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                    <text>December 2nd - December 15th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 25 (No. 344)

advocating justice | Building community

Reflections on 2016:
Educational Program | 5

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Grid Vulnerabilities| 4

Darryl Owens Continues
to Push Through With His
Writing | 10

Old History Is Going
Out -- Or Is It? | 7

Still giving Denver's
Homeless a Voice | 9

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

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LOCAL
From the Director:
Ending Homelessness is Integral to the
Inherent Mattering of Black Lives

S

ometimes people ask us
why we are a part of the
Countdown to Conviction
[of Ray Tensing] Coalition
or why we are partnered with Black
Lives Matter Cincinnati.
Black People account for about
45% of the city of Cincinnati, however
in the last 20 years 83% of people shot
(dead or alive) by Cincinnati police
were Black. In the last six years 79%
of complaints against police officers
(examples include: discharging
or pointing a gun, discourtesy,
discrimination, improper entry)
investigated by the Citizen Complaint
Authority were made by Black
People. Similarly, Black People make
up approximately 25% of Hamilton
County, yet Black People make up
more than 65% of the shelter system. 
If we accurately knew the numbers of
individuals and families with children
bouncing from couch to unsafe couch,
this percentage would be significantly
higher.  Black People bear the
vast majority of the burden of the
systematic problem of homelessness. 
Every weekday the waiting room at
Hamilton County Jobs and Family
Services is filled with people trying
to re-establish their food stamps or
obtain temporary welfare assistance
so that the remainder of their income
might cover housing. Most of the
people in this daily sit-in are Black. In
nearly every building where we work
with people to organize themselves to
save their homes, almost everyone is
Black.  Most everyone that has been
displaced from their homes because

P

Streetvibes is an activist newspaper,
advocating justice and building
community. Streetvibes reports on

JOSH SPRING

Executive Director
of gentrification and “redevelopment”
is Black.  The Hamilton County
Eviction courtroom is filled daily
with Black People. One of the ways
systematically that Black Lives are
treated as if they don’t matter is
homelessness. 
At the Countdown to Conviction
rallies, vigils and teach-ins we are
talking about the overcrowding at
shelters, the high numbers of people
sleeping outside and the need for
affordable housing- both to keep what
we have and create new units. We
are talking about the planned
displacement of people and the many
people experiencing homelessness
who go uncounted by federal systems.
The systematic reasons that lead to a
disproportionate number of Black
People losing their lives to police are
the same systematic reasons that
thrust a disproportionate number of
Black People into homelessness.
This has been a wonderfully
organized, committed group of people
with which we are joined.  At rallies,
marches, vigils, film showings and
teach-ins this collective is discussing
and educating about the systematic
disproportionate
marginalization
of Black people including police
violence, disproportionate prison
sentences, poverty, gentrification,
displacement,
housing
and
homelessness.  This has been a
collective of reciprocity.  Participants
have also come to meetings to

economic issues, civil rights, the

join in our efforts to promote the environment, the peace movement,
development of affordable housing spirituality and the struggle
both in the private sector and through against homelessness and poverty.
city
government
departments. 
Distributed by individuals experiencing
People experiencing homelessness homelessness or on the edge of
have chosen to be involved repeatedly
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
in the activities of this group.
Donation. Streetvibes is published

This group also includes:
• Black Lives Matter Cincinnati
• Peaslee Neighborhood Center
• Interfaith Workers Center
• AMOS
• Black Church United
• American Indian Movement
• UC Students for Sam DuBose
• Over-the-Rhine Community Church

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer
in Ohio. For Presidential elections
in modern times, he noted, "Ohio
has been a bellwether state that the
winners carry."
One key factor in Trump's victory
was his appeal to white male voters.
Nationally, Trump carried male
voters by 12-percent, while in Ohio
the number was 23-percent. He
handily won in depleted industrial
areas such as Youngstown, and piled
up a large majority in Southeast,
Ohio. It appears that the Presidentelect received the support of a high

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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com

While we have not had the time to
be involved in every activity, over the EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
last month this group has hosted the
Editor: Justin Jeffre
following types of events:
• spoken word gathering
• educational teach-ins
• film showings
• vigil and rebuilding of a memorial
for Sam DuBose
• protest marshal training
• rallies
• book reading groups
• marches
• petition collection
If you or your group would like
to be involved in the Countdown to
Conviction Coalition, or if you have
any questions or input please send
me a message.

WHAT HAPPENED ON NOVEMBER 8TH? WVXU
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR HOWARD WILKINSON
OFFERS HIS INSIGHTS ABOUT THE ELECTION

undits will be writing about
the factors determining the
fall election for months to
come. At the November
17th Community Issues Forum,
Political Commentator Howard
Wilkinson of WVXU offered some
initial insights about what happened
nationally, locally and in Ohio. With
many attendees still in shock or in
mourning, the Forum was as much a
therapy session as it was a provider of
political analysis.
"Why did Trump win?" asked
Wilkinson. He then cited several
reasons that were especially in play

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

percentage of Labor Union members,
as his message about restoring
industrial jobs resonated with this
group of voters. Wilkinson said that
he could sense a lack of enthusiasm
for Clinton at the annual Labor Day
picnic at Coney Island.
Wilkinson contends that Hillary
Clinton did not come through as a
champion of the working people who
had watched their standard of living
decline. She did not spend enough
time campaigning in industrial and
rural areas in decline, and she did not
craft an effective message that spoke
to the concerns of this constituency.
(Continued on page 3)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Jim
Luken, Michael Earl Patton, Steve
Sunderland, Dr. Mark Mussman,
Jason Haap, Martha Stephens,
Malia Pitts, Marvin Lowery, Kim
Green, Jim Northrup, Willa Denise
Jones
Photography/Artwork:
Dr. Mark Mussman, Martha
Stephens, Malia Pitts, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

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LOCAL
Remembering to Resist

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

End of the year dedication

JIM LUKEN

Contributing Writer

T

his is an essay (and a
call to action) regarding
Armistice Day, now called
“Veterans Day” in the
US, but traditionally known as
“Remembrance Day” in the rest of
the world.
DEMOCRACY
It's coming to America first
The cradle of the best and of the worst
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way
Democracy is coming...to the USA

from the song by Leonard Cohen,
who died November 7
If you are reading this,
Remembrance Day is long past.
But I am writing these words on
November 11th. In a few minutes, the
clock hands will point themselves to
11 AM...on the 11th Day of the 11th
month, the moment that (so we are
told) the truce was signed, formally
ending the hostilities of WWI (1918).
That First World War was
supposed to have brought about an
“end to all wars.” Europeans who
survived the bloodbath felt, in their
deepest souls, that the whole thing
had been too insane and too horrific.
Human beings would never permit
something so obscene to happen
again. Obviously they were wrong.
Nearly 100 years have now passed
since that first 11.11.11 moment. Along
with millions of war-hating people
all over the world, I will observe two

BILL WOODS
(Continued from page 2)
On the other hand, Trump had a
simple slogan for these angry voters.
Wilkinson pointed out another
group that went more heavily for
Trump in Ohio than nationally.
Among white women with a college
education, their percentage for him
nationally was 51 to 45. In Ohio,
however, this number was 55 to
41percent.
One factor that should be figured
into an analysis of this election,
according to Wilkinson, is the drop
in the number of voters. After coming

minutes for silent reflection at that
exact time.
This is the 4th year that I have
written something for Streetvibes
to commemorate this day and that
somber, century-old moment. As
one who has been up close and
personal with war, doing freelance
journalism in various war zones on
nine different occasions, I will tell
you readers once again that I hate
war more than anything. Nothing
(I promise you) equals the horrors
endured by ordinary people who find
themselves trapped in a place where
war is happening all around them.
Natural
disasters—tornadoes,
earthquakes, floods—bring death
and destruction and great misery of
course, but such devastations come
to a natural conclusion, and they do
so in a fairly short time span. But
war plows on and on and on, leaving
more and more devastation, and
ever-growing lists of dead and injured
men, women, and children. Living in
a war zone sews an ongoing fear into
peoples' hearts. At any moment, a
bomb might devastate your house.
At any moment, a sniper might snuff
out the life from your child.
Unfortunately, most Americans
have never had to deal with war
on a personal level. I use the word
“unfortunately” on purpose. If we
had endured war close to home—as
many in the world have been forced
to do—I believe the American people
would prevent our going off to bogus
wars as we did in Korea, Vietnam and
Iraq, to name just three.
A different kind of
Remembrance

For me, this Remembrance Day
feels especially poignant, mostly
because of the bizarre election
that happened just two days ago.
November 9, 2016. We Americans
may have trouble forgetting that
date. It could become another kind of
Remembrance Day, one signaling not
an ending, but a scary new chapter in
our nation's history,
Under a President Trump, who
has already promised to be vicious
in dealing with our enemies, the
possibility of a war, even a major
one, seems not only possible, but
probable. The sobering reality is that
our country has elected a man who
has proven himself to be prejudiced
against so many, a hater and a
demagogue, a bully with a short
attention span and a nasty temper. He
has already suggested his willingness
to use nuclear weapons, to press the
infamous red button. When he was
a relatively harmless self-promoter
on TV, his favorite expression was a
smug, “You're fired.”
Now, those of us (like you,
Reader) who believe in a modicum
of kindness and compassion, will be
dealing with a dictatorial personality,
our worst political nightmare, on
a daily basis. Only about 25 % of
America's eligible voters participated
in the election. At this point we have
learned that Hillary Clinton actually
won the election by more than 2
million votes. But there it is, the
orange tycoon with those little hands,
will soon to lead us into our political,
social, economic future. Anything is
possible. It may not be as bad as we
fear. Or it could be worse.

out in massive numbers for Obama,
the African-American vote declined
by 5-percent this fall. Negative
advertising also discouraged people
from voting, and potential voters
were faced with choosing between
two of the most unpopular candidates
of modern times. "People voted out of
anger," declared Wilkinson, "and he
predicts there will be a lot of voter
remorse in the coming months.
Switching gears, Wilkinson
discussed how Hamilton County
is becoming Democratic. The
elections of Denise Driehaus, Aftab
Pureval, and Marilyn Zayas-Davis
provide evidence for his contention.

Cincinnati, he concluded, is now
such a Democratic stronghold, that
the Republican Party will be hard
pressed to come up with candidates
for City Council and for Mayor.
Two subjects that emerged
from questions and comments from
Forum attendees focused on the
inaccuracy of the polls and the huge
role of social media in the election.
Polling, admitted Wilkinson, now
misses huge blocks of voters. The fact
that so many households no longer
have traditional telephones is a trend
that pollsters have not yet come to
grips with.
The disturbing trend that so

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

Before
the
inauguration
happens, we will move through
two other memorable holidays that
could bring many of us a renewed
sense of hope and resolve. In midDecember,
Muslim's
celebrate
Malwid, commemorating the birth
of their esteemed prophet Mohamed,
just as Christians celebrate the Birth
of Jesus. Jews mark Hanukkah, the
eight-day feast of lights.
In a sense, all three of these
important holidays are intended to
make observant Muslims, Christians,
and Jews, more reflective and open
to peace, light and harmony. Maybe
each of you, Readers, could use the
holiday to look back on your own past
and upon the history of our nation.
What have we—each of us—done (or
failed to do) in terms of making our
home, our city, our country and our
world a better, less hateful, place.
Think hard. Remember.
Not long after these holidays,
most of the world observes some
form of New Year’s celebration, most
on January 1. On that day we can/
should set our sights on the future.
Resolve to do specific things. In light
of the horrible reality that came with
the election of Donald Trump, each
of us might focus our energies on
limiting the damaging things he will
most certainly try to foist upon us.
The lives of the poorest, including
the homeless, will probably get
worse. You, Reader, might find ways
to mitigate their pain.
President Trump will be trying
to push through programs and
initiatives that you may despise.
Things that are detrimental to the
environment, to women's rights, or to
basic human rights. He will certainly
(Continued on page 10)
many people get their information
through social media was discussed.
Instead of voters making up their
minds utilizing essentially the same
set of facts, many people are reading
or hearing false information and
fabricated stories on the Internet.
Since democracy depends on
compromise and coming together
on essential policies and programs,
a situation where large numbers of
Americans are making decisions
based on completely different
realities bodes ill for the future.
------------------------

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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LOCAL
Grid Vulnerabilities
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

Contributing Writer

O

ver the past few years
several events have shown
that our electrical grid is
vulnerable and portions
of it have gone down, sometimes
for extended periods. In my recent
article “Prepping” I noted that I
had lost electricity at my home in
Cincinnati for 3 days and then for 4
days due to weather. By keeping track
of different events in the news I put
together the following list of possible
causes for widespread outages in the
Cincinnati area.
1. Weather,
2. Human error,
3. Massive solar flare with corona
mass ejection,
4. Physical attack,
5. Electromagnetic pulse,
6. Fuel shortages, and
7. Hacking
This is not a comprehensive
list. It concentrates on events that
could damage or destroy the grid
but leaves most other infrastructure
intact. It does not include such
things as earthquakes and tidal
waves, such as those which destroyed
the Fukushima nuclear reactors in
Japan. Nuclear plants bring their
own problems to the above list, but
there are none near Cincinnati. Not
all of the above possibilities have
been widely reported, and I have not
seen an article with descriptions of
multiple causes such as I am doing
here. My intent in doing so is to raise
awareness of the vulnerability of the
electrical grid. Everyone should be
prepared for losing power for at least
a few days. I’ll have a little more to

say about this at the end.
1. Weather: In 1989 I lost
power for 3 days due to an October
snowstorm which came while
the trees still had leaves on their
branches. The branches snapped and
took down power lines as they fell.
In 2008 the remnants of Hurricane
Ike blew through and the high winds
took down or shorted out power lines.
These outages happened to me, here
inside the city limits of Cincinnati,
not out in the country someplace.
In January 2009 an ice storm took
out power to over 2 million people
in Kentucky and other states. Many
people had to leave their homes until
power was restored because they
had no means of heating them. Per
the Wikipedia, 65 people were killed,
most of them due to carbon monoxide
poisoning because they used power
generators indoors or the improper
use of kerosene heaters.
2. Human Error: On a hot August
day in 2003, several human errors,
a software bug (which is a type of
human error), and a high voltage
line contacting an over-grown tree
caused a widespread blackout from
Cleveland to New York City and
Toronto. Cincinnati was not affected.
A total of 508 generating plants at 265
different power stations shut down.
Power remained off for several hours
to a day, depending upon the locality.
3. Solar Flare with Coronal
Mass Ejection: Sometimes during
a solar flare part of the sun’s corona
is flung outwards and escapes the
sun’s gravity. Most of the time this
ionized gas misses the planets, but
every now and then a large coronal
mass ejection gets close enough to

strike Earth’s magnetic field. When
it does, the field moves. A moving
magnetic field induces current in
conductors and even the ground
itself. The movement of the field is
slow enough that significant current
can only build up over conductors
that are miles or even hundreds of
miles long. As it happens, electrical
transmission lines are often that long.
Damage so far has been extremely
rare, but so far nothing has been as
large as the one that struck Earth’s
magnetic field in 1859. There was
no electrical grid then but there was
a fledgling telegraph network. There
were reports that sparks flew from
the equipment and some operators
found that they could transmit and
receive messages just by using the
current induced in the telegraph
wires. A very much smaller storm
in 1989 tripped grid circuit breakers
in Quebec and caused a power
blackout that lasted several hours.
A major transformer in New Jersey
suffered severe damage and had to
be replaced. Such transformers are
not “off-the-shelf” items and can take
a year to obtain, but in this case a
replacement one was available from a
cancelled nuclear plant project. If an
event similar in size to the one in 1859
were to happen today, widespread
damage to the grid is expected that
could take weeks or months to repair.
In October President Obama issued
an executive order which “defines
agency roles and responsibilities
and directs agencies to take specific
actions to prepare the Nation for the
hazardous effects of space weather.”
4. Physical attack: A direct
physical attack is also possible and

Planting Seeds of Fire: The Foundation of
New Cancer Care For Minorities

"I

was learning a lesson
in cancer care. It is
important
to
have
someone you trust to
help manage the case." Tom Brokaw
(2015). A lucky life interrupted.
Random House.
1. Introduction: New steps toward
improving cancer care for minorities
are underway in Cincinnati. A network
of organizations are providing the
foundation blocks for compassionate
care. They are planting seeds that
are exploding in new hopes. People
scared of seeing a doctor or going
to a hospital to learn about cancer
are now changing their minds and
taking action. New settings, new
relationships, and new opportunities
for a personal health care discussions
have begun. A bright light has been

STEVE SUNDERLAND

Contributing Writer

turned on. This article will explore
the key actions and their implications
for changing cancer care.
2. The Big Change Is
Compassionate
Care
Through
Navigation: In the past four weeks,
over 500 low income people have
received a form of cancer education
that has emphasized the ways in
which cancer can work and the
necessity for early screenings to
stop death. The educational process
has been at dinner discussions in
churches and community centers.
Navigators, trained staff of the
Cancer Justice Network, working
with our medical director, Nemat
Moussavian, MD, have provided
a personal, thoughtful, and action
oriented message at dinners. People,
many for the first time in their adult

lives, have had the opportunity of
talking face to face with people who
are caring about their health and
survival. Their response has been
to sign up for exams at Crossroad
Health Center and to be accompanied
to their screenings, if they want, by
navigators. Previous barriers of denial
about cancer's power, or, decisions to
postpone seeking healthcare due to
expense or poor treatment have been
altered, and, clarity about survival
through taking action has been
initiated. People now realize that they
need not be alone to face daunting
obstacles to getting cancer care.
3. Why Navigation Works:
Navigation has been effective because
people have believed navigators can
connect to the health systems in new
and more effective ways. The first
key of the navigator is to provide

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

has happened at least once. On
April 16, 2013 gunmen attacked and
knocked out the Metcalf electrical
substation near San Jose, California.
This happened in the early morning
hours, and in the spring when electric
demand was low, so there was no
failure of the larger grid. It cost about
$15 million and took 27 days to repair
the substation. Although Pacific
Gas &amp; Electric has offered a large
reward, so far there have been no
suspects identified. The attack was
the second of three attacks in a 3-day
period. The first, on April 15th, was
the Boston Marathon Bombing and
has been extensively covered in the
media. This, the second attack, has
received very little coverage except in
The Wall Street Journal. The third
was the sabotage of the fertilizer plant
in West Texas. The plant exploded,
killing 15 people. Note that the
attacks were across the United States
with at least several people involved,
and that whoever directed them has/
have not been caught. It is likely that
the group responsible for the attack
on the substation is still intact and
capable of carrying out another one.
5. Electromagnetic pulse: In
1962 the United States conducted the
Starfish Prime atomic bomb test 250
miles above the Earth. The bomb’s
electromagnetic pulse knocked out
about 300 streetlights in Honolulu,
which was 900 miles away. This
was an accident, but further testing
showed that it would be possible to
make the pulse itself a weapon that
could damage or destroy the electrical
grid and many electronic devices. I
think this is far-fetched and the least
likely scenario listed, but sometimes
one hears warnings that North Korea
may be developing such a weapon.
6. Fuel shortage: During a cold
snap in February 2011, there was
not enough natural gas to both
(Continued on page 11)
education about cancer at the person's
level of interest and motivation.
Sitting down over dinner at a church
or community center and discussing
the steps to finding out about cancer
is an experience most people have
never had. Cancer education has
rarely been focused or presented in
a way that personal questions and
fears can be immediately addressed.
Looking in the eyes of the navigator,
hearing their concerns for the
person's health, and realizing that
the navigator will continue with the
person, lights a new belief in health
care. The conversation is only about
caring for the individual's survival.
The message the navigator is sending
and that is accepted is: "You are
too important to let cancer kill you.
Take action. I am here for you, if
you want help." Rarely in the history
of health care has the poor heard
such a message. Sadly, a powerful
silence about cancer has been
noticed by minorities and the poor,
a "death silence" that is frequently
the only message sent by the health
(Continued on page 12)

�5

LOCAL
Reflections on 2016: Educational
Program

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

6 schools participate this year in
our Cincinnati Urban Experience
program, from Vermont, New
Hampshire, Chicago, Colorado,
Miami University, and Xavier
University. We received high
marks on the national Break Away

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer

T

his is the time of the year
when people typically reflect
on the last 12 months and
see what was positive and
what was negative. 2016 may go
down in the books as one of the worst
or best years, but having some time
to pause and think about the things
we are thankful for is an American
tradition that families celebrate
during Thanksgiving. This year,
thousands of people were served
Thanksgiving dinner at the Duke
Energy Convention Center, marking
a significant number of people who
may have dined alone, or those who
may not even have a dinner table.

Some of the highlights of 2016
have been through our education
program at the Homeless Coalition.
We have spoken to thousands of
high school and college students,
hundreds of people at churches, and
we have reached many more through
our social media and attendance at
events. I will look fondly back at this
year’s Speaker’s Bureau engagements,
as I have heard Sam, Melissa, Willa,
Cleo, Lauren, Nyah, and Gina tell
their stories to captivated audiences
of all ages. Since everyone who has
experienced homelessness has a
different perspective, I am always
amazed at the new things I learn each

An Alternative Break Group Learns about Anti-German Hysteria at Findlay Market
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

This time of year, organizations
across the city get together to show
their kindness and dedication. I
am thankful for the work of the
Homeless Coalition this year, and I
look forward to our Annual Dinner
on December 7th to celebrate and
give out meaningful rewards to
people in our community that have
been engaged in purposeful work
across the region.

time I hear one of the speakers tell
their story.
Through the Speaker’s Bureau
and other events, I learn new things,
not only about their personal lives,
but also about the educational
system, the judicial system, and ways
in which the system in general puts
up barriers for people’s success. In
fact, I learned this year that there
are over 800 laws in Ohio restricting

A High School Group after the People's Movement Social Justice Walking Tour
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

people who have felony records from
gaining work. This information came
out of the event that the Homeless
Coalition sponsored with Community
Shares and other organizations called
“The Poverty Un-Summit: There
is Enough” where David Singleton
from the Ohio Justice and Policy
Center discussed the ways in which
people with records are treated once
they return to the general population.
Also at the Un-Summit, I learned that
the State of Ohio still has not fixed the
illegal way we fund our public schools,
and that there are no charter schools
with an “A” or “B” rating in Ohio, yet
we spend more per student at charter
schools than neighborhood schools.
The Un-Summit was just one event
that opened my eyes to new things.
We have one of the best
Alternative Break programs in the
entire country at the Homeless
Coalition. This is in no small part
due to the fact that the Coalition
has so many community supporters
that help educate participants
on topics such as redlining, wage
theft, displacement, gentrification,
historical perspectives, community
struggles, and poverty. We had

We should engage in conversations
with people we disagree with

O

xford Dictionaries has
named "post-truth" as
the word of the year.
Living in a "post-truth"
world means that facts get trumped
by personal beliefs and emotional
responses. Unfortunately, there is
nothing new about this phenomenon
- even if the trending use of the
phrase is new.
If
you
are
an
ardent
#BlackLivesMatter supporter, and
I start talking about the importance
of respecting police officers, there
is a high likelihood you will reach

JASON HAAP

Contributing Writer
a premature conclusion about my
point, characterizing your fabricated
red-herring as an example of racism.
(Perhaps my use of the word
"you" in the previous sentence
strikes you as aggressive, or even a
bit personal. If so, that's an example
of your beliefs and emotions getting
in the way of the facts!)
It is totally possible, of course, to
believe in respecting police officers
without being racist. Similarly, if you
are an #AllLivesMatter supporter,
and I start talking about police

brutality, you might very well be
incapable of hearing my point behind
your frenzied emotional responses.
All of this is further aggravated
by the fact that most of us think
our personal beliefs are "correct,"
whereas we think other people are
"wrong." No one, to my knowledge,
is capable of sincerely believing
something known to be factually
incorrect. I can't even imagine the
possibility. As a case in point, I
feel rather confident that all of my
personal beliefs are factually correct,
though I can't ever seem to find

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

clearinghouse, as well as, high praise
at a national conference on service
learning. We have already booked a
group in early January from Dayton,
and the University of Vermont in
March. These programs are intensive,
immersive, and give participants
a real-life view of life in Over-theRhine, complete with struggle and
cooperation, scarcity and generosity.
Students come away with a toolkit to
bring back to their communities and
work on social justice issues at home.
Our Over-the-Rhine People’s
Movement Social Justice Walking
Tours were again a big hit this year,
with tours given each month. I
expanded the tour into new territories
(Northern Liberties, as well as
Ziegler Park, which is currently
undergoing a Washington Park-like
transformation.) A full tour would
take about 3 hours, but we are able to
give a great tour in about an hour. We
have given the tours to people of all
ages, from many different groups and
backgrounds. As history is currently
being rewritten in the neighborhood,
it’s important to keep our eye on the
(Continued on page 7)
people who agree with me about
everything!
I don't know how to fix this
problem. Sometimes, I think it
important that we earnestly engage
with people who are different.
Increasingly, though, our culture
has become more ideologically
self-segregated. And, despite what
I just wrote, I don't really want to
engage with people who are clearly
disgusting and wrong - such as, say,
racist neo-Nazis. But maybe I'm
wrong. Maybe even the racist neoNazi ended up that way, at least in
part, because he or she never had
earnest interactions with people
maintaining different beliefs.
------------------------

�6

LOCAL

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

�LOCAL
Old History Is Going Out -- or Is It?
On the Tragi-Comedies of
U. S. Inaugurations

7

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

F

riends, we’ll soon be
inaugurating
a
new
president, and the piece
below describes one person’s
thoughts about the first inauguration
of Obama. Even this one was not all
that pretty, so just imagine how we
will feel on January 20, 2017!
I’M AT PLAZA SUITES for a
winter stay, my friends, and I’m
watching on T. V. a popular tragicomedy of the day -- the U. S.
inauguration of 2009.
It’s worth turning on the big eye
to see, on the inaugural platform, Mr.
Cheney rolled about in a wheelchair.

MARTHA STEPHENS

Contributing Writer

out of his office the other day and
hurt his back. This is a man whose
personal papers have brought pain
to many citizens of the world, pain a
good deal worse than a strained back
-- the ultimate pain, in fact, for many,
of disappearance from the earth. I
assume the grandmas of Baghdad
who happen to be still alive would be
gratified today if they could see Mr.
Cheney departing in a wheelchair.
HISTORY will change now, the T.
V. tells us in awed tones. Obama will

change us. But I expect the fat and
satisfied celebrities of governments,
old and new, whom we see flocking
now onto the distinguished platforms
of the swearing-in, do not wish

old history that has rendered them so
fat and satisfied, with rolls of money
in the bank and fancy homes in no
grave danger of foreclosure. Why
would they want to see it change, this
old history of ours?
I watch what I watch standing up
before the T. V., to focus my eyes the
better, and I look beyond it from time
to time through my floor-to-ceiling
window into the courtyard of my
motel. I see Tim, the gardener and
man of all work, toiling up the outer
stairs across the way to the third floor.
Perhaps a toilet has flooded up there
or a blind come down or a fire alarm
gone off. Tim is not watching the new
history coming in on the television

peaceful transition, as if every other
country of the world but us is ruled by
coups and assassinations. I recall a
statement by my socialist friend Tony
Benn of England: if elections meant
anything, we wouldn’t be allowed to
have them.
Two of the performers today
are worth watching, I find -- Aretha
Franklin, with a raving, nearly
mad concoction of “My Country
Tis of Thee,” and an old guy from
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, a Reverend Lowry,
who speaks an old man’s scratchy,
unreconstructed truth, asks almighty

our Streetvibes Shadow activity.
Students learn about Cincinnati’s
Anti-Solicitation Laws from a current
Streetvibes Distributor, usually
Lee, and they hear a little bit about
his background. Once they have
practiced their pitch, they hit the
streets and try to distribute the paper,
for a $2 donation. This activity really
opens students up to a new level of

understanding – not only about the
difficulty in distributing the paper,
but also how important it is to treat
people with respect and compassion.
I highly suggest this for any group of
teens or young adults.
The Homeless Coalition should
be very proud of the organizing
work we’ve accomplished this year
– from keeping hundreds of families

in their home, seeing better living
conditions, to fighting unjust laws,
and demanding accountability in
our city leadership – the Coalition
has had a year full of advocacy and
education like no other, and I am
certainly very proud to be a part of it!

Credit:Martha Stephens

A crude thought, I suppose, but
somehow the image of this is
fetching. We’re told that Dick Cheney
is in a wheeled chair because he was
moving boxes of his personal papers

DR. MARK MUSSMAN
(Continued from page 5)
People’s History and how we have
been able to create and secure
affordable housing to strengthen our
community.
We have also helped students
expand their ability to empathize
with people who panhandle through

history to change. The old history is
plenty good enough for them. It’s the

but simply trying to earn his $7.25
an hour -- no benefits.
There’s no mention in the
services today of the grandmas of
Baghdad. They would not make a
pretty subject, after all, for our selfsatisfied rites of passage. Diane
Feinstein is our host, and she says we
should be as proud as punch of our

(Continued on page 10)

------------------------

Alternative Break Students help double bag for donations

A Speaking event with Sam Jackson

Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�e
8

NATIONAL
City of New York sued by Philadelphia’s Homeless
Advocacy Project over denial of homeless rights

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

ALEXIS WRIGHT-WHITLE

T

he Homeless Advocacy
Project (HAP), a nonprofit
legal services organization
in Philadelphia, has sued
New York City (NYC) for their
refusal to issue birth certificates to
NYC-born residents of Philadelphia.
HAP
deemed
NYC's
action
unconstitutional.
Photo IDs needed to thrive
Helping homeless clients obtain
their birth certificates so they can
then obtain a photo ID is just one of
the 50 different kinds of civil legal
cases HAP handles.
"A photo ID is state issued and
necessary for so many varying things,
such as getting into a building,
applying for services, or getting
housing," says Marsha Cohen, HAP's
Executive Director.
In order to obtain an ID, a birth
certificate must be present. Yet,
without an ID, a copy of a birth
certificate cannot be obtained. This
is the catch-22 that many people
affected by homelessness find
themselves in.
Because people often do not
possess documents that are used
to prove their name and address,
they are left without either form of
identification, which hinders them
from qualifying for jobs or other
avenues of assistance.
Through the Attorney Protocol,
HAP
makes
arrangements
for Philadelphians affected by
homelessness to receive copies of
their birth certificate at no cost. The
system allows a person experiencing
homelessness to give volunteer
attorneys the authorisation to apply
and receive copies of a birth certificate
on the client's behalf.
The process requires attorneys
to gather all necessary biographical
information for their client, complete
the application forms and pay the
fees. They also must supply their own
photos IDS and law licenses.
Attorney Protocol is acceptable
in every birth-issuing authority with
New York City the only exception.
It even differs from New York State,
which like all other U.S. recognised
and accepts Attorney Protocol.
Policy at play and in the way
New York City policy is what
nullifies Attorney Protocol in the Big
Apple; it requires the application
to include a current, governmentissued photo ID or two proofs of
ID for the client. This has proven to
be an obstacle for Philadelphians
affected by homeless who were born
in New York City; they have no proof
of address and rely on Attorney
Protocol because they do not have a
government issued ID.
Cohen and HAP have seen this
serve as an obstacle firsthand for
many of their clients.

COURTESY OF ONE STEP AWAY/INSP.NGO
"We have a number of clients who
can't get into treatment for drug and
alcohol issues in Philadelphia without
a photo ID that shows they have a
[city] address," Cohen says. "We
have a number of clients who have
been waiting on the PHA vouchers
for months because they're missing
birth certificates for members of their
family who were born in New York
City, including one veteran family."
The NYC Commissioner and
NYC Department of Health and
Hygiene are delegated to regulate
the issuances of birth certificates
and their copies to individuals born
in the city's five boroughs because of
an Administrative Code in the city's
Health Code.
The Code states that copies of
birth certificates can only be issued
if the seeker has any of the following:
a driver's license, public benefit card,
passport, certificate of naturalisation,
military ID card, employee photo
ID, MTA reduced fare Metro Card,
student ID, or inmate photo ID.
If the attorney cannot include
any of those forms of ID with the
application, under the Health Code,
two proofs of address in the form
of utility bills and a letter from a
government agency can be submitted

in lieu of ID.
In response to several failed
attempts to claim birth certificates for
NYC-born clients in conjunction with
threats of suits, HAP decided its only
recourse was to commence a lawsuit.
Certificates refused
HAP brought two of NYC-born
clients, Anthony Green and John
Kagain, who were refused birth
certificates to serve as plaintiffs in the
case. HAP has approximately 55 open
cases for those whom it was not able
to get birth certificates for from NYC.
"[Green and Kagain] have very
clear cases," Cohen says as to how
HAP chose them to serve as Plaintiffs
in the suit. "They're really compelling,
and we are still in touch with them.
So many of the folks who can't get
services kind of float in and out of
our contact. These two guys, when we
were actually putting our complaint
together, were very much in constant
contact with us and eager for us to
move the litigation forward."
Green, 57, was born in the Bronx
and moved to Philadelphia when
was 5-years-old. Homelessness
became a factor in his life when his
house burned down. In the fire, his
belongings, including his photo ID
were destroyed.

The Homeless Advocacy Project hosted a Birth Certificate Clinic earlier in the year, with
pro bono volunteers from seven corporations and six law firms and prepared birth
certificates for 197 clients.
Courtesy of One Step Away

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Green was left without a
government- issued ID or a mailing
address. Through HAP, Attorney
DeFlece worked with Green,
submitting the application to receive
a copy of a birth certificate on Green's
behalf. NYC says they were able to
locate a birth certificate for Green
but refused to release it because his
application did not include the three
identity verification documents.
Kagain, 56, was also denied his
birth certificate. Brooklyn born,
Kagain obtained his master's degree
from George Washington University
and a law degree from Temple
University, becoming a Philadelphia
resident in 1991. A serious illness led
him to his homelessness. From living
on the street, Kagain's Pennsylvania
driver's license was stolen or lost, and
his passport and birth certificate were
also stolen.
Attorney Morrow submitted
an application to NYC for Kagain
through HAP. Morrow heard nothing
for six months and resubmitted the
documents, where the Department
refused to issue the birth certificate. It
says that their records indicated that
Kagain was deceased.
"The people we are trying to help
have a desperate need for essential
services such as housing, medical
treatment, and employment," Cohen
says. "But access to those services
require state issued IDs, and people
need their birth certificates in order
to obtain their IDs."
A plea for justice
In its complaint, HAP stated
that it spends substantially more
time assisting NYC-born clients
due to the NYC Policy. According
to HAP, the policy violates the due
process component of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the United States
Constitution, and is therefore
unconstitutional.
HAP's mission is to provide
free, civil legal services to homeless
individuals and families residing
in Philadelphia shelters and to
advocate for change in the broader
systems affecting homeless people.
Its overarching goals are to increase
the stability and functioning of their
clients.
Since its founding in 1990,
HAP has served more than 42,810
homeless individuals and families.
The legal organisation conducts more
than 125 annual legal clinics at 25
shelters, soup kitchens, transitional
housing facilities, and overnight cafes
in Philadelphia.
"Our city is ahead of the curb,"
says Cohen. "I think people really
take the photo ID for granted. It's
really frightening when you think
about it: when you can't get an ID
and you can't apply for services, don't
(Continued on page 12)

�NATIONAL
Still giving Denver’s homeless a Voice
after 20 years
No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

ELEANOR SUSAN LIM

T

9
INSP. Among the advantages is the
access to shared street paper content
through the unique INSP News
Service. "Support from INSP and
content from the INSP News Service

COURTESY OF INSP.NGO

he very first issue of the
Denver Voice was put
together with a single
typewriter and a donated
social security check. 20 years
later, the Voice has employed more
than 4,000 people experiencing
homelessness and poverty, helping
them move off the street and into
other jobs.
Now a veteran of the street paper
network, the Voice has withstood
staff changes and financial troubles.
This month they celebrate their 20th
birthday by looking back on their
successes in a special edition of the
paper.
"There have been several
versions of the Voice. Each had its
own passionate group of people
working hard behind the scenes to
make sure the paper went to press,"
says current editor Sarah Harvey.

"Each eventually ran out of money,
but managed to pass the torch on to
another group instead of letting it die
completely.
"During the past two decades our
editorial operations have been run
from a booth in the back of a dive
bar, a corner of a municipal building,
a room in a church, and even a few
official office spaces."
In 1996, when the paper began,
Shirley Whiteside's work at the Denver
Catholic Worker Soup Kitchen led her
to cross paths with two regulars from
the St. Francis Centre, refuge for men
and women who are homeless in the
metro Denver area. Jo-Jo DeHerrera
and Floyd 'Tumbleweed' Hamilton
shared Shirley's frustration with the
low profile for issues affecting the
homeless among the general public.
With a shared love of Seattle street
paper Real Change, the enterprising

Raelene Johnson says the Voice never cared about her past. “This is so much more
dignified than holding up a sign.”
Credit: Denver Voice

Denver Voice vendor Rodney Woolfolk. To date, the Voice has employed 4329 people.
Credit: Denver Voice

trio got together to print the first
edition.
The paper's first incarnation
lasted until 2006, when it was forced
to cease publication due to a lack
of funding. Until then the Voice
had been distributed for free to
vendors, and then sold on the street
by members of Denver's homeless
community, including their very first
vendor Bruce Wright. When financial
troubles overtook the team, it was
one of Bruce's regular customers,
local businessman Rick Barnes, who
resurrected the paper a year later in
2007.
The changes Rick made have
endured: he implemented an official
vendor programme, based on the
INSP (International Network of
Street Papers) model, and hired
professional journalists to help with
organisational and editorial tasks.
They reported on local news and
helped give a voice to the homeless

has been crucial in getting us through
the leaner years," she explains.
For some vendors, the paper has
been life-changing. Raelene Johnson
is one such person. "I walked into
the Denver Voice office, and they
didn't care about my past, they didn't
care about anything but my desire
to work," she says. Since getting her
vendor's badge Raelene has stopped
using drugs, and now owns her own
home.
She takes obvious pride in her
work: "This is so much more dignified
than holding up a sign."
When John Alexander first
became a vendor eight years ago, he
had no plans to stay with the paper.
"[My main intention was] getting my
free papers, getting some money, and
buying some dope," he says, "but I
ended up with this sense of pride,
running my own business. I've taken
advantage of every opportunity, like
writing for the paper."

John Alexander has been a vendor for eight years. "I've taken advantage of
every opportunity."
Credit: Denver Voice

An infographic charting the history of the Denver Voice.
Credit: Morgan Kinney

community in Denver and beyond.
Sarah Harvey believes this
approach gives the paper credibility,
as does connecting with the wider
street paper movement through

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

His involvement has changed the
way others see him, too. "I'm a known
community figure now, because of
(Continued on page 11)

�10

LOCAL
Darryl Owens continues to push
through with his writing in
remembrance of his girlfriend
MALIA PITTS

“S

he
supported
me
100% and was behind
everything I did,”
Owens said.
Darryl Owens, a local author,
lost his girlfriend to Non-Hodgkin
Lymphoma cancer back in September
of this year. In her remembrance,
Owens plans to continue with
his writing and hopes to gain the
publicity he feels he deserves.
Owens has written two works
of fiction that have received positive
reviews on Amazon,” Sworn not to
Betray,” and “A Silent Killer Within.”
His first novel, “Sworn not to Betray,”
is about two major crimes that take
place in Cincinnati within 6 months
of each other on the same exact date.
The police commissioner assigns
three top detectives to lead the
investigation, only to find out that one
of the detectives are working with the
criminals who are suspects behind
one of the crimes. When Owens was
incarcerated back in 1989 to 1994,
he began working on “Sworn not to
betray,” spending much of his time,
reading and writing.
“I was in Warren Correctional
Institution at the time and somedays
I had to spend 22hrs in a cell. I had
nothing else to do but read, but that’s
when I became fascinated with the
work of fiction. It amazed me how
authors could turn something totally
fictional and make it appear real,” he
said.
Owens believed that he had the
potential to produce a great work
of fiction. He began to write, ideas
flowing from his thoughts onto
paper, after just two words the story
unfolded. When he was released
from prison in 1994, Owens put
his writing on hold, as the streets of
Cincinnati took a hold of him.
“I put the book down for a while.

MARTHA STEPHENS
(Continued from page 7)
god to forgive us our sins against each
other and the world.
That is his theme: forgiveness.
He doesn’t sound all that hopeful
about it though. He’s noticing, no
doubt, as I am, that we don’t seem to
be asking for forgiveness today. And
even if we do ask, could forgiveness
ever come to a people as violent as we
are?
Notes: In September 2016 the

JIM LUKEN
(Continued from page 3)
be trying to destroy as much of our
Public School system as he can. Even
Medicare and Social Security could
be on the line. He will seek to install
partisan, retrograde judges at every
level.
But you, Reader, and I (writer)

Contributing Writer
I started ripping and running the
streets, doing petty crimes, and
getting high, the book wasn’t on my

his second novel, based in Minnesota
was published. Even though he had a
new work of fiction on his hands, his

Darryl Owens Credit: Malia Pitts

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

for his work.
“Cincinnati is very biased. If you
don’t come from a certain background,
they don’t want to recognize you. It
really hurts to know that someone
who is a Cincinnati Native and has
written a novel based in the city, still
can’t get any recognition. That’s the
biggest hurdle I’m dealing with now.
It almost makes me want to move out
the city and see how far things can go
somewhere else,” he said.
Owens plans to continue to
self-promote his work in hopes to
eventually gain the publicity he feels
he deserves.
“I received good reviews online
for both books. If I keep getting good
reviews, at some point the door must
open to for big name publicist to
finally take notice,“ he said.
Even though Owens wanted to
give up, his girlfriend was always the
support system he needed to keep
him going.
“She was amazing and still is an
amazing person. She was a big part
of the inspiration behind me wanting
to become very successful in my
writing,” he said emotionally.
After her diagnosis with cancer,
Owens put his promotion and writing
on hold for two years to help take care
of her and the home they shared.
“She made sure to motivate me,
even when she was sick and not
feeling her best, she always made sure
to encourage me. Sometimes I catch
my self-waiting on her call but then I
realize, I’m never getting another call
again,” he added.
Owens plans to continue with
his work, now more motivated than
ever, he plans to work on a sequel to
“Sworn not to Betray” and an auto
biography about his life.
“I want her to be able to look
down and smile. I want to leave a
legacy behind for my children and
grandchildren. I want to be known
as Darryl the author, not Darryl the
drug addict or the homeless man,” he
said “I’m going to continue to pursue
my dream and I won’t give up until
I’ve reached it,” he added.

mind at the time,” he said.
On October 5th, 2010, Owens
finally completed his first novel.
Taking his work to the public library,
he began to search for publishers and
found an online publishing site, where
he could submit his manuscript.
“I was so elated when I logged
into my email and saw that my book
was accepted, till this very day I still
feel the same. The first thing I did
was call my daughter,” he said. Later,

main concern was his first novel, not
getting the publicity it deserves.
“I’m more focused on “Sworn
not to Betray,” because it has the
potential to be made into a film, I
just need the publicity to make that
happen,” he added.
Over the past seven years, Owens
was off and on homeless, living on
the same streets he grew up on. He
never lost hope and continued to
push through with gaining publicity

rising clock of the Iraq Body Count
showed the documented deaths of
civilians in Iraq since 2003 to be
187,161. The actual deaths may be
twice that number.
The Dick Cheney mentioned
above was the CEO of the firm
Halliburton until he left it to run
for vice president in 2000. Once
in office, he continued to receive
deferred salary from this military
contractor, estimated by the NYT in
2004 to have earned over five billion

dollars for providing, very poorly and
without competitive bidding, food,
housing, fuel, and other logistical
support for U. S. troops.
Martha Stephens investigated
the radiation experiments at U. C.
in the late 90‘s and led a lawsuit
to compensate the families of the
victims. Twenty-one people coming
to a cancer clinic at General Hospital
had died within a month of being
irradiated over their whole bodies.
Stephens’ book The Treatment:

the story of those who died in the
Cincinnati radiation tests (Duke
University Press) appeared in 2002.
A new book Me and the Grandmas
of Baghdad (2015) is a memoir about
her life growing up in South Georgia,
raising a family in Cincinnati, and
teaching at U. C.

can decide to stand up to much of
this. We can pick our fights. We can
choose the best tactics in fighting the
corruption and the corporatization
that is coming our way. There will
be many opportunities to take to the
streets.
The powerful despise when the
people assume a power of their own.

We must try to grasp the significance
of Remembrance Day. Resolve to
keep the next war from happening,
even if it means putting yourself on
the line, risking more that you ever
thought yourself capable of risking.
Remember the world famous
song/chant that came out of the
Chilean struggles of the '70s. El

pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!
“The people united will never be
defeated!”
Leonard Cohen sang that
“democracy is coming” here, but it
looks more like fascism. Let's agree to
do all we can to prevent that outcome.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

She blogs at marthastephens.
wordpress.com.
------------------------

------------------------

�11

LOCAL

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

Over-the-Rhine Sunflower Challenge

There are hidden
treasures all around
your community.

CAN YOU
FIND THEM
ALL?
Post a picture of yourself
with the hidden sunflowers
using the hashtag:

#otrsunflowerchallenge

ELEANOR SUSAN LIM
(Continued from page 9)
the Denver Voice. I'm even known as
the honorary mayor of the Stapleton
neighbourhood - I haven't been
booted out of office yet!"
As the team plan celebrations
for the big two-zero, what does the
future hold for the Denver Voice?
John Alexander is optimistic. "I think
the 20th anniversary shows that the
Voice is doing something right."
Back when the Denver Voice
relaunched in 2007, Kali Lynn, the
paper's first editor, said: "The truth is
that each incarnation of the Voice has

MICHAEL EARL PATTON
(Continued from page 4)
heat homes and to generate all the
electricity that was needed in Texas.
Rotating blackouts were the result.
The problem is created because we are
shutting down coal-fired plants and
using gas-fired ones instead. Natural
gas is certainly a cleaner-burning
fuel, but combined with the decrease
in drilling for gas the chances for a
supply shortage increase. See my
articles this year on Duke Energy’s
new proposed gas pipeline for more
information.
7. Hacking: In December 2015
unknown hackers took remote
control of the power system’s own
computers to turn off the circuit
breakers to almost a quarter million
residents in Ukraine. This is the first
verified hacking of an electrical grid

been fuelled by the energy, charisma,
personality, and excitement that a
handful of people brought to the
paper."
Considering all the challenges
the Voice has faced, Sarah Harvey
agrees. "The Voice will continue to
adapt to meet the needs of the people
we serve," she says.
"I think our greatest achievement
is that we're still here."
COURTESY OF INSP.NGO
-----------------------A selection of Denver Voice covers from the last 20 years.
Credit: Denver Voice

and lasted several hours. According
to an article in Wired magazine, the
United States is also vulnerable to
such an attack. And, unlike Ukraine,
many of our grid’s circuit breakers
cannot be reset manually. Hacking
was also the premise for a recent
National
Geographic
program,
“American Blackout.” Though the
details of the fictional blackout are
somewhat unrealistic – the entire
contiguous United States loses power
for 10 days and then it all comes back
on again – it does a fair job of showing
different situations of people trying
to cope without power. Most people
depicted aren’t prepared at all, and
one family is prepared and way, way
over-reacts.
Getting Ready: This depends
a lot on your own circumstances.
Everyone should have flashlights,
probably a lantern, a battery-powered

radio (maybe even one equipped with
a hand crank generator), food and
water for a few days, and a way to heat
or cook the food if needed. I have a
battery-powered television which I
bought at a major truck stop. I have
a gas stove so I can, and have, cooked
without electricity. How much more
one does depends on your own
assessments. My mother lives in a
part of Indiana that seems to lose
power for a few hours every winter.
She has a gas fireplace in the living
room that can run without electricity.
When the power goes out and her
place starts getting cold, she will
shelter in the living room. I am more
tolerant of cold, but of course I have
sweaters, a couple extra blankets,
a knit cap, and winter socks. I have
a gas water heater with a pilot light,
which enables me to take hot showers
even if the power is out. Since I get up

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

before dawn, the last time the power
went out I used a battery-powered
lantern in the bathroom, which has
a more even light than a flashlight.
I don’t have a fireplace or woodburning stove, but I wish I did in case
I were to lose power for an extended
period when it is really cold outside.
If I ever were to build new, I would
include one in the plans.
I am going to stop here. There
is simply too much variation from
one person’s circumstances to
another’s for me to make more
specific recommendations. The
Federal Emergency Management
Agency’s (FEMA) recommendations
for preparedness in general – not
just an extended blackout -- can be
found at www.ready.gov and a brief
description of supplies at www.ready.
gov/kit.
------------------------

�12

OPINION

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

ello. My name is Marvin
Lowery. I am a forty-sixyear-old disabled African
American
homeless
writer, who was born and raised
in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was born on
Winneste Avenue in Winton Terrace
housing projects, attended CAPE
(Cincinnati Academy of Physical
Education), and was a gymnastics

sensation as a child. I also grew up in
the Fay apartments on Nottingham
drive and attended Roll Hill
Elementary. Because I grew up in an
abusive household, my grandmother
was granted custody of me and my
older sister by two years and we
moved to Lincoln Heights, Ohio. I
went to Lincoln Heights Elementary
and Princeton Junior/high school,

located in Sharonville, Ohio. I excelled
in all areas of academics (e.g., spelling
bee champ, poetry club, debate team,
ran track and played wide receiver
for the Princeton Vikings from
1983 until 1987.) I was a product
of a deranged dysfunctional family
tree and became mentally ill (sick)
in 1989, right before I graduated
high school. Even though I have an
extensive work history, psychological
trauma and sexual abuse as a child,
made me eligible for SSI-disability
benefits because a review panel for
Social Security thought that I was
mentally retarded. I completed a day
program in Corryville called Sami

STEVE SUNDERLAND

trust, sharing opportunities to
listen, offering assistance to cancer
exams and to transportation to
health centers, and recognizing
how to accept when people do not
want to proceed, makes up a warm
continuing education of compassion.
5. What Kind of Training is
Necessary For Navigation?: We
wanted our navigators to understand
the pioneering work in navigation of
Harold Freeman, MD. Dr. Freeman, a
cancer surgeon at Harlem Hospital in
New York City, 26 years ago, realized
that his patients were arriving too
late for successful treatment due
to the progression of their cancers.
His approach to change was to
identify, train, and hire people to be
community navigators. They would
connect to community organizations
and seek to bring people to the
hospital for exams at an earlier stage
in the development of their cancer.
Over 5 years, Dr. Freeman and his
navigators dramatically changed the
mortality of minorities. So successful
was his program, that national
studies were funded, and eventually
every cancer hospital was required to
have "patient navigators."
We also wanted our navigators to
hear from people who were trained
by Dr. Freeman and/or who had
experienced navigation of a family
member or friend. Our navigators
heard from Dr. Anjanette Wells, a
graduate of Dr. Freeman's training
and a professor of social work at
UC, from Sue Wilke who was a part
of a team of friends that created a
navigation process, and from Kiana
Traube, an executive with the YMCA,
about the navigation role she created
to assist a family member. Their
stories of creating new structures
of caring around family and friends
with cancer impressed us with
their determination, creativity, and
courage. We learned that navigators
can be crucial in the survival of people
with cancer.

We wanted our training to look
into the area the emotions connected
to cancer care. Chris Lottman,
retired professor of social work,
provided an in-depth review of how
the emotions can be used in effective
communication and relationships
with people struggling with cancer.
In small groups, we discussed the
emotional realities facing navigators
and people who are afraid of finding
out about cancer. Chris helped us
see that the "emotional intelligence"
of the navigator is a key to building
trust, sparking openness, and
establishing a relationship that can
endure painful moments.
Finally, we wanted navigators to
understand and hear just how our
medical director would present a
brief talk on cancer and screening.
Realizing that the presentation
would be for average people meant
thinking about what people, in
general, needed to hear in order
to begin a thinking process about
whether cancer could affect them.
Dr. Moussavian gave several talks
that modified his presentation
and prepared the navigators for
key points that could be expanded
in small groups at the dinners we
expected to attend. We wanted to
have Dr. Moussavian give valuable
information to people considering
a cancer screening without either
scaring them or giving so much
information that the person was
drowning in detail. Most of all, our
message should be that information
about cancer is comprehensible and
helps any attempts to fight cancer.
6. Where Does Navigation
Occur?: The Cancer Justice Network
is made up of over 20 organizations
that serve the poor and especially
minorities. We have started to begin
our navigation process in those
agencies that offer a weekly dinner
and to join the dinner and add
cancer education to the discussion.
Christ Church Cathedral has had

two meetings and one additional
meeting is planned for the new
year; Madisionville Education and
Assistance Center has held one
meeting and another is scheduled;
and Northside Christian Church has
held one meeting. Each meeting was
an opportunity to be introduced by
staff to the idea of cancer education
and prevention. We have found
two meetings at each agency to be
beneficial. In the coming months, we
will be at Southern Baptist Church
and additional members of the
Cancer Justice Network. (Please look
at our website to see the full list of
agencies: cancerjusticenetwork.org)
7. What Have We Learned?: We
have learned that by personalizing
cancer education many people will
be encouraged to take action and get
a cancer exam. Sharing the idea of
navigation, of accompanying people,
is a new idea for people and we are
looking for ways of suggesting this
form of assistance that is readily
acceptable. The most powerful
learning is about the strength of
compassionate discussion to trigger
a desire to discuss personal and
family health. Each meeting has
been an opportunity to participate in
discussions about family histories of
caring that have sidestepped cancer
or stories about deaths from cancer
that might have been prevented.
These insights have arisen because
of the trust people have shown in
our navigators and in the welcoming
attitudes of Crossroad Health Center
in the registration process. We are
seeing the outline of a new kind of
health service, a future in which caring
is located in places where people feel
warmth and caring as well as efficient
connections to needed services. We
are all learning that healthcare can be
a positive and productive experience
if navigation is genuinely offered.

striking down the voter ID law,
which would require a photo ID
from everyone casting a ballot at the
polls during the general election this
month. Yet, first-time voters must
bring a form of photo ID to the polls.
"When you make people jump
through hoops in order to exercise
a basic right, questions need to be
asked and answered," says Cohen.
HAP's demands in this case
include the court declaring that: the

NYC Policy violates the due process
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment;
NYC be revoked of its ability to deny
birth certificates on the basis of the
NYC Policy; and Green and Kagain's
attorneys' fees, costs and all other
proper relief be awarded. HAP's
initial conference with a judge is
scheduled for December.
"Some of these people are just
out of luck [if the NYC Policy isn't
revoked], where they have been for

years and years," Cohen says. "So e
effectively, nothing changes because
they have been somehow managing
to survive without identification.
But there's only good news ahead.
I'd be really surprised if we were not
successful."
To learn more about the
Homeless Advocacy Project or
become a legal volunteer, visit www.
homelessadvocacyproject.org

MEET MARVIN
MARVIN LOWERY

H

Contributing Writer

(Continued from page 4)
profession. The navigator is aware of
the prior experience of indifference
and, in a short time, acts to change
the framework for the meaning of
caring.
4. Who Are the Navigators?:
Navigators come from several
different groups. Seven of our
navigators
are
experienced
community organizers. They see
cancer education and prevention
as an important addition to their
work on community education,
caring about wages and benefits for
care providers, caring about mental
illness problems, caring about the
psychology of children needing help,
or having experience supporting
people with terminal cancer, and
caring for children as nannies. Their
prior experience adds a solid base for
reaching out to people in church and
community center dinners.
Also navigators are first year
medical students from the University
of Cincinnati. The desire to help
has been a key reason for wanting
to be a doctor. Nursing students
from the school of nursing at Xavier
University share similar concerns
as do social work students from UC,
and health communication students
from UC, too. Over 40 people have
been through an extensive training
and have continued their education
about navigation through individual
and team approaches in our churches
and community centers.
The mixture of very experienced
community navigators with college
students with varied ideas about
navigation has led to a powerful
approach to the idea of effective
navigation. Each navigator brings
both a personal experience about
cancer as well as some professional
understanding of how the health
system is working for minorities and
low income populations. Building

ALEXIS WRIGHT-WHITLE
(Continued from page 8)
qualify for housing, and can't get
benefits because you just can't get
this document from a government
agency that really should be thinking
about it from the point of view of the
folks who really need it."
Cohen
also
praised
the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court for

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

and was granted a part time job and
first apartment by Queen City Case
management (currently GCB.) I met
a much older black woman named
Michelle who would eventually turn
my life upside down because of
alleged domestic abuse, and ruin my
reputation in Cincinnati forever. In
closing. Extreme identity theft scams
have left me as a "dead cell" to society
(dead man walking.) I am currently
fighting my way out of a homeless
situation. feel free to follow me at;
lowerymarvin@facebook. Read my
most recent public posts. ---warm
regards: Marvin. Eagerly awaiting a
response.

------------------------

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

XMAS

“rez car”

Xmas is here
It’s that time of year
There’s lots of family
And sharing
Lots of love, lots of caring
It’s the start of the New Year
Xmas is every day
Especially when you have hope
With cheer paving the way
For a Happy New Year
KIM GREEN

Contributing Writer

It’s 17 years old
It’s been used
a lot more than most.
It’s louder than a747
It’s multicolored and none
of the tires are brothers
I’m the 7th or 8th owner
I know I’ll be the last
What’s wrong with it?
Well, the other day
the steering wheel fell off.
The Radio doesn’t work
but the heater works
The seats have seen more
asses than a proctologist
I turn on the key, it starts
I push the break, it stops.
What else is a car
supposed to do?

JIM NORTHRUP

1943-2016
Native American
Vietnam Veteran

SANTA CLAUS
Today while watching the news I heard that Santa Claus
arrived in a helicopter
They also talked about tax cuts and how the politicians
were eating out at Red Lobster
What happened to the days when the bells rang for
Santa Claus, his reindeer and sled
What happened to the belief in miracles and all the little
children went to bed
Waiting for that glorious morning to open all the
presents that Santa left under the tree
Asking questions about how he brought all the gifts
down the smoke filled chimney
Waiting day and night, trying to be good all for
Christmas so we'd be granted the ultimate blessing
Looking back and understanding that as a child I was
tricked, Santa in a helicopter that's a new lesson
Without the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
what else is there to really look forward too
Without giving thanks for so many blessings and being
thankful for Jesus’ birth just to name a few
So for me Christmas has somehow lost the true spirit
and has been misunderstood by all
We must always remember God's blessings, don't forget
to give thanks and bring back Rudolph the red nosed
reindeer driving Santa Claus!!!!
WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 113
Across
1. Sort
5. Small snake
8. Brusque and surly
13. Vessel
14. Cylindrical tower
15. Relating to the moon
16. Curved masonary
structure
17. Slow pace of running
18. Become one
19. Part of the eye
21. Trial
23. Golf accessory
24. Jargon
26. Mesh
27. Dwell
29. Ballroom dance
34. Container
35. Period of calm weather
37. Health professional
38. Adjoin
40. Chubby
43. Lowest part of the
musical
range
44. Pale purple color
46. Cogwheel
48. Feline
49. Contestant
52. Faithful
54. Neither one __ the other
55. Facilitate
56. Armed conflict
59. A duplicate copy
61. Signal fire
65. Dodge
67. Young horse
69. Wander
70. Strange and frightening
71. Solitary
72. Talon
73. Clean with a bill
74. Finish
75. Stop
Down
1. Alpine lift

2. Yesteryear
3. Treaty
4. Principles of right and
wrong
5. Atmosphere
6. Gambling machine
7. Having great influence
8. Person who eats and
drinks to excess
9. Operate
10. A single undivided
whole
11. Destiny
12. Liberate
14. Type of comedian
20. Metal fastener
22. Darn
25. Recount
27. Small bird
28. Express great joy
30. Long crusty sandwich
roll
31. Extended area of land
32. Composition
33. Annoying person
34. Large bundle
36. Carry with difficulty
39. Mariner
41. Boundary line
42. A short moral story
45. Water flask
47. Artifice
50. Immediately
51. Sponge cake with
jam, wine and custard
53. Explore
56. Sob
57. Allege
58. Uncommon
60. Midday
62. Carbonated drink
63. Ellipse
64. Small semiaquatic
salamander
66. Device used for
shaping metal
68. Conjunction

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 243 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 342
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 112

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 242- MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 344 | D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children

Cincinnati Health Network		

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	961-1983

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365

Our Daily Bread			621-6364

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064
112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211

241-2965

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		
215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				
751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437
Center for Respite Care			621-1868
3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111

Advocacy

Health

$100

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				762-5660

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

961-0600

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

859-491-8303

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

�16

D e c 2 - D e c 15 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

S

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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 usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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                    <text>Novmber 18th - December 1st 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 20 (No. 339)

advocating justice | Building community

Jon Bon Jovi: "its Not
Rock and Roll To Fedd the
Homeless" | 9
This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Prepping | 2

For As Long As It Takes | 4

Join the Heal Food
Alliance| 3

Photo Story: The MexicoUSA Border Wall | 8

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director:
Housing Not Handcuffs: New Campaign
Launches to Redirect Law and Policy
Away From Criminalizing Homelessness

O

n November 15, the Greater
Cincinnati Homeless Coalition is joined as one of the
initiators of a national campaign to eliminate the criminalization
of homelessness.
The Housing Not Handcuffs
Campaign has been initiated by the
National Law Center on Homelessness &amp; Poverty, the National Coalition
for the Homeless, and over 100 local
and national organizations involved.
According to Housing Not Handcuffs,
a new report by the National Law
Center, the criminalization of homelessness continues to increase across
the country, despite strong evidence
showing it is counter-productive and
expensive. The Campaign has created
a series of model policies, which, once
enacted at the federal, state, and local
level, will significantly reduce homelessness in a way that is cost-effective
and supports the civil rights and hu-

JOSH SPRING

Executive Director
man dignity of people experiencing
homelessness.
The Campaign is supported by a
broad group.
Former Attorney General Eric
Holder said it is wrong to use, “…
the criminal justice system to punish those whose only crime is being
poor and without shelter…,” adding,
“These laws are unconstitutional and
are bad public policy.”
“My struggle with schizoaffective disorder left me without a home,
but the law in Tempe, Arizona left me
without even a place to sit,” said David Pirtle, a person who formerly experienced homelessness, now Public
Education Coordinator at the National Coalition for the Homeless. “After
walking miles in the blistering heat,
I was threatened with a ticket for the

crime of sitting in public. Criminalizing homelessness doesn't make it go
away. It just makes a terrible situation even worse to endure.”
The Housing Not Handcuffs
Campaign calls upon local, state and
federal governments to end the criminalization of homelessness immediately, and believes that all persons
experiencing homelessness should
instead have access to affordable
housing, education, health care, employment, income, and other opportunities and services that allow all to
live with dignity. These are the only
solutions to the crisis of homelessness
from a moral, legal, fiscal, and policy
perspective.
For additional info, visit www.
housingnothandcuffs.org.
------------------------

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Michael Earl Patton,
Tess Sohngen, Jill Gregory, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Bill Woods, Jason
Haap, Steve Sunderland, Robert

Prepping
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

W

Executive Director

hile Americans’ biggest
fear is corruption, as
I wrote recently in
my recent article of
the same name, some large scale
disasters were also on the list. With
our trust in government at just 19%,
it’s clear that many do not expect
government to come to the rescue. So
it wasn’t surprising to hear about the

Cincy Preparedness Expo dedicated
to being ready for whatever may be
coming. Last October I went to this
expo at the Sharonville Convention
Center to get a better idea of what
some people are getting prepared for.
In the 2015 Chapman University
survey of 1,541 adult Americans
about their fears, economic collapse
ranked as #8, pandemic #15, nuclear

attack #16, civil unrest #19, and
electrical grid attack #22. Natural
disasters generally ranked somewhat
lower: tornadoes #20, drought
#24, earthquakes #30, floods #32,
hurricanes #33, and blizzards #36.
The goods and supplies I saw for sale
at the prepper expo mostly seemed
to be preparations for the first group
more than the second. It was clear
that many were thinking about
preparing for some event that might
last for months or even years, as
(Continued on page 7)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Park, Willa Denise Jones
Photography/Artwork:
Jill Gregory, Dr. Mark Mussman,
Michael Earl Patton, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�LOCAL
Federal programs don’t help people
experiencing homelessness

3

No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

S

ince the mid-1900s, Federal
programs like food stamps
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) provided a hunger safety net
for those who are food insecure, but
many – particularly those experiencing homelessness – fall through the
cracks.
Food insecurity does not mean
a person is insecure or unsure about
the safety or nutritional value of the
food they are eating; it references
the inability or uncertainty to access
nutritionally adequate and safe food
in socially appropriate ways. This includes having to panhandle for food,
search through garbage, or resorting
to emergency food supplies.
Approximately 1 in 8 people in
the United States are food insecure,
according to Feeding America, the
largest network of food banks and
related research in the country. In
Hamilton the percentage of food insecure people are 18.6, above the national average of 15.4 percent, based
on 2014 data. Poverty is the primary
cause of food insecurity in the country, and 72 percent of all Feeding
America client households live at or

TESS SOHNGEN

Contributing Writer
below the federal poverty level.
SNAP is the largest federal program addressing food insecurity and
hunger, but the 2015 White House
Report suggested that current SNAP
benefits are inadequate for households. Furthermore, those who experience homelessness are further
inhibited to access to food because
of SNAP benefit restrictions. Those
who receive SNAP benefits cannot
use that money for hot foods or food
that will be eaten in the store. Without an adequate place to store or cook
a meal, the SNAP benefits do not adequately fit the needs of those experiencing homelessness. SNAP benefits
also cannot be used toward vitamins
and medicine.
Inadvertently or not, this program and many others punish those
experiencing homelessness through
these rules and regulations, even
though individuals and families experiencing homelessness are those
who require the most assistance
against food insecurity and hunger.
Because SNAP and other programs

are designed to not help those experiencing homelessness, some do not
bother to receive any benefits toward
food insecurity at all.
In a 2013 study of food insecurity
among people experiencing homelessness in New Jersey, 94 percent
of the sample population were food
insecure. Even though all 319 participants, or an overwhelming majority
of those, qualified for SNAP benefits
and food assistance, only 55 percent
of the sample population were currently receiving SNAP benefits.
Even with the help of SNAP and
other food assistance programs, the
diets of those who are food insecure
do not meet the nutritional needs
they require. The diets of food insecure individuals are low in essential
vitamins and minerals while high in
saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol. For the participants in the study,
they averaged approximately 74 daily
servings of fats (USDA recommends
only 6 daily servings) and fell below
the USDA recommended number of
daily servings for every other food
group except grains.
Food insecurity is also a significant predictor of negative nutritional

Join the HEAL Food Alliance for the Plate
of the Union

P

JILL GREGORY

Contributing Writer

late of the Union is a national
campaign stemming from a
collaboration among three
non-profit
organizations,
HEAL Food Alliance, Food Policy
Action Education Fund, and The
Union of Concerned Scientists,
dedicated to get the public talking
about food and farm issues and
urging the next president to take
action. The Plate of the Union Food
Truck tour that launched at the
National Republican and Democratic
Conventions has been traveling
through battleground states this
election cycle holding events that
bring together families, farmers,
workers, and community leaders.
In September and October, I
traveled with volunteers from across
the U.S. to different farmers markets
and local events in Columbus,
Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland,
and smaller towns in between of
Lebanon and Yellow Springs. My

personal reason for getting involved
in the campaign is that I realized
while studying heart disease and
type 2 diabetes at graduate school
in Cleveland that these diseases that
are driving up health care costs are
preventable as long as Americans
have access to healthy food and an
understanding of how to incorporate
healthy eating practices within a
budget.
What I have experienced so far
is that everyone agrees, regardless of
political beliefs, on the importance
of access to healthy, affordable food,
including fresh fruits and vegetables,
brought by a food and farm system
that is conscious of the environment,
food workers’ rights, and farmers of
all size farms. The common sense
points to which Plate of the Union
would like the next President to
commit to include moving subsidies
away from industrial farms that
produce high amounts of cheap

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

outcomes in adults, according to the
New Jersey study. Overweight and
obesity, diabetes, cardiac disease and
chronic diseases. Those experiencing homelessness face even higher
risks of health problems, especially if
they have experienced homelessness
and poverty for an extended period
of time. Additionally, the nutritional
adequacy of their diets are less considered (if at all) because safety and
shelter are the primary concerns of
those experiencing homelessness,
which often takes precedent over
health problems these individuals
might be facing.
Federal programs are not alone
in punishing those experiencing
homelessness. Recent city ordinances
across the country have made foodand resource-sharing restrictions
among those experiencing homelessness illegal. Other ordinances target
soup kitchens providing hot meals
claiming the restrictions aim to ensure that those experiencing homelessness receive nutritious and safe
meals.
Limiting access to food is just
one more avenue through which cities have criminalized homelessness,
starving individuals of their rights
and basic needs.
------------------------

ingredients used in processed junk
foods, and end the marketing of those
foods to children. Farming practices
should be reformed to include more
sustainable methods and support
organic and diversified farming.

Martha, a retired university professor and local activist, asks Kroger to pay tomato
pickers 1 more cent for tomatoes
Credit: Jill Gregory

(Continued on page 10)

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�4

LOCAL

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

�LOCAL
For As Long As It Takes:
Replanting the Narrative

5

No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer
For our Shantytown T-shirts
this year, I chose to put buddy gray’s
iconic quote on the front: “For As
Long As It Takes.” These shirts will
be distributed and worn by many
students across the region, proudly,
and with true positive intentions
in their hearts. On the back of the
shirt, it reads “Yes In My Back Yard
(YIMBY): Affordable Housing Now!”
This statement gets to the heart of
eradicating homelessness – we need
affordable housing – as well as the
role that each of us play in ensuring
this solution is possible.
I can’t imagine what buddy
would think of the current wave of

hood without displacement. We have
not done the neighborhood plan justice.
Unpacking buddy’s statement
(“For as long as it takes”) reveals the
universality of his desire to bring
forth a just world, built on pillars of
equity. We know, instinctively, what
the “it” he is talking about, but I guess
it could be seen as an ambiguous
statement. Is it our blood, sweat, and
tears poured into the life-saving and
hope-affirming social service agencies that make up the backbone of
our community? Is it the organizing
and marching in the streets against
police brutality, displacement, white-

gentrification in Over-the-Rhine.
Long time residents have been seeking out development and change in
the community for decades – but
not in this manner. Displacement
is the centerpiece of these attempts
to “clean-up” the neighborhood. We
know this because over 70% of the
housing in the 0-30% AMI group
has disappeared in the past 15 years.
This means that we haven’t stuck to
the 2002 neighborhood plan, which
called for a mixed income neighbor-

washing, injustice, and pain? Is it the
quiet letter-writing, the silent studying of history, or inner contemplation? Or is it something else: building
connections, building community,
building strength? Whatever it is,
we know that it hasn’t been accomplished yet.
The other part of the statement
that really needs closer examination
is “for as long,” which speaks to the
unfinished business that lingers in
the city. Could you imagine a time

REFLECTIONS ON THE FALL
CAMPAIGN
BILL WOODS

N

Contributing Writer

ovember 8th brought
an end to the most
disturbing and depressing
Presidential election of
my lifetime. All the public traditions
and values developed over the
years to give further meaning to the
words, "we the people," seem to be
in jeopardy. Many of us are still in
shock, feeling despair, and not yet
ready to study all the factors that led
to Trump's victory. In trying to find
some solace so I could get through
my daily activities, I recalled some
positive moments and events that
occurred at the local level this fall
that offer a bit of hope for the future.

I briefly review them here.
On September 20th at the Peaslee
Neighborhood Center in Over-theRhine a workshop on protecting
voting rights kindled some hope at
the grassroots. "Voting Rights 101"
featured a panel that included Camille
Wimbish, Director of the Ohio Voter
Rights Coalition, Catherine Turcer,
Policy Analyst for Common Cause/
Ohio, and Pat Youngblood, Peaslee
Caregiver Project Lead Organizer.
The speakers provided the diverse
attendees with information they
need to steer themselves through the
legal procedures that often make it

when we don’t need to fight against
homelessness, poverty, disenfranchisement? A time when people
aren’t being purged from voting
and intimidated at the polls? When
policies reflect the people and not
the power? When poverty is seen
as something that happened in the
past? What would the world look like
then? What strength would that ensure for our children’s future? I guess
the question is: How much longer
will powerful leaders turn a blind eye
to the suffering in our community?
We must be at a tipping point –
when more than half of the children
in Cincinnati live below the poverty
line, when upward mobility (the
American Dream) is officially dead
for people of color in our city. Unfortunately, I feel it might be too late.
We have been accustomed to poverty
and we thrive on “othering” entire
communities based on skin color, or
poverty level, or zip code. We engage
in victim-blaming on a monumental
scale. We believe that America is a
meritocracy when it is full on an oligarchy. This is a dangerous mindset
that pits the powerless against the
powerless, and it ignores the realdifficult for would be voters to cast
their ballots. They especially honed
in on Ohio's voter ID law and the
problems people often encounter at
the polls. One young man was able to
register to vote immediately after this
Workshop ended.
At the Community Issues
Forum at Christ Church Cathedral
on September 29th, Moira Weir,
Director of Jobs and Family Services
for Hamilton County, made the case
for the Children's Services Levy,
Issue 53. Weir clearly described the
services that this renewal levy pays
for, and depicted how recent state
funding reductions have cut these
services to protect children to the
bone. It was refreshing to hear from
a social service professional who is
such a staunch advocate for children.
(53 won handily.)
Then two weeks later, the
Forum focused on Issue 44, the
Cincinnati Public School Levy. This

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

ity of suffering that will become our
legacy for generations to come.
Only if we continue to educate
others, can buddy’s legacy continue
to live on. Buddy, along with countless others, set a foundation of dignity that is often lacking in today’s
Over-the-Rhine. There is no dignity

in displacement. There is no pride
in businesses that are out of reach
of residents. There is nothing right
with the double standards around
alcohol consumption. Extravagant
price points; sidewalk blocking restaurant outcroppings; gated alleys;
privatized parks; removed schools,
laundromats, hardware stores, corner stores, neighbors, family – gentrification is Over-the-Rhine’s legacy
now.
Today, we know how to solve
homelessness. It will only happen
through a mix of affordable housing and livable wages. Affordable
housing trust funds and inclusionary housing development are a great
start. Housing First models that get
people into safe housing and then
deal with issues they might have are
showing success. Treating people
with dignity and putting resources
towards housing insecurity is a must.
None of this will happen on its own –
it requires your involvement… For As
Long As It Takes.
----------------------levy includes new money to pay
for preschool classes for children
living in Cincinnati. Known as the
Preschool Promise Initiative, it's
goal is to provide a quality preschool
experience for every four-yearold in the district. Obviously, the
$15-million of new money will only
be a start toward reaching that goal,
but the new revenue from increased
property taxes will be earmarked
for scholarships for young children
from low income families as well as
grants to boost the quality of various
preschools. Eve Bolton, a Cincinnati
School Board member, and Jack Jose,
Principal of Gamble Montessori High
School, discussed the complexities
of this levy and why it is needed for
both the preschool expansion and
activities in the regular elementary
and high school system. (This levy
passed easily.)
(Continued on page 12)

�6

LOCAL

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�7

OPINION
Rethinking what it means to be a
liberal

No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

JASON HAAP

I

Contributing Writer

swear I'm still a liberal. On
any social issue, I side with
the liberal perspective: prochoice, pro-gay-rights, proenvironment, pro-gun-control, and
so forth. But the divisive caricature
of conservatives as depicted by
Democrats really has me secondguessing some things.
For example, I believe white
privilege is real - but I'm starting
to think it may have a bit of an
expiration date. Let me explain: if a
poor white boy and a poor black boy
each decide to adjust their speech
patterns, get a nice haircut, and put
on a suit, I think the white kid will
have more advantages than the black
kid when it comes to education and
employment. I think youth brings
with it a certain flexibility that can
benefit people on the basis of their
skin color. But I'm trying to imagine
how white privilege works in the case
of a 45 year old guy who is a member

MICHAEL EARL PATTON
(Continued from page 2)
opposed to a natural disaster where
one might be cut off from utilities or
outside food supplies for a few days.

of the working poor. What do I expect
him to do? Change how he talks, how
he looks, and then suddenly change
significantly his life situation? That's
not how it works, at least not for the
vast majority of working class whites.
People don't generally shift from
manual labor to a life of privilege
quite so easily.
While such a person probably gets
pulled over by police less (and I don't
mean to minimize the significance
of that), our hypothetical, aging,
blue-collar white guy has plenty of
struggles, and he probably doesn't
feel too much benefit based purely
on his skin color. However, if I'm
to believe the pundits in the wake
of the recent presidential election,
these people are all racist and sexist
xenophobes who voted for Trump
because they hate everyone who isn't
like them.
These kinds of accusations are

a cop-out, I think (and maybe even
hypocritical). As a liberal, I don't
think we should paint people with
a broad brush, putting them into
insulting categories for the sake of
convenience. I feel like that is the
opposite of liberal values, which
should include a desire to understand
those who are different, and to be
welcoming of people who aren't like
us.
Trump won the presidency,
in part, because of his support
among "uneducated whites." For
many liberals, only someone who is
"uneducated" could support Trump.
It takes education, they seem to
suggest, for white people to really
understand and empathize with the
situation of nonwhite members of our
culture. Those who are uneducated
are therefore (according to this line
of thought) ignorant, and they base
their positions on ignorance and a

equipment that one can grab at a
moment’s notice if you think the
time has come to “bug out” of a city.
Having transportation and a place
to where you can “bug out” are, of
course, also necessary.

this article is not about such
predictions.
To put a little context into this,
since I moved to Cincinnati in 1983
there have been two periods where
I had to go without electricity for
an extended period. The first was
for three days in 1989 as a result of
an October snow storm when many
leaves were still on the branches. The
snow piled on the leafy branches,
weighing them down. When they
snapped they took down power
lines. The second event was when
the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew
through in September 2008. That
time I was without power for four
days. In both cases, of course, there
were people who didn’t lose power or
who quickly had it restored, and there
were also people who were without
power for a couple weeks. The first
time I wasn’t exactly prepared. But I

fear of difference.
Certainly there are plenty
of racists on the right side of the
spectrum. But I'm just unwilling
to suggest, categorically, that
"uneducated white" Republicans are
automatically hateful and narrowminded people. Why is it so hard
to believe that some people may
legitimately have a different view of
how economics should work?
I have an uneducated white
friend (and by "uneducated" I mean
he doesn't have a college degree)
who once suggested college tuition
is so high because of government
interference via liberal policies. My
gut instinct was to blow him off as
nonsensical, but I decided to do
some digging on this subject. Guess
what? He might be right! As the
government has increased access to
financial aid for a larger number of
students, colleges have raised tuition,
perhaps reasoning that higher
tuition would be less a stumbling
block to people receiving some form
of aid. In a 2015 article from Forbes
entitled "Does Federal Student Aid
Cause Tuition Increases? It Certainly
(Continued on page 10)
battery-powered radio, a way to
charge my cell phone, and even a
battery-powered TV. I have a gas
stove so cooking was no problem, and
a gas water heater with a pilot light so
I could still take hot showers. If I lost
power for four days in the middle of
winter, though, I would probably be
looking at leaving for someplace with
heat. A wood-burning stove would
solve that problem, but it would not
be easy to retro-fit into my house.
I do think about it, though, and
maybe someday I will be a little more
prepared. Based on past experience
alone, it is reasonable to be prepared
for an extended electrical outage.
Several times over the years the
tornado sirens have gone off in the
middle of the night. I keep things like
a flashlight and my battery-powered
TV in a basement room in case I have
to take shelter there.

Solar Cooker
Credit: Michael Earl Patton

I saw pouches of freeze-dried
food good for 25 years for sale,
packages of heirloom seeds (nonhybrid) that would propagate true,
garden tools, books, a solar food
cooker, hiking stoves, knives, basic
medical equipment in case normal
medical services are not available or
there is no doctor, a portable solar
panel package with battery and
inverter, magnesium fire starters
capable of igniting damp tinder, and
water purifiers. Several vendors had
items that they recommended for
a “bug-out bag.” This is a heavyduty bag, always at the ready, which
contains an assortment of food and

I did not see firearms for sale,
although one person was selling
ammunition. Nor did I see anyone
selling in-ground tornado shelters,
which I had expected given the history
of tornadoes in this area. One woman
selling freeze-dried food pouches
said that her business had gone up
500% (!) in the past 3 months. I don’t
know if this was due to concern over
the upcoming election, but that is my
guess. Both major candidates have
used strong words, which however
pale in comparison by some who are
weighing in on the consequences of
one outcome or another. However,

Family Medical Bag
Credit: Michael Earl Patton

was somewhat prepared the second
time. I was glad to have such things
as a couple flashlights, lanterns,

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

(Continued on page 11)

�e
8

WORLD
Photo story: Living in the aftermath of
Hurricane Matthew
CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS

H

COURTESY OF REUTERS / INSP.NGO

aiti had been hit so hard
by Hurricane Matthew,
the fiercest Caribbean
storm in nearly a decade,
that people considered themselves
lucky to be alive.
Villages making contact with
the outside in early October, days
after the cyclone ripped through the
impoverished nation's picturesque
western peninsula, like Jeremie, were
in ruins.
"My house was totally destroyed
during the storm," said 29-year-old
mother Marie Ange St Juste.
"I lost everything, but I was lucky
that none of my children died. Now
my situation is very bad, we need

help."
Liface Luc, 66, was one of many
people affected by the storm in Haiti,
where the death toll rose to more
than 1,000 people.
One of Matthew's worst
repercussions was the outbreak
of cholera. Many people flooded
hospital units for treatment.
"I don't need to say nothing.
My house explains everything.
It's completely flat down. I lost
everything: my crops, my animals,
so I have nothing left," Luc said,
shirtless, wearing ripped cloth shorts,
a straw hat and holding a machete in
his hands to clean his property.
To his right, a chair was the only

Nathalie Pierre, 28, poses for a photograph with her daughter Rose, 3, in their
destroyed house after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie. "As you can see, my situation
is very bad. I lost all I had; my house, my money, my boutique. Everything gone in
a few minutes,” Pierre said.

item distinguishable amid a pile of
his possessions.
"It's like my two hands had been
cut. What can I say? I'm at death's
door."
In the same town, a girl carried
a container of water over her head
bigger than she was.
When she made it home to her
family, they were sitting in front
of their concrete house, which was
without a roof, and had almost
nothing inside.
Matha Dominique, 67, sat next
to her six family members, four of
whom are children. One of the boys
leaned on his mom's lap, another
looked at the ground with his arms

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

crossed, and one rested her chin in
the palm of her hand.
Their problems were tangible.
"Since I was born, I never see
something like that. I thought it was
the end of the world," Dominique
said. "Things that took many
years and effort to have and build
disappeared in a few minutes. That is
crazy and does not make sense to me.
At my age, do you think I could do
something or start again? I think no."
Nathalie Pierre, 28, looked
exhausted,
emotionally
and
physically, as she held up her 3-yearold daughter Rose.
"As you can see, my situation is
very bad. I lost all I had: my house,
my money, my boutique," Pierre said,
the two standing next to a broken bed
frame.
"The storm was terrible, but I was
lucky to have my only daughter alive
- that's the most important thing. Life
goes on."
------------------------

Prenille Nord, 42, poses for a photograph with his children Darline and Kervins
among the debris of their destroyed house after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie.
"My house is completely destroyed, I have nothing left,” said Nord.
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

oseline Charles (R), 57, poses for a photograph next to her relatives in their
destroyed house after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie. "As you can see, my house
was completely destroyed,” said Charles.

Marie Ange St Juste (R), 29, poses for a photograph with her sons, Kensley, 7 (L),
and Peterley, 5, in their destroyed house after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti.
"My house was totally destroyed during the storm," said St Juste.

Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlin

Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Photo story: All along the
Mexico-USA border wall

B

LISA BAERTLEIN

COURTESY OF REUTERS / INSP.NGO

uilding a wall along the
U.S.- Mexico border
has been a contentious
subject in this year's U.S.
presidential election.
In parts of California and
Arizona, a wall already exists.

It runs across rocky deserts,
flowing sand dunes and miles of
agricultural land.
The wall splits towns and
families, marking a boundary
between two countries that used
to be one. Busy land ports of

entry and signs written in both
Spanish and English attest to an
interdependence that still exists in
the bifurcated cities, faded mining
towns and eccentric art outposts
that punctuate the arid landscape.
The border between Mexico
and the United States spans some
2,000 miles between San Diego,
California and Brownsville, Texas.
Monitored around the clock
with ground sensors, cameras
and hundreds of customs and
border patrol officers, the wall is

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

composed of a mash-up of materials:
formidable cement slabs, steel mesh,
rusty corrugated metal.
There are oddities along the
fence: a home surrounded by
life-sized space alien mannequins
and toy UFOs; the statue of a cow
mounted high above the ground
near a cattle ranch; and gaps in the
fence occur sporadically without
explanation.
A man rode a tricycle in a
small California border town past a
(Continued on page 9)

�WORLD
Jon Bon Jovi: “It’s not rock and roll to
feed homeless people”

9

No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

TERRI WHITE

W

COURTESY OF INSP.NGO / THE BIG ISSUE UK BIGISSUE.COM @BIGISSUE

e'd last seen Jon Bon
Jovi 24 or so hours
before at the 'listening
party' for his new
album at London's Ivy Club - one of
those joints that have their own name
emblazoned on the crockery. Now
we're opposite him in the even more
opulent Savoy Hotel.

surprises, some shockers: the sudden
departure of Richie Sambora, the
record company and I having come
to loggerheads over the music
business and the business of music.
I found this was a unique period in
my life to be vulnerable and put it

providing housing but also via his
JBJ Soul Kitchen, which operates on
a simple premise: eat there and either
make a donation or volunteer in the
kitchen.
The juxtaposition of these two
parts of his life and these two parts of
our conversation isn't lost on us. But
it sure isn't lost on him either.

Bon Jovi joins staff of Project H.O.M.E and People for People, Inc. at the
groundbreaking ceremony for JBJ Soul Homes.
Photo: Nicole Polk (courtesy of Project Home)

U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is introduced along with singer
Lady Gaga and recording artist Jon Bon Jovi at a campaign rally in Raleigh,
North Carolina November 8, 2016.
Credit: REUTERS/Chris Keane

He's wearing sunglasses indoors.
We're intimidated by the carpet,
never mind the coiffed 19th-century
lass gazing apathetically at us from
the wall on which her portrait hangs.
We're here to discuss the new record
- This House is Not for Sale, the first
since guitarist Richie Sambora left
the band, in the wake of the drama
with their record label.
We are also set to talk about his
charitable work; work that saw him
presented with the Global Citizen
Award by Bill Clinton in September.
Ten years ago, he founded The Jon
Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, tackling
the issues of homelessness and
hunger in the United States through

Could you talk about the
changes in the band over the
last few years?
Shall I lay down on the couch to
start this…?
If
that
would
help,
absolutely.
It was a difficult time. There was
so much turmoil, the unexpected, the
shockers, all of those tent poles… I
should preface that by saying please,
we're talking to The Big Issue here
about folks that are selling magazines
on street corners, there is no pity
party for me.
'This is the plight of the rock
star' is not exactly what I want to
promote. But I went through some

Jon Bon Jovi was photographed for The Big Issue by Louise Haywood-Schiefer
in the Savoy Hotel, London.
Credit: Louise Haywood-Schiefer / The Big Issue

(Continued on page 10)

LISA BAERTLEIN

(Continued on page 13)

(Continued from page 8)

Buildings in Nogales, Mexico (R) are separated by a border fence from Nogales,
Arizona. Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

A gap in the U.S.-Mexico border fence is seen outside Jacumba, California.
Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�10

LOCAL

JASON HAAP
(Continued from page 7)
Enables Them," contributor Andrew
Kelly concludes that "[t]he exact
relationship between aid and tuition
increases—whether it causes or
enables—is actually less important
from a policymaking perspective
because the end effect is the same:
more aid, higher tuition prices. That’s
why simply pouring more aid into
the system won’t create affordable
college.

JILL GREGORY
(Continued from page 3)
The next President should make
changes to ensure farmworkers, food

Here's my point: questions about
things like student aid and college
tuition might be debatable, but it's
not like my uneducated white friend's
statement is totally absurd. He
believes liberal policies fail when it
comes to lifting people out of poverty,
and there are plenty of educated
people who think so, too. That doesn't
make them racists. If they complain
about "welfare queens," and make
weird comments about black people
and "the first of the month" - then,
yes, that sounds pretty racist. But not

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

everyone who is a conservative does
that.
I guess this is really just a long way
of saying, to my liberal friends, that we
need to stop demonizing people who
have a different political view. The
late Fred Phelps, of Westboro Baptist
Church infamy (the people who hold
"God Hates Fags" signs at military
funerals) was a lifelong Democrat.
I don't fault other Democrats for
the association, so I don't fault all
conservatives for the fact that some
truly deplorable people put a stake on

their side of the aisle.
I suggest finding a non-hateful,
intelligent Trump supporter. They
really do exist. I have found several
of them! Just like all black people
are not accurately represented by the
worst stereotypes you can imagine,
the same is true of Republicans. I
think it's time we start being a bit
more liberal in how we reach out to
our conservative friends.
------------------------

workers, and restaurant workers get
paid a fair wage. It is also important
to ban overuse of antibiotics, limiting
usage to the intended purpose of an
antibiotic, to treat infection.

Findlay Farmer’s Market in downtown Cincinnati. Plate of the Union generated
interest from over 100 people at this one market and over 100 thousand nationally.
Credit: Jill Gregory

Family at College Hill Farmer’s Market, Cincinnati and Jill from Plate of the Union
Kids:“Organic is the only way to grow,” and “no junk food in all schools!”
Credit: Jill Gregory

TERRI WHITE
(Continued from page 9)
into words. It is now a rebirth. I think
overall I'm not at the light at the end
of the tunnel but, for the first time in
three-plus years, I see it.
'Coming home' is a theme of
this record - but legacy too. Is
your legacy something you've
been mulling over?
I think my legacy… isn't specific
to this band. It's like, what do you
want your legacy to be, who are you?
And making records is what I do, it
isn't who I am. I said when I was 50 I
was not going to be writing 'bitch' on
my belly and painting my fingernails
black. I couldn't be the cliché. It's not
rock and roll to start a foundation
that feeds homeless people. It's not
rock and roll to say you work for the
president.
Do you think music is
enough of a legacy?
I'm not defined just by the
music, that's a calling card. I'm very
proud of the foundation's work.
The restaurant that we created just
didn't exist… that was the needle in a
haystack, that's the one in a million,
just: holy fuck, we did something. It's
not just standing at a microphone

giving some speech about feeding the
homeless; I'm down there washing
the fucking dishes.
Your
earlier
records
represented
blue-collar
workers - the world has changed
significantly for those people.
It's changed dramatically, which
makes you understand that a certain
part of the demographic - the one part
of the demographic that currently
Trump leads in - is the older, white,
somewhat educated male, who was
fearful and saddened because he
didn't get that pot of gold, and the
factory job left, and the mortgage was
still there.
And then the millennial on the
other side of the coin that was gonna
vote Bernie whose attitude was:
"Well, I'm never even gonna own a
house and I'm resolved to that. We
have to start thinking more about
our future and that pertains to an
environment."
That's the polar opposite of the
first demographic I'm describing…
These changes have happened in my
lifetime. I haven't given up hope that
technology can lead to some better
things. It's just when politics gets in
the way of it and greed gets in the
way of it, it's heartbreaking. Because

The time for action is now; for
the first time, children are projected
to have shorter life expectancies than
their parents. The food and farm
system in this country will dictate the
future of the health of our citizens,
economy, land, and soil.
If you would like to learn

more about Plate of the Union
or the continued work of HEAL
Food Alliance on these important
issues, please email me at jill@
healfoodalliance.org..

any logical mind says that money and
greed are just an evil combination.
The
disillusionment
of
that disenfranchised group is
something we've been facing
in the UK. How do you begin
to remedy that or reach those
people?
Part of the Soul Foundation's
work is that we have the EET
programme - Employment and
Empowerment Team. So you have
folks who are 50 years old and are
trying to re-enter the workplace and
they don't know how to work that
computer like their teenage kids do
and they don't know how to fill out
that job application - saying what
are my abilities, what services can I
provide - and that's a scary place to
be because the world has changed so.
I don't know how to do it. It's
going to take smarter people than I to
figure it out. But until we can at least
acknowledge that what separates is
what needs to bring us together, this
polarisation is not going to get any
better any time soon. This judging
everyone by the cover of the book:
colour of their skin, religion, sexual
orientation, financial backgrounds.
There are so many niches; we are
living in an 'us and them' society.

That's just not gonna fly.
The foundation is about
restoring pride in yourself and
your community. Where did
that philosophy come from?
It came through experience.
I'm looking out a hotel room [in
New York] one day and I see this
guy sleeping on a grate, it's dead of
winter. I think, this isn't what George
Washington and Ben Franklin, the
guys who were walking these streets,
must have been thinking about. It all
came into focus: I got it, the homeless
issue.
It doesn't matter if you're white,
black, young, old, Republican or
Democrat, it can affect you at any
time. Most people are living two
paychecks away from calamity. So I
met an expert in the field and she's
a nun - so then the cliché is the rock
star and the nun - but the rock star
and the nun became fast friends.
So when we went to DC, her
expertise and my pretty face got us into
a lot of rooms… then we compounded
it to create the restaurants. Again, the
audacity was that we could empower
people by bringing them together
in this environment. There were

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

(Continued on page 12)

�LOCAL
LIGHTENING STRIKES TWICE
No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

the Cancer Justice Network and to
sign up for free cancer exams.
Discussing health in Christ
Church Cathedral raised serious
questions about how to understand
the purpose of the dinner and the
conversation. Many people had
been to a prior dinner. No religious
message was delivered or religious
adherence was asked for by anyone.
The action of giving a free dinner
without any qualifications was seen
as one way that the mission of caring
could be enacted. Now, though, the
Cancer Justice Network was joining
the evening meal and bringing a set
of new questions and expectations
of both attendance and participation in the dinner. Were people now
required to discuss their personal
health histories? Did experiences
with cancer including family history
suggest that a new requirement for
attendance was being demanded?
The Cancer Justice Network and Pat
Coyle, PhD, of the Church worried
about the mixed communication we
might be sending and, with this new
approach, whether we were undermining the purposes of the dinner.
Our goal was to co-create a learning experience with the people. We
wanted to get to know people and to
raise the concern that we had about
preventing cancer from becoming a
killer that went unregarded. Sadly,
we knew that institutional health
care had ignored the realities facing
poor people by neither educating
nor treating the increasing numbers
of people with cancer. We knew that
many people, prior to the Affordable
Care Act, had never considered having doctors and hospitals that were
responsive to their health needs.
Cincinnati's hospitals were located

in neighborhoods that had a twenty
year less life expectancy for residents
and the hospitals had no programs
of education or treatment except the
occasional health fair. But we were
trying something new: a process
of really caring about empowering
people with knowledge about the
danger signs of cancer and the steps
needed for timely treatment. We
wanted to follow a model program
developed by Harold Freeman, MD,
a surgeon, and developer of the
navigation process. The key to this
approach is that our navigators will
both explain the realities of cancer,
describe the importance of exams
for early detection, and, importantly, accompany people to their exams
and treatment. We wanted this new
approach to change people's relationship to physicians,knowledge
about cancer, and improve the likelihood of getting both an exam and,
if needed, treatment. And, we want
to save lives.
The results are starting to arrive. Some people at the dinner
signed up to find out if they had
cancer. They met with admissions
staff from Crossroad Health Center,
talked with Molina Insurance about
the steps to getting insurance, raised
health questions with our medical
director, Nemat Moussavian, MD,
and built the beginning of a trusting relationship with our navigators.
(Our navigators were Pat Murray,
Alison Love, and our first navigators
from UC's Communication Department and Xavier University's school
of nursing.) We will wait and see
if this group follows through with
their appointments and whether the
phone contacts we have will result in
deepening the relationship between
navigators and those people attending the dinner. The magic of the dinner environment worked and, for
the second week in a row, we saw
many people signing up for exams,
discussing their general health, and
agreeing to follow up. The hour or

so for dinner and conversation sped
by like a lightning bolt. We felt the
warmth of good conversations, caring starts of important discussions
about health, and the acceptance of
the offer of help to find out if cancer was present. About 10% of the
people signed up; all were given a
chance to discuss cancer or a health
problem. Slowly, the concept of a
navigator, an ally, to work with a
person at a difficult time and perhaps with difficult conditions that
prevent action by themselves, began
to form. In an instant, the dining
room was lit by flashes of compassion, by the bright light of hope, and
by the illumination of a possibility of
overcoming a lethal disease.
We are grateful that seeds of
humanness were planted both
in the navigators and the dinner
guests. Once strangers just a bit ago
were transformed, in part, into the
threads of a structure of compassion, a new form that required releasing hope from both sides.
Questions remain about our efforts: Should our navigators take up
regular attendance at these dinners
in order to establish relationships
that are ongoing?; Would the place
for the navigators also be at the
health centers so that people could
meet them and have navigators
team with people as the meet health
professionals?; How will we know
what has worked for the person and
the navigator in such a short time
period and, if we find out, is what is
successful transferable to other settings for education?; and, can we
start a movement of the people, by
the people, and with the people to
spread the word that cancer care is
available with good doctors, effective treatments, and compassionate
navigators? We will continue to find
our way.

preparation one can make now is to
build community, as in “common
unity.” Do it now, make those
contacts now, find out whom you can
trust and who has what skills. Get
involved in your faith community,

join a community garden, or even a
neighborhood watch group. Help
out with one of the organizations
that make up the Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless. Don’t
work in just one group, get involved

in two or more. Involvement is the
key, not just “networking.” In fact,
building community is a good idea
even if disaster never strikes.
One group that was at the
Cincinnati Preparedness Expo that
I might get involved with is the
OH-KY-IN Amateur Radio Society.
Being a ham radio operator has
always intrigued me. I like the
idea of being able to talk directly
to someone without going through
multiple phone or internet switching
stations. Plus, in an emergency ham
radio operators can support relief
and recovery efforts by relaying
messages even when other means of
communications are down. Some
ham operators even practice for this.
I hope to take their technician level
licensing class in March. I think I
would find this enjoyable, like I find
gardening enjoyable. I don’t think of
being prepared as a burden but as an
incentive (one out of several) to learn
new skills and to meet and work with
people on more than just a superficial
level.

STEVE SUNDERLAND

"W

Contributing Writer

e can't refuse
to be human
beings.
We
can be unconscious, asleep. But to be awake is
often just a simple matter of being
willing to feel the connection, to
feel the presence of more than our
selves...We are obviously a part of
something bigger than ourselves,
and our health and well-being are
interdependent..." --M.C. Richards
(1980). Toward Wholeness. Wesleyan Press.
On October 14, 2016 over 200
people, poor, minorities, families,
came to the weekly free dinner at
Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati. At the over 20
tables were several members of the
Cancer Justice Network, an organization that had visited a week before
to provide cancer education. The
tables filled as people waited to be
called to a beautiful buffet prepared
for the Church's "guests." Sharing
cancer education in this setting is
new for both the people who came
for dinner and the "Navigators," the
trained volunteers who had come
prepared to have conversations
about why cancer may be killing record numbers of minorities in Cincinnati.
We had learned the prior week
that there appeared to be an openness to discussing health in general and cancer in particular. Our
conversations were marked by an
interest and a seriousness that suggested that health questions were
on the minds of poor people. Now,
they had another chance to discuss
health and, if they wanted, to meet
representatives from Crossroad
Health Center, Molina Insurance,

MICHAEL EARL PATTON
(Continued from page 7)

My own thoughts are that
it is reasonable to have some
preparations made beforehand
for natural disasters. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency’s
(FEMA) recommendations can be
found at www.ready.gov and a brief
description of supplies at www.
ready.gov/kit. FEMA recommends
having 3 days of food and water
on hand, maybe up to 2 weeks
depending upon circumstances,
along with other supplies. But to
survive TEOTWAWKI (The End Of
The World As We Know It) just by
stocking supplies for 6 months or so
is doomed to failure. What happens
after 6 months when your food has
run out? Or you need to replace
a tool? Or you child needs major
surgery? Or someone needs new
shoes or snow boots? No one person,
or one family, has all the skills and
resources needed.
To me the most important

11

Dried Food Preparation
Photo: Michael Earl Patton

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

For more information, please
go to cancerjusticenetwork.org

�12

OPINION

To be or not to be OR Obama’s
legacy – our problem
ROBERT PARK

O

Contributing Writer &amp;
Streetvibes Distributor

vernight a swarm of
locusts has descended.
Almost every progressive
organization has turned
Trump victory into a luscious
fund-raising hook (it’s a win-win:
before Trump – after Trump).
Virtually all these well-intentioned
blood suckers are presenting no
perspective on how we got here and
what core strategy we need to get
out. Where were most of these folks
when Bernie was running, when the
Democratic National Committee
was shamelessly tilting the playing
field toward Clinton, dismissing
those workers in Michigan. Instead
of gushing over Hillary, our first
woman President (Elizabeth
Warren, maybe) why weren’t they
asking about white workers (and
black workers)?
For the past 30 years the
Democratic Party has been the
engine of neoliberalism: make the
world safe for mobile capital, the
purveyor of democracy. Right, like
in China, Bangladesh, Iran, Saudi

TERRI WHITE
(Continued from page 12)
naysayers, right in the community,
saying: "We're not going to support
this." Why? Fear. Okay, fear of what?
I don't wanna sit with a homeless
person. Really, that guy just cooked
you a meal.
That kind of lack of education,
putting a face on the people who are
your neighbours, is what our mission
is. Slowly, we're teaching that
community that the commonality,
which is food, gives you the
opportunity to know your neighbour.
Then, 55,000 meals later in a 33seat restaurant, bravo, you know, it's
working.
How does all of this feed
into your political beliefs and
alliances?
Not really. I'm a Democrat since
my wife educated me some 30 years
ago, prior to that I was too young and
wasn't paying attention, so when Ron

BILL WOODS
(Continued from page 7)
Meanwhile, it was refreshing to
see some progressive and thoughtful
political candidates emerging at
the local level. At the Christ Church
Forum on October 27th, two young
women running for Ohio House
District 31 revealed their intentions if
elected of promoting needed services
for families and individuals who live in
the state. Republican candidate Mary
Yeager, a struggling mother with
young children, knows first-hand the
kind of services that families often
require. Her Democratic opponent,
Brigid Kelly, comes from a labor
union background, and she advocates

Arabia, Vietnam. Deregulate the
banks, ship manufacturing to wageslave countries with no enforceable
labor rights or environmental
standards. Watch the rich get much,
much richer. If that wasn’t bad
enough, the assholes engineered
the Great Recession in which
millions lost jobs, homes, and small
businesses (and haven’t recovered).
Obama’s solution, despite a huge
cross-racial mandate? Bring in the
perpetrators to fix the problems and
don’t look back. If anyone put on the
last layer of asphalt paving the way
for Trump, it was get along Obama.
We wanted a motherfucker and we
got Obamacare. If he had fought for
the working class, and even lost, race
and birthers would have disappeared
from public Presidential memory.
Good economics trumps racism!!
Ignoring economics invites racism.
There we have it. It may get a lot
worse.
Bernie recently commented
post-election that the Democratic
Party “failed with the working class.”
Reagan told us everyone should have
a white picket fence and two cars in
the driveway (and I was 18 and didn't
know any better), I was like, yeah I
like that.
It doesn't sway me [now] because
I was very objective in this election.
I'm open to somebody that has a
fiscally conservative agenda but yet a
liberal viewpoint. I'm not so Blue that
I can't listen to Purple.
But do you think you can
be fiscally conservative and
believe in a welfare state?
I hope so. Under the guise of
doing the right thing: it's a hand
up, not a handout. That right there,
that little bumper sticker, is enough
for the beginning of a conversation,
to reiterate once again: believe me
ladies and gentlemen, nobody woke
up and said: "I've got a great career
path; I want to be a homeless guy in
the street." No, who the fuck wants to
do that? Whatever led them to that
despair, it wasn't their first choice
for better working conditions and
wages, as well as more state funding
for public education. (Kelly won this
race.)
At the same Forum, Denise
Driehaus displayed why her
knowledge of policy and her
dedication to serving her constituents
make her an especially appealing
candidate for the Hamilton County
Commission. After reaching her limit
of terms in the Ohio House, Driehaus
decided to run for a Commission
seat. She promised to be a more
activist Commissioner in fighting for
increased funding for areas such as
children's services. She also showed
a grasp of the complex Metropolitan

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

Actually, that’s not quite right; that
just explains how they lost, not why.
He should have said the Democratic
Party “failed the working class” (for
decades) and explained the many
ways. He went on to say they didn’t
make clear that they were on their
side (the working class). That’s
because they weren’t on their side.
Bernie needs to be more direct (and
honest). Maybe Bernie should have
stayed outside Hillary’s campaign
and pushed Clinton further to the
left, openly attacking her, backing
and encouraging progressive
candidates to do the same – it could
only have helped their own efforts.
But a Clinton victory would have
preserved the fundamental problem
in the Party. At least, now, it’s way
out in the open.
Now the millennials and others
are out in the streets, testifying
against bad attitudes (racism,
sexism, etc.) but not saying so much
about economics or Democratic
betrayal. This just affirms Trumpism
in the eyes of the working class white
guys. It helps cement the wildly
successful distractions that got
Trump elected. Some of us still don’t
get it. Trump got it, and built a giant
fraud around it; why don’t we get
it? It’s the economy, stupid. It’s the
ruling class, dumbbell.
Here’s what we have to do.
Build coalitions with a clear
growing up.
One last thing: does Trump
actually have a chance in hell?
Yes. Look what happened here.

understanding of why we are in this
predicament and how to get out of
it. This means saying mean things
about the Democratic Party (and
its leading corporate, Republican
wannabees). Demands have to be
articulated but this will be difficult
because the Dems have already
abandoned most of them such
that Trump could easily pick them
up as part of his great scam (like
jobs, infrastructure). We need to
get specific on Tax the rich, Free
education and Single-payer universal
healthcare to replace the Obamacare
monstrosity. We need to stand
together, all of us, when the rubber
hits the road in local conflicts. We
need to innovate local resistance
(blocking things, taking things,
disrupting things).
If we don’t seize this moment
and get it right, we’ll have some
serious dark side risk. Lone
vigilantes, armed gangs, race wars,
small and big, with our huge,
militarized security apparatus locked
and ready for action. When these
things start to happen, if enough
of us don’t jump on the right side
fast, it may all be over. Let start the
conversation.
[The Greater Cincinnati
Homeless Coalition does not endorse
candidates.]
My logical mind tells me it's not
possible but we live in an illogical
time.

Jon Bon Jovi performs at a concert at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
March 1, 2011.
Credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Sewer District issues. (Commissioner
Deters was represented at the Forum
by an aide who said he did not wish to
speak for his boss on specific issues,)
Driehaus won a close election on
November 8th.
Finally, an event that gave me
the most hope during this depressing
election year was a presentation by
Sr. Simone Campbell, Director of
Network Lobby for Catholic Social
Justice in Washington, D.C.. Sr.
Simone is also a leader of Nuns on
the Bus, a project that has taken nuns
to twenty-three cities in thirteen
states to talk about the issues at stake
in the upcoming Congressional and
Presidential elections. Speaking to an

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

attentive audienceat Christ Church
Cathedral on Wednesday evening
October 26th, she emphasized the
theme of "mending the current
economic and social gaps that exist
in the U.S. by reweaving the fabric of
our society."
The very wide and ever
growing gaps in income and wealth
distribution in American society,
declared Sr. Simone, have created
a number of serious injustices that
must be addressed. The platform of
Nuns on the Bus includes support
for a living wage for all workers, a
more equitable tax policy, access to
(Continued on page 13)

�No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

BILL WOODS
(Continued from page 12)
good health care, the availability
of safe, affordable housing, family
friendly workplaces, and reforming
the democratic process. She used
members of the audience as props
showing how wide the distances have

LISA BAERTLEIN
(Continued from page 9)
grocery store with a one percent sign
hanging on the wall.
In Nogales, Arizona's largest
international border community,
the wall neatly divides the city. Little
else distinguishes the hillside homes
stacked on either side. Drivers
entering Mexico are warned by a
sign that firearms and ammunition
are prohibited. At night, a bright
neon yellow McDonald's sign stands
out.
Some who live near the border
in California and Arizona agree
with U.S. Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump and his
demand that Mexico pay the cost for

13

STREET VOICE

grown between the poor, a shrinking
middle-class, and people of great
wealth.
A good speaker, Sr. Simone made
the "Social Gospel" come alive, and
she sprinkled her remarks with selfdeprecating humor. She preached
that we must replace our current

emphasis on individualism with a
return to "we the people" working to
solve problems. Only by putting aside
our differences and coming together
will we be able to effectively mend
the gaps that tear us apart. I left the
Church that evening buoyed by her
message of hope. Maybe Sr. Simone's

words can sustain me in getting over
what happened on November 8th
and getting back to work on renewing
our democratic process.
[Editor’s note: The Greater
Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does
not endorse candidates.]

construction of a wall on the border
between the two countries. Others
are deeply disturbed by it, like
Mexico's government.
"It's been stigmatised pretty
bad," said Jaime Alvarez, a retired
Army auditor running for Arizona
Senate. He works out of the
Democratic party office in the city of
Douglas.
Alvarez said residents are
worried that too much talk about
border control will distract people
from having other important
discussions about education, poverty
and healthcare.
------------------------

A THEFT IN THE ECONOMY
It takes a thief to steal the people of the countries
belief
It takes a thief to have the people have to change
their lives, now that’s deep
It takes a thief to double the price of football
stadiums and fields
It takes a thief to convince the county the police
deserve a Las Vegas deal
It takes a thief to steal channels from our children,
scanning for the T.V.
Whether it be for the Converter Box, Cable Box or
Direct T.V. Do you understand me?
For me to steal anything or to be classified as a
political thief
Would for me never to have believed in the
Constitution and damn Democracy
So now where do we go as a people in order to
regain the stability we so freely lost
In the future we must read every dotted line, keep
the faith and let God alone be the boss!
WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 112
Across
1. Trilby
4. Health spring
7. Ululate
11. Soft drink
12. Small piece of a pencil
13. Paragon
15. Interpret
17. Serenity
18. Small snake
19. Asian temple
21. Small cask or barrel
22. Acquire
23. Kitchen appliance
24. Set of cards
27. Consumed
28. Filament
30. Eager
33. Reconstruct
36. Go stealthily or furtively
38. Give temporarily
39. Be unwell
40. Ring recurrently
41. Lull
43. Mixture of smoke and fog
45. Miniature whirlpool
46. Set of cooking
instructions
48. Small insect
50. DNA segment
51. Officer below master on a
commercial ship
53. Armed conflict
56. A great distance
58. Trained Japanese female
entertainer
60. The night before
61. Impure form of quartz
64. Affirmation
66. Sum
67. Burn slightly
68. Legal document
69. Minute life form
70. Attempt
71. Peculiar

Down
1. Equine animal
2. Conform
3. Bronze
4. Phase
5. Lampoon
6. Not up and about
7. Pelvis
8. Poem
9. Lacking willpower or
resolution
10. Delicate fabric
11. Male red deer
12. Drool
14. Limb
16. Blemish
20. Pertinent
25. Part of a circle
26. Floor covering
27. Cite
28. Unaccompanied
29. Lake on the border
between
Israel and Jordan, ___ Sea
30. Whole
31. Swerve
32. Incorporate
34. Facilitate
35. Lacking in light
37. One of the strands
twisted
together to make yarn or
rope
42. When a wrestler's
shoulders
are forced to the mat
44. Collect in one place
47. Golf tee
49. Move towards
51. Hoarder
52. Appraisal of a
substance
53. Uncanny
54. Stay clear from
55. Regular payment for
use of a property
56. Adipose tissue
57. Highly excited
59. Compass direction
62. Old salt
63. Hard tough wood
65. A couple

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 237 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 342
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 106

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 241- MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 339 | N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children

Cincinnati Health Network		

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	961-1983

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365

Our Daily Bread			621-6364

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064
112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211

241-2965

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		
215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437
Center for Respite Care			621-1868
3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111

Advocacy

Health

$100

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				762-5660

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

961-0600

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

859-491-8303

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

�16

N o v 18 - D e c 1, 2 0 16 | N o . 339

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a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

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DARBY
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KERNS
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GREEN
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HOFSKY
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MUELLER
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MARK
SHEARS
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MAURICE
GOLSBY

MYRA
WILSON

NEBRASKA
SINCE 3/2015

PERVIS
MENTON
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                    <text>J u ly

1st

-

J u ly

14th

2016

|

Vol.

20

Issue

14

(No.

333)

advocating justice | Building community

Photo Essay: Cincinnati's Gay Pride Parade | 8-9

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Did Hiroshima Prevent
WWIII? | 7

Breaking the Issue
Attention Cycle: Bringing
in the Coalition | 5

Reclaim Your Queer! | 3

A Little Free Library in
OTR | 4

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director:
It Takes Two People to Decide Who Plans
the Development of City Property

July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

JOSH SPRING

Executive Director

H

ow many people does it
take to determine who
plans the development of
city-owned property? If
you guessed five, that is a good guess
because City Council has nine elected
members and five is the minimum
majority vote of those nine officials.
But you’d be wrong. The answer is
actually two; the head of the Community and Economic Development department and the City Manager - both
unelected positions.
If this seems like a problem, consider this, the City employs something called a preferred developer
agreement. These contracts give the
exclusive right to plan and institute
the development of any piece of cityowned property to a private organization. While in place the city stops
maintaining the property while the
private organization creates a development plan. There is no public notice given prior to the signing of one
of these contracts. There is no request
for proposals issued. There is no bidding to see what organization would
best benefit the city or the neighborhood. There is no required neighborhood conversation or decision.
Throughout the year in which such an
agreement is in place the city cannot
offer development opportunities on

the land to any other entity without
first dissolving the agreement.
If the company in contract with
the city fails to put together a viable
plan by the end of that year, the same
two un-elected people can simply resign the agreement for another year regardless of why the company could
not put together a viable plan - again
with no required input from the public or City Council. City Council only
gets a say if the private company
puts together a plan that is endorsed
by the head of Community and Economic Development and the City
Manager. City Council is then asked
to vote to transfer the property from
the city into the ownership of the private company. Again prior to this potential vote on selling the city-owned
property, there has been no required
public discussion, there has been no
required bidding, there has been no
required discussion regarding racial
or economic inclusion in the development itself or the construction of the
development.
I assume for most people reading
this, this all seems quite problematic
to say the least. Well it gets worse.
In a handful of cases these agreements have been voted on by Council, in a publically unknown number

The Role of The News
Media in a Democracy
BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

S

cholars of U.S. politics and
government have often emphasized the importance of a
free press in a representative
democracy. They stress that skilled
journalists play a key role as the communications link between elected officials, candidates for office and the
general public. A recent article by
syndicated columnist E. J. Dionne
on Donald Trump and the media
prompted me to consider the current
relationship between journalists and
the political process. How has this
relationship changed over time, and
how have the changes impacted the
health of both politics and the news
media?
Considerable evidence indicates
that professional journalism and
politics today have both reached unhealthy stages. Print journalism has
experienced a steady decline, and
most cities consider themselves lucky
to have one daily newspaper. The
emergence of weekly and biweekly
newspapers such as CityBeat and
Streetvibes strive to fill the news gap
caused by the loss of so many dailies.
From the 1950s onward, television became a major vehicle for delivering the news. For years, the ABC,
CBS, and NBC evening news hours
competed with Time Magazine, News

Week and U.S. News and World Report as sources people relied on for
national and international news. For
a period of time, people of all political
persuasions read and heard basically
the same set of facts about the country
and the world. Even if they could not
resolve their different political views,
they could at least accept the same set
of factual information.
Next came the rise of Cable TV.
This opened up a new array of specialized news sources to compete with
the three networks. Suddenly, viewers could opt for news programs that
matched their political opinions such
as Fox News and then MSNBC. Many
people are no longer sharing the same
set of facts.
Finally, the internet has brought
about a whole new and confusing dimension in terms of how people receive information. With the click of
a few keys, someone can connect to
a vast number of data bases, news,
and political opinion links. Although
thousands of these internet sources
provide fact-based and enlightening information, an equal number of
them offer opinions often based on
skewed or false information. Now
a person with a particular political
opinion need never come in contact
with facts or reasonable editorials

of instances, they have not been. This
leads to the question of why would
Council vote in a few instances, but
not in others. The answer is: there
is no public answer. Researching the
topic in the city’s charter, municipal
code, rules of council and the online
archive of city documents does not
reveal any information of when or if
the power to create these agreements
was ever discussed or enacted. Such
a search reveals no laws or policies
pertaining to these agreements nor
any actual indication of a particular
process that must be followed. In fact,
every bit of the “process” explained
above is based simply on the few
agreements that have been at least
somewhat forced into the public eye.
So what do you think should be
done considering the fact that currently in our city two unelected officials can grant the exclusive rights to
plan the development of city-owned
property without any public notice
or discussion, without any vote of
City Council and without any named
requirements for inclusion or return
on investment for the city; and there
is no readily available evidence that
there was ever a policy created to allow for this or guide the process?
-----------------------that might moderate, change or challenge his or her views.
Another negative trend has been
the commercialization of the news
media. In recent decades, news venues, especially TV news productions,
have been influenced by the goal of
higher viewer ratings. More and more
the news has become synonymous
with entertainment. This fact means
that a colorful politician’s rants or
sexual scandals will usually get more
coverage than a complicated social or
economic issue. If the news is entertainment, the producer doesn’t want
to bore the audience with a lot of tedious facts and complexity.
At the same time these changes
have evolved in terms of presenting the news, politicians and political groups have also transformed the
ways they communicate with people.
As late as the 1970s, elected officials
often relied on speech writers and
aides who specialized in dealing with
the press to assist them in presenting
their positions and views to the news
media. The goal was to get free press
coverage for the candidate or official,
but the press releases and briefings
also needed to possess some serious
issue content in order to justify the attention of newspaper and TV journalists. In this process, politicians knew
that good reporters would not just
print the contents of a press release,
but they would often check facts and
add other perspectives to their final
stories. These informal, symbiotic relationships between journalists and
public officials created a steady diet of

(Continued on page 7)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Peter Kobak
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper
CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Johnathan
Diskin, Thomas A. Dutton, James
C. Fraser, Key Beck, Camri Nelson,
Justin jeffre, Jim Debrosse, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Michael Earl
Patton, Steve Sunderland, Peter
Kobak, Ricardo Taylor, Willa Denise
Jones, Kim Green
Photography/Artwork:
Cynthia Zulla, Angela Ginty, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Michael Earl
Patton, Lukasz Katlewa, Bill Woods,
Aimee Willhoite
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�LOCAL
Is it too late for Over-theRhine to be a Mixed-Income
Neighborhood?

3

No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

perts agree work. These can include:
•	
•	
•	
•	
•	

JONATHAN DISKIN
THOMAS A. DUTTON
JAMES C. FRASER

Contributing Writers

T

he dramatic transformation
of lower Over-the-Rhine is
widely hailed as an "urban
renaissance." But for whom,
precisely?
As Xavier’s Community Building Institute’s recent housing study
shows, the renaissance comes at a
loss of roughly 75 percent of housing
affordable to the very poor. That’s
alarming.
Mayor John Cranley, who once
opposed allowing public funds for
new low-income housing in OTR,
recently proposed new spending
for affordable housing, declaring in
a June 1 CityBeat article that new
development “should not come at
the expense of the people who have
lived here a long time.” While we are
heartened the city recognizes that
OTR has reached – or passed – a tipping point, clearly we need a greater
focus on housing affordability if we
are to have, in the mayor’s words, “a
healthy community that is mixed income.”
If the model of development
below Liberty Street is reproduced

throughout all of OTR, the neighborhood will be an enclave for more
professional, whiter, and wealthier
residents; an end game that pushes
the poor from valuable areas to those
with little commercial value or amenities, reproducing the very isolation that was so denounced by OTR
development boosters, including the
mayor.
If mixed-income development
is to be worthy of its name, it must
secure the tenure of people who live
below the reach of the market. Letting the market run is no option as
housing markets segregate by income. Two basic points must be at
the forefront of policy deliberation to
insure that more of the poor are not
displaced.
First, demonstrate the same
level of commitment to secure poor
households as the city did with market-rate development. Small intermittent gestures will not suffice because the market is roaring in OTR
and rents and property values are
rising rapidly. We need to employ
now all the tools that nationwide ex-

Reclaim Your Queer!
KEY BECK

Contributing Writer

S

o, I am finally home after an
exciting and rejuvenating
weekend with friends, lovedones, and new (Bonna) family. It was a great experience for me
because I needed a recharge. I truly
feel like Bonnaroo Music and Arts
Festival, a yearly summer concert in
Tennessee, is home for four sweltering, hot days of my life. It is a home,
a safe haven, and a getaway for many
of us queers (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender if you wanna play
the “respectability politics”). At
Bonnaroo, we are free to hold hands,
kiss, caress and just live without
fear, anxiety or victimization. That is
the type of place Bonnaroo has come
to be. For many queers (both young
and old), gay bars and clubs are the
same type of safe haven and place of
community.
This was not the case for the
many people who went out to Pulse
Nightclub in Orlando this June. I
would be remiss not to mention that
this particular night was Latin night,
predominantly attended by Black,
Hispanic and Latinx Americans. So
this was not only a homophobic attack, but a racially-motivated one to
boot.
As a queer, person of color who is
slightly gender non-conforming… it
is rough living in society where such
ignorance and hate is rampant. Hate
for choosing your gender expression,
hate for your black body and hate
for your very existence. Your body
is instantly political. If I wear baggy
clothes and hoodie, people label me
a thug, clutch their purses, grab their
girlfriends and cross the street. If I

wear short, pink shorts and a cut-off,
people call me gay or a girl, whistle at
me or even physically block my path.
I am constantly judged by the things
I wear, the length of my hair, the way
I talk and move through the world.
There is not a day that passes
where I am not harassed, aggressed
or cat-called. Sometimes, they don’t
incite violence, other times they do.
I have learned that words are a lot
easier to dodge than bottles. And,
sometimes a stranger is an ally, and
other times they are an instigator.
This routine has become so emotionally, physically, and psychologically
exhausting that I have to get away
annually to The Farm in Tennessee.
There, I don’t have to constantly be
aware of my surroundings or worry
that someone may try to spit on me
while running past them. We need to
get to a place in society where queer
and trans people (of color) don’t have
to leave their city to find solidarity,
inclusion and acceptance. Your city
should be your home, not your prison.
While I am happy to return to
Cincinnati, I am sad to come home
to the news of tragedy, hate, and oppression. I am sad that we have to
have conversations with our queer
and LGBT youth about gun violence,
homophobia and racial terrorism.
I am sad that I have to explain the
mass shooting in Orlando as a hate
crime to the parents of LGBT youth
who are new to the community. Although the news media fails to do so,
we must label this shooting as an act
of self-hate, discrimination, prejudice and homophobia. This heinous

Inclusionary zoning
Limited-equity cooperatives
Community land trusts
Shared equity models
Anti-Displacement and Housing Retention Ordinances
(which ironically Cincinnati
once had)

These policies are hardly radical; many U.S. cities use at least one.
But none of these exist in Cincinnati,
perhaps due to a lack of real interest
in housing affordability in OTR. Inclusivity will not materialize unless
concerted action is taken – and soon.
Second, fund affordable housing through a "shared equity" model.
Make no mistake, OTR’s raging market has been fostered with a huge
infusion of public money, from beautification to park renovations to commercial building renovation. Our
analysis, based on 3CDC’s public disclosures about its financing sources,
shows that new units of housing,
including condos and apartments,
benefited from an average of about
$200,000 worth of public and philanthropic money.
Given this public/private arrangement, we can ask those who
are reaping private gains from these
public expenditures to cover some
of the costs of more inclusive housing. The mayor’s call to extend the
mechanism created to capture some
of this new property value for the
streetcar, the Voluntary Tax Incentive Contribution Agreement (VTICA), is a good start in this direction.

This mechanism asks developers
to contribute some portion of the
property taxes that the city agrees to
abate for 15 years, to a fund dedicated to some clear purpose. A portion
of this money could fund low-income
housing and support businesses that
serve residents of modest means.
Developers are getting sweet deals as
the value of their property increases
while hundreds of millions in public monies is pumped into OTR. We
propose extending this principle of
"value recapture" such that those
who have invested in OTR property
would pay a small tax to support inclusion if they sell and reap a huge
capital gain.
In a May 26 Enquirer article,
Cranley says, “We have room to grow
a city with everyone. That is when it
really becomes a city." Effort is needed now to ensure housing affordability in OTR and elsewhere. Anything
less will simply relocate the very concentrated poverty that he and others
claim to address.
Jonathan Diskin is a professor
of economics at Earlham College.
Thomas A. Dutton is director of the
Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-theRhine. James C. Fraser is an associate professor of human and organizational development at Vanderbilt
University.
[This op-ed first appeared in the
Enquirer under the title Protect Affordable Housing in OTR.]
------------------------

act was facilitated by America’s willhomeless from using their facilities.
Spikes on perimeter walls and bars
ingness to other queer people, esin park benches are physical signs of
pecially queer and gender non-conexclusion and we shouldn’t be movforming people of color, such as the
ing in that direction. We need to hold
Public Library of Cincinnati denying
our political leaders accountable for
insurance claims for gender confirsupporting oppressive laws and polimation surgery. According to the
cies that target LGBT people and
Human Rights Campaign and other
other marginalized communities.
sources, nearly 1 in 12 people who
Finally, we need to support our comidentify as transgender will experipatriot groups such as Black Lives
ence lethal violence towards them
Matter, Radical Feminists, and Palbased on their gender presentation.
estinian Liberation groups.
This is ridiculous and can be preIf you don’t feel you are ready to
vented by the incorporation of laws,
fully support equity, start with babyrights, and protections of LGBT,
steps. Hug your neighbor. Volunteer
queer and trans-identified people.
at a GLSEN event. Go out and meet
It takes work and emotional lathe LGBT community. We need to
bor to live life when the body is poprotect each other from violence and
litical. Racism, sexism, transphobia,
hurt the best we can. We need to valhomophobia, islamophobia, patriarue each other for our differences and
chy and other systems of oppression
learn to welcome the unknown and
all exist to tear us apart. We shouldn’t
not fear it. Only when we pull back
forget how leaders such as Marsha P.
the curtain of ignorance do we learn
Johnson, Miss Major Griffon-Gracy,
the truth. So let’s lead with empathy
and Sylvia Rivera lead the communiand love instead of hate and misunty to fight against the systematic and
derstanding.
institutionalized violence against
-----------------------queer people at Stonewall. This is
our time to come together and
support those who need it.
So, what are some strategies we can implement to support our LGBT community?
First, we can support the LGBT
youth who are experiencing
homelessness. Helping them
as youth can potentially deter
other negative consequences
they may experience as adults.
Insist that community organizations, including the social
services, community agencies
and police undergo competency training to learn how to deal
with marginalized groups such
as people of color and LGBT
individuals. Question our park
boards why they insist on installing obstructive objects to
deter people experiencing
Cincinnati's Pride Parade Photo: Cynthia Zulla

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�4

LOCAL
Meet Up with Wendell Young
CAMRI NELSON

Contributing Writer

F

rom fighting off criminals to
implementing new initiatives
in Cincinnati, Wendell Young
has dedicated 40 years of his
life to improving his home town.
Growing up in Cincinnati, Young
never imagined himself working in
law enforcement. It wasn’t until he
graduated from high school that he
decided to enlist in the Airforce as a
Security Force Specialist. His duties
consisted of protecting the Airmen,
directing traffic, and responding to
emergencies, which was something
he really enjoyed doing. He enjoyed
the experience so much that after he
was discharged in 67’, he returned
home to Cincinnati and accepted a
position with CPD.
Although Young was fortunate
enough to be an officer in Cincinnati,
a place where he was well known, he
still encountered many obstacles.
“The biggest challenge was just
being an African American officer
at the time when there were riots

around the country and in Cincinnati”. Black officers were widely criticized and viewed as ‘Uncle Toms’ and
traitors, said Young.
In order to ultimately gain the
trust of the African American community, Young and other African
American officers formed the Sentinel Police Association, an organization that addresses police corruption,
police brutality, and racial discrimination. Although the association did
help build the relationship between
the officers and the community, some
of officers within the department disapproved.
“They didn’t agree that women
needed to be hired and they did not
agree that promotional opportunities
and assignments needed to be spread
more evenly throughout the population of the police department.
He never once let the opinions of
those who opposed of his decisions
stop him from advocating for equal
rights. After retiring from CPD, he

accepted a position as an Equal Opportunity Officer and worked with
employees and managers to ensure
that individuals were given the same
opportunity for employment and
equal pay. Working as an EOO, Young
claims it was a very rewarding experience.
Another one of Young’s rewarding experiences was teaching at Aiken High School. In August of 2007 he
taught courses called, Government
and Public Administration and Law
and Public Safety to a group of at-risk
youth. One of his biggest challenges
was teaching the children because the
retention rate was low. However, he
realized that for those who did make
it throughout the entire school year,
were more mature and improved
their attitudes by the end.
“I learned that young people who
are given an opportunity for the most
part, regardless of where they come
from, respond well to people who believe in them, work with them, and

Is Music Hall safe? Protestors say noncertified welders erecting new ceiling
JIM DEBROSSE

Contributing Writer
[This article was first published at
https://c4ad.wordpress.com/]

A

nother major Cincinnati
construction job — the
$129-million renovation of
Music Hall that began this
month — is facing accusations that
contractors are trimming costs by using non-certified welders and risking
the safety of the project.
About eight protestors organized
by the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers
Center, a nonprofit pro-labor group,
have been displaying informational
banners and signs this week along
Elm Street in front of the Over-theRhine renovation site.
The protesters say about a dozen welders on the project – hired by
Merit Erectors and its sister company Avenue Fabricating Inc., both
local steel construction firms – have

the same fake welding certificates
that Merit submitted last fall for the
$86-million Nippert Stadium renovation at the University of Cincinnati.
Mitch Oberding, an ironworker
with 20 years of welding experience
and one of the CIWC protesters, said
CIWC obtained and examined copies
of Merit’s welding certificates for the
UC project. “They aren’t worth the
paper they’re written on,” Oberding
said. “There were dead guys on there
and guys who didn’t work (at Merit
Erectors) anymore.”
Oberding said the welding inspector who allegedly signed the
2015 certificates has been retired
since 2007. Jeff Jones, the welding
inspector whose name appears on 14
of Merit’s welding certificates, told
Fox19 last fall that his name had been
falsified on all 14 documents.
A welding certificate is proof that

A Little Free Library in OTR
JUSTIN JEFFRE

A

Editor

Little Free Library has been
installed in the park at the
corner of 13th and Republic. On Thursday, June 23
there was a grand opening. “Over the
2-hour event, we had about 75 people
of all ages stop by. We gave away 200
popsicles and a lot of books. We also

had a table where kids could decorate
their own bookmarks. A caricature
artist (Caricatures by Duff – www.
duffo.com) was busy the entire time
drawing pictures of kids who stopped
by the library,” said Angela Ginty.
Ginty is a Communications and
Development Officer with the Cin-

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

a welder has been properly trained
and can produce a weld that has
passed a professional inspection for
safety and durability.
Oberding said plans for the Music Hall renovation call for replacing
massive wooden trusses built into
the ceiling in the 1800s with modern
steel trusses that will be cut and welded in place for support. The general
contractor on the Music Hall project,
Messer Construction, “doesn’t have
any idea what they’re getting into,”
Oberding said. “We’re talking about
the structural integrity of the building.”
Last September, Merit Erectors
and Avenue Fabricating faced similar accusations on the Nippert Stadium renovation at the University of
Cincinnati after Fox19 reported that
the welding certificates on the project
had been falsified.

cinnati Development Fund which
sponsored the Library. The park is
owned by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and they’ve granted
permission to keep it there. “Since
the library opened, it’s become a popular spot for kids and adults. People
have stopped by every day and taken
a book or two. We’ve also had several
books donated, and we’re very grateful for those,” said Ginty.
According to Ginty many neighbors are acting as “stewards” of the
library – keeping it clean and stocked

Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297

give them a chance,” said Young.
Even though Young has had a
great experience while working for
CPD and Aiken, his position now
as a Community Council Member
is something he says he has always
wanted to do. He is very passionate
about his job because he is in a position to give input about what’s going
on in Cincinnati, a town that he grew
up in.
“I just feel like I’ve given a lot to
the city, the city has been very good to
me, and now I have this opportunity
every single day when I come to work
to do something that will impact the
people I care about,” he said.
As a City Council Member he
has helped create the yellow taxi
cab reform, supported developments
in the cities such as the Banks, help
with the development of Washington
Park, helped fund money for Streetcars, and has helped to improve infant mortality rates. He is currently
working on the budget, making sure
that the African American Chamber
is properly funded, and that city employees are receiving a decent wage.
------------------------

Messer used Merit Erectors on
the $112-million University of Kentucky science center in October of
last year with the same faked welding
credentials, Fox19 reported.
Messer is “using the exact same
company again” at Music Hall,
Oberding said. “That was purposely
done to show how easy it is to cheat”
when turning in welding certificates.
Adam Kinman, a former welder
for Merit Erectors who said he quit
last summer because of a pay and
benefits dispute, said he recognized
at least eight Merit welders working
on the Music Hall site last week.
Messer Construction and the
overall developer of the Music Hall
project, 3CDC, did not return phone
calls or emails asking for comment.
Merit Erector owner Chris Koenig
has repeatedly refused opportunities
to comment on the company’s practices.
(You can email Jim DeBrosse at
jdebrosse.c4ad@gmail.com)
------------------------

with books. “We invite everyone to be
a steward of the library because it’s a
community resource for and by the
residents of Over-the-Rhine. Tender
Mercies residents help take care of
the books, and Future Leaders OTR
have expressed an interest in getting
involved as,” she said.
Like all Little Free Libraries, the
OTR library runs on book donations.
If anyone has books to donate, they
can leave them in the library struc-

(Continued on page 5)

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL
Breaking the Issue Attention Cycle:
Bringing in the Coalition

5

No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer

B

y the time you finish this
article, you will be thinking
about something else. In a
week from now, you probably
won’t be thinking about Pulse Night
Club, a baby-eating alligator, or gun
reform efforts. You will be thinking
about some other tragedy, or trying
to fill your life with frivolous entertainment news – is Taylor Swift really single again? This is called the
“issue attention cycle” and it plays
out through national and local media.
How do we stay focused on bringing
justice to our community?
One thing is for certain, being a
part of the Homeless Coalition helps
keep you abreast of the issues that are
facing our community today. From
the attack on Medicaid Ohio (grossly
named Healthy Ohio), to the push
for unregulated and unproven charter schools inside Cincinnati Public
Schools, to MARC ID progress, to
#KeepOurCourts, the Homeless Coalition works to keep our member
organizations informed on the issues
that matter most to our entire community.
There are several ways to keep up
on the issues – join our listserv, follow us on Facebook (both the Home-

less Coalition and Streetvibes), come
to our monthly membership meeting,
join Affordable Housing Advocates
(who also meet monthly), or get involved with our many community-focused groups such as Peaslee Neighborhood Center, St. Francis Seraph,
or Tender Mercies. Follow City Council meetings online by downloading
the weekly agenda or watching in
person or on CityCable.
Reading Streetvibes is obviously
another way to keep up on current issues and events. You can read the entire Enquirer in 10 minutes, CityBeat
in 15, but Streetvibes may take you
an hour to read. This is because some
of the best writers cover the most important issues – whether they are in
style or not. You may hear things in
this paper that make you uncomfortable, but this is the only way you will
learn new things.
Let me predict what will happen
this week in the news. Another white
male police officer will be exonerated
or acquitted for killing an unarmed
person of color. Another person who
is transgender will be killed and the
killer will be let off using “gay panic” as a defense. Another kid will be
mauled by a wild animal kept in cap-

Homeless Coalition table at Juneteenth Photo: Mark Mussman

tivity. Mayor John Cranley will use
the rebellion in 2001 as justification
to reward his developer fan base. And
you will continue to struggle to pay
your ever-increasing bills and make
sacrifices so you can buy dinner and
your medications.
With all this going on, how could
you possibly focus on issues that affect our community? How can you
start to grasp the legacy of racism in
our city? Cincinnati’s substandard
schools, housing, medical facilities,
and work conditions have been exclusively reserved for African-Americans, Appalachians, and migrants.
More than 10 years of life expectancy
separates black and white residents
in Cincinnati. Living in Cincinnati is
literally a death-sentence for so many
– and this doesn’t even begin to include the disproportionate violence
that is enacted upon people of color
in the city.
For people of color the most
pressing issues affect every moment
of their lives. In addition, the microaggressions that pervade our city
range from seemingly pleasant (“Oh,
you speak so eloquently”) to more
egregious (“You’re pretty hot for a
black girl”) to outright vapid (“That

guy is so ghetto”). I find it interesting how surprised people of color are
when I treat them like human beings.
Many times people are taken aback
that I am making eye contact, listening to someone’s story, and responding with compassion. This is so rare
in our community – across all races.
While it’s important to make
sure you’re not stepping on anything,
you’d think people’s eyes are glued to
the ground, hoping to find a $100 bill
laying in the gutter. Nobody makes
eye contact, nobody says “hello” on
the street. This is the type of issue I
would like to see confronted because
we can’t have a compassionate city if
we don’t see each other.
So let’s do our best to pay attention to how we can be compassionate and enact system change. We often forget the simple things that we
learned when we were kids – how to
listen, how to share, how to recognize
right from wrong. If we are caught
up in just amassing more power and
wealth, we are cutting ourselves off
from those who need us most. If you
want to walk around Over-the-Rhine
with me to get a different perspective,
or hear the story of someone who has
experienced homelessness, or learn
what it’s like distributing Streetvibes,
or have us table your event, please
contact me or sign up on our website for an Education Event. We must
keep our community’s struggles in
the issue attention cycle.

Mayerson Summer program students Photo: Mark Mussman

JUSTIN JEFFRE

(Continued from page 4)
ture (if there’s room) or drop them off
at Cincinnati Development Fund’s office (right around the corner at 1224
Race Street) any day during office
hours (8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.). The primary focus is books for children and
young adults, but a full range of books
will be available for readers of every
age and interest.
According to Ginty this library is
a tribute to Catherine Stehlin, a longtime resident and champion of OTR
who lost her battle with Cystic Fibrosis earlier this year. A family garden
has also been installed in the corner
of the park (Catherine’s corner).
------------------------

------------------------

Girl using the new little free library Photo: Angela Ginty

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�LOCAL

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Did Hiroshima Prevent WWIII?
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

Contributing Writer
My two articles on the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima prompted
an actual letter to the editor. Not an
e-mail, but a letter through the U.S.
Postal Service. It’s very short, but I
thought I would reprint it below and
respond to its main point. The letter,
in full, is below:
“Even Oliver Stone was not
aware at a conference on JFK
that the important result of the
nuke bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki was the photos prevented WWIII.”
Dan Griffith
Covington, KY
I had written my last couple articles on the subject of the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of President Obama’s
recent visit to Hiroshima, the first
by a sitting U.S. president. He did
not apologize for the bombings, but
I wanted to explore the topic more
than its usual brief treatments in the
media. I pointed out that Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom (Britain),
and the U.S. had all engaged in massive bombing campaigns against the
civilian populations of cities. Such
non-discriminate bombings are a
violation of the 1907 Hague Convention, which had been signed by all
of those countries. It is noteworthy
that at the German war crimes trials at Nuremburg, the Nazis were not
charged with violating that aspect of
the convention, and neither were the
Japanese at their trials. The conventional explanation is that aerial bombardment was not explicitly prohibited, but the treaty is pretty clear as
it is. Article 22 states that the right
of belligerents to cause injury is not
unlimited, and Article 27 states that
in sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken to spare,
as far as possible, buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments,
hospitals, and places where the sick
and wounded are collected, provided
they are not being used at the time
for military purposes. Note that Article 27 covers “bombardments,” not
“all bombardments except aerial
bombardments.” Carpet bombing
with incendiaries, let alone nuclear
bombings, meant that no steps were
taken, and could not have been taken, to protect these buildings. Other
articles from the Hague Convention
may also apply. I’m sure there were
no such charges against the Germans and the Japanese about their
aerial bombardments because that
would have exposed the Allies to
similar charges.
The irony is that such massive
bombardments probably did not
significantly diminish war-fighting

BILL WOODS

(Continued from page 2)
news stories that kept readers and
viewers (citizens) well informed.
Since the 1970s, raising money
for campaigns has become the central
focus of both politicians and political
groups, and advertising professionals
have replaced press aides as the key
people that public officials turn to for

7

capabilities. Any actual effect was
more than made up by the increased
motivation by those who had their
homes destroyed to work even harder. Certainly – and there is no doubt
about this – that is the effect that the
German “Blitz” had on the people of
Britain. As for Allied attacks on German cities, German war production
increased every month right until
almost the end of the war when the
transportation system started to
fail from the bombings of strategic
bridges and railyards, along with the
bombing of key installations such
as ball bearing factories. Japanese
war production was constricted by
the Allied sinking of their supply
ships from the mainland. Towards
the end, the Japanese didn’t even
have enough fuel for their warships. It is noteworthy also that
the Soviet Union, in their massive
counter-offensive from Moscow to
the Elbe River in Germany, did not
practice carpet bombing of cities as
far as I could determine. The bombing of Dresden in eastern Germany
in 1945, to which the Soviets were
advancing, was done by British and

American bombers, not Soviet. The
Soviets had not requested that the
city be bombed.
Back to the letter. The main
point seems to be that the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in some way prevented World
War III. The letter also states Oliver
Stone did not know this, but does not
say that he agreed with that statement. Indeed, in his book with Peter
Kuznick, The Untold History of the
United States, the two argue strongly
that our dropping of the bombs motivated the Soviet Union to quickly
develop their own atomic weapons.
And from the relatively crude atomic weapons of the 1940’s, both the
United States and the Soviet Union
quickly developed the much more
powerful hydrogen bomb. Today the
United States, the United Kingdom,
China, France, Russia, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel all have
atomic weapons. A few other countries could probably develop them if
they so choose, or perhaps already
have access to them through an ally.
If by World War III the author meant
a war with widespread use of nuclear

John Hersey's 1946 article in "The New Yorker" magazine, which was reprinted in this
book that same year, told the real life experiences of 6 survivors of the atomic blast at
Hiroshima. This was the first time most Americans had a chance to find out about many
of the bomb's devastating effects, which were much more intense than the weapons used
against cities before. Photo: Michael Earl Patton

communications expertise. This evolution of an ad-based communications
system for politicians has come at the
same time the news media became less
print oriented, more entertainment
based, and also more diverse and confusing in terms of venues.
The old links between journalists,
politicians, and citizens that scholars
find important for democracy are either broken or badly in need of repair.
No simple answers seem to exist in

terms of reforming politics or the news
media. As citizens who desire a healthy
democracy protected by a healthy free
press, we must support good and effective journalism at the community, state
and national levels. We need to insure
that daily newspapers do not disappear, and that weekly and biweekly
publications like CityBeat and Streetvibes thrive. NPR and Public Television need support as well as icons like
The New York Times and The Wash-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

weapons, then it is self-evident that
there has not been such a war, so far.
It is another matter to show that the
singular use of the atomic bombs
by the United States has prevented
a widespread nuclear war. It is likely that the actual use of the atomic
bomb spurred other countries to
develop their own. If nine countries
having atomic weapons somehow
contributes to peace, well, that is a
claim that is not self-evident. The
question then becomes, does adding more countries to the above list
improve world security? There have
been serious proposals for Japan to
obtain such weapons, for instance,
due to both China and North Korea having them. Would that help?
My opinion is no, but not one world
leader has asked me. And don’t even
begin to talk about Iran.
There have also been an unknown number of close calls where
the world came close to nuclear war.
The best known was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Soviet
Union started placing nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 during the
Kennedy administration. Computer
“glitches” and human errors led to
false alarms in 1979 and 1983 that
a nuclear attack was underway. Fortunately, the errors were recognized
in time or else I would not be writing this. The first incident was due to
American mistakes, the second was
due to a malfunctioning Soviet system. It is hard to credit that the use
of nuclear weapons during World
War II had in any way been a benefit
here, helping to resolve these crises.
If by World War III the writer
meant any large-scale conflict, that
is a more contestable claim. Since
World War II there have been the
Chinese Civil War, Korean War,
Vietnam War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War
(the first one, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait), U.S. invasion of
Afghanistan, U.S. invasion of Iraq
(the second Gulf War), Libyan Civil
War, Ukraine, Syrian Civil War, and
many other conflicts. The number of
refugees from war today is comparable to those of World War II. The
total number of people killed seems
to be less – so far.
There is one final point I want
to make. The historical pattern had
been that following a major war, the
horrors of that war were burned into
the memories of the parties involved
at least for a generation. For example, following the U.S. Civil War (or
the “War Between the States” for our
Southern readers), the U.S. did not
engage in another foreign war until
the Spanish-American War a generation later. Europe, following World
War II, has seen peace. But not the
United States. Something is different
this time. I do not know what, but
one thing it is clearly not: the result
of our dropping the atomic bombs on
Japan was not peace for the United
States for a generation.
-----------------------ington Post. Meanwhile, the worlds of
the internet and Social Media must be
utilized creatively by a new generation
of journalists in order to create the free
press of the future.
[Editor’s note: I highly recommend noncommercial media outlets
like democracynow.org. Thank you
for supporting Streetvibes.]
------------------------

�8

PHOTO ESSAY
Photo Essay: Cincinnati's
Gay Pride Parade
CYNTHIA ZULLA

Photographer

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July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

�No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

PHOTO ESSAY

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July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would
like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for
sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the
Woodward Theater!

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�LOCAL

No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

Breaking The Trance
STEVE SUNDERLAND

C

Contributing Writer

ancer care requires startling
changes in understanding
the place of the patient as a
partner in care. Currently,
there is a trance from the physician
to the patient and his/her family, a
steady expectation that the patient
has little to do other than follow instructions. Patients seeking to exercise their voices to seek answers to
questions, often very hard questions,
are too often met with a doubling
down of the trance. Patients are paralyzed as much by the physician's behavior as they are by the fears about
the cancer. What can happen if the
trance is broken is amazing for both
the patient and the doctor, and maybe for the ways in which the patient's
lives their lives with a disease and its
uncertainties. We can find new ways
to educate for compassion that will
replace the trance; we can practice
empowerment with the patients and

11

encourage a vulnerable but authentic
discussion of alternatives.
In Cincinnati for the past two
years the Peace Village Cancer Project has worked with agencies that
serve the poor and minorities to create a Cancer Justice Network. Our
belief is that a new kind of relationship is essential in cancer care. Using
a navigator, a person educated to be
resourceful and compassionate, the
patient can have an ally to face the
obstacles in both their personal life
and the difficulties in working with
the health care system. Most importantly, it may be the critical factor in
saving lives. Our navigator program
is focused on bringing patients to
early screening for cancer and then,
if necessary, rapid treatments. Helping people to understand the basics
of cancer, the warning signs, and
the necessary steps to screening,
requires a caring communication, a

trusted relationship, and action that
releases the patient from the trance
of low expectations for survival.
Based on a pioneering program
created by Harold Freeman, MD, a
former president of the American
Cancer Society, a surgeon, and an
African American, in New York City,
we expect navigators to be placed
or hosted by community agencies
where cancer education has been
limited and where cancer mortality
is greatest. The navigator, along with
a physician, will respond to questions about cancer while the navigator will be available to help a person
overcome any obstacles to getting
screened. In the Fall we plan on having cancer education at Churches Active in Northside, Christ Church Cathedral, Madisonville Education and
Assistance Center, Southern Baptist
Church, the FreeStore Food Bank,
St. Vincent de Paul, St. Francis Seraph, Center for Independent Living,
Santa Maria Center, Peaslee Center,
and Caracole.
Breaking the trance opens new
possibilities for the patient: they are
now partners in being educated and

in taking action to have their cancer,
if they have cancer, reviewed and
acted upon. The navigator stays with
the person as long as they would like
them to be a part of the treatment
process. The navigator emphasizes
following a "road map" to success
through screening and treatment.
The navigator is an educator, a guide
through barriers, an ally, and even a
friend. The navigator-person team
is the new cancer health education
model for prevention and treatment.
Over time we expect that once the
trance is broken throughout the city,
the person with cancer, irrespective
of their zip code, regardless of their
color or economic ability, will be a
survivor that can educate the community to a new kind of partnership.
[You can reach Steve via email
Steve.c.sunderland@icloud.com]
------------------------

Poland’s Constitutional
Problem is About
to Become a
Human Rights Problem
PETER KOBAK

P

Contributing Writer

oland is going through what
domestic and international
observers alike are calling a
constitutional crisis. For the
first time since democracy returned
to the country in 1989, a single party
holds the majority of seats in parliament, and with their concentrated
power, is carrying out a series of wideranging and controversial reforms.
The criticisms levied on the government by international organizations
suggest human rights protections are
being destroyed by the country’s new
administration.
The situation has its origins
around the parliamentary elections
at the end of 2015 in which The Law
and Justice Party (PiS) swept the majority of Poland’s 560 parliamentary
seats. Before the 2015 election, the
ruling liberal-centrist administration
saw their popularity declining and
foresaw an imminent defeat. Hastily,
the party filled three vacant appointments in the country’s Constitutional
Tribunal- the Polish equivalent of the
US Supreme Court- made up of fifteen
judges. Then, two more judges were
added to the Tribunal in an attempt
to fill seats whose terms had not yet
expired. Following its victory, PiS immediately rejected all of the outgoing
party’s appointments and swore in its
own judges.
Amidst the confusing mix of old
and new judges, PiS has taken on an
aggressive campaign to implement
changes to the country’s highest court.
In December, the newly PiS-controlled
parliament passed legislation dubbed
the “Repair Bill” that altered the Tribunal’s procedures and enlarged the
powers of the executive branch vis-àvis the Tribunal. The bill increased the
number of judges that needed to be
present for a Tribunal decision (from
nine to thirteen); required decisions
to be reached by a two-thirds majority
(previously only a simple majority was
required); required the Tribunal to

hear cases in the order that they were
submitted (rather than by the priority
or importance of the case in question);
shortened the terms of the president
and vice-president of the Tribunal;
and allowed the executive branch to
bring forth disciplinary proceedings
against a judge, among other changes.
Soon after the bill breezed through
the parliament, the Constitutional Tribunal made a ruling declaring the entire document unconstitutional. In response, the PiS administration, led by
its new Prime Minister Beata Szydło,
proclaimed it would not publish the
Tribunal’s ruling- a necessary step for
the decision to become binding under
Polish law.
European organizations are especially concerned with the crisis that’s
occurring in their backyard- with a
country that has been a success story
of European integration. The Council
of Europe and the European Union
have both either issued statements or
begun an investigation into PiS’ recent
actions.
This past March, an independent
body of the Council of Europe known
as the Venice Commission conducted
a series of visits to Poland and offered
a damning opinion of the Polish situation. It concluded that the Repair Bill
would endanger “not only the rule of
law, but also the functioning of the
democratic system,” which in turn
would undermine the country’s ability
to safeguard human rights.
The European Union has also issued a condemnation of the country’s
reforms. This assessment could lead
to what some call the “nuclear option”:
the suspension of Poland’s voting privileges in the organization. A non-binding resolution passed by the European
Parliament, the EU’s legislative body,
emphasized its concern for rule of
law, democracy, and human rights in
Poland, and encouraged proceedings
that could lead to sanctions on Poland.
The gravity of Poland’s consti-

A demonstration takes place in Poland over new changes in the Constitutional Tribunal.
Photo Credit : LukaszKatlewa

tutional crisis is concentrated in the
relationship between rule of law and
human rights. Rule of law is predicated upon judicial review, meaning the
protection of rights in the court system. The current Polish Constitution
is arguably the most important human rights document for the country.
It- along with numerous international
treaties- enshrines the many human
rights that all branches of the Polish
government are bound to “respect,
protect, and fulfill,” a responsibility
states share as a cornerstone of international human rights law. If the Constitutional Tribunal is unable to come
to a decision on a matter relating to
the human rights listed in the Constitution because it is paralyzed by PiS’
legislative amendments, those rights
are left unprotected.
Soon after passing the Repair Bill,
PiS also passed the “Act on Public Media” that crippled the ability of public
Polish media to remain independent
by allowing the government’s executive branch to directly appoint public
media directors. Leading Polish human rights NGOs, decried the Act,
saying it will “stifle critical voices at
a time when it is essential that public broadcasters can speak out.” The
net result of the Act on Public Media
is not unlike the Repair Bill, insofar
as it concentrates more power in Poland’s executive branch, giving PiS a
tighter grip on the narrative in which
it carries out its reforms. The series of
actions taken by PiS since coming to
power have destroyed one bulwark of
human rights after another.
And the march of PiS has gone
on. The administration merged the
once-separate offices of the Minister

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

of Justice and the Prosecutor General,
whose previously separate positions
allowed the country’s top prosecuting
attorney more autonomy. The government also expanded the surveillance
capabilities of the police in a move
that grants them power to request
data on an individual from digital service providers in Poland, without approval from a court.
When the Roman Catholic
Church- a Polish political heavyweight- began a campaign for a complete ban on abortions, Prime Minister Szydło and President Duda- both
members of PiS- offered their support
to the cause. The proposed ban would
be the most restrictive law on abortion
in the EU and has brought hundreds
of thousands of opponents onto the
streets of Poland in protest. Would the
law pass, Poland may find itself before
the European Court of Human Rights
defending their decisions regarding
reproductive rights for the umpteenth
time. Most recently, the PiS administration scrapped a governmental
council that was tasked with research
and policies aimed at preventing racist
and xenophobic discrimination in the
country, largely inexplicable given the
recent growth of racism and xenophobia in Poland.
Soon after the parliamentary elections, a Polish parliamentarian gave
a short speech in front of his new
colleagues. In it, he unapologetically
declared that the “good of the nation
is above the law.” The parliamentary
chamber, whose seats were largely
filled with newly minted PiS politicians, responded with a standing ovation.
------------------------

�12

STREET VOICE

July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

Street Life: The Edge
RICARDO TAYLOR

Contributing Writer &amp;
Streetvibes Distributor
‘Living and dying are the same:
it just depends on the opportunity.’

A

h! How often does one feel
as if they are not living, or
that death may be a better choice? The essence of
life: or program, if you will, presents
that dilemma, or at least some idea
of such. Life can be, and does have
points, where it doesn’t seem worthwhile at times, and the capacity to
reason questions whether or not it’s

worthwhile to continue? So, the thin
line between life and death becomes
marred to the extent that one doesn’t
know if they are alive or dead!
Now, you don’t have to give any
rebuttal to the metaphor; it’s not
about having thoughts of suicide, but
the frustrations of one’s existence.
This gives conceptualizing for many
people of the street, as often as not
their lives border on a sense of insanity. It’s not so much that they don’t
savor life, or that they don’t give a

Streetvibes distributor Ricardo Taylor Photo: Aimee Willhoite

‘hoot’, but they often find them-

(Continued on page 13)

Now Hiring
Caracole
Caracole.org

- Social Work Supervisor
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Cincinnati Union
Bethel
cinunionbethel.org

- Special Needs Assistance
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Lighthouse Youth
Services
lighthouse.org
- Multiple openings

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Tender Mercies
tendermerciesinc.org
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Project Connect
cps-k12.org

United Way of Greater
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Community
uwgc.org
Development
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hamiltoncountyohio. Shelter House
Senior Associate, Nongov
shelterhousecinti.org -Workplace
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catsober.org
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St. Vincent De Paul
svdpcincinnati.org
- Cashiers
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Imani Family Center
imanifamilycenter.org
- Photographer
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Applied Information Resources
AIR, Inc. enables people, organizations and governments to make well-informed decisions
regarding policies, human services, and organizational change in response to changing needs
and resources.
830 Main St #900, Cincinnati, OH 45202
513-381-4994

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

RICARDO TAYLOR

(Continued from page 12)
selves in the dilemma of a supposed
survival! Thus unhealthy lifestyles become a necessity for fitting in, or for,

STREET VOICE

creating that place of comfort, which
brings about ease/escape. The reality
is ‘I must survive at any cost.’
When living in despair, hopes are
rare. Life is lived by the moment; no
future, no past, every thought, every

Crying Rain
Looking out the window
The rain is falling hard, and fast

13

act is predicated on the now. Too, often the reality becomes flawed, and
the individual gets lost in supposed
needs. We get lost in the idea of doing
what we “gotta do” when the truth is
we ‘need to do what we need to do’! A
simple line, with even simpler choices; we find ourselves standing on the
edge. Needing to maintain a perceived
status we neglect the true necessities of a long and healthy life. Life’s
major maintenance schemes become
secondary. ‘I don’t have time to sit in
the doctors’ office; I don’t have time to

worry about safety concerns, I need to
take the chance! ‘It’s now or never’, ‘I
gotta have what I gotta have!’
Always on the edge, treading forward without direction or concern for
any, as long as you can teeter without
slipping into an abyss you believe you
are heading in the right direction, that
path which will lead you forward in
your struggles. For many it’s the plight
of life, that for which they exist, their
very essence is right on the edge!
------------------------

There are intervals of thunder
Slashing ever so often

INTOXICATION

And then it suddenly stops
Until the next thunder slash appears

Intoxication is being drunk if only for a little while

It lets you know that God is, near

Intoxication can become a bad habit with a crooked smile

So take heed

Being high and drunk all alone really makes no sense

Listen to his might
Because thunder and rain,
Will, be coming

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

Being homeless, a panhandler and a drunk can be a bad
defense
The fear of not knowing what your next move can possibly be
Can be intoxicating without a drink, please believe me
The fear of failure constantly day in and day out
Can be an eye opener to a drunk to make a change, no doubt
Once you realize that there is another way to live everyday
To work, maintain your money and eventually find a place to
stay
Things start to fall in order for you surely but slowly
As you start to make a change in your life ever so boldly
Intoxicating thoughts will no longer be able to hold you back
Understanding that with the help of God you can get your life
on track
So don’t stay intoxicated by the fears of the world today
Go to church, read the bible and get on your knees and pray!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

FAT CATS RULE
Most pundits are more than willing to bet,
2016 will be the most costly campaign yet.
Citizens United has opened up a floodgate,
And Fat Cats dole out dollars at a record rate.
Sheldon Adelson and those brothers Koch
Dispense their millions - and that's no joke!
Hillary claims that she will need one-billion,
And Congressional races may cost a zillion.
And what about billionaire Donald Trump?
How much moola does he plan to dump?

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 102
Across
1. At that time
5. Slide without control
9. Singing voice
13. An actor's portrayal
14. Internal
16. Prevaricator
17. Translucent mineral
18. Female relative
19. Edible flatfish
20. Taut or rigid
22. Brass instrument
24. Peculiar
26. Group of three singers
27. Amiable
30. Male feline
35. Mongrel
36. Delicacy
39. Flashlight
40. Charter
42. Religious doctrine
44. Whittle
45. Embellish
47. Commence
49. Liveliness
50. Panic
52. Sent via the postal service
54. Bird shelter
57. An argument in favor of
58. Selecting what seems
best
of various styles or ideas
62. Bird of prey
66. Certain
67. Excluded from use or
mention
69. Stomped heavily
70. Region
71. Edible bulb
72. Female red deer
73. Garment
74. A meeting arranged in
advance
75. Jittery

Down
1. A slow pace of running
2. Be optimistic
3. Zeal
4. Wrestling hold, can be half
or full
5. Transgression
6. Create with needles and wool
7. Torpid
8. Interior layout and
furnishings
9. In addition
10. Large predatory feline
11. Story
12. Metal-bearing mineral
15. Send money in payment
21. Redact
23. Item of footwear
25. Move with sudden speed
27. Usher
28. Mistake
29. Fermentation sediment
of an alcoholic beverage
31. Swab
32. Have a great desire for
33. Strong and sharp
34. Those people
35. Informal conversation
37. Colony insect
38. Squad
41. Wander from a direct course
43. Snare
46. Not any
48. Become fatigued
51. Right-hand page
53. Abhor
55. Support or
foundation
56. Shinbone
58. Monetary unit
59. Ship's company
60. Containing little excess
61. Water hen
63. Power system
64. Yearn
65. Miniature whirlpool
66. Droop
68. Single person or
thing

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 232 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 332
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 101

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 231 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 333 | Ju ly 1 - J u ly 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

Shelter: Women and Children
Central Access Point			
Bethany House				

381-SAFE
557-2873

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		
562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	 681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				
131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			
1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Shelterhouse				

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		
Churches Active in Northside		

981-5800

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

762-5660

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	
4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

St. Vincent de Paul			

241-5525

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

First Step Home			

114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			
Volunteers of America			
Anna Louise Inn			
2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		
2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					
VA Homeless			

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

961-4663

2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

AA Hotline				
CCAT					

351-0422
381-6672

830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

241-2965

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

721-4580
632-7149
381-1171
221-HELP
721-8666

977-6800
859-572-6226
421-0065

Franciscan JPIC			
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	

117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
Faces Without Places			
Stop AIDS				
Center for Respite Care			

Goodwill industries			
Healing Connections			
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	
Mary Magdalen House			
People Working Cooperatively		
The Caring Place			
Talbert House 				
United Way				
Women Helping Women		
Off The Streets	 			
St. Raephaels				
Salvation Army				
Serenity House Day Center		
Open Door Pantry			
Brighton Center	

	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

241-9400
421-1108
363-3300
421-2437
621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

381-0111

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

721-4700
421-7803

621-5514

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Northern Kentucky

Health
621-5300
981-5800

1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Advocacy

421-3131
569-1840
381-4242

241-2600
241-2563

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

768-6907

Center Independent Living Options	
Emmanuel Community Center		

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	
946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				
681-0324
Talbert House				
221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			
Community Action Agency		
Contact Center				

961-4555
381-1954
421-5211

351-3500
977-4489

Other Resources

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		
961-4080

Talbert House				
Tender Mercies			

961-2256

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

CMHA					
Excel Development			
OTR Community Housing		

562-8841

784-1853

Starting Over				

381-2247

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Prospect House				
921-1613

661-4620

Crossroad Health Center		

NAMI of Hamilton County		
PATH Outreach			

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men
Charlie’s 3/4 House			

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

271-5501

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

721-0643

961-0600

Cincinnati Health Network		

Health Resource Center		
357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

621-6364

241-1064

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

872-9259

961-1983

535-2719
591-2246

FreeStore/FoodBank			

Shelter: Both

Housing:

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206
1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941
Parkway Center			

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	
Our Daily Bread			

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

15

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

771-4800
751-0600
579-8547
721-4811
351-7921
631-1114
751-7747	
211
977-5541
421-5211
981-4200
863-1445
422-8555
868-3276

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
859-491-3335
859-572-6202

�16

S

July 1 - July 14, 2016 | No. 333

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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
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�</text>
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                    <text>June 17th - June 29th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 13 (No. 332)

advocating justice | Building community

Photo Essay: Cincinnatians gather to show support for
the LGBTQ community | 8-9

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

The Black Agenda
Cincinnati | 3

We Have the Right to
Choose the Limits Placed
on Our Rights | 2

Jim Luken Responds | 6

A Place to Call Home | 5

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

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LOCAL

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

From the Director: We Have the Right to
Choose the Limits Placed on Our Rights
JOSH SPRING

Executive Director

A

s you have heard, there
has been yet another mass
shooting, this time in Orlando, Florida. Sadly, this is
not uncommon. Truthfully there are
mass shootings at various places on
this earth every day. In some of these
countries it is this country’s finger is
on the trigger. When a slaughter like
this occurs in this country it seems
that there are generally two separate
reactions and one shared reaction. I
think most people are saddened and
want such violence here to end. However, some folks react by saying we
must go after whatever ethnicity or
religion that may have been espoused
by the murderer and other people say
we must enact gun control. We see
the crossed lines of circular logic: limit the access to guns so that fewer people can get guns and murder or don’t
limit the access to guns so that people
can arm themselves to scare such
shooters and/or shoot the shooter.
Now for clearer discussion, the
push to go after the ethnicity or religion espoused the shooter only seems
to arise when the shooter has color
in their skin or perhaps is white, but
has proclaimed allegiance to a tar-

geted group of people. If the shooter
is white, generally the discussion
involves gun control versus arming
more people versus better understanding of mental health.
It should be obvious, though it
isn’t to many people, that significantly limiting access to guns should
happen. Really, it would be best if
explosives and guns had never been
fabricated. The human race has a real
talent for creating ways to kill itself
and everything else around it. Guns
and explosives do exist and it would
certainly be impossible to rid the
earth or this country of them. But we
could limit access.
People love to cite the second
amendment as proof that we have the
right to have guns. It reads, “A wellregulated militia, being necessary to
the security of a free state, the right
of the people to keep and bear arms,
shall not be infringed.” So yes, if you
haven’t fully read it before, you will
notice that it is one sentence referring
to a “well-regulated militia” and not
simply people in general. That said,
there is nothing godly or ordained
about this country’s constitution. It
is a document written by people. We

don’t need it in order to know or prove
what our rights are. For example, we
have a right to free speech whether
the constitution says it or not.
Theoretically the purpose of a
government is to facilitate people living and working together in such a
way that nobody is treated with less
importance than another person.
Now, of course this is not how we see
government play out. It is also said
that each of us signs a “social contract” with each other and the government holds us accountable to it. The
idea being that though we never actually signed something, we have committed to follow the laws and to not
harm those around us. Of course this
“social contract” in reality is not enforced so purely. Certain people with
enough money and white skin do not
follow it and have extremely little official consequence placed upon them,
while people who work for progressive change and people who struggle
to make ends meet are often accused
of breaking the “contract”.
So long story short: if we want

(Continued on page 13)

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Peter Kobak
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE

Hundreds gather at Below Zero night club in solidarity Photo: Derek Bauman

“Notes from the Front Lines of the War
on Public Education”
MICHELLE DILLINGHAM

Contributing Writer

C

incinnati, Ohio has not escaped the ravages of the war
on public education. In the
last decade we’ve tried to
inoculate against the takeovers and
privatization we saw happening in
other cities; A successful tax-payer
funded total re-build of our schools
(the “Master Facilities Plan”), passage

of policy that every school be a “Community Learning Center” complete
with community and parent voice in
every building, and a teacher’s union
who had successfully negotiated their
working conditions – the classroom
(class size, teacher ratios, intervention resources…). Victories like these
have been significant and important,

but are inevitably overshadowed by
the war machine that is the corporate
education reform movement.
We’re outgunned by a supermajority Republican state legislature,
operating under an unjust public

(Continued on page 11)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Writers:
Josh Spring, Michelle Dillingham,
Camri Nelson, Bill Woods, Dr. Mark
Mussman, Jim Luken, Michael Earl
Patton, Justin Jeffre, Jason Haap,
Elizabeth Brown, Ricardo Taylor,
Kim Green, Willa Denise Jones
Photography/Artwork:
Derek Bauman, Camri Nelson,
Dr. Mark Mussman, Greg Hand,
Michael Earl Patton, Jon Hargett,
Aimee Willhoite, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�LOCAL

No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

The Black Agenda
Cincinnati
CAMRI NELSON

D

Contributing Writer

etermined to find solutions
to the issues faced by the
black community, 1500
people gathered at Woodward High School on June 11 for The
Black Agenda Cincinnati.
The Black Summit, an all-day
event, gave individuals the opportunity to listen to motivational speakers and engage in forums that addressed the various issues faced by
the black community.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Michael
Dyson, led the morning discussion
that addressed two issues he felt
were the most prevalent: gentrification and education. He explained
how over the years due to gentrification in suburban areas, blacks have
been forced to migrate to the inner
city, an area with significantly fewer
resources. Students in inner cities
are held at a disadvantage compared
to those in the suburbs because the
education is significantly worse.
“If you’re poor the school is going
to be poor and the teachers who teach
your children will not be as prepared
or try to treat your children with the
necessary dignity and respect that
they deserve,” said Dr. Dyson.

According to Dr. Dyson gentrification is only beneficial for the
wealthy. After blacks were forced
to migrate to the inner city, suburban communities have invested in
developers who have rehabilitated
the homes and sold them to wealthy
buyers. This is all done without consideration of how it has ultimately affected the black community. Dr. Dyson believes that when the community learns to become inclusive and
genuinely care about one another,
the issues will be resolved.
Many of the participants in the
neighborhood forum didn’t agree
with Dr. Dyson’s solution to the issues that the black community faced.
They believed the solution had more
to do with troublesome youth and
investments. Richard Dukes, a resident of Avondale believes that if the
wealthy black people invested their
money into the community they
were raised in, they could improve
their city.
“They’re saying we don’t have
money, but black people who do have
money are investing money outside
the neighborhood,”.
Dukes also believes that the

Just a Very Weird Political
Year or a Crucial Point in
Our History?
BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

F

ew will deny 2016 has been
a weird year in politics. Who
would have thought that an
outrageous real estate mogul/Reality-TV actor would be the
Republican nominee for President?
The real question to ask, however,
is have we reached a critical turning
point in our country’s history?
Historians such as Arnold Toynbee chart the rise and fall of civilizations in terms of their responses to
the challenges they confront. They
analyze how empires and countries
have responded over time to major
social, economic, and political challenges. Their successes or failures
and eventually their rises or falls depend on the actions taken by these
societies to deal with issues such as
war, economic depression, or social
unrest.
How has the U.S. In recent times
been responding to the challenges in
its midst? A review of major trends
prompts an answer of not very well.
Our business and political leaders
seem to be particularly lacking in
their abilities to make decisions that

3

improve the economic, social, and
political health of the country.
In fact, could the emergence of
Donald Trump be a result of the distrust and disgust that many people
feel toward the so-called establishment? Although a majority of white
males, who traditionally vote Republican, did not abandon the Party in
the primaries, they, nevertheless,
gave the raspberry to establishment
candidates like Jeb Bush and opted
for The Donald. After all, many of
these Trump supporters have been
falling further and further behind
economically, and they realize that
the Bushes and Romneys and their
corporate backers have paid no attention to their plight. It may appear
strange that a billionaire real estate
mogul has gained the allegiance of
so many economically depressed
whites, but Trump is shrewd enough
to recognize their malaise and to offer them simple solutions and an array of scape goats.
On the other side of this year’s
political equation, how does one
explain the amazing run of Bernie

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

youth are an issue within the community because they are destroying
the community by selling drugs and
participating in prostitution. His solution is to address the parents of the
troublesome youth so that they can
receive the counseling help that they
need.
Another issue that was addressed was community outreach.
Eddie Hackler from Cleveland explained how people invest so much
money into the church but never
invest that money into helping the
community. His solution is to have
a united church bank account that
would hold the funds for the community. Whenever a city would be in
need of a renovation they could pull
from those funds.

Patricia Crawford, a resident
of Bondhill believes that people in
the black community are more concerned with being independent than
actually taking the time to save. Her
solution is cohabitating which will
allow for people to save or invest
their money before they make the
decision to live on their own.
One thing that all participants of
the forum agreed on was unity. They
realized that in order to resolve the
issue citizens of every community
had to work together and address the
issue to the city council members.
“We need to unite because we are
all fighting one fight,” proclaimed a
participant of the forum.
------------------------

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson giving the keynote speech Photo: Camri Nelson

Sanders? How has an avowed Socialist in his mid-seventies garnered
so many votes and such enthusiasm when all the pundits knew the
Democratic nomination was a lock
for Hillary Clinton? It appears many
Democratic voters were also opting
for the less establishment candidate
of their Party.
They see in Clinton a person
who feels comfortable receiving
huge speaking fees from Goldman
Sachs. They associate her with Bill
Clinton, a President who presided
over bank deregulation, who backed
and signed a bill that ended Aid To
Families With Dependent Children,
and who supported mandatory sentencing policies that resulted in filling U.S. prisons with young Black
males. Many progressives and young
adults are thus fearful that Hillary
Clinton is a candidate groomed by a
political establishment that accepts
the current, cozy corporate/government status quo.
Now that the primaries are over
and the nominees have been decided
what are we to make of all this voter
rejection of the establishment? One
thing seems certain. This antipathy
is not going to go away, and it does
encompass different reactions to
some very unhealthy trends in our
society.
Economic conditions are not
working for average people, and we
have a growing number of families
and individuals living below or just
above the poverty line. Income in-

equality is as extreme today as it was
after the Civil War when the Robber
Barons held sway and immigrant
labor could be easily exploited. At
least the Robber Barons created jobs
by building the railroads and companies such as Standard Oil and U.S.
Steel. Today so much of the wealth is
made by Wall Street and other high
finance speculation often at the expense of jobs.
During the post-Civil War era,
business tycoons bought state legislatures and members of Congress, and that phenomenon has
reemerged again today. The process
may be more subtle, but huge contributions to campaigns effectively
achieves the desired goals. Thanks
to the growing costs of campaigns
and the impact of Supreme Court
cases such as Citizens United, wooing “big money” outweighs doing the
people’s business.
Besides the “big money” issue,
political polarization exists as the
other factor that prevents Congress
and other legislative bodies from addressing the real social and economic problems that face us as a nation.
Rather than accepting compromise
and negotiation as necessary behaviors to forge legislation, Representatives and Senators remain obsessed
with ideology and with defeating the
other Party at all costs. These major
influences on politics and govern-

(Continued on page 11)

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297

�No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

A Place to Call Home

5

LOCAL

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer

T

here are a lot of impactful
organizations in Cincinnati
helping to end homelessness,
but one in particular, is doing some great things for our youth:
Lighthouse Youth Services. This is
not to say that Upspring, Project Connect, Interfaith Hospitality Network,
and others aren’t doing great things,
but the scope of Lighthouse is beyond
amazing, in terms of the things that it
does to support our youth. The work
of Safe and Supportive, housed at
Lighthouse, is what inspired the UPZ
app. This week, we had the pleasure
of touring what will become Lighthouse Youth Services newest shelter
and supportive housing complex “A
Place to Call Home.”
Lauren, a young and vibrant
Homeless Coalition speaker, shares
how Lighthouse’s efficiency and care
surprised her. Lauren went from living on the street and in shelters to
having a supportive living environment in less than a week. She talks
about how Lighthouse staff encouraged her to finish high school (and
how they continue to help her focus
on her goal of graduating from college). Lighthouse has had a very real
impact on Lauren’s life, like so many
others.
“A Place to Call Home” is a monumental undertaking occurring in the
neighborhood of Walnut Hills, near
Lighthouse’s main offices on McMillan Ave. The goal of “A Place to Call
Home” is to create a supportive and
welcoming environment for youth
who are experiencing homelessness
or may need supportive services. Cur-

rently, Lighthouse runs the Sheakley
Center (on Highland) and the Crisis
Center (on Jefferson), among their
other service locations. These two locations provide essential services to
youth (ages 10 to their 25th birthday).
At the crisis center, there is 24/7 support for youth under 18. Any youth
who runs away can find safety there.
The Sheakley Center provides a safe
place for youth 18-25 to do laundry,
meet with health practitioners, and
use the resource center during specific times throughout the week. Much
of Sheakley’s services will be moved
to “A Place to Call Home” within the
next two years.
It will take a great deal of work
and support to get “A Place to Call
Home” up and running. The building was built over a 100 years ago
as a fabric and clothing manufacture business. It has high ceilings,
walls of glass windows, and concrete
floors. One of the interesting features
includes parallel staircases that reminds you of an MC Escher painting.
The old bathrooms are a testament
to a time long passed, and the executive offices look like something out of
a 1950’s movie, with bad lighting and
off-putting wall paneling. All of this
will be removed for about 40 supportive housing efficiencies and one
bedroom apartments.
On the first floor there will be a
very large resource center, laundry,
and a shelter for youth. The resource
center will have computers and other amenities to help youth find jobs
and other services. It will be similar to the one at the Sheakley Center

View from the top floor looking north Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman

but much larger. The shelter will be
state-of- the-art with safety measures throughout. This area now is a
parking garage and part of the warehouse. It’s hard to see what it will look
like, but Bob Mecum, the President
and CEO of Lighthouse, shows great
enthusiasm when talking about the
transition that will take place over
the next 18 months. Bob explained
the plan to relocate the Sheakley Center’s resources here, and move the
Crisis Center to Sheakley. This will
help bring the services closer together. In fact, the mental health services
that Lighthouse offers now at the McMillan location will be just a block
from “A Place to Call Home”, making
it easier for youth and case workers to
make meetings and appointments.
It was great to see some of the
financial supporters of the project at
the open house as well. Sometimes

you feel a disconnect between supporters and an organization, but it
was clear that so many local foundations and individuals care deeply
about our youth facing a crisis, such
as homelessness. Bob Mecum did a
great job making connections and
helping to create a picture in our
minds of what it will look like when
it’s finished. When you meet someone
like Lauren, and you feel her hope,
courage, and desire to live in a better
world, it’s hard to not get inspired to
do something about homelessness.
At the Homeless Coalition, we work
hard to eradicate homelessness, and
together, with our member organizations, we will see an end to homelessness in Cincinnati.
------------------------

Soon to be PSH Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman

View from the top floor looking down Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman

Double staircase Photo: Dr. Mark Mussman

Executive offices Photo: Dr. Mark Mussma

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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LOCAL
A response to the recent article entitled
“Panhandler Like Me” by Jim Luken

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

L

ast fall my son and I were at
a sandwich shop enjoying a
light dinner when an elderly
gentlemen came in and asked
the clerk how much was the cheapest
sandwich on the menu. The clerk replied, the man paused for a moment,
dropped his head and began walking
out. I immediately intercepted him
and asked if he would be offended
if I bought him that sandwich. Graciously he accepted and this man
was not hungry that day.
I recount this story because Jim
Luken’s story is about “another hungry person”. He tried to add credibility to his charade by not eating for a
day so he was indeed hungry. Define
hungry Jim.
This half-hearted attempt to
imitate a segment of our population
to give the writer a chance to voice
some personal snarky comments is
clearly an example of blatantly ap-

plying the First Amendment. However, his published opinions are just
that – his opinion. And that opinion
is sending the wrong message.
Partway into the article he details his disappointment of a couple’s
stinginess as they walked past him
on way to the theater. Stingy – Really?
Let’s face it, there are plenty of
people who genuinely need help and
there are others who have a different agenda. Just the other day I was
leaving a garage on Calhoun and a
young man was next to the exit gate
querying every driver as the car window is down to insert the ticket. He
asked for money quite aggressively
and I equally aggressively responded
by asking why he doesn’t just get a
job. His response was he didn’t want
one. There is a clear difference between this young, able-bodied man
and that guy in the sandwich shop.

Jim Luken responds:
JIM LUKEN

Contributing Writer

I

nteresting. I have been writing
some pretty inflammatory stuff
in Streetvibes for the past five
years without ever receiving
negative (or positive) responses.
Now, the story about my experiment (and accompanying feelings)
with panhandling have raised the
hackles of at least two individuals:
Anne Mitchell (in the previous issue)
and “Anonymous” above. I'm happy
about that. It indicates perhaps that
people—even those who may have
some negative feelings about the visible poor—are taking our newspaper
seriously. I wish more readers would
write us letters.
I appreciated reading the opinions of both responders. It took a
certain amount of guts (maybe ego)
to put myself out there on Vine
Street for three hours with a sign.
“Anonymous” would have impressed
me more if he had shown the temerity to put his name at the bottom of
his letter.
Apparently both writers were
upset by my use (just once) of the
word “stinginess” regarding the
well-heeled folks who passed by
me (usually without so much as a
glance) as they headed for a play at
the Ensemble Theater. I agree that
it might have been wrong to use so
judgmental a word. Maybe I should
have suggested that these folks were
exercising “frugality.” But I am a lifelong theater person. So in a sense,
these were my “bloods.” I was disappointed, I admit.
In the story, I made it very clear
that I did this panhandling thing
(risking arrest?!) in order to get
some feel for what the hundreds
(thousands?) of Cincinnatians who
engage in this form of begging feel as
they stand out there, doing it, hour
after hour.
I didn't lie about my situation by
indicating that I was homeless or a
veteran. I truly hadn't eaten for the
previous 24 hours. Not only did I
get to re-experience a little of what
hunger feels like, but for three hours
I got to feel the loneliness of begging.

This is not about the panhandlers’ state of affairs, this is about
Jim and his obtuse opinion that
people are stingy because they don’t
drop dollars in anyone’s hands holding a sign. My wife and I never give
people money on the street. Yet
last year we donated nearly $2,000
to various area charities. In fact,
Downtown Cincinnati Inc. (DCI) is
trying to discourage panhandling
and instead promote giving on a
larger scale to support organized social services. Funding appropriate
charities that provide food, shelter
and medical care to those who really
need it is how we as a community can
move the help needle in the right direction. And yes Jim, people do have
a right to “legislate” or at least ask
how any money given as a charitable
contribution on how it will be spent,
it’s called accountability whether it’s
a charity’s annual report or a simple

cess monies to charity. Keep it up! I
do much the same thing. But I also
choose to make life a little easier for
my fellow panhandlers by handing
them dollars and cents whenever I
can.

question to the person inserting the
bill in their pocket.
So let’s set the record straight…
If a percentage of the $45-a-ticket
theater goers disposable income
does not end up supporting a bona
fide charity to help our community
at an enterprise level, they may be
considered stingy.
Dear Jim: Given your narrow
opinion towards apparent tightwads
it can be implied that you support
handouts. You may give to one, another, another, another, another, another, another and another. Suddenly you have one bill left in your wallet
with a picture of Ulysses S. Grant.
Uh-oh, now you walk by another and
simply pass by. That person has no
idea you just handed money to eight
different people but according to
your model and that ninth person,
you are stingy. Welcome to the mislabeled club Jim.
PS: Give to established charities,
not outstretched hands and move
that needle.
~Anonymous
-----------------------Special thanks to Jim Luken for the
countless hours he’s volunteered and
all of the articles he’s written for our
paper. We believe that our community is stronger when we have more
dialog about the challenges we face.
Thank you all for your generous
support!]

I will never apologize for describing
[Editor’s note: we appreciate our
those feelings in the pages of this pareaders’
support of this paper and
per (for which, incidentally, I write
-----------------------program,
as well as their feedback.
without pay).
I will repeat my
main “take” from the
panhandling
experience: Most of the better­
off passersby would
rather I hadn't been
standing there in front
of them with my sign.
They would prefer that
panhandlers were invisible. The huge numbers
of beggars today—in the
wealthiest country in
the world—are a manifestation that something is seriously out of
whack in our society.
If someone feels a
sense of guilt about this,
they can easily fix that
by handing a buck to the
various
panhandlers
they encounter. [Keep
a wad of dollars (or
change) in your pocket
if you don't want to take
out your wallet]. For
me, this is a lot easier
than just walking by the
problem. And, I know
for certain that these
“donations” are not going through some salaried middle­man.
It doesn't take a
pundit to see that the
poor are getting poorer while the rich are...
well...you know the line.
As my priest once said:
“There are no undeserving poor.” Except
perhaps for all those
wealthy
corporations
that beg for, and receive, so many of our
tax dollars.”
I applaud all the
ways that both of my
critics choose to donate some of their exJim Luken with his sign doing an experiment to learn how panhandlers are treated in OTR
Photo: Greg Hand

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL

No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

Hiroshima in Treaty
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

I

7

Contributing Writer

time of war, that a part of the convention was violated? It is one thing
to do so after the conflict was over,
but another during the conflict itself
when accurate information may be
impossible to obtain and the information that is obtained may have
been sent by a malicious party. The
Geneva Convention of 1929, by the
way, clarified and expanded on the
treatment of prisoners of war. A representative from Japan signed this
convention but their parliament did
not ratify it.
Here are two articles from the
Hague Convention which I think are
relevant to the issue of mass bombings of cities. It doesn’t matter if the
bombings were by Japan, Germany,
the United Kingdom, or the United
States as they all signed it. Other articles may also apply, but I am focusing on just these two.
Article 22: The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the
enemy is not unlimited.
Article 27: In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must
be taken to spare, as far as possible,
buildings dedicated to religion, art,
science, or charitable purposes,
historic monuments, hospitals, and
places where the sick and wounded
are collected, provided they are not
being used at the time for military
purposes.
Large scale bombings over entire cities using hundreds of aircraft,
whether or not incendiary bombs are
used, certainly mean that there is no
attempt to spare buildings dedicated
to religion, art, science, charitable
purposes, historic monuments, or
hospitals. These all were destroyed
in Allied bombing campaigns. And
atomic bombs, by their very nature,
mean that precision targeting inside
of a city is meaningless. I include the
prohibition against unlimited means
of injuring the enemy because it is
hard to see what it could mean if
it didn’t mean massive or atomic

bombing of cities and civilians.
In the case of atomic bombs used
against Hiroshima and Nagasaki
there was not only the heat and blast
effects, but also and subsequent radiation poisoning which killed tens
of thousands. Here Article 23 applies:
Article 23 (excerpt): In addition to the prohibitions provided by
special Conventions, it is especially
forbidden - To employ poison or poisoned weapons; …
Certainly those who were working on the atomic bomb were aware
of the dangers of radiation. It is another question as to whether those
who made the decision to drop the
bombs were aware, if they avoided
asking about the effects, or if this information had been kept from them.
Aware or not, this prohibition would
still apply.
In the end, I think the mass
bombings of cities by the warring
parties was prohibited by the 1907
Hague Convention, which all had
signed and ratified. This applies also
to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Should the United
States then apologize? That is another question. Germany, for example,
has owned up to its role in the Second World War and this is taught to
the students there. Japan has been
far less forthcoming about its role.
Japanese school textbooks are notorious for ignoring the wrongs it
committed, from starting the war,
the atrocities at Nanjing, the exploitation of Korean “comfort women,”
and the treatment of prisoners of
war. Any apology has to be put into
context and, I think, include mutual
acknowledgement of failure to live
up to agreed upon commitments. If
treaties to limit and (hopefully) end
war are to mean anything, we must
admit where we have failed.

n my last article I put the atomvoted against U.S. entry into both
ic bombing of Hiroshima in the
World War I and II, was also a pacicontext of large-scale bombfist.
ings of other cities by Japan,
But the fact is, countries do enGermany, the United Kingdom, and
gage in wars. With weapons of inthe United States during the Second
creasing destruction and even more
World War. These were indiscrimipowerful ones on the horizon, counnate bombings that intentionally intries negotiated and signed internacluded civilian residences.
tional treaties to limit the damage
Such bombings had little overto non-combatants and for the huall effect on war-fighting capabilities
mane treatment of prisoners of war.
of the major combatants, and indeed
Whether this was done under presmay have strengthened the resolve of
sure from their own populations, out
the affected populations. The atomic
of the leaders’ sense of morals, or out
bombs used at Hiroshima and Nagaof their own self-interest and presersaki did not cause Japan to surrenvation can certainly be argued, but
der – it already saw the war was lost.
they were signed. As stated above, I
These two cities had little strategic
want to focus on the Hague Convenvalue, and Japan had already suftion of 1907. Some of its conditions
fered the destruction of dozens of
have been strengthened since the
its cities through fire-bombings. For
Second World War, and overall its
what it is worth, I did not find any
general terms are still in force today.
instances of similar bombings of citIt focuses on several areas, such as
ies by the Soviet Union. I now want
what makes up an army, rights of
to focus on the 1907 Hague Convenprisoners of war, treatment of nontion, which had been signed by all
combatants, ban on the use of poithe major warring parties.
sons, protection of hospitals and reFirst, a little background. For
ligious buildings, treatment of spies,
over two thousand years humans
protection of private property, flags
have debated the questions as to
of truce, and military occupations.
when (if ever) war is justified, and if
The United States focuses atit is justified, how it should be fought.
tention on the Japanese treatment
Sometimes the reasons given appeal
of its prisoners of war, such as the
to a higher moral authority (God or
infamous Bataan Death March after
gods), but there is always a recognithe surrender of the American forction that to motivate the population
es in the Philippines. This was unto fight, there has to be more than
questionably a violation of the 1907
a simple command from the state.
Hague Convention regarding prisonNazi Germany based its justification
ers of war. Now the question is, does
to attack Poland in September 1939
breaking one part of the convention
in part on supposed attacks by Polentitle the other side to also ignore
ish forces on a German radio station.
that part? To ignore other parts? If
Only after the war was it proven that
so, to what degree? This is a questhis attack was a “false flag,” that is,
tion of proportionality, of course.
evidence had been planted to place
Another, more practical question is
the blame on Poland. The attack ithow does one side establish, during
-----------------------self had been a Gestapo operation.
There have been different approaches to the question of when
and how war should be fought.
One of the best known is generally
known as the Just War Doctrine. In
brief, there are certain conditions
that must be met for a war to be justified:
1. The damage inflicted by the
aggressor must be lasting, grave,
and certain,
2. Entering the conflict must be
a last resort after all other means
have been tried,
3. There must be a reasonable
chance of success, and
4. The use of arms must not result in more harm than that of the
evil being opposed.
Those who opposed the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq in 2003 often based
their arguments on the Just War
Doctrine and said that most of the
conditions had not been met.
The Just War Doctrine may be
thought of as an attempt at a middle
approach to war. Some hold that the
state should emphasize its own security regardless of any moral constraints. At the other end is Pacifism, most notably by members of
the Society of Friends, commonly
called Quakers. Pacifists hold that
war of any kind is not morally acceptable. Not all pacifists are of the
Society of Friends. Amish also are,
as seen in the movie Witness. GanGeiger counter from the 1960's, to be used for Civil Defense shelters. In case of danger of radioactive fall-out from nuclear explosions,
dhi and Dorothy Day, for example,
shelters were established for civilians. This and similar Geiger counters would be used to check if someone coming into the shelter had
were notable Hindu and Christian
already been contaminated with fall-out. If so, they would be sent to a shower to have the radioactive particles washed off -- at least
pacifists, respectively. Jeannette
those on the outside of the body. Needless to say, the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not know of the danger of fall-out, let
Rankin, the only person to have
alone have access to Geiger counters to determine if they had been contaminated. Photo: Michael Earl Patton

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�8

PHOTO ESSAY

Cincinnatians
gather to show
support for the
LGBTQ community
JUSTIN JEFFRE

Editor

H

undreds gathered on Monday June 13th to
stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community after the tragic mass shooting at Pulse
night club in Orlando, Florida. Many people
spoke, sang and counted the number of lives lost on that
tragic day in what was one of the worst mass shootings
in modern history. Our hearts go out to the families and
friends of the victims and to all those that continue to
face discrimination, hatred and bigotry.
----------------------All Photos: Jon Hargett

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

�No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

PHOTO ESSAY

All Photos: Jon Hargett

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

9

�10

LOCAL

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would
like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for
sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the
Woodward Theater!

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�LOCAL
Muhammed Ali and the
Nation of Islam

11

No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

some of the mythical beliefs of the
NOI, one of which involves the creation of white people: "[O]ver 6,000
years ago, the black race lived in
a paradise on earth that was destroyed by the evil wizard Yacub,
who created the white 'devil' through
a scientific process called 'grafting.'"
Some stories about Yacub maintain
the white race was created through a
process of grafting human DNA onto
pigs. More liberal members of the
NOI may say these stories are meant
to be "figurative," but it's unclear
how these stories could be figurative without still maintaining a basic
sense of divisive hate.
Though NOI members say they
believe in "Allah," they mean something very different from mainstream Muslims. For NOI, "Allah"
came in the form of a man named
W. D. Fard, the founder of the group
who mainstream history records as

a likely traveling conman who disappeared from record in 1934.
NOI teachings include other
strange bits, rivaled perhaps only by
Scientology. For example, what "the
white man" would have us believe is
a "UFO" is actually a "Mother Plane,"
a giant and ancient craft created by
the superior technology of the original black men. Modern movies about
space aliens are just an attempt, according to some in the NOI, by white
Hollywood to distract us from the
truth of this magnificent ship.
Stories like this, from NOI belief,
abound.
Muhammed Ali converted to
mainstream Islam in 1975, but if his
life and death are cause for reflection, let's not ignore the reality of the
group known as the Nation of Islam.

encourages all voters to confirm their
registration status, so they are not
turned away when they go to vote in
November.
Voters can check their registration online on the Hamilton County
Board of Elections website, http://
boe.hamilton-co.org/ . The website
also has simple instructions for how

to update a voter’s address online. If
you don’t have access to a computer,
call the local League of Women Voters
office (513-281- 8683) and a volunteer
will look it up for you.
If you thought you were registered, but your name is not on the list
of voters maintained by the Board of
Elections, you may have been purged.
In order to vote in the November election, you must submit a new voter
registration form before the October
deadline. But don’t wait and cut it
too close, register now. Registration
forms can be downloaded from the
Board of Elections website http://boe.

hamilton-co.org/ and are available at
all library branches. The form must be
signed and mailed in.
Registered voters most likely to
have been purged from the list of eligible voters are people who have not
voted in the last few years and people
who have moved, even if the move was
just across the street. Check now –
don’t lose your right to vote!

school boards time and again.
In Cincinnati we thought we were
safe because of taxpayer investment in
our public schools. Support for levies
have increased, and enrollment is up;
young families are moving back into
the urban core and want their children
to attend neighborhood public schools.
Yet despite proving the value of the
Community Learning Center model,
and even outperforming every other
urban district in the state… We are not
safe.
The well-funded anti-public education agenda beats a loud and constant drum, “public schools are failures”. A corporate-backed “Accelerator
Fund” was formed last March in Cincinnati, making the case with the help
of a “study” that our schools were not
offering “quality seats” and parents
needed more “choice”. The Cincinnati
Educational Justice June 14, 2016 Coalition immediately called them out
publically for their pro-charter agenda,
which they denied.
Last Wednesday a man in a welltailored suit gave a 15 minute powerpoint presentation before members
of the Board of Education. Mr. Earl
Martin Phalen is a fellow at the “Mind
Trust” organization in Indiana, the
same organization that the Accelerator’s CEO Patrick Herrel was hired
from. The founder of Mind Trust, David Harris, is a national leader in the
school privatization movement. They
actively work for charterization of pub-

lic schools.
Phalen Leadership Academies has
been working to expand their “blended-learning” schools in Indianapolis
and other cities, and now they have
come to our district to do the same.
Blended-learning
incorporates
hiring one or two teachers for an entire
school and propping students in front
of computers for the majority of the
day while low-paid staff watch over the
kids. Mind Trust specializes in recruiting temporary teaching recruits … their
plan? To set up a temporary, low-paid,
non-union, deskilled teachers’ workforce to ultimately teach in an all-charter school educational system owned
by private and for-profit companies,
of course expecting a profit from this
“blended-learning” model.
Dr. Doug Martin from Indiana has
written an entire book on this called
the “Hoosier School Heist.” A book
exposes the corruption, scandals, and
campaign financing behind so-called
school reform in Indiana and elsewhere.
All legitimate studies confirm that
charter schools either perform no better or worse than traditional public
schools. In fact, if charter schools were
held to the same accountability standards as traditional public schools in
Indiana and elsewhere, a good majority of them would be closed down. And,
many of them HAVE been closed down
right here in Cincinnati.
Daily we hear about the fraud,

waste, and failure of the charter school
experiment in Ohio. So it’s hard to believe that in Cincinnati, once again, our
local school board was considering a
“YES” vote on a resolution that would
create a new district-sponsored charter
company to set up shop in one of our
west side neighborhoods.
Some board members said they
first heard of the resolution about partnering with Phalen the day before the
committee. Three days later a resolution to support the out-of- town outfit
to open up a new charter school was
before them.
The Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition sprang into action and
worked quickly to get the word out
about the resolution. On Monday evening the Cincinnati Educational Justice Coalition invited the public to the
meeting to give testimony to reject the
out of town privatizers and profiteers,
telling us that we are not a quality district.
Speakers from all walks of life
testified; a special education teacher,
a Dominican Sister, a retired teacher
who had mentored children in charter
schools, a social worker, a University
of Cincinnati professor of education,
a parent, a disability rights advocate,
an AFSCME member, and more. We
testified for over an hour asking the
Board of Education to postpone their
vote on the resolution that would have

lican nominee. Even accepting his primary victories as in part an anti-establishment response by voters, most
of us view The Donald as an absolutely
unacceptable response. Since a Trump
Presidency would undoubtedly make
conditions in this country much worse
than they are now, it leaves me supporting Hilary Clinton.
Nevertheless, we cannot be satisfied by simply making sure Trump
doesn’t occupy the White House. Just
as Bernie Sanders has managed to

prod Clinton further away from her
establishment positions, we must
steadily push her and the progressive
wing of the Democratic Party to tackle growing economic inequality and
the social tensions that it nourishes.
Further, we must take advantage of
the anti-establishment mood in the
country and campaign vigorously for
reforms that will revive democratic institutions and give them the capacity
to respond to the huge challenges that
confront us. If we fail to take action at

this critical juncture in U.S. history,
we will live up to Pogo’s famous dictum: “We have met the enemy, and he
is us!”

JASON HAAP

Contributing Writer

R

eflecting on the life and
death of Muhammed Ali
has given America the opportunity to reflect on its
anti-Muslim bias - particularly since
Ali rose to prominence prior to the
contemporary Islamophobia. What
we are missing, however, is another,
more difficult opportunity: reflecting on the religion that introduced
Ali to the word "Islam," and that's
the non-Muslim hate-cult known as
the Nation of Islam (NOI).
Like Malcolm X before him, Ali
eventually left NOI for mainstream
Islam, but too many mainstream

Americans fail to understand the
deep chasm that exists between Islam and NOI - a chasm so wide the
two groups have virtually nothing to
do with one another.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the NOI
"has grown into one of the wealthiest and best-known organizations in
black America. Its theology of innate
black superiority over whites and
the deeply racist, anti-Semitic and
anti-gay rhetoric of its leaders have
earned the NOI a prominent position
in the ranks of organized hate."
SPLC goes on to summarize

Have You Been Purged?
ELIZABETH BROWN

Contributing Writer
In the last few years the Ohio Secretary of State has purged thousands
of registered voters from the voting
rolls. In Hamilton County alone over
12,000 registered voters were removed, making them ineligible to vote
in the upcoming presidential and local
elections in November. The League of
Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area

MICHELLE DILLINGHAM

(Continued from page 2)

education funding model found unconstitutional four times over. We’ve
worked hard but lost pro-public education legislation, and watched terrible
laws pass swiftly. In 2015 a bi-partisan bill to make community schools a
matter of state policy was flipped and
turned into a devastating prescription
for state take overs. Chamber of Commerce members helped draft a 66-page
amendment added at the last hour, resulting in a state-wide “take over” bill,
Youngstown being the first to fall into
politically appointed CEO-control. The
Cincinnati Democrat who had sponsored the bill and worked on it for over
18 months, ended up voting against it.
The corporate reform arsenal has
been well resourced and effective:
draining the state education budget,
high stakes testing, Teach for America recruits replacing certified teachers, vouchers, manipulating and outright falsifying outcomes to benefit
e-learning schools, and seeding charters – where private investors make
profits off sponsoring schools with
no accountability, who expel and suspend their way to higher test scores.
Ohio is known as the “Wild Wild West”
of charter schools, yet despite every
study, every scandal and every fraud
exposed – they simply repackage the
same “school choice, failing public
schools” narrative and re-sell it to local

BILL WOODS

(Continued from page 3)
ment make it tough to pass a budget
much less working on complex policies aimed at improving “the general
welfare.”
This brief review of long term economic and social problems and the
inability of the corporate and governmental establishment to address them
leads us back to the emergence of Donald Trump as the presumptive Repub-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

[Elizabeth Brown is the Vice President of the League of Women Voters
Cincinnati chapter.]
------------------------

(Continued on page 12)

[Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does not
endorse political candidates. This
opinion piece simply reflects the views
of its author and not the Homeless Coalition.]
------------------------

�12

Street Life: It is What it is

LOCAL

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

RICARDO TAYLOR

Contributing Writer &amp;
Streetvibes Distributor

‘N

o such thing; it
shouldn’t have happened like that! What
it is!? What it is; it’s not
what you thought.’
The statement of this essay’s title
is for me, absurd, or, at least ridiculous. I say that, because in my thinking it’s not articulate. You can accept
things as they are, or, make the difference for yourself.
Being number one within one’s
self, you have to answer the self-imposed question of what is it? What is
it that my existence and essence are
slated for? What is the purpose of my
being?
As in automation we answer ourselves with; it is what it is! The loss
of creativeness which accompanies
such a statement is within itself, a
tragedy since the very fiber of selfactualization is comprised. To become convinced that it is the only
reality, is the place where moral de-

MICHELLE DILLINGHAM

(Continued from page 11)

Cincinnati Public Schools enter into
an agreement with Phalen Leadership Academies to build a new charter
school.
We implored them, reminding
them of the pervasive fraud, waste, and
abuse that is common among charter
school operators, that they share with
the public, at the very least, the basic
information necessary to ensure our
children would receive a quality education.

privation resides, depriving oneself
of the ability to make choices, or to
be satisfied with the negative, is the
very first step of losing one’s character. All sense of identity becomes
marred and one begins to accept the
absurdity that it is what it is, without
question?
For me, a being in a perfectly
created world, where we are taught
that it is in fact imperfect, it is hard
to accept the idea that nothing can
be changed, or, that I can only accept
it as it is beyond my personal conception!
The nature of man demands
that we question. Questioning the
things, we believe to not be right or,
somewhat out of place. One’s growth
and maturity depends on this questioning, and leads to fulfillment and
success. Yet and still, it can be and
is often the idea of questioning a
thing, leaves one with the belief that
questioning is for naught and we just

have to accept things the way they
are. However, personally I think that
if one were to just accept that this is
the only resolve then they deprive
themselves of many of life’s values
and lessons. There would be no new
ideas of enhancement for one’s life
nor would one have objectives when
their lives are interrupted by others.
It would be ‘oh well, it is what it is!’
No change or chance for advancement, living in the hollowness of ineptitude (Stuck in a rut), how disastrous!
Of course, something’s are a reality which cannot be changed, or revisited, for instances, if one were to

burn a meal then it would be useless
for consumption and therefore it is
what it is would apply, yet that would
not be to say that hunger is the only
resolve! More food can be cooked!
The reality therefore for me is
that although things may at times
seem bleak there is always room for
adjustments, and just because the
bleakness may cast its shadow, there
are always alternatives in one’s acceptance of things.
Simply put it is not “it is what it
is,” better stated, ‘it is what we accept
or allow’.

After our testimony the maker of
the motion was willing to “soften” the
language of the resolution and change
it from enter into a contract to “explore
the possibilities” of working with the
district. In the end Board Member Melanie Bates explained that the resolution before them to enter into “exploring” a contract with Phalen Academies
is against board policy. She explained
they only have one year of data, which
is not enough to evaluate the charter
school, a requirement of CPS board
policy to sponsor a charter school. Despite this noncompliance with board
policy, the board proceeded to vote and

pass the resolution anyway, the lone
NO vote from Board Member Bates.
We are not sure how it is even possible for the board to move forward
with the resolution to work with Phalen, since they do not meet minimum
standards according to the board policy
on sponsoring charters. The deadline
for Phalen to apply for the state funding to open their new charter facility is
June 15th. The Cincinnati Educational
Justice Coalition will continue to monitor and oppose any proliferation of district-sponsored charter schools.
Despite being outspent, and almost
outmaneuvered, the Cincinnati Edu-

cational Justice Coalition showed up,
responded, and spoke truth to power.
Special thanks to all the advocates who
came out with little notice on a summer
evening and spoke forcefully, and eloquently against the resolution. We are
fighting for the schools all our children
deserve, but we look for the day when
we don’t have to fight anymore.
[Michelle Dillingham is a member
of the Cincinnati Educational Justice
Coalition. Join us and receive action
updates by emailing cincinnatieducationjustice@gmail.com.]

Streetvibes distributor Ricardo Taylor Photo: Aimee Willhoite

------------------------

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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

Loved One Gone
There is time for everything including a time to say hello and a
time for saying goodbye

Gusty Winds
The sky was dark
The sun was gone

There is a place for everything including a place to laugh, to
cry and ask for reasons why

The arrival of rain made the gusty winds come

To live each day surrounded by the people we love, never
forgetting God is a blessing

The air was cool, the rain felt good

Is to know that having a mind to remember precious moments
will always be a lesson
We as people tend to hurt when things don’t go our way or
grieve for things that are lost
We as people must keep in mind there is never nothing lost as
long as God is the boss

As I embraced the gusty winds it felt good
The wind is my friend, it gives me fresh air
When it’s a gusty wind I feel refreshed and whole once again
This is what happens within the gusty winds

We must teach our children that as long as we remember
nothing ever really goes away
Teach them the truth about life and death and remember our
experiences everyday
Just remember that the good times always out weight the bad
times
And remember even though people aren’t with us they’re in
God’s House and that’s fine!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

JOSH SPRING

(Continued from page 2)
guns, we have a right to choose to own
them. This is just like anything else.
There is nothing unique about it. We
have the right to choose to own any
material object whatsoever. This is
true whether those words are written
on a piece of paper or not. In the case
of guns the problem is that some people have broken their “social contract”
to other people and have used those
guns to murder. Murder is not a right.
Following the same logic, it therefore
makes sense that we would choose to
have the government enforce laws that
restrict our access to guns in order to
better uphold the portion of the “social contract” which dictates that we do
not murder each other. In essence we
would say: yes we have a right to own
guns, just like any other object, but
because we believe human life is more
important than our right to own guns,
we will choose to have our access to
guns limited.
Here is the trouble: as a country
do we really believe human life is more
important? Yes, if you asked nearly
anyone in this country or anywhere in

the world if human life is very important, they would say yes. But do we act
it out? Consider one significant aspect
of the answer to this question. This
country has been at war virtually since
before its existence. We have been in
Iraq and Afghanistan for at least the
last 14 years. We have been there and
we have glorified the murder of so
many people we don’t even know the
exact numbers. We may espouse a firm
belief in the value of human life, but on
a large scale we do not act it out. We
choose a fake “homeland comfort”; oil,
money, etc. over human life on a regular basis. We choose military spending,
fortune 500 subsidy, and luxury over
human life nearly every day. Does it
make much sense to think we are going
to create significant gun control in a
country that has more passion put into
the rhetoric of our right to own guns or
not than into the right of a person to be
able to continue to live?
None of this means we shouldn’t
work for gun control. Quite the opposite. We must work on all of it, because
it is all more connected than we often
are willing to say.
------------------------

More on Hillary's E-mails
The gist of a Clinton email was,
If I didn't send her money soon,
Hillary's whole campaign effort
Would go into a major swoon.
Not knowing quite what to do,
I sought out a trusted observer.
He advised simply to invest in
A more secure email server.

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 101
Across
1. Cattle farm
6. Wooden pin
9. Cutlass
14. Ablaze
15. Mature
16. Spooky
17. Overwhelming fear and
anxiety
18. An opposing argument
19. Rapidly
20. Kind of table
22. Pit viper
24. Pastry item
25. Chicken
26. Beer
29. Ness
31. Olympic field event
36. Pile
38. Breakers
40. Flat-bottomed boat
41. In a relaxed manner
42. Mythical cave-dwelling
creature
44. Song
45. Affirm
46. Stead
47. Violence by an unruly mob
48. Erase
50. Rational
52. Single
53. Edible tuber
55. In the past
57. Plug
62. Bother
66. Pontifical
67. Frozen
69. A relative by marriage
70. Sports venue
71. Deplete
72. Baked in an oven or on
a griddle
73. Cash
74. Female sheep
75. Measuring instrument

Down
1. Ecstatic
2. A great distance
3. Three squared
4. Thin potato chip
5. Feverish
6. Step
7. Self
8. Writing style
9. Furniture item
10. Sobbed
11. Using speech rather
than writing
12. Food grain
13. Cervid
21. To the lowest degree
23. Conjunction
25. Valiance
26. In front
27. Depart
28. Tripod
30. Knitting stitch
32. Box lightly
33. Oddity
34. Employee organization
35. Condition
37. Heaped wood used as
a funeral rite
39. Jumping insect
43. Relating to the moon
49. Oculus
51. Self-interest
54. Come into existence
56. Unit of weight
57. Junk e-mail
58. Starchy tuberous root
59. Overt
60. Part of a window
61. Frolic
62. Sort
63. Smudge
64. Bowling alley
65. Pitcher
68. Sound made by corvine
birds

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 231 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 331
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 100

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 230 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 332 | Ju n e 1 7 - J u n e 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

Shelter: Women and Children

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873
1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; 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

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

Salvation Army				762-5660

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

241-2965

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211
2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

Other Resources

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				
751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Advocacy

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	
205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

Health

Center for Respite Care			621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

for 26 issues

621-5514

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		
961-4080

961-0600

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

Cincinnati Health Network		

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

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
859-491-3335
859-572-6202

�16

S

June 17 - June 29, 2016 | No. 332

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they
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a badge and usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

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                    <text>June 3rd - June 16th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 12 (No. 331)

advocating justice | Building community

Judge Nathaniel Jones Answered the Call | 7

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Learning about life as a
Palestinian | 7

Collaborating with the
Enemy| 4

Final Community Issues
Forums of the 2015-2016
Season | 2

Acting and Action: To See
or Not to See | 5

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

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LOCAL
From the Director: The City’s
Budget Should Be Transparent

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

JOSH SPRING

T

ransparency in government
is paramount if that government is really going to be of
the People, by the People
and for the People. I have been studying the annual budget proposed by
Cincinnati’s City Manager. The budget draft is made available online and
I assume a hard copy could at least
be picked up at city hall by anyone.
Perhaps the manager’s office or the
clerk of council would also mail it if
requested. That said, if you take a
look at the proposed budget (capital
or general fund) I don’t think a strong
argument can be made that it is fully
transparent.
Accessibility has to be a part of
transparency. The budget certainly
would be confusing to most people,
not to mention it is 533 pages long.
Furthermore, often you cannot have a
full understanding of a particular revenue or expense item without deeper
historical or contextual knowledge
and sometimes even then more explanation not available in the document
is needed. Of course it makes sense
that any budget is going to be most
understood by those who wrote it and
administer it. And it is okay if a budget requires those people to explain
portions of it to others. But here is the
trouble in having the city’s budget be
as inaccessible as it is: we as Cincin-

advocating justice and building

Executive Director
natians don’t, nor should we just trust
the authors of the budget.
The inaccessibility of the budget allows room for certain items
of spending and revenue to be hidden from public eye. Sure, the dollar amount may be noted directly or
through extraction, but that doesn’t
mean the explanation or label in the
budget fully explains what it is. It is
true that residents do not get involved
in our local government anywhere remotely as close as they should be. But
some of that has to be due to the fact
that government is often seen as confusing, inaccessible, untrustworthy
and generally not a part of daily life.
However, I’ll bet that if Cincinnatians
could study a version of the budget
that was transparent, many Cincinnatians would have significant concerns
and frustrations. And people would
have solutions to offer as well.
So how can the budget be more
accessible? There are public hearings
which do serve as a positive place for
Residents to voice opinions. And at
these gatherings, the city manager
walks through an often very dry presentation of the budget draft. One step
would be to take some questions from
Residents to be posed to the city manager and then have the city manager
give them a response. The manager
could have a meeting with a couple

community. Streetvibes reports on
representatives from every community council. City council could solicit
specific responses from every community council regarding the budget.
The number of pages in the document
could be reduced through eliminating
blank pages, redundancy, etc. Each
department could have a representative present at the manager’s meeting
with community councils. Paper copies of the budget could be made available at all recreation centers, libraries, parks and public schools along
with the listing of public hearings.
Community council leaders could
attend a general gathering to better
learn the layout of the budget and
then share this knowledge with those
in their neighborhood. The budget
could be laid out in a way that would
be more quickly understood by the
average person.
In short, the city’s budget is not
very accessible. There is good reason to believe this is intentional so as
to keep Residents from seeing “too
much,” asking “too many” questions,
and challenging “too much”.
The budget should be put together in order to encourage and empower Resident leadership. I wonder how
people would feel if they lived in a city
where they truly felt they had a lead
role in the city’s budget?
------------------------

What Would It Take To Seriously Reduce
Poverty Series Ends with the Final
Community Issues Forums of
the 2015-2016 Season
BILL WOODS

T

he Community Issues Forum ended its 2015-2016
season with the final two forums of the “What Would It
Take To Seriously Reduce Poverty”
series. The Peaslee Neighborhood
Center hosted the May 5th Forum
where attendees heard how Overthe- Rhine residents organized an
effort to save a basketball court and
green space from elimination by
a new development of expensive,
upscale housing. The final Forum
on May 19th featured small group
discussions of initiatives that could
really make a difference in reducing
Cincinnati’s high poverty rate.
The first five forums in this series dealt with systemic ways of reducing poverty, while the Peaslee
Neighborhood Center session focused on how people at the grassroots level can organize to take on

economic issues, civil rights, the
environment, the peace movement,
spirituality and the struggle
against homelessness and poverty.
Distributed by individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Peter Kobak
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:

Contributing Writer
developments that threaten their
quality of life. The lives of residents
living in low income neighborhoods
and neighborhoods in transition are
often disrupted by commercial and
housing projects that ignore their
needs, and organizing citizens to either shape or oppose these developments is often an effective process
for providing the powerless with
the necessary clout to protect their
rights.
Jennifer Summers and Jennifer Arens of the Peaslee Neighborhood Center led a panel that described the background of the current grassroots initiative to save the
public land across the street from
Rothenberg Elementary School.
The property, 76,000-square feet of
City owned land, houses basketball
courts, a community garden, and
green space. “The Save the Courts”

Streetvibes is an activist newspaper,

Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Michael
movement was launched over a year
ago when residents heard about the
proposed project that would eliminate this community space. A developer, NorthPointe Group, sought
to use this land to build four single
family houses costing $500,000
apiece. The initial deal was for the
City to sell the property, now under
the auspices of the Recreation Department, to the NorthPointe Group
for one dollar (and with a long period of tax abatement thrown in). This
high end project would take away
the recreation area of residents who
live below or just above the poverty
line.
News of the project triggered
a series of community meetings,
cookouts, rallies, demonstrations,
and one presentation at a City Council committee meeting. Young peo-

(Continued on page 4)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Earl Patton, Caroline Cory, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Camri Nelson,
Ricardo Taylor, Ann Mitchell, Willa
Denise Jones, Kim Green
Photography/Artwork:
Caroline Cory, U.S. Government,
Dr. Mark Mussman, Camri Nelson,
Aimee Willhoite, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�3

LOCAL

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

Hiroshima in Context
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

P

Contributing Writer

resident Obama visited Hiroshima recently, which is
where in August 1945 the
United States dropped the
first atomic bomb to be used in war.
He did not apologize for our using
the atomic bomb either here or at Nagasaki a few days later. But his visit
was seen as an implied acknowledgment that what had happened here
was somehow different than the ordinary course of World War II. Most
people with whom I have talked
about the subject say that using the
atomic bombs was the right thing to
do to force a quick end to the war.
The moral equation used is straightforward – fewer American and even
Japanese lives were lost because of
the overwhelming display of power.
I will address that aspect later. I
want to put Hiroshima in the context of some other military events of
World War II, conventional ideas of
what makes for a justified war, and
treaties on the conduct of war that
were in force at that time. Because of
length, I will cover the context in this
article, and justified war and treaties
in a subsequent one. My purpose is
not to excoriate the United States but
to see what we can learn. And there
is an obvious need for us to do so.
Our record of military interventions
over the past twenty or so years is
not one of unending success.
“Truth is the first casualty of
war” is an observation that is almost
self-evident, so much so that it is not
certain who first said it. I want to
start not at Hiroshima in 1945, but
the bombings of Rotterdam, London, and Berlin in 1940. After the
German invasion of Poland in 1939,
there was a brief pause followed by
the invasion of Norway. Then Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg on their
way to invading France. The Dutch
resisted more than foreseen, valiantly defending the port city of Rotterdam. They saw their cause was hopeless and opened negotiations to surrender the city. Nonetheless, on May
14, 1940 German bombers attacked
and destroyed the historic city center, killing over 800 civilians. The
resulting shock, and the inability to
defend against bombers, caused the
Dutch government to surrender the
country. It is important to note here
that the Dutch policy had been one
of strict neutrality and that as such,
they had refused to coordinate their
relatively small military with that of
the allies.
In June France surrendered.
The German Luftwaffe continually
attacked military targets in Britain.
The large-scale air offensive against
Britain began on August 15 with the
intent of destroying the Royal Air
Force. German air attacks at first
were against military and industrial targets, such as docks, airfields,
and factories. On August 23 a dozen
bombers made a fateful error and instead of hitting industrial targets on
the outskirts of London, struck the
center of London instead. The British thought this was deliberate and
sent their bombers to Berlin in retaliation. For over a week they dropped
their bombs on the city at night.
This was large scale, indiscriminate
bombing. The Luftwaffe continued
to target military and industrial installations and was making progress
against the RAF. However, pressure
was mounting on Hitler to retaliate

in kind for the nightly British bombings of Berlin. On September 7, 1940
the Germans began their first massive bombing of London. In doing so,
they left off the pressure on the British aircraft factories and airfields.
This is all described in William Shirer’s classic book, The Rise and Fall of
the Third Reich. His observations as
a war correspondent in Berlin during
the bombings are in his book Berlin
Diary. As we all know, the German
change of strategy was unsuccessful,
to put it mildly. In fact, it was a disaster. British aircraft production was
put in order, their airfields repaired,
and American sympathies for our
intervention grew. Remember that
Pearl Harbor wouldn’t happen until
December 1941.
The stage had now been set for
the air bombing campaigns of the
war. As Allied air power increased,
more German cities came under attack. As described in William Manchester’s The Arms of Krupp, bombing the houses of the factory workers
did not reduce the production of armaments in those factories. Though
there were strategic attacks on such
things as railroad bridges and factories making critical components
such as ball bearings, often the factories themselves were safer than
the surrounding communities. The
purpose of the bombing was to sap
German moral, which it completely
failed to do. German war production continually increased until the
final few months of the war when
transportation and supply networks
broke down. Much of the intact factory equipment, however, was dismantled after the war and used for
reparations.
Getting back to Japan, it had
bombed the cities of Nanjing and
Canton in China in 1937 and caused
massive civilian casualties, most notoriously in Nanjing. The nationalist
government in Nanjing did not surrender but retreated. During the war
the United States firebombed dozens
of Japanese cities, including Tokyo,
Nagoya, and Osaka. Hundreds of
thousands of Japanese civilians were
killed. The rationale used seems to
have been a little different than with
the Germans. In the case of Japan
many small factories were nestled
within residential areas. Those
houses were extremely flammable,
being constructed of wood, bamboo,
and paper. Setting the whole area on
fire would surely affect Japanese war
production, or so it was thought. I
have not been able to verify the effect the incendiary bombings had.
The firebombing of Tokyo on March
9, 1945 was the single deadliest air
raid of the war, deadlier than Dresden, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki. Japanese war production was definitely
declining well before its surrender,
but that may have been due to disruption of the shipping of supplies
from the mainland. Japan itself,
unlike Germany, is a very resourcepoor country. Fuel especially was in
short supply. Germany, on the other
hand, had huge coal reserves.
By the summer of 1945 Japan
was isolated, desperate, and ready
to surrender. But they wanted to
keep their emperor Hirohito, and
some Japanese leaders wanted no
occupation and no war crime trials.
The United States had stated that
they would accept only an unconditional surrender. After the bomb

Hiroshima mushroom cloud Photo: U.S. Government

was dropped on Hiroshima, the Soviet Union attacked Japanese positions in Manchuria and Korea. The
war was clearly lost, and a communist uprising inside Japan was a real
fear. Such uprisings had happened
elsewhere and the Communists, of
course, had assassinated their Czar
and his entire family during the First
World War. The Japanese dropped
all conditions except the protection
of their emperor, which the United
States accepted. See Oliver Stone
and Peter Kuznick’s book and documentary series, The Untold History
of the United States for more information.
Generals MacArthur, Eisenhower, and Arnold; and Admirals Leahy,
King, and Nimitz; all thought that
dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not necessary. The destruction of so many of
their cities had not caused them to
surrender, why would the loss of two
more that had little military value? I
myself wonder how things might be
different if instead of Hiroshima, the
first atomic bomb had been dropped
instead on the naval base of Kure.
Kure is just 10 miles south-west of
Hiroshima. There most of the last
of Japan’s large military fleet had
been anchored, mainly due to lack of
fuel. The remaining large ships were
sunk during massive raids on July
24 – 28, or just a week before the
bombing of Hiroshima. The Allies
lost 133 aircraft during the raids. If
instead of the conventional bombing
raids the atomic bomb had first been
dropped there instead of at Hiroshima, we would be having a different
discussion today.
The following countries engaged
in massive aerial bombardment of
civilians during the Second World
War, in chronological order: Japan,
Germany, United Kingdom, and the
United States. In no case was it an
unambiguous success. In the cases
of Germany against Britain, and the
Allies against Germany, it may have
even led to a strengthening of resolve
to continue fighting. War production
in Britain and Germany continued
to climb during the bombings. Interestingly, I did not come across any
mention of the Soviet Union doing
such bombings. The Japanese bomb-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

ing of Nanjing led to wide-spread
condemnation and did not cause the
Nationalist government to surrender. Allied bombings of Japanese cities during WWII may have affected
war production there more than in
Germany, but it is hard to discern
because the greater effect was probably the disruption of Japanese supply lines from the mainland once we
had destroyed most of their navy and
the rest was ineffective due to lack of
fuel. In context, the dropping of the
atomic bombs appear to have had little effect on the Japanese ability and
willingness to continue the war.
I think this is important because I see a dangerous movement
from time to time threatening to use
the atomic bomb for peace, based
on its supposed usefulness to bring
Japan to surrender. Its possible use
against Iran (“all options are on the
table”) is perhaps the most common
of such threats. Overwhelming force
and shock doesn’t seem to have that
effect, unless the opponent is relatively weak anyways and inclined to
neutrality as the Dutch were at Rotterdam. And if that is the case, then
there is no reason to use such weapons.
One thing that I think we did
right at the surrender of Japan is
that we allowed Hirohito to continue
as emperor, although he had to renounce any claims to being divine.
Being still alive and his life not under threat, he was able to order his
troops to lay down their arms and
surrender. Holdouts were only few
and isolated. Similarly, although Adolf Hitler committed suicide before
Germany surrendered, he had transferred power to Admiral Doenitz. It
was Doenitz who surrendered Germany to the Allies three weeks later.
At Nuremburg he was sentenced to
10 years in prison following a proper
trial. This is in stark contrast to what
happened in Iraq and Libya following the captures and executions of
Saddam Hussein and Muammar
Gaddafi. Besides the urgency of selfdefense, what other principles – if
any -- should we invoke when fighting a war? I will attempt to address
this in my next article.
------------------------

�4

LOCAL
Collaborating with the
Enemy

Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297

CAROLINE CORY

H

Contributing Writer

ave you ever worked with
someone to whom you
cannot completely relate?
Does the thought of collaborating with a difficult person
upset you? Can you remember a time
when you handled a situation poorly
due to your own reactions or the actions of a co-worker? These are just
a few of the points raised at a Monday evening lecture held at Christ
Church Cathedral.
Members of the Cincinnati community gathered inside the cathedral’s sanctuary on May 23 to better
understand the problems an individual can overcome when collaborating with someone they may not
prefer.
As part of the church’s Taft lecture series, ‘Collaborating with the
Enemy: How to Work with People
You Don’t Agree with, Like, or Trust’
was a discussion led by author and
international facilitator Adam Kahane.
He centered the conversation around the three books he has
penned, along with other observances and discoveries he has made
throughout his career.
Kahane used five main points to
identify factors that may hinder the
collaboration process between two
individuals, with the first of these
being the mere idea that, “You need
to collaborate.”
He cited that not all circumstances require collaboration but

simply the use of communication
instead, among other substituting
methods.
Moreover, Kahane elaborated by
discussing the differences between
the options provided to individuals
which can be seen in any situation.
“We always have these three options for moving forward: adapting,
forcing and collaborating and it depends in part on the balance of power,” he said. “When we don’t have any
power with us in a situation, all we
can do is adapt.”
He continued to explain the options in relation to the involvement
of power by citing its hand in how individuals handle a situation whether
adapting, forcing or collaborating is
used.
“When we have the power and
have things the way we want them to
be, in most cases, we force. We push
through it,” he said. “We push things
in the way we want to be and collaboration is actually what happens when
we can’t prevail and this is important
because it suggests that collaboration is actually a second-best option.
It’s what you do when you can’t have
it your way.”
Another point made regarded
the difference between thinking in
black and white where thoughts are
controlled in analyzing concrete patterns and observances as opposed
to thinking in shades of gray, which
can be described as the reasoning
behind a situation, such as a more

specific way of seeing a situation.
“So, if the black in my thinking
is, ‘you need to collaborate,’ the gray
in my thinking is, ‘you actually need
this repertoire of adapting and forcing and collaborating,” Kahane said.
The second point is that “you
need to rather dialogue than fight,”
which describes the process used
when discussing and talking out an
obstacle and its problem over choosing to fight over it, which ties into the
third point of both parties involved
being able to identify both the problem and the solution of a circumstance.
Direction also plays a part in understanding collaboration and the
methods behind progressing in a
productive way, leading to Kahane’s
fourth point of how it is necessary to
know where you are wanting to go,
such as an end goal or ultimate resolution.

“I think the difficult question is
what to do when the other person
has all the power but doesn’t want to
collaborate,” Kahane said.
The final point made in what can
hinder collaboration was feeling a
need to change the world, meaning
that not all collaborations need to be
done on a large scale — they can be
used in day-to-day situations also.
Even though Kahane is currently based in South Africa, his work
has taken him all over the world and
these conversations can also be applicable right here in the Queen City.
From assessing poverty, hunger
or access of affordable housing to
obtaining employment, furthering
educational needs or improving life
skills, collaboration is important in
analyzing these items for all individuals in the Cincinnati area.

BILL WOODS

rum panelists invited the audience to
join them in what Jennifer Arens describes as “one small fight against the
crushing feeling that poor folks have
to lose in order for economic wealth to
be invested in their communities.”
The wrap up Forum on May 19th
began with several of the previous
speakers highlighting their views
about reducing poverty. Elizabeth
Brown, former Executive Director of
HOME, stressed the loss of affordable
housing units and the necessity to
both increase such housing and rent
assistance programs. Agreeing with
Brown that adequate affordable housing is essential for reducing poverty,
Josh Spring of the Homeless Coalition
also emphasized the need to promote

a minimum wage that comes close to
being a “living wage” for all workers.
He noted that so many people who go
to work every day are still living in
poverty.
Citing “The Save the Courts” initiative, Jennifer Arens pointed to the
need for citizens to support low income people when they organize to
preserve or improve the quality of life
in their neighborhoods. Finally, Ross
Meyer of the United Way urged Forum
attendees to come up with some recommendations to present to the Child
Poverty Collaborative that is currently
looking for the best approaches for
making a significant dent in Cincinnati’s high child poverty rate.
These brief presentations were

then followed by small group sessions to brain storm some specific recommendations. Affordable housing
emerged as a priority for all four small
groups. Both increasing the supply of
units and providing more rental assistance such as housing vouchers were
promoted. At the local level, inclusionary zoning that includes a mandatory
percentage of affordable housing in
large developments was recommended.
A second priority that was touted
by three of the four groups was pushing for a livable wage for low-income
workers. A start, said one group,
would be lobbying at the local level
for a higher minimum wage. Promoting more jobs connected to adequate
training was another recommendation.
Addressing existing racism as a
cause of poverty was brought up by
two of the groups, and one group focused on the incarceration of young
Black males as a major factor causing
economic hardship for many AfricanAmerican families. Two groups advocated for quality preschool programs
that would be free and available to all
children of low-income families, while
support for the ”Preschool Promise”
initiative was voiced by one group.
Beyond specific recommendations, two groups focused on changing
public attitudes. Not only do people
need to be educated to see the real
causes of poverty, but they need to be
prepared to support public programs
and needed tax increases to pay for
safety net services. In fact, one group
clearly stated: “we need to create the
community will to change the inequities in our society.”

(Continued from page 2)
ple, their parents, OTR-residents and
activists organized and took part in
these events. Attendees at the Forum
watched a video produced for “Save
the Courts” that featured the art work
and writing of neighborhood children
who are involved in this effort.
Although Forum attendees were
heartened by the tenacity and pluck
of the Save the Courts initiative, they
were also told that victory or even
some type compromise is far from
assured. This grassroots movement
needs support from other concerned
groups and citizens in Cincinnati. Fo-

Adam Kahane speaking at Christ Church Photo: Caroline Cory

------------------------

-----------------------Group discussion at community issues forum Photo: Caroline Cory

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL
Acting and Action: To See or Not to See

5

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer

I

’ve been running the
numbers on our education program and I’m
impressed with the work
that the Homeless Coalition
does each year. We have had
hundreds of engagements
including speaking engagements, Streetvibes Shadow
activities, trainings, social
justice walking tours, Final
Friday’s at buddy’s place, and
other education events. Sometimes I feel that the purpose
of the events are so simple: to
humanize homelessness and
show people how Affordable
Housing has a positive impact on our community. But,
in reality, due to extreme bias
against people in poverty, people of color, and other marginalized groups, our education
program is met with opposition
in some of the least likely places.
I really enjoy working with people in our community. I feel empowered when I discuss difficult topics
such as gentrification because when
you break it down for people, it becomes something that is easily understood. I’ll admit that it’s taken
me a long time to understand how
the process of vilification of poverty
and displacement are carried out on
such a large scale. I have been experiencing it as a member of the community for years – I remember when
I taught GED classes, I had a student
who lived in the Pendleton neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine. I saw that
the Model Group set its sights on creating “Broadway Square” by purchasing several buildings and I knew the
student would be displaced. It doesn’t
matter if Model Group bought the
building, or if 3CDC plans a takeover
of a block, but it’s the collective will
of developers who decide to make
changes in the neighborhood. When

3CDC takes over Ziegler Park Photo: Mark Mussman

3CDC moved north of Liberty last
year, developers were scrambling to
get on the gravy train and bought up
all of the buildings. This same push
happened in Pendleton a few years
ago.
I asked the student if they had
made plans for when they are kicked
out, and the student responded that
it would never happen because “my
landlord owns the building, grew up
in the building, and would never do
that to us.” Within a month, the student stopped showing up for class, so
I called and called, and finally got in
touch. “My landlord sold the building!” the student exclaimed. What it
is like for a single mother to pick up
everything and move in less than
30 days, I cannot imagine. What it
meant from our side, was that the
student (who was very close to passing the GED) missed too many classes to continue the term, and had to
restart a month later – after finding a
new place to live, in a new neighborhood. The landlord did care about the

Community gathering spot is removed along with the community. Photo: Mark
Mussman

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

tenants and helped them pay for their
rent for a couple months, but that is
very rare.
This occurred a few years ago,
but it is happening around us as we
speak. When we look at the reimagined Ziegler Park, we can see that the
housing surrounding the park will
be bought up and transformed from
affordable to market rate housing.
The precedent was set with Washington Park, and now Zeigler, which
was a heavily used park by people in
the neighborhood, and will now be
transformed into a privatized area,
with 24/7 private security. Some
people will say “it’s safer now” after
it is redone, but the question I ask
is “safer for who?” Black and Brown
bodies are constantly patrolled by
police and private security. We know
the system has, and continues, to destroy their lives by criminalizing the
same behaviors that white people get
away with behind closed doors. In
Over-the-Rhine, the sidewalks are
our front lawns, the parks are our

backyards, the alleys are our shortcuts, and when each of these spaces
becomes privatized, on top of our
housing becoming market rate, then
we have no place here.
The legacy of racism lives
on in Cincinnati. 75% of African-American kids live below the poverty line. Income
inequality based upon race
is so real that the median income for whites is more than
twice of what it is for people of
color. But even though we live
in poverty it doesn’t mean we
have no value, no culture. Just
because the people in Ziegler
Park couldn’t afford $8 craft
beers doesn’t mean they don’t
have a place in our community.
This is a concept that developers and some educators don’t
understand.
This is part of why the Coalition’s education program is
so important. We need to relate
to the concrete ways in which people
are being displaced and forced into
homelessness to help people understand the full scope. We need your
help by telling your stories, supporting the Coalition through Community Shares or Kroger Community
Rewards, making a donation for the
education program online or through
mail, attending our events, and liking us on Facebook. Book a speaker
at your next event, take the social justice walking tour with some friends,
or get a group together to do a Streetvibes Shadow activity. Whatever
you do, don’t sit back and say “that’s
someone else’s job” or “it’s not that
bad!” One person displaced should
be enough to get you to act.
------------------------

Basketball Court "temporarily" turned into private Permit Parking lot. Will 3CDC
rebuild a basketball court? Photo: Mark Mussman

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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LOCAL

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

�No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

LOCAL

Judge Nathaniel Jones Answered the Call
CAMRI NELSON

A

fter serving 32 years as one
of Ohio’s District Court
Judges, Judge Nathaniel
Jones recently published
his book, Answering the Call, an autobiography that addresses the challenges to ending racial discrimination in the United States.
“What is the call, and what is
the answer to that call?” Judge Jones
asked a crowd during his speech at
the Joseph-Beth Bookstore on May
26th.
He states that “the call” was a
result of a meeting in New York on
February 12th 1909 that convened to
discuss the state of race relations in
the country. At this meeting The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed.
“It became the principle engine
that pulled together to address the
problems that were identified in the
call,” he said.
As the NAACP General Counsel,
Judge Jones became a well-known
civil rights activist and helped push
reforms that helped better the lives
of blacks in the United States and in
South Africa. Because of his great
work, many people urged him to
write a book about his life and the efforts that he made to try to end racial
discrimination. One of those people
was the Dean of Law at the University of Cincinnati, Joseph Tomain.
When Dean Tomain had initially requested that Judge Jones turn
in papers related to his civil rights
work to the law school, he claimed
that he didn’t have anything valuable to offer. However, one day after
having a heated debate about government during a Good Samaritan
board meeting, Judge Jones realized
that he did have some valuable documents.
After returning home from the
meeting, he went to his attic and
found boxes, upon boxes full of documents. He then called Dean Tomain
to tell him about the documents that
he had discovered. To his surprise
the dean had organized a black-tie
dinner at a hotel to review the papers
that he had turned over to the school.
What surprised him most that night
was the comment that the speaker,
Nelson Mandela, said to him.
“He said, ‘You helped make this
possible. At that moment I came to
realize that the moralizing aspects

Contributing Writer

Audience at Joseph-Beth Bookstore Photo: Camri Nelson

of my life might be of some use,” he
said.
The weeks following that event,
he began looking for other authors
to help him start on his book. Dean
Tomain suggested that he meet
with Roger Wilkins, nephew of Roy
Wilkins, the head of the NAACP a
few years back. When the judge proposed his idea of writing a book to
Wilkins, he encouraged him to do it.
He told him that the book must be
written in his own words and not

from somebody else.
When he returned home he was
introduced to a local editor who began helping him work through the
process of writing his story. They
spent many hours recording him
talk about his earlier parts of his life.
The editor would ask him questions
like “who are you”, “where are you
from”, “who are your parents and
where are they from?” Other questions were about his childhood and
his neighborhood.

CAMRI NELSON

O

“By going back I was in a context
that allowed me to relive and regurgitate things,” he said.
After they were done with recording they transcribed the tapes,
created a manuscript and began editing. Judge Jones wanted to make
sure that narrative was clear and rational. He wanted to make sure that
he “spilled his guts” and didn’t leave
any details out.
In the book he discusses a time
when he stole a cupcake, when he was
denied the right to organize an event
for his fraternity and when he was
discriminated against in college. He
also talked about the discriminatory
laws that were put in place during
the 1960s such as segregated pools,
movies, and roller skating rinks. He
even discussed his relationship with
lawyers that he met growing up and
how they helped inspire him.
In July Judge Jones will receive
the Spingarn Medal at the 2016
NAACP convention in Cincinnati,
Ohio. This is a prestigious award
that is given to an African American
who has had outstanding achievements. Some of the few people who
have previously received this award
are George Washington Carver,
Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King Jr.
------------------------

Judge Nathaniel Jones speaking about his autobiography Photo: Camri Nelson

Learning about life as a Palestinian
n May 14 the Clifton
Mosque welcomed guest
speakers the Nakba Tour,
two women who told their
story about life before and after the
massacre.
Eighty-six year old Mariam
Fathallah and 22-year-old Amena
Ashkar are two Palestinian refugees
who currently live in the Lebanese
refugee camps. Fathallah has lived
there since she was 18 and Ashkar
has been there her whole life.
Life before the Nakba massacre
in the district of Accra, Palestine
was great. According to Fathallah,
both the Palestinians and the Jewish

7

Contributing Writer
European settlers lived happily together. They worked together selling
fruit, visited one another, and even
supplied each other with medicine.
“We didn’t have a problem with
the secular settlers, we had a relationship with them. We didn’t even
have a way to differentiate between
each other,” said Fathallah.
That bond quickly changed after the Palestinians began to hear
stories about the massacres in the
surrounding villages. They became
fearful that they would end up in
the same predicament so they began to isolate themselves. However,
it wasn’t long before it happened on

their land.
One day a group of Palestinians
were traveling through the settlement in their fruit trucks when they
were stopped by a group of settlers.
The settlers ultimately attacked and
killed them and burnt down their
trucks. Two other truck drivers who
happened to pass by the trucks returned to the village and told the
story.
“People were extremely upset
because they couldn’t believe that
the settlers would do that to them.
They had such a great bond, it was so
unexpected,” said Fathallah.
Many Palestinians fled from

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

their villages after this incident.
Some of villagers were fishers so
they escaped on fishing boats into
the sea. Others lived in mosques,
schools, and streets which Fathallah
said was very painful.
In order to get the Palestinians off the streets, the United Nations started moving them into the
refugee camps. However, the living
conditions were terrible. The land
was covered in sand, families had
to share tents, there wasn’t any electricity, there was a limited water supply, and bathrooms were shared.
Every four or three days the
camps were bombed by Israelites.
Fathallah recalls that when the aircrafts first started bombing, people
would call each other over to hide in
the cement buildings. Her house was
so close to the street that they saw

(Continued on page 11)

�8

NATIONAL
Health and homelessness: “You can’t be
well if you’re sleeping on a sidewalk”

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

AMANDA WALDROUPE

Street Roots
The fact that safe, stable and affordable housing is an essential factor
for a person's good health is increasingly acknowledged among housing
and health care providers, policymakers and advocates.
It is a conviction John Lozier has
held for decades.
Lozier is the founder and executive
director of the National Health Care for
the Homeless Council, a national nonprofit and membership organization
that provides comprehensive health
care to homeless people at primary
care clinics the council either established or partners with.
The council was founded in 1986
and since then, its network has grown
to include more than 10,000 doctors,
nurses, social workers and advocates.
The council provides support, training and mentoring to more than 200
public health centers and hundreds of
organizations throughout the country
that receive grant funding from the
federal government's Health Care for
the Homeless program.
Encouraging people experiencing
homelessness to become actively involved in their health care is one of the
council's most important accomplishments. The council was one of the first
organizations to have a consumer advisory council; membership is entirely
made up of homeless people who have
received care at a clinic supported by
the council. In its trainings and work

with clinicians, council staff emphasize
case management and close relationships between providers that ensure
effective referrals and continuous care.
It also helps homeless people regain their sense of humanity, Lozier
said.
"It's a great thing that desperately
poor people and their providers are
able to work so closely and so lovingly
together," he said.
Lozier will retire at the end of this
year. He spoke with Street Roots about
how providing health care to homeless
people has evolved and what still needs
to happen to help the country's most
vulnerable citizens, including creating
universal care.
Amanda Waldroupe: When you
started the organization, how radical of
an idea was it to create a program specifically designed to provide health care
to homeless people?
John Lozier: It was an important
initiative. The approach evolved from
interest in the Robert Wood Johnson
foundation [a private foundation dedicated to improving health and healthcare for Americans]. They established
some demonstration programs that
sought to establish something very
simple - which was probably a radical
idea at the time - that homeless people
can be effectively engaged in primary
care services. There were 19 original
projects, and we served tens of thousands of people.

John Lozier, founder of American non-profit National Health Care for the Homeless
Council. Credit: Street Roots

We've understood from the beginning that housing is the core problem.
Housing is health care. You can't be
well if you're sleeping on a sidewalk
or in a crowded shelter. One of the
main things that has happened is that
we have refined those understandings. When we think about violence,
we think about trauma and traumainformed care. And we think about
cultural humility, an increasingly important approach to health care for the
homeless.
A.W.: It seems largely accepted
that homelessness is a public health
problem - not a public safety one, for
example. But it took a long time, even,
for public officials and the public to understand how much harm - physical,
mental and otherwise - can be caused
from being unable to get a full night of
sleep.
J.L.: Right. Sleep science is another place where our knowledge
base has increased really dramatically
in recent years - even more recently
than the awareness about trauma. I
think I would have to take issue with
homelessness being a health issue. It's
predominantly an economic issue. It
has to do with the lack of affordable
and appropriate and available housing for people, which in turn drives
health problems. In 1987, the Institute
of Medicine of the National Academy
of Sciences published a report called
"Homelessness, Health and Human
Needs."
It found that there are three relationships between homelessness and
health. One is that poor health causes
homelessness, for two reasons. One
reason is economic: Most personal
bankruptcies are health care bankruptcies. The other has to do with symptoms of illnesses and people who get
squeezed out of housing.
Secondly, homelessness, in turn,
causes more health issues, with exposure to diseases in shelters and vermin on the streets and violence on the
streets, and exposure to the elements.
The third is that homelessness
complicates all the elements and all the
things you need to do to treat people.
Add those up, and it's a major public
health problem.
A.W.: You talked about how our
understanding of the health issues
faced by homeless people has been refined. What do you think caused that
refinement of understanding to take
place?
J.L.: Science is part of it. The science has evolved. That's not unimportant. Brain chemistry, neurology, the understanding about the effects of trauma
in particular has gotten much deeper in
the last decade. For us, a more important part of it has been asking people
who have experienced homelessness
to help define the issues. Our focus on
violence, for example, achieved a new
clarity for us when the National Con-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

sumer Advisory Board put together a
survey it does for people experiencing
homelessness and across the country
on violence. Almost everyone on the
streets had witnessed violence in the
course of their homelessness.
A.W.: By involving homeless people so much - asking for their perspective, their input, their opinions - is to
genuinely treat them as human beings,
something I think a lot of people forget
because of their appearance, because
they live outside.
J.L.: That's true. Yes. We have
tried to involve our patients at every
stage of our work, and that starts with
outreach and really being sensitive to
people's situations in the exam room.
Much earlier in our career we talked
about patient-centered care and goal
setting. It goes on and on to patient satisfaction surveys to consumer advisory
boards, which operate on a consensus
model, so that their voices carry every
bit as much weight as everybody else's.
A.W.: I was reading the council's
most recent quarterly newsletter, In
Focus, about the importance and effectiveness of case management. The reason good case management is so effective is that it creates a one-on-one relationship and treats homeless people
with compassion and respect.
J.L.: Absolutely. It's not just compassion. It's respect. Those two together are what makes the difference.
A.W.: How so?
J.L.: Just feeling sorry for somebody - one way to express compassion can be condescending, for lack of a better word. But feeling respect for somebody is an expression of justice. It's an
expression of understanding. It's an
expression of the quality of all human
beings in the face of our mortality. It's
giving a fellow human being his or her
due.
We're not about charity. We're
about justice. Ultimately, that bleeds
over to our understanding of what
health care reform still needs to be. It
needs to be universal. At best, with the
Affordable Care Act fully implemented,
there's still 27 million who are uninsured in this country. A lot of those
will be homeless people who for one
reason or another aren't eligible or not
enrolled. That goal we set for universal
health care coverage and accessibility
to quality care still remains elusive.
A.W.: You've advocated for many
years that housing is an essential part
of health care, yet the funding for
housing and health care are entirely
distinct. How do you think health care
programs, like hospitals or Medicaid,
should use some of their funding to
ensure their patients live in affordable
housing?
J.L.: Not enough is happening yet,
but we are beginning to see some glimmers of the understanding that housing is health care and that it is a wise
health care investment to make sure
that patients are adequately housed.
Some managed care organizations are
spending their money on housing, or a
less profound but equally important intervention like respite care. New York

(Continued on page 11)

�WORLD
No masking Trump's popularity at
Chinese Partytime Factory

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

9

XIHAO JIANG
NATALIE THOMAS

INSP / Reuters
There's no masking the facts. One
Chinese factory is expecting Donald
Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the popularity stakes.
At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art
and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and
party supply business that produces
thousands of rubber and plastic masks
of everyone from Osama bin Laden to
Spider-Man, masks of Donald Trump
and Democratic front-runner Hillary
Clinton faces are being churned out.
Sales of the two presidential candidates are at about half a million each
but the factory management believes
Trump will eventually run out the winner.
"Even though the sales are more
or less the same, I think in 2016 this
mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a
Trump mask.
The firm was already beginning to
stockpile the Republican candidate's
mask, he said.
Just like with the sales of the $4-$5
masks, Trump is now running nearly
even with Clinton among likely U.S.

voters ahead of the November election, a Reuters/Ipsos poll from May 11
showed.
That is a big turnaround for the
real estate billionaire once considered
a fringe figure in the race, but now the
Republican Party's presidential nominee.
Trump has been less than positive
in his comments about China, asserting
that the world's number two economy
had waged "economic war" against the
United States, and used crafty business
practices to steal American jobs.
China has largely refrained from
responding to Trump's barbs, but Finance Minister Lou Jiwei described
him as "an irrational type" in an interview in April.
Such issues are far removed from
the Trump mask production line at the
factory in Zhejiang province, south of
Shanghai.
Asked if he knew whose face he was
making, 43-year-old worker Liu Dahua
told reporters: "It's the president of the
U.S., right?"
------------------------

The manager of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory wearing
a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses
as he presents products to reporters at his factory's showroom in
Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Aly
Song

A worker paints a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in
Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Aly
Song

A worker checks a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in
Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Aly
Song

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June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

Now Hiring
Caracole
Caracole.org

- Social Work Supervisor
- Case Manager
- Resident Assistant

Cincinnati Union
Bethel
cinunionbethel.org

- Payroll and Benefits
Specialist
- Special Needs Assistance
- Family Service Worker
- Teachers
- Assistant Teachers
- Cook

Center for Chemical
Addictions Treatment
catsober.org

- Dietary Supervisor
- Nurse Manager
- Two Staff Nurses
- Controller
- Patient Aide
- Assistant V.P. Nursing

Lighthouse Youth
Services
lighthouse.org
- Multiple openings

- Warehousemen
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Tender Mercies
tendermerciesinc.org

Project Connect
cps-k12.org

- Chief Operating Officer

- Resident Aid
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Workplace Strategy
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- Grant writer
- Success By 6 Associate

Hamilton County
Community
United Way of
Development
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Greater Cincinnati
hamiltoncountyohio.
uwgc.org
gov
Shelter House
- Vice President, Marketing
- Multiple Openings
shelterhousecinti.org - Senior Associate, NonLegal Aid Society of
Greater Cincinnati
lascinti.org

- Fellowship Sponsorship
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- Human Resource Manager - Legal Assistant

St. Vincent De Paul
svdpcincinnati.org
- Cashiers
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Our Daily Bread
ourdailybread.us
- Executive Director

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would
like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for
sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the
Woodward Theater!

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�11

WORLD

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

Obama administration issues warning to U.S.
schools over transgender students’ rights
ZACH MOBRICE

T

he U.S. Departments of Justice and Education unveiled
"significant guidance" for
public schools to follow in
order to protect the civil rights of
transgender students on 13 May.
This guidance initiative utilizes the
past reforms of Title IX-an amendment which bars discrimination in
all federally funded schools-to defend transgender liberties and justify any precautions that should be
taken in schools to best ensure these
liberties.
Amidst the recent controversy

AMANDA WALDROUPE

(Continued from page 8)

state is beginning to spend some of its
Medicaid dollars. The problem is that
we have split social and health needs
apart from each other in the major
federal streams. HUD (Department of
Housing and Urban Development) and
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) spend money on very
different things. A lot of people have
tried to put those together at the local level. We need to understand that
housing is health care, and that if we
want a healthy population, make sure
that it is adequately housed.
A.W.: There are at least two competing values for delivering good and
effective health care. One is doing it
out of the kind of compassion you're
talking about. But health reform has
generated a lot of conversations about
creating health care programs that are
"evidence based" or have "measurable
outcomes," a way of measuring effec-

CAMRI NELSON

(Continued from page 7)
kids running and mothers crying.
“Once, we witnessed a man try to
help a woman who was laying on the
ground. In the process of helping her
get up, their hands were ripped off by
an explosion,” explained Fathallah.
Fathallah also lost her father during that time due to a heart attack. According to his doctor he became sick
due to all of the horrific things that he
had witnessed during that time. Although that was a rough time for her,
she is grateful to have survived the
first few years in the camps.
The camp in Lebanon where Ashkar lives was only built to house 10,000
people. However as of 2016 there are
25,000 people living there. They are
expected to have 25,000 more by the
end of the year. She claims that quality of life for the refugees is continually getting worse.
“After 68 years, they are still
treated as refugees. They cannot be
engineers, doctors, or even taxi drivers. Their only options are to work as
construction workers,” she said.
The refugees have very limited
rights. In addition to barely being able
to work, they cannot own land, obtain
social security, go to public hospitals,
or get a good quality education. Kids
who attend school from first to sixth

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the two departments found to be
competent and effective civil rights
initiatives. Among these initiatives
are: how to best confirm a student's
gender transition, how to communicate transgender status to students'
parents, how to protect transgender
privacy, and how to allow transgender students to fit into sex-segregated activities and facilities (such as
athletics and restrooms) that align
with their identity.
Among the state public school
policies exemplified in the guidance
release is the Massachusetts Guidance, released in 2013. The Mass.
Guidance, as expressed in the joint
guidance, expresses the necessity for
school communication with transgender students over how to best
handle communication with par-

created by restrictive bathroom laws
in North Carolina, this set of guidelines serves to take a stand and help
clarify what should be done for students whose gender identity does not
match their assigned sex.
"Educators want to do the right
thing for students, and many have
reached out to us for guidance on
how to follow the law," said Secretary
of Education, John King, Jr.
"We must ensure that our young
people know that whoever they are
or wherever they come from, they
have the opportunity to get a great

education in an environment free
from discrimination, harassment
and violence."
The guidance emphasizes that a
student's gender identity should be
treated as their sex and also states
that students need only express to
the school that they are transgender
and wish to be respected as such;
privacy and a comforting environment take precedent over documentation and formality.
While not instituting any actual
regulation or policy, the guidance
showcases state examples of what

tiveness, etc. Do you think anything is
lost when we talk about health care like
that?
J.L.: It does matter. It has to do
with the quality of those services. A
lot of the focus of the ACA (Afordable
Health Care) is on patient-centered
medical homes. That's what we have
been doing for 30 years now. We have
been developing medical homes for
people who are pretty much excluded
anywhere else, (homes) that are compassionate and respectful. We look
to what is achievable within the patient's own frame of reference. When
we make a referral, we fully recognize
the case management (needed) to help
make that referral really work - that
there are warm hand-offs, careful care
transitions, discharge planning so that
one person moves from one sort of provider to another.
A.W.: What do you think needs to
change in this country - socially, politically - for the United States to create
universal health care?
J.L.: It's the political power of the

insurance companies and the for-profit
health care providers. That's clear and
simple, I think, to anybody who looks
at it. They command something like 17
or 18 percent of the nation's economy.
Somewhere between 20 and 30 percent
of their profit goes into shareholder
profit and other wasteful administrative costs. Health insurance executives
are among the richest people in the
country. It's the one percent defending
itself.
A.W.: The vacancy rate in Portland, like many other West Coast cities,
is lower than two percent. The rental
market is incredibly tight, and landlords are raising rent. Housing, even
though it is something that everyone
needs to survive, is driven by capitalism.
J.L.: Absolutely. It's capitalism run
amok. Our economy treats housing and
health care as commodities, as things
to be bought or sold for profit, not as
the fundamental human right that we
understand they are. They are necessary for our survival. They're so basic.

I try to talk about Abraham Maslow's
needs hierarchy. Shelter, food and
clothing are right there at the bottom,
before you can advance economically
or psychologically. It's a fundamental
need that the capitalist system does not
accommodate willingly.
The McKinney-Vento act [the
McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act
is a federal law that ensures immediate
enrollment and educational stability
for homeless children and youth] got
passed in 1987 because Mitch Snyder was starving himself to death (in
Washington, D.C.). Many people were
expressing a lot of outrage of this sudden influx of homelessness when Reagan cut the HUD budget by 75 percent.
What we lack now is that sort of powerful grassroots movement. We need to
see more on that political front around
housing.

grade are usually in classes with 55
or more students. Many of them can’t
even spell their name by the time that
they are finished with school. Even
those who don’t pass within their
grade level are still allowed to move
on.
Ashkar was fortunate enough
to get her education through private
schooling. Her father, who is a mechanical engineer, illegally works for a
company in Lebanon. Although he has
a privileged position, he is still discriminated against in the work force.
He has to work more hours than everyone else and get paid a lower salary.
“That’s how Palestinian’s work,
they work illegally and if they get paid
less, that’s fine. At least they have
work,” she said.
Both Fatahallah and Ashkar
would like to return to Palestine and
rebuild their village but they know
that it can’t be done alone. The Israelites have banned the refugees from
returning to their land, but Ashkar
stands by the Palestinian Right of Return. This political position states that
they have the right to return home and
claim their property back. Ashkar believes that if everyone comes together
they can regain their land.
Ashkar believes that the first step
to regaining the land is to gather other supporters and to start talking to
people about the cause. She hopes that
Amer-

icans will be able to influence the politicians to make a change.
“I now believe in the Americans.
This is something I would have not
said two months ago. I now believe in

them because I have seen many people
who really support us and believe in
our cause,” she said.

(Continued on page 12)

------------------------

------------------------

Slide show at Clifton Mosque Photo: Camri Nelson

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�12

Street Life:
The liar and the thief

LOCAL

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

RICARDO TAYLOR

Contributing Writer &amp;
Streetvibes Distributor
‘A thief and liar are one in the
same’.

L

ike six of one thing and half
a dozen of another, it comes
out the same; or equal if you
will, only; is that so? The dynamics of the two is such that they
are one and the same.
Honored in the presence of
gentlemen and respected amongst
thieves. Ah, what a place to be.
Standing as a force! A force of men;
On the side of justice and right, while
deceiving in the name of self-gain!
Oh, really?
For me the greatest theft which
could ever be committed is a lie! Lies
do not come in colors, or size, they
come in deceit. For personal gain at
others expense!
With intent you come to me with
an elaborate fabrication about nothing; or whatever; it’s a theft, simply,
because, you have my confidence, yet

ZACH MOBRICE

(Continued from page 11)
ents, in order to protect student safety
and privacy. The guidance delves further into the issue of privacy, stating
that transgender students shouldn't
have their gender information collected unless absolutely necessary.

you bring to me complete falsehood
{a lie}, with no real concern for me,
it’s only for your gain! A liar and a
thief are the same.
As life has come to me I have
come upon a reality. One which has
followed my thinking and actions,
that reality is that as a man I would
never have to lie! Oh, I don’t have to
tell you anything! A lie as far I am
concerned can only be of any value
if it is to protect oneself from harm,
or to protect another for that purpose, or to protect some property
this would be the only excusable reason for lying. A liar and a thief are
the same; so unbecoming of one’s
nature!
One’s character is the investment of his/her integrity. The honesty of one’s actions is reflected in their
character, in the phases, of dealing
with others. The sheer audacity of
the lie is imprinted in the actions
and motives of the perpetrator, who

with the vigor of intent concludes to
deceive! Too arrest your confidence
for self-gain!
What greater theft then to have
you directed by falsehood? Leading
the sheep to the slaughter! No regret or remorse from the perpetrator! Relishing in the gains from their
deceit, the liar/thief, adorns themselves with pride and honor.
How audacious! To believe that
you are blessed from God for gains
obtained without the shame of a lie!
Such are the motives and drives for

those who practice deceit. A thief
and a liar are one in the same!
A bit out of my usual compassion for the life of most street people
I titled and wrote this essay not as an
indictment against street people; in
fact, often as not it’s the more successful individuals who might engage in those behaviors, yet, whoever, it impresses me as a violation
towards others.

This acknowledgement comes on
the heels of a bill passed by the Massachusetts Senate, which effectively
prohibits the discrimination of transgender citizens in public locales.
The federal joint guidance also details how to efficiently curb and discipline the bullying of transgender students and how to handle complaints

from the greater public. What the
guidance says it cannot offer advice
for is the handling of transgender students in single-sex classes and schools
- as these are associated with private
institutions - as well as fraternities
and sororities.
The Massachusetts Trans Political
Coalition, a Boston-based advocacy

and education group for transgender
issues, praised the move. However,
they feel more still needs to be done.
"This is just a stepping stone," said
Mason Dunn, executive director of the
coalition. "It's part of the larger fight
to change minds."
------------------------

Streetvibes distributor Ricardo Taylor Photo: Aimee Willhoite

------------------------

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A Letter to the Editor:
Response to Panhandler Like Me
What an ironic juxtaposition!
Jim Luken’s article about posing
as a panhandler, across from Josh
Spring’s headline, “Infuriating Fakeness.” Spring says, "I am infuriated
with fake," but Luken’s scam, and
the article he wrote about it, are
much more infuriating.
The people who passed Luken
without “helping” him don’t need
an excuse for enjoying their evening without interruption. They
may be taking a break from caring
for an aged parent or a house full
of small children. They may have a
stressful job, but it offers them the
opportunity to help others through
the United Way, or through making
contributions to political candidates
who fight for social justice, or to
Doctors Without Borders, who help

the sick in war-torn areas, or to local agencies like Welcome House
and the FreeStore Foodbank. Maybe
they work for women’s healthcare
at Planned Parenthood, or donate
veterinary services to families who
might lose their pet because they
can’t afford its care.
Are those people bad people because they don’t want to open their
wallet in the middle of the sidewalk
to give to someone posing as needy?
And think who you reach with this
story – people who’ve bought Street
Vibes from a vendor. Do they deserve your guilt trip? Maybe the
person who really needs a lesson in
compassion is Jim Luken.
- Ann Mitchell
------------------------

Ferguson and the Others
Unarmed
But Dead
Death still came
Life taken by whom
And for what
Shots were fired
Innocent men were killed
Time after time police
brutality
Bad Judgement, Racism
Cops not indicted
Cops not brought to trail
Police guilty of policing
themselves
Riots for Justice
Police chiefs and the
justice system
Not being
responsible for police
actions
Unfair killings
Police should maintain

to restore human dignity
of all those
they are sworn to protect
and serve
Law enforcement is
supposed to
Be a part of the
community
Not killers in the
communities
Gardner - Dead
Martin – Dead
Brown – Dead
Wilson – Dead
The grand jury and our
justice system
Must prevail

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE CAMPAIGN MOTHER GOOSE
CRUZ DROPS OUT
Teddy Cruz got Indiana's bad news,
And the results only made him cry.
Onto TV he flew and curtly withdrew,
But said: "I'm still the right guy!"
WARNING ALL VOTERS
Voters be wary.
Voters be quick.
Trumpian rantings
Can make you sick.

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

A Missing Ruby
SINCE BECOMING A STREETVIBES DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE
HOMELESS COALTION
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING A LADY I KNOW SHOULD
HAVE BEEN A POLITICIAN
THIS LADY INSPIRED PEOPLE EVERYTIME THEY'D SEE HER, SHE
ALWAYS HAD A SMILE
WHETHER THEY'D HAD A GOOD OR BAD DAY AND HAD
WALKED A COUNTRY MILE
NOT ONLY WAS THIS LADY AN UPLIFT AND SPIRITUAL, SHE
BECAME A POSITIVE JOY
SHE BECAME MY HOLIDAY BAKER OF CAKES AND PIES COULD
SHE COOK,"OH BOY!!!"
I KNOW WHAT A DIAMOND IN THE RUFF IS BUT I NEVER MET
A REAL RUBY AS A GEM
THEY'LL FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR HER WHICH IS
IMPOSSIBLE SO WE HANGING BY A LIMB
MEETING MRS. RUBY WITH HER LAUGHTER ABOUT HOW SHE
FORGOT MY NAME
MADE ME KNOW AND BELEIVE THAT LIVING LIFE WITH A
SMILE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
WE WILL MISS MRS. RUBY SHARING RECEIPTS FOR LIVING
AND HOME COOKED MEALS
I WILL MISS STANDING LISTENING TO HER HELP PEOPLE WITH
FOOD, SHELTER WHATEVER KIND OF ORDEAL
GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU SO THAT YOU WILL KNOW THAT
WE AT THE COALTION WILL NEVER FORGET YOU
YOU WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED EVERYTIME WE COME
FOR HELP NO MATTER WHAT WE DO
GOOD LUCK ON RETIREMENT WHICH IS WHEN YOU HAVE
NOTHING TO DO BUT SLEEP AND EAT EVERYDAY
JUST REMEMBER YOU HAVE A PLACE AT THE CINCINNATI
HOMELESS COALTION AND HURRY BACK I SAY!!!!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 100
Across
1. Soft surface texture
4. Small viper
7. Stop
11. Cuban currency
12. Singing voice
13. Assumed name
15. Egg-laying
17. Paris transport system
18. Guided
19. Promptly
21. Tool used to cut gears
22. Metal-bearing mineral
23. Delicate
24. Desperate
27. Elfin
28. Niche
30. Region
33. Seep
36. Call forth
38. Adjacent
39. Sign of assent
40. Portent
41. Luxury watercraft
43. Weaving machine
45. Salacious
46. Permissible difference
48. Astern
50. Bow
51. Champion
53. Append
56. Apposite
58. Rough shelter
60. Charge for professional
services
61. Water nymph
64. Marked by care and
persistent effort
66. Rhetorical device
67. Stupefy
68. Item of footwear
69. Was cognizant or aware
70. Golf peg
71. Consumed

Down
1. Not at any time
2. Stage whisper
3. Fizzy soft drink
4. Distant in manner
5. Feat to attract attention
6. Assigned position
7. Amateur radio operator
8. Beer
9. Supple
10. Tropical starchy
tuberous root
11. Field sport
12. Stream or brook
14. Weep
16. Part of a church
20. Poem
25. Frozen water
26. Rebellion
27. Sire
28. Remake
29. Turn or place at an angle
30. One, some, every or all
31. Actual
32. Deliberate act of
omission
34. Merely
35. Menagerie
37. Conclude
42. Number in a
brace
44. Swallow
49. Nutrition
51. Hurry
52. Result
53. Currently in progress
54. Tie in tennis
55. Writing table
56. Colony insect
57. Open land for
recreational use
59. Compass direction
62. Simian
63. Condensation
65. Country, initially

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 230 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 330
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 99

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 229 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 331 | Ju n e 3 - J u n e 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

Shelter: Women and Children

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873
1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; 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

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

Salvation Army				762-5660

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

241-2965

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211
2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

Other Resources

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				
751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Advocacy

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	
205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

Health

Center for Respite Care			621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

for 26 issues

621-5514

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		
961-4080

961-0600

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

Cincinnati Health Network		

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

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
859-491-3335
859-572-6202

�16

S

June 3 - June 16, 2016 | No. 331

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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 usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

ALMA
SIMS
SINCE 5/2014

ALFRED
WOOLFOLK
SINCE 10/2003

ASRES
AYENAW
SINCE 2012

BELINDA
CHERRY
SINCE 8/2015

BERTA
LAMBERT
SINCE 1997

BRANDON
NELSON
SINCE 4/2008

CRANDALL
COBB
SINCE 2004

DEBORAH
POINDEXTER
SINCE 9/2012

DONALD
YOUNG

ELMORE
MORRIS
SINCE 5/2014

GINA
MARTIN

GRADY
COOK
SINCE 1997

GREGORY
RAY
SINCE 4/2015

JAMES
BROWN
SINCE 3/2009

JAMES
DAVIS
SINCE 8/2003

JIMMIE
GIPSON
SINCE 2001

JONATHAN
SLATER
SINCE 5/2014

JOHN
GAINES
SINCE 12/2009

KAREN
COLLETTE
SINCE 7/2008

KEITH
EUTSEY
SINCE 2/2011

JOHN
HORN

JOSEPHINE
BASKERVILLE
SINCE 9/2008

J’TORI
TYMAN
SINCE 5/2014

W. KENNETH
BUSSELL
SINCE 10/2009

LARRY
FILES
SINCE 6/2012

LARRY
BROWN
SINCE 10/2007

LEE
MCCOY
SINCE 7/2009

LEONARD
JACKSON
SINCE 2/2005

MAXINE
GRANT
SINCE 4/2015

MEACO
WAITE

MELISSA
MOSBY
SINCE 9/2014

MICHAEL
BEHYMER

QUEENACELESTINE

LEVY

RAESHAWN
GIPSON
SINCE 3/2009

RAYNARD
JONES
SINCE 10/2008

RICKY
WOODS
SINCE 4/2015

RICCARDO
TAYLOR
SINCE 2001

RONNIE
PHILLIPS
SINCE 10/2009

TARA
HILL
SINCE 4/2014

TIA
CASS
SINCE 11/2007

TINA
SINCE 4/2015

TODD
HANLEY
SINCE 5/2014

TONY
THOMAS
SINCE 3/2005

VICTOR
MUMPHRY

WILLIAM
SIMMS
SINCE 4/2014

LOTTIE
MANNER

MIKE
CARANO
SINCE 4/2016

CLEO
WOMBLES
SINCE 10/2003

CRAIG
SMITH
SINCE 5/2014

GLENDA
CANTRELL

GREGORY
WILSON
SINCE 1/2012

JON
DARBY
SINCE 2/2006

JOHNNY
KERNS
SINCE 9/2012

KIM
GREEN
SINCE 1/2010

KRISTINE
HOFSKY
SINCE 3/2015

MARY
MUELLER
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MARK
SHEARS
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MAURICE
GOLSBY

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NEBRASKA
SINCE 3/2015

PERVIS
MENTON
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cincistreetvibes.org

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

SAMUEL
JACKSON
SINCE 10/2006

WILLA
JONES
SINCE 1/2010

TALINA
HILL
SINCE 2/2015

WILLIAM
BURDINE
SINCE 8/2009

�</text>
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                    <text>December 16th - December 29th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 26 (No. 345)

advocating justice | Building community

End of The Year
Annual Celebration | 2

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Call to (In)Action? | 3

Hidden Sunflower
Medallions | 4

Winter Is Coming | 5

Walking the Walk &amp;
Singing the Talk | 7

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director: End of
the Year

to reach beyond his personal
situation and his personal struggle
with homelessness to connect with
many other people and take part
in pursuing the systematic changes
Streetvibes is an activist newspaper,
necessary to end homelessness.
We heard from Jaymel Reed, a advocating justice and building
student at Aiken High School and community. Streetvibes reports on

JOSH SPRING

I

Executive Director

economic issues, civil rights, the
environment, the peace movement,
spirituality and the struggle
against homelessness and poverty.
Distributed by individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.

know you’re probably hearing
many people say it, but it really
is hard to believe that nearly
all of 2016 is over. As such our
2016 Annual Fundraising Dinner and
Awards Ceremony is also over. On
December 7th, like we do every year
we gathered to end the year together
by looking back over the struggles
and successes of the past year and
to look forward to our goals and
strategies for the next. We also took
the time to honor some of the hard
working, committed and passionate
people in our Movement.
This year, as we have done
the previous four years, we came
together at the Newport Syndicate.
For five years the Newport Syndicate
has been both a friendly and giving

113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
Jenn Summer and Amy Silver with friends and family
Photo: Michael Flood

Jaymel Reed and John Rieman-Klingler from Aiken High School
Photo: Michael Flood

host. We are very thankful for their
continued commitment to our
Homeless Coalition by keeping costs
such that this can be a true fundraiser.
Hundreds of people came to our
dinner. We were so thankful to share
the evening with our many Memberorganizations and their wonderful
social workers, case managers,
directors, managers, receptionists,
accountants, planners, etc. (if I listed
every person-group, the list would
go on far too long). If that were
not enough, we were able to spend
time with our donors, volunteers,
board members, partner school
teachers, Streetvibes Distributors
and partner organizations like Faith
and Community Alliance, Black
Lives Matter: Cincinnati and Miami
University Center for Community
Engagement (the risk in making
these lists is that you inevitably leave
somebody out, if I have done so, I
apologize). We broke bread together,
talked, listened, hugged, shook
hands, danced, bid on auction items
and generally enjoyed the company

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

of many friends.
This year we highlighted the
experiences of Sam Jackson a long
time Streetvibes Distributor and
speaker for our Speakers’ Bureau.

WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com

his teacher, John Rieman-Klingler.
They both took part in our City-Wide
Shantytown, Social Justice Walking
Tour and Streetvibes Distributor
Shadow. Jaymel explained how
these
experiences
broadened
his perspective and assisted him
in relating to the larger picture
including the systematic causes of
homelessness and the solutions.
John shared how powerful it is to see
the lights come on in his student’s
heads and the opportunity it provides
for students who themselves have
experienced homelessness to openly
talk about it and further empower
their classmates to learn.
It is important to honor the hard
work through struggle of our people.
This year we gave the Jimmy Heath
Streetvibes Contributor of the Year
Award to Tess Sohngen who has

EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Key Beck, Brooke
Adams, Cassidy Venema, Maggie
Woolf, Tess Sohngen, Dr. Mark
Mussman, Robert Park, Jim Luken,
Malia Pitts, Jason Haap, Bill Woods,
Michael Earl Patton, Kim Green,
Sonny Williams, Willa Denise Jones
Photography/Artwork:
Michael Flood, Wikipedia, Brooke
Adams, Dr. Mark Mussman, Tim
Kraus, Katz Painting, Bill Woods

Jenn Summers speaking about how buddy gray inspired her

Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.

Photo: Michael Flood

Sam explained how the Coalition
through Streetvibes and the Speakers’
Bureau offered him the opportunity

given months to Streetvibes as an
(Continued on page 3)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�LOCAL
Call To (In)Action?

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

KEY BECK

Contributing Writer

“Y

ou guys got to fight.
It’s war. It's always
been war. It's a struggle, it's always been a

struggle.”
Those were the closing remarks
from Ta-Nehisi Coates at a speaking engagement at Xavier University
this past November. The event titled,
“Race In America” was an opportunity for local residents, students,
staff, and community stakeholders to
hear Ta-Nehisi Coates’ perspective of
race in America. Simply put, it was an
opportunity for our city to get some
perspective on how race, class, gender (and I would’ve hoped) sexual expression play into structural systems
of oppression from a Rhodes Scholar,
New York bestselling author, and expert on race. The event was highly anticipated, so getting tickets required
access to resources, networks, or at
the very least, time and transportation. Many of the tickets were given
away to students, but the hosts made
several opportunities for community
to get tickets from libraries, bookstores, and Xavier University.
Inviting Ta-Nehisi Coates to
speak at a community event was an
opportunity to flex our city’s diversity
and inclusion muscles, show our willingness to discuss tough issues, and
bring attention to the many current
issues of systematic racism/oppression in our city. Sadly, I think we only
partially accomplished those goals,
which is okay. I was hoping Ta-Nehisi
Coates would cater his keynote to local issues like the hung jury of officer
Ray Tensing, the national issue police-sanctioned violence, and judicial
practice of acquitting officers accused
of murder, for example. Instead, he
focused his talk on the effects of the
Post- and Pre- Civil War slave economy on our current economic and justice system. Don’t get me wrong, that
is an important issue, but for many
in the audience, myself included, this

Ta-Nehisi Coates
Credit: Wikipedia

was a primer on race relations and
partly covered in his book. It was an
informative and lively event, so don’t
take this as a complaint, but a positive criticism.
The atmosphere of the event was
juxtaposition of timid laughter and
empowering call and response. There
were many bouts of applause as he hit
some of the highlights, which I always
find confusing. Are we applauding
racism or irony that we people of color are still fighting for equity decades
after the abolition of slavery? There
was an especially energetic applause
when Ta-Nehisi Coates exclaims,
“Race is the child of racism, not the
father.” He eloquently explained,
“Someone decides to do racist things
then come up with the idea of race to
justify it. I decide I want to take something from you and in order to justify
taking something from you, I call you
something.” This point was especially
poignant for me as I thought about

how many police officers have such a
fear of black bodies based on images
they create inside their heads. These
images are so powerful that they
rely on knee-jerk reactions to handle
situations. Thus, you have cops who
shoot first and ask questions later.
It is in my opinion that Ta-Nehisi
Coates’ statement could be applied to
over-zealous cops and implementers
of micro-aggressions. I watched on
as a group of black students looked at
each other and nodded in agreement
to the points being shared, while a
white student next to them uncomfortably shifted in their seat. So it was
apparent that his words were having
effects on the audience.
I would be remiss to ignore the
fact that Ta-Nehisi Coates did address the historical effects of slavery
on our current economic system,
the cultural and social implications
of human ownership within society,
and the connection between privilege

JOSH SPRING
(Continued from page 2)
intern, including bringing together
the edition marking the 20th
anniversary of the death of buddy
gray. The Jimmy Render award
is given to a person who has
experienced homelessness and since
then has dedicated themselves to
working for an end to homelessness.
This award was given to Ron Hector
of the Consumer Advisory Board
to the Cincinnati Health Network.
Talina Hill received the Streetvibes
Distributor of the Year Award for her
commitment to the cause of the paper
as well as to her customers. This year
we gave out two Julie Martin Service
Provider of the Year Awards. This
award is given to honor a person
or organization who has provided

Ron Hector receiving the Jimmy Render award
Photo: Michael Flood

exemplary services to people
experiencing homelessness and has
shown dedication to the mission
of ending homelessness in Greater

Cincinnati.
As an organization,
Bethany House Services received
this honor because of their constant
commitment to families with

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

3
and power and a diminishing working class. But, why did so much of
this have to have a historical point
of reference? I felt that many of us
were hoping to hear a critique on the
current system and hear some grassroots action steps, as evidenced by
one of the audience questions during the Q&amp;A. What can we do now
to fight oppression and systematic
violence? He never really addressed
those questions, except telling us
to fight and struggle, like we have
always done. Should his closing remarks be seen as a call to action for
the many disenfranchised folks, or
should it be viewed as a hermeneutic
exercise of enduring oppression? As
I was leaving, many of the students
were having conversations about the
talk. They asked questions about the
point of the lecture and who was the
intended audience. Those are good
issues to raise indeed. Maybe the purpose of the lecture was to lay a foundation for future work, so the historical perspective was needed to do the
tough work. Or perhaps, it was meant
to educate those who don’t see a connection between the struggles of the
past and our current judicial system.
Either way, I am glad that Ta-Nehisi
Coates came to Cincinnati. It was
needed and very necessary.
While this wasn’t a city sponsored event, there were many organizations who helped sponsor the
event. KnowledgeWorks, The Strive
Partnership, Xavier University, The
Greater Cincinnati Foundation,
YWCA, Christ Church Cathedral
were the main sponsors of the event.
They each have an arm that focuses
on eliminating inequity in education,
so it was welcomed to see them do
some grassroots level work. I am excited that community organizations
are coming together to support issues
of diversity and inclusion. It shows
that we are willing to acknowledge
the many voices needed at the table
to affect systemic change. It is showing that the city realizes the power of
coalition building. It is also showing a
willingness to include everyone in the
community, not just the ones with
economic power.

children without homes. This year,
when an area family shelter was due
to close, which would have resulted
in a loss of half of our family shelter
capacity, Bethany House stepped
up and began to do the hard work
of running these beds, more than
tripling their capacity. Amy Silver,
a social worker at Over-the-Rhine
Community
Housing
received
this honor as an individual for her
relentless and holistic commitment
to assisting individuals and families
in getting housed and staying housed.
Finally, Jenn Summers of Peaslee
Neighborhood Center received the
buddy gray Lifetime Achievement
Award. Presenter Bonnie Neumeier
explained that when buddy died in
1996, Jenn was one of the people
who stepped up to make sure the
(Continued on page 10)

�4

LOCAL
Why are there sunflower medallions
hidden around Over-the-Rhine?

S

trolling through Washington
Park, a man and his wife find
something strange hidden
on the bench: a sunflower
painted on a medallion. It fits in the
palm of their hand but they cannot
pluck it from the bench and drop it in
their pocket -- it is zip-tied in place.
Someone intended for this flowery
token to be there, but why?
The medallion was planted
there by four Miami University
students as part of a social activism
project to draw attention to “hidden
gems” within the Over-the-Rhine
community. What the man and his
wife cannot see upon discovering
the flower is the special place it
represents, a place important to the
past and present community that
does not receive enough recognition
for the valuable role it plays in the
neighborhood.
There are six of these “hidden
gems” throughout the neighborhood
that can be discovered along
with a story that tells of a current
history being made. Along with the
medallions, the students created a
website where the stories of these
places are told. However, these
important places and stories are

BROOKE ADAMS, CASSIDY VENEMA, MAGGIE
WOOLF, AND TESS SOHNGEN

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 4

people and places in Over-the-Rhine
have withstood the wave of change
that has transformed much of the
neighborhood. Their roots are firmly
planted deep into the community,
and they face optimistically toward
the sun.

Contributing Writers

largely ignored or unknown by
newcomers to the community and
the Over-the-Rhine historic tours.
Why are these places ignored?
Perhaps because they represent
a history that many would like to
exclude from the new narrative of
the community. These places -Rothenberg Preparatory School, the
Drop Inn Center, Washington Park,
Imagination Alley, Venice on Vine,
and Our Daily Bread -- tell a story of
gentrification, privatization of public
property, and a breaking community.
Some of these places (the Drop Inn
Center and Washington Park) have
already been victims of the changes
in the community, while others (Our
Daily Bread) are still fighting for
their place in their community.
Some will stumble upon the
quest as the man and his wife had,
while others will seek out these
treasures. If you find one though
make sure to share its story with
others who then too can search for
these hidden objects. Just be polite
and leave them behind after you find
them.
The sunflower is one of the

Sunflower Marker near the former location of the Drop Inn Center
Credit: Brooke Adams

most durable plants and stand tall
against the greatest odds. They are
not unlike the places they are tied
to. Like the strong sunflower, many

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Visit the website for the stories:
www.otrsunflowerchallenge.weebly.
com

�5

LOCAL
Winter is Coming: Please Help
the Winter Shelters

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

Bobby isn’t the only person in a
position like this – in fact, the person
who owned the pickup, also slept
in it. And this person didn’t make it
through the winter without losing his
foot to frostbite. His whole foot, up to

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

L

Staff Writer

ast week, the Winter Shelter
opened at the Shelterhouse
for Men in Queensgate. The
Winter Shelter is open to
anyone over 18 years old who need
a place to stay for the night, and will
be open until the cold weather passes
us by in February (I’m being hopeful)
or March. There is always a need for
donations for the shelter, and for the
auxiliary shelter that is still open in
Over-the-Rhine at Prince of Peace
Church on Race Street. I am thankful
that we can come together as a city
and offer such services in the cold of
winter.

people who have felony convictions.
We learned at the Poverty UnSummit
that there are over 800 laws barring
people with felony convictions from
work in our state. For example, you
cannot own your own construction
company – no matter how good
your skills are, or how badly you are
treated by your boss. These laws, in
combination with the inability to find
stable housing, made life for Bobby
completely unwieldy – until one day.
A few years ago, Bobby met and
fell in love with a young woman, and
they had two beautiful daughters.
Bobby began to devote his life to

Snow on the Bridge
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

Snow on the Riverbank
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

Last winter, one of my good
friends – let’s just call him Bobby –
was having trouble finding a place
to stay after dealing with some legal
issues. Bobby, who I have known for
many years, is a kind-hearted soul
who just grew up in a very difficult
situation. By the time he was 16, he
was in prison and life was looking very
bleak. 20 years later, still in prison,
he ends up finding Yoga, giving him
a new outlook on life. After leaving
prison, he wanted to do everything
“on the level” but Ohio has some of
the most restrictive laws governing

his daughters, making sure not to
jeopardize their relationship, Bobby
sought out legal ways to earn money,
but due to his checkered past, was
stuck subsiding on his SSI of $700
per month – barely enough to house
the new family. This lasted for a
couple of years, until he was busted
for jaywalking and taken in for an
outstanding warrant (from before he
even met his girlfriend). This led to
an immediate 6 months lock up, and
in turn, his girlfriend and children
were evicted, all his belongings were
destroyed, and he was apart from his

family for the longest time yet. When
he was released, he had nothing, and
his family moved to Kentucky and he
couldn’t stay with them, so he ended
up on the street.
Last fall, we met up and talked
about what he needed – a deposit
and first month’s rent was the biggest
issue. He knew that his record held
him back from consistent work, and
his inability to get a job was making
it impossible for him to find a stable
place to live. Bobby had lived with
me before, but this time it wasn’t
possible, so I tried to go through the
avenues that I knew, but no luck.
He couldn’t stay at the Shelterhouse
because he slept at a friend’s house
one night after staying there, and he
was barred for sometime because he
had found a place to stay one night.
(This was before the Winter Shelter
opened.) I talked to him about the
Catholic Worker House, but without
a job, he cannot stay there. We don’t
have many options in Cincinnati, so
he ended up staying in a pick-up truck
throughout the winter with a man he
met while sleeping in a doorway of an
abandoned building. Even though it
was close to his family, he wasn’t able
to spend the holiday with his family
because of the restrictions on her
housing.

mid calf, was amputated and during
that time Bobby had to find a new
place to stay. The last we spoke, many
months later, Bobby was still looking
for a place to stay with his family.
This is just one of the many
stories that people have to deal with
in our country that puts convictions
over compassion, handcuffs above
housing, and replaces health with
wealth. Until we decide that we
cannot accept the legal system as it
is – one that purposefully destroys
lives at all costs rather than builds
people up in the benefit of society
– we will continue to pay more for
incarceration than education. And
to be honest, I’m not sure if it is
having the desired effect – are people
becoming rehabilitated or are they
just forced to live in substandard
housing, having lousy opportunities,
adding to recidivism? What do we
gain as a society when there is no
hope? At the very least, we can hope
that no one loses their leg this winter
and families are able to spend the
holidays together. It’s a hope, but
not a reality, for far too many in
Cincinnati.

A Cold Night on the Ohio River

A Cold Night on the Ohio River

Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�6

LOCAL
“The jobs aren’t coming back”

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

ROBERT PARK

Contributing Writer

T

he talking heads who
didn’t anticipate Trump
supremacy have fallen
back on their unshakable
foundations and are proclaiming
“the jobs aren’t coming back.”
The people who made sure the
jobs were going away – including
most of the Democratic Party
leadership – are now trying to justify
their betrayal by arguing Marxist
economic determinism: technology
and fundamental economics have
forced these transformations that
are far beyond the control of hapless
governments or dreamer, pie-in-thesky politics. This is really rich: we
have the corporate liberals telling
an elected President who claims to
be wanting to fix a vexing problem
that the working class is intimately
familiar with, that he can’t do it.
Dig your hole deeper, guys. If you’re
saying he can’t do it, you sure won’t
do it. Good-bye.
Could it be done? Of course.
This is about trade. About trade
agreements. They all have provisions
and
enforceable
requirements.
That’s what the WTO – World

Trade Organization – is all about:
specifying and enforcing the rules
that the global corporate lawyers have
written into it. And they do enforce
it. They go crazy over intellectual
property rights (Microsoft, Apple, big
Pharm,…). The problem is that they
are the wrong rules. Trade is a huge
economic powerhouse of incentives.
It can make or break countries,
political parties, poverty. Here’s what
the rules could look like and how they
could be enforced.
1.	 Environmental standards
Water
and
air
pollution
regulations, manufacturing practices.
Storm water management for land
protection, water conservation.
Explicit goals and time-frames
with different levels specified for
advanced vs. developing economies
with a timetable for eventual
harmonization.
2.	 Sustainability standards
National policies and laws to
keep the coal and oil (and fracked
gas) in the ground; promotion
of renewables., esp. geothermal,
wind, passive and photovoltaic
solar, efficiency; agroecology and

permaculture to rebuild farm land,
increase productivity and sequester
CO2.
3.	
Clear
guarantees
and
protection on civil and human rights.
4.	 Corruption standards
Publicly funded, transparent
elections; comprehensive bribe
prevention
and
disclosure;
minimum requirements for publicprivate partnerships. Tax reform:
progressive income taxes, securities
transaction taxes, and uniform
corporate
tax
requirements.
Protection of free speech, internet
access; severe controls on state and
private surveillance data-mining.
5.	 Labor standards
Protected right to organize
unions; labor law with minimum
procedural requirements for union
democracy and accountability, and
stringent prohibitions on employer
interference. Minimum living wages.
Explicit goals and time-frames with
different levels specified for different
countries and with a timetable for
harmonization.
These rules would level the
playing field, increase production

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

costs in slave-labor countries, greatly
reduce out-sourcing and actually
bring jobs back. Some companies
are already coming back because
of rising labor costs in China
and other impediments in their
business plans. Most importantly,
the working classes of developing
countries would be a whole lot
better off because the obscene
profits going to crony capitalists and
their global collaborators would be
severely redirected to the workers.
Internal markets would flourish.
The corporate lawyers writing
trade agreements don’t want this to
happen.
Obviously, this process would
start off from where things are now.
The transitions would have to be
feasible and politically viable. Each
country would present a unique
basket of interests, limitations and
possibilities. The way to drive it
forward would be for a block of
progressive states to establish a
preliminary set of rules and form a
very favorable trading arrangement
that would be an inducement for
other countries to follow. Even
corrupt, hopelessly entrenched elites
would be under extreme pressure
to conform in order to participate
or else face mounting isolation and
unrest, not to be suppressed with any
(Continued on page 12)

�LOCAL
Walking the Walk &amp; Singing the Talk
Streetvibes reviews the new CD by Just Earth

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

T

his reviewer has been seeing
(hearing) a lot of good
music lately. On Saturday,
December 10th I was
privileged thanks to the generosity
of OTRers Bonnie Neumeier and
Mike Flood to attend the Judy Collins
concert at Ludlow Garage. Judy had
been a favorite of mine in my twenties,
and she wowed the audience.
Judy spoke of her famous
relationship with recently deceased
Leonard Cohen, telling the audience
that Leonard had existed “just in
time,” i.e., the night before the
election. She mentioned his latest
album, “You Want It Darker.” “Well,”
she quipped, “it's gonna get darker.”
Then she dropped the subject.
The following Sunday afternoon,
I attended a Special concert at Urban
Artifact in Northside. The concert
was celebrating the release of a
new CD, two years in the making,
by a local group, Just Earth. In her
opening remarks, the group's founder
Paulette Meier talked briefly about
the “dark” days that we are facing.
But she explained that the music on
the new CD could help to lift us up.
The group's name derives from
their desire for an Earth that is, to
put it simply...just. “And the name
reflects the fact the Earth is just about
all we have,” Meier said.
The concert that day proved
amazingly professional while feeling
refreshingly informal. A few mistakes
and restarts were needed, but they
happened with a lightness and
friendliness that made human and
real, even funny. The eleven mostly
original songs had been written
over the past several dozen years by
Paulette and guitarist/singer Jamie
Fota. They (four others) made up the
play list of the CD, “One Planet, One
People, One Future.”

JIM LUKEN

Contributing Writer

Just Earth Album Cover

had gone into this complex nuanced
album. 11 musicians participated that
afternoon, playing drums and Congas,
electric and acoustic guitar, violin,
cello, piano, trombone, trumpet,
melodia and harmonica. Lots of
musical variety, sometimes hard
driven and brash, counterpointed
by songs of quietude and subtlety, a
capella harmonies mixed in among
the big band sounds.
All the more amazing was the
overarching reality that each of the
songs reflected the group's primary
mission: to bringing their time and

The first song, exquisitely
performed without accompaniment
by the primary four members of the
group, told the story the “Diggers,”
a commune movement of 1649 in
England. Dedicated to the ideal of a
classless society, the Diggers settled
on privatized land and held it in “the
common good.” The movement of
course was put down by the powers
that be. What would we expect when
the Diggers sang lines like: “the sin of
property we do disdain.”
The next number, entitled
“Power” was not about the thirst for

7

“Litany,” written and sung by
Ms. Fota, was a desperate plea to
godlike Mother a feminine protector/
sustainer. “Mother listen to our plea,
help us return to sanity.” A hard
driving electric guitar gave the song
an eerie modernist urgency.
Ms. Meier wrote the song, “I Want
to Know,” which deals with living in
the consumer driven world. “I want
to know,” Meier sang, “where all the
things that I use come from. So I can
know to whom I owe my gratitude.”
Simple words, profound idea.
“We were born to love and love is
what we are here for” is the beautiful
refrain from the song, “Born to Love,”
movingly accompanied by violin and
cello. The notion of our being born
to love seems way too easy for us to
forget, even at Christmastime.
The final two songs were rabble
rousing as well as just rousing, “The
Race to the Bottom” is a kind of
negative cultural anthem, which was
underpinned by the sound of a bluesy
trombone. “Where labor costs are
low, as corporate profits rise” went
the refrain. Who would doubt that we
are in a kind of rat race to the bottom
indeed. And, as the old saying goes,
the rats are winning. For now.
Just Earth closed its concert with
a song that brought a few folks to
their dancing feet. “Put the Old Ways
on the Run” involved all the players
onstage. “And we've only just begun
to undo the damage that was done.”
So clear to everyone filling the
venue was the fact that (maybe now
more than ever) the damage is still
being done, and to undo it will take
effort, and maybe a large helping of
risk from all of us.
Full disclosure: I have been
friends with several of the group
members for many years, Paulette
in particular. These folks have been
doing this kind of hard core activist
singing for forty years or more,
seldom rewarded by any more than
our gratitude.
Out in the streets at protest
events, time and again, they have
led us in song, and rallied our spirits
at vigils and action. For me there is
comfort in knowing that they have
been with us, year after year, artists
and artisans, faithful to the yoked
causes of justice and Peace. Thank
you, Just Earth, for your lifelong true
grit.
I encourage you to go to Paulette's
website: paulettemeier.com.

CD Pre-release celebration at the College Hill Coffee Company
Credit: Tim Kraus

It had taken the group two years
to put the material together, with the
help of a young, professional sound
engineer Sean Kelly. We concert
goers could see and the work that

talents to bear on issues and ideas
that might contribute to a more
peaceful and saner world...and to its
admittedly fragile future.

power, but needing the power of the
sun and the wind and the flowing
water. Sustainable energy. Lifeblood
of the planet.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

You can get a taste of the wonderful
music and hopefully buy a CD.
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear [their] music ringing
I finds an echo in [our] souls
How can [we] keep from singing.
					
--redaction of the old Quaker hymn

�e
8

LOCAL
Brittany Katz on her work of art

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

MALIA PITTS

Contributing Writer

B

rittany Katz, 28, is a local
painter who has a reputation of creating brilliantly
painted canvases of young

color and doodling everywhere,”
said Terri Collett, Brittany’s mother.
“I went out to Walmart one day and
went crazy in their arts supplies sec-

liked it that way,” she said “Everyone
would always try to invite me out and
get me to do other things, but I was
content with painting and being in

living room, painting his sunsets and
scenery and the best part is when he
would let me add my touch wherever
I wanted. I would always add streaks
of bright colors,” she said.
Brittany’s parents always encouraged her artistic abilities, motivating her to continue her craft in
college. After getting accepted into
the University of Cincinnati DAAP
program for Fine Arts, Brittany was

Credit:Katz Painting

women using emotional expression.
Over the years, she has sold over 100
paintings and plans to continue her
craft, one canvas at a time.
Born and raised in Loveland,
Ohio, Brittany was fascinated with
art at a very early age. When she was
four, her mother introduced her to
painting, and she hasn’t put the paint
brush down since.
“She was always fascinated with

tion. When I brought the supplies
home and saw how excited she was
and how fast she used everything, I
knew right at once I had a little artist
on my hands,” she said.
Growing up, Brittany was a quiet,
shy girl, who used art to express her
feelings. When most kids were outside hanging out or looking for trouble, Brittany says she avoided it.
“I didn’t have many friends and I

Credit:Katz Painting

my room full of art. Yes, I was one of
those kids,” she said smiling.
Her love for art was passed down
by her father, Val Skurow, who used
painting as a hobby when he wasn’t
working full time as a hotel manager.
“He was more of a landscape
painter. He would spend hours in the

Credit: Katz Painting

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

exposed to a variety of challenging
studio experiences that helped furnish her skills and technique.
“I loved college because it helped
me become more open with my work

Credit: Brittany Katz

(Continued on page 9)

�9

NATIONAL
New York City criticised for failing to get a grip on
its record homeless population
No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

REENA KARASIN

COURTESY OF ISPARE CHANGE NEWS / INSP.NGO

A

record-breaking
60,000
homeless
individuals
sought refuge in New York
City's homeless shelters
over autumn - a deluge that is drawing attention to the city's handling of
its homeless citizens.

nities (LINC) rental assistance programs subsidise rent for individuals
or families in a number of situations.
LINC, which provides support for
families who are working full-time,
requires that families pay 30 percent
of their income in rent. A family of
four could receive a $1,119 monthly

A homeless woman sleeps in an alcove on 7th Avenue in Times Square in Manhattan,
New York. Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

subsidy.
While New York City prohibits landlords from discriminating
against applicants based on source of
income, Simone says that people in
the LINC program have been turned
away nonetheless. The coalition is
calling for greater enforcement of the
anti-discriminatory law.
LINC has also promised landlords a $1,000 signing bonus since
October 2014 and offers them financial protections if the tenant fails to
pay rent or causes damage to the unit.
But even these steps do not ensure that all LINC beneficiaries can
find housing, given the city's housing
shortage.
"Even if you have a landlord
who is completely on board with the
voucher program, if you have dozens
of applicants there's still one apartment," Simone says. "We can't just
voucher our way out of the homeless-

ness crisis - we simultaneously need
to be building our way out of it and
increasing the housing supply with
real affordability levels."
DHS also offers services to prevent homelessness, many of which
are part of the Homebase program.
With 23 locations, Homebase is designed to keep New Yorkers out of the
shelter system - a move that, Simone
notes, saves individuals from experiencing trauma and saves taxpayers
money.
Homebase presents an array of
services including eviction prevention, job search assistance, and financial counselling.
The city has recently dedicated
extra funding to legal services that
help prevent against evictions, Simone explains, but adds that the coalition would like to see the initiative
expanded to a legal right to council in
housing court for people at or below
200 percent of the poverty line.
Despite the high number of
homeless individuals in the city's
shelter system, the DHS says in a
statement that Mayor Bill de Blasio's

programs made that number about
7,000 fewer than projected.
"We said five months ago that it
would take time to reverse 20 years
of policies and that the number of
people in shelter might continue to
grow," Commissioner of the Department of Social Services Steven Banks
said in a statement. He added, "Our
current programs have substantially
slowed the rate of growth in homelessness. And we will keep working
to strengthen our efforts to prevent
homelessness."
Simone says that the city has
plans to expand Homebase. DHS did
not provide comment.
"We know how to help [homeless individuals], but we just don't
have the resources to help them,"
Simone says. "We really need both
the city and the state to do as much
as they possibly can to tackle this
crisis, because we know what works
to solve homelessness, and we just
need our elected leaders to embrace
these proven solutions by focusing on
housing."

and painting worked as a catalyst
to help bring my emotions out,” she
said. “So, I began creating images
with acrylic, of woman using emotional expression, specifically emotions that run through me at the time
and onto the canvas,” she said.
After college, Brittany continued
her work of art, this time displaying
her work for the world to see. From
Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and
EBay, Brittany used the internet to
help sell her work and build a respectable, credible image.
“Women from all over the city

were messaging me, requesting
paintings, and buying online. I was
excited of course, but then I realized
that I used painting all these years as
my personal escape, when there are
millions of women who go through
things in life and my paintings represent that, my paintings represent
how their feeling,” she said.
Currently Brittany, now married
with two children, still paints her
work of art. She now has her own art
studio, a renovated attic in her home
her husband made for her. She hopes
to pass her artistic skills down to her

children one day, like her father did
to her and continue to make a name
for herself in the art industry.
“Painting has always been a passion of mine,” she said. “I love the way
it gives me the freedom to express my
feelings without having to say a word.
My girls watch me paint just like how
I used to watch my dad and man it’s a
great feeling to see them so fascinated
just like I was,” she added.

Homeless John Stewart caresses his dog Cuddles as he sits on 14th Street. Stewart has
been homeless for two and a half years and can't find a bed in a shelter because he
refuses to give up his dog who he has had for 20 years. Credit: REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The city's affordable housing
crisis is the primary cause of the increase, according to policy analyst
for New York City's Coalition for the
Homeless, Jacquelyn Simone.
The median annual housing cost
in New York City in 2014 was $15,780,
according to U.S. Census data. High
housing prices lead almost half of the
city's residents to spend 30 percent or
more of their income on housing.
"There isn't really any affordable
neighbourhood in New York City
anymore," Simone says. "When you
have a crisis like that, an affordable
housing crisis, it's just a matter of
time until somebody falls behind on
their rent and ends up in the shelter
system. It can happen to anyone."
The city's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) offers a suite of
programs designed to help individuals in shelters relocate to permanent
housing. The six Living in Commu-

MALIA PITTS
(Continued from page 8)
and finally be able to talk and discuss
art with other students who were just
like me. I didn’t feel out of place and
my best work was made during that
time,” she said.
From her knowledge and skills,
she gained from DAAP, Brittany discovered her personal touch when it
came to painting.
“I noticed that I always had a
hard time expressing my emotions

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Contact: Brittany Katz (513) 2571663, Terri Collett (513) 253-8459

�10

LOCAL
Mansplaining

T

he topic I'd like to address
is almost impossible for
someone like me to talk
about. I'm liberal, but I'm
also a white man. Liberal ideology has become strangely hostile
to white men who say things that
don't align with the leftist dogma,
with dissent categorized as a result of
sexism, racism, and white privilege.
This outright attack on divergent
viewpoints is utterly non-productive,
and it distracts us from the problems
of real sexism, real racism, and real
white privilege - none of which are
the case simply because a white man
has an opinion.
Here's why the topic is so tricky:
if I come across like a white man
who feels oppressed, then I become
laughable. White men are still firmly
entrenched in our country's power
structure. White men, as a group,
are not disenfranchised. I know that.
But my involuntary membership in a
specific group should not disqualify
my brain from forming politically oriented thoughts.
Let's consider the issue of abortion for a moment. (For the record,
I'm pro-choice. Apparently, if my
opinion matches what liberals believe, then it's not because of my white
male privilege.) Gallup has been
tracking opinion trends on abortion
since 1995 (actually since the 1970's
but the chart I'm referencing now

JOSH SPRING
(Continued from page 3)
work kept moving forward, notably
coordinating the efforts of ReSTOC
(now a portion of Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing). She kept
ReSTOC on solid ground, including
the completion of buddy’s place.
Jenn has continued to commit her life
to the cause of fighting homelessness
and poverty.

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

JASON HAAP

Contributing Writer
goes back to 1995), and in 2015, the
pro-choice numbers squarely took
the lead for the first time since 2008.
However, it's not like the issue is
blown out of the water. It's a close
call, and it has been a close call for a
number of years.
In 2015, 54% of women were prochoice compared to 46% of men. That
year marks one of the widest gaps but there have been years when more
men were pro-choice than women:
in 2003 (49% of men compared to
48% of women), in 2005 (49% to
47%), in 2007 (50% to 48%), and in
2010 (47% to 42%). Male support for
abortion hit an all-time low in 2012
(38%), but it has been increasing
since.
Here's the bottom line: there are
a whole lot of women who are prolife. If a white man talks about opposing abortion to a liberal woman,
he will likely be accused of sexism,
or in the very least of "mansplaining" (more on that word in a minute).
This is weird, though, since such a
man would be in agreement with a
statistically significant portion of the
female population overall.

(Please note that I'm not commenting on whether it's appropriate
for a bunch of white male legislators
to be in charge of writing laws concerning women's health issues. I'm
just talking about an average white
Joe having opinions on the issues of
the day. The legislators and Joe may
share a race and a gender, but that's
hardly Joe's fault.)
Usually, Republicans are the ones
who master the propaganda of wordchoice. Just think about how, for
years, the word "liberal" was largely
considered a bad word. But with
terms like "mansplaining," progressives have boarded the propaganda
train. There might legitimately be a
problem with men over-explaining
things condescendingly to women,
but that doesn't mean men should
be disallowed from explaining their
thoughts. It seems like white guys
who disagree with liberal woman are
now just written off as sexist mansplainers who need to be put in their
place.
When I think about all these
dynamics, I try to step back and to
consider the view from 30,000 feet,

In short, we are thankful. As
an advocacy organization, we do
not receive governmental funds
and therefore rely on the giving
of our donors, the dues from our
Members, the tables they purchase
at the dinner, the schools who pay for
Speakers’ Bureau events and those
who buy Streetvibes. Being funded
this way allows us to speak freely.
A Coalition is a group of people

and organizations coalesced for a
focused goal. Ours is to eradicate
homelessness. The dinner provides a
beautiful opportunity to see so many
people in one room that together with
those who could not be there, make
up our growing Coalition.
The final action we take as a
Coalition before the end of the year
is to take part in National Homeless
Memorial Day. On Wednesday,

so to speak. If we, as liberals, are collectively going to support this trend
- accusing white men with differing
opinions of sexism, racism, and of
being perpetrators of white privilege
- then how can we be surprised at the
growing number of extreme white
male positions on the right-side of
the political spectrum? We are attacking them on the basis of involuntary group membership, which
would only highlight the traits of said
group. When any group feels essentialized and under attack, it is natural
to form a bond over the presence of
the attacked traits.
I'm not saying that white maleness is under some sort of existential
threat, but the group psychology is
similar to other groups that have been
oppressed. So I think this emerging liberal position encourages white
men to bond with one another on the
basis of their white maleness. Then,
this same liberal mindset further attacks these white men for those bond
formations, further solidifying them
and causing them to really identify in
terms of their race and gender.
As a liberal, that is the exact opposite of what I want to happen. But
I can't help but wonder how many
readers will think I'm just mansplaining right now from my position of
privilege.

December 21st we will gather at 5:30
pm in Washington Park to honor the
people who died in 2016 because
of homelessness. The systematic
problem of homelessness ends lives
early and we will use this time to
further commit ourselves to the cause
of ending homelessness. Please join
us.

Bethany House services receiving the Julie Martin Service award

Jenn Summers and Amy Silver with the awards they received

Photo: Michael Flood

Photo: Michael Flood

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
BUILDING A REFORM AGENDA FOR 2017

W

here do we go from
here? That's the theme
of a hastily organized
public forum sponsored by a local reform coalition.
Stunned by the recent election, the
organizers see a need for citizen activists and reformers to begin planning a reform agenda for 2017. This
Forum takes place on Friday December 16th, 12:00 noon at the Mt. Auburn Community Methodist Church,
103 William Howard Taft Road.
Reformers faced daunting challenges no matter who won on November 8th. The results, however,
of Trump plus Republican control of
both the House and the Senate create
Sisyphean labors for those concerned
about renewing the democratic process. It once seemed that the appointment of one new Justice to the Supreme Court could lead to the overturn of the five to four Citizens United
Case of 2010. Such a quick solution to
a decision that opened up the floodgates for unlimited Super PAC and

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer
Fat Cat campaign spending now
seems like an impossible pipe dream.
When all the donations are tallied, 2016 will undoubtedly set a new
record for campaign spending. In the
Ohio U.S. Senate
race alone, Ted Strickland collected $10-million, while Rob Portman raised $24-million. Controlling
the warping impact of "big money"
on campaigns will certainly be part of
the agenda of the upcoming Forum,
but no simple answers or silver bullets will be available to latch onto.
One possible bright spot could
be the potential of reforming Ohio's
extremely gerrymandered Congressional Districts.
Such a reform was successful in
2015 when voters handily approved
an Ohio Constitutional Amendment
that reformed state legislative districts. Catherine Turcer, Policy Analyst for Common Cause, will speak
about this new potential at Friday's

Forum. She has been participating in
recent meetings in Columbus where
attendees are at work drafting a Constitutional Amendment proposal to
take to Ohioans in 2017.
Besides focusing on redistricting reform and what to do about "big
money" in politics. Forum participants dare not leave out the subject
of voting rights. One of the fallouts of
the Presidential campaign was all the
suspicion raised about rigged elections and millions of illegal voters.
According to the polls, Trump's untrue rantings have actually convinced
a large number of Americans that
rigged elections and illegal voting are
major factors in U.S. politics. These
false charges could lead to new efforts in Ohio and other states to make
it more difficult for people to vote.
Another topic on many people's
mind is reforming the state winner take all electoral college system.
Hillary Clinton now leads Trump by
three-million in the popular vote.
If the reverse had happened, and

11
Clinton had won the electoral vote,
Trump may well have urged his supporters to take to the streets to oppose
a "rigged election." A Constitutional
Amendment would be required to
change the current process.
Forum organizers feel that the
historical clock is ticking in terms of
getting citizen activists and reformers
to begin thinking about and fashioning a reform agenda. Although faced
with enormous institutional and societal obstacles, the goal of renewing
democracy in this country looms as
an even more critical need after the
fall campaign. The country is polarized. An anti-establishment feeling
grips the country, and citizens are
losing confidence in representative
democracy. It's time to start rolling
those reform boulders up the hill
again!
The sponsoring coalition includes the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, the Woman's City
Club, the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center, Common Cause/Ohio,
the League of Women Voters, the
Peaslee Neighborhood Center, and
Applied Information Resources. For
further information about the Forum, call 381-4994.

The Income
Squeeze
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

M

Contributing Writer

ost of us have
experienced
a
“squeeze” in income
since the start of the
Great Recession in 2008, or know
someone who has. The Bureau of
Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) does
surveys of income and expenditures
and separates households by quintiles
– lowest 20% income, next 20%, and
so on to the highest 20%. The BLS
also does the consumer price index
(CPI), used to measure inflation.
Data go back a few decades. However
there was a change in how the BLS
did the surveys in 2004. This change
captures more income, so that is the
date from which I start in the charts
below.
Looking at the below chart
(Household Average Annual Income

-- Not Adjusted for Inflation) things
don’t look too bad. There is a small
dip at the start of the recession but
then income starts going up again.
But this is not adjusted for inflation.
Once that is done the chart changes.
I am using CPI-W data, which is the
index used to adjust Social Security
payments for inflation (the “W”
stands for urban wage earners and
clerical workers). The index that
is normally reported in the press is
CPI-U, which measures inflation for
urban consumers. They wind up
being very similar, however.
The next chart, Household
Average Annual Income -- 2015
Dollars (Adjusted for Inflation)
shows that the household average
annual income peaked in 2006
and then generally declined until

2013, at which point it started rising
strongly again. The National Bureau
of Economic Research normally
is the group which declares when
recessions begin and end. To do
this it looks at economic activity -real GDP (Gross Domestic Product),
real income, employment, industrial
production, and wholesale-retail
sales. They concluded that the Great

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Recession in the United States started
in December 2007 and ended in June
2009. This chart, however, suggests
that its effects on income continued
for several years past that.
The chart below shows the
household average annual income by
quintiles.
(Continued on page 12)

�12
JIM LUKEN
(Continued from page 7)
All income quintiles were affected
by the recession, but it looks as if the
top two quintiles have recovered
better than the bottom two. It is very
important to note also that in general
the households in the top two quintiles
have incomes which considerably
exceed their expenditures. That is
not true for the bottom two quintiles,
where their expenditures generally
exceed their incomes. The Bureau of
Labor Statistics points out that when
households expend more than they
earn the difference could be due to
such factors as living off of savings
or taking out loans. Taking out

ROBERT PARK
(Continued from page 6)
help from the block. Each aspiring
country would have to undergo a
public negotiation with the block on
how they would make adjustments
to conform to the rules. The rules
would evolve with practice and public
evaluation.
Probably the most powerful club
of enforcement would be based on
reporting of violations from citizens
on the ground. Workers would report
labor and environmental violations.
Public media would be crucial. It
would be crowdsourcing-standardsprotection and violator identification.
Reprisals against whistle-blowers

LOCAL
loans to go to college is in fact quite
common, Another possibility is that
some of these households are being
subsidized by other family members
– parents, for instance.
For clarity I am just going to give
the lowest two quintiles in the next
chart. This will allow more detail to
be shown.
Note that until a couple years
ago, households in both quintiles
were losing ground. And since their
expenditures were already greater
than their incomes, the squeeze was
getting tighter. The past couple years
have seen an improvement, but still
the households are, in general, worse
off than what they were before the

and violation sleuths would be fatal
for governments seeking admission
to, or continuing membership in,
the block. The block would have
protected legal rights of discovery
and investigation in cooperation
with citizens. Interpol (the planetary
cops) would be turned upside-down.
Another source of violation reporting
would be the intelligence services of
the block member states. Instead of
tracking and monitoring pathetic
terrorists, devastated immigrants
and dissident citizens, they would
be examining financial behaviors,
environmental data and rights
violations of predators in the member
states and wannabee member states.

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

start of the Great Recession. Looking
at these charts it is not surprising
that the two major unconventional
candidates (Trump and Sanders) did
so well. Candidates who basically
promised more of the same, or
who appeared likely to more or less
continue the same policies as have
been in place for the past two decades
(Clinton), had an uphill battle
regardless of other attributes.
I have looked for factors other
than the overall economy that may
explain these trends. I did not find
anything significant.
I thought
maybe changes in household size
could explain it, but household
size is basically unchanged in 2015
compared to 2004.
The definition of income seems
comprehensive enough. It includes
wages, salaries, self-employment
income, investment income, Social
Security,
pensions,
disability
income, unemployment pay, and
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance
Program benefits (food stamps).
The percentage of lower income

households with at least some college
education has actually increased over
the past 10 years. It seems, then, to
be the economy. This has certainly
changed with increased outsourcing,
leaving many former factory workers
to compete with immigrants for
lower wage jobs. Others have gone to
college, but if that has had an effect
it has not been enough to turn things
around.
I want to make a suggestion here.
When major changes are planned
such as trade treaties, outsourcing,
and tax policies, business and
political leaders should first evaluate
the effect of those changes on people
who are already struggling to get by.
If the proposed changes make their
situation worse, then please change
the plans. Don’t just judge changes
by the average effect, and certainly
not just by the effect on those who
are already well-off. Look at the most
vulnerable in society first.
There is much more to unpack in
the BLS data, some of which will be
covered in other articles.

The world’s enormous intelligence
monster would be repurposed to
defend standards and rules that work
for the people, tracking shipments,
interviewing plaintiffs, data-mining
commercial reports, news stories,
horror stories.
Sounds like the European Union?
Well, no, the EU is run by corporate
lawyers. If it operated in pursuit of the
standards proposed here, it wouldn’t
be collapsing around the German
commercial fortress. Greece, and
Spain and Italy would be thriving.
Can this work?... Sure. Will this work?
No…, not with Trump or Hillary and
their friends running things. For one
thing, the U.S. is in violation of all of

the above standards, esp. labor rights.
But what if we had the revolution that
Bernie started? With progressives
taking control of Congress? We could
reach out to Iceland and maybe all
of Scandinavia, for a start, and then
maybe Spain, France, Greece, Brazil,
Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Nepal,
Bhutan, New Zealand, Namibia,
Tunisia, .. who knows? Canada might
get in ahead of us. The block would
have enormous visibility and appeal
to people everywhere. Parasitic elites
would fall left and right. Radical Islam
would disappear. So would racism.
The planet might be saved.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

The Darkness of Day

To the Water Protectors at

The Darkness of Day is so shallow

Standing Rock, North Dakota

There’s no means of stopping it
Why is the darkness so black

To Sophia Wilansky, I feel her pain. To lose an arm from
a concussion grenade at Standing Rock.
The Morton County Police are tools of the Rich Man’s

Like a deep hole

Rule.

Uncertain of the depth it will unfold

Justice for Standing Rock.

The darkness of the day is there

Justice for Sophia Wilanksy!

How is it dark when it’s in the day
Is the darkness in the day the same
As the darkness in the night
Just seen through a different light

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

SONNY WILLIAMS

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

CAN YOU
Can You shut ‘em down? Does the world believe that
this is the world’s solution?
Can you shut ‘em down? Keeping factories open with no
work, now that’s pollution
Can you shut ‘em down? The free clinics, people
homeless, no more Drop Inn Center
Can you shut ‘em down? Washington Park, the sanitation
workers, I can’t help but litter
Can you shut ‘em down? Over-the-Rhine was white then
it was black, I thought we were all together
Can you shut ‘em down? I’m confused so tell congress
I really thought they knew better
Can you believe in your heart that the decisions of our
country are either republican or democratic?
Can you believe that out of all the people in the world
two simple parties be worthy of so much static?
Can you close your eyes to the reality of the fear that
has such a tight grip on our nation today?
Can you keep living shut down and shut up? I’m baffled
but not lost for words I can honestly say
For me, learning to live without doubt or fear in my life
and keeping God so close to my heart
I have no doubt that without God’s blessings this world
is doomed to fall completely apart
With much faith and without any regards for the
republicans or democrats controlling my being
Without any doubt what so ever today I know that
almighty God is the only real thing
So can you shut ‘em down? Now slow down and take
the time to think, what do you really understand?
You need to come back into the days of Adam and Eve
and remember when only God ruled the land!
WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 114
Across
1. Animal
6. Jewel
9. Ursine mammal
13. Planet
14. Pasture
15. Work out
16. On the move
17. Hard tough wood
18. Tripod
19. Principal theme in a
speech
21. Heavy fire of artillery
23. Pitch
24. Kind
25. Health resort near a
spring
28. Finishing line
30. Interfere
35. Sapidity
37. Baseball glove
39. Broadcast again
40. Boundary
41. Part of a flower
43. Female relative
44. Sports venue
46. Aromatic herb
47. Prevaricator
48. Erase
50. Orderly
52. Free of moisture
53. Small branch
55. Chart
57. Teller
61. Living environment
65. Part of a church
66. Imitate
68. Express mirth
69. Gape
70. Beverage
71. Follow as a result
72. Ripped
73. Consume
74. Souvenir

Down
1. Bill
2. Comfort
3. Showily imitative
4. Smallest American
sandpiper
5. Pharynx
6. Great merriment
7. Snakelike fish
8. South American dance
9. Watercraft
10. Other than what is
under consideration
11. Report or maintain
12. Depend
15. Long-haired hunting
dog
20. Heavy footfall
22. Limb
24. Scene
25. Lieu
26. Military chaplain
27. The world's highest
waterfall, ___ Falls
29. Having patches of
different colors
31. Bargain
32. Pre-Christian priest
among the Celts
33. Relating to the moon
34. Access
36. Segment of DNA
38. Story
42. South American
cud-chewing animal
45. Clothing of a
distinctive style
49. Female animal
51. Pill
54. Very angry
56. Musical instrument
57. Actors in a play
58. Singing voice
59. Celestial object
60. Swift long-eared
mammal
61. Form of energy
62. Long tooth of a walrus
63. Chills and fever
64. At that time
67. Small vegetable

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 244 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 343
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 113

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 243- MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 345 | D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children

Cincinnati Health Network		

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	961-1983

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365

Our Daily Bread			621-6364

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064
112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211

241-2965

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		
215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437
Center for Respite Care			621-1868
3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111

Advocacy

Health

$100

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				762-5660

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

961-0600

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

859-491-8303

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

�16

D e c 16 - D e c 2 9, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 5

S

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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 usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

ALMA
SIMS
SINCE 5/2014

ALFRED
WOOLFOLK
SINCE 10/2003

ASRES
AYENAW
SINCE 2012

BELINDA
CHERRY
SINCE 8/2015

BERTA
LAMBERT
SINCE 1997

BRANDON
NELSON
SINCE 4/2008

CRANDALL
COBB
SINCE 2004

DEBORAH
POINDEXTER
SINCE 9/2012

DONALD
YOUNG

ELMORE
MORRIS
SINCE 5/2014

GINA
MARTIN

GRADY
COOK
SINCE 1997

GREGORY
RAY
SINCE 4/2015

JAMES
BROWN
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DAVIS
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JIMMIE
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SLATER
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GAINES
SINCE 12/2009

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COLLETTE
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EUTSEY
SINCE 2/2011

JOHN
HORN

JOSEPHINE
BASKERVILLE
SINCE 9/2008

J’TORI
TYMAN
SINCE 5/2014

W. KENNETH
BUSSELL
SINCE 10/2009

LARRY
FILES
SINCE 6/2012

LARRY
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SINCE 10/2007

LEE
MCCOY
SINCE 7/2009

LEONARD
JACKSON
SINCE 2/2005

MAXINE
GRANT
SINCE 4/2015

MEACO
WAITE

MELISSA
MOSBY
SINCE 9/2014

MICHAEL
BEHYMER

QUEENACELESTINE

LEVY

RAESHAWN
GIPSON
SINCE 3/2009

RAYNARD
JONES
SINCE 10/2008

RICKY
WOODS
SINCE 4/2015

RICCARDO
TAYLOR
SINCE 1999

RONNIE
PHILLIPS
SINCE 10/2009

TARA
HILL
SINCE 4/2014

TIA
CASS
SINCE 11/2007

TINA
SINCE 4/2015

TODD
HANLEY
SINCE 5/2014

TONY
THOMAS
SINCE 3/2005

VICTOR
MUMPHRY

WILLIAM
SIMMS
SINCE 4/2014

LOTTIE
MANNER

MIKE
CARANO
SINCE 4/2016

CLEO
WOMBLES
SINCE 10/2003

CRAIG
SMITH
SINCE 5/2014

GLENDA
CANTRELL

GREGORY
WILSON
SINCE 1/2012

JON
DARBY
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JOHNNY
KERNS
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KIM
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KRISTINE
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MARY
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MARK
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NEBRASKA
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cincistreetvibes.org

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

SAMUEL
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SINCE 8/2009

�</text>
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Call to (In) Action?&#13;
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Why Are There Sunflower Medallions Hidden Around Over-the-Rhine?&#13;
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&#13;
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Walking the Walk &amp; Singing the Talk Streetvibes Reviews the New CD by Just Earth&#13;
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                    <text>November 4th - November 17th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 23 (No. 342)

advocating justice | Building community

buddy gray: 20

-year Rememb
e

rance

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

We All Need To Be Working
Together | 4

The most important thing
to me is that buddy never
left | 7

Institutional Religion
Couldn't
Contain buddy's Spirit| 4

Sr. Simone Campbell
Election 2016: Working
to mend the gaps| 11

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

R

LOCAL
From the Director: Act!

evolution requires action.
Very many people ignore
injustice. Many people
recognize injustice but
feel defeated and say there is nothing we can do. Still other people recognize injustice at least to some extent and spend time reading about
it, talking about it with like-minded
friends, posting online about it and
perhaps studying it. People may
even study and discuss methods
of revolution. While the intent of
people in these groups may differ,
none of these groups are involved in
revolution.
Don’t read me wrong. I am
not saying that recognizing injustice, overcoming feelings of defeatism, reading, talking, posting and
studying absolutely are not a part
of revolution. Instead, I am saying
that these alone are not promoting
revolution. I can have as many good
conversations about revolution with
my friends as time will allow, but
unless we act, those conversations
did not work for revolution. I am
saying that we should study a problem together. We should consider
past efforts. We should discuss how
we are all doing. We should debate
tactics and we should strategize. We
should do all these things and more,

JOSH SPRING

Executive Director

but we must collectively move forth
and use the information, education
and fervor gained in these sessions
to embolden us into revolutionary
action.
It is impossible to create the
perfect plan or choose the exact
right course of action. We cannot predict the future and we cannot always predict ever positive or
negative outcomes of action. Some
actions will seem like they failed,
others will bring minor success and
some actions when added together
may bring great success. Actions
may lead to danger and hardship.
But we must act. Working for revolution requires acting when we still
need more people, when we don’t
have every single detail, when all
the studies are not completed and
when we don’t have all the needed
expertise. Organizing for revolution
requires working with people to empower other people to act when they
may not feel ready.
These truths are a significant
part of why I am so thankful to be
a part of the Greater Cincinnati
Homeless Coalition. I often consider our heritage, but am doing so to
an even greater extent now. November 15 will mark twenty years since

one of our co-founders buddy
gray was murdered. Our co-founders were running shelters serving
an increasing number of people
experiencing homelessness. As the
numbers of people needing shelter
grew exponentially because of federal, state and local cuts in affordable housing, our co-founders did
not wait for the studies to come in.
They did not wait for certain “leaders” to express concern. They did
not wait for enough people. They
did not read and discuss more and
more. No, they acted. In 1984 they
said homelessness is a systematic
problem and unless we coalesce our
power in action we will never end it
and more and more people will suffer.
This is the same way they had
kept shelter doors open when funding was unsure or the city sent the
fire department through to try to
find infractions. They could not
predict the future and did not have
time to complete every study under
the sun, they had to act. Today we
continue in the attitude and action
of buddy and so many leaders who
have made us who we are.
------------------------

Special Issue

buddy gray 20-year Rememberance Story Collection: the Seeds He Sowed -- 3
buddy had a most unusual ability to keep himself focused -- 3
Institutional Religion Couldn't Contain buddy's Spirit -- 4
We All Need To Be Working Together -- 4
Someone felt that I was important enough to remember my name -- 5
We are part of a movement freedom train -- 5
buddy's "schooling" of me in the matters of right and wrong
forever changed my worldview -- 6
What did buddy know about these people that I did not -- 6
He Knew We Could Be A Stronger Force if We United to Push For Change -- 7
The most important thing to me is that buddy never left -- 7
buddy had a way of challenging each volunteer and staff member like no one else -- 7
It is a powerful experience to be awakened and feel that you belong -- 11
Sr. Simone Campbell presents Election 2016: Working to mend the gaps -- 11
What happens in these low-income communities have a relationship
with what is happening in the world -- 12
buddy's place: preserving, rehabilitating, and educating with the community -- 12

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Dick Crowley, Lynn
Williams, Tess Sohngen, Alice
Skirtz, Pat Clifford, Barbara
Poppe, Bill Faith, David Mann, Andy
Hutzel, Jenn Summers, Mary Burke
Rivers, Mike Wilkey, Tom Dutton,
Steve Elliott, Donald H. Whitehead,
Jr., Bonnie Neumeier, Malia Pitts,
buddy gray
Photography/Artwork:
Brewster Rhoads, The People's
Movement, Collen Kelley, Malia
Pitts, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�3

LOCAL
buddy gray 20-year Rememberance Story Collection: the
Seeds He Sowed
No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

“D

o you remember
buddy gray?” Josh
Spring, director of
the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, asked
a group of residents outside Race
Street. All four residents nodded.
Some remembered him from the
time they experienced homelessness,
and some recognized his name from
the years they have lived in Over-theRhine. “That’s where we come from,”
said Spring.
Even 20 years after his death,
buddy gray’s work and name – always
penned in lower-case initials like the
poet e.e. cummings – live on in the
community he dedicated his life to.
But the neighborhood looks much
different than it did when buddy rode
his bike through the streets. With the
influx of powerful development forces has come the pricing out of many
of the poor and black families buddy fought tirelessly to protect. Vine
Street between Central Parkway and
Liberty Street is hardly recognizable
even to those born and raised here.
The Drop Inn Center (DIC), where
buddy and fellow activists started the
Over-the-Rhine People’s Movement,
has also left the neighborhood.
Public-private plans to “cleanup” Over-the-Rhine have come by
way of gentrification along Vine
Street, the central pathway through
the historic district. The idea was: if
the city could “revitalize” Vine Street
-- down to the flower boxes meant
to mark its new life -- the roots of
change would spread through the
rest of Over-the-Rhine. Little did the
city know, buddy gray had already
planted seeds throughout the streets,
many of which are still growing in the
neighborhood.
Born and raised in the small town

I

TESS SOHNGEN

Contributing Writer
of Mount Carmel, a homogenous
neighborhood eastside of Cincinnati,
Stanley (buddy) Gray was described
as a typical kid – intelligent, polite
and opinionated. Playing baseball in
the West End, he was bothered by the
lack of resources available to other

experiencing poverty long before
buddy moved to town in 1970. Reverend Maurice McCrackin, beloved
minister and renowned pacifist, became a mentor and friend to buddy
as did Nannie Hinkston, whose voice
could capture a whole room despite

Nike shoes pounding the pavement
for your heart
fist in the air for your heart, hands in
the air for your heart,
skyscrapers in the air for your heart,
art on walls for your heart.
Sunflower seeds in the grass for
your soul.
Seeds in the grass for your soul…
-- Derrick Johnson, a child when
he knew buddy gray
buddy's bike at the memorial
Photo: Brewster Rhoads

kids; his sense of injustice at these
disparities stayed with him through
the radicalizing protest of the Vietnam War. Draftees, poor and black,
could not apply for conscientious objection to the war as easily as those
white, raised in wealthy communities. Buddy not only took a stance
against the war, he also devoted his
life to changing the system from the
outside. In this effort, he found a
home in Over-the-Rhine.
Here, the seeds for revolution
were planted in him by activists in the
neighborhood who had been fighting
for basic human rights with people

her 5’ frame. Their support and guidance allowed buddy to grow his own
roots and tilled the earth for buddy to
plant the seeds of activism in the next
generation.
They may not have had the instantaneous beauty of the flowers
flowing from the flower boxes, but
buddy gray nurtured the seeds and
helped build a community around
them. He challenged them, supported them, taught them, fought with
them and gave them big bear hugs.
Today, while the hanging flowers on
Vine get continually replaced, many
of buddy’s seeds still live and thrive

buddy had a most unusual ability
to keep himself focused

came to Cincinnati as a Vista
Volunteer doing community
organizing in Over-the-Rhine,
O-T-R, from January 1970 until
July 1971. I had just graduated from
college and I wanted to live in an
urban low-income community and
try to help improve living conditions.
I met buddy on the street. It was on
Green Street near Vine in the spring
of 1970. We became friends quite
quickly. I was impressed with his
sincere interests in the well-being of
the people who were living in O-T-R.
We stayed close friends the
entire time I was living there. I stayed
in O-T-R after my Vista Volunteer
commitment ended in July 1971 until
I moved to Massachusetts in 1982.
Primarily because of my friendship
with buddy, I chose to continue
being involved in community
organizing focusing on working

in the neighborhood. The DIC, although it has moved out of the neighborhood, still provides shelter to
many men and women experiencing
homelessness. ReSTOC merged with
Over-the-Rhine Housing Network
(OTRHN) to form Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing, which is the
largest provider of affordable housing units in the community today.
Many friends and past DIC residents
have stayed in the community, and
many have moved to continue the
work elsewhere.

DICK CROWLEY

Contributing Writer

Milner Demonstration
Photo Credit: People's Movement Photos

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Despite the drastic change witnessed in Over-the-Rhine in the past
twenty years, and the many conflicts
embedded in the struggle for justice
through it all, buddy gray is as visible
in the community as a large mural
on a brick building. The lessons and
dreams he fought for were not bitten by the frost of gentrification, but
instead stand tall like a sunflower,
sturdy in the ground, always facing
the sun.
As we honor buddy’s spirit today,
we remember him through the words
of those who are co-creators in his
legacy—a sampling of these words is
represented in this issue.
------------------------.

with the homeless population and
trying to increase community access
to affordable housing. I also worked
with buddy on the community
newspaper, VOICES. I was in the role
of photographer.
Buddy was the primary initiator
on most of the projects I was involved
with in the community. I mainly
provided transportation and support
services. Buddy had the prominent
role in the community to help
coordinate projects and programs
like the Drop Inn Center and
ReSTOC. I did odd jobs and some
substitute teaching in the Cincinnati
public schools and continued to
do volunteer work with buddy and
other friends in the neighborhood. I
also worked a couple of years at the
Drop Inn Center as an overnight staff
person. I was around when the first
over-night shelter was set up in a
store front on Vine Street, and when
the historic midnight move was made
to the 12th Street location in 1978.
(Continued on page 6)

�4

I

LOCAL
Institutional Religion Couldn't
Contain buddy's Spirit

first met buddy when I was a
preschool teacher at the Prince
of Peace Nursery School in
Over-the-Rhine. I met him only
briefly then. He was encouraging
neighborhood people and workers
to attend the Over-the-Rhine
Community Council meetings. In the
1980s he already had a reputation
of being a great leader and a nonviolent “fighter” for the poor. I had

LYNN WILLIAMS

Contributing Writer
continue now to work in Over-theRhine at the Contact Center.
I was hired as an advocate
working at the Drop Inn Center and
there I got to know buddy. It would
take a long, long time to type up a
book about all the great things buddy
did just in the short time I knew him

Lynn Helped Organize Ohio Empowerment Coalition
Credit: People's Movement Photos

moved to Cincinnati from another
county in Ohio a couple of years
earlier and then moved to Overthe-Rhine to work and live. I lived
in Over-the-Rhine for 20 years and

from 1990 to his assassination in
1996. He was a completely unique
person whom I will never forget.
He was warm, compassionate and
had a tremendous sense of humor.
He had a “presence” about him

that was unlike anybody I ever
met. I could give many examples
of his kindnesses to the down and
out people who came across his
path. Believe me, Pope Francis
should know about him. Yet,
buddy’s spirituality went far beyond
institutional religions. Institutional
religion couldn’t contain buddy’s
spirit!
I’ll list two examples of why
buddy was a hero in my eyes, even
though he would never have wanted
to be called a hero. Catherine
Howard, another great Over-theRhine activist who has since passed
on to Eternity, and I were walking
on Vine Street headed together
to a meeting when we came upon
an elderly woman crying on the
sidewalk near 14th &amp; Vine. She was
standing among all her belongings
with her furniture “put out” on the
sidewalk. It was freezing cold and
snow was falling. She told us she
had been evicted although she had
always paid her rent each month.
Well, Catherine and I immediately
got in touch with buddy at the
Drop Inn Center and right away he
brought the van to get her and all her
belongings and bring them back to
Drop Inn Center. We were furious
that an elderly woman, whom we
found out had a heart condition,
could be treated like this. Later we

We All Need To
Be Working Together

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

found out that it was even worse
than this. She had somehow been
paying rent to the wrong landlord
because of a sale of the building. This
is just one example of how buddy
literally helped the down and out in
Over-the-Rhine.
When I was working at the Drop
Inn Center, if buddy was in the van
and saw someone passed out drunk
on the sidewalk or street, he would
stop the van to help the person.
Buddy was the Good Samaritan the
Gospels talk about. I can testify that
I was in the van one day when we
literally picked up an elderly woman
passed out from the late stages of
alcoholism and lifted her on the van
to bring her back to the Drop Inn
Center, get her cleaned up and a
place in the women’s dorm. Buddy
always said it was better for people
passed out on the street to go to
Drop Inn Center instead of to jail.
I’ll never forget this woman as long
as I live. This was one of my first
experiences working at the Drop Inn
Center. I had never come so close to
an elderly woman in the last stages
of alcoholism. She died about a
month or so later from alcoholism,
but she didn’t die alone on the street.
Buddy would never ever have
compared himself to Mother Teresa,
but I sure did compare him to her.
I know he has a special reward for
his many kind acts of mercy in the
World to come. Thank you, buddy,
for inspiring me, and many others
by your deep commitment to justice
and compassion for humanity, one
person helped at a time.
------------------------

TESS SOHNGEN with ALICE
SKIRTZ and PAT CLIFFORD

I

Contributing Writer

n the early 1980s, it became
clear to many social workers
and activists in Over-the-Rhine
that reliable information and
documentation about affordable
housing in the community was
needed in order to increase housing
options for the growing number of
people experiencing homelessness.
Three shelter directors – Alice Skirtz
from The Salvation Army, Barbara
Poppe from Bethany House Services
and buddy gray from the Drop Inn
Center (DIC) – and an ever broader
range of shelter directors from
Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
formed the Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless on
May 30, 1984. Joe Beene, who had
experienced homelessness prior to
the formation of the Coalition, was
another influential and inspirational
founder.
The Coalition followed the
goals of buddy and others in the
community, to advocate for the needs
of those experiencing homelessness,
and did so independently from

government money and preferences.
The decision was made to not seek
501(c)3 non-profit status and to keep
the organization’s needs minimal:
a location, a telephone, and a
passionate membership.
“In an amazing joint effort, with
no funds, no hierarchy, almost no
structure, we began to work for
but more importantly with those
who experienced the problem of
homelessness,” said Alice Skirtz in
her 2006 dissertation from Union
Institute &amp; University. “We soon
realized that whatever interpretation
or explanation was offered for the
problem of homelessness, it was
imperative that we keep focus on
homelessness as a matter of failures in
housing and not failures of homeless
persons… Homelessness was about
scarcity of affordable housing.”
People who had experienced an
addiction, homelessness or poverty
or who came through the Drop
Inn Center became a part of the
Coalition’s story and staff. The current
street newspaper, STREETVIBES,

Spring Street Hunger Strike: Rev. Maurice McCrackn, buddy, Bev Merrill
Photo Credit: People's Movement Photos

is just one project stemming from
the Homeless Coalition. It offers
opportunity to work for systemic
change and is a means of making
an income for persons experiencing
homelessness by becoming vendors
of the newspaper. A forerunner of
STREETVIBES was the community
newspaper called VOICES.
“The story of our housing efforts

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

of the next decade, 1988-1998, cannot
be told without the life and work of
buddy gray,” said Alice Skirtz.
While still working for the DIC,
buddy co-founded ReSTOC, which
enabled the community to own real
estate that could then be transformed
into affordable housing units. Buddy
worked with residents and persons
(Continued on page 6)

�5

LOCAL
Someone felt that I was
important enough to
remember my name
No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

B

DONALD H. WHITEHEAD, JR.

Contributing Writer

uddy was first and
foremost my friend. Our
friendship developed from
a service provider service
receiver relationship to a genuine
friendship and mentorship.
I left sixteen years ago but Overthe-Rhine will always have a special
place in my heart. I have many
personal friendships that I maintain
there. I return for events whenever
asked to support my friends
and organizations. I visit every
opportunity that becomes available.
My favorite story of buddy is
our first time meeting. I was in the
midst of a very difficult position in
my life. It was buddy’s custom to
greet all of the new residents in the
Drop Inn Center. During that talk
he asked us questions and shared
the story of the Drop Inn Center and
the struggles in Over-the-Rhine.
Shortly after the presentation
buddy came over to me and
he talked a little more. I don’t
remember everything he said but
I do remember two things. Buddy
called me Donald and I remember
the feeling of pride that that brought
me. For the first time in a long time

someone felt that I was important
enough to remember my name. The
other thing I remember was the last
four words he said, “I’m glad you’re
here”.
An image I see is buddy
testifying at Cincinnati City Council
meetings. I always remember
how prepared he was and how
eloquently he spoke. Always buddy
appeared to be the smartest person
in the room.
Things have completely
transformed in Over-the-Rhine. The
community is one of the saddest
examples of gentrification I have
ever seen. On the other hand, many
institutions remain in place. Overthe-Rhine Community Housing,
Peaslee Neighborhood Center, the
Homeless Coalition and others
continue to fight against extremely
powerful forces. Buddy’s legacy
lives on through the longevity of
these amazing organizations. I
think gentrification has reached its
peak and there is a small window
of opportunity to reclaim some of
the remaining properties for poor
people. It is incredibly important
to rally around those agencies still

We are part of a
movement
freedom train
BONNIE NEUMEIER
Contributing Writer

T

he day I lost buddy on
November 15, 1996, I
couldn’t imagine twenty
years out. I often wake up
from dreams wanting to talk with him
about what do we do now. I trusted so
much in his strategic mind. And even
more in his compassionate heart. We
all still feel the deep loss of a friend
and fellow justice seeker taken from
us too soon. He was in the prime of
his life, only 46. There isn’t a day
that goes by that I’m not reminded
of his daily hard work to improve
conditions for sisters and brothers,
poor, homeless, or stretching to
make ends meet. Buddy took many
punches for the team while he lived,
and punches still even after his death.
When are those in power going to
get it right? Buddy did not want a
“slum,” but wanted his neighbors
not to be pushed out, wanted us to
have a sense of self-determination
in the neighborhood we call home,
and wanted basic human rights for
people. We have a right to this city,
too. How are those goals against
development? Buddy believed in

community development.
The kind where common
folks are equal participants
and have decision-making
power over our lives
and our neighborhoods.
He definitely would not
approve of us being pawns
of corporate Cincinnati,
being pushed out of sight in
the name of revitalization.
Buddy was mentored by many.
He really believed in walking with
and learning from the people.
There are people who impacted him
greatly, names that aren’t written
in the history books, common folk
who struggled every day but taught
him how to carry on against great
odds: Rosetta Hatton, Thaddeus
Cheatham, Richard Winbush, Marie
Cobb, Ruth Jones, Denise Crew,
Charlene Robinson, Minnie Young,
Nannie Hinkston, Carrie Johnson,
George Dunson, Charlie Mason,
Jimmy Render, Richard Bachelor,
Tom Lee, Joe Beene, and the list
can go on. Buddy was deeply moved
through his involvement in resisting
the war in Vietnam. There were
many movements he was listening
to and active in as a young adult:
Civil Rights, Farmworkers, Women’s
Movement and Labor Movement. He
chose to walk with the people at the
bottom. It was a natural progression
to call what we were doing a poor
people’s movement in Over-theRhine, carrying on the work that was

Donald Whitehead speaks at 20th Anniversary of Recovery Hotel
Photo Credit: Over-the-Rhine Community Housing

fighting for relevance and their very
existence.
Buddy challenged me to be a
part of the movement by using my
gifts and talents to a cause that was
much more important. He helped
me to understand selflessness,
preparation and community.
I have moved on to the
national fight and in many ways
it mirrors the fight in Over-theRhine. We have to preserve and
fight for the rights of people
experiencing homelessness and
already going on. Buddy believed in
strengthening the numbers in this
movement. He mentored many just
as he was mentored. I don’t know of
a meeting, a march, a presentation or
an event that buddy went to without
having some folk by his side. Our
lessons were taught by journeying
with him, on the job, in the street, in
his truck, on a volunteer work crew,
and at city hall.
I am proud that we have carried
on. I am proud of our movement’s
leadership and their teams in all
the grassroots organizations that
continue the work upon the solid
foundation that buddy helped to
build. We understand we are part
of a movement freedom train. It’s
been on the track for years before
us, and will continue beyond our
lives. The fire of justice is in hearts
and will burn as long as necessary.
We continue to build peoples’
programs, to add affordable housing
on line, to organize tenants against
displacement. We continue to
connect our neighbors with basic
services, to organize to defend public
parks for our children, to push
for housing policies that demand
fair and equitable development.
We continue to stand with those
challenging police brutality, to create
circles where young girls and women
can be creative and express their
voices, to work
with our youth so they are the
next generation to be agents of

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

poverty. We face powerful political
and economic forces that see poor
people as obstructions in the road
to prosperity, obstructions that are
better cast aside. We must never be
silent. Buddy taught us the power
of protest, a lesson we must never
forget. As Fredrick Douglass said:
“Power concedes nothing without
protest, it never has and it never
will.”
------------------------.

Carrie and Annabelle Johnson
Photo Credit: People's Movement Photos

change. We will continue to sing and
do art and make poetry. Yes, our
movement train is going down the
track.
Yes, we miss you buddy. And
you know our hearts ache not only
for you, but also for many others.
In this twenty years we have lost
many beautiful people who gave
their energy and lives to building our
beloved community. I want to call
out the name of Carrie Johnson. It
is just one year on November 14th
that we lost Ms. Carrie. I imagine
Carrie and buddy are rallying Nannie
Hinkston and all those who have
gone on to the spirit world, and they
are trying to find a way to breathe
hope into our hearts and wind in our
sails. They know we can use both.
Hope and wind to carry on. Thank
you buddy, and Carrie and Nannie
for your years of leadership. We will
always remember…
------------------------.

�6

LOCAL

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

buddy's "schooling" of me in the matters of right
and wrong forever changed my worldview”

I

met
buddy
through
Sister Mary Grafe as we
began Bethany House
of
Hospitality
(now
Bethany House Services) in
the tradition of the Catholic
Worker movement.  With a
focus on social and economic
justice, we connected to
found the Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless
and the Ohio Coalition for the
Homeless (now COHHIO).   I
had no idea when I first met
buddy that he would be part of
forever changing my life.
He instilled in me the
fundamental
belief
that

BARBARA POPPE

Contributing Writer

housing is a human right and
access to a safe and affordable
home is the only real solution
to homelessness.
He, along with others in the
activist network of Cincinnati,
taught me about direct action
and civil disobedience, how
to organize and mobilize
people to show up for public
hearings, how to testify about
injustice and make the case
for just solutions.   His fierce
and unwavering commitment
to justice and the people who

the Mayerson Foundation where I
worked to “educate the educators”
about the appropriate ways to learn
and serve others. I also served on the
boards of ReSTOC, Peaslee, and Our
Daily Bread.
In 1984 I was a contented high
school teacher and a very successful
basketball coach in the suburbs of
Cincinnati. Finneytown was a high
school with lots of great students
and parents, in a district that valued
education and encouraged unique
learning experiences. Yet, it was ME
who had a lot to learn.
I decided to take a graduate
course from Miami University,
which consisted of several weekend

ended up at the door of the Drop
Inn Shelter. After knocking at the
door, we stepped inside to feel the
warmth from the November air, but
I was overwhelmed with the smell,
sort of a combination of alcohol,
body odor, and urine. Needless to
say, I was very uncomfortable as I
stepped into the shelter and past the
benches where men were sleeping
and staring into space. Since I had
entered first, I became the “unofficial”
spokesperson of the group. A young
man with a full beard and long-pony
tail, wearing bibbed overalls, was
sweeping the floor and looked up
as I approached and asked me who
we were. I responded that we were
from Miami University. He asked
why we were here. I responded we
were here to observe. He said rather
quickly, “What do you think this is .
. . the Cincinnati Zoo?“ I said no. He
said, “I think you need to leave.” I

went back to school for his masters in
social work.
Clifford
volunteered
for
ReSTOC as an undergraduate at
Xavier University studying Classical
Languages. He was a senior when
Xavier University held their first
shanty town to raise awareness
about homelessness. During his last
semester, buddy approached him
and offered him a job with the DIC.
Clifford worked part time there and at
the Coalition until he became Director
of the DIC. As many organizations
were responding to the homelessness
crisis, Clifford remembered how

buddy and the Coalition brought
organizations together to share
resources and information.
“His approach to collaboration…
was very influential, and that’s not
always the case for people in charge,”
said Clifford.
Following buddy’s death, there
was discussion about whether or
not the strides buddy had made in
the community would continue.
Developers, some city council
members and buddy’s critics were
skeptical,
but
Over-the-Rhine
community leaders like Nannie
Hinkston were adamant that the

work to improve the rights and lives
of those experiencing homelessness
and the fight for more affordable
housing would continue.
The work of this strong,
committed collective of people and
organizations did continue through
those who were already a part of
these organizations buddy had
worked with to create, sustain and
grow through many uphill struggles
– Drop Inn, ReSTOC, Over-theRhine Housing Network, Homeless
Coalition, Peaslee – and people who
were still to come to Over-the-Rhine.

story.
The main image I have of
buddy was his ability to focus on
conversations he was having with
other people. He was able to devote
his full attention and give back
thoughtful and meaningful responses
to anyone who asked him for his
time. Buddy was especially helpful
and caring with me over the time
that I knew him when I had serious
mood swings that compromised my
ability to function and work in the
community on a day-to-day basis.

He was consistently supportive and
nonjudgmental towards me during
these down spells. Buddy had a
most unusual ability to keep himself
focused on the work he was doing
AND also be sensitive, compassionate
and encouraging to his friends and
acquaintances. He challenged me
by setting a good example of how
to relate to people I had never met
before. He challenged me to be
more patient, compassionate and
nonjudgmental with people I am
living and working with.

The history of buddy gray's
involvement in O-T-R and the people
who made that history is important
to acknowledge and incorporate into
ongoing efforts to maintain decent
housing and living conditions for the
most vulnerable residents of O-T-R
and surrounding neighborhoods in
Cincinnati. Buddy's life work and
commitment to the people is a good
example for anyone anywhere who is
trying to help other people.

STEVE ELLIOTT

I

Contributing Writer

SOHNGEN, SKIRTZ,
CLIFFORD
(Continued from page 4)
experiencing
homelessness
to
organize people in the same situation
to go to city council meetings. He led
the struggle to rescue and rebuild
1300 Vine Street after a major fire
and the city’s plan to tear it down,
and led the fight for Recovery Hotel
when the city tried to rescind funding
for the project.
“He had the spirit of ‘we all need
to be working together’,” said Pat
Clifford, who became the Director
of the Drop Inn Center in 1998 and
served there until 2010 when he

DICK CROWLEY
(Continued from page 3)
I had a pick- up truck, an old
GMC. Buddy used to borrow the
truck from time to time. One time
when buddy borrowed the truck and
had a passenger in the cab, buddy
had to put the brakes on suddenly,
the passenger door flew open and the
passenger was nearly ejected from
the truck. Fortunately, the passenger
was able to hang onto the door for
dear life and no one was hurt. Buddy
got a big kick out of retelling that

-----------------------

classes on a variety of topics, which
would not be found in a traditional
class. The schedule was appealing
to a full time teacher, Friday night,
Saturday, and then a reflection paper
submitted on Sunday morning. We
met at the Springdale Sheraton once
a month, with a wide range of topics,
lots of speakers and very interactive.
The weekend class that changed
my life, both professionally and
personally, was called “City in the
Night.” The thirty teachers were
divided into groups of five or six,
and then assigned to visit several
social agencies in urban Cincinnati.
My group was assigned to visit a
downtown fire station, University
Hospital waiting room, and the Drop
Inn Center ShelterHouse on 12th
Street in Over-the-Rhine. After our
visits, we were then asked to meet
on Fountain Square to share our
experiences.
After our visits to the fire station
and University Hospital, my group

What did buddy know about
these people that I did not
consider buddy to be my friend
and mentor. I was an educator
for over forty years, and feel that
buddy was my teacher.
My relationship with Overthe-Rhine is centered in the many
hundreds of Finneytown students
who participated in our service
program, which invested hours of
serving others at the Drop Inn Center,
ReSTOC
(now
Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing) and the Peaslee
Neighborhood Center. Many of the
students continued to support nonprofits and programs in Cincinnati
after high school and college. After
retiring from Finneytown, I served
as a service-learning consultant for

were denied housing in the
face of great hostility from
elected leaders and people in
power was inspiring.  Buddy
challenged my fundamental
assumptions that America was
a fair country that provided
equal opportunity for all.
One
of
my
favorite
memories is from the late
1980’s; the monthly drives
to Columbus for meetings
of the Ohio Coalition for the
Homeless.  Buddy would get
someone to loan us a car and
we’d load up with a few Drop
Inn Center residents, Sr. Mary
and me.  The two hour drive

to and from the meetings
were filled with lessons from
buddy about systemic and
systematic injustices to people
of color, families with low
incomes, and people struggling
with addiction and mental
illness.   His “schooling” of
me in the matters of right and
wrong forever changed my
worldview.  I am grateful for
those lessons, his friendship,
and his leadership through
turbulent times.  When I
confront tough decisions, I
have often thought of buddy’s
lessons
and
bravery
in
adversity so I am inspired to
stand for justice.  I hope he’s
smiling as we all strive to carry
on his legacy.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

(Continued on page 10)

------------------------

�LOCAL

7

No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

He Knew We Could Be A Stronger Force if We
United to Push For Change
BILL FAITH, COHHIO

Contributing Writer

W

hen many of us started
homeless programs,
soup kitchens or early
supportive housing
projects back in the late 70’s and
early 80’s, we were pretty isolated in
our own communities fighting our
local battles. We were like little dots
on the map spread out all over but we
didn’t know much about each other.
Buddy was one of the key people in
connecting those dots because he
knew we could be a stronger force
if we united to push for change. He
was one of a few key leaders in Ohio

to form the Ohio Coalition for the
Homeless (now known as COHHIO)
and was one of the first in Ohio to
help form the National Coalition for
the Homeless.
Without a doubt his dedication
and passion was unmatched and
continues to inspire me to this day.
He connected the housing injustices
we all worked on to the broader fights
for systems change for racial justice,
human rights and poverty. His drive
to fight for housing justice - to seek
and actually create real solutions
for homeless people and other low-

income people - helped me want to
do more in my own work. This is
true for people I know, who knew
him then, all over the country.
We took different paths. I
became a housing advocate around
the state government and buddy
stayed rooted in working with
people in Over-the- Rhine. For years
we served on one of the national
boards together. I would fly to the
DC meetings, book a hotel room
where the meeting was going to be
and connect with the other board
members who did the same thing.

Almost every meeting buddy would
show up at my door around midnight
or so – having driven for hours in the
van with a couple of resident leaders
and say “you mind if we crash here?”
(It wasn’t an actual question, really).
Buddy had a wonderful sense
of humor, he loved big bear hugs
and he was a constant source of
encouragement to everyone in the
networks – from the new interns to
the old veterans. Over the years, we
had our own battles over strategies
and tactics but those pale in
comparison to the work we shared.
While sitting in the hotel room
one night in what turned out to be
just a few weeks before he died, he
said some of the kindest and most
complimentary things anyone has
ever told me. His was a heart of gold
------------------------

The most important
thing to me is that buddy
never left

I

DAVID MANN

Contributing Writer

was a member of Cincinnati
City Council from 1974 until
1992 when I was elected to
Congress for what turned out
to be one term. I served as Mayor in
1981, 1982 and 1991. I returned to
Council in 2013.
My earliest memory of buddy
gray was before I first came to council
when he was the leader to keep the
Drop Inn Center open and to obtain
a permanent home for it at the union
building on 12tth Street.
After I became a member of
council, buddy was a frequent visitor
to City Hall as he advocated for issues
affecting the Drop Inn Center, Overthe-Rhine and its residents. The first
issue that comes to mind involved an
O-T-R resident, Richard Winbush,
who had been seriously injured at
the complicated five points corner
intersection at Vine, McMicken and
Findlay Streets. Buddy advocated
quite forcefully and correctly for
crosswalks and traffic controls.
Some at City Hall were put off by the
numbers of residents that came with

him in support and by buddy's steady
uncompromising approach. He
marshaled facts and presented them
skillfully and articulately.
Many asked, “Who is this young
sloppily dressed kid from the suburbs
down here mixing with poor people?
He cannot know more than us but
he does not politely assume that
City Hall knows best. He must be a
commie or something. After he gets
his kicks, he will move on and leave
those who he purports to serve.”
The most important thing to
me is that buddy never left. He
served the folks in O-T-R until the
day he died. He was an advocate for
improved housing and more support
for poor citizens throughout his years
of service. Buddy worked hard to
control residential property with the
dream of renovating it for affordable
housing.
Buddy
persuaded
Council
to adopt a motion promising to
include the needs of the poor in any
revitalization of O-T-R. He would
marvel at all that has happened in

buddy with "little buddy" out front of City Hall
Credit: People's Movement Photos

O-T-R in recent years. He would
grieve at how poorly the community
has stood by the formal motion that
council adopted in response to his
advocacy.
Buddy always respected and
supported neighborhood leaders
such at Nannie Hinkston, long time

president of O-T-R Community
Council. I think often of buddy and
how he touched so many lives in a
short time. He touched mine though
we were at odds on occasion. I always
respected all that he did and I still do.
------------------------

buddy had a way of challenging each volunteer and
staff member like no one else

“b

uddy was my mentor.
I
worked
closely
with him to learn
and understand the
day-to-day operations of a couple
organizations he helped to start.
Buddy wasn’t too big on titles. He just
preferred dedicated and committed
people who were willing to serve in
any role that was needed. I sought to
be someone buddy could depend on
and carry through on what needed to
get done,” said Andy Hutzel. “If I can
only be defined by my relationships

ANDY HUTZEL, JENN SUMMERS AND TESS SOHNGEN
Contributing Writers
with residents of the neighborhood,
then that would be enough for me.
What they have contributed to my
being or person means everything
to me. That relationship building
started with buddy.”
Hutzel first came to Over-theRhine as a high school volunteer from
Elder High School, and continued
to work with buddy as an intern at

ReSTOC. He was one of many young
people whose lives buddy touched
and inspired.
“buddy had a way of challenging
each volunteer and staff member
like no one else. He challenged you
physically, mentally and spiritually.
It took no time for him to push you
to the edge (and beyond) of your
comfort zone. That challenging and

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

pushing made you stronger and
more confident as time went on,” said
Hutzel.
Another intern at the time was
equally moved by buddy and by
fellow community members: Jenn
Summers. Working side-by-side
with Hutzel and buddy, Summers
remembers the 11:00 p.m. phone calls
from buddy on a Friday night asking
her and Hutzel to fax something
important, the piles of papers lining
(Continued on page 10)

�8

TRIBUTE

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

Photos and Poems
of buddy gray
buddy gray

Photo Credit: People's Movement Photos

MEMORIAL MARCH FOR buddy

Photo Credit: Brewster Rhoads

buddy's 40th Birthday at Peaslee

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

9

TRIBUTE

MEMORIAL MARCH FOR buddy

Photo Credit: Brewster Rhoads

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�10
HUTZEL, SUMMERS AND
SOHNGEN
(Continued from page 7)
the stairs of the ReSTOC office, all
marked by buddy with a red sharpie
as “URGENT”, and the favorite lunch
from Bang’s Market: cheese and
mayonnaise sandwiches on white
bread and chocolate milk.
Together they collaborated
on many projects around the
community, but the one that first
engulfed them into the fight for
affordable housing was the struggle
to develop the Recovery Hotel in
1994 -1995.
“The hard, relentless work to
bring that project to completion on
a meager budget but with resiliency
defined who buddy was to me. It took
tough negotiating skills to acquire the
building, political activism to bring
the plight of the homeless to city
hall, and stubbornness to not let up
when the odds were against us,” said
Hutzel.
“I remember looking at those
stacks of paper, and [buddy] had
written ‘URGENT’ on the ones that…
needed to get done,” said Summers.
“But all of them had ‘URGENT’

LOCAL

written on them, so we said, ‘How
are we supposed to know where to
start?’”
Hutzel, Summers, and buddy
raised money and put their sweat
and bodies into the rehabilitation
of the building (with the help of
volunteers), despite the relentless
opposition from the city and critics
saying the building would blight
the community with the stain of
alcoholics and addicts. But the work
that interns and people in recovery
put into the Recovery Hotel paid off,
and the building still provides 20
units of affordable housing – a home
– to recovering alcoholics.
Twenty-three
years
later,
Hutzel and Summers still work in
the neighborhood. Hutzel worked
at the Drop Inn Center for several
years and is now the Director of
Housing Services for Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing (OTRCH), the
merger of Over-the-Rhine Housing
Network (OTRHN) and ReSTOC.
Summers became the General
Coordinator of ReSTOC after buddy’s
death and before the merger with
Over-the-Rhine Housing Network.
She is now the Director of the Peaslee

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

ReStoc Work Crew outside of office
Photo Credit: People's Movement Photos

Neighborhood Center.
“I think we continue to hold up
the mission, vision and values that
buddy instilled in the people and
organizations in Over-the-Rhine and
we continue to build on what we’ve
been able to accomplish in the past
23 plus years,” said Hutzel. “Buddy
was involved in purchasing our first
building close to 40 years ago to house
men and women at the Drop Inn

Center and I am proud that the Drop
Inn Center continues to be one of our
largest referral sources for housing.
If homelessness is not solved in 20
years, then I want us to continue to be
providing quality, dignified housing
to this same population in Over-theRhine.”
------------------------

STEVE ELLIOTT
(Continued from page 6)
responded, “I think you are right.”
My initial thought, as my mind
was trying to process the sights,
smells and brief exchange, was “What
did he know about these people that
I obviously did not know?” He was
protective of them as human beings
and I so admired him for this. I felt
uncomfortable, curious, challenged,
humiliated and needing to process
this experience.
This encounter with buddy
changed my focus about education
and encouraged me to develop a
service program at Finneytown that
became a model for public schools in
Cincinnati. As he shared later, I was
just “coaching” another sport. It was
his belief in the respect for others
and the importance of building
relationships with those you serve
that became the cornerstone of the
Finneytown program.
“The two most important days in
our life, are the day we are born and
then the day we find out why.” This
day at the Drop Inn was when I found
out why.
I learned rather quickly that I
knew very little about how to develop
a service program and that my
personal philosophy of Ready-FireAim would be the process. The passion
to improve the lives of others, and
respecting everyone for their unique
individuality, became the foundation
of our program. The philosophy of
the program was: good service is
when those who serve become the
learner, and those who are served
become the teacher. When we served
meals at the Drop Inn three times a
month, the guideline was, if you had a
chance to talk to guests, conversation
was as important as serving. Thanks
to buddy (and Bonnie), our program
was aimed in the right direction.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL
It is a powerful experience to be
awakened and feel that you belong

11

No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

B

uddy was a friend and
mentor. He encouraged
me from the day that I met
him to share what I knew
about the deep need for affordable
housing. I was a social worker
working for the Hamilton County
Department of Human Services in
the Children’s Services division at
the time. I had good conversations
with buddy and mostly remember
him as part of something larger. I
felt part of the same community
as buddy. I was young and naïve.
I feel like I grew up through the
community at the Drop Inn Center
and in Over-the-Rhine. I found
a place where I belonged. Buddy
was central to that and so were
many other people. It is a powerful
experience to have a part of yourself
awakened and to feel that you
belong.
I am currently the Executive
Director
of
Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing (OTRCH).
OTRCH was formed out of the
merger of Over-the-Rhine Housing
Network (OTRHN) and ReSTOC. I
was hired as the Director of OTRHN
in 1993. Prior to that I was active
with the homeless coalition in my
role as the Housing Specialist at the
County.
One of the memories about
buddy that stays with me is his
absolute groundedness in justice.
I can picture his face and his eyes
as he spoke to people. He would
look people in the eye and tell
them about the people he knew
who needed housing, about some
injustice that had occurred and
what should be done about it. Buddy
would look at you like, “Yeah, can
you believe that? Now lets get busy
fixing it.” I remember touring the
neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine
with buddy. I remember the feeling
of seeing the neighborhood in a
totally different way than I had seen
it before. I was probably accepting
the mainstream narrative that the
neighborhood was a bad place
until I walked the neighborhood
with buddy and I began to see the
community here. It was a powerful
experience.
A fond memory of buddy was
a meeting I had with him a few
days before he died. We met at our

MARY BURKE RIVERS

Contributing Writer

OTRHN office at 220 E. Clifton to
talk about our financial struggles
at the Housing Network. We
worked out a solid plan and when
he left I felt relieved that everything
was going to be okay. When you

during the interview nodding with
encouragement.
I smile when I think of his
testimonies at City Hall, the way
buddy spoke when he was sharing
a truth, his foolproof arguments for

Andy Hutzel and Mary B. Rivers
Photo Credit: Colleen Kelly

lacked confidence in a strategy or
presentation he would just push
forward as if it was a given that the
plan or I would succeed. Even when
things seemed dark he would be
optimistic.
I remember my first interview
with a reporter about a housing
issue. It was a phone interview with
a radio reporter. I was on the second
floor of the Drop Inn Center where
we held our Homeless Coalition
meetings. Buddy stood by my side

justice. I picture him with his pen
in hand and his spiral notebook.
His comments were always smart
and thoughtful. It was hard to argue
with the integrity of his comments
and his sincerity. I think buddy was
able to draw smart people and kind
people to his argument -- smart
people couldn’t argue with what he
was saying.
I love how buddy interacted
with people who were homeless. He
treated them with such kindness

Sr. Simone Campbell presents Election
2016: Working to mend the gaps

S

r. Simone Campbell joined
the sisters of Nuns on the
Bus, to discuss mending
the economic and social
divides in our country and counter
political incivility with a message of

MALIA PITTS

Contributing Writer
inclusion.
Wednesday’s event was held at
Christ Church Cathedral, on E 4th St.

where Sr. Simone presented an
interactive presentation on the
policies that disproportionately
impacts women and people of color,
and challenged those in attendance
to envision and share their thoughts

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

and respect. He knew everyone’s
name. I see buddy in Andy Hutzel’s
interactions with the residents at
Jimmy Heath House. I see buddy
at Jimmy Heath House where the
people buddy cared so deeply about
are treated with love, kindness, and
respect. I see buddy at Recovery
Hotel and I remember the fight to
get it built and how 20 years later
it is providing housing and support
to people who were homeless and
are now in recovery. Buddy would
be so proud that Recovery Hotel
continues on, strong and vital.
A core group of us have carried
on. It is how buddy would approach
things that obviously needed fixing.
It would simply be absurd to walk
away and not continue the fight for
housing, justice, and our place here
in Over-the-Rhine.
Buddy challenged me to speak
about what I knew to be true, what
I had experienced working side by
side with families who were seeking
housing. He convinced me that I
had an important story to tell and
that my voice was important. He
challenged me to keep moving
forward and to always seek
solutions and be creative in seeking
those solutions. I learned to look at
the world through a different lens.
I came to challenge conventional
wisdom and to see the injustice in
our systems that keep some people
wealthy and comfortable while
others struggle for basic needs.
In 20 years – I assume I will be
retired from here but hopefully still
engaged. I will be 74. I hope that
our buildings will still be serving
our community of people who can’t
access market housing. I do have
some fear that we may be pushed
out in a similar fashion that Drop
Inn Center was moved - slowly
undermining our work until it is
palatable to enough people that we
be removed. Given the current
political climate in our country and
the continued challenges people face
to build wealth or simply live, I can’t
imagine what 20 years from now
might look like. Will there continue
to be a widening gap between the
wealthy and the rest of us? Will
many more of us be struggling for
survival?
I love buddy. I feel very fortunate
to have landed in Over-the-Rhine
with this community of people who
love and care for each other, and
who are seeking justice and another
way for us all to be in community.
------------------------

on what Cincinnati would look
like if we were to vote to mend
the gaps in income and wealth
inequality, and improve access to
democracy, healthcare, citizenship
and housing.
Sr.
Simone
Campbell,
executive director of NEWTWORK
and leader of The Nuns on the
Bus, urges everyone to join them
in mending the gaps because the
(Continued on page 13)

�12

I

LOCAL

What happens in these low-income communities have a
relationship with what is happening in the world

met buddy in Over-the-Rhine
in 1969. I was working at HUB
Services, an agency providing
basic services to people in the
area. Buddy had just come into
the area and was helping mostly
homeless people find a place to stay
and to get other help. We became
friends. I was very much impressed
by his commitment to the people
in the community. Buddy was able
to secure and open a small place in
the 1700 block of Vine Street for the
homeless.
I worked with him at this time
to provide some services for these
homeless people. A few years later
buddy was able to move the shelter
to the Bible Center on Main Street
(1324 Main Street). Buddy and I and
a few others worked at the shelter in
the evenings providing a place for
the homeless to stay. I remember
going with buddy at night to some
of the abandoned buildings and
bringing the homeless to the
shelter. In the winter months, we
encountered a few people who died
in the cold. In January of 1978 at
midnight, the residents, along with
buddy and others moved the shelter
to a building on 12th Street where
the Drop Inn Center really began. It

T

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

MIKE WILKEY

Contributing Writer
remained at this site until a year ago
when it moved to Queensgate.
During those early years,
buddy and I, and a few others,
began working on housing issues
in the area. At this time, there
was a government program
setup to rehabilitate some of the
old buildings in the community.
Many of the people living in these
buildings were being evicted
without any help. Buddy and I and
others helped these people to find
another apartment and would try to
get the City of Cincinnati to provide
relocation money, which they were
entitled to. We would also go to the
offices of some of the developers,
such as Denhart, to demand that
they treat the people being evicted
in a more humane way.
Buddy and I and others would
meet weekly to plan actions in the
community to get more services.
In the early years we had no money
but we were committed to fighting
for the neighborhood. We were
able, with buddy's help, to win some
victories and lose a few, but we
stayed together and continued to

struggle to change things.
Buddy became a real leader
during these years. He was
determined to lead the community
in a direction that helped the people
in the area to have a better life. I
know that he believed that everyone
should have the basic necessities of
life, not just the people at the top.
Buddy also got involved with
the Voices Newspaper, which came
out once a month. Buddy was a
great writer and could express
himself very clearly. During the 70's
a People's Movement of blacks and
whites became a force for change in
the community. I was very fortunate
to be a part of this struggle.
When I left O-T-R in 1978, I
moved with my family to Colorado.
I continued working with lowincome people and did some
community organizing with them.
I moved to Arizona with my family
in 1985 and began working with an
organization that brought together
various churches to work on issues
in low-income communities. A
number of years later I moved with
my wife to the Chicago area and now

am involved in a number of issues
such as gun control, immigration
reform, climate change and raising
the minimum wage.
My son, Chris Wilkey, moved to
the area a few years ago and started
teaching at Northern Kentucky
University and he began to make
contacts in O-T-R and setup a
program with another professor
at Miami University in Oxford.
He continues to be involved in the
community today.
Buddy gray and people from
O-T-R have been, for me, the reason
why I stay involved in these issues.
Buddy had a view that what happens
in these low-income communities
have a relationship with what is
happening in the world. We would
talk about what was happening
in Vietnam and other parts of the
world and what was happening in
O-T-R as all connected. Buddy had
a universal understanding of this
fact. We are all brothers and sisters.
Finally, I would like to say that
buddy was a very dedicated and
committed person. He would do
everything to help the homeless and
others in the community to fight the
power structure. He was my friend
and I miss him.

buddy's place: preserving, rehabilitating, and
educating with the community

he historical architecture
first drew architect Tom
Dutton to Over-the-Rhine,
now a professor at Miami
University, but his relationships
with buddy and other community
members has kept him active in the
community for 34 years.
One afternoon, buddy sat in
Over-the-Rhine Housing Network’s
front lobby with Dutton, waiting for
the others to come to the meeting.
Buddy looks around him -- he forgot
his notebook. He was an avid note
taker, carrying a legal pad in his
backpack wherever he went. A couple
times each year, buddy would stock
up on legal pads only to go through
them in a matter of months. The legal
pad was like an extension of his arm,
his never-give-up fight, his notes for
the history and future battles of Overthe-Rhine, many times in verse.
These notes and poems would touch
and shape the community like his
hand reaching out to pick someone
off the pavement. But today he forgot
it. His legal pad was in the Drop Inn
Center, a fifteen-minute walk away.

TESS SOHNGEN WITH
TOM DUTTON

Contributing Writers
“I could drive you,” Dutton said.
“No, we’ll walk.”
The walk there and back took
them twice as long. Everyone they
passed on their way to the Drop Inn
Center knew buddy and said hello.
Some stretched their heads and arms
out of the windows. Buddy knew
everyone’s name and paused to talk
to everyone.
“We were pretty late to that
meeting,” Dutton said.
Preserving the architectural
integrity and the rights of those who
live in the buildings were vital goals
of buddy and Dutton, despite the
many claims that ReSTOC and buddy
wanted to make Over-the-Rhine a
permanent ghetto. The fight was not
againstpreservationanddevelopment
but rather the imminent removal of
the poor through development that
could gentrify the neighborhood.
Walking down Vine Street today, one
could

see that buddy’s fear of displacement
through development has come true.
But to say that he opposed
preservation is to ignore the buildings
ReSTOC did save. After 1300 Vine
Street erupted in flames from a fire
built by two men sleeping in the
vacant building to stay warm, the
building once known as the Jimmy
Skinner Building was no more than a
pile of ash and bricks. When the city
was ready to demolish the remaining
building and start over, buddy and
ReSTOC fought to save the building.
With the help of community and a
broad base of volunteers, the team
rescued bricks from the rubble and
worked to piece the building back
together.
The work needed to revitalize the
building outlasted buddy’s life, but
it continued. In 1999 the building
reopened, built from many of the
same bricks it had before the fire, and

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

provides 20 units of affordable
housing to people just out of
homelessness. Community members
today know the building as “buddy’s
place.”
The first floor of buddy’s place
is home to the Miami University
Center for Community Engagement
in Over-the-Rhine (CCE), founded
by Dutton in 2002. The CCE brings
together students, faculty and
community members to collaborate
on community efforts around social
justice, human rights and designbuild projects for community
centers and affordable housing.
The Residency Program stemmed
from the CCE and is celebrating ten
years of engagement and learning in
the community. Every fall, a multidisciplinary group of students from
Miami University, led by Dutton
and Bonnie Neumeier, take classes
in buddy’s place in what some have
called the “school of social life”.
------------------------

�STREET VOICE

No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

MALIA PITTS
(Continued from page 11)
nation needs it, and the communities
need it.
“Democracy is about all of us
being engaged in the hard work of
making decisions. And the fact that
our beloved congress is afraid of each
other and often refused to engage the
issues, the problems of our time is
also a reflection of us that we let them
get away with,” Sr. Simone said.
Sr. Simone and The Nuns on
the Bus believe that federal policies
enacted since 1980, have exacerbated
vast economic and social divides
in our country. These divides are
eroding the very fabric of our society
today.
“So what we’re trying to stir up,
is to get everyone engaged. What is
takes is relationship, courage, paying
attention, and having a care for
someone bigger than you,” she said.
How did we get here? Sr. Simone
stated it all started with the policies

13

of our nation. The good news is, if
policies created the mess, policies can
change the mess, but it requires all
of us to work together to make that
happen.
“We’ve always been the place of
the American dream, you work hard,
you play by the rules, you get ahead.
We still say that but it’s not true,
and that’s what’s making our nation
angry,” she said.
During her presentation, Sr.
Simone demonstrated a human bar
graph with members of the audience,
to show changes in income over the
last 34 years. Between 1949 and 1979
everyone’s income went up about
100%. Due to policy choices that were
made in 1990, that is no longer true.
The human bar graph illustrated
the shocking reality of how society
is being driven apart by the income
disparity of our nation.
“Since this issue is about us, we
need to look at who we are at this
moment in terms of economic reality
of our time,” Sr. Simone said. “We the
people are better than this, we can

A NEW BEGINING
GOD IS GOOD, NOT SOME OF THE TIME BUT
ALL THE TIME 24/7
I BELIEVE THAT BE THE REASON WE LIVE ON
EARTH AND GOD LIVES IN HEAVEN
LOOKING BACK ON MY LIFE AND THE SO MANY

make a change,”
she said.
When asked
to imagine how
the city would
be different if
the gaps were
mended, many
of the audience
m e m b e r s
shared
their
opinions.
C h e r y l
Triggs,
42,
b e l i e v e s
Cincinnati
would be more
together
and
not so divided
and
separate
like it is now.
“ T h e r e
will be more
community
passion,
and
Sr. Simone Campbell Presents Election 2016
more understandings
Photo Credit: Malia Pitts
of what people go
successful federal programs are
through,” she said.
David Little, a spokesperson for protected and enhanced so as not to
The Nuns on the Bus stated that, increase the current divides.
“We are all a part of the problem,”
“Cincinnati would be more utopian.
Sr.
Simone said to the audience.
We would be more just, egalitarian
and have more forward thinking,” “There is good news, we can all be a
part of the solution. It’s going to take
he said.
While working to mend the all of us to help change the nation,”
gaps, NETWORK will continue its she said.
advocacy to ensure that current

CHANGES THAT I WENT THROUGH
LEARNING FROM REPEATED MISTAKES GOOD
AND BAD UNTIL I LEARNED WHAT TO DO
REALIZING TODAY KNOWING WHAT TO DO
AND HOW TO DO IT PLUS THE METHOD TO
USE
I SEE NOW THAT HAVING KNOWLEDGE
DOESN'T DETERMINE THE ROUTE WE CHOOSE
I KNOW NOW THAT EVERYDAY ABOVE
GROUND IS A DAY TO TAKE HEED AND LEARN
I KNOW NOW THAT MY CHOICES WILL
DETERMINE WHETHER I LIVE WITH GOD OR I
BURN
TODAY, KNOWING, UNDERSTANDING WITH
THE REALIZATION THAT YESTERDAY IS
PASTED
PRAYING AND HOPING MY WORDS WILL
LINGER IN YOUR MEMORY MAKING A CHANGE
TO LAST
IF YOU HAVEN'T PAID ATTENTION TO YOUR
LIFE MAY YOU LOOK BACK AND SEE
THAT A NEW BEGINNING IS WHAT'S UP FOR
THE POLITICIANS AND THAT INCLUDES YOU
AND ME

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

�14

PUZZLES

N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 2

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 111
Across
1. Form
6. Adjoin
10. Exam success
14. Woven fabric
15. Money
16. Dull pain
17. Representative
18. Genuine
19. Sound of a contented cat
20. Foil
22. Fall vertically
24. Pull hard
25. Reported information
27. Person receiving support
from an influential patron
29. Written evidence of
payment
32. Type of tree
33. Speed competition
34. Borsch
36. Temperamental
40. Residue of a fire
41. Restorative
43. Compete
44. Evil spirit or ghost
47. Plant with pendulous
flowers
48. Flowerless plant
repuduced by spores
49. Large body of water
51. Deprive of freedom
53. High-pitched noise
57. Joust
58. Metal-bearing mineral
59. Edible fat
61. Short sleep
65. Departed
67. Female horse
69. Female relative
70. Notion
71. Level
72. Twist into a state of
deformity
73. Student sleeping
quarters, in short
74. Anything necessary but
lacking
75. Kind of heron
Down
1. Spline

2. A lofty level
3. Afresh
4. Voluntary self-punishment
5. Main course
6. Perform
7. Poet
8. Seize and take control
without authority
9. Unverified explanation
or concept
10. Worthless or
oversimplified ideas
11. Instense
12. Gesture involving the
shoulders
13. Twilled woolen fabric
21. Unforseen turn of
events
23. Ode
26. Bobbin
28. Number in a brace
29. Reckless
30. Reverberation
31. Loose fitting cloak
33. Tatter
35. Aviator
37. Kitchen appliance
38. Desperate
39. Japanese currency
42. Faultfinder
45. Employ
46. Sediment from
fermentation
48. Accessory to a larger
system
50. Insightfulness
52. Rim
53. Of one substance
throughout
54. System of principles
or beliefs
55. Send or direct for
treatment
56. Throw with great effort
60. Large woody plant
62. Approach
63. Unit of area
64. The dressed coat of
a mammal
66. Woolen cap of Scottish
origin
68. Conclusion

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 341
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 110

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 241 - MEDIUM

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 240 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 34 2 | N o v 4 - N o v 17 , 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children

Cincinnati Health Network		

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Crossroad Health Center		 381-2247

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	961-1983

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		 562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	681-2365

Our Daily Bread			621-6364

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Vincent de Paul			562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		 351-3500
PATH Outreach			977-4489

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

FreeStore/FoodBank			241-1064
112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	872-9259

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			241-5525

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

Shelterhouse				721-0643

Charlie’s 3/4 House			784-1853

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Parkway Center			661-4620

Prospect House				
921-1613

Shelter: Both

Starting Over				961-2256

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			761-1480

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

First Step Home			961-4663
2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

AA Hotline				351-0422
CCAT					381-6672
830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

Housing:

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

CMHA					721-4580
Excel Development			632-7149
OTR Community Housing		 381-1171
114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Talbert House				221-HELP
Tender Mercies			721-8666
27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			961-4555
Volunteers of America			381-1954
Anna Louise Inn			421-5211

241-2965

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					977-6800
VA Homeless			
859-572-6226

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
421-0065
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				621-5300
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

Center Independent Living Options	241-2600
Emmanuel Community Center		
241-2563
1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		
215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Goodwill industries			771-4800
Healing Connections			751-0600
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	579-8547
Mary Magdalen House			721-4811
1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			631-1114
Talbert House 				751-7747	
United Way				211
Women Helping Women		 977-5541
Off The Streets	 			421-5211

Northern Kentucky

Franciscan JPIC			721-4700
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	421-7803
117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			241-9400
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
421-1108
Faces Without Places			363-3300
Stop AIDS				421-2437
Center for Respite Care			621-1868
3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	381-0111

Advocacy

Health

$100

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		 768-6907

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				681-0324
Talbert House				221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			421-3131
Community Action Agency		 569-1840
Contact Center				381-4242

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	271-5501

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				762-5660

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		 357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		 535-2719
Churches Active in Northside		
591-2246

981-5800

961-0600

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Central Access Point			381-SAFE
Bethany House				557-2873

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

15

St. Raephaels				981-4200
Salvation Army				863-1445
Serenity House Day Center		 422-8555
Open Door Pantry			868-3276
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

859-491-8303

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

�16

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treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 donation, keeping the profit they
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Bill Faith&#13;
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                    <text>October 21st - November 3rd 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 22 (No. 341)

advocating justice | Building community

St. Francis Seraph
Offering Dignity | 5

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Over-The-Rhine Community
Council Votes | 3

Pipeline Grid
Vulnerable | 8

Corruption| 11

Un Resolution Passed| 9

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director:
Ray Tensing Murdered Sam DuBose and
Must Be Convicted
JOSH SPRING

S

this trial or any trial or even racist
police brutality. This is all about
the humanity and intrinsic value of
Black People being a part of every
aspect of life.
In this city and in this country
Black People tend to have access
to less quality education, low-wage
jobs, have a shorter life expectancy,
less access to healthy food, are far
more likely to be charged with a
crime and locked up, are more
likely to live in unhealthy housing
and experience homelessness, less
likely to be elected to political office,
less likely to have regular access to
decision making…
These truths did not just simply
happen and are not the result of
unintentional or ignorant mistakes
on behalf of people or systems. A
part of the structure in this land
and country is set up to keep Black
People oppressed. This has been
true for hundreds of years. Those in
formal seats of power want to keep
their power often by oppressing the
power of other people. Capitalists
need an oppressed group of people
to make profits on theirbacks. This
list goes on and on.
But this is not how it has to be.
I tend to get frustrated when I hear

Streetvibes is an activist newspaper,
advocating justice and building
community. Streetvibes reports on
economic issues, civil rights, the

Executive Director

am DuBose was a son,
father, fiancé, uncle, friend,
musician… Ray Tensing, a
cop at the time, murdered
Sam DuBose. Since then Sam
DuBose has joined the list of a
growing number of Black People
who have become the embodied
representation of the actions of
a racist government and society.
On October 25th the murder trial
of Ray Tensing will begin at the
Hamilton County Courthouse.
We are partnered with Black
Lives Matter Cincinnati and other
groups in the Countdown to
Conviction as we demand that Ray
Tensing be convicted of murder.
We are under no illusion that a
conviction would bring justice
to Sam Dubose’s family or the
People. However, a conviction is
the only right choice in this trial.
A conviction would serve as a step
forward in the growing march for
justice.
Historically police officers who
have murdered Black People are
not convicted of a crime. But that
is not how it has to be. Through
pounding the pavement with our
fists in the air, we have the power
to change this. And it is bigger than

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

environment, the peace movement,

people saying a group of people is
fighting for equality. I get frustrated
because everyone is equal. No
group of people can give or receive
equality. No group of people can
take equality away from another
group. Society and government can
and has condemned, criminalized,
fought against, disrespected, denied
and tried to kill the equality of Black
People, but equality cannot be
taken away. Equality is intrinsic.
When saying a group is fighting for
equality who is that group fighting
to be equal with or to get equality
from? The quick answers that may
come to your head might reveal the
problem with the question.
The demand is that the intrinsic
equality of people be a nonthwarted part of daily life. The fight
is to completely remove from power
the people and policies that do not
uphold the inherent value of Black
People. Ray Tensing not only is
a part of, but also embodies these
oppressors and oppressive polices.
Ray Tensing must be convicted for
the murder of Sam DuBose.

spirituality and the struggle

------------------------

Distributor Program Manager:

against homelessness and poverty.
Distributed by individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck

Why Trump’s “locker
room talk” is reality for
many women experiencing
homelessness
TESS SOHNGEN

W

Contributing Writer

alking home one
night from dinner, my
boyfriend looked at
me and said he didn’t
know any of his female friends who
had not experienced something like
that. These were my friends and my
story, too.
At my school, one in four female
students will experience some type
of sexual assault within their four
years at Miami University, according
to the 2016 Campus Climate survey.
One in four.
The national average is 1 in 5
women and 1 in 16 men sexually
assaulted while in college, and over
90 percent of these survivors do not

report it, according to the National
Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Donald
Trump’s
“locker
room talk” from the 2005 taped
conversation reminds me of the
crude fraternity banter sitting in
the back of a lecture hall or strolling
down High Street.
But there is an important
distinction: the fraternity jabber I’ve
heard – no matter how crude – is
not inciting or admitting to sexual
assault. Donald Trump’s comments
are.
While universities across the
country are under a microscope for
the prevalence of sexual assault that
occurs on and around campus, there

is another group that has suffered
through the same storyline of sexual
assault:
Women who are experiencing
homelessness
experience
significantly higher rates of sexual
assault. One study found that
92 percent of mothers who are
homeless were victims of severe
physical and/or sexual violence at
some point in their lives.
Ninty-two percent.
Of that group, 43 percent
reported sexual abuse occurring
when they were a child, and 63
percent reported intimate partner
violence when they were an adult. In
fact, women experiencing homeless
are twice as likely to become victims
of sexual assault in their adult life if
they experienced it as children.
It is bad enough to experience
sexual assault once, but to
experience it throughout one’s life
or in the context of homelessness is
far worse.
Their accounts are often more

Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Tess Sohngen, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Steve Sunderland,
Michael Earl Patton, Ricardo
Taylor, Willa D. Jones, Bill Woods
Photography/Artwork:
Tess Sohngen, Dr. Mark Mussman,
Michael Earl Patton, Google
Images, Key Beck, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not

(Continued on page 4)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

endorse candidates for public office.

�3

LOCAL

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

Where Is the Walking
School Bus?

ing any kind of trauma on their way
to school, it impacts their capacity to
learn,” said Carmen Burks, the program director for the CPS Walking
School Bus.
The conductors of the Walking
School Bus made sure the students
came to school and were dressed for
whatever weather they would walk
through. “The babies came out with
no socks, no clothes, no gloves… we
walked in ice cold rain, being splashed
by traffic,” Jones said. The conductors started bringing gloves, hats and
other clothes for those who left the
house without them. And when they
made it to school, the nurse would
dry their clothes while the students
ate breakfast.
“I was one of those children,”
said Teresa Thomas, one of the route
coordinators and conductors. Since
she was old enough to go to school,
Ms. Tomas would walk from 17 Highland Avenue to Peaslee Elementary
School.
“Our route was one-hour long.
We started at 6:30 and we didn’t get
to school until 7:20, and school started at 7:30,” she said. “I was one of
the oldest children, so I would collect
children as we went, and I remember
thinking it would be nice to have an
adult.”
“[CPS Walking School Bus] made
a difference at schools because we
got there on time and for breakfast,”
Jones said.
“It does more than just get the
students to school. It strengthens
communities, and it brings parents…
into the fold,” said Carlee Escue Simon, a professor at the University of
Cincinnati specializing in Education
Policy and Leadership

The program began in four
school systems during its inception
year, and since has grown to eight
schools. The principal from Cheviot
School called and requested that
the program expand to her school.
School systems would notify Burks
and the conductors for winter delays
or closings, which many of the students walking to school would not
have otherwise known.
“It was really successful,” said
Simon. “What resonated with me…
Carmen was making a connection
with parents that was really new territory.”
But this 2016-2017 school year,
the CPS Walking School Bus is missing. Since May, the grant funds for
the program from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) have been put
on hold because Burks was not listed
as a CPS employee on the grant.
Burks submitted the waiver that NIJ
had sent them which would have
answered the discrepancy, but the
funds are still on hold. The last communication the NIJ had with the program was Aug. 15.
“I was walking by, and these girls
waved at me and said, ‘Hi, Miss Walking School Bus Lady!’” said Joyce, another CPS Walking School Bus conductor. “My heart broke because next
year is here, and we’re not there.”
A petition has been growing on
Change.org to raise support for the
CPS Walking School Bus, but the cold
weather is already here.
“We are all trusting and believing
that we will be up and running,” said
Burks.

Over-the-Rhine Community Council votes
to oppose “Liberty Corner” development

Danny Klingler, co-chair of the Over
the Rhine Foundation’s Infill Committee, which does not support the
“Liberty Corner” project. “I think
this project disrespects us… I feel
this project is not about what does
the community want and respecting
Over-the-Rhine as a historic place
and a diverse place.”
Source 3 developer Michael
Heekin came to the meeting to show
the community the “Liberty Corner” concept plan. The developer
started meeting with the OTRCC in
January, wherein the design plan
received concern about the height of
the building and the loss of Freeport
alley among other things. Source 3
changed the design by eliminating
the sixth floor and keeping Freeport

TESS SOHNGEN

T

Contributing Writer

his morning, approximately
800 children in the Cincinnati area will walk to school.
They leave the house by
7:00 a.m. when temperature hangs
below 50 degrees and the sun has not
yet touched the sky. The rain from
Thursday carried through Friday
morning, drizzling here and there
over the scattered students just trying
to make their way to school.
Some won’t. They will look out
the window and see the rain pouring
outside their front door and decide
the trip to school isn’t worth it today.
Next month, it could be snow.
Many will walk, though. They will
walk with or without socks and coats,
and by the time they get to school,
the water will have soaked through
their sneakers and maybe even their
shirt and backpack. Some of the older
students will collect the younger ones
as they go, but no adult will accompany them this morning. They will
walk through the streets of Cincinnati alone, taking their first of many
steps toward becoming an adult before their school day begins.
These 800 children -- about
24 percent of the Cincinnati Public
School (CPS) students in grades K-8
-- are not picked up by the big yellow school buses because CPS does
not provide transportation for students who live within one mile of the
school, according to the Cincinnati
Public Schools District-Wide Travel

Plan from June 2012.
Across the country, 15.7 percent
of children grades K-8 walk to school
in the morning, according to a report
from the National Center for Safe
Routes to School. In defense for students walking to school is an effort to
reduce school spending, to decrease
the amount of gas and pollutants
from buses and to address the childhood obesity epidemic. However,
the safety of these students walking
through the city remains a point of
concern from parents and administrators.
But in 2015, that concern was
met by the CPS Walking School Bus,
a program through the Allegiance
Project. A group of parents and volunteers served as “conductors,” leading groups of children through a safe
route to school each morning. Before
the students woke up, the conductors
checked the routes for safety. Sometimes there would be an accident, so
the conductors would have to change
the route to avoid it.
“Some areas are not lit,” said Judith Jones, a conductor. “It’s unsuitable for children to walk through.”
Infamous drug locations, shattered
glass from bottles or needles, vacant
properties, prostitution and homelessness are among some of the sights
students may walk by each morning,
Jones listed. “We became their safe
house.”
“When our kids are experienc-

TESS SOHNGEN

M

Contributing Writer

embers of the Overthe-Rhine Community
Council (OTRCC) voted to 31-4 to oppose
the “Liberty Corner” development
plan in a special community meeting, on Oct. 5. The development plan
titled “Liberty Corner” at the corner
of Liberty St. and Elm St. would be
the largest new building Over-theRhine has seen in a century.
The OTRCC voted 12-10 to approve the initial design plan by de-

veloper Source 3 back in May, conditionally on the developer’s continuing engagement with the community. The special meeting was the
first time the developer returned to
the community council since that
decision.
“Tonight we will send a message
to our city saying that we’re not okay
with this,” said Josh Spring, director
of the Greater Cincinnati Homeless
Coalition.
The lack of affordable hous-

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

ing in the 113 new units was the
major point of contention community members had with the project,
along with the enormity of the building, the privatization of an alley, and
the modern style that does not fit the
historic district.
“We’ve gone through a long
process of trying to work with
these folks. There are times when
we thought it would work out, but
at the end of the day, I don’t want
this project in my community,” said

------------------------

(Continued on page 4)

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Dr. Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�4
TESS SOHNGEN
(Continued from page 3)
alley. Heekin said “Liberty Corner”
has changed based on the feedback
from the community and Historic
Conservation Board, and “it will
probably be a better project because
of it,” despite being a financial loss of
the sixth floor.
A member of the City Planning
Commission met with John Walter,
Bob Selhorst and OTRCC president
Martha Good to walk them through
the concept plan for “Liberty Corner”
the week before the special meeting.
“I walked away very much in awe
of the complexity of it,” said Selhorst,
adding that it was very generous
of developer Michael Heekin from
Source 3 to come to the special meeting to walk through the project with
everyone at the meeting.
When asked about affordable
housing, however, the developer was
firm on keeping “Liberty Corner”
market rate.
“We’re not against affordable
housing in any way,” said Heekin.
“We saw an area where market rate
housing was underserved in this
area, and that’s what our group does.
We’re market rate… so maybe it’s our
inexperience of it that made us not go
in that direction.”
The prices for the apartment
units will range between $900 $1,300 per month for a 1-bedroom
apartment, said Heekin. He cited
the 2015 Housing Inventory from
the Community Building Institute
at Xavier University as evidence for
the lack of market rate housing in the
community because affordable units
made up the largest percentage of the
housing in Over-the-Rhine.
At a glance, the study does support Heekin’s claim and states that
the neighborhood has a “balanced
housing stock,” meaning there is representation by people who can afford
only 30 percent of the income for
rent and those who can afford over
market-rate prices. What they study
also shows, requiring a closer look,
is that the number of units of afford-

TESS SOHNGEN
(Continued from page 2)
violent and
to physical
challenges on
that come

traumatic, leading
and psychological
top of the obstacles

with experiencing
homelessness. The biggest obstacle
is the lack of access to help -- to
support groups, medical facilities,
mental health professionals, and
more – which leaves these women
alone to deal with their assault.
Experiencing homelessness is
not a cause of sexual assault, but it
does place women at a far greater risk
than women who are not homeless.
They do not have the safety of four
walls and roof over their head, and if
they do, the crowded shelter houses
are not the supportive environment
sexual assault survivors need to heal.
Furthermore, many of these women

LOCAL
able housing have decreased by over
2,300 units.
“When you look at just those
percentages of what currently exists
in the neighborhood, it drastically
skews an understanding of what is
happening. So in one snapshot, you
can’t see the rapid rate of loss at the
bottom of that scale and the rapid
rate of growth in what’s in the pipe-

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

ers who purchased this land.”
Arens and others disagreed, saying that developer Source 3 can and
should include affordable units in
their design. “If we do not ask for
some creation of affordability tagged
on others that are one-hundred
units, this community will lose that
affordable housing,” said Arens.
“The idea that affordable hous-

the monthly meeting on Sept. 26.
Before the meeting for “Liberty Corner,” Good sent an email to the membership detailing the support the development had already received from
the Historic Conservation Board and
the Cincinnati Planning Commission
(CPC).
“Our board president has been
telling us that we don’t have power,”

Over-the-Rhine Community Council Votes on Librty Corner Project
Photo Credit: Tess Sohngen

line,” said Jenn Arens, who works at
Peaslee Neighborhood Center.
“Cincinnati, our city, has failed
because they have nothing for us,”
said Over-the-Rhine resident Dorothy Darden. “That’s a huge project…
and it should have something for
some people that have worked and
lived there… You can’t have a solid
city without all the people.”
While everyone in the room
seemed to agree that the lack of affordable housing is an issue in the
community, the debate centered
around who was responsible for
creating and maintaining affordable housing since Cincinnati has no
mandate for it for infill construction.
“We have a problem in our city
with affordable housing,” said David
Macejko. “But that doesn’t fall on the
shoulders of people like myself who
are building a home or the develop-

ing is not a necessity or that it is not
the responsibility of the developer is
completely irresponsible and absurd
because in our city and probably
twenty percent of our public school
district this year will experience
homelessness,” said Spring. “We
don’t have time to wait. The fifty-six
people who died last year didn’t have
time to wait.”
Spring called for the special
meeting for “Liberty Corner” during
the last OTRCC meeting on Sept. 26,
but the motion was nearly denied because discussion of the development
plan was not on the agenda. After
adding the plan to the agenda, the
council later voted to hold a meeting
about “Liberty Corner” wherein they
would vote to support the new concept plan or not.
OTRCC president Martha Good
was not at the special meeting nor

said Spring. “The board president
should be seeking as much power as
she can for us.”
Despite the outcome from the
OTRCC special meeting, the decision
does not halt the progress toward
city approval “Liberty Corner” has
already made. The Historic Conservation Board approved the concept
plan for “Liberty Corner” on Sept.
26, so the next board that must give
Source 3 its approval is the City Planning Commission. The date for that
hearing has not yet been determined.
“This is our neighborhood. I
think we have a say in what happens with such a massive project, on
everything from the diversity in the
neighborhood, gentrification issues,
and the historic fabric of our neighborhood,” said Klingler.

have to participate in activities like
panhandling (asking for money)
and prostitution in order to make an
income where job opportunities are
limited or nonexistent.
Women
experiencing
homelessness might not be the type
of women Donald Trump referred to
in the 2005 tape, but these women
are nonetheless the most important
to consider because they experience
sexual assault more than other
groups.
Their
perpetrators
were
listening to Trump’s comments
that dismissed the sexual assault
remarks as “locker room talk” rather
than a crime. Women experiencing
homelessness heard the remarks
that brushed off their experiences
as just something that happens. My
colleagues and I heard the remarks
that normalized the experience of

women in every city and on every
campus in America – experiences
that should not happen.
To be clear, Trump’s comments
did not incite sexual assault, but
I believe it does something far
more dangerous: his comments
de-legitimize the seriousness of
sexual assault and reinforces why
women who experience assault
often shy away from calling their
experience assault. By brushing off
his comments as “locker room talk”,
Donald Trump is essentially giving
a free pass for people to talk about
sexual assault as anything other
than a crime.
Women
experiencing
homelessness play an important
role in the narrative around sexual
assault. Just as the issue of sexual
assault has been made to be
invisible, so have these women. If

our community wants to address the
unseemly comments by Trump and
the greater issue of sexual assault,
we must make the voices of these
women visible.
We all play a role in ending the
narrative around sexual assault:
women, men, community members,
and political figures. It is time we
start holding ourselves accountable
for addressing and ending sexual
assault in our community and all
communities.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

See:http://www.vawnet.
org/applied-research-papers/
print-document.php?doc_id=558
for more information about
sexual violence toward women
experiencing homelessness.
------------------------

�5

LOCAL

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

St. Francis Seraph:
Offering Dignity One
Service at a Time
DR. MARK MUSSMAN

T

Staff Writer

ry putting yourself in someone else’s shoes for a few
moments. If you were on
the street, do you know
where you would get a shower? Do
you know where you would get a
hot meal in the chilly weather? How
about a change of clothes, or even a
haircut? Imagine if you had no selfesteem because people won’t look
you in the eye on the sidewalk. People ignore you when you ask them
for help. You get door after door
closed in your face. How would you
manage to wake up each day and put
your best foot forward?
Something is changing in Overthe-Rhine, and this time it’s good.
Several service organizations are

southern portion of the neighborhood, St. Francis Seraph is a beacon
on the edge of the next wave. The
church started over 160 years ago
on a plot of land that used to be a
cemetery. Back then, Catholics were
blocked from building in the city, so
they found a plot of land on the edge
of town, where Liberty Street is now.
When they raised enough to build
the church, the cemetery was dug up
and the bodies exhumed to Spring
Grove Cemetery; however, several
families couldn’t cover the cost, so
their bodies still remain the crypt
underneath the church’s alter.
With the recent acquisition of
the St. Anthony Messenger building
on Liberty Street, St. Francis Ser-

Design Plans on Display During Open House
Photo Credit: Key Beck

to move laundry up and down the
stairs, the basement lacks ventilation from the dryers, so the temperatures soar, and the lack of showers
for women, create a difficult working
environment. (Currently, women
use the single accessible shower in
an ad hoc manner because it is separate from the men’s showers.)
Many of us were worried that the
Shower House would close its doors

Project Supporters Meet in Courtyard During Open House
Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

building a new home in the neighborhood while expanding some of their
services as well. Last year, I held the
last class at Mercy St. John at Findlay Market when we wrapped up
our Creative App Project. For many
years, Mercy St. John ran a sandwich window, offered classes to help
bridge people from their education
to work, gave people an opportunity
to get medical treatment, and more.
When Mercy St. John closed one of
their tenants, Franciscan Haircuts
from the Heart, also lost their home.
A place where you can get a haircut
for the cost of a good story or a can
collection, Haircuts from the Heart
is a place where people’s self esteem
can be raised without bounds, and it
has found a new home.
St. Francis Seraph is becoming a
cornerstone for dignity in Over-theRhine. As most social service agencies have been gentrified out of the

aph’s leadership and members saw
an opportunity to bring a food pantry to the area. Getting through the
city’s red tape has been a struggle,
but a collectivist movement to enhance the services is ushering a new
era for the church – and many social
service agencies like Haircuts from
the Heart, the Center for Respite
Care, Sweet Cheeks Diapers, and
even TriHealth, who will be bringing medical services to the neighborhood, effectively picking up where
Mercy left off.
One of the most important services in the neighborhood continues
to be the Mary Magdalen House,
which provides showers and laundry
service to hundreds of people each
week. The family trust that runs the
Shower House (as locals call it) saw
the limitations of their current space
on Main Street – it’s vertical layout
makes it difficult for the workers

for good. The family trust listened

and vowed to keep the services open
and they began a search for a new
space. This is where St. Francis Seraph Ministries’ leadership, headed
by Chris Schuermann, was able to
bring a new vision for the St. Anthony Messenger Building to the table.
At the Open House this week, the
vision was articulated through floor
plans, images, and a moving video –
but the most impressive thing at the
Open House was the palatable positive energy from the various agencies and individuals who only want
to see a successful space being built
for these organizations to call home.
I have no doubt that this will be a
beautiful multi-million-dollar transition to positively affect thousands
of people who have been discarded
by the “progress” in our city. When
most people in our city live below the
poverty line, when upward mobility
is limited by your skin color, when
educational opportunity is dictated
by your zip code, it is only through
organizations like St. Francis Seraph
that we are able to humanely treat
people and not ostracize them due to
their circumstances.
There are some concerns about
the designs that may or may not
be consequential. We saw issues of
NIMBYism when CityLink was built
in the West End – but I don’t imagine that will happen here because of

Informational Video at Open House
Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

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(Continued on page 7)

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O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

�LOCAL

7

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

THE BALL OF JUSTICE IS ROLLING
INTO CANCER HEALTH
STEVE SUNDERLAND

Contributing Writer
For the past two years we have been
pushing the ball of justice uphill for
cancer justice. Giving poor people,
minorities, disabled, and aged
persons’ access to cancer care has
been our major goal since we learned
that this Cincinnati population
has the highest cancer mortality
in Ohio. We have built a cancer
prevention organization of agencies
that serve the poor and, gaining
their permission, have formed a
Cancer Justice Network. Included
in were agencies and individuals
that wanted to partner with us in
providing primary care physicians,
sites for free screening for cancer,
assistance in obtaining insurance,
cooperation in developing low cost
transportation options to health
meetings, and, last and most
important, patient navigators to
accompany people on every step of
gaining access. We have volunteer
navigators from the first year

medical student class at UC; nursing
students from Xavier University,
communications students from UC,
community navigators drawn from
the aged population of social action
agencies, and one graduate of the
Harold Freeman Patient Navigation
Training Program who is also a new
social work faculty member at UC.
(Go to the website to find out more
information: cancerjusticenetwork.
org) October 4, 2016 the ball moved:
six navigators, two representatives
of Crossroad Health Center, a
physician, and the staff of the Cancer
Justice Network were welcomed
to the weekly dinner for the poor
offered by Christ Church Cathedral.
Here is how it happened: We arrived
at 4:30pm to meet Christ Church
Cathedral's coordinator, Pat Coyle.
He led us into the church's library
so that we could review which of
the six navigators would go to tables
where 8 people waited to be called

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

building’s design, but mitigating that
entrance issue is something I will be
keeping my eye on in the future.
Overall, the project is a blessing
for the neighborhood which guarantees the continued operations of vital
services in Over-the-Rhine. The corporate vision of Main Street as a business and bar district will get a boost
from the last social service agencies
departure when the Shower House
moves, which I am sure some developers are ready to jump on. Perhaps
there will be a shower-themed bar
there, complete with fountains and
fish tanks. If you are keeping score,
there are only a few local social service agencies left in the southern part
of Over-the-Rhine (including the
Contact Center, Tender Mercies, and
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing) which need our continued support. If you are interested in learning
more about this history, please sign

(Continued from page 5)
St. Francis Seraph’s strong reputation in the neighborhood and city.
But consolidation of services has its
drawbacks – sweeping the problems
of poverty, displacement, shame, into
one spot where it’s “acceptable” and
then criminalizing people outside of
the boundary who are byproducts of
our unresolved social issues. For this
specific building, the entrance is on
tiny Republic Street, out of sight from
the main road, and is heavily focused
on security, which assumes that people who are suffering are dangerous.
The reality is that people who live in
poverty are more likely to be victims
of crime, not perpetrators. We must
be vigilant to not criminalize people
who are suffering, which I know is
not the intention of the project, but
is something that needs to be kept
in mind. This may just be due to the

for dinner. We learned that each
navigator would have 4 tables to
talk with about cancer prevention.
We distributed binders and cancer
education, papers, and stickers
saying, "I Care About Cancer."
At 5pm people were coming into
the large room of the church, the
Undercroft, and signing in and
sitting at one of 24 tables. After a few
minutes, most of the 216 people were
seated or getting a drink of water,
coffee, lemonade and meeting new
and old friends. Nemat Moussavian,
MD, medical director of the CJN,
was introduced and a hush greeted
him as he began to discuss the
definition of cancer and why it was
important to get an early screening.
The room was quiet and attentive.
Steve Sunderland, PhD, director
of the Cancer Justice Network,
followed with a short definition of
navigation as an act of friendship,
introduced the navigators (Pat
Murray, Pat Youngblood, Sue
Wilke, Anjanette Wells, PhD, MSW,
Allison Valentine-Love, Barbette
Thompson) and supported the point
that we were present to encourage
everyone to get an exam. Jordan
Oberdorfer and Lee Ann Russ, from
Crossroad Health Center, were
sitting off to the side at a table. They

were prepared to sign people up for
exams, primary care providers, and
cancer discussions.
The six navigators were seated at
different tables throughout the
room, some joining their group
as they went up to get a dinner,
others meeting with people as
they waited to be called. As people
were going to the dinner line, Dr.
Moussavian moved throughout
the room, stopping at each table
and discussing cancer, answering
questions, and providing support.
People, accompanied by navigators,
began coming to Jordan and Lee
Ann and registering for exams. This
was the flow for about an hour.
The dinner ended a little after 6pm
with some latecomers being seated
and getting a dinner. The navigators
continued to bring people to Jordan
and Lee Ann and this connecting
continued for the next half hour.
The navigators, the CJN team of
Nemat Moussavian, MD, Robert
Harris, DD and Steve Sunderland,
PhD, along with church staff,
Pat Coyle, MSW, and Frank
McWilliams, MD, adjourned to a
room to discuss their experience. We
were joined at a little after 6:30 by

up for an educational and enlightening Social Justice Walking Tour on
our website:

http://www.cincihomeless.org

(Continued on page 11)

	

------------------------

Xavier Students interact with the fish
Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

Xavier Students visit the Crypt
Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Bubs gives CUE students a tour
Photo Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

�8

WORLD
Bolt cutters expose vulnerability of
North America's oil pipeline grid
LIZ HAMPTON AND ETHAN LOU

A

ll it took was a pair of bolt
cutters and the elbow
grease of a few climate
activists to carry out an
audacious act of sabotage on North
America's massive oil and gas pipeline system.
For an industry increasingly reliant on gadgets such as digital sensors, infrared cameras and drones
to monitor security and check for
leaks, the sabotage illustrated how
vulnerable pipelines are to low-tech
attacks.
On Tuesday, climate activists
broke through fences and cut locks
and chains simultaneously in several states and simply turned the
pipelines off.
All they had to do was twist shut
giant valves on five cross-border
pipelines that together can send 2.8
million barrels a day of crude to the
United States from Canada - equal
to about 15% of daily U.S. consumption.
The activists did no damage to
the pipelines, which operating companies shut down as a precaution
for checks before restarting.
The United States is the world's
largest energy market, and the infrastructure to drill, refine, store
and deliver that energy to consumers is connected by millions of miles
of pipeline that are impossible to
protect entirely from attack.
You're not manning these
things on a permanent basis. It's
not viable," said Stewart Dewar, a
project manager at Senstar, an Ottawa-based company that authored
a 2012 white paper on pipeline security. "It's too expensive."
There are more than 200,000
miles (322,000 km) of oil lines and
many times that of natural gas lines
across the United States. Thousands
of rural and often remote pumping
and valve stations dot the country.
The cost of posting armed
guards at valve stations, usually
found every 20 miles along the underground pipelines, would be prohibitive, said Dewar.
For companies, there are few
options to police the parts of their
pipeline networks that sit above
ground, such as the valve stations.
The stations are usually protected by nothing more than the same
flimsy chain link fence and padlocks
elementary schools use to protect
their playgrounds.
Global Problem
The same vulnerabilities are
present worldwide. In Nigeria and
conflict zones such as Iraq, pipelines
have been targeted by militants. In
Mexico, thieves target the fuel arteries to siphon off fuel.

Courtesy of Reuterss / INSP.ngo
But until Tuesday, environmental activists had never carried out a
simultaneous, coordinated attack of
this magnitude.
Tuesday's action, supported by
the Vermont-based Climate Dis-

Either way, pipeline specialists
said it was lucky there were no leaks
on Tuesday. Once the valves are
shut, pressure can quickly build up
inside pipelines that operate under
as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kg)

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

Security Administration, part of the
Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), has asked pipeline companies to carry out a "security vulnerability assessment" for their assets
and to conduct risk assessments
that include the "likelihood of a success of an attack," and to take steps
to mitigate those risks.
A review published by the DHS
in 2015 identified physical and cyber security as a risk to energy infrastructure systems, including the

Dakota Access Pipeline protesters square off against police near the Standing Rock Reservation and the pipeline route outside the
little town of Saint Anthony, North Dakota, U.S.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/Terray Sylvester

obedience Action Fund, was held
to draw attention to climate change
and to support opponents of the
proposed Dakota Access Pipeline,
which critics say could rupture and
sour drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.
Several pipeline operators and
safety experts said shutting off
valves was extremely dangerous
and that activists underestimated
the risks.
Pipelines can be heavily pressurized depending on length and
altitude variation, and shutting off a
valve could cause ruptures that are
"catastrophic" for the environment,
Paul Tullis of Tullis Engineering
Consultants said.
"It's like a freight train," he said
of the momentum with which the oil
moves. "If these people are hydraulic engineers, they might be able to
do this safely."
Activists often do not fully know
what they are doing, even if they
think they do, Tullis said.
Protesters said they spent
months studying how to safely shut
the valves. The ability for them to
access the proprietary information
necessary to shut a line safely was
questioned by experts.

per square inch.
Protesters were taking a chance
that a weak spot in a line would not
explode, and that employees in operations hubs would spring into action after hearing alarms.
"On the wrong pipeline, in the
wrong place (actions like this) could
kill people. This is hazardous hot
liquid. It's not something to be terrified of, but it must be respected,"
said Richard Kuprewicz, president
of Accufacts Inc, a pipeline advisory
firm.
Security Ramp-Up After
9/11
After the tampering, owners
Enbridge Inc, TransCanada Corp,
Spectra Energy and Kinder Morgan
shut their lines as a precaution.
They did not immediately respond to questions about their
broader
security
precautions,
though some of them emphasized
having multiple safety systems in
place.
The general vulnerability of
U.S. infrastructure - from bridges
to power plants and ports - became
more apparent after the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.
Since then, the U.S. Transportation

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

threat of multiple, coordinated attacks and electromagnetic pulse
events, but focused primarily on
threats to the electrical grid.
Security experts said they have
tried to strike a balance between
protecting facilities, ensuring freedom of movement and keeping
costs in check.
The Association of Oil Pipe
Lines, an industry group, said it recognized disagreements exist about
energy policy, but that the protest
went too far.
Previous valve closures have
caused spills, including one of nearly 4,000 barrels of oil, the group
said.
"We don't want anyone to get
hurt or cause a release into the environment," said Andrew Black, the
group's president.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in
Houston and Ethan Lou in New
York; Additional reporting by
Devika Krishna Kumar and Jessica Resnick-Ault; Writing by Terry
Wade; Editing by Simon Webb and
Bill Rigby)
------------------------

�WORLD

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

UN resolution on
journalist safety passed,
but a long way still to go
THARANGA YAKUPITIYAGE

Courtesy of Inter Press Service / INSP.ngo
The UN Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) advanced its commitment to the safety of journalists after
adopting a groundbreaking resolution with measures for states to ensure journalist protection. But this is
only the first step.
Though the UNHRC has adopted resolutions on the safety of
journalists in the past, some note
that this year's resolution is more
comprehensive in protecting the
rights of freedom of expression and
the press.
"[The resolution] brings up
these issues more explicitly than it
has been brought up in other resolutions," Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) Advocacy Director
Courtney Radsch told IPS.
She stressed that the resolution
acknowledges the role that states
play in committing violence against
journalists and in creating a permissive environment for the safety of
journalists.
"It is not simply enough to talk
about the safety of journalist without
also addressing the need to create
an environment in which freedom
of expression and press freedom can
flourish," she stated.
Reporters Without Borders'
(RSF) Advocacy and Communications Officer Margaux Ewen echoed
similar sentiments to IPS, noting
that the resolution is a "wonderful
reiteration" which calls on member
states to implement their international obligations.
For the first time, UNHRC
called for states to release arbitrarily
detained journalists and to reform
laws that are misused to hinder their
work.
According to CPJ, approximately 200 journalists were imprisoned
worldwide in 2015. The organisation
recorded the highest number of such
arrests in China, where 49 journalists were imprisoned. Most recently,
Chinese journalists Lu Yuyu and Li
Tingyu were detained in June 2016
on suspicion of "picking quarrels
and provoking trouble." They had
been documenting and reporting on
protests across the East Asian nation since 2012.
China is among the members of
UNHRC.
The newly adopted resolution
also affirms the right of journalists
to use encryption and anonymity
tools. Journalists often rely on such
mechanisms to safely impart information anonymously online. They
are also used to encrypt their communications in order to protect their
contacts and sources.
Radsch noted that these tools
are essential for journalists "to do

9

their job in the 21st century."
The resolution also addresses
the specific risks that women journalists face in their work, condemning all gender-based attacks.
Earlier in September, freelance
journalist Gretchen Malalad and
Al Jazeera Correspondent Jamela
Alindogan-Caudron were subject to
severe social media attacks, receiving threats of rape and death due to
their coverage of the Philippine government's controversial anti-drug
war.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NJUP) Ryan
Rosauro expressed his dismay of
the state of journalism in the country, stating: "We will never take any
threats, whether of physical harm
or to silence us, lightly for we have
lost far too many of our colleagues
and hardly seen justice for them," he
said.
In a joint statement with NJUP,
the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) stated that the
government must take social media
threats to journalists seriously and
should penalise perpetrators to ensure the safety of journalists.
In their 2016 World Press Freedom Index, RSF ranked the Philippines 138th out of 180 countries in
press freedom making it one of the
most dangerous countries for practicing journalists.
As in previous years, the

UNHRC also highlighted the need
to end violence against journalists
and to combat impunity for attacks.
CPJ found that over 1,200
journalists have been killed since
1992, the majority of whom were
murdered with complete impunity. Other organisations speculate
that the numbers are higher, with
IFJ reporting that at least 2,300
journalists and media staff have
been killed since 1990.
In 2009, prominent Sri Lankan journalist and editor Lasantha
Wickramatunga was beaten to death
after his car was pulled over by eight
helmeted men on motorcycles. Often critical of the government and
its conduct in the country's civil war,
the editor had been attacked before and received death threats for
months prior to his death. He even
anticipated his own fate, writing an
essay shortly before his death about
free media in the South Asian nation.
"In the course of the past few
years, the independent media have
increasingly come under attack.
Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed,
sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories
and now especially the last," Wickramatunga wrote.
Most recently, Jordanian journalist Nahed Hattar was shot dead
while on his way to face charges for
sharing a cartoon deemed offensive
to Islam.
"The killing of Mr. Hattar is appalling, and it is unacceptable that
no protection measures had been
put in place to ensure his safety, particularly when the threats against

him were well known to the authorities," said UN special rapporteur on
freedom of opinion and expression
David Kaye.
Kaye urged authorities to bring
the perpetrator to justice and to ensure legislation that allows a culture
of diverse expression.
However, both Radsch and
Ewen noted that the resolution is
only the first step as it must be translated to action on the ground.
"We continue to see the failure
of states to adequate investigate the
murders of journalists…so while
resolutions are important, we need
to see actual concrete actions to accompany these normative statements," Radsch told IPS.
Ewen stated that UN resolutions
are "strong and strongly worded" but
it still remains to be seen for states
to implement measures to protect
journalists and the right of freedom
of expression. She pointed to RSF's
campaign to create a Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for the safety of journalists as
a way to ensure states comply with
their international obligations.
Led by RSF, the Protect Journalists campaign has brought together
over a 100 media organisations and
human rights organisations including CPJ, the Guardian and the United Nations Correspondents Association to push for the establishment of
a special representative.
During a press conference, RSF
Secretary General Christophe Deloire noted that a special representative could act as an early warning
and rapid response mechanism to
give journalists, when threatened,
access to authorities and protective
measures as laid out in the resolution. He also added that a special
(Continued on page 11)

Kashmiri journalists at a rare protest against a government clampdown on freedom of expression in 2012
Photo Credit: Athar Parvaiz/IPS

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LOCAL

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

Peaslee Presents

Annual Dinner, Silent Auction and Awards
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Bell Event Centre
444 Reading Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Cocktail Hour 6 p.m.

Dinner at 7 p.m.

Program 7:30 p.m.

Awardees:
William Watson
Dedicated Grandparent of Piano Program
Miami University
Center for Community Engagement
in Over-the-Rhine
Dorothy Darden
Over-the-Rhine Resident and Activist

Special Thanks to Our Presenting Sponsors:
First Financial Bank • SC Ministry Foundation • Mercy Health

To purchase tickets:
Visit www.PeasleePresents2016.eventbrite.com
For more information contact Patricia Richter at (513) 621.5514.

Now Hiring
YWCA- ywcacincinanti.org
Case Management
Coordinator
Human Resource Director
Shelter Advocate

Social Worker Supervisor
Legal Aid Cincinnati- lascinti. Case Manager
org
Health Advocate/ Project
Center for Chemical
Coordinator
Addictions TreatmentParalegal Staff Attorney
ccatsober.org
ShelterhouseNurse
shelterhousecincy.org
Hamilton County
Resident Aide- Winter Aide Public HealthCincinnati Union Bethelhamiltoncountyhealth.org cinunionbethel.org
Lydia’s House- stlydiashouse. Pediatric Nurse Case
Family Service Worker
org
Manager
Teachers/Assistant Teacher
Community Support Worker Full Time Epidemiologist
Cook
(live in)
Septic System Inspector
Health Educator
CDC Association of Greater
Lighthouse Youth ServicesCincinnati- cdcassociation.
lys.org
Caracole- caracole.org
org
Multiple Openings
Housing Specialist
Executive Director

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Bethany House Servicesbethanyhouseservices.org
Housing Case Manager
National Church Residentscareers.ncr.icims.com
Service Coordinator
Our Daily Breadourdailybread.us
Dish Washer
Upspring- upspring.org
Program Coordinator

�LOCAL

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

Corruption
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

A

Contributing Writer

11

exaggerated.
The majority of Americans
probably at first accepted the
official stories of the assassinations
of President John Kennedy in
November 1963, that of Martin
Luther King in April 1968, and of
Robert Kennedy in June 1968. But
since then doubts have grown,
especially of the killing of President
Kennedy.
There are too many
unexplained circumstances, such as
the sudden deaths of witnesses, and
the sealing of some records even to
today, to be comfortable with the
official story that Lee Harvey Oswald
was the lone gunman and plotter.
Similarly there were suspicious
circumstances surrounding the
death of Robert Kennedy and some
evidence disappeared. As for the
death of Martin Luther King, his own
family did not believe that James Earl
Ray killed Dr. King. Ray, who died in
prison, was never granted a trial. He
initially pled guilty but then was not
allowed to change his plea. Many
documents relating to the supposed
guilt of Ray are still sealed. It is hard
to see why records remain sealed
concerning these assassinations after
nearly 50 years, or even longer in the
case of President Kennedy.
Importantly, Dr. King was
one of the targets of the F.B.I.’s
COINTELPRO program (1956 –
1968?). The director of the Bureau,
J. Edgar Hoover, used this program
to plant disinformation in the media
about people and groups whose
influence on the public he wanted
to diminish. Even the actress Jean
Seberg (The Mouse That Roared)
was a target of this program.
The Savings and Loan Crisis from
about 1986 to 1995 was brought about
by high inflation, lax oversight partly
due to deregulation, and fraud by the
people who ran the institutions. They
made risky loans, did insider deals,
and used fraudulent accounting to
try to cover up problems. During

that time almost a third of the 3,234
federally-insured savings and loans
failed.
Cincinnati’s own Home
State Savings Bank was a state-, not
federally-insured institution, and its
failure was one of the first, in 1985.
Other major failures during that time
were Silverado Savings and Loan in
1988, Lincoln Savings and Loan in
1989, and Midwest Savings and Loan
in 1990. Neil Bush, son of President
George H.W. Bush, was implicated in
the collapse of Silverado. Significant
for its contrast to the later 2008
financial meltdown, over 1,000
bankers were convicted of fraud
and sent to prison, including Home
State’s Marvin Warner (but not Neil
Bush).
The Iran-Contra Affair (1985
to 1987, perhaps later) began as an
attempt to free American hostages
being held by an Islamic group in
Lebanon. The United States agreed
to have arms shipped from Israel to
Iran, which was against the law, and
in return Iran would do its best effort
to have the hostages released. The
U.S. would later replace the weapons
that Israel shipped. This initial plan
morphed into a scheme to use some
of the profits to fund U.S. backed
insurgents (“contras”) against the
Nicaraguan government – which
was very illegal. There is evidence
that this scheme metastasized into
an operation where cocaine was
smuggled into the United States. An
airfield at Mena, Arkansas, is said to
have been the main point of entry.
Some of the profits from the sale of
cocaine were then to be sent back to
the insurgents.
The 2008 Financial Crisis was
brought about by high defaults on
subprime mortgages, which had
been bundled and sold as AAA-safe
securities by several major Wall
Street companies that knew they
were peddling junk. Besides outright

ccording to a 2015 survey
by Chapman University
published
recently
in
Bloomberg BusinessWeek,
the #1 fear of Americans is not
cyberterrorism (#2), terrorist attacks
(#4), economic collapse (#8), gun
control (#11), war (#12), or even
Obamacare (#13). It is corruption.
This may be surprising because
corruption receives much less
attention in the media than other
items on the fear list. Yet it goes
hand-in-hand with the results of
polling released last year by the Pew
Research Center on the declining
trust in government. Last year fewer
than 1 in 5 Americans – just 19% -said they trusted government. Fifty
years before about 3 in 4 Americans
said they trusted government. The
last time it was above 50% was during
the George W. Bush administration,
shortly after 9/11. Clearly the lack
of trust is something that has been
developing for far longer than the
current presidential campaign. I
want to look back at what may have
contributed to the decline and close
with a few words as to how serious
this is.
Corruption and the lack of trust
in government are intertwined. The
same Pew research that showed
trust in government to be so low also
showed that relatively few people
(24%) say their elected officials put
the good of the country ahead of their
own personal interests. A whopping
74% thought that elected officials
put the good of our country second.
There are similar low percentages
for honesty. Interestingly, most
Americans think their elected officials
are intelligent – just not trustworthy.
Although Pew Research shows that

business leaders are considered to
be more trustworthy than elected
officials, they are less trustworthy
than the average American. I will
not restrict my look-back at just
elected officials but also include
some business scandals. And where
government has the responsibility
of enforcing laws, it is often the case
that corruption in business is able to
continue only because those officials
who could stop it chose not to. My
goal is to look back – to recall what
may be forming our opinion but is not
brought to mind without prompting
– so I will not cover recent stories
which are already receiving plenty of
attention.
The surveys on trust go back to
1958. The high point in trust was
in 1964, during the first year of the
Johnson administration and when
he escalated our involvement in the
Vietnam War following the supposed
Gulf of Tonkin Incident. This was a
claimed attack by North Vietnamese
torpedo boats on two of our destroyers
on August 4. We now know no such
attack took place. However, this was
used as justification to pass the Gulf
of Tonkin Resolution, which gave
President Johnson full authority to
expand the war and send ground
troops. After initially denying he
would, within a few months he did
send the ground troops. The war
itself was a disaster for American
and allied forces, and although at
first the Johnson administration
was optimistic about success the war
dragged on for years. In the end over
58,000 American soldiers died by the
time South Vietnam fell in 1975, after
our forces were withdrawn. It was
clear that whatever success we did
have in the conflict had been greatly

STEVE SUNDERLAND

Some people had physicians and
some had insurance. The navigators
reported that they liked having four
tables of people to discuss cancer.
Everyone could be talked with about
whether they understood cancer and
general health issues.
The key issue that emerged was
follow-up. Dr. Moussavian expressed
his belief that a momentum was
created, a trust established, and an
expectation for continued connection.
For some people continuing to
connect would be difficult since they
didn't have phones, although some
lived near Crossroad and could stop
in. The navigators did get phone
numbers of everyone they met with
who wanted an exam. Following
up, keeping the appointments at
Crossroad, and assisting people with
any barriers to taking action, were

all seen as vital next steps. Pat Coyle
asked: "Should we wait before coming
back next week?" The overwhelming
response was to return next week and
build on the successful relationships
established. We agreed to reflect a
day on these points and then make a
decision.
Overall, it was a deeply moving
experience for both the people, the
church, and the navigation effort.
Our goal of linking low income people
to cancer prevention and screening
access was begun with gusto. The
community worked with us and we
responded in kind. The dinner was a
perfect environment to share not only
good food, but the spirit of friendship
in facing cancer. The journey has
begun! We will return to Christ
Church Cathedral on October 11 for
another sharing with the expected

200 people. We do expect to see
some of the same people and we will
want to find out if people made their
appointments for screening and/
or whether they will need further
support. Most importantly, the good
will of Christ Church Cathedral has
now permitted a foundation for
cancer education and prevention to
both exist and be a key part of what
we mean by justice. We will find out,
in time, just how many people, going
to an exam, found their cancer soon
enough for effective treatment. And,
also important, how many people
learned that they are cancer free.
Access to high quality treatment,
good food, spiritual support, and
good discussions are now a critical
part of the health of the city.

"Every week, there are new
names on new graves in journalist
cemeteries…we cannot let anymore
journalists be killed because of this
lack of political will," Deloire told
press.

The 47-member state council
adopted the resolution on the safety
of journalists by consensus, expressing a deep concern for the increased
number of journalists and media
workers who have been killed, tor-

tured and detained. Nations beyond
the UNHRC including Austria and
the United States also joined the initiative as co-sponsors.

(Continued from page 7)
Jordan and Lee Ann. We heard that
19 people had signed up and we were
thrilled to hear this news. Overall,
the navigators and the Crossroad
staff had a very positive experience:
building
rapport,
a
trusting
relationship didn't seem difficult as
the people were open to meeting
the navigators and seemed, in some
cases, eager to engage in discussions
about their health. People seemed
to be in 3 groups, Anjanette Wells
suggested: 1) people who didn't want
to talk; 2) people who wanted to think
more about whether they wanted to
have an exam; and, 3) people who
were interested and wanted an exam.
We heard from the navigators that
people shared their family histories
about cancer and other health issues.

THARANGA YAKUPITIYAGE
(Continued from page 9)
representative with political weight
can make sure the safety of journalists is integrated in all UN programs
and operations.

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

(Continued on page 12)

	

------------------------

------------------------

�12

LOCAL

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

STREET LIFE: ACTUALIZATION
RICARDO TAYLOR

Contributing Writer

S

craping from the bottom of
a barrel will not afford you
the cream from the top!
Most often, what you
work/strive for is what you will
end-up with. In so saying I am not
giving judgment of individuals or
their hustle, yet, for me the obvious,
is that one must put forth the effort
for what they desire. ‘If you don’t
work, you don’t eat!
Honesty, the fore runner of
success, often becomes a hurdle for
those who feel they have entitlement
- this entitlement is blinded to the
reality that entitlements only come
with a projected effort and honesty
- the absurdity, is in the fact that this
type of thinking mars the truth that
you have to do what you need to do
instead of what you may want to do!
The idea that you are owed
something without having to earn
it is erratic thinking. Nothing in life
is free! You have to work for it in
order to realize the benefits of your
efforts! ‘No work, no pay one might
say!’
The concept of actualization is
grounded in one’s own efforts, in

MICHAEL EARL PATTON
(Continued from page 11)
fraud, there were wide-spread failures
in financial regulation. This includes
the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in
1999, which then allowed them to risk
depositor’s money with speculative
investments. Apparently nothing
was learned from the earlier Savings
and Loan Crisis (see above). One big
difference was that far fewer bankers
went to prison – only a few dozen. In
most cases the offending institutions
just paid a large fine and they, and
their executives, were allowed to
continue doing business.
This is admittedly a very
incomplete list. There have been
many more cases for which I do
not have the room or time. Some
examples are the E.F. Hutton check
kiting scheme from 1980 – 1983
and the Enron accounting fraud
(exposed in 2001), made possible
by lax auditing from the firm Arthur
Andersen. Millions of cars still have
faulty airbags made by Takata, which
use the same explosive compound
that Timothy McVeigh used against
the Murrow building in 1995. Some,
like the cover-up of the intentional
attack on the U.S.S. Liberty (attack
in 1967, official cover-up continues to
date) and the Arkansas Prison Blood
Scandal (1980s and early 1990s),
deserve to be better known. On the
other hand, not being well known,
they probably contributed little to
the erosion of trust. 9/11 (2001) is

fact
the
only real
pride/
success
that one
can have
f r o m
materials
derives
from true earnings. That is to say
{I appreciate what I earn} where
‘easy come, easy goes’ becomes the
crux of long-term frustration and
disappointment!
As long as I think, or believe
that I am entitled or owed just
because [!?] then I am always in
a state of confusion, or at best
pressed! Ah, blaming is much easier
then taking responsibility! If it’s
always someone else’s fault, then I
don’t have to be accountable! That
of course is not how life works. We
all are slated to take account for
our actions and accept the fallout!
‘One cannot blame their faults on
someone else!’ Embracing one’s
uniqueness is the only true path
towards actualization. This in turn
is predicated on one’s dedication at
too well known to cover here, but
polls say that most Americans have
doubts that the official story is the
full story. Congress, in fact, overroad President Obama’s veto and will
now allow lawsuits to proceed against
Saudi Arabia and other countries
that may have played a supporting
role. As for the 2003 invasion of
Iraq (and where are those weapons
of mass destruction?), this event and
the disconnect from early assurances
of democracy blooming in the MidEast are well-known. In contrast, the
F.B.I. COINTELPRO disinformation
program may not be widely known but
is acknowledged by the government,
at least in part. Much information
on the program has been released
through public record requests. I
mention it to show that sometimes
the government knowingly lied and
did not merely omit telling the truth.
I hope I have shown that erosion of
trust in government, and the public’s
high fear of corruption, does have
some reasonable grounding.
The fear of corruption and the
lack of trust in government is very
serious. Our people in the military
are ready to fight and risk their lives
because they believe in this country
and for what it stands, not for the
paycheck. Gun control proposals
go splat not because of Second
Amendment fanatics, but because
the majority of Americans do not
trust the government to protect
them. If the majority of people

Ron English with artpiece, "Hope"
Photo Credit: Tess Sohngen

utilizing their potential. Of course,
for most that sense of utilization
is not always so simple, yet, I
believe that when an individual
strives toward that sense of full
potential they do in fact realize it!
That I would suggest is our selfactualization! When the individual
is appreciative of that sense of self
and accomplishment they become
actualized. This I propose is the
course that one must strive for in
order to realize their personal worth
as well as any measure of success.
Those self filled accomplishments
for me are the true path towards

success.
It has often been said that
nothing from nothing leaves
nothing, so we cannot expect to
scrape the bottom of the barrel and
enjoy the cream from the top!
Self-indulgence is great, yet,
it has its place. When true gain is
afforded the individual has to put
forth the effort for that wanted gain!
The outcome can and will be from
one’s effort and honest work. This
in turn allows for that sense of selfactualization and true being.
------------------------

Old Government Bill
Photo Credit: Michael Earl Patton

were reasonably confident that they
would receive good value for their
tax dollars, virtually every levy would
pass. Corruption is not an equalopportunity expense – some are
always favored more than others. It
is one thing to start a business if you
are confident that the competitive
playing field will be level; it is quite
another thing to start a business
if you have to factor in the cost of
corruption and knowing that the
rules might suddenly change in
favor of a competitor. Finally, from
what comes the value of money?
Why is a dollar bill worth more than
just a piece of paper with a design
made of green and black inks? Isn’t
it the trust we have in the Federal
Reserve banks and in Washington?

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

Because if that goes, then we are
in big trouble. In Germany after
World War I confidence in the
national government collapsed and
hyperinflation took hold.
Local
institutions even printed their own
currencies because they were more
trusted than the national government.
The national government eventually
got inflation under control, but
stability was maintained through
large foreign loans. In 1929 the
Great Depression started in the
United States and its effects spread to
Germany, hitting it hard. Eventually,
you-know-who came to power in
Berlin to straighten things out.
------------------------

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

NOW

THE UNDECIDED VOTERS' MOTHER GOOSE

Do you know what you feel?

Remember the old woman who lives in a shoe?

Do you hear yourself when the world is standing still?

An undecided voter, she doesn't know what to do.

Do you recognize the difference in the sounds that you hear?

With Hillary Clinton she has some issues of trust,

Do you believe that you can make a difference in this world today?

But Trump's misogynous acts fill her with disgust.

Be for real!!
Do you recognize the world and hear the world

OFFENDING WALL

as it so slowly revolves around?

(With apologies to Robert Frost.)

Do you understand that it is your life that you are hearing

Someone there is who dearly loves a wall.

and only your life you’ve found?

That someone, The Donald, wants it very tall.

Do you know your rights to live without disrespect,

He brags the cost to build it Mexico will pay.

being happy, and loving your life?

After all it's Mexicans the wall will keep away.

Do you know anything about your past, present,

Out on the stump Trump promises with a smirk

not to mention being born in strife?

To deport all immigrants who take away our work.

Realizing that we are born from one womb

Walls won't make good neighbors for the U.S.A,

and destined to die in one tomb ALONE.

But Trump seldom lets reality get in his way.

With all this knowledge do we know right from wrong or how to be strong?
Now knowing everything and living our lives,

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

forgetting where we derived from.
Now seeing deceit and can't do nothing about it,
NOW don't we all feel dumb?
NOW I believe that there is a power greater than any man's
understanding right here today!
Looking around today trying to distinguish
what was and what I see NOW!
Every day I have to Pray!!
Changes everywhere I look, from where to catch a bus
to where do the hungry eat.
Changes in every walk of life and that includes if you’re homeless
NOW where do I SLEEP?
NOW think are you happy, sad, disillusioned,
misunderstood, confused or simply LOST?
NOW IS THE TIME TO BELIEVE IN THAT POWER GREATER THAN
MAN. I KNOW GOD AND HE IS BOSS!!!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 110
Across
1. Exchange
5. Curved masonary
structure
9. Hold firmly
14. Present location
15. Commercial transaction
16. Artery
17. Fury
18. Leg joint
19. Promise solemnly
20. Start abruptly
22. Sodium chloride
24. Challenge
25. Staining substance
26. Heavy metallic element
28. Beam
30. Oval fruit
31. Snakelike fish
32. Consumed
35. Thoroughfare
38. Run away quickly
39. At this time
40. Support
41. Subdued
42. Shrivelled
43. Lubricant
44. At any time
46. Brief period of
precipitation
48. Digit
49. Line
50. Water hen
51. Floor covering
52. Exchange goods for
money
53. A quick short straight
punch
56. Not in favor of
59. Malevolent
61. Musical composition
63. Tied
65. Shaft
67. Public violence
68. Boredom
69. Male red deer
70. Unit of area
71. Taunt
72. Novice
73. Rind

Down
1. Small piece of cloth or paper
2. Fatigued
3. Debate
4. A secret look
5. Request
6. Payment for the release
of someone
7. Remove unwanted
substances from
8. Part of a shoe
9. Fuel
10. Raucous
11. Length by width
12. Principal actor
13. Trim
21. Roofing material
23. Large woody plant
27. Furrow
29. Beer
30. Liveliness and energy
31. Tree
32. Afresh
33. Ripped
34. Pitcher
35. Blemish
36. Group of three
37. Theatrical part
38. Conifer
41. Condensation
42. Chronic drinker
44. Historic period
45. Referendum
46. Ancient Roman god
47. Cavity
50. Storage space where
wines are stored
51. Arithmetic operation
52. Value of Roman
numerals LX
53. Liquid extracted from
fruit or vegetables
54. Worship
55. Asian pepper plant
56. Assist in wrongdoing
57. Not any
58. Large marine food
and game fish
60. Immense
62. Snare
64. Perish
66. Self

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 340
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 109

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 240 - MEDIUM

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 239 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 34 1 | O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children
Central Access Point			
Bethany House				
1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

381-SAFE
557-2873

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		
562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	 681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

981-5800

Salvation Army				

762-5660

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	

872-9259

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			

241-5525

Shelterhouse				

721-0643

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214
411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

Parkway Center			

784-1853

961-2256

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women
First Step Home			

961-4663

2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both
AA Hotline				
CCAT					

351-0422
381-6672

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

241-2965

830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214
1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		

768-6907

First Lutheran Church 		
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		
PATH Outreach			

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

961-4555
381-1954
421-5211

Food/Clothing

271-5501

Starting Over				

Tom Geiger House			
Volunteers of America			
Anna Louise Inn			

VA					
VA Homeless			

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

221-HELP
721-8666

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

241-1064

Prospect House				
921-1613

Talbert House				
Tender Mercies			

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

FreeStore/FoodBank			

Charlie’s 3/4 House			

721-4580
632-7149
381-1171

421-0065

241-2600
241-2563

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	

381-0111

Goodwill industries			
Healing Connections			
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	
Mary Magdalen House			

771-4800
751-0600
579-8547
721-4811

1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			
631-1114
Talbert House 				751-7747	
United Way				
211
Women Helping Women		
977-5541
Off The Streets	 			
421-5211

Northern Kentucky

421-3131
569-1840
381-4242

Franciscan JPIC			
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	

721-4700
421-7803

Legal Aid Society			
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
Faces Without Places			
Stop AIDS				

117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Center for Respite Care			

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

Center Independent Living Options	
Emmanuel Community Center		

Advocacy

Catholic Social Action			
Community Action Agency		
Contact Center				

for 26 issues

351-3500
977-4489

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

Health
621-5300
981-5800

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	
946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				
681-0324
Talbert House				
221-HELP

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

977-6800
859-572-6226

381-2247

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

535-2719
591-2246

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

CMHA					
Excel Development			
OTR Community Housing		

Crossroad Health Center		

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		
Churches Active in Northside		

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

961-0600

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		
357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Vincent de Paul			

661-4620

Cincinnati Health Network		

621-6364

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

961-1983

Our Daily Bread			

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

Shelter: Both

Housing:

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941
1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

15

St. Raephaels				
Salvation Army				
Serenity House Day Center		
Open Door Pantry			
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

981-4200
863-1445
422-8555
868-3276
859-491-8303

241-9400
421-1108
363-3300
421-2437

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
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�16

O c t 2 1 - N o v 3, 2 0 16 | N o . 34 1

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Why Trump’s “Locker Room Talk” Is Reality for Many Women Experiencing Homelessness&#13;
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Tess Sohngen&#13;
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                    <text>October 7th - October 20th 2016 | Vol. 20 Issue 21 (No. 340)

advocating justice | Building community

Farm Workers Call
For BoyCott | 10

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Charity White
Challenges Design | 3

Shantytown Season
Kicks off | 5

Duke's Revised Pipeline | 7

Patricia Garry
Recognized For her
Work| 5

Find previous issues of Streetvibes online at: cincistreetvibes.org
Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director:
Does Financial Growth Prove You are a
Good Christian Working for God?
JOSH SPRING

D

Executive Director

o large profits and a high
salary mean you are successful? If you work hard,
create a business strategy,
execute it and as a result receive large
dividends does that mean God is
smiling on you, your family and your
company? Are great financial returns
evidence of following a firm spiritual
faith? I raise these questions because
there are people who trust the Christian faith (as well as other faiths too,
but I am focusing on the Christian
faith in particular here) that believe
evidence of following the teachings
of God, Jesus and the Bible include
significant financial gain. In other
words, if you take certain actions and
they benefit you and those close to
you financially, then you successfully
followed your religious faith.
From where does this belief
come? Some sources include: the understanding that God cares about every aspect of your life including your
business endeavors and finances, the
Bible teaches that we should work
hard and hard work pays off, the Bible says that a person will be proved a
follower of Jesus by the “fruits” of her
or his life; Jesus taught that we will
“reap what we sew”, Jesus told a parable about a boss who before leaving
for an extended period of time gave
money to three different employees;
one employee buried the money in
the yard because he was afraid of losing it and angering the boss and the
other two employees took risks, invested it and when the boss returned
he praised the employees who strategized, took risks and reaped profit

and rebuked the man who did not
have the faith to take the risk. These
are just a few sources from which the
belief that for Christians financial
gain means there is also spiritual success and growth.
Here is the problem: each of
these examples are good beliefs to
live by; God does care about the holistic person, hard work is important,
the true ingredients of a person are
shown by her or his “fruits”, we do
eventually reap what we sew, and
creating strategy and taking risks do
show faith; but not just any personally perceived payoff should be considered proof that any action taken
to get there was in alignment with
God’s vision. What if in the parable
of the boss and two employees, one
had buried the money and the other
two had used the money to purchase
someone else’s home, displaced them
from their home, renovate it and sold
it to wealthier people for a large profit? These employees still would have
created strategy, worked hard and operated with the faith that there would
be a payoff. The employees may
have even used some of the money
to “relocate” those displaced. Do you
think in this version of the story Jesus
would have made the two real-estate
developer employees the good moral
examples? Or would they too have
been shown to be examples of acting
immorally; taking risks and reaping
financial payoff, but through unjust
means and in fact that their “fruit”
showed they were not following the
beliefs they claimed?
While the story did not include

Smart cars, dumbeddown drivers, fawning
regulators, and eager
personal- injury lawyers
ROBERT PARK

D

Contributing Writer

riving is a complex task.
It is a skill that can
improve even after years
of experience. For the
designers and programmers of socalled smart cars, driving is a serious
challenge: the result might not achieve
society’s minimal expectations and
requirements. It may go the way of
the supersonic airliner and the betamax video machine. The incentives
appear to be twofold: 1) getting rid
of people who drive something for a
living (taxis, trucks, delivery vans..),
and who think they deserve a living
wage, and, 2) providing for consumers
having too much disposable income
another IT gadget with which to
degrade their and our existence. The

fundamental flaw in this marketing
strategy comes down to liability.
A system which is designed to not
require close driver involvement
decides to hand-off responsibility in
the split second just when things get
difficult. No driver is going to pay
attention for endless periods when the
need for their intervention has been
downgraded to almost zero. It’s the
old problem of watching dials in the
nuclear power plant. Furthermore,
drivers born and raised in the smart
car era won’t be much good at driving
to begin with, especially when things
go wrong. Kids can’t even add in their
heads any more.
The smart-car lawyers have probably

this example, my guess is that
if it did, Jesus would have added in
a fourth employee in order to have
a moral example of how to act. The
point is that when Christians simply claim they are living and working within the will and calling of God
because their efforts show financial
payoff, they are at minimum very
short-sighted. And more than likely
they are actually trying to quiet their
conscience. The real source for this
sort of perspective is human greed
and desire to control one’s surroundings. Consider the many years of televangelists who have taught health
and wealth or prosperity gospel.
They tell us that the more money we
give them, the more money God will
give us because God’s goal for us is to
be financially wealthy. In fact, they
proclaim that God shows pleasure
and reward in us through financial
growth. Simply put; if your financial
coffers are increasing it is because
you are pleasing God. In the parable,
the boss says to the two employees
who followed his vision: “Well done,
good and faithful servant.” What can
we extract from this? The boss cared
about the results (“well done”), the
methods ("good”), and the motivation (“trustworthy”). In the deceitful
health and wealth gospel all that God
cares about is the portion of the result that shallowly benefited yourself.
Justice is found in the why and how
as well as the result.
------------------------

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Key Beck
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

figured this all out. Anyone buying a
smart car will be signing a statement
saying that the owner and any
permitted driver of the vehicle
assumes responsibility at any time
when called for by the not so smart
auto-pilot. You can be sure there will
be a black box recording this. No
accident will ever be a smart car’s
fault. If there’s a sensor performance
problem (and there will be many) it’s
the driver’s fault that maintenance
was lacking. What about splattered
mud, ice, flying debris, heavy rain.
Let’s look at a glowing claim for this
promising technology: “It will reduce
accidents.” Have studies shown that
most accidents happen because
responsible drivers weren’t aware of
their surroundings or didn’t know how
to steer or choose appropriate speeds?
The behaviors at high risk for causing
accidents will be in people choosing
not to defer to a computer. They will
find adherence to speed limits rather
unacceptable. The bob-and-weave
bullies won’t use it. In fact, they’ll
be encouraged to take advantage of
smart cars they encounter on the

(Continued on page 7)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Robert Park, Tess
Sohngen, Malia Pitts, Dr. Mark
Mussman, Michael Earl Patton,
Mike Brown, Steve Sunderland,
Jason Haap, Lee McCoy, Kim Green,
Willa Denise Jones, Bill Woods
Photography/Artwork:
Tess Sohngen, Patricia Garry, Dr.
Mark Mussman, Michael Earl
Patton, Mike Brown, Bill Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To
Build Community And Advocate
Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater
Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless
do not endorse candidates for public
office.

�LOCAL
Charity White challenges the design of public spaces
with her own designs
No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

T

hroughout history and
across the country, designers and urban planners have
worked to create public
spaces that function for the needs of
the people and draw others into the
city. These public spaces are also designed to keep some people out.
Leading the discussion through
her exhibit “Prescriptive Space,” art
activist Charity White challenged
the ways in which public spaces are
designed to shun homelessness and
poverty, held at Miami University
Center for Community Engagement
in Over-the-Rhine, Sept. 30.
“With this series I really wanted
to keep that conversation open,”
said White of the discussion around
homelessness and space in cities
across the United States. Among
the many changes urbanization has
brought to cities like Cincinnati’s
Over-the-Rhine district, designs for
public spaces have less and less invited homeless people in and instead
attempted to push the “problem” out
of the city.
“Every action has a reaction.
There are always unintended consequences,” said White.
“Prescriptive Space” is the most

worked as an art teacher in the Chicago public school system. After months
of trying to engrain in students’ heads
what they needed to know” about art,
she had a paradigm shift in her way
of thinking about, and teaching, art.
She and the students “re-appropriated” the deteriorating art room into a
space that worked for and represented the students. She took this new
mentality with her to Florida.
“I started working on projects
that would make me go out into the
community. They made me investigate my space a little bit more, and I
started to learn a little bit about how
decay and environments and public space look differently than [they]
looked in Chicago.”
White started creating humanlike ceramics, placing them in public
and abandoned spaces and documenting the public’s interactions with
the stone humans. Her first piece was
of a young girl outside a vacant apartment in a gentrifying neighborhood
of Chicago. The apartment stood next
to a fancy, new restaurant.
“It’s a boarded-up building that

recent series she has done and her
first exhibit in Over-the-Rhine’s Final
Friday, an event held on the last Friday of each month where artist and
galleries showcase their work to the
public.
Before moving to Gainesville,
FL to complete her MFA in ceramics at the University of Florida, White

is supposed to be ignored, supposed
to be walked past. But what does it
mean to bring people into that environment, to make them aware of
that building that’s supposed to be
silent?” White said.
A camera on the building captured people’s interactions with the
girl, allowing White to investigate
how people interact with her sculp-

TESS SOHNGEN

Contributing Writer

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

tures placed in public spaces. The
statue of the girl was taken by a man

living in the abandoned apartment,
but White continued to investigate
public space and interaction using
this sculpture and video project.
“I became less interested in these
public spaces and more interested in
the people who were occupying this
space and how public space and private space were defined,” said White.
“I became really interested in understanding how public spaces are being
designed and being manipulated.”
This lead to her project “Prescriptive Space” where she created
three life-sized sculptures representing homeless individuals and placed
them on benches in the downtown of
Gainesville, FL. This occurred while
the city underwent initiatives to
change the locations and accessibility
of resources for its homeless population.
“Dealing with the growing issue
of homelessness within Florida, and
in the presence, they weren’t trying
to fix the problem, they were trying
to move the problem,” said White.
“They were almost trying to inconvenience the homeless out of the downtown.”
Again, White recorded the interactions people had with the sculptures, and the results were heartbreaking. Many people posed to
take selfies with the statues; others
touched and teased the statues; and

two were violently assaulted. One
statue of a man was broken into several pieces and re-arranged on the
bench without his Converse shoe.
The woman statue was kicked, and

her bottom half fell off the bench,
breaking off her foot. No one put a
blanket or coat over the statues.
“My sculptures, as they have
grown in size and become life-size,
they also started to become stand-ins
for people,” said White.
“We have issues of that here
where there will be people sleeping
on the street and the bar crowd gets
out and they’ll just lay down next to
them and take selfies,” said Mark
Mussman, Director of Education at
the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition.
If the treatment of her statues on
Main St. were any indication of the
public perception of homelessness
and space, what message does this
send about how people experiencing homelessness are perceived and
treated in public spaces?
“It was originally believed that
these parks and public spaces were
there for the betterment of our society,” said White. “But as time has
shifted… there are areas that… have
the appearance of being completely
open to the public… but really, you’re
there to exist as a consumer, and they
are actually private property. So if
there is someone there that does not
want you there and does not deem
you a desirable person in that local,
(Continued on page 9)

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

3

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LOCAL

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

PATRICIA GARRY IS RECOGNIZED FOR HER
WORK IN COMMUNITY DEVELPOMENT

P

atricia Garry, executive director of CDC Association of
greater Cincinnati, was nationally recognized for her
work in community development. On
August 30th, in Cleveland, Ohio, she
was awarded the 2016 Diane Sterner
Award for Community Economic Development Association Leadership.
The award recognizes an individual’s
work based on consistent commitment that results in benefits to the
community development field and industry.
Garry was nominated for the
award by her colleagues for her leadership in community development in
Cincinnati and all throughout Ohio.
She was surprised when she got the
call that she was the award winner.
“My oldest son was in an accident
in the summer and died in June,”
Garry says. “My staff was telling me I
need to go to Cleveland and they even
invented a workshop with our back
office and I just didn’t want to go, I
wasn’t feeling it at the moment. So
finally they called and told me that I
won and it was a wonderful feeling especially at that time,” She says.
In 1979 Garry, along with other
community leaders, realized they
spent so much time teaching people
about community development, they
weren’t getting anything done. They
came up with a solution to create an

MALIA PITTS

Contributing Writer

organization
that provides pure training on community development, advocating,
and researching on new ideas. That is
when they created the CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati, which was
at the time known as the NDC Association of Greater Cincinnati.
“There was a time where there

was no community
development, no community councils,
there was no infrastructure like that,”
Garry said. “Other members of the
community and I formed city councils and we would bring people in, and
they would bring people in and pretty
soon we formed a community and
made things happen,” she said.

Patricia Garry

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

When Garry began her work in
this field she never expected to stay
in the field for so long, but she’s glad
she did because she was able to be involved with the city’s transformation.
“I can drive all over town and remember what neighborhood and who
the leader was and what the meetings
were all about,” Garry said. “I’ve seen
this city and this organization start
from something small and turn into
something beautifully big,” she says.
Garry retires from CDC in December, she believes they’re ready for
a new fingerprint, someone fun and
willing try some new things when it
comes to continuing the growth of the
organization.
“CDC is on such a roll, they’re getting bigger and better by the minute.
This becomes my time to back slowly
away,” Garry says. “You don’t wait for
a crisis. You leave when you feel your
job is done and that it will be in good
hands” she says.
When asked what is next after retirement, Garry says she will always
be involved in community development whether through volunteer work
or other things.
“I love my job, I spent my whole
life doing this, so it will take some
time for me to just be done with this
completely,” Garry says.
------------------------

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No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

Shantytown Season
Kicks Off
DR. MARK MUSSMAN

A

Staff Writer

s we pulled into Taylor
High School’s parking lot,
it was clear that this year’s
Shantytown was going to be
a little different from last year. Taylor
High School is in the Three Rivers
Local School District just west of Cincinnati. A newly built school stands
stately in the background, past the
school rolling hills of trees. The school
looks like a college – stately, large and
sprawling. In the foreground a series
of communally built cardboard boxes
form a ring in the grass. These cardboard boxes are the home of nearly
40 students for the night.
When Sam Jackson, the speaker,
and I exit the car we immediately hear
the excitement level grow. I overhear
a student running through the parking lot say “Is that Sam Jackson?!” to

students, who are excited to see Sam
again, to come sit with us for Sam’s
story.
Shantytown is an opportunity for
students to learn more about homelessness and how to become an advocate. Typically held in October, which
is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, schools across the region
hold Shantytowns to raise awareness
about homelessness by hosting a
sleep-over at the school. Most schools
will sleep outside in makeshift cardboard boxes, while others will seek
refuge in the gym when the weather
turns bad. Schools don’t need to have
a sleep-over to do a Shantytown, they
can do alternative activities, but the
sleep-over really gives students a
chance to learn and process issues
surrounding homelessness in a safe

Students learning stateies to help fight homelessness
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

the night. Student participant Holly
reflected on the importance of having
a speaker from the Homeless Coalition, “This experience helped to put a
face on homelessness. We often completely overlook others who are in desperate need of help.” After Sam spoke
at Taylor High, I asked what students
found memorable. Students talked

Shantytown at Taylor High School
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

a friend who responds “I think so!”
Later, I learn that the students took
part in Mayerson’s summer program
where several Streetvibes Distributors mentor students through a photography project. In the past, the
photography project culminated in
the Day By Day calendar – this year
the students and Distributors created
a poster series (to be released before
the holidays).
This is only Taylor High’s second
Shantytown. Last year, Melissa Mosby told her story to a small group of
students on a very cold night – so cold
that this year I brought a jacket. It
turned out to be 80 degrees this year,
so the jacket remained in the car. As
we got to the Shantytown, I smell the
giant pots of soup – most likely a mix
of cans that the students brought, and
I see cardboard scattered in a pile
on the ground. Sam and I pick up a
couple of pieces and encourage the

setting.
Shantytown is not a way for students to experience homelessness –
although many students have experienced homelessness in their lives.
Couch-surfing, doubling up, and
even sleeping in shelters or on the
street, are real experiences many students face today. In Cincinnati Public Schools it is estimated that 3,000
students experience homelessness in
any given year. This is why Project
Connect was started to help identify
and help students while maintaining
dignity and respect. UpSpring works
in a similar capacity with students in
other regional schools. Shantytown
gives students the ability to learn
more and then to spread their awareness throughout the schools.
A Shantytown experience will be
different at all schools, but having a
speaker come and tell their own personal story is usually the highlight of

about how he quickly went from what
we might call a “normal” life to having
nothing, even though he was working
really hard to rectify the situation.
Students asked about his relationship
with his son and connected with Sam
on the familial level. They admired
his tenacity. A student participant,
Taylor, reflected “Like in Sam's story,
homelessness is not always your own
fault. Sometimes things happen that
are out of your control. I learned how
big the problem of homelessness is
across our area and the whole country.”
As we were leaving, the teacher
told us that they were planning on
doing the Cardboard Brigade in the
morning, but with a special twist.
The Cardboard Brigade is when students tear up their boxes that they
slept in and make signs with statistics
and facts about homelessness. When
other students arrive to school in the
morning, they hold up the signs to
help continue the dialogue into the
school day. Then they place the statistics throughout the school for everyone to see. Taylor High does the
Cardboard Brigade with a special
twist – bags over their heads. They
do this to signify how we erase the
faces off of people who are experiencing homelessness, we as a society

Cardboard Brigade engage students with statitistics and visiuals.
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

(Continued on page 7)

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O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

rd

3 Annual

Oakley Masquerade
Cincinnati’s largest Halloween costume party returns for its third year.
All net proceeds benefit the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition.

Open Top-Shelf Bar ● Photo Booth ● Silent Auction ● Light Hors d’oeuvres
Oct 14 | 8pm – Midnight | 20th Century Theater

www.OakleyMasquerade.com
for details and reservations

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL

7

No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

Duke's Revised Pipeline
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

Contributing Writer

D

“File a Public Comment.” The
links to the application are also on
this page.
The biggest change is the
size of the pipeline. Originally
the pipeline was to be 30 inches
in diameter, now Duke Energy
is proposing a 20-inch diameter
pipeline. The pressure has also
been reduced, although not by
much.
Originally Duke had
proposed a pipeline with an
operating pressure of 600 psi,
now it is just 500. True,
there are several places
in the introduction to the
application
where
the
§
¨
¦
pressure is said to be just
400 psi, but on page 5-8
§
¨
¦
it states “[t]he proposed
pipeline will have a MAOP
[Maximum
Allowable
Operating Pressure] of
§
¨
¦
§
¨
¦
500 psig and is planned to
operate up to this pressure.”
The permanent rightof-way will be 30 feet,
where possible (application,
p. 5-3). Additional land
may be used during the
construction if there is not
±
sufficient workspace along
Duke-route map revised
side an existing road. The
Source: Ohio Power Siting Board maximum width used during
construction may be as much
“16-0253-GA-BTX: Duke Central
as 80 feet.
Corridor Extension Gas Pipeline,
The reason given for the
Hamilton County,” followed by
pipeline is to “balance system

supply from north to south” and
to retire the propane peaking
plants which are needed for
the coldest days when demand
is greatest. Duke Energy says

hybrid and electric vehicles. The
application also states that the
new pipeline is needed in order to
shut down older sections of pipe
temporarily and replace them, but

uke Energy has made
a few revisions to their
earlier gas pipeline
proposal that was the
subject of a Streetvibes article in
the August 12 – 25 issue. Duke
claims the revisions were the
result of public input, and now
has filed a formal application. To
see the application or to leave a
comment, go to www.opsb.ohio.
gov. Scroll down a little and click
on “pending cases.” Then click on
Line

C314

\\CANOPUS\Groups\GIS\00_Proj\D\Duke\Duke_C143_extension\Maps\Report\OPSB\Report\Figure_2_2.mxd

WW Feed
Station

275

!
R

Location of Project in
Hamilton County, Ohio

Norfolk Southern Railroad

75

ilford Rd

Line

A

Glendale-M

71

I&amp;O/SORTA
Railroad

75

Norwood Regulation
Station (Alternate
Route, Existing)

!
R

Lin
eV

V
U
562

Line V

!
R

Fairfax Regulation
Station (Preferred
Route, Proposed)

C314V Central
Corridor Pipeline
Extension Project

LEGEND:

!
R

Station

Preferred Route
Alternate Route

Central Corridor
Pipeline Extension
Study Area

Existing Duke
Pipelines
Railroad

Municipal
Boundary

BASE MAP SOURCE:
ESRI World Topographic Map 2015

0

5,000

FIGURE 2-2
STUDY AREA OVERVIEW MAP

10,000

Scale in Feet

PN: 672247
CREATED BY: TH
REVIEWED BY: JN

Source: Michael Earl Patton, using data from Baker-Hughes
these plants are aged. Although
the application does talk a little
about what happens if there
are no peaking plants, it does
not consider the alternative of
rebuilding the peaking plants. It
states that the propane creates
difficulties for natural gas vehicles
(NGV) and modern gas handling
equipment at “end user facilities”
(p. 4-1), but does not give details
as to why this would be so. It
does state that Duke foresees the
potential development of NGV
filling stations in central Hamilton
County (p. 3-10). There will be
more on the increased use of
natural gas later in this article, but
justifying the pipeline on potential
NGV usage is dubious in light of
the increasing efficiency and range
of more conventional gasoline-

again does not go into any details.
Duke Energy requests that
the public meetings they already
had when they said the pipeline
would be 30 inches in diameter
be allowed to fulfill the public
meeting requirements now that
the diameter has been reduced.
Thus it is important to go to the
OPSB website and submit your
comments. The main opposition
group,
Neighbors
Opposing
Pipeline Extension (N.O.P.E.,
www.nopecincy.org)
remains
opposed, as does the local Sierra
Club.
In my previous article I showed
some graphs to explain my concern
that there may not be enough
natural gas for the increased

thoughts on Shantytown, “Participating in Shantytown really opened my
eyes up to see the everyday struggles

of people without homes. It made my
problems feel like they were so small.”

(Continued on page 9)

DR. MARK MUSSMAN
(Continued from page 5)
discount them and tell them they have
no value. This also creates a haunting
vision to help continue the discussion
about person-first language and the
existence of homelessness in every
community. Josh, a student wrote in
response to the Cardboard Brigade “It
really got me upset when we had the
paper bags over our heads. There were
so many people that go to our school
that just walked right by without even
looking at us. I am sure that the same
thing happens to people experiencing
homelessness everyday.”
One of the most hard hitting aspects of Shantytown can come in the
middle of the night. Some schools
work with local law enforcement to
stage an eviction while students are
sleeping. Police abruptly wake up confused students and force them to move
their Shantytown from one place to
another, sometimes just feet away, to
show how difficult it may be to find a
legal space to sleep. Brooke’s response
shows how fear and anger can turn to

ROBERT PARK
(Continued from page 2)
road, a whole new brand of high-tech
bullying. What about drunk drivers?
Could they be required to use it? Does
that put liability on the enforcers?
Let’s hope the personal injury lawyers
are watching this foolishness and

sympathy: “When the Cleves police
showed up at 2:30AM and evicted
us from our shanties I was scared to
death. Even though it ended up that
we did not have to actually move I now
understand how it would feel for a person experiencing homelessness. They
really would have no place to go!”
I applaud the work that Taylor
High School has done in the past year
to help their students understand the
complexity and issues surrounding
homelessness. I believe that the work
they accomplish, even with a small
percentage of the student body participating that night, will create a ripple
effect throughout the school and the
entire community. Students who are
exposed to the realities of homelessness at an early age are able to grasp
very difficult realities in the future.
This gives them the insight they need
to become a part of the solution – in
whatever way they are able – to help
eradicate homelessness once and for
all. Anna, another student offered her

------------------------

Students participating in Shantytown
Credit: Dr. Mark Mussman

sharpening their knives. Maybe a few
good (unfortunate) cases will put this
problem behind us. This is another
example of IT run amuck. Let’s spend
the money on good public transit, get
rid of a lot of damn cars.
------------------------

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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WORLD
Puuhonua O Waianae: Hawaii’s refuge
for the homeless, by the homeless

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

ALEXANDER DEEDY

W

Courtesy of Spare Change News / INSP.ngo

hen Twinkle Borge heard
about the community
meeting in 2010 to discuss the growing homeless encampment population near
Waianae Boat Harbor on Oahu's west
coast, she decided the camp's residents should have a voice.
Borge had been living in the camp
since 2006, a few years after she became homeless. At the time there
were only seven people living there,
she says. But as the homeless got
swept from camps elsewhere on the
island, they trickled into the village.
The camp became known as
Puuhonua O Waianae, a homage to
the traditions of old Hawaii, where a
Puuhonua was considered a sacred
place free of punishment and judgment for natives who broke the law.
Blunt and indomitable, Borge was
comfortable acting as camp mediator,
but her leadership responsibilities escalated at the meeting when the harbormaster gave her 60 days to clean

set up a system to get income for the
rest of the community.
"I'm trying to make our community formal," she says. "And not something others think we are."
Borge has also been experimenting with hydroponics. She set up a
20-by-20 tent in the camps community area community area. Inside the
tent, two halves of a plastic 50-gallon
drum sit above a water tank and boast
sprouts of taro and lettuce. When
the plants are watered, excess liquid
drains into a holding tank below, and
holds freshwater tilapia fish.
None of the plants in the drums
are large enough to eat yet, but on a
nearby hillside one resident is growing some promising crops. The end
goal, Borge says, is to get enough
crops growing that they can set up a
tent by the road and sell produce to
Waianae residents.
The camp's residents use pallets
to develop infrastructure, much like
in Old Puuhonua, where there were

A pathway through the Puuhonua O Waianae homeless camp in Hawaii.
Credit: Alexander Deedy

up the camp.
Over the next two months, Borge
kicked out six families that were causing trouble and instituted a set of governing rules, including monthly meetings and required volunteer hours to
maintain the village.
Anyone who enters the camp is
now sent to Borge for a screening,
which she starts by asking if they'd
rather live in a shelter or in the camp.
She also asks each prospective resident is if they have any outstanding
warrants. If they do, she contacts police and arranges for the person to see
a judge.
While it was difficult to kick the
six families out of the camp, Borge
says it was necessary. "It's not like I
wanted to it, I had to," she explains.
Borge and the camp's matriarchs
didn't stop there.
Over the past six years they installed a solar-powered light that illuminates a section of pathway through
the camp, and Borge says she's seeking sponsors for more so that kids can
find their way around at night.
Borge estimated that 40 of camp's
residents now have jobs, and when a
storm rolls through that damages
camps, everyone pitches in to help
families rebuild before working on
individual camps. She's also hopes to

great walls and carved wooden images.
Residents of the camp initially
wanted pallets just to elevate their
tents off the ground, Jerrell Tate, a
pastor who regularly ministers in the
camp, says. Then when a call went
out that the homeless needed pallets
to stay dry, local businesses answered
generously.
Wooden pallets became the barrier separating the camp from the
beach, working as fences surrounding
individual tents and borders for the
dirt pathways that meander through
the encampment.
Inside the camp, blue tarps are
stretched over couches, generators
can be heard humming and even
sounds of TVs carry from some tents.
"When you think of a homeless
camp, this isn't what you imagine,"
Tate says, gesturing around him.
Around Waianae, some people
still have the perception that the
homeless camp is full of drug addicts
and mentally unstable, and that authorities should clear it out, says Cedric Gates, the chair of the Waianae
Neighborhood Board. But plenty of
other people have compassion for
those in the camp, and as someone
who works with the village's leaders, Gates says he's part of the latter

Twinkle Borge, matriarch and mediator within the Puuhonua O Waianae homeless
camp.
Credit: Alexander Deedy

group.
"I would debunk the narrative
that the people - all the people - living in there are substance abusers and
mentally ill," he says. "There's working class families there and they are
struggling because they can't find any
low-income rentals to live in."
In Hawaii, where wages are similar to much of the contiguous United
States but cost of living is considerably higher, the per capita homeless rate is the highest in the nation.
Homelessness is so pervasive in the
state that Hawaii's governor, David
Ige, declared last October a state of
emergency to deal with the issue.
The governor's co-ordinator on
homelessness is Scott Morishige, a
young Hawaiian who says the state's
approach in treating the homeless is
grounded in Ohana Nui, a Hawaiian
phrase that means 'extended family.'
Now almost a year into his position, he says the state is tackling the
homeless issue through three lenses:
creating permanent, affordable housing, addressing human services
needs and ensuring public safety.
He noted the last point is important because homeless sometimes settle in dangerous spots, like
on the side of a cliff or by a gas line.
In the case of Puuhonua O Waianae,
the village isn't in a dangerous

spot, but the land was intended for
another use.
The 20-acre lot is under the control the state Department of Aquatic
Resources because under the dirt, in
ponds of mixed salt and freshwater,
live a rare species of Hawaiian red
shrimp found only on Oahu's west
coast. When biologists last assessed
the property several years ago, Morishige said they found the human
encampment had likely caused some
damage to the population.
"As we face issues like homeless
… how do we balance these competing
mandates?" Morishige asked. "How
do we balance the needs of the people
who are there - not all necessarily
by choice - who have now made this
their home, with the need to preserve
the unique wildlife for future generations?"
The starting point is through conversations with residents, which Morishige regularly has with people from
the camp. Recently, he asked Borge to
stop taking in any more residents.
"One of the concerns is, if the encampment continues to grow, at what
point will Twinkle and her captains be
able to kind of maintain order?" Morishige asks.
Borge says she's refused to stop
taking in new people.
"Why would we want to turn any-

Brenda Cruz, who says she has been living in the Puuhonua O Waianae camp longer
than anyone, washes her clothes in an old cooler on the beach.
Credit: Alexander Deedy

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

(Continued on page 11)

�No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

MICHAEL EARL PATTON
(Continued from page 7)

9

LOCAL
Administration (www.ncdc.noaa.
gov) says it was the warmest

reserves at the end of the winter.
And the potential problem has
gotten worse as more and more
coal-fired electric power plants are
being converted to natural gas. So
what is the point of installing even
more pipelines if there won’t be
enough gas to fill those pipelines
when we really need it, as in a very

Second, and this is more of a longterm project, work to conserve
natural gas where possible. I think
there is a supply squeeze coming. I
can’t predict when any more than
I can predict the weather years in
advance, but I am certain it will
come several decades sooner than
the hundred years of supply that

Source: Michael Earl Patton, using data from Energy Information
Agency
usage apparently predicted by
Duke. A larger pipeline is of no use winter (from December through
if there is not enough natural gas February) in the contiguous
to fill it. I give updated versions of United States since comprehensive
the graphs in my previous article records started being kept over a

Source: Michael Earl Patton, using data from NOAA

below. In the past two months
there have not been any significant
changes. Natural gas production
still appears to have peaked and
may be slowly declining. There
has been a slight increase in the
number of rotary rigs drilling for
natural gas, but the number is still
way, way down from its peak in
2008 and only about a third of the
number before the fracking boom
started.
Unfortunately,
the
extra
reserve we had a few months ago
has just about disappeared. The
large build-up in gas storage
reserves – when compared to the
normal range -- was due to the
exceptionally warm winter. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric

hundred years ago. We only have
to go back a little to find a colderthan-normal winter.
The winter of 2013/14 was cold,
almost a degree below normal on
average, but it was hardly a recordbreaker. NOAA has it only as the
33rd coldest winter on record.
Now look at the amount of natural
gas that was in storage near the
end of March 2014.
This illustrates my concern.
Given a winter that was just a little
colder than normal, and even with
the huge number of rigs that had
been drilling for natural gas for
years, the amount of gas that was
available for customers (like us)
plummeted. In fact the country
was down to just half of our normal

cold winter? In fact, an updated
version of those propane peaking
plants that Duke wants to get rid of
sound like a good thing to have in
reserve.
What to do? First, if you want
to weigh in on the question it’s best
to contact the Ohio Power Siting
Board quickly.
Their website
information is at the beginning of
this article. Even if you gave your
opinion before, I would do again
since their proposal has changed.

is commonly talked about in the
mainstream media. I hope the
information I give here will at
least alert you to the possibility
that there may be a problem not
far ahead. There are plenty of
resources on the internet for ideas
on how to save energy. And if you
happen to build or remodel, please
insulate, insulate, insulate.

public in this whole realm… what
does that look like then for the community?” said John Burke, Miami
University professor.
“They alter how people can and
should interact in that space,” said
White. By altering the public spaces
to restrict illegal activity and people
sleeping outside, the design sent the
message that being homeless is illegal in these public spaces, according
to White.
“It’s incredibly complex to understand how messy human behavior is
in that lack of ability to empathize,
and what does it mean to truly empathize with a person?” White asked.
Not all interactions with the
statues were negative. At the end of

the night in Gainesville, FL, a group
of men lifted the legs of the woman
statue that was kicked to the ground.
One put her foot back in its original
spot, and another wiped a smudge
from her leg.
Recording these and all of the
interactions with her statues makes
a very different statement about the
issues surrounding homelessness
and space than words spoken at a
community council meeting. White’s
hope is that these types of “hostile architecture” and artwork continue the
conversation in Over-the-Rhine and
other cities experiencing urbanization.

------------------------

TESS SOHNGEN
(Continued from page 3)
they legally have the right to remove
you.”
An area like this exists in Overthe-Rhine: Washington Park is
leased by developer 3CDC, and people do not have the legal rights of the
First Amendment (or any Amendment) if 3CDC does not want that
person or event to happen on the
park. Last month, a rally sponsored
by Cincinnati’s Black Lives Matter
and the American Indian Movement
in protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline was limited to a one-hour “information meeting” because they did
not have a permit to hold their event
at the park. Fountain Square is also
owned by 3CDC.
Before the city signed over Wash-

ington Park to 3CDC for a $1, 99-year
lease, men and women experiencing
homelessness would sleep inside the
woody park. Now, the benches have
an armrest in the middle to prevent
someone from sleeping on it; many
of the old growth trees are gone, and
police frequent the area to ensure
no one is sleeping overnight under
the gazebo. Despite national reports
saying homelessness in the cities has
declined, the number of individuals
and families experiencing homelessness in Cincinnati has not dropped as
much as some may hope.
“When they closed Washington
Park and did away with the toilets in
Washington Park, and therefore did
away with all the toilets that were

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

�10

LOCAL
Farmworkers call for
boycott of Wendy’s

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

MIKE BROWN

F

Contributing Writer

armworkers have called for a
national boycott of Wendy’s,
the Columbus-based fast-food
chain, until it commits to the
Fair Food Program (FFP) to protect
the human rights of farmworkers in its
supply chain.
Tuesday’s rally at the Wendy’s
restaurant on Hopple St. in Camp
Washington was part of a national
campaign of action by the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers (CIW) to promote
the boycott. The regional portion of
the campaign also includes rallies in
Louisville, Columbus, Cleveland, and
Ann Arbor.
The boycott has been endorsed
by many faith and community
organizations including the National
Council of Churches in the USA, which

represents 45 million people in more
than 100,000 congregations across the
country.
The CIW emerged from organizing
efforts during the mid-1990s of the
Mexican, Guatemalan, and Haitian
immigrants in Immokalee who faced
low wages, workplace violence, verbal
and sexual abuse, poor working
conditions, wage theft, and, in some
cases, slavery.
Guided by experiences in their
home countries, members of the CIW
developed the Fair Food Program,
according to Oscar Otzoy, a migrant
farmworker and CIW member who was
in Cincinnati for the rally.
FFP is a partnership among
farmworkers, participating growers,
and participating buyers--fourteen

Citizens boycotting Wendy's

Citizens boycotting Wendy's on the Street
Credit: Mike Brown

major food retailers, including
McDonald’s, Burger King, and
Walmart. Participating buyers agree to
purchase exclusively from participating
growers who meet a worker-driven
Code of Conduct. They also pay a
“penny-per-pound” premium, which is
passed down through the supply chain
and paid out directly to workers by
their employers.
To protect their sales, participating
growers are motivated to comply with
the FFP and to cooperate on audits and
complaint resolutions.
Wendy’s refuses to join the Fair
Food Program, unlike its major
competitors in the fast-food industry-McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and
Taco Bell--who joined before 2009.
After a three-year consumer campaign
and a one-year student-led boycott,
CIW announced the Wendy’s boycott
in March.
The announcement cited three
key reasons for the boycott. Wendy’s

Credit: Mike Brown

has shifted its tomato purchases from
farms in Florida to Mexico where
compliance with labor standards is
worse. Wendy’s hides behind public
relations messaging to avoid verifiable
protection of human rights. And finally,
Wendy’s is profiting from the poverty of
farmworkers, deriving a cost advantage
over its competitors, and encouraging
unreputable growers.
The purchasing power of large
retailers can be used to exert destructive
pressure on farmworkers’ wages and
working conditions. Alternatively, as
in the FFP model, it can be used to
improve the plight of farmworkers.
The FFP’s binding enforcement model
is widely recognized as superior to the
voluntary compliances model used by
Wendy’s and many other corporations.
Wendy’s operates restaurants
on many college campuses under
contracts with the administration or
its food service operator. As part of
the student-led boycott called “Boot

(Continued on page 11)

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- Multiple Openings

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- Housing Specialist
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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

CDC Association of Greater
Cincinnati- cdcassociation.
org
- Executive Director

Bethany House Servicesbethanyhouseservices.org
- Housing Case Manager

National Church Residentscareers.ncr.icims.com
- Service Coordinator

Our Daily Breadourdailybread.us
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�LOCAL

No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM
CO-CREATING THE CANCER
JUSTICE NETWORK
STEVE SUNDERLAND

S

Contributing Writer

tarting this week, a group
of about 50 volunteers will
launch a new social movement in Cincinnati: The
Cancer Navigator. For the past two
years, many of us have been working on an idea for changing the
cancer mortality rates facing minorities, poor people, the disabled,
and the aged. Cincinnati is the
cancer capital for Ohio for minorities. Many organizations have come
together to think about and now to
take action that will bring early cancer exams and timely treatments to
a vastly underserved population.
The following is what I have learned
from the two plus years of organizing, discussing, and helping to set
up a network of individuals and
agencies that can deliver a new and
better cancer service.
Lesson 1: Community Organizations are the Engines of Healthcare Change: Once community
organizations heard about the rate
of cancer death, the 20-year life
expectancy difference in neighborhoods, and the absence of education
about cancer for populations disadvantaged by race, age, or ableness,
they stepped up to agree that something had to be done. Now, cancer
education, provided by physicians,

11

navigators, and insurance staff, will
visit and share with people just how
to fight cancer with an early and
timely exam and, if needed, treatment. We will be joining agencies in
already created programs for dinners, health fairs, and other events
in order to spread the word and to
sign people up for appointments for
cancer screening and treatment.
Community agencies will be seen as
they key place for trusting relationships between navigators and the
population most in need.
Lesson 2: Individuals and
Groups are Empowered by the
Navigator Role: A new spirit is being created among students seeking professional education and with
community organizers, a spirit of
compassion and advocacy. Starting this week, 14 first year medical students from UC, 23 students
studying to be nurses from Xavier,
12 students from the communications department of UC, 12 students
studying to be social workers at UC,
and 5 community organizers will
come together for 3 days of training
to be and become navigators. The
enthusiasm of these groups suggest
that students going into the professions related to health care understand that justice can be achieved

when cancer care offers a road map
to exams and treatment for the
poor. Our community organizers,
no stranger to the underserved or
to cancer, will add their expertise to
helping to understand how to best
walk this journey.
Lesson 3: An Exciting Idea is
Worth Implementing: The Cancer
Justice Network is following the
pioneering work of Harold Freeman, MD. Dr. Freeman created the
navigator role in the 1990's when he
realized, as a surgeon, that people
were coming too late for adequate
treatment by him. He needed to see
cancer patients earlier in order to
catch the cancer at its initial stages.
His program consisted of hiring
community organizers to meet with
people and bring them to his hospital in New York City for screening and treatment. In five years, Dr.
Freeman reversed the number of
people who saw him at the earliest
stages. He changed the mortality
rate of his community. Now, navigation is required of all cancer programs and hospitals. Dr. Freeman
has visited Cincinnati and is a guide

to our program.
Lesson 4: The Future of Health
Care Will Involve Cancer Justice:
The agencies and navigators of the
Cancer Justice Network realize that
a new form of healthcare is being
created in Cincinnati. Our organization no longer accepts the trend of
cancer deaths for poor, minorities,
the aged, and the disabled. Thanks
to our Network, and the collaboration of Crossroad Health Center,
Cincinnati Health Centers, Cris
Collinsworth, ProScan, and Jewish
Hospital's Woman's Center, we will
open up access to our community
in a new and trusted way. Navigators will walk the walk with people,
helping to overcome barriers of
transportation, finances, insurance, and fear. Cancer will not be as
lonely a journey today as it was yesterday and, as Dr. Freeman's success shows, we expect to lower the
death rate. For more information
about the Cancer Justice Network,
please review our website: cancerjusticenetwork.org
------------------------

Do Good.
Get Funky.

MIKE BROWN
(Continued from page 10)
the Braids,” the Student Farmworker
Alliance is looking to move Wendy’s
off campus. A key contest will be the
Wendy’s operation located on the Ohio
State University campus in Wendy’s
hometown of Columbus.

[Re-published with permission
from Cincinnatians for the American
Dream,
www.c4ad.wordpress.com
http://www.c4ad.wordpress.com.
mbrown.c4ad@gmail.com]
------------------------

DEEDY
(Continued from page 8)
body away without help?" she replies.
Borge says she loves the camp's
residents, even if some of them are
hard-headed and some are addicts.
"They good people, some just made
wrong choices," she says.
Borge estimated that over the last
few years the camp has helped over
200 people transition into housing.
Not one of them has ended up back on
the street, she says.
For many others, like Borge, the

camp has been their home for so
long that they have no desire to enter a house. In fact, homeless isn't a
term that Borge likes to use. Instead,
they think of the camp's residents as
"houseless."
"This is my home," Borge says
firmly.
Courtesy of Spare Change News /
INSP.ngo
------------------------

Thanks to our family of sponsors

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�12

LOCAL

ey by offering cheap labor? (They
didn't even have a place to live!)
For all the reasons people may
have for sneaking past border security and into the United States
illegally, one is for money - and
the only reason that can happen is
because there are American employers actively seeking the kind
of cheap labor only possible when
breaking the law.
To me, the solution sounds
pretty simple: if we want more jobs
for United States citizens, we should
go after those businesses that illegally hire immigrants. Which presidential candidate, I wondered, had
a platform piece on immigration
that reflected this obvious solution?
It's not Jill Stein. She addresses
the issue of deportation through the
lens of refugees coming from places
like Honduras. That is a real issue,
and I think she's right - we need to
be compassionate when dealing
with certain immigration issues but she simply has nothing to say

about those American companies
who purposefully recruit undocumented workers so they can underpay them.
Gary Johnson, who touts himself as the governor of a former border state, also ignores this reality.
He says it needs to be easier to get
work-visas, to conduct background
checks, and that non-citizens need
to pay their taxes. I can't find him
staking any position on businesses
illegally hiring undocumented immigrants so they can be paid slave
wages.
It's not Hillary Clinton, either.
Her plan focuses on things like protecting families and humane enforcement of laws - all good things but there isn't anything about rogue
businesses trying to save a buck by
hiring underpaid immigrants from
the shadows.
Which brings us to Donald
Trump, with his crazy talk about
impossible walls, Muslim lists, and
more bad ideas. Check out this excerpt from his campaign's 10 point
plan on immigration:
9. Turn off the jobs and benefits
magnet. Many immigrants come to
the U.S. illegally in search of jobs,

even though federal law prohibits
the employment of illegal immigrants.
10. Reform legal immigration to
serve the best interests of America
and its workers.
It pains me to conclude that
only Trump, on this particular issue, even acknowledges the root
cause. I'm not sure what he means
specifically by saying he will "turn
off the jobs" magnet, but I can see
he doesn't want people coming here
to earn low wages from companies
playing an end-run around employee pay regulations.
I know Trump himself, as a businessperson, did exactly this. That's
another issue. I'm just surprised
that none of the other candidates
even acknowledge what strikes me
as a rather straightforward component of immigration reform in our
country.

with the good and the bad. You hear
about targeting certain people. I think
that is a true fact, and it has its own
history, and it is true history.
Let’s say a black man is driving
around in an expensive car. He is
subject to be pulled over more quickly
than a white person, just to give you
an example of what it’s like being
black in America and it’s unjust. I
want to say with all the technology
that we have today and when it’s
caught on camera, and they still
walk, well something is just not right.
And to go one step further when the
people who make the decision that
it was justified when anybody can
see that it wasn’t. It makes me think
they are in this together, especially
when it’s so plain that even a blind
man can see. I am going to go out
on a limb and say Blacks in America

probably feel like they have a reason
to believe that police have a license
to kill, because 9 times out of 10 they
get away with it, and that’s really real
talk.
Now let me give you my opinion
about police in America. I think
power is corruption, and most police
think their way is law, and that is
just not true, especially when you
used that power in the wrong way.
Here is an example: a police officer
approaches you and asks you what
or why you are doing this or that,
and they don’t want to hear your
explanation. It’s like you heard what
I said, and that’s the way they think it
should be done. Have they forgotten
people do have freedom of speech?
And I am not saying it’s because it’s
in our constitution, but it’s God given
to have the power of speech.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not
saying that we shouldn’t comply with
a police order, but when it comes with
abuse and disrespect to a person, I
think it will escalate any situation,
and that’s real talk. Wouldn’t you
think? Show me someone who likes
to be talked down to, or is this the way
of America? Now that thought just

started me to think about something
else, but that’s for another article
coming to you somewhere soon. I
also pray for a speedy recovery to our
ex-police chief. May God be with you.
I think the media plays a very big
part in the escalation of feelings for a
couple of reasons. I say this: one, they
are not investigators.
Let me give you another example,
and this has happened to everybody
regardless of the color of your skin.
Po-Po lights come on, you pull over
wondering what you did wrong, or
you know what you did wrong. Po-Po
approach, and they have their hand
on their gun, and ask for license and
registration. Now most people have
it in their glove compartment. With
the way things are going right now, if
you reach over and go in your glove

The Politics of Immigration
JASON HAAP

Contributing Writer

I

remember, years ago, when I
needed a new roof on my house.
I got a few estimates, and one
was markedly cheaper than the
others - by a couple thousand dollars. When the crew showed up,
the workers were all brown-skinned
Spanish speakers. Were they undocumented immigrants, working
in our country illegally? That would
certainly explain why that particular roofing company was able to
offer such an affordable price: they
didn't need to pay their workers a
legal wage!
About 16 years ago, my parents moved into a new house. The
street was not completed when they
moved in - so there was still a lot of
construction. A group of construction workers camped in the backyard of one of the houses. They
made campfires, and we could hear
them singing songs in Spanish and
laughing. Were they, too, undocumented immigrants, saving the
construction company tons of mon-

Get Real
LEE MCCOY

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

C

harlotte, NC. The shooting of
an unarmed black man and
of the people who protested
in an orderly way and those
who went out in the street to destroy
and loot are two different things. But
no, America has a tendency to look
at it differently. They are black, and
that makes them the same. Black
America, if that is what you want
to call it because personally I don’t
see Black America, I see Black in
America. And they have been treated
differently from day one, and that’s
real talk when you talk about history.
That is a known fact, and with any
race of people you have good and
bad, and you know this is real talk,
but get real when we talk about all the
talking in America by people who are
sworn to protect and serve in a lie and
it’s a lie that has been going on for too
long and swept under the rug.
Now don’t get me wrong I am
not saying all police officers are bad
because in the course of my 64 years
in America I have had encounters

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

[Editor’s note: The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition does
not endorse political candidates.
The views expressed in this article
are the authors.]

------------------------

compartment, you might be making
a mistake depending who the police
officer is. If it was me, I’d probably
tell him I am not going to reach in
my glove compartment because you
might feel like I have a gun in there.
Let’s be real and this is real talk,
because I don’t care what the color of
your skin is, they might see anything
and think it’s a gun. Pow, and you’re
dead, end of this article -- think about
it. Real talk.
------------------------

�13

STREET VOICE

No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

ALL HEADS DOWN

THE FACT CHECKER MOTHER GOOSE

I REMEMBER DAYS WHEN YOU HEARD ALL HEADS DOWN FOR
SILENCE

Little Bo Peep

I 'VE HEARD ALL HEADS DOWN TALKING ABOUT ALL THE

Didn't get much sleep

VIOLENCE

The night of the first debate.

TODAY I SEE ALL HEADS DOWN LOOKING AT A TELEPHONE
DEVISE

She became a nervous wreck,

LOOKING DOWN TO TEXT, SOCIAL MEDIA NOT SEEING
STEPPING ON MICE

When she tried to fact check.

LOOKING DOWN AT A DEVICE THAT IF THEY HAPPEN TO DROP

The task was just too great.

LOOKING DOWN FOR ANSWERS WHY THEIR COMUNICATION
HAS STOPPED
TECHNOLOGY IS A GOOD THING IN WAYS OF THINGS AND THE
WAY WE USE IT
BUT TO WALK AROUND HEAD DOWN EARS PLUGGED UP WHY
NOT CALL IT ABRUSIVE
ALL HEADS DOWN, ALL EARS PLUGGED UP WALKING INTO
WALLS AND EVERYONE
WHEN AND HOW DO YOU REMEMBER TO LOOK UP AT THE
SHINNING WORLD OR THE SUN
TO LOOK UP AND SEE PEOPLE UNPLUG EARS TO HEAR HOW
THE WORLD IS TURNING
I PRAY THAT PEOPLE LOOK UP BEFORE THE ONLY THING
THEY'LL SEE IS THEY ARE BURNING

A QUESTIONABLE RELATIONSHIP
I don't mean to sound so highfalutin,
But what goes on with Trump and Putin?
Putin is a leader that the Donald admires,
While Prez Obama receives Trumpian ire.
Does the Russian autocrat seem to tower,
Because Trump is a fan of absolute power?

LIFE IS MUCH TOO PRECIOUS TO KEEP LOOKING DOWN, WITH
EARS PLUGGED AND MISSING LIFE
JUST REMEMBER THAT IT'S YOUR LIFE TO BELIEVE IN
TECHNOLOGY AND NOT THE STRIFE

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

JUST REMEMBER BEFORE THESE DEVISES WERE INVENTD
PEOPLE LOOKED FOR PEACE

TIME

WE AS A PEOPLE NEVER FORGET TECHNOLOGY IS TEMPORARY

Time moves faster now

AND GODS LOVE WILL NEVER CEASE
THANK YOU!

Not enough time
To take it slow

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

Days move faster
Hours feel like seconds
Time will, make you ask yourself
What about me?
What about life?
What about time?
Time, it doesn’t move slow
Just in case, you didn’t know
Left, right
Right, left
What steps will you be taking
When your time turns
Into seconds
Take time to laugh
And to pray
Time may just be coming your way!

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 109
Across
1. Passport endorsement
5. Take notice of
9. Bitter quarrel
13. Golf club
14. Notion
15. Pointer
17. Young male horse
18. Grime
19. Tenet
20. Heavy block where hot
metals are shaped
22. Prejudice
24. Notable achievement
25. Cereal grass seed
26. Not in use
28. Pastry item
30. Color
31. Animal coat
32. Travel a route regularly
35. Modernize
38. Charter
39. Regret
40. Narrow secluded valley
41. Part of a journey
42. Scintilla
43. On the sheltered side
44. Something intended to
deceive
46. Small storeroom for food
48. High-pitched bark
49. Peculiar
50. Pack of cards
51. Append
52. Conceited
53. Small fruit seed
56. Endure
59. Slender
61. Evade
63. Theatrical performer
65. In addition
67. Region
68. Musical instrument
69. Without speed
70. Approach
71. Sketched
72. Rational
73. Small wooded hollow
Down

1. Clergyman
2. Satire
3. Figure out
4. Not in favor of
5. Concealed
6. Comestible
7. Spooky
8. Information
9. Craze
10. Wear away
11. Exhort
12. Concave shape
16. Batch
21. Rhythmicity
23. Incite or stimulate
27. Scheduled to arrive
29. Anger
30. Prohibit
31. Mediterranean fruit
32. Poke
33. Stringed instrument
34. Period of time
35. Horrible
36. Supplication
37. Unfathomable
38. Jinx
41. Boy or man
42. Irritate
44. Brick carrier
45. Betting ratio
46. Hawaiian garland
47. Skin condition
50. Sweet dark purple
plum
51. Make amends
52. Country house in
ancient
Rome
53. Food processed in a
blender
54. Paragon
55. Sometimes found in an
oyster
56. Circuit
57. Turns litmus paper red
58. Celestial body
60. Young girl
62. Bring ashore
64. Angry dispute
66. Be indebted to

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 339
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 108

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 239 - MEDIUM

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 238 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 34 0 | O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16

Shelter: Women and Children
Central Access Point			
Bethany House				
1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

381-SAFE
557-2873

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		
562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	 681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

981-5800

Salvation Army				

762-5660

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	

872-9259

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			

241-5525

Shelterhouse				

721-0643

1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214
411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

Parkway Center			

784-1853

961-2256

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women
First Step Home			

961-4663

2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both
AA Hotline				
CCAT					

351-0422
381-6672

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

241-2965

830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214
1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		

768-6907

First Lutheran Church 		
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

562-8841

NAMI of Hamilton County		
PATH Outreach			

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

961-4555
381-1954
421-5211

Food/Clothing

271-5501

Starting Over				

Tom Geiger House			
Volunteers of America			
Anna Louise Inn			

VA					
VA Homeless			

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

221-HELP
721-8666

2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

241-1064

Prospect House				
921-1613

Talbert House				
Tender Mercies			

2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

FreeStore/FoodBank			

Charlie’s 3/4 House			

721-4580
632-7149
381-1171

421-0065

241-2600
241-2563

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

621-5514

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	

381-0111

Goodwill industries			
Healing Connections			
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	
Mary Magdalen House			

771-4800
751-0600
579-8547
721-4811

1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

People Working Cooperatively		
351-7921
The Caring Place			
631-1114
Talbert House 				751-7747	
United Way				
211
Women Helping Women		
977-5541
Off The Streets	 			
421-5211

Northern Kentucky

421-3131
569-1840
381-4242

Franciscan JPIC			
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	

721-4700
421-7803

Legal Aid Society			
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
Faces Without Places			
Stop AIDS				

117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Center for Respite Care			

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

Center Independent Living Options	
Emmanuel Community Center		

Advocacy

Catholic Social Action			
Community Action Agency		
Contact Center				

for 26 issues

351-3500
977-4489

Other Resources

Hamilton/Middletown

Health
621-5300
981-5800

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	
946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				
681-0324
Talbert House				
221-HELP

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

977-6800
859-572-6226

381-2247

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

535-2719
591-2246

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men

CMHA					
Excel Development			
OTR Community Housing		

Crossroad Health Center		

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		
Churches Active in Northside		

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		 961-4080

961-0600

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

Health Resource Center		
357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

St. Vincent de Paul			

661-4620

Cincinnati Health Network		

621-6364

4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

961-1983

Our Daily Bread			

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

Shelter: Both

Housing:

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	

1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941
1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

15

St. Raephaels				
Salvation Army				
Serenity House Day Center		
Open Door Pantry			
Brighton Center	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

	

981-4200
863-1445
422-8555
868-3276
859-491-8303

241-9400
421-1108
363-3300
421-2437

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

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

621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

859-491-3335
859-572-6202

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

�16

O c t 7 - O c t 2 0 , 2 0 16 | N o . 34 0

S

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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 usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

ALMA
SIMS
SINCE 5/2014

ALFRED
WOOLFOLK
SINCE 10/2003

ASRES
AYENAW
SINCE 2012

BELINDA
CHERRY
SINCE 8/2015

BERTA
LAMBERT
SINCE 1997

BRANDON
NELSON
SINCE 4/2008

CRANDALL
COBB
SINCE 2004

DEBORAH
POINDEXTER
SINCE 9/2012

DONALD
YOUNG

ELMORE
MORRIS
SINCE 5/2014

GINA
MARTIN

GRADY
COOK
SINCE 1997

GREGORY
RAY
SINCE 4/2015

JAMES
BROWN
SINCE 3/2009

JAMES
DAVIS
SINCE 8/2003

JIMMIE
GIPSON
SINCE 2001

JONATHAN
SLATER
SINCE 5/2014

JOHN
GAINES
SINCE 12/2009

KAREN
COLLETTE
SINCE 7/2008

KEITH
EUTSEY
SINCE 2/2011

JOHN
HORN

JOSEPHINE
BASKERVILLE
SINCE 9/2008

J’TORI
TYMAN
SINCE 5/2014

W. KENNETH
BUSSELL
SINCE 10/2009

LARRY
FILES
SINCE 6/2012

LARRY
BROWN
SINCE 10/2007

LEE
MCCOY
SINCE 7/2009

LEONARD
JACKSON
SINCE 2/2005

MAXINE
GRANT
SINCE 4/2015

MEACO
WAITE

MELISSA
MOSBY
SINCE 9/2014

MICHAEL
BEHYMER

QUEENACELESTINE

LEVY

RAESHAWN
GIPSON
SINCE 3/2009

RAYNARD
JONES
SINCE 10/2008

RICKY
WOODS
SINCE 4/2015

RICCARDO
TAYLOR
SINCE 2001

RONNIE
PHILLIPS
SINCE 10/2009

TARA
HILL
SINCE 4/2014

TIA
CASS
SINCE 11/2007

TINA
SINCE 4/2015

TODD
HANLEY
SINCE 5/2014

TONY
THOMAS
SINCE 3/2005

VICTOR
MUMPHRY

WILLIAM
SIMMS
SINCE 4/2014

LOTTIE
MANNER

MIKE
CARANO
SINCE 4/2016

CLEO
WOMBLES
SINCE 10/2003

CRAIG
SMITH
SINCE 5/2014

GLENDA
CANTRELL

GREGORY
WILSON
SINCE 1/2012

JON
DARBY
SINCE 2/2006

JOHNNY
KERNS
SINCE 9/2012

KIM
GREEN
SINCE 1/2010

KRISTINE
HOFSKY
SINCE 3/2015

MARY
MUELLER
SINCE 5/2005

MARK
SHEARS
SINCE 4/2007

MAURICE
GOLSBY

MYRA
WILSON

NEBRASKA
SINCE 3/2015

PERVIS
MENTON
SINCE 8/2015

cincistreetvibes.org

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

SAMUEL
JACKSON
SINCE 10/2006

WILLA
JONES
SINCE 1/2010

TALINA
HILL
SINCE 2/2015

WILLIAM
BURDINE
SINCE 8/2009

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Smart Cars, Dumbed-Down Drivers, Fawning Regulators, and Eager Personal-Injury Lawyers&#13;
&#13;
Pg 3:&#13;
Charity White Challenges the Design of Public Spaces with Her Own Design&#13;
&#13;
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Patricia Garry is recognized for Her Work in Community Development&#13;
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&#13;
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&#13;
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Duke’s Revised Pipeline &#13;
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Puuhonua O Waianae&#13;
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Farmworkers Call for Boycott of Wendy’s&#13;
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What I Have Learned from Co-Creating the Cancer Justice Network&#13;
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Robert Park&#13;
Tess Sohngen&#13;
Malia Pitts&#13;
Dr. Mark Mussman&#13;
Michael Earl Patton&#13;
Mike Brown&#13;
Steve Sunderland&#13;
Jason Haap&#13;
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Willa Denise Jones&#13;
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Patricia Garry&#13;
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                    <text>M ay

20th

-

June

2nd

2016

|

Vol.

20

Issue

11

(No.

330)

advocating justice | Building community

OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Recovery
Hotel | 9

This issue sponsored by (Retired) Judge Mark P. Painter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Panhandler Like ME | 3

Working with youth to
raise awareness about
homelessness | 4

Voting rights, immigration
reform and confirmation
hearings | 8

Author Wows Interfaith
Workers Center May Day
Brunch | 2

Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition
113 E. 12th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

streetvoice | 13

�2

LOCAL
From the Director:
Infuriating Fakeness
JOSH SPRING

Executive Director

I

am infuriated with fake stuff. It
seems that in our city right now
the only thing considered to
be “development” is expensive
new buildings or renovations with expensive finishes. Everything has to be
just so-so: straight edges, crisp clean
facades, hip lighting and sidewalk
dining. But then there is this contradiction. Wood siding is hung on exterior and interior walls, not just wood
though “reclaimed wood”, so it looks
like it has wear from age. Stores have
shelves made from “reclaimed wood”,
sidewalk bar tops are welded steel
and polished rough-cut wood. In
some of these shops you can purchase
furniture and decorations made from
“re-purposed” industrial antiques.
You can buy “home-made” pet food.
You can get an “organic” lunch with
bio-degradable utensils. You can get
“hand-crafted” sushi, “authentic”
food or visit a “neighborhood” bar.
One of the contradictions is that
everything is desired to be crisp, clean
and new, but is made to look antique,
laid-back and hand-made and environmentally friendly. People pay
hundreds of thousands of dollars for
a condo in a “historic” neighborhood
in a “historic” building, despite the
fact that the only thing still “historic”
about the building is the exterior façade. Everything inside the building
was gutted, sent to a landfill and rebuilt when it didn’t need to be. And
in many cases the “historic” building
was also gutted of its previous inhabitants. The stores are supposed
to appear to be “welcoming” places,
but the actual neighborhood stores

like the hardware store or discount
dry goods store were pushed out.
It’s said that “development” is supposed to support young families, yet
the local candy store and children’s
karate school is forced out and the
early child-hood community center is
closed.
Of course, I am describing some
specifics in Over-the-Rhine, but this
applies to portions of the Central
Business District, Price Hill, Walnut
Hills and Clifton. Often when walking through such an area, passing
new and nearly entirely white yuppie groups of people out on their
lunch break or drinking an overpriced “craft” beer on the sidewalk
“re-claimed” wood bar top, I wonder
what they are thinking and how they
can enjoy what they are doing. The
simple hanging out with friends part,
I understand. The rest I cannot fully
grasp. Is it ignorance, ego, apathy or
capitalism? I guess it may be all of the
above and more.
What drives a group of predominately white people to want to spend
time in a bar or restaurant that is in a
building where a neighborhood store
used to be, above which predominately black people used to live until they
were forced out, standing on a sidewalk that was freshly re-poured only
because someone thought enough
white people moved in to make it
worthy, under lighting that was only
updated for the same reason, drinking a beer that you could purchase
cheaper elsewhere, on a street that
several years ago they didn’t know existed and would have felt afraid to be

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

on, knowing they can drink that beer
on the sidewalk because they can pay
the expensive price, but anyone else
who can’t afford that but still would
like to hang with friends and drink a
beer on the sidewalk can be charged
with a crime? Not only do people
seem to greatly enjoy this activity,
they want to see more places like it
created and in community arguments
about “development” they say they
value “inclusion” but believe the city
needs more “economic base”.
People think they are a part of
something big and new. People think
they are urban “pioneers”, saving a
historic neighborhood from blight,
crime, disinvestment and dirt, when
really all they are doing is attempting to force a neighborhood to look
and act just like themselves. Not only
that, but to have residents and tourists
who have the same economic means
as themselves. They think they are
progressive when in reality they are a
part of the age-old systematic practice
of displacing people from their homes
and racial and economic segregation.
So, yes they are urban “pioneers” and
should research the terrible history of
pioneerism in this country - these are
not ranks of people you should want
to associate yourself with.
Are some people’s worlds so
small, easy and self-focused that they
are able to not see the truth that is all
around them? But then again, I guess
the more you make things look a way
that makes you and those you know
comfortable, you see less and less of
what you don’t understand and therefore are challenged less.
I am infuriated with fake. I am
infuriated with people saying they
value diversity, when they take part
in and promote systems that force
sameness. I am infuriated with people acting like they are laid-back and
open when they won’t walk down

(Continued on page 11)

Restaurant Workers Organizer and
Author Wows Cincinnati Interfaith
Workers Center May Day Brunch
BILL WOODS

A

n overflow crowd attended the annual May Day
Brunch sponsored by the
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center at St. Monica-St. George
Parish. Union members, faith leaders, and civic activists comprised
the attendees who heard a dynamic
speaker describe the reform movement now underway to improve the
lives of restaurant workers across
America. A rapt audience listened
as Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and
co-director of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, reviewed the

Contributing Writer
sad history of restaurant workers
and the current efforts to eliminate
what amounts to their wage slavery.
Jayaraman earmarked the
practice of tipping as the long term
factor that entrenched low wages for
restaurant workers in the U.S. Imported to this country after the Civil
War, tipping was the only form of
payment for the former slaves who
became Pullman Car employees
during that era. Tipping soon became common in restaurants, and
owners began to exploit this custom
as a justification for paying low sal-

aries. Ironically, noted Jayaraman,
tipping began in England at places
such as Downton Abbey as a reward
for good work over and above a regular wage.
This tradition of customer tipping has been successfully used
over the years as the reason to provide restaurant workers with a lower
minimum wage than other employees under federal and state minimum wage laws. For instance, in
Ohio the minimum wage is $8.10 an

(Continued on page 12)

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

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 individuals experiencing
homelessness or on the edge of
homelessness, in exchange for a $2.00
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.
113 East 12th St. Cincinnati OH, 45202
Ph: 513.421.7803 FAX: 513.421.7813
WEB: www.cincihomeless.org
BLOG: streetvibes.wordpress.com
EMAIL: streetvibes@cincihomeless.org
Editor: Justin Jeffre
Executive Director: Josh Spring
Director of Development:
Leslie Moorhead
Director of Education:
Mark Mussman
Distributor Program Manager:
Justin Jeffre
Layout:
Peter Kobak
Reception:
Derrick Hudson, Iolanda Barton,
Patricia J. Brown, Larry Johnson
Maintenance: Pete Roper

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE
Writers:
Josh Spring, Bill Woods, Jim Luken,
Leslie Moorhead, Michael Earl
Patton, Dr. Mark Mussman, Camri
Nelson, Caroline Cory, Justin
Jeffre, Steve Sunderland, Willa
Denise Jones, Kim Green
Photography/Artwork:
Jim Luken's friend, Leslie Moorhead,
Key Beck, Caroline Cory, Andy
Hutzel, Paul Beidenbach, Bill
Woods
Thank You For Reading Streetvibes
And Supporting Our Mission To Build
Community And Advocate Justice.
Streetvibes and The Greater Cincinnati
Coalition for the Homeless do not
endorse candidates for public office.

�3

LOCAL

No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

Panhandler Like Me
JIM LUKEN

Contributing Writer

Panhandler Like Me
I'm gonna be standin' on the corner
12th Street and Vine
With my Kansas City baby
And a bottle of Kansas City wine.
Fats Domino

I

Preparation
Six weeks ago, I made a cardboard sign, which read: “Another
Hungry Person. CAN U HELP?
Please.” I hate lying, so I didn't want
to say that I was homeless (although
I had undergone homelessness for
about six weeks in 1995). To make
certain that I would indeed be hungry, I ate nothing after Thursday
night. This would be my longest
“fast” since the late '80s.
For the past year I had been letting my gray hair grow out to almost
shoulder length curls. But I had decided I would clean up my act and
get a haircut on my birthday. For the
panhandling experiment I wanted
to look like someone who was down
on his luck. So I told my Streetvibes
editor that I needed to do this “research” project while I still looked...
seedy. He agreed to come out on Friday night and take my picture, as I
stood with my sign at the northeast
corner of 12 Vine.

you very much,” before looking in my
can.
I looked. I couldn't help smiling.
I looked across the street at the violinist. She had had a half dozen donations already. I had counted them.
But I felt certain that I was way ahead
of her, cash­w ise. Thus, my smile.
I had given money to panhandlers and beggars for the past twelve
years, ever since moving to “the
ghetto.” In the old days it was often
“fiddy­cents.” Now it was almost always a dollar. The most I had ever
donated was a Hamilton ($10), one
day long ago when I had some major
extra cash in my wallet.
At some point I noticed that
more people were crossing Vine at
the southeast side of the intersection, this because of a play at the Ensemble Theater. So I moved across
the street. Pickings were pretty slim
there, in spite of all the well­heeled
theatergoers who had paid $45 dollars each for their tickets. I was disappointed in their stinginess. I am a
“theater person” myself.
I recognized one couple as they
approached on their way to the play.
The woman fished in her purse for a
bill. Then I watched the gleam of recognition on her husband's face. We
had been occasional friends since
our college days. He knew that I was
an OTR resident, but I could tell that
my scraggly appearance had taken
him by surprise. “What are you doing?” he asked, with a trace of anxiety on his face. “A story for Streetvibes,” I replied. “Good,” he said,
obviously relieved, “I kinda thought
that.”
I asked him to take a couple of
pictures of me with my phone, just
in case my editor failed to show. This
turned out to be fortuitous, because
my editor indeed failed to show that
night. The couple and I chatted a bit.
The wife dropped the five in my coffee can, and they headed off to the
theater. I was very pleased that she
had decided to give me the money
before she knew it was me.

Hitting the streets
I decided I would spend three
hours panhandling. I left home at
about 6:15 PM and headed to OTR's
restaurant district on Vine. For the
first twenty minutes I “earned” only
a dollar for my efforts. Not long after my arrival at the corner, a young
woman set up shop on the other side
of the street. She had no sign, just a
violin, which she played with a fair
amount of skill. I watched, jealously, as passersby leaned down to put
money into her violin case. Clearly,
her version of panhandling was doing much better than mine.
Then a forty­ish guy, strolling by
with his lady friend, dropped a bill in
my coffee can. “All the best, Man,” he
said, and walked off. I said “Thank

The food
This part of the experiment
turned out to be an unexpected surprise, one which made me a bit uncomfortable. Before I had crossed
the street to beg from the theater
crowd, a man walked up with a
small pizza box from A Tavola, the
fancy pizza joint. “Do you want some
food?” he asked.
I didn't really want any food at
this point, but my sign said I was
hungry, which I was. Very hungry.
So I graciously accepted his offering.
But I felt strange having access to
food without devouring it. I put the
box down on the little wall behind
me, and ignored it. Before crossing
the street, I placed the little box very
carefully into the half full city trash

n 1961, John Howard Griffin
published an extraordinary
book, so famous that I learned
about it as a junior in my all­
white, all­
boys high school here in
Cincinnati. That book, Black Like
Me, chronicled Griffith's six­week
journey through deep South states,
after having had his skin artificially
blackened so the young Dallas man
would pass as a “Negro.” What Griffin learned on his odyssey bordered
on the horrible, but made for a mindexpanding book.
Over the past few months I had
been considering a very modest attempt to do something similar to
Griffin's monumental research project. I wanted to feel what it was like
to be a panhandler, to gain a sense
of what those hundreds of Cincinnatians feel as they take to the streets,
sign in hand, to earn their “livelihood.” On, Friday the 13th my birthday, my sign in hand, I received the
long anticipated “learning experience.”

Jim Luken with his sign Photo: Jim Luken's friend

container sitting almost in front of
me. I told myself I would retrieve the
box later.
By 8:00 PM, the theater crowd
had gone inside, so I moved to a location that my editor had suggested. I
stood in front of the Sloane boutique,
located between The Senate restaurant and A Tavola. Tons of people
walked past me there.
All in all, over the next three
hours, I received four more food donations. I noticed that people were
offering me food without even glancing at my sign. I offered the second
pizza box almost immediately to a
very drunken white man who tottered nearby. He sat down and ate it,
right at the doorstep of the restaurant where it had been prepared.
The other three items I placed in
a pile on the ledge behind me. One
woman handed me a box, explaining
that she had already taken a bite, but
if I wanted it, the contents were mine
to eat. I accepted it, knowing that I
would probably not eat it.
The money
Everyone whom I've talked with
regarding this panhandling story
wanted to know how much I got. I got
exactly $40. The twenty. Three fives.
And five singles. This means that
I had earned about $13 for each of
the three hours of hard work. Some
friends from the Homeless Coalition
who had “worked” as real panhandlers had told me that, on some days,
they did pretty well. On others, not
so well. My experience echoed both
of these situations. The first half of
the night was profitable. The second
half...dreadfully unprofitable.
If I were relying on panhandling
to make a go of it, the night had been
good. But half of the money had
come from one person. The more sobering fact was that only nine people
had responded to my panhandling
efforts. In three hours. Three people
per hour, from among the three hundred or so who had walked by me
during each hour. Statistically, this
was not quite a positive show of human kindness. Ten in a thousand?
1%. Four people had given generous-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

ly. But for the most part I was underwhelmed.
The people
By far, the majority of the folks
who walked by me had plenty of
money. That's why they were in the
neighborhood, partying. The vast
majority—90 to 95% of them—chose
not to glance my way. Obviously,
like everyone who comes downtown
or lives downtown, they were used
to us beggars. And they had developed a method of avoidance, of refusing to notice people in need. No
doubt, most of these middle­
class
folks would have preferred that I
didn't exist. They would rather that
the homeless and the hungry were
somewhere else, were out of site. So
they made me invisible. Good trick.
I tried to make eye contact with
everyone who walked by, just as I
had seen other panhandlers do when
I drove by them standing at many of
the intersections downtown. A few of
them glanced my way. One man said,
“Have a good life, Sir. I mean it.” He
didn't give me any money, but I felt
his greeting was sincere.
Oddly, or so it seemed, I received
lovely smiles from a number of beautiful young women. I smiled back,
welcoming these smiles as if they
were monetary gifts. In some ways,
to this old man, they were better
than money.
Early in the evening one couple
stared at my sign. The man took a
bill from his wallet, and asked, “How
long has it been since you've eaten?”
I told him that it had been almost an
entire day. I told him that I wasn't
lying about that. He held out a fivedollar bill. “You'll buy food with this
if I give it to you. Right?” I told him
that I buy beer as well as food. “I'm
not going to lie about that.”
I don't think anyone has the
right to “legislate” or demand their
own notions of morality and proper behavior. He and his wife were
probably going to have drinks with
their dinner that night. He dropped
the money into my can. He seemed

(Continued on page 7)

�4

LOCAL
Working with our youth
to raise awareness about
homelessness

Feb.12- 25 , 2015 | No. 297

LESLIE MOORHEAD

O

Staff Writer
n April 30, we got to hang
out with these awesome
6th and 7th graders from
The
Clubhouse-Dream-

programs to low income families.
We worked with the awesome future
young leaders of this group.
Despite the pouring rain (be-

Signs made by our young leaders Photo: Leslie Moorhead

Young leaders in front of the Coalition Photo: Leslie Moorhead

builders.org from Dayton, Ohio! The
Clubhouse is a nonprofit organization that trains teens to design and
run free after school and summer

cause homelessness doesn't stop
when the weather is bad) we sent
these young teens out onto the
streets to participate in our Service

The Runners-Up
MICHAEL EARL PATTON

Contributing Writer

I

had my own list of possible of
possible replacements for Andrew Jackson on the front of the
$20 bill long before the choice of
Harriet Tubman was announced (see
my previous article “Civil Disobedience Pioneer on $20 Bill”). I didn’t
look at it from the standpoint of finding a suitable woman to be on the currency, but as a challenge to pick someone who was NOT a top government
official or military leader. Women almost automatically fit that criterion.
Look at whom we currently honor
on our coins and currency in general
circulation – Washington, Jefferson,
Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, F.D. Roosevelt, and the only partial exception to the list, Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin is famous both for his work
outside of government -- as a printer,
writer, experimenter, and inventor
extraordinaire – and within as a delegate to the Continental Congress,
signer of the Declaration of Independence, and ambassador to France.
Celebrity status alone or being the
first in something is insufficient to
make my list, she had to have made
a significant contribution to a better
society in some way. And, of course,
American. Because our society is focused so much on celebrities, one has
to dig a little to come up with such a
list of either women or men.
Here are the ones whom I call my
runners-up, in roughly chronological
order: Dorothea Dix, Harriet Beecher
Stowe, Dorothy Day, Grace Hopper,
and Rachel Carson. I’m giving honorable mention to Deborah Sampson and Jeanette Rankin, which I’ll
explain later. Three on the list have

been the subject of U.S. postage
stamps, which are pictured here. The
others certainly deserve that recognition, too.
Dorothea Dix was an activist
who, through vigorous and unrelenting lobbying, was responsible for the
first system of humane mental asylums in America. Starting in Massachusetts in 1840, she investigated the
existing facilities funded by towns
and which were often almost medieval, with the inmates being chained
and treated as beasts. Prompted by
her reports the Massachusetts legislature expanded the state mental hospital in Worcester. Then she moved
her attention to New Jersey, which
passed a bill establishing a state facility in 1845. She worked and had
success in other states such as North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
During the Civil War she was
the Superintendent of Army Nurses
for the Union Army. Her tenure did
not go smoothly, to say the least. She
wanted female nurses in the hospitals, many doctors did not. She often
didn’t trust nurses she hadn’t trained
or hired herself, and that included
Catholic nuns serving as nurses.
Such issues aside, she was widely
known for her even-handed treatment of both Union and Confederate
wounded. She resigned her post in
1865 after the end of the war. Dorothea Dix then continued her efforts
to improve the care of the mentally
ill. The change in attitude towards
the mentally ill in this country from
chains to treatment is due to her.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was
an author who is known today for just

Seekers Scavenger Hunt. They were
divided up into two "families." One
family had to find what services are
available to a single mom with children, and the other group had to find
what services a Veteran experiencing
homelessness could receive. While
out finding the locations of the shelters, soup kitchens, a place to shower
and so forth, the teens were displaying the startling statistics of the reality of homelessness in our city. They
did great!

If you have a group that would
like to participate in this education
program, or to find out about other
programs that we offer, please contact us! Service/Volunteering is
wonderful, but a Service Learning
experience can really take volunteering to another level.
For more information contact
markmussman@cincihomelesss.org.
qualifying renters are essential.

one book, but what a book it was. In
the years leading up to the Civil War
there were arguments back and forth
between the abolitionists and those in
favor of slavery. There were periodicals and lectures, and some former
slaves spoke out forcefully against
it. But her 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s
Cabin provided characters and stories that captured the attention of the
nation. The events it narrates, such
as a Kentucky farmer selling some
of his slaves – and breaking up their
families -- to pay his debts, an escaping slave crossing the Ohio River, and
life under an extremely cruel slave
owner who in the novel is named Simon Legree, were often based on real
events. It became a best seller and
inspired Southerners to write novels
that would portray their society in a
more favorable light, but which were
not nearly as popular.
By today’s standards it would be
considered to be melodramatic and
overly sentimental, but for its time
it was a sensation. Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s son recalled that President
Lincoln greeted her at the White
House by saying that she was the
“little woman who wrote the book
that started this great war.” Whether
or not Lincoln actually said this, her
book certainly imparted to the North
a moral purpose to the war that was
coming. Historians sometimes overlook the things that shape the moods
and beliefs of people and create the
conditions that make subsequent
events possible.
Dorothy Day was an American journalist and social activist.
She helped start the Catholic Worker
movement, a pacifist movement that
practices direct aid for the poor and
homeless. The recent story in Streetvibes about Joyce Asfour and the
Grace Place Catholic Worker House
she founded comes from that tradition. She believed that we should
work directly with the poor and not
delegate this responsibility to the

government.
Dorothy Day was an ardent pacifist, refusing to participate in mandatory Civil Defense drills, picketing
the offices of the Atomic Energy Commission, and opposed the war in Vietnam. She did not believe there was
such a thing as a “just war.” In 1973
she worked with Cesar Chavez in his
campaign for farm workers and was
arrested for picketing in spite of an
injunction, spending ten days in jail.
She was deeply religious and loved
those whom Jesus loved, especially
the poor. She wrote extensively and
was a strong advocate of distributism,
which she said was between capitalism and socialism. For her work and
her inspiration, which still motivates
people today, she is included in this
list.
Grace Hopper joined the Navy
Reserve in 1943. She was first in her
class at the Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School at Smith College. She
was assigned to serve on the Mark I
computer programming staff, where
she co-authored three papers on the
first computer that could execute long
computations automatically. After
the war, and still in the Navy Reserve,
she worked for the Remington Rand
corporation. In 1952 she built the
first compiler for a computer. This
compiler could take instructions in
a programming language that was
something like English and translate
them into the commands that the
computer needed to execute its instructions.
According to Hopper, no one
would at first believe her, thinking
that computers could only do arithmetic. And writing commands in
an unnatural, artificial language was
prone to errors. With her compiler,
this could be done much easier, quicker, and with fewer errors. She was
named the company’s first director of
automatic programming and her de-

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

------------------------

(Continued on page 7)

�5

LOCAL
UPZ: An LGBTQ App for All
No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

DR. MARK MUSSMAN

Staff Writer

L

ast summer, I began a project
called the Creative App Project here in Cincinnati. After
teaching in a GED program
for several years, I began to notice
an interesting relationship between
technology and education. I taught
basic computer skills at the GED
school because the GED is now on a
computer (at a testing site, not on the
internet) and so many people would
come to our school and not even
know what a mouse was. I developed
a curriculum that began with taking
computers apart and putting them
back together. For me, it doesn’t make
sense to just use something, I like to
get inside of it to understand it.
I had heard of a new organization in town called People’s Liberty.
It was going to award individuals (not
non-profits) grants to do projects that
engage Cincinnati. I went to an open
house informational session without
an idea, but by the time I left I knew
that I could help Cincinnati become a

more “tech savvy” place. My goal was
to teach non-traditional tech people
how to make Android Apps. Once I
was awarded the grant I worked with
a team to make sure that the participants would not be 35 year-old white
men, but would be open and inviting
to minorities in Cincinnati.
The class itself lasted only 10
weeks at the old Mercy St. John site
by Findlay Market, and it was attended by mostly minority participants.
We were the last program there
when it closed last summer. Over the
course of the 10 weeks, we developed
13 Apps, including apps on black
women’s natural hair, vegan food options in Cincinnati, a cycling app, an
app for photographers, and one to
help the preservationists in town. All
of these were individual’s ideas and
passions. We also worked as a team
to create an app for Lighthouse Youth
Services that is aimed at reducing instances of homelessness among LGBTQ teens and young adults.

After Melissa Meyer from Safe
and Supported, which is housed at
Lighthouse, gave us the charge, the
class broke into five teams, each
one developed a look, a logo, functions, and flow charts for the app. We
then took these ideas to the Sheakley Center for Youth in Mt. Auburn/
Corryville and had the youth focus
group the ideas. Key Beck led the focus groups and was able to capture
what the youth liked and didn’t like
about the app ideas. We took this
information back to the group and I
began creating a demo app. I began
to incorporate what I was learning
from my new position at the Homeless Coalition into the app. We met
again with the advisory council for
Safe and Supported, and confirmed
that we were on the right track.
Once the demo was ready, we put
it on a couple tablets and brought it
back to the Sheakley Center. This
was the true test of the work that the
students had done – did we listen to
them? Almost all of the youth said
they would download the app today
if it was available. This was a huge
success! I then spent a couple of more
months fine tuning the app and getting it on the Google Play Store. You
can get UPZ today on the Google Play

UPZ Listing on the Google Play Store

Store.
The App itself contains several
parts meant to help youth before,
during, and after they experience a
crisis. Anyone can use the UPZ app
– if you are a social service provider,
it is good to have on your phone because it contains quick call and text
options for the CAP Line and other
hotlines for suicide, self-harm, domestic violence, 211, etc. It has a location feature that shows where users
are on a map, and a map with important places like the Sheakley Center,
public single bathrooms, wifi, libraries, and the BMV. It also includes
games, a drawing board, an events
calendar, a journal to record your
feelings and activities for reflection,
and a customizable avatar to express
yourself. All of the personal information, including a contacts section, is
password protected, so if your family
or friends get your phone, they can’t
get your private information.
The reason we focused UPZ on
LGBTQ youth is because more than
40% of youth experiencing homelessness self-identify as LGBTQ – even
though they represent a very small
percent of the total population. Safe
and Supported is working on reducing this number through rapid-rehousing, providing tools like UPZ,
Safe Space training organizations,
and educating the public (including
parents) on the importance of empathy, understanding, and appreciation
of LGBTQ youth.
CAP513 continues to provide
community-based technology education today. Currently, we are working
with Future Leaders of OTR to create
a place-based gaming app that the
youth have envisioned. We are looking for a permanent space to hold
technology classes for individuals on
fixed or low-incomes – we would like
to remain in Over-the-Rhine, if possible. I will never know the true impact of the UPZ app, but I hope that
it helps our community become more
compassionate and connected. (Note:
We hope to have an iOS version of
UPZ out by the end of the summer.)
------------------------

P5 CAP513 Class One Photo: Key Beck

“Breakdown Stereotypes”

“Eradicate Misinformation”

The Coalition for the Homeless provides Education and Service Programs that help to portray a more accurate and holistic
picture of homelessness in Cincinnati. We believe an educated public can be a more compassionate public, willing to dedicate
time and effort towards creating solutions to homelessness. The “Voice of the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau” program is made
up of individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who have experienced homelessness, who share their experiences.
The program is designed to put a face on homelessness and raise awareness about those struggling in our community.
To schedule a speaker, contact Mark Mussman at (513) 421.7803 x14

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�6

LOCAL

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

�No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

JIM LUKEN

(Continued from page 3)
nice. He seemed sad, probably that I
might use his money to seek solace in
“demon rum.”
The feelings
For me, this whole experiment
had been envisioned and conducted
out of my desire to walk for a while (an
admittedly short while) in the shoes
of very poor people. People struggling
to survive by doing what most of us
middle­
class folks would consider a
demeaning, perhaps even degrading
activity. Begging.
Only once in my life can I recall
anything similar. During my high
school years, we had to sell chances
on a car being raffled by our school. I
remember how much I hated knocking
on door after door, getting mostly turn

MICHAEL EARL PATTON

(Continued from page 4)

partment was responsible for some of
the first programming languages.
Someone else would surely have
done this eventually, but she was the
first. And because she was an American whose native language was English, she wanted programming languages to be similar to English. If it
had been someone else, another language might have been used, such as
German or Russian. Her invention
helped boost the young American
computer industry and was a major
step towards our modern, internetfilled world.
Grace Hopper retired from the
Naval Reserve in 1966 at the mandatory age of 60. She was recalled to active
duty in 1967 and retired again in 1971.
She was asked to return again in 1972
and, after attaining the rank of Rear
Admiral, finally retired in 1986 at the
age of 79. She was hired as a senior
consultant to Digital Equipment Corporation, where she worked until her
death at age 85. In addition to helping
develop our modern computer era, she
showed that often age is just a limitation we impose on ourselves.
Rachel Carson was a biologist
with the Fish and Wildlife Service
who transitioned to a full-time nature
writer in 1952. Her articles and chapters from works in progress appeared
in Atlantic Monthly, Nature, Science
Digest, The New Yorker, and Collier’s.
Her book The Sea Around Us was on
the New York Times best-seller list for
86 weeks. Her most famous book, Silent Spring, called attention to the use
of synthetic pesticides and the effect
they were having on the environment
and connection with cancer.
She is most well-known for her
warnings about the unrestricted use
of the pesticide DDT. She foresaw that
insects would develop resistance to it
and other chemical agents and wrote
that their use should be restricted
to as little use as possible. Not only
would that lessen damage to the environment, but it would slow the development of resistance. Her works were
a major inspiration to the environmental movement and served notice
that technological progress is not an
automatic benefit to humankind.
Deborah Sampson: The choice
of Deborah Sampson would break my
rule of not choosing a woman because
she was first in something, and she
may not have affected history in any
significant way, but her perseverance
and shear gumption definitely earn
her an honorable mention.
Deborah Sampson was not the
first woman to fight with the Continental Army during the Revolution-

7

LOCAL

The moral of the story
All in all, I had had a good night. I
had learned a lot. I knew that I would
(probably) never need to beg for my
survival. But I can now imagine almost exactly what it would be like to
do this hour after hour, day after day.
When I got home, I counted my
money, washed my hands, and ate my
“free” pizza. As I was writing this story, I recalled a strange and compelling
quote from St. Vincent de Paul, who
famously worked all his life with and
for the poor.
“It is only for your love alone that
the poor will forgive you the bread you
give them.”
I will, of course, be giving the
money I earned to other beggars.
Here's hoping they will have enough
love in their hearts to forgive me.

downs. I felt the activity was beneath
me. I felt demeaned. Thanks to my
grandmother, I attended a “rich boys”
school. My own folks were working
class poor. I knew that the parents of
most of my classmates were buying all
of their sons' required allotments.
But this panhandling thing was
entirely different. From the moment I
held my sign in front of me, I felt almost proud to be standing there. I did
my best to look dignified. I never felt
demeaned.
For the hour and twenty minutes
that I spent under the SLOANE sign,
I received only one dollar. Although I
wasn't really collecting the money for
myself, I began to feel a bit angry, and
resentful. Hundreds of people passed
by during that time. It was very tedious, standing there, hoping that
people would notice me, and respond.
At 9:15 PM, I was approached

by a man in a yellow shirt wearing a
walkie­talkie on his belt. He asked if I
knew the rules about panhandling. I
asked who he worked for. He said he
was head of security for 3CDC. He
told me I was violating at least two
of the city's ordinances against panhandling: it was well after the 8 PM
curfew, and I was standing within 20
feet of a retail establishment. He told
me that the police would be coming by
and that I could be arrested. “Your decision,” He shrugged. “I'm just telling
you you're breaking the law.”
I knew that there were better political issues for which I might risk arrest. Remembering what my mother
had said about those starving children
in China, I retrieved my pizza box, still
sitting neatly and cleanly in the trash
bin, and headed home with three boxes of food.

ary War as there were several instances of women helping in the fury
of battle. She was, however, the first
to enlist, serve, receive an honorable
discharge, and later receive a pension
from Congress for her military service. In 1782 she took a suit of clothes
from a man about her size, bound her
breasts with cloth, and enlisted under
the name Timothy Thayer. She was
quickly found out, however, when an
acquaintance recognized her soon afterwards in a tavern. She had another
suit made from cloth she had woven
herself, telling the tailor it was for a
male relative about her size. She enlisted again, this time under the name
Robert Shurtleff, joined the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, and fought in
several skirmishes. During a battle in
1782 she was hit by two musket balls
in her thigh. Rather than let a surgeon
remove the balls and probably discover her true sex, she left the hospital.
She removed one of the balls herself
with a penknife (Hollywood, are you
paying attention?), but the other was
too deep and left it in. She sewed and
dressed the wounds, and after a few
days recuperating in the woods went
back to her regiment.
In April 1783 she was promoted
and served as an orderly to General
Paterson. That summer she became
deathly ill and was sent to an infirmary. While unconscious, the doctor
making his rounds examined her and
discovered the cloth she was using to
bind her breasts. She was promptly
moved into his house where he and
his family took care of her. He kept
her secret until after the war was over
with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
Then he had her take a note to General
Paterson and her secret was out. But
the general had been impressed by her
service and gave her an honorable discharge. Before he sent her home, and
with her wearing female clothing, he
had her parade down past the ranks
of her former comrades-in-arms.
Not one recognized her. She was discharged on October 25, 1783, after 17
months of service.
Jeanette Rankin: Like Deborah Sampson, Jeanette Rankin breaks
my rule of not choosing a woman because she was the first in something.
In this case she was the first woman
elected to Congress, having won her
seat in Montana in 1916. This was
even before the 19th Amendment
guaranteeing women nationally the
right to vote had been ratified in 1920,
but was possible because most states
had already changed their own voting
rules. She was a pacifist and deserves
to be remembered for her convictions
even in the face of overwhelming sentiment for war during both her terms
in office.

Shortly after she took her seat
in 1917, President Wilson asked
Congress for a declaration of war
against Germany. The reason he
gave, which is the normal explanation given today, was Germany’s
U-boat attacks against American
shipping. Of course much of that
shipping was to deliver war materials to the British and French,
but that was rarely mentioned.
The alternative explanation for
President Wilson’s request for a
declaration of war was that it was
going badly in the west, especially
for the French. There had been
widespread mutinies and refusals
to follow orders among the French
troops, and there were fears that
this would spread to the British
Postal stamp with Dix, Stowe, and Carson
troops. (Interestingly, some of the
who joined her. After the war she was
French documents relating to the
mutinies are still classified.) In the asked if she regretted her votes. She
east, there was a revolution in Russia explained, “Never. If you’re against
and Czar Nicholas II abdicated. As war, you’re against war regardless of
there were many millions of dollars what happens. It’s a wrong method of
in loans to the British and French, but trying to settle a dispute.”
In retrospect, there are certainly
not to the Germans, losing the war
would place repayment of those loans ample grounds to question America’s
in jeopardy. A number of Americans involvement in World War I and espesuspected there were other motives cially its acquiescence in the Treaty of
than the U-boats and wanted us to Versailles. Its onerous terms and the
remain neutral. Besides, the United subsequent depression in Germany
States had a large population of Ger- were fertile grounds for Adolph Hitman immigrants and their descen- ler to exploit. Even before Pearl Hardants – in Cincinnati German was bor, Rankin suspected FDR wanted to
send troops to Europe and introduced
often heard in the streets.
Jeanette Rankin was one of 50 resolutions requiring congressional
House members who voted against the approval before doing so. The resodeclaration, but as the only woman in lutions failed. I’m not defending her
the House she received most of the vote against war with Japan – by that
attention. However, once the United time it was too late for any other acStates was in the war, she supported tion. I do want to point out that much
our military efforts. In December more information has been uncovered
1917 President Wilson again asked for or declassified about the lead-up to the
a declaration of war against Austria- attack that was not generally known
Hungary, which was Germany’s ally. then, or only suspected. See Robert
This time she voted for the declara- B. Stinnett’s book Day of Deceit: The
tion. As she explained when casting Truth about FDR and Pearl Harbor for
her vote: “The vote we are now to cast more information.
Once again, the above is my list of
is not a vote on a declaration of war. If
it were, I should vote against it. This women whom I think should be better
is a vote on a mere technicality in the known for their actions, convictions,
prosecution of a war already declared. and in most cases, their effect on hisI shall vote for this, as I voted for mon- tory. I think the world is a better place
because of them. For what it’s worth,
ey and for men.”
Due to redistricting, Rankin de- I did find the address and procedure
cided not to run again for the House for nominations for subjects for postal
in 1918 but ran for the Senate, and stamps. Three of them – Dix, Stowe,
lost. She ran again for the House in and Carson – already have been the
1940 and won. On December 7, 1941 subject of stamps that did not, howJapan bombed Pearl Harbor and on ever, give much of a hint as to what
the 8th, she was the only member of they did. I’ll be nominating the four
either house to vote against war with women above who haven’t yet been so
Japan. This vote was extremely con- honored. I will also suggest the Post
troversial, to say the least. She ex- Office re-issue stamps for Dix, Stowe,
plained that, “As a woman, I can’t go to and Carson that give some explanawar, and I refuse to send anyone else.” tion as to why we should remember
Within days there were similar dec- them.
larations against Germany and Italy,
and this time there were a few others
------------------------

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THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�8

LOCAL

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

The Keep Our Courts
Campaign Continues
CAMRI NELSON

Contributing Writer

C

oncerned residents of OTR
have become outraged after discovering that four to
six hundred thousand dollar
condos will be replacing the basketball courts and community gardens in
their area. As a result, On May 5th residents met at the Peaslee Neighborhood
Center to discuss the Keep Our Courts
Campaign.
The developer, North Pointe, about
a year ago proposed the idea of building Rothenberg Row, 21 single family
homes, across the street from Rosenberg Preparatory Academy. North
Pointe plans to develop homes on the
76,000 sq. feet of land there. If the condos are built, residents are concerned
that the youth in the community won’t
have a place to go.
Alicia Ferguson, a dedicated volunteer in OTR, an educator, and community mentor, is one of the residents
who are outraged about the proposed
project. She is very passionate about
the campaign because of the generational tie. Not only did she grow up in
OTR but her grandparents, parents,
and children grew up there. She refers
to the courts and community garden as
a place of solitude for the youth.
“It’s just a place for peace for the
kids. When they come home from
school it’s one of the places that they
know that they can go to get away from
what happened that day,” says Ferguson.
She believes that the only way that
the OTR community can stop gentrification is by voicing their opinions. She
claims that this systematic oppression
continues to happen because people
remain silent.

“If we keep sitting down in the
background, the world will get smaller
and smaller and smaller for our kids,
she said.
The Peaslee Neighboorhood Center has been a great advocate for providing affordable housing in OTR,
and bringing the community together.
Music programs, pre-service teacher
programs, and caregiver programs, are
just a few of the services that they offer.
Peaslee also spends a lot of time with
the youth to make sure that their voice
is heard as well.
One of Peaslee’s youth programs,
Agents of Change, recently created
their “We Can Go There” video which
emphasized the importance of space
in OTR for children to gather and socialize. One of their most phenomenal
and empowering moments is when the
children had attended one of the OTR’s
Community Council Meetings. During this particular meeting, students
silently bounced basketballs outside
to illustrate the importance of keeping
their basketball courts.
Jennifer Summers, the executive
director at Peaslee, has been working
in the OTR community since the 90s
by providing public housing and educating children in public schools.
Since becoming the director in
2014, she has seen a lot of positive
transformation in OTR. One of the biggest public housing developments that
she has watched grow has been in East
Clifton.
She believes that if it weren’t for
the help of some of the OTR organizations, there wouldn’t have been much
progress.
“I consider that a huge testament

OTR youth celebrating their court Photo: Leslie Moorhead

that places like Peeslee, The Homeless
Coalition, OTR Public Housing, and
the Contacts Centers are here doing
the work all of the time. People’s spirits
continue because there is not an option
to stop,” said Summers.
Summers believes that the youth
are a big component to changing the
systematic oppression in the city. She
claims that what children say, do, and
think matters because they are capable of making a positive change in the
world.
“We’re all getting older by the minute and young people need to know
that what they do matters in a positive
way so that they stay engaged in positive ways in our society,” says Summers.
According to Summers it is the responsibility of the elders in the community to empower the children and give

them the confidence so their voices will
be heard. She believes that we need to
invest the same amount of time that we
do into the buildings into the youth of
the community.
Peaslee is currently working on
the Letter Writing Campaign which allows the community to write letters to
the economic development about their
concerns that they have with the proposed condo idea. Summer hopes that
this campaign will make people of the
community feel powerful.
On May 19th The Cathedral Outreach Committee will have hosted another forum about Reducing Poverty
in OTR at the Christ Church Cathedral
on 318 East Fourth Street. Look for the
next issue of Streetvibes to read about
the event if you weren’t able to attend.
------------------------

Voting rights, immigration reform and confirmation
hearings a top concern for Cincinnati voters
CAROLINE CORY

W

ith an emphasis on immigration and voting
rights being cited as two
main components of a
local senator’s obstruction, Cincinnatians gathered downtown on the morning of Monday, May 9 outside of the
politician’s office in the Scripps Center
to find out more information regarding
the two areas at a press conference.
Even though there is an open seat
in the U.S. Supreme Court, many Ohioans are more concerned with voting
rights and immigration in Senator Rob
Portman’s (R-OH) term, according to
a poll conducted by Gerstein Bocian
Agne Strategies (GBAS).
Sen. Portman, who was elected
into office five years ago, has said the
seat should remain vacant, but this can

Contributing Writer
be troublesome for Ohio citizens getting our voices heard since we are in an
election year.
With this in mind, the press conference featured two speakers. Samuel
Gresham, Jr. opened the press conference with a focus on voting rights and
Jorge Martinez discussed immigration.
Gresham, who has been Chair of
the Board of Common Cause Ohio
since 2013, believes that voting rights
should be more available to all people
— regardless of situation.
“Usually, those who want to limit
voting opportunities target those most
vulnerable to disenfranchisement: people of color, low-income Americans,
naturalized citizens and students,” said
Gresham.
On the immigration portion of the

conference, the issue of undocumented
children was brought up.
“If this is not approved, mil-

lions and millions of children will
be turned to welfare,” said Marti-

(Continued on page 11)

Bill Woods with Manuel Pérez Photo: Caroline Cory

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL
OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary
of the Recovery Hotel

9

No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

JUSTIN JEFFRE

Editor

O

n a very warm and beautiful Friday, May 6th, local
nonprofit Over-the-Rhine
Community Housing celebrated the 20th anniversary of Recovery Hotel, which provides permanent
supportive housing for homeless men
and women in recovery from substance
abuse. The event was well attended and
many passionate speakers spoke about
how the Recovery Hotel had helped
them transform their lives from being
out on the streets to becoming incredibly productive and engaged citizens.
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing serves as owner, manager, and service provider for Recovery Hotel. Rent
for all 20 efficiency units is subsidized
through the Department of Housing
and Urban Development’s Shelter Plus
Care Program, which is administered
through a contract with Strategies to
End Homelessness. Skilled case management services as well as daily, on-

site Narcotics Anonymous meetings
provide residents the support needed
to maintain their housing, secure income, and rebuild their lives.
The event featured current and
former residents speaking about their
experience at Recovery Hotel, including Donald Whitehead, one of the
country’s foremost experts on homelessness. A former resident of Recovery Hotel, Donald is now the Manager
of Outreach and Case Management at
Healthcare Center for the Homeless in
Orlando. Speaking of his time at Recovery Hotel, Donald said, “For me,
Recovery Hotel was much more than a
building; it was an oasis in the desert
of destruction caused by active addiction. It was the place where I learned
that my situation was not my destiny.”
Longtime Homeless Coalition supporters remember that many years ago
Donald became our executive director
and helped start Streetvibes. He along

with Pat Clifford, Greg Payton, Jimmy
Heath and many others made this project what it is today, one of the longest
lasting street papers in the nation.
Andy Hutzel, Director of Housing
Services at Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, helped open Recovery Hotel 20 years ago. “The Recovery Hotel
has stood on Vine Street in Over-theRhine for the past 20 years as a place
for homeless men and women to recover, work, and become part of a supportive community,” said Hutzel. “Several people, like buddy gray, worked for
years to make this project happen and
it has delivered on all of its promises.”
Many former residents move on to
successful careers and continue to give
back to the community by supporting
others who engage in the journey of recovery. Since opening in 1996, the program has served 255 individuals with
a successful completion rate of 83%.
Now in its 20th year, the success of this

innovative housing program demonstrates how housing, compassion, and
support can transform the lives of individuals in recovery.
Founded in 1978, the mission of
Over-the-Rhine Community Housing
is to build and sustain a diverse neighborhood that values and benefits lowincome residents. They focus on developing and managing resident-centered, affordable housing in an effort to
promote an inclusive community.
Over-the-Rhine
Community
Housing (OTRCH) is a non-profit community development organization that
provides a wide spectrum of affordable
and supportive housing options with
life-changing programs that help lowincome residents in Over-the-Rhine
succeed. To meet its mission, OTRCH
has restored 123 properties (420 housing units) and assembled 20+ service
providers/agency partners to ensure
that residents receive affordable housing along with access to health care,
job services, education, faith-based
services and community associations
that strengthen their ability to succeed. OTRCH is located at 114 West
14th Street in Over-the-Rhine. To learn
more about OTRCH, visit www.otrch.
org.
------------------------

Mary Burke Rivers, Donald Whitehead, Pat Clifford and Vice Mayor David Mann Photo: Andy Hutzel

Donald Whitehead giving the keynote speech Photo: Andy Hutzel

Donald Whitehead reunites with many old friends Photo: Andy Hutzel

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�10

LOCAL

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

Black Lives Matter:
Cincinnati's Protest
CAMRI NELSON

Contributing Writer
On April 9th a crowd of peaceful
Black Lives Matter protesters met on
the steps of the Justice Center to passionately proclaim their testimonies of
racism that they’ve experienced by the
Cincinnati Police Department.
One of the protesters, Robin Scott,
has been frustrated with CPD since
September of 2015. On September 4th
her son, Melvin Murry, was killed in a
tragic car accident. According to Scott
her son had hit a tree, and the officer,
Krissy Johnson, claimed that he had
made an illegal U turn which caused
the accident. She became frustrated
and angry after being informed about
her son’s death hours after the occurrence. What made her even more upset
was that five months later she found
out that Specialist Johnson had called
her son out of his name.
“I would not have ever known anything about my son when they were degrading him or belittling him if I didn’t
do my investigation and I felt that it
was a disrespect,” said Scott,
Scott believes that her son’s death
wasn’t caused by reckless driving, but
instead by the officer who may have hit
the back of his car. She can’t be sure
about what happened because the dash
cam wasn’t on during the crash and
the police vehicle didn’t have a license
plate. It wasn’t until recently that she
received some of the dash-cam footage.

Since the incident, she has had
meetings with Chief Issac and he has
assured her that he will look into disciplinary action for the officer. Her biggest issue with disciplinary action is
that the officers only receive little if any
counseling.
“Who are the supervisors in charge
of the police officers when they are doing wrong? They need to admit that
they did something wrong to my son,”
she said.
During her speech to the audience
Scott proclaimed that she will not stop
fighting for justice. She stated that she
will tell the story of her son to her fourteen grandchildren so that his death
will not be forgotten.
“What I’m not going to do? I’m
going to keep on talking, I’m going to
keep on preaching, I’m going to keep
walking in these streets and I’m going
to keep, on and on,” she said.
Another protestor that day, Chris
Harrell spoke about the racial profiling that he has continued to experience
with CPD. Harrell has posted several
videos on Facebook where has been
arrested for doing nothing wrong. The
particular video he spoke about on Saturday involved an officer on a bike who
stalked him while walking down the
street.
Harrell was just casually walking
down the street with his recently pur-

Ashley Nicole speaking Photo: Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati

chased hot beverage when a police officer had insulted him with profanities.
“I turned around once I passed the
second block and he looked back and
asked me, ‘What the f--- are you look-

ing at, you got a f---ing problem?’,” said
Harrell.
At that point Harrell felt a sense of
hostility and became nervous so he

(Continued on page 13)

The Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition would
like to thank 4EG, The Lackman and Lachey’s Bar for
sponsoring the 2015 Streetvibes Music Fest at the
Woodward Theater!

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�LOCAL

No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

The Principles of Fair Cancer
Care for All
STEVE SUNDERLAND, PHD

Contributing Writer
"Can we be compassionate to
those whose suffering remains hidden from the eyes of the world?"-H. Nouwen (1994). Here and now:
Living with the spirit. Crossroad.
pening the door to fair
treatment for minorities
and the poor who may
have cancer will involve a
cultural shift. For too long, the gap
between black and white mortality
from cancer has been accepted as
"normal." Recent research has made
it clear that minorities and the poor
have suffered in major ways from
indifference, inadequate policies,
and poor treatment once a person
gets to a doctor or a hospital. Capturing the scope of injustice, one
scholar has described "the excess
in premature death among blacks is
the equivalent of a jumbo jet crashing each day." Looking across many
diseases, the head of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, writes
that it’s dangerous to one's health to
be black. Understanding that health
professionals, like many in the general culture, see it as acceptable to
hear about and give poor treatment
to minorities and the poor makes
it imperative that health programs
seeking to change will need to follow a different set of training, as
well as work on a major difference
in expectations for health care, and
involve themselves with understanding why poor outcomes for
minorities have existed.

a more positive and healthy result
is expected. We want any minority
or poor person who feels they may
have cancer to be able to talk with
a person, a "navigator," who will
guide them to a screening and, if
necessary, treatment. We will emphasize trust in a new partnership,
a welcoming to face health care and
hospital procedures, a clarity about
how cancer works and how it can
be survived if caught early, a desire
to assist in overcoming obstacles of
transportation, finances, and child
care, and, most of all, a partnership that cares enough to make sure
that compassionate treatment occurs. The following organizations
are in the Cancer Justice Network:
FreeStore Food Bank, Madisonville
Education and Assistance Center, Churches Active in Northside,
Christ Church Cathedral, Caracol,
St. Francis Seraph, Center for Independent Living, Santa Maria Center,
Peaslee Center, First Ladies Health,
St. Vincent de Paul, University of
Cincinnati school of social work,
Xavier University school of nursing, Crossroads Health Center, Cincinnati Health Department Health
Centers, American Cancer Society,
and Let's Change Our City. We are
working on the details of how to
provide regular cancer education
by physicians, help with difficulties
in going to screening by providing
navigators, and assistance with getting treatment by being accompanied by navigators.

The Cancer Justice Network:
Cincinnati has the opportunity to
create a new form of cancer education. Realizing that Cincinnati
cancer mortality for minorities is
the worst in Ohio, a group of social service organizations, professional programs, American Cancer
Society, churches, Jewish Hospital,
and city health centers are forming
a Cancer Justice Network. Over the
next few years, with these agencies
working together in the areas of the
city with the lowest life expectancy,

What works in reducing minority cancer mortality? The
Cancer Justice Network will follow
the organizational outlines created
by Harold Freeman, MD, director,
Ralph Lauren Center for Patient
Navigation. Freeman, an African
American physician, researched
what would make a difference in
cancer mortality if he found a way
of bringing minorities sooner to
screening and treatment, when
cancer was in its earliest stages.
As a surgeon, he knew that he was

O

CAROLINE CORY

(Continued from page 8)
nez, an attorney at law who specializes
in immigration law in Hamilton, Ohio.
He views the way immigration is
legally treated as “questioning executive powers of presidents, specifically
regulation of immigration powers.”
Gresham agreed citing Portman’s

JOSH SPRING

(Continued from page 2)
streets where people with low-incomes haven’t been displaced. I am infuriated with people saying they believe
in community when they complain
about people hanging out and talking
loudly in the neighborhood park. I am
infuriated with people talking about
how new businesses create “economic

11

limited in how he could help a person if cancer had advanced to the
fourth and most advanced stage.
The key was a change in how much
access minorities had to the earliest
screening when it could make the
most difference. He pioneered the
development of community navigators, local citizens who could help
the person with overcoming any obstacles to gaining early treatment.
In five years of using navigators, he
was able to double life expectancy of
patients as a result of people getting
early screening and timely treatment. Dr. Freeman has visited Cincinnati and met with many members of the Cancer Justice Network
and we continue to follow his advice
on how to create a similar program.
The Principles of the Cancer
Justice Network: What does the
Cancer Justice Network stand for
in terms of health care and peace?
Here is our attempt to change both
the thinking and the outcomes:
1.	 Realizing that mortality from cancer is widespread
in the minority and poor
community of Cincinnati, we
seek to reduce suffering and
death from cancer through
community based programs
of navigation to screening
and treatment.
2.	 Realizing that access to
cancer information for low income and minorities is limited, we seek to provide timely
and useful information about
how cancer can be survived
if there is timely screening
and treatment. Cancer education will be provided at social
agencies, religious institutions, and educational settings.
3.	 Realizing that obtaining screening is often made
difficult by obstacles such
as transportation, finances,
as well as fear, we will assist
people to work through these
barriers with trained navigators.
4.	 Realizing that treatment for cancer can often be
challenging, we will provide
navigators to assist people
with preparing and going for
treatment.

5.	 Realizing that cancer
effects the family of an individual, we will navigate the
person and their family to
support groups that discuss
the aftermath of cancer treatment.
6.	 Realizing that cancer
is an emotional as well as a
physical shock, we will have
trained navigators able to assist people in finding groups
that will help cope with the
ongoing fears that cancer may
cause.
7.	 Realizing that cancer
information can be understood in different ways because people learn in many
ways, we will provide cancer
information through print
sources, talks with physicians, phone numbers that
may be useful, and referrals
to physicians and nurses who
can go into depth.
8.	 Realizing that supporting people seeking to find out
if they have cancer or helping
them with cancer treatment
is often complex, we will set
up a learning system to understand the many ways navigators may help people as well
as documenting the ways in
which obstacles may stop rapid screening and treatment.
9.	 Realizing that people
seeking to find out if they
have cancer often are treated
brusquely, we will underscore
compassionate relationships
as a standard for all care in
the navigation process.
These principles call for a
new orientation by the health care
profession: a realization that any
agency can be a partner in promoting the best health outcomes if a
union of goals and procedures can
be accomplished. The Cancer Justice Network seeks bold results: we
want to see cancer deaths reduced
in the near future as a direct result
of early screening and timely treatment. To create a peaceful and just
Cincinnati, we choose to change the
culture of normality and acceptance
of health for all.
------------------------

work ethic as a key factor into assessing where the senator stands on the immigration issue.
“There’s some major problems in
immigration. Rob Portman has opposed confirmation,” said Gresham.
“We need to get Rob Portman to do his
job.”
Another result of the GBAS poll

was that politicians who oppose the
Senate conducting confirmation hearings on whether the empty S.C. seat
should be filled by someone nominated
by President Barack Obama are viewed
less favorably than those who have
shown public support of the possibility.
The poll, conducted on both a national and state level, with Ohio being

one of six states participating during
the April 25-27 survey, also showed
nearly 70 percent of individuals supported the use of confirmation hearings when determining who will be
seated next in the U.S. Supreme Court.

base” and benefit the neighborhood
when it actually doesn’t work like that
figuratively or financially. I am infuriated with people saying they have been
a part of a drop in crime, when all they
have done is push crime to another
corner they don’t go on and moved in
more white-collar crime that goes unprosecuted. I’m infuriated with people
saying they want to see historic build-

ings saved when they are okay with the
displacement of the people who have
historically lived in those buildings.
Let’s get real. People can say they
don’t want a place to look just like
themselves and only have people with
their same economic means, but words
don’t count for much. It’s actions that
really matter. If a person or company
does “development” or supports “de-

velopment” that directly or indirectly
displaces people or is only accessible by people of their same financial
means, then they don’t truly care about
people that don’t fit their mold. And if
they think they do care, then they must
change their practices. There is no
fence-riding.

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�12

LOCAL

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

BILL WOODS

(Continued from page 2)
hour, but only $4.05 for restaurant
workers. (The federal minimum wage
is $7.25 and $2.13 for tipped-employees.) This wage difference, declared
Jayaraman, has created a situation
where millions of workers who serve
you food do not have sufficient incomes to feed their own families.
Jayaraman and her organization
lead the fight to end tipping as a factor
in setting wages for restaurant workers and to establish a “living wage”
for all employees. They are up against
a powerful opponent in the National
Restaurant Association, the seventh
largest lobbyist group in Washington,
D.C. She compared this organization
to the National Rifle Association in
terms of its ability to influence Congress and state legislatures. It has
worked diligently, she said, to discredit her efforts.
Jayaraman and her Centers are
making progress on two fronts. They
have convinced several successful restaurant chains that paying a fair wage
not based on customer tipping is good
for business. Shake Shack and Chipotle are two well-known companies that
have embraced the practice of establishing reasonable wages that do not
factor in tipping. These decisions by
major chains provide some momentum for changing the way employees
are treated in the restaurant industry.
The second area of progress centers on the number of states that have
passed minimum wage laws that don’t
include lower minimums for restaurant employees. Six states have taken
this step, and they include California,
Oregon, Alaska, Minnesota, Montana,
and Nevada. Furthermore, data collected by Jayaraman and her allies

Saru Jayaraman speaking to an overflow crowd about improving wages Photo: Paul Breidenbach

show that the economies actually improve in states that pass universal and
fair minimum wage legislation. Their
research refutes the standard argument of the National Restaurant Association that such actions will decrease
jobs and cause many restaurants to do
badly or go out of business.
Jayaraman’s story sparked optimism in a crowd that often hears bad
news about growing income inequality in this country. Much still needs

to be done, she acknowledges, in an
industry where 70 percent of tippedworkers are women, who because of
their lowly economic status often suffer sexual harassment. Pushing the
minimum wage to $15 an hour also
looms as a major part of Restaurant
Opportunities Centers United’s goal of
achieving a “living wage.”
Besides her role as an organizer
for ROCU, Jayaraman is also director of the Food Labor Research Center

at the University of California. Much
of the information included in her
speech at the Workers Center’ brunch
can be found in her book, Forked: A
New Standard for American Dining.
The May Day event offered a good
venue for Jayaraman’s story, because
of the Cincinnati Interfaith Workers
Center’s commitment to advocating
for exploited and powerless workers.
------------------------

For tickets please call
(513) 381-2273
Purchase tickets online at
www.cincyshakes.com
AD Donated by Mark and Sue Ann Painter
season sponsored by the Otto M.
Budig Family Foundation

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�13

STREET VOICE

No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

A Theft in The Economy
It takes a thief to steal the people of the country’s belief
It takes a thief to have the people have to change their lives,
now that’s deep
It takes a thief to double the price of football stadiums and
fields
It takes a thief to convince the county the police deserve a Las
Vegas deal
It takes a thief to steal channels from our children, scanning
through the T.V.
Whether it be for the Converter Box, Cable Box or Direct T.V.
Do you understand me?
For me to steal anything or to be classified as a political thief
Would for me never to have believed in the Constitution and
damn Democracy
So now where do we go as a people in order to regain the
stability we so freely lost
In the future we must read every dotted line, keep the faith
and let God alone be the boss!

WILLA DENISE JONES

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

Gusty Winds

CAMRI NELSON

(Continued from page 10)
On April 9th a crowd of peaceful
Black Lives Matter protesters met on
the steps of the Justice Center to passionately proclaim their testimonies of
racism that they’ve experienced by the
Cincinnati Police Department.
One of the protesters, Robin Scott,
has been frustrated with CPD since
September of 2015. On September 4th
her son, Melvin Murry, was killed in a
tragic car accident.
According to Scott
her son had hit a
tree, and the officer, Krissy Johnson, claimed that
he had made an illegal U turn which
caused the accident. She became
frustrated and angry after being informed about her
son’s death hours
after the occurrence. What made
her even more upset was that five
months later she
found out that
Specialist Johnson
had called her son
out of his name.
“I would not
have ever known
anything
about
my son when they
were
degrading

him or belittling him if I didn’t do my
investigation and I felt that it was a disrespect,” said Scott,
Scott believes that her son’s death
wasn’t caused by reckless driving, but
instead by the officer who may have hit
the back of his car. She can’t be sure
about what happened because the dash
cam wasn’t on during the crash and
the police vehicle didn’t have a license
plate. It wasn’t until recently that she
received some of the dash-cam footage.
Since the incident, she has had

Robin Scott speaking Photo: Black Lives Matter: Cincinnati

The sky was dark
The sun was gone
The arrival of rain made the gusty winds come
The air was cool, the rain felt good
As I embraced the gusty winds it felt good
The wind is my friend, it gives me fresh air
When it’s a gusty wind I feel refreshed and whole once
again
This is what happens within the gusty winds

KIM GREEN

Streetvibes Distributor &amp;
Contributing Writer

Mother Goose Assesses the Economy
Hey diddle, diddle,
Less folks in the middle,
The 1-percent's wealth is rising.
With Labor on its knees,
And jobs shipped overseas,
Inequality is not surprising.

BILL WOODS

Contributing Writer

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�14

PUZZLES

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 99
Across
1. Temporary inactivity
6. Highly excited
10. Ready money
14. Keyboard instrument
15. Decorative woven fabric
16. Woodwind
17. Something that has survived
the past
18. Security interest
19. Deep wide chasm
20. Sartor
22. Naive or inexperienced
person
24. Was seated
25. Notion
27. Greenhouse
29. Below
32. Understand
33. Become less intense
34. Marine mollusk
36. One of the senses
40. Belonging to us
41. Sheltered port
43. Church bench
44. General kind of something
47. Unaccompanied
48. Melody
49. Litigate
51. Harmony
53. Slightly odd
57. Close
58. Epoch
59. Percussion instrument
61. Nape
65. Fan blade
67. Object of worship
69. Singing voice
70. Sharpness
71. Certain
72. Unjustified
73. Scottish dance
74. Encounter
75. Took without
permissionplayer

Down
1. Computer interface
2. Region
3. Large sweet juicy fruit
4. Seafaring
5. Encrypt
6. Entire
7. Profit
8. Large body of water
9. Unusual mental ability
10. Part of a gear wheel
11. Maltreatment
12. Relating to the sun
13. Brawny
21. Scope
23. Metal bar across a
fingerboard
26. Book of maps
28. Division of 8 Down
29. Color between green
and violet
30. Acquire or deserve
by efforts or actions
31. Mayhem
33. Murkiness
35. Kind of gourd
37. Acantha
38. Look after
39. Female sheep
42. Canonical hour
45. Country, initially
46. Vocalized
48. Deluge
50. Self-interest
52. Desert plant
53. Cut off
54. Barter
55. Series of hills or
mountains
56. Empower
60. Bloodshed
62. Change by reversal
63. Violation of the rules
in sport
64. Liberate
66. Fish
68. Allow

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 229 - MEDIUM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS ISSUE 329
CROSSWORD PUZZLE NO. 98

SODOKU PUZZLE NO 228 - MEDIUM

PUZZLES from puzzlechoice.com and puzzles.ca

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

�RESOURCES

No. 330 | M ay 2 0 - J u n e 2 , 2 0 1 6

Shelter: Women and Children
Central Access Point			
Bethany House				

381-SAFE
557-2873

1841 Fairmount Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45214

The Esther Marie Hatton Center for Women
2499 Reading Road, Cinti, OH		
562-1980
Grace Place Catholic Worker House	 681-2365
6037 Cary Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45224

Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Salvation Army				
131 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter	

Shelter: Men

City Gospel Mission			
1805 Dalton Avenue, Cinti, OH 45214

Shelterhouse				

St. Francis Soup Kitchen		
Churches Active in Northside		

981-5800

4230 Hamilton Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45223

762-5660

Madisonville Ed &amp; Assistance Center	
4600 Erie Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45227
Serves area codes: 45226, 45227, 45208, 45209

St. Vincent de Paul			

241-5525

2121 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

682 Hawthorne Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45205

Lighthouse on Highland (18-24 y/o)
2522 Highland Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219
				
569-9500
Caracole (HIV/AIDS)			
761-1480

First Step Home			

114 W. 14th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

27 W. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Tom Geiger House			
Volunteers of America			
Anna Louise Inn			
2401-, 2411 Reading Rd, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Cincinnati Union Bethel		
2401 Reading Road, Cinti, Ohio 45202

VA					
VA Homeless			

Food/Clothing

First Lutheran Church 		
	
1208 Race St.
	
Food - Last Monday 12-1
	
Clothing - second Monday 12-1
Lord’s Pantry				
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		

961-4663

2203 Fulton, Cinti, Ohio 45206

AA Hotline				
CCAT					

351-0422
381-6672

830 Ezzard Charles Dr. Cinti, Ohio 45214

Joseph House (Veterans) 		

241-2965

1522 Republic Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

721-4580
632-7149
381-1171
221-HELP
721-8666

977-6800
859-572-6226
421-0065

Franciscan JPIC			
Gr. Cinti Coalition for the Homeless	

Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart	
1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

117 E. 12th Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

Legal Aid Society			
Ohio Justice &amp; Policy Center		
Faces Without Places			
Stop AIDS				
Center for Respite Care			

People Working Cooperatively		
The Caring Place			
Talbert House 				
United Way				
Women Helping Women		
Off The Streets	 			
St. Raephaels				
Salvation Army				
Serenity House Day Center		
Open Door Pantry			
Brighton Center	

	

799 Ann St. Newport, KY

241-9400
421-1108
363-3300
421-2437
621-1868

Women’s Crisis Center	 	
VA Domiciliary			

205 West Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

3550 Washington Ave, Cinti, Ohio 45229

$100

for 26 issues

$150

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

381-0111

Goodwill industries			
Healing Connections			
Intercommunity Justice &amp; Peace Cr.	
Mary Magdalen House			

ECHO/Hosea House		
Fairhaven Resuce Mission	
Homeward Bound Youth	
Mathews House		
Homeless &amp; Housing Coalition 	
Parish Kitchen			
Pike St. Clinic			
Transitions, Inc		
Welcome House of NKY	

721-4700
421-7803

621-5514

215 E. 14th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Northern Kentucky

Health
621-5300
981-5800

1308 Race St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Advocacy

421-3131
569-1840
381-4242

241-2600
241-2563

Peaslee Neighborhood Center		

Hamilton/Middletown

1227 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

768-6907

Center Independent Living Options	
Emmanuel Community Center		

Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery
Services Board			
	
946-8000
Recovery Health Access Center		
281-7422
Sober Living				
681-0324
Talbert House				
221-HELP
Catholic Social Action			
Community Action Agency		
Contact Center				

961-4555
381-1954
421-5211

351-3500
977-4489

Other Resources

1223 Main St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Both

Interfaith Hospitality Network		
471-1100
Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center (10-17 y/o)
3330 Jefferson Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45220		
961-4080

Talbert House				
Tender Mercies			

961-2256

Treatment or Supportive Recovery:
Women

1821 Summit Road, Cinti, Ohio 45237

CMHA					
Excel Development			
OTR Community Housing		

562-8841

784-1853

Starting Over				

381-2247

5 E. Liberty St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

Prospect House				
921-1613

661-4620

Crossroad Health Center		

NAMI of Hamilton County		
PATH Outreach			

Treatment or Supportive Recovery: Men
Charlie’s 3/4 House			

2825 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219

271-5501

1125 Bank Street, Cinti, Ohio 45214	

721-0643

961-0600

Cincinnati Health Network		

Health Resource Center		
357-4602
McMicken Integrated Care Clinic and Mobile
Medical Van
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti, Ohio 	
352-6364
McMicken Dental Clinic
40 E. McMicken Ave, Cinti		
352-6363
Mental Health Access Point		
558-8888
Mercy Franciscan at St. John		
981-5800

621-6364

241-1064

112 E. Liberty Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

872-9259

961-1983

535-2719
591-2246

FreeStore/FoodBank			

Shelter: Both

Housing:

OTR: 1620 Vine Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202
Walnut Hills: 2631 Gilbert, Cinti, Ohio 45206
1730 Race Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

St. Fran/St. Joe Catholic Work. House	 381-4941
Parkway Center			

1800 Logan St. Cinti, Ohio 45202

OTR/Walnut Hills Kitchen &amp; Pantry	
Our Daily Bread			

411 Gest St. Cinti, Ohio 45203

1437 Walnut Street, Cinti, Ohio 45202

15

for 26 issues and
a $50 donation

771-4800
751-0600
579-8547
721-4811
351-7921
631-1114
751-7747	
211
977-5541
421-5211
981-4200
863-1445
422-8555
868-3276

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
859-491-3335
859-572-6202

�16

S

May 20 - June 2, 2016 | No. 330

treetvibes is distributed by individuals who purchase the paper for 75 cents per copy and sell it for a $2.00 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 usually a vest and can be found selling the paper in Downtown Cincinnati, Clifton, Northside, Northern Kentucky and at area churches.

ALMA
SIMS
SINCE 5/2014

ALFRED
WOOLFOLK
SINCE 10/2003

ASRES
AYENAW
SINCE 2012

BELINDA
CHERRY
SINCE 8/2015

BERTA
LAMBERT
SINCE 1997

BRANDON
NELSON
SINCE 4/2008

CRANDALL
COBB
SINCE 2004

DEBORAH
POINDEXTER
SINCE 9/2012

DONALD
YOUNG

ELMORE
MORRIS
SINCE 5/2014

GINA
MARTIN

GRADY
COOK
SINCE 1997

GREGORY
RAY
SINCE 4/2015

JAMES
BROWN
SINCE 3/2009

JAMES
DAVIS
SINCE 8/2003

JIMMIE
GIPSON
SINCE 2001

JONATHAN
SLATER
SINCE 5/2014

JOHN
GAINES
SINCE 12/2009

KAREN
COLLETTE
SINCE 7/2008

KEITH
EUTSEY
SINCE 2/2011

JOHN
HORN

JOSEPHINE
BASKERVILLE
SINCE 9/2008

J’TORI
TYMAN
SINCE 5/2014

W. KENNETH
BUSSELL
SINCE 10/2009

LARRY
FILES
SINCE 6/2012

LARRY
BROWN
SINCE 10/2007

LEE
MCCOY
SINCE 7/2009

LEONARD
JACKSON
SINCE 2/2005

MAXINE
GRANT
SINCE 4/2015

MEACO
WAITE

MELISSA
MOSBY
SINCE 9/2014

MICHAEL
BEHYMER

QUEENACELESTINE

LEVY

RAESHAWN
GIPSON
SINCE 3/2009

RAYNARD
JONES
SINCE 10/2008

RICKY
WOODS
SINCE 4/2015

RICCARDO
TAYLOR
SINCE 2001

RONNIE
PHILLIPS
SINCE 10/2009

TARA
HILL
SINCE 4/2014

TIA
CASS
SINCE 11/2007

TINA
SINCE 4/2015

TODD
HANLEY
SINCE 5/2014

TONY
THOMAS
SINCE 3/2005

VICTOR
MUMPHRY

LOTTIE
MANNER

MIKE
CARANO
SINCE 4/2016

CLEO
WOMBLES
SINCE 10/2003

CRAIG
SMITH
SINCE 5/2014

GLENDA
CANTRELL

GREGORY
WILSON
SINCE 1/2012

JON
DARBY
SINCE 2/2006

JOHNNY
KERNS
SINCE 9/2012

KIM
GREEN
SINCE 1/2010

KRISTINE
HOFSKY
SINCE 3/2015

MARY
MUELLER
SINCE 5/2005

MARK
SHEARS
SINCE 4/2016

MAURICE
GOLSBY

MYRA
WILSON

NEBRASKA
SINCE 3/2015

PERVIS
MENTON
SINCE 8/2015

WILLIAM
SIMMS
SINCE 4/2014

THE VOICE OF THE STREET...UNSILENCED

SAMUEL
JACKSON
SINCE 10/2006

WILLA
JONES
SINCE 1/2010

TALINA
HILL
SINCE 2/2015

WILLIAM
BURDINE
SINCE 8/2009

�</text>
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Cover Page&#13;
&#13;
Pg 2:&#13;
From the Director&#13;
Restaurant Workers Organizer and Author Wows Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Center May Day Brunch&#13;
&#13;
Pg 3:&#13;
Panhandler Like Me&#13;
&#13;
Pg 4:	&#13;
Working with Our Youth to Raise Awareness About Homelessness&#13;
The Runners-Up&#13;
&#13;
Pg 5:&#13;
UPZ: An LGBTO App for All&#13;
&#13;
Pg 6:&#13;
Cincinnati Stand Down&#13;
&#13;
Pg 7:&#13;
Jim Luken Continued&#13;
Michael Earl Patton Continued&#13;
&#13;
Pg 8:&#13;
The Keep Our Courts Campaign Continues &#13;
Voting Rights, Immigration Reform and Confirmation Hearings a Top Concern for Cincinnati Voters&#13;
&#13;
Pg 9:&#13;
OTRCH Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Recovery Hotel&#13;
&#13;
Pg 10:&#13;
Black Lives Matter&#13;
&#13;
Pg 11:&#13;
The Principles of Fair Cancer Care for All&#13;
&#13;
Pg 12:&#13;
Bill Woods continued &#13;
&#13;
Pg 13:&#13;
Street Voice&#13;
&#13;
Pg 14:&#13;
Puzzles&#13;
&#13;
Pg 15: &#13;
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                <text>Josh Spring&#13;
Bill Woods&#13;
Jim Luken&#13;
Leslie Moorhead&#13;
Michael Earl Patton&#13;
Dr. Mark Mussman&#13;
Camri Nelson&#13;
Caroline Cory&#13;
Justin Jeffre&#13;
Steve Sunderland&#13;
Willa Denise Jones&#13;
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Leslie Moorhead&#13;
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