor, clerk of courts and coroner need to have their petitions filed and certified by Dec. 7. It is a near cer­ tainty that Republicans will eliminate one Democratic district – U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s Cleveland-area10th District has been targeted because it features some of the bold progressive viewpoints that its political leader has helped foster there. In the 2010 elec­ tion, Republicans won 13 of Ohio’s 18 congressional districts. But Ohio’s lack of population growth is costing it two seats, meaning state lawmakers must redraw only 16 districts. The legislative task force has al­ located $130,000 each to legislative Democrats and Republicans to pay for staff and equipment related to the redistricting process. However, many activists and community leaders are concerned that the real issue is a lack of any representation for low-income and poor families and individuals living in urban areas, neither of whom cur­ rently have a significant voice in the two major parties and whose specific demands tend to fall on deaf ears when it comes to shaping the vision of Cincinnati's future. Most Ohio legislative districts are solidly held by one party and uncom­ petitive in the general election. Non­ competitive elections can lead elected officials to be less responsive to voters because they know they are “safe.” And because there is no competition, Sue Carter from Fair Foods Ohio holds up the likeness of a big red tomato at a protest for fair wages for farmworkers June 23. Photo: Susan Lakes Fast Facts About Farmworkers - Florida workers are paid a half dollar for every 32-pounds they pick. (a piece rate that has remained unchanged for about two decades). - 100 buckets at one bucket every six minutes earns workers $10,000 ­ $12,000 yearly, based on a ten hour work day. (Source: USA campaign for Fair Food) no real issues tend to be raised in campaigns, and there is no reason for incumbents to listen to voters. They are much more likely to listen to their contributors, cor­ porations, and special interests. To address these serious problems, the Ohio Campaign for Ac­ countable Redistricting will hold a contest this summer inviting anyone to use 2010 census data to redraw the districts. The completion of the census might present a challenge to Ohio elec­ tions officials because states must adjust their legislative boundaries and congressional district lines to reflect population changes. A coalition of groups including the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Ohio Citizen Action is sponsoring a map-drawing contest, where private citizens can draw maps of congressio­ nal districts and state legislative dis­ tricts using publicly available software and the same population and voting data used by public officials. The hope is to build a base for future reform of redistricting standards. Submitted plans will be judged by a computer formula that weighs whether a pro­ posal preserves county lines, its com­ pactness, its competitiveness based on partisan makeup, and whether a district’s representation matches its balance between Blue and Red (what is, regrettably, called “representation”). The winner will be submitted to the legislature for consideration. The Ohio secretary of state’s office also will develop a website for public comment on the redistricting process. It may be some measure of Ohio voters' disillusionment and defeat­ ism with regard to bipartisan electoral politics that no communities currently have a strong voice demanding pro­ portional representation as a sensible remedy for the problem of gerryman­ dering. We should know and reflect on our own history and be proud of the days when fair representation was possible in Ohio. In the Progres­ sive Era, proportional representation elections were used in 22 cities in the Continued on page 5 �St r ee t v ib e S Local News 5 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Community Bowel Movement CATIE DARGUE Streetvibes Staff Writer I t’s Sunday, June 26th and the rain has stopped just in time for the Everybody Poops Picnic in the Park. As visitors start to gather around the covered shelter, dry off wet park benches and fire up the grill, a porcelain toilet is carried from the back of a van and placed front and center of the party. The toilet; it’s not something that most people really think about too much in depth. If you have to go, you find a toilet and you go. If you’re not at home you wan­ der into a local business, purchase something or you just ask. But what if you’re homeless? What if you are not even allowed into most businesses to use their toilets, what then? Find “3CDC poops, but I think they poop money” a public bathroom right? Well not if it has been torn down. Would you go in an alleyway, behind a dumpster or a tree? You’re probably thinking “no way,” but what if you had no other choice? “Everybody Poops” is a cam­ paign raising awareness about the lack of public restroom facilities in the Washington Park area. When the park closed, 3CDC tore down the only public bathrooms in that area and have not replaced them as promised. Local businesses are now complaining on the increase of public urination and defecation but many are still reluctant to join a very simple and practical plan put forth by the Home­ less Congress to have local business sponsor five port-o-potty’s in the area. This is a plan where everybody wins. People can use the toilet in a respect­ able and dignified way and business­ es can continue as normal without worrying about what they might find on their door step. For all the work that the Home­ less Congress did to personally invite local businesses around Washington Park, not one representative showed up. Advocates for this issue are dis­ appointed but are not giving up hope that businesses will come around to help fund the much needed latrines. Despite the lack of representation from local businesses, the event was still a success. About thirty to forty residents and agency representatives mingled together to share a picnic lunch, danced to the beat of Baba Charles and drummers and listened to CCM professor Michael Burnham’s theatrical reading of Taro Gomi’s book everybody Poops. They discussed issues, shared personal stories and expressed concerns for the neighbor­ hood. People who don’t even live near Washington Park voiced their opinions and expressed the need for the city, 3CDC and local business to provide facilities for one of the most basic human needs. As Burnham added to his reading,“3CDC poops, but I think they poop money.” The events continued on Tues­ Picnic in the park: a toilet sits watching the neighborhood. Photo: Catie Dargue day June 28th at the corner of 14th and Race Street with a theatrical demonstration and second reading of everybody Poops. This time there were seven porcelain toilets mixed in with protest signs specifically placed outside of 3CDC’s head office. News crews and cameras lined the streets and passers-by looked on from their cars at the very peculiar but strong statement. The people in this community have spoken and they want justice, they want dignity, they want a toilet or two but mostly they just want to be heard. If you would like to join in and voice your opinion, we are collecting letters at the Coalition to submit to the City and 3CDC. Contact Riccardo Taylor 513-421-7803 ex. 15 or riccardotaylor@cinichomeless.org. Theatrical Event: Burnham performs his reading of Everybody Poops for the rally. Photo: Catie Dargue Continued from page 4 United States, yet in our time only Cambridge, Massachusetts kept its council elections by propositional representation in the wake of a steady loss of popular participation in system­ atic reform campaigns. Party list systems and the Single Transferable Vote were developed in revolutionary nineteenth century England (also the source of plurality voting practices), and are sometimes called “choice voting” or “preference voting.” They have been proven to deliver representation to 90% or more of the voters, drastically improve voter turnout, provide greater stability in government, and have been tried and tested in many social democratic European countries. In 1915, Ashtabula, Ohio became the first American city to adopt pro­ portional representation elections, as a result of strong activist leaders (and an unusually large component of labor leaders) who were sick and tired of partisan misrepresentation and party duopoly. These were supported else­ where in the state by courageous men and women who fought “boss rule” of their cities by educating citizens about direct democracy, promoting referendum and recall, demanding popular election of senators, women's suffrage, railroad rate regulation, mu­ nicipal ownership of utilities, protective labor legislation, tax equity, and home rule for cities. In subsequent adoptions of home rule charters, Cincinnati, Hamilton and Toledo elected path-breaking African Americans to their city councils, while in Cleveland the one African American on council was joined by others as the black population grew. This effectively held their charter sponsors to efficient administration implemented in the framework of more representative -- and therefore more responsive -­ policy-making. The level of factional­ ism was significantly reduced because minorities won a share of council seats, and there was greater solidarity and cooperation between campaigns to the benefit of the people. They did away with the winner-take-all voting system, which betrays its origin in the business corporation model of com­ petition and sees so many candidates simply lose in plurality contests. Currently, if there are three or more candidates, close to two-thirds of the voters may not win any representa­ tion in the elected governmental body. When a minority candidate is elected in this electoral context, it is usually the majority's choice of who should represent the minority. During the Cold War on the homefront, when the civil rights movement helped foster the rise of many popular Left-leaning black politicians, pro­ portional representation was seen by the ruling members of society as distinctly “un-American” – Tammany Hall famously called it a "Stalin Fran­ kenstein" that would inevitably lead to the election of Communists all across the nation! And today, both racist and anti-working class gerrymandering are used to handicap certain groups and play a shameful role in Ohio's elec­ toral politics. Under proportional representation ("free voting," as Cleveland's Tom Johnson called it a century ago), even the most alienated or disillusioned citizen could chose to vote based on which voices they would also like to be heard, and go to booth believing that even if their first vote didn't count for much, the second and third would. In order to understand what happened to defeat this system in Ohio one has only to look at the explicitly racist and red-baiting campaigns – often linked to prohibition and, later, “the War on Communism” – which historically followed the momentum and success stories state-wide. These reactive forces were aimed deliberately at disenfranchising the city's poor, black and immigrant citizens, and ensuring a reserve army of labor for the wealth­ iest industrialists. This is not to say that the voices for democracy went down without a fight. In Hamilton, Ohio, in 1944 voters rejected a fourth repeal attempt. In Toledo in 1946 proportional represen­ tation prevailed again; and again the following year. Significantly, in Cincin­ nati in 1947, another repeal campaign, lead by the Republican organization, linked the progressives and radicals with the 'red' menace, using a highly concerted propaganda campaign that included newspapers and billboard advertising, street car cards, posters, placards, leaflets, book matches, per­ sonal letters and radio spot announce­ ments. But even this backlash failed to change voters' minds on the issue for yet another two years. In white precincts, where many feared the election of black officials, proportionsl representation lost by a 2 to 1 margin; voters in black precincts supported its retention by 4 to 1. And in 1954, both Democrats and Republicans were de­ feated in their repeal efforts, but only narrowly. Three years later, Cincinnati finally succumbed. At the very start of the twentiethcentury, the 'important' votes in Cincin­ nati were collected through small favors in the wards of the major cities, and financed both by contributions from businessmen seeking franchises and tax benefits, and by kickbacks from illegal operators in gambling and prostitution who bought protection for their activities. While this no longer accurately describes the situation, we are still a long way from achieving fair representation, inclusion, and equal opportunities for minorities. Does it not make good democratic sense that our communities select the person we believe will be the most responsive to our needs and concerns? The power to draw Ohio’s legislative and con­ gressional district boundaries should be open and accountable, perhaps best invested in a commission which ideally would be independent and nonpartisan. For more information about the redistricting competition or to request a presentation, contact: Jim Slagle, Manager, Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting – 614-2634600 or jslagle@ohiocitizen.org �6 St r eet vibeS Local News J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Safe Pedaling: Cincinnati Graded on Bike Safety SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer W ith fuel prices soaring and obesity rates climbing, the City of Cincinnati embraced a plan to increase the number of people using bicycles for pleasure and commuting. The City committed $140,000, according to Michael Moore who heads up the city’s transportation and engineering department, for a bicycle plan that was put together by a design group from Maryland. Now, a few years into implement­ ing the plan, an evaluation or “report card on bicycling” is available on the city website. The most recent results “Motorists need to understand that the law mandates that cyclists be accommodated by all others on the road. Cyclists don’t “impede” traffic, cyclists are traffic!” Steve Magas, attorney were reported for 2009, with the evalu­ ation taking place in 2010. Here’s how Cincinnati fared: • Cincinnati as a city for bicycling – C, the same grade as it earned in 2009 •City’s efforts, progress in the past 12 months – B+, this was a new report card question in 2010 • Completeness of the bicycle network – C-, an improvement from the previ­ ous D/F grade in 2009 • Pavement quality – C, the same grade as was earned in 2009 • Respect shown by motorists – C, and full letter grade better than the 2009 grade That final “respect” category is what lingers on the mind of at least one cyclist, Oscar Chambers. He’s been pedaling since as long as he can remember. His trusty bike is his primary form of getting from point A to point B. “They go too fast,” Chambers said about what bothers him most about motorists’ behaviors. “They pull out in front on right turns on red.” Chambers offers these cautionary words to all the motorists who insist on speeding by and cutting him off. “Slow down. Look where you’re going before you end up hurting someone.” he said. “You’ll regret it and you won’t be able to sleep if you end up hurting someone.” Cycling enthusiast Steve Magas makes a strong argument that Ohio is a very safe place to ride a bike. Magas, known as “The Bike Attorney” reported just 11 bike riders lost their lives on the state’s roadways in 2010. That’s relatively low, Magas wrote in an email, compared to similarly-size d states. Ohio, according to Magas, aver­ ages 15 – 16 cycling deaths per year. That’s a statistic that should ease Chamber’s and other bikers’ minds. Compared to “The Big Three” states of California, Florida and Texas, which combined, account for 40 percent of annual cycling deaths, Ohio’s death statistic seems tiny. And it should. “Florida had ten times the number of deaths as Ohio last year,” Magas wrote. As far as safety advice, Moore offers this: “Wear a helmet, wear a helmet. Wear a helmet.” Magas too spoke out on safety. “Some things that riders can do to stay safe include: - Treat riding a bicycle like driving a car - you have exactly and precisely the same "right of way" as a bicycle operator as you if you choose to drive a car, truck, bus, motorcycle or Amish buggy along the roadway. You are to obey the same laws, and have the same responsibilities as well. Thus cyclists must: - Stop at stop signs - Stop at stop lights - Ride with traffic - NEVER against traffic - Obey speed limits - Never "Drink & Ride" reasonable and safe. In 2006 I helped write changes to that law which added specific examples of when you don't have to ride so far to the right - in­ cluding when there are parked cars, debris, etc. For motorists a strong education program is absolutely needed. There are many motorists who simply don't understand that the law allows a bicycle rider to ride on virtually every road in Ohio. Motorists need to understand that they can't harass cyclists - they can't run us off the road, they can't harass us, they can't ignore us. Motor­ ists need to understand that the law mandates that cyclists be accom­ modated... by all others on the road... cyclists don't "impede" traffic, cyclists ARE traffic!” - In addition to thinking like a "driver" you should ride your bike sufficiently into the lane so as to be a visible and conspicuous and visibly part of the traffic flow. There should be no question in the minds of other vehicle operators that you are ON the roadway. Hugging the white line like a "gutter bunny" is not a good strategy for riding on the roadway. - The law indicates that cyclists must ride "as near to the right side of the road as practicable." That word "practicable" is not defined in the law. I have always Bicyclists Kenny Havens moves down the road in Overargued that this word means the-Rhine. Photo: Aimie Willhoite Speak Out a Little Bit Louder Streetvibes reporter Susan Lakes hits the streets to ask Over-the-Rhine community members: Do you believe humans have the right to choose if another person lives or dies? Judy Tensing, 72, catering – How do we have the right to take the life of someone? (She pointed out the bumper sticker on a car that reads, “Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong? Source: Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty).” We don’t want anyone to kill people in our name. That’s what the state does. What gives them that right?” Leon Jewell, 53 – Some people need to be taken care of. (The death penalty) is a good idea. Anita McCollum, 25, customer service – Not really. I’ll leave it up to the fate of God….it’s a touchy subject. We respected her wishes for no picture. Joe Boling, 23, security – I don’t believe in the death penalty. You should spend life in prison if you kill someone. Each crime should be looked at individually and a sentence given. David Harris, 52, former investigator – Yes. If they raped a child or something, they shouldn’t have the right to live since that destroys a child. Murder? Yes. I believe they have the right to be put to death. �St r ee t v ib e S The Whole World is a Stage RICCARDO TAYLOR Staff Writer A s in the words of the old Smokey Robinson ballad: “the whole world is a stage and everybody plays a part” the reality of the life of the street person fits perfectly. The scene is ever chang­ ing, yet, somehow the same. It is Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH 7 Street Voice J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 here that we measure the difference. The stage being set, we each take a role, only the stage settings are not prompted. The runway for the stage is the sidewalk, and all its inclusive surroundings. Each role player has a script created from their own needs and understanding. The rules are ap­ plicable only when they are beneficial to the individual who institutes them. Created at whim the rules do apply! The ac­ tors, playing the role of their life start their per­ formance. Mindful that it’s all about me, each actor sets his or her goal on the immediate gratifica­ tion or gain that’s de­ sired. Accustoming our­ selves to the particulars of our desires, we step from the curtain of life’s scene. The sidewalk, that stage from which we give our greatest performance is always bustling, every player from the most to the least is in attendance. Hearing with your eyes and seeing with your ears act one begins. Canvassing the street we find that all the players are in po­ sition to perform the actions, which are geared specifically to- ward fulfilling their immediate needs. The sidewalks and alleys are busy with traffic; the coming and going are indicators of the availability of what­ ever product is being used and the available funding of the consumer. Of course from the outside things look quite normal and indeed they are for those who have that role, yet in order to understand what the shuffling back and forth really represent you have to become a part of the scene, or lend a very cautious ear too. The underlying action is often only imagined, the actuality of the scene is one that only the player can understand. So, let’s say we take a closer look! The dress often tells us the story of the individual. Draped in new gear (outfits) with a nice piece of jewelry tells us that this person is likely a dealer! Demanding attention from many of the street people assures us this is the person you need to see if drugs or vice is what you seek. Just a few feet away we see that individual with the cart. Always on the move, filling and then emptying the cart of its goods, a true hustler, work­ ing for every dime they get earned their way by the sweat of their brow, bartering, trading and selling their goods they make a living, playing out their role in the stage of life! Then there is the most common of the street people, the con man. Al­ ways with something to share, a line that is too real to believe. Lend an ear and relieve your pockets! He has a line that would make any playwright envious! The bystander is the last of the role players. This individual waits on the action, sometimes becoming in­ volved other times not. They can school you in on everything that’s happening on the street, having no hustle or merchan­ dise they just wait until an opportunity presents itself before they put their skills into effect! Everyone’s putting forth the best effort for the almighty dollar. It’s win some, lose some; when the game don’t pay, you change your role for the day! There are no limits to what, when, or how it’s about playing your role on the stage of the street world. As the curtain goes up, the scene is one to be created, understanding that broken dreams are everyone’s reality to be rewritten in the time al­ lotted before the next scene. Or one might ask, is it in fact one continuous play? The game of life, acted out on the stage of the world, where roles and scenes are intertwined so much so that the reality of a few affect so many. Domestic Discovery HARRISON LOTT Staff intern Writer I t’s amazing what a few scraps of paper and a couple of crayons can do. In the hands of a welltrained artist, they become an exten­ sion of the soul, capable of creating a visual masterpiece. In the hands of a child they are something to play with, giving free reign to the imagination. In my hands, however, as well as those of kids and adults from around the country, they are a means of discov­ ery. For the past two weeks here at the Coalition for the Homeless, we have had service groups from Texas and Missouri descend upon our doors in order to learn as well as serve. Their main task was to make deco­ rations for the GCCH parade float that was featured in last weekend’s Northside Fourth of July Parade; so each day for three hours, we sat in the conference room cutting, coloring, and most importantly—connecting. These groups traveled hundreds of miles to experience something un­ familiar—to step outside of their com­ fort zone and discover things about the world, and themselves, that they had no idea existed. Their discoveries were widespread. They learned about serious issues like homelessness and poverty, as well as more trivial things like Skyline Chili and that I ask for a “pop” when I want a bubbly soft drink. To them, Cincinnati represented the unknown, a blank canvas that they could paint with new experienc­ es and new ways of thinking. To me, a Cincinnati-native, that was a little harder to see. My canvas has years of brush strokes and pencil marks, decades of color and contrast, all of which can get in the way of discovery. But that doesn’t mean that I am un­ able to discover. In fact, perhaps the most important means of discovery comes when you think you have noth­ ing left to discover at all. When you are familiar with something it is easy to become complacent. It is easy to get stuck in a routine and become blinded to the colorful, complex world that surrounds you. There are so many opportunities to discover that we pass up every­ day because we feel as if we are too familiar with things. My canvas is littered with missed opportunities and experiences. For the longest time, I was too focused on my routine to discover my cre­ ative side. Now I love acting. For the longest time, I was too concerned with my routine to put much effort into new friendships. Now I’ve formed friendships with a variety of different groups. And for the longest time, I thought my city was boring and resis­ tant to change, but now I spend more time downtown than I do at home— and that time is spent working to effect the very change I once thought impossible. So I invite you to look beyond what you think you know, both about yourself, others, and your world in general. Look for those moments of discovery in everyday life. Seek to fill your canvas with new colors and brush stokes. Don’t be afraid of messing up, either, because every day brings with it an opportunity to repaint your canvas, to start anew and change your world. Kudos to the Media STEPHEN SNOW GENTRY Contributing Writer T he media response to the “street theatre” staged on Tuesday, June 28 across from the administrative offices of Cincinnati Development Corporation (3CDC), at 14th and Race, made me proud to be a native Cincinnatian. The event was a joint effort of the People’s Platform for Equality and Justice and the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. All four local channels (5, 9, 12 and 19) reported the story with sensitive and excellent coverage. It is refreshing and positive to realize that this issue is being taken seriously. Having access to restrooms (that once existed) is a necessity and not a “mere” convenience. Denying access to restroom facilities does not negate the need for them. It only necessitates the resolution to “chart an alternative plan of action.” I am angered most because accommodations were made for the contractors and laborers inside the fenced work area of park renovation. However, little (perhaps, no) thought was afforded citizens who travel (between neighborhoods, either on foot or by public transportation) in the course of their daily business activity. I firmly believe that if this work was being done in some other area of the city a contingency plan would have been created BEFORE any demolition work was started. That, to me, would have been the proper and correct action to have taken. Finally, is “skirting” on the petty cost of a solution worth allowing our streets, sidewalks, stoops and doorways to become receptacles of human waste? Is it easier for the city and 3CDC to abandon responsible action so that they may blame others for a problem that is of their own CREATION? �Recipe 8 St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 ... MOUR T LONG! S Y E S E H L NIG JENI JENKIN FEED M L A E BY FEED M The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! WALNUT, GRAPE & BLUE CHEESE SALAD Fresh Summer S During the summer as the heat rises I find it difficult to eat a heavy dinner, so the perfect solution is something fresh from your garden or a local farmer’s market. I personally love salads and in particular I love the ability to mix it up a bit each time using a variety of ingredients. Here is the second from my fresh summer salad series I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-5 bellies. Ingredients: 3 cups leafy romaine lettuce rinsed and chopped in bite size pieces 2 cups fresh red grapes, sliced Praesent molestie lorem Etiam ac libero 1 cup chopped walnuts LOREM ½ cup chopped red onions IPSUM Sed turpis ¼ cup balsamic vinegar ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon chopped garlic ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper ¼ cup Blue Cheese • • • • • • In a large bowl toss the romaine, grapes and red onions together Top with chopped walnuts In a separate small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper Drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad Top with blue cheese Voila, FEED! ala d ! �Photo Essay St r ee t v ib e S 9 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 OFFICIAL distributor Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com Tommy Thompson Only Purchase STREETVIBES from BADGED Distributors To celebrate Streetvibes publishing its 200th edition we are offering special advertising rates for Summer 2011. Ads can be purchased for as little as $35. Let Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky know your business or organization supports those overcoming homelessness in your backyard! Call 513-421-7803 ext. 11 or email streetvibes@cincihomeless.org �Graphic Voice 10 St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Mark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest DAN MOORE Author & illustrator ark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest is a soon to be released graphic novel about United States’ first urban uprising in the 21st century. The story is told in a series of first-person perspectives from people who became intimately involved, from community leaders to random bystanders. Tying these narratives together is commentary by the author himself, then a budding radical teenager who finds the urban unrest influencing his life. Drawing on interviews and primary resources, a picture is painted of how one kid’s solitary death in a ghetto alley grows to impact every resident of the region. Mark Twain Was Right follows the sometimes contradictory and hard-to-comprehend developments from the day of the killing to Thomas’s funeral six days later, including the marches, posturing, organizing, brutality, looting, prayer, curfews and analysis that commanded international attention, inspiring ghetto residents and tormenting city leaders. M In a sense, all protest movements aspire to create a crisis for people who otherwise feel shielded from the harsh realities of the status quo. In 2001, there were undoubtedly all sorts of unpleasant things that occured on 13th and Republic. It was a tough place to be at that time.The vast majority of the population’s lives were never intruded upon because of what occured on 13th and Republic. That changed when Timothy Thomas was killed. For me, my life happened to be “interrupted” quite early on. THE DETAILS: For more information about the complete graphic novel Mark Twain Was Right, email cincinnatiriotsbook@gmail. com for information and updates about the release of the completed novel. �National St r ee t v ib e S 11 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Advocacy Group Tells Scholastic Kids Minds Are Not For Sale JeSSe CALL Staff intern Writer A n advocacy organization is calling on one of the nation’s largest publishers of school textbooks and curriculum to end its practice of allowing corporations to directly market to students through its products. Since the 1950s, Scholastic says it has allowed direct marketing to stu­ dents by providing free curriculum to teachers paid for by government agen­ cies, non-profits, foundations, and for-profit corporations the Scholastic InSchool program. The materials provided by forprofit corporations are the ones that are of most concern to the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, the Boston-based advocacy group that has started an online campaign to end the program. “There is widespread outrage that Scholastic is choosing to promote cli­ ent objectives and we’re very hopeful that Scholastic is hearing that,” Josh Golin, associate director of the Cam­ paign for a Commercial Free Child­ hood, said. In response to the recent atten­ tion brought to this issue by CCFC, Scholastic said it is taking “a thought­ ful review of all sponsored programs.” “'Kids are a captive audience,” Go­ lin said, adding that Scholastic should only be developing materials for the educational benefit of children and not “for the benefit of corporations to get their messages into schools.” However, Scholastic said it feels that this program is for the educational messages should not be coming from stakeholders. CCFC was successful benefit of children. last year in getting Scholastic to pull a Good cited several different program created by the coal industry programs that have been developed about the environmental impact of coal this year through the InSchool Market­ mining in the United States. Scho­ ing program, including lessons on the lastic declined to comment further U.S. Census, math literacy, fire safety, drug prevention, on that decision, diversity and the but CCFC said it environment. demonstrated a While CCFC clear conflict of believes tackling interest. important issues Scholastic like these should argues that the be done in schools, amount of eduCCFC does not cational materials support the mesdeveloped outside sages on the of this program issues coming from greatly exceeds foundations devel­ its sponsored curoped by corporate riculum. stakeholders. “These sponScholastic sored materials declined to name represent a tiny any of its clients, fraction of the but CCFC said hundreds of milthat in the past lions of pages of some clients have Photo: Campaign for a Commercial-Free content Scholastic included Disney, Childhood produces annuDreamWorks, ally,” Good said. Nestle, McDonald’s and America’s “Our trusted position in schools has coal industry. been earned over the past 90 years “Selecting partner organizations by the hard work of our committed em­ is challenging in a country rich with ployees who make it their mission to debate and divergent views on so ensure that every child learns to read many issues,” Kyle Good, vice presi­ and becomes a lifelong learner.” dent of corporate communications for And, Good contends that teachers Scholastic, explained. “But the alterna­ across the country appreciate that the tive of not teaching our children about sponsored curriculum is free. important and relevant issues of the “Teachers consistently tell us how day is not acceptable.” valuable our free materials are – and But, again, CCFC said, those even more so in these difficult eco- nomic times when so many schools are strapped for funds and resources.” However, CCFC said they are consistently being told by teachers and school board members that they feel Scholastic is violating its sacred place in our schools by allowing out­ side corporate influence. “People who are on school boards said they are extremely concerned about this and that if Scholastic did not change their policy they would be reviewing the entire presence of Scholastic in their schools,” Golin continued. It’s not clear whether any of the InSchool Marketing curriculum has made its way into local schools, but a Cincinnati Public Schools spokesper­ son said it is unlikely. CPS has a policy which does not allow schools to engage in activities for the benefit of for-profit corpora­ tions, she said, adding that a selection committee is in charge of determining curriculum under strenuous guidelines. Teachers are not supposed to use any curriculum not approved by the district. CCFC has used change.org, an online petition site, to collect more than 54,000 signatures demanding Scholastic end the InSchool Marketing Program. The petition is accessible online at: http://www.change.org/petitions/ tell-scholastic-stop-pushing­ corporate-pr-in-classrooms. National News Summary JeSSe CALL Staff intern Writer S mall crimes like riding public transporta­ tion without a ticket, when committed by people experiencing homelessness, are being referred to a special docket in Houston known as the “homeless court,” according to the Associated Press. As many of these indi­ viduals are unable to pay even the smallest of fines for these minor offenses, the court al­ lows them the opportunity to pay society back through community service. Defendants are referred by the local coalition for the homeless. Since early 2008, nearly 1,400 tickets have been cleared for people experiencing home­ lessness who might otherwise have gone to jail for minor crimes. It is the only court of its kind in Texas. T he city of Brentwood, Tennessee, an af­ fluent suburb of Nashville, has recently ticketed seven vendors of the street news­ paper, the Contributor, according to Nashville’s NewsChannel 5, for selling the paper in the public right of way. In response, the newspaper has teamed with the American Civil Liberties Union and filed a federal lawsuit alleging a constitutional violation of the First Amendment. Brentwood officials says there is a city safety ordinance banning the sale of merchandise in rights of way and they are simply enforcing the law equally to all persons. The officials added that they plan to amend the ordinance given the ACLU’s concerns to make it clear selling the newspa­ per is permitted as long as vendors do not enter the street. The lawsuit remains unsettled. T he clerk of Boone County, Kentucky is contesting a demand for the Kentucky State Board of Elections to al­ Kip Tiernan founded several homeless outreach agencies in Boston, low voters to register in his including the first U.S. homeless shelter for women. Here, she looks at county using “homeless” or the X placed in the lobby of the Greater Boston Food Bank, which she “place to place” as their ad­ dress. The Associated Press co-founded, to honor the story of her grandmother placing on X on her house during the Great Depression to mark it as a safe house where says that Kenny Brown, the people could get a free meal. Tiernan died recently at the age of 85. clerk, fears voter fraud will become easier in the Com­ man experiencing homelessness in monwealth under the policy. Kentucky election Bangor, Maine, was arrested and charged officials have seen a rise in the number of reg­ with theft of services after charging his istered voters in Kentucky that are homeless. cell phone on an outdoor outlet, according to the Associated Press. A Bangor Police Depart­ he founder of the first U.S. shelter for ment officer spotted the man using the outlet homeless women, Kip Tiernan, died of cancer in her Boston home July 2, accord­ and arrested him. The man was also charged ing to UPI. She was 85. Tiernan left a career in with carrying a concealed weapon because he was in possession of a small folding knife. advertising to help the homeless after hearing Several states offer programs that provide free a sermon. She founded Rosie’s Place in 1974. The mayor of Boston took time to honor Tiernan cell phones to people experiencing poverty for safety and assistance in finding employment. and her legacy. A T �Arts & Entertainment 12 St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 An Evening with the Music of Eli August J.P. DEAN Staff intern Writer I f you’re into steampunk and the music associated with it then you probably know bands like Abney Park, the Extraordinary Contraptions, Vernian Process and you might also know Eli August. Now for those of you unfamiliar with steampunk, well that’s a whole other article that you need to read (one which I’ll happily write for you someday) but stick with me for the Eli August bit for now. Originally from Wisconsin, Eli August now lives and records in Bal­ timore, a city strongly associated with the chilling musings of Edgar Allan Poe, which seems most apropos for the haunting tunes created by Mr. August. Although recognized by the steampunk community through his performances at many events such as the Steampunk World’s Fair in New Jersey, Eli August presents a sound that carves a unique niche within a unique genre; he’s not your typical steampunk musician. There is a melancholic earnest­ ness to his songs as August pours his soul through the strings of guitar, ukulele or mandolin. He is more akin to a folk singer sharing ballads of shadows and ghosts than a steampunk rock star blasting you with tales of airships and clockwork robots. The recent album “Let This House Burn Slowly” is packed with an emotional intensity that requires a large degree of commitment from the listener. Don’t expect many happy tunes from Mr. August. All of this resolute feeling is packed into his live acoustic per­ formances as demonstrated when he swung by Cincinnati in June; he is currently touring the Midwest on route to another circuit in Canada. The venue for the Queen City show, Roxx Electrocafe, was most apt for a steampunk singer. Newly opened this March in its home on Calhoun Street at the edge of the UC campus, Roxx Electrocafe appears to be just another hip coffee shop when you first walk in. A few steps further in, how­ ever, and you see all the steampunk inspired décor with gilded frames, rusted ray guns, and other objects that blend antique and modern in a strange harmony. For those still lost about steampunk, I promise I’ll write that article soon. A modest but dedicated crowd came out to see Eli August play his one man set for the coffee shop. At larger venues he plays with a band, Eli August. Photo: Jack A. Barker but this tour is what he refers to as his Parlour Tour, opting for smaller and more intimate venues that allow him to sit directly across from the audience to whom he performs. This closeness just seemed to amplify the emotional honestly of his songs as though you were there to bear wit­ ness to a confession rather than there to be entertained. Between songs, however, August is actually most entertaining with his self deprecating humor and there was a very dark mirth in his one cover song of the night; his take on Cyndi Lauper’s 80s hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” turns the pop tune into an­ other of his tragic ballads. THE DETAILS: Intrigued to know more? You can sample his style and music on his website www.eliaugust.com or of course you can find several Eli August songs on YouTube. Heard and Not Seen R ecently I went to the Blind Cafe in the North Presby­ terian Church in Northside, Cincinnati. The patrons filled in the pews by table assignment while waiting to be led to our respective tables. When it was our turn, we were instructed to hold onto the shoulder of the person in front of us and we would walk together to our table this way. We were not given any information about the size of the room or its configuration. The more experience I gain as a photographer the more I find myself seeing the world as a place filled with visual stimuli and less as a place filled with smells, textures, tastes, and sounds. But I’m also a person who, every once in a while, wants to experi­ ence life in a way different from the routine we all settle in to. Total blackout is something I’ve experi­ enced before: caving in Kentucky, a cabin in Hocking Hills, and many times under a lot of blan­ kets in the winter. The difference is — I’ve never had to walk in total blackness, and I’ve certainly never had to rely on someone else to get me through a room. My immediate first impression is that I instantly became unsure of how close I was to the person in front of me, despite the fact that I was holding onto their shoulder. I took extremely short baby steps for what seemed like a very long distance. While our blind conga line moved slowly through the blackness, the various sounds of tables chatting as our group passed by them sounded as if they were surrounding us and were inches away. It felt like, with a single mis-step, I could fall onto someone’s lap with my face in their soup! Eventually, we reached our table and were directed to our chairs. I was glad to be seated, walking in that level of darkness leaves you feeling unsteady. The food was already in front of us, something that felt like a lettuce wrapped burrito and a bowl of soup with a piece of corn bread. It is actually somewhat freeing to not be able to see the food you are eating. We were also informed that there was two familystyle bowls on the table, one with saag (an Indian dish made with spinach) and a separate bowl of what turned out to be very sticky rice, as well as a jug of water. It was up to us to pass around the food and try to figure out how to get it onto our plate once we finished what we already had. This is a challenge I’ll let you experi­ ence for yourself. It was a wonderful experience with music in the dark, as well a very interesting Q&A about living with blindness. I wonder if people were more comfortable asking certain questions because nobody could see them… When the night ended and there was light once again, the configuration of the room and the tables was the thing I found most surprising. But that’s also something that I’ll let you find out for yourself. They’ll be back — and when they are, we’ll let you know. [Jeff B.] Streetvibes has made a zany friendship with Make Cincinnati Weird and their mission to unveil all that is strange and beautiful about the Queen City. Watch out for more weird findings from these Over-the-Rhine, Northside and beyond writers. Learn more about their other bizarre investigations at makecincinnatiweird.com �St r ee t v ib e S Poetry & Entertainment 13 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 APPRECIATION WILLA DENISE JONES Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor Appreciation is a word that can be reckoned with Appreciation is something we oftentimes consider a myth Appreciation is something I give to God each day for living above ground And for his blessing of putting people in my life so stable and sound To understand just what it is that I as a person need to honestly appreciate Outside the Loop: Loveland Castle J.P. DEAN Staff intern Writer A loop cuts a ring around Cincinnati and North­ ern Kentucky. Some people lead their lives inside of it, some folks stay outside of it and others zip back and forth across of it; on the map it’s known as 275. There are many exciting and quirky things happening inside the loop, but what about out there? What odd and interesting things lay on the other side? Outside the Loop aims to explore the strangely familiar and the delightfully unknown things, places and people to be found in these outer limits. And to know that my mission of appreciation will not be a simple piece of cake Through being jailed and being homeless not to mention in the world all by myself I’ve learned to appreciate the hand that God to me has gracefully dealt I’ve learned to never forget that past and look forward to each day even though not promised I’ve learned to forgive but not forget and stop being a doubting Thomas I recognize and therefore appreciate the changes my life has ultimately taken I’ve learned to appreciate my faults for without them there would be no lesson I’ve learned to recognize my shortcomings and not I appreciate God’s Almighty Blessings I PROMISE YOU JOSH MCCONNELL Contributing Writer I’ll be there with you when you want me too, I’ll be there with you when you need me too. I’ll be there to catch you when you fall, I’ll be there to stand by you when you’re tall. This I promise you, this promise I will keep, from now until the end of time, the times we will test together as one. The fork in the road has been removed the moment our eyes met. A life without Love becomes meaningless, and when we met, you gave me back lost hope. You have found me, and I have found you. We are two turtledoves in a pear tree. You are like the sun that shines bright and you’re warm and you comfort me when I’m cold and blue. You take the worse of me and transform them into an inspirational passage, a beacon of hope in which the very beat of our hearts souley depends on. You are the light of my candle, the compass that guides my spirit on the path of true righteousness. You are the remedy that purifies my broken soul that makes me whole. I was lost, and now I’m found. You accepted me for who I am, you made me better then I could be, you made me stronger physcially and spiritually. Because of you, you taught me to be me. ©2011 Josh McConnell. Towering over the banks of the Little Miami River is a castle. It’s a modest-sized castle compared to some­ thing you might find in Europe, but it is indeed a castle with turrets on the roof and on the surrounding walls. To get there by car one must journey across the Loop near where it meets 71, follow Fields Ertel, drive away from the busy strip malls and finally down a narrow winding road. This serpentine path, Shore Road, is where the magic begins as you feel yourself moving away from the hubbub of highways and commercialism. The road ends with the castle grounds and suddenly you have been transported through time and space to something that is far removed. The first stones of the castle, officially known as Chateau Larouche, were laid in 1929 by Harry An­ drews who almost single handedly built the whole place himself. It was his life’s work and home that he contin­ ued to build until 1981 when he died at the age of 91. Andrews, or Sir Harry to those more familiar with the castle, served in the First World War as a medic and was declared dead for a while. Upon returning from the fighting in France, very much alive, he discovered that his fiancé, believing that he was dead, had married another. Andrews remained a bachelor for the rest of his life; starting during the Depression years, he chose instead to mentor local boys who later became known as the Knights of the Golden Trail (KOGT), a religious reference to the path to heaven. Andrews decided that the “knights” needed a castle, so he began to build one. The castle still stands strong and the current gener­ ation of the KOGT act as stewards of what has become a museum and local yet obscure attraction. Each year in October the castle becomes an impressive haunted house for Halloween and over the summer there is a monthly family friendly castle day on the third Saturday that has the feel of an intimate Renaissance Festival. On July 16th the castle is also hosting its second Mid­ summer Masquerade in collaboration with Queen City Cabaret. This is an event for the adults to don masks and fancy costume and then dance into the night with entertainment from fire breathing belly dancers and other such circus-like performers. If you remember the masquerade scene from the movie Labyrinth, it’s sort of like that. There are quite a few events held there, it’s even available for fairy tale weddings, but mostly the castle just sits serenely looking over the river. During the sum­ mer, April to September, the castle is open every day between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and only on the weekends during the winter months. It costs $3 per person to tour the grounds and the museum which all goes to the maintenance of this magical addition to the greater Cincinnati area to be found Outside the Loop. �14 The Carter Doctrine JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer Meetup St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Meetup is meant to tell people’s stories in their own words. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the interviewee and not those of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, Streetvibes or the staff, volunteers and board members. eet Ron Carter. 58 years old. Father of ten. Long­ time proud resident of Over-the-Rhine. Self-styled evan­ gelist … without a church. True believer… in the power of his own truth. If you spend any time in the neighborhood, you’ve probably seen Ron hanging out and/or help­ ing out. He’s a big guy with long dreads and an easy, infectious smile. Walk up to him and start a conversation, even if you don’t know him. He’ll have something worthwhile to say, almost guaran­ teed. And, it’ll be easier to get him started talking than it will be to get him to stop. Ron Carter is full of big ideas, and it doesn’t bother him if they may be unpopular with many of the folks he calls neighbors. He believes in these ideas. When we sit down for lunch at Our Daily Bread, the first thing he wants to talk about is welfare. He says he wants to reform welfare. He calls his reform idea: The Cart­ er Act. His goal is to save money for the welfare system, so that money will be available in those situations where there is the great­ est need. “I would like to see the welfare office dislodge the people [wel­ fare recipients] from the money.” Carter explains that if they send out vouchers for major services— rent, utilities, phone, transporta­ tion, food, they would eliminate Ron Carter . Photo: Jim Luken the monthly check [the money] and, with its elimination, many of a burden on society. the problems caused by that check “The way I see it,” Carter says, would disappear, or lessen. many of the young women on wel­ And what are those big problems fare “are taking full advantage of in the neighborhoods? Duh! “Crime, something good, to do something drugs and the misuse of money,” he bad. If you eliminate the money, you says. But the big problem, according get rid of many of these problems.” to Ron Carter, is a problem of “at­ Ron Carter feels as if his own titude.” life—even with all its mistakes— “If you eliminate your attitude, could be an example to some. “I was and if you can pass the piss test, you working when I was 12, paying taxes will be able to get a job, and suc­ when I was 15. After squeaking ceed. If you shut your mouth, and through Taft High School, he found open your eyes and ears you learn himself in the military in Vietnam, a lot. It’s not the weak. It’s not the where he was an equipment storage strong. It’s the educated.” specialist. Carter continues: “I want my “Even though I wasn’t it combat, brothers and sisters to take respon­ Vietnam did something to me,” he sibility for themselves. If you are not explains. “I went to school in the taking care of your personal busi­ service. I went to school in ‘Nam. ness for you and your family, all you It gave me a chance to stand up should receive is the vouchers for and be accounted for in this world. your specific needs.” I made it. I got into the groove. I Carter believes that cash money wasn’t the same person when I should not be a part of the equation. came back.” Period. According to Carter, this was a “In the new millennium,” Ron two-edged sword. His high school Carter attests, “we’ve got more and sweetheart, who had given birth to more, younger and younger, women his first child, couldn’t handle his on welfare.” According to Carter’s new personality. assessment, many of these women “I wasn’t little Ronnie anymore. I take drug dealers into their apart­ couldn’t take it. I didn’t adjust well [to ments, and sometimes into their civilian life].” lives. The women give their welfare Carter insists on avoiding the money to their favorite drug boy, and subject of his own childhood, except he “flips it.” This means he uses it to to say that, in the midst of many buy drugs, and then sells them for a well-paying jobs, in the midst of big return, often more than doubling raising ten children, from seven the original money. Carter explains different women, he was plagued that the dealer then pays the young off and on with mental issues that woman back (usually), plus interest. emerged and re-emerged from his So the welfare money itself creates M difficult upbringing. “I suffer from anxiety and de­ pression, I am unstable a lot of the time. Alienated. I’ve been in psyche wards, [and] a mental hospital.” And worse. Twice he has found himself in prison for robbing banks in the downtown area. “I can’t explain it exactly. I guess I would just go a little crazy. Couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. Robbing a bank seemed better. Banks are secure. Cops can’t easily fire their guns in banks. And tellers have to give you the money.” Finally, Ron concludes. “It was stu­ pid.” Carter’s work life was robust and varied. After the army, he worked for the old Shillitos, downtown. Then, on the basis of his military background, he got a job at Cincin­ nati Milacron, where he learned to read blueprints. He worked for Buckeye Steel Foundry in Lockland. He spent 13 years as a dispatcher for K-D Lamp. “I became somebody you could trust to get the job done,” Carter says. He left the lamp company be­ cause of a long-time desire to own his own business rather than work for someone else. In 1986, he bought three used cabs from the Yellow cab company. “I had it made until this drug thing had its effect.” This was the period of time when drugs were coming into wide use. “I couldn’t get decent people to work, without them using drugs,” he la­ ments. In 1990, he went back to work at K-D lamp, and worked there until 1994, when, as Carter describes it, “I went back to the old Shady-Lane gang I used to hang with.” This re­ sulted in the first of his bank robber­ ies in Brighton. After paying his dues in prison, Ron Carter did something that he believes few have done. He con­ vinced Procter and Gamble to hire him into their maintenance depart­ ment. “It took me two years to get into P&G. Finally they hired me, de­ spite my felonies. You’re a liar if you try and tell me that having a felony will prevent you from working!” Proctor and Gamble was groom­ ing Carter to be a supervisor, but he left his job in 2004, shortly after one of his sons was murdered. “I had a nervous breakdown,” he says. “The VA helped. They sent me to a men­ tal hospital. But I can’t get past it. I haven’t been the same since.” Now Ron Carter is himself on assistance from the VA. He has found a kind of mission in life to help people and to advise them. He says he has helped more than 200 young people in various ways. “Some of them call me ‘Poppa Ron’ when they see me.” After his decision to give up reg­ ular employment. Ron Carter took to the street corner. “I thought it would be better if I got out here and talked to people, and tried to inspire them.” He says he can’t help it if people look at him as a born leader. “I’m comfortable with people who are less fortunate,” Carter says. “The best I can advise you is to minimize the power of your environment.” We serve as a creative outlet for women in need to uncover their talents and build relationships while making and selling jewelry, quilts, and other handcrafted items. We provide a welcoming environment and continuous support-our women do the rest. They are our voice. They are our mission. They are our Sarah Center. Artists receive 50 % from the sale of their items, while the rest goes towards materials and other support. Sarah Center HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES 1618 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org �Resources St r ee t v ib e S 15 J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 381-SAFE 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 681-2365 762-5660 872-9259 Shelter: Men City Gospel Mission 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Justice Watch St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 241-5525 Prospect House 241-0490 381-4941 Starting Over 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 761-1480 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 471-1100 221-3350 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 721-8666 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 562-8841 621-5300 961-1983 784-1853 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 558-8888 981-5800 458-6670 977-4489 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 961-2256 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-4663 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 241-2965 Hamilton County ADAS Board Recovery Health Access Center Sober Living Talbert House 946-4888 281-7422 681-0324 641-4300 Hamilton/Middletown 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky 721-4700 421-7803 ECHO/Hosea House Fairhaven Resuce Mission Homeward Bound Youth Mathews House Homeless & Housing Coalition Parish Kitchen Pike St. Clinic Transitions, Inc Welcome House of NKY 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Center for Respite Care 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 351-7921 631-1114 211 977-5541 421-5211 People Working Cooperatively The Caring Place United Way Women Helping Women Off The Streets Joseph House (Veterans) 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 859-491-8303 859-261-5857 859-491-1027 859-581-1111 859-261-8009 859-727-0926 859-581-7745 859-291-9321 859-491-4435 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 621-1868 Women’s Crisis Center VA Domiciliary VA Homeless 381-0111 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 351-0422 381-6672 241-2600 241-2563 621-5514 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart Treatment: Both AA Hotline CCAT Other Resources 921-1613 Health 621-6364 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach Treatment: Women 661-4620 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 271-5501 381-2247 Crossroad Health Center Treatment: Men First Step Home 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 241-1064 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Charlie’s 3/4 House Shelter: Both Anthony House (Youth) 535-2719 591-2246 859-491-3335 859-559-5011 859-572-6226 �Column 16 St r eet vibeS J u l y 8 - 2 1 , 2 0 11 Art Grows Communities Ken Swinson uses art for his own sake and the sake of others. W orking at the Beehive Tavern, in Augusta, KY, Ken Swinson befriended the owner, Luciano Moral, a native of Cuba, who had immigrated as a child to the United States. “Luciano was very generous, always helping people in the community,” says Swinson. “He gave much more than he took. He influenced me a lot and I wanted to follow in his steps.” Since then Swinson has been very active in every community where he lived, using art to bring people together, empower them, help improve their communal life. A self-taught visual artist, he grew up in a mili­ tary family and never lived in one place for long... until ten years ago when he fell in love with rural Northern Kentucky. He has been living there since, initially in Augusta and more recently in Old Wash­ ington, part of Maysville. John Parker, painting by Ken Swinson. Photo: Ken Swinson appreciation of nature, also from issues related to where he lives. Many of his prints, for instance, pertain to biking and its beneficial effects, healthy exercise, direct connection with the surroundings. An avid biker himself, he rode all the way to Wash­ Raised in a Mormon family, he was taught early ington, DC, and documented visually his trip. Up Hill, on to care and have compassion for others. In col­ a serigraph, shows him biking up hill, welcomed by lege, he took pre-med classes, seeking a profession cows and birds; a Pig on a bike ironically alludes to to help people; he learned quickly, however, that his conviction that everyone can use the transporta­ medicine did not suit him. He quit, did not pursue his tion mean to an advantage. undergrad education, and resorted instead to mak­ “Poor health due to sedentary living, and scarce ing art. and polluting fuel, are two important problems our “Art was one thing I always loved to do,” he country faces,” he says. “Bicycling is a natural says. “It helped me in difficult times; I discovered it remedy for both. Through my cycling artwork I try was a powerful tool I could also use with others.” to inspire people to want a bike, raising at the same Swinson learned on his own the techniques of time awareness about health and the environment.” printmaking and pottery. At the time, his printed im­ Also a video-maker, Swinson recorded in motion ages were mostly portraits and landscapes; his pots, many of his nature experiences, trying to impart a functional, decorated with painted scenes. sense of awe onto the viewer witnessing nature’s beauty, at the same time stressing the importance of a healthy natural living. His video Kentucky Canoe trip incorporates his painted images with nature scenes, communicating a feeling of peace and harmony; birdwatching, the pleasure of biking and discovering the world of animals. Living not far from Ripley, Ohio, a key town in the Underground Railroad, Swinson learned more about slavery. He started a series of paintings and prints illus­ trating heroes of that period, “brave people who stood up for the right thing at a time when it was the wrong thing Ken Swinson in his studio stands in front of his art work. Photo: Bill Howes to do,” he says. In 2003, when the Iraq war started, he got dis­ His painting John Parker illustrates the story tressed, firmly believing the war unjustified; he also of Parker, a former slave who bought his freedom, resented the direction the country was taking and settled in Ripley and became active in the Under­ the imposed climate of fear and control. He sold his ground Railroad, helping runaway slaves escape to belongings and wandered for six months in his van freedom. He is shown barefoot assisting a couple throughout Florida and California, camping, living and their baby he had just rescued, to escape. mostly in natural parks. He drew and painted many eliza Harris, a linocut print, is a portrait of the nature-related scenes, peaceful subjects that took famed woman holding her child. Desperate for him away from politics, helped him meditate. Back to freedom, Harris crossed the partly frozen Ohio River Northern Kentucky he continued his own art but also jumping from ice flow to ice flow, braving death. became more involved in community activities. Swinson incorporated the image of a white hand, Swinson’s art stems from his contact with and that of Chance Shaw of the Ohio Patrol who rescued Saad GhoSn Contributing Writer her and stated: "Any woman who crossed that river carrying her baby has won her freedom." A better Life, a screenprint, is in honor of all the nameless fieldworker slaves who dared to dream of a better life; it includes a dove, symbol of hope, and a river and the North Star, for freedom. Swinson later animated the print showing the dove flying. “In the last four years I have been able to live completely from my artwork,” says Swinson. “I have been very grateful and felt the responsibility to give even more to the community.” As a result Swinson became involved in many community-oriented projects. In Maysville, with artist friend Barb Clark he started few years ago Art Walk, now a yearly com­ munity event where artists connect with various businesses, exhibiting their work inside their spaces; the event brings visitors downtown to view the art­ work and discover, at the same time, what the town has to offer. Also in Maysville he has been teaching a monthly free art class to both adults and children. He recently arranged a screen-printing activity for residents to screen-print a design on their old cloth, thus introducing them to printmaking and to recycling. Volunteering for a neighborhood children Christmas party in the Pendleton area of Cincinnati where his studio is, he brought in his portable press and taught the kids how to print their own holiday cards. In Augusta with only one school and no art teacher, he will be organizing this November an art fair for local artists to interact with students, demon­ strate and display their work, educate on the pos­ sibilities of art. Living in a house with a large backyard Swin­ son opened it as a community garden, making it a rallying place for the neighborhood to gather, plant and connect. He also started Grass Root Arts an independent social project to encourage community participation, reciprocity and generosity through the arts. It proposes communal art-related activities to help promote social causes. “I have always been passionate about causes that improve community and society,” says Swinson. “I want to use art to help advance them. I also hope to inspire people to make their own art and contrib­ ute to a better world.” Swinson is an activist through his artwork, his actions, his lifestyle. Very active in his community, he strives to make a positive difference… He uses his art to express himself, communicate, give and bring others together. Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource July 8-21, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Drawing the Line: Redistricting in Ohio A Penny A Pound More, Is What We’re Fighting For Pg 2: Rallying Cry: Sports! Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: Penny a Pound Continued Pg 5: Community Bowel Movement Pg 6: Safe Pedaling Pg 7: The Whole World is a Stage Pg 8: Recipe Pg 9: Photo Essay Pg 10: Mark Twain was Right Pg 11: Advocacy Group Tells Scholastic Kids Minds are not for Sale Pg 12: An Evening with the Music of Eli August Pg 13: Poetry Pg 14: The Carter Doctrine Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Art Grows Communities Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 8-21, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Della Woolens Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon Stephen Gentry Willa Denise Jones Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Lee Mccoy Bill Howes Paul Davis Aimie Willhoite Jesse Call J.P. Dean Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Brittany Fong Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alisa Balestra Art Biking Bill Howes Brittany Fong Carter Doctrine Catie Dargue Cincinnati Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Eli August Harrison Lott J.P. Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jim Luken Josh Spring Lee McCoy Mark Grauhuis Mark Twain Music Paul Davis Photography Poetry Protests Redistricting Riccardo Taylor Riots Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon Saad Ghosn Stephen Gentry Susan Lakes Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/715a8fba92df898365c4c2312b5fe160.pdf b540f3fbd0325727b34f79b2fe5f81b9 PDF Text Text Busted: Social Feed Me ST R EEScam T V IB Eon S Security Summer Salad J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Homeless Seymour PG 3 PG 8 J U N E 2 4 T H - J U LY 8 T H 2 0 11 Paulette Meier’s Songs for Justice 1 PG 16 ISSUE 202 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Clemency Granted SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer O hio has the unique distinction of being a northern state that has an active execution list, and active groups fighting to stop executions, according to Sister Alice Gerdeman, who coordinates the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Cincinnati. An arm of the center, Families That Matter, has reason to celebrate since Shawn Hawkins is alive today. His execution date was set for June 15, but Governor John Kasich followed the unanimous recommendation of the parole board, and commuted his death sentence to life in prison without parole. “In this case, at least a life was saved,” Gerdeman said during an interview on the very day Hawkins would have died. Hawkins, 42, was the first death row inmate granted clemency by the newly elected Republican governor. Number of executions in the United States since 1976. Figure: Harrison Lott, GCCH Three executions went ahead as scheduled. The news that Hawkin’s life had been spared came as no surprise to Gerdeman and staff, “we were expecting it,” she said. The governor’s office released the following statement about the Hawkins case. “There is no doubt that the defendant played a significant, material role in the heinous crime, but precise details of that role are frustratingly unclear to the point that Ohio shouldn’t deliver the ultimate penalty in this case. Therefore, I am ordering that he spend the rest of his life in prison and have no chance of ever getting out. As See Clemency Granted, page 4 Northside Community Seeks Justice for Shooting of Local Musician Over two months after a man was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police officer, many in Northside are still demanding answers. MARK GRAUHUIS Staff Intern Writer I n the early morning hours of April 18, a 911 call was placed reporting a “cutting” at Chase and Georgia Avenues a few hours earlier. 40 year-old David Paul Hebert, affectionately known as ‘Bones’, was named as a suspect. Soon after the 911 call was placed, Hebert and a companion were apprehended by police. According to police statements, Hebert removed a switchblade from his pocket, “swiped” it, and lunged at officers. Sgt. Andrew Mitchell then fired two rounds into his upper left chest. Officers at the scene reported that Hebert initially denied having a weapon. Just thirteen minutes after the 911 On a recent visit to Northside, graphic artist Seth Tobocman drew this image of Bones’ death and the community response. City says YES! to City Gospel Mission Jobs Not Jail Protest! PG 5 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati PG 5 twitter.com/streetvibesnews See Northside Seeks Justice, page 6 Mark Twain Was Right: pages from a graphic novel PG 10 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorial 2 Murder Is Okay? 22 The number of years Shawn Hawkins waited on death row before finally being granted clemency. Pages 1, 4. .01 The percentage of Green Township’s 22,000-plus housing units that are currently used for public housing. Page 5. $400 million The price tag of the new Horseshoe casino being built downtown Page 5. 1924 The year that City Gospel Mission first opened at its Vine Street location. Page 7. 23 The number of times a suspect has been killed by a Cincinnati police officer since 1995. Page 6. 309-261 The final score of a game of Scrabble won by Over-theRhine’s own Scrabble champ, Paul Diebold. Page14. 1991 The year that Paulette Meier released her first full-length social justice album. Page 16. urder. How do you define murder? Do you differentiate murder from killing? If so, (probably most of us do in some fashion) how do you make the discrimination? Far too often in the united states, any time the government takes the life of a human at best we label it “killing.” Worse, most of the time we use other even more indirect words such as war, or termination or necessary consequence or capital punishment. Undoubtedly, all of us would agree that murder is evil and wrong. We may also agree that ” The problem arises in how we define the word “killing.” Of course there are some instances in which one human takes the life of another without ever meaning to do so or with no act of malice. An example could be wrecking into another car when one’s brakes fail and killing the driver of the other car. Sure, perhaps the killer should have done more regular maintenance on her or his car, negligence may have been involved, but not malice and therefore in this example, the person in question killed another person, but did not murder that person. What about when the government takes a life (or many lives)- is that simply killing? Never within government or popular talk in the united states do we hear of the local, state or national government murdering someone. We are taught that when this government takes life it is “killing,” it is out of necessity to protect the rest of us. Somehow we see these actions as sovereign and unquestionable actions. The truth is that governments within the united states are constantly committing murder. Be it in war, lack of needed services or capital punishment. Capital punishment is murder. We are told that people who murder must be “pay for their actions” or “must be irrevocably removed from society to protect the rest us and to prevent further murders.” We are also told that capital punishment sends a signal to all other people that may potentially murder- that if they do they will be killed and therefore most of them chose to not murder- so we are all safer. The truth is that capital punishment has nothing to do with deterring murder and violence. There is no proof that the state murdering a human prevents others from murdering. In fact in some places the taking of life by people other than the government has gone up while at the same time the numbers of lives taken by the government in that locality have also gone up- hinting at an opposite trend. What if “capital punishment” were a deterrent to crime? Would that make a difference? Would that make it right? Would it make it okay for the state to take life; would it then definitely be “killing?” The truth is that when we murder someone under the guise of the state and under the term “capital punishment” we are truly just taking revenge- and that is malicious. But even beyond that, would it ever be okay? We, as humans, have to know our place. We are important and we are valuable but none of us is more important or more valuable than the next person. And none of us have the capability of choosing when another human should die. We simply don’t. None of us is good enough or pious enough or pure enough or patriotic enough or anything enough to choose when another person has been bad enough to die. To think that you, or I, or a governor, or a jury or a judge or a congress or a president or any human has the right or ability or even collective ability to decide when a human should die is centrism, haughtiness, selfishness, pretentiousness of the highest and foulest accord. This does not mean that when an individual or individuals commit murder it should not go unpunished- this simply means that none of us, on our own or with the agreement of every other living human are put here on this earth with the ability and power to decide that another human must die. We must know our place. We must throw off the idea that we are worthy of deciding between life and death for another human. We must search our heartswe all know murder is wrong. M ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Email: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org Staff Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Development & Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Design & Layout Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Administration Della Woolens, Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon, Stephen Gentry Contributing Writers: Willa Denise Jones, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Lee Mccoy Photography/Artwork: Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Josh Spring, Saad Ghosn, Bill Howes, Paul Davis, Aimie Willhoite Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Jesse Call Journalism, Media & PR J.P. Dean Journalism, Media & PR Mark Grauhuis Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Statistics Brittany Fong Civil Rights/Social Justice Terique Scott �ST R EE T V IB E S Distributor Program 3 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 BUSTED SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer Tuesday, June 21, 2011 11:22 a.m. Homeless coalition director receives a call letting him know that some men are offering homeless people money in exchange for personal information, including their social security number. 11:24 a.m. Director calls police and walks to Our Daily Bread to check it out, Streetvibes photographer tagging along. They’re told the men left in a gray car with Michigan tags. 12:11 a.m. Tip comes in that the possible scammers are in a alley at Over-the-Rhine Kitchen, so director walks there, sees the men and gray car, and calls police. 12:13 p.m. Police arrive on bicycles, in cars and on motorcycles and begin questioning four men in connection with a possible id theft case that will be turned over to the fraud unit of the Cincinnati Police Department. Potential suspects being questioned by police. Photo: Josh Spring JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TOMMY THOMPSON SINCE 2/2009 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 Tuesday morning, scam suspects were buying identities from vulnerable people. An hour later, the four suspects were answering questions and watching their rental car get towed down an alley. Speedy team work by a social service worker, police, some observant individuals and the executive director of the homeless coalition resulted in the beginning of a fraud investigation into a bogus charity and the men who were caught offering vulnerable people a small fee in exchange for personal information, including their social security numbers. Police questioned four men, two with local addresses and two with Michigan identifications, in an alley near Over-The-Rhine Kitchen within an hour of getting a report of suspicious activity going on with the men and their questionable charity, Heavenly Hope, of 150 West 5th Street. The men were seen lingering Tuesday morning outside Our Daily Bread and talking with some of the homeless people who hang out there for meals and activities. They offered bottled water, fruit and $5.00 donations to anyone willing to turn over their name, age, address and social security number to the supposed charity. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless pleads with you to never give your personal information away for money. Your identity is far too important to your future. If you were a victim of such a scam, please call the Cincinnati Police at 513-765-1212. You should also take the following steps: •Contact Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 also www. ssa.gov- also check your Social Security records •Contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT or www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/ idtheft •Contact the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-9084490 or www.irs.gov/privacy/article/o...id=186436.00. html •File an online complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov •Pay attention to your credit reports If you would like assistance in completing any of these tasks, please come to the Coalition office (117 E. 12th) on Wednesday, June 29th between the hours of 1pm and 4pm or Wednesday July 6th between the hours of 1pm and 4pm. Ask for Riccardo Taylor. � 4 Local News ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Clemency Granted Continued from page 1 someone who has experienced sudden and tragic loss, I know the pain that comes with losing loved ones. My prayers go out to the families of Diamond Marteen and Terrance Richard in the hope that they may find peace.” Hawkins was indicted for the aggravated murders of Richard and Marteen in 1989, tried before a jury and sentenced to death. He’s been behind bars for nearly 22 years. Hawkin’s life was spared, but had the execution gone on as planned, Gerdeman and other antideath penalty advocates would have been outside the facility, holding a prayer vigil. “We pray for the warden, the execution team, the governor, the legislature, the community members and both families,” she said. If the state proceeds with every schedule execution this year, Ohio will land second in number of people killed, with only Texas having more. Thirty-four US states have death penalties and 16 do not. Illinois repealed its death sentence a few months ago, and New Mexico did the same in 2009. Here is Ohio’s execution schedule as it stands right now, but the dates are subject to legal developments. Clemency proceedings are automatic for inmates on death row, according to information from the governor’s office. The Supreme Court of Ohio schedules executions after the state of Ohio moves to set a date. •Kenneth Wayne Smith - Clemency hearing date is June 23, and the scheduled execution date is July 19. •Brett Xavier Hartman – Clemency hearing date is July 12, and the scheduled execution is August 16. •Billy Slagle – Clemency hearing is August 24, and the scheduled execution is September 20. •Joseph Murphy – Clemency hearing is September 15, and the scheduled execution date is October 18. •Reginald Brooks – Clemency hearing date is to be arranged, and the schedule execution date is November 15. Inmates that have been executed since Governor Kasich took office include Frank Spisak, Johnnie Baston, Clarence Carter and Daniel Bedford. Each time an execution takes place, Sister Alice and other antideath penalty advocates hold prayer vigil time outside the prison in Lucas- Judy & Charles Hogan hold a picture of their son Shawn Hawkins. Photo: Jim Luken ville where executions take place. ““The system itself is totally broken,” Gerdeman said, adding that having a death penalty sentence means society is acting out of lowest rather than highest instincts. When asked if she has some words of advice for the governor, she’d tell him to support legislation that abolishes death sentences. Alternatives to death, according to Gerdeman, include life in prison with parole or life sentences without parole for those individuals who would pose dangers if allowed to return to society. Hawkins status right now is life in prison without the possibility of parole. But he maintains his innocence. His parents Chuck and Judy Hogan said steps are underway to file appeals so that he can be retried and eventually set free to return home. They believe he’s innocent too. So does Gerdeman. susanlakes@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 12 THE DETAILS: To Find Out More Information about anti-death penalty groups, contact -Ohioans to stop executions – otse.org@gmail.com, or call (614) 560-0654 -Equal Justice USA – www.ejusa.org -Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation – www.mvfr.org -Nation Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty – www.ncadp.org -Families that Matter – www.ijpc-cincinnati.org SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer J udy Hogan waited by the phone for two days, but the call never came. Finally, on day three, a Wednesday just a week before her son was scheduled to die, the phone rang with the news that her secondborn’s life had been spared. “Thank you Jesus,” Hogan recalls saying as she wrapped up in a big comforter. “Saving a life has sunk in, and now I just want to get him home” Shawn Hawkins, 42, a man locked up and sentenced to death for crimes he maintains he did not commit, was the first death row inmate to be granted clemency by Ohio Governor John Kasich. Hawkins was moved from death row into the general prison population just days after the governor announced the decision to commute the sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hawkin’s mother and father, Charles Hogan, along with friends, extended family and anti-death penalty advocates, including members of the local group, Families That Matter, worked years gathering signatures, writing letters and giving talks in support of Shawn. Many are relieved to see that a life was spared, but some, including the Hogan’s, want more. “Saving a life has sunk in, and now I just want to get him home,” said Charles Hogan. “It’s a step at a time with the appeal to get a new trial.” “He’s relieved he’s going to live, but it’s different now,” said his longtime friend, Ivette Abelman. “It’s culture shock for Shawn. (He’s) been sort of on an island for 22 years, then (he) goes to a place that’s overcrowded.” Abelman began corresponding with Hawkins from her home in The Netherlands about fifteen years ago. She took a month off work to spend time with Hawkin’s parents to support them during the recent clemency hearings and outcome. People are not sentenced to death where Abelman lives, and she has difficulty understanding the reasoning behind executions. “It’s barbaric,” she said. When she heard her friend would live, not die, she took a big, deep breath. Abel can’t imagine what it would be like to face death like Hawkins did. “When you’re sick and have pain, you can prepare,” she said. “But you can’t do that when you are healthy.” Both Judy and Charles Hawkins are grateful the governor sided with the unanimous decision of the parole board to let their son live, but they’re not stopping with seeing him spend his life idle and locked away. They will continue the fight to have Hawkins freed by taking steps for appeals. Throughout the two decades of wondering whether the next opportunity to hug her son would be as he stood or lay dead in a casket was difficult, Hawkin’s parents agreed. Judy, who Shawn has always called “Mama,” said it was her son who gave her strength to carry on. He never complained, she said, and spent the decades behind bars bettering himself through coursework and activities. She recalls him telling her to never give up, forgive people and pray for them and above all, never give up your faith in God. “He meant it,” said Judy Hawkins. Talking with Shawn made it okay.” He’d tell her that everybody had to meet their maker, and when he meets his, he wants the sun to be shining.” �Local News ST R EE T V IB E S 5 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Affordable Housing Going Green? J.P. DEAN Staff Intern Writer J ust northwest of downtown Cincinnati sits 28 square miles of rolling green hills. It’s a suburb with 38% of its land classified as forested and 11% is farmland. There’s a lot of green in Green Township and soon there’s going to be more affordable housing there too thanks to a recent arbitration from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD’s recommendation came as the verdict on a dispute between Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and Hamilton County that began over a year and a half ago. In October 2009 accusations were filed against CMHA claiming that it was allowing Green Township to avoid adding any new public housing. The results of HUD’s investigation were released in February of this year and earlier this month CMHA voted 3-2 to accept a Voluntary Compliance Agreement with HUD’s decision. The plans are in motion to build public housing in the township. Of the 22,000 plus units that house the population of Green Township only 28 of them are currently public housing. This 0.01% puts the township far below the already low 4% average for Hamilton County. The discrepancy has been largely attributed to a certain conflict of interest, former CMHA board chairman Arnold Barnett is also a resident of Green Township. For several years Barnett managed to sidestep public housing in his “backyard” but now CMHA will comply with HUD’s recommendation and add the missing housing units that could have been there years before. Unfortunately this decision is being met with resistance by some residents. Recent newspaper articles have sensationalized fears of rising crime and falling house prices that come with the usual rhetoric against affordable housing, but the most drastic rebuttal to CMHA’s decision is a case of “cutting one’s nose to spite your face .” David Linnenberg, vice chairman of Green Township’s Board of Trustees, is threatening to withdraw the township from grant programs associated with HUD to avoid having to add more affordable housing in the future. Linnenberg and his associates would rather forego millions of dollars for roads, parks and other improvements than embrace this opportunity to improve the lives of several low income families. The board will vote on the issue later this month, but the facts seem to be getting muddled in the panic that some are creating. There is some confusion over the numbers. HUD has requested a minimum of 32 new units but some reports say 68 new units while other say that it will be a new total of 68 once the new units are built. Depending on what source you are reading the numbers either look modest or are made to seem high. According to Jessica Powell of the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio half of the confirmed 32 units will be subsidized housing which brings the number of public housing units down even further. But even if 68 new units were constructed this would still leave Green Township considerably below the county average for helping struggling families find affordable housing. Despite the fear mongering that seems to be surrounding the CMHA’s choice to build the housing units there are many in Green Township who recognize the positive potential of this move. When interviewed, former Green Township Sign. Photo: Lynne Ausman CMHA board member Lacretia Johnson has defended the benefits of affordable housing in the area. Johnson and her family curTHE DETAILS: rently live in one of the 28 public housing The next Board of Trustees meeting units to be found in Green Township and will be held on Monday, June 27 at 6303 therefore have witnessed firsthand the Harrison Avenue in Green Township. If benefits that scattered housing in financial secure neighborhoods can provide for you want to attend, the public forum is families seeking to better their lives. held between 5 p.m. and 5:25 p.m. and Legal Aid and others have congratupotential speakers are required to fill out lated CMHA and hope that the people of a speaker card if you wish to address the Green Township will see the good in this board. opportunity. journalism@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Chanting for Jobs, Not Jails MARK GRAUHUIS & SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writers R on Brown, 52, wants a J-O-B, He believes so strongly that job creation and opportunities for everyone is what it will take to curb crime that he showed up for a rally long before others show up. “People won’t have time to steal when they’re working and making an honest living,” he said as he straddled his bike on the corner of a protest site. Brown pedaled eight miles and arrived at the “Jobs Not Jails” protest three hours early, long before about 50 likeminded protesters carried signs, shouted chants and listened to some organizers tell why job growth holds the key to safe and vibrant communities. “It’s hard enough to get a job when you haven’t done something wrong,” Brown said. The focus of the short protest on June 16, near where the new $400 million Horseshoe Casino is being built downtown Cincinnati, was employment equity for all---including people with felony records. Young leaders of the AMOS Project descended early on the site, declaring the casino a crime scene and marking it so with police-style “caution” tape. “The casino is a crime scene, tax-payers and returning citizens are the victims, and the Photo: Aimie Willhoite perpetrator is the state of Ohio,” said Richard Cook, AMOS Project leader and member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. “It’s a crime that people can’t work in the casino if they have criminal records. It’s another example of legal restrictions that keep ex-felons from providing for their families.” One of the protesters, Annie Campbell, held up a big sign that read, “Ex-felons, Know Your Rights.” Campbell a member of SEIU explained the dilemma faced by felons succinctly. “Some people still can’t get jobs, even years after they’ve done their time or had their record expunged.” Jobs Not Jail Rally. Photo: Aimie Willhoite Another protester gave his irrelevant criminal records. take on why the issue of jobs, not The booming voices started back up jail is important. “Jail time means they paid when Jackson finished. Passing motora debt (to society), but we still treat them as though they’re not part of society by de- ists were told “A working community is a nying them jobs,” said Robert Richardson. safe community” and participants wore t-shirts reading “I Need A Job” or asking The sign he waved said, “Jobs needed for an end to the Drug War. The demand badly.” for “Jobs and Justice” were paired in Job seeker, Jamie Ward knows what spirited fashion with “Faith and Democratic it feels like to need a job badly. He’s a Power”, as well as the popular chant: cook, concrete pourer, skilled in carpentry “John Kasich, you’re the worst. It’s time to and carrier of an OSHA safety certificate. put Ohio first.” Employers still don’t hire him, he said, Kasich, who has proposed privatizing because his record shows felony, but no at least five state prisons, promised during penitentiary number. Ward served jail time, but not prison time, he said. Potential his State of the State address to support giving job opportunities to ex-felons employers tell him that lack of a prison number makes a difference, but they don’t while allowing lower-risk felons back on tell him why that is. Ward has been looking the street earlier. In January of this year, Kasich chose Gary C. Mohr, who used to for a job for four years. work at a company that operates private The chanting quieted when Troy prisons, to run the Ohio Department of Jackson, of University Christian Church Rehabilitation and Correction. Just last and AMOS Project Director, took the mike month, ACLU of Ohio Executive Director and spoke of the “transformation” and “redemption” ordinary citizens create when Christine Link said privatizing prisons is helping to turn lives around to participate in seen as a quick remedy for states looking to alleviate budget concerns, but they are these jobs. “One mistake---a life senoften more costly to the state in the long tence,” he said, summing up the difficulrun. By condemning rehabilitated people ties felon face in the job search process. to unemployment and under-employment, Ohio must address over 900 collateral no-felon hiring policies will only end up sanctions, which are legal restrictions that increasing the burden on the city’s own ban employment in various sectors or overloaded criminal justice and public make getting a job extremely difficult for welfare systems. Ohio’s estimated two million individuals In addition, Kasich’s indecisiveness is with misdemeanor or felony convictions. It causing billions in new investment in Ohio is significant that the protesters were not asking for guaranteed jobs. They just want to be delayed – along with the relativelyhigh paying construction and casino jobs fair consideration for people with old and it would create. (No doubt Kasich’s long time friends from his Lehman Brothers days Doug Preisse and Robert Klaffky now working as lobbyists for the Belterra Indiana casinos and employed by Belterra owner Pinnacle Entertainment, are overjoyed at news of the ongoing delays.) While Ron Brown braves the elements and heavy traffic on his bicycle in search of a job, Kasich’s current casino commissioners are paid $60K/year to attend one meeting a month. THE DETAILS: For more information about the Amos Project, contact Richard Cook at (513) 628 – 7004 or Info.amosproject@gmail. com. If you have a criminal record and seek advice regarding employment visit: http://lasclev.org/wp-content/ uploads/2011/05/Understanding-andSealing-Criminal-Records-in-Ohio.pdf You can read more about Fair Hiring policy rules at www.ohiojpc.org. The Ohio Justice and Policy Center published a documentary about a client, Gene Mays, profiled in Nov. 1, 2009, of Streetvibes, and his struggles to find employment. Watch the film online at: http://vimeo.com/6055716 �6 ST R EET VIBES Local News J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Northside Seeks Justice Continued from page 1 F or friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers of David “Bones” Hebert, the events of April 18th and the weeks that have followed have been heart wrenching and baffling. Bones, a skinny tattooed drummer in an endless stream of Cincinnati punk and rock bands over the past 20 years, was known for his easy smile and good-natured mischief making. The life of any party, he made friends easily and kept them for life. He loved animals, especially his dog Shady, his constant companion to the end. He had no violent criminal record, no history of theft, assault, or resisting arrest, was never diagnosed or known to suffer from mental illness. He was a man trusted to babysit the children of his friends. We know that Hebert is one more person who has been injured or killed by members of the Cincinnati Police Department. We know that Cincinnati’s history of police brutality and excessive force is not unique and that this problem affects communities throughout the United States. We know that nothing we do will change the fact that Hebert is dead, and the finality of Sgt. Mitchell’s actions—whether found justified or not—can never be undone. But we also know that if it happened to Hebert, it could happen to any one of us. The outpouring of grief and demands for answers from the community, the jazz funeral procession of more than 400 people that marched through Northside [on Sunday afternoon, May 1st], the graffiti mural painted in memoriam on a wall near the corner of Knowlton and Hamilton Avenue, these must have taken the police by surprise. But what would have happened if Hebert had been an isolated and rootless man? Would anyone have noticed, much less questioned, how and why he was killed? David “Bones” Hebert. Photo submitted: courtesy of Rigel Behrens call, Hebert was pronounced dead at the scene. None of the officers were injured. Following the shooting, they were put on paid administrative leave as investigations were conducted by the Cincinnati Police Criminal Investigation Section, Internal Affairs, and the Citizen Complaint Authority. This is the 23rd time a suspect has been killed by a Cincinnati officer during a confrontation since 1995. Hebert, who was originally from New Orleans, had just moved back to Cincinnati in November. He worked for several years in the kitchen at The Comet in Northside and recently at NorthSlice Pizza. He initially came to Cincinnati decades ago as part of a Christian youth outreach group called Jesus People USA, and over the years he had covered his body in tattoos, many of which were a testament to his faith in Christ. Cincinnati Police District 5 Commander David Bailey and Sgt. Jason Voelkerding came to the Northside Community Council’s monthly meeting at McKie Recreation Center the night after mourners gathered to remember Bones. The plan was to share information about the community’s recent crime statistics but the officers had to face questions from a group of about 100 residents about the lethal police shooting. Many say there is good reason to believe that the death could have been avoided. Statements released by police and city officials have left many unanswered questions in the community. Many wonder why Hebert wasn’t searched before questioning and why one of the many non-lethal weapons CPD officers carried could have been used, such as a baton or stun gun. All four officers that responded said there was not enough time to use a nonlethal weapon. However, only Mitchell had his weapon drawn. Mitchell responded as back up to the scene and had only been on scene for about one minute before he fatally shot Hebert. Cruiser video released by the Cincinnati Police Department shows that Hebert, who has no previous history of violence, was still holding the leash of his beloved dog, Shady, when he was killed. The initial responding officer’s cruiser camera was not activated during the incident and the released video does not show Hebert, only a view of the officer. Some witnesses claim that Hebert wasn’t even standing when he was shot. Officers at the scene reported that Hebert initially denied having a weapon. Others wonder if an effort was made to save his life after he was shot and why his body laid uncovered and in full view for more than three hours. Mitchell has been investigated for use of force before. In 2006, Mitchell fired two shots at 22-year-old Antonio Harris, a burglary suspect in Westwood, after Harris raised a BB gun toward the officer. Mitchell was exonerated by the Citizen’s Complaint Authority. Investigations were done twice in January 2008 on Mitchell, first when a 14-year-old died after ingesting drugs while in Mitchell’s custody and then when he used a stun gun on a high Sincerely, Friends of David “Bones” Hebert who has known Hebert for 15 years. “The press conference – I’m glad they gave us some sort of information – but that’s not enough … We want everything.” The evidence on the scene raises many questions because the switchblade that police claim Hebert used was found in a row of hedges below a broken window. Police theorize the force of the shot caused the weapon to break the window and land there, but many residents say that is unlikely. The man who called 911 and solicited the search for Hebert, 37-year-old Jason Weller, laughs in his emergency call and gave dispatchers and investigators different versions of his story. He claims he was cut Mark Mallory. “It was close quarters for very rapid action on the part of this subject,” Janke said in defense of Mitchell’s use of deadly force, despite there being several investigations launched into the shooting. At the chief’s discretion, Mitchell went back to work after one week of administrative leave. Despite the fact that the outcomes of four investigations are still pending, he is currently supervising and patrolling in Northside. No efforts were made to inform the community of that decision. Northsiders have remained strong though the tragedy, using creative street stencils, posters, and music to celebrate the life of Bones. They have Jazz funeral procession for Bones on Sunday May 1, 2011. Photo submitted: courtesy of Rigel Behrens school student whom he mistook for a robbery suspect. An internal investigation found that, in at least one case: “Mitchell did not follow procedures or training. He did not verify there was a crime, and didn’t get a suspect description.” Despite these investigations, Mitchell was promoted to sergeant. On April 27, 42 people signed up to speak at City Hall about the shooting and many questioned how far the city really has come since the 2001 riots. “The community does not want this to be something that’s on the six o’clock news this evening and then falls off the page,” said Liam Dolan, and robbed by Weller and a female companion. The female companion has not been arrested and none of the items reported stole were found in their possession. Weller disappeared shortly after the shooting. Police may have been able to avoid the shooting if they had responded to an earlier call. About a half an hour before the shooting, 911 received a call of arguing and loud noise coming from the basement apartment of the building that Weller was staying in, but police were not dispatched. Acting Police Chief Richard Janke held a televised press conference on the shooting standing alongside City Manager Milton Dohoney and Mayor stood together to demand answers. Hebert’s body was laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony in New Orleans. His family is still seeking answers and awaiting a determination by the prosecutor’s office on any charges against the officers. THE DETAILS: For more information visit http://www. davidboneshebert.com/. If you have information pertinent to this investigation, please contact the City of Cincinnati Citizens’ Complaint Authority at (513) 352-1600. �ST R EE T V IB E S J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 A little bit of heaven SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer A little bit of heaven. That’s the way Emma Bushman describes the feeling she gets when the ingredients in the oven transform into freshly baked cookies. She likes the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies best. Peanut butter runs a close second. Emma’s twin sister Amy prefers eating snicker doodles and sugar cookies because those on the ones that smell really, really good when they are cooking. Their taste in cookies differs. But there’s two major point on which the entrepreneurial-minded young ladies agree. Cookie baking is fun stuff and easy to do if you have all the necessary ingredients readily on hand, and cookies might not turn out very well if you don’t have all the right stuff. With that in mind, Emma, Amy and their mom, Alison Bushman, founded a charity called Bake Me Home. They make up little kits that organizations can give to families when they move from homelessness into their own places. Alison Bushman described what’s in the kits, right down to the the vanilla powder. “All the families have everything they need,” she said. “They get the mix, the pan, the bowl, the spoon, the pot holder----and they even get toothbrushes and toothpaste to brush after they eat the cookies.” 7 Local News Families get a $20.00 gift card they can use to buy necessary perishables like butter and eggs. So between the kit and the gift cards, the families have the opportunity to experience that “little bit of heaven” scent in their new homes. A television program focused on kids starting businesses inspired the twins to start Bake Me Home. “I thought that (show) was really cool,” Emma said. She thought it was so cool that she posed a question to her mom. “Mom. Can kids really start businesses?” Her mom gave an encouraging answer. “You can do anything you want to do.” So they did, and now Bake Me Home’s rapid growth surprises all three. The charity has helped 550 families, and now stretches to ten agencies across four counties. It’s headquartered in Anderson Township, on the eastside of Cincinnati. The Bushman twins and the business they started three years ago received national attention. Amy and Emma were named recipients of a $5,000 scholarship from the foundation arm of a major corporation. THE DETAILS: Find out more about Bake Me Home from www.bakemehome or email cookiegirls@bakemehome.com. Twin sisters Amy and Emma Bushman founded an award winning not-for-profit company that supplies helping agencies make life easier for people who transition from homelessness to home. Photo submitted: courtesy Alison Bushman City says YES! to City Gospel Mission’s New Site MARK GRAUHUIS Staff Intern Writer City Gospel Mission (CGM), a fixture at Elm and Magnolia streets for 50 years, is going to relocate. On Tuesday, June 21st, with a recommendation in favour of CGM coming from the Planning Commission the Friday prior, City Hall hosted a meeting to hear the pros and cons of the proposed new site in the Queensgate area in the West End, on the corner of York St. and Dalton Av. As the presentations and moving testimony affirmed, CGM is a place where people learn to become good citizens and to give back to communities. Here the Livable Communities Committee of Council heard from those whose lives have been changed through and through by this crucial and well-respected social service — and those who walked through the doors in a suffering state and have chosen to devote the rest of their working lives to helping others in similar situations. In this struggle, as one witness suggested, CGM represents the best in all of us. CGM, which opened in 1924 on Vine Street, provides 36,000 nights of shelter annually, runs addiction recovery programs for men (Exodus) and women (Having the Courage to Change), and offers tutoring and mentoring services. The non-profit, which does not accept government or United Way funding, is supported both financially and with volunteers from dozens of suburban churches, including Northminster Presbyterian in Springfield Township. The Mission currently has 46 men’s beds in Over-the-Rhine. Its women’s program offers 46 beds at four locations in Mount Auburn. CGM serves breakfast and dinner every day of the year in Over-the-Rhine. The new site will provide 76 emergency beds for men, and 30 beds for Exodus. Opposition to the building project was represented by a few concerned small business owners and their lawyers. Most of the businesses in question are industrial supply and/or warehouses, with remarkably few tenants but fairly heavy traffic. Claiming that they “like the neighborhood the way it is now,” the opposition argued, through an attorney, that the traffic would put those attending CGM and the children of their employees at risk. (Why those who lack affordable housing or have parents in the manufacturing industry lack the skills necessary to be cautious pedestrians was not explained.) The building at 1805 Dalton is a former office building for a heating/ air conditioning company that has been vacant for 10 years. The York Street parcel is the former home of a school for disabled children run by a social service agency and has been empty for six years. The developers have promised to preserve whatever they can of any materials of historic value on the site. The opposition pointed out that zoning laws for the manufacturing district prevent “religious assembly” and religious edu- cation and that these religious aspects justify barring CGM from relocating in their backyard. While CGM, to the great credit of its present leadership, is no longer a “pray to stay” shelter, it certainly works to change people’s lives on a strong basis of faith. The new site will include Exodus Lord’s Gym and Lord’s Pantry as well as an impressive new shelter that can offer day services and programming. Currently, CGM has to turn people away once it reaches its currently low maximum capacity and during the day when it cannot offer consistent programming. Despite the opposition’s claim to the contrary, finding a new location has been a slow and methodical process, having taken the better part of 8 years to make a sound selection. The Lord’s facilities, the new CGM office and transitional housing are well within existing zoning laws, although the city solicitor has been asked to slightly amend the notwithstanding ordinance to suit the lessons learned during this process. As the meeting proceeded and some sat uncomfortably together in their seats, certain prejudices and tired misconceptions resurfaced, including the idea that Over the Rhine is the exclusive and permanent territory for a criminal class who refuse to live like the ‘rest of us’. (Simply false: City Gospel Mission and other shelters and housing organisations usually help people to find housing within 60 days, and resources such as housing vouchers and available work continue to end homelessness for among the larger ‘homeless’ population outside of the Over-the-Rhine community.) In addition, a resulting “rise in crime” was made to sound inevitable. One private resident of Westwood delivered a slightly bizarre testimony that included the suggestions that “the homeless” choose not to work and CGM’s plan is an example of “maiming the strong”. As speakers with experience in the issues reminded those in attendance, securing employment is not the only issue here. CGM’s holistic approach addresses bodies and minds that are often plagued with misfortunes; it helps people to exit homelessness and have sustainable living conditions. There is little doubt that these people will be better helped by being allowed to stay in the shelter during the day — when additional health care, addiction and job readiness services will be available. “We want to get people to an employable state,” City Gospel Mission’s Roger Howell said. “What better economic development is there than that?” While they continued to speak of some mythical generic entity called “the homeless,” conflated with criminal elements in society, it became rather plain that much needs to be done to address and mend the great disconnect and divisions that exists between Greater Cincinnati’s communities. Much understanding could be achieved by simply visiting and viewing the daily operations and good works of CGM, and one hopes that the concerned small business owners will make some concerted attempt to know their new neighbours. CGM assured the Committee that it remains dedicated to preventing loitering — as are most folks who work with those denied affordable housing — since it does not lead to the life-changing transformation that the Mission fosters. For this purpose, three locations inside the proposed site have been set aside for people to sit or stand and socialise, and the landscaping features include pedestrian walkways, increased accessibility (vans, and taxi and bus tokens will actually improve upon the existing location’s accessibility issues), and at least 70 parking spaces on-site. The move will require CGM to provide shuttle bus service for its clients and residents back to other services Downtown and in Overthe-Rhine. The opposition repeated the fear that “women and children” and a “hardworking” “business alliance” cannot — should not — be around those without affordable housing. A small group of business owners in the Queensgate area threatened that “jobs and the tax-base” will take flight and businesses will move. In response, CGM stated clearly that they would never put tenants’ lives in danger. Council firmly assured all those assembled that, should the businesses stay true to their barely veiled threat and relocate elsewhere within the city limits, they will do everything in their power to help with the moving arrangements. Members of the Job Plus network, providing their own examples of how employers can successfully use local labor, challenged the small business owners’ notion that business would be hurt. Among those who spoke in support of the new site was Liza Smitherman, who sits on the board of CGM and is no stranger to running a small business as president of Brewster Pumping, LLC and as VP of Professional Development at Jostin Construction, Inc. Expert witnesses testified that relocating CGM will not negatively effect property values. The move is expressly not based on political whims or “moving the problem” elsewhere, but as a means to provide better services all around, as detailed in the carefully though-out vision developed by CGM for the site. The opposition went further and suggested that the city is betraying the promise of a “safe and attractive” industrial park and making “mom and pop businesses” the victims of rushed, hazardous and unsafe planning as well as violating the vision of the Growth and Opportunities (GO) economic development plan. However, the Committee assured the opposition that there is little to fear from those associated with CGM or the homeless population in general, provided that the people of Cincinnati actively participate in social services and recovery programs in order to meet the needs of those most in need. With most of the opposition having already walked out, Council concluded by expressing the will to find an amicable arrangement between both parties. Council member Wayne Lippert, who was the only member to vote No, repeated the abstract mantra of “safety” — a strategy that lacked any specific details as to why those without affordable housing should pose any threat to the security of workers in a manufacturing district. Lippert also expressed, without intended irony, his preference for the site of an old jail. By a bizarre turn in their logic, the few small business owners argued that, by “teaming up” with Cincinnati Center City Development (3CDC), CGM is allied with forces bent on destroying neighborhood and manufacturing districts across Cincinnati. The fact is that it is regrettable that 3CDC will now own the crucial location of the former Mission just a stone’s throw from Washington Park. However, while this reporter is under no delusions regarding 3CDC’s explicit profit-driven motives, there is no doubt that CGM is moving because they desire to empathetically serve more people and to create greater amounts of successful and sustainable outcomes for the community. It seems unlikely that this particular relocation will kick-start the drain of social-service agencies and poor residents from Over-the-Rhine and Downtown, although the danger remains, making the Drop Inn Center’s current location and services all the more important to sustain. CGM should be commended for having taken all the necessary measures to ensure that the site benefits the local business community as well as addressing existing problems with the current location of the Mission. They continue to provide an exemplary model for how other social services might work with the city in dealing with the direct causes of economic and social hardship. Particularly impressive is their willingness to negotiate an amicable and open agreement with Museum Center/ Union Terminal (this is important in light of the fact that opponents of CityLink have spread lies about “sexual predators” being welcomed into the West End — utter nonsense, since “sexual offenders” are not permitted to live in CGM shelters). Museum Center has said that security and transport remain issues, and received assurance from CGM that the new services are not simply being “dropped” into Queensgate without regard for how to improve the neighborhood. Indeed, the Committee expressed an understanding that this is a magnificent opportunity to take a bold step forward and learn from past mistakes, as well as to support programming that will directly improve Cincinnati communities. Wednesday, June 22nd with a seven of nine vote (Ghiz and Lippert voting no), Council passed the needed Not Withstanding Ordinance in favour of CGM. publicrelations@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 �Recipe 8 ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 ... MOUR T LONG! S Y E S E H IN FEED M LL NIG JENI JENK A E M Y B FEED The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! ALMOND, STRAWBERRY, FETA & SPINACH SALAD Fresh Summer S During the summer as the heat rises I find it difficult to eat a heavy dinner, so the perfect solution is something fresh from your garden or a local farmer’s market. I personally love salads and in particular I love the ability to mix it up a bit each time using a variety of ingredients. Here is the first from my fresh summer salad series I hope you enjoy! Serving size, 4-5 bellies. ala d ! Ingredients: 1 bunch spinach, rinsed with stems removed, and chopped in bite size pieces LOREM Praesent molestie loremsize Etiam ac libero 2 cups leafy romaine lettuce rinsed and chopped in bite pieces 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced IPSUM Sed turpis 1 cup sliced almonds ¼ cup balsamic vinegar ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon chopped garlic ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper ¼ cup Feta Cheese • • • • • • In a large bowl toss the spinach and romaine together Layer the sliced strawberries and almonds In a separate small bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper Drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad Top with feta Voila, FEED! OFFICIAL distributor Tommy Thompson Only Purchase STREETVIBES from BADGED Distributors �Community Happenings ST R EE T V IB E S 9 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Join us OTR residents and/or business owners. . . for a picnic in the park Due to the closing of the restrooms in Washington Park, residents and visitors are now without those necessary facilities. The outcome has resulted in an upsurge in public indecency by using doorways and alleyways for toilet facilities. Everyone uses the toilet. Everyone deserves to have those facilities available. We as a community need to come together to create a solution. We encourage you to attend this fun-filled public picnic event to promote awareness and community problem solving. Be the PU B LICPICN IC JU N E 26TH @1PM Z IEto: GLE RPARK first This is a family event FREE food and beverages Live entertainment and performances (Including a reading of Taro Gomi’s book “Everyone Poops”). We hope you will attend! SATURDAY Saturday, AUGUST Aug.13TH 13 Registration 8:30AM8:30 Registration 9:30 Walk begins 9:30AM11:30 Walk Reception begins 11:30AM Reception AM AM AM For more info visit: www.lys.org Lighthouse Youth Services provides a continuum of services for homeless youth, including Anthony House, a drop-in center for homeless youth between the ages 18 to 24. Visiting youth can eat a warm meal, visit the nurse, take a shower, and collect clothing and other vital supplies. Our drop-in center was visited almost 4,000 times in the past year. The young people served by the program often walk miles just to eat a warm meal or visit their case managers, regardless of the weather. Proceeds from Walk the Walk will provide the basic supplies – sturdy walking shoes, new socks, bus tokens, etc. – that make this daily trek possible. Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com Lighthouse on Highland is under construction to become the first homeless shelter for 18 – 24 year olds. It will include the current drop-in center and expand to allow up to 28 individuals to stay overnight. Participants of Walk the Walk will be among the first to preview the facility, scheduled to open this fall. To celebrate Streetvibes publishing its 200th edition (we are offering special advertising rates for Summer 2011. Ads can be purchased for as little as $35. Make sure Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky know your business or organization supports those overcoming homelessness in your backyard! For more informartion, contact Catie Dargue at catiedargue@cincihomeless.org or 513-421-7803, ext. 11 �10 Graphic Voice ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Mark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest DAN MOORE Author & Illustrator ark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest is a soon to be released graphic novel about United States’ first urban uprising in the 21st century. The story is told in a series of first-person perspectives from people who became intimately involved, from community leaders to random bystanders. Tying these narratives together is commentary by the author himself, then a budding radical teenager who finds the urban unrest influencing his life. Drawing on interviews and primary resources, a picture is painted of how one kid’s solitary death in a ghetto alley grows to impact every resident of the region. Mark Twain Was Right follows the sometimes contradictory and hard-to-comprehend developments from the day of the killing to Thomas’s funeral six days later, including the marches, posturing, organizing, brutality, looting, prayer, curfews and analysis that commanded international attention, inspiring ghetto residents and tormenting city leaders. M One reason why the week after Timothy Thomas’s death caught so much attention throughout the country was because of the property destruction and violence that occurred. Many people were divided between those who saw the violence either as an extension of the social frustration or as opportunistic. Regardless of the motives of those who participated, there is no doubt that violence and property destruction played a large role in forcing many people who were indifferent to the frustrations of the black community to pay attention. The following excerpt from Mark Twain was Right highlights the debate that raged about the role of property destruction and violence as a protest tactic. THE DETAILS: For more information about the complete graphic novel Mark Twain Was Right, email cincinnatiriotsbook@gmail. com for information and updates about the release of the completed novel. �ST R EE T V IB E S Graphic Voice 11 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 41 Shots SETH TOBOCMON Author & Illustrator Cleveland, Ohio native Seth Tobocman is an artist and graphic novelist working out of New York City where he is actively involved in his community. Tobocman teaches at the New York School of Visual Arts. His Books include: War in the Neighborhood; You Don’t Have to Fuck People Over to Survive; World War 3 Illustrated 1980-1988; Disaster and Resistance; Portraits of Israelis and Palestinians; Three Cities Against the Wall World War 3 Illustrated: Confrontational Comics. He is the founding editor of World War 3 Illustrated. His magazine publications include: Heavy Metal, The Village Voice, Tikkun, Maximum Rock n’ Roll, The New York Times, Internazionale and The Nation. On February 4, 1999 Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old Guinean immigrant, was shot and killed by four plain clothed New York City police officers. The shooting of Diallo, who was unarmed, in a barrage of 41 bullets outside his apartment in the Soundview section of the Bronx led to mass demonstrations against the police, including huge rallies outside police headquarters in which celebrities and well-known New Yorkers were among more than 1,000 people arrested. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani reacted with a vigorous defense of the police force. All four officers were later acquitted at trial in Albany, New York. Summary by J.P. Dean. THE DETAILS: For more information about Seth Tobocmon’s work, including his newly released book UNDERSTANDING THE CRASH,visit www.sethtobocman.com. �12 Street Voice A Day in the Life O verwhelmed, I address the street is open to interpretation. For day! Ah! Sounds like a line as many individuals who live the from a distressed position. lifestyle there are that many interWell, let’s say that, that is pretations. subject to interpretation. A single Street life is in and day can of itself a stressful and make the unpredictable way of difference living, without rewards between or guarantees it is the success and reality of many people. failure in The order of the day is the struggle one of disarray, yet it for survival; has it’s structure, the therefore, RICCARDO TAYLOR flow is not routine, yet, one has to Staff Writer desires are filled and be mindful missions accomplished! Sounds disof where they want to be and where torted I suppose? Well, the certainty they are headed. And last but not of distortion is the starting point of least, where do we want to be tomoreach and everyday in the life. So, row. let’s take a look at a day in the life. A day in the life starts out As the sunrises so shall I! Up typically. A thousand and one ideas and moving before the birds start running through your mind trying to their ritual morning call I am lookdetermine what is the best option for ing for a line to stand in, to receive a little relief? Now we have the necone of the services I’ll surely need essaries that we have to prioritize, a before the day ends. Everything few dollars in my pockets, a shower, from a shower to a meal has to be or a meal, in what order are they concluded before I can call this day needed? Well, let’s see. The few a success, so I take on that old so dollars can take me much farther, so familiar shuffle, hurrying to be first in I need to go to work. Again we do the line. Hesitations, or procrastinahave some options, but I think that tions result in setbacks; your survival money is always the top priority, so and welfare depend on being timely. by the end of the day I have a plan! So, one would think that in being I need to work today, so upon homeless, or a street person as I awakening at the chirping of the prefer, that life has to be easy! Well, birds, I am off to the labor hall. It’s of course we have the usual pains first come first served; if you will, so and pleasures, the ups and downs I standing in line at a quarter to five. like every other group, yet there is After I am signed in I can take that much more to it than just having a bathroom break to freshen up. Toutplace to rest your head or a bowl to ing my shoulder bag, which contains eat from. It’s about surviving! Ah! all my worldly possessions and is Again that idea of interpretation apart of my dress, I can prepare for comes into play, we have to underthe day. A quick washing of hands stand from whose point of view are and face allows me to be presentlooking. Having that understanding able on the job. I have a sense of of what makes for success in the appreciation; getting this opportunity to get in a days work, will allow me to access the few things I need for comfort and give me a start tomorrow. So I spend the day laboring for minimum wage! Well, it’s like I always say, if you don’t work you don’t eat! By the end of the workday I am tired and hungry! It was at the break of dawn that I started this day and now it’s after six in the evening; a productive one in the sense that I did get to make a few dollars, ah A few dollars indeed! Generally by this time all I can think of is a bit to eat and somewhere to lay my head. A few dollars indeed! After all the taxation and rental fees for equipment I have a total of twenty -eight dollars Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH and extremely tired feet! I have to be both frugal and mindful with this payment, as I don’t riccardotaylor@cincihomeless.org know when I’ll have the chance, or (513) 421-7803 Ex. 15 opportunity to spend a whole day at work again. I just have to keep with the flow, and do as needed when I can. All told I can say that today was a success, although it didn’t change E. HAYDEN much in my life circumstance, how Contributing Writer ever I can feel pretty good when I lay down with these few dollars knowwas in Ralph’s courting I have a start for tomorrow. Ah, room waiting my turn, tomorrow! Another day in the life! you know? That is what Yeah, well we will just have to wait and see what tomorrow truly us felonies do, well and pray brings. One thing is for sure it will that he is in a good mood; I was be totally different from today. Same thinking that he looks too bored destinies, options and results; life’s to be a judge. Why is he here? expectations, we shall do it again I bet he would like to say to half just using another way for getting of them that are trying to explain there. Praying Mom I Distributing Hope & Good News LEE MCCOY Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor But today let’s talk about a different Lee McCoy. I’m still a distributor on the streets, but now I sell Streetvibes and deliver some hope and good news, not only to my customers, but also to myself. For a little over two years I have had a Lee McCoy. Photo: Paul Davis Photography purpose in my life and two y name is Lee McCoy. What big plusses. Firstly, I like meeting I used to be would shock people and talking to people. Secmost people; I should have ondly, Streetvibes is a supplement been dead quite a few times over to fix an income, so do the math and during the 41 years when all I knew you’ll see it make Lee McCoy tick. was jail, getting high, selling drugs I am also a member of the and running drugs by trick or trade. Homeless Congress and interact That was the way of life for me back with different organizations. My peer then, but now I am 59 years young project is the Cold Shelter where I sit thanks to the Lord. M ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 on the board and work with the financial planning. I am still new to this, almost like a baby to it, but I’ve never been a quitter, so despite challenges I’m going to stick with it. Like a child learning something for the first time I take my steps one at a time and I get better at what needs to be done. I have been homeless too many times to list them all. I might not have everything I want but now I have a roof over my head; all my praises go to God and I am content. Last year I took photos for the 2011 Day-by-Day calendar project and now I am taking new ones for the 2012 calendar. I hope that you’ll love my picture for the 2012 one as much, or if not more, than the one that appears in this year’s calendar. I also write and contribute regular articles to Streetvibes. Ten have been published so far to my credit and I have one editorial. The inspiration for my writing has come from my faith in God, so if He is willing I shall write some more. Coming to a paper near you soon will be my twelfth piece, look out for it in a couple of weeks. But for now, “That’s all Folks!” what happen, just shut up and go to jail. This lady was sitting in front of me; she had a book on her lap that read Law and The Courtroom on the front of it. I said to myself, ‘cause that’s what bi-polar people do, we talk to ourselves, the ones that answer themselves are the ones you have to watch out for, “That’s a praying sis.” You know the ones; they don’t start the car until they pray. Or they wake up in the middle of the night and they know something is wrong in the family. Instead of calling around, they drop to their knees and start praying. They really do have a look about them, like don’t mess with me, I have a personal phone line to God. Anyway, the bailiff brings in this young boy about 20 or 22 years of age and this lady goes stands beside him. I’m thinking where is his lawyer? Aren’t you supposed to have a lawyer to see a judge? Then it hits me, okay I’m slow, she is his mother. I look at this lady with the law book in the front of her and the Lord got her back and I think that child is going to be alright. �ST R EE T V IB E S Street Voice 13 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Lessons In Being Good/ Bad Neighbors STEPHEN SNOW GENTRY Contributing Writer ntil very recently, I briefly and barely followed the Anna Louise Inn saga. Because I believe in and have great respect for Cincinnati Union Bethel’s mission and the rewards reaped through the success of the services that they provide, I expected the “… storm to blow OVER!!” U However, a letter to the editor (The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 5, 2011 – Western and Southern covets property – Elizabeth Brown) brought absolute clarity. Western and Southern has begun to display true “addictive behavior.” They want what they want … right NOW, by any means necessary! When their initial “offer” to buy the property was refused, a series of strategic attacks against the Inn’s management, residents, as well as, current and proposed services surfaced. Western and Southern has even attempted to gain the sympathy of its neighbors by playing “the crime card” and placing little value on the lives of certain human beings. According to W & S officials the Inn’s programs are “… out of character, “ not in keeping with their plan to attract, “… decision makers” to the area. They, also, envision making the neighborhood “… a real community.” Are these meant to be well meaning comments and observations about the current and potential program participants? What view does W & S have about the program residents who have coexisted in the neighborhood for over a century? Their effort has culminated in a lawsuit against the city. the Inn, Cincinnati Union Bethel and two city employees: Amit Ghosh, the city’s chief building officer and Margaret Wuerstle, the city’s zoning hearing examiner. It claims that the named parties failed to conduct proper “… reviews to make certain the social service agency conforms to the city’s zoning, permitting and licensing regulations.” In an e-mail dated January 21, 2011, Michael J. Laatsch, Vice President of Public Relations & Corporate Communications, Western and Southern Group questions “… the best way for that work (non-profit social service) to be carried out that creates the most benefits for our community?” Would “… an expensive,taxpayer funded renovation of the current A L I do serious harm to the efforts to revitalize the Lytle Park neighborhood and threaten the creation of hundreds of jobs and millions in tax revenue?” The answers to both questions lie in the systematic attitude of exclusion. To suggest that expansion of A L I services “… may be unsuitable,” is akin to putting the wagon ahead of the horse. Yes, the A L I facility was originally intended to be a temporary residence for single working women. “ It is now providing additional services to many with mental health issues, prostitutes and homeless families seeking shelter or (and, in most cases) to turn their lives around.” These PEOPLE are individuals in need of assistance and support as a direct result of the dismal economic times we are experiencing. I can think of no better use of “… these taxpayer dollars” when I mirror this expenditure against the tax abatements and renovation dollars for the Phelps Apartments. Are my tax dollars being well spent paying to defend against a frivolous lawsuit aimed at property OWNED by my neighbor? To suggest that Cincinnati Union Bethel should invite Western and Southern to the table to make decisions about their property is ludicrous. Is this something that W & S would do? I THINK NOT!! I see different players with the same face, that of exclusion and segregation. You Western and Southern lend credence to the saying “… NOT in MY backyard.” Intern-nal Thoughts on the Death Penalty J.P. DEAN Staff Intern Writer “ An eye for eye, and a tooth for a tooth” seems to be the dominant ideology in the justice system of 38 states in the union where the death penalty is still legal. “Let the punishment fit the crime,” is the sentiment of 64% of Americans polled last year by Gallop who approve of capital punishment in the case of murder. It would seem that a steep majority of people think that the threat of execution is the means of preventing people from murdering each other, but in all these years this tactic to protect the public does not seem to work; people still kill other people in each one of those 38 states. As with a large number of things in the United States the death penalty is perceived as being somehow inevitable or even natural; that’s just the way it’s done, always has, always will . . . for a nation founded on progressive ideals about human rights, it frequently finds itself slow to accept the possibility of doing things another way. Of all the economically developed nations on the planet, Japan is the only other country where the death penalty is still used. The countries of Europe, Canada, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and others do not use execution as means of legal punishment against its citizens, but here a “majority” of people think that it is acceptable for a nation to terminate its own people under certain circumstances. It baffles me. A couple of months ago, after living in sin with the United States for last 16 years, I finally went ahead said my marriage vows to the country and became a citizen. Prior to being a permanent resident (aka legal alien) I lived and grew up in Britain where the last execution was in 1964 and where guns are near nonexistent outside of the military (another concept that blows some people’s minds in this country). As a young lad in England, the idea of my country killing me was as foreign and crazy a concept as most folks in this country would feel about the idea of public stoning for adulterers or cutting the hand off a thief. Admittedly the absence of the death penalty in Britain has not eradicated murder there, but nor has it resulted in an outbreak of mayhem these last 47 years; actually the murder rate in Britain is considerably lower than the United States. But perhaps my bias against the state committing murder against a murderer is merely a result of this Anglo-centric upbringing. Some readers, both the progressive who regularly buys this paper and the conservative who loves to hate this paper are probably puzzled as to why I stick around in a country to which I seem so critical. Even though it got a shaky start and has an ugly history, the United States was founded on progressive ideals about liberty and social justice, but the development of the country did not end with the drafting of the Constitution. America needs its liberals to continue the work. Freedom and justice do not have to be maintained through the threat of death. There is more power in forgiveness and redemption, but it’s not easy. But those are just my thoughts, so let’s end with another saying, “An eye for eye leaves the world blinded.” The Understanding WILLA DENISE JONES Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor U nderstanding today about life and its meaning have come a very long way with me. I had to come into the understanding that there was nothing outside myself that could make my life better! I had to understand that I have a choice. To know that I was no longer incarcerated by my own being and no longer restricted by my own soul! I could either come into the realization that to live is right now because death is inediable!! We as adults can never forget that growing up as children everything was external. As children we were nothing more than human sponges!! Therefore whatever the adults in our childhood fed us, we trustily ate. I believe that’s what they fed us became out internal instincts. Through my growing school, jail, being homeless, I eventually came to the understanding ofthe meaning of choice. I had to understand that there is none other like me, only I could make the changes necessary to allow my uniqueness to shine. For I am unique! One of a kind! Understandingmy uniqueness, understanding I have choices in this world only justified my decision to live and not die! These realizations seem to wake up my self esteem and many positive aspects for me. I Suddenly remembered that I did go to church, I remembered some of the best teaching of the bible whether it was about Moses or Mohammand. My understanding of life today is G.O.D. meaning Good Orderly Direction!! I understand today that to live now is my only necessity, for why kill myself or commit suicide when death for all is a sure thing. It’s gonna happen! To live is a job and I take it on with great pride. Keep in mind that you are the most important one and to know your size, your height, your weight, Hair color and so forth is what makes you. So my meaning is my understanding that: I Am Unique I Am Blessed I Am Living Until Death Do Me Part �14 Meetup: P-A-U-L Meetup ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 JIM LUKEN Contributing Writer plays the word “Zin.” These two are really serious!] While Paul is thinking, Linda explains that in their rural community, there is some poverty, but not much awareness of homelessness. “Being here, all the girls have a new perception about what poor people are like,” she says. “It’s very good for us to be here.” [Paul tells her he appreciates what she is saying, as he places the word “Ion”]. Paul explains to me that he has been a roofer on and off for most of his life. He shattered his hip a number of years ago in a fall from a roof he was working on. The leg was put back together poorly, and he must now use a crutch. He finally got approved for government assistance through SSI and hopes to have a leg operation soon.[Linda plays the word “Pagan”] She describes Over-the-Rhine Scrabble enthusiast, Paul Diebold, faces an Iowan visitor Linda Gent in a friendly Scrabble meet up at herself and a “farm Canticle Cafe. Photo: Jim Luken wife” and mother, cross she is wearing. She says they unteered for March of Dimes and a lot with a part-time are staying at a Franciscan place in of other things. job as the parish youth minister. She St. Bernard, called the “Tao House.” “She died suddenly when she was loves farm life on the 800 acre place All the girls were given the famous 51. I blamed my Dad. He was a mean, she calls “smallish.” [Paul explains to Franciscan cross to wear. [Paul plays drinking, fighting cuss. Sometimes he her that in Scrabble each letter of the the word “hoarded.” ] drank a fifth every day. We had a fallalphabet is considered a word and its I ask Paul to tell us the best thing ing out. It was right after she died, and plural can also be a word. So he adds in his life right now. He pauses for a we spent the afternoon together. He an “S” onto an “R” and then extends moment, then, almost shyly, he says, was drinking heavily, and I would drive six letters down from the “S,” forming “I have a new girlfriend. We had a around the block every now and then “Swindle.” A seven letter word, earnrough time over the winter. She got and smoke a joint, ‘cause he hated ing him 76 points. No wonder he’s the kicked out of the [Drop Inn Center] pot. (former) champ!] because of me. Now she has a place “Í was bummed out. Everybody He tells us that he was one of the was bummed. She had just died. Dad first people selected for the new Jimmy of her own. Every day we get closer and closer.” He is almost beaming. started telling me stuff about my Mom. Heath House on Odion Street. “Life is “Now life is so easy. I love her. At first I didn’t need to hear it. I knew he was so much better now,” he says. “At the she was shy. I make her laugh. She’s doing it just to piss me off. He was trybeginning, there wasn’t much commufunny.” ing to piss me off! nity. Now there’s a sense of connectIt’s closing time at the cafe. One “So I walked inside, and he was edness among the 25 residents. We of the teenagers brings donuts around following right behind me. I had this have meetings. We have cookouts on coffee cup in my hand. I was so mad. Sunday.” He tells Linda that, in order to for one last chance. Linda adds her final letter to the board. The game I turned around and I was going to get an apartment at the Jimmy Heath has ended just in time. She tallies the swing it at him, smash him in the face. House, you have to be able to prove score. 309-261. Ohio over Iowa, sort But there on the counter was his next that you are chronically homeless and of. Both players states agree it was a glass of whiskey. And there was this a documented alcoholic. “None of us fun match, despite the intrusions of the chandelier right above it, and it made started out homeless,” he points out. reporter. We say our thank-yous and that glass of whiskey kind of glow, you “ Once you dig yourself so deep, it’s prepare to leave. know. It looked almost beautiful, shimhard to But Paul isn’t ready. He’s as much mering there, catching the light. get out.” We serve as a creative outlet a storyteller as Scrabble player, and “It was all so symbolic. I was mad [Linda plays for women in need to he tells me he has one more story to at the whiskey, not at him. So I took uncover their talents and “omen.” I build relationships while share It’s a kind of Father’s Day story. my cup and smashed it against that can see making and selling jewelry, He was hoping to tell it on the Bill Cun- glass. It shattered in a thousand piecshe unquilts, and other handcrafted ningham radio show earlier in the day, es. Some of them flew into his eyes. derstands items. We provide a but had been cut off. He had just had cataract surgery, and that there welcoming environment and he was hurt and bleeding. I helped get He says it is about reconciliation, continuous support-our is somewomen do the rest. They are to the hospital. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t and a hard kind of redemption. We go thing much our voice. They are our him. It was the whiskey. outside. In the bright sunlight, at the more than mission. They are our Sarah “So we had this falling out. It corner of Liberty and Vine, Paul talks a game of Center. Artists receive 50 % lasted years. But I was lucky. Not long and I write. Scrabble from the sale of their items, before he died at 71, I went to see him “My Mom was very smart. She while the rest goes towards going on and we had this reconciliation. I’m glad grew up in Ashland, Kentucky, and all materials and other support. there at we did.” through school, each year, she got the corner So Paul Diebold didn’t get to tell the award for being the best student. cafe]. 1618 Vine Street his story on raido. So the Scrabble All twelve years. Then she got scholCincinnati, Ohio 45202 I ask HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES champ told it to you, the readers of Linda about arships to Mt. Saint Joe and then For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org Streetvibes. Thomas More. She was valedictorian the “Tao” twice. And she was so nice. She vol- Farm life and city life collided in a heated but friendly board game meet up recently at Canticle Cafe, located in Over-the-Rhine. Over-the-Rhine’s own Paul Deibold, a guy who totes around a little two minute egg timer and his own worn copy of “The Official Scrabble Dictionary,” squared off against Iowa’s own Linda Gent. Gent, a farm person, who spent some time in Over-theRhine as part of a mission trip. It was probably the most unusual interview I have ever conducted. I had gone to the Canticle Cafe a week earlier to do a story about the undisputed Scrabble champion of Over-theRhine. When I arrived, I found that, in an intense game, still in progress, the champion was being un-crowned. Perhaps “over-worded” might apply better to a Scrabble Jam. But I had tried to meet up with Paul Diebold since I first heard him speak at the opening of the Jimmy Heath House in November. “Everyone has a story,” Paul had said during his remarks to the gathered crowd. I was certain he was correct. Thus this column was born. This reporter has yet to interview a downtowner who doesn’t live up to Diebold’s assertion. When I met him a week later, at the same place, it didn’t seem to matter to Paul that he was no longer unbeaten. This time he was playing Scrabble with a woman from the far-off farming town of Washington, Iowa. I could see that the only way I would get my story was to interview them both during the game. So while the one player was determining her/his next word. I asked a question or two of the other player. [I hope both of them forgive me if I have gotten a few of their Scrabble words wrong]. Linda Gent had come to OTR with a group of six teenage girls from her parish in Iowa. The young women were spending the week by involving themselves in inner city projects set up by Franciscans for the Poor. On this day, the girls were serving donuts and desserts to clients of the St. Francis Seraph Ministries in the pleasant surroundings of the Canticle Cafe. They had spent the morning house cleaning the entire room from top to bottom. [Paul inserts the word “Quag”]. Now Paul is free to talk. He is 55 years old, and has been homeless off and on since the mid ‘90s. He lived on the streets for eight months, but then found a place at the Jimmy Heath House. He makes no bones about telling Linda his opponent about his alcoholism. “Just beer,” he says. “When I drink the hard stuff I really go crazy. Alcohol is the hardest drug in the world that I know of to get off of.” [Linda Sarah Center �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S 15 J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 Other Resources 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 Anthony House (Youth) Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-5514 Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �Column 16 ST R EET VIBES J u n e 2 4 - J u l y 8 , 2 0 11 LessonSongs for Peacemaking and Understanding Paulette Meier sings for social justice and a better world “F or me, art is the expression of an underlying truth, of that which is usually hidden or not noticed much,” says Paulette Meier. “It can make us aware of the inner conditions of others’ lives, and can open our hearts to strangers, as well as to our own deeper selves.” And the truth that Meier alludes to, and which she strives to attain in her life, is the one uncovered by compassion, love, understanding and the power of the “Spirit”. A Quaker singer/songwriter, peace educator, and spiritual social activist, Meier has devoted much of her life to singing and working for peace, equality, the rights of the oppressed and the protection of the vulnerable and invisible in our society, particularly children. She grew up in Northern Kentucky in a large Catholic family, attended private Catholic schools, and developed, as a result, a strong spiritual inclination and sense of morality. A semester in Germany in college in 1971 shook her rather parochial worldview, and she returned home with new awareness of injustice, both in the Church and in her country. Church choir and family reunions introduced her early on to singing, but it was moving to Washington, DC, in 1980 and living in a communal household of women musicians that opened her eyes to a vision of herself as a political folk singer. “The women sang with a group called ‘Heresy’ ” she says. “They were progressive, engaged in women’s issues, social justice and spirituality. They affirmed my voice and strongly encouraged me to sing.” Saad Ghosn Contributing Writer Meier had been involved in activist work already in the ‘70s. While working on her Master’s Degree at the University of Cincinnati (UC) in German and Education, she helped organize a union for teaching assistants, and later, as a teacher in CPS, was very involved with the teachers’ union. In the late ‘70s, she became very active in opposing the construction of the Zimmer Nuclear Plant on the Ohio River, which prompted her move to Washington, D.C. to work on national nuclear energy issues. Back to Cincinnati in 1984, Meier befriended many of the activists she had met earlier at UC or through the local community. They included buddy gray and Bonnie Neumeier of the Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement, as well as Reverend Maurice McCrackin, a civil rights activist and pastor of Community Church in the West End. Diana Porter, a friend and fellow teacher’s union activist, had cofounded a new women’s choir, MUSE, which Paulette joined. With her new passion for political folk songs, she and some friends started a Cincinnati chapter of the People’s Music Network, sponsoring monthly song gatherings in different homes to share and teach songs with social justice themes. With Ginny Frazier, a fellow MUSE member whom she had met earlier campaigning against nuclear power, Meier began performing in coffee houses, rallies for the homeless and refugees, at peace demonstrations, labor, the environment, and women’s rights events. In 1991 they produced a recording: Ginny and Paulette: Harmony for Social Justice, which included many of their songs among which “The Power Shuffle,” they had written to Paulette Meier singing at SOS Art 2011. Photo by Bill Howes protest the 1st Gulf War. It was sung with gusto at many local demonstrations: “We put the teachers in, we take the missiles out… we march and sing and shout. We do the power shuffle, we turn this world around and that’s what it’s all about!” One of the first songs Paulette wrote in 1989, “Green Bins,” was actually used by “Keep Cincinnati Beautiful” to promote the city’s new recycling program. She also wrote songs in opposition to the death penalty, and sang them at many protests and vigils. “No Killing in My Name” is a call to stop state sponsored murders, and “Born to Love” is a plea in compassion with families of murdered victims. In 2004, she wrote “It’s the Race to the Bottom”, a song about privatizing government jobs. Meier recently added a verse to this song about teachers, in opposition to Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 which is aimed at limiting collective bargaining rights for public employees. Its chorus sings: “It’s the race to the bottom (3x) Where they’re cuttin’ public service while their private profits rise.” An area of concern for Paulette is the emotional health of children, that she sees directly related to peace in the world. In 1989 she began working in the field of social-emotional learning and focused on it for over 20 years, including many years as a trainer in peace education. She started writing songs to augment her lessons, and in 2002, released a CD, Come Join the Circle: LessonSongs for Peacemaking. The album received national acclaim and several awards and is now used in classrooms all around the country. Paulette would like to do another CD for children, to include songs she’s written about media violence (“Cool to be Cruel?”), compassion and understanding (“Don’t Judge Them”), and healing past hurts (“Triggered”). A more recent musical endeavor for Paulette relates to her spiritual path. About ten years ago, she began attending Quaker meetings and learning about the Religious Society of Friends. “The Quaker faith emphasizes spiritual experience instead of dogma,” she says. “Still solidly rooted in the wisdom of Jesus, it integrates an inward seeking spiritual practice with an outward movement towards peace and compassion in the world. I also appreciate the equal role women had in spiritual leadership since its beginnings.” In 2004, Paulette was awarded an Artist in Residence scholarship for a year at Pendle Hill in Philadelphia, where she studied Quaker theology. She recently released, with Quaker Press, Timeless Quaker Wisdom in Plainsong, a CD of 21 quotations from 17th century Quaker leaders, she set to music and sings a cappella. “I would like my art to raise awareness of the inherent goodness that every child is born with and what we do that helps that goodness shine or get shadowed over,” says Meier; “also to open hearts and build empathy for those who are oppressed. I want my songs to inspire listeners to see things more clearly, and to take action, no matter how small, to support this planet in all its beauty.” Throughout her life, Meier has worked towards all these goals and her voice has always been as lucid and strong as her beautiful “lessonsongs for peacemaking and understanding”. (www.lessonsongs.com) “Don’t Judge Them” (Verse and Chorus) Song by Paulette Meier “Maria’s gettin’ mean with the girls at school, ‘cause no one wants to be her friend. She’s in everybody’s business and acts like she’s in charge of them. If they knew about her life at home, they’d see how she got this way. She’s the oldest of six with a single mom, She doesn’t really know how to play. So don’t judge her; she may be doing the best that she can. Yeah, let’s not judge her, though she may need a helping hand. Don’t judge her, when we don’t know where she’s been. Yeah, let’s not judge her, If we’ve never been in her skin.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource June 24-July 8, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Clemency Granted Northside Community Seeks Justice for Shooting of Local Musician Pg 2: Murder is Okay? Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: Clemency Granted Pg 5: Affordable Housing Going Green? Chanting for Jobs, Not Jails Pg 6: Northside Seeks Justice Pg 7: A Little bit of heaven City Says Yes! Pg 8: Recipe Pg 9: Community Happenings Pg 10: Mark Twain was Right Pg 11: Graphic Voice Pg 12: A Day in the Life Distributing Hope & Good News Pg 13: Intern-nal thoughts on the Death Penalty Pg 14: Meetup: Paul Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: LessonSongs for Peacemaking and Understanding Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 24-July 8, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Della Woolens Rubye Goode Georgia Bohannon Stephen Gentry Willa Denise Jones Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Lee Mccoy Bill Howes Paul Davis Aimie Willhoite Jesse Call J.P. Dean Mark Grauhuis Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Brittany Fong Terique Scott Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF ¬¬¬Catie Dargue affordable housing Aimie Willhoite Alisa Balestra Bill Howes Brittany Fong Cincinnati Clemency Corey Luthringer Death Penalty Della Woolens Georgia Bohannon Harrison Lott J.P. Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jim Luken Josh Spring Lee McCoy Mark Grauhuis Mark Twain Music Northside Paul Davis Protests Riccardo Taylor Riots Rubye Goode Saad Ghosn Stephen Gentry Susan Lakes Terique Scott Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/705eb64c519990056dffc41ea3b1c949.pdf 58dbcd6f18a187c78d6034d3210e1c5a PDF Text Text Distributor Profile: ST RDavis EE T V IB E S Jerry Photo Essay Capturing the Moment J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 PG 3 J U N E 1 0 T H - 2 3 R D 2 0 11 PG 8 ISSUE 201 1 PG 16 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Tebbe Remembered SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer T he trees, planters, patio seating area and signs all look the same at Venice on Vine in downtown Cincinnati. So do the streetlights. The restaurant is still a hub of activity, serving up some hot pizza, organic coffee and a variety of meals while trainers train and learners learn. Opportunities to dine in or carry out remain, and the place still bills itself as “Good Food for a Good Cause,” with diversity, education, community and collaboration as guiding values. Things might look the same, but they aren’t. Tebbe isn’t there. Mary “Tebbe” Farrell, Venice on Vine’s beloved trainer, died May 20, 2011. The sting of the loss is still fresh for her co-workers, friends and those she dedicated her life to serving. The loss is real, but those close to her vow they’ll carry on. After all, that’s what the energetic playwright, video and music producer, Tebbe’s chair at Venice on Vine remains the same as it was when she arts promoter and used it. Photo: Josie Pickens educator would tive director for Venice on Vine/Venice want. Catering. Tebbe is gone but not forgotten. Tebbe brought special gifts and “There isn’t any place in this restautalents to the workplace, and many rant you won’t see the footprint of credit her work with making Venice a Tebbe,” said Rina Saperstein, execu- Mary “Tebbe” Farrell. Photo: Venice on Vine See Tebbe, page 5 Seeking Refuge in a Street Paper INÊS SANTINHOS GONÇALVES Street News Service www.streetnewsservice.org The reasons why people become street paper vendors are many and diverse. Some are homeless; others suffer mental or physical health problems, struggle with addiction or face unemployment. And some people do it because the magazines offer them the refuge they so desperately need. A round the world, street papers have been welcoming people who felt too insecure to stay in their home lands. Whether or not they have official refugee status in Isaac Nwankwere, who escaped from Nigeria, sells the street paper Augustin in Austria. their newly adopted countries, Photo: Mario Lang / Augustin what these vendors often have in common is the fear to return to See Seeking Refuge, page 10 The Failing American Dream PG 5 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati Building Bridges Through Music PG 6 twitter.com/streetvibesnews Day by Day Calendar Project PG 11 streetvibes.wordpress.com �Editorial 2 BRIEF UPDATES STAFF REPORT ALEC Follow Up: In the May 13th edition #199, we introduced you to the American Legislative Executive Council or ALEC for short, when peaceful protesters marched on Fountain Square to demand accountability and transparency from the group of legislators and policy advocates who held a spring task force meeting in the Queen City April 29. The protesters made these demands from ALEC: •All donors of $200 and more, • ALEC members who hold elected office, •Full text of model legislation and public policy discussion leading up to the legislation, and •Disclosure of the cases in which ALEC model legislation is entered into bills, specifically the source of the legislative text. In a follow up email to Reagan Weber, director of public affairs for ALEC, we asked for the same information and more. Specifically, we’re interested in finding out just what the group accomplished when it met in Cincinnati and just who from our area is on the ALEC membership roll. Follow up is particularly important since ALEC billed the Cincinnati task force meeting this way: State Legislators Gather and Discuss State Policy Solutions to Lead the Nation to Economic Success and Stability. The ALEC representative has had four days to send her response or to direct us to a source who can respond. We’ve heard nothing so far. We’ll keep you updated on that request. Pet Companions Follow Up: After our pet story ran in the May 13th edition #199, we heard some good news about what one service organization is doing for people and pets. Senior Services of Northern Kentucky has a Animeals-OnWheels program where donated pet food is delivered to seniors who receive home meals. Animeals-On-Wheels began about five years ago after staff discovered that some seniors were sharing their home-delivered meals with their non-human friends. Senior Services put out a plea for pet food donations, and the public came to the rescue. Senior Services of Northern Kentucky needs your help. You can donate pet food at the Covington Office, located at 1032 Madison Avenue. Drop it off or call (859) 4910522 if you’d like to have it picked up. Senior Services also accepts people food donations. (shelf stable products), and welcomes new volunteers. ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 “Who Ya Gonna Call?!” Not the Ghostbusters if you’re trying to unclog a toilet o you call a plumber to wire a home? You certainly could pick up phone and call a plumber to come and wire a room in your home. Most plumbers would immediately say, “No, I can’t wire a home, I am a plumber not a certified electrician.” Most plumbers would say “If I wired your home I would put you in danger and my business in danger, because I am not qualified to safely do electricity.” But of course, nearly all of us would never call a plumber to do wiring. What stops us? Clearly common sense, a desire to do things sustainably correct and especially safe stop us. A sense that we want our home to be the best that it can, stops us. What would you do if a plumber knocked on your door and said, “Hey, I heard you need some wiring done, I’ll do the wiring for a discount and I’ll also bring some of my other plumber friends to help so the job get’s done quickly.” Would your eyes get wide and heart start beating fast because you found a way to get the job done quickly and cheaply? Or would common sense, a desire for sustainable quality and safety still click in? Most likely, you would so, “No, I’m going to call a certified electrician to do my wiring.” One more question, what if one of those “protect your money” programs came on the television and the topic was “How to Safely Wire your Home on Budget,” and immediately after the title flashed you saw a person with a snake, plunger and badge saying “certified plumber,” would you listen to her or his advice? Ok, just checking one more time, obviously you would not. Well guess what. In the city of Cincinnati and the county of Hamilton, we have an organization masquerading as something they are not. We have an organization acting as if they are experts on an area of study they have no certifiable training in. Currently 3CDC is parading about the region explaining that they are working to create better shelters and services for people who are homeless. They are claiming to be leading much of these processes and to know what people who are homeless need. This is interesting because nobody on their staff is a Social Worker, Counselor or has ever held a professional position in a shelter, affordable housing provider, jobs placement organization, etc. In addition they are the organization that has repeatedly put people out of their affordable homes and closed affordable housing, despite the fact that the primary cause of homelessness in America is a lack of affordable housing. You would think if they were experts on helping people who are homeless and they cared about ending homelessness, they would not put people out of their affordable homes and lessen the quantity of affordable housing. So why, when many of us hear 3CDC quoted in the paper, etc. talking about all their hard work for people who are homeless and their new ideas to fight homelessness, do many of us believe them, count their word as that from an expert and move on? The reason is that 3CDC not only looks progressive, colorful and inclusive on the surface, but their board includes many of our local Fortune 500 companies. Companies that not only horde money that the rest of us need, but companies that have spent many years figuring out how to market to all of us and convince that we need things we don’t and that they are the only companies that can properly fulfil those needs. We are being duped politically by professional advertisers, salespersons and connivers. We all have different roles, talents and responsibilities. If you are a social worker, do social work, if you are a plumber, do plumbing, if you are condo developer, develop condos (without putting others out), if you are sales person, sell things. It is when we cross these wires that we create role-confusion and conflict. Social workers should social work and not claim to be salespersons, and condo developers should not claim to be shelter experts. D Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) GCCH is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax: 513.421.7813 Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Staff Executive Director Josh Spring Director of Operations Catie Dargue Director of Education & Outreach, Design & Layout Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer Susan Lakes Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator Riccardo Taylor Reception & Office Admin Della Woolens, Ruby Goode Georgia Bohannon, Stephen Gentry Contributing Writers: Willa Denise Jones, Scott Switzer, Saad Ghosn, Jim Luken, Lee Mccoy,Inês Santinhos Gonçalves, Cleo Wombles Photography/Artwork: Melvin Grier, Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Bill Howes, Anthony Williams Mario Lang, Paul Davis, Aimie Willhoite Summer Interns Journalism, Media & PR Jesse Call Journalism, Media & PR Jason Dean Journalism, Media & PR Mark Mendoza Research Alisa Balestra Education & Outreach Harrison Lott Development Corey Luthringer Statistics Brittany Fong Civil Rights/Social Justice Terique Scott �Distributor Program ST R EE T V IB E S 3 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS Distributor Profile: Jerry Davis SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer J ALFRED BRANDON NELSON WOOLFOLK SINCE 10/2003 SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 DELESA HENDERSON NEW 5/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JERRY DAVIS SINCE 5/2011 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 PAMELA TAYLOR NEW 6/2011 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAY BREWER NEW 5/2011 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RICKY LUNDY NEW 5/2011 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TAMMY GRIES NEW 5/2011 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 VICTORIA MINOR NEW 3/2011 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 erry Davis, 46, is so new to selling Streetvibes you haven’t seen his photo appear alongside ones of other vendors. He decided to take the job to meet people and make contacts for his landscaping business. That hasn’t happened yet, but he’s positive. “You never know when that might come,” he said. “Timing is everything.” When he’s not working, Davis reads and collects comic books. It’s a hobby he got hooked on as a child. He also watches Sci-Fi, and enjoys the old Alfred Hitchcock films. Davis is getting in a routine for Streetvibes sales. He’s found that early in the week, sales are slower, so he spends most of his time distributing on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Jerry Davis, Streetvibes distributor. Photo: Susan Lakes Davis likes having the supplemental income, but there’s something besides the money that made him pick Streetvibes. “Maybe I can make a difference,” he said, adding that he enjoys reading the stories about people he knows. Davis picked another way to make a difference even before he decided to distribute the papers. He was one of first members of The Homeless Congress, a new initiative sponsored by The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. He did this at a time in his life when he lost his job and had to move into a local shelter. Davis will return to college in the fall to study information systems or landscaping/horticulture. He says he is prepared for the challenge this time around. THE DETAILS: To find out more about the Homeless Congress contact Riccardo Taylor at (513) 421-7803, or stop by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 117 East 12th Street in Cincinnati. Interested in becoming a Streetvibes Distributor? Follow these six simple steps to be on your way: 1) Pick up a Distributor packet at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, located at 117 East 12th Street, Cincinnati. 2) Fill out the Distributor Application Form, and initial each statement on the Code of Conduct and sign & review the Disciplinary Policy 3) Read the most recent copy of Streetvibes. 4) Attend an Orientation Thursdays at 10AM 5) Take and pass the quiz Tuesdays at 10AM. 6) Receive approval and have your picture taken, a badge will be made and you will be provided with 10 free papers to get you started! Questions? Call: (513) 421-7803 � Commentary 4 The Meaning O ften we have to ask ourselves says life makes you. So, the meaning what is the meaning of life? will be as varied as the individuals. And without the expectation Far too often we are looking for of answers we start a those external search. A search that elements to starts outside of ourgive us true selves, always looking meaning, only for answers before we to find in time even present a question. that those So, I ask, are the anelements fade, swers to life’s questions or become external as we often outdated and seem to think, or are they we need to internal as the innate find replacerealms of our existence ments in order RICCARDO TAYLOR indicates? to satisfy their Staff Writer Well I suppose meanings. the answer can only be determined We continue to seek relief from our by investigation of our thoughts and stresses focusing on the symptoms beliefs. Therefore, the meaning of instead of the causes. Again, those life can be realized only through the outside factors which make things searching of the self, in so much to much more difficult to control, we say, embracing our uniqueness. The seemingly can never conclude, keep reality that everyone has uniqueness us from ever concluding exactly what that is relative to everyone else, yet it is that creates our problems. We so different is, the epitome of being. can play the blame game and never So you ask, what is it that I am talking accept the responsibility; if only the about exactly? Well, the simplest of world would change so that it would fit answers is the meaning of life. the way I would like it to be! SomeWhat is life? Beyond the biologithing is always going wrong, and cal and mental, life is a series of ups I know it has to be everybody and and downs, wins and losses. Some every thing but me! So the question say it’s what you make it while others remains! What is the meaning of life? ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 The idea of taking on responsibility has to play a part. We keep seeing that all those ifs, and, why’s continue to come out the same way! It’s the what’s, how’s and when’s that we have to account for. It is for that reason we have to stop looking for the meaning of life outside of us, and start to look for the meaning from within. Keeping up with the Jones’ makes you feel good but does it satisfy or take care of the things you need? Our indulgence of everything that appeals to our senses leads to discomforts and troubles. Immediate gratification comes from the outside, while true pleasure comes from within. Riccardo Taylor. Photo: GCCH Oh! finding that exact combination of the external founded by the meaning of life. and internal to grasp the correct formula for searching the self is in finality the only path for discovering the true riccardotaylor@cincihomeless.org meaning of life. So we search! (513) 421-7803 Ex. 15 Although I search with the tools of understanding I also am con- Who Is the Wizard Behind the Big Screen? LEE MCCOY Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor were coming back. Now here’s what got me hot: four minutes left in the game, Dallas’ lead had sunk from 20 to seven. I turned my head to say something to my friend, look back up at the screen and Lord forgive me for the things that spewed out of my mouth. Guess what Lee McCoy. Photo: Paul Davis Photography happened? They switched the game to Saturday ou can bet it’s not the Wizard Night Live. I couldn’t believe this. My of Oz—after all, we don’t live friends told me to calm down (they in Kansas. Only in Cincindo this all the time). I was too hot to nati do you have a wizard who has flunked wizard school. No one likes a listen. Off to find the Wizard—and I am not talking about the Wizard of person who is in control of what you Oz. watch. But let me explain why I am I found two of the ambassadors so hot at whoever is the controller of who clean up Cincinnati and they told The Big Screen on Fountain Square. me to go down to the garage and I am watching the Dallas/Oklahotalk to the people down there. Well ma game, game two, Dallas leading I found two guys behind this grass by 20 points the whole game. It was cage. When I tried to find out who a run away until the fourth quarter, controlled the Screen, it might as nine minutes left in the game, Oklawell have been a joke to them. But I homa down by 20 points, and all of was not laughing. Then, like a slap a sudden Oklahoma started to play in the face, I came back to reality. like it was the beginning of the game. Only in Cincinnati can something like Now I am sitting on the edge of my this happen. Even if Dorothy were seat. Some of my buddies hitting me here with me, clicking her heels three on the back, my arms telling me here times, it wouldn’t do any good. they come, and sure enough, they Y Okay, let’s move to May 29th, the Cincinnati Reds playing Atlanta. It’s a good pitching game, Atlanta up two to one in the seventh inning, and you won’t believe this. Déjà vu—this time we go to poker on the Screen. Now let me give you some background. People are drinking, eating Taste of Cincinnati, glaring at the game, some watching while drinking a beer. After that switch, I just started watching the people going to do something else. Only in Cincinnati do they tell you to come on down to downtown for the Wizard who flunked counting school changing channels like the lollypop kids. It costs an arm and a leg to park, and the biggest joke in the Land of Oz that they call Fountain Square: Why is the bathroom locked when you have something? People moving around, some drinking beer, coming out of windows, watching or just looking around the Square, but if they have to use the bathroom, “Sorry, Charlie.” If there is no event, the bathroom is closed by 9pm. Now I see why people relieve themselves in different doorways. I mean it does look better in somebody’s corner than on oneself. What would you do? And it’s not just the poor or the homeless. I see people with suits on, females lifting up their dress. But then again, doesn’t 3CDC run Fountain Square? Only in Cincinnati does the Wicked Witch live forever. Upon returning to Fountain Square, however, it would appear that the good witch Glenda did a nice turn for the folks of Cincinnati and landed a few porta-potties there; shame they didn’t squish the Wizard of the Big Screen. Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �Commentary ST R EE T V IB E S 5 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 The Failing American Dream Musings from an Outsider Looking In CATIE DARGUE Streetvibes Staff Writer spent the weekend in Loudoun County Virginia, it was beautiful; green rolling hills, lush trees, horses in pasture, vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see, and houses. Those big American dream sort of houses with four garages on the side, three stories high, American flag flying outside the porch, swing set in the back, and a BBQ grill just begging to be used. But there was something very wrong with this picture. There were no people. The houses were all for sale, no cars in the garage, windows open with no furniture in sight, and no smoke on that BBQ. Whether the houses are new, people have moved, or they have been repossessedd, I have to ask myself, is this the American Dream? What happened? I have struggled for a long time my own personal definition of the “Ameri- Source: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2010/11/30/waking-up-from-the-american-dream/ can Dream” and though I think it’s difthat if I had a master’s degree I could no mortgage, no car, no babies on the ferent for every individual I do feel that way, and no burgers on the grill. there is a pressure from our country to earn even more money at what I was doing. How would I pay for the extra Most of my friends who were conform to a certain image, an image student loans? My really high paying actually making some money still that most people would say they are job would help me cover them surely. complained constantly that it wasn’t having trouble maintaining. enough while they seemed to disapIn high school I knew I would go to At this point I had seen most of my pear into a working depression where college because it was “the next step,” undergraduate friends compete for jobs in Starbucks and local restaurants life was dull, money was everything, but no one ever explained to me how and I thought, where were all these and passion was a dream of the past. to afford this. We were told (by our amazing high paying jobs we were My trust funder friends from university mentors, the Game of Life, and our assured? No bother, I’ll go back to all moved back in with their parents or country) that if we went to college and school and I’m sure they will await my lived in an apartment rented or bought got a degree we would get a better graduation. by their parents while they figured paying job. It wouldn’t matter what I was lucky to have a part time out what they wanted to do with their we took out in loans because our well job during grad school that then hired lives, and then complained that the paying job would pay them off for us. me full time after because again there $2000 month trust fund was no longer I got lucky, I received some federal were no jobs that I could apply for that enough to pay for their life style. My grants, a local scholarship, help from utilized my education and my skill set. poor friends have remained just that, my father (who selflessly extended Now I was about $70,000 in debt, no poor. Some of them were able to his own retirement to put me through promise of a better job on the horizon, pursue engineering degrees and land school) and I managed to emerge a no car, still renting and putting most good jobs that helped at least pull graduate with only $20,000 of debt, them out of poverty, but most of us are of my expenses on my credit cards only! I got an okay job about three in about the same place. Underapbecause I wasn’t getting paid enough months later which was the result of preciated, overworked, underpaid, and to live. And as it would happen I fell connections and not my job history or stuck for the next 30 years with debt new BA degree. Though I was earning in love and I got married, and then exthat we can’t seem to justify anymore. pretty good wages for myself loan pay- penses doubled with both of us fresh The sad part is, I still want that out of our master’s degrees and the ments were hard to swing along with ideal American Dream. I want that economy tanking. rent, credit card bills, and transportahouse that’s so big I don’t know what At this point I’m starting to take tion, though I never owned a car until I to do with all the space; I want the four stock of this supposed American was 28. Dream and where exactly I fit in. I was cars in the driveway (the practical car, A couple years later I got antsy. doing what I loved and not getting paid the fun car, my husband’s car, and I could, if I wanted, slowly climb the the one we’re fixing up on the weekfor it, getting underpaid to do a job I corporate ladder towards a job I could have done in high school, madly ends). Sometimes I find it so disgustnever imagined having and maybe ing to want all of this when I know so in love with my husband, badly in debt a comfortable salary, but that wasn’t many people just want a roof (any between both of us, traveling and me. I wanted to pursue my passion roof) over their heads and something having experiences that I knew many for theatre and perhaps get noticed. others were jealous of, no home base, to eat. Why does this dream get Additionally, I was keen to the buzz I Tebbe Remembered ingrained into so many of our brains? And why do we feel like if we’re not living up to it, we’ve failed somehow? Why is it that all my friends who have well paying, capitalist market jobs seem unhappy? All those friends with mortgages just want out, and so on. It seems that people forget that homelessness is just a few steps away from any of us at any moment, and that maybe this American dream we’re all chasing is like a helium balloon caught in a breeze – out of reach and impossible to chase after. Where in the American Dream does it say that you can have it all, but be sure to step on those below you to get it? Why is it that those with everything share so little and those who have nothing share it all? I want to know and I don’t know that I ever will. Through working at the Coalition my perspective on many things have been changed, and perhaps we as a nation need to change our American Dream to be less about greed and more about the intended life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If you’re reading this, try to be thankful today for something you have, and try to help someone else who may need a little extra. It can only make us a stronger nation as opposed to becoming divided by the dollar in pursuit of the impossible pipe dream. catiedargue@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 11 Continued from page 1 place that prioritizes learning in a special way. She was hired to coordinate tutoring and work with students/workers on GED and Adult Basic Education skills. Tebbe went way beyond her job description. She redesigned a menu, brought in musicians to fundraise, set up art exhibits, built up the volunteer worker base and headed up an empowering project that put students in charge of office space design. Tebbe talked about the whys of her job about a month before her death. “Why do I do this? I do this because I love so much what I do. And I learn so much from the people that I work with. It’s the greatest mission I’ve ever been involved with. And it has brought the best out in me.” The 55-year-old’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Venice planned to put her on the staff roster this fall when her time with AmeriCorps ended, Saper- stein said. She excelled in development, and Venice was going to have Tebbe head up that department “She loved this job,” said longtime friend, Mark Bennison. The two met in 1981 at Moles Records, the city’s first used record shop. True to Tebbe’s curious nature, she approached Mark and asked, “Who are you? I’ve seen you around.” The two spent time talking, but it was Christmas time that Bennison remembers. They reserved that time for a movie, but not just any film. It has to be something with a message, because that’s just the kind of person Tebbe was. She liked themes with causes and fought for what she believed in. Dennison will remember her as a “nefarious chameleon,” a multi-faceted person who adapted well to any situation. Another friend, Josie Pickens, remembers Tebbe as passionate and spunky. Tears rimmed Pickens eyes as she talked about what AmeriCorps meeting days are like now that Tebbe’s gone. “This past Wednesday was strange,” Pickens said quietly during a recent interview inside Venice. “It was the last time I didn’t come here to pick her up.” Pickens met Tebbe when they both joined the domestic Peace Corp, AmeriCorps. Although Tebbe drove, they ride shared to bi-weekly meetings for economic and social reasons. It was Pickens who did the driving after picking Tebbe up at her workplace. “She loved this job,” Pickens said. She even marked off personal space in the back room offices of the restaurant. Her chair with the words, “Tebbe’s chair” remains in her space that’s front and center below the big stacks of GED training materials. Trainee Daniel McEntee, 18, remembers what a help Tebbe was to him when he began training for GED in April. “She believed in me,” he said, adding she was a good influence. “She would help anyone who wanted the help.” McEntee hope for the best for Tebbe’s family though their grief. He’ll take his GED and finish the goal---the office space redesign--- he and Tebbe planned. “I think about her every time I look at that desk.” THE DETAILS: Contact Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Adult Education Fund, 701 Columbia Avenue for information about Tebbe’s memorial fund. �6 Local ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Little Hands:Big Hands Building Bridges Through Music SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer L ittle hands lugged violin cases. Big hands clutched backpacks and bags. Then, when the little hands glided smoothly over the strings and bows, music rang out, and the big hands let go of the cargo and life possessions long enough to clap. Some of those adults with the big hands even cheered “Bravo” and “Alright” as the small bodies with the little hands bowed and smiled. This was the scene at the DropInn Center, the area’s largest homeless shelter, on a recent Friday afternoon. Suzuki violin students from the city’s School of Performing Arts took center stage for an afternoon concert and reception. Dave Mason, faculty member for the school and director of the children’s’ orchestra, set a neighborly tone for the interaction between the big -handed shelter residents and the smaller –handed student musicians. “We’re here from the school next door,” he said. The Performing Arts Center moved into a new building a block away from the homeless shelter in 2010, creating some concern and tension. That tension about the school’s proximity to the shelter was the reason why a small informal committee formed. It is called SCPA/OTR and its goal is to build bridges, change attitudes and build a solid relationship be- tween the School for Performing Arts and the Over –TheRhine community as a whole. Understanding and education, not controversy, was what was on the mind of one of the young musician’s dads. Ricco Johnson said his daughter had some questions about the scheduled concert at the Drop Inn Center. Johnson, partner in the OverRhine-Business MIXX, planned to talk with his daughter, Mhilton after the visit and answer any of her Mhilton Johnson tunes her violin. Photo: Susan Lakes questions. “This is good Center residents were glad he for the community and the children,” picked The Drop Inn Center, too. ResiJohnson said about the concert. “A lot dent Jacklyn Jones heard the violin of people shy away [from homeless music, and it stirred some memories shelters], but it [homelessness] could from way back. “It reminds me of stuff happen to any of us.” I did in school,” she said. “It’s a nice Mason certainly didn’t shy away concert and the kids did a good job. It when he picked the concert venue. “I was entertaining.” told the kids they’d like playing here,” Once the music ended, the little he said, complimenting the lively hands clutched ice cream cones. So acoustics inside the shelter. did the big hands. susanlakes@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 12 THE DETAILS: For more information about the SCPA/OTR committee, contact Jeni Jenkins at (513) 421-7803 Ex.14 Lesson Learned: Students in Philanthropy Courses Graduate into Community Leaders JESSE CALL Streetvibes Intern Writer A local university has discovered that college students that participated in a student philanthropy project as part of an academic class are more likely to be engaged with non-profit charitable organizations after graduation. A recent research project by a faculty member has revealed that alumni who participated in the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project at Northern Kentucky University, a program designed to allow rates in volunteering, making financial contributions, and serving on an organization’s board of directors. Julie Olberding, an assistant professor teaching primarily graduate-level nonprofit management courses, polled alumni participants and compared her results to federal figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Olberding has taught Mayerson classes before. 71 percent of Mayerson alumni volunteer with nonprofit organizations, compared to only 28 percent nationally, according to the research study. Olberding also discov- Daryl Harris introduces members of his class, The Arts of Social Change, to present a Mayerson philanthropy award to the community agency of their choice. Photo: NKU students to use what they learn in courses to benefit community agencies, became involved in nonprofit organizations at much higher rates than the general U.S. population. These graduates exceeded national ered that three times as many Mayerson alumni served on the board of nonprofit organizations compared to the general population. “The evidence that we have collected shows that student philanthropy does have an impact on students in the long-term,” Olberding said. She said that she was glad to see “to what degree [student philanthropy] is changing students lives to be better doers and better citizens in the region of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.” Until now, there had been no research designed to measure if students continued to be engaged in the community after graduating. However, research and evaluations had indicated that students wanted to get more involved as a result of the courses. Nonetheless, Olberding remained cautious in her research findings. She said that her research shows that alumni get more involved, but does not necessarily prove that the Mayerson student philanthropy project was the main cause or catalyst. “Further study is needed,” she said. “One way to look at this further would be to look at them in a control group. We just looked at alumni who participated in the Mayerson project.” She said other factors that are part of the NKU education could be leading graduates to serve. However, she said she does not believe that the information is skewed by the kinds of students who would be willing to participate in a class which includes a philanthropy project. The Mayerson project incorporates a related philanthropy project into existing classes across courses in almost all of NKU’s academic departments. Olberding says many students do not even realize a philanthropy project is part of the class when they enroll in it. Mark Neikirk, the director of the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at NKU, which oversees the Mayerson project, was more optimistic about what the research indicates. He said the research “proves what I thought would be so... [and] what you would expect to be so.” He said Mayerson classes have already been show to increase engage- ment in the classroom when students feel what they learn is being used to make a difference. To him, it makes sense that that sentiment would linger beyond graduation. The movement to include community outreach as part of the academic process has been on the rise at colleges and universities in recent years, but not without a few naysayers that doubt its usefulness or feel it pressures students to care about certain causes and not others. But Neikirk said national research, and not just this recent NKU study, have demonstrated that service-learning works and benefits students, colleges and communities. Olberding said she has never felt any discouragement among NKU faculty for including service-learning in the curriculum. In fact, she feels it is expected under the university’s mission. “I just honestly haven’t heard criticism. That indicates [service-learning classes] are to be expected and people see it a positive light at NKU,” she said. Neikirk agreed. 216 organizations have received funding from the Mayerson Project, including the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, the publisher of Streetvibes. Program organizers say total funding has exceeded $500,000 to organizations helping a wide range of charities including human services, animal and environmental protection, advocacy organizations, art groups and faith-based programs. The program is funded through the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation after a partnership was solicited by NKU’s president, James Votruba, and is in its 11th year. Northern Kentucky University is a public university located about seven minutes south of downtown Cincinnati in Highland Heights, KY media@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex.12 �ST R EE T V IB E S J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Meetup Homeless in Providence Meet Up There’s some bad people hang out around there.” Without bothering to correct the stereotype, I headed down JIM LUKEN Broad Street to find a nine-story building (the former YMCA) standing alone Contributing Writer on a street corner near the expressway. rovidence. The word is often Lots of people, mostly white and associated with the word “DiLatino were milling outside the buildvine,” as in Divine providence, ing. I locked my bike and entered the the beneficent gifts of God, gifts that cramped lobby, where 10 or 12 others come—if only occasionally to all huwere sitting or standing about. At the mans. “Providence” also implies luck, counter, I ask to speak to someone of the good variety. who might explain the local homeless I am unashamedly a poor guy who situation. They handed me a phone. lives in OTR and volunteers to write The person at the other end was for my favorite paper, Streetvibes. By Karen Santilli, the Vice President of the providence of my younger daughMarketing and Development at Crosster Sarah’s generosity, I found myself roads. She asks if I could come back recently flying to Providence, Rhode at another time. I tell her I am on a Island (RI) to meet up with my older bike, and that that might be difficult. So son, David, a native Cincinnatian like she agrees to talk to me in a conferme, who has been living along the ence room on the second floor. “Give Narragansett Bay near the city with his me ten minutes,” she says. And I sit girlfriend Katie. For five months of the down with a copy of Street Sights, the year they live on a small 40 year-old local homeless newspaper. The 20sailboat they named “Lady Poverty,” page paper is beautifully laid out, with for reasons that are too complicated to lots of poems and pieces by homeless explain. writers. Before I left on the trip, I had Santilli comes down and escorts decided to try to write an article for me to a conference room upstairs, Streetvibes on the homeless situaand—in about a half-hour’s time— she tion in the smallest state of the union, walks me through the facts and figures if possible. There were problems. I related to homelessness in Rhode had no car. I would have only a few Island, and to Crossroads itself, which days to do the research; and I knew is the primary provider of life services almost nothing about getting around in to homeless individuals and families— this large metropolitan area. Although using the continuum-of-care model--for located amidst a vacation-land by the the entire state. ocean, Providence is a working class “Crossroads has its roots in a town (about the size of Cincinnati), Traveler’s Aid organization that dates with large ethnic minorities of Portuback to 1894,” Santilli said. “Eight guese and Puerto Ricans. years ago we moved in here, which My son fixed up an old bike for was the former YMCA building. It was me, handed me a map, and pointed in dreadful shape.” me toward downtown, where I was They remodeled the entire build(relatively) certain to find the homeless ing which now provides 200 small population. I was soon to learn that in apartments, and 14 efficiencies, each this city, finding the homeless might be of which house individuals who were more difficult than I had expected. formerly homeless. The building also In the middle of town, I mentioned provides emergency shelter for as my Cincinnati roots to two motorcycle many as 100 individuals each night. policemen, standing by their bikes I was amazed to learn that the emernear the bus station. They joked gency shelter’s doors stay open all day about Cincinnati’s motorcycle cops, and all night, 365 days a year. There is whom—they had learned—didn’t ride no curfew. in the wintertime. In a heavy Boston “We provide storage lockers, so accent, one of them called our cops individuals can leave their belongings a name I can’t repeat here. They had in order to look for work, as well as no idea where the Coalition for the shower and laundry facilities,” Santilli Homeless might be, and had never said. heard of Street Sights, the RI homeCrossroads provides permanent less newspaper. But they sent me to a supportive housing for 57 families. nearby non-profit office where I got my And 15 more families are housed on bearings. an emergency basis. Santilli says that Several inquiries more and I was Crossroads works with many other on my way to Crossroads Rhode groups and agencies, but they are Island, the largest homeless services somewhat unique in that they are a agency in the state. I rode past the comprehensive model with all servicDunkin’ Donuts Civic Center only to es, including an outreach van, generfind myself lost again. I asked a slightly ated from the massive old “Y” building. threadbare gentleman close to my age She says that “a little” of their funding for additional directions and he sent comes from the state and city. They reme left from the crossroads where we ceive considerable corporate support, stood. Then came a warning. “I don’t and $2 million in private donations think you want to go over there, buddy. annually. When We serve as a creative outlet for women in need to I suguncover their talents and gested that build relationships while folks from making and selling jewelry, Cincinquilts, and other handcrafted nati, might items. We provide a want to welcoming environment and visit Rhode continuous support-our women do the rest. They are Island, and our voice. They are our see how mission. They are our Sarah Crossroads Center. Artists receive 50 % functions, from the sale of their items, Santilli while the rest goes towards was quick materials and other support. to agree. “Part of our 1618 Vine Street vision is to Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES become a national For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org model in P Sarah Center the way we provide continuum of care at many levels.” After my interview, I went back downstairs to the tiny lobby outside the main desk at Crossroads. I needed to find a homeless person to share his or her story. For my “Meetup” columns at Streetvibes, I often sit down for lunch at Our Daily Bread, open up a conversation and then ask the person if he or she would like to be in the paper. So I sat down on the bench in the lobby, said hello to several people, but was quickly turned down by both. I went outside and saw a man who had greeted me earlier when asking me about my old bike. The guy had long, curly gray hair streaming out from under a baseball cap. “Are you homeless?” I asked. “I was until I moved in here.” “Are you willing to talk about it for the homeless newspaper in Cincinnati?” “Okay. Why not?” “Is there someplace where we can sit down for a few minutes?” He looked around. Apparently Crossroads did not want people loitering, so there were no benches anywhere. “We can go up to my apartment.” “Great!” I said, happy to get a chance to see the conditions there close up. I handed my driver’s license to the person at the front desk and we walked to the third floor apartment of 60 year-old Hector Gonzales. It was small, modern and very neat. We sat down at the kitchen table. Hector ate some chips and salsa as he answered my question in a somewhat agitated manner, flailing his arms about and chopping the edge of his hand into the table. Before coming to Crossroads, he had been homeless for a year and a half, following four or five other bouts with homelessness. At some point in the past he had been a pipe-fitter for ten years at the naval yard in Connecticut. I asked him what was the worst thing about being homeless. This may have been the wrong question to ask in this instance. “The worst thing is dealing with assholes,” he said, chopping the table hard. “Black, white, Spanish, Chinese. You meet all kinds of assholes. Pedophiles, rapists, macho-types. You meet all kinds. You gotta have twenty eyes. “Don’t get me wrong,” he yelled, “I’d call Wall Street guys ‘assholes’ too.” I asked him what the best thing in his life was. “The best thing is that I found Christ. Any religion that condemns homosexuality.” Hector was gesturing wildly at this point. “That’s a mortal sin. I don’t care what you say. I don’t believe in being racist, prejudiced against rich and poor. That’s just a way to escape, Everybody shits, you know. We get old. Things like that. Money’s shit. But money’s good. Don’t get me wrong, It don’t mean shit to me.” My interviewee was certainly not at a loss for words. I asked if he had any plans. “I’m too old to have plans. I just let God let me live as long as he wants. I’m not going to be a pussy for anything, anyone. I don’t let money rule my life.” The phone in his apartment rings, and I can hear the woman at the desk tell Hector he has guests. I can tell he wants the interview brought to a quick close. “Any thoughts to pass on to our readers?” I ask “Yeah. If something bad happens to you, turn it into something positive. Let’s go!” I follow him downstairs, where 7 two attractive younger women are waiting. He lets me out of the door and welcomes the two women in. “No wonder he wanted to end our little chat,” I think. I am anxious to learn about the local homeless newspaper. I learn that the paper, like Streetvibes, comes out of the Homeless Coalition office, an advocacy group, located—I’m told—way across town. No one is sure exactly where. I ask for a phone number, but no one can find one. Not even in the city’s directory. I am at a loss as to what to do. “Wait a minute,” someone says. “Here’s Stan. He works for the paper. You can talk to him.” Stan is Stan Kapelewski, a large man with a gray pony tail, also 60. He is on crutches, and has come to Crossroads to check the special mailbox for Street Sights, the local homeless newspaper. He tells me that he is the creative writing editor for the paper, and that they have a number of these boxes located around town for folks to submit their writing or comments. I comment that this is a great idea. Stan then comments that it is pure luck that I ran into him, in that there is no one from the paper at the Coalition office, except when they are laying out the newspaper, which is a monthly. He says that we can sit down at an office in the business district where homeless people gather in the mornings for coffee and conversation. I follow Stan, myself with my bike, and Stan cruising on his crutches to a nice office about ten long blocks from Crossroads. He explains that Street Sights is, according to research, the only homeless newspaper in the world that is provided free to readers, and is produced entirely by volunteers. I had noticed an absence of vendors in the city. Now I knew why. “It creates a bit of a problem. We like the idea of it being a free, but it would be good for the homeless to make a few bucks. We haven’t figured out a resolution,” Stan explains. We sit down at the George Hunt Center. A sign explains that folks can come and sit there in the morning for a maximum of fort-five minutes. Stan lays out his story in brief. He is a graduate of Syracuse University (Psychology/Philosophy) who, through a series of circumstances, found himself homeless from 2005 to 2009. “I moved from shelter to shelter,” then to transitional housing. Now I have my own apartment with another formerly homeless guy.” His life improved greatly, he says, after (public aid) finally agreed to pay for a hip replacement. Mostly he wants to talk about the newspaper. “It’s been around for four years, and I am a founding member. It’s work of the heart. We don’t even have a real office. In a sense, the paper itself is homeless,” Stan beams. “It is truly a work of the heart.” Kapelewski’s heart is in the creative pages. “What I love most about the paper is giving people their voice, and an opportunity to express themselves.” He says he works 40-60 hours a week. “I’ll work 20 more hours if I have to. We are not going to let this paper go down.” We wrap up the interview, and I ask Stan if there is a decent place to get a cheap lunch in the area. “Do you like Chinese?” he says. “The place next door is good. I’ll buy.” I try to convince him to let me buy, but he insists. I can’t quite believe a homeless guy is paying for my lunch. At the end of our meal, I crack open my fortune cookie. It reads: “Luck helps those who help themselves.” “Indeed,” I think. �8 Photo Essay ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Baby It's Hot Outside!! SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer Break out the sun dresses, water bottles, fans and icy drinks. Summer arrived a bit early to the Tri-State. The National Weather Service predicts the heat and humidity is here, at least for the immediate future. You might see a few storms sprinkled in with the sun. Heat? It's not bothering some. We found a few of them around town. Lakecia Robinson, 5, blows some bubbles to cool off in Avondale. Gabryal English, 7, sips on a cold drinK to stay cool in Avondale. �ST R EE T V IB E S Photo Essay 9 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Zaryah Thompson poses wearing the cool sundress she picked out to wear on a day the temperature exceeeded the 90 degree mark. Dan Bryson checks the castor beans after one of the recent sweltering hot days. Jay and Carey Bother pick part sun and part shade to stay cool in downtown Cincinnati. Five year old twin brothers Javeayr and LaMar Spikes do some play dueling with Star Wars lightsabers to keep cool in Avondale. �10 International News ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Seeking Refuge Continued from page 1 Isaac Nwankwere uses the identity card from Augustin in his hat to have a different look from other street paper vendors.Photo: Mario Lang / Augustin where they came from. Marian Oshoshor does not like to talk about the reasons that took her to Austria. The Nigerian street paper vendor is cheerful and lively; she prefers to talk about her customers and how much her German has improved since she arrived - she even offers to sing because “if you have a heavy heart, music is the best healer”. But Marian, who still remembers how thin she was when she arrived in 2004, had serious reasons to fear staying in Nigeria. She grew up in a Yoruba family (a West African ethnic group) on the Niger delta, who lived from agriculture and fishing. When the time came, Marian knew she would be subjected to female genital mutilation, since no woman in the village was spared from this traditional practice. She was afraid because she knew that many girls died during the procedure. She asked a journalist to help her escape - she couldn’t guess at the time that she would one day end up working in the newspaper industry herself. Marian is happy she escaped, but she still remembers bitterly the reaction of the Austrian authorities when she arrived: “The Austrian asylum authorities did not believe me. They thought I was lying”. Tapiwa Chemhere has a different story, one of violence and poverty, but a common thread remains: fear. He escaped with Tapiwa Chemhere escaped from the violence and political repression in Zimbabwe. Photo: Ben Davies his family from Zimbabwe in 2005. little knowledge of the world, thought he was going “I lived in the city, but it was very violent. You were somewhere else. “They told me that I was on my forced to support the main party, and if you didn’t way to Austria. Only I didn’t know the difference they would bomb your house or kill you”. Tapiwa’s between Austria and Australia. I thought I was mother decided it was no heading for Australia.” longer safe for them to stay Even though the country was a bit different from in Zimbabwe and escaped what he expected - no sunny beaches or rugby fans with her four children to - Isaac was happy to be in Europe. But adapting Australia. Their story is far to the Austrian way of life was a challenge during from being exceptional: the the first period has a street paper vendor. “When economic meltdown and I started selling the Augustin [street paper] I was repressive political regime a black man in a country of white people and the of Robert Mugabe have norms of conduct, everything was different from led to a flood of refugees. what I had seen before in Africa. I approached my An estimated 3.4 million customers the way I was used to in Nigeria. I put Zimbabweans, a quarter on a lot of pressure. After two or three complaints of the population, had fled found their way to the Augustin office I changed my abroad by mid 2007. behaviour. Since then there have, luckily, been no complaints”. Today Isaac has a different problem: he is still single. “I just can’t believe that I’ve been in Vienna for so long and still don’t have a girlfriend. Every woman in Austria is taken!” he complains. He is Coming to a new country thankful, though, for the affection he gets from is might save people from customers: “I want to thank my customers. If I knew a potentially dangerous all their names I would name them one by one. The situation but it is not, by any Austrians are very, very nice people, very kind. A big means, a magical solution for thank you to Augustin too!” all problems. Many people Marian, who works for the same street paper, struggled before and even shares the feeling. The Nigerian refers to her regular during their work as a street customers as “family”. And she has her reasons paper vendor. Being a black for it. “One man brings me tea almost every day, woman in Austria, Marian because I have to protect myself against catching was told she had only one a cold, he says”. Marian has almost ten pairs of option to make money: gloves at home because people assume that “Every person I asked how African women are more vulnerable to the cold. One I could survive here said customer, who learned from Marian’s identity card ‘you have two options that she had the same birthday as him, invited her to prostitution in Prater, or his birthday party. And a teacher gave her what she prostitution at the West considers her “biggest gift”: she paid for German station’. But selling my body lessons, so that Marian could improve her language was not an option for me”. skills. Isaac Nwankwere’s On the other side of the globe, in Australia, problems started right Tapiwa got in touch with street paper The Big Issue upon arrival in Austria. He Australia, and soon started selling the magazine. escaped from Nigeria, trying He says the customers play an important role in to flee from a violent uncle. supporting street paper vendors in difficult times. The local church found the “I work for my customers. Some say ‘I’ll see on possible, although quite Thursday’ so I make sure I’m there. I would like to irregular, way to take him thank my customers for helping me out. Sometimes, out of the country: they if you chat with someone selling the street paper, it smuggled him onto to a ship. makes our day. It makes us feel very encouraged.” Marian Oshoshor sees some of her customers as family. Photo: Mario Lang / Augustin Isaac, who had at that point A family of customers �ST R EE T V IB E S Day by Day Calendar 11 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Day by Day is an annual calendar which includes photographs and writing by homeless and formerly homeless individuals in Cincinnati and is distributed by Streetvibes distributors. Provide creative and economic opportunities for people experiencing poverty. The Day by Day pilot project began in 2010 as an effort to provide individuals who are financially poor with the opportunity to portray Cincinnati through their own eyes and provide an additional economic opportunity for all Streetvibes distributors. • Facilitate an open ended self expressive process for formerly and currently homeless individuals • Enrich lives by providing art education and building self-confidence • Build relationships throughout the community between diverse groups of people • Through the The Mayerson Service-Learning Program, connect program participants with students from diverse local high schools • Provide individuals who are financially poor with an economic opportunity • Raise awareness about homelessness and poverty • Create a full color 12 month calendar Program Participants 2010. Aimie Willhoite Photography Empower people to help themselves: During the pilot program 20 distributors sold 1000 calendars throughout the community, resulting in direct earnings of $2,500. This year we are determined to expand the program by increasing the print run of calendars to 2500, giving our Streetvibes Distributors the opportunity to earn up to $7,500. Show Cincinnati you care: Your sponsorship contributes to the development of a healthy community. By sponsoring Day by Day you connect yourself or your organization to a project that provides income to impoverished individuals within our own community. Enrich lives: Your sponsorship helps individuals who may not have the resources to be involved with the local arts community by providing them with a means of self-expression which, in turn, increases self-confidence and self-sufficiency. Promote understanding and build community: The 2012 calendar and exhibition will receive positive media attention and will create awareness of people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Receive recognition for aligning your organization or business with a cause: Your sponsorship will provide a great means of promoting your company’s image, prestige and credibility. Help us reach our goal of expanding the Day by Day calendar project. Your sponsorship will help offset the cost of printing 2500 calendars and showcase the creative work of our participants. All contributions to Day by Day are tax-deductible. As a participating sponsor your name or organization logo will be published on on each calendar, on all marketing materials (including banners, postcards, posters, PSA’s, website), and will be displayed at the release party and during the exhibition of work from the calendar at Prairie Gallery. All sponsors will also receive complimentary copies of the calendar and special mention at the October release party. Level Amount Platinum $1000 Gold $500 Silver $100 Recognition Calendar Sponsor: includes recognition on every month of the calendar Seasonal Sponsor: includes recognition on a season of the calendar Monthly Sponsorship: includes recognition on a month of the calendar Indicate season or month preference: (e.g. Autumn, July) Seasons and months will be designated in the order sponsorships are received. 1stChoice____________________ 2ndChoice___________________ Name:_____________________________________ Title:_________________________ Organization:_____________________________________________________________ Phone:_____________________ Email:________________________________________ Address:_________________________________________________________________ City:____________________________________________Zip:_____________________ Signature:________________________________________Date:___________________ Make checks payable to: Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless Day by Day Calendar Project 117 E. 12th Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45223 For more information, contact Jeni Jenkins (513) 421-7803 Ex. 14 or David Rosenthal at (513) 582-9833 Email logo to jenijenkins@cincihomeless.org THANK YOU FOR YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE SPONSORSHIP AND SUPPORT! �Games 12 Crossword: Put your advertisment here Sodoku: 1 3 2 5 9 7 8 9 5 1 7 2 1 3 3 7 #10509 Across 1. Singers 4. Public affairs channel 7. Majestic 10. In a menacing manner 11. Ethnic defense body 12. Conforms to 16. Article 17. Duplicate 20. Take flight 21. Annulus 22. Bring ashore 23. Snakelike fish 24. Not so much 27. Passed with flying colors 29. Gibbet 30. Confederate general 32. Show failing mental faculties 33. Fencing position 35. Obnoxious 36. Former South American civilization 37. Foul 38. Support for injury Down 2. Persia 3. Turn 4. Star sign 5. Inadvertent mistake 6. Not supple 8. Expression of agreement 9. False 13. Worse 14. Flirt 15. Detect 17. Stride 18. I will comply 19. Small picture in a larger one 24. Lieutenant Colonel (2,3) 25. Tastelessly showy 26. Blackballs 28. Submit 31. Go out 33. Fraud 34. Enclosure www.bmi.name ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Are you overweight? www.sudoku.name/ads/ 8 6 6 1 7 4 3 2 6 4 7 9 5 1 7 5 9 8 5 6 www.sudoku.name �Creative Corner ST R EE T V IB E S 13 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Yesterday Opening my eyes WILLA DENISE JONES SCOTT SWITZER Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer Yesterday is long gone and so very far behind Opening my eyes....has opened my heart. How? you may ask..... let me show you how to start. First by being able to see, all that has been right in front of you and of me..... Yesterday is something only in our minds does it shine Yesterday is when the elders had troubles far away Yesterday I accept is the past so I live only for today Someone said tomorrow is not promise and yesterday has past Someone said right now is what’s going on so tell me how long can it last I believe that a mixture of the past and the present in the world of today Is all we need to endure for the future belongs to only God I say So why not live one day at a time and each moment experience that treasure I believe our lives would be much easier, happier, and full of God’s love and pleasure! There he is once again ........ As you walk down the street, you are afraid to acknowledge or even let your eyes meet... Your mind misinformed knowing not what to say, as you try and look away..... you think to yourself, I see this every day! Suddenly...... You hear children laugh and giggle... down the street they go, as they dance and wiggle.. Their mom and dad calling for them, and they know it is time.... For yet again they all must stand in the line.. Your perception misleads, as you assume that they are safe.... Cause what you do not know, Is they have no food for their plate. Cleo’s Joke Corner CLEO WOMBLES Streetvibes Distributor Another night approaches, they have no place to go.... Because your eyes were not open, and today’s news failed to show... The plight of the homeless, is bigger than you know.... By accepting the stereotype, your mind tries to believe.... The misconception of who, is truly in need... Not just the visualization of a bum in a park but the realization of a family who has no place to lay their heads..... After dark. Q:Do you know what one peanut said to the other? A: He said that he was “ASALTED!” Q:Do you know what the hotdog said when he crossed the finish line in first place? A: He said he was a “WEINER!” ANTHONY WILLIAMS Streetvibes Distributor �Recipe 14 ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 UR... ONG! O M Y E SE NIGHT L FEED M E ALL JENKINS M D E I FE BY JEN The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! SAVORY BRUSCHETTA-ESQUE PIZZA G A LITTLE ITA BRIN LY H Funny thing about bruschetta, it’s not something that you really think about making for dinner. No, usually this tasty little Italian appetizer is served as finger food at parties and gatherings. But the great thing about it is that because it so closely resembles pizza it can serve you well as a main dish. For this recipe I actually went a different direction then I had originally intended because the Kroger I went shopping at didn’t have fresh basil or ripe tomatoes so I improvised. To my surprise, it turned out delish. If you are on a tight budget but craving something satisfying yet easy, you can try this as a main dish. Serving size, 4-5 bellies OM E ! Ingredients: Cost at Kroger: 1 can Italian style diced tomatoes, drained .77 1 loaf French bread, sliced down the middle 1.99 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil .60 2 tablespoons butter, softened .25 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced .20 LOREM Aliquam blandit Praesent molestie lorem Etiam ac libero 8 oz. Kroger brand shredded Italian cheese 1.50 IPSUM Anteseasoning magna vehicula Sed turpis 1 tablespoon Italian Approximate Cost: $5.31 •Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees •Lay bread face up on a baking sheet. •Combine olive oil, butter and garlic in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Brush garlic mixture on bread. •Spread the diced tomatoes evenly on bread. •Sprinkle bread with the cheese •Top with italian seasoning •Bake in oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes cheese is melted or until hot and bubbly •Voila, FEED! �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S 15 J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 Other Resources 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 Anthony House (Youth) Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-5514 Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care Hamilton/Middletown 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �Column 16 ST R EET VIBES J u n e 1 0 - 2 3 , 2 0 11 Capturing the Moment so It Will Last for Ever Melvin Grier uses his camera to document both news events and daily street life. M elvin Grier likes to quote African American civil rights writer James Baldwin who, reflecting on Richard Avedon’s photography, said: “For nothing is fixed forever and ever… Generations do not cease to be born and we’re responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have.” This is the role Grier chose for himself. For over 30 years and as a photojournalist he has witnessed and recorded his time’s events, paying special attention to his native city’s street life and to the life of his fellow African American Cincinnatians. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Grier graduated from Martin DePorres, an all black boy’s high school in the West End. Later, he joined the Air Force, trained as a medic and based in England he worked in an obstetrical hospital at RAF Mildenhall. Saad Ghosn Contributing Writer There and during his off-duty time, he picked up photography and learned basic skills and technique at the photo hobby shop on the base. With a camera in hand and a stainless steel developing tank to reveal his images he experienced the power of pictures, discovering at the same time the potent social works of Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks Pokemon, color photograph Photo: Melvin Grier. and W. Eugene Smith. When discharged from the military and back in Cincinnati, Grier decided to work as a photographer. He joined briefly a commercial studio, worked for eight years for a printing company and finally landed at the Cincinnati Post as a full time photojournalist. “Working for the Post was a great experience,” he says. “I would Melvin Grier stands in front of his photograph Checkers Players. Photo: Bill Howes. be given says. “The agenda, as we know it, is to uproot the different assignments, some more fulfilling poor. It was important to be a voice for them.” than others, but most importantly the opporHomeless individuals and panhandlers also tunity every day to be out on the streets and often found their way in his photographs. Grier explore things on my own.” considers them part of what makes the city, and Grier likes to call himself a street photheir begging to earn a living similar to a job. His tographer. Driving the city on many of his photograph Pokemon represents a homeless man assignments, he would encounter and capof the same name, sitting under the snow, holding ture through his lens the ordinary and the a blessing sign and asking passer-bys for charity. less mundane, documenting regular black “Pokemon would sit there every single day, a people’s lives and activities as well as the constant feature of the city,” says Grier. “He surely societal ills that affected them. In the face of viowas not lazy; something else must have been golence and increased homicides among black youth, ing on in him. But if anything he added daily comhe photographed, for instance, the many street passion and humanity to the busy urban life.” memorials spontaneously erected for gun victims in Thanks to his job at the Post, Grier was also various neighborhoods. His series Unfinished Lives able to travel the world. He visited, among other was published in Cincinnati Magazine; it meant to countries, El Salvador, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, make readers reflect and become involved in the Vietnam, Cuba, Haiti… and at each of his abroad problem solving process. Grier assignments captured the human, social and poalso took pictures at Cease Fire litical issues of the place, amazed by the cultural Cincinnati vigils held at the sites of diversity, connecting with the local people. the shootings, sharing them with “There are obvious differences between culthe deceased’s family and friends tures,” he says. “If we ignore them and do not and printing them at some point in reach out to understand them, we become prejuthe Post, raising awareness about diced and develop a racist attitude.” the issue. His statement relates well to his own experiSensitive to the displacement ence having encountered wide spread racial disof poor people caused by the recrimination, intolerance and inequity growing up habbing of urban neighborhoods as a black child in the 50’s, training as a medic in and having seen many of his childMontgomery, Alabama, and witnessing the racial hood places, including the building violence of the 60’s. where he grew up, demolished in Even though his personal and private work order to “serve progress”, he took dealt primarily with African American subjects, the many pictures of the changing majority of Grier’s assignments as a photojournalstatus of Over The Rhine and the ist related to white people and resulted in photos resulting effects on its inhabitants. exclusively depicting them. He wanted thus to state history “I often would be the only black person presand resist, even if only symbolient and the one taking the pictures,” he says. He cally, the ongoing gentrification of recently showed in an exhibit titled White People the area. sixty of these pictures taken at different times. “Progress comes and poor Seen with the eyes of a minority individual, they people move on,” he says. “Parts again remind of diversity and of the need to reach of Over the Rhine are looking very out and learn about others. up-scale these days, unfortunately “Everything to me is about photography,” says at the expense of the disadvanGrier. “I used it for my job, but also to document taged, mostly African Americans, things I care about, the human condition in my who, in the process, lose part of city, its street life, the problems facing the African their past.” American community, jazz, store front churches… For the same reasons Grier It served also as my voice when I needed to make documented the deteriorating a statement, for instance when opposing the zoo’s condition of Washington Park. expansion at the expense of its residential neighInitially a welcoming green space borhood…” for the neighborhood, the park had Now retired, Grier continues his love affair become in the last few years a with the camera. He still wants his photographs neglected, littered and dangerous to touch emotionally and connect with the viewer, place to frequent. also capture the present moment and life as it “I was convinced this was degoes on. liberately allowed to happen,” he Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource June 10-23, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Tebbe Remembered Seeking Refuge in a Street Paper Pg 2: “Who Ya Gonna Call?!” Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: The Meaning Pg 5: The Failing American Dream Pg 6: Little Hands: Big Hands Lesson Learned Pg 7: Meetup Pg 8: Photo Essay Pg 9: Photo Essay Continued Pg 10: Seeking Refuge Continued Pg 11: Day by Day Pg 12: Games Pg 13: Creative Corner Pg 14: Recipe Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Capturing the Moment So It Will Last for Ever Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource June 10-23, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Josh Spring Catie Dargue Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Riccardo Taylor Della Woolens Ruby Goode Georgia Bohannon Stephen Gentry Willa Denise Jones Scott Switzer Saad Ghosn Jim Luken Lee Mccoy Inês Santinhos Gonçalves Cleo Wombles Melvin Grier Bill Howes Anthony Williams Mario Lang Paul Davis Aimie Willhoite Jesse Call Jason Dean Mark Mendoza Alisa Balestra Harrison Lott Corey Luthringer Brittany Fong Terique Scott Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Alisa Balestra Anthony Williams Mario Lang Bill Howes Brittany Fong Catie Dargue Cleo Wombles Community Leaders Corey Luthringer Della Woolens Harrison Lott Inês Santinhos Gonçalves Jason Dean Jeni Jenkins Jesse Call Jim Luken Josh Spring Lee McCoy Mark Mendoza Melvin Grier Music Paul Davis Philanthropy Photography Recipe Refuge Riccardo Taylor Ruby Goode Georgia Bohannon Saad Ghosn Scott Switzer Stephen Gentry Students Susan Lakes Tebbe Terique Scott Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/65a8fab01a24a8bed957a5194c12fa69.pdf 44ad57d77e40a91ce5bb92c97fb1f0b0 PDF Text Text Distributor Profile: ST R EE T V IB E S James Brown Happy Birthday Amnesty International PG 11 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 PG 3 M AY 2 7 T H - J U N E 9 T H 2 0 11 Putting Life and Death into Perspective PG 16 1 ISSUE 200 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Celebrating Our History SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer T he city’s panhandling debate is partly responsible for the advent of Streetvibes. Now, 200 editions later, Streetvibes continues to offer its Distributors a dignified way to make a living as entrepreneurs. Trained Distributors purchase Streevibes from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless for a quarter, and collect a dollar donation for each paper. Modeled after Cleveland’s street paper, Streetvibes started out with a print run of 500 and grew six-fold. The same win-win-win principles guide the publication today. It’s a win for the general public since the paper delves deep into issues that impact common ordinary people. It’s a win for those marginalized and underrepresented since it allow a forum for self expression, and it’s a win for the Homeless Coalition. Production changed throughout the paper’s 15 year life. At first, the staff of volunteers quickly, composed, typed, cut, waxed and pasted the stories and art to meet print deadlines. Nowadays, a staff editor directs story creation and computers transmit the stories to the print shop. But one thing remains constant: Distributors anxiously await each edition. It’s there to distribute, and distribute they do. They distribute a version of the printed word that keeps people in touch with what’s REALLY going on since the news is generated at the grassroots level. “It comes from the ground up, not the top down,” said Bonnie Neumeier, a longtime Over-The Rhine resident and activist. Neumeier was glad to see Streetvibes. It filled a void left by the ending of a previous local publication and organizing tool called Voices, which ceased publication a few years before the beginning of Streetvibes. In the early days, Streetvibes content was not only in print, but on cable access television and radio, a combination one of the founders, Pat Clifford, fondly refers to as the great media empire. There was even a group of musicians, the Streevibes band that provided introductory music for the television show. A Former Director Looks Back... D onald Whitehead published a book, recieved a Governor’s appointment to a drug policy committee and headed up a national level organization for homeless awareness. Although the former Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) director now lives and works miles away on the east coast, he hasn’t forgotten his beginnings. “My heart will always be in Cincinnati,” Whitehead, a Cincinnati native, said from Baltimore in a recent phone interview. Streetvibes is one way he keeps in touch with The Queen City. “It’s amazing to see how far the paper has come from the early days,” he said. The publication helps change the lives of people experiencing homelessness, and elevates the public’s level of understanding of homeless issues said the formerly homeless Whitehead. Whitehead now serves in a direct service position for an organization called Beans and Bread. Before that, he served as the Director of the National Coalition for Homelessness after moving from management and director positions at Goodwill and the local homeless coalition. At GCCH, Whitehead started as a volunteer, moved to an outreach position within a year and later to Executive Director. He served in that role for two years. For a Streetvibes Timeline see page 7. Turn to pages 8-9 to see past Streetvibes Covers. �Editorial 2 The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is the home of Streetvibes, these are a few of the great milestones for the GCCH over the years. 1984 Everlene Leary and Kathleen Prudence (two mothers of children at Peaslee when it closed as an elementary school in Spring of 1982) hand over a check for $209,239.13 to buy the former school so that the neighborhood can keep the building as an educational and cultural resources in Over-theRhine 1997 Congress finalizes welfare reform, imposing time limits up to five years for continued welfare benefits and granting states greater freedom to impose their own standards on welfare recipients. All homeless shelters in the city are full. 1999 GCCH forms the Voice of 200! Really, this is an accomplishment. To tell the truth when I came in and interviewed for the position of Editor of Streetvibes, my knowledge of the paper and its history was limited. I knew it was a street paper, I knew its purpose, but what I didn’t know and what I couldn’t understand until being a part of it was the incredible impact these words and images have on a community. I did not fully understand how much could be accomplished by the voices that often go unheard. In the research I did preparing for the 200th edition, I was certainly educated. Looking over the piles of back issues and books describing the accomplishments of the coalition, I thought to myself how amazing it was that this was all the formation of a vision. A vision that depicts a day where everyone is counted, everyone can eat, and everyone can rest their head at night in a place without fear. It is more than inspiring to see their words and feel the movement of the pictures. What Streetvibes has accomplished over the years was to give a voice to situations, people, problems, and anything or anyone else who was suffering. Streetvibes make’s community issues ‘front page news’ and forces Cincinnati to stand up and take notice. I am so proud to be a part of this and I celebrate and congratulate those who were here before, those here now, and those who will undoubtedly come after to raise awareness and make this community better for its Residents. There is not much I could write to do it justice, except to express my sincere and honest appreciation for this place and this paper. I also wanted to share a couple of my favorite things I came across when researching this issue. The first is an Ann Landers quote and the second is a cover of Streetvibes from August of 2003. When I was going through old issues to find covers to feature in this edition I was moved when I read these words… When life’s problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. -Ann Landers rights site for the National Civil Rights Organizing Project. 2003 20th Anniversary of GCCH GCCH co-founds the Affordable Housing Advocates (AHA) a group dedicated to advocating for safe, affordable, accessible housing. 2009 Metropole Struggle Begins 2010 Cold shelter saved with the inclusion of trained shelter workers. Metropole Tenants Sue Homeless Congress formed People’s Platform for Equality & Justice is formed Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax 513.421.7813 Email: jenmatrin@cincihomeless.org Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff jenmartin@cincihomeless.org Layout & Cover Art: Jeni Jenkins To see the history of Streetvibes and quotes from those involved see pages 5, 8, & 9 2008 In partnership with AHA and Legal Aid, GCCH helps form Tenants United for Truth, a tenant-run advocacy group comprised of tenants, housing advocates and concerned community members organized to address the increasing attacks on affordable housing Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Editor Jen Martin the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau, empowering homeless individuals to share their stories with groups throughout Greater Cincinnati. 2000 GCCH becomes a regional civil ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Interested in becoming a Streetvibes Distributor? Follow these six simple steps to be on your way: 1) Pick up a Distributor packet at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, located at 117 East 12th Street, Cincinnati. 2) Fill out the Distributor Application Form, and initial each statement on the Code of Conduct and sign & review the Disciplinary Policy 3) Read the most recent copy of Streetvibes. 4) Attend an Orientation Thursdays at 10AM 5) Take and pass the quiz Tuesdays at 10AM. 6) Receive approval and have your picture taken, a badge will be made and you will be provided with 10 free papers to get you started! Questions? Call: (513) 421-7803 Contributing Writers : Susan Lakes, Corey Gibson, Josh Spring, Jeni Jenkins, Riccardo Taylor, Willa Denise Jones, Laura Osborne-Coffey, Saad Ghosn, Jennifer Martin, Bonnie Nuemeier, buddy, gray, Jessie Call, www. streetnewsservice.org Photography/Artwork: Reuters, Aimie WillHoite, Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Saad Ghosn, Jimmy Heath, Steven Finke, Dan Moore, Seth Tobocman. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. �Distributor Program ST R EE T V IB E S 3 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON (OR STAY ON) THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS Distributor Profile: James Brown SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer ames Brown, 40, was last featured in Streetvibes six months ago. At that time, he vowed he’d continue to work hard, do well for others and leave a good footprint. To that end, Brown has taken on a new role. He’s not into politics, but that didn’t stop him from joining an advocacy group called The Homeless Congress. For Brown, the congress will become a uniting voice for the homeless, somewhat like a union unites workers. “I hope we can let everyone know about it, and like for the congress to go to different soup kitchens and shelters” he said about the outreach efforts to find new members. “I like to lend a helping hand.” Brown works in Over-The-Vine distributing Streetvibes. May 7 marked his two year anniversary working in the same location. He’s built a customer base at Vine and Central Parkway, and offers a shout -out to all the Kroger employees who buy the papers each week. One time, Brown missed a week of work. The customers noticed, and a few even called the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless looking for him. He’s so serious about the job and concerned about the customers, Brown shovels snow off the sidewalks so they can get to him to buy their Streetvibes. Brown says he’s healthy now, but it hasn’t always been that way. “I got stabbed through the heart in 1994 and have a mechanical heart valve,” he said, adding he’s had two heart attacks since then. He’s changed since finding a job and changing his outlook on life. “I stopped doing ignorant stuff,” he said about his transformation from lawbreaker to helper. “I ain’t got time to go back to prison.” Brown said he used to sell drugs, but he turned his life around by hanging out with positive rather than negative people. “…And I found a job and go to church,” he said. These days, it’s faith and hope that keeps him going. “Don’t let nobody try to get you down,” he said about the advice he’d offer to people who are struggling. “If I wasn’t selling papers (Streetvibes), I’d probably be out there doing drugs.” Over-TheRhine is a special place to Brown. He wants to keep J ANTHONY WILLIAMS SINCE 9/2006 ANTONE HEATER NEW 4/2011 BARBARA MURPHY SINCE 2/2009 BRANDON NELSON SINCE 4/2008 CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 CRANDALL COBB SINCE 2004 DAVID TOUGH 3/2011 ELISA HILL SINCE 9/2010 GRADY COOK SINCE 8/2007 JAMAL DARDEN SINCE 1/2010 JAMES BROWN SINCE 3/2009 JAMES BYBEE SINCE 9/2010 JAMES DAVIS SINCE 8/2003 JAMES MOORE SINCE 11/2010 JEFFERY JOHNSON SINCE 8/2009 JIMMIE GIPSON SINCE 8/2010 JON DARBY SINCE 2/2006 JOSEPHINE BASKERVILLE SINCE 9/2008 JULIE WALKER SINCE 6/2007 KAREN COLLETTE SINCE 7/2008 KEITH EUTSEY SINCE 2/2011 KIM GREEN SINCE 1/2010 LARRY BROWN SINCE 10/2007 LEE MCCOY SINCE 7/2009 LEONARD JACKSON SINCE 2/2005 MARK DAUGHTERY NEW 3/2011 MARK ANTHONY SHEARS SINCE 12/2007 MARY MUELLER SINCE 5/2005 RAESHAWN GIPSON SINCE 3/2009 RAYNARD JONES SINCE 10/2008 RONNIE PHILLIPS SINCE 10/2009 SAMUEL JACKSON SINCE 10/2006 SHANNON MOATS NEW 3/2011 TIA CASS SINCE 11/2007 TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 WILLIAM BURDINE SINCE 8/2009 W. KENNETH BUSSELL SINCE 10/2009 TERRY RANSON SINCE10/2008 James Brown, Proud Streetvibes distributor. Photo: Susan Lakes it that way by working cooperatively with the groups, such as 3CDC, that claim to be transforming the area.“They need to help out with low income housing. They are trying to run low income people out of downtown. It’s bad enough they closed Washington Park down,” he said. Brown said he visits the 3CDC office regularly, but just gets brushed off. “That’s one of my pet projects,” he said, adding that he gives 3CDC a copy of Streetvibes every two weeks. (So far, 3CDC has not offered to pay Brown the usual $1.00 donation, he said).But he remains hopeful, and offers these words of advice to 3CDC. “We can work together by building low income housing.” But that task, like all Brown’s others, is out of his hands. He hands them over to God. The Bible inspires him. “My foundation is Psalms 116, verse 8,” he said. First Peter 3, 13-24 is important in that it lets people know how to treat each other “said Brown, grinning broadly and declaring himself a people person. To find out more about the Homeless Congress contact Riccardo Taylor at (513) 421-7803, or stop by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless at 117 East 12th Street in Cincinnati. � 4 From The Director ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Who’s Talking? JOSH SPRING Executive Director D igging Deep. How often do you dig deep into a topic, discussion, statement and/ or controversy? Far too often we do not second-guess, much less third and fourth- guess. We don’t question. We don’t think critically. We just accept. We assume that everyone presenting to us truly has good intentions and we accept what they have to say at face value. We do this all time. Sure we sometimes talk about how we listen to tv advertisements for example when we really shouldn’t, or sometimes talk about how politicians really are not to be trusted, but do we really dig deep. There are so many issues that we are told are one way, when if we only thought a little bit critically and every now and then, did a little bit of research, we would realize that in fact what we are being told is a stretch or a complete untruth. Not digging deep (usually mixed with fear created by those that don’t want us to dig deep) is what leads whole societies to eventually believe it is justified to murder whole groups of people, or commit wars, or believe that certain people are less intelligent because of how they look or that other folks are by nature more dangerous or that we should primarily invest in exhaustible resources and the list goes on. It is interesting (and frustrating) to me that those of us who think of ourselves as fore-thinking and progressive- those of us that have figured out what is really going on with the aforementioned issues, so often are duped by good-looking presentations- especially by people that claim to have the same opinions as ours. It is sort of like sometimes in our need to be open, we act foolish. I cannot tell you how many times I have had great people exclaim to me that we no longer need to worry about a particular issue because the foe in the issue explained why it was not a problem to begin with. And if the person had simply referred back to the original reason that provoked us to agreed it was in issue and applied that critical thinking to the new strategic claim of the foe- they would realize it is still an issue. For example, someone may get impassioned at hearing that people are being forced from their homes through gentrification. This may even anger the person- so this person may ask the gentrifier why they are doing it and the gentrifier may respond by saying well we are trying to bring progress and better economics to the area and we are making sure everyone finds a new home. So the once incensed person comes back sayingoh everything is fine- we will have progress and people will have new homes. And again you have to say to the person- “So if you give someone a new home, that makes it okay to force them from their current home because you think who they are will stop progress?- Really?” “Is it okay to move people because you don’t want them?” And then the last question should be how did you so easily get convinced of something else? It often seems that we struggle to take stands. Everyone is afraid to draw a clear line in the sand. Those that are against us do it most clearly, but even they struggle. In action they show that they want certain people out of sight, though they don’t often actually claim it, they make it happen and then when asked about it, they claim they actually want something better for people . As children we are taught don’t believe everything you hear. Why do we forget that? Next time you hear directly or indirectly that people who are normally marginalized were helped in the name of progress, go ask the supposed “helped people.” I’ll bet they have a different story- a true story. By the way- that is often where you find passion too. joshspring@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 13 Making Music for a Cause Streetvibes thanks Tyler Walton and Point Five SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer M usician Tyler Walton saw a need close to home and helped. The Mason High School senior picked the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition as recipient of the proceeds made when his band performed at the 86 Club the first weekend in May. Walton’s performance with a band called Point Five met the requirements for a high school multicultural class assignment. A lot of his friends in the class picked causes and charities in other countries. Tyler’s money, though, will stay right here at home. “The Homeless Coalition seemed like the right way to go,” he said. “I wanted to pick something you Left to Right Jessie Cherubini, Tony Rood, Tyler Walton, Robby Wakilee, Chris Reynolds could do today.” Photo: Susan Lakes By that, he meant he wasn’t inperson a lift in his car, and Walton helps every chance he terested in picking a fund recipient gets. he hasn’t met. He and at least one other band member “It’s a group that doesn’t have a voice,” Walton said have met homeless people. “We’ve seen people outside asking for money,” said Chris Reynolds, guitarist for Point about his motivation for giving to the local coalition. “They know what best to do with the money so that it helps the Five. “We help every chance we get because we realhomeless.” ize how hard it is.” Reynolds once offered a homeless Walton continued, “What better way to help the homeless than to play music and We serve as a creative outlet raise money.” for women in need to uncover their talents and build relationships while making and selling jewelry, quilts, and other handcrafted items. We provide a welcoming environment and continuous support-our women do the rest. They are our voice. They are our mission. They are our Sarah Center. Artists receive 50 % from the sale of their items, while the rest goes towards materials and other support. Sarah Center HELPING WOMEN HELP THEMSELVES 1618 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 For more information visit www.sfoutreach.org susanlakes@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 12 The 86 Club is located at 2820 Vine Street. The club features live music 8 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday nights. It’s also open 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Mon-Fri. More information is available at : www.the86club.com facebook.com/ streetvibes cincinnati twitter.com/ streetvibesnwes streetvibes.wordpress.com Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �ST R EE T V IB E S Meet Up 5 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Meetup An Interview with one of able to care for me, my little brothers or my son” [In more recent years, Jeni reveals Jim Luken proudly, that Contributing Writer her mother has turned eet Jeni Jenkins, 31 years old. her own life Mother of two, Caleb 15 and around, reKirah 11. Born and raised in turned to colIdaho, this dynamic young woman lege in her describes herself as “highly ambitious 40’s and now and very creative.” works as a soJeni is someone who is very well cial worker]. known to the man or woman who, in Still in her all likelihood, sold you the award-winmid-teens, ning street newspaper you are readJeni left home ing. Jeni is the Director of Education again. First, and Outreach for the Greater Cincincouch-surfing nati Homeless Coalition. “Basically,” at friend’s she says, “my job is to advocate, emJeni Jenkins. Photo: Chris Kromer Photography houses, then power and educate the public about eventually conAs an early teen Jeni fought poverty and homelessness.” No small tacting social services and placing constantly with her mother, as many task indeed. herself and her child into foster care. One of the primary hats she wears teens do, but the addition of drugs “I walked in and asked them to help pushed the relationship over the edge. these days (which involves 30% of her me, help me raise my son, I was na“I remember being so frustrated with time) is to manage distribution for the ive thinking they could help me get a my mother and her erratic behavior, bi-weekly publication of Streetvibes. place of my own, but they told me my but at first I didn’t understand why Although Streetvibes Distributors ofoptions as a minor and I took them.” she had changed, I didn’t realize that ten come and go, Jeni knows most of Her experiences in foster care drugs were feeding the behavior.” So them by face and name. And they not were primarily positive, although one in a heated argument, Jeni left home, only know her, but they rely heavily on very caring family she lived with were, away from the unstable environment her skills, her care, and her intense by Jeni’s call, a little overprotective, and the strained relationship. “I was energy. But few of our Distributor’s especially of her son. For example: basically a runaway,” she says “relying know Jeni’s own story. “If he cried in the middle of the night, on friends from school for my basic That story mirrors, in a profound my foster mother would come in and needs.” way, the lives of many people with insist that I get my sleep for school. I After a few months, Jeni returned whom she comes in contact in her felt guilty that she was taking care of home and tried to get help for her work for the Homeless Coalition. him, and not me.” Nonetheless, she mother, to get her “clean.” It didn’t “I grew up in a family with a single remains grateful for the couple’s love work at the time. Within a few months mother who married three times. and care. Jeni had her first child, a son, while We lived in poverty most of the time, Eventually Jeni’s aunt learned that her niece was living in foster care and went to the courts in order to gain custody of the young mother and child. Her aunt became a “guiding light” and helped her to return to school, a special alternative high school that permitted her to bring her son with her each day. Living with this “stable” relative gave Jeni the opportunity to graduate from high school on time and a 3.5 GPA. While in high school she met the father of her second child a girl, now eleven. For awhile, Jeni says, “I had the ‘white picket fence dream’. I wanted Jeni Jenkins with son Caleb and daughter Kirah. Photo: Chris Kromer Photography that cookie cutter life.” They bought a house and a car, got she was fifteen, adding that as soon not abject third-world poverty, but a dog and Jeni attended college and as she knew she was pregnant her we struggled financially. When I was worked part time as a program coorlifestyle changed. Prior to her son’s young my mother and step-father dinator at a women’s center-but all birth she had dropped out of school worked hard to provide for me and the while her partner was emotionally and drank and smoked pot frequently. my siblings and our basic needs were and physically abusive. “I tried to keep But that all changed when she discovalways met with love. However, in my it together, for the kids, but at some ered she was pregnatn. She returned formative years my mother divorced point I realized they would be better when her won was 6 weeks “because and re-married. At this time my mother off.” After three long years of torment, I didn’t want to be that drop-out teen was struggling with depression that fear and abuse, Jeni gained the courmom.” During the day her mother she eventually began masking with an age to leave him. Jeni got the house would watch her son while she was in addiction. I was around a lot of drugs in the seperation, but couldn’t afford to school, and in the evenings Jeni would as a teenager.” And did she partake. pay all the bills on her own. Eventually, return home and take care of her son “Totally,” she responds, “it was the foreclosure set in. And, once again, and her little brothers while her mother thing to do.” She recalls that, on her Jeni became homeless for a brief went out. “My mom wasn’t abusive,” 13th birthday, she received a bag of time, “but, I was resourceful and with she says, “she was distracted and not weed from her stepdad as a present. Streetvibes’ own. M the help of friends and the community, I was able to secure housing almost immediately and move into my own apartment.” After graduating with a degree in Social Science, with minors in dispute resolution and art in 2005, she secured a job as an Operations Coordinator for a Gay and Lesbian rights group called, “Your Family Friends and Neighbors” and found herself planning the major gay pride event for Boise in 2006. She also describes a crazy job she had working for a “Funny Bone” comedy club in Boise. As the marketing manager, she worked to create ads and contact newspapers and radio stations on behalf of the comedians who would roll into town to work the club. She liked the job, but found it a bit crazy-making. “Here I was, involved with these non-profits (working on behalf of various minorities), and I was in this club where people were coming in and telling racist and sexist jokes all the time. My bosses were always kidding me about my feminist friends and lesbian friends.” Although the pay wasn’t great, she enjoyed meeting the offbeat comedians, many of whom had various forms of dysfunction in their own lives. “They filled my life with color, and they made me laugh,” she adds. In 2006, Jeni made a life-changing decision to come to the University of Cincinnati, to receive her Masters Degree in Women’s Studies. She graduated 2008. She still misses Idaho and Boise, which, she says, is known as the “City of Trees.” She smiles, pointing out that the nickname (like Cincinnati’s) is a kind of misnomer. “There are trees along the Boise river, but everything else is mountain desert.” The State of Idaho is a different kind of conservative than Cincinnati , she says, a new conservatism versus an old. “Cincinnati,” Jeni avows, “is old greed, old money, old hate, and old racism.” But she has found a place here combating age-old problems with new solutions. Although she runs up against these “old” realities often in her job at the Homeless Coalition, she feels very glad to have found the unique position. “My job requires that I be involved with multiple community partners. I am constantly networking and learning.” Jeni finds that she is so “connected” these days that she receives calls from all over the city from folks who know that she is a person they can rely on to find creative solutions to the many complex problems that arise out of poverty and homelessness, out of dealing with the ones who make the rules, while she is dealing with those who often suffer by the same rules. As for the future, her goals remain as wide as the western sky that surrounded her young life. “I always wanted to do everything,” she laughs, “own my own business, start up an arts organization, travel to every country, play in a band.” To her work and to her dreams, Jenkins brings the fire of an artist. “I have this desire to be a liberation artist,” she says. The men and women who sell Streetvibes, and so many other homeless people who are part of her everyday life, hope that Jeni Jenkins remains nestled in the Queen City and in Homeless Coalition office on 12th Street for a long time to come. �6 Interest ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Mark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest Dan Moore Author & Illustrator ark Twain Was Right: Stories from the 2001 Cincinnati Riots and Unrest is a soon to be released graphic novel about United States’ first urban uprising in the 21st century. The story is told in a series of first-person perspectives from people who became intimately involved, from community leaders to random bystanders. Tying these narratives together is commentary by the author himself, then a budding radical teenager who finds the urban unrest influencing his life. Drawing on interviews and primary resources, a picture is painted of how one kid’s solitary death in a ghetto alley grows to impact every resident of the region. Mark Twain Was Right follows the sometimes contradictory and hard-to-comprehend developments from the day of the killing to Thomas’s funeral six days later, including the marches, posturing, organizing, brutality, looting, prayer, curfews and analysis that commanded international attention, inspiring ghetto residents and tormenting city leaders. M For more information about the complete graphic novel Mark Twain Was Right, email cincinnatiriotsbook@gmail.com for information and updates about the release of the completed novel. Radical Comic Illustrator Seth Tobocman shares his powerful vision with Streetvibes Jeni Jenkins Staff Writer A t a recent dinner party I had the pleasure of meeting Seth Tobocoman who was in Cincinnati for a book release event. When I explained that I worked for a street paper and that I was interested in covering a story on the upcoming event, he offered to let me reproduce some of his art in the paper. After a brief discussion about the work we do, he decided to draw an image on the spot representing our people and our movement. I’m excited to include this art here, as well as another piece he shared. Stay tuned in the next edition for a complete story on this radical comic and more graphics. For more information about Seth Tobocman visit www.sethtobocman.com. �ST R EE T V IB E S M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 7 Celebrating Our History Streetvibes: A Timeline Major Accomplishments and Major Stories Covered 1995 Cincinnati vendors begin to distribute Cleveland Homeless Grapevine; the paper eventually incorporates a four page section about Cincinnati news. 1996 buddy gray, Over-the-Rhine community activist, is shot and killed. 1997 First edition of Streetvibes published; Pat Clifford, director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless remembered the legacy of buddy gray on the first cover. The initial printing is 300 copies. All local homeless shelters fill in the city. Streetvibes becomes part of the North American Street Newspaper Association and representatives attend the annual conference. Opposition to the plan to move the location of the Cincinnati School for Performing Arts begins with article by Berta Lambert, longtime community activist and Streetvibes vendor. The testimony of Johnny William Byrd, Jr. from death row foreshadows Prisoner’s News Section. ReSTOC breaks ground on buddy’s place; Reverend Maurice McCrackin dies. 1998 Donald Whitehead becomes director of the GCCH; he raises Streetvibes circulation of 2,000 copies per month. on homeless and impoverished people. Alicia Beck becomes executive director of the GCCH; Berta’s Art Corner debuts, Streetvibes commemorates the sixth year anniversary of the Milner Hotel demolition and the subsequent loss of 115 units of low-income housing. Streetvibes printing reaches 8,000 copies monthly. Streetvibes gets full color on the front page; ReSTOC rehab project on Vine Street comes under fire from Cincinnati City Council; Hart Realty, largest property owner in Over-the-Rhine, opts out of Section 8 housing; Streetvibes debuts Veggie Vibes. Black United Front protests foreshadow racial unrest after Timothy Thomas shooting in April 2001; Streetvibes adopts magazine format. 2001 Greater Cincinnati Continuum of Care asks homeless people provide feedback on services, Dan Marschuner becomes editor. 2002 GCCH receives call from Mayor Charlie Luken demanding the Streetvibes stop publication. Upon realizing that Streetvibes receives no public funding, Luken is forced to stand down. Cincinnati mayor Charlie Luken asks City Solicitor’s office to examine ways to tighten restrictions on panhandling; years after previous ordinances were deemed unconstitutional and were overturned. In a GCCH campaign, thousands of citizens tell Mayor Luken that they support Streetvibes. City of Cincinnati’s panhandling ordinance ruled an unconstitutional limitation on free speech; Jimmy Heath becomes Streetvibes editor in addition to his other duties with GCCH. Despite concerns expressed by lowincome housing advocates, Lincoln Court adopts Hope IV federal housing program; Streetvibes debuts Prisoners’ News section. Laurel Homes joins Lincoln Court as Hope VI project; redesign plans indicate a loss of 1300 units of low-income housing. Demolition of Laurel Holmes begins; Tom Billman becomes editor. Tom is the first GCCH staff member to work exclusively on Streetvibes. 1999 GCCH forms the Speakers Bureau. The Bureau organizes homeless people to share their stories with groups, schools, and churches throughout Greater Cincinnati. Jimmy Heath is given a fellowship with the Congressional Hunger Center. 2000 GCCH becomes a regional civil rights site for the National Civil Rights Organizing Project Artists for the Drop Inn Center have a concept in support of the shelter’s efforts to oppose relocation The Civil Unrest of April 2001 is remembered in photographs. Protests against Hope IV development project which threatens displacement of lowincome families, continues. Huntington Meadows housing complex low-income residents face eviction for redevelopment project. 2006 Lynne Ausman, administrative coordinator, releases her research report “Criminalization of Homeless Individuals in Cincinnati” on the frequent criminalization and arrest of homeless individuals for minor misdemeanors that tend to only impact homeless people (open flask, loitering, jaywalking, etc.) and the great cost associated with arresting and incarcerating these individuals. The research is adopted by social service providers and earns GCCH a seat on the Hamilton Count committee looking at jail reform. 2007 Jimmy Heath dies on the night of GCCH’s annual dinner at which an outpouring of support, mourning and remembrance occurs. 2008 Gregory Flannery hired as Streetvibes Editor. Andy Freeze, Education Coordinator, initiates the Cincinnati Urban Experience (CUE), an urban plunge designed to educate high school and college students from across the country about homelessness. Streetvibes vendors sell all copies of a new edition. Associated Press reports on Streetvibes increased print run because of circulation growth. 2009 Jeni Jenkins become Education Coordinator, managing the Streetvibes vendors. Lynne Ausman becomes art director for Streetvibes. Streetvibes continuing writer Margo Pierce is named a Peter Jennings Fellow. Josh Spring becomes the Director of GCCH. Georgine Getty becomes Executive Director of Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. After nearly tripling its circulation over the course of 16 months, Streetvibes begins publishing bi-weekly. Citizens gather in the alley where Timothy Thomas was killed. At a ceremony in Denver, Flannery receives “Best Streetvibes TV plans its return to regular broadcasting. 2003 Streetvibes reports on te Panhandling for Awareness Campaign organized by GCCH and the Cincinnati Youth City Council. Cincinnati City Council passes a law requiring all panhandlers to register and receive a license. Streetvibes reports a new effort by City Hall to curb panhandlers by requiring them to get a license. 2004 20th Anniversary of GCCH Cincinnati City Council votes to extend the controversial Panhandling Registration ordinance. GCCH mobilizes the homeless service provider community and registers hundreds of homeless people to vote. as part of the Kunzel SCPA plan. Streetvibes begins extensive coverage of opposition to globalization, examining the effects of free trade Feature Story” award from the North American Street Newspaper Association. Streetvibes produces its first collaborative article for street papers in the United States and Canada. The article details policies that criminalize homelessness. 2010 GCCH volunteers spend Election Day in the 9 highest poverty districts in town to ensure that everyone has a chance to vote. Gregory Flannery steps down as Editor of Streetvibes. New GCCH homeless education packet is piloted in Cincinnati schools. Jen Martin is hired as Editor of Streetvibes. Streetvibes celebrates its 100th issue. Streetvibes celebrates the past, present, and future in this, the 200th issue. Mayor Charlie Luken cuts Human Service funding to $0. This leads to a 6 year battle led by GCCH to get this funding restored. 2011 �8 Celebrating Our History ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES: An Ever-Evolving Publication �ST R EE T V IB E S Celebrating Our History 9 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Past covers tell of our history and guide our future. �International News 10 Caring for Criminals Drug dealers, rapists, murderers - in the Bewa, a special ward in the Bern University Hospital, in Switzerland, they are all patients. The unique security prison takes care of inmates with medical or psychological problems. A day in the only Swiss high-risk prison with high-end medical treatment. SURPRISE (SWITZERLAND) www.streetnewsservice.org Before we enter the prison cell, we will talk about who does what: left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, head. Then we enter the cell, lay the inmate on the floor and hold him down.” The woman wearing the lightblue polo shirt with a name tag and deep blue trousers looks serious, but not unfriendly. Her voice is calm, her words are carefully chosen. She explains the procedure when somebody “ come here: Murderers, rapists, child abusers- criminals, about which the tabloids like to report. That’s also why journalists have camped in front of the entrance, hoping to get a statement from the staff. At the Bewa not only violent criminals are taken care of: here there are men and women in the penitentiary system, in imprisonment on remand or about to be deported- or not tolerable anymore in the psychiatry. At first glance, the Bewa seems a normal ward. At the second glance: the metal doors have a closable window hatch, the so-called “Suppentörli”; in the hallway a security guard sits in front of surveillance monitors, and on the inside of the door there are no handles installed. “The only ones getting in here are the ones we let in and out anyway,” said Bangerter, with her her Bernese dialect which makes everything sound a little softer and rounder. Currently, not all rooms - or “Zäuä” as Bangerter calls it - are occupied. You can spot the occupied ones because the Suppentörli is closed, meaning the inmates are in bed. In Switzerland, more men than women are in prison and therefore often on the Bewa. Nevertheless, “There are some very dangerous women in Switzerland.” Two beds, a table, a TV and a toilet, which is separated by a curtain from the rest room: at the Bewa there are only double rooms, one has no privacy here. “It is sometimes very difficult for people who have been in prison for over 20 or 25 years. They are often solitary people”, says Bangerter and shrugs her shoulders: “We would A warden looking into the cell. Photo: Annette Boutellier loses his temper. “If the inmate doesn’t calm down, he has to go into the safety cell. There are neither lamps nor TV, no glass with which he could hurt himself. But you can still destroy things, for example, tear out the lavabo from the wall. Depending on their state, people can develop immense strength.” Therese Bangerter, 46, sits at the meeting table in her office; the sun shines through the window and makes her blond hair shine. Outside the snowdrops are blooming. At the beginning of the conversation the director of the Berne Inselspital (Bewa) is a little reserved; he had too many bad experiences with the media. The Bewa for example, discretely located in one of the many clinics of the hospital, is a security prison, where inmates with medical or psychological problems are treated. Because the institution is unique in Switzerland, they all ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 experience the same: with a stranger in the room and the toilet is separated only by a curtain ... that’s not nice.” The work of the Bewa-staff - the team consists of 24 people, three of them are women - has two parts: “In the past you have called us guardians, but that is obsolete. Today, we are carers and supervisors”, explains Bangerter. In addition to her job as a deputy chief she is also the head of service. On one hand, she has to provide security and order, but on the other hand she needs to care for the inmates, for example helping when someone receives a letter that they do not understand. This dichotomy is a challenge: it may be that Bangerter explains the content of a long-awaited letter from the authorities in the morning. Later that day, the inmate becomes aggressive and wrecks the room to pieces. Then Bangerter has to overpower him and take him to the Therese Bangartner, deputy chief warden. Photo: Annette Boutellier safety cell. “On a personal level is not easy, we walk on a narrow bridge”. No monsters Cancer, appendix, dental problems, and an accident during sport activities in prison - the reasons why prisoners are on the Bewa are very different. “I have the impression that many people primarily end up in prison because they are mentally ill,” said Bangerter. Who had a schizophrenic psychosis, often sees no limits anymore. It happens easily that boundaries are overstepped. “If drugs, such as cocaine, are involved it becomes easily to commit a crime.” Older inmates come frequently to the Bewa. First, a check and later a hospital stay. “And at some point they come to us to die,” said Bangerter, shrugging her shoulders. Normally, visitors can only be received in the visiting room once a week for one hour. “But we are no monsters. If someone is very weak we decide, for example, that the sister is allowed to make an open visit to her brother.” “For me it does not matter what someone has done, I treat them all equally,” clarifies senior physician Bidisha Chatterjee. The specialist in internal medicine, who in addition to the Bewa also looks after the women’s prison Hindelbank, doesn’t talk about inmates, but about “patients.” Her office is not as Therese Bangerter’s office in the administrative wing of the station, but goes off the corridor with the hospital rooms. The window is barred; across the office is a shower room, next to it a toilet and a bath. “Back pain,” explains the doctor, “ is a typical health problem for prisoners, just like digestive problems, weight increase and insomnia, too.” It is difficult to sleep after sitting 23 hours in a cell after something terrible has happened. “I have the impression that many people primarily end up in prison because they are mentally ill”. Even if the same medical principles are applied, the work here is different from that in other wards. When the senior physician visits the room of a patient, the supervisors need to let her out again and she always has a safety button in case a patient becomes aggressive. Chatterjee was never scared to see a patient. The 40-year-old shakes her head smiling. “We provide care to the patients; we do not have to negotiate with them about whether they should call again or something. Many are happy to be treated “Some patients send the nurses Christmas wishes, on the grey prison paper.” Handcuffs and pepper spray The cooperation between medical and prison staff in a confined space is not easy. Medical treatment and security conflict every day. “Of course people come to us because they are in prison. First and foremost, they are here because they are ill. That is why medicine is a priority”, says the deputy head of department Bangerter. “The security must be organized around it.” For certain tests neurological or dentistry - the inmates need to be transferred to other departments. For this, handcuffs are compulsory. “Depending on the impression we have of someone, we also put fetters, too,” Bangerter says. Despite the high security standards, there are prison inmates who want to be moved to the Bewa because they believe it will be easier to escape. Once they realise, however, that this will probably not work, they want to return to prison. “Yes... we would probably try it, too”, Bangerter thoughtfully says. Since 2000, only one inmate has managed to escape, and he fortunately wasn’t dangerous. “I do not want to be quoted with my real name in the text. Maybe someone doesn’t like me and will search for me.” The tall man with dark hair has been working for almost four years at Bewa. He was actually trained to be a painter. “Everyone working in prison is newcomer. Proper training is required to work in the prison”, he explains. At first he was skeptical about how he would cope with the patients, but he soon stopped worrying. “We have a wrong picture of prisoners, which probably comes from the jailbirds on TV. The cliché about the tattoos is true perhaps - but otherwise the people are like you and me. What you learn here is that the way to prison is not a far one. There are enough people who are imprisoned for minor offenses. “ A constant issue at the Bewa is privacy: “The security staff is always present during the medical examinations - whether it is at the dentist �International News ST R EE T V IB E S 11 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 or the urologist. We see everything, even the diagnosis. Indeed, we try to stay in the background. But of course, the inmates can’t forget that someone is there. “ Like dogs “Those who work here must be philanthropists”, Therese Bangerter thinks. She and her colleague, who asked to remain anonymous, make a tour of the department: waiting room, quarantine rooms, drug toilet. The lat- ter is for body packers, people who have drugs hidden in the digestive tract. The toilet is designed so that everything that comes out of the body is immediately sucked. “Couriers from overseas have up to 100 drugs packages, called fingerlings, in the stomach. Thumb sized portions, usually packed in several layers of condoms “. “The most difficult for me are the women imprisoned pending deportation” Bangerter says, striking her hair behind her ear. “I go with them to the hospital to do the ultrasound examinations and talk to them about the babies to come. Even at birth I am present, these women have no one else. We had a woman here who was suppose to give birth on April 20. But recently a fax has arrived from the Foreign Service. It said the woman had been deported. Now I think, of course, about how she’s doing in her country of origin.” Her co-worker shares a story: “Right now we have somebody here who is violent and tied to the couch. Whenever the care staff is doing their job, I have to be there and hold him. He looks into my eyes and says: ‘I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you’. When you have a bad day you go home with an apprehensive feeling.” And yet, they don’t feel fear. Bangerter says: “It’s the same with dogs. They also realize when you’re afraid”. Happy Birthday Amnesty! Amnesty International turns 50 this month now disappearing them instead, or executing them extra-judicially. Amnesty International’s 30th anniversary saw the organization broaden its scope to cover work on abuses by LAURA OSBORNE-COFFEY armed opposition groups, hostage Contributing Writer taking and people imprisoned due to their sexual orientation. And after mnesty International turns 50 this 9-11, Amnesty took on the cause of month! Founded in 1961, Amworking against ‘rendition’ – cases of nesty International was the brain child people who were forcibly removed of British lawyer, Peter Benenson. He to countries where torture could and read an article about two students in did occur. Also in the last decade, Portugal, who were arrested simply the organization adopted a change for making a toast to freedom in a bar. to its mandate to work on the case of This incident was the incentive for Mr. social economic and cultural rights Benenson to write an article in the thus committing itself to advance London Observer, titled “The Forgotboth the universality and indivisibility Tissanaiyagam. Photo: Laura Osborne-Coffey ten Prisoners.” After writing this artiof all human rights enshrined in the office in Chicago. Mr. Haug discussed cle, which was reprinted in other coun- Universal Declaration. the Muslim Brotherhood’s beginnings tries, he started a program called as a liberal democracy and their cur“Appeal for Amnesty 1961.” It rent form and focus, and stated that it was to help what he termed is interesting that a peaceful protest in ‘prisoners of conscience’ – men Egypt succeeded where other, armed women and children who are arrevolutions have not, and Mr. Porter rested or detained for their race, discussed the history of human rights religion, work, or political view in the region, and the audience discov– be treated fairly and within inered that in April 1968 the U.N. Interternational laws. After the initial national Conference on Human Rights meeting that July, Mr. Benenson was held in Tehran, and the results of thought this would be a one year proIn honor of Amnesty’s 50th Birththis conference with a trend in the Midgram to help to free these ‘forgotten day, Amnesty International Group 86 dle East of state rights over individual prisoners.’ However, the incidence of held a very successful meeting at the rights, which he called the ‘rhetoric of such cases of prisoners of conscience University Of Cincinnati Law School acrobats’ and has been much used soon grew as international awareon Saturday May 7th. Fifty people ness of the plight of these people was from the community and the University since then. Ms. Frierson discussed the history of democratic leanings in the Middle East with Iran’s First Constitution in 1876, which was later broken by the Shah upon going to war with Russia, and shared that other democratic steps had been taken in the past. Mr. Lockwood discussed current legal issues relevant to the region and the human rights agenda. He stated that on the BBC, that the flows of refugees from Libya into Tunisia have been constant. The Interior Minister commented that he has ‘seen nothing like it’ – with all the troubles in their own country, the Tunisians have taken care of the refugees, and he ‘has never seen such a generous Tissanaiyagam and fellow supporter. Photo: Laura Osborne-Coffey pouring out of spirit.’ Bert stated that it is ‘not sexy work’, but there needs to be international of Cincinnati Amnesty student group human rights institutions built up in the known. Soon, Amnesty International attended. The morning panel, titled: area. The speakers also discussed if took on the cause of working against Egypt Libya and the future of Human any form of human rights agenda or torture in all cases. Rights in the Middle East was powerorganization be allowed in the region In 1977 Amnesty International was packed with speakers: Robert Haug, after the current unrest. awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In Stephen Porter and Elizabeth FrierAfter a great lunch of pizza prothe mid-seventies, Amnesty took on son, all professors of History at the vided by Marco’s in Deer Park and a work for abolition against the death University of Cincinnati and Bert Lockdonor, the keynote speaker J.S. Tispenalty. In the 1980’s and 90’s, Amwood, professor at the UC School of sanaiyagam (aka: Tissa) spoke. Originesty widened its focus to adapt to the Law and director of the Urban Morgan nally from Sri Lanka and a journalist changing nature of human rights abus- Institute for Human Rights. Moderator for the last 20 years, Tissa talked es, as many governments who used to for this panel was Debra Ehrenberg, about the past and current political imprison prisoners of conscience were the Director for Amnesty’s Midwest A “Like me, many journalists in Sri Lanka are reprimanded, arrested or shot just for what we write. I cannot go back.” climate in Sri Lanka, and the civil war between the Singalese Majority and the Tamil minority, which ended in 2009. Tissa shared that he wrote two paragraphs in a journal about Tamil issues that were critical of the government. He was arrested in March of 2008, then charged in August, and then on August 31, 2009 he was convicted. He was reluctant to speak of his time in prison as it brought back poor memories. During this time, Amnesty International adopted Tissa as a prisoner of conscience, as he was prosecuted solely for his legitimate journalistic activities. In a statement to mark the World Press Freedom Day, US President Barack Obama mentioned Tissainayagam. He said: “In every corner of the globe, there are journalists in jail or being actively harassed … Emblematic examples of this distressing reality are figures like J.S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka, or Shi Tao and Hu Jia in China.” Tissa was the first winner of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism; Foreign Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards 2010. Tissa explained that he was pardoned on 3 May 2010, as the sentence he’d received couldn’t be commuted; only pardoned by President Rajapakse. The audience asked Tissa many questions, and gave him a huge round of applause for coming and speaking honestly about his situation in Sri Lanka. He told the group that due to his charges and his release, “I cannot go back.” He said “Like me, many journalists in Sri Lanka are reprimanded, arrested or shot just for what we write.” The attendees then did a ‘toast to freedom’ with Debra Erenberg, who led the group in a discussion of Amnesty’s current campaigns, such as the Maternal Mortality campaign and the upcoming Torture Awareness month in June. Look for more events throughout the year to help Amnesty celebrate its 50th anniversary! �International News 12 Hail to the Chief? Barack Obama had his Ground Zero moment after hunting Bin Laden, but the President’s speech, seen by many as soft, is already raising criticism. At the same time, conspiracy theories regarding Bin Laden’s death are stronger than ever. Adam Forrest The Big Issue (Scotland) www.streetnewsservice.org R emember the moment President George Bush stood with a megaphone on the rubble of the World Trade Centre? An arm round the shoulders of a retired fire fighter, eyes moist with emotion, Bush struggled at first to make himself heard to the gathered throng of rescue workers. “We can’t hear you George,” someone said. “Well I hear you,” the President shouted. “And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” Cue mammoth cheers. Say what you like about him - imbecile, cowboy, warmonger - but Bush grasped the power of symbolism. Will anyone remember the day President Obama visited Ground Zero after the death. A Daily Beast/Newsweek poll demonstrated no improvement in his numbers: an approval rating of 48 per cent before and after the killing. Predictions the ruthless dispatch of Public Enemy No.1 will hand Obama four more years appear hasty. Americans don’t allow lasting ‘Warrior President’ mythology to surround non-serving politicians (as opposed to actual soldiers like Ulysses S. Grant or Eisenhower). Bush Senior saw his approval ratings soar to 90 per cent after victory in the Gulf in 1991, but he was ejected from office in favor of charmer-in-chief Clinton a year later. According to Gallup, most Americans (89%) want the military to get most of the credit for Bin Laden’s demise, followed by the CIA, (62%) then Obama (35%). A slight short-term bounce aside, opinion about Barack Obama seems to have solidified in an increasingly shrill, polarized America. The election of 2012 will be won or lost on the basis of the President’s economic message to the relatively small number of moderates, and the abilities of the Republican candidate to offer an alternative. The elimination of Bin Laden will certainly make it harder for Obama’s opponent to attack him on national security, but Americans have been steadily less concerned with foreign policy questions for the past five years. U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White REUTERS/White House/Pete Souza killing of Osama Bin Laden? No-body expected triumphalism from this softly-spoken, scholarly man, but his stumbling speech to NYC fire fighters contained nothing distinguished; the days after al-Qaeda leader’s death no indelible summation of national mood. Instead, his administration is fending off questions over the changing details of the Navy Seal operation, a lack of clarity officials blame on the “fog of war”. Sarah Palin’s stock may be falling, but she will not be the only American to think Obama has “pussy-footed” over the decision not to release the photo of Bin Laden’s bloodied face. The hawkish right has also seized on the fact the President “slept on it”, waiting 16 hours to give the Navy Seals the go-ahead. And conspiracy theories - the fantastical stories of the never-convinced - continue to grow tentacles. Pundits in Washington are already puzzling over the state of the expected Obama poll bump. Although one showed an immediate nine point leap, a CNN survey later last week his approval at 52 per cent - up from just 1 point from polling before Bin Laden’s Internationally, the killing of Bin Laden promises more difficulties than advantages. The relationship with Pakistan and its Byzantine power structures becomes messier and murkier. Maintaining 100,000 troops in Afghanistan becomes more difficult to justify. Much of ‘Arab Street’ appears to have more important things on its mind, but widespread suspicion toward US military action, however small and carefully crafted, has been re-awakened in the Muslim world. To hear so many people in Pakistan state flat disbelief in any explanation America has to offer regarding Bin Laden should disturb the White House, even if such distrust is not entirely unexpected. The moment places new scrutiny on the Obama foreign policy: does he offer any more inspiring than cautious management of the mess his predecessor left behind? Even if he were able to do so, it might not matter much to a domestic audience in 2012. It’ll be the economy, stupid, once again; Bin Laden nothing more a bad memory in the commotion over dollars and cents. ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Conspiracy theories By Brendan O’Neill The Big Issue (Scotland) www.streetnewsservice.org Y ou couldn’t have asked for a better snapshot of the political jitteriness of the West than the epic tussle over what to do with Osama bin Laden’s body. On the one hand US officials wanted to get shot of it as quickly as possible, so that there could never be a shrine or a rallying point for possible future apocalyptic terrorists. So they dumped OBL at sea. Yet on the other hand they feared that the absence of a body might fuel conspiracy theorists, all those computer-bound cranks and socially inadequate bloggers who would claim that bin Laden was actually still alive and possibly hidden in Roswell alongside that alien. So they considered releasing a photo of the body in a desperate bid to nip such nonsense in the bud. However, they feared that publishing a pic of the body, with bulletwounded head and bloodstained face might rile radical Islamists and give rise to vengeful terrorism. So President Obama said no photo would be forthcoming. And there you have it. In the great weighing-up of whom it is more acceptable to annoy - conspiracy-minded loners or wannabe holy warriors - the Obama administration opted to irritate the former and try to placate the latter. Not releasing That Photo would have serious consequences, yes, giving rise to endless jibber jabber about OBL still being alive. But releasing That Photo might have an even more serious impact, possibly radicalizing more warriors against the West. It is a striking insight into the fear-fuelled machinations of modern Western governments that even when they successfully take out someone as reviled as bin Laden, still they tie themselves in knots over how to present their actions to the public, fearing doubt and ignorance from their own people and bloody reprisals from Johnny Foreigner. And so it is not surprising that their keen anticipation of conspiratorial rumors - the almost instantaneous headlines telling us there would be an “explosion of conspiracy theories” - became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because what the torturous post-OBL debate reveals is that conspiracy theories do not simply spring from the caliginous minds of men in anoraks who should try to get girlfriends. They are also unwittingly nurtured by the political mainstream itself, by the inability of our rulers to provide a coherent political narrative - and more importantly some *meaning* - to key world events. Such moral incoherence can act almost as an invitation to conspiracy theorists to come and pick at the official story, like the intellectual equivalent of vultures around a decaying body politic. Already, as prophesized, the OBL conspiracy theorists are in full swing. Some claim he is in American custody, others that he has been bought off by the US and sent to live in a nice pile on the condition that he never speaks publicly or wags his finger at the world again. Long-standing conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, 9/11 “truther” and friend of Charlie Sheen, have said that the photo of Obama and others watching the raid on bin Laden’s compound is “obviously staged”. Some have tried to present the modern-day propensity to believe BS as a peculiarly foreign thing. One journalist tells us that “the Islamic world is amazingly receptive to conspiracy theories”. Yet from the Princess Diana murder nonsense to the belief that weapons inspector David Kelly was bumped off by Tony Blair, it is clear that very respectable people with white faces also buy into the conspiratorial outlook. The Diana conspiracy theories are indulged by Middle England, being frequently rehashed in their bibles the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, while the David Kelly conspiracy theories remain the preserve of the more well-to-do classes, including broadsheet journalists, esteemed doctors and even politicians. Today, it is not only the uneducated who weave crazy stories to try to explain unexpected or major events - so does the so-called intellectual elite. Indeed, one of the most striking features of our age is the almost constant questioning of official truths. Often, the very fact that they are presented to us as “official” - as a top-down explanation of events - seems to make them instantly dodgy. A widespread and rather unhealthy anti-political cynicism, where figures of authority are now frequently viewed as grubby, self-serving liars or charlatans, has led to a situation where the phrase “official version of events” is automatically seen as a marker for something suspect - a cover-up, perhaps, or an exercise in myth-making. And this culture of cynicism, upon which conspiracy theorizing so joyously feasts, was nurtured not by rednecks in America or OBL supporters in the Islamic world, but rather by today’s fashionable, metropolitan opinion-forming elite, who often affect an attitude of profound distrust and disdain for anyone in a traditional position of power. It’s too simple to blame an army of Twittering doubters for the undermining of the concept of Truth today and for the rise of all sorts of “counter knowledge” and “alternative histories”. Because in truth, it’s the thoroughly mainstream fashion for a kind of teenage cynicism towards anyone in authority, coupled with the political classes’ inability to explain their beliefs and their actions in any profound way, which gives a green light to doubters and cranks. Why wouldn’t there be conspiracy theories about OBL’s death, when the Obama administration and its supporters were so panicked and confused and defensive in their attempt to explain how it happened and why? �ST R EE T V IB E S Story and Poetry Corner 13 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 We remember buddy gray Decades ago, buddy gray and a group of devoted activists saw an emerging need for social services and housing solutions here in Cincinnati. They began by picking up homeless people off of the street and bringing them into their very own apartments in Over-the-Rhine. They took care of them as if they were family, coaxing them out of alcoholism, feeding them, and clothing them. buddy was one of the biggest inspirations in the development of Streetvibes. Here, Bonnie Nuemeier remembers and reflects on the impact one man could have to so many. b uddy gray (he preferred his name in lower case letters) was a war resister, carpenter, preservationist, poet, community journalist, baseball coach, and friend to many. And he was known best as a relentless and uncompromising advocate for low-income housing and other services for the poor. He came from a small-town, working class family to live in Over-the-Rhine because he believed in the cause of liberation. He had decided, when he was still a young man, that he could not tolerate the poverty and discrimination he saw in the world around him. So he entered what his brother Jack called “a journey of fearless, selfless service.” Many people are dedicated to feeding and housing the poor. Others are dedicated to organizing for change. buddy’s insight was to bring these two ways of service together. He saw the people of Over-the-Rhine, not just as downtrodden souls to be given a meal or a bed for the night, but partners in a struggle to change the system and heal society. Therefore, buddy worked to organize people and groups into an Over-theRhine People’s movement that includes organizations like the Drop Inn center, ReSTOC, the Over-the-Rhine Housing Network, and the local, state, and national Coalitions for the Homeless. He worked with many homeless people who are now leaders in that movement. His capacity for work was legendary. Within a day’s time, he might attend a City Council hearing, work on the plumbing of a ReSTOC building, help an old man get off a park bench and into the shelter of the Drop Inn, write a poem, and do the notes for the next day’s meeting. He lived very simply, in an apartment on Race Street, owned little, and cared nothing for fashion or show. As Jack Gray said at the memorial after buddy’s death, “He feared no man. He took nothing and he served everyone. He worked to feed the hungry, free the captive, and How Did It Happen? buddy gray i didn’t know how it happened… many events, witnesses, years… but more important-it has… i don’t desire to be happy unless happiness is a universal right i don’t care to be at peace when teenagers of the third world must learn to shoot anti-aircraft guns at American invading planes i don’t want to be acceptable as long as rape, racism/sexism, multinational profit, CIA destabilization of governments, joblessness, homelessness are acceptable i don’t intend to be calm, pleasant and likable if the stink of injustice must be raised i don’t expect to be patient until there is “HOUSING NOW” FOR ALL i don’t know how to be quiet when our voices may be the only counter to the Rich’s media controls, limits inversions of the truth i don’t think about being respectful when hunger exists in the land of plenty poverty exists in this nation of wealth uneducation and ill health run rampant in this place of advanced technology and toxic waste ravages this once-beautiful country now owned by a handful i don’t plan to be non-disruptive of the “order” around us Gone WILLA DENISE JONES Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor Do you ever think of the days of the past? Do you ever think those being the good days, why they couldn’t last? Remembering when we were children doing everything our elders said Remembering eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and even what time it was for bed As time passed some of us traded going to church for drinking beer and wine Some of us grew up and changed so fast that we just simply ignored the signs buddy gray being interviewed by filmmaker Michael Moore for his movie 'The Big One.' Buddy was killed before the movie was completed. Photo: Jimmy Heath. heal the sick.” Many people are alive and living healthy lives today because the work of buddy gray. He earned, thereby, the respect and love of many. He also earned the bitter hatred of some real estate developers and some politicians, including, of course, some developer-politicians. For months before his death, an unknown person (or persons, or class of persons) maintained a hate campaign which featured death threats, a stop-sign-shaped stickers reading “NO WAY BUDDY GRAY,” and if you called a certain number, a sevenminute, anti-buddy recorded phone message. On November 15, 1996, during a meeting at the Drop Inn Center, buddy was shot and killed by a mentally ill, formerly homeless many buddy had befriended. buddy was 46 years old. No one knows if he had contacts with the NO-WAY-BUDDY-GRAY campaign. No one knows how he obtained the expensive pistol he used in the shooting. Within an hour of buddy’s death, the phone recording was disconnected. Eight days later, over two thousand people from Cincinnati, Boston, Washington, and Chicago, and other cities marched silently through the streets in buddy gray’s honor and in support of the homeless. -Bonnie Neumeier i don’t yet choose to be a carpenter If nuclear bombs production still steals the housing construction budget as long as churches and synagogues and temples do reverent rituals for rights and speak in pious platitudes of peace and take no angry action that stops American Business as usual to end homelessness, imperialism as long as business lunches still happen in the glass condos looking out over the homeless and hungry on the cold streets 10 stories below as long as the City Fathers can work 8 hours a week for $35,000 and do little to learn of the people’s problems over whom they rule i fully intend to dream of happiness and peace when I sleep. food clothing, shelter, medical care, education, equality, green space and peace for all… and meanwhile, awake to live as unacceptably, non-calmly unpleasantly dislikably impatiently loudly disrespectfully and disruptively and as contagiously collectively as I am able as long as is necessary -December 1, 1989 As time passed everything changed all the rules even people, places and things But time goes on carrying us with it, and we know it can’t end until the fat lady sings! So we keep going on trying to keep up with time and loosing our sense of being free Today we never forget to lock all door, windows and try never to go out alone, you see! So much robbing, back stabbing, short changing and all of the senseless killings I love to let my mind drift to the past because the present is so hard dealing! So for me taking my memory back as far as I can Keep me in tune and my eyes open to the future as I pray for people all over God’s land! I Remember buddy BONNIE NEUMEIER Contributing Writer Zipping through Washington Park on his bike Wearing his yellow hard hat fixing up housing Carrying a huge stack of documents to the podium at City Hall Drinking a carton of chocolate milk Hugging children on the street Putting his arms around friends homeless in the park Picking up Nannie to defend our homes from demolition Encouraging involvement in our efforts Sending little notes at meetings to keep us sane Calling his Mom often Playing an energetic game of baseball Remembering names and phone numbers by rote Watching election returns and naming senators in each state Riding around in his blue truck Wearing headbands of all different colors Saying so much in a small sound bite Taking lengthy notes for clarity and documentation Listening to Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, and Peter, Paul & Mary Carrying his tools in a big 5 gallon white bucket Offering ReSTOC housing to displaced neighbors Planting trees and seeds for change Sacrificing his life for what he believed in Making mountains of phone calls late at night Teaching others how to lead and live simply Dreaming big dreams Doing the seemingly impossible Building connections around the country Standing up for human rights Laughing to help get us through Loving Wilbur his friend who pulled the trigger Buddy was as ordinary as you and me But with extraordinary fiery determination to put all he had in the service of his vision Believing that one day we all will be free Demanding justice shine in Over-the-Rhine As well as all over this land. �Interest 14 ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 U.S. Woman Documents Homelessness in Memoir An Unfortunate life of sexual abuse, date rape, and homelessness brought Brianna Karp to document her struggles in a new book, “The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir” REUTERS www.streetnewsservice.org B rianna Karp has had an unfortunate life - sexual abuse, date rape, an unhappy Internet love affair and homelessness. But the 26-year-old from southern California, has still managed to find the joy in living and tells her story in “The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir,” which is published this month. It’s an ongoing story, reality television in print. After the broad brush memories in the initial pages the book moves to the central theme - homelessness and urban survival. All along the way it’s harrowing, even when the reader can suspect what comes next and the end result is a book deal. Karp now lives in a converted shed on a dirt lot. Whatever success she has achieved she attributes not to being brilliant or smart but perhaps to be more determined. “I have my sad times when I just want to cry and say I can’t do it anymore. Then I cry, get up and get moving. What’s your other option?” she said. Karp’s tribulations began early with a broken home but life started to look up when she was able to make her own decisions. Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness she rejected the church, moved away from her family and took care of herself until she lost her job. After an unsuccessful job hunt she inherited her father’s 30-foot (10-meter) Brianna Karp. Photo: www.girlsguidetohomelessness.com trailer after his suicide and learned she can camp She’s currently working as a marketing assistant out in the parking lots of certain Wal-Mart stores if for a non-profit theater company in Costa Mesa, Calishe remained discreet. The arrangement made her fornia and commutes 40 miles each way, every day. less than technically homeless, an advantage Karp She is trying to scrape together enough to secure a acknowledges but emphasizes there are various depermanent home for herself and her dog, who is one grees of homelessness. of her few joys in life. But “things can derail you when Karp seems highly organized and decisive. It’s you are homeless and struggling -- like a flat battery,” hard to fathom how she can suffer one calamity after she said. another and ultimately find herself camped out in a Her British fiancée, whom she met on the Internet car park. But as the book shows bad life changes are and supported while he visited the U.S., even though uncontrollable and can happen to anyone. “Homeshe was homeless, eventually went back to the mothless people are real people with real stories,” Karp er of his child. Karp was left on the street in Britain at said. Christmas to be picked up by the police in the cold Karp admits she still needs therapy though she Through it all though, Karp remain optimistic.“I is currently not talking to anyone. “I probably should don’t believe in ‘I’m a victim,’” she said. “I went to be but my therapist moved on and I need a new one,” pains to be as honest and as brutal about myself as I she admitted. “It is on my ‘to do’ list, definitely.” could. There was a temptation to gloss things over.” A Bad Bill SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer RESEARCH:JESSIE CALL Streetvibes Summer Intern roponents and opponents testified on the merits and drawbacks of a house bill that’s designed to upgrade Ohio’s election system in time for the 2012 presidential election. The bill, House Bill 194, includes technological advances, such as allowing on-line address changes. The advances aren’t what’s bothering some opponents. It’s the potential obstacles to registering that could impact thousands of Ohioans, rendering their votes uncountable. “Our research has shown that Ohio can dramatically improve the accuracy of the information on its voter lists,” said David Becker, project director of the election initiatives team of the Pew Center on the states, a division of the Pew Charitable Trusts. His research indicates that 1 and 8 active voter records nationally is no longer valid or contains a significant error. The proposed changes to Ohio’s election process presented in the 300 page long HB 184 may disrupt the system more than help, according to some of the bill’s opponents. Professor Daniel P. Tokaji is one of them. He is the professor of law at Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law, and has written extensively about the state’s voting laws and has served as counsel for plaintiffs in voting rights cases Tokaji testified that the massive election bill could potentially disrupt the stability of Ohio’s election system and make it more difficult for eligible citizens to vote and have their votes counted. The changes made when Ohio last changed election laws were partly constructive, but, on the whole, bad. “…it too had a destabilizing effect on our election system, resulting in multiple lawsuits and court orders----not to mention confusion for election officials, poll workers and voters, “ Tokaji said. It took years to sort out the confusion from the changes form six years ago, and Tokaji cautioned that the recent changes might have the same effect. “What’s the big lesson to be learned form recent history? Changes in election P Progress of House Bill 194 ○Passed by the Ohio House of Representatives on March 18 by a party-line vote of 54-40. law, however well-intentioned, invariably have unanticipated consequences,” the professor said. It’s the combination of all the proposed changes that concerns Tokaji.”Unfortunately, their net effect would be to make our election system worse rather than better.” Taken together, the provisions of the bill would likely be good for election lawyers since they would provide fertile ground for legal challenges. “But they are not good news for our election ecosystem,” he said. “They are especially bad news form the perspective of voters who want to (be) sure they can vote and have their vote counted.” Ohio Secretary of State, Jon Husted, provided written testimony that essentially places problem free voting on the backs of voters. To Husted, the house bill makes it easier for voters to fulfill their individual responsibilities to do the following: o Register to vote o Keep address updated, o Bring the proper ID to the polls o Vote at the proper precinct. ○Referred to the Ohio Senate on March 19 where it is awaiting assignment to a Senate committee. The bill’s provision provides ways for voters to make address changes online, resulting in cost savings, according to Husted’s testimony. In the last general election, voters who had changed addresses or names without notifying the election board accounted for more than half of the provisional ballots cast. The online change system, according to Husted, would reduce the number of provisional ballots and increase the number of regular ballots. At least two locals who had planned to testify before the committee left before getting a chance to testify. Ricardo Taylor form The Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless and Pat Clifford representing Common Cause did not speak, but did leave written testimony. Bill Paton reminded the committee that voting is a right and not a privilege. How the bill could impact voters experiencing homelessness: ○The Ohio Senate can ignore the bill, pass the bill as written, or amend the bill and pass it with changes and reconcile any differences with the House before sending it to the Governor for signature. Some changes to absentee voter process: ○Counties can no longer solicit absentee ballots, instead, voters must proactively request one. ○Counties cannot pay the costs of return postage on absentee ballots, instead, voters must pay these costs on their own. Some changes to provisional ballot procedures: ○Voters without identification at the polling place will no longer be allowed to sign an affirmation that they do not have identification in order to have their ballots counted. ○Voters without identification at the polling place will, however, be able to sign an affirmation of identity and provide name, address, last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number or identification number, signature, and date of birth. ○The procedure which allows a voter submitting a provisional ballot to provide proof of their identification within 10 days would be eliminated. ○Voters without identification or a Social Security number may have their ballots rejected at the polling place. ○Voters who have recently moved to another precinct will not be instructed on where they should go to vote if they arrive at the wrong precinct. ○Voters needing to vote absentee will have to be proactive in requesting a ballot and bear the costs of voting. Local supporters: ○The bill was sponsored by two Hamilton County Republican representatives: Robert Mecklenborg and Louis Blessing ○The two other Hamilton County Republican representatives, Peter Strautberg and Ron Maag, also voted for the bill. ○The remaining Hamilton County representatives, all Democrats, voted against the bill: Denise Driehaus, Dale Mallory, Connie Pillich, and Alicia Reece. �Resources ST R EE T V IB E S 15 M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children St. Francis Soup Kitchen 535-2719 Churches Active in Northside 591-2246 Central Access Point 381-SAFE Cincinnati Union Bethel 768-6907 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 FreeStore/FoodBank 241-1064 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 557-2873 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 271-5501 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 562-8841 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 762-5660 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Crossroad Health Center 381-2247 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center 357-4602 Homeless Mobile Health Van 352-2902 McMicken Dental Clinic 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County 458-6670 PATH Outreach 977-4489 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Treatment: Men Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 921-1613 Other Resources 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch 241-0490 St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 381-4941 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Starting Over 961-2256 Anthony House (Youth) Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 381-0111 First Step Home 961-4663 Goodwill industries 771-4800 Healing Connections 751-0600 Mary Magdalen House 721-4811 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 761-1480 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA 721-4580 Excel Development 632-7149 OTR Community Housing 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House 961-4555 Dana Transitional Bridge Services 751-0643 Volunteers of America 381-1954 Anna Louise Inn 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry 621-5300 OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry 961-1983 OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline 351-0422 CCAT 381-6672 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 621-5514 Treatment: Women 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options 241-2600 Emmanuel Community Center 241-2563 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action 421-3131 Community Action Agency 569-1840 Contact Center 381-4242 St. Raephaels 863-3184 Salvation Army 863-1445 Serenity House Day Center 422-8555 Open Door Pantry 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC 721-4700 Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 421-7803 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. 579-8547 Legal Aid Society 241-9400 Ohio Justice & Policy Center 421-1108 Faces Without Places 363-3300 Stop AIDS 421-2437 ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health Center for Respite Care Hamilton/Middletown 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �Column 16 ST R EET VIBES M AY 2 7 - J u n e 1 0 , 2 0 11 Putting Life and Death into Perspective Steven Finke’s art is a meditation on loss and mortality a dragon, with human attributes, falling towards him. It alluded to the attraction to the unknown, to danger, to the unexpected path one often takes when dealing with I have been aware of human pain and suffering from uncertainty, in this case to Finke’s confused a very young age,” says Steven Finke. “Growing up handling of his new conjugal situation. I was introduced to the Holocaust and constantly Divorced and settled in Cincinnati, reminded of its horrors as it directly affected my family Finke met his new wife, ceramic artist Ana and the many families in my community. As a child I did England. When asked to have a joint show, not understand the ramifications of what I was told but both interested in the science/art relationwas horrified that people could act towards each others in ship they decided to produce works on the such destructive ways.” theme of Creation. Finke resorted to the Pain, suffering, death, the meaning of existence, book of Genesis and illustrated in mixed have all along permeated Finke’s thinking and art. His media sculptures each of its days. work, initially dealing with personal issues, progressively “I approached the work from both scientific and religious aspects,” he says. “I and naturally delved into the human, the universal, the wanted it universal, asking the fundamental generality of life in this world. questions of how we got here, why and Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, NY, for what, thus parting from my egocentric Finke belonged to a middle class family which placed strong emphasis on education. Interested in the sciences, concerns.” he was first leaning for a career in forestry and wild life His Day 1 sculpture, Let There Be management, but shifted later towards the arts, earning Light, consisted of a cone of stacked seca BFA from Ohio University, Athens, and a MFA from the tions of glass, held at an angle by a metallic structure. The cone reflects light and serves University of Miami, FL, both in ceramics. as playground for interacting lights and “I wanted to do pottery and live in the forest,” he shadows. The Creation of Humans, the says. “I became, however, quickly taken by sculptures as fine art objects and started creating them in outdoor and Day 6 sculpture, depicted 3 phases of life: birth, reproduction, death. Finke included in it personal elements, his father’s knee, his grandson’s navel, a vial of his and his new wife’s blood, thus indirectly commenting on his own journey. “Working on the Creation Stories, I was already reflecting on mortality and dissolution,” he Steven Finke stands in the forest in front of his sculpture, the Pedestal. says. “After birth comes death, Photo: Saad Ghosn. Saad Ghosn and it was natural that my work Contributing Writer progresses to address the imperfour separate sculptural elements, a Cabin, a Bridge, a manence of life.” Pedestal and a Vault, all connected to trace the journey before death, integrating forest, sculpture and human in indoor settings using various materials.” This is when Finke discovered the Tibetan Book of an aesthetic meditation on impermanence. Finke currently teaches sculpture at Northern Kenthe Dead and embarked on visualizing its content. He “I wanted to provide the serious visitor a place for tackled its first day which focuses on the Cessation of tucky University. reflection on mortality, loss and grief, hoping it leads to Breath, the moment before death. He created BreathRight after grad school, married and with two kids, greater insight into the nature of life, connection with ing Machine, a metallic structure that opens on a pair of Finke experienced the breakdown of his marriage and, the environment, inner peace,” states Finke, ”and at the mechanized lungs same time call attention to our responsible role in this world.” moving Starting the journey alone in the forest, the viewer forth and first experiences the solitude of the cabin, metaphor for back when one’s house, reminiscing on the inevitability of death; cranked, then borrows a path over a sculpted bridge, leading to a letting air pedestal composed of glass, metal skulls, a cast bronze in and cranium on which is engraved the Tibetan text describing out. The the moment before the last breath; then enters a sculpcycled air sounds like tural vault which shelters the breathing machine. “The impermanence of life is prevalent,” says Finke, breathing, “and we need to face it. Things come into being and also feeds others come out of being. We constantly die to the last a small fire moment and are reborn to the following one; and every started by moment affects the next. We have to be reminded that burning each of our actions affects our future and that of the a signifiearth.” cant item This is why Finke also wanted the forest to be the brought setting for his meditative artwork, the forest through its in by the constant living and dying a metaphor for life, also a link to viewer. the ecological protection of the land. By crankFinke will be working next on sculptures for the ing the Cessation of Pulse, the second day of the book. In the machine, meantime he is creating a series of small bronze pieces the viewer symbolical- he calls Peaceful and Wrathful Deities. Most have the recurrent image of a skull and include moving objects rely controls flecting the mechanics of life. They allude to death, to the his own Breathing Machine inside the Vault, mixed media sculptural installation. Artwork and Photo: Steven Finke nakedness of human beings, and are meant to be used breathing, as meditative toys during the viewer’s journey. in his mind, the disintegration of the myth of family. His and willingly parts with what may be considered impor“A root cause for our inability to live at peace with artwork, raw and expressionistic, became a narrative tant. each other and our environment is our avoidance or lack about his life, telling real stories with a mythological twist. Meant initially as a travelling piece, Finke later of understanding of the impermanent nature of exisIt reflected his personal feelings and the issues he was decided to include it in a permanent site specific artwork, tence,” says Finke. “By reflecting on mortality, we can dealing with, questioning where he stood and the part he The Cessation of Breath: A Mechanical Meditation on learn to live in a more sustainable way with our environplayed in the human condition. the Moment before Death. The installation stands in ment and a more compassionate way with each other. George and the Dragon, a large mosaic piece the middle of a forest on a 38 acre land he purchased This is what I would like my art to achieve.” from that period, depicts George holding a sword, and in the watershed of the Ohio River Valley. It consists of “ Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 27-June 9, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Celebrating Our history Pg 2: In My Shoes Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: Who’s Talking? Making Music for a Cause Pg 5: Meetup Pg 6: Mark Twain was Right Pg 7: Streetvibes: A timeline Pg 8: Streetvibes: An Ever-Evolving Publication Pg 9: Past Covers Tell of Our History and Guide Our Future Pg 10: Caring for Criminals Pg 11: Happy Birthday Amnesty? Pg 12: Hail to the Chief? Pg 13: We Remember Buddy Gray Pg 14: U.S. Woman Documents Homelessness in Memoir Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Putting Life and Death into Perspective Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 27-June 9, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jen Martin Jeni Jenkins Susan Lakes Corey Gibson Josh Spring Jeni Jenkins Riccardo Taylor Willa Denise Jones Laura Osborne-Coffey Saad Ghosn Bonnie Nuemeier Buddy Gray Jessie Call Reuters Aimie WillHoite Saad Ghosn Jimmy Heath Steven Finke Dan Moore Seth Tobocman. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Amnesty Barack Obama Bonnie Nuemeier buddy gray Cincinnati Corey Gibson Criminals Dan Moore Jeni Jenkins Jessie Call Jimmy Heath Josh Spring Laura Osborne-Coffey Mark Twain Music Protests Reuters Riccardo Taylor Riots Saad Ghosn Seth Tobocman Steven Finke Streetvibes Susan Lakes Tags Jen Martin Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/6729cfea5af604fe279871e10853ab54.pdf 6f8382e9604d8d520956c3563ebd6ff3 PDF Text Text Refresh Northside: St r eeContainer t v ib e S Shipping M A Y 1 3 Art Center2 6 , 2 0 1 1 PG 6 Carolyn Mazloomi: Keeping quilting potent and alive. PG 16 Osama bin Laden’s Useful Death PG 11 M AY 1 3 T H - M AY 2 6 T H 2 0 11 1 ISSUE 199 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Demanding Transparency from those Responsible for Change More than 150 people gathered on Fountain Square on April 29th to demand honesty and transparency from ALEC, a group that is responsible for model legislation that gets turned into state and local bills. SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer hants, marchers, drum beats and protest signs gave Fountain Square lunchers a peak at just what democracy looks like on a Friday afternoon. A group estimated at 150 people held a day of peaceful protests and informational meetings on April 29th to speak out against a group of legislators and private sector policy advocates who, they claim, write model legislation that gets turned into state and local bills across the United States. The group, ALEC, short for the American Legislative Exchange Council, gathered in Cincinnati for a spring task force meeting. Protestors from Ohio and surrounding states caught C wind of the meeting, and spent the past few months organizing forces for a full day of public awareness about ALEC. The point is to…“educate you,” said Bruce Fealk, moderator for one of the dozen teach-ins held in Over-The-Rhine locations. Fealk, managing editor for The Rochester Citizen in Michigan has researched ALEC, a group he calls extreme right wing. His conclusion is that ALEC is ghostwriting the law for corporate America. ALEC doesn’t deny it shapes policy decisions. The group’s website, alec.org, says this: To date ALEC’S task forces have considered, written and approved hundreds of model bills on a wide ALEC which stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council, has a different meaning to the peaceful protesters. Photo: Susan Lakes range of issues, model legislation that will frame the debate today and far into the future,” it says. “Each year, close to 1,000 bills, based at least in part on ALEC Model Legislation, are introduced in the states. Of these, an average of 20 percent becomes law.” The group boasts an effective network of players. “ALEC’s farreaching national network of state legislators that crosses geographical and political boundaries, and affects all levels of government, is without equal. No other organization in America today can claim as many The Keep On Keeping On Path… The community celebrates the work of educator and leader Steve Elliot gathered to honor Steve Elliot during a retirement celebration hosted by The Mayerson Foundation. Steve worked for the foundation for thirteen eep on keeping on,” one years as the High School Serviceof the many sentiments Learning Program Director. Yet, some expressed last Tuesday when wondered, “is he really retiring?” After people from all corners of Cincinnati all, Steve retired once before in 1998. His persistent passion is a testament to his enduring legacy. Throughout his entire working career Steve’s focus was on leading and educating our futureCincinnati’s youth. In his previous career, Steve worked as a teacher- a Steve Elliot addresses the crowd during the Annual Student Service Lead- total of 41 ership Workshop at UC. Photo: The Mayerson Foundation years, first JENI JENKINS Staff Writer K at Finneytown High School for 32, and then post-retirement at Ursuline Academy in Blue Ash for 9. While at Finneytown, in addition to teaching history, Steve was Head Men’s Basketball Coach from 1971-1984. Then later, his passion for educating led him to start the Community Service Experience program in 1985- a path that led directly to his work at the foundation. In his role as Director, Steve served as a consultant, leader and organizer empowering high school students, their teachers and their schools to get involved in the community. Notably, Steve connected hundreds of youth to the life-altering world of service. During the celebration dinner, Steve shared with the attentive crowd of teachers, counselors, professors and social service providers, bits and pieces from his life’s work. He addressed his avid co- conspirators, mentors and mentees and fellow leaders from the community- remarking on how many of them touched his own life. Steve spoke of the people who became his teachers, including home- valuable assets, both people and ideas that have influence on as many key decision-making centers. “ Protestors aren’t convinced the group’s actions support the basic democratic principle of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. They’re calling for transparency, since the group’s actions potentially impact the environment, working conditions, education, immigration, women and seniors. See Demanding Transparency, p 8 less advocate buddy gray, whom he first met at the Drop Inn Center (DIC) shelter in 1985. Despite his good intentions, Steve was told to leave after telling buddy, “I’m here to observe”- buddy’s response: “this is not a zoo.” This encounter, whether chance or destiny, led Steve to the realization that there are two days in a person’s life “the day you’re born and the day you find out why.” buddy challenged Steve to see things differently. Of buddy, Steve says “I was drawn to him in order to learn about why he had so much respect and dignity for the people at the Drop-Inn. The more time I spent with him, and the more people I met … the more I wanted to know what motivated them and how they could sustain their energy as activists.” Each step Steve made on his path seemed to have a positive domino effect. His work with buddy led him to become involved with Restoc (now Over the Rhine Community Housing) where he helped with Saturday morning work crews as well as served on their Board for many years. Additionally, while leading Finneytown students to serve meals 3 times a month, Steve came to know many of the men going through the recovery program, See Keep on Keeping on, p 12 �Editorial 2 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 One Viewpoint: 68 The percentage of Internet users that come from lowerincome demographics in Venezuela. A ‘Where were you when…?’ Moment For Another Viewpoint See p 11 It seems there is no such thing as Mayberry and we are reminded every single day by headlines that scream “DEATH, DESTRUCTION”. And we eat it up. ‘If it bleeds, it leads’ is most certainly the motto of most news if You Didn’t Laugh, organizations in this country. We have had You’d Cry no shortage of tragic events these days… Page 10 tornados, floods, shootings, tsunamis, earthquakes...and do not even get me started on the nonsensical news stories that get coverage (birth certificates, Charlie Sheen). REALLY?!?! The number of votes Monday May 2nd, I got a phone call early needed every day until from a friend who told me Osama Bin Laden May 31st for parProjects had been killed. “…that’s some crazy shit” I to get into the top ten believe was my response. Then in disbelief I on the Pepsi Refresh went back to sleep. When I finally woke up, project, a spot that would I went about my day kind of thinking I had ensure they receive dreamed that call. I do that sometimes. Not the $50,000 to build an true though…I got to Speedway for my mornart center in Northside ing coffee and saw the giant headlines on made completely out every newspaper reading that, Navy Seals of recycled shipping had “brazenly” invaded bin Laden’s compound containers. in Pakistan by helicopter while our President watched in real time and they killed him. When refresh Nothside I got back in my car I sat for a minute in a weird Page 6 shock and awe, thinking this was one of those moments that people will forever remember where they were when they heard the news. For nearly ten years Americans have had their hate placed on this man, Public Enemy #1. …or more. The And finally, as the news crawl scrolled…”We Number of people who got him!” gathered on Fountain I then felt pissed off. We are now being Square on April 29th told that this individual, that master minded and to demand honesty precisely planned the execution of thousands and transparency from of people was living comfortably all this time ALEC, a group that is in a beautiful home with Persian rugs, multiple responsible for model wives, and errand boys to buy him Pepsi in legislation that gets bulk. For almost ten years many Americans turned into state and were told that this murderer was hidden local bills. somewhere deep in an “un-findable” cave. I even remember news stories reporting that bin Demanding Laden was in terrible health due to the conditransparency from those tions he had been living in. Nope, now their responsible for Change telling us he was sleeping in what looks like Pages 1 and 8 it could have been a waterbed. His only real exceptions to a completely ‘normal’ life being lack of TV and internet. And we are told that It was not just a house he was in…it was a compound built specifically for him in Pakistan. The size of the space As a skeptical person (and a fan of the “ReEugene, who is ally?!?!” Segment on SNL’s Weekend Update) I homeless, lived in when have to ask, “Really, Really!?!?!” I can’t go two he came across his trusty weeks late on a bill without someone tracking cat, Sarah. me down and one of the most wanted men in the world was hiding in plain sight, practically eugene and Sarah in luxury. One of bin Laden’s wives said they Page 7 lived in that compound for 5 years. Again, REALLY?!?!? As the details poured in, breaking news after breaking news, I don’t know about you but I felt extreme anger. The day United States Coward forces killed Osama bin As of 2009, there were only around 100 Laden. members left as Al Qaeda. This name we all were forced to become familiar with because Osama bin Laden’s one day they decided to really organize and go after their enemies. We are told that Al Qaeda Useful Death was responsible for six major terrorist attacks. Page 11 Including September 11th, four of these being in their jihad against America. Each time, lead by the words of bin Laden. I have tried to imagine feeling that moved by religious senti- 2,000-3,000 150 6x8 5-1-2011 St r eet vibeS ment that I could fill myself with hate for other people, enough to plan their deaths through these so called ‘terrorist’ attacks. I just can’t get my mind around it. Nevertheless, somehow, some way we are told that they believed the words of Osama bin Laden enough to carry them out. So if what we have been told for ten years is correct, then he must have been a really tough guy, right? A charismatic hero to these people, a man who was so full of courage and passion for his cause he would gladly lay down his life as his ‘suicide bombers’ would. Because after all a propagandized theology spewed by bin Laden himself, tells them that they will be rewarded with paradise and 72(or 50 or 70, depending on the guy) virgins once they reach ‘heaven’. Bin Laden had to be stoked to eventually become a martyr for his beliefs, right? Yet, now after ten years we are told that Bin Laden had given orders to the men guarding his home to kill him first if an attack in fact happened, and it looked like he was going to be over taken. Not only that, but we being told that once US forces were in front of him, shooting to kill, that he grabbed his son’s wife and literally used her as a human shield. Really tough guy, huh?- The story seems to have changed. An End to Terror? We have spent a decade in bloodshed and terror supposedly to go after this man. Now that he is dead, will we seen an end to terror? Doubtful. It seems that this war and murder will simply continue and perhaps with even more fervor. While it is hard to wrap our heads around, there are people who want nothing more than to kill others and cripple economies. They’re still out there and my biggest worry in this situation is that the extremists will take the death of bin Laden as a cue for more bloodshed. Sadly, I doubt the death of Osama bin Laden will be the death of terrorism. “We don’t trot out this stuff as trophies” President Obama announced a few days after the shocking news, that the United States would not release the photos of bin Laden postmortem, shot in the head. Outside of morbid curiosity, the pictures of Saddam Hussein hanging didn’t really serve a purpose (it also wasn’t the US releasing them) with me, or anyone else I know. While I do hate to think this could turn into a ‘Tupac releasing tapes after death’ sort of thing, there is something to be said about taking the high road. The debate still rages on, even as I write these words I can hear a debate going on in the Coalition’s lobby. In fact a couple of days after the death of bin Laden, President Obama visited Ground Zero. Families who were outraged by the lack of photo evidence of the death pressed our Commander in Chief during his time there. One man was quoted as saying, “I know a woman whose husband was identified because they found his heart. How much more gruesome can the photos of bin Laden be?” As heart wrenching as that is to hear, I’m going with our President on this one. While this is undoubtedly a historic event, I don’t think the US should pander to the propaganda machine that will breed more hate with those images. Few things are really considered ‘Presidential’ behavior but I am sure this qualifies. This was a class move for Obama. To read a different perspective on this situation and how it may affect the world see page 11 Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 East 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax 513.421.7813 Email: jenmatrin@cincihomeless.org Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff Editor Jen Martin jenmartin@cincihomeless.org Contributing Writers : Susan Lakes, Gibson, Josh Spring, Executive Director, Jeni Jenkins, Riccardo Taylor, Elisa Hill, Willa Denise Jones, Laura Osborne-Coffey, Spare Change Staff, Saad Ghosn, Jennifer Martin, Lee McCoy, B. Clifton Burke, Corey Gibson, Inês Santinhos Gonçalves Photography/Artwork: Reuters, Aimie WillHoite, Rueters, Susan Lakes, Jeni Jenkins, Bill Howes, Carolyn Mazloomi, Jonathan Sears, Jorge Silva, Ho New, Russell Boyce The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. �Distributor Program St r ee t v ib e S 3 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 STREETVIBES IS DISTRIBUTED BY INDIVIDUALS WHO PURCHASE THE PAPER FOR 25 CENTS PER COPY AND SELL IT FOR A $1 DONATION, KEEPING THE PROFIT THEY HAVE EARNED. BECOMING A DISTRIBUTOR IS A GREAT WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FINANCIALLY POOR TO GET BACK ON OR STAY ON THEIR FEET. THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME FOR THOSE UNABLE TO SECURE OTHER EMPLOYMENT. MONEY EARNED HELPS MEET BASIC HOUSING, FOOD AND HEALTH CARE NEEDS. THE PROGRAM IS A HAND UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OFTEN IN A PLACE OF GETTING ONLY A HAND OUT, OR EVEN NO HAND AT ALL. ALL DISTRIBUTORS WEAR A BADGE AND CAN BE FOUND SELLING THE PAPER IN DOWNTOWN CINCINNATI, CLIFTON, NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND AREA CHURCHES. CURRENT DISTRIBUTORS Distributor Profile: James Bybee SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer ames Bybee, Streetvibes distributor, stands outside the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless office at 117 East 12th Street. For Bybee, meeting people is the best part of the job.A Former barber, James Bybee, now works seven days a week distributing Streetvibes. It’s a job he’d recommend to others, especially to people who are into meeting people and growing a business. “It’s a nice little hustle,” he said. “You can get your own customers.” Meeting new people and seeing familiar faces is what Bybee likes best about the job. One day, a former city councilman bought one of Bybee’s papers. “I saw him and stopped him one day, and he’s been a regular ever since.” Bybee likes the work so much; he dons a Streetvibes vest and hits the streets seven days a week. You might see him near a mall, on a street J ANTHONY � WILLIAMS SINCE 9/2006 � ANTONE HEATER � NEW 4/2011 � BARBARA � MURPHY � SINCE 2/2009 � BRANDON NELSON � SINCE 4/2008 � CLEO WOMBLES SINCE 10/2003 � CRANDALL COBB � SINCE 2004 � DAVID � TOUGH � 3/2011 � ELISA HILL � SINCE 9/2010 � GRADY COOK � SINCE 8/2007 � JAMAL DARDEN � SINCE 1/2010 � JAMES � BROWN � SINCE 3/2009 � JAMES � BYBEE � SINCE 9/2010 � JAMES � JAMES � DAVIS � MOORE � SINCE 8/2003 � SINCE 11/2010 � JIMMIE � GIPSON � SINCE 8/2010 � JON � DARBY � SINCE 2/2006 � JOSEPHINE � BASKERVILLE � SINCE 9/2008 � KEITH EUTSEY � SINCE 2/2011 � KIM � LEE � LARRY � GREEN � MCCOY � BROWN � SINCE 1/2010 � SINCE 10/2007 � SINCE 7/2009 � MARK DAUGHTERY � NEW 3/2011 � MARY � MARK ANTHONY � MUELLER � SHEARS � SINCE 12/2007 � SINCE 5/2005 � JEFFERY � JOHNSON � SINCE 8/2009 � W. 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SAMUEL � RONNIE � JACKSON � PHILLIPS � SINCE 10/2009 � SINCE 10/2006 � TONY THOMAS SINCE 3/2005 WILLA JONES SINCE 1/2010 SHANNON MOATS � NEW 3/2011 � WILLIAM � BURDINE � SINCE 8/2009 � TIA � TERRY � CASS � RANSON � SINCE 11/2007 � SINCE10/2008 � Interested in becoming a Streetvibes Distributor? Follow these six simple steps to be on your way: 1) Pick up a Distributor packet at the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, located at 117 East 12th Street, Cincinnati. 2) Fill out the Distributor Application Form, and initial each statement on the Code of Conduct and sign & review the Disciplinary Policy 3) Read the most recent copy of Streetvibes. 4) Attend an Orientation Thursdays at 10AM 5) Take and pass the quiz Tuesdays at 10AM. 6) Receive approval and have your picture taken, a badge will be made and you will be provided with 10 free papers to get you started! Questions? Call: (513) 421-7803 �From The Director 4 St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Are You Blind? JOSH SPRING executive Director eframing. Reframing is the process of judging something from another, hopefully more holistic perspective. Typically reframing involves going beyond just the surface of how something looks or beyond the way that we instantlly judge something. Reframing involves empathetic thought. In order to understand reframing one must work at becoming empathetic. Sympathy and empathy are two significantly different learned states. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone or something else. Empathy is actually working to feel what someone or something else is feeling. Empathy is in a sense taking on someone’s burden and sharing it with them- feeling the weight on your shoulders as well. Empathy could also be taking on someone’s joy and sharing it with them. True empathy should lead to reframing. What do you think when coming down the sidewalk in an urban setting and you see a group of people crowded on the front stoop of a building, listening to music and loudly talking to one another? I can’t tell you how many times I have been with somebody new to my neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine and after a bit of being here on a warm night, they say something like, “wow people are constantly arguing outside, why are they arguing so much?” And I have to say, “wait a second, what makes you think people are arguing? Folks are just having fun with one another.” This person has assumed that a crowd of folks on a sidewalk in an urban setting, talking loudly is a bad thing. What about when a group of people are crowded in a backyard in the suburbs hanging out- is that a bad thing? We often hear of one group of people getting frustrated at another because of a crowd hanging out on the sidewalk. Sure no group should be so introspective that it forgets everyone around and makes walking down the sidewalk impossible, but hanging out on the sidewalk is good and productive. In fact I would assert that it is more positive and productive than hanging out in a backyard in the sub- R Vinegar An Unconventional Introduction SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer ive me a gallon jug of vinegar and you’ll see me grin. Throw in a spray bottle and I’ll gush grins. I’ll squeal. Hi. I’m Susan, your new Streetvibes reporter and I love distilled white vinegar. It’s a new love affair. You see, cleaning supplies have held a particular fascination for me. I’ve tried them all-the polishes, squirts, soft abrasives, grainy gritty powders, foams, thick liquids, runny stuff and waxes. Now though, I’m batting 100% vinegar, and my place sparkles. Gone are the days of cleaning caddies and half G urbs. Being on the sidewalk, right out front, puts eyes and ears all over the area, it also creates the opportunity for others walking nearby to join and it is transparent- everyone sees what is going on- this is community –building. Or what about the common statement you probably have heard “how can they be poor and afford that television?” or “how can they be homeless and have a cell phone” or “why is there a couch in the living room, while the kids have no beds?” I bring these up, because I am quite confident that all of us have heard things like this. These are situations that are likely in need of some empathetic reframing. First of all, just because one is living through poverty, that does not mean she or he does not want a few things beyond necessity. Individuals experincing poverty often have not choice but to focus on the necessities, There is nothing wrong with having some things that are not completely necessary- we all do this. Second, if you see someone who is currently homeless with a cell phone- that is a good thing- that means that person has found a way to have a cell phone, an opportunity many others have not had, which means she or he will be better equipped to keep appointments, follow-up on appointments, apply for jobs, seek emergency help when needed, and in-act a game-plan. Finally, “why is there a couch in the living room, while the kids have no beds?” Let’s think this one through. One, perhaps when this family moved in they were given a couch as a donation, but not given beds and they have been unable to afford beds. Or perhaps they did choose a couch first. Perhaps they chose a couch first because the couch is the place the family gathers to hang out with one another. Perhaps the couch is where the family unites and has fun together and deals with hard issues together. Perhaps this parent chose family unity first. I don’t offer these three examples because they are necessarily specifically the subject of debate, but the theme of these examples is often the subject of common debate. used bottles of cleaning supplies. My beloved vinegar replaced all that stuff. I dilute it sometimes, but mostly use it straight up. Some people think vinegar stinks. Not me. The smell takes me back to the 70s, to the days when my mother would take us on yearly vacations to Key West, Florida. “Take a vinegar bath,” Mama would say when we’d complain about sunburns. She was right. That vinegar healed the sting. For real. My vinegar roots go back even farther. “Momo”, my grandmother used vinegar in place of cream rinse. “It’ll make your hair shiny and silky,” she’d say. (She said the same thing about beer, mayo and egg yolks mixed with olive oil). So, although the sights and smells of vinegar grace my past, it’s the relationship’s future that’s keeping me excited. Is there anything this stuff won’t clean or refresh? Vinegar cleans windows, Not only that, but these three questions are often the route folks with more means use to bypass their own responsibility to end poverty and homelessness. “Well if they can afford a cell phone, they must be able to afford housing and therefore I would just be enabling their poor decisions to give of myself.” We are often not quick to reframe- because first of all, we are often not empathetic and second of all because many times, if we did reframe- our own responsibility would become transparent. We are taught that homelessness and poverty are the result of lazy people choosing to not work hard enough or simply choosing to live off everyone else. We are often given “proof” of this through examples of people who are on the margins having things that we somehow assume people who are financially poor should not have. It is sort of like we expect people who are homeless and/or financially poor to prove it to everyone else by subjecting themselves to greater hardship by denying everything that is not a complete necessity. Out of this line of thought, we hear about books and studies and documentaries about the “culture of poverty.” Some of us have perhaps gone to seminars about the “culture of poverty.” The truth is we know what financial poverty is. Financial poverty is not having enough financial resources to sustainably have enough items needed to live. We know what poverty is. We don’t need to study the “culture of poverty.” We have to start talking about the “culture of wealth.” Wealth is the evil side of us. Poverty is a consequence of that evil side. We don’t need to negatively judge people who are financially poor for having some things that are not necessary for life, we need to negatively judge people who already have all they need to live and continue to horde more, not only do they horde more but they take from others to feed their greed. And we need to do more than judge, we need to act. The truth is budgets and economies are balanced on the backs of people who are financially floors, woodwork, sinks, tubs and countertops. I pour a little bit in the laundry, and keep an open container of it next to my running shoes to absorb odors. Vinegar topped the list of simple, natural cleaning supplies I wrote about seven or eight years ago while working for a daily newspaper in northern Indiana. (I’ve been in this business for about a decade).I wrote about vinegar, but never actually used it as a cleaning agent. The truth of the matter is this: I didn’t clean back then, but paid a broke friend to come in weekly and put the house in order. I’m the broke one now, and my economic downward spiral has at least one happy ending. I fell in love….with vinegar. susanlakes@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 12 poor. The other truth is that most of us do not have most of the money. Therefore, some of us need to stop believing the intentional lie that if we demand they stop hording the resources they will leave our midst and our economy will fall apart. We must stop supporting those that steal from us. This is where the majority of us can find unity- yes if you are not financially poor, you need to give up some of what you have so that others can get closer to having what they need. But we also need to all unite and demand that the money-fat ceos and big-whig owners turn over what they have stolen from the rest of us. We can choose to give of ourselves for one another and choose to collectively go after our common enemy. joshspring@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 13 facebook.com/ streetvibes cincinnati twitter.com/ streetvibesnwes streetvibes.wordpress.com Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �St r ee t v ib e S Story and Poetry Corner 5 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Storms Pass On! Gone WILLA DENISE JONES ELISA HILL Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor *This poem dedicated to the victims of the tornados that ravaged the Southern United States in April. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. They say it was a perfect storm down south, all the ingredients to make a tornado come out. You should never disrespect it, because it could hold your life in its hands. With no hills for shelter and in that moment you couldn’t even run away from it mayhem. You’d have sunlight one moment. Then you are caught up in the bowls of hell the next. Thunder, hail and lightning precede the howl of the tornado before it touches down. Right before it took your life and the rains and know the sounds. It was total devastation as the tornado took many lives to the sky. Though the sun would rise, it could not comfort all the cries heard throughout the south. With goodbyes! GONE ARE THE DAYS THAT WE ONCE KNEW GONE ARE THE DAYS NEVER TO RETURN SO NOW WHAT’S NEW? GONE IS LIKE TOMMORROW THAT NEVER COMES IT’S ALWAYS TODAY GONE IS THE EMPLOYMENT RATE AND HOUSING FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME, FOR A CHANGE I PRAY! GONE ARE THE DAYS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JOHN F. KENNEDY AND SINGER LUTHER VANDROSS TODAY SOME PEOPLE SCREAM OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD AS THE WORLD YELLS BARACK OBAMA IS THE BOSS TODAY WE AS HUMAN PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE WORRIED OR CONFUSED AS TO WHO IS RULING TODAY WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS GOD’S WORLD. SO WHY DO THE PEOPLE KEEP FOOLING I SAY STOP KILLING OURSELVES WHEN IT IS WITHOUT A DOUBT WE LIVE IN ORDER TO DIE SO WHY NOT TAKE EACH DAY AS A BLESSING ABOVE GROUNDAND JUST SAY HELLO AND WHEN WE’RE GONE JUST SAY GOODBYE “How are we to salvage and rebuild a world without Grandma, Danny, Rachel, and Uncle Drew.” “Every time I try to add a brick to the new foundation, I still feel that our lives will be so incomplete too.” “All because of a perfect storm that took away half of my soul.” “Now we all pray for those who have passed on!” Artwork By Rico Green, son of Streetvibes Distributor Kim Green Have A Laugh! What did the grass on the football field say? If you water me, I’ll be rooting for you! Why should every baseball team have a frog? To catch pop up flies. �Local 6 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Refresh Northside Chris Hoeting and once inside numerous, gigantic containers that traveled over oceans to finally arrive in your apartment. But after years of wear and tear on these containers, where do they end up, what do people do with them? Can these behemoths just be thrown into a garbage dump and forgotten? Some containers fall victim to the sea, falling off the ships they are being transported on, while others are turned in to different forms of architecture around the world. And hopefully Cincinnati will soon be a city, on a short list of cities, which can claim they have a building made out of shipping containers. Chris Hoeting and Jonathan Sears, grad schools friends who founded the arts organization parProjects, want to build an arts center out of recycled shipping containers. As said in their mission statement, “The larger goal of parProjects revolves around the planning, development and construction of a new generaCOREY GIBSON tion of creative Contributing Writer centers for the arts. The design, he chair you have in your house which if currently probably traveled hundreds in progress is of miles to get to where it is modeled as a now. Stuffed inside a dark, dirty shipgreen building ping container until you saved it and project, crebrought it home. The paper you are ated primarily reading this from also traveled hunout of recycled dreds of miles to get into your hands. materials and From a tree, to a mill, to a box, to a energy efficient container, eventually ending in your approaches hands. According to the book, “Evoluleading towards self-sustainability.” tion of the Box,” by Charles W. Ebel“Our mission,” said Hoeting, “is to ing, nearly 90% of non-bulk cargo, create an arts center that is sustaincargo that goes into a box and is not able.” shipped unpackaged, moves around The arts center, which was dethe world in cargo containers stacked signed by Sears, is going to house an on transport ships. Nearly everything artist’s residency program, two exhibiinside your entire apartment was tion spaces and a community learning and outreach area and be built in front of the old canning building in Northside. Phase one, which is going to be a moveable first floor, is going to consist of five shipping containers pieced together housing the artists residency program, one exhibition space and an outreach center. The center is going to Designed with the parProjects logo, the center be the first of its kind in Ohio, would be built in front of the old canning building in where shipping container buildNorthside.Photo: Jonathan Sears ings are only comprised of a single container. Hoeting said Jonathan Sears need your help to build an arts center that is completely green-out of recycled shipping containers. This would include an artist’s residency program, exhibition spaces and a community learning and outreach area, set in front of the old canning building in Northside. T St r eet vibeS there is nothing set up in city of Cincinnati, code wise, to regulate how they build this structure. He hopes that being the first to build something out of numerous shipping containers will allow more and more greensuave people to The project, built completely out of recycled shipping containers. do the same. Photo: Jonathan Sears Yet how comfortable can cided to take a grassroots approach. a shipping container be? Do not be Hoeting and Sears want to help profooled. The plain walls will be painted, mote the entire art scene in Cincinnati. the shipping containers will be cut up For every art center or gallery they and reorganized to better fit the purgo to, parProjects wants to interview pose of an arts center and the paint the people behind the scene and give will even have an additive that will act them recognition on their blog. All they as a thermos, keeping the center well want in return is for the people of Cinheated or cinnati to vote twice a day, until May cooled. 31. “Our “We are going to go and specifihope is cally visit all the arts organizations in to build a Cincinnati,” said Hoeting. “We want to building as first visit all the centers in Northside completely green as possible,” said Hoeting. “A lot of our thinking with the sustainable art center is not just in the green aspect but also the idea that Space for art exhibitions and community learning mapped out Jonathan Sears it will be inexpressive.” Where most art centers become top heavy with bills, heating, electricity, and then move onto all the arts cenemployees and such, Hoeting said this ters in Cincinnati.” parProjects believes they are goart center will have solar power to help ing to need to get 2,000 to 3,000 votes it run more efficiently. a day to get in to the top ten on the To raise money for phase one of Pepsi Refresh project, a spot that enthe project, Hoeting and Sears turned sure they receive the $50,000. their interests towards the Pepsi Re“We think people will be interested fresh contest, a contest that offers because of what it is and how it is an people the chance to win $5,000 to example of a self sustaining building,” $50,000 for projects that will better said Hoeting. “It is the type of contemthe community. If parProjects wins the porary architecture that would benefit contest, the $50,000 would be enough Northside and Cincinnati. People will to finish the first floor of the project. be interested in seeing this center in “$50,000 would primarily build the the Midwest.” shell of phase one,” said Hoeting. “To buy the components, get the gallery To vote for parProjects go to: ready and hook up the electricity.” theroadtorefresh.com. To raise awareness about their project and to get people to start clicking in their votes, parProjects has de- “To raise money for phase one of the project, Hoeting and Sears turned their interests towards the Pepsi Refresh contest, a contest that offers people the chance to win $5,000 to $50,000 for projects that will better the community. “ Is it is or is it ain’t? The observations of a Streetvibes Distributor LEE MCCOY Streetvibes Distributor L ately I have been noticing the date May 21st a lot. But let me stop and ask you a question first. Do you remember when Orson Wells claimed the Martians have landed and the end of the world was near? The man started worldwide panic and had everyone looking toward the sky asking, “Is it is or is it ain’t?” Well, that’s a bunch of bull crap. A few weeks ago I saw a bunch of mini vans with the message of ‘May 21st… the day the world will end according to the Word of God.” It had me running to my bible. The first thing that really jumped out at me was that no man knows the hour or the day that the world will end. The Father didn’t even know ‘is it is or is it ain’t?’ How in the world did anyone come up with the May 21st thing. I wasn’t satisfied so I kept digging. In my bible the signs were surely there and I believe the end is near in Matthew 24:6-8, it says you are going to hear of wars but it tells you to not be scared, for these things must happen but it isn’t the end. “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.“ There will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. Just look at Japan and every area across the world. I am not going to try to judge anyone; I won’t try to play God. In an odd coincidence the annual 5k Summer Run in OTR is on May 21st. Maybe you should pack the bible with your Nikes that day, because if you listen to what they’re preaching, the world is over on that day. I had the pleasure of touring the Jimmy Heath House in OTR with students from NKU on April 20th. If you are unaware of what the Jimmy Heath House is, let me inform you. It is a place where people who can’t Photos: Aimie Willhoite Photography conform to the Drop Inn Center’s It is a little like sleeping with the rules can go. It is for the people you enemy. But is it the answer or just see sleeping on the streets, under the tip of the ice berg? I don’t know. bridges, in doorways. I have always ‘Is it is or is it ain’t?’ had a strong dislike for 3CDC and their ‘development’ but I must admit this product they were involved in is Lee McCoy can be found selling in the amazing. Downtown area and at Findlay Market �St r ee t v ib e S Awareness 7 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 True Companions A survey of local resources available for homeless people with pets. SUSAN LAKES Streetvibes Staff Writer ome places have homeless shelters that allow or make provisions for pets.’The Max who currently lives at The Talbert House, Mount Airy Pets for the Homeless’ Center for the Homeless. Photo: Drew Brown organization publishes that list on its website. You can word of mouth and visits to homeless find it, plus a ton of information about camps to get the word out about Pets how to help curb the pets of homeless in Need. Homeless people are one of problem, by visiting petsofthehomeher resources. “They are the people less.org. who are out there first hand on the You won’t find Cincinnati or Ohio streets and they are living side by side on the list of shelters that allow pets. with the stray animals who need attenBut there’s at least one local shelter tion.” One homeless camp includes where homeless men and cats interact people and three animals. “All of them daily. “We have 55 homeless men and (animals) are spayed and neutered,” 7 homeless cats, but the cats don’t Madewell said. “They care for their think they’re homeless,” said Drew pets just as much as anyone else, but Brown, shelter director at the Mt. Airy oftentimes lack the resources. Everytwelve-acre campus. The felines found one is very thrilled to get the services.” the shelter, and now they hang out in Pets in Need survives on grant outdoor shelters the homeless men money and donations. Like Brown, constructed. Madewell sees value in homeless S Eugene and Sarah’s Story his is the story of how a cat named Sarah helps a young professional man named Eugene (not his real name) cope with the debilitating disability that took him from a successful freelance career to job losses, alienation of friends and family and years of homelessness. The chaotic homeless days ended for the duo four months ago. Life’s going good now since they made the move from a tent into an apartment. Sometimes, Sarah’s clinginess gets on Eugene’s nerves, but he’s quick to admit that he’d be lost without the furry feline’s company and comfort. “I wouldn’t have anybody to come home to,” Eugene said. “I really want to keep this cat. It’s been here for me when I’m depressed.” And keep Sarah, he will. When asked what he’d do if the understanding landlord suddenly enforced a “no pets” policy, Eugene said he’d have to find a different place to live. He and Sarah are a team. T The Beginning Eugene, 35, was a successful freelance writer, analyst and ghost writer. Life had been good. He was happy. “I lived a perfectly normal life until 2005,” he recalls. The only one of eight children with a high school education, Eugene studied theology in college. He was the one people leaned on. “I went from the one that would help all my friends and family to the one who needed help but couldn’t get it,” he recalls, adding friends and family thought he’d gone crazy when the panic attacks started. The writer witnessed a series of traumatic events, including suicides, murders and explosions, in the span of a year. One of the explosions, he said, happened while on assignment in Northern Pakistan. “We were part of a convoy of buses, and I was on the ninth bus,” he recalled of the tragedy. “The Taliban blew up the 8th (bus),” he said softly, looking down. Depression and anxiety followed. So did his ability to earn a living. Job losses followed. So did support from friends and family. He felt rejected because of what he calls his mental disability. “The Cat Came To Me While I Was Homeless, and Stayed.” Eugene ended up living all alone inside a six-foot by eight-foot storage shed he covered with tent material. At first, a three-legged dog tried to adopt him, but he knew that wouldn’t work. He could barely feed himself, and knew it wouldn’t be fair to adopt the pooch. “I couldn’t take care of it,” he said. “I gave it away.” The very day he found a good home for the dog, he was sitting inside the shed and heard a noise. “It was a meow,” he said. “She (the cat) was sitting there, so I gave here some dog food.” The cat was skittish at first, but stuck around. Eugene named her Sarah. “I like to use regular names,” he said, adding that he’s always been one in favor of naming his pets human-like names rather than the popular pet names like “Fluffy” and “Spot”. A homeless cat’s shelter at the The Talbert House, Mount Airy Centerfor the Homeless. Photo: Drew Brown Brown sees value in the living people keeping pets, even when they arrangement. “The cats are very enter shelters. “It would be excellent therapeutic for our men,” he said. “It if shelters could find a way,” she said. reinforces skills many homeless people “Some of the people cannot go into a have forgotten, and that’s how to take shelter with their pets, and that causes care of something more unfortunate them to miss out on a necessary safe them themselves.” place to live.” Nurturing is a good thing Mt. Airy. Giving up a pet can be difficult. “By taking care of a cat, it kind of reThat’s why The Hamilton County inforces the nurturing that comes with YMCA Battered Women’s Shelter caring for something besides yourself.” partners with the Society for PrevenBrown said. “It’s been good for our tion of Cruelty to Animals or SPCA. guys.” The SPCA provides temporary shelter Another local organization, UCAN, for the animals of battered women, acfinds value in helping out the pets cording to Consuello Hudson, Domesof homeless people. UCAN recently tic Violence Advocate. opened a spay/neuter clinic where vetThe partnership works, Hudson erinary services are offered to people said, but it’s not used very often. with little or no income. Pets of those who qualify get seen and checked out head to toe for $8.00. The spay/neuter service is slightly more expensive. The number of homeless people using this service is on the rise, according to Cathy Madewell, coordinator for Pets in Need. The program is mutually beneficial. “The homeless people are doing a service to the city by bringing in their dogs and cats,” said Madewell, adding that every pet that is spayed or neutered means “Fluffy” is one of the feline residents of The Talbert House, Mt. fewer unwanted litters for aniAiry Center for the Homeless. Photo: Drew Brown mal control. Madewell relies on One Road trip to Remember Eugene left the tent and set out on a trip to New York City with the cat in tow. He thought his chances for finding work in a faltering economy would be better in the city, so he crated the cat and hitched a ride with a trucker he knew was headed that way. He and Sarah ended up homeless again. “In New York, I walked around with her on a leash,” he said, laughing. “In New York, that’s common, but here I wouldn’t do that because people would think I’m crazy.” They were homeless for nearly four months, but at least Eugene found shelter. He lived in a small room where monks once lived. “They didn’t allow pets, but Sarah was allowed to stay (outside),” he said. She stayed in the back yard area that was surrounded by a nine-foot fence. “There were no worries of here leaving since she didn’t have claws.” The wooden fence would have been quite an obstacle for a declawed cat like Sarah. With the urging of friends, the two returned to Cincinnati. A Happy Reunion Sarah’s trip back to Cincinnati was shorter than his. Eugene caught a bus, and Sarah followed the next day-----by plane. The airport reunion was a happy one. “She’s always glad to see me,” he said. They returned to the tent for four months before Eugene finally agreed to enter a local shelter, a condition for enrolling in a local housing program. Eugene had resisted the idea of shelter life for two reasons: panic attacks related to a condition called agoraphobia* and Sarah. “I really wanted to keep this cat,” he said. “It was there for me when I was depressed.” A Home at Last Eugene and Sarah moved into an apartment earlier this year, and they’re both settled in. She perches on top of his feet when he sits down, and he can’t imagine what life would be like without her. “I wouldn’t have anybody to come home to,” he said. “Sarah is something else alive here besides my plants.” Hopes and Dreams Eugene said he’s feeling better. The symptoms of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Agoraphobia are not as bad as they used to be. Agoraphobia is a condition that makes a person fearful in public places. With PTSD, a person may experience such symptoms as tiredness, sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression. Eventually, Eugene wants to return to writing. “I want to go back to work and not get fired,” he said, recalling just how the disabilities interfered with work. �8 Local Issue St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Demanding Transparency from those Responsible for Change Continued from page 1 Aliya Rahmon, Miami University student, read a demand letter that was sent to Tom Scheberle, Executive Director of ALEC. The letter demands these disclosures: •All donors of $200 and more, •ALEC members who hold elected office, •Full text of model legislation and public policy discussion leading up to the legislation •Disclosure of the cases in which ALEC model legislation is entered into bills, specifically the source of the legislative text. Similar demands are in the works by another group. ProtestALEC.org claims ALEC is to blame for the recent surge in legislation that targets working people (Ohio’s Senate Bill 5), women and racial minorities (Arizona’s Senate 1070) environmental protections. The group is calling for ALEC to invite More than 150 people gathered with signs on Fountain Square in peaceful demand against policy experts, journalists and the ALEC. Photo: Susan Lakes the public to an open meeting to discuss the group’s inner workings. sharing among states so that Protestor Alana Bilancini first we can be ready for New found out ALEC was coming to Orleans,” said Bob Sloan. Cincinnati in mid-March. She’s An Indianapolis, IN resident, glad the city’s Over-The Rhine Sloan and wife, Jean made neighborhoods served as the focal the hour and a half hour trek point for the education programs. to Cincinnati to protest for a -Democracy Is Not For Sale. “There’s a movement to push reason. Bob learned about residents out in favor of profit-Stop Corporations From Writing Our ALEC through his research. making businesses,” she said. Laws. “My husband has been writing Bilancini also liked the peaceful a book about the corporate nature of the protest. Some of -When Our Rights Are Under Attack, takeover of our prisons,” Jean the protestors who showed up in what do we do? Stand Up. Fight Cincinnati are working on strategies Sloan said. Back. to bring ALEC into the spotlight -Hey Hey, ho ho/ALEC out of Ohio. again when the group meets for Marching to demand corporations not be allowed susanlakes@cincihomeless. an annual meeting in Louisiana to dictate our laws. Photo: Susan Lakes org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 12 -Get up! Get Down! There’s a in August. “We need information A GLIMPS AT THE PROTEST SIGNS AND CHANTS: Peoples’ Movement In This Town. �St r ee t v ib e S M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 International News 9 If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry Satire is, above all, a bag of laughs. But in authoritarian countries, such as Venezuela and Russia, satire is also the voice of freedom; a weapon used to expose the irony of unjust systems. lesson. On January last year he did it again. And this time it was worse. “Venezuela sin Estehe Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, is ban”, published in the a man of humor. Nobody forgets the day he ever-resistant TalCual stepped on the stand of the United Nations, newspaper, was a witty one day after former President Bush, sniffed the exercise of imagination: air and said: "The devil was here yesterday. It still what would happen to smells like sulfur." Yes, President Chávez has used the country if Chávez comedy many times against his opponents, but suddenly left? After the his sense of humor fades when the joke is on him. confusion of the first Laureano Márquez, political scientist and one of days, “people would stop the most famous satirists of Venezuela, had to pay, buying dollars like crazy” together with the newspaper he writes for, TalCual, and six months later almost £15,000 because of a letter he wrote to “politicians would star noChávez's nine-year-old daughter. "Querida Rosinés" ticing that the laws they was a satirical answer to the President's announceapproved were actually ment that he was considering changing the national quite anti-democratic coat of arms after a request from his daughter. "The because now they apply purpose of the letter is to ask you for help," wrote to them” and “all political Márquez in 2005. "You are probably the only person prisoners who were arbitrarily judged would be he listens to and you're the only who can speak freed.” Ten years later, Venezuela President Chavez laughs while addressing a news conference. REUTERS/Jorge Silva frankly with daddy without fearing as we do." Among the requests was one to remove the “you could see the first coat of arms of "a gentleman with a green uniform signs of financial recovand white beard, a gentleman that is always putting ery” and “people would also using new technologies and it becomes harder his nose in our business" (reference to Fidel Casfind sugar in the supermarkets again”. A hundred and harder to tyrannize the human being,” he said. tro) and also a request for Chávez to stop talking years after Chávez’s (Esteban in the article) deparIn a country where recently a critical television about what he is going to do in 2021 - "Even if he is ture all that is left are “bad memories”. “The period network, RCTV, was pushed off the airwaves and going to stay that long, he shouldn't say it so often would be studied as an example of what should not 34 radio stations had their licenses revoked, the because for those of us who don't agree with him be done to a country.” The reaction arrived quickly. Internet does emerge as the safest way to express (don't be alarmed, according to official sources we The Ministry of Communications and Information disagreement. In the past decade Venezuela has are fewer and fewer) it's somehow stressful." He of Venezuela accused him of being a defamatory seen an impressive growth in access to online techcloses the letter with a last wish: "Ask him not to be fascist and of encouraging a coup d’état. Words, nologies. Thirty one per cent of the population now so angry with us who don't think like him; sometimes of course, were not enough: the Ministry asked to has access to the Internet (compared to 5.8 per cent he calls us criminals and fascists and we feel like open an inquiry against Tal Cual. Such reaction 12 years ago). Much of this development is actually indicates the government recognizes the power of answering back." The gentle, almost affectiondue to the Chávez administration: the government satire and by censuring Márquez, President Chávez ate tone of the letter did not prevent him landing in set up more than 600 high speed Internet access admits his importance. “Humor hurts the governtrouble with the courts. centers in poor neighborhoods. As a result, 68 per ment a great deal, because it’s a type of criticism However, Laureano Márquez didn’t learn the cent of Internet users come from lower-income deagainst which you can only answer mographics. At the same time, the rising popularity in two ways: with more wit or by of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, censoring it. Because the governas well as blogs, benefited Chávez’s opponents. ment is not very witty, he censors,” The anti-Chávez Twitter #freevenezuela was among explained the satirist. “Everyone the four receiving comments worldwide in February who studied humor knows it’s a last year, while seven of the 10 most followed Twitter serious thing. Almost all the great accounts in Venezuela belong to Chávez’s critics. philosophers since Aristotle have Chávez didn’t want to be left behind, so he created written about it.” Márquez, who his own Twitter account and already has 1,416,826 continues writing almost as an act followers. of protest, says satire in Venezuela The absence of restrictions on online content is about much more than raising a created the conditions for a proliferation of blogs and few laughs; it is essential to what websites with disagreeing voices. One of the most is left of democracy, something the popular ones is El Chigüire Bipolar, a satirical page, Venezuelans so deeply value. resembling the American The Onion, where Ven“In Venezuela, political satire ezuelan politics and Chávez, in particular, are seen has an incredible strength. It’s a through the lens of sharp humor. Named in honor of mechanism to face authoritarianthe capybara, a rodent that Venezuelans enjoy eatism, denounce it, and defeat it. ing, El Chigüire, after only three years of existence, Currently Venezuela is living one has at least the same or more page views than of its most brilliant moments in the leading Venezuelan newspaper, El Nacional. terms of humor, also because it “New school books replace heliocentric theory by is living one of the most dangerthe hugocentric theory”, “President Chávez gives ous periods for its freedom,” he medal to virus A1N1 for having contaminated Uribe” said. In this paradoxical situation, or “Interview with Chávez’s mommy: ‘My son was  |  satire is seen as a noble weapon: on TV since he was a little boy’” are some of the “It’s an extraordinary weapon and headlines one can find in this website, that uses the its greatest strength comes from   motto “Partial, unfounded news from a rodent with the fact that it doesn’t kill, it’s not psychological issues.” violent. Political satire is a form But their most successful attraction is undoubtof denouncing wrong doings, of edly the recent cartoon adventure La Isla Presicriticism; it’s a political expression dencial (Presidential Island), five-minute videos of the social anguishes. “Political released every two or three weeks. The story, satire in Venezuela assumes the based on the hit TV series Lost, gathers sevtremendously important function eral Latin American leaders who find themselves of being the citizen’s voice. It is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. The first extremely important in Venezuela, episode was watched on YouTube more than 3 without it I don’t think we could million times and apart from Chávez it includes the have survived.” Satire, Márquez Bolivian President Evo Morales (secretly in love says, is the best way to beat cenwith the Venezuelan President), sorship. “It’s a way to say things when you can’t speak because See If You Didn’t Laugh p10. satire uses metaphors and can say without saying. Besides, humor is INÊS SANTINHOS GONÇALVES Street News Service www.streetnewsservice.org T     �10 International News St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 If You Didn’t Laugh Continued from page 9 Colombia’s President Álvaro Uribe, Cristina Kirchner from Argentina and the Brazilian Lula da Silva, among others. For this reason, the website has become increasingly popular throughout Latin America. Even Spain is paying attention, since King Juan Carlos also stars as a silly old man. All of these characters are tortured by the long speeches delivered by President Chávez. “Twelve Presidents take a short boat ride to hell. Now they’ll have to survive with no food, no shelter and no power - hey, don’t overreact!” The interruption of the trailer is made by Chávez to whom power doesn’t mean electricity. Mario Silva, the host of a Venezuelan talk show on state television that Chávez uses to attack his critics, has condemned El Chigüire Bipolar, describing its founders as partisan anti-Chávez drugaddicts. “We appreciate the publicity,” co-founder Juan Andrés Ravell, 28, told the New York Times. Together with Oswaldo Graziani, 30, he writes and produces the content of the website that is financed out of their own pockets. “Chávez is a master communicator and a natural born comedian, but one who doesn’t realize he’s at the centre of the joke,” said Ravell in the same interview to the American newspaper. “Satire”, he added “always evolves to resist the attempts to extinguish it.” “Venezuela is living one of its most brilliant moments in terms of humor, also because it is living one of the most dangerous periods for its freedom”. David Myers, political science professor at Penn State University, US, specializing in Latin America, is familiar with El Chigüire. “I’m surprised it hasn’t been censored yet,” he said. President Chávez has been talking about controlling the Internet, after a website program about the former President Carlos Andrés Pérez which played a huge role in discrediting the democratic system and opening a way for Chávez,” he adds. In the war of humor, Chávez plays a significant role, one filled with political meaning. “He uses a very popular humor against educated people, the humor of cowboys. A lot of people in Venezuela still have that rural mentality and Chávez appeals to them much more with that type of satire,” explains Professor Myers. “He is trying to show that he is just like the poor. The great irony is that, not only he came out Animated cartoon portraying the Russian leaders Putin and Medvedev addressing of the military academy but he also the nation on New Year’s Eve, while dancing studied at Simón Bolívar University “Opa!” They have great dancing skills. where he made all the courses for a Master in Political Science,” he adds. Chávez, however, left the Medvedev: “You may believe me or you may University without the degree. not, I love to surf the web a lot” The ‘bronze leaders’ are no joke. In Venezuela Putin: “Ah, yes, when you are surfing the net, I satire is a weapon used by both sides of the barhave to text you ‘Hi Medvedev!’” ricade and although restricted it remains present, Medvedev: “This is the second year that I greet like a weed that keeps on growing back. One might people on New Year” say that it is a defense mechanism of authoritarian Putin: “You know, one of us has done it already regimes, democracies in a very limited meaning of nine times” the word, in which freedom to express disagreement is highly restricted and regimes with charisThe video was featured in a special episode of matic, power-driven, self-centered leaders. Like Mult Lichnosti (Cartoon Personalities), a biweekly Venezuela. And like Russia. However, if Venezushow that pokes fun at public figures. elans drink the glass of satire with visible thirst, the Broadcasted on the state-run Channel One, Russians sip with caution. Professor Myers says Multi Lichnosti is the newest satire show in Rusthe reasons are historical: “The concept of desia, a country where jokes on TV are no laughing mocracy is very deeply embedded in matter. Venezuelan culture. It goes way back For seven years the country experienced a dry to the 19th century when there was a season for satire. Since the end of Kukly, the Ruslot of democratic resistance to dictasian version of Spitting Image, the airwaves were tors. Satire is a way to go after anyone pretty humour free. who tries to get too much authority. Newspapers across the so-called free world You don’t have anything in Venezuela reported the end of the show as a political message that commanded the respect and the - and not a good one. majesty of the Tsars regime.” Nicolai The television station, NTV, claimed the politiPetro, Professor of Comparative Polical satire was unpopular, poorly made and too tics at the University of Rhode Island, expensive to produce. But the unofficial version that US, specializing in Russian affairs, everyone believed in was that its closure was politisaid: “If things are quieter in Russia cally motivated. than in Venezuela, I believe it is mainly Kukly portrayed Putin as a short, ugly puppet because people like it that way. and although it was extremely popular, it was not to “There are cultural factors at work. the President’s taste. Putin’s victory in the PresiOne is a certain fear of the consedential elections gave him the power to nationalize Animation depicting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the animated series quences of mocking authority, another NTV. Soon the show was cancelled. “President Island.” Photo: REUTERS/Ho New is that mocking a person, rather than a “If it would have been a totalitarian regime, they system or institution, is considered inap- would have shot us. Because it’s an authoritarian allegedly reported false news about the death of propriate and ‘hitting below the belt’. This may be regime they closed us down,” said Victor Shenone of his ministers. But Melanie Ciolek, a specialchanging for young people but among older Rusderovich, scriptwriter of Kukly, to BBC Radio 4. ist in public diplomacy at the University of Southern sians one finds, to the contrary, a heightened effort Since its cancellation, jokes about Putin beCalifornia, explains: “If the Chávez administrato maintain a sense of orderliness and propriety in came such a taboo that in July 2009 the Russian tion decided to crack down on Internet freedom to the face of the ‘immorality’ they see in Russian sochannel that broadcasts South Park cut a scene of reduce dissents, it risks upsetting an already tense ciety today,” he explains. But as the saying goes, the cartoon involving Putin. situation in Venezuela. The fight for online influence there is an exception to every rule. In 2009 New The poltical analyst, Dimitry Oreshkin told the plays out against a backdrop of troubled economic Year’s Eve Vladimir Putin and Dimitry Medvedev France Press News Agency he thought television conditions and recurring energy crises that make danced, sang and told jokes in Red Square. Inapcomedy had “degraded” since the demise of Kukly. it increasingly difficult for him to tout the benefits propriate? It would be far more than that. But those “In this situation, of course, it’s impossible to even of his ‘Bolivarian revolution’. “Previous attempts singing and dancing under fireworks were cartoon think of making Putin or Medvedev into comic to ban access to social media have demonstrated characters of the President and Prime Minister. figures.” a tendency to generate instability. Given that his There are at least eight videos on YouTube where Nontheless, Multi Lichnosti is now on primeopponents already use social media not just to one can see the cartoon duet; the most popular of time television. The return, however, is seen as voice dissent, but to organize physical protests them has been viewed almost 280,000 times. timid. The New Year cartoon, where both Putin and against his policies, it seems likely that restrictions Medvedev appeared, was an exception. The show would stimulate further unrest,” she writes in an Medvedev: “It has become a fashion trend to tends to focus only on international politicians, footarticle on the Mountain Runner, a political science summarize the year’s end” ball players, pop stars and television hosts. It’s not website. Professor Myers agrees that Chávez will Putin: “And we will try our best to do so and like the show doesn’t have teeth; it just lacks bite be cautious. “I’m not sure if he has the technical fulfill the request” when it comes to Russian politicians. capability actually, but he did bring the Iranians in The only Russian political figure who had and they are advising him on propaganda, so it is The two most powerful men in Russia swing appeared - in the first episode - was the Foreign conceivable.” With Internet or without it, the situatheir bodies to the rhythm. Medvedev plays accorMinister Sergei Lavrov who was gently mocked in a tion of satire in Venezuela is under threat. “There is dion and Putin a tambourine - which every now and sketch that showed him trying to escape a flirtatious even a law saying that if you make jokes about the then he beats against his bottom. The duet cheerHilary Clinton. President you can be put in jail,” explains Professor fully refers to events in the past year, such as the On the contrary, when it comes to international Myers. “The reason why Chávez is so bothered failed attempt by a consortium including Russian figures, especially the ones the Kremlin likes least, by satire is because he realizes there is a political bank Sberbank to buy Opel from General Motors, there is plenty to enjoy. President Viktor A. Yushcontent in the jokes and if they start to be able to and the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream gas chenko of Ukraine is shown in a wheat field, idly reach the base which supports him, and then it’s pipeline. They poke fun at the EU and US, Interinflating balloons with Russian natural gas diverted dangerous. He knows how humor and satire was national Olympic Committee president Jacques from a pipeline. President Mikheil Saakashvili of used against former President Pérez Jiménez in Rogge, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgia lustily consumes his own tie. President the 1950s and then again in the 1990s against the even make a reference to historic corruption within Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus sits in a wooden Social Democratic party. “Another example, one of Russia’s bureaucracy. hut, so aching for a call from Moscow that he pays the best in the history of Venezuela was a satirical Step to the left, step to the right, twirl, jump, �International News St r ee t v ib e S 11 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Continued from page 10 an impersonator to mimic Mr. Putin’s voice. President Obama is one of the regulars, perpetually dribbling a basketball or singing rap songs. The television producer Grigory Lyubomirov, who worked on Kukly, said to Agence France Press: “Naturally no one will criticise either the President or the Prime Minister. I don’t think anyone specially bans it. It’s just that experienced television producers don’t want to take the risk.” Dimitry Polikanov, deputy project leader of human resources reserve for the United Russia Party, said: “Multi Lichnosti is a partial remedy. They pretend to be critical-minded, however it is clear that the political satire is very mild and never goes beyond certain self-censorship limits. “Satire, if treated properly, can contribute to a more human image for politicians. And eventually Russia will come to this conclusion,” he adds. Political leaders, however, are not convinced. Polikanov says they regard satire “mostly with caution and negative reactions.” “Status is a very important and serious thing and the politicians in power try to avoid discussions about their personal lives and become quite irritated with any humours references. They are bronze statues and humour makes it more accesible to destroy this image.” Another Viewpoint: freedom, they will have to.” Just because politicians are suspicious about the benefits of satire, it doesn’t mean the Russians don’t have a sense of humour. Political satire was very popular in the Soviet Union and was used as unofficial form of protest. Today the political and financial situation is different, but as the Sunday Times columnist Roland White said: “You will find jokes about political leaders wherever there are leaders and wherever there are people who don’t think they’re doing a good job.” In fact, the Russian jokes didn’t stop at the KGB, they just became something exchanged behind closed doors. When Time Magazine elected Putin as man of the year, in 2007, it said that political jokes were again gaining popularity. A famous one goes: “Stalin’s ghost appears to Putin in a dream, and Putin asks for his help running the country. Stalin says, ‘Round up and shoot all the democrats, and then paint the inside of the Kremlin blue.’ ‘Why blue?’ Putin asks. ‘Ha!’ says Stalin. ‘I knew you wouldn’t ask me about the first part.’” One might call it dark humour. But nontheless humour. Osama bin Laden’s Useful Death PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS information Clearing House http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ ay 03, 2011 “Information Clearing House” -- In a propaganda piece reeking of US Triumphalism, two alleged journalists, Adam Goldman and Chris Brummitt, of the Associated Press or, rather, of the White House Ministry of Truth, write, or copy off a White House or CIA press release that “Osama bin Laden, the terror mastermind killed by Navy SEALs in an intense firefight, was hunted down based on information first gleaned years ago (emphasis added) from detainees at secret CIA prison sites in Eastern Europe, officials disclosed Monday.” How many Americans will notice that the first paragraph of the “report” justifies CIA prisons and torture? Without secret prisons and torture “the terror mastermind” would still be running free, despite having died from renal failure in 2001. How many Americans will have the wits to wonder why the “terror mastermind”--who defeated not merely the CIA and the FBI, but all 16 US intelligence agencies along with Israel’s Mossad and the intelligence services of NATO, who defeated NORAD, the National Security Council, the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US Air Force, and Air Traffic Control, who caused security procedures to fail four times in US airports in one hour on the same day, who caused the state-of-the-art Pentagon air defenses to fail, and who managed to fly three airliners into three buildings with pilots who did not know how to fly--has not pulled off any other attack in almost ten years? Do Americans really believe that a government’s security system that can so totally fail when confronted with a few Saudi Arabians with box cutters can renew itself to perfection overnight? How many Americans will notice the resurrection of the long missing bin Laden as “terror mastermind” after his displacement by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Guantanamo prisoner who confessed to being the “mastermind of 9/11” after being water-boarded 183 times? Americans are too busy celebrating to think, a capability that seems to have been taken out of their education. Americans are so enthralled over the death of bin Laden that they do not wonder why information gleamed years ago would take so long to locate a person who was allegedly living in a million-dollar building equipped with all the latest communication equipment next to the Pakistani Military Academy. Allegedly, the “most wanted criminal” was not moving from hide-out to hide-out in desolate mountains, but ensconced in luxury quarters in broad daylight. Nevertheless, despite his obvious location, it took the CIA years to find him after claiming to have gained information of his whereabouts out of cap- M Polikanov confirms Professor Myers’s theory that the way nations dealt with satire is rooted in history. “Multi Lichnosti cannot ruin the image historically formed of the rulers. A person in power in Russia is a Tsar, he should keep a distance from people; the greater the distance, the better. “ The success of the New Year cartoon seems to indicate that people enjoy seeing their leaders in if not satirical, at least a funny context. “Even if they do not dare to laugh at Putin and Medvedev publicly, they would like to believe that there is some human component in their ‘bronze leaders’,” he explains. The opinions about the state of satire in Russia differ. Some think the situation is more tense than ever and contrast it with the time of Boris Yeltsin, a man of humor who accepted being mocked. Others believe that Russia is more open and free today than ever before and say that arguing that Boris Yeltsin’s time was more relaxed is just lack of political memory. But whichever is right, the day when a Russian politician will be a guest in a satirical show still seems quite far away. Polikanov, who himself works for the United Russia Party, Putin’s Party, said: “If the political situation develops to democracy and tives in secret prisons. This is the image of the CIA as the new Keystone Cops. In an immediate followup to the announcement that the Navy SEALs and CIA mercenaries acted in an exemplary fashion following the rules of engagement while a cowardly bin Laden hid behind a woman shield when the gunfire erupted, we have from the pressitutes that “U.S. officials conceded the risk of renewed attack. The terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge bin Laden’s death, CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a memo. . . . Within a few hours, the Department of Homeland Security warned that bin Laden’s death was likely to provide motivation for attacks from ‘homegrown violent extremists’.” Police standing near a wanted poster of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden in New York John Brennan, White Photo: REUTERS/Russell Boyce House counter-terrorism adviser, told reporters that in the celebration. Nevertheless they let slip that “it was inconceivable that the terrorist fugitive didn’t “officials were weighing the release of at least one have support in Pakistan where his hideout had photo taken of bin Laden’s body as part of what been custom built six years ago in a city with a Brennan called an effort to make sure ‘nobody has heavy military presence.” any basis to try and deny the death.’” So the claimed murder of bin Laden by the US As the Guardian and European newspapers in a sovereign foreign country with which the US is have revealed, the photo of the dead bin Laden not at war, a crime under international law, has set is a fake. As the alleged body has been dumped up three more self-serving possibilities: into the ocean, nothing remains but the word of the Terrorists will avenge bin Laden’s death, says US government, which lied about Iraqi weapons of the CIA, setting up another false flag attack to keep mass destruction and al Qaeda connections, about the profits flowing into the military/security yellowcake, about Iranian nukes, and, according complex and the power flowing into the unaccountto thousands of experts, about 9/11. Suddenly the able CIA. government is telling us the truth about bin Laden’s Homeland Security can extend the domestic death? If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brookpolice state, abuse of travelers, and arrests of war lyn that I’ll let you have for a good price. protestors. My initial interpretation of the faked bin Laden And Pakistan is under the gun of invasion and death was that Obama needed closure of the takeover (for India, of course) for shielding bin Afghan war and occupation in order to deal with Laden. the US budget deficit. Subsequent statements from The Israel Lobby’s representatives in the US Obama regime officials suggest that the agenda Congress quickly fell in with the agenda. Senator might be to give Americans a piece of war victory Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services in order to boost their lagging enthusiasm. The miliCommittee, declared that the Pakistani Army and tary/security complex will become richer and more intelligence agency “have a lot of questions to anpowerful, and Americans will be rewarded with swer, given the location, the length of time and the vicarious pleasure in victory over enemies. apparent fact that this was actually--this facility was actually build for bin Laden, and its closeness to the central location of the Pakistani army.” The two reporters question nothing in the government’s propaganda. Instead, the reporters join �12 Keep On Keeping On Continued from page 1 including Jimmy Heath, homeless activist and photojournalist, who would later become the Editor of Streetvibes. According to Steve, “The kids first met him and loved talking to him.” Their friendship grew and over time, Steve was arranging for Jimmy to speak to hundreds of students and share slide shows of his photography. The two also traveled to Cuba together as a part of a Miami University Witness for Peace Delegation. Steve’s impact was far reaching. His path led him to service around the globe including St. Croix Reservation and places as far off as Dubai. Steve’s work with The Mayerson Foundation gave him the opportunity to connect diverse students with service learning opportunities at agencies in Over the Rhine and throughout Greater Cincinnati. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is one such agency deeply impacted by Steve’s work over the years. For over a decade Steve has supported the Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau, connecting formerly and currently homeless individuals to students in the classroom, as well as served in an advisory capacity for several projects including the first Streetvibes Advisory Committee. Steve also helped coordinate the Mother of Mercy English student project “Through Our Eyes” reflections on homelessness and coordinate the Mural Project that serves as the façade of the Coalition’s office building. Everywhere we look, we see Steve’s work weaved into our history. Friend and fellow teacher Marty Karmani spoke at the celebration highlighting that Steve provided “1000’s of hours of service and 1000’s of students” from suburban high schools to urban, from public to private to parochial-“if anyone knew how to make service work, it was Steve.” Community leader Bonnie Neumeier honored Steve with a poem, and sang a song in a duet with retired teacher Diana Porter”. For Donna Mayerson, who helped found the High School Service Learning Program, the work that Steve facilitated created a ripple. “The world is a better place because of you,” she spoke, “we dreamed together on how we could grow a ripple together.” Finneytown teacher, Lynn Volz also spoke at the celebration as a former student of Steve’s “impacted by the lessons of the classroom” Lynn acknowledged that numerous Finneytown graduates all began in Steve’s classroom and do work in the community—and this is an amazing legacy.” Ultimately Steve’s life path led him to embody a philosophy that we should all consider: “Good service occurs when the server becomes the learner and those being served become the teacher.” In his retirement, Steve won’t really “retire” (as we all suspected) he will continue his legacy as he serves on the Boards of Marjorie Book Continuing Education Society, Our Daily Bread, and Village Life Outreach Project (villages in Tanzania) as well as the Community Education Advisory Committee at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center and the UC Service-Learning Advisory Committee. Steve intends to learn Spanish and to play the guitar, as well as tutor and mentor. He also plans to travel to Florida to watch/help the Head Basketball Men’s Coach at Rollins College who played for him in 1972. Steve will also spend time with his wife Jan, and his five grown children, Jennifer, Chris, Tracy, Donna and Kym. During the closing remarks at the celebration dinner Neal Mayerson summazied Steve Elliots legacy: “Steve is a testament to how our actions have a ripple effect in the world. Within one microcosm of Steve teaching, one student is effected and then all the students are effected, we are all involved in the great ripple effect.” jenijenkins@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 14 Celebration St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 THE COMMUNITY REFLECTS ON STEVE ELLIOT’S WORK “Steve, I have so enjoyed knowing you and Jan! Your support and enthusiasm for our students and all of us has been a really important part of my career at CPS! May you both enjoy retirement and each other.” -Gayla Sherman, retired Aiken teacher “Steve Elliot-passionate supporter of all the good folks of OTR.” -Joe Wilmers, School Social Worker, CPS “Steve opened the door to service for me. Through his inspiration and help- my school allowed me the ability to start a community service class. Through the Mayerson Foundation 70 plus students attended the urban plunge and ignited hundreds of Withrow International High School students to volunteer and the numbers still grow. Steve is my hero.” – Cecilia Schroer, Withrow International High School “Steve embodies the spirit of embracing the community, helping young people to find a way to make a meaningful contribution. He is irreplaceable, but will continue to be an inspiration. –Heather Campbell, Arlington Heights Academy “Steve, ‘today is the day that the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Psalm 118:24) It is a joy to be here tonight celebrating your outstanding contributions throughout the Cincinnati community for developing and leading students and teachers in service learning. We loved all of your advice and guidance at Aiken High School. Peace be with you.” -Midge Bateman, Leadership Team Mentor, Aiken High School “Steve is our ‘Guru’. Whenever we have a question or need information, we always say ‘ask Steve’. If Steve doesn’t know the answer, he always knows who can give us the answer.” -Pat Lehman, Wyoming City Schools “Steve Elliot is my Service Coordinator guru. I was always so impressed how he managed to place the right kind of importance on every kind of detail from the look on the face of a homeless man at the Drop Inn Center to asking for RSVPs to a meeting so that he would have enough cookies for all of us service coordinators. It’s all important in its own way and Steve knows that. And I’ve always noticed how he makes it a point to know your name if he is going to be in contact with you. I think only special people do that. Steve, your vision and insight will take us and so many students a long, long way! Thank you.” -Gina Keith, McAuley High School “Steve Elliot’s compassion for others and passion for service is contagious, and allows him to enter into meaningful relationships with people from all walks of life. Steve has been a blessing to the many schools and agencies he has worked with, and his work will continue to impact others as those who he has taught continue his work.” -David Campbell, Dean of Students, Purcell Marian High School “Part of the journy of life is about how one goes about experiencing and interacting with the world in which one lives. Steve Elliott has opened many doors for thousands of people to experience and interact with the world in a more authentic compassionate manner. My world changed as a result of years of service and friendship with Steve.” -Lynn Volz, Finneytown High School “Steve is a living bridge. He spans all demographics and all markers- real or perceived-that are so often used to keep us separated. He spans these gaps and across walks knowledge, compassion, truth and understanding. This creates the future leaders that give us all hope.” - Georgine Getty, Interfaith Hospitality Network “I am delighted to share..the impact Steve Elliot had on Partners in Peace group I started at Mount Notre Dame in 2007. This partnership was between the students of MND and Muslim students in Mitrovice, Kosovo. We were partners in a yearlong project that culminated in a Peace Quilt that was designed by students in both countries and made at MND. Students submitted their designs for a block on the quilt and it ended up with both Albanian text, Engilsh text and images. The quilt was then taken to Liverpool, England, where it was put on display at the Big Hope Youth Conference before being taken to Kosovo where it now hangs in the school there. Without the financial support of Steve and the Mayerson Foundation, this tangible symbol of the interconnectedness of the young people and their willingness to work so well together may not have been created.” –Julie Hagerty, Mount Notre Dame High School Studens in Kosovo hold the Peace Quilt created through the Partners in Peace Group. Photo: Julie Hagerty. �St r ee t v ib e S Celebration 13 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 “Steve’s got heart and soul, he’s a community-minded man, and his work is making waves all over the country.” - Bonnie Neumeier Over-the-Rhine Resident Activist “In the early days of ReStoc when Steve was on the board we learned how to be housing advocates together.” - Roger Auer, Director of Campus Ministry, “Steve created a program for all youth and brought opportunities for Cincinnati Bonnie Neumeir & Diana Porter lead the crowd in a song “Carry it on, we’ll Public School students to work carry it on.” Photo: Jeni Jenkins across many barriers to creating Our Wise Teacher Friend a better world.” In Honor of Steve Elliott - Diana Porter, retired Teacher “Steve is my teacher.” Steve Elliot, Finneytown, 1975. Photo courtesy of The Mayerson Foundation -Steve Sunderland, Professor, University of Cincinnati “When you met me, I was an adolescent fresh out of high school with the ambition and drive to make a difference. While other people clapped or said “good job” you took note and told the Coalition about me. My goal now is to continue your legacy and help as many as I can. Thank you.” - Lauren Lovette, Motivational Speaker, Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau, UC Student “A special thanks to Steve Elliott from the Aiken High School Leadership Team. He made it possible of us to build relationships with others through acts of service. The respect and guidance Steve gave to our students will never be forgotten. Steve, you really know how to make Aiken Falcons SWOOP!!!!” -Marty Karmani, Teacher, Aiken High School “Way back when we were both younger and no one knew much about the social phenomenon of homelessness, nor the plight of those who really are homeless, poor, and friendless, you caught on…and that has made all the difference! Your vision and passion for helping those in need is manifest daily throughout the community in: …century-old, established agencies whose boards you enlightened …agencies dedicated to caring for those in need or in poverty whose ...professional staffs and volunteers now include many of your “graduates” …advocacy groups and newly founded agencies who find little favor in established society but carry exemplary social justice missions” - Alice Skirtz, PhD/LISW-S, Social Worker “Steve has touched the lives of so many children and helped them realize their social and civic responsibilities in this small world- he has earned the admiration and respect of so many. Thank you Steve for understanding that we never knew who was coming until we got on the bus and for always welcoming us anyway” – Joan Pack-Rowe, Cincinnati Public Schools “Steve is a visionary who has strong belief in the humanity that resides in every person-that just needs the right situation for it to reveal itself and then blossom.” - Ilyas Nashid “Steve has inspired us to extend our arms, our hearts, and our horizons to learn about and include as many varieties of people and cultures as possible. Through this, we understand our universal connections.” - Bruce Weil, Teacher, Clark Montessori “Steve’s enthusiasm is contagious. If I can make half the impact with my students that he has with his, I will consider myself successful! It started with a knock on Drop Inn’s door Steve’s one life changed and was never the same Then this wise teacher took to opening doors for us Our numerous lives changed and were never the same Students of many colors from urban and rural schools Said yes to his call: come, cross the chasm Met our eyes, called out our names Listened to stories unlike their own sometimes the same Bus drivers, teachers, parent chaperones Accomplished the leap along with the young Moved by experiences deeper than words can express Dissolving the distance on the long ride back home Students now spread good news across this land Ambassadors singing we are one big family What can we do to diminish this pain Basic human rights for the countless not just the few Laughter and tears, questions and insights Projects pursued, fundraisers fueled Relationships relished, reflections profound The Mayerson’s Steve known all around town A child’s small hand fingers your face An elder’s eye twinkles in quiet grace A brother on the soup line says thanks for your time A sister shares history about Over-the-Rhine This work is significant the process slow Listening with the heart is more precious than gold That’s Steve’s challenge to build bridges that hold When we link arms together our beauty is aglow In this mutual learning and exchange of gifts We announce to the world we are making a difference By Bonnie Neumeier Over-the-Rhine Resident Activist Peaslee Neighborhood Center Co-Founder March 25, 2011 -Laurie Foster, Teacher, Bethel-Tate High School “ ‘When you plant a seed of service, a tree of hope emerges.’’ Steve has planted many seeds, tended to them, and we’ve seen hope emerge in the minds and hearts of young people and in our city.” -Clare Zlatic-Blankemeyer, Director, High School Service Learning Program, Mayerson Foundation “He started as a coach and teacher and continued to do both in different venues. A true friend. He really cares!” - Tom Klusman, Basketball Coach, Rollins College Florida “You learn more from a model than from a critic. Steve like my other hereoes modeled what it means to love and to care for others.” -Dan Gruber “Steve, you are a ‘prince of men.’Your love of young people is blessing OTR and other parts of the city. You are a gift to me of a truly loving generous person.” -Sister Mary �Local 14 St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 A Call for Street Ball’s Best ‘Street Ball’…with conditions that are often downright dangerous to a serious hoop career but bring out a weird, eclectic group of characters not found in serious basketball circles. Only behind schools, in cages, or parks, does one find the bizarre match-ups and unlikely team chemistry that society provides. B. CLIFTON BURKE Contributing Writer n most parts of the world, and especially in America, basketball is played. Nearly everyone you have ever talked to in this country has at one time taken a shot. Not everyone plays in an actual five-on-five full-court setting, but many people don’t mind just shooting around on a nice day at the park. The point to all of this is to prompt your consideration to the idea that, if there are millions who casually give it a go, then there are certainly tens of thousands of these who are pretty damn good. We become familiar with thanks to the media exposure big-time basketball warrants. But with such large numbers of amateurs, surely there are dozens of examples of players passed over by the basketball gods. These less fortunate players exist in many pedestrian facets of life. Many are those who lament over what should have been, as they describe in great physical detail their patented moves of the distant glory days. And, as it goes with most things, the older the story, the better they remember themselves as players. “I could have played somewhere if it wasn’t for...” The reasons are irrelevant; life happens. Yet, we regularly interact I with whole armies of examples of players who claim to be, or have been, good enough for the pros or at least a reputable college. Even if only a fraction of these tales turns out to be remotely factual, that still leaves a good amount of forgotten hoopsters in the world. So, then, what I want to know is: who is the best player in Cincinnati I’ve never heard of? There are, of course, the two major college programs in town, so they don’t count. Neither incoming freshman who I have yet to see. I’ve attended the Deveroes Summer League at Woodward High School the last few years, so I’m familiar with some of the vets that aren’t in school but still knock around in the Division I-level. Those aren’t the guys I’m talking about. What I want a see are the guys who have ruled a particular court in the neighborhood for an impressive stretch of time. You know them, the guys who work somewhere or the other, but put on their high tops for an hour before settling in for the evening…the unassuming, raggedy t-shirt and shorts guy, who shoots threes and posts up big dudes when his team needs it. I’ve seen rotund men run the point like Jason Kidd. I’ve watched tall, broke-down old-timers skyhook younger opposition to shame, young, skinny kids dunk, people with strong accents and strong left hands. There are all kinds out there, but only on the streets. Sure, there are quality indoor games around town that likely attract the premium players of the region. After all, street ball conditions often are downright dangerous to a serious hoop career. But the streets bring out the weird, eclectic dross of characters not found in serious basketball circles. Only behind schools, or in cages, or parks, does one find the bizarre match-ups and unlikely team chemistry that society provides. Therefore, this summer—once it finally stops raining, I intend to visit as many courts as possible to shoot around some and seek out the castaway gems that are certain to exist in the Queen City. I realize many courts are viewed as dangerous places that invite drugs and gun-foolery; but from my admittedly narrow experience, it seems the more actual basketball that is played at a court, the less problematic it becomes. I feel that it’s in the city’s best interest to provide upkeep on courts with things like nets, and de- Photo: B. Clifton Burke cent pavement. The more inviting the court is to the sport itself, the more it will be used for its intended purpose. Basketball is not only a terrific form of exercise and a working model of how to work as a team and handle defeat and failure, but is also a game that can be played in many styles by many body types. It’s fun and good for neighborhoods when the community celebrates rather than fear the sport. If you know of a court that features quality players who deserve attention, email me at mingkrosky@gmail. com, and give me a heads up. Once I find some notable players, I will write up profiles to inform our public of its home-grown, grass-roots talent that exists in our very own streets and parks. As a city, let’s embrace our hoop courts this summer and knock down a few buckets. Stand Up OHIO Rally RICCARDO TAYLOR Civil rights Outreach Coordinator ith a turnout of more than two thousand protestors the citizens of Ohio took the initiative of addressing the State Government with their complaints. The now infamous Senate Bill 5 was the common tread which all of us attending had as our rallying point. With representation from every walk of life the crowd gathered, united as one, calling for an appeal and the due justice in policy for the citizens of our great State in the proposed enactment of Senate Bill 5. I stood amongst the ranks with awe, for the inspired attitudes and dispositions of those attending. Understanding that deprivation only occurs there is an entitlement was the kick off for all of us. To be deprived of the basic tenets of free enterprise and social equality was the rallying juncture, which W brought this colorful and flowing crowd of people together. Addressing the proposed cuts in education, collective bargaining for public services workers, and the future of the State of Ohio the crowd stood on a single platform! Reform! Reform the policies and enactments of this administration and give back to Ohioans their rightful due! As proposed Senate Bill 5 would take us back at least thirty years, repel what has been established for workers for more than a century, and plunge Ohio into a dark age. Stand up Ohio is the platform to dispel the wishes and greed of big business and crony partnerships of Governor Kasich. A platform to get Ohio moving in the right direction, a movement to ensure that all Ohioans get their fair and just reward, for their participation as members of the community which is our state and the insurance that future generations are accorded the same. Jobs, education, and representation for all Ohioans! My question for the whole scenario is how can Ohioans stand by and allow a former Wall Street executive bring his money grabbing policies to our great state? I cannot imagine my child or grandchild sitting in a classroom with 49 other students, what could he/she learn? I cannot envision workers not being able to challenge or otherwise protest or strike for the right s that they are entitled too? I cannot imagine our elderly being denied health care or the monetary compensation they are entitled to for their years of service to our community, the work that they have done that allows those of us living in the now to benefit from! I cannot stand by and not be heard for our rights I must ‘Stand Up for Ohio!’ Then in the conclusion of my thoughts I have to ask, doesn’t Mr. Kasich know who pays his check? Riccardo.taylor@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 Ex. 15 �Resources St r ee t v ib e S 15 M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 381-SAFE 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 681-2365 762-5660 131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter 872-9259 Shelter: Men 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1419 Elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Justice Watch St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 St. Vincent de Paul 1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 241-0490 381-4941 Starting Over 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 961-4080 Caracole (HIV/AIDS) 1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 761-1480 721-0643 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 471-1100 221-3350 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 621-5300 961-1983 621-6364 1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 961-2256 Treatment: Women 558-8888 981-5800 458-6670 977-4489 961-4663 Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 AA Hotline CCAT 830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 Joseph House (Veterans) 1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 351-0422 381-6672 241-2965 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 214 E. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-0111 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 Hamilton/Middletown St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 Northern Kentucky 721-4700 421-7803 ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Brighton Center 799 Ann St. Newport, KY 859-491-8303 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 Health 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 241-2600 241-2563 621-5514 Peaslee Neighborhood Center 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Treatment: Both Center for Respite Care Other Resources Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 562-8841 921-1613 First Step Home Anthony House (Youth) 271-5501 784-1853 2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Prospect House Shelter: Both 241-1064 381-2247 Crossroad Health Center Treatment: Men 241-5525 661-4620 535-2719 591-2246 4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 Charlie’s 3/4 House City Gospel Mission Mt. Airy Shelter St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 �Column 16 St r eet vibeS M AY 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 0 11 Quilts As the Fabric of Life Carolyn Mazloomi uses her art and Quilters’ organization to keep quilting potent and alive. Quilts and quilting changed Carolyn Mazloomi’s life. A Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, Mazloomi, taken and mesmerized by a quilt exhibit she visited in Dallas, TX, promised herself to learn the art. Her decision stayed with her and led her a long way, completely removed from her initial profession. Mazloomi became instead a highly skilled and talented professional quilter and an ardent lifelong advocate for African-American women quilt-makers. Born and raised in New Orleans in a segregated Southern society, the double burden of being black and woman accompanied her all along. She experienced directly and early on the subjugation of women and their 2nd class role in a male dominated society, along with the prevailing racial discrimination of the early 60’s. Growing up she would always ask questions, challenging the status quo and the injustices she was seeing; she also constantly felt the need to express her concerns and communicate her thoughts and ideas. Thanks to their potential narrative pictorial quality, quilts appealed strongly to her. They seemed to be a natural and fitting vehicle for her social commentaries and messages; she, as well, liked the touch and feel of fabric. Saad GhoSn Contributing Writer “We humans have a love affair and a privileged visceral relationship, from birth to death, with the cloth,” she says. “Quilts serve as a tactile link to visual sensual memory, also as metaphors for covering, protecting, warmth and security.” Convinced that women had one of the most, if not the most, important job on earth, being mothers and first teachers at the same time, she felt the need to empower them and call attention to their status and rights. As a Carolyn Mazloomi in her studio. Photo: Bill Howes result, most of her quilts, from the start, dealt with some aspect of their condition. “I am a woman; I am a mother; I am a concerned citizen of the world,” she says. “My quilts depict my concerns about the world I live in and how we treat each other. And women, who represent 50% of humankind, are often mistreated.” In Forever Faithful, she tackles the issue of female circumcision still practiced in many parts of the world. Her quilt shows the silhouette of a naked woman lying down in the center of what represents a sharp blade. At the bottom is written “A lifetime of pain” alluding to the painful and violent procedure forced on a woman’s body, detrimental to both her health and well-being. The Peace Keepers’ Gift is about the fate of West African women who have been raped by UN soldiers. It portrays an African girl holding a mixed race baby with sandy hair and, under her, white UN peace keepers. It points to the vulnerability of the woman and the uncertain destiny of the child. Seeking Comfort Finding Pain refers to the Korean “comfort” women who, during WW2, were forced into prostitution Strange Fruit, mixed media hanging quilt. Carolyn Mazloomi and used as sex slaves by the Japanese In 1985, Mazloomi founded the Women of Color military, abused, abandoned and ignored. Quilters Network, an organization that supports and Bride Burning in India, prompted by a empowers women quilters, maintains quilts’ artistic and young Indian girl brought to Cincinnati for burn cultural tradition, keeps alive their heritage, and helps the treatment, stresses the ongoing problem of Indian widows economic development of the artists through selling their forcefully placed on the pyre of their dead husband and work and protecting its monetary value. The organization, burnt to death. in addition, plays an important educational role, informing A series of black and white quilts pertaining to about quilts, promoting their cultural and historical value, grandmothers and great grand mothers who, nowadays, offering technical workshops and recruiting newcomer have often the added responsibility to take care of their youth to the craft. grandchildren, reflects on the increasingly dysfunctional “Quilts are very important historical documents,” says family structure in our society. Mazloomi. “They provide glimpses into people’s lives and In addition to women issues, race also found its serve as cultural windows. They reflect the fabric of life, way into and inform about material, dyes, and ways of expresMazloomi’s sions, customs and events of a given period.” quilts. The organization, now international, includes close Strange to 2000 members, primarily but not exclusively African Fruit, inAmerican women. It has been honored by the Internaspired by the tional Labor Department, also by the United Nations, in song of the recognition of its programs to help advance women. It same name owed Mazloomi, in 2003, the first Ohio Heritage Fellowabout lynchship Award. ing, depicts Through her role as a founder and president of the images of organization, Mazloomi was led to curate exhibits to hangings showcase the works of the members and also to write and burnbooks relating to the art form. Six of her books have ings, of already been published dealing variably with Contempopointed rary African American quilts, quilts inspired by Religion hoods and Faith, quilts related to Jazz, reflecting on African symbols of American Women’s history, celebrating Obama’s election the Ku Klux to the presidency… Touring exhibits traveled throughout Klan, of a the USA, and as far as Central America, Africa, Japan screaming museums hosting many of them, also acquiring some of woman. the work for their own collections. Mazloomi “Quilts need to be included in permanent museum meant it as collections,” says Mazloomi. “Our children and grand a sacred children should be able to see how we, African American offering to women, contributed to culture in America.” those African Mazloomi wants her art and quilts to educate, inform, Americans make people reflect and think. She intends them as transwho have been lynched and homage to the many who, mitters of her cultural, political, social, spiritual values and from slavery to present days, have heroically fought for beliefs. Through her organization she also aims at keepracial justice. One of her quilts comments on the raciallying the quilting tradition vibrant and alive as an artistic, biased immigration policy of our country; it represents cultural and historical tool; and at giving recognition and Haitians standing next to the Statue of Liberty holding in power to the many African American women who, for her hand a stop sign, and at her feet, a quotation saying centuries, have used it in the shadow of their lives. ‘Certain people do not need apply’. Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource May 13-May 26, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Demanding Transparency from those Responsible for Change The Keep on Keeping on Path Pg 2: In My Shoes Pg 3: Distributor Program Pg 4: Are You Blind Pg 5: Arts & Poetry Pg 6: Refresh Northside Pg 7: True Companions Pg 8: Demanding Transparency from those Responsible for Change Pg 9: If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry Pg 10: If You Didn’t Laugh Continued Pg 11: Osama Bin Laden’s Useful Death Pg 12: Keep on Keeping on Pg 13: Celebration Pg 14: A Call for Street Ball’s Best Pg 15: Resources Pg 16: Quilts as the Fabric of Life Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 13-May 26, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jen Martin Susan Lakes Gibson Josh Spring Jeni Jenkins Riccardo Taylor Elisa Hill Willa Denise Jones Laura Osborne-Coffey Spare Change Staff Saad Ghosn Lee McCoy B. Clifton Burke Corey Gibson Inês Santinhos Gonçalves Reuters Aimie WillHoite Susan Lakes Bill Howes Carolyn Mazloomi Jonathan Sears Jorge Silva Ho New Russell Boyce Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Arts & Poetry B. Clifton Burke Bill Howes Carolyn Mazloomi Corey Gibson Elisa Hill Fountain Square Gibson Ho New Inês Santinhos Gonçalves Jen Martin Jeni Jenkins Jonathan Sears Jorge Silva Josh Spring Laura Osborne-Coffey Lee McCoy Northside Ohio Osama Bin Laden protest Rally Reuters Riccardo Taylor Russell Boyce Saad Ghosn Spare Change Staff Street Ball Susan Lakes Willa Denise Jones https://streetvibesarchive.net/files/original/86220612ff92b629def7b9dacf7e4116.pdf aff9dbd6bc7f475f0b24a2c1493df630 PDF Text Text Sophia bush gives onS St rher ee ttake v ib e women’s rights A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 PG 8 Momentum Grows in Call for the Legalization of Hemp in South Africa PG 12 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Coalition summer internship program 1 PG 14 iSSUe 198 ADVOCATING JUSTICE • BUILDING COMMUNITY Transformation: Seeing Our Community From A Different Perspective For the past five years, Over-the-Rhine has been graced for four months by the presence of college students eager to serve and eager to learn. Each fall, the Miami University Center for Community Engagement, lead by Professors Tom Dutton and John Blake and housed at buddy’s place at 13th and Vine is the hub for new connections, new mindsets, new ideas and new passions. Fall 2010 was no different. Twelve students left the college-life at Miami University to gain perspective a rest from their work at buddy’s place, 1300 Vine. Back to Front, Left to Right: Jose Gutierrez; Gonzalo Martinez; on real-life in Over-the-Rhine. Taking Ashley Kincaid; John Blake; Natalie Otrembiak; Danielle Musselman; Ellen Crawford; Kathleen Roosen; JoePaul Luikart. Through internships with Natalie Otrembiak, Student Photographer neighborhood-organizations, students completed practicums in architecture and interior design, anthropology, art education and business, while taking thought- provoking classes about society, justice, economics, etc. Perhaps more importantly, students entered the classroom of community, politics, love, hate, embrace and fear, as well as positive and negative change. Students struggled, listened, watched, took part and grew. Here we present six reflections from students involved in this project. Sounds ELLEN CRAWFORD Architecture Student n the city, everything relates. there are walls of brick and narrow alleyways and the screeching of the bus stopping on its route. There are four-floor walk-ups and street-level stores, boarded up buildings and those newly renovated. Sirens pierce the night. Arguments are often public and occur at all hours. they brew in the street under our windows at 5 am. Yelling from Washington Park almost always puts me to bed. Hot August nights teach lessons in how public the city can be. Noise becomes powerful, a springboard which sparks my curiosity. the volume has been turned up, a volume that cannot be turned down, no matter if i am surrounded by silence. in September, the volume is created. i am still an outsider. everything becomes routine, wake up, go to studio and get your hands dirty, go to another class and talk, eat dinner, study. At glance, routine i is not exciting, but it is powerful. it allows you to soak into your surroundings as everything becomes more comfortable. the smells and faces here are becoming familiar. the volume is just starting. A new vocabulary is emerging: gentrification, mixed-income, suburbia, poor, community. thinking has reached a new level, which becomes more intertwined as weeks pass. each week brings a new issue: homelessness, affordable housing, capitalism, education, globalization, jobs, and gap. reading, analysis, and reflection consumes my life. Gently, routine submits to complete acceptance of my surroundings and an ever-increasing volume inside. Soon the howls of summer slowly vanish. residents start anticipating the uncontrollable, cold months of the year. the community braces for what is ahead. the controversial developments of Washington Park come with screams of the people who want to be heard. Where will the homeless go this winter? Who will this community cater to in the future? Over-the-rhine is on the brink of combustion. balanced by those who care and fight for its future. October awakens to the history of the people, scarred by their struggles, and weary of their future. Sidewalks are familiar. November becomes numb. the volume is overwhelming. So many people are at a disadvantage. they do not fit in to the typical picture of America. they live with standards far below those of others. Society criminalizes, judges, and casts out people; denies them of their rights, blames them, and sets the system against them. Compassion exists, yet, dedication to true social change remains a threshold, talked about but not crossed. People help the poor and the homeless, but this is just a temporary solution. More permanent changes remain in the dreams of those who fight for Overthe-rhine’s residents. the community has embraced and shared its stories with us. it has called us to think of its people and what they stand for. thanksgiving comes with many blessings and many thanks for those who care for the well-being of others. the sharp air of December has breached the community. the snow falls early this year. Our bodies are forced to adjust to the cold months. Our experience is almost over, but the volume will never be gone. The final push to complete our academic work is made, while talk of adjustment back into our past and future lives is spoken. belongings start to be placed in boxes, to be moved to a new place with new experiences, but the community that is Over-the-rhine remains in our minds. Public to those who walk its sidewalks, know its streets, and talk to their neighbors. Private to those who fear its boundaries, exclude themselves from its people, and develop buildings without consciousness. Over-the-rhine is a community full of front stoop dwellers, sidewalk conversations, and strategic development meetings, one full of the beauty of people, their acceptance, and their sharing. See Transformation Pg. 11 �2 5 the number of years that college students have taken internships with neighborhoodorganizations, students completed practicums in architecture and interior design, anthropology, art education and business, while taking thought- provoking classes about society, justice, economics, etc. Reflections Pages 1,11, 12, and 13 5-8-2011 Mother’s Day! editorial Page 2 0 “…is not a size.” Sophia bush’s character, Fashion designer brooke Davis on One tree Hill started this fictional campaign to raise body image awareness and call attention to women’s rights. Page 8 5-7-2011 the date of the Southern Ohio Amnesty Meeting at UC School of Law. Page 11 50,000 the number of recorded uses for hemp, including clothing, eco-friendly building materials and paper. Momentum grows in call for hemp to be legalized in South Africa Page 12 Editorial St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Spring Cleaning My Life, Mother’s Day it is certainly spring in Cincinnati. For me this means the nagging feeling that i need to clean and make a fresh start. it reminds me of how painfully pale i have become over the winter and how i must get to a tanning bed asap. it makes me yearn for the new floral dresses they’re showing at H&M. All of these things that spring makes me feel are so shallow. So stupid. Unfortunately i know i am hardly alone in these feelings. So many people in our area feel the fresh air of spring roll in and want a fresh start but tend to ignore that they could be using this time of year for something incredible. So this year my spring cleaning will be in my life. While I may go get that floral dress from H&M when I make room in my closet for it I will make sure the stuff I take out goes somewhere, to someone who needs it. i ask you kindly to do the same. When there is a nice spring day, maybe consider volunteering at a local organization. remember that even though it is nice outside there are still so many people that don’t have the luxury of enjoying it the way you do. take the time to evaluate your life, clean up the messes that have piled up over the winter months. For me, i intend to start saving money. Doing this will obviously give me more stability but will also start to relieve some of my anxiety and in generally allow me to be happier and become the person i want to be. it seems like every time i go anywhere cash just seems to fly out of my wallet. I made a list of things I need be more aware of or just plain cut out of my life to start me on the road to a fuller pocket book. Maybe it will help you too. -Pick me up purchases. i constantly try to make myself feel better when i am down in the dumps by buying a new outfit, shoes, purse…whatever. And those impulse purchases rarely are something i want in the long run or are practical. When i am in a crappy mood now, i am going to try to hit the gym…not the mall. Moreover, when i get down in the dumps i cannot justify martinis at a trendy bar to myself. i tend to do this too. -ATM Fees. this is just simply planning and not being lazy. i looked at my bank statement once, i spent an extra $30 that month on fees. it is just silly. -Those ‘friends’ that always tend to stick me with the bill when we go out. these people get on my last nerve. they are the ones who will drop a $20 on a $200 bill and then bolt. they are the ones who don’t understand that when the check comes even though the other person does the customary “i’ve got this” when the bill comes, that they should offer something. i am just going to resolve to stop hanging out with these people or if i do, i am going to ask for separate bills up front. -Take out, fast food, delivery. i spend so much money on this. i have to just resolve to go to the grocery store and stick to eating what’s in the fridge. eating out every week for me probably adds up to an extra $60. -My daily Starbucks or Coffee Emporium. this one is hard for me. i need to either make my coffee at home or simply only buy regular coffee for a buck instead of the four-dollar Starbucks. Caramel Macchiato, i will miss you. -Impulse purchases. i have literally spent over a hundred dollars on a painting i saw and just had to have. At the time it seemed so abstract and beautiful, i couldn’t not have it. Silly Jen. That painting didn’t exactly fit with the country-chic décor in my home. that beautiful painting i couldn’t live without now resides in my basement. Now that i am aware of the ways i can ‘Spring Clean’ my life i feel i can move forward into being more stable and happy. Maybe if i do these things i can also stop needing to ‘borrow’ money from my mom and dad. i had the luxury of wonderful parents who would bail me out of any situation i got myself into. especially my mom, which reminds me….it’s almost Mother’s Day. As I said, I do have a mother who has been able to financially back me up. This is something i know many people have not had and there are literally not enough words to describe how thankful i am for that safety net. in the last couple of years, i split up with my husband and making ends meet to support myself has been hard. it has been difficult financially and emotionally. Yet, my mom is always there. In every day and every step, mistake or triumph she is in my corner. i can tell her anything and no matter what she will listen and help me make the best of it. When i was growing up she was the one who drove me from town to town, swim meets and practice… she would drive me and my friends to the mall or parties. Anything i ever wanted, she would break her back to get it for me. Not to mention the fact that if anyone ever did anything wrong to me, her mama bear instincts would come out and she would take them down. While i am not a mother, i have the utmost respect for moms, those women who will literally fight and destroy anything that threatens their child. I see women every day struggling, working multiple jobs to put food on the table and give their children everything they can while sometimes going without for themselves. You women…. you’re incredible. the gifts you give this world are inspiring. You inspire me. Mama, you’re amazing. Happy Mother’s Day. Streetvibes is an activist newspaper, advocating justice and building community. Streetvibes reports on economic issues, civil rights, the environment, the peace movement, spirituality and the struggle against homelessness and poverty. Distributed by people who are or once were homeless, in exchange for a $1 donation, Streetvibes is published twice a month by the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. Address: 117 east 12th Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 513.421.7803 x 12 Fax 513.421.7813 Email: jenmatrin@cincihomeless. org Website: www.cincihomeless.org Blog: streetvibes.wordpress.com Streetvibes Staff Editor Jen Martin jenmartin@cincihomeless.org Contributing Writers : Josh Spring, Jeni Jenkins, Laura Osborn-Coffey, riccardo taylor, elisa Hill, Willa Denise Jones, Jim Luken, Contributing Writer, Spare Change Staff, Saad Ghosn, Jennifer Martin, reuters, the big issue South Africa Staff, buddy Gray, Western regional Advocacy Project, Michael Henson, Natalie OtrembiakAshley Kincaid, Kat roosen, Molly brazier, ellen Crawford Photography/Artwork: Jen Martin, Aimie Willhoite, rueters, Jeni Jenkins, elisa Hill, Natalie Otrembiak, ellen Crawford, Pippa ehrlich, Keith bedford, Phil McCarten, Leigh Waltz, Miki Waltz the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to eradicate homelessness in Cincinnati through coordination of services, public education, grassroots advocacy and Streetvibes. �St r ee t v ib e S From The Director 3 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Light in Our Heads JOSH SPRING Executive Director M ost people enjoy the light. in fact i would say that most people prefer light to darkness. As humans, we tend to get depressed or saddened when exposed to long periods of darkness or shadows or clouds. this is why people typically feel more down in the winter- the sun is less visible and has less affect on our lives. the light has a way of bearing reality. in darkness, images are fuzzy or perhaps cannot be seen at all. vision is distorted in the dark. even in low lighting, we often incorrectly see what is going on around us. With this in mind it is interesting that in the english language the word light is closely associated with something else most of us value- truth and honesty. We say, if you are proud of it, do it out in the open, not under the cover of night. We talk about evildoers stepping from darkness into light. Why is this concept of light so important to us? Some might say it is because we ultimately do not trust those around us; therefore, we want to see and understand what they are doing- or what they might be doing to us. Others might say it is because we ultimately value each other and therefore we want to be able to see and understand each other in order to better enjoy our human contact. i would submit that in fact, we value light for a mixture of these two reasons. i believe there is probably something within all of us that causes feelings of distrust of many around us while at the same time feelings of trust of those around us. i realize this sounds like a foolish statement. How can one both trust and distrust people? the answer to this conundrum is in the quantity of trust versus distrust and more importantly the reason behind both trust and distrust. i am going to assert that neither predominantly trusting almost everyone nor predominantly distrusting almost everyone is positive. the reason why we trust or distrust some people is the most important factor in determining if our trust or distrust is healthy. Often people will distrust others based solely on things they have heard or read from a source they have no personal contact with. Many people distrust others based on common stereotypes and the common belief in occurrences they have had no personal experience with. Still others will distrust people or an area based on physical appearance, again with no real personal interaction. trust can work the same way. Some will trust others based purely on something they have heard from a distance, seen from a distance or based on stereotypes. For instance, some will automatically trust the businessman developer in a suite walking into his brand new, hip office, but will automatically distrust the businessman dealer in jeans and a t-shirt standing on the street-corner. We assume that one is working hard; making positive progress and that we could generally trust his intentions. We assume that the other is an opportunist, dragging people downward and that we could generally trust none of his intentions. Many of us it is also true to law to hike the rent beyond what each of those tenants can pay and then evict them for non-payment. it is true to law to then purchase the building and change it into condos. All of this true to law and one could say, “We are breaking no laws we are being truthful “We must not only stay in the light we before the legal system.” but must dig deeper. All of now have, but we must seek out more we this may be true to law, but light. We must continually be striving to none of it is true to morality. the fact that the law says it is bring others into the same light. Light okay, does not make it okay, because ultimately moral truth (truth) breeds life.” outweighs lawful truth. there is another saying that automatically believe all of these things without speaks to “light”. We often speak of the “light” ever having spoken with either man. or never coming on inside of one’s head. that eureka even spoken with anyone that knows about moment if you will. What does this mean- “light either man. in one’s head.” Clearly, we are referring to in this world it is necessary that we have a one suddenly realizing truth. We are referring healthy amount of trust and a health amount to all of the clouds, misunderstandings, wool, of distrust, but we must base both our trust stereotypes and smoke screens being pulled and distrust on solid foundations. to trust or back and one finally seeing the truth. Often distrust another we don’t necessarily need to these moments of clarity lead to greater change know the person (though this is certainly the in one’s life. Often these times of “light” lead to healthiest option), but at least we should base new perspectives on many topics and lead to our decision on the understanding of someone other eureka moments. we do know (and trust) that knows the person it is these moments that i enjoy the most. in question. We should also study the actions the moments when a high school student, a of the person in question. We should trust or college student, an adult worker, etc. finally distrust her or him based on what she or he has understands the truth. the moment when done, is doing or plans to do- barring that she speaking to a big group you can see t people or he has not repented of past ill-doings and finally get it- and you can literally see their has made a positive change. eyes get brighter. the moment when a person We should also consider what people say comes into the office and says I used to think and often more importantly, what they don’t people chose to be homeless, but now i want say. Most people that are really good at looking to fight to end homelessness. The moment good while doing bad things don’t go around that an adult says, i used to hate your paper lying in a way that most people would realize or your organization, now i want to volunteer they are lying. Most people that are most for your organization. the moment a person unworthy of our trust say things that sound finally finds their calling. The moment a good, and these claims may even be true, but person with low-income says enough is these people purposely do not include the rest enough and I believe I can fight back to save of the truth. they purposely do not include the my housing from those that want to take it. truth that will shine light upon their ill deeds. Or the moment a person with high-income We must dig deeper always. We should not says enough is enough, i have too much, i and cannot trust the surface of anything. We need to spread out what i have and i realize should question, study, dissect and challenge. that not everyone has been gifted the same We should ask hard questions. We should opportunities as me. the moment a group of take note when they are not fully answered. people decides to keep pushing forward despite We should not let simple, basic answers about hardship, criticism and continued oppression. important topics suit us. We should demand i especially cherish the moments that we full, deep, comprehensive- and fully truthful realize that the businessperson dealer on the answers. (you should bold this…it is the best corner is probably more trustworthy than the part so far.) businessperson developer politician behind the lifted seat or at the top of the tall building Furthermore, we must consider more than downtown. We must not only stay in the light just simple, literal truth. We must demand we now have, but we must seek out more light. moral truth as well. For example, it is true to We must continually be striving to bring others law to offer to purchase a building in exchange into the same light. Light (truth) breeds life. for the removal of all tenants who live there. �Local Issue 4 St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Street Life Springtime RICCARDO TAYLOR Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator i t’s in the air! the coming of the spring season, like, the dawning of a day brings about many new hopes and dreams for those who have survived the long winter. When the burrs turn into laughter and shouting, the Riccardo Taylor, Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator. Aimie Willhoite Photography streets take on a different tint, the color of life’s metaphors, as all of nature rejuvenates itself. From the conversations, to the actions, which fill the streets, the coming of spring brings a sense of relief as well as new challenges for which the street person must prepare. that sense of a new start is one of joy and anticipation. Or perhaps one of anticipation that can lead to joy, yet, there is always the reality that things are not going to be easy, and this is the way of life on the streets. A fresh start, perhaps one can get some work, it’s always easier when the weather is mild. Lining up at the temporary work hall is easier when you don’t have to be subjected to the extremes of nature! Still there is no guarantee that you will get work today! Yet, one feels much better when they are left out in warmth as opposed to the cold. then as the life of the street person goes there are always those traps that tend to keep the individual in their dilemma. A fresh start, given the new opportunity and all the advantages of the weather there is that veracity of give and take. there will be opportunities for both honesty and immorality of actions. that is to say, a chance to get what one earns or what one can obtain by whatever means. the life of the street is an ever changing and altering world, with the interest of those who live the lifestyle at stake. each individual has to make a choice; by what rules to play, to enhance chances of survival. Oftentimes the easiest way through that is dishonesty or deceit, yet there are those whose hopes and integrity keep them moderate in their decisions, allowing them to have little, yet feeling grateful for what they have. With so much at stake, and the beauty of the season, there are hopes for those who struggle the most. it’s as if this time of year is made specifically for new expectations! A job, somewhere to live perhaps a new relationship all these things have a new meaning at this time of the year. Getting to the reality of such dreams can be as rewarding as actually realizing them. the mere thought that everything is changing for the better can be the very first step in life altering events, which may set the individual on the course for re-establishing their lives. So, we start our journey, looking for the next chapter of our lives, armed with the graces of nature we set our course for the most, never forgetting where we come from, mindful of the cold days of winters past we seek our fortunes in the brightness of the hope that the Spring brings. Congressional Meeting RICCARDO TAYLOR Civil Rights Outreach Coordinator O ur appreciation goes out to Pastor Cook and his very generous wife Leslie Cook, for helping us to realize our obligation and opportunities to become a voice for the community of which we belong. the space provided for us at the First Lutheran Church is a blessing, if you will, for our prospect of fulfilling such obligations, and we are grateful for having two very loving and caring people to assist us in this endeavor. Our fourth meeting was for me a great success, in that we have become established as a group with a purpose and a direction. though i personally had no doubts from the very beginning that we could and would be successful there have been times in the last four months that i felt a bit overwhelmed due to our membership being stymied by individuals leaving the rolls to tend to their lives. the truth is that i thought it would be as simple as one, two, three. All i had to do was bring the opportunity and everyone would jump in board. Well, it is a bit more complicated than that! i have found that it takes a special type of person to give an obligation when they are in a quagmire of life’s requirements. Simply put, it is hard to be responsible when we are at our lowest. the Homeless Congress, in order to have any validity has to be made up of individuals who live in, and understand poverty and homelessness. it has to be consistent with the rules of survival and struggle. to date we have a very solid group of individuals who have those experiences, and i believe, it is for that reason that i can say that i am having a sense of pride for what we have accomplished thus far. So, what exactly have we accomplished? Well, we have organized to the extent that we can act as an independent body, previewing matters that affect those who live the lifestyle, and learning to deduce ideas and suggestions that might make the difference in those lives, and a way to implement those ideas and suggestions. We have proposed two projects that we believe would benefit those living in shelters, and perhaps allow them to start retaking control of their lives. Our first proposal, The Shelter assistant project that would assist new residents with finding and utilizing area resources was put on hold due to conflict of interest but is being revamped. Our second project, the creation of a self- actualization group has but to be proposed (details at a later date). Our idea is to have a round table type of discussion group to bring about exposure for individuals living in shelters. Least i not mention, our target for both projects is the Drop inn Center, it being the areas largest shelter. Well, as not to place the horse before the cart (we have not submitted the proposal yet) i will not detail the particulars of that proposal here. Still, we have hopes for our projects and will keep our readers informed of our progress. the latest of news, again which adds to my feelings of success is the fact that at this meeting we had guests! Five students from the University of Kentucky and two students from the University Of Cincinnati, all of which gave us great reviews. We were very pleased to have them come and sit-in on our meeting and would like to invite the public to join us. “the Homeless Congress again has become a reality and we intend to make a difference.” I would like to finish here by giving all my appreciation to our members for their hard work and dedication. Members • Stephen Gentry • Lee McCoy • James brown • Keith eutsey • Jerry Davis • Pomona White • Susan Lakes • Derrick Prophet You may contact riccardo taylor for information at below listed contact information. riccardo taylor riccardo.taylor@cincihomeless.org (513) 421-7803 facebook.com/streetvibes cincinnati twitter.com/ streetvibesnwes streetvibes.wordpress. com Great Books! visit www.cincybooks.com �St r ee t v ib e S Column 5 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Suggested as a program of recovery “Hammered: Essays on Poverty and Addiction” MICHAEL HENSON Contributing Writer i am not enough of an economist to have any concrete suggestions to solve this nation’s poverty problem, though taxing the rich at a rate commensurate with justice and common sense would be, i believe, a place to start. but i do have an idea on what could help break the link between poverty and addiction, a link by which each reinforces the pain of the other. these are simple steps, using what we already know. We’re not a nation that does a good job of using what we know. For example, we’ve known for years that we are running out of fossil fuels, but we have put a move to renewable energy on the backest burner we can find. The planet might die, but the US Chamber of Commerce won’t stand for a dent in the profits of the companies that pay its dues. but i wander . . . i think there are some simple steps we could take which would ease the pain of each, though they would not eliminate either one. We’re not likely to take any of these steps, so the only point in this exercise is to record my despair. the good Christians who run this country seem to think . . . Do i sound bitter? i have to admit i don’t really know what they think. So i’ll leave the ranting alone for the time and tell you what i think. First, and most importantly, treatment must be free or at low cost. i suppose it is inevitable that we will have a two- (or three- or four-) tier system of treatment, one for those who can afford the Hazelden/betty Ford system, one for the poor, and whatever other levels we can fit in between. I don’t really care as long as what we provide for the poor is decent and the workers who serve them are competent. too much of what is available to the low-income addict or alcoholic now is provided by the criminal justice system or religious affiliated organizations. there are stellar examples of competent treatment in each, but they are not enough. Next, treatment must be available on demand. Many alcoholics and addicts have windows of openness during which treatment can have an impact. if you can’t get them through the hoops and into treatment while that window is open, the window closes. the addict makes whatever adjustment he or she needs to make, the walls go back up, and they turn their interest back to the needs of daily survival. For many in the treatment community, the rigors and complications (and sometimes humiliations) of the intake process are proof of readiness and worthiness so that getting into treatment requires a sort of moral test. We say we don’t believe that addition is a moral issue, but the practice belies our words. if the addict can’t collect the three pieces the agency requires or doesn’t return the phone call at the right time. we say, “He’s not ready.” We don’t say this of the cancer patient. We make treatment available whenever they show up. this is how we should treat the addict/alcoholic. it follows from this that there should be no limit on the number of treatment episodes for any individual. Prior to entering the field, a former supervisor of mine was in treatment nine times! And the last one was a ninety-day in-patient program. i’ve lost track of him, but at last report, he was at the head of a major health care network. What if someone had said, “Sorry, you’ve used up your eight treatment chances.”? What if and twenty dollars. Now, to keep all this together is sometimes simply beyond the capacity of some street alcoholics, who are prey to theft, loss, confiscation by the police. Up to the point of detox, any dollar the street addict can hustle up will usually go for maintenance, to keep from going into detoxification prematurely. A person can get around this by presenting a homeless certificate, which an addict can get by staying in a shelter or working with a homeless outreach worker. then there is the weeklong (or more) game of phone tag in which the individual has to call at precisely the right moment, and if the right moment arrives, has to have his or her three items right at hand. the last time i worked to get an addict into treatment, we had to just about case manage him 24/7, during which time we had a team to help him keep his materials together and his behavior on track. He’s due to graduate from treatment, and looking healthy, but there were a lot of hoops to jump through. Not everyone has such support and not everyone gets the chance to graduate and look good. the important thing to remember is that these are administrative needs, not clinical needs. And they are impediments that do not arise in the treatment of other diseases and other modes of treatment. i have taken heart patients and people with possible pneumonia to hospital emergency rooms with none of these demands. they simply serve the patients. Again, we put a moralistic readiness expectation on the poor addict that se do not put on a traditional medical patient. because this disease is so disruptive of all aspects of life and because poverty depletes the individual of resources to deal with the devastation, the addict or alcoholic entering treatment will need wraparound case management and support services. He or she will need help with employment, getting into school, accessing social security, and accessing housing and medical care and so on. New addicts are being created faster than we can treat those we already have. therefore, we need to implement serious, community-based, prevention and community education programs based on best practices. We need to throw away the old drug boards that “…we need to support community organizations to develop healthy, empowered communities.” someone had said, “You’re not ready.” He might still be helplessly ensnared in addiction. Yet, that is exactly what most insurance policies and hospitals do. One local hospital, for example, recently got out of the detoxification business altogether. but before they did, the rule was three episodes. there is a major misunderstanding of the nature of addiction. it is another way of placing a moral judgment rather than a clinical assessment on the addict. that person who goes to treatment eight times may not take on the ninth time either. but we can’t know unless we try it. We also need to insure that access to services is simple and uncomplicated by unnecessary impediments. to get into detox, an addict typically needs a photo iD issued by the state, a piece of mail with that individual’s name on it, have been shown to actually increase drug and alcohol use. instead, we need to turn to the science-based risk and protective e factor programs that develop genuine relationships and supportive communities. it follows on that that we need to support community organizations to develop healthy, empowered communities. to make all this happen, we need training, so that everyone is on the same page and that page is evidence-based practice. Finally, we need to support the supporters. the people who make all this happen need adequate compensation in the form of wages and benefits. And they need to be able to negotiate the terms of their work. Unlike teachers, we are rarely represented by unions and our wages and benefits reflect this. (And by the way, in this time when public service unions are under attack, did you know that those states whose teachers are represented by unions are also the states whose children score the highest on national tests?) So, how, in a time of tightening budgets, do we pay for all this? For one thing, there is a huge, untaxed economy right under our noses. We could start by legalizing marijuana, taxing it, and using the money for treatment. And then we could tax the rich.Simple justice calls for it, but it’s not likely to happen any time soon. None of the proposals outlined here is liable to happen soon. in fact, the current trend is to cut programs, jobs, and opportunities for treatment. times are about to get tougher for the addict in poverty. As if they weren’t already. Note to Streetvibes Readers: This is the final “Hammered: Essays on Poverty and Addiction” installment. With this column, i will have said what i wanted to say on the issue and i’m ready to sum it up and put it into book form. (Any suggestions for an agent? A publisher?”) but it’s not the end of my writing for StreetVibes. i plan to shift my attention to a series of reviews of books (and maybe films or music) on poverty and homelessness. i’ll look at some new books, but some old books as well. (Wasn’t Odysseus just another homeless veteran?) i hope to start with a new release from bottom Dog Press of the poetry of Daniel thompson. Any other suggestions? You can reach me at michaelhenson642@ gmail.com �Social Justice 6 St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 RIGHT to the City The plan to push people from the city because they are homeless and/ or financially poor. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT i n recent years, Henri Lefebvre’s concept of the “right to the City” has been adopted by a growing movement of human rights oriented organizations, policy makers, and activists around the globe (tides 2007; David 2003; Lefebvre 1996; Ortiz 2006). the initial drafts of a World Charter on the right to the City was first elaborated by global social movement actors at the Social Forum of the Americas in July 2004 and the World Urban Forum in September 2004. this document declares the right of all people to the city, not only as an economic location, but as a social, cultural, and democratic space. the charter claims that “the core element of [the right to the city] is the equitable usufruct of the cities considering the principles of sustainability and social justice” (Charter 2004). reinforcing this World Charter on the right to the City have been a series of other official statements such as the European Charter for Safeguarding Human rights in the City, the european Charter for equality of Women and Men in local life, and the City Statute of brazil. in addition campaigns of global social movement organizations such as the Habitat international Coalition have been formed to advance the right to the City framework (HiC 2008) Since 2005, UNeSCO and UN-HAbitAt have also held a series of international convenings oriented around the right to the City. in a joint statement explaining the objectives of their rightto the City initiative, UNeSCO and UN-HAbitAt (2005) declared that “the time has now come for governments to shift from a needs-based approach to a rights-based approach. in a rapidly urbanizing world, such an approach means that all citizens should benefit from what cities have to offer in terms of access to income generating opportunities, land and housing, water and sanitation, education and health care. recognition of this right in national policies and legislation is critical to bringing about a fundamental change in our approach to sustainable development. A rights-based approach can help generate the political will and to create a culture of resource allocation that places the needs of the poor on an equal footing with the interests of those that are better off.” in January 2007, the right to the City movement found footing in the United States. base building community organizations from across the country came together to form a national right to the City Alliance (Perera 2008). bound together in the struggle for economic, social, and racial justice, the alliance seeks to connect urban “fights against gentrification and displacement to other local and international struggles for human rights, land, and democracy” (RTC 2008). The alliance has identified a number of principles of unity including: freeing land from market speculation, public ownership of urban territory, economic justice, indigenous justice, environmental justice, freedom from police and state harassment, immigrant justice, sufficient services and infrastructure, democratic planning and governance, reparations for exploitation, international solidarity, and justice for rural people. in addition to this international movements advancing the right to the City, throughout the last two decades urban scholars have demonstrated how neoliberal cities have increasingly turned to repressive measures to keep urban poor and homeless people out of view in public space (Smith 1998,1996; roy 2003; Mitchell 1997, 1998, 2003; Hackworth 2007). they have examined both how the rights and public presence of poor people have been diminished in urban centers, as well as poor people’s struggles and organizations which have emerged to fight this situation. the most recent and full scale assessment in this literature was Don Mitchell’s recent book, which also following Lefebvre was titled, “the right to the City” (Mitchell 2003). the archetypical example of homeless people being removed from public space in the United States was in Giuliani’s New York. However, the displacement of homeless people from public urban spaces, especially downtown areas, has occurred throughout the country over the last couple of neoliberal decades. in addition to the academic literature capturing this reality, grassroots homeless advocacy organizations and Washington policy groups have also documented attempts by city leaders and business interests to sweep homeless people out of public spaces through anti-homeless legislation, police sweeps, and so-called “quality-of-life laws” (NLCHP 1996; NCH 2004, 2007; WrAP 2008). However, one crucial issue has generally been missed by the urban literature examining the relationship between homeless people and urban public space: the business improvement District model. indeed, in the last 20 years, there is perhaps no other single innovation in the governance of urban space that has had as substantial an effect on the management of downtown areas than business improvement Districts (biDs). through an examination of the relationship between biDs and homeless people in the contemporary United States, this paper will draw together the growing global social movement promoting the right to the City and the urban studies literature examining struggles over the presence of homeless people in urban public space… Sweeping Homeless People From Public Spaces to understand contemporary battles over the presence of homeless people in public space in the United States, it is useful to quick- ly recount the rise of the contemporary wave of massive homelessness in the United States. in the 1980s, homelessness re-emerged in the nation at levels not seen since the Great Depression (burt 1992; Kusmer 2003; Jencks 1994). by the late 1990s it was estimated that each night at least 840,000 men, women, and children across the nation were without a home (NLCHP 2004). All together, between 2.3 and 3.5 million people, including 1.35 million children, were likely to experience homelessness in a given year (institute 2000). this contemporary wave of homelessness resulted in part from broad processes of capitalist reconfiguration, deindustrialization, and urban transformation (bluestone and bennett 1982; Noy Forthcoming). the primary political context for this resurgence of homelessness was the rise of extreme free-market rhetoric, supply side economics, and anti-welfare ideology initiated under reagan and continued through the Clinton presidency and into the present (Lyoncallo 2004; WrAP 2006). reagan decimated public housing construction and subsidization programs, and these programs have never regained their pre-1980 strength (Dolbeare, Saraf, and Crowley 2004). reagan also seriously undermined other important safety net programs, such as community mental health centers – the system which was supposed to replace mental hospitals after deinstitutionalization (beigel 1982; Cutler, bevilacqua, and McFarland 2003; Scherl and Schmetzer 1989). Despite a number of efforts made to address homelessness on the local and national level, these efforts were never more than a drop in the bucket compared to the social welfare cuts initiated by reagan (Noy Forthcoming). Homelessness remained steady and even became a sort of normalized backdrop of everyday life (Hopper 1998; Marcuse 1988; Penner and Penner 1994). However, although normalized, homelessness was not accepted by those who felt that the presence of homeless people in urban areas, and especially downtown districts, was hurting the quality of life and inhibiting business. in cities throughout the United States, as the federal government failed to adequately address homelessness nationally since the 1980s, the visibility of homeless people increasingly became an See Right to the City Pg. 7 �St r ee t v ib e S Social Justice 7 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 RIGHT To The City Continued from page 6 important concern for business and political elites (Sommer 2000; Noy Forthcoming). the turn to neoliberal policies and neoliberal economic restructuring also served as a primary context that shaped the response to the increased visibility of homeless people in urban areas (Mitchell 2003; Gibson 2004; roy 2003; Smith 1996; Sassen 1990). in the deindustrialized, post-Fordist economy, cities face tremendous pressure to create clean and shiny locales which will attract hyper-mobile capital and wealthy tourists – and homeless people are seen as standing in the way of that (Mitchell 1997, 1998, 2003). At the same time, cities are under ideological pressure to adopt an approach to governance framed by neoliberal principles and controlled by external agencies, such as bond rating institutions (Hackworth 2007). As a result cities have sought to turn urban space into a commodified spectacle for the wealthy and the privileged, and to exclude the visible signs of poverty from view (Smith 1996; Mitchell 2003). Cities have employed a number of strategies to try to sanitize public spaces from homeless presence – quality of life laws, anti-panhandling ordinances, banning soup kitchens and other public feeding programs, police sweeps, homeless courts, anti-camping, sitting, and lying ordinances to name a few (NCH 2007; Smith 1998; WrAP 2008). However, one important institution for controlling public space that has often been overlooked in analysis both of the public presence of homelessness and more generally by the right to the City literature is the business improvement District. Overview of BIDS business improvement Districts (biDs) are a marriage of two redevelopment approaches –the financing authority of a redevelopment agency and the targeted efforts of an enterprise zone. An authoritative definition of BIDs has yet to be accepted by academics, planners, and business people. Generally, however, a biD is a legally-recognized territorial subdivision within a city in which all property owners or businesses are subject to an additional tax assessment that is collected by the city and reallocated to the biD operating agency. the agency then uses the funds to provide services and capital improvements within the district (Garodnick 2000). biDs often represent a city’s downtown region and vary greatly in size. A 1995 survey of 23 biDs found the size of a biD to be approximately 20 square blocks on average and range from 1 square block to 300 square blocks (Partnership 1995). biDs provide services to supplement those delivered by the municipal government. Specific services vary from one BID to another, but standard functions include: Capital Improvements: installing pedestrian-scale lighting and street furniture; planting trees and shrubbery. Consumer Marketing: producing festivals and events; coordinating sales promotions; producing maps and newsletters. Economic Development: offering incentives (such as tax abatements or loans) to new and expanding businesses. Maintenance: collecting rubbish; removing litter and graffiti; washing sidewalks; shoveling snow; trimming trees. Parking and Transportation: managing a public parking system; maintaining transit shelters. Policy Advocacy: promoting public policies to the community; lobbying government on behalf of business interests. Public Space Regulation: managing sidewalk vending; discouraging panhandling; controlling vehicle loading. Security: providing supplementary security guards; buying and installing electronic security systems; working with the city police force. Social Services: aiding homeless people; providing job training; supplying youth services. A primary appeal of biDs to commercial merchants is that the biD property tax ensures that all property owners are locked into a payment scheme, avoiding the classic worry about free-riding in which only a few pay for the improvement projects and programs that create benefit for all in the area. Created by state legislatures, biDs claim to solve problems of urban blight and safety, and to promote business in downtown cores, in ways that local government cannot (Leigh 2003). they are classic neo-liberal public-private partnerships (Goode 2006). Usually run by a community board representing the area, power within biDs is generally tilted towards corporate interests. Most biD governance structures weight the votes of business and property owners more heavily than those of residential tenants. District decisions are therefore generally skewed in favor of business and property owners even when outnumbered by residential tenants. For example, a 1995 court case involving a New York city biD revealed that only one biD board member represented 930 residential tenants while 242 property owners had 31 representatives (Garodnick 2000) While some people credit biDs with the revival of urban centers, their prevalence has provoked controversy. Critics accuse biDs of exacerbating the divide between those with money and those without by allowing the secession of wealthy areas from the overall city governance (Davies 1997). Michael Sandel (1996: 311) argues, “as municipal services decline in urban areas, residents and businesses in upscale districts manage to insulate themselves from the effects by assessing themselves surtaxes to provide private garbage collection, street cleaning, and police protection unavailable to the city as a whole.” Others criticize biDs as patrolling public space on behalf of merchants and wealthy residents, while excluding poor and homeless people from their area (MacDonald 1996). Still others criticize biDs as fundamentally anti-democratic institutions which replace local government and community oversight with rule by businesses on behalf of their interests (WrAP 2008). BIDs and Homeless People A primary focus of biDs is public safety and the deterrence of crime. business owners see area improvements undertaken by biDs as conveying the message to visitors, potential residents and potential businesses that the district is “clean and safe.” they therefore see biDs as reducing crime in accordance with the “broken Windows” theory (Hoyt 2005). the broken Windows theory posits that allowing indications of disorder to remain unaddressed, such as a broken window or trash in an alley, demonstrates a loss of social control in a neighborhood (Wilson and Kelling 1982; Skogan 1999). this then fosters crime, especially as criminals actively seek out such neglected areas as a place to engage in deviant activities (Hoyt 2005). biDs, therefore, seek to reduce crime by making cosmetic and capital improvements to their districts. in addition to these cosmetic improvements, biDs also seek to reduce crime by engage in direct private security patrols over their areas. Private security has been a rapidly growing industry in the United States. the last thirty years have seen a per capita decline in public police officers and, at the same time, a substantial per capita increase in private security guards. A 1995 estimate claimed that there were roughly 3 private security guards for every public police officer in the United States (Greene, Seamon, and Levy 1995). Private security is generally much cheaper than sworn police officers. Private security guards are under less public regulation and oversight, and are less well trained. Correspondingly, they also possess less authority. the primary function of private biD security is to uphold the public perception of safety in their area by having a noticeable policing force on the streets. Private biD security generally takes on one of two forms. The first form of security is a team of “ambassadors.” Ambassadors usually roam the area wearing brightly-colored uniforms and are supposed to provide a welcoming smile (Hoyt 2005). Sometimes, the word “security” is printed on the back of the uniform to convey authority. While the role of ambassadors will vary from one biD to the next, it generally involves assisting visitors and looking out for suspect behavior. the second form of private biD security is the more traditional-looking security guard. Often times, security guard uniforms are intentionally designed to closely resemble that of the local police force, emitting a stronger sense of authority. the legal authority of ambassadors and security guards is the same. in public spaces, private security has no more authority in securing an environment than does a private citizen. For example, the only kind of arrest they can perform is a citizen’s arrest, which can be made only when the arresting citizen personally witnesses a felony. everyday citizens may be unaware that a biD’s private security lacks legal authority. regardless of whether a biD relies on private security or police officers, it likely maintains a close relationship with the local police department – possibly even providing a storefront out of which the police department operates a substation. in the absence of private security, biD members will call the police dispatch directly to report suspicious activities. even with a private biD security force, these employees are generally not trained or equipped to handle difficult or potentially dangerous situations, and therefore must rely on local police in such circumstances. Homeless advocacy groups accuse biD private security of intimidating, bullying, and abusing homeless people. Some have gone so far as to accuse biDs of primarily existing in order to remove homeless people from visibility, and to enforce restrictions on public space (WrAP 2008). in 2005, the Los Angeles Community Action Network created a campaign “to take direct action to end fast-growing patterns of abuse [perpetrated] against poor and homeless residents by…biD security guards” (LAGC 2005). the campaign included videotaping and private patrols to monitor the excessive use of force and violation of civil rights by biDs. in Los Angeles County, several homeless people also filed law suits against See Right to the City Pg. 15 �National News 8 St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush talks about women’s rights and the environment Sophia Bush has long been famous for her role as Brooke Davis in the long running US television show One Tree Hill. Yet, Bush has done much more; she’s an icon for women’s rights and fights to change young girls’ body image . She also used her stardom to bring attention to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the lack Sophia Bush attends the 17th annual Race to Erase MS gala in Los Angeles May 7, 2010. REUTERS/ Phil McCarten of clean drinking water around the world. Time for an interview. on in their national politics, to the news, most beautiful, they have that quality - people DANIELLE OLSEN Spare Change News (USA) www.streetnewsservice.org r ecently you put together a CD, Gasoline rainbows, in which the proceeds will go to the clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. What was it like putting together that compilation? SOPHiA bUSH: We sort of had a revelation, like “Why do just one song? Why not do an album?” You see celebrity playlists on itunes and you see how well soundtracks do when they’re great. People love albums when they are filled with great artists. So we thought, why not make an album that benefits? It’s so simple to distribute music digitally, there’s no carbon footprint, we’re not using any plastic, any paper. We’re not creating any waste, we’re just getting people great music and raising great money all the while. it was a really incredible experience and then to see all the bands who got so passionate about it. to have bands that don’t need to give music away, like black eyed Peas and vampire Weekend say, ‘Oh, yeah, you can totally have songs,’ and then to have Damien rice give us an unreleased track, and to have City and Colour write us a song that is so haunting and so beautiful about what happened when the rig exploded - i mean, it’s kind of an out of body experience to have it all happen. before i forget, we’re very, very lucky to have been able to partner with Dine Alone records. None of us know anything about putting an album together and Dine Alone was such an amazing champion for our cause and really just helped us make it happen. Without them i think we wouldn’t have made it. DANieLLe OLSeN: You are not just involved in issues in the Gulf; what are some other foundations or causes you are passionate about? SOPHiA bUSH: Oh, god, you know, it’s interesting because i think it all relates. i’m very passionate about what’s going on with women’s rights around the world, and once you start looking at statistics you start getting educated. You find that when women are educated it impacts their communities, it impacts their children, it impacts their family, it impacts their environment. i think anyone who is concerned with the development of the world and protecting females should read Kristof’s book, Half the Sky. it will absolutely blow your mind. i spend a lot of time looking at what’s going on with women and also looking at what’s going on with young people. i think i’ve had a really incredible year connecting with youth in America, and around the world, and really tried to start a movement getting kids encouraged to take care of their environment no matter where they are and to pay attention to what’s going to take care of themselves and to be aware of what they’re putting in their bodies. When you watch new things and you start researching factory farming it’s just all interconnected. it seems so incredibly important when you’re discussing what it is that we are putting in our bodies and putting into our environment. With our food industries, water is so crucial and important and it’s been really wonderful to do some work with Charity Water and you take it for granted living in the US, being able to get clean water out of your tap at any moment, any day, and there are people around the world who have to walk miles and miles at risk of physical harm and death just to get water that isn’t even clean to begin with. So i think it’s a really eyeopening process when you start to look at the world around you and take your blinders off. DANieLLe OLSeN: Do you have any plans to get involved in aiding Japan? SOPHiA bUSH: i’ve been doing a lot of tweeting and sending out every donation link that I can find. We’ve all been donating to the red Cross and i think it’s just going to be incredibly important. it’s very simple, very easy rather, when the sort of initial shock of something like this wanes for people to not stay involved but it’s going to take some time as that country starts to get itself back together to even see what they need. i think it’s incredibly important to stay active and to stay on top of it because, maybe, i don’t know if it’s going to be a food drive. i don’t know if it’s going to be donations. i don’t know if it’s going to be clothing drives. What is it going to be that we can do? i really think that we need to keep on top of the situation, and as we get information, continue donating and continue staying active and showing our support. they are really going to need it for a long time. DANieLLe OLSeN: You recently spoke out against a pro-anorexia Urban Outfitters t-shirt. As a woman and fashion icon many young girls look up to, why do you think it was so important for you to say something to your fans? SOHPiA bUSH: i think it’s an absolutely ludicrous idea that beauty only fits in one box. You look at history; look at who are our most beautiful, iconic women in the world and they’re all different shapes and sizes and colors and heights. There is no one definition and yet I get that everyone, most everyone in the world, looks at Giselle and goes, ‘Oh my god, she’s so amazing.’ there are also people who look at her and don’t get it. So why her? there are people who love that body type but there are people who look at that body type and go, ‘eh,’ and who look at a super curvy, short girl and go, ‘That’s what I like.’ There is no one definition of beauty. You know the people that are the say she has “it.” the French say that it’s ‘je ne sais quoi,’ - it’s something special and it’s confidence. It’s a sort of ownership of self. It doesn’t matter what measurement is around our thigh, it matters what you put out into the world. it matters how many times a day you smile; and are you good to the people in your life. Are you good to the people you work with; are you good to your family and your friends? Are you good to your community? those are the things that make a person beautiful. So, yeah, I find it outrageous that a company that caters particularly to young women would say, ‘Hey, eat less. You’ll feel better about yourself.’ Absolutely not. DANieLLe OLSeN: March was international Woman’s Month; how far do you think women’s rights have come? SOHPiA bUSH: i think in some areas we’re doing a great job but i also think that we haven’t come quite as far as we think we have when you still look at the difference between paychecks for men and women in the same field. People kind of roll their eyes and say, ‘Oh, that’s so feminist of you.’ but i find it really irritating when guys are teasing their guy friends and they’re saying, ‘C’mon, man up, don’t be a pussy.’ it’s like, really? it’s a vulgar, pornographic term out there for a women’s anatomy, and that’s what you call a guy who isn’t man enough? Why? Where did that come from? it seems like not a big deal at the end of the day; i hear it all the time and i understand that it’s not. but when you really start to think about what the subtext of it means, it’s interesting. i see it every day. i’m a woman who works at a job that is mostly populated by men. Most of the film set is made up of men and i watch the way that the people relate to each other, i watch the way that they make comments about women on the set and i work with lovely people and i pick up on things that i don’t think are 100 percent awesome all the time. i think it’s important to really make sure that we’re reinforcing, especially from a young age, respect for women. When you think that one of the most powerful things that men can do is put us down, that’s obviously because we’re incredibly powerful if we’re built up. it’s something we need to know and women need to own. if you’re going to get called a bitch for standing up for yourself, for being educated, for having opinions and for using your voice, then fine, let them call you a bitch. If a man was doing any of those things he would be complimented and they’d say, ‘Oh you know, he’s really got balls, he’s really strong, he’s really assertive.’ but a woman who’s assertive immediately gets sort of categorized as difficult. i don’t agree, i say go ahead, be loud, make See Sophia Bush Pg. 9 �National News St r ee t v ib e S A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 9 Sophia Bush Continued from Page 8 them listen to you. DANieLLe OLSeN: Your character on One tree Hill, fashion designer brooke Davis started a campaign called ‘Zero is Not A Size.’ Do you believe fashion such as this can have a positive impact on the world? SOPHiA bUSH: i do, and part of what i really appreciated about that, and part of the reason i still appreciate the message behind ‘zero is not a size,’ is that it doesn’t make any sense. there’s no universal size chart. i own clothes that are a range of sizes. it’s like “Well, okay, this company has these sizes, that company has those sizes. Oh for this designer i can wear a sample but for that one I could never fit into a sample.” It’s like, “Well my body is not changing every time i put on a different dress, for sure. it’s the way that they are cut.” So what does it even mean? What does it mean to be a size zero? What does it mean to be a size four, a size ten? it doesn’t mean anything. Again, i don’t believe that beauty fits into one box and I don’t think that it matters. I think that if you’re healthy, if you take care of yourself and enjoy your life, that the number on the tag in your sweater should not be what defines you. DANieLLe OLSeN: On your blog you often talk about products that help to make a difference. What is your favorite that you’ve talked about that you think everyone should be using? SOPHiA bUSH: i think it’s incredibly important to look at the little things in your home. People don’t consider that the same water that goes down the sink when you do the dishes is the water that you filter, that then comes out of your faucet, that you’re drinking. So think about it, what kind of detergent you use and what kind of dish soap are you using? What kind of chemicals are you pouring down the drain that then have to be filtered in order for you to drink that water? How well are they really filtered? It’s an important thing to look at. So for me, it’s really about using eco-friendly, clean products in my house that don’t make me nervous going down the drain. Again, really eliminating bottled water waste. i mean god, the amount of plastic they use that’s totally unnecessary. bottled water is not as regulated as tap water. So in thinking about all the things that could be in your tap, those are all the things that can be in your bottled water and they say it’s from an exotic locale when it isn’t. Why are you paying all this money? Why are you wasting all this plastic? it is part of the reason i blogged about the Water bobble. i love the idea of that so very much. So often people say, ‘Oh well you know i’m using my brita at home and yes of course i’ll drink tap water but if i have to go somewhere and use a water fountain, i don’t know if that’s filtered. I’ll just go buy a bottle of water.’ Well, take your filter with you. Take your filter, take your bottle and never use a plastic bottle again. DANieLLe OLSeN: Do you feel a duty to use your celebrity to spread word about important issues? SOPHiA bUSH: A duty? No. No, i mean, i think there are plenty of people who don’t care to use their platforms. For me, it’s just a no brainer. it’s something i’ve always cared about, something that mattered to me and for a long time i didn’t want to open up that box. You really don’t know what’s going to come out at you; it is a bit of a Pandora’s box, this whole world of social media and personal exposure. Particularly when you do what i do, which is go to work and you play someone else everyday. I wonder if I’m finally starting to put too much of myself out there will people be able to believe the character that i play? i really believe that we can change things. i really believe that all our little voices can build up into something enormous and powerful and I just figure, “You know, screw it.” i have to do this. it’s in my heart and it’s what matters to me more than my career. it is what matters to me more than anything. FEED ME SEYMOUR, FEED ME ALL NIGHT LONG! Jeni Jenkins, Staff Writer The title of this column is taken from the 1986 film “Little Shop of Horrors,” where a plant keeper must meet the demands of a ravenous plant that feeds on humans. Instead of plants that feed on people, this column is for people who feed on plants!! WALNUT BROCCOLI STIRFRY Don’t miss this delish dish ! 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup walnuts 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups broccoli florets 1 cup carrots 3 packages ramen noodles 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce 1 cup of veggie broth 2 tablespoons soy sauce LOREM Aliquam blandit Praesent molestie lorem IPSUM Ante magna vehicula Sed turpis 1 20oz can pineapple chunks in pineapple juice un-drained 2 teaspoons ground ginger •Sauté garlic and walnuts in oil over medium high heat, about 2 minutes •Add the broccoli and carrots •Cook on medium heat until tender, about 4-5 minutes •In a bowl mix together the veggie broth, chili sauce, soy sauce and ginger •Add mixture and pineapple chunks with juice to veggies and bring to a boil. •Break ramen noodles in half and mix into the veggies. •Cook on medium heat about 4 minutes or until noodles are tender. •Voila, FEED! Etiam ac libero �10 Story and Poetry Now I Give to Thee! eLiSA HiLL Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor Damn, I have a space in my throat that just won’t let me scream. I try to weep to keep myself from going fucking insane. Most times I don’t even know what is going on in everybody else’s life. Yet and still, I am always treated as the outcast, now pass the pipe. I’ve tried to give of myself in and unselfish way. Only to be torn down and treated like less than a damn slave. It makes you lose your self esteem. That anything that you could be in this life, is nothing in there site. I have tried hoping that there is one damn person who feels me worthy to be alive. Only to look the fuck around and see that there is no one sitting by my side. Cry tears, for what? They only make it worse, now I feel that I am forever cursed. I feel like I have no love, no life, no hope and no real plight. God please save me! What am I doing here just filling in for empty space. Even he regrets my presence because; I just seem to get in his way. How can this be when I am especially made? I am a blessing that you my God gave to this life! I am a bright star burning throughout the verses. I flow demolishing misconceptions and misunderstood purposes. Lord, I do have a great will to live and I know what it takes to survive. I won’t let them to continue to do this to me. I will believe in myself and know that soon, you my father, will provide. Then like a surprise snow ball to the side of my face. I hear my God say, “now I give to thee!” The Prediction WiLLA DeNiSe JONeS Contributing Writer and Streetvibes Distributor What would you do if you could predict your every tomorrow? Remembering that tomorrow never comes it’s always today, now that can bring some sorrow Thinking of the changes that the people of the world are being subjected too Remembering the day of the past is what I’ll always cherish for thinking today can be awe so cruel Today there is a complete new set of words we as a people must learn Words like: Shut em down, unemployment rising, evictions and homelessness, now I’m concerned So do you believe that we could make a change in this world If we could predict our future? Believe me being a democrat, a republican or a socialist we all come up a loser Believe that this is God’s world; somehow, the world seems to have forgotten Believe if we as mankind don’t come back to God we’ll all be lost, burned up and then turn rotten To be able to predict tomorrow or for me to be a psychic honestly is not my choice Now predict the readings of the bible about God’s return I believe it’s time for the politicians to heed to God’s voice!!! St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Where Do Your Children Eat? buddy gray Excellent work crew today Spring Street Republic Street 13th Street Peete Street. I brought in 2 children, boy 13, girl 10 who helped on work crew… boy cut his foot, so we carried him “home” to DIC to patch up minor cut. We invited them to eat lunch. They ate coffee with one inch of sugar in cup and 4 creams… He said it helps them “keep going” because they don’t eat every day at their house. The girl’s (his cousin) family had doubled up with his family 8-10 people in two rooms. He said he’s used to it. He gave up his bead for his Aunt and her kids. He was not nasty, angry or bitter. The girl (age 10) said her family had moved away from Millvale because of drug dealers and shootings she had seen. The boy (age 13) said he could make it, he had learned how to go often 3 days without food. She asked me “where my children eat.” He and she were not bitter about sharing their little with too many others. What kind of Country do we live in? We just lost 79 American soldiers lives to conduct an aerial bombing of a small, under developed country – killing 500,000 to 750,000 people, many as retreating soldiers and making several million people homeless and starving, dying of polluted water, disease. What kind of Country spends $200 B to annihilate another tiny nation of people, men, women and children while one of its own children, going hungry regularly for 2 or 3 days asks a homeless shelter worker the fundamental, simple, honest question: March 30, 1991--Written 20 years ago, yet the problem is not better, it is worse. More children without homes and more money spent on war. We steal life all around us. �Reflections St r ee t v ib e S 11 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Continued From Page 1 Questions Matter MOLLY BRAZIER Anthropology t his semester has been emotionally challenging, academically lax, and intellectually expansive. I learned how to barter over fish and asparagus at Findlay market. i have practiced the art of declining cat calls, navigating one-ways, saying no to cocaine, and i like to think i have done my part in helping out a small non-profit. i have been given the time to grapple with some Back to Front: Nathan DeVore; Molly Brazier; Jose Gutierrez. Natalie Otrembiak, Student Photographer Why? KAT ROOSEN Architecture came to Over-the-rhine with culturally experienced eyes, but a very rudimentary understanding of the social, economic and political forces that act on urban society. i have travelled to many countries around the world, have seen all types of poverty and excessive wealth, and political, economic and social systems. being from Detroit, i know how destitute some inner cities have become. because of these factors i cannot honestly say that i was really shocked by anything i encountered on the streets of Over-the-rhine. What really got me this semester, though, was learning about why things are the way they are and how the community has come together to combat those forces. Over the course of the semester, i learned more than i have ever learned about the creation of the ghetto, welfare, poverty, the interconnectivity of race and class, gentrification, mixed-income housing and lastly, community. I was baffled by how much had been going on in these realms of which i had simply never heard, to which i had never been exposed. I find this incredibly disturbing because i have come to realize how invaluable this knowledge is, how important it is to understand the urban core, especially if you want to work or live there, which is what i want to do i hope to eventually return to Detroit and work in the innercity. the semester has become irreplaceable in that it has taught i big issues that–while generally aware of–i have never been able to tackle face-to-face. i have single handedly witnessed the complexities and emotions of what people call “gentrification.” I have re-evaluated my own career path as my understanding of American economics has expanded and i have processed and reprocessed my ability to cope with the realities of the world while negotiating my own place within it. What has really gone on here has been a process of growth. it came, i think, in different moments of inspiration, of depression, of hopelessness, of stubbornness, and reflection. Never before have i helped a homeless woman—drunk and laying in her own pee—off of the sidewalk and given her something to eat and rush off to class in the hope that she would recover. Never before have i felt threatened by the presence of a group of men walking behind me, their taunts growing louder and more vulgar as i clenched a key between my knuckles and sped up. Never before has my whiteness or class been called out on a daily basis, marking me as an outsider, as a minority, or as a threat to a community feeling the pressure of change. there were times this semester i felt overwhelmed with a growing sense of emotional overload followed by a personal distancing of myself from the need i was consistently exposed to. Coming home from the Contact Center, which has no money and yet continues to fight against poverty, only to go to class and learn about the injustices our world faces and then walk home through a neighborhood filled with need was at times difficult. there were days when i spent all my intern time interviewing people who were in desperate need of healthcare or could not afford to take care of their families. Then, when finally having the spare time to grapple with these issues, i was so overwhelmed with emotion i felt like all i wanted to do was take me many of the skills i will eventually need when i return to my hometown. it has taught me the importance of true community, meaning the value of loving your neighbors and allowing community to flourish within and out of its own self. it is as if trying too hard to create a community ruins it and tends to end in the exclusion of certain people, something i have witnessed here in Over-the-rhine. i hope to never forget this and use this knowledge to foster community in my own life. the interview i had with Al rohs taught me how valuable it is to connect with people. He has become such an influential figure in Over-The-Rhine for the simple fact that he listens and helps everyone. As i leave this place, i hope to never forget the things i have learned here. i plan on returning from time to time, so that i may witness how Over-the-rhine continues to grow and change and how true community continues to thrive in the streets of Over-therhine. in every way imaginable, including random encounters, new friendships, and an abundance of information, this semester has made me confident in my ability to create change. i am now overloaded with information about the city, which has forced me to create my own opinions about the information we have discussed. i am now confident and capable of having an intellectual conversation with others about urban society and providing support for my arguments when challenged. My understanding of the world has grown substantially and i credit this residency Program with pushing me to the edge of my beliefs. See Reflictions Pg. 13 myself away from it. How do you tell a generation of children suffering from poor school systems, who have never been told they have the ability to go to college, that education is the key to their success? How do you reach out to the political powers of our State from the office of a place that cannot afford to buy computer paper? Is gentrification really the only solution to a community crippled by high poverty? Who defines when a community is of mixed-income? Will mixed-income, in and of itself, save the poor from their poorness? in a world where capital is king, should we be fighting gentrification or the deeper systematic injustices that have worked to fuel it? Where does one begin, and in what capacity, to take a stand? i do not have all of the answers to these questions. but by living here and experiencing life here, i have expanded my understanding of just how the solutions to these problems may be procured. Sitting at the fundraising dinner for the Coalition for the Homeless, surrounded by the faces of people i have worked with throughout the neighborhood, i saw in a moment what change looks like. Here in a room filled with long-time community activists, grant writers, sponsors, donors, college students, and a myriad of others in between, i was in the midst of community development. through these people, words become actions. ideas become movement. energy becomes change. i am very thankful for my time here. i will forever remain connected in an attempt to live beyond my own individual existence. i will continue to tell others the important lessons that i have learned here. And wherever my career path leads, i will maintain awareness and a connectedness to those less fortunate so that i may forever be humbled by the bigness of the world. the people i have met have been truly inspiring, challenging, and moving.  |        �12 International News St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Momentum grows in call for hemp to be legalized in South Africa An increasing number of South Africans are throwing their weight behind a call for hemp to be made legal in the country, which supporters say will help create jobs and provide housing for South Africa’s poor. tOM riCHeLL The Big Issue (South Africa) www.streetnewsservice.org S upport for an online petition entitled “Hemp Now”, calling for the immediate legalization of industrial hemp, has snowballed with more than 300 signatories and more signing on by the day. the Hemp Now campaign wants hemp - a type of cannabis plant that does not have the intoxicating tHC compound found in cannabis that is smoked or ingested to “get high” - to be legalized for its 50,000 recorded uses, including clothing, eco-friendly building materials and paper. Hemp seed and oil is also rich in vitamins and the Omega 3 and 6 essential Hemp Now spokesperson, Tony Budden, dressed in a hemp material shirt, against a “hempcrete” wall fatty acids, leading advocates to label it a “super food”. holding hemp hurds (housing insulation). The Big Issue South Africa/Pippa Ehrlich tony budden, spokesperson for Hemp Now and a partner in Hemporium, which imports hemp for use in across South Africa to join the 28 countries worldwide that have already South Africa, said: “As a company that has been manufacturing and legalized the growth of the plant for industrial purposes. selling hemp products for 15 years, Hemporium is tired of having to the campaign also emphasizes that it wants to put an end to “botaniimport our raw material and supporting the industry in other countries, cal racism”, arguing that hemp is unfairly viewed as a drug whereas it when we can see how it has the potential to provide jobs, houses has no intoxicating effects and its legalization would and nutrition to create a more sustainable economy and a “Hemporium is tired of having to import our help - three very green future for South Africa. necessary and raw material and supporting the industry in the clout the petition will have is still unknown, but under-supplied is hoping for long-term positive results: “the other countries, when we can see how it has the budden components petition is part of a larger movement that is currently of our society. potential to provide jobs, houses and nutrition” building a lot of momentum with regards to hemp in Hemp can do South Africa. it is effective in giving a voice to supthis in a way porters of hemp who often feel frustrated by the stagthat benefits the environment too, and we feel South Africa has the ponation of hemp research and don’t have a way of communicating their tential to become a world leader in the ethical and environmental hemp opinions regarding this valuable resource.” industry.” For more information, visit: www.hempnow.co.za the Hemp Now petition calls for hemp to be legalized immediately Reflections Continued from pages 1 and 11 Becoming Myself ASHLeY KiNCAiD Architecture i am not the person i was when i swung open the gate at 1324 race St. in August. that girl was quiet, scared, and certain she knew what she wasn’t. i could never let anyone see this. i was eternally fearful of saying, doing, or believing the wrong things. i never wanted to offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable. but something happened. i was uncomfortable. My domes of Oakwood and Oxford had been lifted, but it felt as if they had been violently ripped away from me. I smiled on the sidewalk and floated through classes with an air of intention and belonging, but once i was safely alone, i was broken. i was not experiencing what i was supposed to. On the surface, everyone else assimilated into this community flawlessly. They felt comfortable. they loved this place and wanted to stay. i couldn’t let anyone see that i felt differently. then, in a moment of weakness i had a realization: i am not anyone but myself. it was silly to think i was meant to experience this semester the same way as others. in that moment, everything changed. i let myself experience and mourn the pain around me, the homelessness, the hopelessness, the hurt. this place they call Over-the-rhine is more than beautiful architecture; it is more than politics and policy. this place is community; it is people and children, lives and mistakes. There are people who are fighting through everyday, and then there are those that have given in and given up. i have to admit, sometimes it was very hard to walk into studio and feel that i was making a difference. the only things evident and tangible were the calluses, scabs, and aches. In a very selfish way, I wanted people to know what i was doing and why i was doing it. every time i was asked what i was doing down in Over-the-rhine, my answer was automatic and technical: living down here, architecture credit, construction, service-learning. these things were not what i was experiencing or feeling, but they were the easiest to verbalize. What was i doing in Over-the-rhine? i was breaking out of my comfort zone, slowly and painfully. i was helping, with every swing of the hammer and every piece of flooring. In the end, I was a small part of something beautiful. Not just the obvious, visual beauty of the space at 1300 vine. but the beauty of the effect that this Program had in its short run. As students we were stretched. We were challenged, we were taught, we were changed. i will never forget Over-the-rhine. i will never forget the faces and stories that i passed in my paint-covered yoga pants everyday. i will never forget the professors that showed their raw passion for the untold tragedies of this place. i will never forget the family that we formed, with our inside jokes that make no sense and our ability to say a thousand words with a glance. When i started this semester, i was always open to listening to others beliefs and problems, but i don’t think i ever let them affect me. i was set in my ways.if i had to choose one word to describe my semester it would be: affected. i am affected to my very core and i hope that even the smallest piece of this community is affected because of my presence. See Reflections Page 13 �St r ee t v ib e S A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Reflections 13 Reflections Continued from Page 12 New Lands NATALIE OTREMBIAK Architecture Student i grew up in Northern Kentucky hearing about Over-the-Rhine and the “horrific” things that happen there and the “dangerous people” that live there. People are described as poor, black, homeless, drug addicts, and dealers. From the newspapers, media, and adults around me, Over-the-rhine seemed to be a far-away evil place that should never be encountered. I was intrigued to find that Miami University had a Program that assisted this local community with the skills and time of their students. i wanted to partake in this engagement. i was curious about this place and its people just across the river from me but has always felt like a distant land. i wanted to use my time and energy to assist an underprivileged community all the while learning something in my field of interest. And I did learn, especially from my interaction with the community. Here in Over-the-rhine, i have learned that people are powerful through their voices, ideas, and community. What drives change in our world is determined by ideas. the communication of ideas is powerful. the ability to listen and be open to understanding when someone speaks are crucial. through the Over-the-rhine Program i have encountered several challenges in communication. For example, i was part of a communitybased team, sponsored by the Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, to draft a “People’s Platform for equality and Justice.” We were trying to communicate issues relevant to the neighborhood to get people involved with the Coalition and to advance a movement of people. these issues are very complex, and we had to put the message across in a few images and words. it was fascinating to see how something seemingly so simple could be so complicated. Simple editing went for weeks. i experienced a vast variety of people and their opinions. these experiences are what i value from Over-the-rhine. these people are not evil deviants that must be expunged. they are trying to gain a voice, people that want to be listened to and understood. they are trying to change the stereotypes placed on the area and its people. Over-the rhine is a place that is friendly in its own culture. When i walk down the streets people ask me how i am doing, and say “God bless you.” People here are always interacting with one another—walking side by side on the streets, having public places nearby to go to, and sitting out on the front stoops socializing. the community is very close spatially and in its relationships and experiences. this is an environment different from the secluded suburbs where people are either at work or cooped up in their homes. Over-the-rhine welcomed me and i’ve learned so much from the genuine human interaction and the experiences with communication. It Takes Time GONZALO MArtiNeZ Architecture Student specifically chose to take part in the Overthe-rhine residency Program because i wanted to broaden my perspective on life and shatter preconceptions i have had about inner-city life. the Program presented a unique opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and immerse myself in a foreign world. At the time i had only a fuzzy idea of what the Program was about, and honestly, i came to Over-the-rhine not knowing what to expect. Having spent most of my life growing up in middle-class suburbia outside of Washington D.C., my perception of impoverished inner-city neighborhoods was vague at best. bearing this in mind, i decided i would move in to Over-the- i rhine and try to be as objective as possible. Over-therhine fostered an incredible transformative process in me. i didn’t realize it at the moment, but now it is plain to see that i am not the same person i was at the beginning of the semester. My perspectives have changed. During this semester, more than any other of my college career, i was able to learn as much, if not Left to Right: Natalie Otrembiak; Danielle Musselman. Ellen Crawford. more outside of class as i did during class time. My Now that we see the world more clearly, we alternative education took the form of talking to can help others clear their eyes as well. neighborhood residents, engaging the comI never thought I would find myself interactmunity through volunteer service, as well as by ing with homeless folks or ex-felons. Now, living with a vibrant group of peers who shared however, whatever barriers might have prea variety of diverse experiences with me. vented me from interacting with them are At the start of the semester, i was foolish to gone, for i have learned that they are no differthink that the service work we were doing was ent than me; they have simply grown up under going to make changes manifest themselves different circumstances. No one is inherently immediately in the neighborhood. through inferior, flawed, or evil. We are all just people the course of this semester i learned that real living out our lives as best as we can, given change takes time—more than a semester at what we have. it can be incredibly depressing least. Yet, in that process of learning, it beto hear the stories of some of the residents of came easy to feel defeated. i started to think Over-the-rhine. they have dealt with situathat our presence in the neighborhood was not tions i cannot even begin to relate to. Couple producing positive results, especially when pit- that with our classes, where we studied the ted against the physical transformation occurstructural problems that have led to such dire ring all around us. the renovation of Washing- situations for some people while others profton Park became symbolic of our frustrations. ited from their misery and all of the sudden i How could we ever alter the direction of progbegan to feel negative. i was not sure if i felt ress? Although it was difficult to see at times, I guilt, anger, anguish, or a combination of all am now certain the work we did this semester three. How come i have such a privileged life has undoubtedly made a difference. No matter when others have nothing? Why the heck do how small our contribution was in the grand we have such extensive abject poverty in the scheme of things, what’s important is that we richest nation of the world? these questions made a positive impact on the community infuriated me. However, negativity never leads that exists in Over-the-rhine. the beauty of to good things and i learned that maintaining it is that in trying to make that change in the a positive attitude throughout my experience community, the community changed us for the was not only the best way to cope with the better. depressing reality of some people’s lives but Whether it was discussing plans for Peaslee also a vehicle for ideas on how to change the Neighborhood Center with our clients, Jenn status quo and Kathy, helping neighborhood children with Ultimately, i couldn’t have picked a better their art projects at the Children’s Creative way to end my undergraduate career. the Corner, sitting down at Canticle Café and hav- multitude of diverse experiences that i was ing a chat with the patrons, cleaning up abanable to get out of this Program far outweigh doned houses with the OtrCH work crew on anything i could have learned in Oxford. i the weekends, exploring Cincinnati with my came to Over-the-rhine seeking immersion peers, reflecting and sharing our experiences and to broaden my perspective and it did not in bonnie’s journaling sessions, or just the disappoint. Preconceptions have been shatcamaraderie present at our Sunday Potlucks, tered while awareness has gone way up. Yet, the richness of such diverse experiences now i realize that this is only the beginning of combined with the multidisciplinary education a new stage in my life where doors have been offered by the residency Program made this opened and barriers cleared away. Wherever semester such a transformative experience for life takes me from here, i know that i will have me. in learning more about what was going the wisdom gained from this semester in the around us, we learned more about ourselves. Over-the-rhine residency Program guiding And that became a valuable asset to helping the decisions that i take. us become better citizens. Citizens who are These students also took part in commuaware of the injustices at play in our capitalnity engagement this past fall: ist society. Citizens who are not afraid to step Nathan Devore, Anthropology out of their comfort zone and become active Kayla evans, Art Education participants in their community. Citizens who Jose Gutierrez, Architecture refuse to subscribe to the same old stereotypes that group the poor, the blacks, and JoePaul Luikart, Architecture the homeless into homogenous categories of Danielle Musselman, Architecture deviant minorities. i could go on, but the point robert Weyreter, Business is this has been an eye-opening experience. �Opportunities 14 St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Summer Internship Program The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless (GCCH) is currently accepting applications for 5 part-time unpaid summer interns. Each intern will create an individual work plan and be assigned a specific project or provide general support for a particular program during the specified time period. ABOUT: GCCH located in Over-the-Rhine is a non-profit social action agency established in 1984 with the solitary mission of eradicating homelessness. GCCH works towards this mission by coordinating services, educating the public, grassroots organizing and advocacy and publishing and distributing the Streetvibes newspaper. Homeless and formerly homeless individuals are incorporated into all programs and initiatives at GCCH. PROGRAM DATES: Summer internships range from a 2-3 month commitment which is negotiated on an individual level and flexible between May and September (dependent on university summer term). TIME COMMITMENT: Flexible hours, approx. 15-20 hours per week; must be able to attend weekly staff meetings. Summer interns typically attend school and/or work part-time jobs as long as they do not interfere with the internship commitment. INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE: Development intern- reports directly to the Director of Development and Operations Education & Outreach Intern- reports directly to the Director of Education & Outreach Statistics Intern- reports directly to the Director of Education & Outreach information technology intern- reports directly to the executive Director Journalism, Media & Public Relations Intern- reports directly to the Editor of Streetvibes GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS: Hard working and have the ability to work independently with limited supervision. Creative and willing to bring fresh ideas to the table and a positive attitude. Have a minimum of one year of undergraduate work completed Must be able to use a computer Good written and oral communication skills and diligence about checking work for spelling and grammar mistakes Familiarity with Microsoft Office including Excel and Word Interest in learning about local area nonprofit agencies A commitment to serving those in poverty Comfortable working with and speaking to homeless individuals Good interpersonal skills and an ability to communicate with a wide range of individuals Dependable TO APPLY: If interested please send a cover letter and resume with desired internship title (e.g. Development Intern) in the subject line to HYPERLINK “mailto:gcch. intern@gmail.com” gcch.intern@gmail.com. Interviews will be held in early May. Direct any questions to the email listed above. INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTIONS: Development intern: Intern currently studying or interested in: Non-profit business development, administration, fundraising, marketing, individual giving, grant writing and pursuing donors. intern will assist and report to the Director of Development and Operations. Key tasks: Maintain and improve development plan Coordinate and acquire in-kind donations research and apply for grants Lead an individual giving campaign Work on Summer fundraiser as well as prepare for Winter Annual Dinner Communicate with donors via phone and letters Attend development committee meetings Streamline fundraising database Other tasks TBD. Education & Outreach Intern: intern currently studying or interested in: education (teaching and curriculum development), sociology, social justice, social work, program coordination & development, service learning and working with youth. intern will assist and report to the Director of education and Outreach. Key tasks: Main project: develop a plan for the implementation of the 2011 City-Wide Shantytown program during Homeless Awareness Month. Assist with improvements to the educational and service outreach plan research and update list of schools and social service agencies throughout the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area Assist with the facilitation of educational and service learning activities as needed Assist as a receptionist as needed Other tasks tbD. Statistics intern: intern currently studying or interested in: research, statistical analysis, math, social science research, computer science, engineering or related field. Intern will assist and report to the Director of education and Outreach. Key tasks: Main project: Work independently to assess GCCH’s programs; compile, review and analyze data; develop a plan for tracking data and analyzing outcomes; track and analyze outcomes for a specified time period and create a final report. Gather, collect, record, track and verify data and information. Uses software to compile and generate reports, statistics, timelines, tables, graphs, correspondence and presentations. Assist with the development of a database for tracking and analyzing program data. Assist with compiling updated statistical data related to homelessness and poverty with a focus on Ohio and links to national statistics. Other tasks TBD. information technology intern: intern currently studying or interested in: information technology, networking, managing software and hardware, computer science or related field. Intern will assist and report to the executive Director. Key tasks: Main project: Work independently to assess GCCH’s stock of computers, swipe old computers of data and recycle; assess and update computer software on computers in use; determine networking capabilities and develop and implement a plan to put all computer data on a server. Other duties related to computer management including: assessing security risks and updating anti-virus software. Assist with the development of a database for tracking and analyzing program data. Assist with the launch of GCCH’s new website. Other tasks tbD. Journalism, Media & Public Relations Intern: intern currently studying or interested in: Journalism, public relations, social networking, advertising, marketing or related field. Intern will assist and report to the editor of Streetvibes. Key tasks: Main project: Work independently to upload articles and pictures from old Streetvibes editions to the Streetvibes online blog as well as GCCH’s website. Develop a viable newspaper recycling plan. build up readership and support of Streetvibes and GCCH’s via social networking sites. Assist with reporting, photojournalism, production, copy editing and advertising as needed. Other tasks TBD. �Resources St r ee t v ib e S 15 A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 Shelter: Women and Children Central Access Point Cincinnati Union Bethel St. Francis Soup Kitchen Churches Active in Northside 381-SAFe 768-6907 FreeStore/FoodBank 557-2873 Madisonville Ed & Assistance Center 300 Lytle Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Bethany House 4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223 241-1064 112 e. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214 Grace Place Catholic Worker House 681-2365 762-5660 271-5501 4600 erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227 Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209 St. Vincent de Paul 6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224 Salvation Army 535-2719 591-2246 562-8841 872-9259 381-2247 5 e. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 Health Resource Center Homeless Mobile Health Van McMicken Dental Clinic 357-4602 352-2902 352-6363 40 e. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mental Health Access Point Mercy Franciscan at St. John 558-8888 981-5800 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 NAMI of Hamilton County PATH Outreach 1125 bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214 131 e. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter Crossroad Health Center 458-6670 977-4489 Treatment: Men Other Resources Shelter: Men Charlie’s 3/4 House 784-1853 2121 vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 City Gospel Mission 241-5525 Prospect House 241-0490 381-4941 Starting Over 1419 elm Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205 Justice Watch St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House 961-4663 Treatment: Both 761-1480 1821 Summit road, Cinti, Ohio 45237 Drop Inn Center 721-0643 Interfaith Hospitality Network Lighthouse Youth Center (Youth) 471-1100 221-3350 3330 Jefferson, Cinti, Ohio 45220 Housing: CMHA Excel Development OTR Community Housing 721-4580 632-7149 381-1171 114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tender Mercies 721-8666 27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Tom Geiger House Dana Transitional Bridge Services Volunteers of America Anna Louise Inn 961-4555 751-0643 381-1954 421-5211 621-5300 961-1983 Otr: 1620 vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206 Our Daily Bread 351-0422 381-6672 830 ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214 621-6364 1730 race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 RIGHT To The City Continued from Pages 6 and 7 four biDs claiming harassment (Ailworth and Wan 2004). Similar complaints were levied at New York biDs, a decade earlier, in the 1990s (Lambert 1995). in April 1995, the New York times ran an article which included confessions of abusing homeless people by employees of the New York biD, the Grand Central Partnership (Lambert 1995). The article began: “bubba, big black, Kizer and red are the street names of four men who have said they served on squads that beat up the homeless. they said that in recent years, while working for the Grand Central Partnership, they and others threatened, bullied and attacked homeless people to force them from doorways, bank vestibules, plazas and sidewalks all over Manhattan. “We beat people at Sixth and Waverly,” said ernest Montgomery, a 6-foot 4-inch amateur boxer known as bubba. “We beat people at tudor City. We beat people at 51st and third. We beat people at 86th and third. We beat people at Herald Square and Gree- Goodwill industries Healing Connections Mary Magdalen House 771-4800 751-0600 721-4811 241-2965 People Working Cooperatively 351-7921 The Caring Place 631-1114 United Way 211 Women Helping Women 977-5541 Off The Streets 421-5211 1522 republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Hamilton County ADAS Board 946-4888 Recovery Health Access Center 281-7422 Sober Living 681-0324 Talbert House 641-4300 Advocacy Catholic Social Action Community Action Agency Contact Center 421-3131 569-1840 381-4242 1227 vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Food/Clothing Lord’s Pantry OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen & Pantry AA Hotline CCAT Joseph House (veterans) 217 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 381-0111 1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2728 Glendora Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45209 Caracole (Hiv/AiDS) 621-5514 1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206 961-4080 Peaslee Neighborhood Center Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart First Step Home Anthony House (Youth) 241-2600 241-2563 214 e. 14th St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 661-4620 Shelter: Both Center Independent Living Options Emmanuel Community Center 1308 race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202 961-2256 Treatment: Women 1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Mt. Airy Shelter 921-1613 St. Raephaels Salvation Army Serenity House Day Center Open Door Pantry 863-3184 863-1445 422-8555 868-3276 Northern Kentucky Brighton Center 859-491-8303 799 Ann St. Newport, KY Franciscan JPIC Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless 721-4700 421-7803 117 e. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202 Intercommunity Justice & Peace Cr. Legal Aid Society Ohio Justice & Policy Center Faces Without Places Stop AIDS 579-8547 241-9400 421-1108 363-3300 421-2437 Health Center for Respite Care Hamilton/Middletown ECHO/Hosea House 859-261-5857 Fairhaven Resuce Mission 859-491-1027 Homeward Bound Youth 859-581-1111 Mathews House 859-261-8009 Homeless & Housing Coalition 859-727-0926 Parish Kitchen 859-581-7745 Pike St. Clinic 859-291-9321 Transitions, Inc 859-491-4435 Welcome House of NKY 859-431-8717 205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011 621-1868 3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229 ley Square. We beat people at the roosevelt Hotel.” the men, former outreach workers in a program intended to help the homeless, said they carried out the attacks at the behest of an administrator of the Grand Central Partnership.” in general, there is minimal recognition by biDs that homeless people are part of the community and share a right to public space. to the contrary, homeless people are often viewed as part of the “community blight” and “broken windows” that must be removed by biDs in order to reduce crime. biD websites regularly list homelessness under the dropdown menu for “Safety.” in reality, however, homeless people are just as likely to be victims of crime, and private security has little effect on more serious crimes such as armed robbery (Scott 2003; Hoyt 2005). Moreover, although some homeless people are transient, most have been a part of their community for a long time (Scott 2003). the use of biD private security to remove homeless people from public space, however, is more than just about reducing crime. it is, more importantly, about increasing shopping. the presence of homeless people is seen by many business leaders as an important deterrent to shopping and tourism Women’s Crisis Center 859-491-3335 VA Domiciliary 859-559-5011 VA Homeless 859-572-6226 in downtown urban areas (Noy Forthcoming). the prime function of biDs is to encourage such activities. Thus, a fundamental conflict often exists between homeless people and biDs. However, as mentioned above, biDs vary greatly in terms of their formation and functions. it is theoretically possible to create a biD which does not displace homeless people, and even one that assists homeless people. Some biDs do indeed include social service programs for homeless people within their operations. Understanding the range of forms that biDs may possibly take is crucial for thinking strategically about how to address, reform, collaborate with, or oppose biDs as part of campaigns for the “right to the City.” This excerpt has been taken from pages 2 thru 14 of “Strategizing the Right to the City: Business Improvement Districts and Homeless People,” a working paper published by the Western Regional Advocacy Project. WRAP is an organizing body in the western United States fighting to end homelessness. Please check out their website for the rest of this report, other publications, art for organizing, etc. www.wraphome.org �Column 16 St r eet vibeS A P r i L 2 9 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 11 When the Greed for Oil Ignores Peak Oil Leigh Waltz’s recent art is public “emergency” art Cerebral and detached until then, Waltz’s art became more personal and “We can’t decide on our destination, we can only try engaged, reflecting his to decide on our journey,” says Leigh Waltz; and Waltz’s experiences, what he journey took him into many directions and to many parts had witnessed. After of the world. From a happy and art-filled childhood in returning from Iraq, Dayton, OH, he went as a high school exchange student he had a solo show, to Malaysia, lived in Europe studying languages and linguistics, enrolled in the Navy and served during Desert Taking Exception, at Storm, the Bosnian Theatre and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Dayton Convention Center, exposing raw studied movie and fine arts, taught photography, drawing his feelings, the brutal and sculpture. reality he had lived, his As a result, Waltz travelled to 34 countries and critical thoughts as a developed a universal sensibility and culture. He speaks result. It included large5 languages, holds a BA degree in cinema studies from scale white and black Columbia College, Hollywood, CA, an MFA degree in mixed media prints printmaking from the University of Cincinnati, and is with images of a cruise Adjunct Professor of art at Sinclair Community College, missile next to altered texts from the New Testament referring to war profiteers; Leigh Waltz in his studio in front of his 2 foam core carvings, Death and the Maiden pictures of Arab and Death and the Child. By Miki Waltz women with rocket propelled grenade launchers and dead civilians demands in oil would not be met after 2015. They had alluding to the destruction of life in a country; the predicted, as a result, catastrophic implications, unless attacked twin towers smoking with writing above Saad GhoSn the world transitioned from a highly industrial society to saying: “We believe everything”, thus reflecting Contributing Writer a sustainable one, from a society relying heavily on a on the 9/11 attacks as pretext for a greedy non fossil-fuel-based economy to one more organically and justifiable war; translated quotes from the Hadith more community-driven. Rob Hopkins had even started pointing to the highly moral and charitable teachings of Dayton, OH. He is a prolific artist who works across a Transition movement to get from a high to low energy Islam, in contrast to the prevailing preconceptions of a photography, video, printmaking, sculpture, performance consumption culture, favoring local organic gardening and violent and intolerant religion; images of sheep and knives community connectedness, thus adapting and surviving in and installation. Waltz’s awareness of violence, prejudice and intoler- - metaphors for the misinformed, naïve believers, blind the absence of oil. followers and media-victims most Americans had become. ance came first at age 11 when he saw a 200-year-old Convinced by the theory, Waltz started using his art “I was still coming back from Iraq,” says Waltz, “still copy of Dr. Southwell’s New Book of Martyrs; it contained to tackle the issue and educate others about peak oil. He living daily and at home my traumatized memories. I engravings depicting public executions and various acts received an individual artist grant to create an informationof torture. When he asked his father why people were kill- wanted my show to provide first-hand witnessed inforal booklet of wood engravings, poetry and writing, he titled mation, to compel viewers, make them think beyond ing other people, he was told because they had different Dans Macabre, implying that by doing nothing we’re dancreligions. This was complemented later by his awakening the routine brainwashing. I hoped it would also serve ing with death. He disseminated the book widely, posted as a step across cultural barriers, beyond prejudice and to the “haves and have-nots” in America and other counit on the Internet, raising awareness about its content. He preconceived ideas.” accompanied it by 2 large carvings, Death and the Maiden At the same and Death and the Child, depicting Death as a skeleton, time Waltz discov- taking by the arm a young girl using her cell phone, and ered the power of inviting a child to dance, each saying that, unless prelive performance pared, once fuel scarcity strikes, death will also come. art, when the artist To expand his target audience, Waltz worked recently could say, in front on Let’s Talk about Peak Oil, a combination of visual art of an audience, display, street art and performances. He designed a die things not said with the image of a skeleton pumping oil at a gas station; otherwise in news- he intends to use it to stamp aluminum sheets recovered papers, on radio or from discarded cans. Next to the stamped image of the TV. He organized skeleton, he would type aphorisms and quotes relating yearly in Dayton to peak oil, collected from www.theoilage.com. One for such festivals, instance would mention the second law of thermodynamopen to artists ics, which states that energy dissipates unless constantly from all over the replenished; another would list states and cities with peak world, and used oil legislation; etc. Waltz plans on nailing these aluminum the venue to conart pieces on telephone poles, street display boards, and tinue expressing to accompany them with street performances. his own concerns. “I want to get the word out so people would confront This allowed him the reality and take action,” he says. “I view it as necesto also apply for sary ‘emergency art’, trying to avert catastrophe.” grants, get funded, and video-docuWaltz’s interest in peak oil is directly connected to ment the events. his other concerns, in particular the “greed, lies, injustice, “I was lucky to poverty, pollution…” he sees everywhere. His deployment meet Mark Siemer in Iraq woke him up to the important role oil plays in our Let’s Talk about Peak Oil, stamped image and text on recycled aluminum. By Leigh Waltz, who worked on world; also to how truths are often silenced in our domiour video,” says Miki Waltz. nant media-controlled culture. His art has since become Waltz. “Mark was his voice and presence in a society where public distries he visited; and most recently, after his deployment in working at the same time on another documentary, The course and public forums are increasingly unavailable. Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil. the Iraq war, by discovering its real oil-based motives. I had never heard of peak oil before and thus became “Talking to army personnel in Northern Iraq, I found educated on the topic. I quickly realized it was essential out that their main responsibility on arrival was to sefor our survival.” cure the oil fields,” he says. “My unit in Qayyarah was In fact, scientists had observed for a while that close also helping build the largest fuel depot in the country. I to 50% of the planetary oil resources had already been learned quickly that our so-called liberation war was in used and that, due to the diminishing reserve, world fact all about oil, money and control.” Artists as Activists is a regular column highlighting Greater Cincinnati artists who use art as a vehicle for change. Saad Ghosn is the founder of SOS Art. Ghosn can be reached at saad.ghosn@uc.edu. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 2011 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Newspaper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource April 29-May 12, 2011 Subject The topic of the resource Homelessness Description An account of the resource Pg 1: Transformation Pg 2: In My Shoes Pg 3: Light in Our Heads Pg 4: Street Life Springtime Congressional Meeting Pg 5: Suggested as a Program of Recovery Pg 6: Right to the City Pg 7: Right to the City Continued Pg 8: One Tree Hill Star Sophia Bush Talks About Women’s Rights and the Environment Pg 9: Sophia Bush Continued Pg 10: Arts & Poetry Pg 11: Questions Matter Pg 12: Momentum Grows in Call for Hemp to be Legalized in South Africa Pg 13: New Lands Pg 14: Summer Internship Program Pg 15: Housing Choice Voucher Pg 16: When the Greed for Oil Ignores Peak Oil Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Streetvibes Archive Project Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Streetvibes Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 29-May 12, 2011 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Jen Martin Sarah Hager Josh Spring Jeni Jenkins Laura Osborn-Coffey Riccardo Taylor Elisa Hill Willa Denise Jones Jim Luken Saad Ghosn The big issue South Africa Staff Buddy Gray Western regional Advocacy Project Michael Henson Natalie Otrembiak Ashley Kincaid Kat Roosen Molly Brazier Ellen Crawford Aimie Willhoite Rueters Pippa Ehrlich Keith Bedford Phil McCarten Leigh Waltz Miki Waltz Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Aimie Willhoite Ashley Kincaid buddy gray civil rights Elisa Hill Ellen Crawford Hemp Internships Jen Martin Jeni Jenkins Jim Luken Josh Spring Kat Roosen Keith Bedford Kentucky Laura Osborn-Coffey Leigh Waltz Michael Henson Miki Waltz Molly Brazier Natalie Otrembiak Oil Phil McCarten Pippa Ehrlich recovery Riccardo Taylor Rueters Saad Ghosn Sarah Hager Sophia Bush South Africa Street Life The big issue South Africa Staff Western regional Advocacy Project Willa Denise Jones Women’s Rights